Why Love Why (2020) Episode 4: Duress

While I understand why some people got offended with what appeared as queer misrepresentation and oversexualization during the pilot episode (for the record, I didn't get offended but for those who did, your feelings are valid), I hope they didn't judge this series based only on their issues with the premiere episode. It pays to stick around for this series. I hope those who dropped this series will give it another shot. Why Love Why is not without flaws but it clearly has something relevant to say. Since Episode 1, I've been wondering what this series is trying to say. Apparently, a lot, based on Episode 4: Duress, its best episode yet. It tackled historical, societal, and personal issues like dictatorship, human rights violations, corruption, poverty, pandemic, coming out, cheating, etc. I do have an issue with the historical timeline which was a bit confused. Prior to Martial Law (1972), Emil's grandfather was arrested and tortured by Benjo's grandfather who was already Mayor. He was the same Mayor who was asked by an Assemblywoman to join Ferdinand Marcos' New Society Movement (1978) to run for Mayor for the first time. Prior to 1972, we didn't have Assemblymen or Assemblywomen. We had Congressmen, Congresswomen, and Senators who returned after the overthrow of the Marcos regime through the EDSA People Power Revolution (1986) -- Benjo and Emil's thesis topic. But other than this, everything else was generally handled well. Screenplay was largely relatable even with the theatrical lines here and there. Benjo's coming out and confession of feelings for Emil were realistic. And Benjo and Emil's sex scene wasn't dirty at all. In terms of acting, their breakfast scene was really good. Both Carl and Johnrey were quite good. The silences between them didn't diminish their performance, but instead, amplified their acting. Audio-Visuals were mostly satisfactory. Overall, I really liked this episode.

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