#*tswl: random thoughts

[hoppipolla]

This is really random but the way To Sir With Love was written and filmed — with the emphasis on hidden/stolen glances and gazes in particular — reminded me of the French novel La Princesse de Clèves by Madame de La Fayette.

Tian is very much like the main character of the novel — The Princess — who struggles between her duty as a wife and a daughter, her moral obligations, and her love for another man (other than her husband). The ending is not a happy one for The Princess but the way Tian was ready to sacrifice himself to fulfil his duty as the first son and the successor of Mr. Song is reminiscent of The Princess’s decision to never let her love for Monsieur de Nemours stain the reputation of her mother and everything she stood for.

Anyway I don’t think I’ll write an in-depth analysis about this novel and the show but I thought it was worth commenting on.

[galechimes]

Random tswl thoughts 'coz zero energy to write a fanfic rn tho I want to 😩

- 'Jiu, what is your favourite colour?' 'Blue' 'Why?' 'Because that's the colour of the insignia on the handkerchief you gave me when we first met.'

- Tian buying pencils in Jiu's favourite colour

- Tian asking Jiu to pose for him by the roses in the garden to paint

- Jiu discovering the hairpin in the bottom drawer in Tian's room. Leading to Tian revealing in embarassment about his silly childhood desire to be as pretty as the Baisuzhen opera performer. That whole night, Jiu whispered sweet nothings to Tian, telling fondly and earnestly that Tian was already the prettiest star in his eyes, hoping that Tian could try growing out his hair to use that hairpin.

- Jiu kissing the snake bite scar on Tian's leg every night, thanking the gods quietly for keeping his Tian safe.

- Yingpin and Mat becoming the best of friends after Yingpin complimented Mat's outfit

- Yang telling Jiu all of the naughty pranks that Tian played as a child and the entire family believing that it was Yang who was behind them all. Yang never bothered that everyone pointed fingers at him. He was just happy to see his beloved phi smiling again and enjoying himself months after that 'slapping' incident, even if it was for a short moment. Tian's happiness was everything to Yang.

Dedicated to @moonlightchicken for introducing me to this masterpiece of a show. I know that this isn't the JiuTian fic you hoped for, but I promise you one for sure when time is on my hands :)

[hoppipolla]

I would have never expected To Sir With Love to have such a happy ending.

[hoppipolla]

Film owns the colour red

[hoppipolla]

Watching ep 7 of LOA and ep 13 of TSWL on the same day was a terrible idea

[hoppipolla]

The subtle and tiny nod Jiu does when he is looking at Tian in ep 7. It’s as if he’s finally come to terms with his dilemma and knows deep down that he cannot kill him. That he cannot and that he doesn’t want to. This nod is like him saying “I can’t do it.” and it means so much because Jiu has never failed to do what he was asked to do.

[hoppipolla]

No one told me To Sir, With Love had such a beautiful sibling dynamic 🥺🥺🥺