Undoubtedly, I shall be kicked out of the BL critics club, but I loved this series! I know there are a ton of negative reviews/comments about this series and, admittedly, despite the myriad of legitimate issues it does have, I still think this is one of the better series to take a look at. Why? Because it has heart, and it disregards the traditional path of telling a BL cliché story. It takes a direction I did not expect it to take. With an ending, I am sure, perhaps no one else except me respects. I loved and enjoyed the unconventional and heteroclite conclusion. It made logical sense. Allow me to explain my rationale.

This story is a continuation of the story of Kyle (Sebastian Sy) not accepting what appears to be the loss of his love in a shipwreck from a storm more than a year ago. He simply cannot accept the disappearance of Andre (Justine Kelly Sese). Kyle just does not ‘feel’ that he is gone. Even though everyone is trying to get him to accept the reality.

Late one night, a fisherman working for Kyle’s family sees Andre get hit by a vehicle and then places him in the car by the driver. The individual who accidentally hit Andre is Doc MJ (MJ Coloma), who is a veterinarian. Doc MJ is concealing himself up in the hills of Zamboanga, alone, because he is wanted by the police for a crime he insists he did not commit. What follows is the search for Andre by Kyle, Joshwell (Justine Lascano), and Kyle’s best friend and Joshwell’s lover, Petra (Kylie Roxas).

This series then takes an interesting twist because it traverses and begins to be told from three different perspectives. Two of which are tied to the original story. Ironically, I felt that the most poignant part of this particular story was between Petra and Joshwell. While each loved the other, Joshwell just could not get over Petra’s indiscretions when they were together. She cheated on him and no matter how much she tried to make up for her mistakes, he could never fully get over her betrayal. Unfortunately, on this trip, we see them drifting apart and finally breaking up. By happenstance, Joshwell meets someone he finds more compatible with himself. His name is Baste (Cj Alanzo) who has a simple life in the mountains of Zamboanga. By the end, Joshwell, to his credit, decides to remain with Baste to start a new life exclusively with him. While Petra is broken-hearted, she understands. Waiting in the wings for her is another fisherman who has always admired her tenacity of being who she is. It will be up to them to see how far their budding relationship will go.

For me at least, the deepest emotional connection between the characters was certainly held by Justine Lascano as Joshwell and Kylie Roxas as Petra. They dug deep into the souls of Joshwell and Petra and exposed how these two individuals felt about one another. It was surprisingly raw and honest. Their love for one another was not in question. It was the actions between them that hurt. While one misunderstood the other, the other acted irresponsibly on those misunderstandings, which caused a schism that became too deep emotionally to now bridge. This sometimes happens in relationships and I, for one, was appreciative of how open and frank it was portrayed. In terms of acting, Justine and Kylie certainly put their all into these roles and I believed and felt their representations. It was refreshing to see some candid outcomes from a relationship that, while based on love, is just not based on trust. Their trust was broken and both needed to find trust in someone else. And we see them doing that in a more realistic, believable way, and under ordinary dimensions.

I am surprised that some viewers found the story between Andre, Kyle, and Doc MJ confusing, because it is actually quite straightforward. This is the basis of the second perspective. Andre has amnesia; is found by Doc MJ. He is nurtured and given a sense of comfort within an environment of serene tranquility for once in his life and begins to have much deeper feelings for Doc MJ. Doc MJ has offered him nothing but fulfillment and unconditional love. A deep, peaceful quiet love and one of equal acceptance – not full of drama. As Andre begins to reformulate his memories again, he is torn because, after spending some time with Doc MJ, has now indeed fallen in love with him.

When Kyle finally finds them, the third perspective begins. Kyle, however, is his typical self. Arrogant, excitable, quick to judge, self-righteous, and just as immature as ever. In short, Kyle is not a very likeable character and when Andre begins to point out his flaws to him, when he begins to remember their relationship, Kyle begins to finally understand that. When Andre finally regains his full memory, he realizes that he also loves Kyle and Doc MJ. But he now cannot choose which one to be with and asks Doc MJ and Kyle to decide.

Let us discuss what brings this series crashing down that otherwise might have ended on my Top Ten list. The acting. Unchallenging is the best way to describe it among the protagonists. I just am not impressed with the depth of their acting. It just is not there. Sebastian Sy as Kyle is irritating with his immaturity, much like before, and shows no profundity to change. MJ Colona as Doc MJ shows little magnitude to his character and gives the impression that he indeed is ‘hiding’ something. His whole character felt insincere to me, as if he was holding back on something important. Admittedly, Justine Kelly Sese as Andre is, of the three, better, as he must show the complexities of memory loss and yet still retain his basic personality of who Andre is. Justine’s acting is certainly more reflective and pensive than previously, but there is not much opportunity for him to shine in this series. His role is limited.

All the protagonists, including several of the other supporting cast members, would have benefited from an acting coach to make their performances feel more natural and emotionally grounded. More could have been pulled out of these performances emotionally.

The mediocre acting by the protagonists is not the only flaw in this series. The essential question is what was Andre doing for a full year when he was lost at sea and then discovered by Doc MJ? How did he live? Andre looked just as coiffed and buff and as toned as he did before he disappeared. An explanation, even a little, would have helped as to how he survived in this time frame. The crazy introductory execution is just awful. It is like watching an X-ray film being developed. Not a very good technique for the audience and it is quite distracting. The other detestable technique that they used was to have long swaths of video promotion for their premier level that obviously was covering over the more graphic or titillating scenes. That is completely unnecessary and pedestrian. (We could guess with pinpoint accuracy what was going on). That became disruptive to the flow of the series and was more like salacious peddling.

While I shall not give away the ending, it is certainly – antithetically different. And I loved it! There is only one other series which proposed the same direction (DEEP NIGHT). It made sense then, and it made sense in this one. Look, one does not have to agree with the projection of a series or even like its outcome. But this one is both satisfying and enjoyable for all parties. Let us stop deciding what we think ‘happy endings’ ought to be for BLs. If it worked for them, then none of us have a right to decide its ethicality or morality. That is not for us to judge. And none of us have a right to ask them to pass a litmus test of what is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. I, for one, thought it made sense and I appreciated the solution. I just wish it did not seem so abruptly decided and that there was more thought or build up to the decision.

This is not a pablum-fed saga but a serious story. It is a solid adult tale with an uninhibited solution to an insoluble dilemma. Take it or leave it. There is nothing pre-pubescent or tripe about this series and that alone makes it worth considering. If the director had taken the story more seriously and believed in its integrity, this could have been a more impactful series. Instead, he leans into the hyperbole of a story and thus cheapens its message. Mature these characters as we saw with Petra and Joshwell. Improve the acting skills for all of them to make them more relatable emotionally and less salacious. And clean up the production flaws. This almost made it to my Top Ten List for this year. Surprisingly.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Streaming on- Oxin Film YouTube Channel