Warning: This is a very biased review.

I don't watch all teleseryes on Primetime. At most, I follow two of them from start to finish. These days, I am an avid viewer of Ikaw Lamang, the fourth Coco Martin teleserye I have followed religiously. Religiously is an apt term to describe my Coco Martin habit. In high school, I learned that religion is a way of life. Watching Coco Martin has become a way of life at least since Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin. his first main starrer since his thespic skills started getting the much deserved attention.

I especially like Ikaw Lamang because at the beginning I was skeptical of the decision to pair him with Kim Chiu. The two played siblings, I understand, in a previous project. Also, I was expecting somebody else to play Coco's leading lady in the teleserye which had a working title of Hidalgo. Anyway, I was just too excited he was going back on primetime after the very iconic Juan Dela Cruz. I was also excited that he was working with the directors he worked with in the said fantaserye, Direk Malu Sevilla and Direk Avel Sunpongco. I love the JDC team. It was the first teleserye set I have visited in my entire life. I never went that far in my previous fangurling modes. Coco Martin was the one celebrity I needed to see in person. I would have reserved a set visit for Hollywood favorites like Keanu Reeves, Johnny Depp or Adam Sandler, but I am not in the USA.

Anyway, many were surprised and eventually converted when the chemistry between these two chinito actors manifested early in the series. Thanks to the alitaptap scenes, I suppose, but obviously, the two are really so good at their craft and the camera love them, in separate shots or together. The series may have also struck sentimentality among its viewers because of its revisiting of decades when romance and friendships were not aided or made complicated by technology and the social media. Samuel and Isabelle consistently showed the kilig factor since their childhood scenes to the tune of My Girl. Many things, some of them gory, have taken place since then and the SamBelle moments are what fans began hoping for weeknight after weeknight.

In my tweets, I have been very vocal about the existence of Mona. I just think that she is an excess as Franco played by Jake Cuenca, is more than enough to make things difficult for my SamBelle. I understand though that young actress Julia Montes commands a following that can't be ignored (although many of them need to learn to let go of their idol and be respectful of other people) and therefore she was added to the cast. I do not care about loveteams. Coco Martin is beyond that. He can be without a love team  and  instead be teamed up with female actors that can deliver as well as he does. Jodi Sta. Maria and Angelica Panganiban were earlier choices for this tele, I gather.

Ikaw Lamang boasts of the best talents in showbiz. They are so good that Coco Martin need not be in every scene to sustain the viewers' attention. I have also not seen the camera works that IL's directors  do in the series in other teleseryes shown these days. IL's scenes are as picturesque as picturesque can be. Needless to say, the narrative makes every scene unforgettable with crisp and quotable lines expertly delivered by the characters.

I can go on and on and sound like a member of Ad Prom of Dreamscape. I warned at the beginning though that this is a very biased review. I am a Coco Martin fan. I enjoy most of his projects especially the ones on TV. I will talk about his commercial films in my next posts.