The real world isn’t the only one anticipating tonight’s blood moon.
After being transported inside the world of Dr. Jose Rizal’s “Noli Me Tangere,” TV’s hottest heroine, nursing student Klay (Barbie Forteza), has been waiting for a chance to return to the real world.
Tonight’s episode of “Maria Clara at Ibarra” will feature a blood moon or total lunar eclipse.
Prof. Torres (Lou Veloso) has told Klay that once the Blood Moon appears, she must climb the bell tower of fictional San Diego. It’s one of the few times she’ll be able to return to the real world, where her mother Narcisa (Manilyn Reynes) and brother Elias are already looking for her.
It’s been a month or so since Klay was absorbed into the novel, where she met the titular characters, the engaged couple Maria Clara (Julie Anne San Jose) and Crisostomo Ibarra (Dennis Trillo), as well as the novel’s other characters, most notably the friars Padre Damaso (Tirso Cruz III) and Padre Salvi (Juancho Trivio). She also meets Ibarra’s best friend, Fidel (David Licauco), with whom she frequently exchanges opposing viewpoints and beliefs.
The once disinterested nursing student who questioned the relevance of “Noli Me Tangere” to the study and pursuit of nursing now faces a quandary if she truly wishes to leave its world behind. She has witnessed the friars’ absolute power over the lives of both wealthy and poor Filipinos.
The tragedy that befell Sisa (Andrea Torres) and her children, Crispin (Kian Co) and Basilio (Stanley Abuloc), left an indelible imprint on her. Klay is still nursing emotional wounds from witnessing Sisa’s slow descent into madness caused by the loss of her two sons.
Tonight’s episode teaser shows Klay on her way to the bell tower, waiting for the portal to open. The guardia civil apprehended Ibarra and Sisa for violating the 9 p.m. curfew. After seeing an image of a boy resembling her son running away from them, Sisa, who has already succumbed to the darkness, exclaims, “Basilio!” Klay was about to enter the portal when she heard a gunshot.
Klay’s concern for Sisa appears to be a test of her resolve: will she leave the beloved book characters to their fates, or will she choose to change what Rizal wrote?
Viewers will find out whether Klay will follow through on her plan to return to her real world or stay and try to disrupt the book’s original story.
The total lunar eclipse will begin at 5:19 p.m., with the totality of the eclipse beginning at 6:16 p.m., according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). The maximum eclipse (or peak stage of the eclipse) will occur at 6:59 p.m. The moon will be completely eclipsed until 7:42 p.m. It will then be partially eclipsed until 8:49 p.m. and conclude at 9:58 p.m.
The total lunar eclipse will be visible in the Philippines as well as other places where the moon will be visible above the horizon, such as Asia, Australia, North America, parts of Northern and Eastern Europe, and the majority of South America.
The Blood Moon or Total Lunar Eclipse will be livestreamed by the PAGASA Astronomical Observatory on the PAGASA Official Facebook Page and the PAGASA YouTube channel.
Weeknights at around 8 p.m., “Maria Clara at Ibarra” airs, following “24 Oras” on GMA-7.