O-Negative (one of our cast doesn't make it)

Art and Ong-art have a strange macho battle

Episode 18 of the Thai TV show O-Negative (Episode 17) starts with Ong-art bringing Foon to the college for the new school year. Art, Chompoo, Prim and Peun are all pretty disgusted seeing the two back together. Art seems particularly annoyed by the sight of Ong-art. He gets up and shoves his camera into Ong-art's face as he takes pictures. The two verbally spar, with Prim trying to calm Art down while Foon intervenes with Ong-art.

Once that's over Chompoo asks Foon where she was and why she dropped O Group chat. Foon answers with her usual nonsensically cheerful BS about everything being OK and she was just teasing them. I've got to say, Peun is a ridiculous skirt-chasing weasel, but Foon probably out does him in the nut-bag department with her wildly at odds public and private personas.

At any rate, we're more or less back to square one with Chompoo suspicious, Peun with a guilty look on his face, Art disgusted by it all and Prim puzzled.

The scene ends with Ong-art arranging the time for him to pick up Foon at the end of the school day. When Ong-art leaves he insults Art some more, making fun of his cheap camera. After he is gone the rest of O Group expresses their dislike of him and their confusion over why he's back with Foon.

They go their different classes. Foon rejoins O Group chat and they all promptly begin to goof off on the chat instead of paying attention to their teachers. Chompoo grills Foon as to whether Ong-art is her boy friend or not. After playing coy for a short time Foon says that yes, she and Ong-art are back together.

Chompoo and Foon have different reactions upon seeing Ong-art

Later Chompoo is sitting with Foon who is waiting for Ong-art to pick her up at the end of the school day. Chompoo is mystified as to why Foon would go back to dating Ong-art. Well Chompoo, from what we've seen of Foon's taste in men she likes complete jerks. Anyway, Ong-art comes late and profusely apologizes, telling Foon he'll buy her a designer handbag to make up for it.

Hmm... expensive purses, fancy restaurants, private jets... I think I'm beginning to see some of Ong-art's many charms.

Foon gets a designer purse, Prim gets a slurpy

Meanwhile Prim is buying a drink at a food stand. Peun runs up and buys it for her. She isn't really happy about that, offering a perfunctory 'thank you' before trying to walk away. Peun calls after her and asks her if she wants to go to a movie. She says no and he continues by asking a series of questions about where she is going.

Aside from once again demonstrating what a jerk Peun can be, it is an expository dialog dump that sets up the next scene -- Prim and her mom going to a yoga class. After the class Prim and her mom talk to Ms. Duang, the owner of the yoga studio. When she finds out Prim is in her 3rd year at the college she realizes Prim will need an internship and offers one at her studio. Prim is interested so they decide they'll get together later to talk about what would be involved.

Later that night Prim is at home working on a project for class. Her and her mom share a bit of mother/daughter bonding, then -- after her mom leaves -- she gets a call from Peun. He is at Go's and is completely plastered. To Prim's annoyance he drunkenly sings to her over the phone. Then he slurs out that he loves her. She tells him to sober up. Finally she's had enough of his babbling and hangs up. He tries to call her back, but she turns her phone off and ignores him.

Since when did Chompoo get ambitious and reliable?

We cut to the next day where Chompoo is front of a group of students in a classroom. She's discussing what they need to do to organize the year's Silpakorn Gift Festival (so they must be students at Silpakorn University which actually does hold such an event). Chompoo is telling them who is in charge of what facet of the festival.

When she gets to the fashion show she says she wants to use her friends Foon, Prim and Peun as her models, with Art as the photographer. We then have a montage of them getting ready for the festival, including shots of Prim, Foon and Peun walking around with books on their heads for model training. I wonder if the had to sing the Rain in Spain as well, or am I mixing up my training montages?

I know what I'm adding to my shopping list

We cut to their final preparations for the festival. Go, after bringing in a heavy cooler, complains that his leg hurts. Luckily for him his friend has a Tiger Balm Pain Relieving Patch he can loan him. As we all know:

"Combining Tiger Balm’s blend of herbal ingredients with the cleanliness of a patch, Tiger Balm Pain Relieving Patches provide strong and convenient pain relief for hours with minimal odor. They’re not messy or greasy, and will not stain clothing. The ventilated hydrogel patch contours to your body to deliver optimal comfort and relief, and the pull-and-peel protective film makes it easy to apply and painless to remove."

Not that I'm doing product placement in my recap or anything like that.

I'm sure that dress will fly off the racks

We finally get to see the fashion show. The fashions are adequately goofy in a faux haute couture sort of a way. Throughout it all we see Ong-art in the audience. He looks disgusted that he has to be in the midst of such peasants. When the show is over, much to the puzzlement of the festival's audience, Ong-art rushes up to the stage to give Foon flowers. The audience sits open mouthed at his foolishness, while Foon looks mortified by it. Then again, maybe Foon is just embarrassed by the dress she's wearing.

With the fashion show over people can wander around the shops and buy gifts. Art is drawing portraits. Ong-art stomps up to him with Foon and belligerently says he wants a couple portrait. Art offers a special Ong-art only price of 1,000 baht (~$32). Ong-art, ever one to be humble about his wealth, whips out 5,000 baht (~$160) and orders Art to start drawing.

Before we find out what Art's response is we cut to Peun, who is following Prim around and pestering her in an attempt to get back in her good graces. He gives her a ring that he bought for her. She gives it back and tells him to knock it off if he wants to remain on at least lukewarm terms with her.

We cut to the stage where a band is playing. Chompoo is of course doing a wild Chompoo dance. We then get one of the classic, and to me mystifying, Asian drama tropes. Go stops her from dancing, bends down and ties her shoe laces. Chompoo looks ecstatic. Variations of the scene -- tying a girl's  shoe laces, putting shoes on her feet or tending to a girl's injured bare foot happen again and again in Asian shows. It has obviously powerful romantic significance, but I'll be damned if I know why.

Looks like a waste of 160 bucks to me

We jump back to Art who is giving Foon the drawing. She has sent Ong-art off to wait for her elsewhere because he is so annoying. Art tells Foon that he would like to see Ong-art's expression when he sees it. She unrolls it and breaks out laughing. Yikes, Ong-art got took. From looking at it, and remembering that Ong-art paid nearly $160 for it, if that's Ong-art's sense of fiscal responsibility I'm guessing Ong-art is going to squander the family fortune before he's 30.

The next morning Art gets called to Professor Buddy's office. It's nothing bad, the Professor offers him a lead to an intern job with  Kwanruedee Dena Damrongwisetlerd. Thankfully, we can call her Kwan for short. Kwan is a fashion photographer and Art would be interning in her studio. The next day Art goes to her studio and introduces himself. Art gets the intern position.

We jump to that afternoon where Prim is getting ready to leave her house. She stops by to say good bye to her mom. I'm very relieved there is no broken glass any where. She tells her mom she is going to Foon's birthday party? What? Foon's birthday again, don't any of the other kids ever get to have a birthday party?

Go closes his bar for a private party for Foon. Sadly, from the view point of our amusement, Ong-art is missing. However, the rest of the group is there. They all make excuses for why they didn't get Foon a present, but she isn't bothered by that at all. Art and Chompoo go to the back storeroom to get some more booze. Meanwhile Peun asks Foon if she got her internship yet. She says her parents are setting one up. She asks Peun about his and he says he sent several applications out, but has gotten no replies. Color me shocked.

Princess Foon

There is a crash in the storeroom!!! Foon and the rest rush to the dark storage room. Foon is yelling for Chompoo and Art when they turn on the lights and yell "surprise." Prim puts a crown of flowers on Foon's head, and then Chompoo gives her a bouquet.

There's an actual turntable in the room. Art puts on a record and asks Foon for a dance. They do a sort of Tango. They all end up dancing, switching partners from time to time and all have a good time. After the dancing they gather around Foon's birthday cake and Chompoo reads a poem about friendship. Then Prim says she would like to have this room as a gallery with poetry readings every week. I'm sensing a plot point here.

As they're leaving the party the Foundation emergency vehicle roars up with its sirens flashing. Tum tells Art there is a terrible car accident and asks him to come along. He starts to say no, but Foon wants to do a good deed on her birthday so all of O Group piles into the back of the truck.

When they get to the accident the car is flipped upside down and they are using Jaws of Life to pry the wreckage open to extract the driver. Art runs over and starts photographing them pulling the woman from the car. Then he stops and looks completely horrified. Peun and Foon walk up and look horrified as well.

In back are Chompoo and Prim. Chompoo is a bit drunk and she points to the car and says, "Hey Prim, this looks like your mom's car. It's black. That one that your mom likes to drive."

When Prim steps far enough forward she sees that it is her mom laying on the pavement . She pleads first to Art, and then to anybody there, to help her mom. However, they can do nothing. They can only stand there and witness her grief.

[Episode 19]

Oh no