waanjai

OMG we really don't think alike HAHA I wasn't really a fan of the first half and everything got better for me on the remaining eps. This type of romance really isn't my cup of tea but this really grew on me and became an exception. But yeah, I kinda agree about how they could've handled it better.

//btw, all that I'll be stating from here on are just based on my opinion and not necessarily facts. It's a long opinion but please bare with me. Anyway, if you have any disagreements with my pov, please don't hesitate to point it out :)

I don't think Type's trauma was quickly forgotten(¹) as Tharn had to do all sorts of things just to get him to understand and make him realize how not all gays are what he seems. So to clarify (¹), here's my very long opinion that I wanna share if you don't mind hehe

So this incident happened when he was 11 y/o. Based from the flashback, with the way he was tied to the chair, his ass was prolly safe but his peepee obviously wasn't based from what he told Tharn that that roofer made him cum so idk prolly was hand or blow job idk(²) so what stood out most to him about the incident was the fact that the roofer, a male, did that to him, who's also a male. He was too young and too naive to have any idea about pedophiles so first thing that comes to his 11 y/o mind is that the roofer is gay and that a gay did that to him and that all gays are lewd. So basically, according to his perspective, his traumatic experience was caused by gay people and that's why he was more fixated on hating gays, thinking if not for their being homophobic it wouldn't have happened to him. (³) So ever since then, for all those idk 6 or maybe 7 years, he has been so prejudiced of gays (⁴) and I see this as his coping mechanism which sets his character out as this strong fighter and a survivor. He obviously hasn't sought out professional help and he looks like the kind who never would but he definitely needs someone to help him deal with it, someone he can trust and lean on. So then there comes Tharn, the gay who shifted a homophobic's perspective (⁵). He made Type realize that not all gays are predators. And back again to what I said, (¹) and what you said about traumas not easily being overcome, he gradually manages to let go of his prejudice but even after years, he admits he still wasn't over his bias but he was slowly becoming more accepting of gay people.

About Tharn confronting Type about his trauma, idk hahaha here's how I've been looking at it until now but if it doesn't convince you, you can convince me otherwise hahaha. So... I don't think it's necessary for Tharn to 'ask' Type if everything's okay (¹)(⁶) coz knowing Type's personality (⁴) even if he'd asked him, he'd proly just go "it's none of your fcking business" so Tharn had to resort more to actions than just words coz a stubborn guy like Type can't be helped by just that, more so with his constant dichotomy of what he says and what he truly feels. I think Tharn really cares about Type's trauma (¹) as he would do all sorts of things for him to help him.


¹ assuming his trauma was indeed about gays and not sexual abuse
² fvck i hate imagining this
³ I'm assuming that his trauma was leaning more on the 'gay' side rather than the 'sexual' because if he had the latter, he then probably wouldn't be involved in sexual relationships with women and have fun masturbating and like I said, each one deals with their trauma differently and it's obvious enough how this affected him like he only gets agitated towards gay people so yeah
⁴ though aside from his homophobia, he's one hell of a good guy– stubborn, but loyal and a reliable one
⁵ but not totally
⁶ i know you don't mean like literally literally but i get it

PS. I don't intend on imposing my opinion (θ‿θ)v

Thanks for considering! ^_^ and I really do hope you're in the mood when you finally watch it haha and as for the on-screen couple I'm more of an AePete and DeanPharm fan. Off-screen however, I'm an avid MewGulf fan hehe

PS. I don't want to insist or encourage you to like the series hehe just merely sharing my 2 cents

Even as someone who appreciates TharnType, I myself wants Lhong to be jailed. His reasons won't simply justify what he did. And I do get your point but maybe you missed the whole point of why the series is called TharnType? The title itself proclaims that this series is specifically about Tharn and Type. It wouldn't be called TharnType just for other characters to be the main. I believe the supporting characters and their corresponding issues are simply there to help us viewers understand how their characters developed and how their relationship came to be.

"They're not there to see the reality of things, they're there just for the plot."
- Not sure about others but the plot didn't really stand out that much to me as there are tons of straight-guy-turned-gay ones out there with the typical "I don't like boys I only like you" character. When I completed the whole series, however, what made me appreciate this series the most were the storyline, the ambiguity of the characters and their character development, how it was directed, the osts, and I'll never get over how all their kisses felt natural like they were really a thing in real life which I rarely felt from previously and recently watched BL films.

"The story would've worked without Type having been raped in the past, he could've just simply been homophobic."
-As for me, people usually don't just blatantly prejudice over something for no apparent reason so I think Type would've been more toxic and problematic if he was just plain homophobic.

"Tharn didn't need to sexually take advantage of Type when he was intoxicated to get his point across."
- idk maybe it depends on which angle you're trying to see this but in my perspective, Tharn's action was relevant to how Type constantly harassed and mistreated him for weeks and for that, he wanted to mess with him by giving him hickeys unbeknownst to him that Type had a traumatic past. Had he known about it, he obviously wouldn't have resorted to this type of method. I guess if Type wasn't such an ahole, us viewers might have witnessed Tharn's confession on a much different setting.

"The problem with these "plot points" is the fact that they're normalized and romanticized."
- This series wasn't R-rated for no reason. It obviously deals with violence, profanity, and contains sexual content which means that the audiences are expected to be mature enough to somehow be knowledgeable and open about such things. You may totally disagree with me on this one and that's okay but I believe that it isn't the film's obligation to spoon-feed the viewers in differentiating between what's right and not. We can pretty much just watch these with our morality still in tact considering that this is just fiction which just happens to incorporate real life issues. In the end, it all just comes down to how we perceive these "plot points".

"I hope you understand that the way this show deals with rape, mental health issues and so on reflect to real life. Gay people exist, people have mental health issues..."
- I do understand and totally agree with this.

"...and they're not just solved by dating a guy."
- true. I agree with this as well. But have you considered the fact that this is supposed to be a romantic series? And that it mainly focuses on Tharn and Type, as the title points out, and that the supporting characters and their corresponding issues are simply there to help us viewers understand how their relationship came to be? Is it that problematic for a romantic series to focus more on romance? To me, it is good enough that they would acknowledge portraying these realistic issues despite the story being fictional. And for a production with tight budget and no sponsor, I wouldn't expect more from it.

***

This simply might just not be your cup of tea. I, however, am much more inclined into appreciating deep films which have the courage to cross boundaries but this doesn't mean I don't like light-themed films either. And that's one of the many reasons why I love TharnType because it gives me the liberty of thinking for myself how I would perceive things and not just spoon-feed me the ideas on how I should see characters as they fit.

Even as a fan of TharnType, I can't totally disagree with your idea as there are a few points I can relate to as well. Anyway, the only thing I'd like to point out is that I just hope you finished the whole series including the special episodes. It may not be your cup of tea (like me) but to me, it really had an unbelievable impact on how I perceived the series. As I watched the first few episodes I was in a constant state of 'what-the-fvck' but as soon as I finished watching the whole series, I ended up gratifying the character development more than I should and it pushed me to rewatch the whole series in a different perspective and I appreciated it even more as I was able to notice all those nuances and subtle messages implied.

Based on my own understanding, this series depicts how in real life, each person deals with trauma differently. Both Type and Tar underwent the same trauma, Tharn had a breakup trauma, ang Lhong had a childhood trauma.

In Type's case, his childhood trauma triggered and developed his major homophobic character. As what I can see, his trauma was dealt more with homophobia rather than sexual tension as he admittingly had previous sexual relationships. Throughout the whole series, he gradually manages to let go of his prejudice but even after years, (as shown in the special ep) he admits he still wasn't over his bias but he was slowly becoming more accepting of gay people and this is a huge step for him as you just can't get rid of a decade of bias over a few months.

To tell someone to just go to the police is easier said than done. This show doesn't depict a picture-perfect world but a realistic one. If this was an ideal world, Lhong would've stood trial and had been prosecuted. But he didn't - because this wasn't about him nor Tharn, it was about Tar. Tar wasn't ready for it. Even years later, (as shown in Love By Chance) when Type asks Tar whether his brother knows about the attack, Tar admits he still hasn't told Tum. Type himself would prefer for him to admit the truth at least to his closest family but Tar still refuses, and thus Type doesn't push the issue because it's Tar's choice and no one else's. It's another proof that it's been Tar's choice all along. If he still can't admit it to Tum, there is no way he would be willing to go public with what happened to him. Type understands the harsh reality of his situation because he had to live through it when his father was seeking justice for him - they talked about him in the newspapers, everyone who knew him pitied him. Trials are public, the press would get to know and write about it, they would talk about it on TV and thus, everyone would know - everyone in Tar's neighbourhood and school. If Lhong gets punished by conventional means, Tar's situation would be even worse than Type's ever had been because Tar was a gay teenager who was raped - they would forever gossip about him, doubt him, blame him,... He would probably had to move and leave the life he so very slowly and bravely started to build again. In the end, it would be Tar who would suffer the worse fate. It would be Tar who would end up being punished. It’s a sad reality but even if the victims are brave enough and seek justice by conventional means, society still manages to fail them.

I don't want to impose but I personally think that what sets this apart from other series is its willingness to address the issues you've mentioned. Their relationship is just as real as the issues and that which actually happens in real life. About their flaws, they are a result of their past traumas and this series tackles how each person reacts to it differently. If you pay more attention to the context rather than insisting your preconceived notions on the characters, I guess you'll understand how this series is appreciated by most. Again, I'm simply stating my opinion and am not necessarily insisting it's right. If you want to have an open discusion with me, though, I'm all for it. ?