#Moonlight chicken ep 5

[wen-kexing-apologist]

By god do I just need to scream into the ether about the Heart and co. confrontation scene.

First, the tension, incredible. Gemini and Fourth are phenomenal actors. Heart and Li Ming know they are walking in to a very emotionally fraught situation and their hesitation is palpable.

It's scene breakdown time babyyyy! Let's start from the beginning

For a boy who admitted last episode that he has no idea what he is doing, he sure keeps doing things right. He's letting Heart know he's going to talk. Now, granted I don't know what he is saying here precisely if he is just simply saying "I'm going to talk for us/first", "I'll interpret," or if he's saying "I'm going to talk?", I don't think his face moves in any way that would imply a question, but his face is partially obscured. Either way he is at the very least keeping Heart in the know, and at the most asking for Heart's explicit consent to lead this conversation. You can't see it from pictures, but I appreciate the fact that before they cut back to the wide shot, Heart nods, so we as an audience, and Li Ming as the speaker here knows that Heart is okay with the power dynamics at play, with Li Ming talking for both of them.

It's a blink and you'll miss it moment, thankfully I'm obsessed with this scene and therefore have been looping it endlessly, but I feel compelled to point out the way eye contact in this moment goes a long way in conveying how Heart's Mom and Li Ming view Heart. When Heart's mother points to her son she doesn't even look at him. The most she does is cast a downward glance at his bandage, and that's before she even points. And you can argue all you want that she doesn't look at him because she's specifically talking to and addressing Li Ming. But I call bullshit on that because Li Ming is specifically talking to and addressing Heart's mother, and he's looking straight in to Heart's eyes when he refers to and gestures towards Heart. I'm sure that both of these characters believe they love and care about Heart, but of these two characters which one actually recognizes Heart's personhood?

But uh oh! Li Ming stood up for himself and for Heart, and talked back to not just an adult, but a powerful adult. And now she's mentioning past debts, and now there will be more to pay as a result. And Li Ming can only work so much with school and life and everything. He clearly doesn't know what he's getting himself in to, or what he has gotten himself in to. Li Ming and Heart's Mom are both getting angry, tensions are rising, something needs to happen to de-escalate the situation or this might go wrong. Uncle Jim absolutely must intervene (I hope you can hear the sarcasm in my voice). Interesting note: Guess who else doesn't look at their child when making a decision for them. Jim does look at Li Ming directly after this though, but it's to ask him why he did it. It's to place the blame for the accident on Li Ming. "You Li Ming, why did you do it?" "Heart asked me to." "Stop saying that."

Jim is scared, Li Ming is pissed. "He was bored at home" "I said stop!" Jim is used to the way powerful and wealthy people can control and punish the poor. Jim and Li Ming have had conversations before that indicate this very mindset. Jim has mentioned power to Li Ming before and Li Ming's response has always been "what, so we just let them?" "He's a police officer so he can just do anything he wants to us?" to a young adult like Li Ming, this is an absurdity, to an older man like Jim, this is a reality. "he can just do anything he wants to us?" the answer is yes. Which is why Jim is so desperate to get Li Ming to stop talking here. But it just serves as a reminder to Li Ming that Jim thinks he's a child, and that he needs all his battles fought for him. If Li Ming doesn't keep pushing, nothing is going to change (social and political commentary anyone?)

"There you go again," Heart's mother says, and this is Li Ming's initial reaction. This moment of annoyance and anger that this woman who doesn't even know him is once again accusing him of something he didn't do. This woman who is pointing once again to her son without even a glance in his direction "You know that he's mute, so you can say whatever you want?" First of all, even people who are mute have ways to communicate, so it's not like even if he was mute Heart would be helpless. Hell, even if Heart was mute he still has fucking sign language.

The face of a woman who was, in fact, not aware that deaf people dislike being called mute.

GUESS WHO FINALLY LOOKS AT HER SON AFTER THAT!!!! Please please if the writers are kind and merciful, this will be the point in the show where Heart's mother does so deep deep introspection and realizes how much she has fucked up. "He's just deaf," Li Ming says, loudly, and he steps forward, to try to engage Heart's mom in further conversation, in more dialogue. And what does Jim do? Pulls him back, takes him off his even footing "I said stop,"

The face of a man who is very scared for the trouble his nephew might be getting himself in to, and the face of his nephew who is very disappointed that his uncle keeps not only backing down, but forcing him to back down as well. Who keeps asking him, in these small ways to lie instead of tell the truth. To remain quiet, to take the blame, to stick to the status quo.

And then the part I hate (emotionally) begins. Heart asks Li Ming to tell him what they're saying. And I hate it because Heart's parents refusing to learn sign language does not only hurt Heart but it hurts everyone around him, themselves included. But specifically here, it hurts Li Ming, because he has to be the one to look Heart in the face and repeat the words his mother said, knowing that to do so will hurt Heart. Knowing that he has to be the one to hurt Heart.

And this moment is also a great reminder for the audience as well that no one else knowing sign language creates really uncomfortable power dynamics between the person who is able to interpret and the Deaf person. Because Li Ming is hesitant to repeat it. Heart has to repeatedly grab his arm, repeatedly ask Li Ming to tell him what was said. Li Ming has absolute power over Heart right now, to refuse to say it, or to flat out lie. He doesn't, but it also should not be Li Ming's decision whether or not Heart knows, accurately, what was said. Even after we see it in his face that Li Ming agrees to translate, he still hesitates for a few seconds to move, to reach for the notepad, to have to write it down.

And once he writes it down, Li Ming's eyes do not leave Heart. He is honed in on Heart, on Heart's face, on his shoulders, hell even on the back of his head until Heart asks him to translate. And god as much as I hate this moment in the scene for the pain that it causes Li Ming, I hate it even more for the pain that it causes Heart.

He is fucking livid. Rightfully so, because HE'S NOT FUCKING MUTE, HE'S HAD LANGUAGE THIS ENTIRE GODDAMN TIME. He just wants to live his life like everyone else AND HE HAS TO TELL HIS PARENT'S THAT USING SOMEONE ELSE'S VOICE. Because they have refused to use his own. GOD. I'll be surprised if anyone makes it this far down in the post but I just...AHHHH I have no coherent thoughts about this moment, I just....Heart's parents do fucking better. Damn. And the worst part of this scene is yet to come because his Mom tries for like 0.2 seconds, but it looks like she's going to start signing something and Heart just looks SO surprised.

He's so focused on it, he's paying so much attention to it. Is this it? Is this the moment he finds out that his mother has actually been trying? That she has learned and is ready to start using sign language with him? To talk to him, to understand him?

No.

She can't do it. She doesn't know how to. And it's just..it's so easy to see how much hope he had for just a second, how much that one millisecond of effort obliterated all the logic in his head that told him they didn't know it, they didn't care. And how quickly that disappointed anger snaps right back in to place. So Heart starts talking, in sign language, like he has been able to do for years, and he speaks his mind, and his mother still can't understand him. And we see the same dynamic here as with the "mute" comment. Heart's Mom wants Li Ming to translate, Heart wants Li Ming to translate, Li Ming knows how hurt Heart is, and yeah, probably some of his hesitation in voicing what Heart said is because he knows what Heart said will hurt her. But more so because I think it hurts Li Ming to know how much pain Heart is in.

God, poor Heart, literally having to beg to be heard.

"He said you are ashamed of him being deaf,"

His mother shakes her head and says "Heart, I'm sorry. I don't know what to say, dear," and therein lies the problem. She doesn't know what to say, she never has. She has never bothered to learn how to communicate with him since he went deaf. She has kept him locked away. And it doesn't matter if she thinks she did that to keep him safe, Heart feels like he's being hidden away. And she doesn't say "No. No I'm not ashamed. I have never been ashamed." she doesn't know what to say. Because she can't say that. She can't deny that, and it just confirmed everything that Heart has known. So he leaves, because that's too much to handle.

Bullshit 'he'll be fine, honey'. Your fucking son just told you that you never bothered to learn sign language in THREE FUCKING YEARS, and stormed away after admitting that he feels like you are ashamed of him, and you think no need to go after him, he'll be fine??? Fuck you. ACAB.

Does this...

look like...

he's fine, to you?

No. I didn't think so.

I don't really feel like I need to say much about this last shot. It stands on its own so strongly. Mirrors reflecting back, Heart and Li Ming only ever being able to see each other, to be seen by each other. Warm light at Heart's back, Li Ming in front of him, sandwiched between warmth in all of that blue, isolating coldness. All that evidence of how much time and the energy Heart has spent learning sign language. I don't know what the post-its say, I don't know that I want to know.

I don't know if they are notes Heart has written to himself when he was learning, and this is just what remains of his effort. Honestly I hope it's that, because if it is what I think it is, general, every day responses that he might have to give in reply to his parents that he can just pull off his wall and return, that is so much fucking worse. Because then its just the evidence of all the effort Heart has put in to communicate with his parents on their level when they have not put in the same effort to communicate on his. Even if it's something cute, even if it's all the notes that he and Li Ming have passed back and forth to each other over the last few months, serving as a reminder that someone cares, you still are left with the heartbreaking shot of two young men, desperate to be understood by their families, only having each other to hold on to, surrounded by reminders that they are the only two people that can understand each other. No matter how hard they try.

[whydoidothistomyselfandothers]

I KNEW IT

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

H❤: I've lived in Pattaya since I was born, but I have never been up here before. Ming☺: I will bring you back here more often. H❤: I haven't felt this way in a long time. Ming☺: What way? H❤: Like a normal person. Ming☺: To me, you're normal.

[j-adorejy]

The development of Heart and Li Ming's relationship is one of my favourite part of Moonlight Chicken. The way Li Ming not only took the time to learn sign language but also learnt to care for Heart is so precious. Li Ming always make sure to touch Heart whenever he wants to talk/sign something to him and always make sure that he is comfortable and alright. He got to know that all Heart wanted was to be able to stand on his own feet and he gave Heart the opportunity to do so through this part time gig. It's all in the little ways that Li Ming shows how much he cares for Heart 😭🤍

[hughungrybear]

Me: ***inhuman noises***

[circuscl0wn]

Calling your son “mute” cuz you’ve never bothered to learned sign language to communicate with him is a level of audacity and disrespect I’ve never seen before

[girleatsbr3ad]

A man that has chosen himself and his peace. Love to see it! 👏🏽👏🏽

[itsbiaslog8]

“𝐼 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒.

𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢,

𝐼 𝑓𝑜𝑐𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑜𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢.

𝑀𝑦 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢.”

“𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆, 𝑨𝒍𝒂𝒏.”

[fantascia]

Alan is such a complex character. You just love to hate him from the way he seethes at Jim and clings uselessly to something long gone, but his frustration and sadness from the loss of his love is so real. The way he’s still considerate of Wen despite the bitterness clogging his airways, and the way he wants so badly for their broken relationship to prevail is just. So tragic

[littleforeignaffairs]

Welcome back to this week's episode of "GMM Cry"

Gonna Make Me Cry

Li Meng having to translate for Heart's parents because they couldn't be bothered to learn sign language.

All rights reserved to GMMTV ( screen writers Best Kittisak and Aof Noppharnach)

[malepresentingleg]

Why did they have to show us alan and wen being cute and in love like that? 😭😭😭😭

[wen-kexing-apologist]

So, I started writing a completely different post about the Heart confrontation scene and was gonna start it with "[Episode 5] was just so well done and they laid everything out on a platter for me to digest that I don't really feel the need to wax poetic about colors in this episode" but uhhhh, haha oops, I played myself. I was looking back through part 4/4 to talk about Heart's confrontation scene, and uh...

IT'S COLOR TIME.

Fuck you @respectthepetty! you created this monster.

So we already have Wen = Blue and Jim = Red but I've given the internet too many analyses about Wen and Jim and because once again the side couple strikes, all I care about is supporting this precious first love between Li Ming and Heart so that's what I'm gonna write.

Like father-figure uncle like nephew, Li Ming is red, and his love interest, Heart is blue. But because Wen and Jim are also red and blue I think there needs to be something else tying Li Ming and Heart together visually and that is stripes. (shhh, yes, I know Wen had a shirt with stripes on in it episode 4 but that served a very specific purpose of being red/blue color coded for the purposes of being caught between Alan and Jim) THIS however:

stripes.

stripes.

stripes.

stripes

stripes

stripes

STRIPESSSSSSS

Is exclusively a dedicated HeartLiMing motif.

And stripes makes sense as the connecting factor between the two of them. The plot line for Heart and Li Ming centers so much around how trapped they both feel in their respective lives. Li Ming trapped by poverty, Heart trapped at home. Li Ming trapped on the cusp of adulthood and independence, having a difficult time being understood by his uncle (despite Jim's best efforts), Heart trapped in his own body and mind, because his parents refuse to learn how to understand him. Their plot is about being teenagers, teenagers testing boundaries, breaking boundaries, rebelling against the authority they have known their whole lives in order to better understand who they are as people. In order to be able to make their own mistakes and start learning how to navigate the world without a "true adult" there to make decisions for them. It's about breaking free of the barriers your family has always placed around you to keep you safe.

Horizontal stripes of course, also make me think a bit about paper, and writing is a crucial, vital, and important part of how Heart and Li Ming started getting to know each other. If you want to get even more abstract about it, lines in relation to Heart and Li Ming make me think of hands, of fingers (the vertical lines especially) in reference to sign language and its importance in allowing these two to communicate and understand one another.

Okay I said it was color time, I lied again, sorry, it actually was stripe time.

NOW IT'S COLOR TIME.

We've seen a lot in this show, in my opinion, with blue lighting around the Red Rascals, both Jim and Li Ming. Especially Li Ming because all of his interactions with Heart until the middle of Episode 4 have been immersed completely in Heart's home.

and what I love about blue lighting is that it makes red pop so Li Ming is still the most central and eye catching presence on the screen, despite the fact that he is bathed in blue. Despite the fact that he is in Heart's room, in Heart's house, he is the center of attention for viewers in this moment, but also for Heart as a whole.

And even in Ep. 4 once they finally leave Heart's home, Li Ming is still constantly covered in blue because he is doing all of this for Heart.

And when they go to the church where Heart is introduced to other Deaf people for the first time, Li Ming is still immersed in blue because, once again, he is in Hearts's world. The world that Heart should have always had access to from the minute that he became deaf. The world he's been deprived of by his parents for three years.

Also notice, by nature of Li Ming wearing a red shirt in these scenes that the white and amber lights that act as the secondary wash in these scenes casts far more red tinted light on to Li Ming than it does to Heart. For the majority of episode 4, Heart's lighting pallet is blue or white, blue or amber. Li Ming's has a bit more red to his. AND AND AND AND it speaks to the talent of the lighting designers and directors and just general film crew in this show that they are able to use so much blue in this show and have it signify so many different things. Alan's blue lighting is colder than Wen's, Heart's blue lighting is colder at home than it is when he is outside. It's more of a blue green outside because they are mixing it with more reds/oranges and less white, you can even see it in these screen caps how much bluer and colder the first picture in Heart's room (and even when they are in his driveway) looks compared to the pictures outside where they are also lit with warm tones.

We know already that Heart cares about Li Ming, because he is his friend, because he finally has a life line, because he finally has someone to talk to, who treats him like a normal fucking human being, and trusts him, and and and...and we know that Heart is attracted to Li Ming because we got that scene where Heart pretty obviously checks out and is flustered by Li Ming without his shirt on. But I don't know if Heart fully has a crush on Li Ming at either of those points. And my argument for that is the lighting, because until Heart is standing in front of the speaker at the church with Li Ming, we don't see Heart in any objectively warm light.

I think this is the moment that is supposed to indicate that Heart is fully leaning in to having a crush on Li Ming, because this is finally the moment where his face is warm not blue, not bright, not cold, and not in white light. And I'm asking you to compare this image with the ones above it, at the street vendor, the secondary light wash on Heart is not amber, it's white. The back lighting on Heart's neck in the picture of him and Li Ming talking to the Father at church is definitely warmer, but it is not as warm as the light on Li Ming's face. But at the speaker scene, he is fully bathed in warm light. But the warm light isn't red light either, it's not objectively or definitively Li Ming's color, though it is his emotions.

You know what is objectively, definitively red light?

This is.

And like yeah, we can talk about the red bag on Heart's side, or the fact that in this lighting the blue square of the American flag on Li Ming's sweater matches close enough to the blue in Heart's shirt. We could talk about getting on each other's level by swapping colors through their clothes or their accessories. But I don't want to do that this time, because I am a slut for lighting and this lighting this definitively red lighting on Heart's face is what this episode is about for me. I think this is the point Heart realizes that he is in love with Li Ming, and Heart is fully ready to accept Li Ming as part of his world. Probably the most important part of his world.

Anyway, off to go take a million more screen shots of the confrontation scene so I can shout expletives about Heart and Li Ming's reactions to everything going on in that scene. Talk about a side track of epic proportions.

[deafcruz]

Heart turned deaf at the tender age of 13 years it he went deaf right at the beginning of Covid-19’s The isolation started cause of COVID, Thailand's procedures were like, most non-US countries had lock downs it could have just been a matter of them intending to fully isolate him, just using COVID as an excuse to keep him cooped up once the pandemic was no longer regarded as a threat in Thailand. Heart's mother loves her son, she doesn't realize what she has done to him by keeping him isolated like this, and she don’t understands (until the fight with Heart and Li Ming) that writing notes and doing simple hand gestures is not good enough. she is (probably intentionally) truly unaware of how much pain Heart has been in for all these years Heart had to do his own research, search up videos, learn a new language and methods to communicate all the while being almost fully isolated, both mentally and physically. He watched videos from the deaf/hoh community to give himself hope that his life wasn't over, and that life did get better. He had to teach himself to hope that one could do anything in life despite being deaf.

Heart's parents have never made the efforts to even acknowledge heart's disability, never made the efforts to understand how to adapt to heart's new circumstances and not even try to reach out to the deaf community ever. They've left him alone to adapt to his new, frightening and totally unknown circumstances.

As we see in that pivotal confrontation scene, Heart's dad stands there doing absolutely nothing, apparently being totally confused as to what to do. For some reason, he thinks that leaving his own son (who just told them that he thinks they're ashamed of him) to wallow in his own room alone was the right thing to do.

He probably understands that his parents are overprotective of him because they're worried about him. Heart's mother said he couldn't drive because he was deaf due to can’t hear

As hearing folks, his parents probably think with how those who are deaf, they can’t hear anything, making them unable to survive something seriously dangerous.

Hearing folks think that if the person driving can't hear, how can one drive? They've grown up with hearing folks, who hear sirens and horns honking. They never have to think twice about how easier life is for them due to them being able to hear.

As we see in that pivotal confrontation scene, Heart's dad stands there doing absolutely nothing, apparently being totally confused as to what to do. For some reason, he thinks that leaving his own son (who just told them that he thinks they're ashamed of him) to wallow in his own room alone was the right thing to do.

Heart didn't actually expect Li Ming to like him out of anything more than pity, kind of like li ming feeling sorry for him. He was grateful that Li Ming took him outside to see various places.

It wasn't until Li Ming took Heart to the church to let him meet more members of the deaf/hoh community and learn about the lives of deaf/hoh people for himself did he get that Li Ming was serious about his friendship with Heart and appreciated Heart as just another normal person.

As we saw in the episode, Li Ming saw Heart's curious and innocent nature and felt protective over him and ask him about his dreams for the future, treating him just like any other teen friend. Heart saw Li ming's efforts to learn more about the deaf such as requiring physical touch to attract attention before signing or speaking or that the fact the deaf don't like the term mute someone who can't speak it would refer to heart not being silent, but speaking out in his own language and since the mother doesn't know it assumes he's mute, something which li ming shows her is untrue. This, when compared to the total lack of efforts made by his own parents over the last 3 years of his deafness made Heart feel immensely angry and hurt. The look on Heart's face when he realised that his mother was unable to sign even a simple sorry at him was powerful in its visible sheer disappointment and heartbreak.

Heart's mother felt immense sadness at the realisation that she is unable to understand her son at all while a stranger can. they did not see how bottled up Heart felt at being trapped inside his own house for the last 3 years, unable to even communicate with his parents because of them never making the effort to even meet him a part of the way in an effort to communicate with him.

Even after realising the hurt she caused her son, Heart's mother calling out to Heart desperately just showed her inability and unwillingness to meet Heart half way due to her ignorance.

coming to another participant in this whole scene, an unwilling one though he may have been, Jim, Li ming's uncle. Both Jim and Heart's parents are a representation of the generational gap and how differently the two generations are willing to adjust to change.

Jim, like Heart's parents thought that it was better for the deaf child to be kept inside, safe from harm because of Heart's inability to hear. Jim is afraid to challenge the status quo, willing to take the blame so as to not rock the boat (do something that disturbing on existing situations) Jim wanted li Ming take blame and stop arguments with Heart parents he considered them powerful members of society

This is in total contrast to Li Ming, who, within months of meeting Heart, did his research and learned enough to actively communicate with Heart, whom he considered his friend, on Heart's terms,His efforts gave Heart enough confidence to speak up to his parents, on his terms, using the language that he learn myself , confident in the knowledge that person in the room can understand him. He being voice heart through heard him made them realise just how badly he had been hurt by them, and how poorly they treated him the last 3 years and make them realise their wrongs. All of this because of the fact that Li Ming was willing to be the interpreter for him and his thoughts.

After this confrontation, we see Heart breaking down, and finding the comfort and acceptance he so desperately needs in Li Ming's arms, the one person who was willing to listen to him.

[myezblog]

Wen and his fidelity issues

Ok, so prima facie he is not a cheater (and i myself have been sayign from the beginning that he isn’t , hence his confidence)

But, something interesting happened in ep 5. Now, when i compare that with what we learnt about him in ep 1 (gym conversation with his friend), in ep 4 (with his dad during the dinner)... Wen is quintessential bad boy from the hetero movies.

**************

1. Ep 5 - Wen and Alan have been in relationship for 5 years now. But what we learnt from his dad was that he keeps changing boyfriends. There wasn’t even a hint of his dad acknowledging Wen being in a stable/long / serious relationship.

So, during these 5 years, how many times have Alan and Wen broken up and patched up again? Given how Alan is reacting, i would say ZILCH

So, how transparent has Wen been about his relationship with Alan? Did he really provide Alan the basic security that comes from the seriousness and commitment in a relationship?

************

2. What did we know about Wen in ep 1 - he changes boyfriends like changing clothes.. there were many words used to describe him..

So, yeah at the end of the day i wonder if with Wen, a man is a flavour of the season.. or is it his habit to get over and move on as he pleases

He is also insensitive. To think, everything should play as per his interests - when want to be friend and still get the benefits of being friend (nice home, cordial relationship yada yada)

[j-adorejy]

Heart's and Li Ming's contact names for each other is just so cute !!

H♡ and Ming 🙂

[hughungrybear]

The fact that I did not recognise it was P'Aof who wanted to rekindle Wen's and Alan's "fire" 😅😅😅 The tradition continues 😂

Source: Twitter