#gotta wait to read meta until i've had some sleep

[visualtaehyun]

ทำไมถึงเต็มคิดอะไรลึกซึ้งไม่เป็น = Why are you utterly unable to think profoundly?

me @ myself, trying to order my thoughts about this episode

Disclaimer: I'm still learning Thai so feel free to correct me on anything 🙏

I'll probably make a separate post about the poem since that's pretty far outside of my current Thai abilities lol but I found it was so central to the episode that I wanna take a closer look at it anyway! The book is called ขอบฟ้าขลิบทอง (khawp faa klip tawng) 'gold-trimmed horizon' and this specific poem seems to be named after its first line มิ่งมิตร (ming mit) 'cherished friend(s)'. The author's name is อุชเชนี ประคิณ ชุมสาย ณ อยุธยา (romanizations as shown in the end credits of the episode even though it's not helpful in finding info on her anyway lol). To me, this poem carries the same tone as the entire show, as I think the script/writing emphasizes kindness, empathy, and hope for the future. And มิ่งมิตร (ming mit) also speaks about equality/liberty:

...which brings me all the way to the end of the episode, actually:

This was what stuck with me the most. It's not just that Kawi has no living relatives left, it's that his longterm partner is not legally considered family and thus has no rights concerning Kawi. The implications of not having marriage equality already hit me hard when it came up in Moonlight Chicken but it's truly sad now after the disappointment of the 2023 general elections in Thailand (very briefly: progressive democratic Move Forward party winning the most seats but continuously being blocked from forming a government, their leader Pita Limjaroenrat losing the bid for Prime Minister and even being suspended from being a member of parliament).

I'm not sure what Pisaeng is supposed to have learned or needs to do differently, from what we've been shown. That Pisaeng and Kawi need to join Max in fighting for their rights? That Kawi, like his dad, should see a doctor sooner rather than later? That Kawi can't be giving up everything to be with Pisaeng, considering we never saw him leave the condo for work, friends, hobbies, anything?

We've also got Schrödinger's ace!Kawi, considering Kawi's feelings in that regard didn't get resolved this week plus there being no indication either which way if their relationship in this future had a sexual component or not. Actually, that reminds me- @rocketturtle4 basically predicted this episode in broad strokes last week! I basically spent the entirety of parts 2-4 in a state of slight confusion, waiting for the other shoe to drop or for the clearly-left-out conversation about intimacy we all expected last episode to be shown. Something felt, intentionally, off.

A few last notes:

What were Phong and Daow (aka Pear's dad and Pisaeng's mom) referring to with "messy issue"? The word used was วุ่นวาย (woon waai) which could mean anything from chaotic, to troublesome, to confusing, ... you see my confusion? I'm not sure if we're supposed to take this as the parents knowing about the whole love triangle weirdness or if I simply forgot about an earlier tidbit from Pear and Pisaeng's past as childhood friends. This was a lovely scene btw, the meaning of parenthood and child-parent relationships are portrayed so nicely in this show.

If you've read my post from last week about Pisaeng and Kawi switching to different pronouns and are curious about any changes this week- From the moment we hear the boys talk with each other on Pisaeng's bed after moving in together, they continuously use ผม (pom) / คุณ (khun). Meanwhile the after credit scene (that I'm not sure when to place in this time travel chaos) contained no pronouns at all! In the preview, I heard both of them use them again.

Maybe it's my love for Thai but I felt like "I'm glad you're happy." was a bit of a curt translation for what Pear said to her mom so here's me trying to preserve the sentiment: "แต่ถึงยังไง หนูก็ดีใจนะค่ะ ที่แม่มีความสุข" = But still, I'm happy. Because you're happy./...that you've found happiness. She's my baby angel and I won't hear a single word of criticism about her!!