#why does Shin have the best and worst dad like he accepts his son's sexuality but not his career choice wth | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

whichpercydoyouthink · 3 years

Text

I Recommend: 3 Will Be Free

We have roadtrips. Gang conflict. A lot of tense stand offs. We have queer-accepting mafia bosses. We have Neo’s trademark croptops, Miw’s flawless makeup, and Shin’s adorable glasses. We have guns. We have a whole lot of shirtless shots. We have antagonists you’ll root for just as much as the protagonists.

What to we have? 3 Will Be Free!

Let me make this clear first up, this ain’t about a love triangle. This is a polyamourous relationship between three people. Just so you know. Rare, ain’t it?

This Thai drama is, in my opinion, freaking brilliant! Not only did it do a polyamourous relationship pretty good (and actually had it endgame), but it did it with a captivating plot, beautiful camera shots, and a hella intense soundtrack. I will definitely be rewatching this one in the future.

Let's get into this. I’m not trying to spoil anything hear but I have to gush about this and so I’m sorry if I accidently reveal anything or imply enough for some people to work stuff out. Just watch it! I can’t say it enough.

To introduce you a little, the initial plot of 3 Will Be Free all surrounds this Mafia type boss guy called Thana. Enter main character number one: Neo, a free spirited dancer at a club who catches the eye of Thana's second wife Vanika and they start an affair. Enter main character 2: Miw, a hostess at a nearby club who meets Shin (main character 3), the son of Thana's first wife, one night when his friends pay her to sleep with Shin. Things quickly get chaotic when Thana finds out about the affair, sends people to kill Neo and punish Vanika only Vanika gets killed in the crossfire, Neo runs and hides at Miw's club only to run into Shin in the bathrooms and just as they're both caught, Miw comes in and shoots Thana's right hand man dead (it all happens in like the first episode, okay, its fine to spoil, right?). So yeah. You can probably imagine the running-for-their-lives, road trip that Neo and Miw enbark on with Shin swept along for the ride because of a mysterious connection to Neo.

I'm not gonna say more about the plot except that Thana's right hand man, Phon, happens to have a transgender girlfriend, Mae, who is devastated whe she hears about Phon’s death and embarks on a revenge driven chase after the main trio with Phon's best friend Ter (who also works for Thana). The two bond over their shared loss and show some of the saddest, heart-wrenching moments as Ter struggles without his friend to guide him and Mae suffers the loss of the only person who properly supported her. Mae is probably my favourite character in the show, she is just so good and showed the most emotional depth despite her limited screen time and the show really did her dirty, she did not catch a break. Also why the heck did this show have to make me love Phon even after he died?? He was just the nicest, most supportive boyfriend ever and honestly, despite the whole gang thing and the fact that he was trying to kill Neo, I kind of wish he had lived. For extra info this show is ten 50 minute episodes long and is on youtube with every episode split into 4 parts. So go watch. You'll be in for a ride.

All along we have Miw and Neo bickering constantly and Shin grinning quietly in fondness. That’s essentially their relationship summed up. It’s adorable.

Individually, though, I loved the depth I felt in these characters and how they felt more than just stereotypes or cardboard flat.

Neo ( Way-Ar Sangngern / Joss). On the surface, this guy is your pansexual bad boy hooker/prostitute/stripper who works a ton of jobs and lives freely, working a ton of jobs with no set future. Neo is also a gentleman who can be summoned by wallet theft to save the day and is very caring and protective of those he loves. Essentially, he’s the mama bear of the trio, but unfortunately he is also a jerk, selfish, and may very well have a saviour-complex. I don’t think he’s everyone’s favourite by the end of the show BUT he kind of holds the trio together and they need him to keep Miw out of trouble and free Shin a little. I also believe he is singlehandedly reviving people’s love for croptops.

If anyone’s wondering why I consider this guy pansexual when Wikipedia says bisexual, it’s because he literally says he doesn’t care about gender in relationships. I could be wrong, but that’s how I interpreted what he said.

Miw ( Lapassalan Jiravechsoontornkul / Mild). In a time when we are seeing more and more strong, independant female leads, Miw is the queen. She is definitly the source of strength of the relationship and has no time for anyone’s sh*t. She is bold, always has flawless makeup and outfits, and is never scared to speak her mind, tough and prepared to do anything to survive. She also honestly has some of the best lines in the show. But if this type of character puts you off, don’t run away because she’s more than just that. Miw has her own vulnerabilities, isn’t completely bulletproof and killing a man is not easy for her. There are reasons behind the strength she projects and her way of seeing the world, reasons she has to keep being strong, and that doesn’t stop her from bonding with other women over shared experiences, standing up for others, and comforting Neo and Shin when they hit their lows.

Shin (Tawan Vihokratana / Tay). Let me just say, you are guaranteed to fall in love with this boy, he is the soft and innocent one in the trio from a completley different world from the other two yet that doesn’t stop him from not wanting to be left behind and trying to understand. Shin is honestly the real hero of this story, he is so selfless and insecure and must be protected at all costs. Of course, the characters in the show know that which is why everyone is either trying to kidnap him or save him. But he isn’t just quiet and shy, he’s also smart and has his own bad*ss moments when Neo has being a jerk and Miw is just trying to survive. If Neo is the glue, Miw is their strength, then Shin is peacekeeper and balances out Neo and Miw’s outspoken personalities.

I do understand, though, that some may be a little less than satisfied with Shin’s ending. I felt like they really needed to develope or explore his relationships with Miw and Neo further or atleast as much as they seemed to for Miw and Neo.

In the end though we had quite a few cute moments with all three of them together and apart from that minor issue, I got nothing other than to cry over all those characters who suffered the director’s killing spree. Like seriously, is nothing safe?! So beware.

3 notes · View notes

world-smitten · 3 years

Text

Run On Final Thoughts

Looking around the Internet for opinions on Run On, there seemed to be a lot of people who didn’t like it for various reasons - too slow, the dialogue wasn’t great, the acting was weird, overhyped etc. And strangely, this doesn’t actually make me defensive about the show. I can understand why someone wouldn’t connect with it. It is pretty offbeat, and I can imagine a lot of it coming off as insufferably smug. Somehow though, maybe because I completely missed the show’s discourse when it was airing, I didn’t struggle with any of those things. I fell into the rhythm of the story with an ease I rarely get with K-dramas. I enjoyed every episode right up to the last. I actually finished a 16-episode K-drama romcom without skipping an episode. That’s pretty revolutionary! I don’t think I’m special for liking the show, but I do feel lucky. I feel lucky because I got to experience on of the best ensemble casts I’ve seen in a long time. I’ve never enjoyed a world in a drama so much. I really love a fleshed out supporting cast, and Run On practically spoiled me. The sheer amount of detail put into the character writing -into their personalities and their relationships with each other - made the world feel so fleshed out and vibrant. It’s no wonder the show never lost a beat when it had so many rich dynamics to draw its conflicts from.

In fact, I think the show might have been too rich - the final episodes are great, but there were so many threads that I wanted to see tied up neater and expanded on. The major threads came together nicely, but other elements suffered from a lack of time. The most jarring one would have to be Ye-Jun’s coming out to his mum. It’s a huge deal for a gay person to come out to their religious parent and an even bigger deal for that parent to accept them as they are. There’s a beautiful moment of conversation between mother and son that is just loaded with so much love and history that ends too briefly to make way for another brief resolution to another plot thread in the story. And, frankly, I don’t think the mother’s acceptance was very convincing. Maybe in a Korean context, “it’s okay to be different” would work, but Ye-jun’s mum is also Christian, and whilst she may not be as militant as Seon-gyeom’s dad, she’s definitely religious enough to threaten him with church when he comes out to her. “It’s okay to be different” simply does not work in a Christian context, because in Christianity, conformity isn’t necessarily a virtue (at least on paper). My particular strand of Evangelical/Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity actually emphasises its difference with the world, and to be gay is to be of the world - to do the worst sexual sin in a world that’s already depraved. It’s total bogus - a lot of Christians have conveniently forgotten how Christian sexual morals were the status quo for hundreds of years and go around crying persecution just because we now have to be considerate. It’s why discussing LGBTQ+ issues with Christians is so frustrating - for a lot of them, being gay is a sinful choice made by depraved and/or confused individuals being encouraged by a sinful world that, in the meantime supresses and silences Christians, who are the true oppressed. Untangling all those layers of misinformation, bias and bigotry could be a show all on its own. That said, I’m glad Ye-jun’s mother accepted him. I’m glad that when he came out to Yeong-hwa, Yeong-hwa took him in his arms right away without question, which was such a powerful, beautiful statement. I’m glad that Ye-jun could have his happy ending.

Speaking of happy endings, Yeong-hwa and Dan-ah’s arc ended better than I could have hoped for. I’m personally ruthless when it comes to romance - I don’t mind couples not getting together (there’s fanfiction for a reason) and if the foundation isn’t there for a couple to work, don’t force it. Usually the foundation is in terms of actual chemistry, but Dan-ah and Yeong-hwa had chemistry in spades. I was surprised that the writers actually remembered all the allusions to Rapunzel, and kept Dan-ah’s wealth in sight. The gap between them was simply too huge, and the inequalities too obvious. Dan-ah was wealthier and more powerful, Yeong-hwa was younger and healthier. I love the way Dan-ah’s derogatory “kid” was re-contextualized through her illness. He’s not just “kid” because he’s younger than her, but because he’s got a full life to live. He has vitality, which she feels she lacks. The show refuses to lapse into overblown dramatics regarding her health, but it nevertheless hangs over their relationship like one of many black clouds. There’s something poignant about two people knowing full well that their relationship can’t last, and still choosing to enjoy what little time they have with each other. And even if they couldn’t have each other, look at what they gained! Look at how they grew as individuals, at the friendships they made in the process.

I just have so much love for these characters and so much love for the actual performances themselves. I focused a lot on Dan-ah (which was completely valid lol), but that meant I didn’t get to gush about Im Si-wan and Shin Se-kyung absolutely killing it in their roles. They have such an ease with each other that makes their relationship genuine and adult in understated ways you rarely see in romcoms. In the hands of a clumsier actor, Seom-gyeom’s character could have been irritating (and for some people, he probably was), but Im Si-wan plays him with such care, conveying his nuances underneath his stoicism. And it’s lovely to Shin Se-kyung actually in control of her performance, after the mess that was Bride of Habaek. I spent a lot of time talking about Dan-ah and Yeong-hwa and I just wanted to emphasise that I loved our primary couple as much as I loved the secondary couple. As I’ve said before, this cast was just brilliant in every single way. I can’t think of any other K-drama romcom that invited me so vividly and thoroughly into the interior lives of its characters. I’m gonna stop here because this post is long af and I’ve already rambled enough, but yeah. This was magical.

#run on #run on jtbc #sooyoung #im si wan #shin se kyung #kang tae oh #kdrama #quick thoughts #more like an essay #love this show ❤❤❤

30 notes · View notes