REVIEW: Happy ending for Olivia-Philip, justice prevailed in Nag-aapoy na Damdamin’s finale | ABS-CBN

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REVIEW: Happy ending for Olivia-Philip, justice prevailed in Nag-aapoy na Damdamin’s finale

REVIEW: Happy ending for Olivia-Philip, justice prevailed in Nag-aapoy na Damdamin’s finale

Mary Ann Bardinas

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Updated Jan 27, 2024 08:49 AM PHT

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Until its #TheFinalCheckmate finale week, Nag-aapoy na Damdamin didn’t fall short in getting us engrossed to its every episode through the shocking revelations, riveting confrontations, poignant dramatic scenes, and astounding performances of its actors.

The last week of the series commenced with Olivia (Jane Oineza) gradually taking back all the important things that Victoria (Maila Gumila) had taken away from them, starting off with the charity ward of the hospital originally owned by the Salazars.

Lucas (Tony Labrusca) finally realized how much he really loves Melinda (Ria Atayde). However, it was already too late as she didn’t only resign from her post as the public relations manager of the Buencaminos, but she also decided to cut her ties with them as part of the family. Victoria tried to stop her by speaking sweet and pleasant words to her, but she has already made up her mind and was staunchly supported by her father Napoleon (Lito Pimentel).

This resulted in a heated argument between Lucas and Victoria, wherein he finally mustered the courage to fight back at her by defending Melinda and telling her that he already had enough of her incessant meddling in his life. Thus, after allowing her to control almost his whole life, he’s now ready to stand against her, especially for the woman he truly loves and the offspring they’re going to have.

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Olivia and Sofia (Kim Rodriguez) made amends with each other and apologized for all the hurtful things they did and cruel words they hurled at one another due to their mutual love for Philip. Aware that it’s Olivia who he really loved and who would make him absolutely happy, Sofia conveyed that she had already set him and herself free from that love. Little did Sofia know that Philip had entrusted her to his best friend Dr. Emilio Abello (Nico Antonio), who had been loving her secretly.

While both Olivia and Sofia were hopeful that they’re going to be friends again someday, it would not happen anymore as the latter died after being intentionally ran over by an unknown man while she was exiting the hospital. This happened after she overheard his father, Dr. Joaquin Serrano (Joko Diaz), speaking to a certain Captain Malvar through the phone and receiving a call from a stranger. Philip immediately rushed to her location along with Emilio upon hearing the screeching sound and attempted to revive her, but to no avail.

As Joaquin mourned the death of his daughter, Dr. Francis Venturina (LA Santos) related to him that it was not an accident but rather intentional as he witnessed how the car that hit her suddenly revved up as soon as she reached the sidewalk. He later on found out from Philip that Sofia looked upset after talking to someone via phone according to Olivia.

Lucas caught Victoria and Matias (Simon Ibarra) together at a parking lot and overheard them talking about killing Olivia. He immediately tried to contact Olivia as he followed the two on their way to personally witness their wicked plan being executed. However, he wasn’t able to reach her, so he called Philip to tell him about it. Vexed to see her unico hijo once again coming to Olivia’s rescue, Victoria attempted to shoot her, but Lucas stopped her and tried to grab the gun from her, which led to him being shot.

What happened to Lucas seemed to have become a blessing in disguise as Olivia and Melinda were able to finally fix their rift and apologized for all the bad things they did to one another. Upon learning that Lucas passed away, Victoria got totally devastated and insisted on attending the interment of her son despite being warned by Matias.

And just when we thought that Lucas was indeed already gone, everyone found out that everything was just for show as he was still alive. Unbeknown to her, it was actually his idea to fake his death, to which they all agreed, in order for Victoria to be finally arrested and make her pay for all her crimes. Victoria arrived at the interment and tried to ask for his forgiveness, but he was really keen on pursuing their plan.

Olivia was then almost murdered by Matias, but Philip and Joaquin were able to arrive at the scene just right on time. As Philip struggled to beat Matias, Joaquin fatally shot the latter from the back, which resulted in his demise. However, before losing his breath, Matias exposed himself as the one who had been pestering him for quite some time and who ordered the murder of Sofia, who, according to him, died with immense anger at him after he relayed to her all his transgressions.

While Lucas was able to make amends with both Olivia and Melinda, Victoria lost her last ally, Minya (Malou Crisologo), her ever-reliable right-hand who decided to completely cut her ties from her. Instead of trying to win her favor again, Victoria further pushed her away when she insulted her by calling her “atchay.”

Consumed by the guilt that he’d been carrying for a long time, Joaquin finally mustered the courage to confess that he’s actually the root cause of all the mess that happened. He recounted that it all started four years ago when he removed Francis’ ill father from the list of liver transplant beneficiaries and gave the slot to a well-off patient who needed the same. Since the hospital had financial woes then, he was tempted to give it to the latter in exchange of a hefty amount. Nobody knew about it since he falsified all the documents. He tried to look for Francis’ family in pursuit of helping them, but failed.

But his offenses didn’t end there as he admitted being the real culprit behind the death of Javier, after Santiago (a.k.a. Matias) blackmailed him into exposing the crime he did few years ago. Afraid to lose his career and family, he was forced to do it by injecting a chemical into Javier’s intravenous infusion, which eventually caused Javier’s death. Of course, these revelations infuriated the children of the three men who died because of him.

It was revealed that the reason why Matias wanted Javier dead was for his affair with Victoria to finally push through. In one of their previous conversations, she told him that Javier must die first before she could ever love her back, so he did it through Joaquin. It dawned on Victoria that all her predicaments were actually because of her.

Philip was still in disbelief that his godfather was capable of doing it to his father and their family after all the years that they’d been friends and allies. In the end, he still chose to forgive Joaquin and even continued to call him ninong.

Lucas sought the help of Napoleon to win back Melinda and stop her from leaving the country, but the latter advised him to just set her free and do the things that she wants this time instead of his. He’s still able to see her before she left and promised to follow him, but that got postponed as Melinda suddenly gave birth prior to her due date.

As he was about to start again in life, Lucas bade his last farewell to Victoria as he’s already disowning her after witnessing how ruthless, vicious, and selfish she could be, which even cost the lives not just of his father, but of other people, too.

Journalist Sabrina Dominguez (Aya Fernandez), through her newscast, also expressed her public apology to Philip for maliciously tagging his dad a “killer doctor” during the wake of the controversy regarding Javier’s death. She also reminded her fellow journalists to be more diligent in doing their job and in finding out the truth.

In the end, it wasn’t only Olivia and Philip who achieved happily ever after – as they agreed to continue their impeded love story, which, from being laden with lies, had gone to become real – but the other characters as well.

Melinda finally found real bliss and unconditional love in her child, while Lucas in helping less privileged people with legal matters. Minya made peace with Loleng (Carla Martinez) when they bumped into each other at a market, while Emilio and Francis are set to a fresh start in their respective lives. PSSg Tommy Paras (Elyson de Dios) also got recognized for his nobility in fulfilling his sworn duty as policeman, and seemed to have found love in Sabrina, too. Joaquin was able to continue his passion as a doctor to his fellow inmates, while Victoria repented on her crimes alone inside the jail.

Astounding performances of actors, relatable morals

Most of the characters of Nag-aapoy na Damdamin might have gone through a slew of hardships and ordeals, but all’s well that ends well.

Within the 27 weeks with 134 episodes that we followed the entangled lives of its four main characters Olivia, Philip, Lucas, and Melinda, we had witnessed how Jane Oineza, JC de Vera, Tony Labrusca, and Ria Atayde all delivered astounding performances in their every scene. They made us cry, empathized with them, got us irked and kilig and more, succeeding in really taking themselves away and living as their respective characters every time they’re on the screen.

The same with the supporting ensemble, who all did amazing jobs in portraying their roles. Veteran character actors Maila Gumila, Simon Ibarra, Joko Diaz, Malou Crisologo, Lito Pimentel, and Carla Martinez once again wowed us with their acting chops, while the younger batch of thespians comprised by Nico Antonio, Kim Rodriguez, Aya Fernandez, LA Santos, Elyson de Dios, and Jef Gaitan all impressed us with their portrayals.

Despite their limited exposures in the series, Jeffrey Santos, Richard Quan, Lovely Rivero, Joyce Ann Burton, William Lorenzo, Melissa Jimenez, and Ejay Falcon left indelible marks with their stints. The same with young actors Kira Balinger, Claire Ruiz, and Marlo, Mortel who nailed their performances as the young versions of senior actors Maila Gumila, Joyce Ann Burton, and Richard Quan respectively.

But aside from the actors, its top-caliber directors FM Reyes, Benedict Mique, and Bjoy Balagtas, as well as its brilliant writers Ma. Carmela L. Abaygar, Jann Kayla C. Mendoza, Jasper Emmanuel A. Paras, and Erica Frances A. Bautista all did great jobs in providing us with a great narrative that would definitely go down in history as one of the most noteworthy teleseryes.

The episodes in the #TheFinalCheckmate finale week didn’t fall short in riveting us with intense scenes and shocking revelations that made it truly remarkable. It was arguably able to address the questions that viewers had in mind as the narrative continued to unfold.

Watching Nag-aapoy na Damdamin reminded us that the challenges we go through are true tests of our personalities as we get to discover our strengths, weaknesses, and judgments on things going on around us. Besides, we must be careful in making decisions because it could affect not only us, but other people, too.

It also reminded us of how easier it is for us to hold grudges than to forgive the people who crossed us. Thus, we must not let ourselves be engulfed by hatred and revenge because it’s actually ourselves who we really punish and not the person we hate. We must not deprive ourselves of the peace and happiness that we deserve. We must learn to forgive, no matter how difficult it could be.

As we emancipate ourselves from hatred, we’re giving ourselves the opportunity to see other things that matter to us, to acknowledge our mistakes and make amends, to realize that the things we used to yearn for were actually not we need, to see if what you’re fighting for is right, and to find hope and happiness. It may be sometimes be quite impossible because of the hard-hitting challenges and tribulations that we go through, but we must always choose to be happy and to love.

Here are some of the rave reactions from netizens who were able to catch the highly anticipated #TheFinalCheckmate finale:

Congratulations on the successful and remarkable run, Team Nag-aapoy na Damdamin!

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