axelcarlisle

The production is Thai. Both Junsu and Jawoon are Korean artists who signed up with a Thai agency in Thailand.

And the there’s Phee himself.

Of course his name พี (Phī) is still distinct from the Thai word for ghost ผี (P̄hī).

Still, to a non-Thai (who might not be able to distinguish tonal and pronunciation differences easily), the said word for “ghost” would almost sound like Phee’s name.

So you may be onto something here. That ultimately, this is a foreshadowing of their final fate to never leave the mansion and be trapped there, possibly to haunt it.

Note: It’s also interesting his name is also similar to the word พี่ (older sibling), except the latter is with a falling tone. Perhaps a foreshadowing as well that it’s Non’s older brother who is behind the revenge?

I feel now that the writers had a conscious choice to give พี this name. That it was meant to be a foreshadowing of things to come.

Jack Kittisak (Arty) is IMO indeed definitely better looking than Jjay. Just preference.

Though of course in real life, Jack is 12 years older than Fuaiz. But the characters aren’t that far off.

Everyone is dead, dying, or trapped in hallucinations.

It wasn’t just the sound of smoke blowing, though. There was also a clear sound of lighter clicking.

But I agree that there was a huge amount of hallucinogens released throughout the house, and I doubt there was enough antidote to fix it at that point.

And also, chances are New misled Phee into thinking which sticks were antidotes because New had a suspicion Phee might turn on him. So quite possibly, Phee might have smoked even more hallucinogens (and gave some to Jin) that he thought were antidotes.

That’s not a theory. That is exactly what happened in the ending. They never left the house.

Yes, they are still in the house.

I’m not sure you understand what happened.

Jin himself in the last scene is NOT real. He is also just a hallucination of Phee.

Jin is still back at the house (along with Phee) in the present time. There is no actual “two years later”

Jin is either dead, dying, or is also trapped in his own hallucinations. The Jin you see at the end with “hands healed” is only a hallucination in Phee’s head.

Everything in the final “two years later” scene is just Phee’s hallucination. Jin is not there in “the future” with Phee.

Yes, in the end it became clear this was never a PheeJin or PheeNon story. At the core, after everything is stripped to the basics, this was a Non/New brothers story.

It was pretty clear in the end that Phee, Jin, and Tee also all got the punishment they deserved - Phee and Jin either dead, dying, or trapped in their hallucinations, and Tee either dead, dying, or if alive, then having to live with pain and suffering of having killed White.

So I’m unsure how you are reading that these three got a pass.

Not to mention, it’s implied that there is a possibility that New is still alive (someone is heard clicking a lighter and blowing smoke in the end).

Yes, this is a very good observation in hindsight.

Copper is leaving for England at the end of the year IIRC

But he and Ta had a mini-teaser (I think in an IG story) recently. So it’s likely that this project may already have been done and just pending release, or it’s possibly a short one that can be done before he leaves.

And also, BL fans (and I say this as a BL follower) who came here thinking that someone like Sammon would help write a “typical” lovey-dovey BL story clearly does not know Sammon’s style.

She wrote Manner of Death. Both the novel and the series adaptation were pretty complex social commentaries full of gray characters. It had human trafficking, underage prostitution, siblings killing each other, corrupt policemen, vile government officials, and a main lead who - while a teacher - had questionable connections and activities.

She also wrote Triage, where behind the time loop conceit are also complex issues and themes. It had sinister black markets around organ trading, for example - something she clearly infused into DFF.

But here Sammon is, going in to help write a story called “Dead Friends Forever,” and it’s funny how folks were expecting lovey-dovey BL tropes and happy endings.

(And Chookiat the director is just as prolific. While he did “Love of Siam” and “Grean Fictions,” he also directed “Manner of Death.” In fact, quite a few visuals of DFF are reminiscent of MoD.)

On a different note, after rewatching the final episode, especially the final sequence, I am now thinking that New might not be dead after all.

One will clearly hear the click of a lighter and then someone blowing smoke after Phee deduces he is still hallucinating.

There are only two characters who know and use the hallucinogen sticks: Phee and New. And since it was Phee hallucinating in the end, then logically speaking the one in the backround lighting the cigarette and blowing smoke if New.

Now on one hand, I do think the idea of New finally dying after hallucinating about Non thanking him is an appropriate closure for the character’s arc. His guilt about not being there for Non combined with the loss of his entire family along with some clear mental health issues drove him to go on a killing spree - and for that family member to come in his dying moments to give him a semblance of peace was rounding off the trajectory of his arc nicely.

But given that twist ending, it seems that New may still be alive.

The question then is:

At what point did Phee start hallucinating again?

1. Was it after he shot New and pulled Tee away from White? Did him blowing “antidote” smoke into Tee’s face cause hallucinations again (or perhaps a delated effect of the “antidote” stick he took after blowing smoke into New’s face? Perhaps it wasn’t the antidote - New likely misled Phee either way regarding which sticks were antidote and which were not.

2. Was it while he brought Jin out but before he went back in to get Tee? Perhaps he and Jin are outside the house hallucinating (and Jin possibly dying). And the “antidote” that Phee took right after blowing smoke in New’s face could also have been the wrong stick.

3. Or did Phee even “escape” the initial hallucination? Perhaps he never left the hallucination where Non killed himself in the bathtub? And everything else after that was just Phee hallucinating?

I personally don’t like #3 because it invalidates everything that happened to Tee and New afterwards in terms of closure of their character arcs. Plus, it’s unlikely that Phee would be hallucinating about New hallucinating about Non. To an extent, this also applies to #2.

So I am guessing #1 is when it happened.

And that, while New did hallucinate after being shot, it’s possible he still survived long enough to light up a new stick as was heard in the end.

I think one of the reasons why this series has had very… noisy viewers is because those viewers failed to understand what they were getting into: they think this was a BL and went into it with that lens/context and think in terms of “shipping.”

However, it was very clear from the onset that this was NOT a BL. It’s a thriller/revenge mystery story with horror elements that just happened to have gay characters.

Although this was presented as the “prize” for Ta and Copper winning THC, it becomes increasingly clear as the series progresses that this is not really a PheeJin story.

(Also, for all we know, since Ta and Copper recently released a teaser of their next project together, THAT might actually be their “true” prize.)

It becomes clear that (the moment you strip everything down to the basic core of the plot), that this is a Non/New story overlaid with a “group of friends” story.

The fact that we get an almost full episode that fleshes out and gives depth to Tee’s character but we never really see a similar approach to fleshing out Jin’s background, character, and motivations - this implies that this is not really mainly a PheeJin story.

Also, a typical BL would have had the series poster focusing on a main BL couple, with supporting characters in the background as optional.

The poster of DFF has all 9 key characters in equal “exposure.” Their “school ID” pictures - some torn and some splashed with blood - are laid out equally in mysterious fashion, typical of an ensemble horror/thriller production indicating a mystery whodunnit tripe. Not one character had a bigger picture than the others.

The only subtle visual indication of anyone “different” in that poster is that Non’s ID is smack at the center - implying that the story actualy revolves around that character.

Which, if one watches the first episode after seeing that poster, strengthens the mystery of “who is this boy in the middle of the poster but is not part of the group of 8 that makes the trip to the mansion.”

Even the trailers and teasers focused mainly on the promises of mystery, thriller, and horror (supernatural horror being a red herring).

—-

Any random viewer who does not know the background of BOC or The Hidden Character or who any of these actors are or has no BL exposure - if they just happen to have iQiyi and decided to click on this series one day, they would come in never thinking of BL themes or tropes.

Nothing in the marketing of this series really indicated this was in any way a BL series. Some people only assumed this because of the gay characters, and focus was on Ta and Copper (and Jjay and Fuaiz) because it came on the heels of The Hidden Character and because it involved director Chookiat and writer Sammon.

This was never a BL.

And this is why the ending is the way it is. It’s not a BL ending. It’s the ending of a mystery/thriller/horror story.

Not directly a trigger warning, but iQiyi’s version does say “Uncovered Version.” If I’m not mistaken, from what I read, the broadcast version had stuff covered/blurred/censored. So there’s that at least.

There is actually a strong moral message here. Not sure why anyone would think why there wasn’t any.

It’s a cautionary tale about how bullying has consequences and how revenge is not the right answer, especially if it causes collateral damage on innocent people.

White’s fears were a manifestation of his insecurities regarding his relationship with Tee. It had nothing to do with STD.

2 years didn’t pass by. It was just Phee’s hallucination.

Yes. It was a hallucination showing their worst fears. And I believe White’s fear is rooted in his insecurities.

In hindsight, this was hinted at in an earlier episode where he hallucinated getting rashes. I believe now that was a reflection/manifestation of his insecurities.