jaydeejay
We have reached the end, folks! What a wild, bumpy ride. But a ride I enjoyed, nonetheless.I do plan on making a full review for the entire season some time soon!Alright, let me get right into it:❤ThanuWayuWe start off with a small scene where Thanu explains what happened between him and Padbok. I will talk more later about my feelings on the explanation and Padbok's appearance, but thanks to Wayu, they get to talking again. It being Wayu to try and get them to talk again isn't surprising, especially after all the stuff that happened in S1.There's a lot that happened this episode that I anticipated, but I didn't expect there to be one final mention of Pha at all. Yes, the tombstone looked awful, but I already mentioned my problems with the props and set design for the funeral scene back in Ep 10; they more than likely filmed this one with that one, so I'm not surprised about it off looking grave site.But anyway, I loved that they included a scene of them visiting his grave. And specifically them harking back to the first season with the little Frog Prince figuring Wayu had from Pha. The moment I saw him holding that, I did nearly weep. That was a great touch.I wasn't expecting too much for Thanu and Wayu's first/last sex scene, considering it was both Dun's (Thanu's actor) and Bas' (Wayu's actor) first time filming one. It was fine- except for that god awful spot light!! I hated that thing in MarkKit's sex scene, and I still hate it now. I don't know what kind of effect they were going with for it, but it didn't look good to me.All in all, solid ThanuWayu scenes.❤ PadbokIf you are curious about the potential behind the scenes drama/issues with Junior (Padbok's actor), then check out my Discussions post.With that being said, I didn't expect much for the explanation simply because we did not have enough time. What they came up with honestly doesn't make too much sense, but it is what it is.I did love when Padbok mentioned that Thanu was the friend he loved the most. I feel that despite the lackluster reason behind everything, having him say that really drove home the hurt he felt, in my opinion. See the for them hug was very sweet though.Did I want Thanu and Padbok to makeout right then and there? Yes LMAO.I'm glad that Junior's final scene in Gen Y and more than likely with the company was this one.❤MarkKitA LOT OF FLUFF.Oh my God, so much fluff. Very cute, but I felt like they had one too many MarkKit scenes. Their last scene, the one where they went back to Mark's dorm, could've been replaced with just about anything: another PokTong scene, a scene with Mark and Wayu catching up after not really talking the last 7 episodes.Though I do like that they had them talk about their definition of love in their first scene together. I love that they kind of brought everything full circle with that conversation. That was great!❤ JackKohMy favorite second thing about this episode were their moments!Though short, they were chock full of sweetness. I do wish we had gotten a good make out scene with the both of them though. I do think that it's a little odd that 3 years later, they're still apprehensive about being seen together in public, but some couples are just like that, so it's whatever for me.I've loved that the entire time they seem like a verse couple; there were never really clear cut proof that one of them was the top. We need more couples like this in BLs. We got to see moments where either one had intense top energy, and others where either of them had intense bottom energy. I t was great.It seems like both of their actors may be working on something now? I hope it's another BL with them as the main couple! If so, I'm definitely checking it out.❤PokTongOut of everything, I was the most nervous about these two. Every since S1, I wanted them to have a lengthy scene where they discuss everything that happened between them and to them. Where they both acknowledge the flaws and whatnot. Especially with Pok apologizing and so on and so forth. However, I also know not to expect too much with BLs, so I was afraid they would have a very half assed scene with them and then they fuck.But they didn't! The conversation could been a bit better, but I'm honestly pleased with it! There's a comment Pok makes where he was like "I wish we can go back to the past, to when I'd make you angry and coaxed you." Something like that. There have been odd translation issues all season and even in this episode. I was put off by this comment, but I think what he meant to say was something like how he used to tease Tong and how Tong would roll his eyes but seemed to enjoy it. Things like that. Though I could be wrong.Having them mention things from S1 was great. For anyone who may not know: Bank/Tora (Pok's actor) and Bonus (Tong's actor) have a hashtag that fans of them use called "dom25". The 25 comes from the fact that they both were born on the 25th day; November 25th for Bank/Tora and January 25th for Bonus. So Pok saying he remembers the first answer being 25 had me reeling LOL I almost lost it. I thought that was a fantastic touch.Looking at them during this conversation was pretty reminiscent of how they were prior to Saendee fucking things up, and I loved that. I mentioned in my last review that we've been seeing Tong slowly becoming more confident and standing up for himself again, the version of him that was lost once the Saendee stuff happened. And we see it again in this scene. And Pok had some moments in S1 prior to The Saendee Incident where he was careful and pretty much respectful of Tong and his space; and we see that here too.Also, Tong asking him the 5 questions as though they were test questions was great, going back to the whole tutoring thing.I do wish we got oneeee more scene with them, though. It doesn't even have to be a sex scene. Though there are pictures of the actors making out pretty intensely during an acting course, and I was half expecting that to show up in this episode. Maybe it's for their other show, What Zabb Man.And I could go on and on about this scene, but I'll refrain. Just know I'm happy with what they were able to give us. I did rewatch the scene and did tear up a bit LOL❤Saendee and PhaiI was hoping since S1 that we would get scenes where it would show the Juniors warming back to Saendee. Or maybe the don't. I actually have a headcanon where it takes a while longer for them to even begin warming back up to him. So the fact that they do so quickly AND off screen sucks. But it doesn't surprise me.I also had a headcanon that by the end of the story, Saendee and Phai would not end up together. After everything Saendee did, it makes sense that they wouldn't. However, if I were the writer, I would end it strongly hinting at the fact that at some point in the future, they may more than likely will end up together.However! With how BLs work where they usually want to appease the fans of screen partners, they'll usually have the characters end up together anyway.But they didn't. And THAT was shocking to me.I follow a lot of the cast on social media, and even though I don't follow BankPon (Bank is Saendee's actor and Pon is Phai's actor) activities, I just realized that they haven't really been around each other that much lately. Maybe they aren't screen partners anymore, and that's why SaendeePhai didn't happen?Any BankPon fan who follows their stuff can correct me if I'm wrong!Also, I do think it's bullshit that Saendee finally told Pok about his grade NOW.But anyway...❤Time Skip/GraduationI knew for a couple of weeks now that there was going to be a time skip. I saw a BTS picture of some of the characters in graduation gowns.Now, all season, but *especially* in the second half, editing has been rough around the edges. The editing for this episode wasn't that great, but it especially showed in this part. It was almost as though they could only get one or two takes per scene.But outside of that, I would've been fine with the show not ending in a time skip. So I feel neutral about this choice. However! This show was a massive beginning for a lot of the actors; some them even got to play in other shows and will play in other shows hopefully. For a lot of them, they've never acted before and more than likely would've never gotten the chance to if Star Hunter didn't pick them up. For a lot of them, this was a a great opportunity. Even the company itself had some rough beginnings, and rough moments (Junior, scheduling issues, last minute script changes, etc etc) filming this show, but especially S2.So in a way, the graduation isn't just for the characters, but for the cast and crew as well. To move on to, hopefully, bigger and better things. And it's very touching to me. I gained massive fondness for both the actors and the production crew.
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A pleasantly chill episode!Character of the week: Wayu with his chubby cheeks.Not Character of the week: no one! I think all the characters were great- even Padbok LOLLast week's episode was quite the emotional roller coaster. From crazed initial responses to misunderstandings- it was A LOT. So I really like that this episode was more chill. The calm *after* the storm, if you will.The pacing was good overall!❤ ThanuWayuI'm glad they spent as much time as they have with this little honeymoon. Especially since they've spent SO long trying to be together. Initially I was hoping there wouldn't be too much time spent on them this episode, but thinking back to all of the stuff they went through to finally be here, I'm not mad about it all.A lot of cute fluff!But then we got...❤PadbokHe's back!His time in this episode was a lot shorter than I expected, but it still packed a punch. I'm glad to see he'll be coming back next episode! I saw BTS pictures of the punch that was previewed for next episode weeks ago, and now it's going to happen! I'm excited to see what will come of this debacle.Even though I knew PadbokSab wouldn't happen, it was still nice to see them in the same scene, if anything.If any of you are confused about why Padbok had very few scenes this season, check out my Discussions post I made above. There aren't concrete answers, but there are some good evidence and theories in there.❤The Juniors & JackKohThe only complaint I have for this episode is very minor scenes we got with them during the music festival. I wish we could've seen Phai, Klui, Sab, and Kalae sing, even for just 10 seconds. For those who don't know: Kalae's actor, Tung, has an AMAZING singing voice!! How perfect would it have been to hear him sing? I would've scrapped the scene where they talk about surprising Thanu and used that time for the music festival.I mentioned last week that the JackKoh scene in ep10 was unnecessary. If they had omitted it and put that time towards this episode and we got a cute little moment with just them, that would've been great!It's a small complaint though, nothing crazy.❤PokTongInitially I was worried that they wouldn't get much screen time, and I was expecting them to talk this episode, but what we got instead was fine!The moments where we got to see Tong taking him back little by little, starting off with him reading Pok's texts was a very nice and appropriate touch.I had this idea since S1 that if Pok were to apologize or say something alluding to an upcoming apology, that he would do so publicly. It's a very Pok thing to do, in my opinion. And seeing him sing to Tong was honestly very sweet.I wish there was some minor dialogue changes with his lyrics and some of what Mark and Kit say to each other later on, but it's fine. At the end of the day, it's a BL and BLs normally don't get that deep anyway. We still have more PokTong in the next episode, though!❤MarkKitThe last 10 or so minutes were cute, not going to lie.Their conversation was very them. As I mentioned before, I wish what they said was more deep, but it was fine.I was very glad they chose to decline Kit instead of having this whole thing where he gets accepted and Mark forces himself to learn English and all of that.Seeing them finally have sex was great! I think it's VERY fitting for them to have taken this long. I know it's normal for BLs to have their couples make out and have sex quickly, but I love that they took the time with MarkKit and ThanuWayu.All in all, a solid episode!I'm excited for the last episode :]
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I have quite a bit to say about this episode, so bare with me. I try and cover as much as I can about it. I broke it up into sections for easier reading.---------------------------------------------❤ The FuneralBadPennyGirl and I discussed early on in the season that if Pha dies, then how they handle the situation will either be very good or very bad. There pretty much can be no in between when handling stuff like that, especially in BLs. We were both hoping they'd give the mourning process a good amount of screen time. Something like showing a passage of time where both Wayu and Mark are still reeling from it. At some point Thanu comes in to help Wayu- and Mark does to! There's been a lack of Mark and Wayu moments this season. This would've been a great time to show that. And a scene or two of Sab comforting his cousin would've been a nice touch. Oh, and Mark would find ways to be there for Kit in person. And this would be the part when Kit finally talks about how he's truly been feeling about his best friend dying and the both of them have this very touching moment.And ideally, it would've been at least a couple of weeks before either Thanu and Wayu bring up the idea of going some place. And they do so as a way to just get away from all of the stress.Instead we got a VERY weird funeral scene: Kit isn't sitting next to Thanu and Wayu for some reason, they're all holding umbrellas even though it's not raining (I'm going to assume this might be a Thai thing and swiftly move on), Mark looks like a creep standing in the back corner watching Kit from a distance- and he texts him and Kit responds. Which is so weird, but understandable, I suppose. Since they're doing that separation thing and getting Kit mad while he deals with the death of his friend isn't a good idea, so I can see why Mark keeps his distance. But it's still weird.And Pha's coffin is easily way too small. The scene looks like it was shot in a back yard or lot instead of an actual cemetery. Pha's older relatives aren't there for some reason?? SO bizarre.And worse of all? They wrote it so that Thanu says some deep shit when it's absolutely not the time for it. And followed it up with a "Lets live life to the fullest, babe :)" as though his dead best friend isn't laying in a coffin that is 3 sizes too small for him 5 feet away from where they're sitting. WHAT. With what they've given us about his character so far, it makes no sense for him to say that at that time.And then this is when the timing gets wacky: when Thanu drops off Wayu, Wayu mentions he as an exam tomorrow and needs to study. Okay, fine. Thanu suggests he stays with him and they go elsewhere to study and they do so at the cafe. Okay, fine. And then they insert an honestly cute JackKoh scene. But like. Pha JUST had his funeral. The tone shift was wild. Suddenly there's this funny little moment that feels so out of place. I would've been fine with no JackKoh this episode, honestly. And I do enjoy their scenes! Just not for this episode because there was a lot of heavy and tender moments that needed to be addressed.Oh, and Thanu asks Wayu that same night, the same day where not 12 hours prior they were at someone's funeral, he asks with this grin on his face if Wayu would like to go on a trip. What. Once again, out of character! I have no issues with him bringing up a trip, it's just how it was brought up with the JackKoh scene thrown in there. Not good.---------------------------❤ ExamsWe see that the very next day, everyone finishes their midterm exams and suddenly it's as though something super depressing did not just happen. The tone shift is out of wack. Then they have Sab and Phai say that Wayu and Kit are "much better now", and Sab's like "it'll take some time for them to get better", which hints that some time has passed...but the funeral, according to the dialogue, JUST happened. How are they magically okay after it?The writers want us to believe that within 24 hours of the funeral, everyone is perfectly fine. Mark and Kit are back to their weird Thing, Thanu and Wayu are planning the one day trip, and the Juniors (minus Saendee and Pok) are going out to eat.No. I refuse to believe all of that happens in such a short amount of time. BPG and I were like "lets watch the rest of this thinking there's been some weeks put in between both events, because we are losing our MINDS".Now, speaking of Pok...------------------------❤ PokTongSo initially I had this long, written out thing about how I felt about the PokTong situation. Initially I was enraged because I thought they absolutely fucked up PokTong.But after taking a break, doing other stuff, and eventually rewatching their scenes and actually thinking about it, I realized that they aren’t as bad as I thought. This may be long, but what I feel like my analysis is important, sooo....Anyway!Basically, last episode we saw Pok attempt that half assed apology. And we saw Tong reject it.Now, the thing about Pok is that this guy is pretty fucking stupid. We all know this. He doesn’t quite have the ways with words. Him being bad about appropriately apologizing in episode 10 is not surprising. Him saying what he said when he found out that it was Tong who alerted the principal about the bullying is not surprising. Him telling Tong to leave in episode 4 is not surprising. Not surprising, yes, but still very hurtful.Poke is very much a “Do First, Think Later (Or Never)” kind of guy and clearly he’s gotten away with it for a long time. We see this again in this episode when in the first PokTong scene, he tries to apologize again, but starts off by saying that he has some kind of swim meet competition soon and that he can’t do well if he’s irritated. Now, to be fair to Pok for a millisecond, that’s true. Having this heartache will dissolve any concentration you have and affect everything, sure. But you dumbass, you don’t apologize like that! And Tong, rightfully, brushes him off.Now let's talk about Tong. I’ve always figured Tong was allowing certain things to happen to him because he feels so guilty about what he did that he feels like he deserves these things. He and Pok are the same size- hell, you can say Tong is actually a bit bulkier. So he can easily push Pok away. But he doesn’t in the beginning. He allows Pok to make choices for him: example being when he chose the dorm room. He could’ve easily told Pok no and moved on, but he didn’t. Instead he agreed to living together, even though it’s an awful idea. Pok tells him it’s so that he can make sure Tong doesn’t hurt anyone else, but really, from this point on, he’s only hurting himself.Once Tong leaves however we eventually see some changes.Tong makes the choice to try and help Pok with the bullying. Tong chooses whether or not he listens to Pok; sometimes he doesn’t and sometimes he does.Sometimes he walks away immediately and sometimes he listens then bounces. He chooses when Pok gets to hold onto his wrist or arm and for how long. He chooses if he wants to humor Pok and respond or not. Tong is growing and realizing that no, he doesn’t have to take this shit and he can make his own choices.And it’s great!! It’s subtle because we have to wait days in between each episode and they’ve been getting little screen time the last few episodes, but it’s there. And I’ve been loving it.So then we get to the second PokTong confrontation and Pok states that he can't concentrate on swimming because of their problem. But this time, in my opinion, it doesn't sound accusatory. Instead it sounds like he's actually acknowledging there's a problem and that it's his fault.I love that Tong responds asking him if he's going to blame him again for possibly losing the competition. This is great because we've been seeing this growth with Tong where he's finally standing up for himself. And Tong asking that question, him choosing to stick around to listen, him letting Pok hold his hand, and last but not least, him telling Pok when they will talk about it later is telling. Him wanting to, and not feeling like he has to, talk to Pok and *choosing* to give him that tiny bit of hope is so incredibly telling.Pok not arguing back with Tong when he asks the question is telling. Pok being so surprised when Tong says they'll talk later and gives him a bit of hope is also incredibly telling.All of it, in my opinion, is important because most of the time when we see unhealthy couples like this in BLs, they’re situation is treated and explored so poorly. In the end, the victim never learns anything and accepts the abuse and the abuser continues being a piece of shit. And we’re meant to accept it and think it’s cute.Seeing Tong grow into himself and finally accepting and acknowledging his own autonomy is powerful for a BL. And so is seeing Pok apologize over and over until he somewhat gets it right is also important.I will say though, how their conversation goes down in the next episode is VERY IMPORTANT. They need adequate screen time and damn good dialogue.I also want to say that I don't blame anyone who now hates PokTong or always hated them together. I know there are some people who think Tong should drop Pok regardless of my analysis. And I want to say that's also important! I would also LOVE to see a BL where the victim chooses not to go back and instead gets with someone much better. If they wanted to go that route with Tong, I wouldn't be mad. BPG has been talking to me a lot about KalaeTong and honestly...they could be cute. But also let me throw you guys another idea: KalaePokTong? Huh? Maybe??Oh, and one last thing: whoever thought it was a great idea to have Phai be the one to tell Tong about intentions needs to be fired. Phai, the same character who chose to stick with Saendee. Saendee, who got Pok and Tong in this mess to begin with and hasn’t apologized for hiring the thugs. How tone deaf is that?? I’ve been wanting a scene where Kalae talks to Pok and/or Tong about their relationship because he was somewhat in the know about everything. But no. We get Phai. Ugh.---------------❤MarkKit (part 2)Like I mentioned before, having Mark go after Kit and help him out would've been great, but that didn't happen. Instead they went right back to their separation thing. Which isn't 100% awful, but it does feel like it's dragging. This is another couple where I wish they have a well written conversation scene because they need it. Looks like we might get it next episode? Hopefully.I will say though, the scene where they both hand made accessories for each other and their packages arrived at the same time was super cute. It does show that they both very much care for each other, so much so that they taught themselves how to make this stuff. Cute!Now please hurry up and make up lol----------------❤The beach resort!I desperately need to say this: I hate those shirts. I saw clips weeks ago of them shooting these scenes and I hated them ever since. The quote is WAY too on the nose for my liking. The choice of font type sucks. They could've worn adorable beachwear outfits! But instead I get these ugly shirts. Maybe if the designs were better and we got a scene of them shopping around, finding the shirts, and liking the message, then I'd be okay with them.Other than that, these scenes were the best ones in the episode.I'm sure some people are going to point out how weird it is that Thanu got them separate rooms. I'm going to counter that and ask if y'all paid any attention to their romance thus far? It makes sense. I'm fine with the choice.The necklace reveal was fine, but initially I couldn't enjoy it because it's the first scene we get after the plethora of bad scenes that precedes it. So my head was still spinning. But in hindsight, it's cute. The kiss could've been better. BUT later on, they do give us yet another ThanuWayu kiss. But BETTER. It was so good, ohhh my word.We get the 2nd PokTong scene that's poorly placed in the middle of the resort scenes, but then we see Wayu in his room unable to sleep because of these weird noises and whatnot.So he goes to Thanu's room making all sorts of cute little excuses to try and ask Thanu if he could spend the night with him. Thanu, who's just not getting it, is like "Oh, I can call someone to fix your lamp?" Like, Thanu C'MON LOL.It was very nice seeing Wayu finally get out of shell about all the physically intimate stuff during this whole part. After the first kiss, he initiates contact by putting his head on Thanu's lap and allows Thanu to almost kiss him when they share food. BadPennyGirl headcanons Wayu as ace and I LOVE that headcanon SO much! It's so very fitting for him and I love the idea of a main character being ace. Very nice.----------------------Summary:Initially this episode came off as so very wacky and terrible. But then taking a second and thinking about everything...It's actually not too bad at all. The execution needs some help though. I can see myself rewatching certain scenes over and over again!
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A good, easy episode just setting up the scene for the next four episodes. I gave it a slightly lower rating only because the pacing felt a little off. After watching it again, I realized it's because of the MarkKit scenes. Not much of anything happened in them except we know that they seem chill with each other now? I wish a portion of their scenes were given to just about any other character/scene.This episode solidifies a lot of things: we know that what Tong did resulted in something good and we know that Wayu is so much more closer to breaking down his walls and being with Thanu. It also seems like MarkKit are that much closer to breaking down their own walls. However, we do have one major issue: Pha seemed to have a sudden painful episode, and that could set a lot of things back. Or just throw one giant, final wrench in everything.All in all, not a bad episode! Easy to rewatch.
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