So, I've Been Geeking Out On All The La Pluie Discourse Over The Past Couple Of Days. And I Find Myself

So, I've been geeking out on all the La Pluie discourse over the past couple of days. And I find myself re-blogging posts that may seem to contradict one another. However, each POV, ultimately, affirms the position the show is taking.

- First, the ideas that people are soulmates AND that love is an action - one we choose to do (or not do) each day - can both be true at once.

- Second, the show seems to be moving towards some kind of choose-your-own-adventure conclusion - open to a number of interpretations.

All the bloggers mentioned above have described this much more eloquently and in greater detail, so take some time to check out their deep dives.

But there's one thing I want to add to the conversation or offer up as a possibility. Most view Tai/Patts as the couple that will choose to love one another without regard to being soulmates, while Tien/Lomfon are the pair falling for one another IN SPITE OF how the stars have aligned. The contrast is a great plot device and I can see the appeal of juxtaposing those two narratives.

Yet (and perhaps, I'm alone here), I can't help but think that Tien and Lomfon are fated AF ... IF we define soulmates - not as people who can hear each other in the rain - but people whose lives keep connecting in ways that are so unexpected and numerous, it can no longer be simply coincidence. In my eyes, that's where their story is headed.

I'll admit that when Tai first described the unknown person who helped him deal with his parent's divorce, I like many people mistakenly assumed that would be Lomfon; this week, that was revealed to be a red herring, because it was always Patts, the Kind One.

Similarly, from the moment Lomfon mentioned the keychain and the unknown person who saved his life, I've known it would be Tien. Somehow, some way, that thread leads to Tien. I'm dying on this hill, people! (Note: episode 10 did kill me; Resurrected by episode 12!)

In the end, both couples are going to push the boundaries on our views of love, self-determination, and cosmic connections.

I’ve been noodling a bit more on this week’s episode of La Pluie, which once again inspired debate about what this show is trying to say about soulmates. This week we learned that Patts used to spend quite a bit of time right next door to Tai when he visited his grandmother, and that two years ago, the two were in touch via exchanging anonymous notes and small gifts to comfort each other through hard times. Patts supported the boy next door when he heard his parents were going through divorce, and Tai supported the boy next door when his grandmother died. They did all of this without ever meeting or knowing each other’s names, and with no motive beyond being kind to each other. The kindness is the point. (@bengiyo)

@respectthepetty suggested that this shared connection in the past is another sign that Patts and Tai have a Big Destiny and the universe was going to push them together no matter what, and read that as the show confirming they are in fact soulmates. @heretherebedork @manogirl and @shortpplfedup emphasized a different perspective, that the importance of choice is a common thread throughout this story regardless of opportunity and coincidence, and that Tai and Patts are not together because of pre-destination but because they have decided on each other.

I posit that the show is knowingly playing with these ideas in order to inspire this kind of debate because they are specifically interested in interrogating the romantic notion of destiny and its use in the romance genre, though I tend to agree with the It's About Choice camp on Patts and Tai’s romance. I’ve already done a full rundown of all the ways the show has subverted the soulmates trope to date, so I won’t repeat all of that here. It’s also important to note that in this universe, the concept of soulmates is tied to hearing loss, that this pen pal revelation is not connected to their hearing loss at all, and that the show is in the process of dismantling the hearing loss connection as a sign of pre-destination in Lomfon’s side of the story as we speak. Tai and Patts were already connected via hearing loss during the time period where they exchanged these notes, but where the more explicit “soulmate” bond was a barrier between them, with the expectations and pressure of that stripped away, they found an opportunity to simply be kind to each other and connect based on who they each are as people.

So how to interpret this new information we received in episode 9? One could look at the reveal this week from either angle:

it’s a sign that the universe was going to throw them together no matter what until they finally met and therefore they are fated; or

it’s another demonstration that when these two are able to connect without the “soulmate” bond getting in the way, Tai and Patts choose to care for each other.

Both of these are valid interpretations, and I don’t think figuring out which is “correct” is actually the point. I don’t believe the show intends to give us a firm answer about whether soulmates are real. Their intention is to make us curious, to make us question, and ultimately to share a message that whether soulmates are real is beside the point.

Perhaps there is some magic at work between Tai and Patts; perhaps there’s nothing but lucky coincidence. It doesn’t really matter, because throughout this story we’ve seen that the characters must do the work to care for each other and build strong relationships, that coincide or fate alone won’t keep them together, that they have choices and more than one path to happiness, and that what they think fate is telling them may not actually be what they want or need.

What matters is that they decide who they want to love and that they choose every day to be together, to be kind to each other, and to keep putting in the work to understand and care for one another. I believe that’s the ultimate message of this story.

CONTINUED UNPOPULAR OPINIONS ABOUT STEP BY STEP, EPISODE 11

I will spare y’all my biting criticism with a read-more. But, TL;DR – my review is short (for me, HA!), and I hand this show over lovingly to anyone who wants it. 

(Thanks to continued conversations with the inimitable @lurkingshan and the utterly lovely @neuroticbookworm to ensure I’m not going insane with these thoughts.)

Keep reading

Honestly not sure how it can stick the landing ... but fingers and toes crossed.

While it definitely hasn't shaped up to be a romance, I'm not sure how aligned Tee and the show's target audience are on the idea of successful storytelling.

Anatomy of a Scene An abdication

Step By Step, Episode 10 Director: Tee Bundit Sintanaparadee Writers: Tan Ekarin Mungmee, Anu Pawich Amnajkasem, Pan Phanita Loetwatthanaphongchai Cast: Ben Bunyapol Likhitamnuayporn (Pat) and Man Trisanu Soranun (Jeng)

I can't let it go, this feeling that the progression from unease to frustration to alarm engendered by this episode is exactly how Tee wanted us to feel, and this scene is the reason I can't let it go. Because after 9 episodes of Jeng doing his best to be The Responsible Adult, he completely abdicates responsibility in this scene. Jeng has been batted about by all the expectations of him and now that he has found some happy solace and a place to rest, he is pretty much unwilling to pick back up the burden of his responsibilities, at the worst possible moment for that. Because in starting a relationship with Pat...Pat who is 10 years younger than him, Pat who works in his family company, Pat who is really just starting his career, Pat who works directly under him, Pat who doesn't come from money and whose livelihood depends on being able to earn a salary, Pat who is in an extremely vulnerable position for all these reasons...in starting that relationship, he needed to assume some responsibility. If nothing else, the responsibility to acknowledge the issues and to discuss and decide together how to handle them. That's where we are in this scene. Pat is now openly asking him to take responsibility for what they've gotten into. Pat's saying things have become untenable. Pat's not asking him to solve the problem for him, but to at least work with him on a plan.

And Jeng bottles it. Spectacularly. First he tries to distract Pat, appealing to his body, using sex to sidestep the issue.

That doesn't work.

Next, he tries to cajole Pat, appealing to his emotions. We can't take a break, I'll miss you too much.

That doesn't work either.

Next he tries to placate Pat, appealing to his brain, proposing a series of unworkable options that don't actually solve the problem. We can just stay away from each other at work. I can find us a secret safehouse. I'll just quit.

Pat demolishes those one by one.

And finally, Jeng just abdicates. He stops trying to appeal to Pat at all. I don't want to talk about this. He lays his head on Pat's chest in a gesture of surrender. He's not dealing with this. He's not taking responsibility.

And Pat just can't understand that, because Jeng is the responsibility guy. He holds this man he's learning to care for, and he looks at him, and he doesn't get it. Because he doesn't actually know Jeng yet, the deepest parts, the parts that are bone weary and utterly fed up of taking responsibility. By refusing to even discuss it, Jeng has put the burden of responsibility on Pat, because this isn't something that can wait for Jeng. Pat's life is falling apart RIGHT NOW, and Jeng has abdicated responsibility for that in his eyes, he's leaving him alone to face the wolves. And Pat's face tells me that he's confused, upset and angry about that.

I LOVE THIS. I LOVE THAT JENG GETS TO BE A PERSON WHO IS MAKING THE WORST DECISIONS RIGHT NOW INSTEAD OF A PARAGON OF VIRTUE. I LOVE THAT HE'S JUST A MAN NOT A COLLECTION OF 'GREEN FLAGS'. I am very personally enjoying Jeng's fall from the pedestal, because I think it's necessary for Pat to see him as imperfect, to see him weak, to see his flaws. Because no one can truly love a god.

At this point, I don't know at all if this show is going to stick the landing. I see a possible path, a couple possible paths to that. I see other paths where it collapses under the weight of all its ideas. But I'm not yet done with this tale. I keep running through my head Tee's admonition ahead of the show that this is not a romance story, but a story with a romance in it. We keep saying 'BL' but what if this is...not?

La Pluie has been saying 'what matters is what you choose' and then gives us an episode of people just making TERRIBLE choices to reinforce the point and bra-fucking-vo, 12/10. My alley cat Tai wrong and he knows it and he decides to double down the more cornered he feels about it. Patts still not over getting ignored for 2 years, still feeling insecure about it. Lomfon...*sigh* is a messy motherfucker who lives for the drama, cuz this literally could've been an email if he wasn't obsessed with being right about things. The only person I feel sorry for right now is Tien, cuz he was just vibing, having a great time and now he gotta deal with this mess and HE AIN'T EEM DID NOTHIN.

Man's fans are loud as f*ck. Rightfully so!

But, when I tell you I am not ready for Ben's "IN LOVE" face ... Friends, I'm about to be undignified.

They really are

Coming for my throat

Unfollow me now, This is gonna be the only thing I talk about for the next week. I've wanted this for months fuck. What the fuck.