#there are a few things I didn't like in today's episode but Tor & Gun's acting made up for it

[hoppipolla]

Khatha or the well of sadness

Thanapob Leeratanakachorn... We barely know anything about Khatha but Tor puts up such a brilliant and emotional performance that you feel for Khatha before understanding the very depths of his being.

Tor shows a full understanding of his character and his emotive and subtle acting makes my heart ache for Khatha.

When Khatha describes death, he describes it as "simply painful and excruciatingly torturing". It doesn't matter how many times he has "died" because nothing will ever compare to the agony he is living now. Khatha is the embodiment of resolute despair. He knows he cannot escape it and so he suffers silently. The silence he chose as an answer to Triphop's grand-father's question — "So why don't you stop?" — emphasises the fact that he has accepted his fate. He seems to be haunted by guilt and so he accepts the agonising truth of his life because, deep down, he thinks he deserves it. (cf. the way he doesn't meet Dome's eyes when Dome asks him if he has done something wrong).

His weariness can be seen through the way he lets his tears fall on his cheeks. His tears are as silent as his stifled pain. Khatha often looks on the verge of tears which makes me think that we've only seen a glimpse of the despair he must feel. It just hurts so much... seeing him show restraint although the emotions he strives to hide are overwhelming.

He doesn't want to show he cares for Dome nor does he want anyone to see how devastated he feels when another life is ruined in front of his eyes.

This expression is that of someone who's seen death more than life, who's been powerless too many times, who knows the bitterness and cruelty of the universe.

Khatha is an intimidating character and yet the people around him see the cracks in his shell. That's why Dome talks back to him so easily although he sometimes looks at him with a mix of wonder and worry. The same goes for June and Triphop who always listen to him but usually still tell him what they're thinking. Khatha is scary because of the depths of his despair. The way Triphop seems so loyal to him no matter his recklessness is because he knows his immortality made him go through things a simple mortal would have never endured. And yet Khatha was a simple mortal at some point too.

June was right to call Khatha's immortality a curse because that is precisely how Khatha sees it himself. He feels like he is all alone and that's why he desperatly wants to protect Dome. Because Dome seems to embody the very light which could bring the sun back to the never-ending night that is his life. But June doesn't agree with that and she might be right. Perhaps only Khatha can break his curse but I believe that Dome will be the one who'll give him the strength he needs to do so. I hope for Dome to become someone Khatha can lean on when his weariness and suffering are too heavy a burden to carry alone.

What kills me is how resigned he looks in this scene. A part of him still wants to fight and that's why he's been watching Dome so closely because Dome's presence by his side embodies the kind of hope he's been secretly wishing to find, but another part of him seems to believe that everything is worthless. And yet he still manages the Midnight Museum. He still keeps a close watch on the cursed items his museum displays. Half of him hopes fiercely while the other half wonders how he is able to keep on fighting like that.

Khatha is a character so full of sadness that I don't even need to know his backstory to feel emotionally invested. I'm just so impressed by Tor's brilliant acting.