BradBluddy16

If you’re struggling with the focus on Catholicism, it may be less that you’re too woke, but asleep to the history of Protestantism or other reformative religions rooting the culture in which you grew up. A hack is to focus on the spirituality and not the religion itself. In the end it’s all about love; if a person is loving they are connected to their spirituality, no matter how they get there; and that is the message being conveyed here.

I might be too soon to say, but it feels like this show will be a generational touchstone.
I understand some people, especially ex-Catholics, having Last Twilight flashbacks; Tanrak and Barth aligning their love with their faith could feel like another unlikely and reductive retinal transplant.
But because P’Aof smartly grounded this show in his own experience, you can’t really make a case that the ending feels forced or unbelievable. It is an ending that was clearly hard fought for through his own personal odyssey.
And that personal touch is what elevates Ticket to Heaven from a beautifully written, directed, filmed, scored, edited and acted showpiece by a top-tier BL director, to a masterpiece people could be talking about for decades to come.

Only six cries, bruh? Easier for me to count the times my eyes weren’t full of water. Once. During P’Aof’s cameo. I was too busy admiring his strawberry blonde hair colouring, and having a hard time believing a bus station agent would have choosen that particular shade.

And I think the writers were using the riddle as a device for Barth to subtly, but powerfully, call out Tanrak on his sexuality. Barth, the lost one, was always being truthful about his interest in Tanrak, while Tanrak, the believer, was lying to himself about his attraction to Barth. What made that peeing scene so powerful, besides the ominous score and Barth’s knowing, almost demonic delivery of the riddle’s answer, was the inference that Tanrak’s body’s response gave him away, and that no amount of averting his gaze was going to quell the physical manifestation of his desire. The horse had left the barn, as it were.
The third part of the riddle, the lover(s) who always lie, may take on resonance as the story unfolds.

Be ready to cry a thousand, healing tears and to have your brain chemistry permanently altered.

Because Ticket to Heaven is serving Bad Buddy redux, in all the best ways, I wonder if we will get a similar twist for the ending. "You might think one man can't change the whole world. But I want you to know that this world can't change someone like me either." This would be very much in P’Aof’s conciliatory wheelhouse.

P’Aof is a master of misdirection; everything may not be as it seems.

Oh that damn“Heavenly” OST, making me tear up faster than thinking about my dead dog. What a masterful display of musical storytelling. Fourth delivers the first verse/chorus with an angelic voice, almost perfect but infused with longing for a world not yet known. Gemini brings his more dusky, worldly yet world-weary tenor to the second verse/chorus; a little more animated but still full of longing. The third chorus is absolutely transcendent. The harmonies hit hard, as Gemini weaves in and out of Fourth’s steady melody, adding dazzling colours and overtones; just as Barth transforms Tanrak’s world from black and white to radiant technicolor. Absolutely brilliant!

Joe’s deep sadness was palpable; that these boys have to give up a lifetime of romantic love just seems so inhumane. I know it breaks all the laws of BL shipping, but can Phak and Joe please end up together?

Thanks for sharing that reference. I wonder if “Love of Siam” will come up again. The timing of it’s release roughly lines up with Barth’s (and hopefully Tan’s) almost-20-years-back from present day break from the church; and P’Aof always mentions that that movie was seminal for him and Thai queer possibility.

P’Aof’s “catholic” heart has always been in the right place. He has stretched the BL genre to shine a compassionate light on the disabled (Heart in Moonlight Chicken; Day in Last Twilight) and the downtrodden (Jim, Li Ming, and Mhok in those same dramas). But after wildly miscalculating what a happy ending might look like for “those” people (the disappointing finale to the otherwise masterful, Last Twilight), he has retreated here to something more personal and close to home. Paradoxically, by turning his lens around to examine his own demons, he may be able to help and comfort a lot more people; the incalculable masses of us who have been downtrodden by our own religious upbringings, or the church inflamed homophobia in the cultures around us 🏳️‍🌈

Without openly convicting his chosen religion, P’Aof is telling us a compelling story from within, albeit from a careful, historical perspective, where we get to experience firsthand the devastating effects of institutionalized homophobia. The Last Twilight finale fiasco may have wounded the director enough to send him deeper into his faith, and compelled him to resolve for himself, and us, the contradictions and failings of the religious system buoying up that faith. We all get to be the beneficiaries of P’Aof’s fight with his inner demons, his personal Ticket To Heaven, as it were, and we have been gifted with a masterpiece.

is it too much to say that Fourth should be considered as the eighth wonder of the world?

Another insightful take from our poet laureate. I was excited to see how you would rise to the occasion, and you have done so with grace and aplomb. Bravo!

Another perspective is that New Siwaj rarely steps out of his successful Thai-style teen romcom formula (tropey and sound effect heavy; quickly shot and edited; favouring heart over technique) which tends to get the international snoots all upitty. When Oranges Fall feels a bit like a concession to western tastes; let’s hope it will still be a domestic hit. Style-wise it most resembles his under-appreciated gem, “My Only 12%”, (with Progress channeling Santa’s manic joy). But this time having the GMMTV machine behind it should give When Oranges Fall a wider audience.

P10L was great, too. If not for those pesky vampires taking him way outside his comfort zone, you could say that New is on an actual roll. Revamp reminded me of what happens when a pop star tries to make a “rock” album (Reputation, anyone?); the substance can get lost in the posing (Swifties please don’t come for me). When Oranges Fall is all sweet-spot Siwaj. 🍊

No mothers were harmed in the making of this series. Don’t miss out!

I do not understand how one idol can become my favourite actor, singer and dancer, all at the same time. True, Keen’s acting and singing had me from day one; from the way he animated the Moo character, from “Only Boo”, with such effortless charisma and surprising depth; and then there are playlist OST staples, “Louder” and “Only Boo” which have never really left my personal top ten. Keen’s dancing has been the last piece to click into place. The growth between the first, tentative Project Alpha, “Kon Mun Ruk” and the Thailand fan meeting version, has been astronomical. Between his fan-friendly crotch grabs and hip gyrations, and his stylish pirouettes, it’s clear that Keen has been busy absorbing Michael Jackson. Even in Clo’ver, between fan bias Barcode and his smouldering good looks, and Ashi’s precision dancing brilliance, it is hard to pull my eyes away from Keen. Something about his sunny demeanour, impish charm, and confident strut lock me in every time. I guess that is the very definition of a bias.

Full Disclosure:
I could watch Keen do almost anything; act, sing, dance, improv, even navigate through a scene with bird poop on his shirt. Also, I must disclose that I fell in love with director New, again, during the 2nd and 3rd acts of Perfect 10 Liners. He found his old groove, with a good script that let him set some top tier romances inside his sunny, collegiate-friends sweet spot. With those biases, it is no surprise that Head 2 Head has become my current favourite comfort show.
But objectively, I think there is something else going on here. With another compelling story, and the SeaKeen chemistry firing on all cylinders (with SurfJava rising to their level), New is able to, once again, set the romances in his sweet spot, while weaving in the supernatural tension he hasn’t really been able to access since Until We Meet Again. Despite some initial, unfounded gnashing of teeth in the fandom, I believe that New and his team have created another one for the ages. To echo J’s take on his limitations in expressing his love for Jinn, if there was a number rating higher than 10, I would give it to Head 2 Head.

You do you 😊. But I was truly curious what flaws you found or is your rating scale just inherently tougher.