Samuel?

I am obviously continually frustrated with the weak lines and scenes my formerly favorite character Samuel has been made to mouth and do lately. This dismal characterization started when he decided he should marry Mona because he got her pregnant. Okay. This was in Negros in the 1970s and yes, men actually married the women they impregnated then. It was an easy decision for Samuel. Isabelle is already married and Mona anyway is his childhood buddy. I was hoping though that as it was clear with Isabelle that she would never fall in love with Franco even if he showed so much persistence and dedication to her, it should have been clear to Samuel that he was just obligated to marry Mona because it was the decent thing to do.

I faulted Samuel for being too happy in his wedding to Mona when he was just obviously "napikot". Too eager and too pleased. I was told he was in denial and thought that he could move on from there. Anyway, Mona is not very hard to love. They grew up together. Okay fine.

As the encounters between the two couples heat up the screen after the forced unions, Mona displayed very irritating behavior that would be enough for Samuel to realize he married for the wrong reasons. In one jealous fit, Mona blurted out "Niloko mo ako!" Samuel could have answered "Ikaw ang nanloko. Lasing ako at bigo sa pag-ibig. sinamantala mo iyon. Buti nga pinakasalan kita!". But Samuel will never be caught mouthing such a line. He is a saint. He would shout at his enemies pounce on them if they were men like him but he would not do the same to his best buddy now his wife. Several jealous fits and scandalous assaults later courtesy of Mona, Samuel stil did not give his wife a piece of his mind or knock some sense into her head. That was when he began disappointing his viewers. That was when he lost his lead role status. He was too kind. Too stupidly kind.

I suspect he enjoyed the requisite landian, lambingan, domesticated scenes between him and his wife. He forgot he had a very promising love story that he should continue pining for even in silence. I did not see any of this. If ever there were moments, they were extremely fleeting moments too short to make an impact. Samuel never had a memorable scene since I don;t remember when was his last one now. The character is lost. Swallowed whole by his boring scenes with Mona which only their fans will appreciate, by Isabelle's resigned but still powerful words, by Franco's psychotic outbursts, by Maximo's consistently evil presence. Rebecca's lines in defense of her daughter will be remembered more. I began to look forward to scenes by this able support cast and didn't care anymore if Samuel showed up at all.

I thought I was the only one feeling this way about the story and about Samuel. My timeline showed insightful intelligent discussions on the merits and demerits of the tele. Samuel's weakened character seemed top on the demerits list. Nevertheless, rest assured the list of demerits is shorter than the merits list, reason why I continue to watch.

But this fan has changed. From MLKI to WH to JDC, I would not take my eyes off the screen especially when Coco Martin is on. I would look forward to his scenes night after night. In Ikaw Lamang, sadly, I have come to ignore his character in several episodes. The tele still amazes me with its camera works, its direction, its prod design, its excellent support cast. I have come to respect Kim and Jake as actors who know their craft. I have not missed Coco. He is just not there. This tele is not his anymore. All because his character did not dare say the lines that would have clarified and assured that the tele is still true to its title.