Happenstance (2020)

This is wonderful.

This is a beautiful series, very well written, thoughtful and moving.

Be warned that the ending is not likely the one you wanted, but when you see it you'll know that it's perfect - and beautiful and moving. This series is heavily layered, with a lots of symbolism and it moves into the long shadow the Marcos era casts over the Philippines. It contains not one single tired BL trope, so if you're looking for something different, and with a supernatural element, this might be for you.

It's not perfect. The production quality is just OK, although it's very well shot. The ambiguity of the mirror scenes was well-done and you're left questioning what is really happening and what isn't. Most of the problems are sound-related.

The acting is... not spectacular. The main character, Wade, is played by Kiko Ipapo, who does not display a huge range - he's a bit stiff and flat. While he won't blow you away, he's good enough for you to know how Wade feels about Jose Manuel, and the conflicts he faces, so the series works. And good God is he beautiful - I know it's shallow, but I could stare at him all day (this is not a series you're likely to rewatch, but you might want to review the shirtless scenes several times). The other main is a little more skilled.

I understand this series won't be for everyone, but for me it's one of the higher-tier BLs, and well worth a watch.

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Awesome idea for a series

What a great idea for a BL series. That is a 10. What actually got on the screen was much less than that but still I was eager waiting to see how it ended. I'm glad the ended it such that it could have really happened but a fantasy ending with them somehow really getting together as young men would have been more romantic and more fulfilling of an emotional experience. For sure this could be a redo series. The middle to end episodes seemed to be dragging. They could have done much more to enhance the ending and milk the middle and build to the ending. Both Kiko and Jovani are much better than the scripts they were given, though they both did great with what was given to them. I hope to seem them again in another series.

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An interesting story about a bit of LGBT history

The "mystical" pretext for this series didn't really engage me, but I really enjoyed the opportunity it provided to explore a painful chapter in the history of the Philippines. The insights into what life was like for a young gay man under the brutality of the martial law government in 1974 provided a real bit of (sad) learning for me.

Don't watch this if you are expecting a fluffy BL story -- it's not that. On the other hand, I didn't find the characters sufficiently relatable that I felt their pain very much, either.

So the strong points were the plot and also the visuals. (The filming was largely done in a beautiful old house, and a lot of scenes were visually very attractive.) There may have been some background music, but I can't remember anything notable.....

The characters were mildly interesting. I found the elderly housekeeper to be an intriguing presence and the "mystical" element in the story could have been developed more by having that character take a more active role. As it was, she was basically a bystander.

The acting was average, up until the final episode. Wade mostly looked pouty, until he actually showed some serious emotional range at the end.

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Once in a Lifetime Love Affair

Happenstance is truly a one of a kind production.  It shows two different worlds in two different time periods.  It is an irony in itself, also showing the same weakness and vulnerability people from both periods suffer from.

The plot is interesting as it implored idea of multiverse.  The story managed to compare and contrast the two different periods in the Philippine history both in politics and in sexual and gender identity.  It is philosophical at one point and just outright funny at another point.

The series is in fact very poignant. Their lines feel like poetry to the ears. And all those titles at the end of each episode is just brilliant.  All those complex human feelings about love and longing are all experienced and represented by words from different languages around the world. 

Like the word 'Mamihlapinatapei' (Ep 5) from the Yagan language in Chile.  It refers to the look shared by two people with each wishing that the other will initiate something that neither one wants to start.  Like the Japanese idiom 'Ichigo Ichie' (Ep 8) which describes a cultural concept of treasuring the unrepeatable nature of a moment.

Cinematography is great; with the tone and the camera angles adding more drama to the series (poetry) itself. The inclusion of the local myth is somehow cliche but on the other hand, it is good to know that such stories exist in this part of the world.

Although I have to admit that the last few episodes lack something, overall I still consider this series a great work of art.  I am sure I am going to watch this again soon.

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I always watched the individual parts as soon as karcikarel translated them and I congratulate him on the first translated series. Thanks also for the links, because the episodes are not "free" on YT, like most other series.
I was intrigued by the mystical connection between two different time periods, the fact that both protagonists were locked up at home (Wade covid, José martial law) and the sympathetic appearance of both young actors. How it will turn out, the viewer can already speculate during the episodes in several variants, nice.
The acting performances were a little weak compared to other evaluation criteria, perhaps also because everything flowed somehow at the same, slowed-down pace and many scenes with other characters were so contrived, contrived, I would only blame the cutest character of the series - Wade - for the dullness. The potential of the story and characters could easily have been developed more, I was still hoping that the housekeeper Sepa was the Daling girl from the time of gen. Marcos, everything matched in age and appearance. For me, even if it doesn't reach the heavens, the series was refreshing in the mess of others.
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Jednotlivé díly jsem sledoval vždy hned, jakmile je karcikarel přeložil a gratuluji mu k prvnímu přeloženému seriálu. Díky rovněž za linky, neboť díly nejsou "volně" na YT, jako většina ostatních seriálů.
Zaujalo mě mystično spojené propojením dvou různých časových období, dále to, že oba protagonisté byli zavření doma (Wade covid, José stanné právo) a sympatický zjev obou mladých herců. Jak to dopadne může spekulovat divák již v průběhu dílů v několika variantách, pěkné.
Herecké výkony oproti jiným kritériím hodnocení malinko pokulhávaly, možná i tím, že vše plynulo jaksi stále stejným, zpomaleným tempem a mnohé scény i s jinými postavami byly takové odříkané, strojené, nevinil bych z topornosti jen pro mě nejroztomilejší postavu seriálu - Wade-a. Potenciál příběhu i postav mohl být klidně více rozvinut, stále jsem doufal, že hospodyně Sepa je ta dívka Daling z doby gen. Marcose, vše odpovídalo věkově i podobou. Pro mě, i když nesahá do nebes, byl seriál osvěžením v té změti ostatních.

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Terrible.

Terrible. The actor playing Wade has zero acting skills: his expression is always blank, the delivery of his lines is flat, and his random smiles are so fake. The story is ridiculous and tragic; I don't understand how their communication is possible and it's so inconsistent. I understand it's a bit of fantasy, but it could at least make sense. Lastly, the production quality needs a lot of work. The most annoying part was how bad a job they did of showing the protagonists conversing. Sometimes, they're looking into a mirror but instead of showing the other character, they show a reflection? But in the same conversation they show each other? Why would the producers try to create this storyline if they can't even execute it?

I dropped when it starting getting too depressing. I was already not feeling it and the story turning bad just made it worse.

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Defying time

Brilliant idea but lacklustre execution, unfortunately! I was hooked after two episodes, so much so, I subscribed to Gagaoolala in order to finish it. It did not keep its promise, sadly!

There are two different time periods that suddenly due to supermoon, get in touch and two sad men start talking to each other across time! Something happens between them but of course, there are so many obstacles in their way that nothing can come out of their love story. Just more regret and sadness.
The characters are very real and I loved the Wade's mother: open, helpful, optimistic, friendly an ideal mother in short!

The cinematography is stunning. It gives the whole series an out of the world, hazy and dreamy feeling, as befitting a fantasy! Beside interesting camera angles, the two time periods are filmed differently. Wade in 2020, pandemic and isolation, is all white, overexposed and too bright. Jose Manuel in 1974 is just like the Marcos dictatorship historical period: hopeless, dark and sad. The only bright points are JM's T-shirts. Wade's T-shirts also carry a message connected to the story
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The music is moody and ominous announcing from the first seconds that this is not going to be a happy story! The huge problem is the sound recording: very bad!

The writing is original though a bit draggy and it is not very clear at which speed the time moves. They start communicating through letters: I love that concept. Their ability to communicate is due to the full moon. But that full moon usually lasts no more than three night every four weeks. Here it seems that they talk to each other every day and that there is the full moon in the clear sky every day as well (the shots of the moon are too frequent to correspond to reality!). They talk through the mirrors but sometimes they seem to see each other and sometimes they seem to be talking to themselves in the mirror: so it is not really clear how the whole communication thing works. They can talk to each other every day but they can see each other only when it is the full moon. Maybe I missed something? Another issue I found strange is that Wade thinks of finding the contemporary JM only after he definitely looses contact with him. While they were talking to each other Wade was never curious to find him in 2020?
The writers used the legend of Sidapa and Libulan which is tale of a controversial love affaire of two male deities in precolonial Filipino myth showing how impossible can become possible if you don't give up.

But the most interesting part were the episodes' titles which are the most romantic untranslatable words from a variety of languages:

1. YUAN FEN: (mandarin) fate or chance that brings people together predestined affinity or relationship (Budd.) destiny. Being able to provide explanations in a positive way, Yuanfen has always functioned as an attribution, the psychological process of seeking reasons for particular events.
2. FORELSKET is a Danish word that means in love, enamoured, or in love with. Forelsket is also a Norwegian word for the magical state of falling in love: it is exhilarating partially because it’s so impossible to control. It’s that fluttery, heart-pounding, palms-sweating, complete bliss that you feel when you’re first falling in love.
3. SAUDADE is a Portugese word for the emotional state of melancholic or profoundly nostalgic longing for a beloved yet absent something or someone. It derives from the Latin word for solitude. It is often associated with a repressed understanding that one might never encounter the object of longing ever again. It is a recollection of feelings, experiences, places, or events, often elusive, that cause a sense of separation from the exciting, pleasant, or joyous sensations they once caused.
4. VIRAAG is a hindi word meaning the anguish you experience when you’re physically separated from the person you love. This could mean a wide range of things. Perhaps your crush is in a relationship with someone else, so you’re forced to love them from afar. Perhaps you and your partner are in a long-distance relationship counting down the days until you’re reunited. Or maybe (unfortunately) you’re enduring a breakup and struggling to cope with the idea of losing someone forever. That pain you feel? It’s viraag.
5. MAMIHLAPINATAPEI: derived from the Yaghan language of Tierra del Fuego, listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as the "most succinct word", and is considered one of the hardest words to translate.This word is all too familiar for those out there who are a bit on the shy side. You like someone, and you think (maybe!) (hopefully!) that they like you too. You’re sitting across from each other, hands almost touching, but not quite. Your breath catches in your throat and you’re sure they can hear your heartbeat slamming in your ears. You look shyly at them. They look shyly back. But neither of you makes the first move. This moment--one of joy and anguish, fear and excitement--is summed up by the word “mamihlapinatapei.”
6. ONSRA comes from Boro language of India and means loving for the last time; that bittersweet feeling you get when you know a love won’t last.
7. KARA SEVDE They talk about kara sevda, an untranslatable Turkish concept that literally means “black love” or blind love and alludes to how uncontrollable desire and unrequited love can render someone hopeless and broken. It also means tragic love. It used for a strong, unrelenting and unhealthy crush in tragedies and folk stories.
8. ICHIGO ICHIE "one time, one meeting" is a Japanese idiom that describes a cultural concept of treasuring the unrepeatable nature of a moment, the practice of making the most of every encounter and understanding how important the “now” is.
9. HAPPENSTANCE means something happened because of certain circumstances, although it was not planned by anyone.

There is an unsuspected depth in this story which is unfortunately bogged down with sadness and hopelessness.

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I'll have to pay to see Episode 4 to the end of the series

Yes , two times during Episode 3 on Youtube it was announced that to continue I'll have to use a pay for view service......Damn!...ijust can't afford another service............and it look like it's going to be a great series.......Boo Hoo!. this happened with Oh! Mando....I saw one episode. I still don't understand which BL series are totally availible .....complete series...on Youtube as oppossed to those you have to pay for? This series caught by eye from the beginning....the Mother, the beautiful house........don't forget the ever so attractive boys555..............thank you for listening....maybe I'll catch the re-runs somewhere?.......Richard, American Virgin Islands

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Diferente

Com certeza esse foi um BL diferente dos tradicionais, como sempre as Filipinas trazendo ideias mirabolantes e conseguindo estragar um enredo que tinha tudo para dar certo. A história se inicia quando Wade e sua mãe, ambos de coração partido pois terminaram seus namoros, se mudam para uma casa antiga. A série deixa subentendido que o motivo da "magia" acontecer é um evento lunar que está em evidência. De uma forma mágica Wade, em 2020, encontra as cartas de amor escritas por José Manuel para seu amado escondidas no forro de seu quarto. O plow twist, é que as cartas estavam sendo escritas em tempo real, numa linha de tempo paralela onde o ano ainda era 1974 e estava em vigor a lei marcial, e sendo José Manuel filho de um militar ligado aos "Marcos", seu amor homoafetivo por Luís ja nasceu condenado a acabar tragicamente. De alguma forma Wade encontrava as cartas, lia e respondia, e José Manuel também, até que se encontraram no espelho e passaram a conversar e chegaram a se apaixonar. Até aqui tudo bem, a história realmente é diferente, e o diferente atrai (quando é bem feito). O roteiro desanda na parte final, quando eles finalmente conseguem se encontrar e o final trágico acontece, parece que os Filipinos tem fetiche por mortes passionais.
Agora, vamos aos furos do roteiro. Alguém mais achou que a empregada de Wade era a mesma pessoa que foi empregada da casa de José Manuel? A história já nasceu condenada, pois não seria possível o amor de duas pessoas em linhas de tempo diferentes, mas qual a necessidade de criar toda a história e matar o rapaz?
A atuação não é maravilhosa, mas também não é péssima. A trilha sonora meio fúnebre, mas condiz com a história.
Tentei ver a série de novo (a primeira vez assisti toda pelo YouTube), mas agora ela só está disponível na plataforma da "Gagaoolala", sendo necessária uma assinatura vip para assistir a partir do terceiro episódio, por isso não pude rever a série, mas quem tem a assinatura, recomendo sim. A história é meio louca, mas se assistir com atenção vai acabar entendendo e talvez gostando.

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