Bmf Is Doing Everything I Want From Time Travel By Making The Protagonist Really See The Consequences Of Half-adding Growth Or Expecting - Tumblr Posts
Be My Favorite and the Perils of Getting What You Think You Want
This show continues to astound me with how smart it is; it truly does get better and better every week. In this episode, Kawi finished fixing everything on his list - saving his dad, growing closer to Pear, repairing friendships with Max and Pisaeng - and headed back to the future to reap the rewards. And once we got there, we realized very quickly that getting what he thought he wanted did not in fact fix his life.
This new Future Kawi is a successful recording artist, he is still friends with Max and Pisaeng, and he got to be in a long-term relationship with Pear. But his dad still died, his relationship with Pear fell apart, and he is now struggling with alcoholism. He is deeply unhappy, and the things he thought he wanted did not actually result in the kind of life he hoped he would have. Connecting with Pisaeng again only seems to reinforce that he’s been looking in the wrong place for what he seeks, and he is not done with the work to get there.
This is a genius turn of events. I am impressed that the show decided to pursue the thread of Kawi’s alcoholism, which they have been seeding the entire time. We have seen him turn to substances to manage his emotions, we have seen him blow well past his own limits, and we have seen him struggle to maintain control. All of these characteristics left unaddressed can easily result in a substance abuse problem, especially in someone who is not doing the necessary work to address their behavior problems and get to the root of what’s causing their issues.
In this episode, Kawi interrupted his own growth arc midstream to go back to the future, thinking that what he had achieved was enough to guarantee a good outcome. But he was not finished doing the necessary work to deal with his underlying issues and become the kind of person who could be a good partner to anyone, and he was denying an important part of himself. He looked away from his growing feelings for Pisaeng and their implications and instead stayed focused on his original goal of being with Pear, even as he wasn’t entirely certain why he wanted it anymore. He stopped thinking about how to be a better person to the people in his life. He stopped putting in the effort to change. And so in this new timeline he made Pear miserable in their relationship and ultimately still ended up alone.
Another thing this episode showed us is how very much everyone else in this story is affected by Kawi’s choices. Pear spends years in a bad relationship with Kawi and then gets stuck with a cheating asshole of a husband. Kwan ends up used and discarded. Max is still playing the role of frustrated caretaker to Kawi’s emotional mess. Pisaeng alone seems to have found some peace, and it’s interesting that in this timeline, it was getting away from Kawi and moving on from his feelings for him that did it. Despite that kiss at the end, it’s clear that this version of Kawi is not the one who can be the partner Pisaeng deserves.
Kawi is not done doing the work to accept his true desires and become his best self, and this narrative is not going to let him take shortcuts. Insert jack shepherd.gif here because WE HAVE TO GO BACK.