Destined to be yours Episode 31 #DTBYPagIwas

Sinag is the queen of throwing shade, Benjie insists on seeking closure even though both his mom and bestfriend advise against it, and destiny proves yet again that it’s a force to be reckoned with.

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Recap

Benjie walks to Sinag like an enchanted person and practically cages her and Sinag tries to avoid his gaze by turning her attention to the flowers decorating the staircase. She says her piece and joins her co DJs to get away from him. But Trish leads Benjie to her table to boast about her “perfect boyfriend.” Sinag expertly shuts down this one-man parade in the wittiest way.

Meanwhile, Sally and Teddy talk about his latest work of art and love for one another. (Why do I feel like this a bad premonition for this loving couple? When promises like this are made, fate brings in a disaster to make sure the promise is not kept)

As her co DJs leave to get desert, Sinag prays that Trish won’t leave her alone with Benjie. But destiny is a conniving witch so her wish is not granted (arghhh! Sinag’s internal monologues are sooo sassy). Trish is called to the stage and Sinag does her best to remain calm as she avoids looking at Benjie, seated just a seat away.  As Benjie tries to convince Sinag to talk to him, Trish gives a shout out to her boyfriend (adding a threat to anyone who’d come between them).

Sinag finally steps outside of the ballroom, looking for Badong. And of course, persistent Benjie follows her. Badong finally shows up and Sinag informs Benjie that the torpe boy is now her boyfriend, before finally leaving the place. Benjie is left alone, dejected.

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Benjie is driving Trish home, she notices he’s out of it again and reminds him that secrets between couples destroy relationships (she’d be an expert in that area since she destroyed her collegiate relationship with Benjie years ago, along with his respect for women who are not his mom).

Meanwhile, Sinag and Badong have after dinner snacks at a sidewalk isaw stall, dressed in their fairy tale costumes (yes, Sinag is still wearing her white gloves while holding greasy isaw sticks). Badong asks what happened and Sinag tells him that she didn’t talk to Benjie. She’s just worried that her work will be jeopardized once crazy possessive girlfriend Trish finds out about her past with her boyfriend. Although Badong is still skeptical, he drops the issue.

Amanda raises the questions everyone is asking: “Why do you need to talk to Sinag?” and the self-centered jerk insists that he needs to let Sinag know that he’s really repentant over what he did to her and her family. Amanda raises very valid points but will her son listen? No, of course not. We need drama in this series yo! So even if his mom is right and makes perfect sense, Benjie will have his way to make their tangled web even more complicated.

Catalina (who’s starting to dress more and more like Marjorie. I get that summer in the Philippines is sweltering hot, but no need to put your “girls” on display) has a talk with her boss/dad, reiterating her suggestion to entrust some of Benjie’s projects to her, specifically the Tierra Alta project. But gets coldly rejected because according to her dad, she hasn’t proven anything to him yet (and now we get why Catalina grew up to be so heartless and diabolical).

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After leaving her dad/boss’ office, she runs into Marjorie who tries to make the mood lighter by complimenting her look. “How to be you po?” she asks, and Catalina answers, “You don’t want to be me.” (And that scene just made my heart twitch for our prima kontrabida. Behind her fierce exterior is a daughter still longing for her father’s approval. Ina Feleo is one badass actress).

Sinag tells her family about what happened last night and the whole family supports Sinag’s decision to stay away from Benjie at all costs. Meanwhile, Benjie leaves his car in the office and sneaks out to look for Sinag at work. As usual, he calls Jason to make excuses for his absence (two years have passed and yet he still hasn’t changed).

Usually, people grab an uber, a ride that can ride solo. But this is not an ordinary day. Because destiny will not be thwarted. So on the same day and hour Benjie books for a carpool, he’d get on the same car Sinag booked. But they won’t realize it immediately because there’s a big guy with big packages in between them.

As soon as the guy leaves, Sinag and Benjie realize they’re in the same car. So what does Sinag do? Run away, of course. And what does Benjie do? Run after her, of course. Sinag clearly states her case (cause Trish really is a scary beeyotch) but Benjie does what he does best and lets his pheromones do the convincing. But look who arrives just in time to see them talking outside the radio station? It’s our resident crazy possessive girlfriend Trish! To get out of this potentially sticky situation, Benjie lies about surprising Trish.

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As Sinag does her internal monologue inside the elevator, random people behind her have conversations reflecting her own inner conflict (This scene was genius).

So DJ Sunshine continues with her show and answers a question from a fan asking whether all relationships should have closure. Trish (who now has a different view on Sinag’s show cause they’re besties) and Benjie are watch her, and clueless Trish pokes the wound in Benjie’s conscience when she unknowingly brings up how DJ Sunshine got hurt by her last relationship. Benjie pretends he’s a clueless outsider and Sinag sends an indirect message to Benjie as she answers the fan’s question. Benjie turns to leave and declines Trish’s invite to dinner (cause he plans on waiting for Sinag to meet with him later).

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* Okay. Now I’m feeling to feel bad for Trish as well. What’s with this episode, making me sympathize with the kontrabidas (minus Marjorie)?

* I know I’ve been ranting about how self-centered Benjie is but he really is. Not only is he putting SInag in a tight spot (although to be fair, Sinag lied first by denying she didn’t know Benjie but you can’t blame her because Trish is scary as ef), he is also justifying Trish’s jealousy. He’s not taking into consideration the feelings and situations of either woman in his actions. And the advice “follow your heart” is total b**$***.  

In conclusion

Anyone who has experienced awkward meetings with an ex is probably wishing they had said the same things Sinag has said to Benjie. Dignified, eloquent and yet firm (which rarely happens in real life no matter how many times you rehearse a scene in your head).  Next episode, we’ll see what will be the consequence of Sinag’s decision.  

Destined to be yours Episode 32 #DTBYPaghaharap

Sinag regrets her decision to meet with Benjie and gets into a misunderstanding with Badong, Don Vicente will not let Benjie quit as lead architect, and Trish drags Sinag to look for Benjie’s “distraction.”

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Recap

So Sinag gives Benjie a chance to say what he has to say and he basically just repeats his apology from 2 years ago and asks to be friends again. Sinag has had enough of his BS and tells him to focus on Trish instead of badgering her. As she is ranting, Benjie spots Trish and Sinag hide panics. Benjie faces Trish to distract her as Sinag gets away. Trish tearfully confronts Benjie about what he’s hiding and tells him, “I know I’m not the perfect girlfriend, but I’m trying to be one.”

Sinag exhaustedly arrives home and tells her mom that she made a mistake when she met with Benjie. Unfortunately, Badong overhears. Siang reassures him that nothing happened and he has nothing to worry about.

At Rosales Development the next day, Benjie is still out of it after what happened with Sinag and Trish despite the fact that he was presenting his designs to the boss (after the delay).

Meanwhile, Sinag is stuck with a livid Trish who is still pissed off about Benjie’s secret meeting with his “ex.” After ranting and insulting “Sinag,” Trish asks DJ Sunshine to help her catch Benjie and his cheap country bumpkin ex.

While Benjie is getting critique from Catalina about his design revisions, her comments serve as triggers to his encounters with Trish and Sinag last night. He tells Don Vicente and Catalina that he’ll present new revisions and if they still don’t like it, he will resign as lead architect of Tierra Alta. But Don Vicente will not let him quit (although he was starting to think that Catalina was right when she said the project was too big for him to handle).

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Trish brings Sinag with her to the Rosales office building, and instructs her to keep her eyes peeled for Sinag, still wishing bad things befall on her. As they look through Benjie’s stuff to look for incriminating evidence or at least a clue to the jerk’s infidelity, Marjorie returns to the office. ZOMG! Will Marjorie call out to Sinag? Nope, because Trish hides with Sinag as Marjorie enters Benjie’s office to leave files (and an unprofessional kiss mark). Trish wonders if the girl is Marjorie and Sinag immediately slams the idea. “Why does it seem that you know Benj so well?” Sinag reasons out that Trish is so different from her so her boyfriend would not go for someone like her.

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Much to Sinag’s relief, they leave the office. But her relief is short lived when Benjie returns and she and Trish are forced to hide again. However, Sinag ends up entering a meeting room where three architects look at her bemusedly as she panics.

The Rosales couple talk about Benjie over a meal, and Don Vicente doesn’t mince words about his disappointment with their grandson. His wife serves as defense attorney once again which only riles up the Don. Catalina is also gets dragged in his “basket of disappointments.”

Speaking of Catalina, she’s still scheming to get the Tierra Alta project from Benjie. She is so sure that Benjie won’t be able to deliver what he promised so she’s preparing to her own designs in case her father asks. Creepy Elton volunteers to sabotage Benjie again and Catalina tells him to be on standby. 

On that same day, Teddy and Sally bring his latest art work to a friend’s museum. Said friend tells him that his latest work is a misfit to the currently displayed pieces. Teddy desperately asks him what he has to do to for his works to be accepted but he only gets brushed aside.   

Meanwhile back in the Rosales building, Benjie has returned with Jason and they talk about his meeting with Sinag last night in the lobby (where Trish is conveniently eavesdropping). Benjie denies feeling anything for Sinag and Jason reminds him that he has both Trish and his work to focus on so he should let his unresolved feelings with Sinag go. Thankfully none of them mentioned that Trish and Sinag work in the same place.

Sinag on the other hand realizes that she’s not alone in the room and comically tries to get out of the sticky situation she has fallen in (Awww…Maine did Kap Jose’s “Ang ganda!”).  As she steps out of the room, Trish is just outside, incensed at Sinag again. Crazy possessive yandere girlfriends are scary AF.

Benjie seemingly takes Jason’s advice and gets busy with his design revisions. Jason points out that his original design (that got corrupted) was better than his current design and Benjie tells him that after he submits this design, he’ll catch the person who sabotaged him. Even though the culprit is obvious, he needs concrete evidence before he can make an action. 

Trish and Sinag are back to the radio station, only to get scolded by boss-ninong for “girl-bonding during office hours.” The boss-ninong tasks Trish with planning the station’s summer outing (cuz a Filipino rom-com teleserye will not be complete without a summer beach scene). 

Because destiny is not satisfied with connecting Trish and Sinag, she also gets the Obispos and Rosales couples entangled as well. Someone bumps into Teddy on their way out and he loses it when he almost drops and damages the sculpture. Vicente (who is dragged to the museum by his wife) wastes no time in insulting a stranger, calling his labor of love “stupid’ and not worth the effort. He levels up the insult by doing the classic matapobre trick: flippantly offering money. You can imagine what happens next (more cliché lines between a poor man and a matapobre rich man).

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Benjie overhears pantry chismis between Elton and a random office worker (who also doesn’t like the upstart) and finds out that Elton was the one who sabotaged him. Benjie immediately punches him (so much for finding evidence) and gets into a fratman-level rumble. Elton voices out the jealousy and resentment of everyone in the office who secretly hate Benjie’s guts. Catalina comes out and breaks up the fight and says the most valid things (even though she’s the bad guy, she makes perfect sense). “You’re wasting the time and resources of this company.”   

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Random thoughts

* ARGHHHHH!!!! The nerve of Benjie to request Sinag to be friends with him!!! I knew he was a self-centered jerk, but I didn’t imagine he’d be this unreasonably spoiled. You don’t ask/demand for trust, you earn it, you jerk.

* And now Sinag feels bad about herself for what she did. Arghhh. This is all Benjie’s fault. Forget what I said about rooting for their forever. Benjie is a selfish jerk at his core and he’s dragging Sinag into his mess.

* Is this for real? A total stranger can just enter Senior Architect Benjamin Rosales’ office and people don’t even bat an eyelash. The receptionist could’ve escorted them to the office, even if Trish knows where it is. And my goodness, even after being sabotaged, Benjie takes no safety precaution and still leaves his office completely open to anyone (the door isn’t even closed). Like seriously. Trish is looking at company files on Benjie’s table and no one is stopping them (Sinag could easily take down Benjie for revenge if she really wanted to).

* Seriously, what is up with Marjorie and her revealing outfits? It’s like she’s purposely showing her bra to prove that she’s biologically female and not a drag queen. And can the timing of her lip stick touch up be anymore more contrived?

* Why is Dona Helen, who would always defend her grandson and badger her husband to not be too hard on him, not defending her only daughter? Is it because she also sees Catalina lacking as well?

* I thought Teddy already agreed that Nanang Puring would have exclusive rights to his works? Is that “contract” expired?

* I was right about multiple coincidental contact points. However, the Obispos don’t bump into Trish’s mom but the Rosaleses instead. And it went worse than I imagined. 

* How much bitterness is Don Vicente harboring in his spirit that he’s insulting strangers to their face?

* Was Tatay Teddy drunk? I don’t get his explosive anger at an innocent man just because his sculpture almost fell (when you think about it, it’s his fault. What in the world is the bubble wrap doing with Sally? He’s the one who’s not being careful). Although I get that Don Vicente’s callous remarks were like adding oil to the fire, and fine, Teddy is getting frustrated that his work is unappreciated in Manila. But his character’s behavior is way way different from a few episodes ago when he stopped his wife from attacking the poser “critic” who insulted his work in his face.

* Ugh Catalina is sooo effin good. If only she weren’t the spawn of the devil, I would totally be rooting for her. I hope the writers don’t give her the cliché kontrabida ending. She’s too awesome for that.  

In conclusion

I have to hand it to the writing team. I like how they’ve been using external dialogue to reflect Sinag’s and Benjie’s internal conflicts. But for the rest of the cast’s line, not so much. With Sinag and Benjie in each other’s lives again, it seems like the writers want to make the leads’ lives more complicated. It’s not enough that their parents have a past connection (because Amanda has already forgiven them for something they shouldn’t be blamed for), the Obispos need to have bad blood with the grandparents too (despite Sally’s resolution to just forget the past and let go of their resentment against the Rosaleses). Teleseryes seem to have this unwritten rule of connecting the people around the main leads. Next thing we know, Trish’s Ninong-boss is actually Ninay’s American dad.   

Destined to be yours Episode 33 #DTBYBantay

Trish asks Sinag to keep watch of her boyfriend while she’s away, Benjie and Sinag go on a road trip at Trish’s request, and Catalina gets more desperate to get rid of Benjie.

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Recap

After the office brawl, Benjie gets comforted by Trish. She also asks Benjie if her company could have their company outing at one of their resorts. Meanwhile Ninay laughs at Sinag’s dilemma with both Benjie and Trish while denying her pervious advice. Sinag (being the paragon of goodness and uprightness) decides to come clean with Trish and just face the consequences.

Benjie drops by the Rosales home while they’re having dinner. He gets scolded by Don Vicente for tarnishing the Rosales name (which is true even though it’s kinda frustrating) while Catalina silently gloats. Benjie apologizes and brings up Trish’s request. Catalina, of course, rejects his request while lightly insulting him. Benjie dejectedly turns away but his fairy grandmother saves the day again by granting his request, after hearing that Trish was going to promote the resort. Note that she approved the request without even seeing the proposal for promotion. Don Vicente sides with his wife and Catalina and Benjie get into a glaring contest.

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Teddy is still fuming over his encounter with the arrogant Don at the museum. No matter how much his wife tells him to calm down, he storms out to deal with his rage (I think Teddy is turning into an alcoholic, the kind that needs a rehab intervention).

Catalina gets some “quality time” with her right hand henchman Elton. She refuses his kisses and warns him that if her name gets dragged in his “crime,” she will personally fire him.

Trish informs her boss-ninong that the company outing is set and gets a surprise when he sends her to Singapore for a 5-day seminar for station managers (is that even a thing?). It’s insane how he’s so casual about it, “You’re leaving the day after tomorrow.” Like she doesn’t have a life or plans outside of work. Sinag drops by her cubicle, intending to come clean but retreats when she sees the boss-ninong. Trish calls her back and volunteers her to do the ocular while she heads to Singapore (like she doesn’t have her own plans as well).

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It’s been a day but Teddy is not over what happened at the museum. He’s still drinking away at daylight (wasting money) with Lolo Elvis as his companion. He drunkenly rants about the old guy and makes empty threats to the wind.

Sinag tries to get out of the trip with Benjie but Trish asks her to keep an eye on her boyfriend while she is away (unaware that she’s the Sinag that Trish has been stressing about). When Sinag informs her family about Trish’s request, the parents are strongly (and loudly) against the idea while the siblings make compelling arguments for it. Sally ends up siding with Tala and Sol, saying that Trish might get suspicious if Sinag keeps on turning her down, and Teddy is outnumbered. Meanwhile Trish and Benjie are out for dinner and she informs him about her trip to Singapore and that she’ll have someone from the station accompany him.

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The next day, Trish lays on the guilt on Sinag until she reluctantly agrees to her request. When Sinag was about to spill the beans, the earthquake drill interrupts her and she loses her chance again.

Catalina presents her designs for the Tiera Alta mall to Don Vicente and gets rejected once again. He tells her bluntly not to get involved with Benjie’s project. She (wearing a new OOTD) vents out to Elton (who is not helping at all) and makes cryptic remarks about forcing Benjie out of the company using questionable means.

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Sinag prepares for her trip with Benjie, and her parents are still worried about their daughter’s decision to go on a trip with the devil Benjie. She assures them that she will tell Trish the truth before they leave (and destiny be like, “keep on dreaming, girl”). Also, Badong (her boyfriend) does not know about all this and she asks her parents to hide it from him as well.

Our star crossed lovers meet again. Trish is now at the airport and drops the bomb on her boyfriend over the phone: Sinag is joining him to the ocular, giving him no time to make adjustments to thwart destiny. Trish gives Sinag strict orders over the phone and before Sinag could come clean, she loses the chance again.     

Sinag and Benjie bicker like rom com leads, and Benjie hides his smile (argh!!! That small smile killed me. His eyes are like in a different level of happy than when he is with Trish). Sinag lays out ground rules before they embark on the trip, still throwing shade at Benjie.

Alden and Maine Sinag and Benjie make a road trip the most epic thing on TV even without extensive dialogue. Meanwhile, Trish’s mom is at it again with her doubt-seeding, and we finally find out what Trish really thinks of her “friend.”

Sinag gets off Benjie’s car and decides to just commute to the place. Of course, she gets a hard time getting a ride as Benjie watches her with an amused smirk. He finally drives back to her and she gets back in, swallowing her pride (cause her work is still important to her). Sinag goes back to ignoring Benjie, using her headphones as a shield. But Benjie turns up the volume of his car stereo to drown out what Sinag was hearing.

Badong (finally) shows up and asks the Obispos where Sinag was. Sally ends up telling Badong that Sinag was with Benjie.

Finally, we get a song that is not the DTBY OST playing on the background. Sinag ends up falling asleep as Benjie drives and we get the classic “asleep on the shoulder” scene. Of course, Sinag snores unlady-like to break the romantic atmosphere. And Benjie flashes that cute boy next door smile.          

 

Random thoughts

*OH EM GEE. Was my hunch right? Is Catalina not really her mother’s daughter?

* What if Trish meets her ex (the guy she cheated on Benjie with) while she’s in Singapore?

* Teddy is diverting his rage against himself (for being an unreliable padre de pamilya) to a pompous old man. That’s why he is so angry and why he cannot let this incident go.

* Why can’t Sinag use Badong as an excuse to Trish, tell her that he’s jealous AF so spending time with another man is a terrible idea?

* Hmmm…Trish is getting those migraines so often. I wouldn’t be surprised if later on they’ll reveal she’s sick, making it hard for Benjie to break up with her. 

* Argh! I can’t get over how different Benjie’s eyes are when he’s looking at Sinag.

* In this universe, all rich people are ill-mannered, self-centered, self-entitled brats who are disconnected from reality.

* Jusmiyo. Badong is such a bland character. Even though he’s been promoted to boyfriend, he is still kinda useless as third wheel character.

In conclusion

Ugh. Alden and Maine are just too cute for words. Even though I hate infidelity themed stories, where the writers use destiny to excuse getting involved with another while in a relationship, our bibis are just magical together. I get that Sinag and Benjie are not cheating on their respective partners now and just because they’re in romantic situations together against their volition does not mean that they are being unfaithful to their partners, but that’s how it starts. No matter how they explain, their partners will still feel cheated on, which will lead to more sneaking around, more bursts of jealousy until both parties break up.