Bahala Na – As this episode of Almost Paradise begins, Victor Calendas (Jerry O’Hara) apologizes to a woman for having to use the bathroom so often. He wants her to help him tell his story because the story needs to be told before the election. Victor tells Maria Manalo (Shaina Magdayao) that he doesn’t want to take the story to his grave. Maria knows that his unit had just reached the coast near Davao. Victor says the submarine was there, but the intelligence was not good. When the unit split up, he stays with the leader named Alejandro Fernandez. Before Victor can finish the story, the nurse arrives with dinner. Maria says they can start again in the morning because Victor needs to eat.

Later that night, a man sneaks into the facility to smother Victor with a pillow. When he comes out, he has Victor’s medal because he thought it was cool. The other man tells him to get rid of it because it is evidence. It is thrown out of the window. After the intro, Alex Walker (Christian Kane) tries to deal with a termite infestation. The exterminator (Michael Dolero) says it is a tent job so they’ll have to close the shop for several days. Alex tells him to start today before temporarily moving in with Ernesto Alamares (Arthur Acuna). He learns that Ernesto lives with a lot of people and they take care of each other. Ernesto introduces him to Cousin Angelo. He reveals that Linda is coming over for the weekend.

Alex is going to bunk with Ernesto’s grandpa, Silvio (Leo Rialp). Silvio gets Angelo (Jairus Aquino) to help him find his stuff using the tracking devices he put on them. They watch the Senate debate before sitting down for food. Later, Ernesto tells Alex that Silvio has a thing with Americans that goes back to his service during World War II. Ten hours after Pearl Harbor, they also hit the Philippines. After they were occupied by the Japanese, it was up to guerillas to keep the fight going. When Silvio joins them, Alex tries to talk to him about his military service and the picture on the wall. He learns it was taken near Davao. Silvio or Lolo doesn’t want to talk about it. In the middle of the night, the hitman breaks in and tries to kill Lolo.

Alex calls for Ernesto as the others quickly respond. The hitman manages to escape and flee in a van. Alex and Ernesto discuss the hit and call it a professional job. Although Ernesto can’t imagine why they’d do it, he is adamant that it won’t happen again. At the station, Kai Mendoza (Samantha Richelle) gives Ernesto a list of Philippine World War II vets and mentions that three of them died in Cebu in the past two weeks. They were all asphyxiated while they were sleeping. The coroner wouldn’t certify them as natural deaths. They call around and try to get information about the men. Ernesto says two of them got a visit from a reporter with the SunStar. Kai immediately suspects Maria Manalo. Alex talks to Linda about the compound being locked down.

Lolo claims the Americans are always there to help themselves. When Alex reminds him that he tried to save his life, Lolo says he would’ve broken the man’s arms in ten more seconds. Alex wants to know why he hates Americans so much. Lolo says they were waiting for their next mission. In a flashback, they receive a package from MacArthur’s headquarters in Melbourne. There is a German industrialist in Cebu working with the Japanese called Bluthner. In reality, he is an American spy named George Rowe. He has detailed maps of the Japanese defenses. MacArthur is sending a sub to pick up him at Bagacay point near Danao. Since there are many enemies around there, Carlotta is coming with them. The Japanese know the map is missing so they need to get Rowe out of there before they realize he has it.

With her help, they manage to get through a checkpoint. They should reach the pick-up point at eleven hundred hours tomorrow. Carlotta tells Victor and the others about the importance of getting this man and his map off the island. They shouldn’t engage the enemy unless absolutely necessary. One man talks about following Carlotta instead of Alejandro because she is a legend in the Resistance. The entire Japanese officer corps fear that she’ll appear and slit their throats in the night. Rowe is told that she’ll get him to his submarine. Rowe says their sacrifice will not be forgotten because Washington will honor them. In the present, Lolo says the American government only honored some of their men. Alex agrees that he has a reason to be bitter.

Linda says the US government hasn’t been great about keeping its promises. Ernesto and Kai go to the newspaper office to see what they can find about Maria. The man there hasn’t heard from her in three or four days though. They don’t think she is responsible for the murders, but she could be in danger. While they talk about her latest story, Ernesto notices that she had his address. They thank Mr. Basilio before leaving. When they leave, Maria calls Kai to acknowledge that they’re looking for her. They meet. Maria explains that it all started three weeks ago. A man at the nursing home reached out, but he refused to speak when she went to see him. She began contacting the old men in their 90s and none of them would talk to her. Victor Calendas agreed to talk.

A story began emerging when they spoke. Before they could speak again, Victor died. Two scary looking men came to her house. Once she says they drove a black van, Kai notices a black van coming towards them. The van taunts them before speeding away. Kai takes Maria back to Ernesto’s place so she’ll be safe. While she is there, she begins interviewing Silvio. He is asked about being attached to a Waray guerrilla platoon commanded by Alejandro. He was and he took part in the mission to deliver George Rowe to the US Armed Forces in the Far East near Danao. The mission was only successful for the Americans. In a flashback, Carlotta says their friends in the village left them a Bangka boat.

They’ll take him out to the spot where the sub should be waiting. They learn that the enemy has moved closer. They have a machine gun nest on the next bluff overlooking the shore. Carlotta says she will go with the American down to the boat. She needs one of them to volunteer to go with her. Another group will attempt to take out the machine gun nest. Later, Carlotta realizes that they haven’t heard gunshots even though they should’ve been there by now. Carlotta suggests they caught them with blades since that is Fernandez’s specialty. Carlotta agrees to go first because Rowe has to get on the sub. She tells Private Alamares to take care of Rowe and his information if something happens to her.

When they move in, the enemy begins firing on them. Carlotta is shot. She tells Alamares to leave her. The others get the machine gun nest, but it might be too late for Carlotta. Alamares doesn’t want to leave her. Rowe pulls him away. He manages to get on the sub. Silvio says he spent the rest of the war in an Australian military hospital. The intelligence from Rowe was key to retaking the islands several months later. Fernandez and the others were honored for their role in the mission. Silvio never heard from Rowe or the American government again. Carlotta’s sacrifice went unrecognized. Silvio believes it would’ve been different if they had waited for Fernandez to get the machine guns.

Maria doubts it would be that simple. She knows exactly what happened that day after speaking to witnesses. In a flashback, Fernandez and his men see that there are more enemies so they suggest going back to the base. Another man doesn’t want to do that though. Before they can get back, they hear shooting. One of the men pulls the pin from a grenade and runs towards the enemies. Maria says he dived into the nest and both grenades went off. He saved the mission. The man’s name is lost in history. Silvio gets upset and breaks the television when he sees a campaign ad for Ruby Fernandez. Maria says Alejandro took the credit. The others likely didn’t come forward because they were put on the family’s payroll.

Maria believes Victor and the others were killed to protect that lie. She calls her boss and he is going to meet her in an hour. He wants to see the source documents and hear the tapes for himself. Maria says it needs to be in the next edition because the election is only days away. She has to take the stuff in and lay it out for her boss. Kai convinces her to spend the night there. However, Marie sneaks out in the middle of the night. She catches up with Mr. Basilio so she can tell him about the story. In the morning, Angelo realizes that his motorcycle is missing. Alex says Maria must’ve disguised herself as Angelo to get out last night. Kai says she went to the office which is exactly what she told her not to do.

Maria’s boss destroys the phone with the evidence on it. The hitmen come in and point guns at her. When Kai and the others reach SunStar offices, they find that Maria is already gone. In the black van, Maria asks Mr. Basilio how it all works. After hitting her, Basilio says corruption starts with a cigar. Alex and the others check the boss’s office and find the broken phone. They also notice a back door that leads to a parking lot. Kai remembers that Maria was wearing Silvio’s jacket so it should have a tracking device on it. As they use Angelo to lead them to the jacket, Basilio asks Maria who else knows the story. She refuses to tell him. Alex and the others surround the black van. Once they take out the others, Basilio holds Maria hostage.

Alex attacks him from behind. Maria is thrilled to have the story of the year. She reveals that she backed her phone up on Angelo’s system. They celebrate the story later. Mrs. Aurora Velasco is introduced to Alex, Kai, and Ernesto. She thanks them for what they’ve done. Maria thanks Alex for using his contacts in Washington to make things right. Ernesto’s grandfather will finally get the recognition he deserves. Silvio learns that he will receive a medal and a check. He is told that Carlotta survived. She was found by villagers and taken to safety. Then, she went to the United States and married. She died in 2010 at the age of 81.

 

Almost Paradise Review

Although the story of Bahala Na tried to be meaningful, it was bogged down by mediocre writing and silly twists. Viewers will easily be able to see things being set up so they’ll know what is coming next. In other words, the story was too predictable. You could tell what was coming with Maria’s boss, the tracking devices, and other things.

Again, there wasn’t really an investigation since most of the episode was spent telling flashbacks from Silvio’s mission with Carlotta. It would’ve been nice to see other actors play the roles in the flashbacks since that would’ve given more jobs to the local population. The series is really cheesy and some of the decisions in the flashback scenes just confirm that.

Most of the episodes start off well with a gritty murder. Then, it goes downhill because it rarely takes anything seriously. I wish there was a concurrent story that ties the episodes together, but there doesn’t seem to be so far.

Fans who like cheesy shows like this will probably like what Almost Paradise has to offer, but it won’t do enough to attract a larger audience. The episode scores a 5 out of 10.

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