Maria Clara and Ibarra (2022)

The biggest Filipino drama of 2022! And as a Filipino myself, I couldn't even be more proud to see our country's rich history and culture being appreciated not only in the Philippines, but in other countries as well because of this drama. GMA Network has been the best in making and producing historical/cultural-themed Filipino dramas and movies, beginning with the internationally-acclaimed and award-winning film Jose Rizal (1998), which depicts the life and struggles of our national hero Dr. Jose Rizal, and then followed by Amaya (2011), which is set during the pre-colonial period, Indio (2013), which is set during the dawn of the Spanish rule in the Philippines, Katipunan (2013), which is set during Philippine Revolution against Spain in 1896, Ilustrado (2014), which is the TV version of the life of Dr. Jose Rizal, and now Maria Clara and Ibarra (2022), which is about a nursing student named Klay, who at the same time, "isekai'ed" (transported into a parallel word) and time travelled back in the late 19th century in the world of Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo (novels written by Jose Rizal which expose the evils of Spanish tyranny in the Philippines) where she meets and befriends the main characters of the two novels.

The production team and writers truly worked hard, spent a lot of money, and have made a meticulous research regarding our country's history and culture to make this drama an iconic and worthy masterpiece as it ought to be right now: from the casting to the storyline, cinematography, improved CGI effects, settings, costumes, ancient way of conservation, musical score, improved, and some interesting facts to educate viewers about the daily life of Filipinos during the Spanish colonial rule, and to help understand the Rizal's novels even more. All of the casts are all very talented and professional, and they have portrayed the characters from the novel faithfully. Dennis Trillo and Julie Anne San Jose didn't fail to impress the viewers despite their 13-year gap. Their chemistry worked perfectly and succesfully as expected. They gave life to and immortalized Rizal's famous star-crossed childhood lovers, Crisostomo Ibarra and Maria Clara; as if they came straight right out of his novels. Dennis Trillo gave justice to Ibarra's character: from being a cheerful, kind-hearted man filled with hope and dreams to being the hateful and revengeful Simoun, and also Julie Anne for the portraying the pious, gentle, delicate and soft-spoken Filipina maiden, Maria Clara, who represented our women during the Spanish period.

Meanwhile, Barbie Forteza plays the role of Maria Clara "Klay" Infantes, a savage, strong-willed, open-minded, ambitious and struggling nursing student who was named after the original Maria Clara (played by Julie Anne), and also the modern version of her namesake. These two Maria Claras with opposite personalities will become best friends. Klay will serve as Maria Clara's pillar of strength and confidante in times of trouble; bringing light, hope and meaning to her life. Klay will fall in love with Ibarra's best friend, Fidel (played by David Licauco). Fidel wasn't an original character of Rizal, and only made up by the writers of the show. worked perfectly and undeniably strong. I've been die-hard shipping these two since Ep. 2, where they first met at the "La Cafe Campana" (a restaurant also mentioned in the original Noli novel). Klay and Fidel's relationship will begin as haters because of their opposite personalities and beliefs (Fidel being close-minded and misogynist and Klay being open-minded and progressive), but will eventually become lovers after Fidel gets smitten by her, leading to his impressive character development, from being a red flag man to a green flag one, as the story goes. Klay and Fidel's ship is popularly called here as "FiLay" (Fidel and Klay combined) which coincidentally rhymes with "pilay" (Filipino for lame or having an injured foot/leg), and FiLay fans would humorously refer to themselves as "Saklays" (saklay is Filipino for clutches) to match perfectly with the ship name.

Tirso Cruz III and Juancho Trivino were very effective villains in portraying the two evil and cunning friars, Padre Damaso and Padre Salvi. Andrea Torres' portrayal of Sisa, the abused wife and mother who lost her sanity and have gone mad due to the injustices she experienced and from being separated from her two sons, Basilio and Crispin, have also made a huge impression, and Rocco Nacino was a badass and savage in his portrayal of the bandit Elias.

I hope this drama would lead for more other Filipino dramas to be appreciated not only here in my country, but also in overseas. The big-budget production and the meticulously studied storyline and plot twist is enough to make this drama a big hit, being remembered in the years to come, just like the power and impact K-Drama possesses to us Filipinos. This dramas has been winning a lot of local awards recently, and is still a trending and talked-about topic in social media, especially in Twitter, even almost a month after it has concluded. GMA Network just confirmed that they will put this series on Netflix this coming April 14 for international viewers to watch. I highly recommend this drama to all fans of both historical/sageuk and isekai/time travel genres and if you're also interested to know about the history and the culture of the Philippines. I swear you're gonna enjoy this one and you won't be disappointed! ^_^

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The modern twist to Noli Me Tangere

The story starts with the Gen Z protagonist Klay who after plagerizing her report about Jose Rizal’s novel, Noli Me Tangere is given another chance by her professor, Mr. Torres. The mysterious and slightly annoying Mr. Torres then gives her his own copy of the novel for her to read. After falling asleep from reading the book, Klay is suddenly transported in 1884 Philippines under colonial Spain which is the setting of Noli Me Tangere.

The premise is not new but is a refreshingly good take for a teleserye in the Philippines. This means that creative liberty should be expected considering the fantasy genre. Despite that, I find the show accurate for the portrayal of the novel especially with the characters, the historical accuracy of the period clothing (I do not like calling them costumes; they are real clothing worn by real people at one point), and their take on the plot.

One bad thing I can see here is that some people may not like Klay in certain episodes. Some call her too “woke”. But if you go pass through those episodes, it seems to me that Klay was intentionally made to be flawed. We can see that in the beginning of the series concerning her family problems; she has always been a fighter. She is not exactly that typical compared to most modern Filipinas if you consider her extremely high sense of justice. Her household abuse from her step father and family situation in being the responsible adult more than her mother made her unique compared to most isekaied protagonists and most female protagonists. In my own perspective as I continued to watch this, I can see that Klay herself is constantly struggling because she was put there against her will in a world that seems to be against her and what is worse is that her life outside the book seems to be the same. This parallel made her have this coping mechanism of having a high sense of justice that clouds her common sense in certain scenarios. In recent episodes she gradually gets accustomed to the story and is now more able to think rationally.

Another bad thing would be that some think the side romance (Klay x Fidel) is unnecessary. Keep in mind that this series has 100 episodes. It is not yet finished. Their romance to me is necessary for a series like this considering that the novel becomes extremely depressing and tragic. Their relationship is meant to be the calm before the storm, a part of Klay’s character development, the much needed comedy relief and maybe even a constant parallel to the main couple of the story, Ibarra and Maria Clara. It is probably there to emphasize the what ifs. What if Maria Clara and Ibarra were not in their current situation and were not in any way really connected to the problem with the Friars? Would their story still be tragic? Remember that this is the novel told in the perspective of a modern Filipina. Certain things change when you put a total outsider in this setting. Having Klay experience companionship with the characters is one way to have the watchers personally feel to be part of the story. So anything like Maria Clara and other characters realizing something JUST because Klay is there, consider that as something that happens because she meddled too much with the story. This is after all a fantasy. She didn’t go back in time, she is in the novel that is already written. So anything she does doesn’t really matter since recent episodes show that the story’s ending is set in stone.

Some say this series tries hard. Well, considering that this is one of the few historical teleseryes in the country and it covers a national hero’s novel of course they will do their best! The pressure is definetely there. One problem I do find is the audio. It is sometimes inconsistent but I think it is because they occasionally have trouble blocking out the background noise.

Enough with the “problems”. The real strength here lies in the balance the series is able to do between melodramatic scenes and light hearted scenes. The acting is so good that you can at one point be crying really hard then in five minutes you’d be laughing your a** off. The contrast is not really as jarring which I am surprised they were able to pull off since the novel is quite serious. Nevertheless, all characters played their roles well even the added character of the novel, Fidel. Sisa, Maria Clara, Ibarra and Klay’s acting is top notch. They can really pull off the crying scenes, the micro facial expressions and even the intensity. *spoiler warning* My personal favorite is when Maria Clara cried as she reasoned with Ibarra to stop holding the knife towards Padre Damasos’ neck. Other ones are when Klay broke down in front of Maria Clara saying that she felt like she’s a prisoner, when Maria Clara fought with Padre Damaso concerning to who her real father is, and when Sisa broke down and went mad. The most recent episode with Ibarra punching the tree is also intense. The best part is that they’re not the only talented actors and actresses. I find Fidel, Tiya Isabela, the friars, and the others just on par for their roles.

Overall this series is still a must watch. Just don’t expect a completely accurate portrayal of the novel since this series is still a fantasy. There is a fantastical element with the fireflies, the portal and Mr. Torres. Mr. Torres, mysterious and annoying but I find his character amusing. If anything I feel that he has a good reason for bringing her there we just have to keep watching for any hints.

I find myself very much engaged to the story. Rewatchability is 9 because 100 episodes might be too much for many not accustomed to the Philippines teleserye format.

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