On the Wings of Love ~ Recap

On the Wings of Love
Recap: October 20 - 23, 2015

I'm feeling inspired, though that doesn't mean I will be doing recaps on a regular basis. I'm just really glad that I did the right choice of keeping the faith on this drama. So, without further ado, let's get this started:

Oct 20: #OTWOLPursue

The scene opened to Leah & Tiffany having a sister-to-sister moment. Tatang Sol walked in on them looking distraught, which prompted him to ask what the problem was. The 2 girls were quick to dismiss it as 'girl talk', to which Tatang assumed it was about Clark. Leah denied it, so Tatang was like, "alangan namang si Tolayts". LoL

Clark: "You seem to be having a bad day.. Just a little something to make you smile" ❤

Next, morning Leah walked into the surprise balloons ❤
~ isn't Clark just the sweetest? ❤❤❤

He then decided to chaperone Leah, which earned him pogi points from your highness Sir Sol. So, Clark spent the whole day with Leah. He even waited for her to finish her interview, which then lead us to that sweet (uber mushy) jeepney ride home. 

stuck in traffic..

Oct 21: #OTWOLConfession

In this episode, Leah was back on diva mode, getting all annoyed & impatient towards Clark, hell-bent on pushing him away (again!). Clark, on the other hand, was starting to get offended at Leah's attitude towards him. They were inside the room, having a heated discussion. Clark asked Leah why she's pushing him away; Leah's insisting on parting with him, even going to the extent of telling him to his face that she didn't love him anymore. Clark's face looked like he got stabbed. Pain spread all over his eyes, but he's not buying the BS. (and neither were the viewers!). Clark didn't have the heart to argue, so he went out to get some fresh air. By the time he came back, he walked in on Leah having a serious talk with Tatang Sol, exposing the reason behind her marriage to Clark - hoping that this would prompt Tatang to make Clark leave. or so she thought... :P

Following Leah's confession, Tatang Sol was  in a foul mood the next morning. He got up from breakfast without touching any food & went to his room, still bothered by the recent exposé. Leah's feeling guilty and was clearly troubled on how her little act of defiance bit her back in the ass. (sorry, i'm not sorry!) Clark, seeing Leah upset, held her close, reassuring her that things will be ok eventually. 

Tatang Sol witnessed how Clark & Leah truly cared for each other ❤

Oct 22: #OTWOLHotseat

Tatang Sol's care-frontation

This has got to be my favorite episode of the week!

Tatang Sol, upon witnessing Leah & Clark arguing, decided to talk to them - individually.. This was the moment I've been waiting for! At first, I was rooting for Tiffany to knock some sense to Leah, to stop being a jerk to Clark and what not.. (obviously I'm not comfortable using that word that rhymes with 'peach', but you can catch the drift!) 

This turned out to be so much better than I've ever imagined! Tatang Sol 

talking some sense to Leah's totally misguided ways on dealing with her angst. (I love you, your highness Sir Sol!!) Mang Sol's advise is just GOLDEN!!! Even I could use some of those. The one the really struck me, yes you read that right me, was when Tatang went on to tell Leah how married life should be:.

"Ganyan ang mag-asawa nagdadamayan. Kung may problema, pinagtutulungan! Leah, asawa mo si Clark. Ganyan ang asawa, nandiyan pag kailangan mo! Pag di mo kailangan, nandiyan pa rin" ~ Tatang Sol ❤

*for those who don't understand Tagalog, you may tweet me @charmed_tc

Basically, Tatang gave them a practical, yet very fitting advice on the relationship between husband & wife. It's something that old folks would tell a young couple, and it was delivered in such a fatherly manner that made me wish I had a father like Tatang Sol.. (Note to self: I'm not going to cry.) Lots of hugs for Tatang Sol!!!

That night, Leah was still affected by her Nanang's deception, but at least now she's communicating with Clark. This side of Leah was what I've been waiting for, the reasonable side. Yes, it's totally understandable that she's going through some major ordeal, but shutting Clark away is not the solution. It's just like when they were in San Francisco, she was the one who told Clark that it would somehow help to talk to a friend - to unload some of the burden. Try taking your own advice. 

Clark reassuring Leah, "I'll make you believe in us again"

OTC 23: #OTWOLTooGood

From the previous episode, we're now brought to the aftermath of the confession & Tatang Sol's brilliant intervention. So, Clark gets to stay! (Hooray for us!) Tatang Sol was quick to remind Clark that he's not off the hook yet (LoL!). Tatang had yet to see if Clark is really the right for Leah (in my opinion, Tatang already know, I think he just needed more time to accept ❤). So, it's town Fiesta time, and people in the tenement are set to win this year's inter-baranggay competition, the Ginoong Tenement 2015! Tenement Uno, where Leah's household belong, is now brainstorming on how to beat Tenement Tres, the winner in the previous years. As they were trying to think of a strong candidate to be their representative, enter cue - Clark comes climbing down the stairs, gentle wind blowing through his hair, and as he caught a glimpse of them looking, he smiled - as if to seal the deal! Long story short, Tenement Uno found their hero! (enter a hilarious montage of pageant rehearsals)

Tolayts.. FTW ^_^

Leah, all amused while watching the Ginoong Tenement rehearsals

... and this is my beautiful wife, Leah ❤

As a whole, this week was such a delight to recap. Of course, there's the usual up & down moments: downs include Leah & the inconsistent ever changing mood towards Clark. I mean, I get that the sudden resurfacing of Nanang messed up her head big time! It makes for a perfectly solid conflict. But it's not really a valid reason to be a jerk to Clark, and for the love of God, why only to him! It's not fair, Clark has feelings too! That's why this scene where they're finally communicating is such a welcome development, took like forever to happen..

And along with keeping the faith, a million & more thanks to the amazing OTWOL team Direk Antoinette Jadaone, Direk Jojo Saguin & Eric John Salut ~ you are geniuses!!! ❤

Direk Jojo Saguin and Direk Antoinette Jadaone at the #OTWOLSpreadTheLoveTour

side note: I am aware that this recap is a couple of days delayed.. I was supposed to post this during the weekend, but instead I went to Market Market for the  Grand Meet up #OTWOLSpreadTheLoveTour ❤ I wouldn't miss it for world! I'm especially glad because I got to see the beautiful direk Tonette ❤
~ Direk, I hope you'd get a videoke session next time. ^_^

And on that note, I bid you all good night..

xoxo

❤❤❤

Photo credits: ABS CBN channel, iWantTV, screen caps of my TV & YouTube

On The Wings Of Love ~ #OTWOLToughLove

October 19, 2015: #OTWOLToughLove

Fans, myself included, have mixed emotions over the recent turn of events on OTWOL and people are getting rather impatient over this inner turmoil that Leah’s supposed to be going through. I really cannot blame the fans' reaction, clearly this is not the pace that we’ve all grown accustomed to. If you’ve followed the story from day 1, you will very well know that one of its charms is the fact that we don’t have to linger on to a particular conflict for more than 1 week. Sure it may resurface, but it’s easily resolved. 

So, back to Leah hurting because of Nanang’s impropriety. I’m not made of stone, I believe the pain is very much valid! It’s something that Leah & Tiffany will have quite a difficult time to deal with. Mang Sol is not oblivious to the change in mood of both his daughters, and I can feel how much he wanted to reach out and help them, if only he knew how. I especially laud that scene where Mang Sol had the talk with Tiffany, it was so poignant yet it’s something very realistic. And Tiffany, how she tried to hold everything in to protect her father... This is one of those scenes that make me cling to OTWOL, that distinct approach that makes the characters very real and very relatable.

Going back to Leah & Tiffany, I wish they will treat Clark as a confidante in this plight with Nanang. Leah seemed to have forgotten that Clark also had abandonment issues with his father. What’s even worse is that he lost his mother at an early age, which left him to grow up by himself, all alone in a foreign country. So, who else can understand how the sisters might be feeling other than him? 

Remember that conversation in Clark’s apartment, how he pointed to Nanang, “She thought you were dead”, it was clear that Clark was reacting on Leah’s behalf. He’s trying not to interfere, but he was the one who witnessed what Leah went through. He even accompanied her and helped her search for Nanang. This was one of those moments that drew them closer to each other, Clark & Leah. 

Surely, this should hold some significance to Leah, and I hope she remembers and realizes this sooner before she hurts Clark even further by pushing him away. Not that it’s helping, as it’s also hurting Leah in the process. Too much hurt & turmoil, and none of which is directly related to the feelings that Clark & Leah have for each other. Yes, these are factors that affects them a great deal, but as Clark said, he’s there for Leah, “Kung mahihirapan ka, kasama mo akong mahihirapan..” (~ something in that sense). In their trip to Napa Valley, Clark was quick to reassure Leah that he will come back to her with or without the car. He always show how deeply he cares for Leah – which proved more than enough that he’s a lot more than just a cute-face-&-gorgeous-physique.

I see a number of tweets telling Leah to “stop being pabebe”. I personally don’t use the word because I’m not really sure what it means (pa-cute or something associated to being annoying, perhaps?). But I get that general feeling of being frustrated over this “I don’t want to break up your family. I don’t want to be like Nanang” ordeal. It’s rather misguided. I mean, here’s Clark who’s standing up to his relatives, gently but firmly telling Tita Jack to back off as he’s not going to give up Leah that easily. He’s making his family understand that there’s some things they cannot dictate on, and his choice on who to Love is one of such things. Of course, this is not an easy pill for his family to swallow, but I don’t think it’s something that will tear them apart. If Leah is serious about not wanting to be like Nanang, then I believe she should not push Clark away. Nanang left her husband, her family. Who is Leah pushing away? See the analogy?

And,yes, there’s Jigs and his obsession on getting Leah back. Everybody knows that he and Leah are over. That fact was established early on in the story. So, it’s really more of his ego getting hurt, especially when it comes to Clark. He has a perennial beef with Clark. It has been that way since their childhood. Jigs is simply not happy if there’s anything good that’s happening to Clark. See his reaction when Lola Pachang was happily telling them how Clark was helping their furniture business in such a positive way. Case and point. Jigs simply do not want Clark to succeed in anything. Not with Leah, not with their family, not with anything at all. That’s why I like how Tita Jack stood her ground and openly yelled out her frustrations on Jigs. This was long overdue! Enough is enough! Tita Jack do not deserved to be treated ever so badly, especially not by her own son! I wanted to give Tita Jack a hug!!! I wish the story would give Jigs a chance to redeem himself, give his character more texture. Not just the unfortunate, hateful character that he is now. I mean, let’s give the guy some credit, there must be some good in him that made Leah fall in love with him before, right?

And oh, how I feel for Clark! He has already set in his mind that Leah is his wife, she is his family now (this is making me cry!). That’s how OFW’s are. The people you work with, people you share house with, they become your family. And for someone who had been living alone all his life, Clark has finally come to terms with his isolation from people because that’s what he saw in Leah. With Leah, it’s ok to feel alive, “like the sun is shining just a bit brighter”. So, it’s pretty understandable why he doesn’t want to lose that glimmer of hope that he had found in Leah. For him, this was a battle worth fighting for.

Clark to Tita Jack: "...there are some things that we can't control"

Writing this piece leaves me with a tight-chest, as clearly I’ve gotten deeply invested with the characters & the story as a whole. So much for #GoodVibes to send you to sleep.. I do, however, have good hopes that the story will turn back to the light & feel good OTWOL that we all know and love. SOON please! And as always, a million thanks to direk Antoinette Jadaone, direk Jojo Saguin, and Erik John Salut for bringing to life this wonderful story. Direk, PLEASE stop being HARSH! My heart can only take so much! :P 

~ xoxo ~

Photo credit: ABS CBN Channel (of course!), iWantTV ~ and just like the 2 previous blogs, screen shots of my TV & YT

On The Wings of Love ~ #OTWOLBiyahengPagIbig Oct. 16, 2015

 #OTWOLBiyahengPagIbig Oct. 16, 2015

 

Ang NAKARAAN:
#OTWOLIgibPagIbig ep. last Oct 15 showed how Clark was willing to do whatever it takes to get Mang Sol's approval, which brought us to a whole montage of him delivering water not only to the Olivar household but, by Tolayts' dumb coaxing, the entire Tenement community. 

There's just too many things that are just not right in this scenario:
Paninilbihan, or service associated in courtship, sure is a normal right of passage that's somewhat still observed in the Philippine culture - that's acceptable. But so is common courtesy that the family being served usually extends to the suitor. So, for the sake of argument, let me put it this way, this is a bit far hetched to happen in real life, so this is probably done for comedic sake(?).. Although I find it rather cruel to be considered funny.

Personally, I feel like giving Tolayts a good, hard smack on the head for even suggesting it. This is just plain ABUSE. 

Which brings us to last night's #OTWOLBiyahengPagIbig episode. We open to the scene, where poor Clark is all worn out from delivering water, as part of this so called courtship ritual (I call it bullying!) 

At the very least, it's comforting to find Leah concerned about Clark. She even reminded Clark that he didn't need to do all these. But when Mang Sol feigned that he's not at all impressed, this prompted to more little chores here & there including, but not limited to, the very cute laundry scene!

Clark & Leah found time to goof around while doing manual laundry ^_^

I esp. like the shock on Leah's face when Clark attempted to "get even". #lol

And true to the OTWOL tradition, we get a hefty dose of GOOD VIBES! If I have to pick a favorite, it would have to be the karaoke sequence.

It was a sweet "happy memory" that Clark & Leah shared together with the extended Tenement family. That tender moment when Leah didn't have to put up walls to keep Clark, and the rest of the world for that matter, away from getting too close to her. The driving the jeep part seemed a little off for me. Reality check: driving public transport around Manila is very daunting even for experienced drivers, with the numerous hagad & buwaya looming around.. hey, that's reality for you! Still, it was pretty hilarious how Leah called out "guapo driver namin!" while calling passengers to ride the jeep. 

Overall, I'd say the development of the story seemed legit, but not without its flaws. I'm starting to feel the effect of the decision to extend OTWOL, and it posts a grave concern for the fans  (yes, I'm getting overly dramatic!) as the story is getting complicated, and it's not in the regulation-OTWOL manner. 

Fan comment on On the Wings of Love FB page

**another comment posted on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2nKQgxcCgk 

* names are blurred to protect the privacy of the individual fans.

Suffice to say, I'm not alone in this plight. I myself have a number of plausible conflicts to suggest to the story that I'm tempted to type a separate blog (that's still subject to a lot of considerations.. :'P). I can't afford to make this a regular thing, making recaps & giving it my 2 cents, so I will try my best to contain myself with the nightly twitter spree [which btw I missed last night, due to prior engagements.. C'mon it's Friday night, it's not a crime to have a life! ;'P].

Despite this dark cloud looming over, I still have a lot of hope in this drama. I have to hand it to the amazing OTWOL team: direk Antoinette Jadaone, direk Jojo Saguin, and Eric John Salut, for the wonderful work they're putting into the series. Yes, it may seem unraveling at the seams as it's starting to adopt the stereotype drama sub plots, but they somehow still manage to turn it back into the light & feel-good OTWOL we all know & Love!

this scene is actually uber cheesy..
Makes me feel like punching someone on the face (probably Jigs ~lol)

xoxo

Photo credits: ABS-CBN channel (as always) captured on my TV screen or YouTube

**PS. I don't agree with this (YT comment above). I understand Leah being devastated and all. But it could have been handled differently. It's a good opportunity for a role reversal, where Clark could remind her that he understand what she must going through and it's perfectly normal to be angry. But know that he's going to be there to help her deal, just as Leah was there for him when he was having a hard time with the way his father had been towards him. (like I said, I'm still considering if I should come up with another blog entry with suggested sensible sub plots that can be looped back & connect with the existing conflicts. It doesn't have to stray far from the original jist of the story) ^_^ #achieve

On The Wings Of Love ~ Philippine Leg: Oct 14, 2015.

On The Wings Of Love
~ Philippine Leg: Oct 14, 2015.

Like the numerous fans all over, I religiously follow #OTWOL every night. I have learned to tolerate lengthy commercial breaks as this could be a good time to tweet away my thoughts on the most recent encounter. No one in my family is allowed to bother me once the show starts, and I appreciate them for respecting my private OTWOL time (which usually extends to pbb, depending on the impact of the episode). And with that aside, I would like to share a few pieces of my mind on the episode last night - Oct 14th:

From the previous night, it was already established that Tatang Sol, along with the extended Tenement family, were all surprised to learn that their precious little Leah got married in San Francisco, which brought Clark, her husband, in the midst of their tight-knit community. Of course, this wasn't Clark's intention, but for all intents & purposes of the drama, the series of events lead us there.

I like this development, there will surely be a lot of potentially fun encounters that would arise from this. However, I'm more than a little concern with Leah's non-chalant attitude towards Clark. He was supposed to be her beloved! How it broke her to leave him in the airport (and fans around the globe witnessed and shared the pain & agony that came along with the scene). It tore apart all our hearts!

who could forget this scene?? 

Just the night before, she was looking all-so-lovingly at Clark's photo on her phone, which showed how it ached for them to be apart..

So, why the cold treatment now? Why is Leah suggesting that they go back to the "pretend-we're-madly-in-love" stage of their relationship? Was there a time warp of some sort that altered Leah's mind & feelings towards Clark that she's suddenly the stereotype female lead that refuse to acknowledge & appreciate the grand gesture of the male lead right in front of her face?

As much as I LOVE OTWOL (and I do mean LOVE, my tweets will show just how much), I'm not buying into this angst-y BS.

Clark coming home to an empty apartment.. 

For one, Clark is not at fault here, it was Leah who broke her promise & left. Given that she's troubled by the recent events; with Tita Jack & Jigs; and, with her Nanang suddenly resurfacing, sure that would unhinge more than a few couple of screws in your head. But for someone going through all these, I think it would be very comforting to know that Clark, the handsome love of your life, went through great lengths to find you, to make you feel that he's there for you, "no acting required". (Yes, that phrase is very much appropriate, it has to make it somewhere in this piece ^_^)

No. 2, they are waaay past the "are we still pretending?" phase, why go back to that? Worse, why is our dear Leah on diva-mode, set on pushing Clark away?

Watching last night's episode was in part Fun & a bit annoying. The Fun part was Clark getting all drunk & uninhibited (10 pts for Gryffindor!).

The annoying part was how Tatang Sol overreacted, insisted on being addressed as "Your highness", and somewhat bent on humiliating Clark - and for what reason?

 

To me, it's not making any sense. I understand, it would take some time to warm up to your daughter's bf, or in this case husband, but I just think it could have been handled differently.

And Leah, my sweet girl! Who casted an amnesia spell upon you? This is Clark, the one who professed his love to you! The one whom you also love in return! Goodness gracious me! Do you think Clark deserves to be treated that way? Nevermind Tatang Sol, who's still in shock of the fact that you're married, but you! Why treat him like.. as if he pulled a Jigs? I usually always take the girl's side on things, but if it doesn't make sense...

I'm worried about the network's move to extend the drama until 2016. I understand the rating wars and all it entails, but I hope this will not ruin the integrity of the story! I can see the likes of "Forevermore" & "Be Careful With My Heart", both dramas started really strong and with good solid story premise - and I watched them as much as my schedule allowed. Yet in the effort of prolonging the good audience-response, they added a number of mini subplots and conflicts that somewhere along the line, the drama lost it's integrity and the conclusion went very far off the intended ending.

I very much hope this is not the case for OTWOL. This is the 1st drama that I really really like, and yes to the brink of obsession - as the article said (hello! why would I even write this lengthy 'review').

I have faith in the OTWOL team, direk Antoinette Jadaone, direk Jojo Saguin, and Eric John Salut, that they can stir the story in a good direction. Please don't let the good story crumble down! As always, I promise to keep watching & sharing my thoughts on twitter, and I hope I will love this drama to its end! #Push On the Wings of Love 

#AchieveNaAchieve ito!

photo credits: ABS CBN channel (obviously!) - these are either screen shot of my TV, or via YT