etoks21

Agree.

omg...I didn't catch from your comment that TTH (that is what you meant, right, not "TTF?") and Bad Buddy were directed by the same person...!!!!!

What the fucking serious hell!!!!!
How is that possible in this universe.

Bad buddy is a giant piece of shit, and this is one of the best Thai BLs ever made.

I refuse to believe this is true, even if it IS true.

Oh, dammit, now you went and made me look like the asshole. :D

I am an asshole frequently, so that's ok.

"...not everybody is a child and people need to stop assuming that all the time honestly."

So, you get that a lot, do you? :D

Oh Great Immortal One, which comment are you agreeing with?

I didn't put that well: I don't find ALL happy endings annoying, just the ones that feel contrived/obligatory/predictable/poorly written, etc.
Another gift that Asian cinema (I don't watch many dramas other than BL), has given me, is that now that I don't EXPECT a happy ending, I am all the more pleased when it works out that way.

Also, I am definitely hoping for a happy ending for TanBarth, but knowing that it's possible I won't get one keeps me guessing.
Unlike a lot of MDLers, I don't like being handed fluff, rainbows, and happy endings as my birthright. :)

I DO treasure this.
Should I be addressing you as "Great Immortal One" or something like that?

Monster is a 10/10 for me.
Looking forward to watching this one too.

Ninety-nine percent of the time, films featuring child actors in scenes no child should see are filmed using time-honored methods, assuring that the young ones have no idea what the final edit will make it seem they were aware of.

Totally agree about their being far more that we don't know than that we do know about their past, but Itsuku's present behavior that calls into question the plausibility of a reconciliation.

Even if Yuma somehow drove him to his current state (and no one "makes" you behave in ways that don't reveal something about your own character), he is still in that current state, that of being a cold, passive-aggressive, really vicious jerk.
He could have simply removed himself from the situation, but then he wouldn't have anyone to sponge off of while he plays video games.
Come to think of it, It reveals a lot about Yuma that he wants to get back together with someone who does the things Itsuku does.

Asian cinema/drama has taught me not to fear sad endings so much, as they can be a rich experience in their own way.
A life in the US and Hollywood movies taught me to expect happy endings, or at least everything tied up in a bow, so I would "know" answers to all questions I might have.

Now, I find contrived, happy endings a tad annoying. :D
I'd rather have a sad ending that makes sense.

Are you really immortal?
I can't believe I'm corresponding with an immortal person. Wow.

Here ya go! :D

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061122/?ref_=fn_t_1
https://tubitv.com/movies/100008108/the-trouble-with-angels

I haven't seen it since I was little.
Finding it for you has me excited to watch it again, but I won't tell you how many years it's been since that first watch.
Don't want to scare you. :)

What do you mean, "why?"
Why does anyone have a crush on anyone?

Or...I don't know, maybe because Tanrak is sweet, adorable, kind, generous, and handsome, with a killer bod?
Would those be sufficient to answer the question, "why" in the world YOU live in? They are more than sufficient in mine.

Then, there are the indicators of affection in how he gazes at Tanrak, separates him from Barth for private chats, seems suspicious of Barth, and sneers disapprovingly at them when they're together.

Perhaps you don't see those things, but I do.

Earlier on, I feared that it would be Barth who ultimately chose to go to seminary.
That may seem nutso at this point, and I think it highly unlikely now, with only two episodes left and Barth very much not believing in God, let alone the Catholic Church.
That quick a turnaround in two eps would be hard to buy.

On the other hand, and this is what sprang to mind suddenly during the second episode:
As a kid, I saw and loved the Haley Mills movie, "The Trouble With Angels." I know, I'm dating myself. I'm ancient.
It's about two mischievous young girls in Catholic high school in an English convent. They get into all kinds of trouble, play hilarious pranks, and cause pandemonium among the sisters, Haley leading the way. The look forward to graduating and escaping into the world.

But in the end, it is the bigger brat and troublemaker Haley who, as a complete shock to her best friend and accomplice, decides to join the order and become a nun. I was horrified. I'm still in shock over it. :D

So, I'm thinking the most shocking ending would be for TanBarth not to break up, but for it to be announced that Barth, not Tan, is going to seminary!

What do you think? Am I nuts?

I didn't have a choice.
My parents were staunch Lutherans who attended parochial school themselves. Plus, I didn't know any better, and of course, it wasn't until later that I came to understand all the damage that had been done.

On the other hand, if not for the mental torture and anguish inflicted during parochial school, I wouldn't be experiencing such a powerful connection to this show. :D

More about my foreboding under the spoiler below:

I think I've been on the same page with you at different points in my life and have considered "extreme measures" (I didn't know of that euphemism until after discovering Asian cinema/dramas and, along with them, the issue of celebrity suicides, especially in Korea.) a few times myself.

So, what I want to say is please reach out for talk therapy and whatever other mental health treatment you may need. There is zero shame in doing so, other than that inflicted on us by morons, so ignore that and go for it. Those tools saved/are saving my life, every day. :)

Movies/art can be valuable in helping us recognize ourselves in others, but no drama is going to save your life. :D All best to you.

Barth offered Tanrak the apple just as the snake offered the apple to Eve.

I'm saying the reference, like some others here, is muddled.

Yeah, you're correct.
You did not write those exact words.

What you did write is that sexual expression is less simple, less sincere, less genuine, and ultimately less pure than what you saw as the focus of episode 4.

Fair enough?

hmmm...

"...FAR DEEPER AND MORE MEANINGFUL than MERE sexual discovery or forbidden desire."

Maybe I'm interpreting it that way because of the words you chose and the order in which you put them.
Your own words frame the erotic pull between TanBarth less deep and less meaningful than the romantic.
To me, it's all mixed together and wrapped around, as a beautiful whole.

The emphasis on carnal desire did not take center stage until the last third of episode 3.

Even though the apple bit made Barth out to be the snake? :)

Their dynamic has never been "solely" about forbidden desire or sexual attention. It has also been, and was originally, emotional/mental in origin.

Your last sentence seems to suggest otherwise, that sexual expression of one's humanity is necessarily complicated, insincere, false, and impure.