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This review may contain spoilers
Faith, Hope, & Love
Honestly, I don't know what I expected going into this story. I think part of me expected an angsty, tearful, heartbreaking story of how the Christian faith - Catholicism, specifically - treats its queer persons. Honestly, I wouldn't have been mad at it. To look at major religions impartially is to know that they are largely not kind to queer people.
However, now that I'm done with the show, I'm really glad that they went the route they did here. Rather than show what we all know to be the sad and ugly truth that we live with, they instead made a beautiful body of work that highlights how faith, hope, and love, all kinds of love at that, can coexist
Because this is very much a character-driven story, I feel it is best to review it based on its characters
🎟️Tanrak - Every time I think of him, the question 'But are you happy?' by Barth to Tanrak pops into my mind. Tanrak lived most of his life numb. I think if he wasn't numb, he was sad. Someone somewhere commented that he was living to die. Before Barth and their love for each other, Tanrak was simply going through the motions. Probably hoping to die after being ordained so he could meet his parents again.
Then Barth comes into his life, and suddenly, he's smiling. His eyes have life in them again. He stopped being alive and actually started living. However, his joy, love, and happiness aren't as carefree and open as they deserve to be. Falling in love makes him scared. What I appreciate most about this story is that his fear doesn't come from God, but from man and the institutions that man has built around God.
When he was a child, Father Arnon, in not so many words, told him that dedicating his life to God and staying on that path would not only get him into heaven but also allow him to meet his parents. Falling in love deviates from that path. That promise. It makes him feel like he's betraying his promise not only to God but also to those around him who've placed their hope in him.
In his story, I believe episodes 2 and 5 hurt me the most. One where he discovers and has to face these feelings, and the other where he frantically tries to bury them. Ep 5 will stay with me the most coz it once again highlighted that while Tanrak didn't want to disappoint God, his greatest fear was always the people.
At no point in this story do we ever see him think or believe that God might think that his love for Barth was gross, or a sin, or any other undeserving words. His faith stays with him throughout this story; it's the people around him that make him fear. Made him think that his love for his fellow young man could not coexist or share space with his love for God.
🎟️Barth - I think I relate to his struggles with faith the most. That sadness and anger that come from the thought of 'If God cares and is supposed to love me, why does all this keep happening?' I'm actually highkey sad that we never got to explore his story more. The plot is centered around Tan with hints of Barth's sadness, loneliness, frustration, and anger—both at God and at the world.
Barth is presented as this rock for Tan. The person who would not only help him live for the first time (and forever), but the person who would love him for him. While this is beautiful (who wouldn't want someone like this to share their life with?) I think it is done at the expense of Barth's story.
I'd have liked to see who he was past Tan's rock, boyfriend and eventual husband. Show me Barth, the person. The struggles at school when he was outted, how he dealt with his dad's death, his mom's imprisonment, becoming a scholarship kid, and having to start over with no support system. We largely see his anger, but not what causes it. Exploring this further would've deepened him as a character in his own right.
One thing I do appreciate about him, other than how he helped Tan live again, is his respect for Tan's faith. While he had his doubts and issues, he never went out of his way to belittle who and what Tan believed in. I do not feel like the ending quite gave us an answer as to whether Barth went back to being a believer.
🎟️Kongdech - Tell me why I spent most of the show fearing that he was going to turn out to be homophobic? Thank God they never went that route. Rather than that, his anger and disappointment come from being 'dumped' by Tan. Tan here was like that one friend who gets a bf and suddenly vanishes from your life. She only pops back up if they're fighting, have broken up, or she needs something. I totally understand why he was mad. His bestie left him for the new guy. I get that their paths deviated, but Tan wasn't right in how he wiped Kongdech off his mind.
🎟️Father Arnon - I wanted to hate him. But he doesn't do anything worth hating. I think the one thing I'm most mad at him about is his words to Tan when he was a kid. He should have chosen his words to a mourning child more carefully. While he might have had the best intentions, Tan was too young to be put on the path that the Father put him on. I'd have wanted to be mad at him for the advice he gave Tan on love, but lowkey, I feel like he did what anyone in that position would do.
I was raised Catholic, and when I was younger, I encountered Nuns who would try to get young girls to become Sisters like them. Hearing Father Arnon speak reminded me of them. For them, no love was greater than God's love, no path was more noble than His path. So while some may be angry at the Father for some of the things he said, I think if you looked at it in the sense that all love is a temptation for people like them (not just queer love), then it's easier to understand him and what he was saying.
From what I know, for Catholic priests and nuns, romantic love would be seen as a sin, as they are required to remain celibate. Their capacity for love should be for their pastoral duties and relationship with God.
🎟️Final Thoughts🎟️
💖As a someone who has had the 'privilege' (idk another word to use for this) of never having to question my faith based on who I am attracted to or who I choose to love, this story helped me better understand how those who have, yet still hold on to their faith and in some cases remain in the church despite all the meanness that can come from others in that very circle, manage to do it. It is a reminder that faith and religion are not synonymous. And for those who are lucky, you can find acceptance in your religion
💖This may not have been a point of the show, but seeing Barh's struggle with his faith in relation to general life made me feel a little cathartic. Oftentimes, being angry at God is seen as wrong. You're not even allowed to talk about it, let alone acknowledge it. But Barth being angry and Tan not being judgmental about it made me feel seen...and other feelings that I cannot quite put into words
To end this yap session, I think Ticket to Heaven is a worthy watch. It's one of those stories that are not all sunshine and rainbows, but are very important, impactful, and leave a lasting impression. It is a valuable story of faith, hope, and above all, love.
However, now that I'm done with the show, I'm really glad that they went the route they did here. Rather than show what we all know to be the sad and ugly truth that we live with, they instead made a beautiful body of work that highlights how faith, hope, and love, all kinds of love at that, can coexist
Because this is very much a character-driven story, I feel it is best to review it based on its characters
🎟️Tanrak - Every time I think of him, the question 'But are you happy?' by Barth to Tanrak pops into my mind. Tanrak lived most of his life numb. I think if he wasn't numb, he was sad. Someone somewhere commented that he was living to die. Before Barth and their love for each other, Tanrak was simply going through the motions. Probably hoping to die after being ordained so he could meet his parents again.
Then Barth comes into his life, and suddenly, he's smiling. His eyes have life in them again. He stopped being alive and actually started living. However, his joy, love, and happiness aren't as carefree and open as they deserve to be. Falling in love makes him scared. What I appreciate most about this story is that his fear doesn't come from God, but from man and the institutions that man has built around God.
When he was a child, Father Arnon, in not so many words, told him that dedicating his life to God and staying on that path would not only get him into heaven but also allow him to meet his parents. Falling in love deviates from that path. That promise. It makes him feel like he's betraying his promise not only to God but also to those around him who've placed their hope in him.
In his story, I believe episodes 2 and 5 hurt me the most. One where he discovers and has to face these feelings, and the other where he frantically tries to bury them. Ep 5 will stay with me the most coz it once again highlighted that while Tanrak didn't want to disappoint God, his greatest fear was always the people.
At no point in this story do we ever see him think or believe that God might think that his love for Barth was gross, or a sin, or any other undeserving words. His faith stays with him throughout this story; it's the people around him that make him fear. Made him think that his love for his fellow young man could not coexist or share space with his love for God.
🎟️Barth - I think I relate to his struggles with faith the most. That sadness and anger that come from the thought of 'If God cares and is supposed to love me, why does all this keep happening?' I'm actually highkey sad that we never got to explore his story more. The plot is centered around Tan with hints of Barth's sadness, loneliness, frustration, and anger—both at God and at the world.
Barth is presented as this rock for Tan. The person who would not only help him live for the first time (and forever), but the person who would love him for him. While this is beautiful (who wouldn't want someone like this to share their life with?) I think it is done at the expense of Barth's story.
I'd have liked to see who he was past Tan's rock, boyfriend and eventual husband. Show me Barth, the person. The struggles at school when he was outted, how he dealt with his dad's death, his mom's imprisonment, becoming a scholarship kid, and having to start over with no support system. We largely see his anger, but not what causes it. Exploring this further would've deepened him as a character in his own right.
One thing I do appreciate about him, other than how he helped Tan live again, is his respect for Tan's faith. While he had his doubts and issues, he never went out of his way to belittle who and what Tan believed in. I do not feel like the ending quite gave us an answer as to whether Barth went back to being a believer.
🎟️Kongdech - Tell me why I spent most of the show fearing that he was going to turn out to be homophobic? Thank God they never went that route. Rather than that, his anger and disappointment come from being 'dumped' by Tan. Tan here was like that one friend who gets a bf and suddenly vanishes from your life. She only pops back up if they're fighting, have broken up, or she needs something. I totally understand why he was mad. His bestie left him for the new guy. I get that their paths deviated, but Tan wasn't right in how he wiped Kongdech off his mind.
🎟️Father Arnon - I wanted to hate him. But he doesn't do anything worth hating. I think the one thing I'm most mad at him about is his words to Tan when he was a kid. He should have chosen his words to a mourning child more carefully. While he might have had the best intentions, Tan was too young to be put on the path that the Father put him on. I'd have wanted to be mad at him for the advice he gave Tan on love, but lowkey, I feel like he did what anyone in that position would do.
I was raised Catholic, and when I was younger, I encountered Nuns who would try to get young girls to become Sisters like them. Hearing Father Arnon speak reminded me of them. For them, no love was greater than God's love, no path was more noble than His path. So while some may be angry at the Father for some of the things he said, I think if you looked at it in the sense that all love is a temptation for people like them (not just queer love), then it's easier to understand him and what he was saying.
From what I know, for Catholic priests and nuns, romantic love would be seen as a sin, as they are required to remain celibate. Their capacity for love should be for their pastoral duties and relationship with God.
🎟️Final Thoughts🎟️
💖As a someone who has had the 'privilege' (idk another word to use for this) of never having to question my faith based on who I am attracted to or who I choose to love, this story helped me better understand how those who have, yet still hold on to their faith and in some cases remain in the church despite all the meanness that can come from others in that very circle, manage to do it. It is a reminder that faith and religion are not synonymous. And for those who are lucky, you can find acceptance in your religion
💖This may not have been a point of the show, but seeing Barh's struggle with his faith in relation to general life made me feel a little cathartic. Oftentimes, being angry at God is seen as wrong. You're not even allowed to talk about it, let alone acknowledge it. But Barth being angry and Tan not being judgmental about it made me feel seen...and other feelings that I cannot quite put into words
To end this yap session, I think Ticket to Heaven is a worthy watch. It's one of those stories that are not all sunshine and rainbows, but are very important, impactful, and leave a lasting impression. It is a valuable story of faith, hope, and above all, love.
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