I meant to say this yesterday but ThamePo is killing it with the way they are handling a mixture of emotions. One thing I absolutely hate in romances is when an MC is regrettably wrong, but the shows overall message, and normally the love interest, push the narrative that everything is fine because they are good people. Instead, in this scenario, we have Jun acknowledging that Thame is not being a good partner. He is a good friend but not a good partner at present.
Jun was right, he tasked Po with a lot of stuff that Po even expressed unease about doing. He never actually asked if Po was good at certain things he was tasked with and he didn’t have the time to help Po if Po needed it. He consistently had to choose something else over Po and while, yes he always apologized and corrected himself, he still was not prioritizing his relationship with Po. It’s okay to call out even the best people for not showing up the way they should.
That was always the source of Thame’s jealousy. He wasn’t jealous because he thought Po liked Jun more, he was jealous because he acknowledged that Jun was, at that moment, the better option. He couldn’t easily talk to Po like Jun or have friendly banter like Jun. he had zero time to understand his feelings between Pepper helping him realize them and his encounter with Jun. He was willing to let Jun fight for Po because he thought that they were on even playing ground, if not Jun being higher than him. This was always because he knew he wasn’t doing his absolute best. This is also why PepperGam exists in this world. To show how a person can easily give up everything for one person. Pepper and Thame are ultimately two sides of the same coin. Pepper is willing to forfeit as he doesn’t see being able to have Gam and have MARS. But Thame believes he can juggle them both without giving up either.
As I have said before, ThamePo has always been centered around Thame and Po’s ability to stick together despite the outside sources trying to rip them apart. But in this case, if Thame had lost, he can easily acknowledge that it wasn’t entirely Jun’s fault, he would share blame in being incapable of reading how Po actually felt. Which is proven in every time Pepper had to alert him that he was inadvertently hurting Po’s feelings. So I love the show for keeping Thame accountable even though he’s literally the best person on the show; and for acknowledging two people can deeply love each other, and still be right person, right time, wrong place. In other words, Thame and Po are at an advantage for time and person but an unusual disadvantage in placement of their individual positions.
And this is why I say that the show (and apparently, even some of the audience) is way harsher on Thame than on anyone in this show. Because how was Thame not a great partner? How was Jun the better option???? Because of how they handled work?
How is Thame the only one called out for not being 100% perfect towards Po (while this is his first time at love & he's the leader of a group in the middle of a crisis) while not calling out Jun's shitty behavior towards Thame AND Po. Even worse, the show is framing Jun as this selfless bestfriend & a victim of unrequited love, like he was right & doesn't need to apologize to anyone for his weirdo behavior
I'm so confused...maybe I need to rewatch the previous episodes...but I will probably come out with the same conclusion that Thame deserves a break from everything and everyone. If we don't get a Thame breakdown arc, I'm gonna be disappointed. He's taking care of so many things, I need the show to start going easy on him
