Incognito

My recent viewing experience with this series started with promise, but quickly veered into a familiar and frustrating territory: that of a story simply refusing to end. What began as an engaging narrative soon became a drawn-out exercise in patience, making me question the prevailing trend in Philippine television to prioritize sheer length over tight, impactful storytelling.

The Good (Initially): To its credit, the series initially captured my interest. There were intriguing character dynamics, a compelling premise, and the early episodes hinted at a well-structured plot with a clear direction. The initial pacing felt appropriate, allowing for character introduction and plot development without unnecessary filler.

The Dragging Reality: However, as the series progressed, the quality began to noticeably decline. The central conflict, which should have been the driving force, became diluted by an endless stream of tangential subplots and repetitive scenarios. It felt less like organic storytelling and more like a deliberate attempt to stretch the narrative thin. Moments that should have been concise and impactful were instead drawn out with unnecessary scenes, and new "side quests" emerged without serving the overarching plot in any meaningful way.

The "Cash Cow" Conundrum: This brings me to the core of my frustration: the palpable sense that the series' longevity was prioritized above all else. It's as if the primary goal shifted from telling a compelling story to simply occupying a time slot for as long as possible, presumably to maximize advertising revenue. This "cash cow" mentality, while understandable from a business perspective, ultimately sacrifices artistic integrity and viewer satisfaction. When a series feels like it's designed to be long rather than genuinely needing to be long, the engagement suffers significantly.

Why So Long, Philippines?

This experience highlights a broader question about Filipino teleseryes. While there might be cultural preferences for intricate family sagas and daily viewing habits that support extended runs, the constant drive for quantity often seems to overshadow the potential for quality. Instead of delivering a concise, impactful narrative with a clear beginning, middle, and end, many series opt for an open-ended structure that allows for indefinite extensions. This approach often leads to plot fatigue, character stagnation, and a general sense of the story "dragging."

Final Verdict: While I appreciate the initial effort and the talent involved, the series ultimately became a casualty of its own ambition for longevity. It's a prime example of how an otherwise promising story can lose its way when the focus shifts from narrative integrity to maximizing runtime. For future Filipino productions, I sincerely hope to see a greater emphasis on crafting tighter, more purposeful narratives, where every episode contributes meaningfully to the story, rather than just adding to the clock. Quality, not just quantity, should be the ultimate goal.

Incognito was marketed and promised to be the next big action show in the Philippines-something with world-class acting and fight scenes that could compete with top-tier action series from other countries. Naturally, I had high expectations. But the moment the first episode dropped, it became painfully clear that the show was nowhere near that level.

The most glaring issue? The action sequences. They feel unpolished, awkward, and in some cases, downright laughable. One scene that stood out for the wrong reasons was when Aljur Abrenica fired his gun at the exact moment an extra conveniently walked past the barrel-seriously, where was the fight coordinator or choreographer?

And then there's the acting. The script and dialogue were already weak, but Richard Gutierrez's performance made it even worse. He was completely outclassed by his co-stars, making his scenes feel stiffer in comparison. The show as a whole suffers from this lack of energy, making it clear that while it aspires to be a high-stakes action thriller, the execution just isn't there.

Plot-wise, Incognito is nothing special-just your typical action show. But what makes it even more frustrating is that even the most basic scenes feel like they were shot on a shoestring budget. There were scenes that should have been executed with precision, but instead, they come off as lazy and poorly planned, as if they were just there because the plot demanded it, not because they actually wanted to craft something good.

The overall production quality just doesn't match the hype. If they were truly aiming for a series that could stand alongside the action shows of neighboring countries, they missed the mark completely.

I live in the states and I'm watching this using English captions and I find the show great, even in comparison to American action drama. I have never seen another production with Richard or Daniel to compare them to previous productions. The story of Andres is heartwarming and also sad it appears. The character Thomas is a little over the top maybe with the acting or maybe it's the dialogue. I absolutely do not like the character he works opposite of. I can't even think of her real name. I think they call her Sparrow.. Eagle is great for her part. She plays it beautifully. I love the main guy- the order guy Greg. As you can see I don't know these Filipino actors, but I find the top three Greg, Padilla, and Shark. I guess my favorite character is Daniel Padilla. He's playing the part very very well. After I started viewing this, I went back and watched a couple of his movies and he is adorable in both drama and romance and surprisingly in action. I wish this was on in Netflix in the states so I wouldn't have to jump through hoops to see this. I'm a movie buff. For you nay sayers, just shut up. My husband has watched a few with me, but he can't get past the language barrier, but he says as far as the action a lot of it is right on And they are holding weapons like women hold weapons and the guys are doing decent.. has seen a few things unrealistic, but he's looking at it from a professional viewpoint. It is after all television. He actually owns those weapons. So he's a little more of a master But if you think about it, they're not playing professionals per se except for maybe Andres and Shark. The series is great but they started so strong and I can't imagine they can keep that pace up for the series to go years and years like many do in the states. But I am loving the scenery and the action. My favorite couple is Andres and his grandmother. I just love that connection. They show a family and how important it is. They need a line producer. The screen writers need to look back at previous episodes because they are deviating from some of the storyline And that was notice right away by me because I've binge watch it three or four episodes at a time. I wish they did like we do in the states. This is definitely not a soap opera, but drama action and once a week would be great. One hour a week for 10-20 weeks on Netflix or on abs-cbn Guys I love it and don't let any of these bad reviews affect you because if am American that speaks English as her first language, Spanish as her second language and just a tad bit of this language loves it and her husband who hates watching anything with close caption will watch it, this is a hit. And I know every series needs a beautiful kick ass girl and she is very much that but there's something about her, I do not like. And Thomas is a good actor but they need to take some of his goofiness away. They are trying to create a Tony and Ziva that we had in the states with NCIS and that worked, but this doesn't seem to be working not for me anyway. And the fact that they are going from one location to another each episode is great but we had a series here that tried it twice and both times it had to be canceled because it got so expensive and all the effects with the shooting and the knife fighting I'm loving it. We are a family of karate here with my daughter being a 3rd degree black belt in tae kwon do and something else but I can't remember so I believe a little bit of that added can really make a huge difference. And I saw some of that. I wish you guys would run this on Netflix in the states because there's a lot of Filip in CA, FL, and Hawaii and then people like new.

After "The Iron Heart", ABS-CBN brings out a new action-drama series through Star Creatives Production titled, "Incognito". Directed by Lester Pimentel Ong, the series stars Richard Gutierrez and Daniel Padilla-in his first action lead and comeback series on ABS-CBN.

So far, "Incognito" has an impactful storyline with great execution of action scenes plus impeccable acting of the cast, from the lead stars to the secondary characters. The series' theme song, "Liwanag sa Dilim" performed by Pablo of SB19 fits the lyrics. The cinematography is faultless, features many stunning drone shots of various parts of Benguet, Palawan, and Italy. The plot is giving and there is a good balance of heavy drama, with notable performances by Belle Mariano as Takako Rai, the only daughter of rich businessman. Daniel Padilla and Richard Gutierrez have great on-screen presence and they have showcase some well-crafted stunt work. What also helps bring the series to new heights are stellar performances by Ian Veneracion, Baron Geisler, Anthony Jennings, Maris Racal, and Kaila Estrada, as well as Jane De Leon who is really stunning in the series, Elijah Canlas, and many more. A high recommendation for those who love a decent solid action and adventure storyline.

"Incognito" is currently streaming on Netflix and iWantTFC. Also airs weeknights at 8:45 PM on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live, A2Z, Jeepney TV, and TV5.

Is compelling to watch with beautiful scenery and nature. Decent plots although a bit gruesome in parts. Good action and decent acting. Is a bit overkill all the shooting. Some of actors look immature to be carrying semiautomatic rifles. Comes across too unrealistic. But is better than squid games anyway. REPEAT: Is compelling to watch with beautiful scenery and nature. Decent plots although a bit gruesome in parts. Good action and decent acting. Is a bit overkill all the shooting. Some of actors look immature to be carrying semiautomatic rifles. Comes across too unrealistic. But is better than squid games anyway.