For the past six months, our viewing experience have gone more exciting and action-packed, thanks to the ABS-CBN Studios action-drama series “Incognito” that indeed never failed to amaze us with remarkable performances from the talented ensemble cast, thrilling high-octane scenes, and breathtaking cinematography in ever episode. And even though we didn’t want it to end yet, we all know that nothing lasts forever, even good stories.
As we bid farewell to the teleserye that became our favorite habit, as well as turned a lot of us into huge fans of the action genre and of its stars, let us revisit what had happened in its eventful and explosive (both literally and figuratively) “The Final Mission” finale that totally brought us to a rollercoaster of emotions via this special feature.
The finale week commenced with the continuously growing battle between the military, commanded by Colonel Greg Paterno (Ian Veneracion), and the El Cano terrorist group, led by Manuel Aguinaldo (Joem Bascon). In their attempt to conquer the military, El Cano pulled dirty tricks up their sleeves, which include turning one of their young apprentices, Yogo (Yogo Singh), as their suicide bomber who almost killed Greg after he detonated the bomb attached to his torso.
After he and Tomas/Monkey (Anthony Jennings) were able to rescue for young lads who were apparent recruits by the El Cano, Andres/Wolf (Daniel Padilla) came face-to-face with Kenji Lee (Lance Pimentel) again and they had an exhilarating fisticuff that eventually resulted in the latter’s demise after the former was able to knock him out and threw him off one of the ruins.
While she and Andres were surveying the war zone, Gab/Sparrow (Maris Racal) was shot by an enemy on the right shoulder, which left her unconscious. He tried to inch closer to her to take her away from the open air, but he struggled as the constant rain of bullets and the gunshot wound on his neck made it difficult for him.
Tomas arrived at the scene in his attempt to help them out but also failed, as he got hit, too, before he could even reach for her. He and Andres thought of covering each other as they tried to get Gab, but it was really impossible for them to gun down the savage shooters. Fortunately, their group’s ever-reliable sniper, Miguel/Jaguar (Baron Geisler), was able to finally track down the opponent’s very own sniper, Kuwatro (Lou Yanong), and precisely shot her in the head.
Through his radio, he warned Andres and Tomas that the enemies were using Gab as bait in their hopes that someone from their side would take a risk to save her and he/she would become an easy target. Miguel then astonishingly shot down all three El Cano snipers in one clean sweep and quickly ran towards their location, with the tandem of Andres and Tomas mustering all the bit of strength left in them to cover Miguel, as he volunteered to retrieve Gab.
Miguel may have succeeded in reaching Gab and passing her onto Andres, but, unfortunately, he was not able to save himself from the fatal shot of an enemy sniper that hit him on the side of his neck near the pulse point. Shaking with rage, Tomas immediately looked for the sniper responsible and retaliated by finishing him with his own bullet. He, Andres, and Gab rushed to Miguel and desperately tried to revive him, but to no avail.
It was Gab who relayed the heartbreaking news to the rest of the Kontraks, who were still locked in the middle of the battlefield, which made them freeze out of immense shock. The death of Miguel had fueled JB/Shark (Richard Gutierrez) and Max/Eagle (Kaila Estrada) to continue fighting against Gaspar (Vhong Navarro) and his faction despite only having their handguns and knives as weapons, while Greg/Noah was more driven to finish off their main target, Manuel, as he finally came face-to-face with him.
As Gaspar was able to take hold of Max by the neck, which caused her to collapse unconscious, and was then was poised to shoot her, JB was agile enough to hurl his knife at him and struck him on the arm, which threw Gaspar off balance. Shark was able to grab Gaspar’s gun and used its bullets to shoot him down.
Greg, on the other hand, engaged in a gripping skirmish with Manuel and ended up knocking him down. He quickly reached into the enemy’s vest to pull out a grenade, which he threw beside Manuel, who was already too weak and too far from the doorway to escape from the explosion. As flames consumed the dilapidated structure, Manuel’s life also ended.
For the last time, Greg ordered his Kontraks to proceed to their exit point, signaling the completion of their mission and the elimination of their target. Team Incognito emerged from the ruins together, with the remaining six members carrying their fallen comrade on a stretcher.
A montage of Miguel’s memories with the team was then shown—which included the times when he saved them in his own ways during their previous assignments, when he shared light moments with them despite his personal struggles, and when he stood by them as a concerned brother—as if everything came rushing back to his teammates.
Following their bloody war against Manuel’s evil forces, the Kontraktor and his remaining five Kontraks gathered together and reminisced on their unforgettable memories with Miguel over his favorite orange juice and the scenic view of the sunset as their backdrop.
Greg met with General Donnie Novilla (Jestoni Alarcon), who congratulated him for a job well done, while Gab and Tomas brought kilig to their shippers as the latter finally professed his love for Gab, which she accepted and agreed to not push through with their annulment anymore.
An unexpected twist also happened, with Jun (Louise Abuel) suddenly revealing himself to Andres and their Apo Esang (Malou de Guzman) after being presumed to be already dead. He told them that he just swung by to say goodbye since he’s going to leave again and he didn’t want them to look for him. Before he left, the brothers had a poignant conversation as they reflected on their brief and complicated reunion and exchanged hugs before Andres watched him walk away and reminded him that he would always be welcome to their home once he decided to finally live a brand-new life.
Ardent shippers of Max and JB were surely ecstatic as well as they shared a sweet moment together by a boulevard. He informed her about his upcoming trip to the United States to finally undergo medication, and then both of them expressed how special they are for one another, with Max assuring him that she would be waiting for him.
The Kontraks once again converged for one last time before they parted ways, then Kontraktor arrived and joked if they were ready to take on another mission. Tomas suddenly belted out a parody version of “Liwanag sa Dilim” that made everyone burst into laughter.
Just when we thought that it was already the ending, a “pahabol” scene was shown after the closing credits, wherein Greg was seen sitting cozily at a bench somewhere in Halden, Norway. He spoke with a certain “Snake” through his phone, telling him/her that he’s looking for a new sniper that is “as good as the last one,” pertaining to the late Miguel. “Snake” was apparently there as well, as Greg agreed to meet up with him/her.
Takeaways from “Incognito,” rave comments on the finale
We can perhaps agree that not a lot of people are fans of the action genre, which seems to be usually enjoyed by men, specifically the oldies in the family. Thus, it indeed came as a surprise that even female audiences have liked “Incognito” as well, as many of them were even vocal on how much they enjoy watching the series despite it being nerve-wracking and heart-pounding because of how bloody and action-packed almost every episode was.
Although we’ve probably seen other action series and movies over the years, there was really something about this series that set it apart, which was likely the unmistakable chemistry of its talented lead cast members, despite having differences in experiences and personalities. Aside from the interesting general narrative and story arcs, not to mention the exciting missions of the Kontraks, what really drew more people into this series was the genuine camaraderie among the main cast, which reflected on how their characters were on the series.
“Incognito” also allowed us to see some of the actors we’ve admired in different lights, specifically showing us that they can actually not only do drama, romance, and/or comedy but also action. While Richard was able to prove that he’s indeed one of the frontrunners when it comes to this genre, Daniel and Ian were indeed able to break away from their facets as leading men and heartthrobs as they showcased their flair in action.
Many, meanwhile, were genuinely happy for Baron, who got to showcase his versatile acting skills. This made his character’s brutal death even more upsetting for viewers, especially since Miguel/ Jaguar had clearly gained a solid following as the group’s elite sniper.
On the other hand, Maris and Anthony were able to attest that there’s definitely more to them than being an onscreen pair and individual actors, who can both impress in comedy, drama, and romance. Since they did something totally different from what they’d done in the past, both of them indeed shone here, especially Maris, who astonished us with her va-va-voom transformation and skills in speaking Hiligaynon, Italian, and Japanese.
Kaila, meanwhile, was such as a discovery here, too, as after being cast in a slew of drama projects, she’s able to demonstrate that she can do other genres too, such as action.
We would like to congratulate its top-caliber directors Lester Pimentel Ong, Ian Loreños, and Wang Yan Bin; brilliant writers Generiza Reyes-Francisco, Maan Dimaculangan-Fampulme, and John David Cruz; and the rest of the Star Creatives Team for giving us a totally refreshing take on Pinoy action that got any generation and any gender really hooked.
Besides, we also absolutely loved it when Team Incognito brought us to some of the most beautiful spots here and abroad, namely Palawan, Benguet, Italy, Japan, and even the once war-torn Marawi, in which their deadly and intense missions took place.
Aside from the action, drama, kilig, and even comedy that it consistently brought us over the past six months, “Incognito” has also made us realize a lot of things in life. One of those is the value of teamwork, brotherhood/sisterhood, and friendship, which if genuine, can definitely help us succeed in our endeavors and make it easy for us to go through the things that we’ve been dealing with—just like everything that happened to the Kontraks.
Whether we like it or not, wars never end without cost because, more often than not, something has to be sacrificed or someone must make a compromise in order for it to be over. And unfortunately, it had to be Baron’s character, Miguel, for the war between the government and terrorist forces. It may be heartbreaking and unacceptable, but we have to realize that it’s part of their job and that he died as a hero to his family, his comrades, and the country.
And lastly, the series is, first and foremost, a story of redemption and second chances, which the lead characters were indeed able to achieve. We also love that the Kontraks may have entered as strangers and soldiers, yet they ended up as family and heroes.
Here are some of the tweets posted by Kapamilya netizens on X (formerly Twitter) who got to watch the “The Final Mission” finale of “Incognito”:
Kudos to Team Incognito and Star Creatives for this remarkable project! We share the enthusiasm of avid viewers in hoping for a Season 2!