OUTSTANDING! HIGHLY-RECOMMENDED

I remember. I remember the day I was scrolling through my Twitter feed. I saw a poster of an upcoming BL that featured Kyo Quijano and Royce Cabrera. Kyo's photo was the one taken when he was in South Korea at Nami Island while for Royce, he was wearing a denim jacket. That balmy afternoon, I already knew that they will have chemistry by just looking at their visuals with their photos just being collaged side-by-side.

After watching the trailer, I was really surprised. The characters' acting were too natural and what I really appreciate is that, it's a BL that is unique. First impressions? I knew that it's not like a romcom. I knew it would be a heavy drama.

So, I remember. I remember the guilty kind of happiness I felt from being taken away from my midnight routines during Friday. I joined the ride for Quaranthings since Episode 1 and today, it finally ended at Episode 8. I didn't know that two people, Judah and Rocky who were two strong individuals with a lot of complex and emotional conflicts would be the people I'd be going with for almost two months. As a conservative girl, I knew for a fact that this story isn't only for the queers or for the members of the LGBTQIA which is a marginalized community, it is for everyone.

There are some points in the story that me as a girl can also relate and empathize. There were a lot of scenes that I knew somewhere in my life, I've been there like on Rocky's part as being the default breadwinner of the family. The series also tackled a lot of issues and throwing shade about the reality of how the Philippines in general responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also tackled lot of problems between the characters who were really different. One who is an openly gay (Judah) and the other(Rocky)who was closeted. The first 4 episodes were some combination of comedy, romance and some drama. As it progressed from 5-7, it was really devastating and brought a lot of revelations. Both of the leads have a fair share of mistakes and flaws. I felt on episode 7 that I should not choose a side because both of them are valid. And of course, Episode 8? They went full circle. I certainly didn't think that Rocky will repeat all things Judah was telling to him before. I loved it so bad!! I personally pick episode 8 as my favorite. The first 20mins were all conversations and it really answered some questions not yet tackled before. As compared to others, I wasn't able to cry maybe because I haven't been to a struggle of identity crisis and coming out. Maybe because I grew with some gay friends who were fully accepted by their family since they were child. But one thing is for sure, as a straight girl, it's painful to see that some people should experience those kind of process. And those conversations of Rocky and Judah over Empi really pained me. Even in real life, some would lose their jobs, some would lose family, some undergo depression and of course, they are discriminated just after coming out. I think this is also an eye opener to everyone.

Finally, I applaud Rocky for what he did. As a very manly/ masculine guy with a lot of baggages in the past and so many responsibilities, I was so happy that he got to choose himself. Judah on the other hand chose to be kind. I felt during the last episode that they really love each other. Tagos po un sa screen na nagmamahalan talaga sila. I don't know why. maybe because they're so good at portraying it. Because there's a side of asking what ifs. What if it isn't love yet. But hey! It's really love. I think the series just wanted to show that there isn't a right timing for love or right formula or even right pacing. Who cares of it's too fast paced, right? I think, what they wanted to show is that, it's better to fight for someone whom you have feelings for, someone you love for because you don't know when are they gonna stick around. I think this lesson is also very timely. A lesson taught to us by this pandemic being on quarantine. All conflicts were resolved and all the "kiligs" and all sort of romcom vibe were felt during the last minutes of the series. The melodramatic tone shifted to something that's light. After all the flashbacks, all the painful moods were gone. I felt like Judah and Rocky is ready to face the outside world. That's the moment I really felt that Kyo and Royce regained their chemistry after episodes of heavy scenes. The ending was superb! They really reserved the kissing scene and it felt that it was made out of LOVE. I couldn't have it any other. PERFECT! SOLID!

I really want to congratulate the whole team behind this series. I'm so impressed with the storyline. Rod Marmol is really a writer that everyone should look up to. As far as I know, the directors and production team behind this series were same people behind Adobers Studios' "Bakit ka Single?" or "Bakit ka Nag-stay?" I used to watch some of these before and some of it were really heartbreaking and tagos sa puso. I love their grit and passion of creating. I watched some of their interviews and I applaud them.

The portrayal of Royce was on point. I never felt some cringe moments throughout the series. I just knew him because of Quaranthings. After research, I was able to trace that he is a talent of ABS-CBN even long before. He has a lot of potential. I want to tap and applaud Kyo for a wonderful performance. I was impressed of him since the official trailer premiered. I've been watching some of his vlogs for a longtime now because he's so funny. I never knew he would give his all for this series for some who has a comedian vibe and has a jolly personality. He's so on point during the heavy scenes. As a rookie in acting, he never disappointed me for bringing the character of Judah to life. I saw Judah. I didn't see the Kyo who is a vlogger. Jan's acting being a conyo-guy was also natural even for Karl who portrayed Beshie.

As a viewer, I felt like they grabbed the opportunity of having the setting as is and don't need a very cozy apartment/ boarding house. The series is so raw and real, genuine and pure. I don't need to comment on the cinematography. As a viewer, I invest more on the emotions and how the actors portrayed their role. The musical scoring and the background instrumentals brought eargasm. The OST (Sansinukuban) really fitted the story. Karl as a singer really performed it so well.

Now, I remember. I remember that what came before our tear-flooded eyes for Episode 8 were the scenes that bled lessons to a million of viewers here in PH and around the world. Behind those fridays were viewing of Zoomharots on ROD channel, Kalat hours, watching BL reactors' videos to confirm our understanding, the endless laughters shared during interviews with the casts through FB and Youtube livestreams, the jokes on Kalat Hours, and the solid belief and trust that the series will have a happy ending- that it took us more than two months to remove the doubts in our heads to ultimately rally and clamor that LOVE IS LOVE.

It gives me so much of an emotional blow going back to how I spent every night on Friday now that Quaranthings is over. Each single second I find myself in a blank stare meant flashbacks of days and hours we (the viewers and the people behind Quaranthings) shared - and how our lives revolved on Rocky and Judah's universe gave me something to look at and want to get back to. I will definitely rewatch this when time comes my schedule permit. I will forever reserve a chamber in my heart and mind for every invaluable emotions, memories and life lessons the series imparted to me. I will definitely recommend this to anyone.

Lastly, I am also one of those who clamor for Season 2. If it won't happen, I'm still satisfied either. I'm so happy that I met Rocky and Judah. They are so real to me.

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