#we are the series ep 10

[alaanz]

*flatline noise*

[pigglepiephi]

I do want ForceBook to get the opportunity to play more complex characters, but in the meantime I really enjoy watching Book in comedic roles. His timing and delivery is hilarious 👌

[lurkingshan]

I've been thinking a lot about the depictions of generational trauma and parental accountability being presented in dramas lately. Since you've watched way more than me, especially outside of BLs, what are some shows that present or include parental accountability?

This is such a good question and one I have been thinking about a lot since Last Twilight episode 10 aired. Westerners often assume that because of Asian cultural norms around filial piety, parental authority, and respect for elders, we can never expect satisfying parental accountability in our Asian drama narratives. But that's not true! It's been done and done well. It’s because these values are so deeply embedded in most Asian cultures that Asian creators are the best positioned to speak on the harms they can cause, and will often embed these themes in their work.

Now, there is an important distinction to make here: the difference between what characters do, and what the story communicates. A character may choose to abide by honoring their parents at all costs, but the story can still communicate how harmful that is. A character may never apologize for something they have done wrong, but the story can still make it clear they have fucked up and hold them accountable for that via tangible consequences. Here are a few examples from bl to illustrate what I mean, and the different ways this can show up in dramas.

Bad Buddy

One of the most obvious examples of parental accountability in genre, and also a pretty full metal version of it. This entire story is about the damage Ming and Dissaya did their sons with their decades-long feud and insistence on pushing that trauma down on their children, and we got some extremely cathartic scenes of Pat and Pran telling their parents exactly what they thought about that. Of course, even though they raged at their parents, they never got the apologies they deserved (and likely never will) and still had to hide their relationship to appease their parents going forward. But that doesn't mean there was no accountability here. The entire narrative held these parents accountable by showing us how they were harming their sons, forcing them to reckon with it, and ultimately showing them settling into a form of resigned acceptance.

Until We Meet Again

This entire show is about Korn and In's reincarnated souls healing from the trauma of their tragic ending, which was brought upon by the familial pressure and rejection they experienced from their fathers. We not only saw Dean and Pharm work through this trauma and forge new bonds with family members, we saw the direct aftermath of their first deaths, the despair and regret their families felt, and the ceremony that tied their souls together as a result. It's big karmic accountability on a grand scale, and the show never flinched from letting us see exactly how much harm was caused by these parents, or how the tenets of filial piety resulted in Korn's despair that he couldn't be what his father wanted. Even more crucially, we were shown, not just told, the counterpoint impact of good parenting, when Dean and Pharm were accepted by their families in their second life.

Blueming

A rare example of an Asian parent being called to the carpet, feeling the wrongness of their actions, and actually apologizing for it. This does in fact happen in drama! Si Won's mom raised him to hate himself, to be ashamed of his body, to fake his way through life so people would like him, and boy did it do a lot of damage. The story showed us how this affected Si Won and his relationships deeply, and brought him to the point where it finally burst out of him. And his mom, to her credit, was dismayed to understand what she had done to her son. This show also gets bonus points for Da Un standing up to his own mother after she interferes in the film contest.

Bed Friend

Uea's mother's sins against him are numerous, and I will not go into them all in detail to spare my own sanity. She is an abusive parent so horrific that she can never be forgiven, and doesn't need to be. An apology from her would be utterly meaningless. Instead, the drama holds her to account via showing us what she's done to Uea and the work he has to do to heal from the trauma she caused, and ultimately having her son cut her out of his life. It's the biggest consequence she can ever face for her choices and that Uea finds the courage to do it is the story's biggest triumph.

What Did You Eat Yesterday?

On the subtler end of the scale, we have our beloved KNT, which weaves parental accountability through its story in the long, slow journey for Shiro's mother to accept who he is and the partner he has chosen in life. What I love most about this particular depiction is that it's not at all linear in nature. We see her make strides by finally acknowledging Kenji and inviting him to her home, and then backtrack by rescinding the offer due to her own discomfort, and then include him in her family planning to ensure he will be cared for after her death. She’s homophobic and traditional, but she loves her son and sees how much happier he is with Kenji in his life. She is constantly reckoning with that tension. And Shiro and Kenji, being of an older generation themselves, don't hold it against her, even as the show makes sure we understand how much it hurts them. They are not okay with it, but they do understand why she's like this, so they take what she can give and forgive the rest. It's a really touching portrayal of this kind of impasse in a family.

Moonlight Chicken

There are several different vectors of parental accountability in MLC. There is Heart confronting his parents over their neglect and abuse and finally demanding to be treated with dignity. There is Li Ming directly calling out his mother for how her life choices have affected him. And there is Li Ming and his surrogate dad, Jim, working out their issues so that they can communicate better, and so that Jim can learn to stop pushing his own fears and anxiety down onto the next generation. All of it handled with deftness, with care, and with clear purpose to examine the ways intergenerational trauma can perpetuate in the absence of accountability.

[projectjasper]

tanfang are so cute, i can't

[psychdiarys]

only friends text posts part 6 (ep 9 edition)

check out: << part 5 • part 7 >>

[kinnbig]

Nodt Nutthasid as Big ↳ KinnPorsche the Series - episode 7

[anpanman95]

the dog scene was 3 minutes.

3 minutes.

[fandomfairyuniverse]

While they are definitely not doing a bad job with the time they have I just. I wish this show was a little longer. 8 eps really doesn’t feel like enough

[hughungrybear]

In Greek mythology, we have the Gorgon Sisters who pass around and share just one eye between them.

This friend group reminds me of that, only they are sharing one braincell and it's unclear who was holding it at the moment 😅😅😅

[phirephox666]

Lowkey obsessed with Peem and Fang's friendship. There are barely any scenes of them interacting directly, but there's something really interesting to me about the inherent level of trust and understanding there. Like, the scent at the volunteer camp where Fang lowkey freaks when Phum injures himself a little, but immediately eases off when Peem comes over to take a look at it. Fang trusts that Peem will take care of Phum even though he's obviously anxious about even a small injury. And Peem makes sure to reassure Fang directly, first that he'll take care of it and then when they come back in he jokes with Fang that Phum is stubborn.

And then in this most recent episode, when Phum ghosts Peem, Peem immediately turns to Fang to ask what's up, which makes sense. Peem was worried something serious had happened so he went to Phum's brother. But I think it speaks to the trust Fang has in Peem that he explained the argument between Phum and his dad, and from the brief text exchange we see Fang is encouraging Peem to talk to Phum about it.

I just want to see them have a one-on-one convo because I think they have a lot of trust and respect for each other.

[thatgirl4815]

Andddddd I'm in the trenches again

[alaanz]

We are is doing a really good job of making the main characters actually likable. I know that seems like it should be a given, but so often we’re given characters that we’re supposed to like but they make the worst decisions with there never being any consequences.

That’s not what’s going on in this show. For the most part, all of the characters make good and clear decisions, but even when they do some shitty things, the show acknowledges this!

Like Phum being upset over Kluen making moves on Peem is not unreasonable, and actually something we would probably all feel. What he does about this tho wasn’t the best choice. He told Peem he didn’t like him talking with Kluen and brought up the ‘slave’ deal.

Now, in my head, I still expected this show to not actually adress this. They might just have Phum and Peem be upset until Peem eventually gets over it. BUT NO. The NEXT SCENE, Phum confessed to Beer what happened and Beer tells him that he shouldn’t have brought up the deal and that he had no right to tell Peem what to do.

This is what the show is excelling in. The friendships. They keep hitting it out of the park with the amazing friends in this show.

Then THE NEXT DAY, Phum fully apologises and says he had no right to say what he said to Peem. Peem then forgives him and they move on.

I’m any other show, this could’ve easily dragged on for multiple eps with a lot of miscommunication in between. But instead, we are acknowledged that Phum was in the wrong, and then he apologised!

Again, this is kinda a low bar for what should be in tv. But we’ve all seen too many of these shows where this stuff just isn’t addressed. We are continues to get better every episode and I’m truly enjoying every single one of its characters (Tan specifically lol).

[hyperfixatedonthings]

The thing that bugs me about Ai's plan is also the thing that makes me not trust her as a problem solver.

She knows that May isn't over her first love and, she knows that she (Ai-oon) is May's first love. Ai also knows that Oom was sending her to break up with May. So for her to sit there and say "I'm going to make you happy like you used to be." Thoroughly confuses me. I know it's for the story and it makes sense for the story and it also makes sense for her character who's kind of a martyr.

Neither May nor Ai-oon are dumb. But this plan was never going to work. Mostly because, Ai basically stopped pretending to be Oom early in their relationship. Oonmay have so many unique memories that Ai would have to keep filling Oom in on them for forever (or until Oom gets her memories back) assuming that May does not notice the switch. If it "worked" no one would be able to move on.

[projectjasper]

if you aren't watching we are the series, you are making a huge mistake

[blmpff]

maybe the real april fools joke was The Whisperer finale all along

[mirabella96]

We are ep 10

CU-TE! this is so funny

you are lying boy

Peem took lessons from Tan how to make heart eyes

I wasn't a fan of prolonging this jealousy quest but it is funny

They are so extra

How could they left them alone

Communication - out the window

At least he knows

Oh okey, looks like we are on the same page now!