BenedictTan

In the memory and honour of Tofu, who we will always remember at his best! 🧸🫂
(Beloved by Nut, respected by all his friends, and remembered by all of us!)

Agreed! Sad ending does not equate cancelling out the excellent work the series had done in addressing and bringing out the many family and societal issues mentioned and highlighted in TMOTB.

Most importantly, for the Thai viewers, the main target audience of this series, it served as important tool for reflection of their society and family, and also how LGBT love should be more accepted by the community.

(Especially when there were backlash against having this series airing during primetime slot, highlighting the still rampant homophobic attitudes in the country, despite its outward acceptance. Nut's dad, Sib, and the teacher, Pritr, before she turned over a new leaf, are personifications of that homophobia.)

You can try Heartstopper if you haven't watched it yet. Star in My Mind is relatively light too.

I do agree that the team could have promoted the series more as 'Inn-Jobb-Judo' rather than just 'Inn-Jobb'.

We may never know why they decided to promote it more as 'Inn-Jobb', but my guess is that, Inn Sarin is much more popular than the other two actors, and based on the post another one mentioned earlier how Inn Sarin had been the target of speculations and attacks by bulletins/tabloids in the past, so part of the reason for this promotion may be because they see much more potential to get the series to be more popular if the series is promoted as Inn-Jobb with the most screen time, as compared to Jobb-Judo or Inn-Jobb-Judo.

(That said, Judo as Tarn did have quite a lot of screen time too. Through flashbacks obviously, but screen time nonetheless)

Just my thoughts!

Hi all, I just want to post my POV on this looking back into the story of Tarn and Nut, and Nut and Tofu, since I saw how some mentioned that the series didn't really show Tarn's love.

(I am just sharing this perspective ok? Feel free to disagree with what I write.)

There may be a strong parallel between Nut and Tarn, and Nut and Tofu's stories. I am not referring to how their relationship 'ended', but as we can see, while Nut and Tarn's relationship was his 'heaven' amidst the hellish conditions of his house (his dad's objection to him being gay, and him being forced to enter a military academy), it was temporary and does not last.

Tarn protected Nut from being bullied (the toilet scene), and kept on pursuing him (as shown in the middle episodes), right up to the Valentine's Day scene when he gave a flower to Nut, all these when Nut obviously still liked Neung and did not want to pay attention to Tarn's love for him. Tarn did not give up, keep taking care of Nut (when Neung wasn't showing interest in him at all), and eventually that caused Nut to open himself up to Tarn.

That teddy bear too was ultimately his gift to Nut to keep him company when he was gone, as they could not be together anymore, and had to go their separate ways. But Tarn never forgot his love for Nut, and kept on loving him even from the distance (the Once Upon A Time novel he wrote among others)

(The above are just some of the proofs that Tarn loves Nut, and Nut also loves Tarn. They were separated back then, but their love still existed, just the way Nut's love for Tofu, and vice versa endured after Tofu's passing)

And one important fact that we may have missed out is that, don't forget, that the teddy bear gained consciousness first and foremost because of Nut's love for Tarn, and vice versa (I am basing this based only on what was shown in the series. I came to know the real reason for Tofu looking like Neung, but I didn't base this write-up on that at all.)

In a similar way therefore, Tofu when he came alive, he was just like Tarn, with the same instincts to care for Nut and his mom repeatedly, even when Nut was thoroughly hostile against him, being angry and suspicious at him, Tofu never gave up and kept on pursuing him, the way Tarn used to keep chasing after Nut. Is that a parallel? For me, yes, it is.

(But just as Tarn and Nut could not be together earlier on, and that momentary 'heaven' had to end, hence, Tofu and Nut was also not destined to be together. While it was not mentioned explicitly in the series, but he himself was aware that his existence was a miracle that was not meant to last. The miracle of teddy bear linking the three characters together was truly meant to bring Nut and Tarn back together.)

It was also (implied in the series) due to Tarn being in coma, Tofu came to life, and which is why, his life and Tarn's life are intertwined (again, this one ignores any links outside the series). Hence, that is why, when Tofu's life and existence ended, Tarn returned back to consciousness. And the teddy bear? Just as mentioned above, based on parallel to Tarn giving the teddy bear to Nut, to be his source of comfort remembering his past love in Tarn, the same happened to Tofu as well.

(We are seeing things from Tofu's POV. If we see things from Nut's POV, it is a clear parallel, but with some tweaks in that, he is quite aware that the teddy bear is Tofu)

Anyway, I just want to end by saying that, the series did make it clear of how much Tarn loved Nut and vice versa, and Tofu himself came to be aware of that as he collected pieces by pieces the evidence of this throughout the episodes (especially episode 5 to 13).

We have seen in quite a few occasions how Tofu was 'reliving' the moments of Na's and Nut's past, and those flashback scenes of Nut and Tarn's story, were Tofu seeing and discovering the love they (Nut and Tarn) had. And through Prib, Tofu came to realise that Tarn (despite him being in coma) still loved Nut after all those years, as Prib recalled her own interactions with Tarn.

I can't spoil what the writer intended for Tofu's character, but he is indeed a miracle, an existence beyond human realm, that transcends time and meant to bring the wishes of those who loved each other to fruition (which is why Tarn, who bought that teddy bear for Nut, wishing his happiness and love, eventually got that wish fulfilled in the end). Tofu made it all happen. Unfortunately, this can't be shown properly in the series, but I feel that the series did somewhat portray this, though flawed in its implementation as we all saw.

Thank you!

State of Bad Buddy Report - 105 days after Finale
(YouTube total of all four parts per episode - rounded to closest thousand)

EP 1 - 17,948,000
EP 2 - 13,699,000
EP 3 - 13,423,000
EP 4 - 13,344,000
EP 5 - 16,587,000
EP 6 - 13,697,000
EP 7 - 15,073,000
EP 8 - 13,145,000
EP 9 - 19,037,000
EP 10 - 12,501,000
EP 11 - 12,892,000
EP 12 - 11,348,000

Total - 172,694,000
Average per episode: 14,391,000

Gain in the past 7 days: ~2,760,000

—————————————————————

Bonus:

OhmNanon UpVel EP 1 - 480,000
OhmNanon UpVel EP 2 - 366,000
OhmNanon UpVel EP 3 - 291,000
OhmNanon UpVel EP 4 - coming on 9 May 2022

Total - 1,137,000


(As of Friday, 6 May 2022 at 11.45 pm Singapore time/UTC+8h)

Did everyone notice that we finally cross 54k comments? ):)

Stats update coming in just over an hour as usual!
❤️💚

Netflix was the one who told them to cut the episodes from 18 to 16.

If that is the case, I seriously don’t think they are ever going to release it there. Unless, maybe there is such an overwhelmingly strong demand from audience (e-mailing or contacting them) for example.

But still unlikely that they’ll show it in Netflix.

That is if they don't get any opposition from Netflix who told them to cut the parts in the first place. Based on what was shared here and elsewhere, the production team were using their own funds to support the showing of the remaining scenes (that are condensed from 3 hours to 1.5 hours).

Whether they can show it or not after the fanmeet, it depends. I do hope to see the extended version though (and I don't think it will be shown in Netflix, and on YouTube, depends, as if Netflix opposes it, it may be difficult to do so).

Hopefully it will be released or made available somehow.

Yes, you are correct! Except for that one person spewing nonsense during the earliest episodes, Bad Buddy MDL page can be said as one of if not the safest, healthiest and happiest corner in MDL (and it is still so today).

Not only that, but we made a lot of friends there, during and even long after Bad Buddy was done airing.

Happy Bad Buddy Friday again everyone! 105 days without Bad Buddy and counting! Means it's been 3.5 months since the finale.

Still waiting for news of hopefully any continuation to Pat and Pran story (if GMM is so generous as to make one), and for Bad Buddy to pass 200 million views in YouTube (should happen later maybe around August or so)

Possible. Anyway, there is possibility that they may release it in YouTube with English subtitle. If this comes true, I (or anyone else) can share it here.

Some favourite and great quotes from The Miracle of Teddy Bear (there are many others):

'Adults aren't joining their kids in school. They don't experience what the kids have. Even if they fail, they'll get to learn and grow.'
(Nut to Pritr, the teacher and Na's friend)

'People who are together do not love each other, but people who love each other aren’t together.'
(Tofu referencing Jan-Saen-Na relationship)

'You don't need to be like anyone, just be yourself. You are second to none.'
(Kanya, Gen's mom to Song, talking about how he often compared himself to his brother, Neung)

Hotspot Shield Premium should work, but for me I didn't have to use it since it's available in Singapore without VPN.

https://twitter.com/paajaew/status/1522024699655766016

Bangkok Post featured The Miracle of Teddy Bear and I Told Sunset About You in an article written by a professor emeritus from the Faculty of Law of Chulalongkorn University after the finale (dated 4 May 2022)

Regarding The Miracle of Teddy Bear, this is what was written in the article:
(There are a lot of life lessons highlighted throughout the series, with great quotes spoken by various characters)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'The current hit series The Miracle of Teddy Bear tells a story of gay love (with a teddy bear transformed into a human person to help a troubled youth), but much more than that.'

'It is about learning to respect individuals, irrespective of what they are, and to address the challenges faced by families when there are gaps in understanding gender diversity. It also has a message for democracy!'

'The channel airing this series should be commended for showing this series during weekend prime time so that the general public can share and learn about empathy for each other and treat all persons without discrimination.'

You mentioned correctly about that comment regarding the story was from Tarn's perspective. But the same commenter also mentioned that the novels containing more of Tarn's perspective and the reasons for Tofu being the teddy bear and more can't be adapted into the series, and the series writer had then to rewrite a lot of things from Tofu's perspective. At least that's what I read.

Unfortunately, at the same time, the ending can't be changed either because of the contract they had with this novel. Not that I want to pity the screenwriters, but if I am in their shoes, I will be caught in a bind too. Not being able to change the ending and yet they had to change the POV of the storytelling must have been difficult for them too.

Regarding what is in the contract or deal, none of us will probably know unless those who know more about it share more information with us.

Unfortunately, based on what I know (but can be wrong), that is exactly what the deal was like. Each deal can be different, and most of us won't be privy to the contents of the deal. And as per what we know of Netflix, we know that they do ruin endings quite a few times because of that. Why did they then tie up with Netflix and all? I don't think we'll ever know unless we are the insiders (unfortunately).

Someone here shared before that one time the producer had to make a public apology just because they purposely diverged from the original content (copyright issues and legal battles and charges can be very complicated and damaging to a company's reputation, as we all know it).

And in some cases, it was shared here earlier by someone on this page also, that apparently, some of those other BL series were based on fanfiction of the original novel, and not on the novel itself (and the producers just realised it later on, hence they could be much more flexible with their direction of the story). How true this is? I am not sure, but that is what I heard, so I share it with you too.

If I have my way, I would have wanted them to change their deal, either that or not able to make changes to the story then no deal at all.

Regrettable? Obviously yes. But well, what's done has been done.

You should consider placing this as one of the main comments above. Just to help explain to all of us the interfans on why the series take this path.

Just my thought. It is at least better that everyone are aware of this rather than all of us still grabbing at straws why the writers write in that particular way without knowing this.

Thank you!

You're not the only one. We all miss them (:(

I am doing good! Happy to see you again here. Missing you and all the others ):)

Rather tired trying to explain some reason to the people on The Miracle of Teddy Bear page at the moment.

That series ending has been negatively seen by quite a few of the watchers there, and it's understandable, but I feel that the opposition against the series just because the way it ends is unjust.

That is exactly the problem of adapting a novel to make it into a drama series on screen. As we all know, the impact of seeing our characters just in words as contrasted with the big screen (with the actors and actresses and all) can be very different.

The writer is of course entitled to end the novel that way, but unfortunately, bringing it up to the big screen can amplify the sadness we have on losing Tofu a lot more. For those of us who have not read the novel (which is virtually almost all the international watchers), we wouldn't have known the way the story concludes. That includes myself.

We tend to be much more emotionally attached to a character that we have seen in person (portrayed by the actors and actresses) rather than just being written in the book (but again, this does not mean we can't be emotionally attached to characters in books). And that is the main reason for the great dissatisfaction and angst that many of us may have against the way the story ends in the series, without us knowing how it ends in the book.

(The story ended mostly in accordance with the novel, with some modifications as highlighted by some of those who have read the novel. The production team can't change the main flow of the novel due to the restrictions with the rights they have to the novel. In fact, the story was told within several interconnected novels, and we won't get the whole story and understand the writer's ideas unless we read all the books.)

Should the producer then not produce this series at all and just leave it as a book/novel? Arguably? But there may be those also who have read the novel and really want to see it adapted on screen. We can't really know which is the right thing to do.

(Unfortunately, as we see, this series is mainly and mostly targeted and marketed to the Thai audience (many of whom had read the novel, and the other related novels) vs the international watchers unlike most other BL/LGBT series, as is evident from the lakorn style, plenty of unique social commentaries pertaining to Thailand and its society, and the very limited release internationally - only a few countries in Asia can actually watch it in Netflix with English sub, plus you need Netflix subscription for that too. This is only counting the official and legitimate places you can watch TMOTB.)

Is our unhappiness at the way the story end justified? Yes, you can say so.

But, looking at the bigger picture, as I mentioned, I hope what I highlighted above explained part of the reason, and I hope that we won't forget/overlook the very important messages that this series had brought us, regardless the way it ends.