#Moonlight Chicken ep 7

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

Love can't be forced.

[liyazaki]

how to spot a 30-something in the wild: look for a tired-but-still-got-it someone losing it at Uncle Jim’s “I’m at this age- it’s not easy for me.”

[dropthedemiurge]

I am once again fascinated by P’Aof’s power in filming and intentional message for every episode (hello to the Metaphors Overflowing episode lol).

It’s so clear that the overall theme of this episode was ‘the ending’. (SPOILERS for Moonlight Chicken EP 7 below!)

First of all, a very obvious one – Ms.Hong gone, it’s the end of her life, it’s another parent of Gaipa gone, he’s alone and heartbroken now, in need of someone to stay by his side – but his possible relationship with Jim ended right before this episode as well (and completely finalized now). He says he doesn’t want to be the good and kind guy anymore, because kind guys give out love and get nothing in return. Gaipa got his world shaken and turned upside down, it’s time for him to find a new anchor.

Then the relationship between Alan and Wen – yes, they broke up already but again, it’s final once and for all in this episode. Now they confirmed for sure that nothing could’ve saved their relationship they’ve been clinging to so hard all those months. But the bond is still there. The soft smiles and letting each other go are there. The end of 5-years-old couple.

The end of unfair gap misunderstanding between Jim and Liming we witnessed as well – when Jim finally got the advice and started listening and talking to his nephew. What does he want? Why did he try to smoke? Why is he gay? What are his plans for the future? Come on, grab a beer and tell me. I’m going to let you make the decisions for yourself. It’s the end of their conflict, now they are equal adults.

It’s the end of Jem’s abstence from Li Ming’s life. He might not want his mom back in his life or himself back into hers – but his mom is here now and she wants to take care of him, now it’s up to Li Ming to choose.

And, well, Heart got the closure of his conflict with parents in this episode as well. Now both his mom and dad FINALLY after three years let him outside and they even make effort to communicate in sign language with him. He’s already on the path of having a different life.

I also loved how mature the relationships were shown – yes, they established JimWen heading towards dating finally, they hinted at Alan meeting Gaipa as well, but Wen takes care of Alan and Jim stays by Gaipa’s side throughout the whole funeral. There is no jealousy, no bitterness, just people who care about each other and understand that we need to help each other. Even Jim tried to help Alan (wow I was genuinely afraid of how that’d go, but seems like the bitterness from Alan towards Jim has almost faded too).

Following this message, Jim deciding not to use someone’s title deed and just closing Moonlight Chicken Diner which he was so proud of in the beginning... isn’t giving up. It’s not a sad finale. It’s not losing everything. It’s getting his closure with Beam and their dream, writing down a dot on disrespect from Beam’s parents. The closed restaurant is a metaphor of closure and a very obvious symbol.

All of the characters had something end this episode. But things have to end in order to face new beginnings.

Wen, Jim, Alan, Gaipa, Li Ming, Heart, Jem, even Leng and Praew – in the final episode we’ll see how each of them (and together) will move on. What new path will they choose? Some of them held to their past for too long. Finally, they’re free to choose.

[syrena-del-mar]

Let’s talk about Uncle Jim and the preview of episode 7. 

I think we need to look at Uncle Jim as a product of circumstances. 

It’s easy to call him a hypocrite if you are only looking at the fact that he’s, essentially, pointing fingers at his nephew, Li Ming, for being gay while he’s out there having sex with Wen and whatever their ‘situationship’ is a the moment. Now, I’m not saying it’s was okay, or anything of the sort, on how he will be dealing with finding out about Li Ming and Heart, but I think we do need to go beyond the surface level, “He’s a homophobe!” virtue-signaling that has been going around and look at the complexity that lead to that moment.

I'm going to break this down into three parts: (1) Uncle Jim's financial struggles, (2) Uncle Jim's struggles with his sexual identity, and (3) how they play into the confrontation.

1. Uncle Jim and the effect of poverty on his worldview

First, we need to look at what Uncle Jim’s relationship with Li Ming. The first clue into the relationship between Uncle Jim and Li Ming is in Episode 1 while Saleng and Li Ming meet up. Saleng let’s Li Ming know that it would be best if he came back to the diner straight after school so Uncle Jim wouldn’t nag him again, and Li Ming being the teenager that he is, blew off the advice stating to just let Uncle Jim nag. Tensions between the two are already somewhat heightened, which tends to naturally occur as kids grow into their teens and don’t see eye-to-eye with their parental figures. Add in the fact that Li Ming is growing up and starting to make decisions for his own future, and Uncle Jim doesn't agree with a lot of them, their relationship is going to be rocky.

Second, Uncle Jim knows his place in a classist society and has conformed to it. Time and time again, in the conversations with Wen, Uncle Jim has diminished his work as a chicken vendor. It's a labor-intensive job. Even with a diner that's packed and being on television, the amount of money is not enough to pay the bills. Chicken prices have been going higher and higher, which the audience is informed through Gaipa's mother, and he's barely able to stretch the income that the chicken shop is bring to cover the bills. They are poor, living essentially paycheck-to-paycheck and just hoping to be able to get by. It's his every-day life and he's been burned out by it. It's no comfy desk job, local restaurants are looked down on. There's no honor or 'reward' for his work aside from seeing people enjoy the food that he makes with his own hands.

He 'knows' his place in society and behaves according to it. During the whole initial fiasco of meeting Heart's parents, Uncle Jim apologizes on behalf of Li Ming. Heart's father is an officer, a Senior Sergeant, and wealthy ones at that. Uncle Jim is more than aware of the status difference and what that signifies in the terms to the power that they hold. So Uncle Jim would rather Li Ming take the blame and smooth things over, instead of risking upsetting Heart's parents.

Meanwhile, Li Ming is aware of the classism and resents it. He's aware of their financial status and the power that others hold over them, as seen with his indignant response when Uncle Jim suggests just thinking of the situation with Heart's parents as 'bad luck'. Li Ming is young, that's the reality. He hasn't been worn down like Uncle Jim and as a result he still (correctly) pushes against the idea that just because Heart's parents hold a high status, he should plead guilty. He knows he's innocent because he is innocent, and he's hurt that Uncle Jim would tell him to just take the blame. But the thing is, I don't think it's that Uncle Jim doesn't believe or trust him, more than anything Uncle Jim is worried that defying would somehow get Li Ming in more trouble, potentially jeopardizing his future.

Which comes to the third point, Uncle Jim wants Li Ming to do better for himself and have a brighter future than he does. He doesn't want Li Ming to know the struggle of barely being able to pay for bills or the pain of such a laborious job. That's not to say that the way Uncle Jim goes about it is correct, especially when pushing Li Ming to study is just making him miserable and Uncle Jim fails or refuses to see that. But I think he truly believes that Li Ming would find a better life by getting a college degree. To Uncle Jim, it's Li Ming's ticket out of the misery that being poor brings; he pushes it onto him because he truly wants what's best for him.

Uncle Jim, like many parents or parental figures, wants Li Ming to do better in life than he has. Uncle Jim has been worn down by life, he's essentially just floating, trying not to drown. He doesn't want that for Li Ming. Yet, Uncle Jim is so consumed by the stress of running the diner and the lack of funds that it brings in, he doesn't really see that there are other ways besides getting a college degree to be successful. (I think many children of immigrant parents/third-world countries can relate to the pressure parents apply in succeeding in their education to pull themselves out of poverty.) Which results in Uncle Jim not listening to the wants and needs of Li Ming. Uncle Jim has been tired down by the reality of poverty and he doesn't want to Li Ming to experience it, especially when he can provide Li Ming the opportunity to go to college and get an education, even if it costs him more in the long run.

He wants Li Ming to have every opportunity and success out there that's available, ones that he didn't have. To Uncle Jim, that means getting a degree. A degree can open doors that are otherwise locked. It's a ticket out. Uncle Jim's main motivation is Li Ming to find success, to find financial stability. It's the idea that once you're financially stable and out of poverty, only then can you strive to find happiness. Poverty, to Uncle Jim, is a brick wall that is in Li Ming's way. Getting a degree is an opportunity that wasn't awarded to Uncle Jim and it's highly likely that Uncle Jim blames that for his present struggles.

From Uncle Jim's point of view, Li Ming is almost a mirror copy of him and going down a path that led to a lot of Uncle Jim's own pain and suffering. Uncle Jim is reactive, even when he is trying to be proactive, because that's all he knows how to do to survive. It's not that he intends to harm Li Ming, but rather it's the consequence of his good intentions that he ends up hurting him. A double-edged sword.

He doesn't want his nephew to follow in his foot steps, he wants him to be better than him.

2. Uncle Jim and his journey with his sexuality

I don't think we can just state that Uncle Jim is a hypocrite and homophobic. Does he probably struggle with internalized homophobia? Probably. But I think the reaction, stems from much more than just simple internalized homophobia. Rather I suspect his reaction has much more to do with his personal relationships, both familial and with Beam, and how they have shaped his life in relation to his sexuality.

Here we're going to start off with Uncle Jim's relationship with his sister, Li Ming's mother. His sister told him explicitly that she doesn't believe that gay relationships to work. She compared them to straight relationships and essentially, in lack of better terms, told Uncle Jim that they were inferior. Wen even states, "Love has no gender. everyday, heterosexual couples split up. No one bothers to find out why they break up. gender has nothing to do with successful or unsuccessful relationships." Even though logically, Uncle Jim understands that, the reality was that his sister's words rang in his mind after he found out that Beam was with a woman, while also being with him.

He was burned after taking a chance. When you get one too many burns, fear starts to become standard response.

Uncle Jim's relationship with Beam has a lot to do with how he NOW views love and the place it has in his life. Uncle Jim opened up the chicken dinner in hope to help provide for Beam. I mean they were wearing rings, it was a very serious and committed relationship. Uncle Jim, in his 20s, took the risk of losing his family for this man, to prove his sister wrong. Where did that lead him? To unknowingly being the sidepiece in a straight relationship. And then Beam goes and dies before Uncle Jim could get any answers.

For about a decade, Uncle Jim was left to wallow in his pain from the wound that Beam left him. He had no clue whether Beam actually loved him. Not to mention that he, a male, was the sidepiece. This isn't just simple cheating, instead it's rather significant that Beam was cheating on his long-time girlfriend/fiancée with him. While Uncle Jim and Beam may have had a ring on each other's finger, it says something that he was the hidden lover. How could Uncle Jim not wonder if Beam was using him/hiding him due to being ashamed of being gay? Or question if he was every truly loved?

Uncle Jim was left stagnant after Beam died, there was no way to come to terms with being the side-piece to a straight relationship. There was no clarity or closure that he could have gotten to move on, because the only person that could offer to him, died. It's obvious that his relationship with Beam shifted on how he felt about love, Uncle Jim states that several times to Wen. The relationship (being the hidden side piece) likely changed how he felt about being gay and gay relationships, potentially subconsciously. It wouldn't be shocking if he attributes some of his struggles to him being gay.

Uncle Jim risked his family, attempting to prove his sister wrong, and instead it backfired. A lot of pain and suffering that Uncle Jim has experienced in life has been due to his relationship, and it wouldn't be a giant leap to think that he attributes the pain specifically to having risked everything for a man. And he'd been stuck in that mindset for so many years, relationships meant potential pain. He'd gone against the status quo and that's why he got burned.

He's still barely learning to love again, learning to let go of the past.

3. How both factor in Uncle Jim confronting Li Ming about his relationship with Heart.

I think it has been established that Uncle Jim has just been in a land of pain, where he was left just a shadow of his bright 20-something-year-old self, after running the chicken diner and having a horrific ending to what seemed like a promising relationship.

Uncle Jim is only starting to reemerge and learn what it's like to live again after meeting Wen. Sure, he probably did have moments in his day-to-day life where he could laugh and smile with others, but those were fleeting moments. He was and has been struggling in every single aspect of his life, in his love-life, his financial status, his class status, he sexuality. Uncle Jim, by not being part of the status-quo, has lived a difficult life.

That's the exact opposite of what he wants for Li Ming. He wants him to be happy, to be stable, to not suffer like he is suffering for the decisions that he made as a young-adult. He's scared and afraid for the future of his nephew, because Li Ming is not willing to conform. Li Ming is resentful and indignant with society, like many young teens are, and isn't ready to bend to the rule of those with higher status. That almost guarantees that he's going to face hardships and that scares Uncle Jim.

If that wasn't bad enough, Uncle Jim finds out that he both doesn't want to get a higher education after graduation and he's gay. Two more attributes that almost guarantee a lot of pain in society, even if there has been large strides in LGBTQ+ relations since Uncle Jim came out.

When Uncle Jim sees Li Ming it's like staring at his own reflection and that scares him. He doesn't want Li Ming to end up like him, struggling for money and not fully accepted by society. It's a fear that only a guardian can truly understand.

Uncle Jim has only known pain since finding out about Papang cheated. Even though he now loves his diner, I'm sure it was painful before because it was a reminder, one that he has given his blood, sweat and tears for. He's only now coming out of the haze, from a zombie-like state, so the way he communicates isn't eloquent, it's forceful and harsh. He doesn't know how to effectively convey his worries to Li Ming and he doesn't know how to listen, to learn that maybe there is more than one way to achieve happiness and stability.

He's not mad at the fact that Li Ming is gay, but rather he's mad that after everything he has done to avoid Li Ming growing up to be like him (poor, struggling, tormented), Li Ming is still going to end up where he is. His mirror.

It's not okay that he reacts in the way that he does, I'm sure it'll hurt Li Ming more than anything, but it's also not shocking to see that Uncle Jim is angry. Angry at the situation... a repeat of his own in his eyes. And I think that it's more complicated than just a cry of "Uncle Jim is homophobic."

TLDR; Uncle Jim's outburst against Li Ming for being with Heart isn't solely rooted in homophobia, though there may be an aspect of internalized homophobia. Rather, Uncle Jim is a product of his situation and he doesn't know how to effectively communicate with his nephew. He's struggling and he doesn't want that for Li Ming. That's not to say that it's okay that Uncle Jim confronts Li Ming for being gay, especially in that manner, but it's not surprising when he reacts in that way.

[hughungrybear]

I guess it makes sense for Uncle Jim to close the diner in the end. I mean, the chicken diner (for all intents and purposes) symbolises the past. Uncle Jim found a new love with Wen. Saleng and Praew will start a new life with a baby. Li Ming is finally given the freedom and the right to choose as he wishes. Gaipa would need to embrace living without his beloved mom. Everyone who has ties to the diner has a new place to go.

And I think it is all for the best 🥺

[thedooristhebluecushion]

Gonna be pretty embarrassing if people ask me the reason I last cried and my response is “a show called Moonlight Chicken.”

[raikantopenis]

I'm going to hell anyways so I might as well say it here:

I think Alan & Wen should have hate fucked at the temple

and not just bc they looked incredibly hot in that scene...

[fangirl-of-way-too-many-fandoms]

Also, on a side note

Ep 7 of moonlight chicken tackles on so many important topics that are necessary and essential for teens and young-adults to hear and know that those are absolutely valid and pretty much universal.

That they are not alone if they have those concerns and thoughts. That it's okay to have them, to look at things that way.

And if they haven't thought about looking at their life at those angles yet, than it gives them the food for thoughts and encourage them to listen more closely to what they want and feel themselves.

[18butyouact80now]

same energy

[fantascia]

Khaotung 👁️💧👄💧👁️

[halliescomut]

Just had to show some appreciation to the sniff-kiss, and Wen's reaction.

[circuscl0wn]

Now that episode 7 is over I can say I STILL STAND BY THIS!!! Uncle Jim basically confirmed what we all thought which is that he’s worried and scared for Li Ming because his experience as both gay and poor (💀) has been unfavorable. See what happened when he properly communicated with Li Ming?? Exactly.

Granted Uncle Jim did more explaining when he was speaking to Wen than with Li Ming. Although I would’ve loved to see Jim explain to Li Ming why he is the way he is, I still like how they kept their conversation light hearted because it’s realistic. Often times family members will kinda skate by the deeper conversation if we’re already going towards reconciliation and understanding. The conversation they had in part 4 was enough for Li Ming to feel a bit reassured and let him see his uncle doesn’t have ill intentions.

Based on the preview for episode 7 I have something to say about Uncle Jim

Uncle Jim pisses me off anytime he speaks to Li Ming. I’m going to need them to sit down and have heart to heart. Uncle Jim we understand you're worried, you don’t want your nephew living the same hard life as you. HOWEVER, there is a way to communicate that to someone, he also needs to realize that Li Ming is a GROWING YOUNG ADULT who can make and live with his own decisions. The way Jim talks down and CONSISTENTLY scolds Li Ming breaks my heart because theres so much good Li Ming does but Uncle Jim only seems to be reprimanding him for what he sees as bad behavior. We get that Uncle Jim understands how unfair the world is and wants Li Ming to just "put his head down in the face of power" because thats how he's had to survive, but the same does not need to go for Li Ming. Li Ming can make his own decisions, of course advice and guidance is welcomed, but the way he tries to control Li Ming is not it.

Also this is not me excusing some of Li Ming's disrespectful attitude. He's a growing adult who I would say should try to communicate his worries and feelings with his uncle, but look at their interactions. I can't blame him for not communicating because it doesn't seem like Uncle Jim created/fostered a space where Li Ming would feel safe sharing his contemplation, they always seem to blow up on each other. Uncle Jim seems to never truly side with him which creates even more tension and less of a reason to communicate. Li Ming is unsure of where he fits in, insecure about his future, and then goes home to someone who doesn't seem to understand him. Who wouldn't be over it?

[khaopybara]

Aren't you tired of doing this tradition every year with your mom? I can't say I'm not. What can I do? I don't have anyone yet. Hurry and find one. I can't wait to see who your lover will be. It would be great if it's that easy to find. How hard could it be? You can always be the one who makes a move. It's okay, I can do this with you, right? How many more years can you do this with me? I'll keep doing this with you for as long as I can. We'll see.

NARINTHORN NA as HONGDARUN KANSAMUT and KHAOTUNG THANAWAT as GAIPA in MOONLIGHT CHICKEN Fantasmas, Humbe

[hughungrybear]

After watching these two play the best mother-son tandem in another series, to say that their interaction in this episode is awkward is an understatement. I guess like Heart, Li Ming has also experienced neglect from his mom - it seems like Jam is more interested in falling in love and having relationships with different men (at continuous succession) to truly care about Li Ming.

Now, I don't know which is more heartbreaking 😭😭😭😭

[colourme-feral]

Dates seen/mentioned/suggested in Moonlight Chicken, episodes 5 and 6 (ep 1+2, 3+4)

Episode 5

Wen and Alan celebrated their 1st anniversary in May 2017, which means that they started dating in May 2016. They celebrated their 5th anniversary in May 2021, but between then and February 2022, they have broken up, while still living together. Wen meets Jim 7 months after this point, in September 2022.

Li Ming and Heart do a part-time job at a pre-New Year New Year event.

Both calendars show December 2022

Based on this, Heart has been deaf since 2019.

Episode 6

The calendar shows December 2022

Beam passed away in December 2018, which is just about 4 years before the day that Jim and Wen go to the temple to make offerings.

Jim and Wen go to see Beam’s then-girlfriend to help Jim move on from Beam, while Heart and Li Ming prepare to celebrate the New Year together.

[whatisgodtoanonbeliever]

I think I liked what they did with li ming's mom

She is trying, but still very much a separate entity from the unit of jim and li ming. And li ming is willing to try with her but her opinions don't seem to be his concern whatsoever, he's telling her how it is, informing her of plans, but continuing on

Though props to her because she said I'm going to try, and that will include the boyfriend and learning some signs starting now