The newest fantaserye of ABS-CBN, Bagani, astoundingly dominated its slot on the primetime block during its first week. Aside from winning the ratings, Bagani’s” official hashtags for the week also topped Twitter’s list of trending topics worldwide as netizens posted their positive comments about the pilot episode.
On its first episode, we were immediately welcomed by the enthusiastic young nomad portrayed by ZaijIan Jaranilla who couldn't hide his admiration for his "lodi", Lakas (Enrique Gil), the mighty warrior of the desert region, as he watched him slay a humongous dragon.
He gave the audiences, as well, a tour around the mythical Sansinukob, providing a glimpse of the topography of the five regions comprising it -- Kapatagan, Disyerto, Kalakal, Laot, and Kagubatan -- and the people’s way of life.
The five young heroes of the fictional nation were gradually introduced everyday by recounting their respective background stories.
Lakas' unbelievable flair in sword fights and unparalleled strength were developed as he grows up. With the desert people considering their family as traitor for his parents' "unlawful" love affair, it motivated him to fight for what he thinks is right.
On the other hand, being orphaned at a very young age and the TagaPatag's inability to defend themselves against the enemies fueled Ganda (Liza Soberano) to be fierce and learn self-defense tactics.
Meanwhile, the histories of the other three characters are yet to unfold in the upcoming episodes, although a glimpse of their lives were already shown.
Despite being a royal, Lakam (Matteo Guidicelli) is not spared to the gnawing remarks of his father Ama (Robert Seña) who rules over the Kalakal region. Mayari (Sofia Andres), a TagaLaot slave, advocates to have equality among the social hierarchies, while Dumakulem (Makisig Morales) of the forest region yearns to quench his hunger for adventure outside their territory.
Aside from the interesting narratives of the characters, the riveting clashes between the warriors of Kalakal and Disyerto also kept us glued on our screens, not wanting to miss a single moment. Enrique brought the spectators at the edge of their seats with his palpable dexterity during the fight scenes, as he led the troop of the desert people and single-handedly slayed the attackers.
We are also captivated by the breathtaking backdrops of the entire Sansinukob milieu and visually-delighting costumes, weapons, and overall production design.
Certainly, not only the shippers of Liza and Enrique got thrilled when they finally met on the third episode, with Lakas wiping out the thieves who attacked the farmers while on their way to delivering their crops to the traders and Ganda precisely pinning down one of the unknown attackers with her bow and arrow. It seemed to be a love at first sight, as seen on the glowing faces of the two protagonists.
In order to gain the absolute trust of Ganda and Dilag's (Precious Lara Quigaman) council that would be his key to accomplish the task given to him by their chief Dakim (Christian Vasquez), he disguised as a forest native and vowed to train the plain lowlanders to be the best combatants that they can be, especially the beautiful lady warrior.
Now that Lakas has established good rapport with Ganda and the TagaPatags, will he be able to carry out their clan's motive? Or will he stick to what he know is right?
The trailer for it's next week's run promises gripping episodes, in which the five mythical heroes are given superhuman powers by their god Apo (Diether Ocampo) and Sarimaw (Ryan Eigenmann) in order to defeat the bigger, mystical creatures and overcome more challenging obstacles. New characters are about to be unveiled as well.
Do not miss the upcoming episodes of Bagani, weeknights after FPJ's Ang Probinsyano in ABS-CBN Primetime Bida.