BLISS RATING: ★★★★+
“We love with a love that is more than love.” – Edgar Alan Poe
This is an incredibly unique story that is a worthy continuation from Season One. In Season One, Angelo is the guardian angel for Dominic for his transition from life to death as he is being ravaged by AIDS. It is a deeply spiritual story with quite an esoteric message. They fall in love and when Dominic finally dies, they are hoping to get their ‘wings’ and enter heaven. But God has one more task for them to complete before they can transition to heaven. And that saga is a profoundly painful journey of redemption and enlightenment.
This story needs to be commended for it expanding the premise of creating the feeling that humanity, with all its foibles, still exists among angels. This story is astonishingly deep and profound and really tests the limits, and perhaps the capacities of forgiveness, redemption, and love. There is so much to unpack in this series that it might have taken on too much to get to its point and in the process, we became overwhelmed with solemnity.
Kaleb Ong continues as Damon and Enzo Santiago as Angelo. They are seemingly ‘living’ a blissful life as angels almost ready to go to heaven. But their last assignment to get to heaven is that they must now become guardian angels to each other’s significant others while they were alive. When we realize how toxic their relationships were and how individual actions led to incredibly dire consequences and unimaginable pain, we are strained to the limits to try and understand. They are all flawed, imperfect, untrustworthy, and broken. Realizing each of their mistakes after it is too late.
Michael, (Miggy Campbell), Damon’s ex-boyfriend, is tortured for what he did to Damon, leaving him to die alone. But his reason was based on a twist of tragic irony. Michael fell in love with Kevin (Rex Lantono), who was Angelo’s ex-boyfriend. Because he wanted to be with Michael, Kevin commits a mortal sin. And Angelo, jealous because he knew of their relationship, commits an even greater sin to Damon when he was alive. In all this sinfulness and horrifying behaviors, the settlement for all the pain and anguish falls on Damon. His test is and must be to forgive. His spiritual guidance is given to him by his Uncle Peter (Gio Emprese), now a priest. In an astonishing and beautiful twist, Peter is also guided along by his guardian angel, a former love of his named Gabriel by (Darwin Hann). We never know the extent of their relationship from the past but imagine that it was more than merely platonic.
This series tells the agony of the journey to forgiveness. This story is hard to watch because it is torturous and heavy on homily and preachiness. Despite that, it forces you to think about what would and could you forgive. And can love really conquer it all? This is one of those series that may affect you deeply, or perhaps not at all. It is really based on your religious upbringings, and own definition of what love is. For me, being a former Catholic, it affected me deeply and profoundly. It sees God only in terms of forgiveness, compassion, and love and strictly in our own image. If God made us in his (or her) own image, then how I define love is my individual choice. That is its message.
Gay romance is not necessarily the center point of this series. What is, are these tenets. Take from this what you want:
1. “We have to know how to forgive”. What a beautiful precept and this series is replete with examples of God’s love and forgiveness being shown to individuals who are painfully evil, sinful, and nefarious Even angels must learn that.. Can we really also?
2. “The person who truly loves, knows how to forgive.” Could you really forgive the person you deeply love for committing what might be unforgiveable act?
3. “Your love does not need the approval of this judgmental society because God is the one who blessed your love.” Love is presented non-judgmentally here, even in heaven. This is directly against the teachings and directions of the Catholic Church.
4. “Life is like gold…it always has value.” No matter what deeds were committed, our action is to not pass judgment, but to forgive and let the individual face the consequences of his/her actions accordingly.
5. “Every sin in the world has their corresponding consequences and by accepting this consequence you should be willing to accept it without fear.” This is the ultimate definition of admittance to a transgression knowing what the outcome will be and embracing it to then become whole again.
6. “Love is acceptance and acceptance is free and being free is choosing your happiness.” This is an astonishing definition of LOVE and one that should be adopted especially by the Catholic Church.
7. “Love is when you think of how you make your partner happy. Love is never selfish.” Such a simple and elegant defining of love that was lost on these couples because they all became too self-absorbed.
There is so much to unpack in this series. Perhaps too much. It became overwhelming and at times sounded like sermons on the mount and preaching from the pulpit. The agony of each of their transgressions were at times painful to watch. Some learned and will deal with the consequences while others turned inward, but all showed torment and anguish. (A bit overdone at times, however). Through it all, God’s presence is shown with acceptance, care, and a feeling that once forgiveness is granted, life grows. To have portrayed God (Peter Chollo Sotiangco) as a young stunningly handsome man, was a stroke of genius. When he tells Damion and Angelo that he is their father, somehow, I bought it. He conveyed strength, understanding, acceptance, and forgiveness. His quiet mannerisms and soft tone to his voice convinced me he was God. If God is anything even remotely like this young man, I shall never fear death.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. the series? The acting in this series is exceptional. Both Kaleb and Enzo settled into their roles with greater ease in this series. I applaud both for making their characters feel so human but angelic at the same time. They had to be careful not to appear either too human, too angelic, or too much like caricatures. Miggy, as Michael, is the most tortuous of souls here, and does so with tremendous drama. The look of pain on his face was so real and the overwhelming guilt he felt for what he did to Damion is exceptionally noteworthy in believability and atonement. At times, however, his performance was just a bit overdone and drawn out too much. Darwin as Gabriel is such an enigmatic figure. He plays with Peter’s emotions reminding him of their old days. Yet, he fulfills the image of what an angle would be like and act. This is something so endearing about his performance. He had a way of teasing Peter that was almost erotic but never went beyond a tease. His subtleties in pulling off this role is remarkable to watch for its tenderness and softness. And Rex as Kevin is astonishing as he plays the part with a sense of arrogance but fully cognizant that his transgressions were mortal sins. He of all of them was clearly able to ask for forgiveness, forgive himself, and take full responsibility for the deadly actions he caused. His face goes from torturous to one of peace when he finally realizes he must be held accountable for and suffer the consequences of his actions. His facial expressions (he honestly has a face of an angel) is a thing of beauty to watch mainly for the subtleties to his expressions. But for me, the role that displays the most character is Peter played by Gio Emprese. He is the “Rock” of support that Damion needed in Season 1 and remains that way in Season 2. He is now a priest and projects his character not only as an understanding minister of the Church but also as a communicator of love. He also knows not just on an intellectual level, but also on an emotional one, the pain that Damion and Angelo are going through. He conveys that in so many indiscernible and beautiful ways. He is there when needed and fades back when not. He provides the story with a moral compass and a guiding light with his words of wisdom and compassionate manner. He portrays that with such sincerity and deep commitment to the role. If I knew a priest like him, I might even consider going back to the Church for spiritual guidance. An ‘Honorary Mention’ must also be given (as I noted previously) to Peter as God. Such a great choice. This could have been such a disaster if they did not convey themselves as their characters as completely as they did and with a sincere belief in their personifications.
A bit surprising, this series touched me deeply and profoundly. Its message of forgiveness and love is evident and overriding. It went with its message to forgive to places that almost bordered on being unforgiveable, but it makes you realize that if you want to be saved (however you want to define that term), you must learn to pardon not just with empty words but with complete sincerity that reaches to your deepest core. In other words, to your soul.
This may not be a likeable drama for a lot of people perhaps because it is very esoteric and at times the message too didactic. It presents “God and Angels” not in perceived forms but in a way that shows them as an extension of their corporeal humanities that is so relatable. In places, this series tried perhaps too hard and too much to show its point but that should not be a nullifying factor. For, in this case, however, the tale becomes far more radiant and vibrant than merely presenting a story with no clear moral compass. Whether you are Catholic or not, its message is clear and unequivocal – love is forgiveness and forgiveness is love.
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