MAI

My comment is not related to American dating culture nor do I think it's relevant to compare Sean and Black's relationship to a one night stand. Black and Sean are clearly not having a one-time fling and hence I think build up is necessary for their kiss to be believable. Their relationship is not build on sexual tension or lust alone so it can feel a bit out of character for them to suddenly acknowledge the tension that has remained distinctly implicit in the previous episodes. Now, as I already said, I'm glad we're moving in romantic territory now. But the fact that I am excited doesn't mean I can't also have a healthy, realistic opinion about the storyline.

Damn right challenging beauty standards by drawing the hottest dude on the block😂

I mean it's probably better for your mental health to avoid the convos I was talking about anyway. 😂 Wasn't lying when I said they were intense lol!

Petition to make this a polyamorous relationship lol.

Have you truly been here during the last few weeks? 😂 The comment section has been running wild for weeks. Believe me, I vividly remember quite some intense convos about whether this is a BL or an LGTBQ+ show lol.

Totally! My sister and I were watching it this afternoon and we couldn't really take it seriously. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to see the show finally dabbling into romantic territory now, but the kiss felt a bit out of place considering Black and Sean have had a bit of a hate-love relationship until now. There has been enough romantic/sexual tension between them in the previous episodes but simply not enough explicit emotional connection to make the kiss feel like the next step of their relationship. They've been focussing so much on their missions that it may seem a bit illogical for them to now, all of a sudden, decide they're attracted to one another. The mood was also continuously changing throughout the episode itself: Sean had some sneaky sleeping-Black-adoration action but then still ended up tying White to the bed as some type of joke (although this might also be him getting back at White for lying about his identity, who knows). Besides the obvious randomness, however, I must say that their kiss was cinematically excellent. Not only was there a moment of vulnerability and mutual consent (without them rushing into it) I thought it was also quite meaningful that their kiss took place at dusk (symbolising the end of an era and beginning of something new).

Watched this on a long train ride. Note to self: better not watch Japanese horror movies in public because the stares of silent judgement were absolutely excruciating. But, besides that, this was an interesting mix of horror and comedy, although I am quite critical of the rape trope that seems to be loved by so many Japanese directors. I'm sure that there are countless other (and better) ways to shock the audience than the repeated assault on women. Karen saved this movie from being entirely misogynistic (this while, quite ironically, our main character pushes the boundaries of traditional masculinity by being flamboyant yet also a self-assured sadist). That being said, this production had some fantastic costume design! Overall stunning outfits (somewhat 90s techno-punk inspired), especially that sequin shirt that Kakihara wears in the last scene is to die for (no pun intended).

Totally agree, couldn't have said it better myself! As much as people like to argue that "we just have to give the series a chance" or that this is "just a simple romance, not anything grand," in the end a bad show is a bad show. As an audience we don't owe a series anything: we have every right to drop something if it doesn't live up to our expectations. Just because we like supporting LGBTQ+ productions doesn't mean we can't have standards. We're doing the industry a disservice if we're just gonna watch everything they produce regardless of quality.

Now, this was much better than expected! The dialogue is absolutely one of the movie's strong suits: it contrasts realistic, teenage-boy banter and off-hand references to Marxism with the actually dark and disturbing storyline. It is an excellent commentary on class disparity and privilege, yet the movie also ends up highlighting the role of agency and personal choice in dealing with such social inequalities. While realistic, this message ends up feeling somewhat wry, considering that it is not always easy to distinguish where personal choice and accountability starts/ends in real life. Indeed, when are we conscious actors and when are we victims of our circumstances?

Well, that was trash.

You're talking about Touch Your Heart, right? I skipped that one and I'm glad to hear I'm not missing out on anything, lol. But you're definitely not alone in your criticism! I do really generally like Lee Dong Wook in some darker roles (the characters in Strangers from Hell and Tale of the Nine Tailed suited him pretty well) but I'm usually not too impressed with his other, more light-hearted works.

Surprisingly, I didn't really mind the obvious silliness. What irked me instead was the screenwriter's attempt to condense three different plots into a single movie. Wish that they'd stuck with one single plot-line because the story went on for way too long.

It's a bit of a running joke that, whenever Lee Dong Wook stars as the main lead, the drama is cursed to underperform, lol. He does really well as a supporting actor but he somehow has a knack for choosing disappointing projects otherwise. This was definitely one of most incoherent action flicks I've seen a while, as most of the characters were not relevant for the plot, and the overall mood was inconsistent (was this intended as an action comedy or a more darker murder thriller? I doubt the writers themselves knew). What saved the plot is the fact that people love watching a good ol' bromance. The chemistry between the actors was the show's only redemption.

I have removed it from my TBW-list already, lol. I've given up hope.

*Gets flashback to Gram explaining the concept of monopoly* 😂

Interesting take! I hadn't really thought about it that way but I think I may indeed have been too brash in claiming this is an anti-capitalist show. While some of the gang members may indeed want anarchy or that communist revolution (looking at you Gram lol) I think the series is also showing the recklessness and stupidity of our main characters. After all, the episodes have mainly shown us individuals who are deeply hurt by corruption and those that take advantage of capitalism (rather than jab at the system itself). Maybe this is also why so much political commentary is able to slip through Thai censorship: because it is directed at individuals (in this case fictional) rather than an entire economic/political system. So, yes, I actually think you're completely right in saying the show is more nuanced than it being a call for the complete abolishment of capitalism. That would also alleviate some of the tension regarding the product placement.

Hehe, I quite like these mental gymnastics of trying to make sense of Dan's inner world! Although he seems quite enigmatic, I am sure that his job as a police officer also provides him with a level of security and access. Not only will very few people expect a cop to run around as a vigilante in his spare time, his job also allows him to get the inside scoop on classified information and evidence. In that case it may be even more profitable for him to keep working for the police.

Maybe he is also not completely disillusioned by the current state of affairs. He became a cop for a reason, after all. Maybe truly believed-- and still does-- that he would be able to serve justice by following the rules of the justice system (even if this system needs a helping hand once in a while).

To add to that, the type of advertisement also matters. It would probably have been a little less paradoxical if the products we have seen so far would have actually fit the overall narrative of the show (that is, products marketed as environmentally conscious and maybe produced by smaller businesses). Instead we have seen toothpaste, soda, and a full fledged car, lol. I mean, you gotta do what you gotta do, but some self-awareness would have been appreciated. As for advertisement itself, I agree it may not be essentially evil, but it is very obvious that we are here speaking about a context where the ads ARE definitely implicated in a capitalist system (and hence the anti-capitalist message can feel hypocritical to people).

Anyway, the issue with these things is also that, once a show (or person) sends out a socially critical message, people are gonna subject it (or the person) to immense scrutiny. "You try to live environmentally friendly but you travelled by plane once? Bad! A show has an anti-capitalist narrative but still relies on product placement? Horrible!" Every little flaw can be magnified and used as proof that a person/series is not doing enough. In that case, it may be helpful to remember that a message can still be relevant even if the messenger itself is not perfect.

Okay, I think your comment about art and privilege helped me understand this a bit more! But am I correct in assuming that NFTs have real exchange value too? As in, their existence is not just for looking pretty and giving its owner a nice ego boost, right? Can they be, like cryptocurrency (or real estate, for that matter), an investment where their owner hopes they'll increase in value over time?

In that case it would be even more ironic that UNAR would decide to sell his (anti-capitalist!) art to a bunch of rich fuckers. Way to appropriate and consume art that was made to give the disenfranchised a voice, I guess. Anyway, thank you so much for helping me understand! Really helps!

I'm hoping I won't start a NFT 101 crash course with this but I am legitimately confused. What exactly is the purpose of said NFTs? Cryptocurrency like Bitcoin can actually be used as currency and has an actual exchange rate, but what about NFTs? Why own a virtual rendition of Melania Trump's white hat?