BLISS RATING: ★★★★
“Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle; love is a war; love is a growing up.”– James Baldwin
Padayon is a Filipino word in the Visayan dialect meaning ‘onward’ or ‘to continue’. And this series is aptly named. The location is in a remote Filipino province where a woman and her son are essentially caretakers of a rural home for a wealthy family. They rarely visit but on this occasion the son comes.
The son’s name is Andre Rodriguez (John Padillia). He is an angry, arrogant, condescending, and a dismissive young man who thinks everyone else not like him is his to toy with. He is obviously spoiled but apparently his father has had enough of his self-indulgence and has banished him to the rural home, where is he now stuck since it is still the pandemic. Andre is a bully and tries to get his way whenever and wherever he can. However, he meets Kai Andres (Ian Rosapapan) who along with his mother maintain and manage the house. He is dismissive of Kai, but Kai overlooks a lot of his behavior as he sees something worth saving in Andre.
It is a poor area but filled with a rich diversity of people who do understand each other. It is only slightly obvious initially that Kai is gay as he is not completely out but has several transgender friends in this community. It is as much a story about them as it is about the relationship between Kai and Andre. This area seemingly accepts the group of trans individuals, and this story portrays their struggles with a great deal of understanding and acceptance. But it does not present it with Pollyanna rose-colored glasses. They tackle and discuss some of the issues that bespeckle the trans community. This portion is very well presented and written with a great deal of understanding and empathy but certainly not with complete idealism.
While Andre is busy being his condescending self, Kai’s interest in him intensifies. Perhaps feeling sad for such a lonely person or the stirrings of genuine feelings of an attraction for him make him become closer to Andre. In any case, the two of them begin to spend more and more time together and as they do, Andre’s defensive walls crumble. He begins to see the people he has been calling small as hard working, industrious, and severely taken advantage of.
He actually begins to do the labor of the natives and sees how hard manual labor really is. While he has a reputation of being arrogant, Kai does not see him like that and begins to redirect his mind set into a new direction. Kai tells him that he only sees them as a burden to him. Kai says to him, “Our life is difficult and yet you feel like you are having more difficulties.” He begins to show Andre what life for others is really like. Their relationship strengthens and they become even closer, and both begin to look forward and enjoy each other’s company.
All of this is to the consternation of Kai’s best friend, Drix (Florentino Bautista). Drix has been his best friend for a long time and in a sense feels entitled to Kai’s attention. And when Kai’s attention turns to Andre, he becomes jealous. Their bromance is fast ending because he realizes that Kai is gay, and he has developed a sexual interest in Andre. A difficult observation for Drix to make and accept yet he knows it is inevitable. He must learn to go into the direction he wants while Kai must do the same for his life. This story is a real coming-of-age story and in that sense, it seems quite sincere and real. There is a stunningly beautiful scene between Kai and his mother when she gently and softly tells him that she ‘knows’. And her acceptance of him is complete and full and unconditional. It is a beautiful story.
Just when the relationship begins to blossom, in comes Elaine (Milen Alonde) ex-girlfriend of Andre, who is even more pompous and arrogant and controlling than he was previously. Kai is deeply hurt because of his dishonestly and for his constant trying to get Kai to understand him while he never seems to understand Kai. Elaine is desperate to break up this budding relationship, but Andre finds Kai and with great emotion and vulnerability tells him that he really like him and to take a chance of them being together. However, we may never know the outcome.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. the series? I am going to digress a bit and name all the transgender individuals who participated in this cute gem of a story. They did so with great passion, and it is obvious it is a labor of love for them to do and it is in essence really their story. They convey their hardships along with their dreams and aspirations with some hoping to meet that certain special someone. This is inspiration for many with their stories making it particularly poignant. Kudos for all of those who had the courage and fortitude to make their story while fictional ring true and relatable. It was indeed a refreshing turn for a BL series.
The screenplay in this series is surprisingly good as it takes to heart the commonality of the surroundings and the people who inhabit those surroundings. But the ending is cryptic and unfinished.
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