Last episode, Datu Bugna took the snakeling away from Amaya and then took Amaya away from her mother.
In the datu's house, a jeweler presents Lamitan with golden combs as a gift for Binayaan. Lamitan observes to her sister Mantal however that even if she draped the child in jewels, she would never have worth in her father's eyes. Mantal said that she should love the child more then. Lamitan answers scornfully that how could she, when the child caused her to disappoint her husband. She then calls for the herbs that she thinks would help her to conceive again.
At that point, Datu Bugna arrives with Amaya, whereupon Lamitan demands to know what the child is doing there. She says she cannot permit the child to live there. But Bugna lays down the law to her: She will not do anything to hurt the child and she will respect the fact that he wants the child with him, for that is the only way that she can make him happy since she could not give him a son. I know Lamitan is a snooty b*tch, but poor lady!
Datu Bugna then declares that Amaya will be a binukot -- a royal daughter shut up in a room until she becomes a young lady. He brings her to the bukot himself.
Marikit lights up when she sees her father, thinking that he is carrying Binayaan. Her face falls when she learns that it is Amaya, and she hears her father order that Amaya will be a binukot like them. Little princess is definitely not happy!
Bugna orders his slaves to stand guard at the bukot and make sure no one enters it but him. Lamitan, passing by, says that she has no choice if he wants to have Amaya live there but he better not hurt her feelings again or she will forget he is her husband.
Mangubat consults the spirits again to ask whether he has already managed to kill the child. The diwata laughs at him and tells him that he cannot fight destiny; everything that is happening has been fated. [Boy, do I love the babaylan's exaggerated gestures and facial expressions. I'll bet she was having fun doing that. She'd be funny if the man's voice didn't make it scary--she reminds me of that thing chasing Sparrowhawk in Earthsea.]
Amaya's slave nanny is having trouble getting her to stop crying. Binayaan's nanny comments that her own charge is sleeping peacefully in contrast. Marikit peevishly demands to take the baby if the slave couldn't make her stop crying. She yells at Amaya, telling her that she doesn't belong there with them in the bukot, and that the least she could do was give them some peace. She then tries to hurt the baby, and the slave hastily takes Amaya back.
Mangubat goes home and is met by his wife and child. However, he goes directly to the images of the diwata and smashes them to pieces, declaring that he now forsakes them. Linangan and Bagani look on in alarm.
Marikit glares at the slave and tells her to keep Amaya quiet. She adds that the slaves better not tell her father, or she will tell her mother.
Dal'lang goes to Datu Bugna's house to demand that he return her daughter, and is blocked by the guards. Lamitan and Mantal come out to see what the ruckus is about. Dal'lang drops to her knees and asks Lamitan to return her child. Lamitan says she will not and Dal'lang should stop making trouble. Mantal asks her what she would do to a mother looking for her child, and Lamitan orders the slaves to take Dal'lang and catch up with the traders at the next island, and tell them that she is now complying with their bargain. Agang, who has followed Dal'lang, sees what happens and runs to tell the datu. Bugna immediately orders the boats launched to go after Dal'lang.
Amaya won't stop crying, so her nanny goes to ask Binayaan's nanny to nurse her, as maybe she is hungry. The other nanny observes that the baby stopped crying suddenly, and they go to check. They see the snakeling crawling down the rope of the cradle. However, when the slave looks for a weapon, the snake disappears.
Lamitan has gone to the beach to find her husband. She tells him not to go after Dal'lang. If she had given in to his wish that Amaya live with them, he should then let her do what she wished to do with Dal'lang for the sake of their marriage.
In the boat, Dal'lang suddenly stands up and pushes the guards overboard. The others try to grapple with her but she jumps overboard. A guard in another boat gets a spear and throws it at her, striking her in the back, and she sinks, leaving a trail of blood. AAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!
The guards search for Dal'lang in the water, but can't find her. They decide to return to the village and report the incident.
In the bukot, the slaves tell Bugna about the snake. He tells them that they must be imagining things, but just the same, they should not tell anyone else.
Bugna and Awi speculate on the snake's presence. Bugna says that they must be two halves of a whole, and that the snake must have gone to Amaya to console her now that her mother is gone. Lamitan arrives with worse news: Dal'lang is dead. Bugna sees red and draws his knife, but Lamitan protects the guards from his wrath, saying that they only did their duty. She then says smugly that now that Dal'lang is dead, she has no more rival for his affection. After she leaves, Bugna weeps silently, stabbing the wall with his knife.
But Dal'lang is not dead. She has washed up on an unknown beach, with a wound in her shoulder. She wakes up and realizes that she doesn't know where she is, and that she has now lost her child for good. She drops to her knees and shouts Amaya's name across the ocean.
Commentary:
Ah, the angst. I feel kind of sorry for Lamitan and Marikit here, although I know they're supposed to be contravidas, which means I'm buying into why they really get to hate Amaya. Well, at least there are reasons why they go really bad, although the potential for meanness is already there. And Bugna's not really helping because he's so fixated on Dal'lang that he ignores his legal family. Yeah, yeah, he loves her, so he says, but in the end he can really do nothing for her, so everyone's unhappy. He's not really evil, though, just a bit weak and selfish. Lamitan is also selfish, so they both end up trying to hurt each other as much as tbey can.
Although Marikit doesn't want to accept Amaya, the baby's position is already clear from the moment her father pronounced her a binukot. Thus, the slaves refer to all three of them with the honorific Ba'i, or "princess."
I was surprised for a while there when Dal'lang got speared... I thought she would really die, which would then have been a grave injustice-- she had already lost child and lover and her life was all she had left. When I saw her on the beach, I breathed a sigh of relief... then I thought, wait a minute, this is a Pinoy drama. Of course she can't die yet. I wonder what role she is yet to play in her daughter's destiny, now that everyone else believes she is dead.
Mangubat has turned apostate, refusing to listen to the diwata anymore after he learned that they won't help him kill the child. Well, of course, they wouldn't help you because you're too power-mad and destructive, you idiot.
I am still waiting to know Bagani's motivations for wanting to be unlike his father.
In the datu's house, a jeweler presents Lamitan with golden combs as a gift for Binayaan. Lamitan observes to her sister Mantal however that even if she draped the child in jewels, she would never have worth in her father's eyes. Mantal said that she should love the child more then. Lamitan answers scornfully that how could she, when the child caused her to disappoint her husband. She then calls for the herbs that she thinks would help her to conceive again.
At that point, Datu Bugna arrives with Amaya, whereupon Lamitan demands to know what the child is doing there. She says she cannot permit the child to live there. But Bugna lays down the law to her: She will not do anything to hurt the child and she will respect the fact that he wants the child with him, for that is the only way that she can make him happy since she could not give him a son. I know Lamitan is a snooty b*tch, but poor lady!
Datu Bugna then declares that Amaya will be a binukot -- a royal daughter shut up in a room until she becomes a young lady. He brings her to the bukot himself.
Marikit lights up when she sees her father, thinking that he is carrying Binayaan. Her face falls when she learns that it is Amaya, and she hears her father order that Amaya will be a binukot like them. Little princess is definitely not happy!
Bugna orders his slaves to stand guard at the bukot and make sure no one enters it but him. Lamitan, passing by, says that she has no choice if he wants to have Amaya live there but he better not hurt her feelings again or she will forget he is her husband.
Mangubat consults the spirits again to ask whether he has already managed to kill the child. The diwata laughs at him and tells him that he cannot fight destiny; everything that is happening has been fated. [Boy, do I love the babaylan's exaggerated gestures and facial expressions. I'll bet she was having fun doing that. She'd be funny if the man's voice didn't make it scary--she reminds me of that thing chasing Sparrowhawk in Earthsea.]
Amaya's slave nanny is having trouble getting her to stop crying. Binayaan's nanny comments that her own charge is sleeping peacefully in contrast. Marikit peevishly demands to take the baby if the slave couldn't make her stop crying. She yells at Amaya, telling her that she doesn't belong there with them in the bukot, and that the least she could do was give them some peace. She then tries to hurt the baby, and the slave hastily takes Amaya back.
Mangubat goes home and is met by his wife and child. However, he goes directly to the images of the diwata and smashes them to pieces, declaring that he now forsakes them. Linangan and Bagani look on in alarm.
Marikit glares at the slave and tells her to keep Amaya quiet. She adds that the slaves better not tell her father, or she will tell her mother.
Dal'lang goes to Datu Bugna's house to demand that he return her daughter, and is blocked by the guards. Lamitan and Mantal come out to see what the ruckus is about. Dal'lang drops to her knees and asks Lamitan to return her child. Lamitan says she will not and Dal'lang should stop making trouble. Mantal asks her what she would do to a mother looking for her child, and Lamitan orders the slaves to take Dal'lang and catch up with the traders at the next island, and tell them that she is now complying with their bargain. Agang, who has followed Dal'lang, sees what happens and runs to tell the datu. Bugna immediately orders the boats launched to go after Dal'lang.
Amaya won't stop crying, so her nanny goes to ask Binayaan's nanny to nurse her, as maybe she is hungry. The other nanny observes that the baby stopped crying suddenly, and they go to check. They see the snakeling crawling down the rope of the cradle. However, when the slave looks for a weapon, the snake disappears.
Lamitan has gone to the beach to find her husband. She tells him not to go after Dal'lang. If she had given in to his wish that Amaya live with them, he should then let her do what she wished to do with Dal'lang for the sake of their marriage.
In the boat, Dal'lang suddenly stands up and pushes the guards overboard. The others try to grapple with her but she jumps overboard. A guard in another boat gets a spear and throws it at her, striking her in the back, and she sinks, leaving a trail of blood. AAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!
The guards search for Dal'lang in the water, but can't find her. They decide to return to the village and report the incident.
In the bukot, the slaves tell Bugna about the snake. He tells them that they must be imagining things, but just the same, they should not tell anyone else.
Bugna and Awi speculate on the snake's presence. Bugna says that they must be two halves of a whole, and that the snake must have gone to Amaya to console her now that her mother is gone. Lamitan arrives with worse news: Dal'lang is dead. Bugna sees red and draws his knife, but Lamitan protects the guards from his wrath, saying that they only did their duty. She then says smugly that now that Dal'lang is dead, she has no more rival for his affection. After she leaves, Bugna weeps silently, stabbing the wall with his knife.
But Dal'lang is not dead. She has washed up on an unknown beach, with a wound in her shoulder. She wakes up and realizes that she doesn't know where she is, and that she has now lost her child for good. She drops to her knees and shouts Amaya's name across the ocean.
Commentary:
Ah, the angst. I feel kind of sorry for Lamitan and Marikit here, although I know they're supposed to be contravidas, which means I'm buying into why they really get to hate Amaya. Well, at least there are reasons why they go really bad, although the potential for meanness is already there. And Bugna's not really helping because he's so fixated on Dal'lang that he ignores his legal family. Yeah, yeah, he loves her, so he says, but in the end he can really do nothing for her, so everyone's unhappy. He's not really evil, though, just a bit weak and selfish. Lamitan is also selfish, so they both end up trying to hurt each other as much as tbey can.
Although Marikit doesn't want to accept Amaya, the baby's position is already clear from the moment her father pronounced her a binukot. Thus, the slaves refer to all three of them with the honorific Ba'i, or "princess."
I was surprised for a while there when Dal'lang got speared... I thought she would really die, which would then have been a grave injustice-- she had already lost child and lover and her life was all she had left. When I saw her on the beach, I breathed a sigh of relief... then I thought, wait a minute, this is a Pinoy drama. Of course she can't die yet. I wonder what role she is yet to play in her daughter's destiny, now that everyone else believes she is dead.
Mangubat has turned apostate, refusing to listen to the diwata anymore after he learned that they won't help him kill the child. Well, of course, they wouldn't help you because you're too power-mad and destructive, you idiot.
I am still waiting to know Bagani's motivations for wanting to be unlike his father.
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