#korn kp

[crystallinemoonlight]

still not over the fact korn murdered porsche and chay's family and then planted some lousy gambler as their guardian who ruined their lives and put them into constant debt that drove porsche to risk his health and life street fighting. it's insane. especially bc in the later episodes arthee showed a scary lack of care towards porsche, calling him naive and stupid, trying to extort him using his dead family, he did not give a shit. people don't just change like that overnight, he didn't just get evil and uncaring, that stuff was already there. and he was picked to look after two traumatized children??

korn must have done that on purpose, either to put porsche in a constantly vulnerable state he could later exploit, or to keep him busy so he'd never have the time or capacity to think too much about his family's past. there's no way he didn't know.

[kinnbig]

KinnPorsche the Series + Power

[chaos0pikachu]

korn really set the bar for bad parents in BL b/c he’s not a bad parent b/c he’s homophobic, oh no, in fact he’s the opposite he supports all his gay sons and even his gay nephews he’s a bad parent b/c he made his semi-foster nephew believe for a whole 60 secs that him and his bio son were cousins fucking nasty while hiding his foster sister in the attic for like 20 years, killing his nephews father, all after faking his own death and then sent his gay sons on a boat party to celebrate their engagement 

[auseyre]

So something I never noticed about this scene.

When Vegas jumps in here, I immediately thought -he's like a little kid, cocky because his dad is there to back him up. And obviously Chan thinks it too, because the subs are wrong...he doesn't say "that's why I was talking" he says "the adults are talking".

It's the next part though...when he says "you'd be advised to go home" he's still speaking only to Vegas -- he says it in English, so it's clearly meant as a response to Vegas speaking English to him and he's looking at Vegas, not Gun when he says it.

He turns back to Gun and goes back to Thai until guns get drawn like cartoons.

The interesting thing is, he's giving Vegas an out here. I can't imagine this was Chan on his own, caring if Vegas was a part of this or not. It had to be Korn who wanted to keep Vegas out of it. Of course, Vegas was never going to take that option -he'd rather die proving his loyalty to his father than wear the crown in his stead. I'm sure that's something that baffles Korn -he would expect his sons to choose to stay alive and put themselves in a position of power if it came to it.

I think Korn's plan was to give the ring to Vegas after he killed Gun, thinking he could control him easily and still use him as a pin to poke Kinn with...even more so since he could play benevolent uncle once Gun was gone. But Vegas completely fell apart after his father's murder, taking that option off the table. (Okay, I'm never gonna find it again rn, but someone did a great post about how the minor family is way too dramatic and emotional for Korn and this is an example of that...compare to Kinn swallowing back all the emotion when he thought Korn was dead so he could take care of business).

[laesas]

Keeping up with the Theerapanyakardashians

[hamliet]

Kinnporsche: The Symbolism

Not really a meta. More a collection of baby meta ideas I have and/or symbolism I noticed watching the series that didn't make it into my review.

Oh How The Tables...

I'm just saying that it's certainly ironic that Kim's first scene in the show is him mocking Big for his unrequited love for Kinn. He asks Big if he should write Big a song about heartbreak, and ends the series writing a song about his own heartbreak and begging Chay to take him back.

Big and Tawan

In general, I think Big and Tawan were the best done minor characters, and the best done characters in the series, if you look at their complete arcs, after Vegas and Pete (Kim and Chay would be next, but their arcs aren't entirely complete and never will be).

The same episode where Tawan concludes "if I can't be happy, then no one can," and commits suicide (intended murder suicide at that), Big sacrifices his life to save Porsche's, not because of Porsche, but because he loves Kinn. He dies assuring Porsche how much Kinn loves him.

In other words, Big reached the opposite conclusion of Tawan: even if it means he can't be happy, he wants Kinn to be happy. However, the story actually takes a nuanced, complex look at it and doesn't code it as Big=good Tawan=bad; Tawan is framed as tragic instead and you're meant to feel sad over his patheticism, not feel gleeful.

Portraits

Tankhun, Kim, and Vegas all have self-portraits in their rooms, and these portraits are all kind of symbolic of how they see themselves--though not necessarily accurate perceptions.

Well, except Tankhun's. Tankhun's just just a neon portrait that fits with his flamboyant decor. It's in the corner near where he watches his series, and is very straightforward because Tankhun, himself, is pretty straightforward. He's not hiding the same way the others are.

Kim's self-portrait is a watercolor of himself, but you can't any discernible features. Of course, this symbolizes how he hides himself behind many masks.

Behind that portrait, though, is his bulletin board of his family and all the players. Because no matter how Kim acts distant and aloof, he's actually always strategizing and planning to thwart any threats to his family.

Vegas's self portrait is in a secret room that can only be entered via a passcode, symbolic of how it's really hard to reach the true Vegas because he keeps his vulnerabilities locked up. But when you do enter that room, you see a portrait of a misshapen man that looks more monster than human. That's how Vegas sees himself.

Kinn notably does not have a portrait (that I saw), but his walls are instead windows that overlook Bangkok, which can be symbolic as well: that he doesn't see himself fully as a person, but instead as someone who's supposed to be controlling and surveying something much, much bigger than himself.

Kinnporsche Sexy Times

The idea for symbolism here wasn't fully developed, but it's there, so.

The first two times Kinn and Porsche have sex mirror the first sexual encounters with others we see them engaging in. The first scene is the Bad Scene, or really, where Kinn basically assaults Porsche since Porsche is way too out of it to consent. But during this scene, Porsche draws attention to the beauty of the city view, which is a callback to how Kinn's hired prostitute remarked that he wanted to see the entire view (and then opened the curtains to find Porsche there, because Kinn's answer to who he is is more adequately found in Porsche than the city).

Of course it's also kind of a comment on how Kinn views himself in terms of the city, which is not entirely a good understanding lol.

The next time they have sex--and the first time it's consensual--is in the backroom of a club, which mirrors where we see Porsche having sex with the two girls in the series. I'd argue this is probably supposed to be seen as Kinn meeting Porsche where he's at, and to a degree vice versa, but also Kinn's is more morally questionable than Porsche's in terms of consent and power.

Kimchay - The Little Mermaid

I talked a little about the fairy tale motif that was never actually explored in the story despite it having a ton of potential in my review, and I'm going to talk more about it now because I can.

Listen, if Vegaspete and Kinnporsche are both loosely based on Beauty and the Beast (Vegaspete more directly a retelling, right down to resurrection), Kimchay is probably based on "The Little Mermaid," the other story that gets a direct shout-out in text. Here, both characters are both mermaid and prince.

Kim wants to live a life as part of a different world, and uses his voice to get there. In the end, just like the mermaid in the original tale, he loves the prince (Chay) too much to risk him coming to harm, even if that means his own doom. However, it's precisely that selflessness that helps him live above a filthy world.

Chay also wants to live in a different world and uses his voice to get there. Only, despite all he risks to get there, it doesn't quite work out. The prince (Kim) doesn't return his feelings... well, except he does, but he sure made Chay feel like he didn't for awhile there.

Succession: Kinnporsche Version

The novel apparently mentions this but I'm not interested in reading it for Reasons, but I did find it intriguing that the mafia family isn't exactly going to continue considering all five of the current generation (Khun, Kinn, Kim, Vegas, and Macau) are all gay. For all the talk about being an heir and succeeding Papa Korn, it's not gonna go for another generation. I actually like this and think it could be a major thematic point if emphasized appropriately, or brought up at all in the series.

Like. The family burdens the kids because of mafia stuff, trying to pit them against one another and using them to solve their grievances... but love can save the day, and also give life, and quite literally stop the cycle--but it's love that isn't traditional, in a sense. It's queer. This also doesn't mean the characters can't have kids, obviously, but symbolically they have to come up with different, nontraditional ways to do so if they do, symbolic of having to like... break from the traditional patriarchal violence of their mafia upbringings.

The ingredients are there! It could have been a thing!

Namphueng: The King

Namphueng's room has a chessboard pattern on the floor, which ties into the chess motif that Korn was always messing around with. While the audience was led to believe the queen was Porsche in all Korn's playing scenes--and they were right--they were also led to believe the king was either Kinn or Korn. Incorrect. The king was Namphueng, not Kinn or Korn.

The king, after all, isn't really free to move. It theoretically can move in any direction, but only one space at a time. It's quite limited.

I do wonder--not that this will ever be answered--if Namphueng's story is intended a lot more important than just "foster sister." Like maybe her family was wiped out because she was the heir of a far more important family or something.

The Victor Writes History

Or so Korn said. Again, not that we'll ever get it cleared up, and I personally like the ambiguity wherein we don't know precisely what happened between Namphueng, her husband, Korn, and Gun. I wouldn't actually have wanted it perfectly cleared up. Thematic! Complexity!

Gun's memories match better with Porsche's than Korn's do--the cabinet where Porsche hid is open in Gun's memories, but not in Korn's, and Porsche remembers Korn standing while Gun sits, which is what happens in Gun's version. However, whenever there are multiple versions of a story, the truth is probably in the middle, and it's hard to believe Gun, of all people, had purely selfless motives.

My personal guess is Korn did kill Namphueng's husband, but it was less about "how dare you not come back!" cruelty and more a long-game plan to get his and Gun's father to spare Namphueng and fake her death to protect her. I think this fits best thematically with the story and the characters as present in the series, in that Korn's motives can be both caring and selfish and power-seeking at the same time. It's also tragic, because killing someone loved by someone to protect them actually has a way of killing them even if you didn't plan on it. Someone can still be alive but have lost everything, a statement that multiple characters made in the show.

It would also fit that Korn misunderstood the power of love, because he definitely doesn't get it. But he didn't ruin every love story, because Kinn and Porsche end up together.

Whose Handprints?

I am annoyed i never got the answer to whose finger paintings Korn had in his desk drawer (the ones Kim found). I presume it's Porsche and Chay's given that there are two handprints, not three, and one is far larger than the other (plus the emphasis on Namphueng and art) but who knows.

[gulongming]

KINNPORSCHE ANNIVERSARY: tropes (x)

COLLECTIBLES EDITION ▸ binder one binder two

[answermywearyquery]

vegas (kinnporsche) wishes he had the kind of relationship with his cousin as korn (4 minutes) has.

[yinwaryuri]

Okay apparently the cogs are working somewhat today, brain is braining, because I started discussing Pete's thoughts about Korn on this post and these tags (thanks @thisautistic) have me digging further:

Korn straight up bought Pete's loyalty. On a big scale. That's a really curious thing to do. We know Korn will have something collateral when it comes to keeping people around - Namphueng is being held hostage but under the guise of incapability so Porsche and Porchay have to rely on him. And who knows what he's got on her that's keeping her quiet.

So now I just can't imagine what the hell Korn has hold of on most of his bodyguards that's got them feeling like he's actually really generous and basically giving them handouts in exchange for a life of servitude.

I mean, I didn't even think about it when I made up a reason for him to basically tie Big's hands in a fic when he recruited him, but he did him a huge favor in that context and if Big hadn't fallen in love with Kinn and sacrificed himself he would've been the next Chan.

So why did Korn buy up Pete in such a grandiose way?

Was he aware of Big's feelings for Kinn and figured he'd die for him before having to replace Chan? (Not to mention - what the hell did he do to make Chan kiss his arse?) Did Korn keep tabs on the skills of each bodyguard and notice a special uptick in Pete's that he knew would benefit him one day? Being the master chess player he is and orchestrating circumstances like he's playing with puppets, that's a huge possibility.

Does he just buy them all out to that extent? This would make more sense to me because then it would discourage anyone claiming to be a favorite and other petty bullshit that the guards could cause. Which only demonstrates just how fucking LOADED the Theerapanyakul family is and how entrenched the mafia is in Thailand. It's like trying to get out of the spider's web and discovering you're still somewhere among the colony.

Korn is officially so fucking scary and I hate him. But also I can't help but just think of all the shit he's up to.

[shawolsos]

Korn: I raised my kids right! Whoever did it will confess.

Korn: Or the other two will rat him out.

[porschesbabydaddy]

Listen I’m a kinnporsche girlie forever and for always but I think a post-canon temp break up/enemies era would be SO fun for them

[saturnskyline]

YESSSS TANKHUN LOOPED IN ON FAMILY DISCUSSIONS YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS <3333

[the-pink-quill]

Is it TherapanyakuL or TheerapanyakuN? I could swear it was Theerapanyakul, but then I tried filtering on ao3 with the spelling and apparently it's Theerapanyakun over there.

Is it my own personal Mandela effect? Please let me know which one you use.

[auseyre]

Legacy is one of the major themes of KinnPorsche, and the show is brimming with examples. Physical legacies like the rings and the house, and so many psychological ones. Legacies of hate and love, of regret and trauma, of abuse, of honesty and deceit. 

We never get to meet papa T(though we get a pretty clear picture of what he was like), so that leaves Korn as the primary arbiter of legacy in the show. In one way or another, he directs almost all of it. And hey, it’s an outsider that wears a tattoo that says ‘there’s no legacy as rich as honesty’ because that sure as hell isn’t a Theerapanyakul motto. There are two specific legacies that I want to mention though. 

“Tragically, your worst enemies will always come from your own household.”

I’ve gushed before over the three sets of brothers and how they’ve defied the legacy of sibling hatred and harm that came before them when it would have been easy to do the opposite. I will always stan sibling love and I adore all three sets of relationships. But the rewatch made me actually delve more into that legacy. 

The first time I watched, I just assumed that Korn and Gun had always been in competition, always hated each other, and that was the legacy that got passed on to their sons, but I don’t think that’s true at all. I think at one time, Gun looked up to and admired his big brother. I think it was them and Nampheung against papa T... or at least Gun thought it was. Until the events at the Kittisiwasds house. 

When everything goes down, Gun isn’t angry, he’s in disbelief, he’s devastated by Korn’s actions, something that I don’t think would be true with the relationship we see between them now. Now, he knows his brother is a cold-hearted bastard. Tellingly, when he finds out Nampheung is alive, he is shocked back to the Gun he was then, not the cold, angry man he is most of the series. 

Korn crafted a new legacy that day, one of broken siblings, competition, distrust, and hatred between the main family and the minor one. And I think he did it deliberately to cover his ass. Who would ever believe a word that came out of the Gun we see against benevolent dictator Korn? Everything Gun said would look like jealousy. As long as Korn kept poking at Gun and the minor family with a stick, he never had to worry about any of them developing a relationship with his sons.

He never had to worry about Gun stumbling onto any information he shouldn’t about Nampheung, Porsche, and Chay. He never had to worry about any of his secrets coming out. Even Kinn didn’t really understand why his uncle hated his family... he thought it was a matter of money and power envy. And Korn wasn’t wrong. It barely took anything for Porsche and Vegas to stumble onto part of the truth, just a little communication.

The kind of communication that Korn spent years sowing distrust to prevent. (Porsche is sorry, not sorry to keep fucking up your shit, Korn.)

That means if you were to encounter the pressures these king snakes exert, your heart would fail to pump blood—that's how strong this is," 

Korn is a king snake. He holds on tight to everything he loves, and everything he hates with the same fervor, constricting until they can’t breathe, until their hearts can’t beat. His sons have learned this lesson well, flailing in his coils their whole lives. Khun is trapped in the house, with lots of toys and some playmates to keep him occupied. Kinn is trapped under the weight of family love and responsibility, and Kim is trapped on a barely visible leash, No matter how much freedom it seems he has, it’s still an illusion. It’s no surprise that they do their best to reject that legacy from Korn. They actively strive to be different from their father in the way that they handle relationships. 

Khun

 Kinn, 

And Kim all let go. 

We know it’s not easy. They all try to be stoic about it, Khun playing it off like he's not hurt, not missing his baby brother and leaving first, Kinn and his stiff upper lip, waiting until Porsche is gone before kicking at the handcuffs, the symbol of them tied together and Kim who tries to stifle all emotion, holding it in until he can’t any longer. We see the heartbreak and regret but they still let go. They will wish and want and ask, but they won’t be their father, won’t tie someone in ways they can’t escape, won’t hold them with lies and manipulation, won’t smother the thing they love until there’s barely any life left. 

There’s a line that Korn uses from the utterly fantastic, amazing fic Wings of a Butterfly https://archiveofourown.org/works/39799374

  .... “you can’t sharpen a blade with silk” and I think about it often okay, because the great irony of Korn’s legacy is that in some ways, Kinn modeled himself after the man Korn pretends to be, not the man he actually is. Yes, he’s more impulsive and irreverent — gifts from his mother as he’s told us, but the kindness, the gentleness, the guy that cares about his people, like Pete said, that’s all from the mask Korn wears. 

Korn spent a lot of years moving pieces on the chessboard, only for everybody else to wind up playing another game entirely. His sons won’t be like him, and his nephews won’t be like the man helped create (Porsche, Porchay, and Pete are sorry, not sorry to fuck up your shit, Korn). He may get to write history, but he won’t get to write the future. 

[kissporsche]

hi! this is very out of nowhere but i just rewatched ep 14 and i am still wondering, why do you think vegas didn't kill korn? he clearly didn't care about dying at that point, and korn sent the guards away before reminding vegas that macau exists, so i am a tiny bit lost in my headcanons and you're my fandom senpai when it comes to these things.

An excuse to rewatch the office scene? Anon, you spoil me!

My own headcanon entirely comes down to Macau. As soon as Vegas sees Gun's body he knows he has lost. He even got to tell Pete he loves him beforehand, which is probably more than he ever thought he would get.

Vegas raises his gun to Korn because he has nothing left to lose, he doesn't care if he dies so he might as well take Korn out with him, finally achieving his father's goal. Until, as you say, Korn brings up Macau.

This is a threat. Basically, that he'll spare them if Vegas doesn't kill him, and if Vegas does kill him they're both in immediate danger. And if it was just about Vegas then he'd spit in the face of this so-called mercy and shoot him anyway, but if there's one thing he won't do it is risk Macau.

If he shoots Korn then they'll both die, and Macau will be left completely vulnerable. If he lets Korn live, then maybe he will at least show mercy. Macau will have some protection from the main family that he would not be afforded otherwise, and although these are two shitty options, Vegas chooses the one with the least implied risk to Macau. He would be leaving him under Korn's control, yes, but not at the whims of a completely destabilised family potentially looking for revenge. He's well aware he's being manipulated, but isn't left with much choice.

While from an outsider perspective it makes more sense for him to stay alive and continue protecting his brother... being suicidal is not logical. He has lost everything, failed at his mission, and now feels like he would only be a burden to those he loves. And he cannot face that life, under Korn's control no less, cannot continue to face his own inferiority now the failed coup has robbed him of the chance of ever escaping it.

Vegas has nothing left to give, except one final attempt to protect Macau

[hamliet]

Beauty and the Beast, But Make It BL

Or, about a year after the hype Hamliet finally watches KinnPorsche properly instead of just clips.

My overall thoughts are that I really, really enjoyed it. The characters were likable and interesting, and plenty flawed. The story also had some really fascinating ideas and nice fire, water, and air symbolism, as well as a really beautiful retelling of Beauty & the Beast. The main couples all foiled one another in interesting, thought-provoking ways. VegasPete? Is one of my favorite love stories in any media ever.

The side characters were also really well done, for the most part. I loved Kinn's friends, and Yok was a standout in terms of her mentorly role. And, the other bodyguards each got their own personality. Arm and Big were particular standouts to me, and I appreciated how Big's story arc (his unrequited love for Kinn) was handled: with subtlety, but thematic impact. His sacrifice showed Porsche that love sometimes involves sacrificing for the person you love.

The series also used symbolism fairly well. The lighting always changed to colored/rainbow lighting when it was a romantic scene, and stayed natural when it was not. The use of mirrors and windows, and phoenix/fire with Kinnporsche and water with Vegaspete, was intelligently woven into the story. I do think some of the symbolism was too heavy-handed at points, though.

Of course, because I'm me, I do have quite a few critiques as well, which mostly has to do with what I saw as potential that went untapped. The story never did anything "wrong" exactly, but it just never dug into how much potential it had. The foiling was strongly set up, but it could have been far more powerful than it was.

The plot was basically *vibes* which I'm okay with because I'm not super into plot in general, but unfortunately, as can happen when plot is weak, the themes suffered for it. If plot is a tour guide through a story's themes and characters, this was somewhat of a bumbling one... with an occasional stroke of brilliance that reinforced how satisfying the potential was.

Kinn + Porsche

Let's start with the main couple. I really enjoyed their characters, but I wasn't as invested in them as I was in the other characters I'll be covering. They seemed more like ideas rather than human beings, even though they had more complexity than some of the other, more human characters. While that might sound contradictory, what I mean by that is that the other characters always had drive and purpose for the narrative, while Kinn and Porsche sometimes felt more like vehicles (heh, get it, because--) to get to something that never quite arrived.

Kinn and Porsche also started off the series really strong, but weakened after they got together. After they were together, the writers kept bringing up the issue of "trust" between them, but I wasn't quite sure what they were trying to say about trust. And maybe they were just trying to explore the different sides of trust rather than give any particular message, but I thought it was a bit messily handled.

Still. Still. Porsche's line in the final episode, where he pointed out to Kinn that he was there not because he was on the minor family's side, nor because he was on the major family's side, but because he was on Kinn's side, was beautiful.

Kinn also starts off as a dark foil of Vegas... which is interesting because Vegas is so intensely jealous of Kinn and wants to be like him, and is set up as the antagonist. But we'll get there. Vegas kidnaps Porsche and attempts to make it look like he was assaulted, but Kinn saves him... only to assault Porsche himself. (I did appreciate the way the narrative did frame it well, which I wasn't expecting in a boy's love story.) Kinn then compounded it by punishing Porsche for his mistake--essentially, doing to Porsche what Vegas was doing to Kinn and would later do to Pete.

The irony, of course, is that the narrative still frames Kinn as a protagonist, but without giving him a halo. We're allowed to see that he is, intrinsically, no better of a human being than Vegas. Maybe even worse, depending on how you judge.

Porsche outright telling Kinn that he had hurt him, while Vegas hadn't (even if, kinda) and Kinn actually having to work to earn his forgiveness and trust--all of this was well handled.

Kinn's final realization in the wilderness that he could not keep Porsche and his act of selflessly setting him free , followed by a literal sacrifice, mimics what Vegas would have to do in later episodes with Pete, as well.

When they consensually have sex for the first time, it starts because Vegas again makes a move on Porsche... right in front of a mirror. Then, Kinn bursts in and Vegas leaves, and Kinn takes his place in the mirror with Porsche.

The symbolism is clever here and poignant: Kinn, you are Vegas. I just wish he had been asked to do more with that realization, particularly after the Tawan incident (later).

Again, my main issue is that I wish the show had more an idea of what it wanted to say concerning the theme of "trust" between these two. Especially after they got together, it all seemed a bit hazy.

The theme that was best explored with them was the idea of being a human being. Porsche continually insists that he's a person who decides his future for himself, while Kinn is like "I control your life; your life is mine, I can kill you at any time because you're just a bodyguard" early on. However, towards the end of the series, when they exchange quasi-wedding vows in one of the final scenes on a ship on the same river where Kinn first offered Porsche a job and Porsche told him he'd rather drown, there's a really beautiful moment where Kinn tells Porsche that they are making a new family together, and Porsche tells him again that he's not on any family's side--just Kinn's side. And then he tells him:

Porsche: All my life... is yours Kinn: I promise you, I'll treasure it.

It's almost fairy tale esque in this scene, showing how far they've come. It also emphasizes that the point is that Kinn recognizes Porsche's humanity, and Porsche still affirms his own. Humanity is not a drawback but a benefit, because Porsche chooses Kinn, and choice is the realm of human beings.

Vegas + Pete

*screams* VEGASPETE ARE EVERYTHING

But honestly. I've talked how Vegas (who is, undoubtedly, the best written character) foils Kinn and will talk about Tawan, Kim, and Tankhun later on. Firstly, though, we have Vegas and Pete, asking the main thematic question of this series:

(As a human, of course. Except that's not easy.)

Vegas was so clearly my favorite type of character (Lee Yut-Lung from Banana Fish, Akutagawa Ryunosuke from Bungo Stray Dogs, Illumi Zoldyck from Hunter x Hunter, etc.) Someone who just so, so desperately wants to be loved, especially by his father, and cannot fathom why he does not have it. So he lashes out at everyone around him, especially those he's jealous of. He might claim that he's jealous of Kinn's power, but he's really jealous that Kinn is loved not just by Porsche, but by his brothers, by his bodyguards, even by his father (for all Korn's faults--and we're gonna get there--I do think Korn loves his sons).

This is so profoundly seen when Vegas initially kidnaps Pete and forces him to call his Grandma. Vegas leans in, groping Pete to make him terrified, but as soon as Pete tells his grandma he loves her, Vegas jerks back and rips the phone out of his hand. It's another reminder to Vegas that love exists, but he can't have it.

The only thing that truly shows Vegas love is his hedgehog... which of course is a symbol for Vegas himself (here's where I think the symbolism was too heavy-handed--not that he had a hedgehog nor what happened with it, but in that Pete actually bluntly tells him that he is the hedgehog. Leave it to your viewers, we're smart enough to get that.) The hedgehog, of course, is prickly and spiky but soft inside, just like Vegas.

The hedgehog is also specifically Vegas's inner child, in Jungian terms. It's always sick and dying, and he's afraid of it dying, but also afraid to actually recognize it. He doesn't name the hedgehogs because they always die. This is symbolizing how Vegas never really had a childhood, or the chance to develop normally. His father always beat it out of him and let him think that it was his fault, just like Vegas blames himself for the hedgehogs' deaths.

Vegas's father is the biggest obstacle in his growth. He can't ever truly grow up and overcome the father figure until his father's gone. Again, the symbolism is pretty blatant (but well done): Vegas is literally reading the novel Childhood's End, but his father slaps it out of his hand.

The message is clear: Vegas can't ever grow up until he lets go of his father. Fittingly, he's then seen reading the book again after making a meal for Pete.

Vegas and Pete are actually quite similar, not just in their terrible dads, but in that both of them, at their core, truly don't believe they are human beings. They don't believe they deserve love, or life, or anything. They're animals. Hence, Pete actually being called a pet is actually also Vegas pointing out how he sees himself.

But what they really want is to be human, which means to be free and to live.

Consequently, both Vegas and Pete are suicidal. Vegas drops about a million hints that he wants to die before he actually attempts it, even telling Pete he's feeding him so "you'll have energy to kill me."

Vegas self-harms too, and Pete tells him not to. Yet, after they have sex, Pete hits himself when Vegas can't see, telling himself that he didn't like it, even though he initiated. The reason they are both lost after they have sex is that neither of them are free physically or emotionally.

We see Vegas trying to do the right thing and making a fancy meal for Pete, even standing up to his father for a moment, only to have his father tell him he wishes he wasn't his son. At that added cruelty, Vegas smashes the meal he made, proving that even though he thought he was free of his father because he was in love with Pete, he wasn't. Not yet.

And Pete thought he was going to be free because of sex with Vegas, but Vegas still left him chained. Hence, he attempts suicide in front of Vegas. He also then calls Vegas out on everything in a well-done way, pointing out that Vegas is projecting his feelings of inhumanity onto him:

Need me? Like a pet with no feelings for emotional projection? I'm a human, Vegas... I have nothing left, not even my humanity.

Pete is then pointing out to us that after Vegas's childhood is grieved (shown in how Pete helps Vegas bury and put flowers at the hedgehog's grave), Pete embodies Vegas's humanity. If the hedgehog and his childhood should be grieved, because he'll never get them back, he can still have a human future in Pete. But to do that he has to embrace his inner humanity, and he cannot chain it up and take it out when he wants it, because that's just not how human beings work.

Even through making Pete realize and admit just how miserable he was--that he has no use and should just die, thereby showing Vegas that Pete truly does understand how Vegas feels--Vegas doesn't find what he thought he'd find. It's not comforting to be empathized with when it means someone you love is suffering so.

Vegas's apology to Pete is genuine, like Kinn's earlier, and heartfelt. Once his dad is dead, you'd really think he'd be free, but he's very much not. All his self-loathing, all his worst fears, have finally come true. Freedom isn't really found through death, but through embracing life and love. The hedgehog didn't have to die for Vegas to live, because death isn't freeing really. But choosing to live, even when you're in pain, for someone you love--that can be freeing.

Pete's "there is no legacy so rich as honesty" tattoo is somewhat amusing to me, because the quote comes from Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well, a play that is considered a "problem play," in that no one can quite decide what genre it is. Also, "honesty" in the play's context is actually "virginity," which also seems to fit, but anyways. The genre/problem play thing is interesting because Kinnporsche itself, as a show, seems to zig-zag between whether it's a comedy, romance, or serious crime drama. I think the reference is somewhat meta, but should have been delved into more.

The play is also relevant in that All's Well That Ends Well is about families, too--particularly how sons struggle to define themselves when it comes to being compared to their fathers, and how they react when they feel like they have limited choices in life. Hrm, hrm, Vegas.

Anyways, Vegas and Pete totally deserved their beautiful ending. When Vegas wakes up post being shot and tells Pete:

You're not my pet. You're the most important person in my life.

It's a great way to tie the themes of their arcs together. Firstly, it is a fairy tale ending. Secondly, it's an affirmation of Pete's humanity, the thing they both doubted they had. Lastly, it's affirmation that Vegas chooses Pete, and in choosing, affirms his own humanity. That Macau then bursts in calling Pete his brother-in-law and welcoming him to the family is adorable and shows Vegas just how much he has.

Kim + Chay

So now that we've talked about two self-destructive emotionally constipated men, let's talk about the other one in the other major relationship: Kim.

Kim's actor does a great job of showing how Kim maintains a veneer of cool aloofness when Chay confronts him, but is internally panicking. Kim is reckless, running into battle to save Chay in literally nothing but a tank top. When Chay calls him on who he is, Kim doesn't even try to defend himself. When he saves Chay again at Yok's bar, he makes sure Chay doesn't even notice.

Unlike Kinn and Vegas, who are too active and possessive, Kim is too passive and cowardly. He cuts himself off from people not because he doesn't love them--he clearly does--but because he feels like he's bad luck. Essentially, the same issue Chay has--that he feels like he brings bad luck.

But, that's not how life works. Human beings don't bring good or bad luck. It depends on choices, another theme from Vegaspete and Kinnporsche that wasn't delved into as deeply as it should have been. Still, choice is an integral part of being human, and the show does depict this.

Still, it was a nice touch to literally have Kim wear a shirt with the word "human" on the front the same episode Pete insists "I'm a human, Vegas." Pete, of course, tells Vegas he has choices to make, and Vegas then tells Porsche that same thing in the final episode: that it's time to make a choice.

Anyways. The unfortunate thing is that the series didn't fully explore Kimchay in the same way they did Vegaspete. That's especially clear in the cliffhanger ending, though I think it was fairly clear that they were heading towards something positive. After all, Kim finally does something he needed to do: saying outright that he is singing for Porchay. Keep working, boy.

On a production level instead of narrative, I'm guessing the actor's ages may have played a role in them not fully exploring their story. Idk. I think the implications--the fade out with a way-too-dramatic kiss on the cheek that the fade obscured and them waking up together--were that they were sleeping together, but because of the actors' ages they clearly cannot and should not show that. But I wish the writers hadn't let that limit them--there are other ways to show growth and explore issues even if you can't directly use sex to do so. See, the sex scenes between Vegas and Pete and Kinn and Porsche were well done, and always had interesting meaning and commentary to them, which is great. I just wonder if they let the fact that they couldn't use this motif stifle their creativity when it came to exploring Kim and Chay's issues.

Tawan

Tawan's story was heartbreaking. He was a fairly well done, pathetic antagonist. When Vegas proposed to him, knowing tha the didn't love Tawan... that broke my heart. He was suicidal and his death ultimately foreshadowed what Vegas would later attempt to do.

But Tawan was desperate for love--truly desperate. He would do anything to be loved by Kinn, by Vegas, by anyone. But it wasn't really love for a specific person (as shown in how he switches from Kinn to Vegas) so much as that he wanted to feel safe in that love. Because denying love means denying safety, which sets him up as a good foil for Kim (who clearly thinks it's safer for your loved ones not to act like you love them)... but it wasn't ever explored.

Tawan's desperate love also foiled Chay. Yet unlike Tawan, and unlike Kim, Chay is able to express what he wants... and to assert himself when he's been disrespected and not seen as a full human being (Kim seeing him as just Porsche's brother is what breaks him).

Tankhun

Tankhun was everything. I love him. I think they could have done more with him, especially around his relationships with his brothers. Like. We only see the three brothers--Kinn, Tankhun, and Kim--in the same room ONCE in the final episode. Once! A crime, a crime, I tell you! I know next to nothing about how all three of them feel about each other and interact with one another and I WANT IT!

Ahem.

Tankhun is still, in many ways, the beating heart of the series. He wears love and his feelings on his fabulous, colorful, patterned, and often feathered sleeves. He chooses to live how he wishes, but will do things for those he loves.

He's also always right, if you pay attention--he knows Gun is bad news, and he knows Pete is in danger while Kinn and Porsche are inexplicably dumb as hell for not suspecting Pete was in danger. When Pete reappears and Tankhun literally thinks he's a zombie, he still rushes to embrace him even so, just because he loves him.

Also, Tankhun is, much like Pete and Chay, fairly pure of heart. I don't mean that in a naive way, but it's clear Tankhun is somewhat childlike because of his trauma... yet, he's still the one who adopts fish and gives them names like Elizabeth and Sebastian and mourns them. He loves his siblings, and he welcomes Chay like a new brother.

The Little Mermaid reenactment with Porsche was A Lot, but also hilarious and fitting. See, he's childish, so of course he's going to like fairy tales. He knows the world isn't one, but he still enjoys ones and wants stories where the good ones don't die, and he does his best to live a fairy tale despite everything. I really think the series should have dug into this more, especially since Kinn and Porsche and especially Vegas and Pete are very clearly modeled after Beauty and the Beast. Sigh. The potential.

Not gonna lie, I think the brother relationships were somewhat failed all throughout. Macau and Vegas's bond wasn't fully explored either, and neither was Porsche and Chay's. Like, Porsche doesn't even know about Kim and Chay, and Chay had told him about being tutored by Wik, so... wouldn't he at least ask? Sigh.

Korn

So, ironically, the brotherly relationship best fleshed out is... Korn and Gun's.

Theirs is highly tragic, and the relationship they have with their foster sister is also clearly a warning to Kim, Kinn, and Tankhun about what they could become if they prioritize the power of the mafia family over each other and their own rights to make their choices and live and love. It seems like that won't happen, given Kim and Chay and Porsche as the minor family head and Kinn, fortunately, but again I think this could have been more clearly explored.

Like, if love, both romantic and platonic and familial, offers a way forward, a potential answer (though no guarantee, see Tawan), which I think the show suggested, it should have been more heavy-handed in showing us. This also actually ties into the fairy tale motif, and the human being theme, and choice, and it just could have been so much more neatly braided together than it was. And also it works with the trust motif, because you can't control someone you trust.

I do really appreciate the ambiguity about Korn, and the uneasy lack of answers about what really happened between Korn, Gun, and Namphueng. On the one hand, Gun's utter cruelty to Vegas and Macau makes it seem more than plausible that he's the worst and he did assault Namphueng and kill her husband. On the other hand, seeing Korn murder Namphueng's husband would surely explain the vitriol he has towards Korn that seems unusually intense even for someone consumed with envy and jealousy.

I think it's clever that the series doesn't answer it for us. Even when Korn kills Gun in the end but chooses to tell his guards not to harm Vegas, despite the fact that Vegas just killed a bunch of his most loyal men, and promises to protect Vegas and Macau, we're left wondering. Is this proof that Korn is indeed the merciful man who would never have harmed Namphueng and her husband? Or is it the actions of a cruel man who killed his own brother and then told his kids not to worry because he'd provide for them, just like he did with Posrche and Chay?

Alas, what would have made this even more powerful would be an emphasis on what trust is supposed to mean... sigh.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I really enjoyed the show. I loved the characters and the three main ships. It had great ideas that could have been better explored.

Also of note: from its lighting to staging of certain scenes, it also clearly took inspiration from Queer as Folk, which is one of my favorite stories ever, and there were some potential Crime and Punishment references in Pete talking to Vegas in a scene that mimicked Sonia and Raskolnikov.

Basically, it was designed for me to fall for it, and fall for it I did. I just wish it had been refined, because it could have also been a masterpiece in addition to being entertaining (yes, really), but alas, didn't quite get there. Still, I'd definitely recommend it.