Just almost four months after Senior High concluded last January, its sequel, High Street, which follows the lives of the remaining characters five years after the tragic yet triumphant fall of Governor William Acosta (Mon Confiado) and the graduation of Sky (Andrea Brillantes) and her batchmates in Northford High, has premiered last Monday, May 13.
And the pilot week indeed didn’t fall short in satisfying the excitement and anticipation that we had felt in the past weeks ever since it was announced last March as it was filled with well-executed and exciting scenes and impressive acting performances that left us astonished.
The initial episode commenced with Sky being haunted by nightmares of William while asleep one rainy night. In her bad dream, she saw the frightening villain outside their house brandishing a knife and staring intently at her as she peeked from her window. Then she spotted the lifeless bodies of her pregnant mom Tania (Angel Aquino) and Brandon (Kean Cipriano) and shockingly came face to face with William who stabbed her in the abdomen, which woke her up.
Unbeknown to her, William was able to regain his consciousness for real after five years of being comatose and on hospital arrest due to the freak accident that he had and the heinous crimes that he had committed.
Being the devoted and martyr wife that she is, Cecille (Ana Abad Santos) was so euphoric about this and immediately relayed the “good news” to their son Gino (Juan Karlos Labajo), who was really adamant about seeing him after all the evil things that he had done. Out of utter desperation, she came up with the idea of asking him to come over to discuss a highly important concern, which wasn’t true since she only wanted him to see the improving condition of his father. That, of course, annoyed him for he never wanted to see his dad anymore.
Gino further got agitated when his mom relayed to him that William would undergo various therapies that could help him recover since just like his victims and their families, he wanted for him to rot in jail for his crimes and for her to live again after years of being tied up with him.
Despite the traumas and troubles that she and everyone involved in the crimes that beleaguered Northford High went through, Sky is very determined to forge her path in the world of media. She even created a documentary film about it, which portions of it were shot on the now-abandoned and dilapidated campus, for her college thesis. She also submitted this as a reel to Dante Eballa (Romnick Sarmenta), the Head of Content of On Quest Digital Media where she works as a multimedia reporter, in hopes of impressing him for her much-awaited promotion. Dante initially declined her bid, but she was able to convince him to give her another shot since she really needs the stability and higher salary that it promises.
The following night, Sky, along with Roxy (Xyriel Manabat), attended the mini get-together organized by their friends Kenji (Tommy Alejandrino) and Sanya (Gela Atayde) to celebrate their anniversary as a couple. Tim (Zaijian Jaranilla), Poch (Miggy Jimenez), and Gino also came, as well as Roxy’s son Riley (Argus Aspiras) and sister Ria (Rans Rifol). Z (Daniela Stranner) arrived, too, but immediately left upon seeing Gino and Sky together. Just when everyone thought that it was going to be a simple get-together, Kenji suddenly proposed marriage to Sanya, who was in awe of the grand surprise gesture and responded “Yes!”
While everyone was having fun, nobody noticed that the phone of Sky was stealthily taken by an anonymous person who installed malware in it after she left it unattended. Since it was owned by her twin Luna, Sky wasn’t able to contain her glee when Gino was able to find it as she gave him a tight embrace.
Unbeknown to Sky, her phone got totally hacked as the felon wasn’t only able to access and control it, but he/she was also able to monitor her every move through its camera. Despite coming to work late the following day after the hacker switched off her alarm, Sky was still given an assignment by Dante to prove herself worthy of the promotion. She was teamed up with new hires and fresh grads Nikki Romero (AC Bonifacio) and Wesley Mata (Harvey Bautista). The three of them were tasked to investigate the mysterious death of a woman who fell off a building that morning.
Later that night, Sky bumped into Gino at their office complex and learned from him that his dad, William, had already regained consciousness, which got her worried. The following day, she visited the resting place of Luna and Harry where she caught a glimpse of her stalker, who looked like a girl cloaked in a red silk hooded cape. Gino was also there and promised Sky to confirm from their common friends whether Z had already returned to the Philippines or not yet.
Little did Sky and their friends know that Gino is able to keep in touch with Archie (Elijah Canlas) in spite of the latter being in prison for still an unknown reason. As Gino asked him about his sister’s whereabouts, Archie got a bit pissed off and even suspected that he already exposed him. Gino denied his allegations and even offered to give him the contact number of Roxy, which he declined since he wanted to be in a better disposition before facing her and their kid.
After getting rejected again in her fourth job application, Tania and Brandon went on a mini date somewhere and chanced upon a bicycle accident in front of them. They immediately came to her rescue and brought her to the nearest hospital. She was later on revealed to be Victoria "Tori" Soler (Dimples Romana), the CEO of the company where she got rejected from work early that day.
Upon learning her name from Ria, who attended to her when they rushed her to the emergency room, Tori immediately looked her up and found out that she was applying for a job at her company. So, as a way of expressing her gratitude for saving her life, she decided to hire her as an online live seller and had her start that very same day.
Sky then got in trouble after an anonymous person sabotaged her by leaking through her social media account the developing story that she's been working on with Wesley and Nikki. Dante warned them about the possibility of them getting sacked after the sole witness to the crime, Ricardo Ramirez, threatened to file charges against them for posting the video of their conversation with him sans his consent.
Desperate to find out the truth, Sky asked the assistance of Tim, who tried his best to help her by using the tools that he usually uses to trace people as part of his job as a policeman. However, his superior advised him not to interfere in order for them to not get involved with the mess. He was reminded to never forget his loyalty to the force that goes above and beyond his loyalty to his friends and family.
Meanwhile, Sky went back to the condominium all by herself and caught Ricardo in the act of receiving money from an anonymous person cladded in an all-black ensemble. She attempted to run after the latter but he/she was too fast, so she just turned her attention to Ricardo who, when confronted, divulged that everything he told her and her team was just made-up and he accepted the bribe since he was in dire need of money.
During their meet-up at a café, Poch asked Sky to not involve Tim anymore in the case that she’s currently investigating after his superior already warned him about the possibility of losing his job. Thus, Tim just showed her the CCTV footage of Sky's recent visit to the columbarium where someone intentionally dropped a figurine on her. While watching, Sky’s attention was caught by the presence of Z outside the cafe, so she swiftly ran and tried to chase her but failed.
Since Tim could no longer help her, Sky simply asked him for any advice regarding her current predicament and told him and Poch her plan to visit Gov. Acosta at the hospital in pursuit of gleaning more information. Upon hearing this, Poch secretly informed Gino about it via text and the latter didn't waste any time to go to their condo to talk things out with Sky and stop her from putting herself in danger again, especially since she does not know who the real enemy is. A heated argument ensued between them after Gino refused to give her his consent that would allow her to come face-to-face with his dad.
Gino and Sky met again the following day at the old house of the Aguerros, which is now up for sale, in hopes of finding Z there. She learned from the village guards that it has not been inhabited for quite some time already ever since the family left. She also discovered from him that Z has been released from the mental facility in the United States where she underwent treatment the previous month. Unbeknownst to Gino, Sky was able to overhear his conversation with his mom, which prompted her to finally execute her plan.
As soon as he arrived at his hospital room, Gino confirmed if his dad is really paralyzed by piercing his right limb and puncturing his sole with an injection while filming it. Just a few minutes after she left, Sky was able to enter William’s room by disguising as a nurse. Unfortunately, he was able to recognize her, which caused him to hyperventilate. She swiftly left and told the police officer guarding him that she picked the wrong bed sheet replacement. On her way out, Cecille noticed Sky and took off her mask to confirm her identity, much to the terror of the latter.
Rave feedbacks from netizens
Since it’s comprised of an ensemble of promising young artists and seasoned thespians, we’re able to witness top-tier acting performances as each of the casts were able to seamlessly put themselves in the shoes of their respective characters. Thus, viewers were all-praises to their portrayals based on the feedbacks that they posted on social media.
Besides, it also welcomed us with a series exciting scenes and revelations that got us really thrilled to see what is going to happen next in this exciting and intriguing narrative. The viewers have already imparted their theories on who among the new cast members is either going to be a friend or a foe to Sky based on their nuances, reactions, and gestures.
Here are some of the tweets that we’ve spotted on X (formerly Twitter) regarding the pilot week of High Street:
Will William fully recover and continue his vengeful and wicked schemes? Will Sky finally find out that her phone is being hacked and who’s the one behind it? That’s for us to see in the upcoming episodes of High Street, weeknights on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live, TV5 and A2Z.