Forevermore (2014)

Perfect for LizQuen fans

"Forevermore" officially launched the LizQuen ship after previous hints in the films, "Must Be... Love" and "She's the One" (I recommend them both btw). I'm going to start by summarizing the series first. Liza Soberano stars as Agnes, the daughter of a farmer, and Enrique Gil stars as Xander, the rich son of a hotelier who seemingly only cares about himself. Agnes lives on a farm, called La Presa, with a large group of people who are like a family. One day, Xander accidentally ruins Agnes's strawberries. The La Presans are desperate for cash to pay their rent and thus decide to hold Xander hostage until he repays them. He stubbornly refuses to pay them or reveal his name. Eventually, he causes so much trouble for them that Agnes just tells him to go. Agnes and her father, Buboy (Joey Marquez), later learn that Xander is the son of the president of the nearby Grande Hotel. They appeal to his father, Alex (Zoren Legaspi), who refuses to pay for his son. He instead agrees to lend Xander the money if he goes to work at Le Presa.

Xander is reluctant at first, but does decide to go to Le Presa. There he has a hard time fitting in with the others who understandably don't find him very reliable. Agnes, in particular, finds him distrustful. He finds an ally in Mang Bangky (Bangkay), an old bachelor who relates to Xander's rebelliousness. Thanks to Bangky, he tries harder to win over the others though he inevitably makes many mistakes, which drives wedges into his budding friendship with Agnes. One such mistake is accidentally losing Niknok (Jesse James Ongteco), a young child who lives with his aunt Mirasol (Irma Adlawan) in La Presa. Running through the forest, Xander is reminded of the tragic death of his little brother Basty, which is shown through flashbacks. Once Niknok is found, Agnes yells hurtful words at Xander who then disappears. Agnes and Buboy go to Grande to find Xander. They meet Meg (Beverly Salviejo), his grandmother's assistant, who reveals Basty's death and that Xander's mother always blamed him. Xander eventually returns to La Presa and Agnes apologizes, starting a new chapter in their relationship.

Later, Xander realizes that he has feelings for Agnes, but is reluctant to give in to them, even telling her as much. His parents bring him back to Grande to integrate him into management now that he has become more responsible. His mother, Bettina (Lilet), resents Xander's new connection to La Presa, which becomes a frequent issue. After an earthquake hits, Xander saves Agnes from a falling down building. He confesses his feelings for her and receives permission from her father to court her. Agnes holds off on giving Xander an answer for a while, but eventually says yes to being his girlfriend. She also has to turn down her childhood friend, Andrew (Yves Flores) around the same time. Meanwhile, Bettina is working on opening an agricultural resort, hoping to earn the approval of Alex's mother Soledad (Marissa Delgado), whom has always preferred his son's first (and still legal) wife. Bettina works out a deal with Jaime and Loulie Saavedra (Michael Flores and Bernadette Allyson-Estrada), the parents of Xander's ex-girlfriend Kate (Sofia Andres).

Bettina invites Kate to the Grandes' annual Christmas party, hoping to reunite her and Xander. Of course, he is now dating Agnes. Kate seems to take this in stride and even sort-of befriends Agnes. Bettina pushes for Xander and Kate to be together, but begins acting friendlier with Agnes when she realizes that that isn't working. She invites Agnes to come work at the hotel, which will also earn her a scholarship for college. However, it goes terribly array. Xander decides to leave his family to live with the La Presans again. Meanwhile, Kate starts to sink into a depression and acts erratically. Her behavior obviously worries her parents. She lamely attempts to win Xander back. However, at the slightest pushback from Agnes and the La Presans, she encourages her father Jaime to make war on them. He attempts to seize La Presa through illegal means (having already being tasked with getting the land for the Grandes' resort). After Buboy is shot, Xander becomes overwhelmed and gives into Jaime's demands that he accompanies Kate to London. He leaves without a word, which devastates Agnes.

Two years later, Agnes, the twins Clauie and Judy (Joj and Jai Agpangan), and their new friend Karen (Karen Dematera) are attending college for a semester in Manilla. The La Presans come for a visit since Buboy and Mirasol have now decided to marry. Buboy needs to obtain an annulment since he is technically still married to his wife though he and Agnes haven't seen her for over a decade. Of course, it turns out that Marites (Almira Muhlach) is now living in Manila. Buboy confronts her and she confesses that her employer was holding her captive in Japan. Marites and Agnes are reunited after some time and Agnes allows her back into her life. Meanwhile, Agnes meets Jay (Diego Loyzaga) at school and joins his band. He gradually develops feelings for Agnes, though she seems reluctant to allow him to court her. Marites distrusts him him at first, but he wins her over when he comes to her with problems regarding his mother, who is currently working in Japan.

In the meantime, Xander has returned from London with Kate who has gotten better though still appears fragile. She eventually goes to the States after her father's shady business dealings are made public. Xander now has a successful business and loyal assistant, Orly (Jason Francisco). Orly helps Xander with his elaborate plan to win back Agnes. The plan goes up in flames as Agnes isn't even willing to hear him out. He decides not to give up yet and takes a temporary teacher's position at Agnes's college. Of course, she doesn't take this well and treats him coldly, such as only calling him "Sir." He acts respectfully towards her and, after attending a leadership workshop, the two are finally on friendly terms. The twins take sides with Clauie wanting her to reunite with Xander ("Superman") and Judy wanting her to be with Jay ("Batman"). Karen stays more neutral, though she realizes that Agnes still truly loves Xander. Agnes is seemingly ready to accept her feelings and agrees to have dinner with Xander and his family (FYI, the Grandes have since become better, more supportive family). However, when she glimpses Kate from outside, the emotions come rushing back.

Kate later finally explains to Agnes why Xander left her two years previously. Unfortunately, Agnes has now become numb to emotion, giving into fear rather than love. Xander takes this as a final rejection. He becomes depressed and his father encourages him to look at this as just a chapter in his life. Then on his way home, Alex is hit by a car and passes away. Xander, though still devastated, listens to his mother and grandmother's advice and becomes the new president of Grande Hotel. Meanwhile, Agnes and the twins return to La Presa; they are soon joined by Jay and Karen. Xander too finds himself in the area. His father's legal wife Sheree (Pinky Amador) and her brother Julius (Kit Thompson) are scheming once again. He later meets a local veterinarian Alex Pante (Erich Gonzales) and starts dating her. After his father's will is read, Xander decides to work on the agricultural resort again when the land is willed to his mother.

Xander attempts to buy La Presa, earning strong pushback from the people who once treated him as their own. Agnes meets with Xander who now treats her coldly. Her appeals don't work. However, his mother tells him that Alex likely left them to land not to complete the resort but to protect La Presa forever. Xander, realizing that this is the truth, reconciles with the La Presans and instead works out a new deal with them for a series interconnected cottages. Of course, Sheree and Julius attempt to sabotage the project by targeting the area's water supply. While searching, Xander and Agnes become lost in the forest. They spend the night holding each other. Later, Xander has Sheree and Julius arrested and ousted from the company. He ends things with his new girlfriend who has already realized that he still loves Agnes. Agnes decides to take a scholarship for a college in Japan and leaves La Presa. Xander catches up with her. They decide to start a new (albeit long distance) "forever" from then on.

Yes, that's a long summary, but it's a long show. Probably could've been cut down 10-15 episodes in my opinion. The first half of the show (e.g. before Xander leaves) is the stronger half, especially regarding the main couple. However, it does have Kate so it's not perfect The second half starts off well. It's reasonable that Agnes would act that way tbh and Jay is an enjoyable enough rival to Xander. I would argue that do they have to make Jay's life so miserable lol. Agnes's unwillingness to hear out Xander just lasts way too long. The writers could've condensed it a little. It feels like they had a hit on their hands and were just trying to extend the couple finally reuniting.

So, to conclude, I enjoyed this show for what it was. I was pretty easy to watch, despite it's length. Filipinos speak "Taglish," a mix of English and Tagalog, so I didn't have to pay 100% attention. I watched 2-5 episodes a night before going to sleep and I was able to finish it in a little over a month. It was a great comfort show. I recommend to LizQuen fans, but if you're unfamiliar with the loveteam or Filipino shows in general, I recommend watching Filipino films first.

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