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| Photo by GMA Network |
Art is not what you see, but what you make others see. - Edgar Degas
Trending on Netflix Philippines, GMA Entertainment Group cleverly ends its drama anthology I Can See You with Truly. Madly. Deadly. delivering a sought-after quality production viewers have not experienced in quite a time. The title itself along with teasers released days before its airing glue the viewers’ interest right away, making this is as one story not to be missed. Carrying a powerful actors’ ensemble of Dennis Trillo, Rhian Ramos, and Jennylyn Mercado under the direction of the brilliant Jorron Lee Monroy, here are major points why this 5-day-30-minute-per episode mini-series is tops for viewers and fans:
Episode 1: Brilliant Directing, Editing and Rhian Ramos Moment
The plot and narrative of Truly. Madly. Deadly. is presented in three sub-narratives: that of the two friends Coleen (Mercado) and Abby (Ramos), the narrative of Drew (Trillo), and that of the three characters as they affect one another. The editing of flashbacks in the first episode is powerful; a great way to start and hold a story! The first is set in a psychiatric center, evoking sympathy for the regretful, visiting Coleen and for the mentally disturbed, madly furious Abby. The reason behind the conflict between the two is not revealed right away till they meet again 14 years later in a remote resort with Abby as a visiting famous vlogger and Coleen as the resort manager. Coleen is shown holding a photo of her and Abby as friends one happy high school day, bringing the viewers to the second flashback when Abby bravely confessed her romantic feelings with a kiss that confused and shocked Coleen. Another flashback shows Abby stalking Coleen down the school stairs which Coleen sensed and confronted Abby with, prompting her to take a video of the persistent, pleading Abby. This video was circulated by another friend as revealed by Coleen in the continuing flashback, causing Abby a lot of bashing and shaming on social media. Believing that Coleen circulated the video, Abby subsequently suffered a mental breakdown landing her in the psychiatric facility.
Another back story is shown in the episode with Coleen’s scandal video with a married man being exposed at the resort shortly after Abby’s arrival. At this point, the viewers are made to feel suspicious of Abby’s denials of the mysterious events in the resort that exposed Coleen in a bad light. On the other hand, we see the resort IT guy Drew (Trillo) trying to get Coleen’s attention by being helpful and protective. Here, the character of Drew draws another major interest for the viewers. In two snippets, Drew is seen with Coleen sharing intimate moments that send viewers guessing at what is happening between the formally distant supervisor and the mysteriously reserved, tech-savvy guy.
The acting ability of Rhian Ramos in this episode is truly commendable while that of Jennylyn Mercado is spot-on for her character, both actresses evoking extreme feelings from the viewers while giving a good variation and complementation of acting skills.
Jorron Lee Monroy’s directing is refreshingly artistic and effectively brings a taste of adverse realities that people go through in this modern digital world. Even Monroy’s direction of scenes in Coleen’s scandal video appears pleasant, even almost respectful, with just the distant shot slight movements of the actors, the visually appealing bare legs of Mercado and a snap shot at her facial expression implicit of the whole scene. Of course there’s the It factor as an added value in having Mercado and Trillo as actors since the viewers know that they are a beloved couple in real life and that the current covid epidemic safety protocols in the entertainment industry have to be strictly observed.
Episode 2: Incredible Acting Prowess of Dennis Trillo
In this episode, Drew’s narrative is almost fully told, sending shock waves to the viewer. He is shown in his private quarter, seated before an array of computer monitors, the use of which was explained through a brief flashback of him planting hidden cameras in Coleen’s rooms to catch her private moments.
Drew is presented as obsessed with Coleen, with self-satisfying thoughts like the intimate scenes with Coleen in Episode 1, now known to the viewers as fragments of his delusions, and the uploading of Coleen’s sex scandal video as a ploy of the jealous Drew in the hope of aggravating the tension between Coleen and Abby.
Again, the directing here is exemplary, sending messages of deviant sexual behavior akin to a condition called Obsessive Love Disorder (OLD), just with a monologue within seconds by Trillo and angle shots of the actor’s facial expressions and body movements. The licking of the monitor screen caps it all!
Here, Dennis Trillo shows an incredible acting prowess, showing dimensions of motive, desires and faults within a single, very short span of screen time. Audiences here and abroad who follow his projects know how good Dennis is; yet this performance brings him to another level of excellence.
Episode 3: Plausible Plot-building on ‘three is a crowd’
The narrative of Drew, Coleen and Abby together gears up with this episode. The suspense here makes the viewers start holding breaths while anticipating Drew’s actions on Abby who starts to become suspectful of Drew and begins to investigate by secretly entering Drew’s quarter and finding out his ‘stalking Coleen’ paraphernalia and an old newsclip on a case of a missing girl pictured with her boyfriend Warren De Vira (Drew) with a half million-peso reward for the informant. Abby successfully copies in her flash drive the videos of Coleen from Drew’s computer but is stricken unconscious by the madly furious Drew. In between, Drew is seen gradually, patiently and quite charmingly winning Coleen who by now is warming up to him and more suspicious of Abby’s allegation that Drew is her stalker. Here, viewers start to fear for Abby as much as for Coleen’s safety.
Episode 4: Captivating Unpredictability of What’s Next
This episode upgrades the suspense and horror with the mentally deranged Drew bringing Abby to an open space in the resort and digging the ground that looks like an intended burial site. Meanwhile, the sudden disappearance of Abby is being explained like a jigsaw puzzle the characters need to put together with the dialogue inputs of the now worried and concerned Coleen, the staff Abby fangirl Tere (played by Jhoana Marie Tan), of Abby’s mom (played by Ruby Rodriguez) and of the security guard Mang Jerry (played by Ollie Espino) who accidentally finds Abby’s flash drive at the shore. Here, the ensemble acting is realistic and simply put the audience in thinking state which serves as a springboard to an even more suspenseful finish.
Episode 5: Reaching Plot Climax with a Horrifying Tragic End
Though the viewers know that a big bad is bound to happen, we tense in our seats as we witness how Coleen finds out that she is texting another person other than Abby by using a secret password the two of them alone know. Drew is bent to make mistakes and as realistic as it is, he answers “who’s there” to Coleen’s “Knock, knock” code to Abby in stead of what is now known to the viewers as “Door is closed” or ‘door is open”, even giving a momentary comic relief to the audience.
The build-up of action and dialogue is highly plausible: Drew revealing that he wiped out his former girlfriend because she cheated on him; Coleen carefully entering the worn-out cabin where Drew is trying to hang the terrified, pleading Abby to intentionally kill her. Drew, after striking the fighting Coleen, stoops down to embrace and apologize to her, giving Abby another chance to try to bring Drew down. Drew gets hold of Abby strangling her; then we see Coleen, in her terror, fear, and panic, gets hold of Drew’s knife and plants it on Drew’s neckbase! A tragic end for Drew and a saving moment for the broken friendship of Abby and Coleen.
Other High Points
Story-writing of Truly. Madly. Deadly. Is clear and cohesive with its theme of trust and betrayal mixed with obsession and, at times, with glimpses of romance and friendship wrapped in a very interesting manner.
Effects synchronize with scenes. Lighting in almost black and white in the flashbacks and monochromatic color in most scenes with suspenseful sound and music greatly build the messages in the scenes.
GMA’s I Can See You drama anthology gives a lot of opportunities in story-telling for the production side and eye-opening experiences for viewers as we all face a new world of human challenges through the use and misuse of modern technology. Truly. Madly. Deadly. is a benchmark for a television mini-series we hope to see more of, to inspire us of the reality that in the darkness is a glimmer of light we can explore to its potential.