When the one and only Diamond Star Maricel Soriano appears in a teleserye, the length of screen time won’t really matter. Give her a short stint and she will give you the whole universe of acting, every ounce of her pure brilliance poured into every scene. That’s what she delivered in the trending afternoon series “Pira-Pirasong Paraiso.”
Though her character was killed off in a recent episode, Maricel’s portrayal as Amanda remains alive in viewers’ hearts and minds, especially since her death left an intriguing cliffhanger that had everyone racking their brains for answers over the weekend.
Revisit her scenes via this Kapamilya Toplist video.
To have the veteran star cast in a riveting drama is like a precious gift from the acting heavens. Once opened, you’ll get a slew of gripping scenes that attest to her greatness. Reunions are guaranteed tearjerkers, especially when done by Maricel, whose acting prowess was matched by the versatile Charlie Dizon in that scene where Amanda begged Diana (Charlie) for a chance to redeem herself for having been missing in her grandchildren's lives. Her heart was shattered in pieces realizing that her granddaughter had been marinating in bitterness.
Flashback scenes reveal that Amanda’s daughter, Elizabeth, rebelled when she fell in love with the lowly Daniel. There was a time when Daniel asked for Amanda’s financial support for Elizabeth’s hospitalization. However, misunderstandings further broke the mother and daughter apart, as Amanda disapproved of Elizabeth’s relationship with Daniel. She would carry the weight of guilt for decades since Elizabeth's passing and make it a mission to look for her granddaughters.
While Diana was dismissive, Angela/Beth (Alexa Ilacad) treated her grandma with empathy. In one dramatic conversation, Amanda expressed how proud she is of what Beth has become, clinging to eternal hope that Diana would also learn to forgive as Beth did. Maricel radiates in this scene, and Alexa is at her absolute best as well.
Of course, some scenes unleashed her ‘taray’ appeal, such as her confrontations with her daughter Carlota (Nikki Valdez), who often questioned her decisions, especially merging with La Madrid Land to get near Diana and Beth and help them find their sister Amy.
With Amanda in La Madrid Land, Jacina (Snooky Serna) found a worthy rival for a little while. One of our favorite wrath-filled conversations of them had Jacinda spitting threats at Amanda, who boldly clapped back that she isn’t a bit scared followed by a sarcastic “Ha! Ha! Ha!” as a response to Jacinda’s signature “Clap! Clap! Clap!” dialogue. This was when Amanda was starting to be suspicious of Jacinda’s underhanded tactics.
Her scenes with Baby (Loisa Andalio) painted more suspense in the story as they converged to expose Hilary (Elisse Joson)’s scheme of faking her identity as Amy. She learned through Baby that Diana and Angela managed to have Hilary’s strand of hair tested for paternity; however, Hilary’s adoptive father Badong (Epy Quizon) threatened the two Paraiso sisters due to the illegally obtained DNA sample. Amanda had this bad blood over Hilary, not even a bit convinced that the latter is her missing ‘apo’. She even issued her a terrifying warning for manipulating her real granddaughters.
However, with Baby, she was noticeably pleasant despite getting off to a bad start, as shown when she invited Baby to join her for lunch at her mansion and was delighted when Baby gushed about her favorite food.
Amanda touched our hearts so deeply when she pleaded with Diana on bended knees, asking for a chance to make it up to her and Beth. It wasn’t easy for her to drown in guilt, and it also wasn’t easy for Diana to forgive her grandma but she did. We bet a teardrop escaped your eyes while watching this confrontation. This was one of Amanda’s last scenes in the series. Later on, she would meet with her doctor who handed her a DNA Test result, which is another mystery that we’re yet to solve.
Don’t miss an episode of Pira-Pirasong Paraiso, Mondays to Fridays at 3 PM, and Saturdays at 2:30 PM, on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live, TV5, and A2Z.