In the matter of expressing tough love and fierce dedication to personal convictions, Beth Sevilla-Mora is a character that naturally comes to mind. Viewed as a passionate dreamer and tenacious protector during her youth, Beth went on to become a supportive teacher and a loving mother, whose outspokenness frequently draws others to criticize her.
In reality, underneath her unbreakable mask is a person longing for the kind of success that would earn the respect of people, making her a relatable character for many who have been having trouble conquering social comparison.
Revisit Beth’s inspiring shift from being consumed by envy and pride to finally accepting responsibility for her shortcomings.
Beth began as a self-reliant dreamer
From a young age, Beth was always a leader and an academic achiever. Though, often, she unabashedly downplays others, including young Erica (Krystal Mejes), Louisa (Mutya Orquia), and Lucas (Andrez del Rosario), when she is first grouped alongside them at Amurao High. She then persevered to secure a college scholarship in Manila to pursue her dream to become a journalist, which proved difficult and led to regrets.
In the next episodes, Beth showed more of her caring nature as a fierce defender of her friends, starting with young Alice (Eliza Borromeo), then expanding to Louisa, Erica, and Mel (Reich Alim). She also stood up to her mother’s abusive boyfriend and constantly reminded her mother to be cautious when entering relationships.
Young Beth’s powerful bond with Alice, Louisa, Erica, and Mel
Before the MABEL girls were formed and soon danced to “Sabay Sabay Tayo” together, they initially encountered a major hurdle with overcoming the social superiority of Kyle (Kobie Brown), who took advantage of Louisa and circulated malicious gossip about her.
When they failed to argue for Louisa’s innocence alongside their guardians during a meeting with Amurao High’s principal, Beth slowly started to open up more to them and joined them in planning a playful revenge against Kyle.
Beth ended up involved in the collapse of their MABEL friendship
Over the course of their friendship, Beth reached a point at which her prejudices got the better of her, especially when she, together with Louisa, separated Erica from Lucas and had physical disputes with Edong, not wanting Erica to be associated with their lives of the Santiago Brothers.
This terrible occurrence made it less difficult to pin the blame on Edong for Louisa’s murder, despite the lack of substantial evidence. To worsen the situation, Celestino (Bart Guingona), the officer in charge for Edong’s case, threatened to revoke Beth’s college scholarship, making her lie about Edong’s involvement and denigrate Erica, who has spoken out about the injustice, which ended their friendship.
Beth found a loving family with Ryan and Chloe
Among the things that Beth is always admired for is her sweet family with Ryan (Yves Flores) and their daughter, Chloe (Jewel Milag). What began as affectionate teasing between the pair eventually blossomed into an intimate relationship, and shortly thereafter, in the middle of their college years, Chloe was born to Beth and Ryan.
With Beth feeling her dream slipping away from her grasp, she attempted to abandon Ryan and Chloe, but with the help of Mercedes, her father’s legal wife, Beth was enlightened on choosing a life of her own with her newfound family, instead of running after anyone’s approval.
Beth suppressed her self-esteem issues for years
Presently flourishing as a teacher at Amurao High, Beth might seem fulfilled, yet at her core, she has been clinging to a great deal of doubt regarding her profession. She would often compare herself to the wealthy lives of Alice (Janella Salvador) and Mel (Sue Ramirez), as well as the highly respected Erica (Kaila Estrada).
For the reason that Chloe looks up to Beth’s forthrightness in matters related to human rights, Beth disliked the notion of disclosing the lie that unfairly sentenced Edong to Chloe, given that Chloe’s admiration is the only thing that made her feel secure about herself. As a result, during all the previous conversations about admitting the truth, Beth would firmly resist and ridicule Erica and even Alice.
Beth investigated Louisa’s death through Angelo and Liezel
With Beth and Ryan being close friends with Angelo (Marlo Mortel) and Liezel (Mary Joy Apostol), it was a shock for Beth to learn of the likelihood of them being the true murderers of Louisa. Through finding the “Bana” note from Liezel’s scrapbook, observing Liezel’s nervous responses, uncovering Louisa’s connection with them in the past, and the disappearance of a student, Beth even got Ryan to doubt the two.
As she persisted in looking for proof against Angelo and Liezel, their friendship also came dangerously close to being destroyed, with Edong discreetly orchestrating the misunderstanding between them all. They were ultimately shown to be innocent, with Liezel turning out to be Louisa’s former lover and Angelo bearing the painful truth during their marriage.
Beth experienced Edong’s brutal acts of revenge
Edong intended to exact revenge not only on Beth but also on her whole family. On his first attempt, Edong chased Chloe and Joshua (Lawrence Dela Cruz) until she was injured in an accident. Later on, he took their family photo, sent a warning video to Beth, and physically attacked her at the cemetery.
Under these circumstances, Beth became more open to the idea of cooperating with Erica’s plans to arrest Edong but remained hesitant in confessing the truth of her part in Edong’s unjust imprisonment.
Beth was there to protect Alice and Mel
Beth was the first friend who witnessed the resurfacing of Alice’s trauma by watching her sleepwalk, as well as noticing the concealed abusive streak of Anton (Jameson Blake) against Mel.
When Beth saw Anton beating Mel senselessly at the cafe where they were meant to discuss further plans involving Edong, she didn’t think twice about retaliating. By doing so, Mel was capable of making significant strides towards freeing herself from Anton’s control.
The troubles in Beth’s life drove her to face the truth
The more she prolonged the truth, the more the people she holds dearly would suffer. Even with that realization, Beth continued to be reluctant whenever Erica and Alice were attempting to convince her, fearing that she would be devalued even more and eventually lose the trust that Chloe has for her.
At one point, Ryan overheard Beth’s confession of feeling unfulfilled with her current life, leading Ryan to deduce that Beth was unhappy with their family. He then took it upon himself to participate on behalf of Beth in the investigations of Erica, Alice, Marco (Race Matias), and Lucas (JM de Guzman).
When Edong infiltrated their home again and left Chloe traumatized by a dead cat on her bed, Ryan got furious, and Beth at last chose to cooperate entirely with everyone.
Beth confessed everything to Chloe
Yearning for the heaviness in her heart to subside, Beth painfully revealed the story of how she got involved in the wrongful incarceration of Edong in the past to Chloe. Upon learning the whole truth, Chloe expressed intense disillusionment, particularly since it was Beth who had educated her about the repercussions of lying.
After witnessing Chloe’s distressed response and distance, as well as Edong framing Ryan for killing Anton, Beth chose to let go of her pride and apologized to Erica, pleading with her to keep Ryan out of jail.
Within days, Beth finally shared the truth in a press conference with Alice, Mel, and Erica. This then mended the state of Beth’s family, with Chloe now admiring her bravery to take accountability for her mistakes and Ryan being acquitted.
Beth begins her redemption
The changes in Beth were seen when she didn’t automatically accuse Edong of hurting the innocent Althea (Andi Abaya) and, instead, joined Mel and Alice in investigating it further. She acknowledged that she is on the path to improving herself and stood up for her family against Vivian's derogatory comments.
Beth also ran to Alice’s aid on the night when they found out Edward was Louisa’s real murderer and tearfully apologized to a rampaging Edong, hell-bent on ending their lives.
After everything else was settled, Beth currently works with Chloe on their journalism videos and pledged to treat Erica with greater kindness, even assisting Marco in becoming closer to her.
Catch the remaining episodes of “What Lies Beneath,” Mondays to Fridays, 8:45 PM, on ABS-CBN via ALLTV2 and A2Z. Viewers can also watch it on Kapamilya Online Live (KOL) and iWant.