Kong, Phiwit: Pseudo-intimo shoulder snuggle

Just kiss him and get it over with, for goodness sake!

Phiwit and his partner Kong share an intimate moment on the beach in the latest episode of the channel 5 drama, Tomorrow, I’ll Still Love You.

Kong declares that his life has never been the same since his sister died six years before.

Phiwit reminds him that this is the here and now, and that he will never leave Kong, so he can stop worrying.

‘Now that I have you, I’m even more scared,’ says Kong.

‘Why be scared? I haven’t done anything to you.’

‘I’m scared of losing you,’ says Kong.

Phiwit jumps back into reliable big-brother role, as he has done so many times in the past.

‘I’m like the sand on that beach, which never leaves the shore.

‘If you never leave me, I will never abandon you.’

They look at each other’s lips, gaze into each other’s faces for what seems an age – but the kiss never gets hatched. It’s still at the brooding stage.

Kong leans into Phiwit, who is taken by surprise.

Kong rests his head against Phiwit’s shoulder, and closes his eyes for a moment, as he lets the waves wash his cares away.

And?

Nothing.

We’re still waiting for the kiss which may, or may never arrive.

And it’s all getting a bit much. Fans praise director 'Boy' Takonkiat Weerawan for portraying these two as just another couple, little different from a man and a woman in the first bloom of love.

Yet last night’s episode felt like a blast back to the past. The family drama which propels this story is rocketing along, but has left this pair in its wake.

They appear as mere observers to the main action playing out between an ever-growing number of cast members: Mum, her daughter, her boyfriend, Phiwit’s scheming brother...

When Phiwit and Kong wander off the beach and rejoin everyone else at the holiday home in Rayong, no one cares. Increasingly, neither do we.

If director Boy really is intent on portraying this soap opera couple as like an ordinary pair of gay lovers, then a little more enthusiasm and commitment is required.

In short, get into it! Start nuzzling, kissing, or whatever you hi-so types do!

‘These two understand each other, and are ready to face down obstacles they meet together...that’s already love writ large,’ writes one fan at the Pantip webboard.

เพียงแค่คนสองคนเข้าใจกัน และ พร้อมที่จะฝ่าฟันอุปสรรค์ไปพร้อมๆกัน
นั่นก็คือความรักที่ยิ่งใหญ่มากๆแล้ว

Maybe for you dear, but the rest of us are starting to wonder... 

Is Phiwit there as a potential boyfriend, or really just a caring elder brother?

Does Kong want someone to love him, or just an emotional crutch?

Two figures of fun, a fat ladyboy with a deep voice and a young dark-skinned whipper-snapper whose relation to the family eludes me, spot Kong and Phiwit on the beach.

‘You’ve been with Kong since childhood, how come you never spotted he was gay?’ asks Whipper-Snapper.

'Sometimes it takes a big event such as this one to occur before you really see it,' replies Deep Voice.

Another supporting character, human relations manager to leading man Por, spots them on the beach, and is shocked.

At first he contemplates telling Kaew, elder sister to Kong, that her brother is gay, but fat ladyboy and whippersnapper talk him out of it.

‘Our family has suffered enough. Mum could take another turn for the worse, and Kong could take his own life!' says Deep Voice.

Yes, yes. Blah, blah.

The series airs again tonight. An extensive collection of clips from the series, some with English sub-titles, is here. Some have been blocked on copyright grounds.