Etrnalhope

Yeah, I don’t get that criticism either. There already exists quite a few other works (movies, documentaries, etc) that are all about putting religion against queer people and ending in sadness and tragedy. That’s also already the common narrative, so people already expect it. TTH is telling the story that almost never gets told that risks audience and religious backlash. While I think it’s important to have both kinds of stories, if we’re talking about what’s “easy,” honestly, TTH feels like the braver and harder story to tell.

Here’s an article from Teen Vogue that is an interview with the director that explains some of the thinking. I thought it was interesting:
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/ticket-to-heaven-creator-paof-bl-drama-interview

The director, screenwriter and editor are all Catholic, so I think it’s to be expected the way the story unfolded. I personally like and prefer that it ended up that way, but I know some people were hoping for something different

Editing to add: I had assumed it was common knowledge, but it occurs to me that I should mention that the director is both gay and Catholic

Yeah, it’s confusing because Ep. 6 suggests that they did go back to St. Magdalene in a flashback hug with the priest, so they didn’t exactly “run away” per se. And probably they couldn’t have gone to college if they didn’t finish school (which they said they did in Ep. 6). I actually ended up going to the novel for answers. According to the novel, they decide to leave for two days before final exams so that they can figure things out for the future. Then they return to take final exams and decide not to continue on in seminary and instead work/go to college (as Barth describes in Ep. 6).

Yes, that’s my interpretation too

Oooh, that would be very interesting!

So, Thai speakers are saying that Tanrak is using gender neutral pronouns in the confession booth (I don’t speak Thai so I don’t know, but Google says third person pronouns are gender neutral by default). How much do we think Father Arnon actually knows? If it’s just the lamb drawing and what Tanrak is telling him, then it’s really not very much…if so, it might change the interpretation of the confessional conversation…

I think it’s very possible. In Catholicism, from what I’ve gathered from internet research, kissing is fine if it’s not accompanied by lust (sexual desire, carnal pleasure). If there is lust, then it is a sin. Kissing is considered a “near occasion of sin” that could lead to lust and sex, so is encouraged to be avoided, but is not in and of itself a sin. With Tanrak being very devout, I could see them stopping themselves to prevent the slippery slope to sin.

Yeahhh, I thought I might be, lol. Good thing we can have different opinions here!

Totally understandable. Not knowing where your boundaries are and also since the last two episodes have yet to air, it’s hard to offer a recommendation. However, I think it’s really excellent so far and I appreciate its handling of the topic so far. I personally think everyone should watch it, but it’s definitely not an “escapist” show. From the discourse I’ve been reading, I’ve seen many comments from people who are queer and brought up religious finding it healing, feeling seen, and resonating, but I’m sure there are differing views. That said, there are definitely tears — some happy, some sad, and some complicated. My recommendation if you decide you really want to watch it and are worried about having to process it alone is to find a BL reactor you like and watch along with them. After spending way too much time finding the right people for me, I’ve been rewatching each episode with BL Chef because they’re having the kinds of the conversations that can help me process TTH. Obviously, only watching with a reactor wouldn’t financially support the show, but I think it makes sense under these circumstances.
Here’s BL Chef’s TTH playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2fdp6zkpyqkrcS8eiyeoGbxbBBC_HYzl&si=mhBLCZA8lgccWh_l

Hope this helps!

Am I in the minority in that I’m actually really glad that TTH doesn’t seem to be taking the tone of the pilot trailer from 2 years ago? I didn’t see the pilot trailer when it released and only watched it after starting TTH. I kind of like that they didn’t set up the church/religion as entirely confrontational. It remains to be seen, Ep. 5 may prove me totally wrong, but I think the current setup creates space for a possible “both/and” ending (I mean, it’s still the Catholic Church, so obviously not 100% “both/and” unless we’re completely reimagining reality)— feels like it could be more healing for those who want religion/faith and also feel alienated by it at the same time

It’s also available on gagaoolala, depending on where you live

Yeah, ep. 9 didn’t feel as tight as the other episodes or maybe moved too quickly without hitting the right beats. There were a few things that felt a little rushed. Fujoshisan (below) is probably right about the friends thing, the show just didn’t remind us close enough to the assertion.

Oh okay, that makes sense

I don’t understand — why did Zen think that Ryo doesn’t need him/depend on him? Can someone explain?

Yes, actually! I watched a piece of one of their lives and iirc they said that Ep. 3 and 5 (or was it Ep. 1 and 5…?) were directed by the same director. I don’t have the bandwidth to dig through it, but I think it was in one of the videos in this playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCe-hLV-qTaLqJO9ZdSgSXJFi_l2s0Z4r&si=ubNSrtIlzgt6qd4C

wait, on MDL, if you list it as "currently watching," but don't rate it, does that factor in as a 0/10?

💯It definitely helped to be someone who can enjoy horror and psychological thrillers for this one. I loved that he could make us feel a little bad for him and horrified in the next moment. Made the character consistent. And interesting.

I saw somewhere that they said on a live that there are 9 episodes in the series and the 10th is a special. But I didn’t see the live myself

Love this analysis!