And here we are with the final five episodes of Pulang Araw. So this will just be my thoughts on the final week and I’ll share my thoughts on the series as a whole in a Hindsight Review.
First off, what we got in these final five episodes is what we should have gotten more of in the previous 105. How absorbing and heartstopping and emotional the episodes were, particularly 107 to 109.
But again, I go back to what is really my biggest critique of the series. And that’s the poor pacing and, I think, misplaced focus.
Going back to what I mentioned in my Week 21 thoughts, the reunions mean far less and have much less impact and it feels like only a few hours have passed between meetings. For example in Episode 106 with Adelina and Hiroshi. Not even enough time to process Adelina’s conflicted feelings toward him after learning he shot her father. But we go from her being upset to her defending Hiroshi to Teresita.
The way Episodes 106 and half of 107 focused on that made them quite slow and uninteresting. Which, for the final week, isn’t necessarily the best thing.
The conflicted feelings, the doubt, the guilt, the suspicion of everyone; all of that should have been a focus much earlier. Preferably in weeks showing us more of the struggles and everyday life/suffering of Filipinos during the war.
Instead of skipping over 1943 and 1944 with a few minutes-long history lecture, let’s see more of the Core4 engaging in battles and having to hide from Japanese forces or going on side quests saving civilians from certain death. Things like that.
As welcome a sight as those in Episodes 107 through 109 were with the bigger set pieces and bigger scope, it can honestly be somewhat of “too little, too late”.
Instead of telling us about the 29-day Battle of Manila, show us instead. Show us more of Eduardo leading the guerrillas against the Japanese. Show us more of Adelina, Teresita and Sister Manuela helping people and going out to find food. Show us more of Hiroshi posing as a loyal Japanese soldier. Show us more of how each of the Core4 navigate the decisive (and horrific) battle that engulfed Manila.
It’s a bit sadder to think about how the last three episodes were some of, if not the shortest episodes of the season. Cramming all of that in less than an hour total runtime, it can feel underwhelming. If only because of all the potential that you know is there and know the series would have been capable of if they had made some different decisions.
Still, there’s no question the bigger scenes in these final episodes, from the action to the horrific depictions of brutality to the moments of terror of the Filipino civilians praying to just live another day; again, these are the things that deserved more focus.
A pair of moments in Episode 109 might be good examples of the seesaw the series has been. Eduardo’s speech to the people about freedom was just so forced and a bit corny. An unnecessary (and obviously) political statement that should’ve been something they addressed earlier rather than in this climactic moment. And making Eduardo too much of a perfect hero. Which is odd considering how much they made an effort to portray him as quite the opposite in the beginning.
Seconds later, Eduardo leaving Yuta to the people to ravage was one of the more satisfying moments of the series and maybe all of Filipino TV in a long time. I wouldn’t have been surprised if the show tried to redeem him like they usually do with kontrabidas. But it was a great moment that represented all of the suffering and trauma of the Filipino people and the collective exhale as the war came to an end.
I won’t fault the show for the happy ending. It’s okay, I guess. But maybe somewhere around the 60s or 70s, I honestly stopped caring about the Core4 and yearned for almost anything else to be featured rather than the two soapy love stories. I’ll talk about the disconnect more in my Hindsight Review.
Overall, half of the week was great. The other half was meh. But that’s pretty representative of the series as a whole. A long journey this has been. But one filled with the highest of highs and some pretty low lows.
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Hanggang sa huli epal ka pa rin. Well, mabuti at natapos na ang paghihirap mo sa panonood ng show. Pwe.
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