I absolutely adored the first season of I Told Sunset About You. Actually, it Is in my top 5 of all dramas I have ever watched. This show just touched me in a way I still can’t quite explain. I watched those five episodes, no exaggeration, about ten times. My mind was consumed by it. I told everyone around me to watch it (with minimal success), I wrote quotes of it in my diary, I made it my wallpaper, I listened to the OST on my way to work. Point being, I was obsessed, and still am, kinda. ITSAY has a grip on me like not many other stories have, maybe because I felt so very represented by both its protagonists. Still, when I heard that they would make a second season, I wasn’t excited at all. In fact, I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to watch it.

Why is that?

I've never been interested in what comes after the happy ending. Because what follows, is just another day, on which things might suck again. I never cared for the drama that happens, AFTER two people enter a relationship. This has gone so far, that I will oftentimes just stop watching a show or reading a book, after the couple gets together, because the idea of conflict is terrifying to me. I like things to feel settled and comfortable. And the end of ITSAYs first season conveyed exactly that. It was short and sweet. And I wanted nothing more from it.
However, I still felt some kind of moral obligation to at least check it out. I heard that they had changed the director, which worried me deeply. The trailer dropped and I dreaded the show’s release date even more. It looked exactly like I what feared it would be: melodrama that would drag a short and sweet story down. Still, I decided to give the second season a chance. Even if I personally, didn’t like relationship drama, that wouldn’t have to mean that the show was going to be objectively bad, right?

So, as a huge fan of season one that went into this with loads of doubts, what do I have to say about I Promised You The Moon?
Weirdly enough, even though I wasn’t excited for this at all, I don’t think I am as upset with IPYTM as everyone else seems to be. I think some people are mad at this show for having its leads screw up, which I find a bit absurd. Just because you disagree with a character’s actions doesn’t have to mean the story is fundamentally bad. As long as you lay the groundwork for said decisions, characters are obviously allowed to make mistakes.
I don’t think I Promised You The Moon is a love story, which is probably the thing that caught most people off guard. But I don’t purely consider I Told Sunset About you a love story either, I would rather classify it as Coming of Age. To me at least, ITSAY was primarily about finding yourself, and considering that, the second season felt very much in spirit of its pre-successor.
I have my qualms with this sequel, but a lot of the “criticism” of this series I have seen, just comes from people that wanted some romance scenes between the two lead actors and were disappointed that there would be angst between them.
Admittedly, some of the things I enjoyed most about ITSAYs first season, mainly the innocence of your first love, were missing here. In fact, if you’re looking for something as overall wholesome as the last season, or if you just want to see the two leads be cute together, don’t watch this (or stop after the first episode) because this is very much not that.
But okay, let me start with the things I really liked about this follow-up:

The cinematography was one of the best things about ITSAYs first season, hence why I was so concerned about the change in director. But as it turns out, I had absolutely nothing to worry about in that regard. I Promised You The Moon looks stunning. Every single shot felt well crafted and meaningful. Dare I say, this season looks just as good as the first one, sometimes even a tad better. The camerawork felt just as poetic as this season’s name and was rich with symbolism. I have to especially mention how effortlessly the director made the imagery of season one his own. There were many visual callbacks to the first season but instead of simply being references, the director made sure to always add his own twist. Like how the couple's first kiss in season one was underwater, where they hid away from the world, and their first kiss in season two happens in an aquarium after Teh officially comes out to his mom. The scene is referential to the underwater-kiss but instead of hiding, the couple is now in a public space, open and comfortable with themselves. And that is just one of the many ways I Promised You The Moon kept the spirit of its pre-successor alive while still being its own thing.
I really enjoyed all the new characters (with one exception, you can probably guess who, I will get into that later). Especially Oh-aews new friend circle. It’s nice that they actually have personalities this time and we get a much clearer picture of their dynamic with Oh-aew than with the side characters in season one. When I first watched the second season’s trailer, I feared that the supporting cast would solely serve as a bad influence to drive the leads apart but I actually thought that most of them added something to the story and also added depth to the personalities of our leads so that was a pleasant surprise.
I loved Oh-aews arc here, trying to find his place in Bangkok and also rediscovering his self-worth as his relationship goes all kinds of wrong. Him changing his university degree, is the thing that resonated most with me this season. Realizing that what you might not be cut out for what you dreamed of, is a really difficult, heartbreaking process, but the show does not punish him for changing his plans or “giving up”. Instead, he thrives when he allows himself to do what feels right to him. And that was honestly just really nice to see and the kind of story this burnt-out university student needed.
This is also such a minor thing, as it’s one of the first things that happens in this season, but Teh “coming out” to his mom, or rather finding out that his mom knew about him and Oh-aew all this time, was such a good scene. It brought tears to my eyes. While I really loved how the first season dealt with “queer trauma” such as internalized homophobia, I really wasn’t up to see another five episodes of this couple suffering simply because they’re gay. So it was refreshing to see that bigotry, wasn’t a hindrance in their relationship at all. In fact, they became noticeably more comfortable with being out in front of people. I mentioned the aquarium-kiss, but there were also minor things, like Teh smiling when he first meets another gay couple for the first time.
The acting is probably the second season’s strongest selling-point. I was impressed by the leads’ chemistry in ITSAY but dare I say, the two actors have improved a lot since the first season’s release. Maybe they have simply matured, maybe the director did a better job directing them, but I was in awe by how strong the acting here was. PP Krit as Oh-aew especially took the cake here, he was absolutely incredible. I found myself really looking forward to the documentary episodes of this season and seeing how invested both actors were in their characters was really fascinating. You can’t help but notice that Billkin and PP Krit have a really strong idea on how these characters work and should behave and the strong bond the two actors have is the reason the main Teh and Oh-aew’s chemistry is so believable. They’re obviously very comfortable with each other and trust each other a lot and you really can tell as you watch this show, no matter how much their characters hurt each other.
For the most part, IPYTM managed to keep the realism, that came with season one, alive, which I greatly appreciate. I mentioned how I worried about the second season being full of needless drama to up the stakes and while this definitely is pretty melodramatic, it’s still on the believable side. It is true that I could not relate to the second season like I did to the first one, which, as an angsty gay kid, touched the deepest darkest corner of my heart, but I was still left with a plot that somewhat resonated with me. Noone likes to think about the idea of drifting apart, but it happens. Quite frankly, I do not know a lot of stories that dare to tackle that topic, as it is such a downer, so I found this almost sort of refreshing, even though I dreaded the concept when I watched the trailer. I thought the process of them growing apart was done well, it felt like the natural conclusion given the circumstances the characters were in. The show didn’t go over the top to gives these two a reason to break up, they simply didn’t work anymore. Though there is an emotional climax in episode four, things were going wrong, way before the couple’s big fight. It’s hard to maintain a relationship when you’re both drastically changing and I thought this subject matter was explored in a mature and convincing way.

But I mentioned having my qualms with this sequel, so without further ado, let us get into them.
Teh is a villain.
As I read some opinion about this season, I came to realize that a lot of people never liked Teh, not even in season one, which honestly kinda shocked me. Because personally, I could relate a lot to him. Yes, he hurt Oh-aew on multiple occasions but I always understood where he came from. I understand that internalized homophobia can mess with you. So I have always been a Teh-apologist, because I saw a lot of myself in him, especially in his flaws. I could relate to his angst, to his pride that so often got the best of him, to his inability to communicate his feelings clearly, down to him making passive aggressive Instagram stories directed at his crush because he is a coward . But man, do I have a tough job defending him in season 2. I have mentioned how your characters are allowed to make mistakes. How them screwing up, doesn’t make a story bad but is the thing that provides conflict. But someone tell me: Why does it always have to be Teh screwing up? All the time. I mean, Oh-aew is a literal saint here, while Teh practically does nothing else but make questionable decisions.
You saw the spoiler warning, let’s talk about the infidelity. As someone, who found immense comfort in this relationship, watching the infamous theater practice kiss scene, definitely made me feel uncomfortable. Made me feel weirdly betrayed even. But I actually don’t absolutely hate the concept of it happening. Not meaning that I think cheating is super cool or even excusable, but I don’t mind it as a plot-point. I mean, it does happen. I think it was set up properly, it didn’t come out of left field or anything like that. But here is the problem: for this show to work, the audience still needs to like Teh. He is allowed to screw up, obviously. But he needs to stay redeemable.
“But user @sapphicdesaster”, you might say “Surely cheating is one of the worst things you can do to another person, how could the show have possibly redeemed Teh after he made such a grave mistake?”
Well rest be assured, I agree, infidelity is gross, and I think Oh-aew breaking up was the punishment Teh deserved. But I still think the narrative could have done something to make this feel less like a gut-punch. First of all: Let Oh-aew hurt Teh once. Like properly. Let him be the immature one for once. Make Teh’s worries about Oh-aew leaving him feel more warranted. Then make his feelings for Jai feel more grounded. Basically, let Oh-aew make a mistake that makes Teh flee into Jai’s arms for comfort. That of course wouldn’t excuse the infidelity but at least soften the blow, if that makes sense.
I mentioned not liking one new character. Shocker, it’s Jai. But the problem for me, isn’t him being a bad guy, I found his reasons to seduce Teh just kind of childish and like a cheap way to explain Teh’s actions away. To me, it took away Teh’s agency in the whole thing. Like “Oh he couldn’t help it, he was manipulated by an evil guy”. Like he had fallen under a spell. I would much have preferred it, if Teh’s feelings for Jai had been completely sincere, if he had simply fallen for his mentor for the person he is. I still would include the scene of him getting turned down, mostly because after watching him break Oh-aews heart, seeing him get played was very satisfying, but I would still change Jai’s motive. Instead of him having this master plan all along, maybe he was genuinely into Teh, but was in a secret relationship the entire time. That would give Teh a taste of his own medicine, without trying to rationalize his behavior away.

Conclusion:
As someone who watched the documentary, I feel like it’s at least safe to say, that no one walked into this half-heartedly. This wasn’t some cash-grab to profit off a beloved first season. I feel like this is a story the director genuinely wanted to tell. It might have not resonated with everyone but that is a risk you just have to take as a filmmaker.
I saw the term “toxic relationship” get thrown around a lot. And I agree, these two did lead a toxic relationship at some point. But like, a story simply being about a toxic relationship, doesn’t make it bad. The question is, does the story endorse a toxic relationship? And I don't think I could accuse IPYTM of said crime. There is no merit to Oh-aews suffering. He isn't put in a position where he has to change his boyfriend. Both characters change drastically but they change apart and seperate from each other. Teh, while the show tries to make the viewer sympathize with him, gets punished by the narrative for his mistakes. Because he is unable to make up his mind, he loses both guys he is interested in. And he can only get his love back, after growing as a person.
I didn’t feel let down by IPYTM, but maybe that’s because I went into this with a pretty pessimistic outlook on what it would be. I understand why this is a somewhat controversial season. It was not the story people were signing up for. Fans were invested in this couple, they wanted to see them happy. And I get that, so did I. In fact, if they made a third season called “Teh and Oh-aew: But this time they’re just in love and nothing bad ever happens” I would probably watch it. But I don’t think that would have been a story worth telling.
Obviously, I expected Teh and Oh-aew to have their problems in this season but I was quite surprised by how heavy they were. And while it was heartbreaking to watch them in this state, it is something I have to praise the show for. This was pretty daring. It’s not often a story tells us that sometimes love, doesn’t conquer all. Sometimes life gets in-between. Sometimes loving someone isn’t enough. Those are scary ideas, but they’re worth exploring.

Still, I am glad that in the end Teh and Oh-aew got their happy ending. Many people said that they didn’t want to see the couple together after the events of episode three, but I still kind of did, provided they both had the time to grow. Does Oh-aew deserve better? Maybe, I don’t know. But love isn’t really about what you deserve. It’s not a rational thing where you can calculate a break-even. It’s doing bat sh*t crazy things, like getting the name of your boyfriend of few months tattooed. It’s also realizing when you need to take a step back, which Teh did. As they met again, I was reminded of the lyrics from their theme song of season one: “If we are set apart by time, I'll be pleased to wait- But if we are set apart by destiny, I have to give up, don't I?” I never doubted that the two leads loved each other, even in their worst state, but as I mentioned, sometimes that isn’t enough. It’s simply the foundation. When Teh told Oh-aew that, even after he fell for Jai, he never once thought of breaking up with him, I believed him. But it was still important that the two of them got the chance to spend some time apart. In the last episode, I saw a couple I had faith in. They were less co-dependent and more well-rounded people. And I think that’s the real story of IPYTM. How time changes everything.

Obviously, this will never do for me, what ITSAY did for me. It couldn’t touch my heart in that way and I also think, objectively speaking, that it simply isn’t as strong as its pre-successor. But I didn’t expect anything else. It had a lot to live up to. I still think this is worth watching. Or maybe you just have to know what you’re getting into. If it’s really important to you to just see the two leads happy, maybe skip this. If you’re looking for a new take on a contemporary relationship as the two leads figure out who they are, this is definitely worth a try.

It seems like I run into this show whenever I need it the most. I watched I Told Sunset About You when I was coming to terms with the label "lesbian ". And now this aired, the year I am supposed move out of my childhood home. This drama kind of forced me, to get over my fear of “the day after the happy ending”. Because while I like the idea of comfortable neat clean conclusions and closure, what happens after the happy ending is simply life. And I can’t escape it forever. Yes, tomorrow might be painful. But it could be beautiful as well.