A Fisherfolk Tale – The episode opens in the Cordova Fishing Village in the Philippines. Uncle Emilio Castro (Lorenz Martinez) confronts Miguel Castro (Joel Saracho) for turning down a business opportunity to keep his agreement with the Romero family. Miguel says their “integrity” is important above all else. Emilio calls him a “fool” before threatening to go against his decision. Miguel assures him that he will stop him before patting his cheek.

Alex Walker (Christian Kane) describes his recently acquired beaten and battered trawler, “Albatross” as “beautiful” and “sexy.” Ramon Romero (Race Matias) warns that the repairs will take forever before reminding him of his never being a boat owner. Alex claims the owner said the trawler is in great condition. Removing the engine cover, Ramon points out the corrosion on the engine. Alex asks him to help keep the Albatross running. Ramon reluctantly gives him his business card.

Ramon tells Julia Castro (Gabby Padilla) that he wants to name their baby Angelo or Angela, depending on the sex. She assures him that marriage is out of the question for now.  He suggests practicing in the meantime. She questions her decision to meet him on their side. Stunned, he reminds her that the beach does not have an owner. She says the Castro family believes otherwise. He claims an ancestor said no Romero fears a Castro when a group of armed Castro men approach. He flees only a short distance before being apprehended. Miguel reminds her of what he said about not being around Ramon. As they take her away, she pleads with him to not harm him. Ramon confesses to loving Julia. While beating him, they order him to stay away from her. He threatens to kill them all.

Alex leaves Rita Cordero (Sophia Reola) in charge of his gift shop while he takes the Albatross out. She reminds him that she has tickets for the 4:00 “Pepperfish Tales” showing at the local theater. He promises to be back before 4pm. Before he leaves, she asks if he would bring her a Pepperfish Angelfish.  After anchoring the Albatross, he does a little scuba diving. Failing to catch Rita a Pepperfish Angelfish, he returns to the boat. Headed to another location, the engine implodes. Extinguishing the fire, he calls in a tow request. While Ramon ties the Albatross to the dock, Alex notices the abrasions on his face and arms. Ramon jokingly says, “You should have seen the other guy.” Alex asks if the other guy was Manny Pacquiao. Assessing the engine damage, Ramon warns that it may be difficult to find the discontinued parts.

Ernesto Alamares (Arthur Acuna) and Kai Mendoza (Samantha Richelle) process a crime scene. An uninformed officer (Carlos Canlas) informs him of the victim’s family blaming the murder on another family. The victim is identified as Miguel Castro. As Ramon prepares to work on the discontinued boat parts, Alex grabs a beer when he sees a photo of Julia and Ramon. She bursts through the door, demanding to know if he killed Miguel. He claims his family found him unconscious on the beach. She warns that her family believes he is the killer before urging him to leave. Alex orders him to run while he deals with the Castros. Emilio breaks a beer bottle. Alex prepares to take on the group when the police arrive. Emilio places the broken bottle on the ground before they file outside. Ramon is arrested.

Alex tells Kai that the arrest is hasty. She claims witnesses heard Ramon threaten to murder Miguel. An officer (David Sindo) hands her a wrench covered in blood and Miguel’s watch from the toolshed. Alex assures them that Ramon is not the killer.

Alex is in the hull when he hears Emilio tell an Aussie man (Joachim Idinye) that someone is going to take him to Hong Kong on a high-speed boat. The man suggests getting the locals involved. Emilio warns that he is dead if anyone finds out what he is doing. The man says hopefully he will pay them tomorrow.

Chief Ike Ocampo (Nonie Buencamino) discusses Miguel’s murder case with Ernesto and Kai. There are two sets of fingerprints, only one that matches Ramon’s. Ernesto and Kai are leaving to speak with witnesses of Ramon’s beating when they encounter Alex. Ernesto assesses his backpack to discover tools and boat parts. Alex convinces him to let him visit with Ramon. Ramon warns against repairing the parts without a fire extinguisher. Alex informs him that the police believe he is guilty of killing Miguel. Ramon claims to have an alibi. Alex questions if his family would lie for him before reminding him of the evidence from the toolshed. Ramon swears on Julia’s life that he is innocent. Alex asks Ramon what he knows about Emilio.

Alex sees Emilio and a man loading boxes onto a boat. A member of the Castro family (Kiks Ferrer) asks what he is doing. Alex claims to be sightseeing. The man identifies Alex as “Ramon’s friend.” Another Castro member (Paolo Tabuena) accuses him of being on their side of the beach. They identify them as the “border patrol” before displaying a large knife. Alex grabs the knife out of his hand when one of the boys attacks him. He shoves the boy away. The boys threaten his friends before fleeing.

Julia’s mother (Jenny Jamora) questions Julia why she continues to support Miguel’s killer. An elderly Castro (Lui Manansala) describes all Romeros as “evil.” Julia says the hatred shared between the families is linked to something they have no recollection of. Kai pulls her outside to talk about Ramon’s beating.  She claims to have seen Miguel leave Emilio to deal with Ramon. She confesses to not support the war between their families. Kai tells her that witnesses reportedly heard him threatening Miguel. Julia assures her that Ramon does not possess the hate to murder Miguel.

Ernesto finds himself surrounded by armed Romeros. William Romero (Nikko Natividad) accuses him of arresting the wrong man. Placing his service weapon on the hood of his cruiser, Ernesto prepares to take them on when Mr. Romero (Audie Gemora) intervenes. Mr. Romero explains how the Romero/Castro feud followed the Bago Hill battle. Both families were destined to fish the same reef. William collapses on the floor. Mr. Romero accuses the Castro family of poisoning him.

Ocampo tells the locals of William having a bout of food poison from bad fish. Mr. Romero claims Ramon was with his family all night. Ocampo imposes a curfew. Emilio issues orders to several boys.

Alex tinkers his boat engine when Emilio’s boat pulls up to the dock. A Romero man is attacked by several members of the Castro family. Ernesto and Kai apprehend one of the boys. Wearing scuba diving gear, Alex gets a better look at a man doing something in the water. He watches the man resurface and climb aboard Emilio’s boat. A man says he plans to flee the village before they discover Ramon’s innocence. Alex discovers the cargo is containers of sodium cyanide. He discovers the broken bottle that Emilio planted in the garage. He arrives at the jail as Kai informs Ernest of William’s test results – cyanide poisoning. He tells them about the sodium cyanide on Emilio’s boat before giving them the broken bottle. He says Emilio plans to flee to Hong Kong on a smuggler’s boat.

Ramon tells Alex, Ernesto, and Kai that cyanide fishing is profitable. Tropical fish are native to the Philippines. Cyanide is utilized to daze tropical fish to make them easier to catch. He explains how the cyanide eroded the reef and tainted some food fish. An agreement between the two families prohibits cyanide fishing in the reef. “Pepperfish Tales Two” is responsible for the soaring demand for tropical fish. A uniformed officer (Junichi Yabushita) tells them that prints from the broken bottle match prints on the wrench. Officer Hernandez alerts of the Castro family not being at home, taking care of “unfinished business.” Ernesto warns of a Bago Hill war between the families. Alex says the smuggler plans to refuel at the dock nearest to the village on his way to Hong Kong. Ernesto tells him that would be Bakhawan Point. Alex takes off after Ernesto while they head to Bago Hill.

The Castro and Romero families prepare for battle at Bago Hill. Alex takes the smuggler’s boat after knocking him out. Ernesto and Kai stop the war. Holding up a Pepper Anglefish, Emilio says the tropical fish is going to make him wealthy as the smuggler boat approaches. Ernesto tells the families that Emilio killed Miguel to keep his tropical fish smuggling scheme a secret. William ingested cyanide-laced fish. They order the families to wait until the Department of Health determines if the fish is safe to eat. Emilio promises to pay the Aussie man before boarding the smuggler boat. When Alex calls in on the radio, Emilio realizes he is not the smuggler. A struggle ensues and ends with both men in the water. The unmanned boat crashes into the Albatross. Alex watches in horror.

Two Weeks Later – Alex has Rita working on the Albatross. She reminds him of her overtime hours and his being late causing her to miss the “Pepperfish Tales Two” movie. He apologizes. Accepting, she suggests a bonus and an equity position. Ramon announces the Albatross’ hull is in good condition. Julia asks if he and his colleagues on the police force play security at their wedding. Alex is aboard the Albatross when the episode ends.

 

Almost Paradise Review

The series is plagued by weak writing and cringeworthy dialogue. It is difficult to take the show series when Alex is more concerned about his boat than Ramon. The plot is nothing close to being original. It would be safe to say it is a weakened down version of the “Hatfield and McCoy” feud.

The scene in which Alex describes the Albatross as “beautiful” is very similar to “Beyond Paradise.” Too script has many similarities with other series.

The acting is not always believable. Some lines are recited with little to no emotion. The murder investigation is nowhere near flawless. Too many obvious oversights to ignore. It didn’t help that Kai and Ernesto repeatedly ignore Alex’s evidence valuable to the case. Ernest permitted Alex to see Ramon with a backpack filled with tools and boat parts. Inmates have been known to make lethal weapons out of much less.

It is worth mentioning, the series has some good aspects. The cinematography is the best I have seen in a while. The scenes with Alex and Rita are charming. My review is subjective, so I expect, not everyone will agree.

The episode deserves it 5.2. Get more Almost Paradise recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by clicking the link. Our onsite advertising is effective in building brand awareness.