Does this QL have a horse? - Love Upon a Time
The entirety of the HorseInTheShadows admins went into this show expecting there to be horses upon horses upon horses. I, the mysterious admin writing this, was no different. I was prepared to call this show Horse upon a time.
And I had every reason to think so, the signs were everywhere!
For example in NetJJLatteKim’s Vlog in Khao Yai - THERE WAS A HORSE!!! An omen - you’d think.
Even during their promotions of the show where they filmed a small variety show called Case Upon a time, horses were mentioned five times!!
First during this guessing game where Net did a fabulous job drawing a horse and JJ performed a miracle by actually guessing it correctly.
Then this hint that Kim received - that is NOT a horse but he did say the word horse, twice. So that counts, it really does.
Who cares if it’s a donkey if Kim says it’s a horse then it’s a horse - just look at how pretty he looks saying it. But I digress.
Point being: every sign was pointing toward the show having a BUNCH of horses, the promo as well as the show being a historical drama, it would all make sense. And yet…
We’ve watched episode upon episode and there was no sign of a horse. The weeks passed and we were left with no horse to keep us company.
And not only that, out of desperation I dove deep into research in hopes it would answer my questions.
Did they just not really have horses in Thailand? I asked. They did - they even have a native breed called the Thai pony which is thought to come from Mongolian breeds.
What about in Ayutthaya, did they not have horses there? I asked, once more. They did. (And yes during the time that Nakun would have traveled to) In the Ayutthaya era, horses were used for processions and war. There were quite a few horse stables spread over the city, most of them in the vicinity of the three main palaces. They mainly came as gifts and tributes - historical texts say that they were not particularly good at breeding or handling the animals during that time though. Here a sketch of the stables for the royal horses.
There is even a MAJOR tourist attraction and huge monument - the King Naresuan monument, one of Ayutthaya’s most important historical figures, who asserted Siamese independence against the Burmese.
Okay I am so sorry the history lesson is over. You should understand now that that the lack of horses is highly confusing. I even looked through the digital galleries of local museums to see if I could find horses on any of the artifacts and I couldn’t.
The closest thing we get to a horse from episode 1 - 11 is this:
I am not saying the bowl looks like a horse, I’m saying if you squint it looks like a seahorse so that has to count for something…
Everything changed though when I saw the preview for the last episode - A HOTEL!!! WE ALL KNOW HOTELS LOVE HORSES!! HOPE WASNT LOST!
IN EVERY QL THEY THAT YOU CAN THINK OF THAT HAS A HOTEL THERES HORSES!!
Well yeah except for this one. 💔
There is riding in that episode, but there is no horse, only the metaphorical one. (Net)
That makes it official - Love Upon a Time has no horse. Who in DMD do I file a complaint to?