I'm really sorry I missed the live rewatch. It happens in the early morning, for me, and I foolishly forgot to turn on my alarm to be up in time. I hope I'll be joining in on it, next week.
This episode does a nice job of laying the foundations for both Tian's approach and his life in the village. The scene with the Foundation head shows us how strongly motivated he was to get to Pha Pan Dao.
I really liked how they juxtaposed Tian's first day of classes with the information he was recalling from Torfun's journal. The first day also showed us how Phupha may well have wanted to make things as difficult as possible for Tian, initially. We get more insight into that later on, of course...
I also really enjoyed the first meeting scene with Khama and Doc's teasing of Phupha. We got a good taste of their characters for the series, as it moves forward.
Phupha's having his thoughts interrupted while playing the Khlui given to him by Torfun by thoughts of Tian show just how quickly Phupha was feeling drawn to Tian.
Tian's decision to take the kids on the field trip highlights his impulsivity and how he might not always consider the potential ramifications of his decisions.
The final confrontation between Phupha and Tian in the episode was the one which I think was the most severe of Phupha's. He was rather heartless toward Tian, but I can see to a degree how he could be influenced by concern that Tian could jeopardise the childrens' safety. Safety and security are all-consuming issues for a person like Phupha.
The moment when Tian recalls his conversation with Winai was a lovely moment. This series just has so many touching moments that make it my favourite BL series...