I’m no film critic. But a film or series is the production team’s (esp director’s) interpretation of the story and how they want to tell it. It is their prerogative. If they had wanted an ending that is highly debatable and for viewers to be critical about it, they have certainly succeeded. But if they had wanted an ending that is clear, regardless of whether is it a sad or bittersweet (in this case presumably a Nut-Tarn ending), then the fact that there are so many who did not resonate with this easily, shows that perhaps something might have fallen short in terms of the storytelling and the editing. I recall the director had to come out to justify how come the story ended in that way which then appeased more people. (I rarely hear of a good film / series that the director had to do this.) Not sure pushing part of the blame to Netflix for insisting on reducing the number of episodes is a good reason though, coz in reality we always work with all kinds of constraints and still professionally make things work out as best as possible. (Maybe that is their best already.)
This series has many beautiful messages. But because of the ending, it remains prohibitive to review them again without feeling upset and rather irked with the ultimate end with what happened to Tofu. (We can all have different interpretations on this.) I guess we all want and can do with a little magic in our lives, and not be reminded of this rather ‘cruel’ reality.
5 days have passed and still am feeling very sentimental about this. Still cannot bring myself to re-watch the episodes without feeling upset at the end. Missing Tofu and all the goodness he has brought viewers. Hopefully one day I can re-watch the series again more calmly coz there are really very beautiful messages inside there.
I see people interpreting the ending based on the book. Mostly what they heard from others and hardly anyone who…
It is a little stretched from the storytelling in the series alone to feel that Tarn must get back with Nut. One must really believe in the "first love is the best possible love and nothing else is better" notion to buy that. After all, the series did spend most of the first 15 episodes REINFORCING the romantic love between Tofu and Nut. You don't even see Tarn trying to get back with Nut in the 10 years (a long time by any measure) they were apart other than that 1 visit which he didn't get to meet him.
Most Thai watchers have already read the novel, we know how it's gonna end so mostly we focus on actors and other…
I must thank you for your reply and also your detailed explanation earlier on what the production team had to omit (which was quite a lot that will actually help better explain the entire situation in the last episode). Much appreciated! Good to have a Thai friend. Lol!
I can understand why the need for such an ending from a logical and rationale POV. But I will still find it hard to say that it will make the ending any more enjoyably memorable (for me). The entire series built-up on the story on what to expect, the entire marketing strategy, all suggests pretty strongly otherwise. I don't mind twists, sad endings, bittersweet endings, as long as the built-up makes sense based on the storytelling of the series. This one just comes crashing on you in the last episode after most of the 'perfection' earlier. =X. The worse part is, as many have pointed out, to expect Tofu as a bear who have experienced such great love with Nut (and can get jealous), to physically see him with another lover for the rest of his 'life'. That's physically painful in reality (if we want to talk about reality) as I can really no longer think of Tofu purely as a bear at the end. It ends up being bittersweet, more bitter than sweet, and have an awful lingering after-taste. (And I am one who likes bitter-gourd.)
Nevertheless, still a great production on the whole. Just the ending...
I read this somewhere, which I thought had some truth… the reason why people feel sad for Tofu is because the series is done in such a ways that we
“watch Tofu grow up, fall in love, have his own emotions, like jealously and fear. We can’t just consider him as toy. That’s why we cannot accept his disappear.” “Tofu was sad that Nut might love someone else. In the end, he can only consciously watch Nut fall in love with other person, which is too cruel to him.”
Watching Tofu grow is like watching your child grow up. You see your child go thru all the pains, only to be finally still not able to fulfill his dreams, but have to settle for something less…, it hurts as a “parent”. It’s like you got a final good kick in your stomach in the end in the name of reality.
I don’t think anyone will object to Tarn given a second chance. But so does Tofu as a person. Nut on the other…
Hey guys, chill yar. We are entitled to different opinions. Different people can have different takeaways because of what we have personally experienced too. Let’s respect that.
This is an emotional issue. We cannot deprive any party of their emotions. We can only try to figure out how to make it better over time. Being too rational about it does not necessarily work.
Just posting some thoughts I have upon looking through the story again (posted earlier below, with additions for…
I don’t think anyone will object to Tarn given a second chance. But so does Tofu as a person. Nut on the other hand maybe need to be given a chance to choose at the end.
I don't know why I thought it was safe to come here and see what people thought about the ending and not get spoiled…
Keep watching. As you develop more feelings for Tofu and what he had to go through, you will understand why many felt unjust that we should just expect him to become a bear again. He is, I would say, more good a human being, than any human can be.
Day 2 after Ep16. While the hurt is not constantly weighing on the mind anymore, it is still easily triggered by related feeds, tags, tweets, etc. There is no running away how much Tofu's character and his demise as a human (justified or not) has cut me quite deeply. It has been a long time since a drama series has affected me this much. I'm still afraid to re-watch the entire Ep16 for fear it will stir up all the sad emotions again as it replays in the mind. In fact, I realise reviewing any of the sweetness in the earlier episodes while recalling the ending does much the same thing. Doesn't help that I really don't like "unkept" promises - there are so many of them in this series. Returning Tofu as a bear after 15 episodes of humanising him doesn't quite gel with me. I do understand all the logic and rationale for it, but because it is still a fantasy, we can always hope for something better, more positive, more hope! (And I think this is also what society needs right now amidst so many growing uncertainties in the world around us.)
But, I know it's time to move on. (Unfortunately, realities of life like earning my keep awaits.)
PS: Make no mistake, this is a great production! I just wished Tofu himself had a miracle that would allow him to have a little more than what he claimed he is satisfied and happy with beyond just being a teddy bear again. But alas, we had to be contented with the reality of how the drama series had turned out.
After close to a day since Ep16, I’m still feeling hurt by the ending. Guess really too invested in Tofu over the past few weeks, led on by the entire presented storyline up to Ep15. It will, as some pointed out earlier, get better over time.
It’s time to heal. Whichever camp you are on, let’s help each other heal! There’s little point in dwelling on what we probably cannot change. I think there is one common point: we all ❤️ Tofu! Let’s keep the best of this character in our hearts.
PS: To any scriptwriters out there, maybe do consider the potential psychological impact when writing a story in such a way. :/
The acting, production, issues discussed in the entire drama was great! The ending though left me with a huge BITTERsweet taste which will take me a long while to get over. It actually hurts! (In times where the world is still recovering from the uncertainties of Covid, and in face of the on-going war, I guess we could all do with a little more happiness injected into our lives, esp. from a TV show ;p.)
Even if Tofu himself says that he is happy with where he is, as viewers who watch his story goes by, many would somehow feel he deserves better for all that he had done. This I believe shows that we all have some goodness in us in how we should treat good people like Tofu. There might just very well be some "Tofus" among the people we know. Remember to treasure them, appreciate them and treat them well while they are still around.
I watched it again. I feel calmer about it, but there are some things I still didn’t like. - Na’s lines to…
“… I am mad that we have spent the whole series building up the Nut and Tofu relationship for Tofu to ‘die’ in the final episode and for Nut to already being with Tarn and agreeing to marry him.”
Esp since they also “made him Nut’s boyfriend that he hugged, kissed, loved, and had sex with.”
This is the part that makes it emotionally tough for viewers. We know Tofu will do all that willingly for Nut’s happiness. But I’m also sure humanity is kind enough to be able to understand such people, if they exists, deserves better.
The entire show, the themes, the acting are all great! But the ending has really left me with a heavy BITTERsweet feeling, and because I’m quite invested in Tofu as a person, more bitter than sweet. I wasn’t able to enjoy most of the last episode. Even Tofu as a bear, which was supposed to be cute, felt depressing. The parts where Tofu expressed he was happy where he is is the end, left me feeling even more hurt. 🥹
On top of that, so many promises were made, and so many could not be kept (other than Tofu still being ard to keep Nut company as an inanimate toy.).
I’ve seen other shows with a bittersweet or even sad endings, but none quite as emotionally unsettling as this. It will be a while before I can get over this.
1) Imagine Nut learns that Tofu will be gone after all that has happened. Will he be really happy losing him, with or without going back to Tarn? If he does end up knowing Tofu is his teddy bear and finds him sitting in his room, how will he feel?
2) imagine Tofu does become a teddy bear sitting in Nut’s room and remains conscious? Isn’t that rather cruel for Tofu? He has to see the person he loves so dearly and so much more deeply and affectionately before either sad or loving someone else in his presence.
This series has many beautiful messages. But because of the ending, it remains prohibitive to review them again without feeling upset and rather irked with the ultimate end with what happened to Tofu. (We can all have different interpretations on this.) I guess we all want and can do with a little magic in our lives, and not be reminded of this rather ‘cruel’ reality.
I can understand why the need for such an ending from a logical and rationale POV. But I will still find it hard to say that it will make the ending any more enjoyably memorable (for me). The entire series built-up on the story on what to expect, the entire marketing strategy, all suggests pretty strongly otherwise. I don't mind twists, sad endings, bittersweet endings, as long as the built-up makes sense based on the storytelling of the series. This one just comes crashing on you in the last episode after most of the 'perfection' earlier. =X. The worse part is, as many have pointed out, to expect Tofu as a bear who have experienced such great love with Nut (and can get jealous), to physically see him with another lover for the rest of his 'life'. That's physically painful in reality (if we want to talk about reality) as I can really no longer think of Tofu purely as a bear at the end. It ends up being bittersweet, more bitter than sweet, and have an awful lingering after-taste. (And I am one who likes bitter-gourd.)
Nevertheless, still a great production on the whole. Just the ending...
“watch Tofu grow up, fall in love, have his own emotions, like jealously and fear. We can’t just consider him as toy. That’s why we cannot accept his disappear.” “Tofu was sad that Nut might love someone else. In the end, he can only consciously watch Nut fall in love with other person, which is too cruel to him.”
Watching Tofu grow is like watching your child grow up. You see your child go thru all the pains, only to be finally still not able to fulfill his dreams, but have to settle for something less…, it hurts as a “parent”. It’s like you got a final good kick in your stomach in the end in the name of reality.
This is an emotional issue. We cannot deprive any party of their emotions. We can only try to figure out how to make it better over time. Being too rational about it does not necessarily work.
But, I know it's time to move on. (Unfortunately, realities of life like earning my keep awaits.)
PS: Make no mistake, this is a great production! I just wished Tofu himself had a miracle that would allow him to have a little more than what he claimed he is satisfied and happy with beyond just being a teddy bear again. But alas, we had to be contented with the reality of how the drama series had turned out.
It’s time to heal. Whichever camp you are on, let’s help each other heal! There’s little point in dwelling on what we probably cannot change. I think there is one common point: we all ❤️ Tofu! Let’s keep the best of this character in our hearts.
PS: To any scriptwriters out there, maybe do consider the potential psychological impact when writing a story in such a way. :/
Even if Tofu himself says that he is happy with where he is, as viewers who watch his story goes by, many would somehow feel he deserves better for all that he had done. This I believe shows that we all have some goodness in us in how we should treat good people like Tofu. There might just very well be some "Tofus" among the people we know. Remember to treasure them, appreciate them and treat them well while they are still around.
Esp since they also “made him Nut’s boyfriend that he hugged, kissed, loved, and had sex with.”
This is the part that makes it emotionally tough for viewers. We know Tofu will do all that willingly for Nut’s happiness. But I’m also sure humanity is kind enough to be able to understand such people, if they exists, deserves better.
The entire show, the themes, the acting are all great! But the ending has really left me with a heavy BITTERsweet feeling, and because I’m quite invested in Tofu as a person, more bitter than sweet. I wasn’t able to enjoy most of the last episode. Even Tofu as a bear, which was supposed to be cute, felt depressing. The parts where Tofu expressed he was happy where he is is the end, left me feeling even more hurt. 🥹
On top of that, so many promises were made, and so many could not be kept (other than Tofu still being ard to keep Nut company as an inanimate toy.).
I’ve seen other shows with a bittersweet or even sad endings, but none quite as emotionally unsettling as this. It will be a while before I can get over this.
2) imagine Tofu does become a teddy bear sitting in Nut’s room and remains conscious? Isn’t that rather cruel for Tofu? He has to see the person he loves so dearly and so much more deeply and affectionately before either sad or loving someone else in his presence.