Slay – GMA Episodes 24-34 Streaming-to-Linear TV Comparison

Now that Slay has wrapped up its run on Viu, it will be very interesting now to watch the rest of the GMA linear TV version of the series. Apparently it will have a different ending. (Which is a bit obvious considering the TV-exclusive storylines and stuff.) But while I’ve thought the broadcast TV version of the series was a bit more polished and better paced than the streaming version, I don’t know how a new ending might improve on what was already a satisfying conclusion.

So there’s definitely a few different ways the TV version could go in. Let’s continue comparing.

Now, I’m doing this a few weeks after I watched the finale of the Viu version. So I’m a little lost now since I’ve kind of put the story in the back of my mind after finishing it and continuing with my family’s vacation in the Philippines. Lol

Interesting random fact, my little 10-year-old cousin watched Slay too. Lol

Anyway, GMA Episode 24 moves around two minutes from Liv and Amelie’s heart to heart, but it has all of the content from Viu Episode 19.

GMA Episode 25 inserts a new two-minute scene of Hector confronting Marga at the hospital for further pushing Amelie down and driving her to attempt suicide. Marga insists she is a good mother and she would never be the cause of Amelie’s mental health issues.

The rest of the GMA episode switches scenes around, partly to raise the tension a bit more by quick cutting between the confrontations of Liv/Marga and Luke/Amelie.

The GMA episode then ends on the cliffhanger of Sugar finding the torn picture of her brother.

One thing to note that I noticed for the first time I think is the GMA episode had some color correction/color grading/whatever you call it. Fixing the muted tones of Viu version and making it look a bit better for the GMA version. Again, kind of furthering the narrative that the Viu version is a rough draft and the GMA version is the final draft.

GMA Episode 26 picks up with the rest of Viu Episode 20 and continues into Viu Episode 21. The GMA episode also includes the narration from Yana from Viu Episode 21 as well, which I think is the first time the GMA edit has included narration from anyone other than Zach. It comes in the middle of the GMA episode, but of course it was originally the beginning of the Viu episode.

The GMA episode moves some scenes around again as well throughout, but has the same content as the Viu Episode.

The same can be said for GMA Episode 27 (Viu Episodes 21 and 22) and GMA Episode 28 (Viu Episodes 22 and 23).

Continuing with Viu Episode 23, GMA Episode 29 adds a couple of seconds to Marga and Hector’s scene while deleting Sugar’s scene where she asks around about the photo of her brother she found as well as Gabo telling her about Yana getting interrogated and her father being arrested.

The GMA episode then moves on to Viu Episode 24 and moves scenes around again. But all the same content.

GMA Episode 30 adds some seconds to the big scene of Marga finding Leona and Hector together from Viu Episode 24.

The GMA episode then shortens Inspector Georgia’s introduction and her going over the existing evidence with Kirby. Keeping the focus on the suspicion of the ladies.

The rest of GMA 30 switches scenes around again for a more tense-feeling flow of events from Viu Episode 25.

The beginning of GMA Episode 31 then re-edits the scene of the Slaydies admitting what they did to Zach with the lighter, the powder, and the oil. Finishing Viu Episode 25 and starting Viu Episode 26.

GMA Episode 32 then finishes Viu Episode 26 before going into Episode 27 where they chop off chunks from the end of the next scenes. A bit of streamlining removing parts of the scenes that don’t really add or take away from them.

Viu Episode had the better cliffhanger though with Sugar, Yana, and Amelie getting arrested.

GMA Episode 33 switches around scenes from Viu Episode 28 again.

GMA Episode 34 finally gives us something new. And it continues the storyline of Sugar being from another family. Her mother wonders if Sugar wouldn’t be in this predicament had she stayed with her real family. Sugar’s father says she has no family to go back to. They are her family now.

After Sugar’s father leaves to get some water, Mama Lourdes spots Tito Charlie who immediately recognizes her. Lourdes runs away and hides behind a tree.

The new scenes continue with Lourdes recalls when Sugar was first left to her. The woman who had Sugar was apparently in a relationship with Charlie and she was afraid he would leave her if he knew she had a baby. The woman wanted the marriage and money.

Oh!!! So Sugar is not Marga’s daughter? Strange!

I’ll wrap up this comparison here with the first significant difference between the two versions in like, ten episodes. And this new revelation definitely nudges us toward how the GMA ending might play out differently.

First of all, is Sugar’s mother also Yana’s mother? I have no idea. But then Lourdes as Yana’s yaya?

This is crazy convoluted, I think lol Kind of unnecessary at this point. But we’ll have to wait and see how it plays out!