Barely a month, since it first aired, ‘Bagani’ has emerged as one of the most talked about TV shows in the country. While the buzz has been mostly fueled by negative criticisms for its alleged cultural misappropriations, it is hard to deny that such kind of publicity helped the show generate massive curiosity among casual viewers and critics, alike, thereby allowing the show’s true intents reach a bigger audience. But, is it possible that the negative criticisms are utterly misplaced? A recent tweet from Mark Angos, the show’s head writer prompted us to suspect that maybe, just maybe, the story of ‘Bagani’ is set entirely in a post-apocalyptic Philippines. We looked on possible hints that may support this theory.
Here are six mindblowing clues why ‘Bagani’ may be set in a post-apocalyptic Philippines
1. Sansinukob – the fictional Sansinukob is a single landmass which may have formed from smaller islands as a result of coming together (refer to continental drift theory). In the new model of the said theory, continents will come together again to form a new massive continent, similar to Pangaea. We suspect that ‘Bagani’ is trying to present an alternate version for the Philippines, where its islands will come together to form a separate single island, the Sansinukob.
2. Magindaras singing pinoy songs and Lakas reciting Bahay Kubo- if we were to assume that the mermaids of Bagani, called Magindaras, are living in a futuristic Philippines , it makes sense that the songs they hum are Filipino songs, hence when they drew ‘Ganda’ to the sea, they were actually singing Gary Valenciano’s ‘Sana Maulit Muli’. Similarly, Lakas knowing the lyrics of ‘Bahay Kubo’, is suspicious and anomalous enough to make us wonder about how he learned the song. It will make sense that he learned the song from his mom, Lila, who in earlier episodes proved her high regard for taking care of and propagating the Filipino culture e.g. her trying to save the alibata. That or Lakas’ ancestors just consciously passed on the knowledge of the popular nursery rhyme, through countless of generations.
3. The Babaylan Chant – Kapampangans are quick to take offense from the healing chant of Gloria, the Babaylan who brought the Baganis to Apo, the powerful Earth-guarding deity who gave Baganis their power. ‘Mekeni mekeni…tugtog doremi” chanted Gloria to heal Lakas’ fatal wounds. ”Mekeni’ in kapampangan translates to ”come here’ in English, or ‘halika dito’ in tagalog. But is it possible that Gloria’s chant is just one of the few remnants of the Kapampangan language, which may have gone extinct, during Lakas’ time? Hmm. This clever theory is a big slap to the pa-“wokes”
4. ‘Petmalu’, ‘Lodi’, and other modern pinoy jargons – Arguably, it is easier to dismiss Liksi, Zaijian Jaranilla’s character, as a time-traveler, after all, Star Creatives have already pulled such trick before–La Luna Sangre’s Jacintha, that is. But the possibility that Liksi maybe just a curious teenager with oversized fascination and regard for the old Filipino language and culture, is utterly mindblowing.
5. Fair-skinned Filipinos – If the conventional belief that Bagani is set in the prehistoric Philippines, is true, then a practically entirely mestizo/mestiza population is a humongous anomaly. But if it is indeed set in a post-apocalyptic era, it will make complete sense that Lakas and Ganda perfectly look the same way we do. Again, a hard-hitting slap to the pa-wokes.
6. This intriguing tweet from showrunner and head writer, Mark Duane Angos
However, there is one thing that may disprove this sense-juddering theory: in the first episode, it was revealed through the narration of Liksi, that Sansinukob was born out of light which ‘Bathala’ took from the sky, to create the world.
Be that as it may, the probability that that may be just a big cover up for an entirely different genesis, or a parabolic deceit which may be meant to soon blow the audience’s mind, is mind-blowingly insane. Naturally, this theory would lead the audience to asking ‘what really happened to the old Philippines? the one we live in, now? How did the world end? How did it begin, again? How come some Filipinos survived and somehow managed to thrive into new communities? We will keep our fingers crossed for these questions to be answered, and when that happens, we sure will brace ourselves on the edge of our seats. Clever!
