#ep12 preview chatter

[snickerdoodlles]

(ep 12 discussion in case u don't feel like reading more of it! sorry if this doesn't make a lot of sense lol i'm bad at writing these things out) honestly, i felt so sad and disappointed after the episode but the more i see thai people talking about it, the more i get it as a choice.. i still don't like it and am upset that they spent the whole time making them stronger together just for this to happen, but i also understand that i have a very different perspective in my familial relationships.. i'm still sad, but now that i've calmed down i can understand from pran and pat's pov how they might think it's legit the only way forward to do this

mhmm!!

im still figuring out how i feel on everything. there are definitely a few things right off the bat where i can tell im looking at them with some blinders and assumptions and i need to rewatch the full episode with those off. i can also already think of some threads i saw in the episode but i didnt register how important they were. the biggest thing is that i just have to rewatch the episode, but first i gotta psych myself up for it lolol

take this whole ramble with a grain of salt because again, i gotta double check what are narrative threads i picked up on vs what i had just assumed and/or dismissed (and like, trying to also remember previews aren't spoilers lol). but we saw from the start how running away from the problem wasn't actually intended as a solution for pat and pran, they just needed a break. pat just wants to ignore it all and like usual, he deals with his struggles in the quiet moments and he hides all of it behind smiles and his goofiness; whereas pran is thinking and overthinking how the return will go right from the start. and for all that they yell their feelings out to the waves, they can't truly just up and leave--pran has a close relationship with both his parents, pat would never just completely leave pa. and they both acknowledge this in their own ways. pran is the most obvious with missing his mother, but pat turning away from discussing any of it and his comment about checking in on pa later also shows how he hasn't truly cut himself off from everything yet, he just wants some time away. so we know its temporary, we know they're not going to just up and leave their families completely. and this is all further reinforced by the subplot with junior where his mother just wants what's best for him, doesn't want him trapped like she'd felt she was, and she and junior come together in the end knowing that they love each other and are working towards a good future together

so, just running away isnt an option (and this has been a narrative theme in bbs since ep1). we also have some threads from previous episodes that do tie into a potential breakup--the main one that comes to mind is pran's line about not pursuing a deadend relationship. so, after some thinking, im wondering if maybe pat and pran might breakup because they don't want their relationship to be a part of the coming tug-o-war between reconciling with their families and then settling the feud as well? im not sure how much sense im making right now, im still such a mess of emotions, but family is very important to them. and pat's returning to his dad who shows no promise of trying to apologize much less make up for his mistakes and a mother who's still supporting him regardless and wants pat to bend. pran's returning to his mother who's been incredibly hurt and hasn't dealt with that pain, instead trying to just block it out, and pran's sympathetic to her. he doesn't think she needs to just forgive ming for him. (and while we don't see his dad's reaction to this, we see in previous episodes how devoted he is to his wife and he takes the rivalry just as personally.)

so, so long as their parents are still channeling their issues with each other through pat and pran, they're trapped. if cutting their parents out completely isnt an option, and they can't do anything to fix the parents' relationship, where do you go next? if there's something in this to yield, do they break up so to protect their relationship from their parents' ire and keep working on settling the rivalry separately? or even just wait until their in a better position to protect each other from their parents' pressure (because we also have to acknowledge that they're still semi-dependent on their parents right now)? as much as we all love defiance and standing against anything in the face of adversity, that's only going to further inflame tensions between their families and we all know just how poorly the parents handle that. so is the approach instead taking their relationship out of their parents reach with the promise to return when they can?

but again, i also just really need to rewatch the episode because *points @ this post* ...pat and pran are not okay with their parents' bullshit. they love each other, they want to be together, they will fight to be together. any threads that could lead to a breakup also have been refuted. there's uncle tong's wisdom of how even when he can't change the world, and the world keeps spitting on his work, what's important is that it cant change who he is as a person or the importance of the work that he does do.

so. im still a jumbled mess of emotions and i havent really been able to write today, so i havent truly processed anything yet either lol. i also still have to rewatch the episode. but right now, im wondering if a breakup might be them removing their relationship from their parents' reach. its different from how it was in high school--they have a little more independence and they're a lot more sure in where they stand with each other. their parents need to deal with their own shit, not take it out on them, and they breakup in what might be an equally defiant "you dont get to touch this/him" or "our relationship is not a part of your issues"

i'm still really torn and really not sure how ep12 is going to go down. there are so many possibilities, and same as you, im also seeing how the break up could be a logical step forward in a way i hadn't earlier. im not sure how i feel on that possibility right now, i just dont want them separated again, but the preview doesn't feel as left field as it did earlier and that is a relief for me. i think maybe my biggest revelation/change in thought i've had after sitting on it for a little bit is that i dont want the rivalry to be solved with trickery (such as a fake break up). i think that will undermine how avoiding the truth is what caused the rivalry in the first place. i struggle to think that they'd cut each other off completely, but i dont think secret dating will work out well? that said i could also be totally off about that again. i don't know what the writers have in store for us, we really cant predict too much from the previews and they have a lot of threads that are still building up to a happy patpran end. i do think they'll finish out their story well. im anxious as hell waiting for it in a way i didn't think i'd be, but bbs writers haven't let us down yet so. yeah, im hopeful. the preview feels less scary than it had earlier and im a little more ready to sit back and see where it goes.

[snickerdoodlles]

saw someone point out how the shock over the ep12 preview might actually be a culture clash and it knocked me on my butt 🤔 gotta sit on my feelings and really think on it, but. yeah actually, I’m def seeing where stuff that I thought felt mean could be* that instead and I need to get my head out of my butt

(*lol almost most definitely is this, but I need to rewatch with the culture goggles off to sort the differences between everything)