I will admit I have no chill about this series. None. I love it with every inch of my heart. It is one of a streak of romcoms the Philippines produced during lockdowns last year that made use of story telling via online interactions: dms, group chats, facebook, video calls. Some experiments into this realm of storytelling were better than others. This one, I feel, nails it.

The story is told in 1 8-episode season and a movie. As the episodes are short and easily bingable, functionally it could work as 2 movies (and I’ve watched them back to back multiple times, apologies to all my friends I dragged into this).

Storywise, Hello Stranger is not breaking any new ground. We have a young nerd, Mico, teamed up with the jock superstar, Xavier, for a team project and from the moment they see each other, the chemistry is palpable (tho the relationship is a tad antagonistic). Already, we know exactly how this story is going to go but as always, it is about how we get there, it is about the pleasure of watching the story unfold.

What this show does perfectly is nail its characters and then cast two amazing actors to breathe them to life. Both Mico and Xavier are written so believably, I instantly understood who they are and how wonderfully they fall for one another. I could write reams on the nuances of Xavier’s character (it is no mistake that his name is pronounce Savior) and the character arcs both he and Mico navigate in both the series and the movie.

I love that we have essentially a bisexual character in Xavier for whom, understanding himself and being that self is important. There is a coming out scene but it is given second billing to him actually accepting and having the courage to make choices for himself, instead of fulfilling the roles expected of him. He eschews the label bi - though he tries it on - not because ‘he doesn’t need labels’ but because picking a word is less important than being able to express what it is he is experiencing and feeling.

It is things like this that make the series feel like sinking into a nice, warm, queer blanket. The labels are only important in the context of being able to give language to a queer experience as opposed to a way for everyone else to put queers into their proper category. What matters is the experience - Xavier’s experience of love - the word to define it is secondary.

And he is contrasted with Mico, who is much more assured in his sexuality, but that doesn’t make him less prone to prejudices and mistakes. To wearing his own ‘masks’. To the inevitable insecurity of youth.

The thing I love most, however, about this series, is that all the characters (except for the token homophobe) are rendered with compassion. No one is intentionally cruel, there are no evil second leads or vicious exes, just a group of young people trying to figure themselves out and live through the trials life hands them.

People make mistakes, but they are understandable ones. People make bad choices but ones that make sense because of who they are. In the end things are resolved because the characters have grown, because they’ve chosen to change and to forgive. The series has a fundamentally hopeful view of humanity that feels refreshing.

….aand now for some gratuitous Tony Labrusca: