Justice for Love Presents: The Obsession

"Nothing lasts forever"

- Tagline

"Following a series of unfortunate events, Alicia is left devastated as everyone she cares about continues to hurt her."

- Netflix official synopsis

Justice for Love Presents: The Obsession (also known simply as Justice for Alicia: The Series in the Philippines) is a 2021 Philippine television drama series broadcast by GMA Network. The series serves as a prequel to the 2020 film #JusticeForLove: End of the World that was produced by Toho and GMA Pictures. Directed by Don Michael Perez, it stars Yasmien Kurdi in the title role.

The series premiered on September 13, 2021, while it concluded on December 10, 2021, with a total of 65 episodes.

The series was later released direct-to-video internationally by Toho, and was also released worldwide via Netflix.

Description
"Multi-talented actress Yasmien Kurdi returns as Alicia Salvacion in this awaited prequel to #JusticeForLove: End of the World, where we will be looking back at her miserable life in the Philippines and how she ends up in San Francisco to escape her horrible past. From losing her only sibling, being framed for a crime she never commited, to being presumed dead and forgotten by her loved ones, Alicia is forced on a journey that takes her across the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to start over and meet new friends."

Synopsis
"After a series of unfortunate events that made her lose everything she had, Alicia is forced to take on a journey across the Pacific Ocean to start a new life on her own while meeting new friends."

Plot
In 2018, Alicia Salvacion wakes up in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands after a two-year coma. American soldier Richard, and his Filipino wife Lolita, asks what happened to Alicia, and where she came from. Alicia then recalls the events which led her to this point, with the entirety of the series up until chapter 5 being presented as a flashback narrated by Alicia.

Chapter 1 (1997)
The first chapter takes place in 1997, during Alicia and Ethan's childhood days. The chapter shows how Alicia accidentally losts her brother while in a park, that seperated Ethan from his family. Because of this incident, Ethan believes Alicia abandoned him intentionally, and develops intense hatred on Alicia.

Chapter 2 (2012 - 2015)
The second chapter now takes place between 2012 and 2015, after Alicia graduating college and is now seeking to raise a family on her own. The chapter shows Ethan's plans to seek revenge on Alicia by sabotaging Alicia's life by committing various acts that affect her and her loved ones. It also shows Ethan's multiple failed attempts to kill Alicia.

Chapter 3 (2015 - 2016)
The third chapter takes place between 2015 and 2016, when Alicia's father is murdered by Ethan so Alicia could be framed for murder. Ethan's plan succeeds, while Alicia's attempt to clear her name fails, and she is sentenced for life. Alicia later escapes from a prison and attempts to hide at her grandparents' place in Bohol, only to be caught by the authorities while on a ferry. Alicia then decides to commit suicide by jumping into the San Bernardino Strait, while the ferry sank after it was caught up in Typhoon Nock-ten. Due to the incident, Alicia is presumed dead in the Philippines.

Chapter 4 (2016 - 2018)
The fourth chapter takes place between 2016 and 2018, it is revealed that Alicia miraculously survived the storm and is found in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. However, she is in a coma that lasted for two years. During these years, her family and relatives in the Philippines slowly begin to forget about her, while Typhoon Yutu made landfall in Tinian, disabling Alicia's life support in the process, resulting in Alicia being presumed dead once again.

Chapter 5 (2018 - 2020)
The fifth and final chapter takes place between 2018 and 2020, when Alicia finally regains consciousness and has developed hatred on her loved ones for ruining her life and forgetting about her. Alicia decides to start a new life on her own in Honolulu, Hawaii, where she'll eventually meet her second husband. She is then brought to San Francisco and the two get married, while Alicia gives birth to her first baby.

Lead cast
Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.
 * Yasmien Kurdi as Alicia Salvacion

Supporting cast
Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.
 * Martin del Rosario as Ethan Salvacion
 * Alfred Vargas as Raymond Salvacion
 * Jean Garcia as Romina Salvacion
 * Lovely Rivero as Corazon "Cora" Salvacion
 * Reese Tuazon as Eileen Salcedo
 * Mikael Daez as Nathan "Nate" Castillo
 * Sheryl Cruz as Veronica Castillo
 * Celia Rodriguez as Doña Agnes Castillo

Guest cast
Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.
 * Tina Paner as Lourdes
 * Pauline Mendoza as Jenna
 * Carmina Villarroel as Melissa Santos
 * Kris Bernal as Lynette
 * Jestoni Alarcon as Richard
 * Angelu de Leon as Lolita
 * Sunshine Cruz as Catherine "Cathy" Reyes
 * Denise Barbacena as Darlene
 * Dion Ignacio as Adrian
 * Max Collins as Mylene Concepcion

Production
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the series' principal photography followed safety protocols, including lock-in tapings, in which artists are isolated in a bubble setup and are required to stay in nearby hotels for the duration of the taping cycles.

The series' principal photography also suffered through multiple delays, such as Yasmien Kurdi having schedule conflicts with Las Hermanas, and the need to film scenes outside the country, including the San Francisco and Honolulu sequences, during a pandemic.

For the typhoon scenes, plans to use miniature scale models was scrapped, and various stock footage from multiple storms was used instead, including typhoons Haiyan, Bopha, Yutu, and Goni. A shallow water tank was also created to simulate violent waves at open sea.

Max Collins was set to reprise her role as Mylene from the film, but declined due to schedule conflicts with To Have & to Hold. Nonetheless, she still appeared in a short scene in episode 64.

Video releases
Toho DVD/Blu-ray (2022) [Volume 1]
 * Discs: 2
 * Audio: Tagalog
 * Subtitles: English, Japanese
 * Special features: Creditless opening sequence
 * Notes: Limited edition. Includes episodes 1-22.

Toho DVD/Blu-ray (2022) [Volume 2]
 * Discs: 2
 * Audio: Tagalog
 * Subtitles: English, Japanese
 * Special features: Staff and cast interviews, promotional videos
 * Notes: Limited edition. Includes episodes 23-42.

Toho DVD/Blu-ray (2022) [Volume 3]
 * Discs: 2
 * Audio: Tagalog
 * Subtitles: English, Japanese
 * Special features: Episode trailers, unaired scenes
 * Notes: Limited edition. Includes episodes 43-65.

Toho Blu-ray (2025) [Justice for Love: The Duology Collection, 2020 - 2021)
 * Region: 1 & 2
 * Discs: 8
 * Audio: Tagalog
 * Subtitles: English, Japanese
 * Special features: All bonus features from both the film and series' DVD
 * Notes: Film's title card varies by country.

Ratings
According to AGB Nielsen Philippines' Nationwide Urban Television Audience Measurement People in television homes, the pilot episode of Justice for Love Presents: The Obsession earned a 17.5% rating. While the final episode scored a 19.1% rating. The series had its highest rating on October 28, 2018 with a 23.8% rating.

International broadcast
While the series was completely produced by GMA Network, the series' distribution rights is owned by Toho, due to being a licensed prequel to the 2020 film #JusticeForLove: End of the World. As a result, any international broadcast of the series still uses its official international title.

Cancelled sequel
Due to the series' high ratings, GMA Network was already planning for a sequel while the series was still airing, this time focusing on Mylene's life in Manila before she meets Alicia in San Francisco. However, this concept was scrapped for unknown reasons. Some elements from this concept was later reused in the 2022 series Mano Po Legacy: Her Big Boss.

Other media
Because of continuous high demand from viewers, and the sequel now already cancelled, a compromise was made, by airing a rerun of the 2014 series Rhodora X (which served as the main influence for the series) on GMA Network's Heart of Asia channel from January 3, 2022 to March 11, 2022.

The commercial success of the duology led to Yasmien Kurdi being cast in both Godzilla: The Kaiju Invasion (as part of the mainstream Reiwa series), and in the Philippine adaptation of Start-Up.

Trivia

 * Scenes from the 2014 series Rhodora X are echoed throughout the series. In both series, Kurdi's character accidentally loses her sibling, has her life sabotaged, framed for a crime she never commited , attempts to commit suicide , presumed dead and forgotten by her family, and is found in a coma at a different location.
 * Sunshine Cruz later appears in the 2022 series Mano Po Legacy: The Family Fortune, which was aired only a month after Justice for Love Presents: The Obsession.
 * Coincidentally, both are television adaptations of films, and are official entries of the Metro Manila Film Festival.
 * She also appears in the third installment of the Stories from the Heart anthology series, which was aired at the same time as Justice for Love Presents: The Obsession.
 * The series was immediately aired in Ecuador, following the conclusion of the series' initial broadcast in the Philippines, due to the success of Sa Piling ni Nanay and Hindi Ko Kayang Iwan Ka, both starring Yasmien Kurdi, in Ecuador.
 * Two fictionalized versions of real-life typhoons are shown and mentioned in the series, Typhoon Nock-ten, and Typhoon Yutu.
 * However, the damage and death toll left by Nock-ten in the series is exaggerated compared to its real-life counterpart.
 * The series ends where the film begins, in this case, Alicia giving birth to her only baby in San Francisco.
 * Episode 34 references multiple disasters in Philippine history, most notably the 1987 MV Doña Paz disaster.
 * The devastation left by Typhoon Nock-ten in the Bicol Region references both Typhoon Haiyan and Typhoon Goni.
 * The series' opening sequence also features a short scene of the film's original ending from the theatrical version, which was changed in the international release.