Darna: Episode 14

14. Darna and Valentina

Tuloy lamang ang pagmamatyag nila Bryan at ng kanyang ninong na si Antiporda (Jeffrey Santos) sa isang magnanakaw ng sasakyan na matagal na nilang nais mahuli. Susubukan namang tumakas ng isa sa mga kalaban ni Regina at uutusan nito ang kanyang alalay na si Ali (Mark Manicad) upang gawan ito ng paraan. Ang babayaran ng alalay ay siya ring magnanakaw ng sasakyan na tinutugis nila Bryan. Pagbabantaan nito si Ali at magwawala naman si Regina dahil madadawit ang pangalan niya. Sa kanyang galit ay lalabas ang isang lihim ng kanyang pagkatao na maging sa kanyang kaalaman ay lingid din. Magpapalit-anyo si Regina at magiging si Valentina, ang babaeng puno ng mga ahas ang ulo sa halip na buhok. Walang malay si Regina habang siya ay si Valentina at ang tanging nakakaalam lamang nito ay ang kanyang alalay na si Ali na ayaw namang ipagtapat ito kay Regina dahil ayaw niya itong masaktan sa katotohanan. Ilalaglag ni Valentina ang magnanakaw ng sasakyan mula sa isang gusali at makikita siya ni Narda habang ginagawa ito. #DarnaValentina

Hanep, Janella Salvador. Ikaw na. Hindi pa rin ganoon kalinis ang pagkakagawa sa mga ahas na buhok ni Valentina ngunit ito ay madali ko namang mapapatawad dahil mahirap talagang panindigan ito. Karamihan sa mga naunang Valentina ay dinadaan lamang ito sa make-up. Nauunawaan ko naman na kailangan nilang umasa sa CGI sa pagkakataong ito dahil kung hindi ay hindi ganoon katindi ang magiging dating ni Valentina at wala rin siya gaanong magagawa kaya ayos na rin ito. Hindi man malinis ang pagkakagawa ay damang dama mo naman talaga ang kaba at takot. Ito na marahil ang talagang hinangaan ko sa kabanatang ito. May pagkukulang man sa CGI, bawing bawi naman sa pagganap ni Salvador at pamumuno ni Chito Roño. Baka nakakalimutan natin na magaling talaga manakot ang isang Chito Roño. Diyan talaga siya kilala. Dahil dito lalo namang naging kapanapanabik ang napipintong pagtutunggali ni Valentina at Darna lalo pa’t kitang-kita na takot na takot din si Narda sa kanya. #DarnaValentina

13. The Snake Woman

Bryan and his godfather Antiporda (Jeffrey Santos) carry on with their investigation of a carnapper that they really want to nab. Meanwhile, one of Regina’s enemies attempt to flee and she asks her assistant Ali (Mark Manicad) to take care of it. The very same person the assistant pays off to do the dirty deed is also the very same carnapper being chased by Bryan and his godfather. Ali gets blackmailed and Regina throws a hissy fit when her name gets involved. In her rage emerges one of her identity’s secrets that even she herself is not aware of. Regina transforms into Valentina, a woman who has snakes in lieu of hair. Regina is oblivious to her alter ego and not aware of what is happening when she is Valentina. The only one who knows all about it is her assistant Ali who withholds that info from her because he doesn’t want her to get hurt by the truth. Valentina throws the carnapper off a building and Narda sees her while she is doing it. #DarnaValentina

Wow, Janella Salvador. You nailed it. The rendering of the CGI of Valentina’s snakes for hair is not that polished either but this I can easily forgive because it is really hard to pull this off. Most of previous Valentinas relied heavily on make-up for this. I totally understand why they have to rely on CGI this time around lest they want Valentina to not have that much of an impact and not be able to do much either, so this is perhaps the best way. Despite the messy execution, you still get to feel a palpable amount of fear and dread. I guess this is more or less what I really admire about this episode. Even with the CGI found lacking, Salvador’s performance and Chito Roño’s direction really make up for it. Lest we forget, horror is Chito Roño’s genre. That’s where he gained prominence. Because of this, the build-up towards Valentina and Darna’s impending face-off gets even more exciting, even more so given how it’s so evident that even Narda herself seems so spooked by her. #DarnaValentina

“Hindi ako si Regina. Ako si Valentina!” –Regina

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