La Pluie The Series - Tumblr Posts

POV: You binge the first 3 episodes of La Pluie after not hearing much about it, think you're IN LOVE with the show, so you go watch the trailer for the first time because a new episode is 4 whole days away, and after seeing the craziness ahead, you're not sure if you even want to continue watching.

La Pluie and Step by Step are not enough. I miss the days when I had to struggle to keep up with all my current drama obsessions. *sigh*

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.

Of course, the show subverting tropes gives us a cursed episode TEN. 🙄🙃😞

We're a couple of hours out from episode 11 of La Pluie, and it has me spinning my wheels as usual.

Lots of thoughts and questions churning away, but the one that is uppermost in my mind is Lomfon's question to Tien about choosing between the person one likes and one's soulmate.

I think most of us read this as Lomfon recognizing that he has some feelings for Tien but now believing Tai is his soulmate and wanting advice about what he (Lomfon) should do.

However, later on, this person (YES, I wanted to say something explicit here, but I think Patts and the Fandom have given him his licks already, so I won't pile on) ... so this person has the nerve to act like he has no idea why Tien would be upset or how this free-for-all Lomfon instigated was any of Tien's business ... and it keeps bothering me. It bothers me for many, many, many reasons, but mainly because it seems so disconnected from the earlier scene.

And so now I'm wondering, "Who is Lomfon in that scenario?" The person choosing between a soulmate and the person he likes? Or is he just one of the options? Is Lomfon actually referring to Tai choosing between the person he likes (Patts) and his impending soulmate (Lomfon)? And is Lomfon turning to the one person he knows who is close to Tai for advice to get a sense of what Tai might do?

Anyway, as miserable as it all played out in the end, the idea that Tien may never have even been a part of the equation for Lomfon has me in my feelings.

Calling Thai-speaking La Pluie Watchers

What does Tien actually say here in this scene? To me, "freak" (shown in the preview) just didn't match the situation, so it has been throwing me all week.

And now the subtitles on the actual episode are completely different (but more fitting).

Help, @recentadultburnout!

Ready to see Tai and Lomfon unfuck it!

La Pluie and the Aftermath 

There’s something so satisfying about a story that pays off every beat it has set up, isn’t there? I am going to have comparably less to say about this episode than the last one, and it’s not because it’s any less masterful. It’s because I already said it last week, because this show’s writing is so damn consistent that after watching that episode I knew exactly what needed to happen to continue the characters’ emotional arcs. 

Shoutout to @wen-kexing-apologist, @neuroticbookworm, @bengiyo, and @fadelikeclouds, all of whom wrote relevant essays I’ve linked to here. 

So in this episode, we continue the arcs for our core four as expected:

Tien is sad, delivering truths Tai needs, and generally continuing to be an emotional rock even as he nurses his own broken heart

Lomfon has realized that he kissed the wrong brother, and is beginning to clean up his mess with a much needed apology to Tai

Patts is going through it (and lord does Pee continue to kill it in this final arc) and still upset with Tai, but because he’s Patts he still tries to compromise and reach out one more time (which the show smartly blocks with a well-timed misunderstanding) before he decides to pack up and try a change of scenery to nurse his broken heart

Tai stubbornly continues to passively wait for Patts to be the one to make amends, forgives Lomfon easily (because that boy never mattered to him enough to bother holding a grudge), and then goes and pitches a fit at his mother’s wedding because he continues to be entirely self-absorbed 

The grace Tai received from his family is perhaps more than he deserved given his extremely childish behavior in the context of those scenes, but we know how much he needed to finally understand what happened with his parents so that he could begin to heal and get his shit together about Patts. I really loved the direction the show took with this. As it usually does (episode 10's big explosion excepted), the show steered away from high drama and revealed that their breakup was entirely mundane - they realized their romantic relationship wasn’t working, and decided to split up even though they still love each other.

@sliceduplife and @neuroticbookworm pointed out to me that this episode is the first time we actually learn Tai’s parents names - Yadfah and Warun - and I think it’s because this is the first time we are seeing them as actual people instead of stand-ins for Tai’s hang-ups. And as we learned, contra to Tai's long held belief, it was Tai’s dad who ultimately decided to release them from this obligatory soulmate marriage, giving them the freedom they needed to live happier lives while keeping their platonic connection intact and sticking together through the rain. 

That’s fucking beautiful, and you could see how moved and shaken Tai was as he realized he’d gotten it all wrong. And his dad did us one better by making the point explicit: Tai done fucked up by dumping Patts, and needed a reminder that when you find a good love, you have to take care of it.

Tai needed to hear that so desperately. He did so much damage to his relationships, and for no damn good reason. Tien already made sure he knew that it was his lying that caused all the drama, and now he can see from the way his parents treat each other that his approach to his relationship with Patts has been wrong-headed from the start. And so we head into the finale where we’ll get to see him finally be the one to reach out to Patts, to use his words, and to make amends for the things he got wrong.

I want to end by just mentioning how incredible it is that this show managed to wind up to such a high drama emotional climax and then pivot immediately to such a quiet, calm release of tension while keeping everything emotionally consistent. This is only possible when the writing, acting, directing, and editing all come together perfectly. I have every confidence that La Pluie will stick the landing.

My favorite part of this is that Lomfon tries to do the big romantic moment with making the movie about Tien and all Tien wants is the words. Tien just wants a confession, something straightforward, and Lomfon struggles with that.

But once Tien is clear about what he needs... Lomfon provides. The real confession, the clear one, the making of a real choice and not hiding from it. No hiding behind videos, no hiding behind unclear choices, just the real truth.

Because he doesn't just confess, he explains. He tells Tien what happened and he's clear and nothing is left up to chance, nothing left in silence (Tien knows silence too well, he will not have silence in his relationship).

I love Tien's slow realization that this is real and that he's being chosen and how he slowly, slowly comes to believe what's happening and it's beautiful.

But this just reminds me of how Tien was left outside after the fight in the rain so of course the true confession has to happen outside. Tien wants everything out in the open! He wants to be honest and for people around him to be honest and for relationships to be about open, honest communication. And that's what he finally gets.

And he finally says everything he needed to say, to explain his feelings and to finally unfuck it.

The final call to a choice. A call of being chosen. Because that is what Tien has always wanted. To be chosen.

But also Lomfon promised a practical confession but it's Tien who grabbed him and kissed him senseless once he was sure he was chosen.

Bonus: Height difference = 💖

La Pluie is Getting a YouTube Rerun

The Acttraction YouTube channel is re-uploading the show to YouTube. If you haven't watched because of iQIYI, now's your chance.

we get to choose our own paths, instead of what destiny chooses for us.

LA PLUIE THE SERIES | EPISODE 12