BadPenny

When people are drunk they do not make the same choices they would make if sober because they are IMPAIRED. Some drunk people disrobe and dance naked on tables, some leave with strangers and have really inadvisable sex, some (like me) start bar fights. And that same feature of being so impaired that they do not make choices they otherwise would means they are constitutionally unable consent for sexual contact. That's why consciousness/sobriety is a legal requirement of consent.

And Lian knew Kuea was unable to give consent. Lian specifically did not obey Kuea struggling to get away from him at the bar, because he made the judgement call that Kuea was too impaired by alcohol to make his own choices about where he wanted to be.

If Kuea was too impaired to make his own choice about staying at the bar, then he was JUST as unfit to make choices about sexual contact.

Drunk, drugged, it's the exact same lack of cognitive fitness to consent. And the kiss wasn't consensual just because they are engaged. Even married, you have to acquire consent for any kind of sexual contact. It wasn't consensual just because Kuea seemed willing, because drunk people simply cannot consent. They can't.

And no, it's not consensual just because Kuea wasn't raped. WTF!

What we need in the comments section is acceptance of everyone's POV. Because the comments section is literally for everyone, not just people who watched the show and found it "comforting".

75% of the furvor here is caused by people who like the show getting worked up about the presence of those who have something critical to say. Kind of like your post.

No one here has said any of the characters are real. We're all aware it's a drama. In fact numerous people have referenced the creative team's part in the problem we're discussing. And no one has blamed the actors. We've also addressed the bl genre's need to stop using such toxic stereotypes. None of that indicates we aren't aware we're all debating fiction.

And no. We don't have to go away just because you don't like what we're saying about the drama. None of us have said anything untrue or unsubstantiated. And this comments section is for anyone who wants to discuss the show, not just those who want to praise it.

If you watch the show as an escape, fine. That really doesn't have anything to do with people critiquing the show here on MDL. Nothing happening on MDL stops anyone from watching and enjoying the show.

FUCK. YES. This is my juice!!!

I hear you! And it IS sad. But I know they talk about consent in schools. Don't they?

As for BL's, they have had a bad habit of romanticizing and normalizing non-con since they first came on scene, and it's not cool. And yeah, they should stop doing it. But I'm not holding my breath.

I am appalled that I have to explain to you that sexual assault isn't just about undressing someone or taking them to bed. Or that consent hasn't got anything to do with being engaged to someone. I mean, this shit is literally blowing my mind right now. But you know what, it explains A LOT.

Damn sure bet you kissing a person like Lian was kissing Kuea requires consent, just as much as disrobing someone or having sex with them. And the fact that they love each other doesn't have anything to do with consent either. Consent is about agency. And while you are dead off your feet drunk, YOU DON'T HAVE ANY--whether you are in love or not. So anything remotely sexual done to you while you are in that state is by definition non-consensual.

The word "engaged" is not Latin for "Anytime Lian fucking feels like it.".

As for what Kuea would have done had Lian not dicked the whole situation, well that's entirely beside the point. Because Lian DID fuck up and Kuea WAS intending to break off the engagement. And no, Kuea wouldn't have kissed him like that, had he been sober. But since he wasn't sober, none of that matters.

Look, You can ignore the lack of consent if you want to. But that doesn't make what happened in the car anything but an egregious and unethical moment when Lian very much took advantage of the person who was supposed to be able to trust him most.

I just rewatched the last ep again and I think they ended this perfectly. I loved that Wayu leaned up and kissed Thanu on the cheek. He was so flirty. It showed that in the three year leap he came into himself as a lover. Which really made me smile. We got to see him start that journey and we got to see the fruit of it at the very end.

I thought I would feel sad all over again that things have ended. And I did, a little bit. But everything felt rounded out. The only character I was left worried for was Tong, who still had two more years of school to complete alone. But to see everyone else having reached that goal of graduation, ready to move on to their futures was very special.

I have had a lot of feels about a lot of the characters, not all of them positive. (I still think Kalae and Tong work better together than Pok/Tong) but in the end I enjoyed each of them for the love, the fun or the drama they brought.

And I understand now why they ended it with a graduation. Oh Star Hunter, the head of Star Hunter Entertainment had a long IG post the other day where he talked about how Gen Y's true intention when it was started 2 years ago was to be a project from which other opportunities would arise. P'Oh and others created a space and a project for all the "children in the home at Star Hunter Entertainment" to develop the tools they needed too launch into their future careers. Gen Y was intended as their schooling, a way for the younger actors to get a feel for acting, to work out the kinks and become more seasoned and get to know their profession well. Whether the participants were moving on to a series with their CP, becoming part of a band or doing a lakorn, the development for these futures was grounded in the experience gained from Gen Y. And he also said it was a labor of love. Sounds a lot like the actors graduated along with their characters.

And I very much agree.

Now everyone moves onto new things. So I am excited now, more than sad. After all, I can always revisit the Gen Y universe whenever I miss it. And there is still a lot of post series touring to keep up with. And Dun/Bas are moving on to My Lucky Cat! Which I am literally dying for!

I will never not love Gen Y. But I think now I can move on without being sad if we never get a season 3.

I actually was hoping it wasn't a groundbreaking, revolutionary drama. I was hoping for simple. I fucking LOVE simple. From the trailer I kind of got the feeling I was in for a fairy tale style, silly thing where two dudes were in an arranged marriage they weren't maybe both happy about and they were on this journey to get to know each other.

But that's not what this feels like.

And I think for me at least, the content wasn't that "easy". Mileage varies, of course. But I think it's okay if some folks didn't care for how some themes were handled in the show. Most of the active debate hasn't risen up out of people sharing their displeasure with the content. Most of the debate comes from being being criticized for sharing that opinion on the boards here, and in some cases being told to go away.

I can't speak for everyone, but I have no problem with anyone loving the hell out of this. But I do reserve the right not to. And to share that point of view as well.

"--Some are also guilty of SA by their own "definition", if they ever kissed a child, or an adult with dementia or/and cognitive disability, since those individuals cannot consent.--"

I can't imagine how you came up with this nauseating comparison as your defense of the kiss in Lian's car. In fact, I'll just back right out of that creepy little room and not worry about how, and I'll just address it for the false equivalency it is. I will just assume you merely constructed it in order to try to "debunk" the idea that the kiss in the show needed to be consented to at all.

Other motivations will be rejected, I'm all outta brain bleach.

So, on that note, let me say that the premise you provided offered absolutely no independent grounds or evidence for your conclusion. The reason is, your conclusion depends on the fallacy that all kisses are the same, and we all know there are many kinds of kisses. It also depends on the fallacy that if one kind of kiss has to be consented to, based on its sexual nature, then all kisses have to be consented to on those exact same merits. It's not really only a logical fallacy. It's also a practical fallacy, because we all know the kiss in Lian's car was sexual and the way you (should) kiss your infant or diminished grandmother is not. So the levels and kinds of consent thresholds are very different.

Nice try though. Nauseating, but 10 for effort.

Since a LOT of people are having trouble with the idea of consent--which frankly horrifies me--I am linking to a really fun video that explains consent.

Now, some of you are doubtless going to say "Well THIS video talks about consenting to sex, consenting to kissing is different." No. Under the penal code in Thailand (and any sensible definition of the idea), any sexual contact requires consent. That means even a heated kiss. I repeat, it's a form of sexual contact and therefore requires consent. If you watched the kiss in Cutie Pie and could not tell why that was non-consensual, watch this video, please.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZwvrxVavnQ

If it's a sexual kiss, yes, it can be sexual abuse. Consent is pretty easy. If you have not had a point in which you've given consent when you were awake, then consent is NEVER to be presumed when you are not. And yes, consent is something that has to be granted every time. Just because someone has given consent in the past does not mean it's a blanket consent without expiry.

But see, the argument that "they were engaged so it was okay" doesn't hold water, either. Kuea was planning to call the engagement off. They were not some happy couple. They had not kissed in a sexual manner before. They were not established lovers where one of them rolled over and gave a peck to the other one.

Lian literally said "I do not love you." And Kuea had made it clear that he was planning to end their relationship. Lian wasn't entitled to that kiss. That kiss would not have flown when Kuea was awake.

Not that it would be okay, even if they were married. There are entire additions to penal codes in numerous countries, including most of the West and indeed Thailand, that makes non-consensual sexual contact with your spouse an act of assault as well. Relationship status does not affect consent. You do NOT engage in sexual behavior without acquiring consent. You ascertain willingness with a person who is physically and mentally fit to give consent whether you are engaging with them for the first time, or the 1000th.

Fans giving negative feedback does not equal censorship. That's one enormously false narrative. Nor does insisting that unethical behavior should be addressed for what it is within the context of the plot, rather than having it romanticized.

No one here is attacking sponsors. No one here is being a danger to future BL's. Or even this one.

All that is happening here on MDL in THIS comments section is that some people are posting their negative views on the show and others who disagree with that view point are trying to make them leave in order to prevent negative reviews or feedback from appearing here. And THAT's censorship.

I know. I about peed myself laughing over the big fissure across the base. That headstone will live in infamy. Especially since it's stupid easy to do one of those well. Some foam, some paper clay, some spray enameling that can be polished, some hand painting and then a sealant coat that can also be polished and I could make one that would look dead on a high-end polished marble headstone. And I do NOT work in TV props.

I get you. I would watch a burning hill of trash for the chance to watch Bas on screen. And I do love Dun/Bas. I was hoping for more from season 2, but due to my love for the couples I was able to love the show itself.

I completely agree.

Like you, I stand by everything I've posted about right and wrong and its application to Lian and Yi. Lian knew what he did was wrong. Lian decided Kuea was too drunk to make his own safe choices about whether he wanted to stay or leave the bar. If Lian thought Kuea was too drunk to make a choice about where he wanted to be, Lian certainly knew Kuea was too drunk to make a choice about who to accept a kiss from.

I don't have any reservations about calling bullshit on their behaviors in the show, but especially Lian's kiss in that car. Sure, people can argue it's a cultural thing. Except Thailand's laws reflect a cultural understanding that what happened in that car was wrong. Sure you can argue it's early days in the show and they will get better. But there isn't any rule about "You must see the greater whole before condemning singular actions". Regardless of whether Lian improves in the future, that doesn't make what he did in that car any less ethically and legally wrong.

The show writing needs to improve. You can't just throw a character out there who is doing all manner of asshattery and expect me to read a book in order to have context. I don't care what's in the book. I care that there are characters on screen in front of me engaging in toxic or morally questionable acts that are being romanticized. No remorse. No sign that anyone is learning from their mistakes. In fact, with ordering Kuea to move in with him, Lian's pretty much doubled down on the awful. At some point isolated mistakes become a pattern of bad behavior. If this isn't what the writers are intending to convey then they need to more carefully craft their narrative.

I did too. On both accounts. And the only cookbooks I have that aren't Asian are Levant because I love Middle Eastern food too. Food is the language of love and taking care of people!

Yes! I am so looking forward to watching this! I love cooking dramas. I have to admit.

I HAVE made better DIY gravestones for Halloween. Lots of times. I think that was what my S.O. and I found so funny. The Cursive writing was a wreck. There was no date of birth/death. You could see the Styrofoam texture under the paint in several places. I was laughing my ass off.

Then here's hoping they start explaining his motives. I can't review the episodes based on 2 books I've never read. I can only respond to what I see on the screen.

And I really love Zee as an actor. It would be nice if they start redeeming the character he plays.

This was a really finale, and a sad one at the same time. For a lot of reasons.

First let me say that the initial translation will get edited later. It's happened before, I fully expect it to happen again. Because the translations this episode were kind of shit from time to time. No, they did not use the verb or noun "date". They used the phrase
"Mī fæn læ̂w", which is to ask someone to be your sweetheart. And that was hardly the only translation prob I noticed. So... I expect over the next bit we'll see corrections made.

This episode was hard because I have loved the Gen Y universe since it first sprang up over a year ago and I was sad to see it end. I even loved season two, including its editing and pacing problems, and the musical director being something of a sadist. I have enjoyed the difficult storylines as much as the cute stuff, even when I was ranting about it. I have even enjoyed the moments where I could tell something of Padbok had been ripped from the plot or someone did something so weird I was scratching my head. When you really love something, you love its blemishes as much as its beautiful parts. You don't love it in spite of its faults, you love the faults along with the rest. And I honestly, deeply love this universe.

So I guess I'll jump right in.

Saendee this episode... Holy shit! I wanted to smack that child when he aggressively grabbed Tong's backpack like he had a right to. Like he'd taken time to apologize for the shit storm he caused. Like they were friends again?

I also did not appreciate that he waited this late to tell Pok the truth, which was that Tong switching his test scores didn't get him into college or even affect Saendee's grades in the least. The only reason for Saendee to keep that secret had been malicious intent to harm Pok's relationship with Tong. So when that intent dissolved, he should have come clean right away. Or really, any of the intervening times since. And when he failed to do so, if Phai was really that invested in Pok and Tong together, he should have spilled that tea a long time before. Doing so might have spared Tong and Pok a lot of pain.

On a relationship level, I was surprised Saendee and Phai didn't cement something. They seemed like they were going to at the cafe, and then they just...didn't. They still read as just close friends even at the end of the story where 3 years had passed! All the couples kissed cheeks toward the end. Phai and Saendee did not kiss cheeks, nor did we get a scene that indicated they were a couple. So I guess Phai and Saendee didn't get together after all. Which is sad in a way, but also okay. Not everyone has to have found love. Even though I feel love is sitting right there, waiting for them to pick it up.

Kit and Mark... Initially I felt Kit was too sticky sweet at times. Mark we expect it from. Kit... seemed like he got a little bit of a personality transplant last episode that carried over. But then I thought, maybe that's Kit in love. Maybe that's him relieved not to be going away. Maybe this is what Kit is like when he's not repressing his feelings? And if so, cool! He actually said the words to Mark's face! He said "I love you" to Mark. Pha would be so proud.

I really liked the scene back at the Chinese temple. Nice touch. All the red, the lanterns, the banners. It was almost wedding-like. It was gorgeous and very fitting. The offering at the wishing tree also very adorable. What a very Kit way to let Mark know he never wanted to go abroad to study in the first place. It was a very cute ending for them.

Pok and Tong got the conversation they needed. I just WISH they hadn't done it by the pool! What was that? I get they met at a pool, but they didn't go back to THAT one. That would have been kind of sweet. After all, it would have created symmetry, since Thanu and Wayu went back to the high school spot where they met, back in episode 12 of last season. But no, Pok set this up at the college's pool and THAT pool specifically has also been central to some of their worst moments. Not what I'd call a romantic setting.

But the conversation was productive. It wasn't in depth, but it hit the necessary highlights. I am disappointed that Tong never got to articulate anything. Pok's anger was addressed, but never Tong's hurt. Still, it was about what I was expecting and it was very sweet at the end. Pok really seems to have learned to be gentle with Tong.

Now...Padbok and Thanu. JayDeejay and I were howling "Kiss him!" at the screen from our respective places in the world. We have shared a love of Padbok/Thanu as a ghost ship and probably only we are entertained by the idea. But WTF, that's part of the fun.

The scenes with them were effective. Junior and Dun resonated well. The conclusion was a little spicy (that punch) and a lot sweet. I really adored Padbok's "You're the friend I loved best". And We finally got a hint of a reason for all toxic behavior. He loved Thanu so much that what he perceived as a betrayal and subsequent abandonment left him lashing out to hurt Thanu in return.

What we NEVER find out is what the actual, real reason for the rest of the fight was. Because all that anger couldn't have been over leaving Padbok in jail over night and then going away. And in season 1 Padbok tells Wayu more than once that there was something else, something worse that Thanu did. I am presuming this missing thread was abandoned as part of the plot that was thrown out when Junior left SH and his part in the season was pared down.

But it was still warm and sweet. The Engineers and their noble Doc did the 3 Musketeer's thing, featuring Thanu as D'Artagnan. Which I was hoping for. I've always loved the classical literature references surrounding Thanu.

It capped nicely with a group hug.

And then Thanu thanked Wayu for sticking his nose in stuff. But I was still a little sad because I got that tiny, sweet glimpse of the deeper Padbok storyline that never came to fruition. That's the last we see of Padbok. His character wasn't in the graduation scene.

Sigh.

But now onto the Wayu and Thanu. I loved that the location where Wayu finally talks to Thanu about the "Padbok problem" is the stream-side location from the Thanu/Phai vision. That was an interesting choice to me, really sending it home that Thanu's fate is woven into Wayu's, going forward.

And it wouldn't be Thanu/Wayu if there wasn't something cute in the final episode. I had to laugh when instead of swinging by the school infirmary real quick, they drive ALL the way out to Thanu's house for Wayu to treat Thanu's injury. It was a grandiose way to set up the very domestic scene where Wayu is being sensitive about the quality of his cooking. And oh awkward product placement, I dearly love you. You will be missed.

What I didn't love was Pha's headstone. Pfft! Haha! I fell out of that scene so hard I nearly was knocked out of my chair. I howled at JayDeeJay and then I called for my S.O. who came running in. My man and I stood around and made fun of the prop tombstone for a solid minute.

*Ahem*

And then I cried. That ugly cryptid of a frog prince figurine! *sob* Wayu finally released his past. He let go that last bit of Pha, sending him on with love. The Prince Wayu was never meant to be with. This scene broke me.

And I loved the whole moment where Thanu and Wayu return to the spot where Wayu hugged Thanu from behind. The place where their paths first reconnected. This was really kind of a beautiful moment. Thanu says it well. That from then onward, he couldn't get Wayu out of his thoughts. And now look at them!

Now, I've got to admit that "they got rained on and while drying off/warming up, things got sexy" is a favorite trope of mine. And they did okay with this. There were only two problems. It was so rushed AND the blinding spot light from Mark/Kit's intimate scene popped up again. I absolutely want to drop that thing into a wood chipper. As for the intimate scene, unfortunately the rush made Thanu look like he was ravenously eating Wayu as a late night snack instead of lovingly sharing Wayu's first sexual experience. Still, it wasn't bad. Just very abrupt for what I felt should have been a more drawn out and gradual scene.

I was hoping for a nice moment the next day with some Mark and Wayu time right before the end. But it jumped to 3 years later! I had some whiplash, folks. Seriously, the worst transition of the entire series. They jumped from Thanu/Wayu smashing it, to "3 years later". It couldn't have been more absurd had they used the Sponge Bob narrator with the fake French accent to give it voice.

The graduation was very bittersweet for me. It meant we're unlikely to get a season 3. So as fun and beautiful as it was as an endcap to the season, it was hard to watch. I wasn't ready to let my babies go. I wasn't prepared to say goodbye in a way that indicated it was forever. It's not often that I get really attached to a show. Almost never happens. The Gen Y universe is something special. But all good things come to an end. And everyone was lovely in that last scene. We saw a very different dynamic with Jack/Koh. Wayu was so open. Kit so happy. The doctor's graduated with the juniors. Thanu was stunning and Mark was very grown up. I was "mom proud".

And they're right. Life goes on. Love goes on. I will continue to follow the careers of these actors and love them in all their future endeavors. And Gen Y will always be very special to me.

Thank You and Good luck to the entire cast and crew. You have brought me so much joy. May you all have long and productive, successful careers for many years to come.