i promised you the moon thoughts

[permutative]

(gif source)

extreme spoilers for i promised you the moon, obviously. if you haven't seen it then you can watch [here] -- not sure if i'd recommend it to anyone despite my own enjoyment of the show, though.

episode-by-episode commentary (as i watched)

this isn't really worth reading, i just wanted to store my notesapp shitposts somewhere LOL. i wrote up bullet-point commentary for the first three episodes, so i'm just archiving those reactions right now. honestly a lot of my opinions have changed since my initial watch but i think it's nice to archive/preserve my old opinions!

EPISODE 1

reactions as i watched:

• why am i fucking losing it the first scene CONDOMS? they’re so cute T__T
• i love the edm background music… lol
• oh my god this is so awkward POOR TEH… just trying to make friends…
• sorry im insane i just like teh n__n bby
• OH MY GOD THE MOMEM EORWYT*(&WR im losing it. <3___<3
• poor jiminskook having to deal with a laggy stream
• oh my god the fucking aquarium?!??! the SYMBOLISM.. ok im fine………..
• poor jiminskook [2] poor me [1] just kidding but also LITERALLY RIP AT THE LAGGYNESS
• oh my god the cheek kissssssssss. um
• OKAY THENNNN. do i even have to get into THE FUCKIN G AQUQIRURMS KISS S*(&$(*%&#(…….. the way it pans out to show that there’s other people around them. but they aren’t afraid. and they’re outside of the water. OKAY!!!!!
• poor oh-aew being homesick…
• why are they so freaking cute…. i love their BANTER… NOT THE YONGJIAN???!! &#@*%&@ i love teh and his big dreams
• i love the music. <3___<3
• TJE WAY OH-AEW LOOKS AT HIMMMMMM IM FUCKING LOSING IT T___T
• oh-aew having a super nice swanky apartment to himself… when ur rich
• WHAT THE HECK OH-AEW SO CUTE HE (*@&%#.. ok im normal. not
• TEH IS SO CUTE…… LITTLE COUNTRY BUMPKIN.
• obsessed with STAGE MANAGER JAI…. sorry backstage ppl are cooler than acteurs i don’t make the rules <3
• oh god not the I’LL COME HOME LATE DONT WAIT UP………. um.
• how the fuck is this episodes going to cover their entire first year at uni…
• wtheck they’re so cute. also yass to oh-aew for being like that
• NO BBY OH TRYING TO MAKE FRINEDS I WANT TO CRY… sorry im emotional
• oh coming home to his empty ass apartment. lonely. um i can’t wait until he meets his squad of friends
• oh god this is the scene from the trailerrr….. :/
• i feel like the music got better compared to itsay LOL is that just me.. like it’s less abrupt imo. also i just like it more
• OMG WILL OH FINALLY MAKE A FRIEND?!?!?!!!!! im rooting for him so hard. (&#@@ OH MY GODDDD IM SO….. when people make friends…….
• OMGGGG OH-AEW’S NAME………… LOSING IT?????????????? GOD…. this is so………… oh my god. im lsoing it…… actual tears being cried rn. when people don’t understand the meaning of ur fucking NAME.
• oh my god Q’s (??) PAINTED NAILS <3
• NOT his “PARTNER”……… god the gender neutral of it all
• OH MY GODDDD THE WAVE IN THE DARKNESS IT’S SO FREAKING CUTE. also why does oh-aew aalways make that face when he’s dealing with teh’s shenanigans i love it n___n
• aghhhh oh-aew’s self-sacrificialness… #@(&(@* well. NOOOOOOOO NOT THE FLOWERSSSSS im literally. WHY IS THIS SOOO …….. *#(@&$(@??!??!?!??? oh my goddddddddddd *#(@&(@%@%&(@%(@ well then.
• HELP THE ENDING?????? WHAT THE ??????? HE OPENS HIS EYES AND ???!?! [frands]
• okay nvm the music is kind of insane rn but like i still like it more than part 1

more coherent thoughts
well that was an experience. im glad that teh’s family was really nice abt it and it’s kinda interesting to see that teh is more comfortable with their r/s now compared to oh-aew (??) because oh-aew was more used to hiding it i guess. also JAI?!?!?!!!!! im obsessed with him btw n__n so glad oh-aew made friends tho AND IT WAS JUST SO FREAKING PRETTYYYY i’m so glad the cinematography was as gorgeous as always. also like i guess it makes sense that there are more timeskips but idk why the director was like “this covers four years” unless they do like [two years later] or some shit in the middle….. um. also why was oh-aew so cute to me always bringing teh milk ;;___;; btw the aquarium scene was definitely my favorite ;;___;; IT JUST. im going to lose it
anyways it’s really nice to see them navigate their r/s and slowly drift apart… can’t wait to see what the breaking point will be LOL

EPISODE 2

• idkkk for me it’s like — i really relate to one of the anons who was like “since teh seems to instigate every conflict it’s sort of difficult to root for them” and i’m reaaally hoping we see more of oh-aew’s doubts/struggles later on in the series? like the beginning of the episode was centered more on oh-aew’s doubts w/ acting and i found that pretty compelling…
• scenes that were absolutely gorgeous to me: the bathtub scene, the ending rooftop scene, and the scene in the beginning with jai and khim where jai and teh are watching from the rooftop and come down
• but godddd when teh was just like “i don’t want things to change” it really became clear to me that’s going to be the point of ipytm — that teh is going to change in some way, and cope with that change, and face it in himself just like he had to face it in others
• i’m reaaally glad that they talked it out on the rooftop and that they’re actually… communicating and shit. even if it’s like TEH WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOINGGGG
• the tattoo made me really nervous actually. i think there’s something about oh-aew choosing to do it without even telling teh about it that’s like… #&@$(*@ and then oh-aew having so much faith in teh in that way… isn’t that a little scary to face. idk
• but i love how it’s obvious that teh cares for oh-aew… THE LITTLE DRUNK SCENE… why is oh-aew so fucking cute btw. also obsessed with ppkrit’s acting when he reads teh’s note and he’s smiling at first before reaching the little PS GO TO CLASS like… ahmmm the things this portends!?
• speaking of ppkrit’s acting — agreed w/ itoldsunset on the casting scenes. when they were like “khim looks too old/dumb/etc” i was like :D??? and then oh my goddd the shit they said to oh-aew… oh-aew being like trying to be this other person/someone i’m not is UNCOMFORTABLE TO ME! idk. i felt things and pp was so good at acting during that scene + when he was overhearing the convo w khim
• obsessed with khim teh friendship >.> can’t wait to see more JAI x TEH INTERACTS THOUGH!!!!! also i want to be able to distinguish oh-aew’s friendgroup better i wish they showed more scenes of them…
• i wonder what oh-aew’s breaking point is going to be though. like seriously
• bathtub scene… wahh it was so pretty (all of the golden lighting!! right when we had those scenes in the beginning abt how lighting dictates mood and changes the way a scene is perceived!!) and i loved how there was like 2 seconds of happiness in the beginning (wahh oh-aew scrubbing teh’s hair) before they had this whole… sort of tense discussion in the bathtub!? idk i wonder why they chose that setting / the significance of them sitting in the bathtub together
• [thinks about the gifset that emphasizes the parallels between itsay ep5 ending and ipytm ep2 ending] okay i’m fine. totally ok
• also when khim was like “our situations are not the same” to teh — i really wondered how that felt especially since teh has to experience a lot of the same thing with oh-aew and his rich advertising friends??! like idk i feel like that must’ve hurt
• fucking love nerdy teh though. and even though advertising for oh-aew is like (???) okay out of nowhere like… it seems cool!?
• kind of don’t like the use of flashbacks…?! i feel like the callbacks are clear enough

EPISODE 3

• i feel insane. like as the episode progressed i kept on thinking things might get better but instead they got WORSE??? like EXTREMELY WORSE????????????
• me at first: ok jai bisexual king let’s get it / me after like two seconds: what the fuckkk he’s insane
• like idk i can’t stop thinking about oh-aew being like “i think my r/s with teh is fading” and then automatically showing that he’s still loyal to teh despite doubting their relationship VS teh feeling similar things/confiding in jai —> DEVELOPING A CRUSH ON JAI AND CHEATING (emotional infidelity??? idk it’s so gray because jai obviously doesn’t like teh like that But he is totally using those feelings to make teh’s acting better?!?! which is just?!?!??????? um) ON OH-AEW???? are they trying to make me hate teh. because umm it’s sort of working
• i mean they do a great job of conveying the lack of feeling though. like i did not have a single good feeling during that sex scene bcs the entire time i was just like “i cant believe they’re doing this just so that teh can ACT better” and the way it was filmed wasn’t like… like it wasn’t romantic imo?? or like esp compared to the romantic tension btwn jai and teh…?
• i was so baffled by this episode like why IS TEH CRUSHING ON JAI? WHY ARE WE SUDDENLY LOOKING AT JAI AND PLAYING SWOONY MUSIC? WHAT THE FUCK????????????
• like i kept on thinking teh would snap out of it / for some reason i was hoping teh would be like ok wait what am i thinking i actually like oh-aew. or like during that convo where jai was like “i thought abt 10 years with my ex and lost my mind” i was totally wondering what TEH thought of spending ten yrs with oh-aew… and i was hoping he’d have some new perspective or something
• INSTEAD WE GET MASSIVE WEIRD TENSION BETWEEN TEH AND JAI and it literally became as bad as it could possibly get
• like the episode was just 80% JAITEH. do i look like i care about that
• okay but i totally wish oh-aew SAID something about it when he saw them at the end but bcs of jai being like “ah yes this is for ACTING” he didn’t?!?!? um they literally need to break up i can’t support oh-aew seeing this asshole
• also the SHIRTS… teh wearing the same shirt that he did during beach chase scene when he’s kissing jai vs oh-aew wearing the same shirt that he did during back-scratch scene when he’s having sex with teh…
• idk like i just think infidelity is so. why. and i’ll continue watching the show obviously but my expectations are sort of on the ground now… ughhhhhhhhhhhhh. literally
• i can’t even be like “wow that one moment where teh keeps touching oh’s face and poking his mouth is so cute” [although i almost teared up at that part bcs it was so tender??!] BECAUSE LITERALLY EVERYTHING ELSE??!?!?(@& WHAT. um

anyways, i clearly... like clearly i didn't like episode 3 at first. but episode 3 also reallyyy lowered my expectations for the show overall and as a result i liked episodes 4 and 5 a lot!? like episode 4 just felt so satisfying because tehoh finally broke up and teh hit his lowest point (friendless/alone/realizing how much he fucked up at the end) and oh finally voiced his feelings. and then episode 5 did do a pretty good job of tying things up even if... i definitely have a lot of issues with what's going on. IDK!!

overall thoughts:

the thing about itsay is that the ending was extremely rushed. like i think they get together in the last two minutes of the show, hugged in front of the sunset, and then bam, we get hit with the announcement of i promised you the moon/itsay part 2. but then when i saw on the wikipedia page that itsay/ipytm was always planned to be a two-part series, i felt more reassured that the obvious flaws in tehoh's relationship would be addressed... like no offense but even though itsay has a happy ending i wouldn't necessarily say that it's the basis for a happy relationship — they're just too obsessed with each other, as teenagers are wont to be, and teh's view of oh-aew is still like... he just underestimates oh-aew! his decision to give up his dream school for oh-aew, while a grand gesture, is still couched in the mindset that he doesn't believe oh-aew is capable of achieving those things himself!?! and oh-aew, at the end of itsay, is still eighteen — he's still at that place where he feels like he needs teh and would sort of do anything to keep him in his life... like idk. just thinking about ep4 of itsay where oh-aew is like [mildly paraphrasing here] "what's wrong with me? i know you can feel this thing between us? what did i do wrong" EVEN THOUGH IT'S ALL TEH'S FAULT... &@*#(&%@%. there's just a lot of room for both of them to grow, especially teh. and in that sense, i think ipytm did deliver on that growth, albeit in an extremely flawed way... like at the end of ipytm i actually felt like these men will stay together and can work through things as opposed to the end of itsay where it's like... this is extremely passionate young love that is bound to burn out. LOL

i think one thing that was sort of messed up was audience expectations? since itsay was teh's coming of age story, i think a lot of people (including me) thought that ipytm would focus more on oh-aew. especially since oh-aew seemed to have more issues at first wrt adjusting to his major and the city, i was hoping that ipytm could be oh-aew's coming of age story. but instead the writers sort of glossed over oh-aew's decision to join advertising in favor of focusing on teh?? which i guess fits his character (he thinks through things but is decisive once he figures things out). but idk, i honestly feel like oh-aew as a character deserves to have more #nuance and #flaws lol... if pp wasn't such a good actor i feel like oh-aew could come off as a bit flat/boring. like why is it always teh fucking things up? but anyways, it became clear as the episodes progressed that oh-aew was more of the "second lead" in ipytm and that ipytm is still solidly teh's story. and as someone who Really Likes Teh i was disappointed in this ngl. LIKE IT'S JUST A WASTE OF PPKRIT AS AN ACTOR!!

and then, of course, the infidelity... someone on tumblr said that there was too much focus on external obstacles (eg jai) in ipytm as opposed to the internal conflict and i agree. like ipytm simply didn't have enough screentime to give the infidelity plot full justice and there are gaps in the story/loose ends that didn't feel tied up. i guess itsay had similar flaws in some aspects (as i said earlier, i don't feel like their relationship would've been 100% healthy) but because i knew there was a part 2 i excused it...? and now part 2 is here and i'm like :D??? for example in ep2 teh's falling out with khim is a large contributor to why he feels so desperate as an actor and definitely adds to why jai could manipulate him so easily/his alienation from oh-aew in ep3... but we never get to see teh making up with khim later on (which would've been a great way to show character growth). and at the end of ep2, it seems like tehoh have reached a resolution in their relationship/have promised to love each other but then in ep3 it goes right into how they've grown apart as a couple without really showing why, just relying on exposition through teh's diary. the scope of the story (four years) and the screentime allotted (five episodes, each of them shorter than itsay's shortest episode) just don't match up, and the time skips don't help either. like even in episode 5, which i liked... some tumblr blog pointed out that there was a six month gap between tehoh's first convo at the advertising agency and oh going to watch teh's thesis play... I DIDN'T REALIZE THAT AT FIRST and it changes the feel of the story a /lot/ imo bcs it hammers home just how much teh is gone for oh-aew and also how surprising/overwhelming it must've felt for oh-aew to watch teh's thesis play out of nowhere.

also, as much as i loved all of the commentary about acting and the meta_narratives and whatnot... i sort of wish there was more focus on gender/sexuality the way itsay was a bit about overcoming teh's internalized homophobia? for example oh-aew's friend group was supposed to be like this #queer friend group or whatnot but THEY GOT VERY LITTLE SCREENTIME... whatever i still liked the small amount of time we got though <3

lol i just realized that all of these criticisms make it sound like i didn't like ipytm... but that being said i actually really liked the show!? so what does that say about me. LMFAO

i think, technically, ipytm is better than itsay in a lot of aspects. the script demands a lot more of bkpp as actors (especially because the plot is a little lacking/convoluted at times) and their acting totally improved. like ppkrit's facial expressions are IMPECCABLE and the way billkin can just look at someone and convey so much is like... wow. they are ACTEURS. also i feel like the emotions conveyed were a little more subtle? for example the crying wasn't just EXTREME_UGLY_CRYING, there was a lot more maturity. i just think it's crazy that bkpp were able to film ipytm like 9 months after ipytm and still legitimately seem four years older by the end... idk i just think in the hands of less capable actors, ipytm would have genuinely flopped. but bkpp were so good at selling that tehoh — despite all of their flaws — genuinely love each other and want to be together, and it made me want to root for a happy ending tbh.

the cinematography is also GORGEOUS!? like i was really worried that ipytm would be ugly because it was set in bangkok instead of phuket but i think i liked the visuals more than itsay actually... a lot of the shots were set up in a really unique way and the coloring was gorgeous and even if the story faltered at some points i was like wow. this is so pretty to watch. same with the music, actually — i feel like itsay's soundtrack was really good but sometimes the music would just start blasting extremely suddenly out of nowhere!? in contrast, ipytm's music was definitely more subtle and also just used sooooo well. like wow i felt things.

and, even though i had [see above paragraphs] all of those concerns about the plot, the actual writing was like... pretty good? as in, i really liked a lot of the individual lines/quotes from the show. i just wish that everything connected better, if that makes sense. for example episode 3 is honestly a really good piece of television and has some really nice writing but it's also like :D?? I DON'T LIKE WATCHING THIS RANDOM INFIDELITY PLOT CAN U GIVE ME SOME OH-AEW... lol.

speaking of oh-aew, i really liked his growth, even if the focus of the show wasn't really about him. like the contrasts between itsay and ipytm were so pleasing? in itsay, oh-aew dates bas for a while, he's still a little desperate about teh, he has insecurities and doesn't stand up for himself as much as he should. in contrast, ipytm is like... oh-aew gains confidence in himself and who he is as a person, he finds a career and a group of friends that he loves, post-breakup with teh he doesn't date q or anything because he has a better sense of what he wants! the way he gently friend-zoned q was iconic btw. like it kills me that oh-aew has all of these #options but at the end of it all HE JUST LIKES TEH?? i also liked that, for the one of the first times, everything (i.e. tehoh getting back together) was on oh-aew's terms. like oh-aew could have chosen to not get back together with teh, and teh would've had to respect that decision and walk away forever... but oh-aew's reached a really healthy place in his life and he's like well fuck i guess this teh guy is the only one i've ever been this crazy over. WHICH IS SORT OF INSANE but the heart wants what it wants i guess. oh-aew is the og teh apologist honestly

and teh is like... KJHDASJKHKGJ. guys i love teh even if he's literally such a big fuckup and deeply flawed and bad. sorry for being the way i am!!!!!!! i will never change. i really liked the scene where oh-aew read all of teh's messages over the past year in one go, honestly — given what screentime they had it was a pretty good way to show that things had #changed. also i did feel convinced by all the stuff in the beginning about teh finally realizing that like... if he dates someone who's like him (who's driven and passionate about acting and sort of a workaholic) he won't be happy. and we finally saw teh paying attention to oh-aew's work, teh apologizing multiple times, teh doing his weird COCUNUT SNIFFING THING that oh-aew is secretly into, etc. also i just think billkin is such a good actor... like genuinely if someone else had played teh i might've hated this man. BUT TEH'S EYES WHEN HE SEES OH-AEW AGAIN AFTER A YEAR IS JUST LIKE... screw rationality sometimes love is just like that. not to repeat my complaints but i genuinely wish there was more screentime for his growth though. like ideally the climax should've occurred at the end of episode 3 because that gives more time for character development afterwards. but yeah idk i can't not have a soft spot for teh — not when he represents the most important thing to me, aka that humans are extremely fucked up and flawed BUT PEOPLE CAN STILL GET SECOND/THIRD CHANCES AT THE END OF THE DAY...? T____T like sometimes things can't be as simple as good or bad or evil or innocent.

and, well, i don't know. i liked the takeaways/overall message of the show, honestly. the ending confession scene on the beach was so sweet, especially all that oh-aew said about love. instead of making promises of passion that they can't keep, oh-aew is like [paraphrasing] "change is inevitable." it aligns with one of my favorite concepts, WORKING_FOR_LOVE, and i think that acceptance that things can never be "perfect" and that nothing will ever be "certain"/immutable between the two of them is actually what makes me feel like they can actually succeed and stay together this time. also the show makes it pretty clear that even though tehoh love each other, it's like... love isn't something that you can control. if oh-aew could love the person who was best for him, he'd just date q or something. but things just don't work like that! and things are messy and complicated and well, i liked that part too.

all of the itsay callbacks in episode 5 absolutely ended me btw. i wished there was more threaded into ipytm in general, though... but in general as someone who loves parallels/symbolism in narratives ipytm gave me so much to fixate on!! like the CLOTHING CHOICES (oh-aew fashion king fr) and the recurring sunflower/flower bouquet giving and the beach/water callbacks... i loved reading into things like that. and for that reason ipytm was such a fun viewing experience (along with being able to watch the show alongside a couple of friends, both online and irl). it just made my brain happy and gave me a lot to think about! i'm definitely a "fan" of ipytm/itsay which i can't say for other pieces of media i watch... and i think i'm always going to like ipytm a bit more than it deserves, despite all of my critiques of it. so yeah. hopefully this gets my itsay disease out of my SYSTEM lol.