The pilot episode of the “It’s Okay To Not Be Okay” Philippine adaptation gave us a glimpse of the simple and heartwarming bond between Patpat (Joshua Garcia), a nurse at the psychiatric ward of St. Benedict Hospital, and his older brother Matmat (Carlo Aquino), who’s on the autism spectrum but still manages to function independently in many ways.
That night, after Patpat read "Ang Prinsesa at ang Anino ng Kadiliman" as Matmat’s bedtime story, he drifted into a dream that felt more like a memory soaked in fear. In the dream, a younger Patpat pulled a blanket over a sleeping Matmat. They were in a house that looked like someone had simply taken them in out of kindness. Matmat suddenly woke up in a panic, screaming that the butterflies were coming. Before Patpat could calm him down, Matmat had already run outside into the rain, yelling in fear as Patpat chased after him.
The scene cut to the older Patpat jolting awake from the nightmare, with Matmat gently shaking him and reminding him that they were going to be late for work. Since it's just the two of them living together, their mornings look like a team routine—Patpat getting himself ready for duty while also helping Matmat prepare for his own shift. And despite his condition, Matmat clearly has a strong sense of routin. He knows how to dress up for work, he knows their schedules by heart, and he even keeps track of what time they should call each other during break.
Patpat then accompanied Matmat to his workplace, a newspaper printing facility. Before letting him go, Patpat reminded him in the gentlest tone that it should be a "happy day" only, just like always.
Everything went smoothly at first- Matmat settled into his tasks and worked like he normally did, until the butterfly clip on the hair of a female coworker caught his eye. That butterfly clip triggered something in Matmat, who, in a flash of panic, lost control. A male coworker tried to help but Matmat was too scared and overwhelmed that he pushed the guy who ended up hitting his head on the edge of a table and started bleeding.
Catch “It’s Okay To Not Be Okay” on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live (KOL), A2Z, and TV5, weeknights at 8:45 PM. Watch it in advance on Netflix and iWant.