Karina Bautista and Aljon Mendoza share trivia bits about their characters in Viral Scandal, Bea and Pogs, as they react to their trending scenes.

Working in Viral Scandal, KarJon was privileged to learn new acting techniques and the value of teamwork from today’s most talented actors. Take for instance Karina’s enthralling confrontation with Rica (Charlie Dizon)’s perpetrator, Jigs, played by Markus Paterson. There was give-and-take even before the actual filming as Markus helped her imbibe Bea’s anger, thus it only took them three perfect takes.

“Hindi ko siya kinakausap. Tapos nu’ng isho-shoot namin itong eksena na ‘to, tinititigan niya rin ako na parang nakakainis as in nginingitian niya ako na parang tini-trigger niya ako. So, mabilis nahugot ‘yung emosyon,” she said of Markus. She also applied Direk Mae Cruz-Alviar’s teachings from a Rise Artist Studio workshop prior to the lock-in cycle, “Paulit-ulit ko lang sinasabi sa utak ko na galit ako hanggang sa ma-build sa utak ko na galit ako.”

Next, they reacted to the scene where Bea hugged Pogs after thanking him for reporting the trolls on Kakay (Dimples Romana)’s page. It was a last-minute take but everything just fell into place. “Nag-enjoy lang kami n’un, walang pressure,” recalled Aljon. The ‘kilig’ background music was a big help, as well as their co-stars’ teases.

Providing conflict in Bea and Pogs’ story is Brax (Sky Quizon), the campus heartthrob Bea is so crazy about. Watching the trio’s ‘selos’ scene, Karina commented about her surprising chemistry with Sky.

The session wouldn’t be complete without KarJon reacting to their trending ‘100 steps’ scene wherein Pogs suddenly disappeared, hurt by Bea’s order to keep a hundred steps away from her. The love team revealed it took a lot of patience on Director Froy Allan Leonardo’s part, as well as the cameramen. “Nahirapan kami sa blocking. Minsan, ang aga niya nagwa-walk out, feeling ko nahirapan sina Direk sa camera work kaya kudos talaga sa mga cameramen namin,” shared Karina.

Aljon managed to pull it off despite an upset stomach that he got from eating two oranges for breakfast, “Masakit ang sikmura ko habang nagte-take, so nadi-distract ako pero hindi kami pinabayaan nina Direk.”

The final scene showed Pogs breaking his piggy bank he fondly calls Bubot, a gift from his late grandma, just to buy Bea’s favorite cheesecake. Netizens were moved by Aljon’s delivery as he smiled in between tears, which he doesn’t want to take all the credit for. He stressed that Karina contributed a lot in his performance, “Nilapitan ako ni Karina. Sabi niya, ‘Kailangan mo ba ng help?’ Tapos hinawakan niya ‘yung kamay ko, basta may sinabi siya tapos agad-agad naramdaman ko.” Meanwhile, Karina reacted, “Grabe si Bea! Nakakainis siya d’un!”

Karina enjoyed portraying Bea’s different emotions. One moment, she’s a bubbly fan girl to Raven (Kaila Estrada), the next she’s ‘pabebe’ to Brax, but most of the time annoyed with Pogs and Nico (Louise Abuel). “Na-enjoy kong i-play ‘yun kasi bawat eksena, naiiba ko ‘yung atake. Parang roller-coaster, iba-iba ‘yung experience,” she said.

Aljon likewise had a good time breathing life to Pogs’ character, “Kasi ang pure niyang tao. Gusto niya lang talaga protektahan ‘yung mga taong mahalaga sa kanya, si Lalabs at Pamilya Sicat.” The challenging part, however, is not to pity his character for being so in love with Bea, who doesn’t reciprocate, let alone acknowledge his feelings and effort. “Minsan naja-judge ko ‘yung choice niya. Pero sabi nga nila don’t judge your character, naintindihan ko naman si Pogs sa part na ‘yun.”

The pair is happy to make hearts happy. Karina gushed about Bea and Pogs’ impact on the viewers, saying she knows a couple who started calling each other “lalabs” as inspired by the onscreen tandem. Aljon revealed that even the term “lalabs” was unexpected, “Hindi naman talaga planadong ‘lalabs’ ang magiging call sign namin. Minsan trip lang na ‘Bea my labs’ o ‘my labs’ pero ‘yung ‘lalabs’ talaga ‘yung tinanggap ng mga tao.”

Catch more of Karina and Aljon in Viral Scandal, weeknights, on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live,, and A2Z.