Hi, could a kind soul describe this show to me, without any spoiler ? I'm wondering if i should start this. being…
It’s a fluffy, sweet romantic comedy with talking cats that’s at its core an exploration of grief, loss, regret and complicated family dynamics. The acting is excellent, the writing, direction and cinematography are great and the fantasy element is executed much better than I think most people expected. The show is a little slow paced and the romance can get a bit cheesy at times so ymmv on that. It’s also one of those rare shows that imo gets better with each episode. Personally, I’m loving it so far and would recommend checking it out.
This show just keeps getting better and better. So much happened in this episode and a lot of it hurt to watch – in a good way.
- The way the present mirrors the past with both Je Meow and Lynx providing comfort and a shoulder to lean on - while trying to maintain a brave front - even as they struggle with their own grief, anger and resentment.
- Lynx trying to be a good older brother to someone he didn’t even know existed a few weeks ago even as he grapples with issues around his self – worth and the idea of his very existence being a “mistake”.
- Leo’s grief and pain as someone who’s lost all the emotional anchors of his life and his guilt at the havoc wrecked on the cafe. He’s young and desperately trying to find a place where he belongs and his lashing out at Lynx while occasionally annoying is very understandable.
- The parallels w.r.t how the father dealt with both the women and his sons - his unwillingness to take accountability for his actions and his attempts to use money as compensation to not only ensure their silence but likely also as a way to assuage his own guilt and make up for his inadequacies as a partner and a father.
- The themes around found family and of healing what’s broken that ran through the episode.
- Tiger showing his debt collector roots was so fun and hot to watch. The action sequence was well executed esp in comparison to a lot of other GMMTV shows. His badassery aside, he was such a calm, steady and comforting presence through all the chaos that was unfolding. I love him so much.
- Kudos to Khaotung for managing to portray cat-like vibes without it being cringey or over the top. His subtle mannerisms, his body language – it’s all so well done. And poor Tiger was really going through it in that last sequence. Such a great scene. I had butterflies throughout.
The way this show manages to be a fluffy romantic comedy with talking cats while also being so painfully real and human is impressive and I’m loving the journey so far.
One of the things that really impresses me about this show is just how cohesive and consistent the writing is. The various elements of the show interweave beautifully to serve its multiple plotlines. The talking cats could have so easily been used just for comic relief. If anything, I feel like the show hasn’t mined their comedic potential enough tbh. But that aside, the human-cat parallels are very well done.
Every episode is self-contained to some degree in that it has a storyline built around a specific theme(s) that’s paralleled by or in some way tied to the cats – the blinking in ep 1, the nose bumps as well as Lynx’s character growth after the cats’ rebellion in ep 2, John Wick/Lynx’s aversion to touch in ep 3, Jenny/Tiger’s hesitation around confessing and Dr Pom/Jiro playing cupid in ep 4 etc to name a few examples.
Dr Pom could have also just been a catalyst to fuel Tiger’s jealousy and drive the romance forward - and in many BLs that would have been his only role - but the way they integrated him into this episode and its broader themes of family, love and loss was wonderful.
The show also does a great job of balancing its exploration of grief and loss and mourning as well as the painful rebuilding of familial ties with its comedic/fantasy/romance elements. It could have so easily felt tonally jarring but it all flows together seamlessly. This is a show that has been crafted with a great deal of care and attention to detail and I’m loving it so far.
If I have one big pet peeve though it’s that the background music and sound effects are too loud a lot of the time. It’s honestly giving me war flashbacks to Our Sky 2’s Eclipse episodes. 😅
After four episodes of Cat for Cash, I feel like the whole Tiger–Lynx–Pom situation finally got cleared up.…
Great is definitely going to be back. There's a scene in the trailer at 3.10 where he's dressed in brown and cuddling a cat that we haven't seen in the show yet.
As for Tiger taking Jiro along for Jennie's confession scene, I did wonder about that as well and I figured it was probably to reinforce the parallels between the human love story and the cats' romance with Jiro having played Cupid similar to Dr Pom in this episode.
For anyone interested in watching the show (with English subtitles), I’d recommend doing so on the “MangoTV English” Youtube channel and not the “芒果TV青春剧场 MangoTV Drama” that’s linked here on MDL. The subs on the latter are for the most part atrocious from Ep 7 onwards. They’re much better on the “MangoTV English” channel.
- The way the present mirrors the past with both Je Meow and Lynx providing comfort and a shoulder to lean on - while trying to maintain a brave front - even as they struggle with their own grief, anger and resentment.
- Lynx trying to be a good older brother to someone he didn’t even know existed a few weeks ago even as he grapples with issues around his self – worth and the idea of his very existence being a “mistake”.
- Leo’s grief and pain as someone who’s lost all the emotional anchors of his life and his guilt at the havoc wrecked on the cafe. He’s young and desperately trying to find a place where he belongs and his lashing out at Lynx while occasionally annoying is very understandable.
- The parallels w.r.t how the father dealt with both the women and his sons - his unwillingness to take accountability for his actions and his attempts to use money as compensation to not only ensure their silence but likely also as a way to assuage his own guilt and make up for his inadequacies as a partner and a father.
- The themes around found family and of healing what’s broken that ran through the episode.
- Tiger showing his debt collector roots was so fun and hot to watch. The action sequence was well executed esp in comparison to a lot of other GMMTV shows. His badassery aside, he was such a calm, steady and comforting presence through all the chaos that was unfolding. I love him so much.
- Kudos to Khaotung for managing to portray cat-like vibes without it being cringey or over the top. His subtle mannerisms, his body language – it’s all so well done. And poor Tiger was really going through it in that last sequence. Such a great scene. I had butterflies throughout.
The way this show manages to be a fluffy romantic comedy with talking cats while also being so painfully real and human is impressive and I’m loving the journey so far.
Every episode is self-contained to some degree in that it has a storyline built around a specific theme(s) that’s paralleled by or in some way tied to the cats – the blinking in ep 1, the nose bumps as well as Lynx’s character growth after the cats’ rebellion in ep 2, John Wick/Lynx’s aversion to touch in ep 3, Jenny/Tiger’s hesitation around confessing and Dr Pom/Jiro playing cupid in ep 4 etc to name a few examples.
Dr Pom could have also just been a catalyst to fuel Tiger’s jealousy and drive the romance forward - and in many BLs that would have been his only role - but the way they integrated him into this episode and its broader themes of family, love and loss was wonderful.
The show also does a great job of balancing its exploration of grief and loss and mourning as well as the painful rebuilding of familial ties with its comedic/fantasy/romance elements. It could have so easily felt tonally jarring but it all flows together seamlessly. This is a show that has been crafted with a great deal of care and attention to detail and I’m loving it so far.
If I have one big pet peeve though it’s that the background music and sound effects are too loud a lot of the time. It’s honestly giving me war flashbacks to Our Sky 2’s Eclipse episodes. 😅
As for Tiger taking Jiro along for Jennie's confession scene, I did wonder about that as well and I figured it was probably to reinforce the parallels between the human love story and the cats' romance with Jiro having played Cupid similar to Dr Pom in this episode.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKvQf7JNnWS3HXYUI14YK4QxyDRnW0iOl
Also, there are two special episodes set in an AU. You can find fan-subbed versions of these online.