A single action or word can devastate an innocent person beyond repair. In “What Lies Beneath,” Edong Santiago (Jake Cuenca) embodies this harrowing reality, with the cruelty inflicted upon him serving as a crucial point in the show’s nuanced narrative.
Long before his relentless schemes for revenge, the young Edong (Renshi de Guzman), together with his little brother, Lucas (Andrez del Rosario), was just a sweet young boy struggling to shield their mother from their abusive father, Crisanto (Gerald Madrid).
In their rare moments of relief, Edong managed to drive Crisanto away, from gaining the upper hand in a fistfight to finally mustering the courage to report him to the local police for robbery. Still, Crisanto left Edong with a threat that resurfaced when he returned after a time.
One night, Edong came home to find Lucas beaten to the ground and Dolores dead—crimes born of Crisanto’s violence. The scene seared itself into Edong’s mind, a trauma from which he would not recover for years to come.
More life-altering confrontations follow for Edong, including a chaotic encounter with the MABEL girls—Mel (Reich Alim), Alice (Eliza Borromeo), Beth (Allyson McBride), Erica (Krystal Mejes), and Louisa (Mutya Orquia).
Days after his physical altercation with the MABEL girls, another trial descends upon Edong through Esther, Amurao’s well-known religious devotee, who manipulates his troubled reputation to implicate him in Louisa’s tragic murder.
Upon hearing Esther’s statement, Celestino (Bart Guingona) seizes the opportunity to get rid of Edong, driven by the belief that his son had been badly influenced by him.
While Edong suffers through daily interrogations by Amurao’s police, the previous altercation with the MABEL girls marks the moment that sets him on the path to incarceration.
From being a scapegoat, Edong is plunged into the nightmarish reality of Bagumbayan Prison, while Lucas watches the drastic changes overtaking him.
At some point, the young Edong reaches utter hopelessness, ready to end everything, when something stronger rises within him.
