Visit to a Girls Bar

This is different than my usual Walking in Cities video in that it starts out with a visit to a Girls Bar in Tokyo. The Girls Bar visited in this video charges a 3,000 yen (~$22.00) cover to be able to enter and stay for an hour. You'll be charged more if you stay longer, and there may be extra charges for drinks. 

It seems odd, but what you're paying for is conversation with the bartenders who are young, cute girls. They're not prostitutes. In fact, you're not supposed to touch them or even have risqué conversations. That said I imagine some are sketchier than others and I suspect that getting too drunk in one is a good way to get your bank account vacuumed clean. 

As explained in the above linked article:

For those of us who grew up outside of Japanese society, the idea of paying someone just to talk to them may be hard to grasp. But girls bars may actually be a product of Japanese work culture that leaves employees very little time to cultivate and maintain a healthy relationship. It’s a compromise that allows men in Japan to enjoy the company of women, even if it’s just for a while. 

Who goes to girls bars?

Mostly men. It could be a tired businessman who’s just gotten off work and wants a drink and a chat. Or it could be a young man who’s nervous around women and wants to practice his conversational skills. Or even a foreign resident who wants to improve his Japanese or rather a tourist who just wants to see what Japan has to offer. 

It could be a person like me who unwittingly wandered into one and didn’t realize it was a girls’ bar until my cute girl bartender told me I’d be charged for every half-hour I was there!

As you can see the bar shown is quite small. It seats 5-6 customers and has 3 girls working plus a bouncer. The place has 3 customers, 2 jovial Japanese fellows on one end and a female Thai tourist on the other. Apparently, the bar has a Thai theme (in the comments they think the 3 bartenders are Thai girls). The place seems amiable enough, although at $20+ an hour plus the risk of getting simped out of your life savings it may not be amiable enough.

After his stay there he does take a stroll in the streets surrounding it.

 

O-Negative (Chompoo gets an offer she can't refuse)

The return of the candy lady

Domestic bliss

Episode 8 of the Thai TV show O-Negative (Episode 7) starts where the previous episode ended. The girls have gone out to buy food while the two boys are still at Go's bar painting the mural. Meanwhile, Go is off buying fried breadsticks for Chompoo.

The girls are at a food stand. Chompoo is whining because it is out of her favorite fried bread sticks. The girls are trying to decide what to do when it occurs to me the food stand looks familiar. It looks like the food stand from Prim's last flashback and sure enough the old lady selling candy soon appears.

This triggers a continuation of Prim's flashback. The family is in the car after getting their food. Prim is in the backseat watching her two parents fight in the front seat. Her mother is furious that her dad bought so much candy from the old lady. He defends his action, saying the lady was very poor and the money will be a great help to her.

The fight escalates as Prim's mom accuses her dad of being a soft touch who is wasting their family's money. There is a bitter back and forth about some friend of his he is helping through a rough stretch. Her parents really start tearing into each other with low blows. Prim has been growing increasingly distressed through all of this. Eventually, at a stop light, Prim's mom gets out of the car and storms off.

We cut to Peun and Art working on the mural. Art asks why Peun didn't go with Foon and Peun responds with his usual complaints about Foon's confusing behavior. Art mocks him for being a bit of a crybaby. Amen to that. Granted, Foon would be a completely nutty girlfriend with her secrecy, but she is pretty obviously throwing herself at Peun and he needs to take his whimpering down a notch.

Unspoken Prim to Peun -- cool your jets

At that point Prim comes in with the food. Peun starts laying it on a little think with his compliments to her. She seems a bit taken aback and plays the friend zone card as a reminder just in case. Art makes note of the exchange.

Meanwhile the rest of the kids meet on the street in front of the bar. Chompoo gets an angry call from her dad who insists she come home right away. Go offers to take her there and tells the rest of them to call it a night.

Foon heads up with the drinks Go had bought and the four of them debate what to do. Foon convinces them to leave, but Art says he is going to stay and work some more. Prim tells Foon and Peun to go ahead and go home and says she'll stay with Art and help him finish up. Foon teases the two about finally being able to have quality time with each other.

Will Peun take the hint?

As Foon and Peun walk to her car I'm sure you can guess what happens. Yup, he starts whining to her that he thinks she's trying to avoid him. What? Are we watching the same show? She tells him that he's overthinking things and that he shouldn't be so sensitive. She then kisses him on his cheek to reassurre him. He's pleased, but from what we've gathered so far from watching the dunce in action I'm sure he'll be back to fretting about her intentions in a scene or two.

Meanwhile Prim and Art are having a pleasant time with each other. He starts singing, she asks him what song and he says it is by Ploychompoo and is the one that has the handsome guy in the video. Amazingly, and as a demonstration that I need a life, I actually found the music video. It is called ปลิว (Away). The joke is that Tor Thanapob Leeluttanakajorn, the actor who plays Peun, is the handsome guy in the video. The song is about a girl who has a secret crush and that is played upon as Art wistfully sneaks peeks at Prim.

Soon they are interrupted by Peun who shows up after seeing Foon home. Is that boob Peun capable of interpreting any social signals? The two obviously just wanted to be together for a bit. To say Art looks unhappy is an understatement.

I want one of them beautiful Thai zoomer murals painted on my wall

Through the miracle of time-lapse photography the days pass and the mural gets completed. The kids pose in front of it and then it is time for the grand opening of the Upstairs Bar & Bistro. The place is crowded, even Professor Buddy and the attractive painting teacher are there.

O Group reflects on how they used to hate Go in the hazing days, but now they like him. There are then a bunch of crowd scenes and shots of the kids dancing.

Chompoo is put on the spot

We next see Go standing on top of the bar with an announcement. Not only is this the bar's first night of business, but it is also a couple's first day as a couple. He is going to reveal the couple. He gets off the bar and directs everybody's attention to O Group. Art, Foon, Prim and Peun all nervously look at each other wondering who the couple is. However, Go points to Chompoo and says it is her.

She, along with everybody else in the bar, is mystified until Go confesses he likes Chompoo and then drops to his knees and asks her to be his girlfriend. Chompoo doesn't quite know whether to take Go seriously or not, but soon the crowd is chanting "say yes" and she does excitedly accept. The crowd then chants "kiss, kiss, kiss" but Go shyly chickens out and just asks her to dance. It doesn't matter to Chompoo because she is ecstatic and so she happily does some wild Chompoo dancing.

Prim confronts a mystery she cannot solve

Art is sitting outside getting some air and Prim comes out to join him. Art is fiddling around with  his camera and she asks him if she can see the pictures on it. She starts at the pictures of Go asking Chompoo to be his girlfriend, but as she continues to scroll she notices he has about a bazillion pictures of her on his phone. She asks him why. Hmmm... when he's not taking photos of her he is drawing pictures of her... whatever could that mean?

Meanwhile Peun is inside with Foon and Chompoo. Foon is going on about how wonderful Go was to Chompoo and how jealous she is that Chompoo got a man to go down on his knees to ask her to go out. Foon says she would love it if a man would do something like that for her. Peun is taking this all in.

Beavis and Butthead used to do a funny thing where when they got an idea, because they were so stupid, instead of a bright lightbulb turning on over their head a lightbulb that barely flickered appeared instead. I picture Peun with one of those barely flickering lightbulbs over his head.

We cut back to Art and Prim. Art asks Prim if she has a boyfriend. She says no and asks Art if he has a girlfriend. He says no, that he doesn't think girls would be interested in him. He adds that he's too timid to talk to girls and that he doesn't know how to approach them. She points out that she's a girl and wonders if maybe he doesn't see her as one. Realizing the corner he's painted himself into he flounders around, unable to explain what he meant.

She then edges a bit closer to him and asks him if there is a girl he likes. He says yes, but says he is too shy to tell  her, and besides -- he doesn't know if the feeling is mutual.

We join Art and Peun the next morning. Peun is asking Art whether he should ask Foon to be his girlfriend or not. Art's response is to quit bugging him about it and just ask her. After some bromance comedy about Peun creeping out Art by pretending he's Foon and practicing asking on him, Peun decides to surprise Foon on her birthday.

I sense a disturbance in the Force

On Foon's birthday Peun brings up her Facebook page and is typing Happy Birthday wishes to her when he notices a video, with some heart emojis, from a fellow called Ong-art. Peun watches the video. Ong-art sings happy birthday, teases Foon about looking too  thin and blows a kiss her way at the end. On her timeline he's also listed the two of them in a relationship. Needless to say, Peun is stricken.

Foon has also watched the video. she almost deletes it, but doesn't.

Later Chompoo, Prim, Art and Peun are at a picnic table discussing Ong-art's video. Chompoo has dug through Foon's old Facebook posts and has seen a lot of pictures of the two so she deduces that he is her boyfriend. Peun is looking miserable. When Foon arrives Chompoo starts grilling her about him. Foon says he is her ex-boyfriend. She points out she didn't like or comment on his post, and in fact that she almost deleted it. Peun looks relieved.

Later, after a class, Foon invites them all to Go's bar where she'll treat on her birthday. One by one they beg off, claiming they are busy. By the time Foon gets to the bar Peun is the only one still with her. She's upset they all ditched her on her birthday, so Go tells her to go up and drink all the beer she wants. It dark when she gets up there, but then the lights all turn on, out comes a cake and it turns out that they've thrown her a surprise party.

What could possibly go wrong?

When the party is over Peun walks Foon back to her car. When they get there he points her towards the trunk of her car and tells her he has a surprise. He uses the key to open the trunk. When it does balloons pop out and there is a sign saying "be my girlfriend" in it.

So... I'm wondering... how did he manage to decorate the inside of the trunk of her car?

At any rate, Peun asks Foon if she'll be his girlfriend and she hems and haws a bit and then says that she likes him a lot but that she can't go out with him. He wonders why and she says that Ong-art is still her boyfriend. She's wanted to break up with Ong-art, but hasn't had a reason to until Peun came along. She asks him to wait for a little longer. What?

Now I'm even more puzzled than I was by her decorated car truck. Can't she just do the ol' "you're a great guy, but I've met somebody else, can we still be friends" schtick that has broken so many a heart? Do you need to do some sort of a more formal breakup in Thailand?

[Episode 9]

The current state of Indian cheerleading

Click to enlarge

While writing about the new Elite Football League of India (EFLI) I ended the post with a toss-off line about being willing to act as a cheerleader consultant for the new league if they needed one. This got me wondering -- what is the state of Indian cheerleading these days?

Let it never be said that, as a dedicated internet journalist, once presented a lead I won't follow it to the ends of the Earth. Or, failing that, at least do a couple of Google searches and slap together a post in which I pawn myself off as an expert on the subject matter. 

It turns out that Indian cricket teams have recently added cheerleading squads, and with the cheer girls have come quite a bit of controversy.

This all started in 2008 when the wealthy and flamboyant  new owner of the Bangalore Royal Challengers imported the Washington Redskins cheerleading squad to be featured at the opening match of the Indian Premier League season. They were well received -- at least by the male fans -- and plans were to have locals audition for cheeleader slots for the teams.

Click to enlarge

However, while looking at the pictures you may notice that the cheerleaders are rather blonde and white-skinned and don't seem to be ethnic Indians at all. 

That's because the consensus of opinion is that the cheer girls are tramps, they apparently hold the social status of bar girls, and that the local girls are to modest try out for the squads? 

Wait... aren't Indian bar girls, Indians?

Regardless of the answer to that question, Indian cheerleader squads are composed of Western girls from the U.S., Australia and South Africa. As you can see, their costumes are also rather less revealing than American cheerleading uniforms. 

Still, in spite of their popularity with that fans and steps taken to tone down their costumes, tut-tutting cricket purists object to them sullying the sport. Even more adamantly opposed to the cheerleading squads are conservative religious groups in India. As Kanishk Tharoor of the Guardian reports:

From the inception of the IPL, much of the opposition to cheerleading has come from conservative religious groups, who staged heated demonstrations in 2008 when the dancers first took to the IPL stage. Even this year, a rightwing group in the coastal state of Orissa demanded that matches staged there should eschew cheerleaders altogether. While this species of angry conservative austerity may be getting noisier in India, its prudishness is familiar to us all. Social conservatism the world over shares a strange mix of sanctimony and prurience, the mingled terror of and obsession with the flesh.

You'll have to forgive him for getting carried away in his last sentence -- he is a writer for the Guardian after all.

Gabriella Pasqualotto

The controversy only intensified in May of this year when the South African Gabriella Pasqualotto, a cheerleader for the Mumbai Indians, got tossed off the squad when it was discovered she was the writer of the The Secret Diary of an IPL Cheerleader. 

In it she writes about late night parties with players and gossips about the cheer girls and players. Here is sample of the scandalous goings-on she talked about:

By the end of a crazy evening, a certain someone had played kissing catchers with three girls known to me only, although he has his own girlfriend back home. He cooed to each girl, “Come home with me, I just want to cuddle!"

Kissing catchers, cooing and cuddling? I wonder what they make of Linday Lohan? At any rate, you need not worry about Gabriella, she's parlayed her problems into a series of appearances and recently landed a role in a major Bollywood film.

O-Negative (backstory-o-rama)

Sakuntala - the beauty Peun flatters Foon with

Episode 7 of the Thai TV show O-Negative (Episode 6) starts with the kids at an art museum getting an art appreciation lecture. They are all bored to death. When the lecture ends the teacher tells them to pick one of the artworks and write an essay  about why it is beautiful.

As the students spread out Peun naturally ends up next to Foon. Considering his interlude, during the last episode, of fantasizing over Prim because of the t-shirt gift he needs to do an enormous amount of groveling to get back into Foon's good graces. He tells her that he threw the t-shirt away, which she thinks was stupid and then he tells her he cares for her but she's noncommittal.

Finally, in desperation he starts spouting poetry. Oh Peun, you silly boy. After going on about fair skin, jasmine and the eyes of a lion she realizes he's comparing her to the legendary beauty Sakuntala. I must say, for this being nothing but a oddball soap opera I sure am having to Google a lot of stuff. Anyway, she seems to fall for his flattery although she still maintains some distance.

Elsewhere Art has hooked up with Prim. She notices he is done with his assignment and wonders why he hasn't handed it in yet. He tells her he is keeping her company and besides, he is keeping himself busy. With that he gives her a sketch he did of her. She is quite pleased by it and his attention.

Go invites the O Group to his new bar

We cut to outside the museum, where as they leave Foon turns down Peun's offer of a dinner and a movie, claiming she's busy that night. Right after that the other kids come out. Chompoo tells them that Go messaged her and said he had a new bar and that he invited them to visit. Prim wants to know if they're all going.

All of them, including Foon who is suddenly not busy, want to go. The look on Peun's face is pretty funny. He looks surprised that she lied about being busy. Apparently he hasn't watched the first six episodes where she has told lies at the drop of a hat.

No offense Go, but your bar is a dump

When the kids get to Go's bar they discover it is an empty room on the 2nd floor. Chompoo teases Go about it, asking him if he is planning on having his customers sit on the floor drinking shots. Go explains his plans for the bar and says he needs some helpers. He wants the O Group to paint a mural on the wall and in return they'll get a life time 10% discount and their own special table.

The kids agree and the rest of the episode is, for the most part, going to be them telling stories about their past as they draw the mural. First we flashback to Peun and Art at a cram school. They are preparing for their college entrance exams.

Peun wonders why the nice lady gave him a chocolate bar

They're in a drawing class that is being taught by Aum. She's attractive and obviously interested in Peun for more than just his drawing progress. She hovers him and blatantly flirts with him. She ends up giving him a chocolate bar. Art points out to Peun that she is obviously interested in him and they could easily go out. Peun scoffs at that, saying he doesn't really like her.

However, at the end of a later class Art sees Peun and Aum leaving arm and arm. Their relationship doesn't last long, because we next see Art in the class alone. Aum is pestering him about where Peun has been. In fact, she pesters him so much that he ends up dropping the class as well.

So, Peun is a highschool kid and she is his adult teacher and her behavior doesn't raise an eyebrow? Well, apparently not. We return to the mural painting where the kids discuss Peun's story. Chompoo thinks he just slept with Aum and then dumped her. Peun claims that's not true, that he didn't like her. Then again, Foon is listening so Peun is spewing a fair amount of BS to try to impress her.

Meanwhile Chompoo has looked up their cram school and she realizes she went to the same one, but she was in a different class. They're eating as they talk about that coincidence when Go starts joking about Chompoo eating all the food. He then hems and haws a bit before asking Chompoo if she likes him. In Asian dramas telling somebody of the opposite sex that you like them is saying that you want to have a relationship. Chompoo sits there not knowing whether Go is joking or not, the kids are amused and an embarrassed Go heads out to buy Chompoo more food.

Chompoo tries to kill her sister

Chompoo's flashback starts at the cram school where she throws her drawing away when she leaves. He parents don't approve, so she has to keep the cram school secret. At dinner it becomes apparent that her father favors her sister Som O. He gives Som O the good pieces of food while he offers nothing to Chompoo.

After dinner the two sisters are in their room. Chompoo is trying to study while Som O is dancing around practicing a cheerleading routine. She ends up bopping Chompoo in the head with  her pom-pom. Chompoo jumps up angrily, and soon the two of them are fighting. Som O, being a little tattle-tale, yells to her dad that Chompoo is fighting with her.

In the next scene the Chompoo's dad is yelling at her while Som O stands behind him smirking. Chompoo ends up getting tossed out of the house so her sister can cheerlead practice in peace. Poor Chompoo is shown sitting on the curb outside her house under a street light trying not to cry as she reads.

We cut back to bar where the kids commiserate with Chompoo. Art then says he thinks he knows why Chompoo's dad is so harsh. He points out that Chompoo comes from a Chinese family and that the Chinese place great value in the first born. He jokingly says being stuck with the likes of Chompoo as their firstborn would frustrate anybody.

Foon then asks Art if he stayed in the class after Peun quit. He says no and seems a bit irked that, thanks to Peun, he had to quit after paying for the classes.

Tum gives Art some food

 We flashback to him drawing at the Foundation. Tum comes up and gives him some bananas from a left over temple offering. Art hungrily eats them. Later he calls his mom from a pay phone. He just wants to talk to her. After the call he checks his money and decides to take a train to visit her.

She is happy to see him, but concerned that he has enough money. She feels bad because she can't support him better. They have a talk where she questions him about his situation. He draws portraits -- I guess for tourists -- for living expenses. He only can draw three a day at most because his hand cramps if he draws more, and he has to end by midnight so he can catch a bus. His mother is upset, but she says nothing.

The next day she's prepared a parcel of food for him for his train ride back to Bangkok. He's depressed as he returns. Back at the bar the girls are impressed he made it into college without the benefit of a cram school. Foon and Prim compare notes and discover they both attended the Phra Sumen Fort cram school, but they didn't know each other at the time.

Trouble in paradise

We get Prim's flashback first. He father drops her off and we see her drawing with Foon sitting a little way off. A fellow comes up with a bag of cookies and asks Prim to give them to Foon and ask for her phone number. Prim says OK, then opens the bag and starts eating the cookies. The fellow protests and she just points out he should have approached Foon in the first place.

We cut to Prim's parents waiting for her. They don't seem entirely happy and Prim's mom eventually accuses her dad of turning her into an alcoholic back in their college days. Yeeps! This conversation has taken a turn for the worse mighty fast. Her dad then mentions somebody called Weera and Prim's mom wonders if he's talked to him yet. He says no because Weera said his kid being sick. Prim's mom is disgusted.

Prim joins them and they drive to get food. Prim and her dad are jovial enough, but her mom is silent and obviously unhappy. While they're waiting for the food an old beggar lady approaches them to buy some candy. The dad does, while Prim's mom gets their order and walks off in a huff. She is even angrier.

All that remains is Foon's flashback. She's finishing up her session at the Phra Sumen Fort cram school when a young fellow walks up. He flirts with her and she flirts back. I do believe we have our first Ong-art sighting.

[Episode 8]

The mysterious Ong-art makes an appearance

Welcome home Master/Mistress

OK, this is weird. Earlier I posted about a visit to a Japanese Girls Bar. I probably should have known better than to do it, but I decided to search for other strange Japanese bars. That search led me to Japanese maid cafés and hoo-boy, they take cringe to a whole new level.

In the above video (turn on captions) a fellow takes us on a visit to a maid café. The waitresses are dressed in frilly, mini-skirted French maid outfits and talk in high pitched giggly voices. They greet him as Master and take him to a table where his maid (the owner of the place) serves him. The dining experience starts out absurd and gets more and more entertainingly ridiculous as it proceeds. 

After showing him the entire menu, in a relentlessly cheerful and enthusiastic manner, she brings him the drink he ordered. She also has a flask, and she makes him recite some magical words to turn the contents of the flask pink, which she then pours into the drink tuning it pink too. It's magic! They then have to recite some more magic to infuse the drink with love so's it tastes even more delicious. 

This magic business goes on with every dish she brings and finally ends up with them waving around heart-shaped plastic magic wands as they do their incantations. Along the way she also draws a cartoon bear on the eggs on top of his rice and eventually they take a picture together. For the picture he has to pose with her while wearing bunny ears. The guy's reaction through all this is hilarious. Understandably, he is completely embarrassed and yet he is still entertained by all the foolishness. 

In trying to make sense out of this maid café lunacy I discovered it was rooted in Japanese anime culture. In fact, when the fellow first enters the café he says, "my otaku soul's screaming!" Otaku means: a person having an intense or obsessive interest especially in the fields of anime and manga. Appealing to that otaku crowd, the maid café is set up to be an anime world with the waitresses cosplaying as anime maids. In preparing this post I watched a recorded live stream made by two American guys and four girls who went to this same place -- their reactions were centered mainly around the anime elements of the café. They even recognized some of the anime characters the maids were imitating in their cosplay.

In the captions you'll see him use the word 'cute' repeatedly. Listening to the soundtrack he actually uses the Japanese word 'kawaii' which has a much more nuanced meaning than just cute. Kawaii refers to a specific cultural style. It refers to people or things that are "charming, vulnerable, shy and childlike". All of the elements of the café are deliberately kawaii: the color scheme, the frilly maid outfits, the high-pitched voices and giggling, the cutesy details of the food, the font styles they use, the goofy bunny ears, and the kid's games they play (shown in the video below). This is all performance theater for otaku fans.

Finally, we'll end with a video from Sue Perkins of the BBC visiting the same place. She's rather rude during the entire segment. What's she's obviously fixated on is the idea that these poor girls are forced to dress up and engage in this lunacy by the Eeeeevil patriarchy. What's funny is that much of this kawaii business was cooked up by young Japanese women (and one look at a J-pop boy band and the bunny ears the fellow above wears for his picture tells you that this kawaii stuff applies to boys as well as girls). Further, the neighborhood this café is in is the very center of otaku culture, so she has to know the context it sits in.   

I picture her, in another setting, lecturing us about the wonders of diversity while all the time disdaining anything outside of her proscribed horizons. However, in fairness to Sue, I think it is part of a longer show called Japan with Sue Perkins so it may feel different when presented in the show, but in the clip we see she comes across as being insufferable. She ends the segment by informing us this is a place for shy men to interact with women. Well, it's partly that I suppose, but I think it is mainly just otaku Disneyland.

'

O-Negative (a failed intervention and a heap o' two-timing)

The last person Foon wants to see calling her

Episode 13 of the Thai TV show O-Negative (Episode 12) is the half way point of this series. Look at the bright side, you've got 13 more if these ridiculous recaps to wade through. At any rate, the episode picks up where the previous one ended. Art, Prim, Chompoo and Go are upstairs in the bar guzzling booze when Peun returns alone.

After he had told Foon he wasn't ready to date her, Foon, no doubt considering the sudden uptick of pictures of Peun and Prim together, asked him if he was seeing somebody else. He employed his usual first strategy when confronted with a difficult question -- he just stood there looking stupid and didn't say anything. Foon guessed what that meant and she told him to take the squids and stick them where the sun don't shine. Well, that's what she should have said. Instead she told him to take the squid to the rest of the gang. Then she turned and left as she tried to maintain her composure.

When he got to the bar alone the others wondered where Foon was and if she was OK. Peun then deployed his usual second strategy when faced with a dilemma -- he lied through his teeth saying he didn't know why she left. Art is looking increasingly disgusted by Peun's actions which just keep making a bad situation worse.

Prim decides to call Foon to see if she's OK. As you can imagine, Foon, who is crying her eyes out in her car, is less than thrilled to see Prim, of all people, pop up on her phone. She doesn't answer.

It's late, so they all head home. Peun says he'll  take Prim to her house. He can tell she is bothered by something, so he asks her what it is? She says that she's worried about Foon. That Foon seemed a little mad at her. Oh, sweet oblivious Prim, if you only knew.

Peun than asks Prim is she has given her mother the phone number of the psychologist he recommended. Yea Peun, put Prim's mind at ease by reminding her that her mom is nuttier than a fruitcake. That'll do the trick. Prim tells him she's just going to give her mom time. She says she thinks her mom is gradually getting better.

Prim's mom starts her trip around the bend

We flashback to the aftermath of Prim's dad's death. Prim's mother is disconsolate. Prim goes to get her some soup, but when she returns to it her mom has moved to her father's study where she's knocking back some whiskey. Prim offers to bring her the soup, but her mom says she'll wait to eat until Prim's now deceased dad joins them.

Prim tells her that dad's not with them anymore and Prim's mom says she knows -- that he's at work and will be back soon. It begins to sink into Prim just how delusional her mother has  become. She reacts with a mixture of sadness and horror to the dawning realization.

Her mom is continuing to drink heavily and Prim tries to slow her down. In the process they spill a bit of the drink on a drawing of her father's. Prim's mom is furious as she wipes up the spill saying how angry Prim's father is going to be. Prim is breaking down, in tears as she tries to tell her mom that her father is dead. This just enrages her mother even more.

We jump back to the present where Prim and Peun are walking as she tells the story. We then have a very odd scene. It is almost as if whoever wrote it hadn't seen the first 12 episodes. They've clearly established that Prim knows her mom's delusions kick in when she's been drinking, and prior to the trip to Art's house we've seen Prim try to talk her mom into not drinking.

That said, the scene continues by having Peun theorize that her mom's delusions start when she's been drinking and maybe Prim should talk to her about stopping drinking. When he says this Prim acts like it is a monumental insight that she had never considered. Ka-boing! That's some really goofy writing just to push the plot along.    

I guess that intervention didn't go according to plan

When Prim gets home her mom is working at a table with an empty bottle of wine next to her. She asks Prim to get her some more wine. Instead Prim tells her she is worried about her and asks her mom to stop drinking. Prim's mom says she appreciates the concern, but then goes and gets another bottle of wine and ends by reminding Prim to say goodnight to her dad before she goes to sleep.

Well, that didn't go too smoothly.

Prim confesses to Peun that her plan failed

We cut to Prim sitting in her room looking sad. Peun calls him and she says it didn't work. She tells him she doesn't know what to do next. Try and try again comes to mind, but apparently in this soap opera's universe once something fails it is never worth trying again.

Prim then starts softly crying and Peun tells her to go ahead and blubber away. He tells her that shedding tears removes excess manganese, a substance that is related to stress, from the blood. Google shows that this isn't just a Thai ol' wife's tale, but something supported by science.

As long as we're talking about girls bawling their eyes out, we may as well jump over to Foon who is laying in bed with tears in her eyes as she remembers all the happy times she and Peun had. Then she remembers all the times she saw Prim and Peun together and she starts sobbing even more. This is interrupted by Prim messaging her asking if she is OK, which doesn't make matters any better for her.

The results of a night of Prim's mom's social drinking

The next morning as Peun leaves for school he checks the mail and finds Prim's postcard. Her message to him is pretty generic. When he picks Prim up he asks how her mom is. She points towards the garbage where we see a pile of empty wine and booze bottles that her mom drank last night. Gadzooks! Talking to her dead husband will be the least of her problems when she gets done dissolving her liver with all the alcohol she's been guzzling down.

Peun reminds Prim about the postcard. She gets hers, but she doesn't read it right away. Instead she puts it in her purse to read later.

We jump to Foon's house. Her eyes are swollen from weeping all night and she is trying a cold compress to make them look more normal. Her mom starts pestering her why she was crying the night before, but Foon's dad stops her mom from asking. When Foon leaves he points out to her mom that it is probably just boy problems.

Who could the scoundrel that broke Foon's heart possibly be?

We cut to a restaurant where Foon, who's wearing sunglasses, is waiting for the rest of O Group to join her for breakfast. When they arrive Chompoo makes fun of the sunglasses as a disguise and takes them off Foon. They notice her eyes are puffy from the night before. Chompoo and Prim realize she's been crying and ask her who did this to her. Peun looks nervous and Art, who also knows what's going on, tries to fade into the background.

The girls guess Ong-art, but Foon, staring straight at Peun angrily says no, it was a different jerk. She adds, as she continues to glare at Peun, that the asshole was seeing two girls at the same time. Further, he and this girl go every where together, take pictures together and even text message those pictures to her.

Hilariously, in spite of Foon glaring at Peun the entire time, neither Chompoo nor Prim can figure out who the two-timing guy is. They ask her who he is and Foon says Peun knows him well. They then start grilling Peun about the mystery guy's identity. Peun, who's covered in flop sweat at this point, can only answer "umm... err... well... uhh..." as his eyeballs frantically dodge around looking for an escape route.

Foon finally let's him off the hook by lying and saying it was a high school sweetheart. Strikes me that would bring us back to Ong-art, but the two girls are satisfied by that. Foon then says, as Peun sadly listens, that she is over the weasel and is writing the guy off as a complete scumbag. The girls then head off to art appreciation taught by Professor Napaporn while Art hangs back a bit and consoles Peun with his usual 'just wait and do nothing' advice.

In the class Art and Chompoo have fallen asleep. Prim is paying attention, Foon is looking sad and angsty while Peun is gawking at her from the back row. The lecture is about Salvador Dali's painting The Great Masturbator. Professor Napaporn alludes to the sexual nature of the work and at its hints of a meditation on infidelity. Peun picks up his phone and messages "I'm sorry" to Foon.

Foon drinking, crying and painting up a storm

Later that night we jump to Foon's room where she is weeping as she drinks wine and paints something. Perhaps if she gets drunk enough Prim's dad will visit her to sit for a portrait? Anyway, she gets more and more overwrought as she paints until she ends up wildly slapping paint onto the canvas. Eventually she ends up screaming and knocking the canvas over.

Her parents hear that, wonder what's going on, and end up shrugging their shoulders and deciding that whatever it is, it will pass in time. Although not shown, I like to imagine they then turned up the volume of their TV to drown out her screaming and sobbing.

She calls Peun and, through her tears, tells him she is drunk and can't take it anymore. She asks him to come over. Concerned, he agrees to visit her.

Later, back in Foon's room she hears a knock on the door. She happily runs to it, throws it open with a smile only to see Prim standing there. Prim? That's the same question Foon has and Prim tells her that she knows Foon was upset earlier in the day, and that she knows Foon couldn't get over it that fast. Prim than tells Foon that they'll always be friends. I'm not sure I would bet on that considering the real situation, but Foon seems to buy it.

They hug and Prim tells Foon about tears shedding stress causing manganese. When Foon asks her where she learned that Prim tells her from Peun. Foon doesn't like hearing that. They decide to go out and get some food because Foon has not been eating. They leave her room and when they get to the bottom of the stairs who should be standing there but Peun. Peun?

This is nowhere near as awkward as it should be

It turns out that Prim was with Peun when Foon called him. So, if I have this straight, Peun brought Prim, the girl he is trying to cheat with, to console Foon, the girl he is trying to cheat on. Some how, instead of this all leading to a huge three-way brawl, Prim's good-natured obliviousness ends up cheering Foon up. I've got to admit I am having a bit of trouble parsing that result.

After their late night snack Prim and Foon are back, at least for the moment, to being best of friends. Foon drives them home, dropping Prim off first. When she's alone in the car with Peun she tells him that she can see why he likes Prim. Then she asks him if he's asked Prim to be his girlfriend yet. He says no, that he doesn't think Prim likes him (in Asian dramas to confess you like somebody is to say you have feelings for them).

Foon pushes him to ask Prim, but Peun starts laying it on thickly about how he liked this one girl, even asked her to be his girlfriend, but it turned into a disaster. Oh Peun, if you weren't such a BS artist we might buy that line. It does work on Foon though, she pulls the car over, unbuckles her seatbelt, leans over and starts kissing him.

We jump to Prim's room. Again, she is a bit difficult read. It isn't clear how much she knows or guesses about Peun and Foon, but it seems that she is seeing Peun more and more as a potential boyfriend. She takes out the postcard he had written on the train. He is laying it on thick to her, talking about how her smile made the trip worth it. He ends it by saying he'll wait for her. She smiles as she reads that.

[Episode 14]

Peun's BS seems to work its magic

Female soldiers on parade

This isn't the usual 'hot military babes' picture click-bait post, instead it just is of female military units marching in parades. I have odd search habits looking for curiosities to post about, and I suspect the various search algorithms sometimes struggle with figuring out just what the hell it is I'm interested in so's advertisers can bombard me with their nonsense. 

Recently the above video popped up in YouTube for me. I had done a post called Calloused feet showing an Indian military parade.  While probably not the case, I like to think it was combined with my post about a visit to a Japanese girls bar to come up with that video of a parade full of Indian female soldiers. I've included a few other videos of women soldiers high stepping down boulevards from the site.

The site is Russian. Along with marching damsels it also has a lot of Russian propaganda songs. They're quite strange. The Great Patriotic War lives on in Russian music.  If you watch any, turn on the captions so can get the lyrics.

O-Negative (the apple doesn't fall far from the tree)

Flowers and a portrait of Prim's mom displayed in front of her casket

Episode 19 of the Thai TV show O-Negative (Episode 18) starts with a montage at Prim's darkened home. We see all the spots where we had seen Prim's mom before. Curiously, at her favorite spot on the back deck, next to her empty chair is a wine bottle, a glass partly filled with wine and a lit cigarette in the ashtray.

We cut to the second day of Prim's mom's funeral. Because Prim has no relatives, Peun's mom and dad are acting as the hosts. Prim is not at the funeral, nor was she at the funeral the previous day. Since her mother's death she has isolated herself. This has everybody concerned. Chompoo is worried that Prim might even be suicidal.

After the funeral O Group heads over to Prim's house. It is dark. Chompoo wants to just go in, but Foon stops her and says use the doorbell. They ring several times before a light finally comes on. When Prim comes out she has an odd half smile on her face. She asks them why they all came so late. They're confused by her question. Foon tells her they hadn't seen her at the temple for a few days and so they came to check up on her.

She stops smiling and just looks at them and says nothing for a long, uncomfortable pause. Finally, Art asks her what she's been doing and she says sketching. Art then asks her if she's eaten and she says she doesn't remember. Peun offers to buy food from her favorite noodle shop. Still smiling her odd smile, she says she isn't hungry.

Apparently Prim is now tuned to a different frequency

Chompoo says they'll stay with her to keep her company. Prim tells her there is no need for that, because she's with her mom. The four stand there shocked as Prim cheerfully waves bye-bye and goes back into her house. We again see a shot of Prim's mom's favorite chair, with wine and a lit cigarette on the table next to it. Whelp, it looks like Prim has stripped a couple of gears because of  her mom's death.

We cut to later that night at Go's bar. The four are all depressed by Prim's earlier lunatic behavior. Chompoo wonders out loud if Prim is insane. They debate that question, with Peun thinking she is just in denial. Foon pipes up that she understands how Prim feels, that its what happens when you love somebody so much you don't want to lose them. For that comment Peun gives her a hilarious side eyed look that's a cross between 'oh, shut up' and guilt.

They're wondering how to handle the situation. Should they tell her that her mom died or not? If your money is on Art predictably advising that they do nothing, you win. He says he thinks that Prim knows her mom is pushing up daises and she just needs time to work through it.

They decide they'll not mention her mom and they will watch her carefully, particularly on the campus where one of her classmates may touch her off by mentioning her mom's death.

Pakwan sneaks by Peun to hug Prim

The next day they go to campus early to watch for Prim. Peun is stationed at the front to intercept her as she enters so nobody gets to her and mentions her mom. Well, this is Peun we're talking about, so it takes about 10 seconds for Pakwan, who isn't exactly the most petite Thai on the show, to evade Peun's eagle eyes and go up to and hug Prim.

She asks what he is doing, and he tells her he just wanted to hug her. She's puzzled by that answer, but thanks him. Peun then comes up and she wonders why he is there in the morning when he has an afternoon class.

He's just is wondering if you still have bats in your belfry

They hook up with the rest of O Group and all escort her to the library. She goes to get a book and Peun accompanies her. Suddenly Professor Buddy pops out of the book racks and asks her how she is doing. They're all worried he'll ask her about her mom, but, luckily, since she doesn't start running around the library screaming and crying, that doesn't seem to be the case.

When she rejoins them it turns out he was only asking her about her pre-thesis. She's barely started hers and complains about all the pressure she's been under. Well Prim, being well off the deep end will do that to you.

We cut to Prim in a drawing class. She is sketching with ear buds in as she listens to music. Two girls are gossiping about Prim's reaction to her losing her mom when Art comes to the door and hears them. They notice Art is glaring at them. I imagine they thought to themselves, "crap, that's the guy who slapped around coeds in the early episodes of this show!" Whatever they thought, they quickly stop gossiping.

We then cut to a walkway where Art and Peun are wondering if they should ask her to go to the temple that night for her mom's funeral. Art says he doesn't think it is a good idea and adds that they had all agreed no to talk to Prim about her mother's death.

Peun suggests they could use and excuse to get Prim to the temple. When he asks Prim to go with them that night she asks where they are going. Before Peun can use a ruse, Art jumps in and says they are going to Go's bar. Prim declines, saying she is too busy.

Monks praying on the 3rd day of Prim's mom's funeral

At the funeral people continue to be concerned over Prim's absence. Via a conversation between Professor Buddy and the painting teacher we discover that O Group has came up with the idea of getting the entire student body and staff of the art department to play along with not mentioning her mom's death to Prim. Only Ms. Duang, who we met last episode in the yoga studio, seems to think this is a whackadoodle plan. I've got to say I'm with Ms. Duang on this one.

After the funeral Peun suggests going to Prim's house. Art disagrees, saying Prim wanted to be alone. Art lays into Peun a little and Peun asks him why he's mad. Art says he just doesn't want Peun messing things up. The girls don't know why Art is being so snappy, but we know that Art has had his fill of Peun making things worse with his social blundering.

We join Prim the next morning on the deck of her house. She's put out a cup of coffee for her mom and is starting to light a cigarette for her when her doorbell rings. It's Foon and Chompoo. They came up with the excuse that they need to work at her house because it is so quiet.

Ghost mom must be having a nicotine fit

She takes them to the back deck  and, as they're admiring the view of the river, she lights the cigarette and puts it in the ash tray next to the seat her mother used to sit in. Chompoo and Foon both see this and look deeply concerned. Prim sees their looks, but just stands there saying nothing. Finally, to dispel the awkward moment Chompoo suggests they go to a new stall near her house to get some grilled chicken to eat.

We see a montage of O Group as they worry about Prim's nuttiness. Peun calls Dr. Ben the psychologist, the girls work so hard to keep Prim occupied that their shoulders get sore (thank God for Tiger Balm Neck & Shoulder Rub Boost) and Art makes offerings at the Foundation's temple.

Flowers in front of Prim's mom's casket

Prim still has not come to the temple for the final day of her mother's funeral. Ms. Duang, Prim's mom's friend from the yoga class, says she can keep Prim for 100 days. She hopes Prim will have recovered enough by then to face her mother's death.

They have a procession to carry the casket from the temple.

Later that night at Prim's house Chompoo is on the phone to her father. He's yelling at her for being gone so long. Apparently she hadn't told him she was staying with a daft friend to keep an eye on her. I don't think he would much like that idea anyway. Foon tells her to go home, that she'll stay and watch Prim. Prim has been observing this all from the shadows. Prim comes out and tells them both that they should go home. She says she'll be OK.

The next morning we see Prim eating breakfast in the school cafeteria. She is lost in thought. We she is joined by the rest of O Group they discuss their upcoming internships. Art is interning in Kwan's photo studio. Peun wants to intern with  a film company and naturally Foon wants to join him. Prim says she has an internship at her mom's friend's publishing house. Wait -- I thought she was interning with Ms. Duang, the yoga instructor? Whatever. Chompoo wants to intern with Prim.

We jump to the office of Ms. Duang where she is interviewing Prim and Chompoo for the intern positions. Huh? She's the CEO of a publishing house and not of a yoga studio? I guess I missed something. Anyway, she's telling the two she doesn't like having a pair of interns that are friends because they tend to stick together instead of blending in with the group.

Chompoo says that won't be a problem, that they're very sociable and that they even talk to crazy people. Considering the fact that she's sitting next to Prim when she says that, it might not be the best way to word things. However, for some reason that does convince Ms. Duang to hire them.

Yea, this guy is the perfect choice to supervise young female interns

Ms. Duang takes them back to meet their supervisor Kit. He's watching something on his computer and tries to cover it up when he sees Ms. Duang. However, she gets over fast enough to see that he was... ah... shall we say conducting research on adult entertainment. As she yells at him as she introduces him to Prim and Chompoo as a pervert, douche, jerk and womanizer, but she adds that he is also a genius. Sounds like just the kind of guy you want to supervising Chompoo and Prim.

When he introduces himself he tells him he's not a jerk, that he just likes flirting. Chompoo says she doesn't mind, she can fight back. Looking directly at Prim he says, "I don't like people who fight. I like the soft ones." For that he gets whacked by Ms. Duang who tells him that Prim is her niece. Niece? Now Ms. Duang is an publisher Aunt instead of a yoga teaching family friend? Oh, I give up trying to figure it out.

To that revelation he just says, "That's great! Now, it's easier for me to get promoted." The girls, and for that matter Ms. Duang, just seem amused by this. Oh Kit, you lovable scamp.

On their bus ride after meeting Ms. Duang and Kit, Chompoo is gushing on group chat about how good looking Kit was and that he obviously liked Prim. Art and Peun are reading the chat and, needless to say, both are distressed at that bit of news. This is followed by a montage of Prim, over period of a couple of days, text messaging her mom, who she continues to bring coffee to and light cigarettes for, through out the day.

Time for Prim to face reality

Later, again on group chat, Chompoo decides the need to spend some time together because they've all been busy. They all end up agreeing to meet at Prim's house at 6 a.m. the next day. When they arrive they're holding offerings for the temple. As gently as they can, they tell her 100 days is up and it is time for her to face her mother's death. Art asks her to go to the temple with them.

Prim starts to slowly disintegrate. She starts crying harder as she tells them she knew all along that her mother was dead, but she couldn't face it. She couldn't face  being left alone in the world. The kids tell her that she is not alone, that she still has them as they all hug her.

Although Prim snapping back to sanity was a bit abrupt, it was an effective scene. Earlier I've wondered about Violette Wautier's acting. She has seemed passive at times, but it is hard to say, when watching a foreign movie, how a character would act. Also, I think a fair amount of the scenes are improvisational. Regardless, Violette did a fine job in this episode. She had Prim smile only with her mouth and not her eyes which worked well. Plus she got the breathing right when she was crying. Prim's timbre changed as she gasped for breath while sobbing. Nicely done.

We next see them at the temple. Apparently this is still part of the funeral because Prim is carrying her mother's picture in the procession. They're also still hauling Prim's mom's casket around. Is her body in that or is it ceremonial?

Prim starts crying and Peun comforts her. When she says she's alone he says she has him, and he promises to always be there for her. A Peun promise -- that, and $3.25, will get you a frappuccino at Starbucks. We also find out that Foon's parents have invited Prim to stay with them. Prim and Foon with Peun hovering around? I can't imagine that causing any problems at all.

That night Prim sets her mom's portrait in her favorite chair on the deck. She pours wine into the glass and lights a cigarette. She tells her mother she'll be living at Foon's house.

[Episode 20]

What could possibly go wrong?

O-Negative (we discover that somebody is bonkers)

Peun tries to drown his sorrows

Episode 9 of the Thai TV show O-Negative (Episode 8) continues in the aftermath of Foon's birthday party. Art has driven Prim home. When he checks his phone after dropping her off he sees that there were 3 missed calls from Peun.

They meet at Go's bar where Peun tells him about Foon's request that he wait until she breaks up with Ong-art. Art says it sounds fine, and then gives his usual advice that Peun just needs to be himself and wait. He then reminds Peun that he told him to take it easy and just stay friends with Foon at first. Peun just keeps drinking and feeling sorry for himself.

Meanwhile Foon is in her room looking a pictures of Peun from her party. She looks like she is deep in thought, pondering what the solution to her problem might be.

Chompoo gets scolded at breakfast

The next morning breakfast at the Chompoo residence is a bit tense. It starts with her dad angry at her for staying out late. Things don't improve when her sister Som O comes to the table. Unlike his reaction to Chompoo, her dad is solicitous to her sister. Som O says she's been studying for her college entrance exam. she says she wants to go into Hotel Management so she can be a concierge and meet a rich guys. Chompoo rolls her eyes at that notion.

However, her father latches onto the idea of the entrance exam and says he wants Chompoo to take it again so she can study something besides her current major -- fashion design. She points out that she's already put a year into her studies, he replies that he would rather her waste a year than her life.

Chompoo tries to counter with an example to show him Fashion Design is a viable major. Unfortunately, for some reason she picks designing bikinis for Victoria's Secret as an example. Really Chompoo? You think a fancy lingerie retailer is going to sway your dad's opinion?

He scoffs at that example, pointing out that the woman who makes her mom's underwear didn't need a college degree. Her mom is aghast at the thought that Chompoo is studying to just design bikinis. The scene ends with Chompoo's dad yelling at her that he isn't going to give up until she drops out of Fashion Design. Chompoo is upset and her bratty sister is happily smirking over it all.

As an aside, speaking of fashion, I do like the dad's shirts. I wonder where he shops?

We have brief interlude where Art and Peun are sitting on a roof. Foon messages Peun asking him if he wants to go to a movie with her. He doesn't text back. We then cut to a shot of Foon sitting on her couch looking perplexed. She tries to call Peun but he doesn't pick up.

Prim gets caught gawking at a picture of Art

The next scene shows Prim sketching on her porch. She stops, picks up her phone and zooms in on her and Art in a picture. As she is sitting there gawking at Art her mom comes up behind her and wonders if he is Prim's boyfriend. She says no, and then zooms the picture out to show the entire group. Her mom then suggests she invite the group over. We also learn that Prim's dad is an artist.

We cut to the next morning. The kids are sorting out how they're getting to school. Foon is dropping hints that she'll pick up Peun, but he ignores them and says he'll go with Art.

And now a word from our sponsor

We are shown a dramatic close-up shot of Dentyne gum on Chompoo's night stand. Above is a screencap of that bit of product placement. The kids have been getting sticks of gum out of those green packages repeatedly.

Asian product placement can be jarringly obvious, with dialog sometimes written around it that sounds like ad copy. There's a Chinese drama that again and again extolls the virtue of McDonalds for breakfast, and the Korean TV show Because This Is My First Life does an entertaining job lampooning product placements when the female lead starts as an assistant script writer who's only job is to write them. Her ridiculous scenarios to do so nicely capture the absurdity of it all.

Anyway, back to the story. Chompoo has gone to visit Go. Prim and Foon head out to a restaurant. They try to get the boys to join them, but Peun is avoiding Foon. Prim then invites all of them to her house on Saturday to work on their projects. Peun tells Art he'll go if he does, so Art accepts and the five of them are set to meet at Prim's house.

Pardon me while I slobber over Prim's house

When Peun arrives at the gate Art calls and says he can't make it. Peun starts whining so Art hangs up and texts him a mocking message that he can go home if he's a coward. Before he can leave Foon comes out and so he decides to go in.

Chompoo has not brought any of her work and is just goofing off, but the other two girls have spread their stuff out. Foon invites Peun to sit next to her, but he uses the excuse of needing more room to lay his stuff out, so he sits as far away from her as possible. He tries his best to ignore Foon.

We cut to Art who is painting a banner at the Poh Teck Tung Foundation. He's wearing the t-shirt Prim gave him, but takes it off when he splashes a little paint on it. Tum looks that banner and mentions that Art's hand writing looks like the mysterious Ms Sirilak's. Art replies jokingly (at least I think it is a joke) that it's because they are related by blood. Who knows what that's all about.

Tum then manages to spill some paint on his hand. He starts to pick up Art's t-shirt to clean up, but Art is bothered by that and quickly stops him.

Foon makes her move

Prim and Chompoo go to get some noodles for lunch leaving Foon and Peun alone. Peun is trying his best to ignore Foon, so she finally gets up and walks over to him and asks him why he's acting that way. He gives his usual answer about being confused by her, and then says he should leave.

She stands on his papers so he can't leave. She then starts unbuttoning her blouse. She kneels down in front of him asks if he is going to keep avoiding her now as she moves in to kiss Peun.

At that point Prim's mother arrives. She discreetly coughs to let the two know somebody else is there. They both practically jump out of their skins in surprise and embarrassment. Foon has to turn her back to button her blouse. An akward conversation follows as Prim's mother acts as if she saw nothing. We do find out that she was an art student in her youth.

We see a brief scene of Art at the Foundation cleaning up after painting the banner and later one of Prim's mom drinking wine and smoking cigarettes on the deck. She eventually joins the kids who are eating lunch and invites them to dinner. When she tells Prim she'll also invite her dad Prim declines, giving the excuse that the kids had plans to meet with a Senior that night.

When she leaves the kids are a bit puzzled by that, wondering which Senior she was talking about. She says Go at his bar. They still seem puzzled by her reaction.

Peun rubs it in

When the get to the bar it is empty. Peun, demonstrating his usual mastery of social skills, points out that there are no customers. Sadly Go resists the urge to smack Peun upside his head, instead they launch into a conversation about different ways of marketing the bar.

They call Art to come meet them, but he is in the back of the Foundation's truck on the way to a traffic accident. He arrives at the accident, takes several pictures and then is assigned to task of directing traffic around the accident scene. As he is doing that we see several shots of a driver, who is fighting falling asleep, nearing the accident scene.

The car and Prim both bear down on Art

Some how the rest of O Group manages to arrive at the scene of the accident. Prim gets out of the car and notices the sleeping driver bearing down on Art. She screams in abject terror and then sprints to Art and jumps into his arms to push him back from the car's path. She then starts sobbing uncontrollably and gets so hysterical that she can't even stand. As she collapses to her knees Art, and the rest of the group, are frozen in shock over her reaction.

We jump back into Prim's flashback. It is at the point where her mother gets out of the car and storms off. Her dad tells Prim not to worry, that her mom will get over being angry soon. They're driving down a road when there is a hit and run accident in front of them. A motorcyclist is laying on the road injured. Prim's dad gets out of the care to tend to him. As he is bent over the inquired biker another car careens down the road and slams into him. He is killed as Prim looks on in horror.

When we return to the present they are all in Foon's car. Prim is still crying and upset as she tells them the story. She adds that her father's death haunts her mother, and that whenever she's been drinking her mom acts as if her husband is still alive. That's why she had to hurry them out that afternoon, so her mother could drink alone.

The kids are try to comfort her. Art is sitting behind her, unsure what to do as the others console her. Finally he reaches forward and tenderly squeezes her shoulder. It is the one comforting touch she responds to as she reaches up and gently grasps his hand.

Thoughts on the show so far

First, I should make it clear that when I call it a soap opera that's not entirely accurate. Asian dramas are more like Latin American novellas, in that they have a beginning, and end and a set number of episodes. So, this show is presumably headed somewhere.

Also, this show is not unfolding under the template a Korean or Chinese drama would use so some of my early comments and expectations were way off base.  For example, I had thought the show was going to set up the usual Love Quadrilateral, where the primary  pair both have secondary love interests complicating things. Instead, although I assume their will still be much soap opera hijinks, I think they are contrasting two couples: Peun/Foon and Prim/Art.

Thailand is a Buddhist country and so the show must be steeped in Buddhist sensibilities. I think the two couples are examples of how to, or how not to, handle desire. Peun and Foon have left their desires run out of control and so misery is sure to follow. Meanwhile Art and Prim are being much more circumspect in how they are handling their attraction to each other.

Friendship and charity are two other themes that are heavily touched upon. Art repeatedly stresses to Peun that he should place his friendship with the group above chasing after Foon. He clearly considers Peun's aggressive pursuit of Foon to be wrong because it will endanger the group's friendship.

Finally, I'll end with the caveat that all my ramblings are based on a very imperfect reading of a Thai TV show that is probably aimed at young adults. What I am doing is likely as silly as a Thai trying to make sense out of things while watching episodes of Saved by the Bell. Eh, on the other hand, since when did I leave not knowing what I'm talking about get in the way of being a know-it-all blowhard?

[Episode 10]