Why we could sympathize with Franco but not much with Mona

9:00 AM, June 26, 2014

Let's not even talk about the actors that play Franco and Mona in the hit teleserye "Ikaw Lamang". It is a given that the series is overflowing with thespic talents, Jake and Julia included. Let's talk about why we can easily understand why Franco is the way he is while we are so ready to condemn Mona's every word and action.

We have known them since their childhood. Franco as the scion of the rich and powerful Hidalgos and Mona as the bubbly, dependable (most of the time) "kababata" of Samuel. We know how the stereotypical brat was raised by his shrewd and scheming Lolo Maximo and his delusional mom Miranda. The only thing Franco missed as a a child was his dad Eduardo's more overt display of affection towards him. Early on, we found out he was not of Eduardo's blood and we sympathized with how painful it was to have that truth thrown at his face at so young an age, no thanks to Maximo. He had Isabelle as a friend from the beginning, though the girl was always oblivious of the fact that he worshipped every inch of her. Even in London, Franco was just so sure that their common class origin and family ties made it inevitable that they will end up in marriage. What about Mona? We don't know much about her and her sister Lupe. She had no childhood problem except for the obviously accepted fact that they didn't  have parents anymore. From the start they were a welcome extension of the Severino family, thanks to the charity and hospitality that seem staple in the Severino household. Since their younger years, we already know it was Franco who would play the bigger part in the story as the nemesis of Samuel and the obsessive lover of Isabelle.

Franco was treated to one embarassment after another. From being exposed as a pretend hero who took the credit for saving Isabelle in the canefields fire, to being scolded in public by his very upright father for behaving so unkindly towards the obreros. In London, Isabelle would go out with anybody but him. It was just too naive of him to propose to Isabelle when he never got past the friend zone from the beginning. Mona? We remember her for not telling Samuel that Isabelle was living for London. and she was his best friend.

Samuel and Isabelle's love bloomed after she got back from London. Franco had no idea the alitaptaps were always working against him. Meanwhile the adults (three of them: Maximo, Miranda and Gonzalo) were all for using him to forge a union between the two wealthy families so that wealth could be secured. He had to marry Isabelle. Shunned not just once but several times already, Franco with his stereotypical arrogance as the hacendero's son could not for his very limited understanding of what love is accept that a lowly rival would win every step of the way. One event after the other showed him losing to Samuel even as he was able to legally own Isabelle. On top of this, he sooner than later lost the only woman who loved him- his mother. One painful truth after another, Isabelle still carrying a torch for Samuel, Lolo Maximo as the murderer of his mother, enough to explain why Franco is sporting that insane/psycho look for many episodes now.

And Mona? We remember her for taking advantage of Samuel during his most vulnerable moment. With the help of alcohol, she won Samuel for life, stupid as he is too righteous, Samuel took responsibility and up to the most recent episode  maintained an incredibly kind attitude toward his "mamimikot". It would be extremely satisfying if one day he would just slap her and remind her that he only married her out of a sense of obligation. In real life, this scenario is more likely to happen. But Samuel is a saint.

And so in last night's episode, "Ikaw Lamang: The scandal", all of Mona's words were actually hateful in that she was accusing Isabelle, the forever suffering Isabelle, of the very acts she had committed in her effort to have Samuel for herself. Isabelle, pregnant and always in tears, was being pushed and shouted at by the woman who thwarted a possible SamBelle union by giving herself to the intoxicated and very depressed Samuel.

Franco, we know was just being shrewd and with a game plan like an adroit chess player he has become. He was the one with the bigger scheme. He was controlling everyone from his wheelchair, as he has said himself. But we remember the many things he's been through, the pain, the loss, the rejection and we know where he's coming from. We know what caused him to act insane. Mona? Just an insecure legal wife who can't accept the truth that Samuel is only hers on paper.

The reactions to yesterday's episode showed that the roles were well essayed by the actors and I congratulate everyone in the project for that. Many characters are too familiar and predictable but the actors make them enegaging with their approach. This makes for affected/affective viewing which teledramas target. Ikaw Lamang and its cast always hit the bull's eye weeknight after weeknight.