My Extraordinary was heavily advertised as the first BL in The Philippines to be aired to a primetime national audience.
I was so excited from watching the trailer, it appeared to be a drama that would hit all the right chords and send a great message. Sadly, this was not the case.

Here is my list of pros and cons:

PROS:

ACTORS. The actors really brought it. Each one of them played their roles to a T, with special mention going to Yayo Aguila (Monica, Ken's mother), who gave a powerhouse performance and made me absolutely hate her character for most of the series.

MUSIC. Probably the best part of the series for me. The theme song is one of my favorites and Kenji Exaltacion's singing of everything was perfect. Also, hats off to director Vincent deJesus, who also composed the music.

ATYPICAL LEAD COUPLE. For once we have a lead couple that doesn't look like two Ken dolls (not that there's anything wrong with that... ). It was refreshing to see two pleasantly average looking guys as the leads, rather than the perfect teeth and skin, chiseled gym bodies, etc. Same with the actors that played Heaven and Romeo.

CINEMATOGRAPHY. The outdoor scenery was so nice and the wishing tree was beautiful.

ESAW. Although the thought of eating chicken intestines sounds absolutely revolting to me, it was nice to learn that "Esaw" is a delicacy in The Philippines.

CONS:

THE STORY. My biggest problem with the story was not the sad ending (although that is a factor, which I will explain later)... it was with the whole supernatural/Sandee sees dead people nonsense. The story would have been just fine -- and much better, in my opinion -- without it.

WRONG MESSAGE. Homophobia is always worth fighting against. But, let's face it, dramas about homophobia have been around for years. It's 2020, folks. People know very well that bigotry is wrong... that's not news. Especially, for a primetime (mostly straight) audience, it would be nice to show how great (and yes, NORMAL) same-sex couples can be. THAT'S the message that needs to be delivered these days... enlightenment, not negativity. As it is, what message does this send to young gays thinking of coming out of the closet? "Stay in the closet, kids. Your parents will freak out and if you think your life is bad now, prepare to be REALLY miserable!" Horrible message.

KEN/SHAKE RELATIONSHIP. Yes, they were adorable. But there was no progression of their relationship shown. One moment they barely know one another and suddenly they're majorly flirting. Huh? And, although I absolutely disliked the "together in the afterlife" deal, the bottom line is that they barely knew each other. They were just two people about to get together and see where it would lead, -- they never even had a real kiss -- yet, the series portrays them as the romantic couple of the century. Couldn't buy into that, sorry.

HE LIED: Director Vincent deJesus said, in the comment section of a reaction video, that no one would die in the series. He didn't have to say anything, but he chose to tell this blatant lie. NOT cool. I'm pissed about that.

I can't say I did not enjoy My Extraordinary. I DID enjoy it... mostly. For me, the best line in the series was this one (Ken to his mom): "Mom, I'm your son. You've always known. You were just the last to admit."

Too bad it was a dead gay character saying it to a mom that couldn't hear it.