In the end, it was all about picking up the pieces and starting a new life.

And, as the smoke cleared amid the devastation, one thing was definite in the final episode of the highly successful series Pasion de Amor: vengeful tactics has its price and surely it was not pretty. Yet, once we get the message, it becomes a lesson we won’t forget and allow us to learn and be better off.

Sacrifice

But one incredible value we learn throughout the ordeal is the amount of sacrifice you are willing to give for the people you love.

Norma (Arci Munoz) channeled this sacrifice when she purposely let go of her husband Juan’s (Jake Cuenca) grasp and fell into a ravine after a scuffle with Gabriel’s (Wendell Ramos) henchmen. Gabriel had dared Juan to either save Norma from falling or see him gun down his son JD (Enzo Andrei de Castro).  

Ultimate price

And, as Gabriel paid the ultimate price for his ruthless assaults, Norma had suffered the consequences of her sacrifice—being at near death in a hospital with only a life support system keeping her alive.

Her sister Jamie (Coleen Garcia) also sacrificed her own life for the sake of husband Franco (Joseph Marco) when she took the bullet from a gunman who tried to kill him in another violent fracas.
 
With a weeping mother Gabriela (Teresa Loyzaga) storming the heavens for forgiveness for all the death and destruction she instigated and for Norma’s recovery, and a devastated husband Juan (Jake Cuenca), who pleaded doctors to do their best to keep Norma alive when asked if he would want to pull the plug on his wife, and sister Sari (Ellen Adarna) by Norma’s bedside begging her not to leave her.

Miracle

Then, a startling phenomenon happened.

Someone approached Oscar (Ejay Falcon), Sari, and Mayor (Pen Medina) at the waiting area outside Norma’s hospital room and handed over a bouquet of flowers for Norma from a “mestizo-looking old man.” Sari saw a nameplate on the man delivering the flowers and read “Bernardo,” namesake of their late father. She then rushed to Norma’s bedside and saw her fingers twitching, a sign that she was already out of the coma—thanks to their father’s miraculous presence.

The Elizondos and Samontes are then seen grieving as one in a funeral, mourning the loss of Jamie, and even Gabriel. While all the nasty incidents, driven by the revenge, indeed took its terrible toll, the importance and significance of family remains—and Gabriela and her children and their husbands inculcated it thoroughly and moved on.

New life

Juan and Norma, and Oscar and Sari see a blissful future with their own children. Gabriela would then look at completing her transformation by serving her jail term, something she willfully accepts in the course of justice. And Franco? Well, let’s just say that his flourishing career as a hotelier, landed him more than what he expected—meeting a gregarious, pesky, practical yet lovable girl at his hotel lobby, Jennie (Alex Gonzaga).

Pasion de Amor’s finale shows how it is more than just a sizzling drama, with suspenseful scenes and great action sequences to enliven its mass appeal. Yes, it triumphs in presenting a captivating story, thanks to the able direction of Eric Quizon, Don Cuaresma, and Carlo Po Artillaga. Big kudos to all the actors for churning in splendid performances, especially Teresa Loyzaga who really outdid herself and Arcy Muñoz, who really has a bright future in the industry. But, more than anything, it brings together the salient points why it is airing in the first place—mainly, how we should prioritize and appreciate the significance of family, and how forgiveness, responsibility, and love truly make us the best we can be.