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Indeed.

As a gay man, I stayed well away from BL when it was in manga and novel form because I found it filled-to-the-brim with fetishisation and couched misandry. Once it crossed over into televised format, its range exploded and, indeed, includes gay men.

In its televised format, I don't think that it is valid to say that it belongs to any particular demographic and those who try to say that it's for women and women only can get stuffed. My concern and care is for the generation of young gay teens who suffer stigma from some of these portrayals.

No demographic should be fetishised in the media and both misogyny and misandry are equally repellent to me.

So did I. I thought it was bilge and dropped it with the first ep, too.

Well said!

Thank you. Of course, it's just how I see it. Others will see it differently.

Indeed. It's really interesting to hear the director's take on things and those of his industry buddies.

I think that might depend on how many dramas a person consumes. As a BL, this is considered a fairly unique venture, I think.

I know that you see it that way, and that's fine. I saw Tian leaving, ultimately, because he tacitly agreed with Phupha. If he had really wanted to, he could have contacted the foundation, himself.

Thanks! =)

LOL!

I didn't really think much about it, to be honest.

Thanks! I'll have to check that out. =)

I think it started for two reasons: 1) Tian felt he had a debt to pay to Torfun 2) He was struck by what he read in her journal, found his own life to be profoundly lacking, and emulated her as a role model. I think he ended up adopting some of her characteristics, wholesale , and the line between what was genuinely him and what was grafted from Torfun's characteristics was blurred.

The reality is, though, that a perceived debt like the one Tian feels he owes to Torfun can never actually be repaid. It wouldn't have actually mattered if Tian had been able to count the thousand stars, that night, because Torfun would still be dead and Tian would still have received his new lease on life from her death.

That's exactly why I think Phupha wanted him to leave as much as he did. He knew that Tian had to make some kind of break from his legacy with Torfun in order to truly become his own man. Tian needed to come to an acceptance of the reality of the situation in order to truly move forward and live his life as Tian and not just Torfun's debtor. I also think that it was an incredibly difficult stance for Phupha to take, as he very much wanted to be with Tian.

As an actor, Earth did a wonderful job of transmitting that in his facial and body expressions. As the old saying goes, though: "If you love someone, set them free. If they return, they are yours. If they don't, they never were." Again, Phupha set aside his own wants and needs in the interest of someone else.

This is why I find the airport scene as moving as I do. Phupha realised that he didn't do the greatest job of communicating his intent and he could not let Tian leave without letting Tian know how much Tian meant to him.

As for the payoff of all that? When Tian does return to the village, he's a different man yet again. We see that Tian is more assertive and confident and that he's clearly making decisions for his own well-being and no longer doing things to repay Torfun. The burial of her book is deeply symbolic as he lays both his guilt and perceived debt to rest, once and for all.

Phupha is changed, as well. The guarded stoic can finally set aside his inhibitions and both literally and figuratively embrace Tian as his love. He no longer has to hold back anything for fear of making things more difficult for Tian, because he can see that Tian is fully capable of making his own choices: even making the choice to love a "lowly state-officer" who takes risk with his life, everyday.

The extra scene cements these changes as we see an affectionate Phupha and a Tian who has the confidence to lead Phupha by the nose, a bit. Tian making Phupha beg to get into the bed with him and the "just sleep?" line are charming examples of these two really finding their fullness together, to me. They're on an equal footing: a sign of a healthy relationship.

Hopefully, they'll add subs for that one, soon.

There were actually a couple of times when Tian acknowledged, himself, that he'd have to return at some point. I can't remember exactly where one of them was but I do remember that when Tian went to see Phupha after being asked to the the doctor that during that conversation Tian said something along the lines of "I can't say no, since it's for my own good."

I'm probably just older than you LOL

I believe, in the book, that they kissed the night Tian was trying to count the thousand stars. Maybe the fact that we only got one kiss has something to do with Earth and Mix being friends for years and having a bit of a Phi/Nong relationship?

I hear what you're saying but BLs are also littered with misunderstandings, personal insecurities which exacerbate situations, jealousies, and communication breakdowns. To me, what makes a conflict work in a narrative is its method of execution.

I also think it going to get slammed by people for whom it strikes a nerve...

LGBTQ+ cinema has been historically rife with so much internal conflict that I find it tropish, itself. Especially internalised homophobia. It's been done to death.