It’s been seven years since the Kapamilya network revived its well-loved teleserye classic, Mara Clara. The remake, which skyrocketed the careers of Kathryn Bernardo and Julia Montes, ran from October 25, 2010 to June 3, 2011.
Mara Clara followed the story of two girls, Mara (Kathryn Bernardo) and Clara (Julia Montes), who were intentionally switched at birth by their uncle Karlo (Ping Medina). But he was just only obeying his older brother Gary (Jhong Hilario) order, who was seeking vengeance to Amanthe (Bobby Andrews), the man he’d been loathing after marrying his one great love Almira (Dimples Romana). As a result of the swap, Mara lived in poverty and became a kind-hearted and happy person despite her abusive father Gary and her domineering grandmother Lupe (Gina Pareño). But her meek adoptive mother Susan (Mylene Dizon) was always there to protect and love her. On the other hand, Clara grew up as a spoiled brat under the care of her well-off compassionate parents Almira and Amanthe.
The two girls’ lives crossed paths when they were both admitted in the same school in which Clara considered Mara as her mortal nemesis though the latter treated her nicely, but they eventually became friends, and even represented their school together in a decathlon, as time went by. However, the harmonious friendship blooming between them turned into resentment and hell upon discovering the secret behind their real identities through a diary penned by Karlo in which he recorded the details of the event. Eventually, Mara and Clara returned to their respective families they actually belonged to. Since then, Clara who was frustrated to get her former comfortable life back, developed bitterness towards Mara and made her life more miserable.
In the end, Clara regretted and made up for all her wrongdoings by helping in the capture of Gary. The finale episode was indeed filled with suspense and action as the fugitive Gary kidnapped Mara and Susan and brought them to a warehouse where he locked Mara in a water tank. Amanthe, Almira, and Clara immediately rushed to their location and saved both Mara and Susan. Clara, however, was accidentally shot by her real father after taking the bullet intended for Susan. Furious, Susan stabbed Gary to death with a pipe. Due to the trauma, Clara ended up in a mental institution.
As Clara recovered, the two families lived a happy and peaceful life and Susan gave birth to her second child. And forgiveness and acceptance paved the way for Mara and Clara to reconcile and become best of friends again.
Kathryn and Julia’s breakthrough performance really worked wonders to their respective careers. From Goin’ Bulilit and child roles in teleseryes, the two evolved into riveting actresses we all admre. Kathryn proved her brilliance as a despondent yet defiant protagonist while Julia shocked everyone by her impeccable flair as a derisible and bratty antagonist. Jhong also wowed the audiences with his consistent powerful acting as the notorious gang leader, abusive patriarch, and terrifying kontrabida.
Despite already having the idea on how Mara Clara’s story would flow, the viewers still held a tight grip on the melodrama and it garnered high ratings from its pilot up to the finale. The show’s action packed confrontation scenes and the main characters’ heated arguments were much anticipated.