How much of a lie are you willing to take for the sake of love? The cast and creatives of Flower of Evil shared a meaty conversation about truth, lies, and love with King of Talk Boy Abunda. Check out the roundtable discussion with Piolo Pascual, Lovi Poe, JC De Vera, Joross Gamboa, and Agot Isidro here. 

Romantics believe that love thrives in complete honesty. But it’s easier said than done, especially for a person with a dark past. Case in point: Piolo and Lovi’s respective characters, Jacob/Daniel and Iris in the Philippine adaptation of the multi-awarded Korean drama series Flower of Evil. 

 

 

In the story, Iris marries Jacob, oblivious to his dark past and secrets, which will eventually come out in the open. Throughout the plot, the tug-of-war between lies and truth will keep the couple’s relationship constantly changing. But seeing how Iris devotes her whole heart to Jacob, we know she’s the only person who will never look at him with prejudice.

From there, the guests weighed in on how much you should open up to a partner about your past. Lovi believes it is okay not to peel too much on a partner’s past because there is information that isn’t necessary to share.  The other cast members agreed that relationships don’t always have to be a complete open book. After all, you are not your past, JC added. 

However, there are secrets that you know your partner will inevitably find out. In such cases, you have to own it and make it right. At the end of the day, you have the choice, and you are defined by the choices you make. As Piolo explained, “The choices we make give us a chance to make it better the next time. Kung magkamali ka ngayon, the next time, pick up the pieces and be a better person by choosing something that will make you learn from what you did before, so it doesn’t become a cycle.”

Lovi maintained that thoughts, even impure ones, enter our minds. That’s where ‘choices’ become crucial as you can either turn these thoughts into things or just overcome them, “Whatever you do in action, that’s what counts, I believe… I think that’s what actually defines us – what we decide to do.” 

In keeping with the teleserye’s theme, the actors all agreed that facts and truth are mutually exclusive. Fact is indisputable while truth is indispensable, as the King of Talk put it. 

Lovi further explained, “Fact is basically saying that the earth is round but the truth depends on who sees it. It’s like we’re all looking at certain things from another person’s perspective and someone else’s lenses. We all grew up with different lenses, so the truth for us is different.”

 

 

The show’s creative manager Danica Domingo and director Darnel Villaflor tackled how the ‘truth’ is crucial in the development of Jacob and Iris’ characters. In connection with the characters, Danica defined truth as a weapon of survival, something that you would look forward to at the end of the day, “Truth is a choice. Nagkakatalo lang naman siya kasi dapat ‘pag nagdedesisyon ka na ito ‘yung truth mo, dapat paninindigan mo siya. ‘Yung pinagdaanan namin creative process-wise, ano ‘yung truth ng character at ano ‘yung misbelief niya kasi ‘yun ang babasagin namin as we go along.””

Direk Darnel added, “Nag-e-evolve talaga ‘yung truth especially for the character of Piolo kasi noong una, iba ‘yung tingin niya sa sarili niya. Akala niya mali siya, masama siya pero nailabas naman niya ‘yun eventually kung ano ‘yung truth na alam niya.””

The cast went on to talk about the gripping scenes in the series, which they attribute to a give-and-take process. Agot mentioned it just happens naturally, as each of them is committed to living into the psyche of their characters. Acting becomes a breeze when your co-actor puts so much realism into all details, particularly the eye expression.”

“Sometimes maganda from the cold, you just get into the scene and then react. A lot of acting is actually listening – to the text, to the person, visible cues, lines cue. It’s a sensory practice,” she said.”

As for Lovi, she makes sure to act with sincerity, defying traditional rubrics wherein the more tears, the better, “Being honest about it, you can technically, magpaluha ng madami without feeling anything. That’s when you become technical. But sometimes there are scenes na you’re very sincere about it and mararamdaman din po talaga ‘yun ng audience.””

Sincere acting helps deliver the right message. Review that scene where Lovi was teased by her colleagues about juggling work and married life, to which she as Iris reacted, “Bakit? Ang babae ba ‘pag nanganak, wala na siyang ibang pwedeng gawin?” According to Danica, that scene was meant to recognize that women are the newest breadwinners, as backed up by research.”

To cap off the discussion, Tito Boy asked the cast if they are willing to lie for the sake of true love. They wouldn’t want to justify keeping secrets because, as Agot said, when it’s true love, all cards are on the table.”

Don’t miss an episode of Flower of Evil, every Thursday and Friday at 8 PM on Viu, and Saturday and Sunday at 9 PM on Kapamilya Channel.”