#the trainee: ep 9

[jojotichakorn]

you mean "how do i live now that i am not in a relationship that was built entirely on patriarchal ideas, allowing me to not think of where to get food, how to stay healthy, and my general wellbeing, because all that labour was done by a woman for me?" idk, mate. google it. you're like 20. time to figure out how to be a fucking adult on your own.

[doublel27]

Behave yourself and I’ll tell you!

Jane I am scandalized!

[peachblossomdrama]

[hughungrybear]

Sorry, but I had enough of Ba-Mhee's self-pity party. It is just 🤮🤮🤮🤮 Some people who are starved for gl content might not see anything wrong with it, but queer or not, Ba-Mhee is just a toxic person to be around. I feel sorry for Judy for getting involved in that hot mess. 😑

Skip, skip, skip.

[craziestfangirl98]

Thoughts on The Trainee Ep 9

I continue to adore the show soeosso much.

I would've loved to see Ryan and Jane more this week but then the moments they did have I loved them.

Ryan being on literally cloud (nine) was EVERYTHING to me, although I absolutely do not like the new shoes (this is coming from someone who ALWAYS struggles with the shoelaces. 😭😭😭

Pai trying to drink her coffee in peace only to get interrupted was sad to watch. Let my girl drink her coffee in peace. She needs it.

(I'm gonna address the love triangle scenes at the end.)

I love how intentionally the windows error sound effect comes up everytime Pai thinks Phi Baimon is the crush.

Jane has literally thrown caution to the wind and has started to actively and obviously pay attention to Ryan only for his stupid ex to come back.

As much as I don't enjoy the continued jealousy I think this episode especially is much more nuanced. One of them coming from the fact that it is an ex, and the other from what Ryan also says out loud about not knowing what Jane wants, because although Jane acts in ways which are romantic for him, Ryan doesn't necessarily see that isolation because he has only (mostly) seen the caring side of him. And even the jealousy that Ryan had until the previous episodes was more so him observing people liking Jane and not liking it without understanding if he could even feel that way. (Kind of reminds me of Rain with Phayu in the special episode, everytime he would get pouty towards Phayu because he is liked.)

The very obvious manner that Jane was tense while making the coffee for Ryan, like you could see his shoulders just be so stiff and and shaken, with the conversation with the ex, with Ryan's accident, with the implication that the accident could have been avoided and the thought of losing Ryan shows how brilliant of an actor Off is. How he can embody his entire physicality into it and I absolutely love it.

I love Pah and love that he finally got to talk things out and got a resolution with the accounts lady. The entire conversation he had with P' Jo was so so beautiful and meaningful because it addressed the insecurities and addresses other people being rude to him and showing that P' Jo is like a Jack of All Trades and an amazing human being and seeing that as a kind of reflection with Pah I feel. Also was nice to have a mentorship moment for Pah finally after ignoring for so long.

Was starting to hate the accounting lady but was redeemed which was good.

Love the final conversation between Ryan and Jane. Love that Jane was forthcoming finally. Love that Ryan was asking questions like Jane wanted him to. LOVED THE HUG. Was soooooo soft I melted. I also like that the physical connection was built after having finally addressed if they are on the same page.

Which brings me to the part ai find iffy and the part people will say I'm being a hypocrite about but, I have my reasons to dislike it.

I do not really like where all three of Tae, Pah and Judy are at right now. I'll start with Tae.

I think it makes sense that he feels unmoored about being single again, but it felt like the scene where he is begging Pai to tell him how to be, was so that we feel bad for Bahmee. So that it feels like Tae was useless and relying on her fully, while giving nothing and was being framed so that, Bahmee kissing Judy and cheating on him was not a problem. I hate how the next episode is him trying to get her back, I hope if that happens, the resolution is accepting that they are not good together and that being separate is their growth. I also feel that Bahmee should come out of this single and I'm gonna talk about her next.

I think Bamhee going from being only focussed on Tae and her relationship with him to latching on to Judy while also constantly comparing both of those is not gonna help in the long run and is only gonna come back to her not being able to work through things. I hope it doesn't really in that.

As to why I am happy that Jane and Ryan physically moved towards each other while I'm critical about Judy and Bamhee, is the same reason. Jane and Ryan got onto the same page before they did anything. Even as small as touch. Judy on the other hand has been making physical touches a regular thing without considering the power imbalance, the fact that they were on different pages, including when she reached out to kiss Bamhee again makes me question it.

Anyway, I'm not sure if I'll be able to watch it this weekend because my mum is visiting me and I finally have my graduation ceremony. Ahhh I really want to watch it because I love it but also cause it'll be a good distraction from the stress.

[dean-winchester-is-my-cherry-pie]

The Trainee Ep 9

Overall episode was so good!! I loved Pah's pov of the internship and his dynamics with people around him and he is the most relatable character oh my god!! the next episode tho!! WHY ARE THEY ENCOURAGING TAE TO WIN BAHMEE BACK????? It was bad enough that in a way they not only had tae take the blame entirely and bahmee not even acknowledging what she did but now they are showing that he is the one who is miserable without her and in contrast showing bahmee being happy and all. I'm not saying bahmee should not be happy or move on actually both of them should move on and try to individuals for once and not two people who are dependent on each other in an unhealthy way!!

[jenyifer]

The Trainee ep 9 initial reaction

Well I enjoyed the few offgun scenes and I liked Pah finally having the accounting scene wrapped up. I’m not gonna talk about the Judy Bah-Mee scenes cause 😩 WHY DOES BAH MEE GET MORE SCREEN TIME THAN RYAN?! Okay okay let’s get to the photo review.

I love these doodle intro scenes with Ryan extremely adorable heheh Ryan so tiny.

Valid form of comforting someone well done Pie

Can Jane look any less enthused to go to lunch with this man. Also it gave me the big feels when Jane suggested to go get lunch and looked at Ryan like he wasn’t afraid of who knew. 🥲 but I am not thrilled that Ryan hasn’t learned anything from the previous times he thought Jane liked someone. ESPECIALLY AFTER Jane tells Ryan that they’ll do dinner instead? But I guess Ryan is supposed to be baby so….. 18-20 year olds are stupid in a first relationship.

Me: omg it’s going to trigger him with the memories of his parents car crash and he’s going to have to go cry on his cat when he gets home

Time Delay: oh yeah…… this isn’t that straight show with bright and first where Off was also a director on a set.

But Great timing with that crash. Ryan called Jane first 🥹 Jane’s Ex really was not compelling in anyway so that was nice I didn’t want to see him in the next ep.

HE’S SCARED!!! HE DOESNT WANT TO LOSE YOU TO BRIGHT THEN LIVE ALONE AND SAD FOREVER CAUSE THEY KILLED YOUR CAT.

Jk but Jane’s ✨anxiety✨ came to say hello haha also he really doesn’t care about Pah. Not caring if other people know which is 10/10 good.

Well. I hated him APOLOGIZING TO THE GIRL WHO CONSTANTLY LOOKED DOWN ON HIM. He should fuck her ex boyfriend just for the thrill. Gah I hate the evil lesbian plot line. But I like Pah so watched his scenes. It wasn’t fair him having to apologize. If someone cheats or abuses or manipulate my friend they are dead and I don’t care what feelings they have. Bah Mee still is the secondary main character for some god forsaken reason. But what sympathy I’m supposed to feel for her is none.

That’s a real issue when you start working. I grew up in Mississippi which is a southern state that is very poor and loses in everything. So when I moved started my job I still struggle sometimes because I don’t have family money. I can’t change up my look. I can’t just go out to eat everyday or buy a new car. Feels like everyone can tell I’m a poor idiot. Of course that’s usually just in my head my work is still good. So I liked this conversation btw Pah and….. the president of the company.

I was very happy that Pah’s supervisors got slapped on the wrist for not teaching Pa. Whatever episode they introduced they introduced the invoices I went on a rant about how important this is. Also side note about Pah’s shoes… I’m pretty sure he’d have to wear closed toed shoes not because of the look but for safety. Can’t have an employee get injured on the job and he’s with the art department they paint and make stuff. He could get hurt. Just my workplace experience so grain of salt. We do have delivery and lab guys who dress super causal but closed toed shoes are actually important and enforced.

I think he has lied to Ryan? When he gets upset and anxious he says some lies like why doesn’t Ryan leave and Ryan doesn’t work hard. He definitely lied to him about things he needed Ryan to do when Jane was jealous of Ryan’s friend.

Awwwwwwww Off doesn’t like to hug people but if it’s Gun it’s okay 🥹💚💚💚 okay back to Jane and Ryan it was terribly cute when Jane asked Ryan if he looked like someone who had feels then when Ryan shook his head he stood up and hugged him. Jane has learned Ryan needs things spelled out clearly. He doesn’t want there to be any confusion between them. Very good healthy relationship shit. I enjoy it.

[itsays]

im crying sung hanbin is actually number one AND the signal song center askfjsakfjalk

[mirabella96]

The Trainee ep 9

I forgot this is a comedy

Poor, poor Pie

Oh no no no he is so annoying

I maybe wrong but probably there is some like safety guideline not to work in flip-flops, considering they are moving ang lifting heavy parts and so on, it is really stupid on his part to dress like that

he looks so defeated

more OHS violations. and if Ryan really did not tell anybody thats SO STUPID on his part

and that's really a HR problem, they are injured interns

oh my they are talking

oh more talking, this is actually interesting

why he is not more prominent in this series

WHY THEY ARE EVEN BACK TO WORK THE Same they, like there is no medical leave or sth, and Pah is working in art department I think he wolud get like a week leave

and also this is the final proof there is no HR in this whole company

this is cute but also they had like a one interaction this whole ep, and as a ending to this specific ep this ending feels unearned

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Weird Strange Warmth, Thailand

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Sept 2024 Week 2

Ongoing Series - Thai

Jack & Joker (Thai Mon IQIYI) ep 1 of 12 - Oh it’s fucking great. What a fantastic start! It’s a fun cast too. I adore seeing all of the familiar faces. This is a lot more fun than Kidnap (sorry GMMTV, do better). I mean both shows are serving the same kind of concept but with completely different energy. I love that War is playing phi in this series. I think it suits him much better. In fact. I really like these rolls for this pair. I think they’re gonna knock it outta the park. I am so happy this is good. I wanted it to be good. And it’s good!

Monster Next Door (Thai Thurs Gaga ) ep 8 of 12 - Oh no! He read the journal. No snooping! Well I guess they needed to get some tension for these 2 from somewhere, otherwise they are too good to each other. Meanwhile, I’m not sure about the sides in this particular series. I don’t hate them. The laundry jealousy moment was pretty well done. But I'm not sold, either.

Addicted Heroin (Thai Tues WeTV) ep 5 of 10 - I forgot that we were already on the ICONIC kidnapping section of the narrative. I miss Gu Hai's OBEY sweatshirt from the original. (Someday I will own that sweatshirt.) Hero should at least be wearing an OBEY T-shirt. Frankly I miss the harshness of the original too. Johnny Huang was just so massive, August doesn't have the physicality to carry this scene off. Nor does Thailand have the guts to push it into the creepy obsessive territory that made the first version so thrilling to watch.

The thing about the original kidnapping bit was we could feel Gu Hai's vibrating need to possess overriding everything else (including his sense of humor and frustration with himself). Gu Hai KNOWS kidnapping was an over reaction, he KNOWS he is being absurd, he just doesn't care. Because he doesn't just want to fuck Bai Luo Yin he wants to consume him.

We didn't get any of that from Hero. Hero, as a character, just isn't edgy enough to carry off a kidnapping, he's been softened too much in this new Thai form.

And then... An around the back of head not-kiss? Interesting choice. (Checks to see if BoomPeak are hanging out nearby.) Is that because the actor is under age? We in that head space for this whole show? (Pun intended.) Not sure how I feel about any of it.

It’s a much milder confession this time around, because it’s Thailand, but it’s still warped. So I’m still here for the weird strange warmth of this damn show. I did laugh a lot during this episode. 

Kidnap (Fri YT) ep 2 of 12 - Oh I am very much enjoying this.

"You’re the worst kidnapper I ever ever met" is an apt accusation.

Battle of the Writers (Sun YT) ep 7 of 12 - I kinda enjoyed the little side romance story (wealthy writer intellectual + poor local salt-of-the-earth boy = Love Seaing all over my damn screen). It came outta nowhere but... okay.

I honestly have no idea what’s going on with this show. But the kisses are nice. And I pretty much like all of the couples. It’s wild how disjointed it is but simultaneously how pretty. It’s like Star Hunter got hold of Mame’s budget and aesthetic. 

I Saw You in My Dream (Weds Gaga) ep 9 of 12 - Boyfriend era to the max. Production is still ignoring the whole "dreaming the future" POINT OF THIS SHOW.

The Trainee (Sun YT) ep 11 of 12 - Jane is VERY COOL. Like tay-style cool… as it were. I like their dynamic when they're given one to play with. It’s the rest of this show I don’t enjoy. 

Live in Love (Sun Gaga) ep 2 of 5 - It cute. Bit odd but cute. I like the language play, of course. It’s an interesting pair to watch flirt because it’s all language play so that's fun but otherwise, I'm not convinced.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

The On1y One (Taiwan Thurs Gaga) eps 7-8 of 12 - This BL doesn’t drink from the water bottle to show off its neck. It quietly hands you the water bottle and expects you to understand that is not an act of generosity but of polite distancing. It's about the delicacy of the messaging, and the way themes are conveyed with such nuance.

This story is entirely about the two of them figuring out about each other, and then trying to be what the other person needs based on that information. It means they (and therefore we) are on this journey of discovering affection together. It's brilliant.

I must talk about the physical acting of these two for a second. That scene where they’re fighting over the book and then fall into the pool. That was one take. That’s amazing. These two are really fucking stellar not only at acting but hitting their marks. And let's be clear, that is NOT the same thing. I bet they both have stage training.

Define irony: watching two abandoned kids counsel their respective parents through abandonment issues.

Sugar Dog Life (Japan Sun grey) ep 6 of 10 - It is stupid cute and utterly charming. They are total boyfriends. It’s just that one of them wants to be and one of them assumes they already are. Actually, nevermind boyfriends, they’re married.

I Hear the Sunspot AKA Hidamari ga Kikoeru (Japan Weds Gaga) ep 12fin - It made me whimper a lot because they’re both hurting so much. But in the end it was... fine.

Summation

The compassionate story of a college kid going deaf and the one boy he can hear. I love this manga and was let down by the first adaptation (Silhouette of Your Voice), so I was expecting a lot from this BL. I expected the soundscapes in this one to be fantastic, and the were, but I didn’t expect the filming to be something special too. But it really is. The acting is great too. But the story? It was just fine. They spent far too much time on the build to a relationship, then wallowed in their separation and a problematic girl character, when they should have been showcasing Taichi's character arc and his capacity for connection. Perhaps Japan should pass this one off to Thailand, It's a soft story centering on "food as love" so they might do better with it. I am, yet again, disappointed. 8/10 but I want to give it a 7/10

First Note Of Love (Taiwan Mon Gaga) eps 9-10 of 12 - It’s fine. it’s cute. I enjoyed getting some backstory. More of the sides, please.

Seoul Blues (Korea Fri? YouTube) ep 7 - Honestly, why don’t they just call this entire series The Cheating Diaries and have done with it? I’m only watching it because there’s basically nothing else from Korea right now. But I’m generally mad about it. Including the fact that everybody is so pretty and the acting is so good in the series, but the stories are so terrible.

It's airing but...

The Hidden Moon (Sat WeTV) ep 1 of 10 - This is a supernatural romance (my ghost boyfriend trope) by Violet Rain (I Feel You Linger). A man is hired to write an article about an old mansion in Chiang Mai being converted into a café. He sees the ghosts of people who died at the mansion, falls in love with one of them. Was substantially recast. I loved IFYLITA except the ending so I think I'll let this one run it's course you can tell me if it's work tracking down... if they managed to land it. I have my doubts.

Happy of the End (Japan Tues Gaga) - A boy is disowned for being gay, dumped by his boyfriend, and ends up in a dysfunctional co-dependant relationship with his would-be kidnapper. We were due for another messy JBL and it's exactly as expected. I do not like it at all. And ya know what? There is plenty airing. DNF 

In case you missed it

The Time of Fever (Korea iQIYI & Viki) 6 eps - Side couple from Unintentional Love Story, HoTae & DongHee, return for a spin off backstory show.

It started out fantastic. And it was a relief to have a good Korean BL finally back on my screen, even a high angst one. But I did spend a lot of time trying trying to figure out whether they’re going to rehash or reboot from the previous series. Are we in Between Us territory or Don't Say No or (heaven forbid) To My Star 2?

None of the above, it turns out.

This was a pure prequel about lost first love. As such, it has no real finale beyond what we got in ULS. Which, for this pair, wasn't satisfying. Putting my disappointment over this aspect aside, it is enjoyable on the strength of the characters, actors, and chemistry (if not story). Yes I said chemistry, the kissing is fantastic, sometimes KBL can do that. This one featured the "teach me to kiss trope"!!!! Plus language play. Both favorites of mine. It is all angst, ache, repression, and miles of subtext. It did fudge the ending by not skipping forward and over the events in ULS to depict what happened next (what, no year long time jump when we actually need it, Korea?) It's a worthy companion piece, but should be watched BEFORE ULS for maximum satisfaction, and even then you're going to be left feeling like HoTae & DongHee's relationship was never adequately discussed or depicted in order to achieve resolution.

The little cameo of my baby in ep 5 was much appreciated. But the motorcycle should’ve been set up a little bit more. Of course I wanted it to be about them getting together after the events in the first series. But this was all backstory from start to finish. And while it was good backstory, it wasn’t ultimately satisfying for these characters. Still it’s a good little series. 8/10 

Meet You at the Blossom (China) - I'm eating crow, binging the fucker, and live blogging. It's just taking me some time. This isn't really a bingable show, not for me anyway. It's A LOT to take all at once. No new one this week.

4 Minutes (Gaga) Ended - Spies reported in to say the ending was not-exactly-unhappy and mostly lackluster. I'm torn over whether to watch. My natural disinclination to binge, meets my dissatisfaction with wishy-washy, is going up against my love for fabulous high heat and pretty pretty men.

Mitsuya-sensei no keimakutekina ezuke finished and it’s reported to be solid. Age gap treated with respect. I'm curious, so I'll check it out. Not doing very well on binging and catching up but it's on the docket...

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

Still Coming Sept 2024:

9/15 Love Sick 2024 (Thai Sun iQIYI) 15 eps - Remake of the original. I'm scared too.

9/15 Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) 10 eps - Assistant to a player boss who is in love with that boss decides to quit to save himself. The boss then makes a move. (A gay What's up with Secretary Kim?)

9/17 Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 10 eps - Lawyer and a con artist meet at a bar, pair up, fall in love.

9/28 Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YouTube) ?? eps - oh I don't know just Ba Vinh doing his thing with pretty boys again.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Love a teach me to kiss, teach me to fuck, whatever moment. (I Saw You In My Dreams sides)

Not gonna lie. I laughed. Addicted.

(Last week)

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are a pain.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in its infinite wisdom doesn't like too many at-ings.

[jojotichakorn]

KISS 👏 KISS 👏 KISS 👏 KISS 👏

[doublel27]

Not me immediately rewinding to rewatch Jane panic as he asked which hospital and then ask if Ryan was alright.

[peachblossomdrama]

[hughungrybear]

Poor Pie. All she wants to do is enjoy her cup of coffee in the morning but life has other plans for her 😂😂😂 She's essentially a mum of four toddlers, asking her help to finish their "homework" 😅😅😅

[dribs-and-drabbles]

Hi!!!

Don't know if anyone has told you yet but I think I found one for you.

from this post. hope you don't mind.

We are EP 15 - Part 2 around the 4 min mark. This was the ss I could get with the whole shirt.

Hope you're having a good day. Rose💜

Rose! I love that you thought of me when you saw this, so thank you for letting me know. And also thanks to @befuddledcinnamonroll who also reblogged a post of mine about this shirt not long after you sent this ask. And @ranchthoughts messaged me as I was writing this 😂🥰

Let me go on a tangent...

The number of items on the Thai Communal Wardrobe are quickly coming up to 160. Yes, one hundred and sixty. Out of these 160, FORTY THREE were worn in Only Friends. So it's highly likely that any new clothes that get added to the list will also have been worn in Only Friends. For example, recent additions include:

Top's shirt worn by Jane in The Trainee

Boeing's t-shirt worn by (I think) Chin (correct me if I'm wrong) in OMG! Vampire

And Atom's t-shirt (and Day's in Last twilight) worn by Phum in We Are.

Amongst several others.

Due to how prolific the clothes in Only Friends are on the communal wardrobe, I have screenshots of approx 95 other shirts, t-shirts, and sweaters worn by various characters in Only Friends just in case they're going to appear somewhere else at some point.

In no measure of my imagination would I have thought that the "Friends don't let friends go" t-shirt would be worn again in another series. I thought it had been made especially for the show, like the end t-shirts with the slogan "Only Friends Stay". But now I have to be open to the possibility that this too might reappear. Who knows!

Anyway, thank you for giving me an opportunity to talk about the communal wardrobe. I am mildly obsessed by it. I had thought the sharing of clothes between series was becoming less and less - it has felt like with the industry developing there have been more series with unique wardrobe designs (maybe with more money for new clothes rather than re-using old ones) - but even last week new clothes have popped up in different series barely days apart. For example:

Wandee Goodday ep 9 and eight days later The Trainee ep 2

and Wandee Goodday ep 10 and ONE DAY LATER Love Sea ep 5

It's never going to end, right? 😂

[themundanedumpling]

shows i am currently watching/ recently finished:

1. Century of Love (just finished)

2. This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans (Ongoing, ep 6/8)

3. Sunset x Vibes (Ongoing, dropped at ep 8)

4. 4minutes (Ongoing,ep 3/8)

5. MLMU Thai (Ongoing, ep 10/12)

6. The Trainee (Ongoing, ep 7/12)

7. I Hear The Sunspot (Ongoing, ep 7/12)

8. Sugar Dog Life (Ongoing, ep 1/10)

9. Monster Next Door (Ongoing,ep 1/12)

10. Meet You At The Blossom (Ongoing, paused at ep 3)