ziugae

the story in thamepo is not only of romance, but of the inevitable self-discovery, self-reflection, and growing that we as people go through--celebrity or not.

with thamepo, you are taken through a journey of failure, slumps, growth, and the different types of losses that you experience as a working adult in society. the impossibility we see so often take the lead in thamepo gives room for the viewer to realize there are times we, as people just trying to get through life, often have to make sacrifices or face a separation that are not part of the fairytale we want to believe in.

with this also comes a constant obstacle and issue in this series that prevails in real life: irrational fanatism of idols/celebrities. there is a lesson for everyone, regardless of how much we want to say we don't care about idol relationships, and it's about not focusing on the big picture: happiness.

baifern is the vessel for this lesson for us as viewers and supporters of artists. and even with the laid out explanation of how this type of behavior is irrational and harmful, i fear that the discussions, criticisms, and putting down of william for this series and his dreams are a real manifestation of the very problem that has to stop. we often see thame talk about how he is not tired, does not need anyone to coddle him, and he is doing things because he likes it (being with po, in this case). so to hear william also be as confident and vocal about this stage of his career being very much his choice, how he's fought for this opportunity and to keep est in his life, it makes it absolutely insensitive, overbearing, and borderline psychopathic to see people bash him for going after an acting career that he very much has always been vocal about.

so, to sum this up, the amplifying of bad takes also is an issue that we see far too often and does not create a healthy relationship with your favorite celebrities. ignoring people that set out to harm others is the best tool. silence and moving with purpose to show continued support is more powerful when there is an uproar about something as normal as idols dating, which also ties in baifern doing more harm than good when closing the fan page rather than bearing through that storm with mars.

although we can talk about the toxicity forever, i think another important lesson is the acceptance of success coming in many forms.

po has a long struggle finding happiness. through the series you start to see him be happy and he realizes far too late that his happiness didn't have to be glamorous or "successful" like earn's. even the topic of dreams was so impactful for many of us that didn't necessarily grow up with grand or specific dreams for our future. uncle jo talking about how happiness can be as simple as making suits for people to love and enjoy wearing and how it can be fulfilling. we don't all dream of being doctors, lawyers, or some grand career. sometimes, just being comfortable in what you do and the impact you have on your own community is good and valid enough for you to be seen as successful. uncle jo was successful to po, and to uncle jo it was really nothing more than just being content with what he does in life. po realizing he was just constantly comparing himself to earn and their friend group made me feel like he grew to understand not only himself more, but the importance of mars and their dreams too.

the ability to get so much out of a rookie series like this has made thamepo something that will forever resonate with me. the brilliance from est and lykn to capture these roles so flawlessly makes thamepo the best series of this year for me. there is not much more to ask for in this series other than more episodes, but i did kind of wish the confession between thame and po had been through their own mouths and not a game of telephone with jun. still, it made sense with the flow of the story. the entire team and cast made incredible work here and the gentleness in the entire delivery makes this all the more impactful.