Spoilers for GSP eps 4, 5, 7 and 8, includes a bit of private lives and dodosol

I will focus on 3 things:

1- Vlad and Anna ( Episodes 4, 5, 7, 8). Their fist bump at the alternative ending was so satisfying to see. Sure, it's not the Karl and Anna bestie dynamic. But I also enjoyed this Vlad and Anna bro/dude/wingman dynamic. From Ep 4, we see a wary Vlad wondering who Anna is, and then his annoyance with the overstaying Anna ("Dude, I will go home now"). In the beginning of Ep 5, Vlad was still wary -- covering Anna with the blanket to shield the bare-chested Karl (haha) and doubting Anna's ghost story (haha).

The turning point in Ep 5, I think, started in the moment where they were both eyeing the scared Karl during the ghost story session. That shared glance at Karl, teasing him for his 'bravery' and leaving him alone in the darkened unit was something naughty friends would actually do. They bonded because of Karl and from then on, Vlad and Anna were buddies - we saw them next laughing in the grounds.

That chat in the gazebo like a usual hangout with friends was my favorite scene in the entire series - Vlad clinking his beer bottle with Anna after she told them her story; Anna teasing Vlad/Karl and Vlad telling her to shut it ("you know, we're just starting to get along."); Vlad covering drunk Anna with the same blanket from ep 4, while Anna was hugging Vlad's orca plushie. The dialogue and acting of those scenes felt so natural and so true. By the time Ep 7 came, it is actually believable that Vlad enlisted Anna to help organize the movie surprise for Karl. I want to see more Vlad-Anna bro/dude buddy dynamic in S2.

2 - Episode 4. This is my favorite episode. The whole series is actually Karl's story, but this episode belongs to Vlad. I wonder why it didn't reach 1M views as fast as the others but I enjoyed the structure and pace of this episode. Here we see how Vlad evolved from insisting his old self-destructive ways, then tentatively inviting Karl for Christmas Eve Dinner (after Sue called him out), then backsliding again in a fit of tantrum for being alone on the eve of his birthday until he eventually surrendered to his own solitude. In his aching theme song test (perfect ost), a calm came to him as he embraced the possibility of liking Karl. In this episode, we see masterful writing and acting - revealing so much in such a short span of time.

3 - Reunion in Episode 8 - I am watching GSP at the same time as Private Lives and Dodosol, I cannot help but compare the reunion scenes in these three shows. In Private Lives, when the leads met again after ML fake death, it was the usual anger turned to passion then wariness - which may be also consistent as they are all con-men who find it hard to trust each other. In Dodosol, when the leads met again after the younger ML runaway had to return home, it was a refreshingly calm reunion, no crying and lashing out from the lovable FL - so true to her character.

In Gaya sa Pelikula, when Karl and Vlad met again, it was actually passive-aggressive at first for Vlad (while sorry and remorseful for Karl) and then the bittersweet setting of boundaries in the end. I appreciate how passive aggression was conveyed here by the drunk Vlad . On one hand, still playful and flirtatious (acting like a baby, calling Karl pancake, wanting Karl to taste and kiss) but also being mean and spiteful ,on the other hand (throwing the shoes, avoiding the hair rub, that snarky remark about the toothbrush and being hopeful, ugh). Instead of the usual fists-to-chests crying reunion we often see, this is a layered, realistic portrayal of someone hurting inside and wanting to lash back but still caring about the other person.


P.S. Switching of gifts - This was not executed well but why it was included? After some thought, this is an important scene because it foreshadows the time when Karl would eventually come out to his parents.

Well done...Looking forward to S2. I hope Severo will also write more about friendship dynamics in the future.

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