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justwriting · 1 month ago

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Kant, a truly misunderstood protagonist (THK EP 1-6)

Welcome to First’s 101 class in microexpressions to understand the journey of how Kant by Ep 6 has fallen deep into the clutches of our baby assassin (because it seems some people out there skipped the entirety of KB’s scenes and missed out K having a brother and was being blackmailed by Captain Christ – like how? This scene was pretty much in the first ½ hour of the show)

EP 1:

We can all at least agree Kant is super attracted to the cute dude in red, yeah? – Instant attraction:

And immediately falling in bed with a beautiful man like Bison – the whole red room scene (which I am not putting up for reference in this post because it will just chew up my photo limits – but go rewatch the scene to learn what First and Khaotung are portraying): pure lust & desire (no emotional attachment involved).

However, by the next day, where Kant still has no idea who Bison was apart from his hottest (to date) ONS – he was reminiscing and smiling like a fool about said encounter (and here, let me outline it for you what First was trying to portray – Kant having a crush on his ONS), daydreaming of what he just experienced:

When he finally met up with Bison again in the diner, which he engineered – that’s when his mission started. We can assume Captain Christ (CC) painted the picture Bison as a hard-ass killer. But how to reconcile this with sweet, baby face Bison?

There is certainly an element of deception to Kant – it was easy for him to “fake” some of his attraction (if you want to call it that) because at baseline, there is already an instant connection. Bonus if he can score some kisses and make out session with this beautiful assassin. This is a guy who has tangled with drug lords before and some danger excites him, yes?

So, the rest of Ep 1 was Kant being flirty and suave (and yes, with some trickery to those flirtatious manner). And you can tell, because Kant was putting all these big, exaggerated moves (like wanting to date and become boyfriends with Bison straight away) when he normally would have started cautiously:

However, he mixed this deceit with sincere tidbits about himself like the conversation by the lake when he shared the meaning of his name and his aquaphobia:

But by end of ep 1, Kant was starting to get slightly desperate. Bison is happy to flirt but not commit. Fadel is also in his way. Bison, being a good younger brother wants Fadel approval, and I suspect, a way for Kant to prove he is serious about pursuing him. Bison is also diabolical in that way because he is a cheeky, not-so-naïve baby boy (as proven by his sharp observant of Babe and James) – the only blinkers he appears to have been when Kant is involved (or Fadel) – the 2 persons he cares for the most.

And so, he enlists his trusty bestie (who else would he have called? Kant circle of friend starts and ends with Style. Otherwise, he only has Captain Devil breathing down his neck and his baby brother who he wants to protect from the big, bad world). Yes, it was misleading of Kant not to tell Style the truth immediately. However, Style is 100% chaos and unhinged at best (and to be honest, I don’t think he would have said no if Kant explained his situation).

** Style comes off as charming, but he is also annoying, has stalk-ish tendency, does not know personal boundaries and outside of Thai BL world, we would have called what he did to Fadel (in the locker room at the gym) sexual assault (because you don’t kiss someone without consent and get away with it as easily in real world).

EP 2:

The desperation is now in full force. Kant wants to get this mission underway quickly. He turns up the volume of his charm and repeatedly try to sneak in kisses or showing his big boba eyes to Bison in the hope of melting Bison’s heart. Bison does clock on desperation – but he is happy to continue to with the charade. After all, having a gorgeous, hunky tattooist hitting on you will be good for the ego (and soul)?

Kant and Bison’s scene at the tattooist place? – when Bison was showing his “cat underneath the Northern Lights” design, followed by Kant trying to feel up Bison’s thigh - now that was Kant being sleazy and Bison incredulously laugh, and smile showed he is very much aware of it but still attracted to him.

Despite the sleaziness though, there is still hint of Kant being attracted towards Bison too (see exhibit below) - that lips biting and quick top to bottom survey by Kant 👌

And while it was not shown, we can assume Kant is being hounded by CC about his mission. Thus, to get his mission further, we have Tawan and the whole “make Kant jealous and showing his possessive side” towards Bison. However, Bison does not seem that impressed with it. Amused, yes – he knows he can kill these 2 buffoons with his pinky if he wants to.

By now, Kant is starting to get annoyed. Bison is still playing hard to get. The whole milkshake scene – when Bison challenged him to prove his worth and join him in the dance-off challenge. Here, again let me point out to you the micro-expressions First were making – fond smile by how cute Bison was acting, followed by the minute change to his eyebrows and clenched jaw to express how irritated he was but quickly smoothing it out to hide his annoyance (link)

Now, the whole dance sequence is a masterpiece. Yes, it’s campy and an ode to Pulp Fiction but it also showed the state of Bison’s mind and if you look closely, you can see both boys relaxing and giving in to the silliness of the dance as it progresses until they become a unit and converge at the end – where Kant gives a genuine smile to Bison:

It was also the first time Bison finally gave in and gives those sweet pecks to Kant when the latter asked for it (I truly think it was the first time Bison saw the person underneath the suaveness, and he liked what he saw – someone who is happy to indulge in a bit of silliness and fun):

EP 3:

Just as Kant was relaxing somewhat, we have CC coming down like the devil he is. Kant expression at the pool – that’s a man who is fed-up and frustrated.

Because of his conversation with CC, he had to accelerate his timeline. This is when he started to make huge mistakes in the name of his mission.

Firstly, by hastily agreeing he is into BDSM. Oh, I have no doubt he could have learn to enjoy it in the right circumstances and if Bison had the opportunity to show it in a safe and controlled environment. At the very least, we could agree these 2 were horny of each other - as shown by the beautiful gifs: link here. And remember, this was after Bison put on the nipple clamps on Kant.

Alas, with Fadel cockblocking them, all that was left was lingering pain + bad experience for Kant. So, it was not surprising he looked wary and hesitant when Bison brought up the BDSM expect to their wager at Kant’s friend bar. Nevertheless, Kant pressed on because he needed to finish this mission (and preferably before his feelings get even more tangled up).

Either way, Kant is starting to feel fonder of Bison. Mission is still on the front, but cute scenes such as him helping at the diner is a reminder to the viewers that Kant does have some feelings for him (even as he used it to get ahead of his mission):

The whole bar scene followed by the sequence in Bison’s room was designed to provoke uneasiness. Here are 2 men who are not on the same wavelength in terms of their sexual desire. I hope people can at least read how uncomfortable and discompose Kant was even as he allowed Bison (in his drunken state) to tie him up.

EP 4:

The cracks are starting to show. Kant taking pictures of the BDSM gears and Northern Lights photos are unnecessary for the mission – and after revisiting the episode, I think he took those pictures as part of him learning more about Bison (just as he jots down all of Bison likes/dislikes when they officially start dating in Ep 5). Similarly, him caressing the trophy he won with Bison? – that is Kant subconsciously showing his fondness (and perhaps wistfulness) to simpler time:

Anyway, this episode was when Kant and Bison starts to communicate slightly better – progress! I mean, it’s more about Babe but you know – baby steps. All Bison wanted was for Kant to open to him (one of the main reasons why Bison has hesitated before because he could sense that Kant has never fully made himself feel vulnerable).

So, Babe and “being bullied in school�� is the catalyst for KantBison to truly form a connection – they both value family and brotherhood above all others, and in this, we can see Bison softening towards Kant (especially as Kant opens up about his past as a car thief, admitting he is not proud of it but he does want he must to feed Babe). Similarly, Kant is starting to see Bison as more than just a beautiful, merciless killer. This man helped him without hesitation, be his Robin to his terrible Batman. He sees someone with some moral compass – Bison powerful statement to the paedophile about “grooming” must hit a nerve in the boys (because I hope we can agree here that both Madam Lilly and CC ‘groomed’ our boys). Bison since he was a child and Kant, barely out of high school, not knowing about laws and scared out of his wits, agreeing to do the police dirty works to make sure Babe is not put in the foster system (which really hits me – HOW LONG HAS CAPTAIN DEVIL BEEN USING KANT AS HIS LACKEY???)

By the end of this episode, Kant is oscillating between relief, joy and guilt depending on what is the most pressing thing in his mind at that time – CC or his blossoming affection towards Bison. Sadly, no matter how much he likes Bison, Babe will always come first – all good parents put their children first and Kant who has parent-fied his younger brother for god knows how many years, will do the same.

The scenes when Bison gave his heart (and HeartBurger pin) at the bar followed by Kant’s showering scene highlights this beautifully:

(such a contrast when Bison is the one initiating the sweet pecks - Kant looking pleasingly surprised)

Guilt in his face

EP 5:

Kant is now slowly falling in love with Bison. All the little things he jots in his phone about Bison’s quirks, likes and dislikes show this. He didn’t have to show this off to Bison for his mission. Same with the date at the Arcade as it doesn’t really add on anything else towards his mission. He did all of these because he wants to learn about his boyfriend.

However, the introduction of James does highlight several things about Kant.

It underscores Kant’s worry about Bison (and how much he still does not know about Bison’s core values even as he is slowly getting to know him). We know Bison won’t kill the innocents (even if those people are jerks like James) but Kant doesn’t know this. Even then, he is still concerned for both James AND Bison. He doesn’t want Bison to hurt anyone not just because of altruistic reasons but he has started to care for Bison (and his soul).

Kant reaching out to Fadel and getting Style to persuade the latter to call Bison proves this. Even more when he subconsciously called Fadel “brother-in-law.” Kant said it in a rush as he quickly ran out to catch up with Bison – which means he really didn’t have the time to “plan” this encounter.

However, Bison and James confrontation made Kant determine to finish his mission off. It’s a reminder that dating Bison comes with risk. The double-date may have doubled (heh, a pun!) as a cover for him to put his shoddily espionage plan in motion – yet we could see Kant really enjoying himself when he was singing with Bison. Even those sweet pecks and pinkie gestures were genuine (or as much as it could be given the circumstances):

But by the end of the episode, when Bison worshipped Kant’s body (and I must say, what a wonderful scene to see Bison choosing to yield when he would have previously challenged Kant), that’s when viewers could see it. Kant’s soft tone as he gently caressed Bison’s jaw. And that tortured look as he closed his eyes even as Bison trustfully snuggled by him – yup, this is man who is regretting and tormented by his choice. I think we can safely say, he has truly fallen in love with Bison.

EP 6:

Kant is now way too deep and stuck in a hard place. He tries to get out of his deal with Captain Devil without success. His silence speaks volume when Captain Devil stated Kant has fallen in love with Bison.

His discussion with Style further emphasized this point – Style asked whether Kant could give up Bison. But he also pointed out Kant is toast if Bison finds out the truth.

And so, if he must give up the boy he has fallen in love to make sure Babe is not left to fend alone in this world – he planned the most elaborate, romantic date of what he wished he could have with the man who gave his heart to him in the initial place he saw said man when everything was clearer without any lies between them.

Kant broke countless of rules (as listed by Bison including trespassing, breaking & entering, destroying property and thieving) to have one special, magical night of what he envisioned to have with future Bison if things were simpler.

It is a testament to First (and Khaotung) as amazing actors that we can feel the wistfulness and bittersweet feelings from Kant while Bison shows a hopeful beginning to what he thinks is a joint future together. It was beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time:

Link for above screenshot here

After the ill-fated mission where we sees Bison saving Babe, Kant has truly fallen for Bison. Even as he tries to convince Style to move on, he struggles to do it himself. Style intuitively perceives this when Kant joined him to find their respective lovers at the burger joint – hence, why he suggested that Kant adopts Bison’s black cat.

So, by the end of the episode 6 – we see Kant pining away while drowning his sorrow and regrets by drinking at his friend’s bar. The hope and guilt in his eyes when Bison called out to him is palpable:

If you reach the end of this long post - I salute you. Because this was just me rambling on to make sure I did not misjudged Kant's character (and I didn't!) - First has done a wonderful job portraying himself as a single parent who sacrifices his needs and desire to make sure his younger sibling has every comfort and leisure he can give - even if it means he plays dirty and make deal with the devil.

#first kanaphan #just a post to appreciate how layered and complex Kant portrayal is a character #in awe of First's acting and microexpressions #He is not even my favourite character in THK hehehe - that belongs to my chaos gremlins - Bison & Style #But First acting is top notch and he always deliver #kant pattanawat #kantbison #the heart killers #thk musing for me

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