As May came to a close, the month when Mother’s Day is also celebrated every year, “Maalaala Mo Kaya” ended it with another inspiring story that follows the journey of a stepmother who provided nothing but genuine and unparalleled love towards her stepdaughter, most especially when their family went through the toughest trial they’d ever faced.
Tagged “A Stepmother Story,” the episode was headlined by Iza Calzado, Krystal Mejes, and James Blanco, who all astounded us with their compelling portrayals of their respective roles. It was streamed in advance last May 28 via iWant and aired on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live (KOL), and A2Z on May 31, Saturday.
In some stories that we know or have heard, stepparents usually find it challenging to establish relationships with children of their partners due to various reasons. But it’s a totally different case for Marissa (Iza) and Angel (Zia Grace/Krystal), who used to have a close-knit bond when the latter was still little. Sadly, things suddenly changed between them when Angel was sent by her father, Albert (James), to the province to live with her grandparents.
The absence of Angel further broke the heart of Marissa, who just suffered from a miscarriage. Thus, in order to fill the void that she felt, she directed her motherly affection to her students by looking after their welfare not just at school but also outside the academe. This include rescuing one of her students named Lyka from her abusive father after she noticed her dwindling academic performance.
Angel returned to them four years later, but already a distant and rebellious teenager. As Albert often reprimanded Angel, Marissa was always there to defend her, telling Albert that their daughter was still adjusting to her new environment and to the life with them. Marissa made efforts to regain the trust and love of Angel by buying coloring and art materials for, including a canvas with a gumamela sketch on it.
As Marissa was still trying to rebuild her relationship with her stepdaughter, Albert decided to once again send Angel away after she got embroiled in a theft issue at school. They were able to confirm when they saw the envelope that contained her class’ PTA funds and she went home with brand-new headphones. Marissa pleaded her husband to give Angel a second chance but it only fell on deaf ears as Albert was already determined to give her daughter a lesson.
When they lost her again, Marissa focused her attention on guiding her students, such as by helping one of her students, Dennis (Benedix Ramos), to keep up with and pass all his subjects after being absent from his classes due to his need of helping his family in their finances. Dennis indeed passed and promised to not waste the opportunity that she’d given him as his way of expressing his gratitude to her.
Angel came back to them anew after two years, more detached and more defiant. She became friends with Carlo (Lance Lucido), from whom she learned how to smoke and drink. This created a rift among their family, with Angel harboring hatred against Marissa for slapping her after she told her not to meddle with her life since they’re not related, and Marissa telling Albert the right thing they should’ve done to discipline and raise their daughter.
The nightmare they had been dreading unfortunately came when Angel was sexually abused by Carlo and his two friends, which included Dennis, who can be recalled was helped by Marissa. This, of course, exasperated Marissa, making her more determined to seek justice for what had happened to their daughter. On the other hand, this made Albert reflect on his shortcomings and mistakes as a father and a partner to his family, as well as asked Marissa to not give up on him and Angel yet since he couldn’t do it on his own.
Marissa swore to not leave them and they promised to fight the battle together. One of his co-teachers and the school principal tried to discourage Marissa to not push through with the case anymore as this would only complicate things and ruin the futures of everyone involved. Seeing how this issue had taken a toll on Marissa’s well-being, especially when they found out that she was already pregnant, not to mention being apologetic for how she disrespected her, Angel suggested for them to just agree with the settlement.
But Marissa was firm in not letting that happen as she related to Angel her traumatic past. According to her, she almost suffered the same fate as hers after two men harass her until another man came to save her. That painful experience prompted her to be rebellious and hang out with people who are bad influence, thinking that it would help her numb the pain that she had kept to herself for a very long time.
Since she wasn’t able to give herself the justice that she deserved because she chose to keep quiet and not fight for herself, not to mention that she failed to protect Angel from what had happened to her, Marissa was more resolved to fight for her beloved stepdaughter amidst the discouragements they’d gotten.
In the end, Angel didn’t get justice as Dennis and Carlo were acquitted from the case. However, she has never lost hope and now plans to continue her studies, taking up Education to become a teacher just like her.
Takeaways from the story and feedbacks from netizens
Since it was four years already since she last appeared on “MMK,” fans were indeed delighted and thrilled for her comeback via the latest “A Stepmother Story” episode. And she indeed–just like what she always does–lived up to the excitement of everyone through her compelling portrayal of the titular character, Marissa.
She really made us feel the pain of a mother who lost her child not just once but multiple times due to the repeated departure of her stepdaughter, Angel. We felt it deeper during Marissa’s confrontation and poignant scenes with Angel and Albert, more so when their battle in seeking justice for what happened to Angel began. Indeed, Iza’s dramatic chops would never falter.
Krystal, on the other hand, absolutely impressed us with her promising performance as Angel. She displayed versatility with how she’s able to pull off the rebellious, sentimental, and soft facets of her character. With the caliber of acting that she exhibited, there’s no doubt that she is among the next stars to watch out for.
James, for his part, once again enthralled us with his dramatic chops, which many of us have probably missed seeing since we seemingly have not seen him for quite some time. He truly did a great job in playing his character, Albert, a domineering and harsh father who eventually expressed remorse for his shortcomings and mistakes.
Despite her very limited exposure, fast-rising child star Zia Grace was able to not only charm us with her cuteness but also move us with her promising dramatic chops.
Aside from touching us with its inspiring narrative and the riveting performances of the actors, “A Stepmother Story” was also able to impart valuable lessons to viewers.
First, it reminds us that love will always be a choice and this is not only limited to romantic relationships. Marissa, despite not having any blood affinity with Angel, still showered her stepdaughter with compassion, unconditional love, and unwavering support–more than what her father and other relatives could provide for her. Angel might have disrespected her and gone hostile against her but that didn’t stop Marissa from choosing to continue loving her.
Marissa is indeed proof that we do not need blood affinity in order for us to show compassion, love, and kindness to other people. Motherhood, after all, is not limited to bearing and giving birth to a child but it’s more of a commitment.
Lastly, their family reminds us that no trial or tribulation is impossible to conquer as long as we have people in our lives who are willing to stand by us and support us until the end.
Here are some of the feedback posted by Kapamilya netizens who got to watch the “Gumamela” episode, written by Raymund T. Barcelon and directed by Paco Sta. Maria:
Watch out for the next episodes of “MMK” 48 hours in advance every Thursday on iWant, as well as every Saturday at 8:30PM on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live (KOL), and A2Z.