Around three months since it was initially released on Prime Video, “Saving Grace” continues the cryfest as it finally premiered on free television across ABS-CBN Studios’ viewing platforms last Monday, March 3. Aptly entitled “Saving Grace: The Untold Story,” Kapamilya netizens on X (formerly Twitter) expressed their delight and surprise to spot scenes that they said were not present in the aforementioned online streaming platform. Thus, they’re certain that the TV version is going to be more heartbreaking, more gut-wrenching, and more heartwarming, which we immediately experienced just on the pilot week.    

The opening scene of the first episode was a preview of what was about to happen two weeks later when Grace (Zia Grace) lost her cherished pet chicken, Pipo, after being cooked by her stepfather Chito (Christian Bables) and she was ruthlessly beaten up by her own mother, Sarah (Jennica Garcia) for attacking him. She was happily singing while walking towards the edge of the breakwater and holding a piece of feather from Pipo, then stopped as she watched a flock of birds hovering the dark skies.  

Chito’s voice calling the name of Grace was then heard, which prompted her to run towards the pier and hide herself, only to be caught by somebody whose identity was not revealed. The next thing we knew, a search and rescue operation was launched that night as the fisherman who spotted her at the breakwater assumed that she jumped off the water. As Sarah appeared clearly distraught, Chito was seen hiding behind the throngs of onlookers who conveyed their theories about what really to happened to Grace.  

The audiences were then taken to the events that transpired two weeks prior, the period when Grace and Teacher Anna (Julia Montes) literally bumped into each other for the first time and unexpectedly formed a cordial bond. It all started when Anna, an emotionally distant teacher who’s about to leave her post to pursue a degree in ornithology in Hong Kong, was tapped by the school principal to temporarily handle the class of her co-teacher who is on maternity leave. She was also tasked to keep an eye on Grace, their pupil who is deemed to have behavioral issues.  

We were also given a glimpse of Anna’s personal life and apparent rift with her younger sister, Princess (Mary Joy Apostol), through that phone call scene with her mother, Helena (Janice de Belen) who runs an inn in Palawan. The tragic demise of their padre de familia (Gardo Versoza) seemingly have something to do with it, based on the conversation of Helena and Charlie (Adrian Lindayag), as well as Anna’s nightmare.  

Just on her first day of handling their class, Anna immediately witnessed how problematic Grace really is as she figured in a fight that her classmates actually initiated, slept during her class, and didn’t participate in their activity. And a lot of hearts surely broke when it was revealed that behind her sunny disposition is a girl who has already suffered a lot in life at a very young age and actually hasn’t experienced tender loving care from her mother. 

While she tries her best to do all the household chores at home and be a good daughter, not to mention that she also has to hustle by selling items, these are apparently not enough for Grace to be loved by Sarah. Yet, she still chooses to understand Sarah by looking past her ill-treatment, indifference, and shortcomings towards her and even covered up for her when Anna and her co-teacher Patty (Lotlot Bustamante) went to their house to ask about the bruises found on both her arms.  

Even though Grace told them that she indeed got it from accidentally falling off a swing at the park, Patty and Anna didn’t believe it, especially that the latter got to know Grace better through their previous encounters. Their visit stirred a heated altercation between Sarah and Chito with regard to how they should discipline the child, which Grace assumed would be the end of her sufferings. Meanwhile, the two teachers enlisted the authorities' help to save the child as they suspected that Grace was only silenced by fear.  

Grace further got a taste of their brutality after she attacked Chito for killing and eating her pet Pipo, which was caught by a drunk Sarah, who was really upset after losing her job at the local beerhouse. The following day, Patty came back to their abode alongside two social workers to finally rescue the young girl, but Chito was quick enough to take her out by putting her inside a sack.  

Fortunately, Anna saw Grace by chance and didn’t hesitate to rescue her. As Sarah and Chito searched for the missing Grace, Anna took her to her dorm, where she was able to uncover the extent of her abuse. Aside from treating her wounds and bruises, she also heeded Grace’s request to accompany her in visiting the grave of her later father and in spending time with her even just for a while. 

Anna then found herself in the difficult and heartbreaking situation of having to decide whether to push through with her flight to Hong Kong and pursue and her dreams or to help Grace get away from her abusive parents—and she chose the latter. The sequences from the opening scene of the first episode was then replayed, in which it was revealed that it was Anna who took ahold of the hiding Grace. She didn’t waste no time and quickly went with her to the bus terminal as she would accompany her going to Quezon Province where she believes that her only known relative still resides based on the last letter received by her late father.  

Meanwhile, the search and rescue operation intended for Grace continued despite the inclement weather. During their interrogation with the police, Chito and Sarah lied about showing nothing but tender loving care on Grace, as well as describing her as a hardheaded kid who likes to go out and roam around without telling them.  

As Sarah conveyed feeling guilty about what they just said to the cop, Chito appeased her that they only did the right thing since they’ll surely land in jail once the authorities find out that they hurt Grace before she went missing. A heated altercation subsequently ensued between the couple as Sarah lambasted the fisherfolks for declining her request to continue looking for Grace. Chito tried to pacify her by spilling to her that he seemed to have seen Grace at the bus terminal, yet wasn’t able to verify it since she called him saying that Grace is missing.  

A new set of characters was unveiled in the last episode of the pilot week. Among them is Miranda Valdez (Sharon Cuneta), the esteemed host of the public service program, “Karamay” who just won the “Best Public Affairs Program Host” award for 10 consecutive years. We were also introduced to her daughter, Atty. Jessica Valdez (Elisse Joson), as well as to Julius Hernandez (Sam Milby), Jessica’s boyfriend and the producer of “Karamay.” 

While she’s gracious on-cam, we got to see the stern facet of her during her meeting with the network executives who proposed to include up-and-coming celebrity Ashley Santillan (Aya Fernandez) to her show just to give its outdated format a fresh, new twist. She, Julius, and her manager Carmen (Fe delos Reyes) highly objected it, of course, with Miranda telling them that “Karamay” is a public service program and not a circus. 

The inaugural week of “Saving Grace” concluded with a group of hooligans threatening to harm Anna and Grace as the latter tried to take back her wallet from one of the thieves who snatched it while they were alighting from the bus. 

Rave feedbacks from netizens 

Kapamilya netizens, particularly fans of the cast members and ABS-CBN Studios teleseryes indeed weren’t able to contain their excitement as “Saving Grace” finally had its much-awaited free TV release. Those who got to watch the initial launch on Prime Video a few months ago were quick to share on X (formerly Twitter) the differences they spotted between the two releases and pointed out the scenes that were not present on the streaming platform version. And that’s already a good reason for them to not miss an episode of the series, as it could provide more clarity, more drama, and more depth to the narrative, making its subtitle “The Untold Story” truly befitting.  

Another reason is the impeccable performances of the cast members, especially of Julia, Zia, Jennica, and Christian, whose characters were the first ones to be introduced. Many expressed how much they missed seeing Julia Montes on primetime three years since the last time that we’d seen her on her last teleserye, which was “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano.” The same goes with the Megastar Sharon Cuneta, who has only starred in her second teleserye, with “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano” being her debut TV acting project. 

While Jennica and Christian truly did great jobs in piquing our hatred against them because of how certified abusers, gaslighters, and incompetent parents their characters are, child star Zia Grace indeed impressed everyone with her astounding acting prowess, especially whenever she cries because of how natural and compelling her weeps are. Thus, many believe that she could be the next big star in showbiz to watch out for.  

We’re just on the first week of “Saving Grace: The Untold Story” and a lot of viewers have already shed buckets of tears—just like the Kapamilya netizens who imparted their sentiments of the first five episodes through their tweets on X. Here are some of them: 

What will happen to Anna and Grace? Are they going to get into their destination or something unexpected will come up again and prevent them from escaping? Let’s all find out by not missing an episode of “Saving Grace: The Untold Story”, weeknights on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live (KOL), A2Z, and TV5.