Certainly one heartwarming piece, MMK’s episode “Dyip” touches on a precarious prospect for some yet willing to take on the uncertainty all for the sake of love.
Intercultural marriage is definitely one thrilling, ideal pairing we could see from the outside, yet very painstaking and arduous if you are actually part of it.
MMK “Dyip” does not deal much about how Rodelyn (Yen Santos) and her Australian husband Vincent (Rafael Rosell) actually overcame such differences in a detailed way, but we are treated to the kilig first encounters they had, and how eventually they fell in love, before they actually settled down under.
Heartbreaking departure
We witnessed how Rodelyn struggled as a fresh high school graduate, deciding to work in the city to help make both ends meet for her family and to pursue her dreams of entering college. Doing this she decided to leave the loving presence of her family, and her boyfriend at the time, and this broke her heart—especially when she had actually started working as an all-around domestic helper.
She would take on loads of work, even simultaneously, and worse get maltreated even with a trivial infraction. But Rodelyn would become fortunate to serve as a nanny for a family who would respect and honor her as a worker and as a person.
Here she met Vincent, her employer’s mountaineering partner who came to the Philippines with him to explore the country, its culture, and though he won’t admit it at first, find a wife to marry. While their first encounters were awkward, Vincent would soon get the chance to get closer to Rodelyn, even with the latter’s employer’s help, recognizing the fact that he should court her the Filipino way.
How they fell in love
What really made Rodelyn fall for Vincent was that he actually went back with her to the farm in Negros Oriental where her parents work, and actually got into the muddy fields and did farming chores. He would meet her entire family, who accepted him wholeheartedly as he himself realized how much of a gem Rodelyn was.
And while he was there, he popped the question, and Rodelyn said yes. A most electrifying onscreen kiss transpired, making their union quite fascinating.
As Rodelyn went with Vincent to Australia, she realized a complete turnaround with the life she was used to. She first wished to head back to the Philippines given how she is left alone miserable in an empty house most of the day as Vincent worked. But Vincent would soon have her enrolled in an English course and subsequently work for a caregiving facility. And soon, she would break the news that she was pregnant, and their bliss, despite the grueling demands of working in Australia, became overwhelming.
Most challenging phase
When Rodelyn gave birth to their two children, the episode depicted the most challenging phase of their relationship—rearing their kids, given that they disparate cultures have their own way of dealing with it. While Rodelyn stressed that spanking as a punishment for their mischief so that the kids would respect their parents more, Vincent wanted a non-physical method given that hitting kids is a crime in Australia. This led to their near separation, as Rodelyn insisted she wanted to raise her children the “Filipino way” and bring them back to the Philippines for good. Faced with this, Vincent pleaded with his wife to “meet half way” and have them visit her family in Negros Oriental regularly just to inculcate Filipino values to their children. Rodelyn would happily agree to it and since then their union was never stronger and idyllic.
Kilig feels
How their relationship developed indeed brought so much the kilig feels we experience in most romantic dramas and rom-coms nowadays. And while MMK “Dyip” was crafted in such a way to enamor viewers, we are looking for more realistic situations that reflect intercultural marriage, although we accept the fact that Rodelyn and Vincent are two-of-a-kind.
In this regard, we notice how these romantic situations were well-orchestrated, especially that electrifying onscreen kiss of Yen Santos and Rafael Rosell that surely jolted everyone who witnessed it. Yes, Yen and Rafael can really make a great onscreen pair, and their chemistry was a delight to watch. Although their dramatic flair wasn’t that much tested, we see how they naturally brought life to their characters with the exciting serendipity angle that really brought life to a dull Saturday evening.
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Netizens were also thrilled.