Royal Blood plot keeps cast guessing

MANILA, Philippines — The cast members of GMA 7’s Royal Blood, led by Dingdong Dantes, revealed that they have been kept in the dark about the most important plot detail of the new primetime show.

Premiering tonight at 8:50, Royal Blood is a murder-mystery that revolves around the death of an ultra-rich family patriarch and how his heirs, including his newly found bastard son, emerge as the prime suspects. Who is the culprit is a “secret” not just kept from the show’s viewers but also from the stars themselves.

Dingdong is Napoy Royales, a single father who works as a motorcycle rider. He also happens to be the illegitimate child of business tycoon Gustavo Royales played by Tirso Cruz III. In an effort to reconnect with his long-lost son, Gustavo brings Napoy into his family where the latter is introduced to his half-siblings — Kristoff (Mikael Daez), Margaret (Rhian Ramos) and Beatrice (Lianne Valentin) — who in turn view their half-brother as a threat to their share of their father’s fortune.

Fanning the flames of a brewing family feud are Diana (Megan Young), the ex-girlfriend and great love of Napoy who is the wife of Kristoff, and Andrew (Dion Ignacio), the ambitious and business-savvy husband of Margaret. Miss Universe Philippines 2020 Rabiya Mateo also stars as Tasha, the helpful neighbor of Napoy who is secretly in love with him.

It was also revealed that Dingdong helped shape the concept, which was partly inspired by the HBO hit Succession but with a whodunit twist. It belongs to the “universe” of the GMA 7 crime-thriller Widows’ Web with Arthur Solinap’s character, lead police investigator Emil Bañez, making a crossover.

“For me, the concept was exciting. I’d wake up every day very excited to go to the set. Even us in the cast are clueless as to who the killer is. We’re always trying to guess. And as actors, we are very excited to work on this material,” said Dingdong during a recent presscon.

He further described the series as, ultimately, a family drama that tackles such themes as greed, infighting and the lengths people will go, whether deemed right or wrong, so as to achieve what they want.

Giving an idea of the cutthroat dynamics they portray on screen, Dingdong said the very first scene that saw all members of the Royales family together — the dinner table scene now being shown in teasers — was already scary to shoot because everyone came in character.

“(The mood) was scary. I told myself, mahihirapan ako dito because that’s how much they’ve embraced their characters. You can see them in corners trying to perfect their roles and taking things seriously since they are all suspects. That’s something to look forward to,” added Dingdong, whose character as a father to a seven-year-old (Sienna Stevens as Lizzie) resonated with him being a dad to seven-year-old Zia Dantes in real life.

Apparently to ensure a spoiler-free set, the cast is only given scripts weekly, a departure from the style of other productions.

Mikael said of his experience: “The genre is very different. At least for me, this is the first time I’m part of a show that’s a murder-mystery. Even the way that it’s written or the way we try to figure out our characters and how they relate to other characters, it’s a bit different.

“We don’t know the end goal here, we don’t even know the killer, we don’t know if it’s us, so, it’s part of the adventure and I also find it fulfilling.”

In Royal Blood, Mikael and wife in real life, Megan, are playing a reel married couple for the first time.

Tirso Cruz III plays business tycoon Gustavo, whose death triggers an investigation of his heirs and other family members.

“With me and Megan, being able to have a dynamic that otherwise we wouldn’t have, I guess, in real life, it’s also a very fun adventure. Every week, a script comes out, our relationship is evolving and our relationship with the other characters is evolving as well. It’s definitely a challenge,” Mikael added.

That the plot keeps the drama’s stars guessing is the reason why Tirso finds Royal Blood both challenging and interesting. His character sparks the show’s biggest puzzle, “Who actually committed the murder?” But it’s also a question that even Tirso badly wants to know the answer to.

“Actually, that’s what keeps me on my toes, and gives me the drive and interest to continue appearing on screen. Every project, for me, is a new challenge, especially this one,” the veteran actor said.

“Kasi nung sinabi ‘O, mamatay ka d’yan, silang lahat magiging suspect,’ isa lang ang tinago sa amin — sino ang papatay. Ako iniisip ko ‘pag magka-eksena kami, sino kaya sa kanila talaga ang papatay sa akin kasi lahat talaga ‘pag-sususpetsahan mo.

(“Because when the production said, ‘Your character is going to die there and all will be suspects,’ only one detail was hidden from us, who the culprit is. So what I would think every time we had scenes together: which one of them would actually kill my character because you would suspect everyone.)”

“But that’s the beauty of it that, sometimes, when I go home, I still wonder, who is it really and why are you not letting us know?” he continued.

Tirso further stressed how this plot detail has become food for thought that not only makes the series more engaging, but also motivates the actors to find ways to improve on their characters in the drama.

“After a while, mainit na ang ulo mo, naiinis ka na, sino nga ang pumatay sa mga ito?... You desperately want to know to the point that habang gusto mo malaman, it keeps building your character and working around the whole scenario of the Royal Blood,” he said.

Nevertheless, because of the “veil of secrecy,” Tirso couldn’t also help but entertain the possibility of other circumstances causing his character’s death.

He said, “Meron ba talagang pumatay sa aking character? Or, as the story progresses, meron pang biglang madadagdag na character (who might be the culprit). So, we don’t know. When we tape every day, even on my own, I always think, where will this story go?”

(Directed by Dominic Zapata, Royal Blood premieres tonight and airs weeknights at 8:50 on GMA, and at 11:30 p.m. from Monday to Thursday and 11 p.m. every Friday on GTV.)