Wayu: Needs a man? ?

(This turned out quite lengthy WHOOPS)

One thing about some of these comments that I genuinely find intriguing are people who believe that Wayu thinks he *needs* a man/to be in a relationship. I'm just rambling a bit about this character and his relationships, so sorry if this seems incomprehensible lol Also, keep in mind that I did not watch 2 Moons or read the original story that this is based off of. My thoughts are purely based off of what the show has showcased thus far. I'm only focusing on Gen Y's Wayu soley because, from my understanding, Gen Y is supposed to be viewed as kind of a fanfic/stand alone story.

But basically, I've seen a lot of people dislike or even straight up hate Wayu because they think he's a character that needs a man in his life and that he supposedly can't function without one. I do agree that having that mindset is toxic. However, I don't see him that way at all given what we, the audience, know so far. I do find it interesting that given this info, people think this way; "interesting" in a non-hateful way, by the way. Curious would be a better word, I think?

Anyway, what we've seen is that the first person he's ever dated straight up out of the blue breaks up with him- after inviting him to dinner, no less. Pha breaks up with Wayu in a public space, which, alone, can potentially be very embarrassing and honestly traumatic. On top of that, Pha randomly disappears: no explanation and no way to contact him. Eloquently put: that fuckin' SUCKS. Wayu very clearly loves love. He loves romance and all the cheesy stuff that comes with it: the bouquet of flowers, the light up letters that spell out his name and his bf's names, the soft touches- all that mushy, gooey sweetness that, realistically, a lot of people really like in a relationship. And he found someone who's willing to do all of that for him, because lets be real: not a lot of people enjoy doing all of that stuff. And the guy that seems pretty perfect just ups and disappears without a trace! I'd also be moping and confused as all hell if that happened to me, and I'm not surprised that it took him a while to try and get over it. Pha's actions didn't only affect Wayu, but others around him too.

So fast forward a little bit, he meets a guy that wants to be friends- very nice! They end up getting along pretty well. Mark makes a couple of comments like "ohhh so when are you going to ask him out ??" to which Wayu  would either roll his eyes at him (with a little smile on his face) or tell his friend that they're *just* friends and that he's cool with that. I would have to look this up and correct myself if need be, but I could've sworn Wayu even stated at one point that he wasn't even in the mood to date and that he's content with being single; might've been during one of the moments where Jack and Koh were after him and he said that to Mark..?

Well, eventually over time, Wayu starts crushing on Thanu and Thanu seems to feel the same way...! Kinda! Until he suddenly ups and disappears! Kinda like what Wayu's ex did, but not the same extreme. Thanu does a fairly poor job at hiding from Wayu and Wayu definitely notices what he's trying to do. Like imagine the second guy you've ever been interested in is now attempting to do the same thing as your ex without any explanation. Once again, that sucks! And then Thanu admits that initially he was only being nice to him because Pha asked him to be, which also sucks.

[As a small side note: I'm not *excusing* Wayu's current (as of ep2) actions! I think him having this large distrust over the current situation is unfair to both Phai and Thanu. However, I  do think the above *explains* his actions. Also, I think the route his character may be going down is interesting lol]

What I'm trying to get at is I think Wayu's moping (and as some of you nicely put: bitching) is far more likely due to the awful situations he's been in with his ex and now current love interest rather than him *needing* a man. I definitely believe that Wayu *wants* a nice, simple relationship without any distrust and heartache- just like the rest of us who are interested in dating and there's nothing wrong with that. I mean, the story has shown us moments where he stands up for himself. For example, like the part in season 1 where Padbok nearly beat him up. Jack tried whisking him away to save him (something Wayu did *not* ask for) and Wayu slipped away and approached Padbok knowing full well how aggressive Padbok can be.

Speaking of, I could totally get into the whole idea that Wayu is just some princely character who expects people to do everything for him, but that's a slightly different conversation for another time.

ANYWAY, if you read all of this: Thank you for coming to my Wayu TED Talk hahaha
I'm not stating any of this, btw, to convince people to like Wayu and his actions. I totally understand not liking sad, mopey characters- I used to be the same! I couldn't finish Theory of Love because of that (I do plan on going back and finishing it btw). But this is moreso just a way to potentially explain his character based off of what I've seen so far and discussed at length with others. There's probably stuff I'm missing, but these thoughts are fresh on my mind because I've recently rewatched season 1 and watched some scenes multiple times.

I think it would be nice to see some of the characters more balanced generally. It can be a bit meh when people go into these deep depressions over a breakup and you realise they didn't have any other hobbies or interests and seemed to be identified only by the relationship. I don't find him too weepy just a bit boring and immature which, given his age, is understandable. I'd just like to see and hope this show is more about his character development rather than blind love for someone who seemingly didn't deserve all of that emotion . So far with the script I'm not sure though

We are allowed a difference in opinion. I'm not attacking the character. I find it lacklustre and hard to root for.  Therefore I can see why people are describing it as the OP stated.

None of the characters are well developed and maybe that's what lets  both seasons of the show down as well as a poorly laid out script. Fingers crossed they do something with it but this feels like one of those ones where it ends and you binge watch as opposed to anticipating it each week. It feels pre 2020 and BLs have (thankfully) moved on.

It's hard to root for anyone yet. But maybe it's one of those shows that kicks into gear around episode 5 or 6. Who knows 

 BadPennyGirl:

His trust issues compound when his own visions reveal Pha lied to him in order to ever even start their relationship.  Thanu and Wayu begin a new romance, all the while Thanu is hiding his initial attraction and shared visions with Phai.  Once Wayu finds out about them, and in a really awful way, then the trust issues understandably rise to the fore.  It was hard for Wayu to feel secure in their relationship, even after Thanu explained.  And it was hard for Wayu to trust his junior, Phai, thinking he was the one playing the cruel cloak and dagger crap.  And Pha returns in the middle of everything!  Mr Missing Persons himself!?!? 

YESSS omg I'm so glad someone gets it haha

I agree with everything in your post! I couldn't quote the whole thing though lol

I completely understand where Wayu is coming from as of what we've seen so far in  S2E2.  I mentioned in a comment on the show's main page a while back that I had been in a situation similar to Phai's where a friend of mine held negative feelings towards me because for a few months, they swore their crush and I had feelings for each other and that I was trying to go after him. The difference between me and Phai is that I most definitely did not house feelings for the guy, but the point is that I know what it's like to sit there and be honest about the situation and for that person to not get it. In the case with Wayu and my friend, it's not as simple as "Oh, i don't like how they're talking to my crush", it's that compounded with all of the negative things that happened previous to that event. I find it very interesting that a lot of people don't seem to understand that? Or maybe they do, but probably think it's not that big of a deal. But it is because trust is SO hard to gain back. 

And that's what I really like about this show actually! I feel like the exploration of various types of romantic issues is quite unique. Like, what happens when trust is loss or even the PokTong situation where they could so very easily but they can't because Tong feels guilty for what he's done to Pok behind his back.  

Like, sure, the filming is a tad sloppy, but you can't say the hints and explanations aren't there.

And the part about double standards. Yes. YES.

I've noticed that there are some parallels between some characters and pairings, like the one you just mentioned. I've found it interesting that people would hate on Wayu for being a daze after receiving upsetting news, for example. But interestingly, I don't think I've ever seen people complain about Phai when he does the same exact thing? Both of their characters are quite similar. Not in a "they don't know how to write so they copied and pasted a character lol" kind of way, but in the sense that they're different sides of the same coin, so to speak? But people will complain about one and not the other. Hmm...

 jaydeejay:

I've noticed that there are some parallels between some characters and pairings, like the one you just mentioned. I've found it interesting that people would hate on Wayu for being a daze after receiving upsetting news, for example. But interestingly, I don't think I've ever seen people complain about Phai when he does the same exact thing? Both of their characters are quite similar. Not in a "they don't know how to write so they copied and pasted a character lol" kind of way, but in the sense that they're different sides of the same coin, so to speak? But people will complain about one and not the other. Hmm...

Yes! This!   I think their similarities reflect a component of what Thanu finds attractive in both of them. He is consistently drawn to gentle, kind people.  

But while posters on MyDramaList will complain and bash Wayu for those characteristics, Phai doesn't seem to catch flack.  Today I talked to a friend of mine who is into psychology, because the double standard mystified me.  Double standards often do.   And to paraphrase, she was like "Look, it sounds like this is Cognitive Dissonance at it's finest.  Something about this Wayu character bothers them.  Probably because they identify personally with the other boy (Phai).  Because the other boy (Phai) is losing the hero (Thanu) to Wayu, these fans feel personally robbed.  That both characters have numerous similarities, including the ones that only Wayu is being criticized for, is where the Cognitive Dissonance comes in.  People experiencing Cognitive Dissonance ignore information, facts and logic in order to maintain the feeling of comfort, validation, or moral superiority.  Or in this case, outrage.  So they will say things about Wayu that fall into the double standard category because they actually won't allow themselves to process the fact that the characters are so similar in the ways in which they attract the hero."  

There was more to it, of course.  Because she and I always have the deep talks, even when we're discussing TV.  But that was the gist of it.  

 Chelsea Black:

I liked his character Wayo in 2 Moons which is similar but in that and the book he had more sass maybe so was more likeable

I love sassy characters, if they are bringing clever dialog and aren't just contrary by nature.  But Wayo just seemed very... grouchy and kind of childish.  So I find it unusual you think Wayo in 2 Moons is similar to Wayu.

Wayu is roughly based on Wayo, yes.  And they both come from very wealthy, single parent homes having grown up doted upon by their dads, with their best friend as a pseudo-sibling.  And they both pined for someone.  But the similarities end there.  

One of the main differences is that Wayo was too chicken to actually reach out to Phana once he was at college.   Instead of going "Hey Phana, I'm the geek kid you went to high school with.  I had a major glow-up,"  he simply responded to Phana's admittedly dickish behaviors by being rude himself.  Which didn't help the lack of communication situation in the least.  It was all very knee-jerk.

Plus, Wayo was awkward, impatient, introverted, diffident and angry in general.  I still liked him very much, but that was due to Bas Suradej bringing something to the role, not so much the role itself, evidenced by the fact that I really disliked 2 Moons 2.  Even in the end, Wayo had this affected "Bah, humbug!" sort of thing happening that I didn't really care for.

Wayu, on the other hand, is kind of a people person.  He's earnest, charming and he likes sports.  Past the initial shock of being abandoned, Wayu organizes people to complete SOTUS tasks. We see him bringing food to  juniors, tutoring, mentoring and being generally really congenial--even when he's still quite hurt.  And he's got a lot of courage.  He's also nicely aware of other people's needs.  The entire season he constantly nudged Mark in Kit's direction.   Wayu is also very good at patiently indulging Mark, and even heading off Mark's less than cool emotional responses to things.    So he's written a lot better than Wayo was.  IMHO.  

And if sass was what people were looking for as a "good quality" in characters, I wonder why are so many people invested in Phai--who had zero sass to him until Episode 2 of season 2.

I find Wayu the most unappealing character I've ever seen in a BL. Saint was more useless in Love By Chance, but it was so OTT that it was funny and he was written that way on purpose.

Wayu can't even walk without a man taking care of him - how many times has he tripped over his own feet? He has some pretty legitimate trust issues given Pha abandoning him for no reason and Thanu having his mystical connection to Phai which existed for no particular reason other than to totally waste screentime.

If I asked you to sum up Mark or Kit's character in a sentence, you could easily do it. Do it for Wayu - I challenge anyone. A rich mopey guy with no agency who sits around waiting for things to happen to him. But is that a legitimace character summary? You could replace him with a lamp and that sentence would still work. What are his interests? Plans for the future? 

Of course he needs a man - otherwise he has no plot purpose. He never gives anyone any useful advice, asks his friends how they are, helps them accomplish anything, he's just... there.

That's what you get when an author inserts herself into a story as a character - a boring and useless character. 

He does give his friends useful advice.  Especially Mark.  When Mark was so upset over the break with Kit, Wayu hugs and comforts him, plus gives him relationship advice.  He's the one who, despite grieving for Pha, constantly urged Mark to chase Kit down and smooth things over whenever Mark's anger at Pha caused friction with Kit.  And when Wayu is in the medical tent he sees to it that Mark and Kit have oppotunity to talk in private by taking himself and Thanu out of the situation.   

And Wayu does inquire after the people he cares about; even when he was unwell in episode 6 he inquired after Kit.  When Phai is recovering he inquired after him AND organized people to help lighten the work Phai and his friends were doing.  And he brought lunch for everyone, and made sure Phai was well taken care of.

In fact, the other younger students even remarked with envy about how lucky Phai was to have such an attentive, kind mentor.  

When Wayu and Thanu were still just friends, he faced down Padbok twice, defending Thanu both times. 

And the show gives more than one instance of Wayu's likes and interests.  

As for tripping all the time, they established early on he was clumsy.  He explains to Thanu that he's always fallen down a lot in episode 3 of season 1.  And it doesn't make him useless.  I am so clumsy I fall every couple weeks.  My doctor's office has a bright orange wristband at the front desk they make me wear when I visit.  It says "Falling Risk!"  In fact, I can't pass a DUI assessment I'm so clumsy.   And I've lost track of the times I've broken a wrist or ankle doing so. And yes, my friends have had to catch me a lot over the years.  My spouse too.  But being clumsy doesn't mean I'm useless--in fact I'm actually quite good at accomplishing things on my own.  And Wayu is too.  

And while I don't agree that summing someone up in one sentence is any sign of developed character, if you need me to sum him up in one sentence okay.  I got this.  Wayu is kind, considerate, empathetic, brave, intelligent, funny and very pro-commitment when it comes to romance.

I feel that Bas brings some interesting nuance to his character at times.  And I think Wayu would have done perfectly well had the vote returned a majority result in favor of Wayu being alone.  Because while he loves Thanu a lot, he doesn't actually need Thanu.