On The Wings of Love ~ Finally Progress

Highlights for the week:  Nov 9 - 13, 2015

This week's episodes are about PROGRESS, PROGRESS, and PROGRESS. After more than a month of taking the story home in the Philippines, we finally get to see it move forward! yay!

November 9 - #OTWOLWish

Clark & Leah went to the stand-up poetry session where Rico performed. I liked how Clark pointed out that he can be friends with Jigs’ friends too. Which totally make sense since it’s only Jigs who has a major beef with him ~ hah! This then lead to the roof top scene ~

Love is a leap of faith ~ ❤

-          I honestly expected more from this scene. It started well with Clark explaining the significance the location & all. But Leah, with all her hang ups and baggages, played the ultimate buzz kill. What supposed to be the romantic pivotal moment, somehow went on a dive. Close your eyes and make a wish? ~ puh-lease! I mean, was this supposed to be the crucial #HashTag worthy scene? In my opinion, it lacked some major 'bite'. Sadly, it was a waste of a perfectly picturesque location!

Jigs & Maggie. I’m liking their dynamic more & more. I especially like the tough girl, no-nonsense image of Maggie who has a rather good counter approach to Jigs’ nastiness. They are definitely not the Sugar-&-Spice bit, yet their interaction with each other has that very-natural flow, not at all forced. Jigs may not have realized it yet, but he seemed starting to warm up to Maggie. She was the first person in his mind when he got some good news to share. Maggie was even upfront when she pointed out how Jigs called her first & not his own Mom. Frank & candid, that’s Maggie magic for you!

Tiffany & Adrian. I somehow expected that this was bound to happen at some point in the story. Tiffany’s attitude towards love is rather understandable. I can’t blame her, she had an awful past relationship to fuel the negative vibes. It’s not easy to just let go of the past pain and just accept Adrian back without so much as a struggle. I, myself, am not sure if I want Adrian in the picture. I mean, alright, so he’s Gabby’s father, which was in a sense unfortunate because then he & Tiffany will always have that bond for life, whether they like it or not. Poor Tolayts who's suddenly the displaced character in this equation. But I guess that's how life is... It's not always peachy 

And last but certainly not the least, #TeamRaksNotDead Axel & Kiko. Who wouldn't love them? I just know I'm always happy whenever they're on the scene! Whenever they're around, Clark seemed to be more relaxed & fun. This dynamic dream team of Clark, Axel & Kiko ~ they're just so much fun to watch! They bring out the fun & laughter whenever the 3 of them are together!  Speaking of just how much fun they are, my favorite scene in this episode has got to be the part where Clark told Leah that he has a meeting with Diana, and "Wish me Luck!"

November 10 #OTWOLFinallyYours

The episode opened to Tiffany, Gabby & Adrian having some family bonding time. It was a lighthearted encounter until Tiffany felt it was the right time for Gabby to know the truth.

This was such a touching scene, how happy Gabby was to finally meet his father. I especially commend Tiffany on how she carefully & lovingly delivered the news to her son ~ such a poignant & touching picture ~ I'm still not sure how I feel about Adrian, so I'm totally on Tiffany's side when she said that she may be ok for him to be a father to Gabby, but other than that, "There's NO me & you, punk!" 

Clark's got very good news from the meeting with Diana, and was more than happy to share the news to Leah. Hence, the Dawn Zulueta ❤

Clark's little sister, Jenny, was going to audition to a school play. And with the help and encouragement of Ate Leah, she hot the female lead. Everyone's gathered to dinner, happily celebrating with Jenny. After dinner, Clark took Leah to see his inspiration lamp ~ and what transpired next was the TALK that would end all talks.

This had got to be my favorite episode all week! And that didn't count the tearful kiss in the end. I'm all about the end of Leah's ever-so-inconsistent push & pull attitude towards Clark. Thank you #OTWOL Team for this progress! Yes, true love waits and Clark had been true to that promise, but Leah should at least give him some indication that she's also committed to them being together. It's crystal clear how Clark loves Leah, and Leah also love him back, so why not give themselves a chance and believe that their love would be strong enough to help them get through life's many challenges. Let's not forget that Clark had an awful childhood, and he had trouble trusting people. So, when he decided to pursue Leah, he laid out all his cards, all in ~ I really felt for him. He's baring his heart & soul to her. It's not even about impatience, there's just so much he had done! So, if Leah was still not convinced, it was one painful decision, but if it meant Leah would have peace & space that she's insisting on, then Clark will let go & not bother her again. I've got one word for this scene ~ INTENSE! ❤

November 11 #OTWOLHarana

If yesterday was INTENSE, we now come to the aftermath which is the CHEESE OVERLOAD . I believe this is the adverse effect of being finally free to express LOVE. Ergo, unli mushiness ~ LoL

To be young & in Love ~ I guess I blame it to that.. Some expected cheese here, some unavoidable mush there, it's a cringe fest episode.. it's not all bad though. I just feel that it's a bit too mushy for my taste  I had to admit, though, I really appreciate the thoughtful effort of Leah coming to Clark's workshop to surprise him with his favorite dish adobo. It's nothing grand, but it was such a sweet gesture. A happy memory of their time together when they were still in the US. 

Later that day, a call.. Let me put it this way, I sent a text message to a good friend of how I'd thought would have made it less cheesy..

*actual text message that I sent to my friend & soul sister 

And, of course the serenade... like I said, CHEESE OVERLOAD. The scene made a pretty good picture, though!

November 12 #OTWOLLucky

For this episode, Clark & Leah are still blissfully basking in the progress of their relationship. Both are happily looking forward to their future together ❤ 

Back in the shop, Clark was deep in thought while working. Axel picked up on his current mood which prompt him to ask Clark if there's anything wrong. Clark replied that everything's great about his relationship, but he feels there's something that he needed to do for Leah. He's just not sure yet what it was. 

Later that day, Clark went to pick up Leah from work. While driving, the thought came to Clark as he droved by the church just when a newly wed couple emerged to be greeted by their guests. So Clark went back to the shop to share with Axel & Kiko what he needed to do. And so the dynamic dream team is off to a new mission ❤

November 13 #OTWOLSecret 

Clark talks to Lola about his plans ~

Leah gets a skype call from Monette and the two are happily updating each other on their lives so far. Leah learns that Monette and Cullen are planning to get married  & she wishes them well. Monette then asked Leah if there were any chance that she'd come back to the US. Leah replied that she's not really too keen on coming back, as she's still yet to recover from the Nanang incident.  She even revealed that she still haven't told Tatang about it. Monette understood.

Clark, on the other hand, has a secret mission of his own. And together with his #TeamRaksNotDead, they're excitedly working on this project along side their work for the opening of the coffee shop. These actually kept them quite busy. And with the secret surprise in mind, Clark found himself making excuses of not being able to come and pick up Leah after work. And to make matters even worse, he won't be able to come over the weekend. It made Leah a bit sad but she understood. It would have turned out ok, if not for her overhearing Angela calling Clark to come over. This clearly bothered Leah, but Clark assured her that Angela's the daughter of the client & she's there to help set up the shop for the opening. This somewhat calmed Leah, if not for Clark's abrupt turning off of his phone. ~ I know, I should be pretty bummed about this last part. But I found it a welcome break from the mushy Love-stuff, so I'm letting it go! LoL..

pretty much my reaction to the elaborate CHEESE fest ~❤ Lol

Finally PROGRESS! The story is finally moving forward, and I can go back to liking Leah again ❤ It's true that the uncertainty is there and it could be really a crippling feeling at times that you don't feel like you'd ever trust yourself to love again. That can really happen. But in Leah's case, there was no real conflict between Clark & her, it was all outside factors; there was Jigs & Tita Jack, and then there was also the issue with Nanang ~ Like I mentioned in my previous blog, though these may affect them in some way, these were not directly related to the feelings they have for each other. In fact, these are actually life concerns that they can help each other deal with. Which is why I never really understood where Leah got the idea that they're broken up (as she mentioned to Tatang in the #OTWOLConfessions episode). In any case, I'm glad that we're moving along, and just like the story, I'm letting go of these hang ups and will follow their start over albeit the mushy cheese galore ❤ 

The pace of the drama is still slow and steady, but I'm really glad how it was handled by the well-loved & well renowned #OTWOL directors, Antoinette Jadaone and Jojo Saguin. Instead of stretching the scene to an uncharacteristically prolonged sequence, they have creatively injected progressive sub plots to the other characters, giving them more significance without straying away from the main premise of the story. Some special mentions on sub plots that I like:

• Jigs - the introduction of Maggie is a major development to Jigs' character. Although, he did mention that he's still quite hang-up on Leah & stuff, which was annoying, yes ~ but I find it actually consistent & realistic. I mean, he's been really bummed about screwing his chance with Leah because of his stupid attitude, so it's pretty understandable that he's not fully recovered to actually move on from that part of his life. He's only known Maggie for a short while, and as far as both of them are concerned, each of them were still rather hang up on their past relationship, so I'll let them have that. It's actually a rather valid common ground for both of them to become more closer, and eventually help each other heal. Do I hope that they fall in love? Why yes, of course!!!

• Tiffany - another welcome sub plot, her background story being explored by the introduction of Adrian, the father of Gabby. This is twist + development in one! I feel  for her how she's not about to just forget the past and start over with him. In reality, it's never easy! But it's something that she needed to face one way or another because they have a child together. I honestly don't know how she should decide. This actually hits rather close to home, so I would totally get it that this plot could stir any which way. It was just really touching to see Gabby, his reaction when he finally met his father. The scene really cut through my heart 

• Tatang Sol - he really liked Clark for Leah ❤ I liked how he cared enough to follow up on Clark when he seemed troubled. And how he's quick to pick up on the happier vibes that Leah & Clark seemed to share when they had ther TALK. I also thought it was pretty hilarious when he overheard the sweet time the two love birds seemed to be having ~I've got plenty of laughs over that one! talk about #Awkward 

• Jordan and Jenny - I like how they are being factored in on the development of Clark & Leah's relationship, giving them more opportunities to discover more about each other through their interaction with their family members. For the most part of October, it was all about Clark getting along with Leah's family. So this is a definitely a welcome progress a step forward for Clark & Leah ❤ 

As a whole, I liked the steady streme of events that transpired through the week. Sure there were a number of corny love stuff to pass around, but they were quick to include that in the dialogue, that it was "unavoidable to be corny when you're in love" ❤ So, I'll allow it (and just contain the cringe that comes with it)   And on that note, here's looking forward to next week ~ #Abangan ❤❤❤

~XOXO~

Photo credits: ABS CBN channel, iWantTV, screen caps of my TV, YouTube. Special thanks to twitter & IG photos of JaDine TV & @benj_manalo (Axel) ❤