#see this is why i don't want topmew to end up together

[randomjreader]

I wanna see mew go batshit crazy and like, fuck ray or smtg after he finds out about top and boston. Hurt everyone and absolutely shatter top's heart in the end.

the greatest satisfaction will lie in how everyone underestimates and disregards mew as this nerd who seems harmless and naive until he starts to flip tables over and lose his shit like bitch. u thought.

[paint-music-with-me]

.

[slayerkitty]

Only Friends End Cards and Chronology

I saw this post in the Only Friends tag and it made me wonder: Are the end cards with the characters chronological to the episode they're attached to? Since I'm tracking them as part of my observations into the narrative frameworks of the show, this is something I wanted to explore. So I went to check them out again.

I absolutely think @jenyifer is onto something with this. We put our heads together and looked at the end cards again; if you look at the clothes each character is wearing, the end cards are NOT chronological.

Episode 1: Mew

Mew is wearing the shirt he wears to the pool party at the hostel in episode 3 and that he has on at the beginning of episode 4 when Ray picks him up. We think this might be pre-pool party at the hostel, waiting for Top to pick him up. Maybe contemplating his relationship...

Episode 2 & 4: Ray

It's a bit hard to see, but we're pretty sure Ray is wearing the bowling shirt from episode 4. Our theory is this is post dropping Sand off with his bike and driving home, maybe thinking about him. Also, Ray is the only repeat so far and it's unclear why.

Episode 3: Nick

As @jenyifer pointed out, Nick is wearing the shirt from episode 5. We're like 90% sure this is the hostel. We don't think it's Sand and Nick's apartment. It's not Boston's house as far as we can tell. We're speculating that this occurs around the same time Mew calls Boston about having sex with Top - Boston is still at the hostel with Nick; we think Nick might be in the other room torturing himself with the sex audio. Then they go to Nick's and have cursed birthday party #1.

Episode 5: Sand

This one also seems to be post episode 4, after picking up his bike at the shop. This is the outfit Sand wore in the record store. Thinking about Ray, maybe?

Episode 6: Top

This one is difficult, LOL, because Top is naked and looks like he might be crying. Having said that, looking behind Top at the window, we do get context possibly - it looks like it's raining. We are tentatively placing this end card with episode 3 because that is the only episode where it has rained and Top would be upset about something. Top is in the bath, potentially crying over sleeping with Boston (which, if we're right, OUCH).

What this seems to mean, is at least so far, episodes 1, 2, and 6 have no correlating end card. It will be interesting to see if we get end cards that go back to those episodes. Episode 3 seems to have two (TopMew), and episode 4 has three (Sand and both of Ray's since Ray's are the same one). Episode 5 has just the one so far.

Tagging the Ephemerality Squad:  @lurkingshan, @waitmyturtles, @wen-kexing-apologist, @chickenstrangers, @ranchthoughts, @twig-tea, @clara-maybe-ontheroad, @distant-screaming

[tomatoland]

Some thoughts about TopMew vs RayMew I never posted

Top

From the very beginning, Top has always wanted to be what Mew wants. He asks for feedback, he asks for the cheat codes, he makes the public declaration that he expects Mew to want, right?

He is willing to change to be the guy that Mew wants. He doesn't have a complete personality change, he's still Top, but just without the playboying and drug use.

Mew is also comfortable setting boundaries with him. When they talk, it's always eye to eye, as two equals. Mew says exactly what he wants to say and holds nothing back. Tops does the same. Their relationship is 50/50, give & take equally.

They have a proper partnership. Top doesn't just accompany Mew on his errands, he helps. They run these mundane life errands together. They fold into each other’s everyday lives SO easily.

Top taking the notebook from Mew and writing down observations must feel amazing for someone who is always in control, always the one in charge, always putting in the most work. (in my post here. ding ding ding. give the man a prize!) And he does it without being asked. He also tells Mew he'll fix his glasses without any prompting. Acts of Service. (in my post here. A series of images I like to call when Top gave Mew a mental b*ner)

Ray

Ray might like Mew, but he puts him on a pedestal.

He's always known what Mew wants, but is unwilling to change. Mew doesn’t ask him to, but all Ray had to do to make RayMew a possibility pre-Top was to show Mew with his actions. And he never did.

The reason why RayMew ended up together now is because the things that Mew did to try to control his life, control his emotions, evaporated into thin air. He became adrift.

So this scene always seemed so odd to me because Mew is so firm in his boundaries with Top, but why not with Ray?

When I saw it, I was like, I know what this move is, that's pulling back from setting a boundary because you don't want to hurt the other person's feelings. I remember seeing commentary that it must mean all is forgiven, but no, Mew saying this wasn't about Mew forgiving Ray because Ray kissing him in his sleep was ‘No Big Deal,’ it’s about Mew being unable to be firm with Ray.

And it could be because Ray says stuff like this and people in his life cave/don't push back.

Cheum is right to call Ray a jerk. This is a low tactic and there is absolutely no way you can have an honest conversation with someone who will not engage with you like this. His actions affected her, their group project, their other friends and Ray’s own future. He took her concern and threw it back in her face. That is incredibly frustrating.

[athousandbyeol]

episode 8 stray thoughts

i can't stop cussing at mew and ray because good Lord, what the hell?

it's so ironic how mew insists he's leading a happier life without top when it's the exact opposite. it's also saddening to me how mew downgrades himself to the lowest of lows and thinks he's mighty and high and doing well emotionally when he isn't. it's just so not mew and i kind of understand that— but still, as much as it hurts top, mew is the one hurting the most in this. the jokes are on him, honestly. he's the one shattering.

and i love how top undresses mew— it's the first time he has ever done that. even when they had sex, they never undressed each other. but this moment right here kind of justifies that top sees mew beyond sex— top just really loves mew. and he's there to take care of him. he's there to exist for mew— even if he is no longer wanted. i'm going to pretend that top didn't say it was okay if he didn't get to be with mew in the end. that didn't hurt me one bit (i was choking on my own saliva because that killed me for real).

honestly, i'm so mad at ray. he... please don't make sand your second option. please don't toy with his feelings. i can't handle that, really. it's about freaking time you realise mew doesn't— and will never— love you that way. wake the f up, ray. please.

chuem, honest to God, thanks for knocking some senses in their heads. they really need this wake up call because no one is effing sober in this household but you and april. (and i kind of like this chuem/top friendship. i think she knows top's feelings for mew are genuine. i'm glad someone actually sees through top's feelings other than us the audience). if not, i'm going to bawl my eyes out because it's so obvious that top loves mew more than anything at this point...)

boston, really, are you going to be like this until the end? i wonder if something's going to happen to him? because i'm seriously rooting for nick and phi dan now... but i think atom will end up crying? does it have to do with boston? will he sleep with boston and end up being just like nick? will atom think he's special in boston's life? goodness. good luck then, atom. (and phi dan freaking ask nick to call him daddy dan. Lord. i died.)

chuem and april! i love you both. thank you so much. april, you're the best girlfriend ever. always level-headed and calm. it's so nice to see women characters not being interpreted as messy or emotional. (because ofts is where the guys are a mess of feelings and just very volatile). wonderful.

that little moment between mew and top though. "why do you have to be an asshole, top?" i just want them to talk things out because you can't convince me mew doesn't love top still. top is the only person in his head 25/8. and it breaks my heart how comfortable top and mew look together, lying on the same bed, sharing body heat. the look of contentment on mew's face as top embraced him from behind, and the fear in top's eyes because God knows if this is only for the night and not for tomorrow. i think top can't sleep at night. imagine how devastating that is. and how liberating it feels to be with someone who helps him sleep better. i'm crying.

i don't know where topmew's story is going, but i'm glad sand is just honest with his feelings. i hope that will help ray realise the person he loves is sand and not mew. i really want to see sand and ray together. sand deserves to be happy. ray too.

and please, top, don't give up on mew, okay? i know it's like going back to square one, but if you really love mew, please don't surrender too soon. mew will eventually come back— because only you can save him top. only you can save mew.

[huaitang]

About the third episode of Only Friends:

disclaimer: I'm piss, so that's very much a topboston hate trial.

why the hell i thought i could possibly trust top's intelligence???? it truly makes me so sad and angry that he's ruining the only real thing he'll EVER know with someone who's so sweet and supportive of him... and for what? why? for who? it's not like he's oblivious about the piece of sh*t boston is, you know? AGAIN, impulsiveness. i'm waiting to see how he'll deal with the consequences.

boston is EVIL. like, evil evil. there's no excuse for what he's doing. he wants to control everyone and i really doubt he's capable of feeling something genuine for someone. anyone. plus, the fact that he's taking pictures of everything and everyone so he could use for blackmail reasons and get what he wants. that's some criminal sh*t. really, he's like an obsessive spirit. i hope the group go to church and do some kind of exorcism or whatever on him. he's creepy.

also, praying to Ray getting his sh*t together. i don't blame him for listening to the twisted words of Boston, he trusts him, right? it's his friend. he can be a d*ck with everyone, but they're friends, right? well, i'm sorry baby.

i believe Sand is already falling for Ray. he was SO upset when Ray leaved for Mew and i think, in his head, that was a warning: Ray isn't emotionally available for him. that broke his heart but made him kind of wake up and put everything together. he's going to fight those feelings, fight Ray. being stronger so he won't be the one suffering

though we all know that won't happen.

oh, and also about the preview of topmew in the next episode my take is: if there is a little, just a little bit of sincerity and consideration by Top for Mew, he won't go until the end when Mew claims he wants to physically give himself to him. i hope he realizes how CRAZY and disrespectful he's being, at levels that are so low... even for someone with the fame he has. period.

[ellieellieoxenfree]

furious thoughts on this pile of shit show while i suffer through the last three episodes:

why the fuck is everyone's response to any kind of Situation to record their friends? all of you are fucking psychopaths

cheum is such a horrible little cunt and why anyone gives her the time of day is beyond me. i thought mew was the character i wanted most to drop-kick into a volcano, but cheum might actually beat him in the holier-than-thou judgmental hypocritical insufferable why-does-anyone-put-up-with-your-complete-lack-of-redeeming-values rankings

ray putting conditions on sand to establish a relationship with his dad before he'll go to rehab was fucking gross, regardless of how he spun it. and then the little 'sike i just wanted to see if you'd do it' is a masterclass of selfish, manipulative behavior that's an entire naval fleet of red flags. the chemistry is undeniable but this relationship is a fucking dumpster fire. every time sand caves to one of ray's horrible bullshit demands, i lose any shreds of respect i had for him.

boeing and mew fighting over top reminds me of the story i once read about two brothers fighting over an unwrapped tootsie roll they found on the floor, only for one of them to overpower the other, pop it in his mouth, and find out it was a cat turd

papang is so good and i love him so much and buddy, you deserve better than being nick's half-hearted flirtation due to the fact that nick sucks a fat one

if one more person sucks mew's dick about what a Great Person he is i am going to rip my eyeballs out

oh my fucking god my fucking god i hate this show so much why is mew the uea of this show where everyone wants a chance at that void of personality and charisma that is the mew bussy. why are you all such gross manipulative sanctimonious whores who can't keep it in their pants and still act like you're morally justified. fuck's sake. the only person who's actually honest with themselves is boston and all you do is shit on him but at least he doesn't prance around on his high horse and sneer on the Commoners who keep tripping and having their dick fall into each other. at this point, his worst sin is his absolutely ratchet-ass taste in other people, both platonically and sexually, whereas the rest of you wouldn't know loyalty if it bit you on the ass and still sneer at boston being 'filthy.' physician, euthanize thyself.

ray throwing out his multiple bottles of liquor in a tiny trashcan without even bothering to empty them.............that's my new go-to imagery for performative tumblr activism

'oh boo hoo my dad hired you to help me go to rehab' eat shit, ray, fuck's sake. oh boo hoo i got lied to. news flash, fucko, you're a lying manipulative sack of crap so what's good for the goose is good for the gander. you've been taking advantage of sand this entire show, ignoring his boundaries, making a fucking nuisance of yourself by refusing to leave him alone, stalking his vacation, interfering in his hookups, calling him a whore, trying to force an unwanted family reconciliation, and on and on. the 'oh well you don't want me to get better because you still sell liquor' oh my god dude eat shit eat shit eat shit.

'my friends dumped me.' 'serves you right.' nick you are also a shit friend so shut the fuck up

ugh yet another unearned reconciliation EXTREMELY DISMISSIVE J/O MOTION. i am aggressively uninterested in boston/nick. this shit sucks to an unreal degree.

why will god not end my suffering and just wrap it up on topmew. either shit or get off the pot, both of you. there is not even remotely enough storyline to stretch this shit out to twelve episodes and this will-they-won't-they dithering has all the appeal of watching two thirteen-year-olds discussing which pair of earrings to buy at claire's for an hour

'we should just separate' YOU TWO AREN'T TOGETHER YOU DUMB BITCH

does this show want the world record for unearned reconciliations? yo and plug's 'oops i guess we're back together' had potentially even less screentime than the bullshit april/cheum reconciliation (i'll die mad about it, i have no idea why the two of them are together but that's the true only friends method of relationship writing), and now ray and sand are back on their pathetic codependent bullshit. truly a tragedy of epic proportions. these two belong in separate hemispheres until they both work out their mountains of individual issues.

if they're drinking beers in the bathtub when ray's supposed to be in rehab i'm just going to end my life

'i don't want you to drink too much' HE'S AN ADDICT YOU FESTERING FUCKHUSK DO YOU NOT KNOW HOW ADDICTION WORKS THERE IS NO 'OH THE ADDICT WILL JUST CUT DOWN ON THEIR DRINKING' HE NEEDS TO BE SOBER. S O B E R. AS IN, NOT DRINKING. holy shit this show is making me so angry bed friend is almost looking like a Fun Time.

boeing is back and mew is with him

in case i haven't said it in the past five minutes, i fucking loathe nick so much

hey what the fuck. what the fuck. 'let's get revenge on atom by tricking him into a quick fuck and then recording him secretly' what the FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE JESUS CHRIST WERE YOU ALL RAISED BY WOLVES

wolves are probably more civilized than this pack of assholes i apologize to the wild wolf population

good to see that ray has learned fuck-all and continues to drag sand along to clean up his messes when to me it feels like the entire point of court-mandated community service is that you do it yourself without running to your bangmaid to help you

every time top shows up i get one step closer to necking myself

'why don't you trust me' i am going to rip this man's throat out with my teeth

OH MY GOD YOU TWO SHIT OR GET OFF THE POT MY GOD IN HEAVEN YOU ARE SO FUCKING INSUFFERABLE

why is everyone so fucking concerned with getting top and mew back together. i hate mew's moms. 'well, if you really love him...' the dude is a known cheater and pump-and-dumper. what is this show's obsession with everyone's magic dicks that they just can't get over. they keep doing the same thing with boston. dick so good it makes a man crazy. maybe if y'all stopped fucking like you were the habsburg dynasty, you could be less tiresome. as near as i can tell, there's fewer than ten gays in the entirety of bangkok and you've banged all those cocks. please. jesus. you're not the british royal family. let go of the inbreeding.

incredible that it's been eleven episodes and i could not tell you a single concrete reason top gives the slightest shit about mew. if you held a gun to my head and told me to give just one reason, you'd have to kill me in one shot.

'you know i will not be able to forget about this easily' dude it's been your raison d'être since it happened, it's basically your entire personality along with being a smug sanctimonious cockbag

'i don't want to force you' okay not that this show has had basically every character bulldozing each other's boundaries or anything but w/e do you boo i guess

boeing is so fucking DULL i know they think they're spicing things up with his chaos agent nonsense but i am bored i am fatigued i am over it please just fuck off dude

OH MY GOD CAN WE PLEASE JUST HAVE ANOTHER NOTE THAT ISN'T CHEATING OR ATTEMPTED CHEATING. GO FIND A NEW DICK TO SWING ON. JESUS CHRIST. HOLY FUCKING SHIT. HOW IS THIS TWELVE EPISODES. HOW DID ANYONE ENJOY THIS RANCID STEAMING PILE OF GARBAGE. I AM ACTIVELY JUDGING ANYONE WHO ENJOYED THIS IN ITS ENTIRETY. GET HELP.

good to see ray is still drinking, so that rehab plotline was yet another big fat nothing

having to suffer through one last episode of this is making bed friend look even more appealing and bed friend had me actively contemplating suicide

oh jesus god 71 minutes why in the name of all that's holy

i hate ray

that's it. that's the comment. i am not even going to list out the reasons or context. fuck ray. dude sucks.

boeing, shut the fuck up

'do you still love him? you should kiss him' sand if you had the spine god gave cooked spaghetti you'd dump ray and then dump his body in the ocean but you won't because you're a fucking puss with no self-respect so

if this is some raggedy-ass attempt at a threesome i will end it i swear to god i will

god ray sucks so fucking much i was told sandray was the best relationship in this show and i'm not sorry but some of y'all need to take a mike's hard look at yourselves and get taste

like, truly, ray is such a rancid character. 'let me force you into making out with your ex so i can play personal pity party' go fuck yourself, dude. go shove a stick in the spokes of your bike wheel somewhere else because i don't feel like listening to you bitch and cry for another 65 minutes

'i don't like him being around you like this' OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD YOU STUPID FUCKING BITCH. STOP ENGINEERING YOUR OWN PROBLEMS AND THEN PLAYING THE VICTIM

of course this dumb bitch cheum is like 'i think moving in together is a great idea' i hope she gets hit by a car

ray continues digging to the center of the earth. i am tired.

'i can put your name back on our project' i hope cheum actually gets hit by a train

'what i want is a chance to be your friend again' boston could be the only character i give a shit about in this show but he pulls shit like this and i'm just like, why, dude? why are you constantly bending over backwards for people (including nick) who treat you like garbage?

i stand by nick being an asshole. i don't care. the show is like 'oh he stands by me he's supportive blah blah' no. what the show tells me i should think is not what it tells me in its writing. nick is just as much of a prick as everyone else and just because he has a weird codependence with boston's magic dick game does not make them a functional relationship or one i remotely root for. i am excited for boston to go to new york so he doesn't have to be in this pit of vipers and he can actually learn how to be a human being who is treated with more respect than what he gets now.

i keep harping on this same point, but it is insane to me that a show that is entirely built on people's messy relationships has given me not one iota of evidence to prove any of these people should be getting nasty with each other. it's not even 'oh they're bad for each other' (which they are), it's that the writing is doing nothing to establish the bonds and hoping a handful of talented actors (this is not everyone in the cast, fwiw) will be able to provide enough chemistry to cover for paper-thin narrative work.

and as soon as i unpause, i get a 'sweet' boston/nick scene, which might land if i gave the slightest shit about them as people. the cutesy scenes are actively insulting to my intelligence, like i've forgotten the entire show has been built on people betraying, cheating on, lying to, and being heinous to each other. this just feels like all of these dumbfucks have short-term memory loss and can't remember how wretched they were to each other five minutes ago.

nick: i could do animation in new york. i could work at pixar.

the amount of white-hot rage i feel at this 'oh the kids hate ray and they need sand' scene is incalculable. the gears of this raggedy writing are straining.

oh my god. are they seriously going to have a relationship heart-to-heart while ray is doing community service? fuck this show.

what is ray's fucking deal about boeing? this is honestly pathological and creepy. i think they're trying to make a point about ray's insecurity due to his deep-seated trauma but it's insecurity due to deep-seated trauma as interpreted by an alien who has never had exposure to human beings before.

creak creak creak go the gears of this idiotic manufactured boeing drama. this thing is so underwritten and badly paced and poorly planned i'm shocked it wasn't a lucasfilm production. this is dickensian levels of padding. was this dictated to a five-year-old who kept going 'and then what?' to avoid going to sleep?

can't type anymore, boston just ran into boeing at the club and my eyes rolled out of my head and ended up across the room

oh for FUCK'S SAKE this is so FUCKING STUPID

cheum seeing boston arrive and being like 'well now boston can prostrate himself for absolution in front of all of us' go fuck yourself you cow

like yeah boston's boeing makeout was the stupidest moment of this episode and that's saying something considering top and mew exist but that also is so clearly some more clumsily engineered writing to go Ooga Booga Boston Bad Slut Ooga Booga that i'm more annoyed with the writers than boston as a character

this is so fucking nasty. jesus christ. some real weather underground weatherfries shit, except, oops, the circle is one person and everyone else is virtuous and perfect and has never done anything wrong. i hope a meteorite hits the hostel.

i also hope someone drowns mew in the river like a kangaroo

sorry i said the stupidest scene of the episode was boeing and boston making out because of course they play truth or dare and of course sand is kissing top. whatever. who gives a shit. god is dead and life is meaningless.

'being with you gives me so much positive energy' bitch are you serious please say sike

GET FUCKED, MEW, GET FUCKED, I AM SO SICK OF YOUR BITCH ASS, I HOPE YOU DIE, I HAVE NEVER HATED A CHARACTER SO MUCH AS YOU, I HOPE TOP GIVES YOU SYPHILIS

the boston/nick breakup scene hit with the force of a light breeze so that was a big nothing

god why on earth do i have to fucking keep seeing top and mew. jesus fuck. no one likes them. their story has no narrative urgency. god damn.

i actually can't do it. i'm fast-forwarding through this scene because i'm so fucking sick of them.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA THE HOTEL IS ON FIRE HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

normally i have a bad reaction to fires in media but also in this case i'm allowed to celebrate it as a treat

of course it wasn't even a bad one. both of them should have been burned alive, but i'm not getting anything i want in this show.

cannot believe they got seven minutes of screentime as opposed to boston and nick's, like, one. the narrative favoritism in this show is repulsive.

'and you must trust me' ray i wouldn't trust you to dress yourself without zipping your dick into the fly of your pants

'i want an easy but meaningful name' sand already has one but as usual you have to bulldoze over anything he has as an individual so you can smear your feces on every lampshade he owns

wow even in the post-credits scene and even when boston's a continent away these useless shithogs can't miss a chance to humiliate him

'don't worry if you're alone. we can be your friends.' i'm calling the cops to report a terrorist threat

in conclusion:

[thatgirl4815]

The finale was really underwhelming, more than I thought. I didn't get the pool scene? Why did ray kiss boeing? also he seemed really into the kiss idk why the kiss was like that lol for example when sand kissed boeing you could see he wasn't into it. Sucks that boeing was involved in sandray's scenes i wanted more lovey dovey scenes from them. Idk overall it was meh i dont want a second season cuz I really dont care about the other couples specially topmew lmao

The pool scene caught me off guard too, especially because though I know Sand has a hard time saying no to Boeing, he just let that kiss happen. The way Sand kissed Boeing and then Ray was a pretty good indicator of where his heart truly lies, but Ray kind of blew that up when he initiated the kiss with Boeing; I think that was coming more from a place of anger that Sand kissed Boeing (even if he encouraged it), so Ray wanted to level the playing field It might've also been the showrunners' way of hinting at the threesome that everybody has been going on about. I took Ray's behavior as more aggressive than anything, and I don't think he genuinely wanted anything to do with Boeing there, he just wanted to get back at Sand somehow. Immature but very in-character. "You kiss your ex, I kiss your ex too."

The Boeing conflict resolution felt a little quick, and it ended up being relatively surface-level anyway. I just wish we'd gotten to see why Sand feels so strongly about this relationship after all this time. I understand a lot of that can be inferred, but that doesn't change the fact that it would hit a lot harder/be more understandable if the audience could feel it too. More showing, less telling.

I also have had a hard time with TopMew, because it's something I could like but I just...don't. It's just very dry to me. It doesn't help that the series often goes back and forth between their scenes and SandRay's, and SandRay's plot has always had more drama, more angst, and if I'm being honest--just more chemistry.

Overall, I liked where each of the couples ended up, but the execution was off at some points, which I'm mostly chalking up to time constraints. That could've been handled better. Also, BostonNick had some issues towards the end that I think needed to be addressed better. Still trying to get all my thoughts together on it.

[le-trash-prince]

Only Friends Episode 12 Thoughts

Overall, I think I'm pretty okay with how things ended! I didn't get everything exactly as I wanted, but I don't need a show to be perfect, and I got enough to chew on to make me happy.

I am sad that BostonNick didn't end up together, even though I know it was the right call, and it was honestly a better ending for them than what I was scared we would get LOL. Like usual I'll just make a separate post for this because I've got a lot to say about them

I do think Boston was owed more of an apology from his friends than what he got, but I'm not that surprised he didn't get it, and it's probably for the best that they're parting ways. And honestly, when a person is leaving the country, it can be easier to just say "Why bother apologizing if they don't give a shit anyways."

I know people were dissatisfied with Cheum's characterization as of Ep 11, but this episode really solidified how I see her--as someone who wants things to be happy on the surface and doesn't know how to really honestly confront what it is that people need. As the woman in the group, she's under pressure to be the peacekeeper and the nurturing influence and I don't think that role comes naturally to her. She's not good at it, and she shouldn't have to be. And I do honestly like that she was written that way. I wish she had gotten more screentime over the series, and maybe that could happen in a spinoff/sequel with some queer lady writers on the team. (I just finished the ep so I haven't looked at any announcements from the event on Saturday)

I do wish this series had been longer because it seemed it really had a lot of story to tell and not enough time to do it. But a longer season would also have been more stressful to deal with lmfao.

Some things I would have loved to see more of, off the top of my head: Daddy Dan, Sand's dad, Ray in rehab, Boeing.

I'm generally okay with where TopMew has ended up, and while I think there's more that could be explored in a future story, the only thing that really interests me regarding their relationship is Mew's physicality. But I would still like to see more growth from Mew, and I would like to know Top as a person because so much of his behavior and even his plans for the future are wrapped up in Mew.

I think SandRay ended on as satisfactory a note as could be managed. Did Ray's behavior towards Boeing piss me off? Sure. Do I think he needs more time to get his life together? Sure. Do I need a story to have its characters Do Every Correct Action Until Maximum Healthiness Is Achieved? No. They're talking things out and figuring out their relationship and that's what matters.

I am really gonna need that flight attendant!Boeing x NYC!Boston spinoff now thank you very much.

I don't hate the idea of a second season as much as I thought it would, although maybe it's because I'm biased and would want a season with BostonNick or Boston and Nick taking more central roles. I've gotten what I need out of TopMew and SandRay, but I think there's more story to be explored with other characters, and I wouldn't hate that. But I would hate to see tired breakup-drama second season tropes.

Debating whether I even want to catch up on everyone's reactions because I'm sure the ending was just loose enough to be divisive. Anyways I'm gonna go wrap up my playlist now bye lol

[itsmelb]

The ultimate Only Friends The Series resumé

So we are here at the end of the series we all couldn't wait to see the whole year. And I just wanna say some things about the series, the actors, the circumstances, my emotions. U know me I have a lot to say in general but firstly I am just so grateful to have witnessed this kinda evolution of BL series and now let's get deeper into the mess 😆

The series

As I said it was so highly awaited that I was sure ppl would be delulu all the time. I knew that there would be beef because everyone wants mess and when they get it they can't handle it. I know ppl expect things from BLs (me too I don't exclude me) and when it isn't how it (apparently) should be (in their opinion) and it's exactly how life COULD be ppl hate, be shitty and say mean things in general.

I mean I was mad when the directors and writers cut out TopMew scenes just because "fans" hated on them (I still don't get it) but I never once hated on Ray, Boston or somebody else (like hating Khao or sb). I can say we'll that's shitty what he's done, I can say I am mad at Boston for this but as I said before life is not perfect. I also can forgive somebody when I see okay he changes for me, the other one I don't. I think ppl should not watch the series when they can't accept failure and not being perfect then. When you want a BL like in books go watch Lita or Hidden agenda or sth.

This sometimes killed my mood. But well I am obsessed with the actors of this series. And it's what kept me watching. The mess was real.

The actors

Book aka Mew: my beloved Bookie. I think he did so great. And I am not saying this just because I love him sm. He worked his ass off. He never did a role like this (playing so many emotions and naivness and all that we've seen). I am really excited to see what he is up to. I hope he gets to challenge himself again. I wish that ppl see how well he's doing. He deserves the praise for this role and all that are coming. 🍅💕

Force aka Top: I love bad boy Force. I love his smirk his laugh and him. I like how he acted the scenes from asshole to in love like a fool haha. I don't get why ppl hate on his acting. He improved sm I just want that he gets some respect. 🦊🫶🏻

-> Forcebooks chemistry was so good. All the stares and the cries and all the heavy emo stuff. I love them sm it hurts that ppl are so disgusting. They deserve the world and I am so proud to be their fan 🦊🍅💕

Khao as Ray and First as Sand: K is so naturally talented. I like his ways. I love his eyes and his smile. I like the way he and First act and be together. I like how they both cry so beautifully. I love how First can be fierce and soft. Also his expressions are so good. Their characters were a mess and they acted the part so good.

-> I realised that they don't belong on my top list of actors anymore. I mean, dont get me wrong. I appreciate and respect their acting, and their sexyness is beyond good, but I prefer others more. It's just a feeling I can't explain it further.

Neo as Boston, Mark as Nick: They did so good with their messy characters and all their deep shit. I like how it turned out at the end btw them. I like how Nick said, I can't be with u bc u are who u are but that's okay for u not for me though. I think that's so real. Also Boston is Boston, personally I couldn't be with sb like him but some will and it's okay. I can respect that.

-> Neo Mark did so good they grew on me. Especially Neo. He acted so good that we could hate Boston. U have to do that first. And Mark well the emotions were big!!!

Lookjun, Nonnie, Mond, Drake, Jennie as Cheum, April, Boeing, Gap and Yo: I love the mess around them, that Mond was Boeing was such a crazy thing. Also Drakes guest star was so sexy. The girls should have been there more. I don't know... they picked them well.

...and Mix as the first guest lol: holy shit I knew he would be there. I love him sm. And I am here for him to create chaos...and that's why..

My personal emotional ofts rambles

The emotions I had during this series were like a crazy ride. I am happy and sad and angry and a little disappointed and that's just the half of it haha. They did well. They could have done better though. Don't cut scenes just bc ppl want it, let stories tell and let them flow, be more accepting about different love lifes, different ppl different perspectives and last but not least accept failure from characters.

And at the end I would finally say my ranking of my fav characters I did a while ago and now I wanna do it again:

1. Mew (still on top sorry haha)

2. Top (yeah back on top really. All Mew said about forgiveness and that I agree)

3. Nick (just because I like that he looks after himself now!)

4. Sand (If he is there for u u won)

5. Cheum

6. Ray (how the tables have turned. I just don't like that he gets through with everything. Yah)

7. Boston (still last because I personally don't like his motives. And that is just my opinion)

And that's that. 💯 it was a ride. I am sad that this ended..

..but maybe we get Season 2 with Mix? I would watch it for sure 😆

[savethevamps]

yeah boeing is honestly such a useless character. I really don't get all the "omg he's so messyyyy I love him" takes bc he hasn't really added anything to the show. It's obvious he was meant to cause drama but what has he done really? He manipulated mew for like half an episode but in the end now topmew are back together and stronger than ever lol. and I'm sure people will say "he was the last obstacle they needed" but he wasn't at all it was just unnecessary drama that ruined mew's character development. and with sandray it's obvious nothing is gonna come from it especially with it being the last episode. like what is he even gonna do that anyone is gonna care about? they either should've added him sooner OR come up with plotlines that didn't revolve around cheap drama but that's just my opinion.

I completely agree. Now with why people like him lol I think it’s because they thought he was only gonna fuck with Topmew. With the post I made yesterday, it was mostly just a vent but I actually do wish they would’ve done more with his character. I could understand him coming in to test the relationships but he’s doing it in the worst way by being this evil villain type of guy.

You’re so right about him ruining Mew’s development as well, they had him take so many steps backwards with that entire revenge plot thing. Like in what way are we supposed to believe Mew wants to do this again, when he literally just tried it and obviously didn’t like it? He says to Ray that he still loves Top and admits that he was just using him, and even apologized for it so why are we now supposed to believe he’d do it again? It took away from the progress that he’d made already and I can’t stand that cause Mew is such a good character.

There was a way they could’ve used Boeing for Topmew but they didn’t do that and it sucks. I would’ve loved if he was a genuine friend to Top and he could’ve given us more insight into how Top is. He could’ve given Mew advice and his perspective on everything and that would’ve worked better. I actually wanted him to bring up his relationship with Top and have a conversation with Mew about it yknow? Would’ve been super interesting to see.

There’s also a way they can use him with Sandray as well but I know they’re not gonna do it because they’ve watered him down to a cartoon villain who may as well start stroking his invisible mustache instead of pushing up his glasses. Ahem anyway…. I wanted him to come in and give Sand some closure, as well as some perspective about things. Like I wanted him to truly ask Sand about how he feels just in general and finally get Sand talking about something other than Ray and Ray’s feelings and issues.

Idk I just would’ve liked him to come in as someone who is neutral to the relationships between the couples, and offer them an objective (for the most part) listening ear where he can help them strengthen their relationships. I just don’t like this weird approach they’ve taken to this character, and he could’ve been introduced at any time to be honest as long as they had him do something even a little bit interesting.

Anyway anonie, thanks for the ask <3

[shall-we-go-far-away]

a few weeks ago I said I should start taking notes while watching only friends so here are my unfiltered and unedited thoughts on ep. 11:

aw, Plug and Yo are back together.. and now Sand's probably even more sad

honestly I'm with Top here, if Mew said he was ready to forgive him and is now playing this stupid game that's not it like let it go, bestie

aww man, Dan if only you knew.. honestly I was rooting for Dan, I don't think he really has an chance anymore but I thought him and Nick were cute

Ray and Sand's mom.. aww what a cute little scene

nooo not Sand being all sad in the bar :(( I can't take First's teary eyes anymore

oh god now they're both crying oh god

uurrgh now that they're all lovey dovey again that Boeing drama is gonna suck

aaand there he is

huh?? Mew bestie, if you want to give Top a chance then stop being a bitch and actually give him the chance what are you saying??

just shuuut uuup Boeing pls

Boeing is so petty it's hilarious

uuuh, Boston-Nick-Atom-Drama let's goo

yoo, not Nick and Boston teaming up to get revenge they are sick!! two little psychos

not Boston literally saying Atom should get a grip

man, Nick is just so nice I can't take it.. yeah, he's a bit of a weirdo but he's nice

oh yeah just Sand and Ray making me feel even more single than I already am, thanks guys

not Mew and Top both having big fat trust issues like that's maybe not the greatest foundation for a relationship

yeah and see, now Mew messed with Top too much after Top messed with Mew and now he's gonna realize he actually wants him back and bla bla bla

can you tell I'm not the biggest fan of Top and Mew??

eww, Boeing smiling at Sand

hands off of Sand, dude

ahahah wdym Boeing wants to be a flight attendant?? that's so funny oh god

life lessons with the mums

actually funny how the short haired mum is literally just moral support like she barely has any lines

okay, okay is this the first TopMew scene that kind of touched me??

why are they striking such poses for a passport picture??

oh I see we are communicating the Boeing issue love that

Atom telling Cheum the truth?? hope Cheum is going to apologize to Boston

Nick's cute little face when Boston said he's only gonna sleep with him I caaan't his smug little face

actually kind of upset I am only now getting the chemistry between Top and Mew like we are in the second to last episode!! this is so annoying up until here their chemistry was non existent and now the show is almost over but who knows maybe it was intended this way, maybe they just were supposed to be weird around each other because Force and Book clearly work well together but everything before today's ep. was so off

bro, the way my smile faded when Boeing came in

uuuuh the tension between them

not Boeing coming to get on Sand's nerves now after he realized he couldn't do anything to Top and Mew

take his annoying ass away I know he's literally just a plot device but pleeaase take him away

bro stop the acting

oh my goooood stop touching Sand!!

oookaaay what kind of road are we taking with this "pool party"??

oh god what was this ending??

and what was this hell of a preview??

I honestly don't know what to say.. I gotta admit this was the least cursed ep. 11 I've ever seen in all the bl's I've watched but it seems like we're gonna get all that bullshit in ep. 12 and I don't know if I like that

[waitmyturtles]

@twig-tea, I love this reblog, and I so appreciate that you've been consistent in saying -- hey, let's wait until the end to make these final judgements, and I do agree to an extent. No rebuttals, just some color here:

For me about giving TopMew back to fiction -- I 100% agree that the writing is not at all strong enough to make ME, as a singular viewer, compelled to care about their story anymore. I just can't care, and what I think is happening vis à vis the writing is that, through episode 11, I have not been given context as to WHY I should care about either these two characters getting and staying together, and/or where Mew will land in his strength as an individual character. I feel like experts like @lurkingshan and @bengiyo may be able to explain this far better than me, but -- what does it take for me to care about a character? What kind of emotional and/or empathic context do I need from the script? Shan and Ben, does that make sense? I don't know if there's narrative terminology to explain this re: storytelling in a drama. I don't feel like I've been given a reason to WANT TopMew to stay together. That's in particular why I highlighted that bit by Top above, him taking a 50,000-foot-level analysis of what him and Mew could fall into by way of staying together -- that they'd both be sus of each other. And yet -- they ended up together. Does that mean that Mew transcended his jealous tendencies? I don't know -- I just don't know, and I don't know if I don't know because the script hasn't illuminated it enough, and/or if it's related to Book's acting.

For me about giving ForceBook back to Thailand -- I can absolutely see that either Force is giving a dull performance because that's what the character of Top calls for, and Book is bringing an indecisiveness to Mew because that's what's also called for. But if both of them were meant to act as uninspiring characters -- yes, it worked, but I don't find these uninspiring characters inspiring to watch. An actor (Mark) who did a partly wishy-washy character WELL (Nick) -- now that's been compelling to watch.

I see fam in the tags saying that TopMew shouldn't be blamed on ForceBook, and I agree with you, Twig, that it's the writing first that's doing this -- I ABSOLUTELY agree with that. But watching flat performances by ForceBook because TopMew are supposed to be flat.... is just landing flat for me.

(......)

(.....who else coulda done TopMew? Who could make flatly-written characters compelling? I'm scratching my chin.)

Twig, I hear you on Boston's messaging to Nick early in the series, but I do think Boston was clear about his line in the sand about how he felt about sex, and relationships vis à vis sex. And what I emphasize in my writing and analysis is the accountability bit on Nick's part to parse and understand what Boston is saying -- I think Boston was clear, but I can totally understand different interpretations on this.

Interestingly, though, now that we have the benefit of passed time to look back on this -- those mixed messages that you're pointing out, were they Boston's way of beginning to process a "like" for Nick? I dunno. (Can't help but think about my re-rewatching journey through Bad Buddy to catch glimpses of how Pat likely had feelings for Pran before their episode 5 reveal.)

Twig, I love the color that you offer regarding how the characters think about themselves vs. how we see them. I think this is something Only Friends has done smashingly well.

Love dialoguing with you, friend. 😍

THE MORNING AFTER: ONLY FRIENDS, EPISODE 11 -- 1 OUTTA 3 AIN'T BAD

Preamble! I had a HELL of a day yesterday, woof. So if this comes out garbled, y'all will know why. I'll try to keep this short, but... I'm likely lying to myself, let's see.

TW: FORCEBOOK -- I'm going to say a few words about ForceBook below, so if words about ForceBook are not your thing, please move along!

I'm gonna start this post with thoughts on the three main pairs, and then get some last little thoughts out at the end.

a) I have a feeling that I don't need to write THAT much, because the lovelies @lurkingshan (here), @neuroticbookworm (here), and @chicademartinica (here) all covered the top points of this episode nicely: this episode was a BostonNick WIN. On Nick, dear Chica nailed it so hard that I will have to link AND screenshot her m'fucker:

And Boston, BOSTON, MY MAN! MY MAN! MY MAN!

(Nick says the first line below, with Boston saying the second:)

Fuckin' a. There are two reasons why I STANNED BostonNick in this episode.

1) First of all, as you see above, Nick still had to be a tiny bit of a shit. Nick was in Atom's shoes once. Nick remembers the feeling of having feelings for someone who didn't have feelings back for him. So Nick took a little passive aggressive dig at Boston by calling Boston's sex and predilections "terrible."

And Boston shot back at Atom -- and maybe indirectly at Nick -- with his perspective on sex: "[h]ow can you love me after sleeping together just once?"

I've written before (and forgive the foggy mom brain, but I believe @emotionallychargedtowel has also written on this), that the hormonal experience of sex can impact people in incredibly different ways. Some people, like Boston, feel no connection with the person he's slept with after sex; other people, like Nick and Atom, catch feelings. All of it is normal.

What happened in the dialogues that we were privy to earlier in the series vis à vis Nick and Atom was that WE, the audience, heard THEIR perspectives, and the narratives allowed US to contemplate sympathizing for them -- by playing off of a general assumption that an audience would JUDGE people like Boston for having casual sex. Boston's positions on sex (heh) pissed off people like Nick and Atom! So Boston got fuckin' wiretapped and smeared by these dudes.

However: BOSTON REMAINED CONSISTENT, CONSTANT, AND ACCOUNTABLE to his position, AT ALL TIMES, that he wasn't someone who caught feelings after casual sex. I am sure for many sectors of the Only Friends audience, that this may not have been easy to parse, especially considering the very early and popular judgements levied against Boston. (For the record, I never took Boston as a predator, and I established my thoughts early in the series run on this as rhetoric about Boston's "badness" around sex was flying around. I'm a Khai girlie. Boys, girls, and non-binary friends can be playas, too, and deserve to enjoy their sex lives without judgement.)

What I UTTERLY admire about the pace of this series vis à vis BostonNick is that it took its TIME in establishing Boston's AGENCY to be able to LEVY his position on sex SO STRONGLY and CLEARLY, with Nick's support. While much of the series allowed the popular and condemning rhetoric to swirl around Boston, this scene put a fuckin' NAIL in that coffin. I believe this scene said: you can't only listen to one side, the crying, sobbing side of a person who wants another person after a one-night stand. You HAVE to listen to both sides. The hormonal aspect of wanting to be close to your sex partner is valid, but also -- if the other side is talking, you MUST listen to what the other side is SAYING.

Boston was always clear about his position -- and Nick and Atom HAD to take responsibility for their unreasonable demands from Boston after their one-night stands with him; unreasonable, because Boston CLEARLY stated to the both of them that he wasn't a relationship guy, and would not be forced into it. And both of them ignored those statements, and all hell broke loose, TWICE.

2) HOWEVER! Boston realized, after spending more time with Nick than with any other sex partner, and after he lost his friends, that he HAD caught feelings for his fave, his Nick! Remember last week, when I got all mewdy that MONOGAMY might be the dramatic device that the show would use to "redeem" Boston? BLECH.

DAMN, did this episode SPIN THAT AROUND for me. GOD, I LOOOOOOOOOOVED THAT CONVO WITH NICK AND BOSTON ABOUT FIGURING OUT THEIR STATUS!!!!!

Paraphrasing! "I want to spend the next few months loving on you," or whatever Boston says?! FUCK, YES! Nick, all OVER this, setting boundaries, allowing himself TIME and SPACE to figure out what's best for him, with both Dan and Boston! SHIT, MARK PAKIN SHOWED UP! Omg, BostonNick for the win.

My head's spinning, because that was seriously one of the BEST conversations I've seen written in a drama about the consideration of a relationship and a status check. That impressed me as much as Pharm asking Dean for a break in UWMA -- and then Pharm straight up LIVING HIS LIFE, BBQ pork grills and all, without Dean for a few months.

And. Boston was cool with Nick's boundaries and thoughtfulness. Boston knows what he wants, but he's not gonna push Nick into anything. Boston knows time is ticking, but will wait for Nick's answer.

It was so cool to see. My heart was full.

So that pairing, the NeoMark/BostonNick pairing -- SOLID.

b) Moving on! Thanks to @lurkingshan, I got clarity on what the fuq was happening with Sand and Boeing. At first, I thought Boeing was a little SHIT for showing up to Sand and stirring unnecessary drama in his ex's life after getting rejected by Mew. (Mond, though. 🤤)

But, as Shan pointed out to me in my insane day yesterday: Sand has a problem saying no to dudes. (Homey, RELATE.) So like, then they all go back to Ray's place, and Ray KNOWS that Sand has trouble setting boundaries and saying no, because that's what Sand's mom said to Ray, but also, that's the way Sand's been engaging with Ray himself, and Ray will DEF know what will be up if Sand gets closer to Boeing again, and Ray's like, uh, come into my pool so we can nip this in the bud?, but no, we know what Jojo's thinking, so.

I mean, have sex already, you three, chop chop. I see the FirstKhao gworls on my dash not happy about not having a complete episode of SandRay peace, which I get, but also, this continues to reiterate my bleh on Sand, which like -- get a backbone, Sand. You have a literal boyfriend now, and you're still not saying no to dudes? What if Mild strolled in for a foursome? (NO, DON'T TURN THAT DOWN, SAND, DON'T.) But I'm just saying -- maybe listen to a person in your life, like your mom, to set some boundaries, like your roommate. I'm throwing my hands up in the air on this one, but at least we may get our threesome, and, Mond.

c) Okay, last pair! TopMew. For a hot second, I was impressed with Top.

I liked this, ::waves index finger in a circle::, this worked.

But I have decided. I'm done with ForceBook. I just -- please remember the TW, FB girls. I'll get back to TopMew in a second as characters, but this was my first ForceBook show, and it might be my last. Watching them is as exciting to me as breaking down Amazon boxes.

We have seen Mew waffle this whole dang series. (WELCOME BACK, THE ONLY FRIENDS VENGEFUL WAFFLE! HEART YOU, @starryalpacasstuff!)

And there was more Mew waffling, more talking to moms, and Top is just like, I'm gonna peace out, DEUCES, and then, OF COURSE, HE COMES BACK INTO THE KITCHEN, LIKE HE NEVER LEFT THE HOUSE AFTER SAYING HE WOULD (I cackled), and then they're together in bed. And now they'll move in together.

This was a BIT of a storyline ride. But -- and I HAVE TO ADMIT, part of this is my tiredness talking -- I'm just kinda bored of ForceBook at this point. Do I actually get the sense that Top is *excited* about Mew moving in? Do I get the sense that Top and Mew *love* each other? I.... don't! Is it the chemistry between ForceBook? I.... I think so? I think so!

And, so... Mew will try to convince Ray to accept Top in the next episode? I dunno. (Episode 12 previews, we've learned to distrust them.) As much as I want to try to sit here to analyze TopMew at this point, I kinda just wanna throw my hands up in the air and be like, I'll leave these characters to fiction. And I think it's because I was unfortunately spoiled by the FANTASTIC chemistry emanating out of Neo, Papang, Mark, First, and Mond in this episode (MARK! MONNND. PAPANGGGG.).

I have to admit it, and I'm sorry to admit it. ForceBook do nothing for me, acting-wise and chemistry-wise, and I am done struggling with analyzing TopMew. I'll let 'em be.

d) Last thoughts! Bye, Cheum. We haven't had enough of Nonnie in this series, and I wanna see Nonnie as April dump Cheum's ass and break shit in episode 12, the way Nonnie's real-life brother goes and breaks shit on social media. Way to hold no one, including yourself, truthfully accountable, Cheum.

(What in the. I would love a Soonvijarn episode on Jojo's thoughts on Cheum one day.)

Anyway, bye, B.

THAT'S ALMOST IT! Ephemerality? I hope Boston makes a whole bunch of righteous new homies in NYC. This whole series has made me sick and tired of proximate friends, lol. We'd better see Mond suck face with Khao and First. Andddd, bleep, bloop, that's all I got!

HOME BASE NEXT WEEK, FAM!

[EPHEMERALITY SQUAD, second-to-last weekend meta for ya! @slayerkitty (SK... I am so tired, lol), @ranchthoughts, @chickenstrangers, @twig-tea, @neuroticbookworm, @lurkingshan, @distant-screaming, @clara-maybe-ontheroad, @thatgirl4815]

[thatgirl4815]

honestly speaking i could see sandray not being endgame if they’re going to go with the route of them deciding to not be together for whatever reason and sand will go on to live his life knowing he helped and did his best and ray will have know someone was there to care about him getting help and getting sober. he can use that thought and how good sand was to him to continue his rehab and eventually do it for himself too. but selfishly i don’t want that and i don’t see why we need to separate them (unless they do something unnecessary to break them in these last 2 eps). maybe if they think it’s not the best time to be in a relationship? i don’t know but yea i guess i do see how them not being endgame makes sense but also i feel like why do that when they could be together? to hurt people and make it devastating maybe 😔😔

I know this show has been promoted as realistically messy and complex, but I can't believe they'd end on a negative note for SandRay's couple in particular. And that is almost entirely due to Ray's storyline.

If Sand were to lose Ray (as in, if they were to breakup or--in an extreme case--if Ray were to die), he's in a place where he could move on. For Ray though, I think losing Sand would likely do immeasurable damage to his mental health. There is a way I think they could breakup where Ray endures as little pain as possible (as you mention, a mutual "it's not the best time to be in a relationship" scenario), with Sand and Ray splitting and Ray going to rehab, working on himself, spending time with his friends, etc. But the chances of making a split SandRay believable with all the emotional investment Ray has in his relationship with Sand (and just how much he depends on him) makes this very hard to imagine for me.

I feel this most strongly after Ep10: I have a hard time believing Ray is in a place to let Sand go. It's not a healthy attachment by any means, and Ray himself has admitted to having an addiction to Sand (spoken as a joke, but it most certainly rings true). Another reason I think it's hard to imagine a hopeful ending for Ray with a breakup from Sand is because of First's comment that SandRay could never be friends after all they've been through. That would mean that Ray wouldn't get Sand's support at all (also, the comment itself doesn't seem like something First would say if SandRay had a bad ending...).

Ultimately, in the case of a SandRay breakup, I think it could promote a sense of hopelessness for Ray considering where he's at right now. For BostonNick and TopMew, their breakups would be sad, but I don't think they would have enduring mental impacts on them. But given Ray's mental health issues and just all-around self-loathing, I think he needs Sand now more than ever. He says as much in Ep10; Sand sees more than his faults.

Not to belabor the point, but this dialogue in particular stands out to me:

Ray says he'd understand if Sand didn't want to put up with him any longer, but if Sand was to walk out of Ray's life, it would only reaffirm to Ray that he's a problem. Sand is Ray's hope and happiness, a reason to try to get over his addiction. I don't see Ray doing enough mental/emotional work between now and the ending to be in a hopeful place if he were to split with Sand (also, I have a feeling that would be very rushed even if they decided to go with a "time skip" route).