ABS-CBN’s “A Love To Last” airs its final episode on Friday, Sept. 22. This is a live blog of the family drama’s last episode.
The finale opens to Andeng (Bea Alonzo), granting Anton’s (Ian Veneracion) request for one day with him, for closure. The entire scene screams awkward. Anton tries hard to please Andeng, but she’s putting on a tough exterior.
It starts to rain. For a brief rainy moment, Anton gets nostalgic over the first time he saw Andeng. It was raining, then. Andeng is barely moved. He later realizes that she’s not wearing their wedding ring. Anton asks Andeng if she still loves him. She eventually says something like, “Of course, I love you, you idiot.” But in a more poignant way. It doesn’t seem that she would waver in her resolve to end their marriage. He begs her to stay, but she says she just couldn’t forgive him. They fight. They kiss. Anton wants a “proper goodbye.” So despite having in her mind the memory of Grace (Iza Calzado) kissing Anton, Andeng agrees. They get in bed.
They start talking about what’s next for them. Anton has resigned from Celba. Andeng is going to work in the US. Anton is going to Disneyland with the kids. They agree to tell the kids together that their separation is for good. Anton says he won’t love anyone else. Andeng responds, she hopes he’d be happy. (No, she didn’t say, “Me too.”)
Mommy Baby (Irma Adlawan) welcomes Andeng backs home. She starts crying, telling her mom that she loves Anton. Every man she’s loved has hurt him, she says. But it seems she really has shortcomings, she adds. Mommy Baby then asks her to stop checking the balance between giving and taking in loving. Stop doing the Math. Stop calculating how much you’ve given and how much you should get in return. (To everyone who got affected by this, ‘hope you had some Kleenex ready.)
At school, Chloe (Julia Barretto) decides she should break up with Tupe (Ronnie Alonte), set him free from any boyfriend obligations. She says she loves him too much to keep his focus off his dreams.
At the Noble house, Anton and siblings work together to convince Kitty (Hannah Vito) to fly to Disneyland without her Mama Andrea. Anton explains Andeng really won’t be able to join them. Seeing her family’s trying hard to get her in travel mood, Kitty obliges.
Meanwhile, Andeng runs into her former fiancé, Jerold (Victor Silayan). They get into a casual catching up. Then Andeng brings up the past with a simple question. Was it difficult to love her? Jerold says it was easy to feel inadequate with her. Because she loves in a big way, and not everyone could match that. He says he loved her the way he knew how. Just like that, Andeng gets a sense of enlightenment. (Mameng and Mommy Baby, give this guy a standing ovation, please.) She then turns to her family, telling everyone she’s going to Disneyland. Everyone cheers.
Anton and kids board a private plane to Disneyland. Once seated, Anton brings out Andeng’s iconic red scarf. Kitty could not believe it when she saw her Mama Andrea trying to stop their plane. Dumbstruck, Anton gets off the plane. A lengthy, loving monologue from Andeng follows. Memories of their romantic banter flows on. “Are you done?” Anton asks. For a moment, Andeng thinks she’s lost him. Anton then brings out the red scarf. And then, all is well.
After the break, viewers are taken to a mini time jump. Everyone’s at Mameng’s home in Batangas. Then Tupe arrives, telling Chloe he got her dad’s permission to be with her again — after she graduates. Anton looks on with approval. They later talk about summer — Kitty, Chloe and Lucas (JK Labajo) will be in the US to be with their mom. Kitty is optimistic that Andeng and Anton could join one summer in the future. Anton quickly tries to tell her that it might not happen, but Andeng butts in to make sure Kitty knows it is not entirely impossible.
Soon after, Andeng takes Anton to their special spot, where they would raise their little Antons and little Andengs. She shows him a pregnancy test stick with two lines. Anton is overjoyed. And they live happily ever after, at least in the hearts of Tondeng fans.
Here’s a small part of Andeng’s Will-you-take-back-your-wife spiel:
Tondeng fans can now let go of ALTL knowing that Andeng has learned that love is not about having expectations, or making sure that everything is all right. Because relationships are messy. Mistakes and misunderstandings happen. As Mommy Baby said, real love is about giving without working on a balance sheet. Huwag kang magbilang. As for Anton, he gets to keep his family, and they even get to welcome a new baby. Their lifetime has just begun.