Positive follows the story of Carlo Santillan (Martin Escudero), who since high school lived a very hedonistic lifestyle. Describing himself as the "life of the party", he freely consumed drugs and alcohol, and had numerous sexual partners since he was fifteen. After entering rehab at the urging of his mother, Esther, Carlo has attempted to set his life straight: he has found work as a call center agent, rising through the ranks until he became operations manager, and has since married his wife, Janis (Helga Krapf), who he met while in high school, and who is three months pregnant with their child.
Despite setting his life straight, Carlo started developing recurrent pneumonia symptoms, and at the urging of his doctor, had his blood screened for possible HIV infection. The tests eventually show that despite appearing healthy, not only is he HIV-positive, but he has developed AIDS. Carlo later attempts to retrace his past in order to determine who was the person that might have possibly infected him with the virus.
The entire series can be seen here
. (Warning: You might need a Filipino acquaintance to translate for you. Some parts are in English, though)
This program tested positive for the following tropes:
- The Alcoholic: Carlo, since his high school days.
- The Atoner: Carlo.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Carlo and Janis, once he snaps out of his Roaring Rampage of Revenge.
- Bittersweet Ending: Carlo and Janis' daughter turns up negative, but Janis dies shortly after their daughter's baptism.
- Break the Cutie: The Series.
- Episode 6: Janis. The Mood Whiplash doesn't help things.
- The Casanova: Carlo. Well, until he meets Janis, anyway.
- Cassandra Truth: Meta example. Some fans on Twitter speculated that Janis might have passed on HIV to Carlo, since her sexual history wasn't brought up early in the series. Guess who finally tells Carlo who really gave him AIDS?
- Despair Event Horizon: Carlo crosses this when Janis leaves him soon after she tests positive for HIV.
- And again in the finale when Janis dies from AIDS-related complications.
- Before that, when he learns that Janis actually gave him the virus.
- Driven to Suicide: Subverted. Miles is already preparing to jump when Carlo reveals her test result: non-reactive/negative.
- Carlo, once Janis leaves him after finding out she is also HIV-positive. He gets better, though.
- Everyone Went To Work Together: Carlo, Janis and Miles worked at the same call center.
- From Bad to Worse: Carlo's HIV infection is soon discovered to have progressed to AIDS. He does not take it well.
- Hope Spot: Right after Baby Isabella's negative HIV test. It doesn't last for even five minutes, since Janis' condition goes From Bad to Worse right after the baby's baptism.
- Mood Whiplash: Quite often happens in the series.
- Mrs. Robinson: Maricris, Carlo's married lover is this.
- Noodle Incident: The beginning of Episode 6, when Carlo meets Janis for the first time. Also counts as Mood Whiplash.
- "Not Making This Up" Disclaimer:All information about HIV and AIDS in this program are based on actual research and testimonials.
- Oh, Crap!: Janis' reaction when she learns Carlo has AIDS.
- Carlo's reaction earlier when he sees Janis looking at him while he is with Anne (Bianca Manalo), his peer counselor who is also HIV+.
- Carlo has this reaction again when Janis tells she might have been the one who infected him with HIV.
- Miles' reaction to an anonymous text actually from Carlo, using a different number whose sender was apparently one of the many guys Miles had sex with who has contracted AIDS (Carlo) and tells Miles to get tested herself.
- This trope basically appears all over the series.
- Poirot Speak: Expect to hear conversations switch between English and Filipino, even in mid-sentence.
- Really Gets Around: Miles (Malak So Shdifat), Carlo's booty-call officemate, and Carlo's first suspect. Her HIV test turns out negative.
- The Reveal: At the end of Episode 12, Janis reveals to Carlo that she have infected Carlo with HIV. She then tells him how she got the virus (she got it from her ex-boyfriend).
- Red Herring: Every previous suspect becomes this after The Reveal.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Carlo has one when he gets to Janis' ex-boyfriend's house, blaming him for ruining his and Janis' lives. He snaps out of it when the ex points out to Carlo that Janis is bleeding and must be hospitalized immediately.
- Shown Their Work
- The Stoner: Carlo again (before falling for Janis, at least).
- Franz, the gay drug pusher who Carlo thinks he might have gotten HIV from. Turns out no sexual contact occurred between Carlo and Franz. Franz did however reveal that something DID happen between him and PJ, Carlo's best friend.
- Title Drop: Happens quite often, but many times inverted in the sense that some characters test negative for HIV.
