It's been a week since the finale of Can't Buy Me Love and viewers are still reeling from the show's unexpected turn of events. In case you missed it: It was finally revealed that the killer of Caroline Tiu's (Belle Mariano) mother was actually her achi Bettina (Kaila Estrada). The revelation unfolded in an emotionally explosive scene that has since made rounds on social media.
WATCH: Kaila Estrada's Viral Confrontation Scene in "Can't Buy Me Love"
Sequestered in a forest, Bettina admits to Caroline that she was the culprit behind her mother's untimely death, which became the overarching mystery throughout the show. Achi expressed the neglect she felt from her whole family, which drove her to commit the crime.
Kaila has been getting praise left and right for her moving portrayal of Bettina. Aside from the waves of netizens who tuned in, the actress also has a fan in the series' director Mae Cruz Alviar.
Director Mae Cruz Alviar on Filming Kaila Estrada's Viral Scene
In an interview last Sunday, May 12, Direk Mae shared that the viral confrontation scene surprisingly only needed one take to complete. "The whole confrontation, tuloy-tuloy lang 'yon. Halos isang take lang siya," she told members of the press after the 2024 Box Office Entertainment Awards.
She states that despite the constraints of an outdoor location, Kaila was able to fulfill the needs of the scene that they didn't need to film any further. She says: "Talagang binigay [ni Kaila] lahat. Saka wala na kaming araw. Maganda 'yung performance, talagang buong puso niya binigay."
Such a pinnacle scene was a planned surprise for the show's loyal fans. Direk Mae even says that everyone on set had to sign a non-disclosure agreement regarding the plot, shrouding who from the cast could possibly be the killer.
“Everyone was an obvious suspect. We wanted something that would surprise the audience," Direk Mae expresses. "We wanted the audience [to react like] ‘What?! Siya pala!’ And we are happy that we achieved it."
Assigning Kaila to play such a volatile role was something the director was sure of. In her words, "Walang tapon sa cast. Kahit sino maging killer, sure na mapapanindigan nila at mabibigyan nila ng justice [ang role]."
For the Preview December 2023 cover star in particular, Direk Mae says that she is "[part ng] next [generation] of superstars,” and we totally agree!
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