With the lovely things that made us kilig and delighted, as well as the terrible happenings that got us agitated, scared, and sad, the “The Final Blow” finale of Init Sa Magdamag was indeed bittersweet.
Heart-rending, exhilarating farewell
As his lawyer best friend Eli (Brian Sy) told him that it would be already impossible for them to win the custody case for Baby Andrew, a desperate and unstable Peterson (JM de Guzman) drove to the house where Rita (Yam Concepcion) and her family lived. As her younger brother Kyle (Mark Oblea) and mother Celia (Aleck Bovick) prevented them from at least seeing the child, he resorted to hurting them that got both of them unconscious. Peterson fled the scene with Baby Andrew.
Upon discovering that Peterson abducted their son, Tupe (Gerald Anderson) and Rita immediately called the police and reached out to Peterson in hopes that he would let them know where he would take Baby Andrew. He unexpectedly answered and told them where they’re heading to and the nerve-wracking car chase began. They were able to tail, along with the police, and stopped at a bridge where Peterson alighted from his vehicle, cradling the crying baby in his arms.
The two emotionally pleaded him not to hurt Baby Andrew, with Peterson lamenting on how he did desperate measures to make their family complete again and how tired he was already of being alone. Much to their surprise, he put the baby down and swiftly stood at the rail of the bridge, attempting to jump. Rita begged him not to do it, saying that she believed he could still change, to which he heeded. She also embraced him and Tupe offered to help him go off the railing, which he both rejected and told them how sorry he is and how he wanted to tell their son someday that he chose to change.
As Peterson once again stood at the railing and gestured that he’s surrendering to the authorities, everyone was horrified to witness him lose his balance and fall off the bridge. The police and Tupe immediately went to the spot where his body was lying and tried to resuscitate him. Rita also came and did the same, but failed to revive him as his body apparently sustained severe injuries.
Because of the unforeseen, terrifying turn of events, Rita didn’t have the chance to tell Peterson that she had already forgiven him for all his wrongdoings and mistakes when she visited his grave.
Fast forward to two years after Peterson’s demise, the negative feelings we felt were replaced with joy and kilig. It started with Tupe’s younger sister Hannah (Alexa Ilacad) exchanging vows with her boyfriend Kiko (Gab Lagman), who eventually became her fiancé after he proposed to her with a ring tied in a bottle of her spiced vinegar, to which he enthusiastically responded “a million tapsi yes!”
While they’re yet to get married, her Kuya Tupe had already tied the knot with Rita and celebrated their union in the presence of their families and close friends who played important roles in their journey to forever. The finale episode concluded with the newlyweds sharing a steamy and kilig scene at the same falls where they used to do it as well in the early parts of the series.
Rave tweets from the netizens
The turn of events in the Init Sa Magdamag finale may have garnered mixed reactions from the audiences, but a lot of netizens expressed how impressed they have been of the series’ exceptional run, its coherent and perfectly paced narrative, and the captivating cinematography that made it a truly remarkable masterpiece.
Thus, they found the last episode “bitin”, with some of them requesting Star Creatives via Twitter to give it a Book 2 with the same cast members on-board because they all think that it deserves to have one!
Besides, they also heaped praises to the stellar ensemble of the teleserye who undoubtedly compelled us with their notable acting chops all throughout, especially its three lead stars Gerald, Yam, and JM, who have really gone out of their past characters and shown us different facets of them that we hadn’t probably seen yet in their years as actors.
And, of course, just like the other series or movies we’ve seen, this teleserye was not only made to tell the story of Rita, Tupe, and Peterson and of the people around them, or to just titillate us with their love and kilig scenes. But to also remind us the value of forgiveness, acceptance, kindness, and unconditional love.
So, it's really not surprising at all that the hashtag #ISMTheFinalBlow made it to the Philippine top trending topics on Twitter. Here are some of the rave tweets we’ve spotted:
Filming in the midst of a pandemic may be very tough, daunting, and challenging, but Star Creatives, headed by Chief Operating Officer Malou Santos, was still able to amazingly mount a remarkable teleserye that’s definitely one for the books.
Aside from the impeccable performances of the ensemble cast, the people behind it should be lauded as well for this awesome masterpiece. Top-caliber directors Ian Loreños and Raymund Ocampo, together with its brilliant and talented pool of writers composed of Generiza Reyes Francisco, Mary Ann Fampulme, and Mary Pearl Urtola also did great in forming this one-of-a-kind narrative.
Kudos to the whole Init Sa Magdamag team! You will be sorely missed.