Weekly run downs with your friendly neighbourhood Sultana ^-^

EPISODE 7

TL/DR: This show is amazing. if you haven't watched it - DO. if you haven't rated it - DO

The choke hold this show and ALL THREE OF IT'S COUPLES has on me is absolutely not a joke. All three couples are marvellous in their own way.

Tbh i didn't think i'd rlly like p'fah and thorn's story line much (because p'suar's acting was a style of acting i didn't have fond memories of) but by god was i wrong. Thorn is the most precious bean and whoever did his make-up and styling this episode deserves just the biggest raise. Their movement into being a couple also seemed rlly seamless to me, probably because their behaviour to each other even before becoming a couple was pretty sweet and obv more than platonic. I adore how supportive the ENTIRE team is as well as just the supporting characters around them. One of my biggest "yay they did it right" moments was last episode when they refused to villainise the female character but instead make her strong, independent and actually relatable. I liked her friendship with Fah and hope to see more of her.

Aii and Saen are also so precious and i love their story progression a lot. i rlly like how they are portraying Aii's personality (they successfully avoided the - as i call it - "kit" characterisation wherein the tsundere character makes little to no progress in showing their feelings for their golden retriever boyfriends) but not shying away from having Saen actively express his hurt to some of the decisions Aii makes (Saen doesn't just gloss it over - he has a very good bit of self respect and although he rlly likes Aii, he is not afraid to put himself first when necessary). I'm excited to see how they'll tackle this next hurdle with Aii going to Japan (cause bruh Gen Y did the same thing with Mark-Kit and Kit's reactions are *exactly* what i hope doesn't happen here).

Finally, Vee and Dome are so complicated and messed up but i LOVE that the show isn't trying to justify their behaviour. They didn't make Vee's sis a bad person - if anything, she's amazing - and thus the show doesn't want us to hate Vee's sister and root for Vee and Dome but instead try and understand the immense moral grey zone the two of them are about to enter. The devillainisation of women in this show is honestly a breath of fresh air. I hope they continue this air of "grey moral" with this couple because it's just. so. interesting. Not everything needs to be cut and dry - love is messy and confusing and i hope they portray this love story exactly like that.

Honourable mention: the conversation with Vee and Saen this episode was so realistic, esp Saen's reaction. The hanging his head low and just listening to advice he knows is true but finds it hard to accept because he is hurt (rightfully so may i add) and the delicacy with which Vee advocates for Aii is also so nice. Aii is Vee's friend and senior, someone he knows and cares about, while Saen is his junior - someone who relies on and respects him - as such i think Vee navigated this scene with as much tenacity s possible. He could have easily just half-heartedly given advice or just blindly agreed with Saen (something much easier than what he did) but instead, chose to use his view as an outsider to give Saen a 3rd person's insight. this ultimately led to Saen both better understanding Aii and also reconsidering his stance and understanding of their relationship (that he doesn't need everyone to know - as long s the 2 of them know, it's enough for now).

Final thoughts?
7.9 rating is too low for this show - i said what i said ;)

Hello, helooo all! Sultana here again with another weekly rundown.

TL/DR: The basketball games were necessary though long but i hope to not see them for a long time after. 

We jump right back from where we left off in ep7 this week with Chiyakorn University's Basketball (BB) team going up against Coach Tuan. This week's major controversy seems to boil down to one main question: does this sports BL drama have too much sports? Now one might think the answer lies within the question itself, however i argue that it is far more complicated than that. See while this is a sports drama at it's core (and specifically a BB one at that), the problem is that there are 2 more couples who's lives have very little to do with the *epic highs and lows of college basketball* (if u get the reference, have a heart <3). That being said, here's my two cents:

Tupfah and Thorn's relationship reminds me of the starring duo in Project S: Spike. That was also a Sports drama and focused heavily on both the main duo's relationship as well as Volleyball (culminating to an epic final game show down much like the one we saw this episode). As i pointed out before, the main difference is that this show has THREE couples and a world outside of just the sport. So was the balance a little off in ep7 and 8? Sure, maybe a little. but i don't blame the show AT ALL. Why? because the first few episodes, we got very little of actual competitive BB. remember a couple episodes ago when we had almost 3/4 of an episode dedicated to Aii and Saen's relationship? I'm not saying that was wrong or unnecessary by any means -> rather, i'm pointing out that it was essential for plot progression. So is the big final match in BB for Fah and Thorn. While it isn't as overtly romantic as Aii and Saen's episode (or as tension-riddled as the scenes with Dome and Vee), we - as the audience - need to understand that BB represents the very foundational pillars of Thorn and Fah's relationship.

This brings me to my next point -> i saw a few people compare Vee and Dome (and their running of the relay) to Fah and Thorn and how we didn't need to sit through almost an hour of just relay running (this was the case for BB). While this is true (and i agree, i think production could have cut a few of those slowed down montages out for the betterment of all of us), it needs to be remembered that relay running is in no way as fundamental to Vee and Dome's relationship as BB is to Tupfah and Thorn. Running allowed an alternate and sped-up pathway for Vee and Dome to discover their chemistry - in other words, it acted like a catalyst - while BB was the very reason Tupfah and Thorn met, continued to commit to one another and ultimately fell in love (looking deeper, BB was also the main reason Thorn found confidence in himself and his abilities to be more than "mediocre"). So i don't think that's a very fair comparison. That being said, i do hope that the next 4 episodes feature the other couples and their domesticity more than BB games (and i hope my bby Thorn is okay ;-;).

Moving on to our tracky boys, Vee and Dome. I feel very sorry for Vee and applaud P'Prosche on his acting because that panic attack almost sent me spiralling. It was so realistic and raw - gave me Goosebumps. Not much else happened with these two unfortunately, but the show went on to further solidify that we are NOT meant to just blindly ship Vee and Dome. Pan is so fckn sweet and an amazing big sister -> she does not deserve this. And neither does Vee. And yet, i can't completely blame Dome either. It seems like he's rlly struggling with his sexuality (something i think Vee ignited in him) - i just hope he gets his shit together soon.

Finally, Aii and Saen. Not much with this couple either but what we did get was great. I loved how Saen stood his ground -> the boy has self-respect and knows how to set boundaries. I also like how Aii didn't rush into agreeing to long distance without a proper think (it would be super OOC if he did tbh) -> it's a big commitment and i'm glad he understands the gravitas of what they are about to embark on. Once again the Vee/Pan siblings are carrying this ship on their backs, the convo with Pan and Aii was just as good and last weeks one with Vee and Saen. Pan pushed Aii just the right amount so that he decided for himself what he wanted but also didn't chicken out. Very smart lady. I hope their relationship continues to blossom (esp since it seems like Aii is openning up to the relationship a lot more).

All in all, this was another rlly amazing episode and i loved it so much. i screamed so loud when they won the BB game (even tho it was pre obv they would) and there were lots of commendable moments (for all parties involved). ONCE AGAIN: WHY DOES THIS SHOW HAVE SUCH A LOW RATING??

That's all from me <3