Impeccable storytelling has never been so engrossing to viewers watching the premier of My Dear Heart, as brilliant character introduction and development was very much absorbing and detailed.
The story of the amiable young girl Heart (Nayomi Ramos) with a lot of love to give even beyond this life started effectually with clear and emphatic characterizations. Celebrated heart surgeon
Margaret (Coney Reyes) was well depicted as the celebrated heart surgeon with a well-defined persona—one who is heralded and recognized, yet so captured by her stature and designs of vendetta. Her having saved the life of veteran pop star Martin Policarpio (Jim Paredes), who suffered a heart attack while performing in a party she attended, further validated her self-aggrandizement and claim to fame.
On the other hand is Jude (Zanjoe Marudo), a simple lad who dreams of one day overcoming that deeply rooted filial scorn of being his father’s love child with a laundrywoman and become a respected engineer. All he wanted was to transcend from a life of inequity and bigotry from those who look down on him, especially his father and half-brother (Jao Mapa).
He had supportive neighbors, most especially his best friend Clara (Bela Padilla) and her parents Tope (Joey Marquez) and Lucing (Rio Locsin), who keep his spirits up.
Convenient escape
But thereforth came the rub: Jude fell in love, albeit secretly, with Margaret’s daughter Gia (Ria Atayde), who felt rebellion was a convenient escape from the pressures of being so identified with her distinguished medical practitioner mom. She felt having a relationship with Jude was her way of dodging the stress, but for Jude a real expression of true love.
Until one day Gia discovers she is pregnant with Jude’s child to the shock and wrath of Margaret, who remained supportive of her yet was livid and furious with Jude—whom she “punished” by having used her influence to derail his scholarship. With Maragaret’s prodding, Gia also ended her relationship with Jude, telling him in a phone call that she only used her to rebel against her mom and that it was all a mistake. However, she didn’t tell him she was pregnant.
As he was forced away from school premises, Jude came into blows with security guards that led to his imprisonment, only to be bailed out by his ever repulsive half-brother.
A child is born
While all these were happening, Gia was giving birth to their child. But Margaret saw to it that Gia won’t give birth at the hospital but at a discreet lying-in clinic. Accompanied by Margaret’s aide Cathy (Susan Africa), Gia gave birth to a baby girl and lost consciousness.
As she slept, Margaret told Cathy to sneak the child away from her mother’s arms and have someone close to her watch over the baby. This was so that Gia would start over her life without difficult maternal responsibilities. And as she left the baby in a corner near the hospital room, a nurse inconspicuously approached and took her away.
When Gia woke up with Margaret and Cathy by her side, a nurse came in with a supposedly dead infant to make her believe her baby had died. Gia broke down in disbelief. Margaret told her it was alright and that it was an opportunity to have a fresh start.
But the real baby was nowhere to be found and Margaret was furious at Cathy for losing her. She ordered Cathy to look for the baby.
Devastated
Jude had since been devastated to have lost his scholarship, got imprisoned, bailed out by his reviled half-brother, and worse, Gia calling it quits with him.
Throughout his ordeal, Clara was by his side giving him words of encouragement, but it was not enough to bring him out of his depression. Out of his desperation to payback the bail money his half-brother paid, Jude approached a con-artist neighbor to join a carajacking ring to get a fast buck. As the hit was set.
He was riding a parked bus that was supposed to bring him to the target’s location. By that time, the nurse who had stolen his and Gia’s baby was in a bind after a “buyer” of the infant had backed out. Because she could not return the baby to the clinic at the risk of being caught, the nurse boarded the bus Jude was riding in and pleaded to passengers to “look after” the baby as she needed to go to a toilet.
After several passengers refused, Jude looked at the crying baby and offered to do it. As he held the baby in his arms, the connection seemed magical. There the nurse left and abandoned the baby.
As the criminals were calling Jude to ask where he was and asked if he was still participating in the hit, Jude told them about a baby he couldn’t just leave behind. There he told them that he changed his mind and that he was pulling out.
Miracle baby
By then, the carjackers went on with their hit attacking a parked SUV, not knowing it was a setup. Waiting policemen charged at them and a gunfight ensued.
Outnumbered, Jude’s would-be partners were all killed. And because that miracle child in his arms who is truly his own, the Heart he’ll cherish forever, Jude’s life was saved.
Definitely, a story worth every night’s viewership. Something, viewers will really look forward to each night.
This is not only because of how the storytelling was creatively executed under the auspices of directors Jerome C. Pobocan and Jojo A. Saguin and production designer Alberto Alvarez, but also how the tale was brilliantly and breathtakingly authored and written by Danielle Joyce Factora and Shugo Praico. How the story emerged and stuck in our minds was truly riveting.
Impressive cast
But this mainly due to the impressive cast the series has put together--a rare assemblage of first-rate actors who have truly proved both their hype and stature. Coney Reyes again will dominate the primetime viewership with her powerful hero/anti-hero portrayal of Margaret that will surely leave a mark among us in what will be another rousing inspirational drama from Dreamscape Entertainment. Actually, from the pilot episode, Coney has already proven it.
Ria Atayde was a revelation, further confirming how acting excellence has been a family affair after the breakout streak of mom Sylvia Sanchez and brother Arjo Atayde. Her portrayal of a painful separation with her baby is notably heartbreaking for all to see. Also, Bela Padilla’s presence is truly something to watch more of, and her impact to the drama this early has been so evident.
And, indeed, Zanjoe Marudo’s primetime moment has come. His natural talent has blended with an innate charm that captivates viewers with each eye contact, verbal pacing, and thespic interaction with co-cast members. Definitely, a moving force that will bring the drama to unchartered heights.
Viewers took to social media to express their elation: