no cuz why were they both speaking english im crying
marvis isn’t supposed to be fluent in thai, he feels more comfortable speaking english and jamie grew up in the US so english comes naturally to him it’s kind of their thing, they switch to english sometimes. but seeing it actually play out on screen was unbearable like you could tell they were trying so hard to manufacture this intense, magnetic attraction between them but it felt so forced… 😭😭
im a week late to the party but that scene with jamie and marvis was such a painful watch like even duang’s cringey (but kind of endearing) moments weren’t nearly as hard to sit through as whatever vibe they were trying to create there. i had to pause so many times, the second hand embarrassment was unbearable
No it does not weaken the story at all. A toxic subplot is just that, a toxic subplot. There is no requirement…
i don’t disagree that toxic relationships and lack of consequences are realistic, they absolutely are. my issue isn’t realism, it’s framing. showing abuse without reprisal can be realistic but how the story emotionally treats that lack of reprisal still matters. the show doesn’t just depict aran choosing tawan despite everything, it softens tawan, centers his pain and moves toward emotional resolution without really sitting with the harm. that’s a narrative choice, not just realism. i’m also not approaching art as a guideline, i’m talking about whether a subplot is well written and well integrated.
Agree. I feel they wanted to wedge a second couple in but it really didn't work. Developing Mok/Rome would have…
yess, 100%. developing rome/mok would’ve made way more sense and it would’ve fit the story naturally instead of forcing in a subplot that didn’t really go anywhere.
No it does not weaken the story at all. A toxic subplot is just that, a toxic subplot. There is no requirement…
art doesn’t have to tell people what to think but it still communicates things through how stories are framed. when a show includes abuse and then immediately softens it with sympathy, forgiveness and no consequences, that framing matters whether the writers intended it or not. again, the problem isn’t that the subplot is toxic. it’s that the toxicity is brushed past instead of being dealt with. tawan’s behavior isn’t confronted, the harm isn’t acknowledged and aran just lets him back into his life. that doesn’t feel subtle or complex, it feels unfinished and that’s how it weakens the story. it clashes with the rest of the show’s themes, muddies the emotional message and makes the characters feel less believable. relying on the audience to “infer” that abuse is bad doesn’t really work when the narrative itself leans toward sympathy and resolution instead of discomfort. art doesn’t need to be preachy but it does need to follow through on what it puts on screen. this subplot doesn’t and that’s why it feels careless and out of place.
honestly the tawan aran storyline feels completely out of place. it comes across like the writers wanted to add something, more drama, more conflict, maybe more screen time without actually thinking about whether it belonged in the story at all. and on top of that, it’s handled very poorly. tawan is very clearly portrayed as an abuser, he’s violent, jealous, possessive and controlling. and instead of properly addressing that, the show tries to redeem him with a half baked sob story. his behavior is never truly addressed, there’s no accountability, no real reckoning and no acknowledgment of the harm he’s caused. and aran just… lets him back into his life as if none of that ever mattered. because of that, the storyline feels careless and irresponsible especially when the show frames it as something emotional or tragic rather than deeply troubling. if the writers wanted to explore a toxic dynamic, they needed to actually do the work. they needed to unpack it, challenge it and show real consequences. instead it just sits there awkwardly and feels forced. and when a side plot is both skippable and poorly executed, it stops being harmless background noise and starts actively weakening the series as a whole.
does gmmtv even care about this pairing? the romance feels forced, the editing is awkward, the dialogue is unnatural… it’s a shame because it could’ve been an interesting series
Many times yes for your points on Pheem, and I also agree with your take on Koh. I want to add that when it comes…
i really like the way you framed the artist’s gaze as a space of safe visibility for koh. especially because the first time jira painted him, it wasn’t asked for or negotiated at all. it was instinctive, there was no consent process, no expectations attached, just jira seeing something and responding to it. and even later, when koh knows he’s being painted, jira still doesn’t ask anything of him. he doesn’t tell him how to pose or how to behave. he just lets him exist as he is and that alone is enough to drive the work. when jira’s painting him, he sees him as a muse in a way that’s completely separate from who koh is morally or socially which is why he ends up portraying the most human version of him. like you said, for someone who’s learned that being seen is dangerous, it makes sense that this kind of visibility feels therapeutic rather than terrifying. in jira’s art, being seen isn’t public or performative and it isn’t conditional. koh is still and defenseless but not exposed in a threatening way.
there’s something about pheem’s handling of the mawin situation that feels deliberately slow. he never outright blocks the apology but he doesn’t help it happen either. he could pass along jira’s number, hand over the phone, make space for mawin to apologize properly and maybe that would ease things for jira. it’s like pheem doesn’t actually want the situation resolved too quickly because jira seems more likely to reach out, to linger when things feel unsettled and pheem knows that very well. i feel similarly conflicted about koh. his concern for jira sounds genuine at times but it’s hard not to question where care ends and need begins. jira helps him sleep and that relief starts to look like dependence. and now it seems koh realizes jira and pheem are involved somehow and it bothers him. is he jealous because he has feelings for jira or is he uncomfortable with the idea that jira isn’t just his? since jira works for him and helps him sleep, does he see him as something he has access to so when someone else is in the picture, it messes with that? i have to say i love the contrast between jira’s relationship with pheem and his relationship with koh. with pheem, jira never really seems like himself. it feels like the kind of relationship jira thinks he should want. pheem is clearly performative tho. it’s like he studies jira before he speaks, carefully choosing what to show him. he presents a version of himself designed to be appealing, to be chosen, to be fallen for. and yet jira still doesn’t fall. but with koh, it’s completely different. jira lets himself be messy, he gets angry, he lashes out, he doesn’t filter himself. their dynamic is chaotic, explosive, not tender at all but it’s raw. it feels real in a way that the relationship with pheem never does. one of my favorite moments that shows this contrast is the wine glass scenes. when jira throws a glass of wine at koh, it’s pure emotion. he’s angry, there’s no performance, no artistry, it’s just how he feels. but when he throws a glass of wine at pheem in an earlier episode, it’s completely different. that moment is intentional, he wants to turn it into art. he imagines how it should look, how it should feel and even then, it doesn’t come out right. jira isn’t satisfied so he takes it home and artificially reworks it, painting over it with wine to make it match the image in his head. there’s also the fact that koh ignites something instinctive in jira. the inspiration flows naturally, almost effortlessly. he paints koh easily. but with pheem, he can’t paint him at all. something always blocks him. there’s no spark, no raw impulse to create. now about jira’s nude paintings of koh. it’s like they strip koh of everything he believes gives him power. in jira’s art, koh is naked, asleep, dead, equalized, reduced to a body observed rather than a man who controls. the paintings clearly stir something in koh but he doesn’t articulate what he feels, he reenacts it. we see him at home, alone, he removes his clothes, lies down, closes his eyes and adjusts his body to mirror what jira painted. it’s like he attempts to return to the feeling of being seen without being required to perform. the paintings clearly unsettle him and i think they introduce a self he didn’t know he was allowed to inhabit.
i feel similarly conflicted about koh. his concern for jira sounds genuine at times but it’s hard not to question where care ends and need begins. jira helps him sleep and that relief starts to look like dependence. and now it seems koh realizes jira and pheem are involved somehow and it bothers him. is he jealous because he has feelings for jira or is he uncomfortable with the idea that jira isn’t just his? since jira works for him and helps him sleep, does he see him as something he has access to so when someone else is in the picture, it messes with that?
i have to say i love the contrast between jira’s relationship with pheem and his relationship with koh. with pheem, jira never really seems like himself. it feels like the kind of relationship jira thinks he should want. pheem is clearly performative tho. it’s like he studies jira before he speaks, carefully choosing what to show him. he presents a version of himself designed to be appealing, to be chosen, to be fallen for. and yet jira still doesn’t fall. but with koh, it’s completely different. jira lets himself be messy, he gets angry, he lashes out, he doesn’t filter himself. their dynamic is chaotic, explosive, not tender at all but it’s raw. it feels real in a way that the relationship with pheem never does.
one of my favorite moments that shows this contrast is the wine glass scenes. when jira throws a glass of wine at koh, it’s pure emotion. he’s angry, there’s no performance, no artistry, it’s just how he feels. but when he throws a glass of wine at pheem in an earlier episode, it’s completely different. that moment is intentional, he wants to turn it into art. he imagines how it should look, how it should feel and even then, it doesn’t come out right. jira isn’t satisfied so he takes it home and artificially reworks it, painting over it with wine to make it match the image in his head.
there’s also the fact that koh ignites something instinctive in jira. the inspiration flows naturally, almost effortlessly. he paints koh easily. but with pheem, he can’t paint him at all. something always blocks him. there’s no spark, no raw impulse to create.
now about jira’s nude paintings of koh. it’s like they strip koh of everything he believes gives him power. in jira’s art, koh is naked, asleep, dead, equalized, reduced to a body observed rather than a man who controls. the paintings clearly stir something in koh but he doesn’t articulate what he feels, he reenacts it. we see him at home, alone, he removes his clothes, lies down, closes his eyes and adjusts his body to mirror what jira painted. it’s like he attempts to return to the feeling of being seen without being required to perform. the paintings clearly unsettle him and i think they introduce a self he didn’t know he was allowed to inhabit.