coldzonkprofessorturtle

[coldzonkprofessorturtle]

Wan & Pleng (Affair the Series) | "Like You Do" by Yana

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The art of the sleeping sapphic

[coldzonkprofessorturtle]

Just slightly annoyed that Affair stuck to the novel so much with how it ended because that was also abrupt and they could've made the easiest adjustment. Let that end love scene breathe a bit and before panning to "The End" cut to them sleeping, the clock strikes 4am but this time nothing happens - they're both still blissfully sleeping AND then pan to The End card.

Ah well, still (mostly) stuck the landing.

[coldzonkprofessorturtle]

An Affair to Remember

Alright, let's get into Affair the Series, which has been giving me brainrot the past few weeks so feels like a good time to get into an analysis of why I find it so fascinating. Eventually I'd love to do a deeper dive into Thai GLs and that industry (that's a whole other thing though) but after having seen my share of them (Gap, Show Me Love, TSOU, The Loyal Pin) I've really found myself falling into the rabbit hole with Affair the Series and the way it depicts friendship, love, and acceptance.

Deep dive below and also thank you gif makers for your work 🙏🏽

(also will go over events from episodes 1-5, so spoilers ahead if not up-to-date)

So first off, I have read the novel, which is the first time I've finished one of those for a GL and quite frankly, the translation wasn't that great but the story still came through. I won't refer to it much and will base this on the show as I think they've done a fantastic job with the adaptation and fingers crossed continue to do so.

Where in most GLs the core conflict is external. The main couple can't be in love typically due to familial/cultural pressure or a man interfering (that still exists to an extent here) the main conflict in Affair is simply that Wan and Pleng love each other too much but they do so in different ways.

When we meet Wan and Pleng they're 17 years old and have spent their entire lives together. They're sisters but not and while Wan seems to have a social circle, Pleng really has no other friends outside of Wan. The spoiled rich girl and the maid's daughter. Couldn't be more different if they tried and yet by circumstance their lives are as intertwined as it gets.

At 17, they have different ideas for their futures. Pleng is musically talented, wins every contest and is financially set. She can live the life she wants. If she wants to be a musician then so be it. Her parents love and support her and there's no pressure. Wan on the other hand has an overbearing mother (and a resentful father), no prospects for her future but at least she has Pleng.

Despite her parents, Wan loves wholly and openly. She knows she loves Pleng and while she doesn't yet know it she does know that Pleng loves her too. I would argue that Wan truly knows herself, which is why she comes across as so self-assured in their younger years. She's slowly trying to guide Pleng to understand herself too.

Pleng, however, has never had to sit with her emotions in the same way. Take this as differences of personality, class and upbringing. Now that they're 17 and entering adulthood, Pleng has to start engaging with the world (and her emotions) rather than hiding behind the rich, insular lifestyle she's had up to this point.

As the idea of boyfriends comes up, Pleng starts to lash out. She's jealous, she's pushy but really she's just in love with her best friend and doesn't know it. Everything starts happening too fast. Wan meets a boy at an art gallery, Aunt Wi pushes Pleng to help Wan get with Ek, Pleng's dad is extremely stressed and she doesn't know to what extent and throughout that Pleng is dealing with her feelings that for some reason just won't go away. Feelings that Wan keeps bringing up in her over and over.

Pleng is a mess. She doesn't know how to connect with her peers, she knows something is wrong with her dad, she sees that Wan is seemingly moving forward in a way that she's not (dating a boy) and whether she realizes it she continues to isolate herself.

From Wan's perspective she couldn't care less about dating Ek. She's already completely devoted to Pleng (in ways that Pleng doesn't even know).

They're 17, hormonal, gay, and incapable of seeing each other's perspective. Wan wants Pleng to let her in. Pleng can't help but push everyone away.

As soon as Pleng starts to really come to terms with her feelings about Wan. That's when everything falls apart. Her dad kills himself, her mom goes into cardiac arrest, all of her family's assets are seized and she's now orphaned and staying with Wan's parents who clearly and vocally have no space for her. Pleng who was already struggling to find her footing before that fateful night now has absolutely nothing to stand on.

The break point is when Pleng finds out about Wan's academic achievements and that Wan had been hiding that truth about herself their entire lives. Wan has always been intelligent and capable but hidden herself behind a veil of ineptitude. Wan in loving Pleng puts her on a pedestal to her own detriment. She has no issue blighting her own light so that Pleng can shine but from the moment we meet 17 year old Pleng in the show we see her pushing Wan to better herself. Wan thinks loving Pleng means her own success doesn't matter whereas Pleng loves Wan and all of her potential.

They both love each selflessly but while Wan would burn the whole world to keep Pleng warm, Pleng loves Wan despite her own existence. So when Pleng leaves she writes,

"Your parents will feel at ease. And you'll finally get to live your life as your true self... I know you love me but I also want you to love yourself. And be proud of who you are."

For Pleng, her leaving is the ultimate way to show her love to Wan. A clean break. She runs away so Wan can thrive but here's the thing Wan needs Pleng to keep her grounded. Pleng does too but she can't see it at this point. Too much has happened and so, in her desperation she removes herself. She is her father's daughter after all.

So when 13 years pass and Wan has spent that entire time holding on to whatever she can to keep herself close to Pleng (becoming a doctor, riding a bike to work, marrying Ek, separating herself from her parents); Pleng has become a ghost of herself. Wan has imbued herself with all the things she thinks/knows Pleng would like while Pleng is stuck in a cycle that she can't get out of: play music, make a bit of money, pay rent, rest, repeat.

Pleng never reaches out to Wan because why would she? Her loving Wan means staying away and on top of that there's a sense of shame of what her life has become.

So when they finally meet again it's too much. Wan is successful but she's still clearly in love with Pleng and while it was all Wan's doing, in a way her success is a direct result of Pleng's influence. In removing herself, Pleng slowly begins to realize not just that she took Wan's smile with her but the why and how. Wan's changed and devoid of the joy and innocence that Pleng loved most.

They slowly fall back into their natural rhythms but Pleng still can't accept her own presence in Wan's life. Wan is back to pushing (albeit more aggressively then before - time was wasted) and in pushing Pleng, Pleng pushes back. If they take their relationship that one step further, what then? What if it falls apart? Why not just stay in a cycle where nothing shifts? What if there's another ringing shot in the distance and everything changes in a moment?

If there's one core trauma to Pleng as a character it's her desperation to not feel like a burden to anyone. Especially Wan. And then she finds out that Wan (though separated) is still married to Ek and she can't accept that she could have ruined Wan's potential happiness. Not understanding that Pleng herself is Wan's happiness. Pleng feels like a disruption because at the root of it the thing she wanted above all for Wan, "I also want you to love yourself. And be proud of who you are" is not something that Pleng accepts for herself.

I'll leave it there and hope the show navigates the situations that are about to come as well as they have so far but kudos as Affair manages to oh so gracefully skirt what could otherwise be an incredibly toxic relationship. Somehow they manage to give these two characters so much grace despite their flaws. And truly that's also a huge credit to Sonya and Lookmhee's abilities.

It's chaotic and messy but in coming back together these two might just realize that's how they both best shine.

[coldzonkprofessorturtle]

Wan, what are you doing? Wan... Can you stay will for a moment? Why? Because I want to hug you. I've missed you.

AFFAIR รักเล่นกล episode 04, dir. Pantip Vibultham (2024)

[coldzonkprofessorturtle]

Every show has its end and with that Station 19 bids its farewell. This personally feels like the end of an era for me. It's the last network show I've watched week after week and to have it end on as sweet as a note as they could feels remarkable. It's a rare feat to get to go out on your own despite all the behind the scenes drama of a shortened season and a too soon end. I won't get into any of my gripes but I think it's a beautiful thing to witness and I'm grateful that a show like this got to exist as long as it did.

Nineteen.

[coldzonkprofessorturtle]

All I could think about. You love to see it.

MAYA AND CARINA STATION 19: 7x04: 'Trouble Man'

[coldzonkprofessorturtle]

This was definitely not the announcement I was expecting from the Warrior Nun saved countdown. I thought maybe one movie but three sounds incredibly ambitious. Listen, I very much want to be excited about this but I would caution everyone to just be very aware that the industry is in an incredibly tumultuous period. The strikes probably won’t end before the year is up and I don’t know what that means for the production/story/casting of these features. By all means this is huge but also it’s important to stay pragmatic. Celebrate the win but until more is confirmed I’m still hesitant as to what this actually will mean.

[coldzonkprofessorturtle]

This aged spectacularly 😇

...sigh

Well I did not mean for Warrior Nun to completely take over my life in the year of our lord (Ava Silva) 2022 but now I know that when she told Beatrice “in the next” she meant next year.

So here’s to getting season 3 in 2023! 🥂

[coldzonkprofessorturtle]

I don’t know if this means we’re getting another season or a movie or something else but I am absolutely shocked. During pride month too 🥹

[coldzonkprofessorturtle]

Then and Now First half of Season 6 vs Second half of Season 6 Back how it should be ❤️

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6x09 // 6x17

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Alrighty then. It’s happening.

Looks like the writer’s strike is imminent at this point. Also the combination of the Met Gala happening on the eve of the industry going into potential and likely disarray is high camp. My social media has never been so messy.

[coldzonkprofessorturtle]

Looks like the writer’s strike is imminent at this point. Also the combination of the Met Gala happening on the eve of the industry going into potential and likely disarray is high camp. My social media has never been so messy.

[coldzonkprofessorturtle]

“Did you say it? ‘I love you. I don't ever want to live without you. You changed my life.’ Did you say it?” x

[coldzonkprofessorturtle]

I’ve watched this scene in its entirety so many times and I really love the blocking here. I saw someone say how awkward it is that Carina is getting dressed during this but I think it’s actually so well done. You can see from the first gif how Carina is laying there and just trying to process her emotions about everything. And then Maya’s cell pings and she mentions that Warren had a tough call and that triggers Carina. Not that she doesn’t care about Warren (she does) but to an extent I get the sense that Carina is immediately reminded of how Maya used to put work before her. That’s obviously no longer true but for Carina their blissful bubble bursts and all the walls that came down from them being physically intimate come right back up as Carina steels herself and puts on her suit of armor (clothes) as she thinks she’s about to get into territory that would’ve immediately caused a fight between her and old Maya. Whenever they’ve previously had fights it’s ended with Carina removing herself from the situation (probably in an attempt to not let things further escalate and let’s be real her childhood was a constant case of her being forced to stay) but this time she doesn’t leave. We’ve focused so much on Maya’s growth but this is a turning point for Carina too. She sits back on the dresser and lets Maya show her whether or not she has grown and Maya truly has. It’s such a well written, directed and acted scene and I’m really glad they’re giving this story the proper amount of attention.

“I’m sorry for everything I put you through. “

[coldzonkprofessorturtle]

I’m willing to put in the work to rebuild us. To make us stronger and better. STATION 19 | 6x15: What Are You Willing to Lose