Tayo Sa Wakas Shows Us That Love Won’t Triumph Without Taking Care of Yourself

Love is often seen as an act of giving. You give your admiration towards someone as an outward gesture, something that needs to be seen, felt, and done externally. However, love doesn’t just thrive with what you do with your partner. It also matters how you treat yourself on the inside and how you personally approach the relationship. That’s the thesis Tayo Sa Wakas, the newest romantic drama from blockbuster director Cathy Garcia-Sampana, operates on.

​The latest movie from Donny Pangilinan and Belle Mariano, as well as their last project together for the foreseeable future, tells the story of two people navigating the failure of their relationship. And in their recollection comes the realization that both of them let their insecurities lead them down a spiral. Tayo Sa Wakas is as much about a couple who wants to make it to the end as it is about how they get there, and it starts with a good dose of introspection and self-care.

Slight spoilers for Tayo Sa Wakas ahead

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How Cisco and Cheska’s Love Story Turns Sour

The movie begins with the lead protagonists Cisco (Donny Pangilinan) and Cheska (Belle Mariano) at the end of their relationship. Before this, they agreed to go on a breakup trip to finalize the decision before they split for good. During the trip, they reminisce about their relationship. For most of its run, the movie weaves two timelines, Cisco and Cheska during their breakup trip in the present, and their love story in the past, from how they met working at an ad agency to them moving in together and how their personal and professional lives develop from there.

This setup allows Donny and Belle to deliver their most mature performances to date, as their relationship isn’t the only thing that keeps them driven, but also success in the corporate world. Cisco and Cheska are animated by their own wants, needs, and desires. For the former, he’s one of the talented and ambitious leads of the company, but is hoping to earn the respect of his family, especially his stern grandfather. For the latter, she is a newbie in the industry wanting to prove herself in the company and make a living to support her family.

When the two have a chance encounter at work, they quickly fall head over heels for each other, but they also bring their fair share of baggage to the relationship. Beneath the love they have for each other are two young people who have their own struggles, and the movie slowly peels back those layers as Cisco and Cheska are forced to reconcile their dreams and ambitions with how they fit in each other’s lives.

With every win comes a silent distance forming between the two as they begin to realize that what they want for themselves and the relationship may not be aligned. It’s a struggle many can relate to, because love isn’t always sunshine and rainbows, as the movie doesn’t shy away from portraying the challenges Cisco and Cheska go through.

What Tayo Sa Wakas Says About Self-Love and Relationships

Love in Tayo Sa Wakas’s eyes is built on the good and the bad, or, more importantly, the growth that comes when crossing choppy waters. It’s notable how the film doesn’t shy away from showing Cisco and Cheska finding themselves on opposing sides. In a way, Cisco and Cheska come off as more real because they are flawed human beings who are capable of making mistakes, ones driven by their own shortcomings. It’s commendable how the film doesn’t resort to tropes like unfaithfulness to drive its plot, but instead focuses on two young people who can’t fully wrestle with their own destructive tendencies.

Love in this case becomes a prison instead of a safe space. Any healthy relationship doesn’t just run on selflessness or spending every waking moment together, but also on the people who form it taking care of themselves. As Tayo Sa Wakas shows, choosing yourself is not always a bad thing, because that can lead to a better relationship. Personal growth isn’t just good for the individual, but also for the couple and the people around them.

Cisco and Cheska’s decision to live together ties their dreams on the same boat, which leads to an important realization that couples still need to build lives of their own and have the time and space to learn, grow, and discover as their own person. And that can only happen when honesty and trust are at the center of a relationship, something Cisco and Cheska struggle to foster later down the line as their own insecurities and doubts begin to seep into their relationship.

They realized too late that their sacrifices for one another were more burdens that took away a piece of themselves than willing overtures of love, which led to a relationship on shaky ground. Loving someone doesn’t mean neglecting yourself, as all that does is drain you in the process. There has to be self-love in the equation because you can only be a better lover when you’re a better person.  

Tayo Sa Wakas and the Case for Loving Yourself First

Whether in the movies or in real life, love can only grow when the people who share it enter the relationship as their own person. Tayo Sa Wakas makes the strong case that the weight of unresolved insecurities can lead to a couple’s downfall. Entertaining a relationship with unaddressed baggage and worse, not giving yourself time to address it, does no one any good.

If this is DonBelle’s last project together for a while, it at least leaves its viewers with the message that, in a society that prioritizes togetherness to a fault, understanding and being kind to yourself is just as important as knowing and loving your partner.  

Tayo Sa Wakas is showing in cinemas nationwide.

Featured Image and Photos: STAR CINEMA (via Instagram and Website)