Episode 7 Review

Synopsis

Noh and his friend Om reflect about their life while laying on the school lawn. We have no idea what Om is thinking but we know that Noh is thinking about Phun. Unbeknown to them, Phun had been helping to clean a classroom upstairs and is getting rid of some extra clean water. Phun accidentally drops a bucket of water on Noh.

In the school locker room, Phun helps Noh dry out. Remember that at this point, they haven’t really talked since the awkward moment when Phun tried to kiss Noh. Noh wants to know if this was on purpose so he asks Phun if he is still “pissed about the motorcycle” (e.g. getting the rash from helping to clean the motorcycle). Phun tries to explain he didn’t know Noh was down there. He hands Noh a towel to dry himself. Noh complains that the towel is tiny so Phun grabs what looks like a bigger towel (is it his?). Noh tells him he doesn’t want it. Poor Phun can’t take it anymore, he can’t see his baby Noh all wet and cold so he puts the towel around Noh’s back. It is a tender moment. Noh looks slowly up and meets Phun’s gaze. They lock their gaze for a couple of seconds. I want to scream. Where is my insulin shot?

SIDE NOTE: White stands much taller than Captain here (White was 18 or 19 and Captain was 15 or 16). It is funny because nowadays, Captain towers over White.

Phun helps Noh dry off. A very innocent looking Noh tells Phun that Om is smart because he ran away. There is a child-like innocence in the way he speaks. Again, I need insulin. This is a lot. Noh asks if Phun’s fever has returned. He is worried about him. Finally, Noh asks Phun why he is ignoring him. The way Captain enunciates his words here, with almost a dead-pan sadness, makes my fudanshi heart break into tiny pieces. Phun ignores his question and leaves. Can someone help me pick up the pieces of my kokoro from the floor?

The cheer leading club selects the cheerleaders for the upcoming soccer game. A group of former school alumni come to help judge the event. I am not sure what they did or how they did it, but eventually they name the Angel’s gang as the cheerleaders. Did they vote? Did Earn just overrode their vote? I don’t know. Fi is dismayed and watches in horror.

Nueng’s girlfriend shows up at swimming practice. She is upset at him for breaking up with her. (If you have only watched the Netflix USA version of this show, you may be confused. There is a scene that was edited out of episode 5 in the USA version in which Nueng has a public fight with his girlfriend). For some unknown reason the Angel’s gang shows up. They try to help Neung’s girlfriend out. They catch her when he pushes her. He almost hits her.

CULTURAL NOTE: Violence against women is pretty normalized in Thai lakorns. Nueng tells her she offered herself and that she was easy and once more gives her a good push. The implication of course is that they just had sex. In Thailand, the cultural more is that if a boy takes a girl’s virginity, he is responsible for her. Nueng doesn’t give a crap about this. The boys in the pool who witness the event make it sound like this is not the first time this happens with him. He is the resident asshole of Friday College.

As Phun walks around the school with his friends, he notices Noh looking for something in the yard. Pete also sees Noh looking around and asks Noh what is he looking for. Noh says he is helping Khom find his house keys, which he dropped somewhere in the yard. Khom is in swimming practice and can’t look for them so he asked Noh. Pete leaves and promises to help if he is still searching when he comes back from class. Phun, now alone, looks from behind a tree. We hear the song Shake on the background, as Phun looks around for the keys while avoiding Noh. He finds the keys, stuck up on a tree (now, how do you just “loose” your keys up on a tree? LOL). He knocks them out with his shoe. He leaves them for Noh to find. As viewers, this is our first hint that Phun is not mad at Noh and still cares for him. Eventually, Noh finds the keys where Phun left them.

Jeed shows up at Khom’s practice. Noh drops the keys there and tells him that he is meeting Yuri at Siam. Jeed and Khom also decide to go to Siam.

Yuri meets up with Noh at the mall in Siam. We see two guys approach her and try to hit on her before she is able to meet up with Noh.

Yuri tries to teach Noh some Japanese. “Oishii desu ka?”, she asks Noh. In case you are curious, there is a brand called Oishi that sponsors a lot of Thai TV shows. Oishii means delicious in Japanese and Yuri is literally asking if the snack named Oishi is delicious. It’s a play on words. Later, there is a sort of cute moment in which Noh sees something in Yuri’s lips and he wipes it off with his finger. Of course, if it had been on Phun’s lips, he would have licked it right off with his tongue. Well, at least I would.

Noh sees Phun walking around Siam at a distance. Yuri notices he is distracted and asks him if he really wanted to come shopping with her. Noh tells her if he really didn’t want to come why would he be there. They have a cute exchange. Pineaire is adorable as Yuri and Captain is so cute with her. In the analysis section, I will tell you why this scene is a bit depressing and sad for me, while also being cute, light and fluffy at the same time.

Kohm arrives at Siam. A teammate calls him to ask where he is. He lies and tells him he is sick and left early to go home.

At a store, Yuri is looking at a pair of boy and girl dolls. She starts talking to Noh about the dolls but Noh is spacing out. He is thinking about Phun. Yuri shakes him and Noh snaps back to reality. Yuri asks him if he is daydreaming about a girl and Noh denies it. So, if Yuri had asked if he was dreaming about a boy, would he say yes? LOL Later, Noh offers to pay for the dolls. Note that this seems to be a common cultural more, boys are expected to pay for the girls. I note this because this more will come into play later in this episode in another couple’s story.

[Sexy] Phun waits for Aim outside a store. This girl enjoys shopping. Phun sees Noh shopping with Yuri. He too gets distracted as his thoughts linger on Noh. Aim calls Phun’s name and he finally snaps out of it.

Noh and Yuri sit in a couch somewhere in the mall. Yuri takes some selfies with their boy and girl dolls, which they have clipped onto their school bags. Noh tells her that it most be good to be her, since she is always so stress-free. Yuri explains that she stresses about him not calling her, him talking to other girls, etc. Yuri asks Noh what is he stressed about.  Noh tells him that he has “a friend” who has a friend who is not talking to him but “his friend” doesn’t know why. Yuri can see through his BS and tells him that he should talk to his friend because “it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t talk. You can talk to him”. LOL Noh swears again it’s not him but a friend. Yuri tells him to “susu na” ([Keep on] Fighing!).

Khom and Jeed are shopping at a store in Siam. Scratch that, Jeed is shopping and poor Khom gets dragged around with his sad puppy face. She picks up a dress. Remember what I said earlier about boys paying for the girls? Well, Khom knows he is expected to pay for whatever dress Jeed picks. He looks at the price tag: 2,500 baht. This is about $77 using the 2014 exchange rate. For a poor farmer on a scholarship like Khom is, this is a lot of money. Heck, I work full time and have a higher degree and I think that’s a lot of money! LOL Hia! An omnious music plays while Khom looks at his wallet. Later at another store, Jeed thanks him for paying for her dress. I know what Khom is thinking: can you stop shopping, please? LOL

Khom leaves Jeed at the store “to go to the bathroom” but is later shown going to the ATM instead. We get a cameo from Bee (the actor most be friends with one of the producers) who tries to recruit Khom into his modeling agency. Bee is upset when Khom walks away from him. He remarks that even with his “chic look and trendy outfit”, the boy thought he was “an office worker”.

Inside, Jeed is still shopping. Khom pays for her stuff again. It is 990 baht or about $30. Jeed thanks him. I think she was expecting him to pay, don’t you? She says he will “treat him to some food”. Food is very inexpensive in Thailand. I think Jeed is taking advantage of you “Sharp”! Run! Run and never look back! Jeed remarks that “Friday College guys are so cool”. Let me fix that for you Jeed: “Friday College guys are so rich. Its so cool that I have one to pay for my stuff”. Oh, what will Jeed do when she finds out that this boy is not rich? Will she still love him? Will she kick him to the curb?

An excited Jeed tells Khom they should check out more shops, “there are more things that I want”. SMH! STFU Jeed! Bee shows up asking for Khom’s Line ID. They all run away from him.

Noh leaves his things with Yuri while he goes to the restroom. She sees two guys from Friday College who are pretty clingy with each other. I have been told that this is common among straight boys in Thailand. However, one of them slaps the buttocks of the other. As my gaydar goes off, a light goes on in Yuri’s mind: is Noh gay? She remembers how Phun was so excited about Noh wearing his shirt and how her friends teased her about Noh and Phun sleeping next to each other. Yuri looks up Noh’s contacts in his phone. She is looking for Phun but finds Om instead. She wonders out loud, “Maybe it’s not Phun?” LOL Noh comes back from the restroom and they head out of the store together.

Noh and Yuri go into another store. While Noh is browsing Music equipment, Yuri asks Noh who is his best friend. He answers quickly, “Om”. The she asks him why is that. He explains they are close, so close in fact that they shower together. Yuri wonders out loud, shower, together, NAKED?! Noh answers nonchalantly, “Yes.”. Nothing wrong with that Yuri, they are FRIENDS. Get your head out of the gutter Yuri! LOL

Khom and Jeed run into Om and the Friday College Music Club singing on a street somewhere in the Siam area. Some random girls within Jeed’s earshot remark how cool it is to have a Friday College boyfriend. Jeed giggles. Om calls Khom by his name. Jeed asks Khom who is “Khom” (she knows him as Sharp).

Phun and Aim are browsing the magazine section in a store. Aim asks Phun to never hate her no matter how badly she behaves (WHO ASKS THAT?). Silly Phun says yes, he wouldn’t never hate her. “Really?”, an incredulous Aim asks him. He replies back with an affirmative “really”, thought the Netflix sub says “yes”. I like Kuda’s translation better.

Yuri and Noh run into Phun and Aim. Yuri yells for Aim. Noh doesn’t want to bother them but Yuri insist they say hi to them. Yuri shows off their first couple gifts, the dolls they got at the store. This is an interesting scene in which you can sort of tell that Yuri is really trying to sell to Aim that Noh and her are a couple. She even suggests to Noh that they look at wedding magazines, when she sees that Aim is looking at one (Aim had just picked it up kind of randomly). Yuri says bye and as she walks off, Noh hangs around just a couple more seconds. Aim walks off too. This gives Phun a chance to grab Noh by his arm and pull Noh towards him. He sensually holds Nohs hands. Khor Rong plays on the background (Captain’s own song from the OST).

Jeed gives Khom a kiss in his cheek. I think we can guess he is falling for her. A friend from the swim team sees Khom and tells him he needs to separate girls from studies. I think this friend is a much better friend for him than Om.

Yuri leaves on a taxi cab. Notice that Noh takes a picture of the taxi’s license plate. How sad that he has to do this to make sure Yuri gets home safe.

A song plays on the background that sounds like Yuri’s voice but I am not sure who sings it.

Noh goes home and then he goes to his bathroom and starts screaming and yelling about how crappy it is that Phun ignored him all day, but touched him at the store. What does he want? He wonders out loud. Captain is cringey here with a lot of head-shaking, and screaming to himself. The good news is that this is the worst acting he did in the entire series. So, don’t worry, he doesn’t get worse than that.

Upset, Noh heads to Phun’s house on his motorbike.

Ending Quote: “Someone quickly passes through but leaves an impression throughout your life” 

Analysis

I enjoyed reviewing this episode. Watching it for the umpteenth time, it was still as enjoyable as the first. I think if I were to make a list of best episodes of the entire series, this episode would be on a top 15 list for sure.

Season 1 has 12 episodes, so we are now past the halfway point in the Noh and Puhn story arc. In the previous episode, we saw Noh trying to reach out to Phun. Here, we see that Phun is not mad at Noh and that he still cares about him. Phun sees Noh looking for something in the yard and he takes notice, sneaks behind Noh to overhear his conversation with Pete, then finds the keys for Noh. Later in Siam, we observe that Phun is constantly spacing out, and then we see him reach out to Noh and grab his hand at the book store. Why is Phun both hot and cold with Noh? The episode ends with Noh heading to Phun house in order to ask him this question (just as Yuri suggested to him).

This episode has some important and iconic scenes. I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE the way that Captain says “no” to Phun in the locker room when Phun hands him a towel. I know is just the way they say it in Thai, it is a tonal language after all, but Captain really exaggerates the tone pattern of the word, making it sound almost like he is imitating a cat’s meow. It really sounds like he is saying meow LOL But it is so cute! I know I have told you that I love White but to be honest, during season 2, I fell in love with Noh, especially after reading the book. Noh is a bit selfish but he is a sweet guy and this here is just too sweet. The way he says no and how he talks to Phun here, just melts my heart. You know he is hurting. Captain did an excellent job portraying Noh here. I have so much respect for Captain as an actor. I think he is among the best BL actors in Thailand but he is just so underrated. I dream of a Season 3 (it almost happened!) but I mostly dream of seeing Captain in a BL role again. Together with Gun Atthaphan, Ohm Pawat and Singto Prachaya, they are in my dream team league of BL actors I would like to see in a show together.  I probably rate them this high because they are the only BL actors that have made me cry. Well, to be fair, we need to add Pchy (Love of Siam) and Elijah Canlas (Gameboys) to have a complete list. Both Captain and Ohm have the distinction of making me cry multiple times in different scenes and on re-watching the same scenes.

The locker room scene has also a beautiful shot of Noh and Phun looking at each other, with Noh the shorter of the two. Keep in mind that Noh is the Uke. In yaoi stories, the Uke is usually the shortest and physically weak of the BL pair. Noh looks tenderly to Phun in this scene and I think this scene firmly establishes Phun as the Seme and Noh as the Uke.

The most iconic moment in this episode is actually one of the last scenes. In fact, I would dare say, this is one of the most iconic moments in Lovesick. It is the scene when Phun and Noh hold hands for a brief moment at the book store. It is a simple scene, but it is so well done, shot and acted that it is pure gold. I love this scene. The way that Phun looks at Noh is so… loving? I don’t know how else to describe it. Noh looks confused but Phun just looks like he knows what he is doing. He wants Noh to know he cares just like Noh tried to do earlier for him. Noh walks away confused. This scene is set to Khor Rong, a song in the OST. “I am afraid tomorrow I won’t have the will to breath”, the song goes. White is quite good here, delivering a good and subtle performance as Phun. Phun looks dazed and confused. I believe Phun is drunk on love and confused about what to do. The entire scene is beautiful and really brings back memories of what it is like to be love sick.

I have heard many people say they hated both Aim and Yuri. Some have said that the way Yuri is written, makes her a very annoying character. I differ. I think Yuri is one of the best written BL girlfriends. Unlike Aim, who we suspect of being manipulative, Yuri is innocent and seemingly infatuated with Noh. She tries her best to get Noh involved in their relationship, using her cuteness to get Noh to feel pity on her. She constantly makes Noh feel guilty. Yes, she manipulates him to some degree but only because I think that Yuri doesn’t know what true love is yet. Noh is her first “boyfriend” and in her head, he is perfect for her. But Noh is aware that their relationship is not real. He sees Yuri as a friend. Notice that he never himself refers to her as a girlfriend. In fact, to Noh Yuri is a carefree soul, always bubbly and happy. He tells her that it must be good to be her, since she is always so stress-free. Yuri explains that she stresses about him not calling her, him talking to other girls, etc. I love this exchange because it reminds us that as teenagers, often the only thing that matters is the object of our affection. To Yuri, Noh is a source of stress because she is concerned about him not liking her. To Noh, Phun is a source of stress because he is concerned about Phun not liking him.

I think the couch scene at the mall, where Yuri and Noh talk about Phun, is really bittersweet for me. Yuri always reminds me of my own girlfriend. She was always so bubbly and happy, yet she was so easily hurt. To me, it was like she spoke a foreign language and I had to walk over eggshells around her, just like Noh seems to do for Yuri, for fear of hurting her. I identify with Noh as I can see how he tries his best to not hurt Yuri. He really loves her. I don’t think there is a gay man out there who had a girlfriend who doesn’t feel some sense of shame or loss over having hurt someone that they cared about. (This will all come to a heed in Season 2. Yuri’s world will come crashing down on her.)

Phun on the other hand is a lot smarter and knows what to tell Aim to make her happy. I think there are two kinds of gay men: those who understand women and those who don’t. Phun is good with women, he is a natural. Noh is a nice boy but he doesn’t understand woman. Noh understand boys better, that’s why he has so many friends at school.

Every episode of Lovesick seems to tie the convent storylines with the Phun and Noh story. Here, Jeed goes shopping with Khom, just as Aim goes shopping with Phun and Yuri goes shopping with Noh. The girls show more enthusiasm for shopping than the guys, who mostly trail along and appear bored. Sometimes I think this show works too hard at making us believe that Noh and Phun are “boys” and not effeminate kathoey. Nevertheless, I believe that all the couples featured in this episode had one thing in common: they are one-sided relationships destined to fail. The ending quote for this episode refers to how some people may “quickly [pass] through” our lives but leave a lasting impression. Obviously, the quote is a direct allusion to how Phun has profoundly affected Noh, even though they have only been hanging out for a couple of days. But this also refers to how Noh and Phun will leave a lasting impression in Yuri and Aim respectively, and how Jeed will leave a lasting impression on Khom. How long you are with someone doesn’t determine how important or influential that person becomes later in your life. Sometimes short relationships become formative experiences that provide the foundation for the long-lasting relationships to come after them.

Most memorable quote: “Friday College guys are so cool!”. (Soon to be replaced in Season 2 by “Friday College guys are so gay!” LOL)

Times that I wanted to tell Jeed to STFU: Too many to count

Times I wanted to scream “Just tell him you like him!”: Too many to count

Times that White looked sexy in this episode: Too many to count

Total number of times that Jeed asked Khom about his personal life: 0

Episode Rating: 3.75/5 This is a great episode but some really bad acting towards the end brings it down a couple of notches. Also, Aim the drama vampire, sucks any dramatic momentum that the scene has built up to, ruining pretty much every scene she is in and she is some crucial scenes here. Poor treatment of female characters in general with some strong negative stereotypes in full display, including the “females like to shop” and the “annoying girlfriend”. On the other hand, some iconic scenes help bump the score on the episode a bit. Overall, this is a memorable episode despite these technical flaws.