Anybody who have seen the sleeper indie hit, “That Thing Called Tadhana,” will be immediately struck by a pleasing recognition of Antoinette Jadaone’s unique style of storytelling, in ABS-CBN’s newest primetime teleserye, “On The Wings Of Love.”
Right on the pilot episode of the JaDine-starred series, Jadaone’s light but sentimental take, is already screaming, and while there’s no denying she’s obviously trying to cut her material from the same cloth as “Tadhana,” Jadaone is seemingly succeeding in painting lighter colors to the current gloomy, if not too heavy, landscape of local primetime TV.
“On The Wings Of Love” is a welcome change, and while it’s too early to tell if it’s going to land where it intends to arrive, there’s no denying it has the wings it needs to soar.
The plot
“On The Wings Of Love” follows the story of Leah (Nadine Lustre). She’s an endearing young lady whose dreams of reaching the United States is being propelled by her responsibility to her family, and her wish to visit the grave of her mom, whose remains are burried in the U.S. She’s passionate and ambitious, so when an opportunity to get there finally knocks, she pushes the door open, and embraces the chance as tight as she could.
It’s easy to dismiss “On The Wings Of Love” as just another version of what we’ve already seen on the movies, and many other TV series.
TV isn’t totally Jadaone’s territory, and you can still get a hint of her struggles in fitting her style with the television’s long-term storytelling format. Her material isn’t new, nor the light approach she’s trying to utilize to deliver it (as far as tv is concerned), but what sets it apart is how she weave the proceedings, and give the right pace between them, before totally hitting the beat they’re trying to hit, giving them with proper build-up, before taking its final swing to reaching its destination.
‘Pag mahal ka, babalikan ka’
The overall sentiment of the episode, and perhaps of the whole series, seems to radiate around this line. The narrative tries to justify the line by depicting a bird placed inside a cage. It says, love knows when to keep someone within your embrace, and when to set them free when they decide to go. It reasons that if someone loves you the same way you do them, then they will eventually come back, maybe not at the time you want them to, but at the right time that would surely serve both of you best.
But the other side of the narrative presents another question: What if those you set free realize they love you and decide to come back, but do not know how to?
That maybe what the story is trying to answer from the moment Leah and Clark (James Reid) first met as kids, to the day of their second encounter (now as young adults), in the US. Young Leah is quick, but hopeful, to describe young Clark’s (then was called “Mekeni”) farewell, as letting go of someone she love.
She reasons that if that person is indeed for her, then he would eventually return. “Kung aalis, hayaan mo, ang mahalaga.. babalik” the narration, further explains.
“On The Wings Of Love” clutches to what is tried-and-tested, and plays safe by taking a formula that elicits immediate recognition with the audience, one they would definitely love, and cling to, but it never forgets to serve something new and fresh.
It’s also hard to dismiss the strong supports like Cherry Pie Picache, Joel Torre, and Bianca Manalo.
I’m just hoping that this series will soon showcase the beauty of San Francisco, like Jadaone has done in her previous movie projects.
And for James Reid and Nadine Lustre, also known as the loveteam JaDine, whose most recent movie projects, have received lukewarm commercial and critical success, this new format is screaming for them to take the chance, which they’ve obviously captured in their grasp.
This episode is at the right place where it needs to be, and its hitting the right tones, but it needs more air to glide through (more episodes, I guess), before we can say, it’s perfectly on track to reaching where it intends to arrive.
The whole of the pilot episode seems to be riding along this premise, and it’s not difficult to guess that it’s possibly going to cling onto it for many more episodes to come, as it surges even further to the skies it seemingly tries to reach.
It’s worth-noting, though, that this series is #JaDine’s first primetime TV attempt. Their movie team-up is undoubtely a breakaway success, and that perhaps what sets them apart from ABS-CBN’s other two monster loveteams (KathNiel and LizQuen), being able to invade box-office first, a feat even most of television’s biggest team-ups struggle to achieve.
“On The Wings Of Love” strikes as a perfect vehicle for this two should they dream to make a mark on the TV territory, as well, and it seems working even this early, judging the ratings generated by its pilot episode.
