By: Nestor Cuartero
JUST A THOUGHT: There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love. – Bryant H. McGill
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TELESERYE AS RELAXATION: After a hard day’s work, we look forward to coming home, spending time with family, and watching out for a particular teleserye. This time around, it is ABS-CBN’s The Good Son.
Like many Filipinos, we look at nightly teleseryes as a form of relaxation, not just entertainment. It makes us feel good about coming home and looking forward to how our favourite characters shall hurdle the night’s issues. Watching shows on installment also provide a certain high to viewers in the comfort of their home screens.
I remember that I wrote the following line moments after watching a preview of The Good Son at the DolphyTheater sometime back. I said that it was like we had watched a full-length feature film.
Such was the general reaction by the media as we stepped out of the theaterafter having watched 3 days’ worth of episodes of The Good Son.
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FEUDING FAMILIES, SONS: The story of a man with two families unknown to each other, The Good Son promises to be the show to watch this season. It is compelling, quite gripping, and generally offers an exciting viewing fare.
The young actors playing the four sons by two different mothers in the story are also quite revealing. The young cast, led by Joshua Garcia, includes Jerome Ponce, McCoy de Leon, and Nash Aguas.
All four are fast showing their maturity as dependable actors as they shed their bubblegum image in the usual teen roles formerly assigned to them.
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JOSHUA IN CENTER: Joshua Garcia plays the outsider, knowing little about his father, a loving son to his mother.
Straight from a heart-rending performance in Love You to the Stars and Back, and The Greatest Love, Joshua enthralls audiences even more with a meaty rolein center.
The Good Son may yet cement his reputation as the acting scene’s best find of the season.
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JEROME QUITE POWERFUL: This time around, Jerome Ponce, formerly the tweetums boy of Be Careful with my Heart, comes to his own as the angst-filled son venting his ire at his father’s unknown other family.
Previously, we didn’t know much about this guy McCoy de Leon, also from PBB. Through this new series, we discover he can be a good actor as well and can hold his own against the more seasoned Joshua Garcia, playing his half-brother.
Nash Aguas’s character has yet to fully reveal itself. Rest assured the former child actor, who impressed many as the title role player in BatangAma, won’t be left behind. His character foreshadows a dark side, perpetually concealing an alcoholic drink, detached from his father.
There are many more reasons why we love The Good Son. The senior actors’ performances are uniformly good. The story unfolds in a fast-paced manner, combining elements of modern filmmaking combined with a documentary feel.