Kong and Phiwit share a kiss – well, almost.In last night’s episode of Tomorrow, I’ll Still Love You, the scene is set for a happy ending, at least between these two.
Kong, who is blind, discovers that the young man who has been caring for him is not in fact hired help Sak, but his own boyfriend Phiwit.
Kong’s mother, who was having a hard time accepting that her son and Phiwit love each other, allowed Phiwit to stay in Kong’s life, as long as he pretended to be Sak – hired help who feeds, dresses the lad, and puts him to bed.
The pair do not talk. Sak, presumably some poor immigrant Burmese, has poor Thai. While Kong chats away to him in Thai, Phiwit (Sak) says nothing - until last night's episode, when Phiwit feels obliged to declare his real identity.
Kong hands Phiwit a phone number. ‘Sak...please help me, but don't tell anyone I mentioned it. Dial this number for me, would you...it is the number of someone I know...I miss him, and just want to know how he is going,’ said Kong.
The number belongs to Phiwit himself.
Declaring his real identity (coming out?), Phiwit tells Kong that he has been by his side all along.
At first, Kong is happy, but then realises that Phiwit and his family have been deceiving him.
Kong doesn’t want to be a burden on his lover, so orders Phiwit out, and takes a swing at him.
Kong’s Mum walks in. ‘Tell Phiwit to leave!’ her son begs.
Mum decides Kong's happiness is more important than her own feelings. ‘I know what you are, and what you mean to each other,’ she tells Kong.
‘If you can be happy with the person you love, than I am happy too - no matter what you are,’ she says, guiding Kong’s hand to Phiwit’s own. The three share a family hug.
Later, in the garden, Phiwit takes Kong for a stroll. ‘I have promised to stay with you no matter what...I’m stubborn, so let me look after you,’ says Phiwit.
He knows a surgeon in the US who could restore Kong’s eyesight. I will take you everywhere, tell you what’s happening, be your eyes,’ vows Phiwit.
In Thai, the word for ‘eye’ and ‘grandfather’ (ta) is the same.
Kong jokes: ‘If you’re my ta...who will be granny?’
‘You mean you really don’t know who granny is?’ replies Phiwit, implying that Kong is the girly half of the relationship, not himself.
Kong walks off in a playful pout. 'Granny, where are you going?'
Phiwit follows. Kong turns at the wrong moment, so his face collides with Phiwit's own. It's almost like a lip embrace, probably their first kiss.
In this safe Thai soap opera, that might be the closest this gay couple gets to locking lips.
The final episode airs tonight.
In the main story, Kong’s sister Aom looks in danger of meeting her maker, as does the dastardly Phipat, as evil witch Pattamat goes on a jealous rampage. For more on that, see the Dirtilaundry blog, here. I’ll post a summary of the action tomorrow.
2 comments:
ReplyDeleteAnonymous22 December 2009 at 10:28
"as he pretended to be Sak – hired help who feeds, dresses the lad, and puts him to bed." What about taking a shower? A blind person can't scrub his own back and would need someone to do it for him. Then can soap him all over.:)
It does get silly at times, but this is a soap so that's expected. I find the romance as sweet as Love of Siam and a big PLUS for Thai TV. - Ian
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Bkkdreamer22 December 2009 at 16:40
Kong appears ready for each day's action showered and fully dressed, yet we are led to believe cannot guide a spooonful of rice to his own mouth. In Monday's episode, Phiwit is shown spoon-feeding the lad.
Some scenes between Kong and Phiwit were painful to watch, they were so silly. However, it was seldom, if ever offensive. Director 'Boy' Takonkiat Weerawan set out to portray them in a positive light, and it worked.
The Kong/Phiwit coupling was indeed a sweet romance, and a good thing for TV, because it shows Thais that gays can love each other just like anyone else, and can look as normal as anyone else when they are together.
Conservative critics disliked that part of the show the most. They would rather have gays stereotyped as arch, queeny types who jump from one bed to another and are incapable of holding down relationships.
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