Hands down to the heavenly finale of 100 Days to Heaven!

Happy yet unpredictable ending.

What truly makes 100 Days to Heaven stand out among any other teleserye is 1) its amazing screenplay 2) the lessons in life it imparted that any conventional drama show won't dare share and 3) the unpredictable events that even my dad, who's quite an expert in predicting movie and teleserye plots would not expect. The death of Kevin and Madame Anna judged to be in hell were just some of the scenes that made it uniquely elusive, showing the art of shocking the audience and yet satisfying them with the overall result of the ending.

A happy and sad ending. It's truly hard to pull off such a story that even though someone died, everyone was still happy. Such a plot of someone given 100 days not to correct her mistakes but to be given a chance to be a mother to her lost daughter was truly outstanding, inspiring and one of a kind, as it was also incorporated with all kinds of life's lessons that we have never heard anyone say or no one has ever taught us.

Aside from being the only teleserye I watched and finished up to the last episode, 100 Days to Heaven was the drama series that always made me cry, especially because of the outstanding performances of Ms. Coney Reyes, Xyriel Manabat, Jodie Sta. Maria, Joel Torre, Dominic Ochoa, Louise Abuel, not to mention the special guests like Angelica Panganiban, Christopher De Leon, John Llyod Cruz, etc.

I will never forget the episode when the old janitor (Joonee Gamboa) that Madame Anna  scolded shared his story that Anna's insult to him was the best thing that happened to him. It really made me cry when the janitor was reading the letter he wrote to Anna in a Grade 1 paper.

I also loved the episode when Anna was being bullied by the street kids and, to protect herself, made them realize how their mothers don't take care of them and how they hated home that's why they bring the hate to others.

The episode with Angelica Panganiban truly imparted a heartwarming and life-changing lesson especially for Sofia that it was a good thing for her to still have time to forgive and say everything she needed to say to her mother before it's too late.

And of course, the episodes when Madame Anna struggled to win back the affection of her daughter made me cry a liter of tears, especially when Sofia finally forgave her but admitted that she still couldn't let the pain pass because unlike the little time she got to know her dad, she and Anna were able to weave memorable times together.

"Nanay." I will forever cherish the days when I'd wait for 100 Days to Heaven to learn from Madame Anna Manalastas and laugh at how Bruce and Jopet mocked her. The teleserye was truly worth watching, and I can say you would miss half of your life if you hadn't.

I will miss you, Madame Anna!

Reflections on 100 Days to Heaven

My dad. Drama mode.

Aside from watching Spongebob Squarepants and Mr. Bean, I've finally got to like a teleserye that truly feeds the minds of kids like me, with ABS-CBN's 100 Days to Heaven (directed by Malu L. Sevilla). It seriously makes me cry, laugh like a mad man, and learn the practical approaches in life like "you should manipulate the world first before it manipulates you and buries you alive."

Sofia's (Jodi Sta. Maria) father Andres (Joel Torre) truly moves me to tears, given his situation as a physically disabled man struggling to do his job as a financially-supportive father. With his son Kevin (Louis Abuel) unfortunate enough of having leukemia, he could not sleep at night just thinking about how he could provide for his son's medical needs.

I remember my father every time Andres stays late up at night and pours out his frustrations, saying he feels like a worthless father because of his physical misfortune. I always cry whenever I see him selling rags out in the streets, with all his efforts to earn money for Kevin's treatment. I see my dad in him thinking how caring and emotionally vulnerable he is as well, with his determination to make us successful citizens of the world by always working overtime.

On the other hand, there are a lot more lessons I learn from Madame Anna Manalastas (Coney Reyes) and Anna (Xyriel Manabat). 100 Days to Heaven not only makes me want to love and understand my dad more, but also helps me understand the "art of being the bad guy". Anna shares a lot of reasonable viewpoints about life and its cruel reality we've all overlooked and we take as unreasonable.

In yesterday's episode, Anna was trying to prove to Sofia that she did a big favor to her employees by scolding them and simply telling the truth that they were a bunch of failures. I remembered how my strict teachers back in high school scolded us and I tried to understand their intentions that after all, they simply cared about us, for if they didn't, they wouldn't even bother wasting their time reprimanding us. Maybe it was just the same way Anna did.

I've always loved villains, because they're not bad guys after all. Like what Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) said, "We've all got light and dark inside of us. What matters is the part we chose to act on." Anna Manalastas may be that annoying, unreasonable toy empress, but she sure teaches me to look into the other side of bad guys--their good side.