Team Cassie vs Team Marga: Aunt-niece rivalry goes viral with millions of views

By now, Kapamilya viewers who are up to date with the afternoon drama “Kadenang Ginto” can decide between siding with Team Marga or Team Cassie — a rivalry that has gone viral over the past week, with its official videos totaling over 10 million views.

Highlights and recaps of episodes of the Dreamscape production average a million views on YouTube alone. Its daily episode hashtags also regularly trend on Twitter.

The confrontations between Marga and Cassie, portrayed respectively by Andrea Brillantes and newcomer Francine Diaz, largely take place in the fictional exclusive Maxwell school.

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Interestingly, though of the same age and not related by blood, the spiteful Marga is technically the niece of Cassie — making for an additional layer of drama involving their family members.

For the uninitiated, here’s a quick rundown of what led to the bickering between the two:

Marga is the daughter of Daniela (Dimples Romana) and Carlos (Adrian Alandy). She is the lone granddaughter of Robert (Albert Martinez), Daniela’s father.

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Cassie is the biological daughter of Romina (Beauty Gonzalez), the former secretary and now-wife of Robert, formerly a widower. Romina became pregnant with Cassie after a sexual assault orchestrated by Daniela, and well before Romina and Robert fell in love and got married.

Daniela’s hostility towards Romina, whom she blames for her father neglecting her, has carried over to Marga, who similarly sees Cassie as a rival in many aspects.

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Although Cassie only shows kindness towards her “ate,” Daniela, and her niece and classmate, Marga, she soon learns they are out to harm her and decides to stand up for herself.

Complicating matters is a brewing love triangle among Cassie, Marga, and another classmate, Kristoff.

The series of fights between the two — which range from petty (over an ice cream stain on a bag), competitive (quiz bee and school fashion show results), to familial (Marga’s longing for affection, which Cassie is showered with) — have made from dramatic and entertaining scenes that prove to be a hit with viewers online.

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Common subjects of praise from fans include Brillantes’ portrayal of Marga, a “villain” role that contrasts with her usual softspoken characters; and Diaz’s charm that makes Team Cassie easier to root for.

“Kadenang Ginto” airs weekdays during ABS-CBN’s Kapamilya Gold block, and can also be viewed, in full, for free on iWantv.com.ph.