More than its thrilling sequences and evocative depictions of injustices, “Blood vs Duty” consistently delivers heartbreaking moments to viewers with the unexpected deaths of some of its captivating characters, particularly four of the incredible Task Force Alpha members: Harold Rustia (Elmo Magalona), Oliver Lapeña (Geoff Eigenmann), Patrick Marquez (Antonio Aquitania), and Russel Contreras (Dino Imperial).
With the escalation of the disastrous issues surrounding Datu Rahman’s (Jaime Fabregas) abduction, the need for Task Force Alpha to be reformed must be done with the greatest of urgency. The next promising individuals expected to fill the high-pressure roles of the departed members will be combat medic Liam Rodriguez (Albie Casiño), lethal sharpshooter Ryan Cruz (LA Santos), combat expert Eve Castillo (Lou Yanong), and explosives expert Andre Flores (River Joseph).
In the May 7th episode of Kapamilya Chat, Albie, LA, Lou, and River altogether confidently shared about their natural chemistry as a team, memorable taping experiences, and rigorous preparations for “Blood vs Duty.”
To define their overall team aura as the newest Task Force Alpha personnel, Albie took the lead, expressing that they’re definitely of the highest caliber. “Alpha, [kami ‘yung] pinaka-malupit na Task Force kunyari sa Pilipinas… Kami ‘yung parang best of the best sa mga kanya-kanya naming fields [tapos pinagsama-sama] sa isang grupo,” he explained.
When addressing how the four Kapamilya stars built their team chemistry for the show, particularly their “alpha” look, LA, Lou, and Albie all quipped about how they didn’t find it difficult from the start, with Lou emphasizing that their confidence and camaraderie were their common ground.
For Lou, the only woman in her team, alongside Bela Padilla, who takes the role of head agent Lara Angeles, her scenes effectively represent an empowered woman, especially in the way that she can easily get along with the others.
Lou also smoothly addressed concerns pertaining to being typecast in action-oriented projects, considering that she has been consistently involved with the genre from “The Iron Heart,” “Incognito,” “Roja,” and, finally, “Blood vs Duty.” She clarified that she honestly feels comfortable in this category but is definitely willing to pursue opportunities outside of it.
“Maybe I can also do other things. So, I’m doing the workshops now and [I will] probably try out different genres,” she added.
Not wanting to miss out on complimenting her “Blood vs Duty” character as Eve Castillo, Lou commented that it’s her first good role, which made it more interesting. “Paano kaya kung hindi siya pumapatay [for the] intention of just killing, but [instead] for the people,” she mused.
More about the group’s intense preparation, Albie noted the discipline of being physically fit considering they all had to wear full tactical gears and handle weighted guns nearly all the time while under the sun. On the other hand, LA stressed the importance of internalizing emotions, proper training with their fight director, and helpful conversations with their experienced co-stars, especially Gerald Anderson and Richard Gutierrez.
Focusing on facial expressions and movements, River pointed out that SWAT videos and action movies like “The Raid” served as his basis. “Dapat mukhang alam ko ‘yung ginagawa ko,” he added.
During the early phases of their filming, Albie recalled that on their first day, they promptly practiced some action scenes, which became the starting point of their subsequent training sessions. Once they were familiar with the standards, they concentrated on their own progress followed by working as a unit. “Mahahalata if [‘yung] isa hindi alam ang ginagawa… Kahit ‘yung lakad namin,” he clarified.
River, who was actually present at the show’s special screening during its grand media conference last March, disclosed that he had no idea at the time that he would eventually be included in the series. “Ang ganda ng mga action scenes [at] bigatin ang cast… ‘Nung nalaman ko na kasama kami doon, mas mabigat na,” he expressed.
On their reactions to the twists and turns of the show, both LA and River joked about hoping that their characters wouldn’t be killed too soon. “Natatakot nga ako kapag may eksena tayo kasama si Sir Baron,” River laughed, thinking about Baron Geisler’s murderous role as Felix Domingo, who executed the previous Task Force Alpha members.
Lou then chimed in, bringing out the beauty of the show. “I got really excited. It’s just exciting how to build that relationship [as a team] again… Sobrang ganda [kasi] ng nabuo nilang team,” she stated.
Similar to Lou’s sentiments, River went on to speak about the show’s cultural relevance, which especially highlighted the Muslim community’s cultures and traditions. “Besides sa action, I think what stands out din is the fact na focused din ‘yung show na ito sa Muslim community,” he conveyed.
On the topic of working with Ejay Falcon, who portrays the skilled but underappreciated Muslim officer SPO1 Usman Sabdani, Lou shared that she had actually worked with Ejay in “Roja” prior to “Blood vs Duty.”
Being an accomplished actor with years of experience in the action genre, Ejay would often guide his younger peers whenever he could, appearing as a reliable older brother to Lou, LA, Albie, and River. He also inspired them to work harder through his tireless dedication in attending solo workshops.
When asked about portraying different characters from the show, both Albie and LA talked about being impressed with Marc Abaya’s upcoming performance as part of Metal 13.
Meanwhile, for Lou and River, they opted for Gerald’s compelling character as the protagonist Jalil Abubakar. Both observed the exceptional talent required to successfully capture the complexities of Jalil pretending to be Major Allan Espina while repressing his resentment against Task Force Alpha, particularly at Marcus Reyes (Richard Gutierrez), who was responsible for arresting Datu Rahman.
The group also appreciated Rommel Padilla’s depiction of Director Azuelo, as well as two other two-faced characters such as Baron’s Felix and Bela’s Lara.
With regard to the latest developments on the show, Albie, LA, Lou, and River were only able to express amazement upon reviewing their most recent scripts, creating more excitement for the upcoming episodes.
Don’t miss the marvelous expertise of the redefined Task Force Alpha in “Blood vs Duty,” streaming on iWant and airing weeknights at 8pm on ABS-CBN sa ALLTV2, A2Z, Kapamilya Channel, and Kapamilya Online Live (KOL).