#dff tee

[theytea]

On Tee's Lonely Grief

I've seen people talk about New's and Phee's grief, Pimpa's grief but the gang has never been considered that much on account of their guilt. This episode, however, brings attention to that. Especially in Tee's case. Especially in the scene when he finds Non dead.

And I have to say, I fucking love this scene. So I'm here to tell you why.

PS: For the sake of this post, unlike what's normally my policy, the pictures used will not be edited in any way, shape or form unless stated otherwise. I think it would be taking creative liberties with the photography and it would diminish the validity of my analysis.

So:

Tee finds Non's body upstairs with his uncle's goons (dressed in entirely black outfits which obviously invoke death) very suspiciously looming over it.

So he does what capable and strong Tee, who has to support himself and his father and his uncle's business and now Non (as we saw very clearly this episode) would do: He lashes out. He demands answers. He threatens people. Because that's how he learned to solve his issues.

Yet he gets mostly silence. Arguably, the same exact silence he initially offers the 2 other people grieving Non this episode: New & Phee.

And so he argues with his uncle, makes accusations, mirrors New in the present moment so well it's uncanny.

And then he's alone. Everyone leaves, including Non's body. And now there's no one to perform that idea of a strong ruthless guy to. Now it's just Tee. And the contrast between the act of Tee and Tee is remarkable: one moment he's cold, and the other moment he's completely broken.

So he screams, at the top of his lungs, which is interesting. Because we do see Tee cry but not much. Tee's just not a person who cries. Which, besides being very relatable, is also terrible. Why? Because crying relieves you. It helps you cope, it releases the tension from you, at least a bit. Tee not crying here means this (Non dying), unlike the guilt of what happened before with him and the gang bullying Non

(something he is allowed to shed at least a single poetic tear about) Is a burden he can't be relieved of. At least, not at that moment.

So we watch as Tee screams helplessly. And the environment is so telling. GOD, I FUCKING LOVE THIS SHOW

There's an empty space. Virtually nothing is there with Tee. Because, of course, he's alone in the room, we know this, but he's also alone.

No one else knows this story like Tee does. No one else has been with Non when he was a creative student trying to make a film, when there was life to him in all senses of the word and also saw his dead, lifeless body. No one else has been the cause for both Non's problems and Non's death. No one has liked Non as a friend and cared for him and watched him die without being able to do anything about it. No one in Tee's life knows what he's going through, what it feels like. No one in Tee's life is able to share his grief. And he can't escape it either.

You see that weird ass mirror there? Why is it there? There are curtains around it. But it's not a window. That's odd. But while it makes no sense decoration/architectural-wise, it makes so much sense from the point of view of symbolism.

There's no escape. Even when it really feels like there should be. Because Tee, the guy with all the solutions, should be able to find a solution, shouldn't he? Besides... We come to care so much for him and for Non... So how come there's no solution? Because, we, like these teens do to adults, naively trust the narrative. Of course, there's no solution. We all knew this from the start. We're only here because of this: Non is dead.

So, instead of a way out, a hope for something better than what's going on in that room, we get just more of it. Tee and we alike, have no escape. We're both forced to face that scene, forced to accept it. And Tee, if he dares look for that way out, will only have to face himself.

But interestingly, he never does. Tee never looks at the mirror on the wall. He doesn't even acknowledge it. Which, of course, might be a reflection (pun intended) of how he tries to pass the blame of Non's death to his uncle.

He repeatedly claims he didn't know what would happen, that he wouldn't have brought Non back if he did but... Is that true? As Perth's character (BOMBASTIC SIDE EYE, btw) says:

"You already knew, right?" Because, let's face it, it was obvious. Things could only go poorly for Non if Uncle Joe got his claws on him. Tee had to know that wouldn't end well.

So this scene also tells us that, despite deep down his immense amount of guilt telling him he is guilty of Non's death, Tee doesn't want to acknowledge it. He maintains that position, in fact, nearly all the way until the end of episode Ep.11. where he slightly changes his narrative.

He never planned to.

Right now, he's a new person. One that would not make the same mistakes as in the past but that, despite the changes, is inevitably the one who somewhere in the past did make them.

But back to the scene.

Tee is framed right in front of the blueish-grey curtains and we all know what that means, I do not need to cite the ancient scrolls. But I wanna add that grey is also:

a colour associated with sadness;

seen as a colour of death, as it is literally in greyscale, hence colourless, lifeless AND because it can also be interpreted as a mix of white and black, both of which are mourning clothes colours, depending on the culture;

a reflection of Tee's grey morality because, naturally, while we understand Tee's motivations and background, he did some pretty fucked up things that his good intentions and unhelpful help attempts cannot erase.

And then Tee finds a small paper, written by Non (in vivid blue, properly highlighting not only Non's depression but also Tee's).

And the paper reads: "I'm gonna get out of this place. I'm not a loser." And it hits him even further because Non (at least in Tee's vision, I'll leave Non's death up for debate, I'm sure people will have theories) wanted so bad to be victorious once, to succeed just once. He wanted to get a chance to live normally and it didn't happen.

This, of course, ends up shaping Tee's own path, as he meets White and gets a chance to do things "right" and as he becomes this "new person" and gets away from his uncle. But, in that moment, none of that is relevant because it hasn't happened and Tee cannot know it will, he can only know, with written proof, that he failed. And now Non's dead.

And so, in the last part of this scene, we see a more zoomed-out shot. And Tee's still alone but now we have a more clear vision of just how tiny that space is. And how he's nearly taller than the frame. How his grief is bigger than the space in which it was brought to him. But also how the weight of it, represented by the walls, is nearly crushing him. Another gigantic, and perhaps the biggest of all, responsibility on Tee's shoulders.

Furthermore, as @shannankle has marvellously described and explained in this post about sex scene framing, the framing gives us a level 3 visual gaze which is used to remind us as the audience of just how intimate and profoundly shaping of Tee this moment is: we are not supposed to be here, this moment is Tee's and Tee's alone. Because, of course, he is alone. In all senses. The access we're getting is nearly forbidden. Even to the other characters. Because they don't get to see it, they only hear about it (or we assume they do).

And, to top it all off, the cherry on top of this great scene: all of this happens while Tee is wearing his school uniform. Because, of course, it had to. Because we need to be reminded: this is a teenager. Tee, who's mourning his dead friend whose corpse he just saw and whose death is largely his fault is just a teenager.

[syrena-del-mar]

Echoes of Guilt: Exploring the Thin Line Between Tee's Redemption and Salvation in Dead Friend Forever, Episode 11

This week, I'm really enjoying what DFF is trying to say about the humanity in making shitty choices and having to live with the outcome. The framing of Tee's journey, about how in trying to survive the hell he's in with his father, he inadvertently causes Non's death, gives a reason to why he makes the decisions that he does, rather than excusing them. Arguably, this was never supposed to be Tee's redemption arc, rather it's the story of his salvation and reformation.

Non isn't meant to be an ingénue in this story. He's flawed and he makes some bad decisions, but he's still a victim. Yes, Non has, to a degree, had his own autonomy digging himself further into the shithole, but in the end, his actions were all reactions to an already existing shithole that he was forced into. While the bullying may have not started with Tee, man, did the kid know exactly how to lay a trap and let others burn in it. He was calculating, so much more than his peers, likely because he has been dealing with shitty adults in his own personal life. Before White, Tee was turning into the terrible adults that he was surrounded by. This episode is explicitly showing the journey of Tee's realization of the consequences of his actions and his attempt to change while still dealing with a dirty past.

The misdirection of the Redemption Arc in Tee's story

First things first, the redemption arc deals with the characterization of a deep internal struggle within the character. A character undergoing a redemption arc deals with personal guilt, remorse and the desire for atonement. The redemption journey is usually initiated by the character themselves after being confronted with their flaws or wrongdoings. Broken down into steps, a redemption arc typically involve: (1) a flaw, (2) acknowledgement of the effect of their actions, (3) seeking atonement, (4) struggles with guilt or remorse, (5) significant growth because of their struggles, (6) tangible manifestations of their acts of redemption, (7) seeking forgiveness. A redemption arc typically resolves when the character achieves some form of personal redemption, whether it be through forgiveness, closure, or inner peace. Redemption arcs emphasize personal responsibility and the inner journey of the character.

The reality is that Tee doesn't redeem himself. He never has the opportunity to because Non dies two weeks after Tee delivered him to Uncle Joe. Non's dead (as far as Tee and we, as an audience,know so far). Sure, Tee was working towards redemption, with his several attempts to save Non from his Uncle's grasp, but he'll never reach redemption because Non is gone. He doesn't even get the chance to seek forgiveness, nor I'm sure that he needs any forgiveness from Non. The guilt that is consuming him, the realization and acceptance of how much pain he has caused a fellow human being is not redemption, it's remorse. And you first have to have remorse to find the road to redemption. So while episode 11 might have shown that Tee was starting on his redemption arc, by the end of the episode, he's still not redeemed. In comparison to all the pain that he has caused, working a second job to help Non get out of the debt he caused doesn't erase the extent of harassments and suffering he subjected Non to. Here, the story was never truly centered on Tee's journey to atone for the pain he caused Non but rather it seems to make it a point to show his guilt. That's not redemption.

Also just from a writing stand point, Non's confrontation, and ultimately, Tee's decision to attempt to get Non out of being his Uncle's slave is part of Tee's progression, but is not the climax of his story. Even if you consider Tee's emerging guilt after realizing that his uncle was planning to sell Non for body parts, it's only serves as a catalyst for Tee to realize and confront the pain he has caused. The true change that we see in Tee comes the moment he meets White. White's presence is the turning point in Tee's life, that makes him want to change.

The initiation of Tee's Salvation Arc

The Salvation arc of a character focuses more on the development on the relationship between the "savior" and the one in need of salvation. Particularly, this arc highlights the external forces that shape a character's transformation, leading to a new direction or purpose in life. The resolution often involves the one in need of salvation finding a sense of change, sometimes without ever fully achieving complete redemption. Both arcs deal with the change and growth in a character, yet while the redemption arc often leads to a cathartic resolution where the character finds peace or closer, the salvation arc focuses more on external influences and the power of compassion. This arc doesn't particularly signify that that the character will fully find true redemption. Instead the character may become reformed having changed into a better person and acknowledged their wrongdoing, but not particularly working to make amends for their past mistakes.

No person exists in isolation and Tee's change is interconnected with White's appearance. Tee frames it himself. "Since I met White, I started knowing what happiness is. I started having my goal. Wanting to start over. I wanted to become a better person." That very moment is the climax in Tee's story, the moment where Tee needed to make a critical choice of who he wanted to be. Every moment that he had to witness Non's suffering and ultimately come to the realization that he is in large part the reason for Non's death is a lesson that he's learned of has shown him who he no longer wants to be. Non is the journey, but it's only assists in Tee's growth, making him ready to be a better person for the moment that he meets White.

Tee was going to stew in the regret and remorse he felt for Non's death, but Tee wasn't making amends FOR him. He was stagnant. He accepted his culpability and thought that being unhappy would be the proper punishment that he deserved. Yet, he didn't seek to right the wrongs, he didn't reach out to Non's family to let them know their baby boy had died in obscurity. That is a far cry from atonement and redemption. Instead, White gave him new purpose and direction in life. Humans are always capable of change, it's just depends on an individual's want or need to do so. Dead Friend Forever seems to be making a message about how even though Tee has the capacity for growth, change, and healing, Tee still has to respond for the pain and hurt he caused beyond Non.

Final Thoughts

While a redemption arc holds many similarities with that of a salvation arc, the exploration of the complexities of human nature are done through two distinct lenses. I don't think Dead Friend Forever is trying to focus on Tee's personal responsibility and inner struggles while ignoring the damage that he did to Non, but rather seems to be making a stand on the effect of external influence and finding personal salvation from connections with others. The very thing that Non had always been denied by Tee and the others, human connections.

Salvation arcs don't automatically make a character likeable, which DFF seems to be aware of, so I don't think it's an attempt to make him another version of a hero for Non. Rather it lays a foundation to Tee, showing his own struggles with his family, his own flaws, and his own attempt at change. It explains Tee's incentives behind his actions, but doesn't create an excuse for them. It not a redemption story, because he doesn't redeem himself. Non's dead and he can't ask for forgiveness from a ghost. His salvation doesn't even come after Non dies, because his inaction after Non's death was still an action. He still takes part in denying Non proper rest, even in death. His change came after where he learned from his wrongs and chooses to no longer do any more harm because of White. Even so, he still played a role in the complete devastation that he caused Non's family. Tee's actions caused a domino effect, where he eventually had a hand in creating New's pain, thirst and revenge.

As Tee has undergone his salvation arc, it highlights the irreversible consequences of his actions and the cycle of violence and retribution. Tee was a victim of his circumstance. Yet, victims can still create more victims. Despite Tee's efforts to change, it's a change that occurred far too late. Tee's death at New's hands would be an end to a cycle of violence and retribution that Tee inadvertently set in motion. If Tee dies in an attempt to save White, his willingness to sacrifice himself for White will represent a departure from the violence that defined his past. Ultimately, I think it underscores the harsh reality that, despite efforts to seek forgiveness or become a changed man, some sins cannot be undone.

(tagging @slayerkitty for DFF's meta roundup)

[crysta1ized]

a theory on ep11’s preview

firstly, if you’ve guessed/ theorized that non was still alive, you get 10 points!

if you also guessed that perth would help him (in that case, thanks to tee) you also get 10 points!

knowing that tee helped non escape, was definitely a plot twist. he basically lives at his uncle’s mercy, is forced to work for him and has to follow every single one of his orders so his father doesn’t die. which is a pretty shitty situation!

we saw previously that he showed guilt after non got busted for the fake accounts instead of him, but to help him escape from that very uncle? you’ll never fail to surprise me, tee!

after that, tee gives an envelope to non and tells him he’ll get him out of there.

now, what is in this envelope? my first thought was obviously money. but i also thought, what if it was a plane ticket? it’d be safer for non to get the hell out of bangkok (or even thailand) to be sure the uncle and his men could never get him. a one way flight, non leaving without looking back.

i think that with the help of perth, tee could’ve gathered enough money to pay a ticket. i mean, that would’ve benefited tee a whole lot too. non forever out of his hair, not causing any more problems. disappearing without a trace. his uncle thinking he got rid of the troublemaker.

but what happened to mr keng then?

firstly we have no idea of the extent of his injuries. we guessed that non’s were only bad enough to knock him out on the roof, but the uncle might as well have killed keng for good.

i mean, he was hit with a car, which is way worse than a few punches. in the best case scenario (for him, cause i want that bastard dead), he only got a few bruises, but the most logical one would be that his legs are broken, as well as a few ribs maybe (depending on how hard the car hit him).

if we assume he’s alive, like non (which i seriously doubt), i don’t think tee would’ve helped him at all. he’s already risking everything to save non, he wouldn’t try saving both, especially because keng doesn’t mean anything to him. he probably never even had a conversation with him.

so in my opinion, we won’t see the teacher ever again, unless he found another way to escape, such as being rescued by the police as his disappearance could’ve been noticed after some time.

now onto the fun part!

white is seen entering the arcade place, where we’ve already seen non & phee meeting up and making out at.

which means we’ll finally get teewhite whole’s backstory!

my depressing theory is that we’ll get a cute little montage of their love story, and they’ll show us how cute they are, with their little puppy love, opposites attract shit just to snatch it from us right after.

mark my words, they’ll make us love teewhite and after those little flashbacks with bright colors that distracted us for a moment, we’ll get back to our depressing and dark present.

4 possibilities after that:

best case scenario: while we get a contrast between the past and how in love they were and acted, nothing terrible happens. tee explains to the group what was revealed to the viewer in the flashbacks, that he ended up helping non and that he’s still alive. he righted his wrongs and while white is shaken up, he’s glad tee isn’t just a bully who guilt tripped a kid into money laundering, he did feel guilt and saved him from his uncle.

same as above, tee reveals everything to the group but white doesn’t forgive him. he feels betrayed and mad that tee hid that from him for so long. in white’s eyes, tee is no longer someone he can trust, or hide behind.

tee dies

white dies

while i believe those 2 last options can happen, i don’t think they’d happen at that moment. tee’s reveal scene will probably be at the beginning of the episode while the following one with phee & new may happen soon after, which is why those 2 options seem less likely to happen then.

new is clearly urging phee on to shoot.

but how? in the last scene of ep10, fluke is the one who has it and he clearly doesn’t want to let it go. he let white out of his grasp and is now pointing it at tee.

but fluke is clearly out of it, and is the one suffering the most from hallucinations, which made him shoot top even though his only principle was clearly to never act, to keep his hands clean of anything that could prevent him of becoming a doctor. too late now!

someone could take advantage of his delirious state and while he’s distracted, take the gun from him, like white, who’s on the ground, kinda behind fluke and now out of his sight. which is when phee could take the gun, as he’s the unofficial new leader and appears trustworthy as he just exposed new.

but who is phee pointing the gun at?

i think it’s most likely fluke. he’s clearly losing his mind and the hallucinations are making him aggressive, like top. which is why they may have to kill him before he kills someone else.

phee clearly wants to make the right decision, surely wants to kill him or just hurt him because fluke is an active threat. but tan just wants to see them all gone! he clearly has nothing to lose left, now that phee exposed him, this is his last chance to avenge his brother.

alternative theory:

phee might be pointing the gun at someone else.

according to how tee’s revelation ends, especially how non’s story ends, something might happen after that.

phee wouldn’t be pointing the gun at someone who didn’t deserve it, who wasn’t a threat to the group.

so why would it be tee? in my opinion, non escaped the country, end of story. but maybe something happened to him just before he could get out. then new would get mad at tee, blaming him. tee fights him. then he would represent a threat. or maybe the hallucinations come back and he gets violent.

then of course new would be happy to see phee shoot tee, who was the whole reason non even got involved with dangerous mafia shit in the first place.

the last scene is new, lighting a cigarette.

why would he be smoking in the middle of all this? like he has time to do that?

maybe it’s just a meaningless scene they’re throwing in the preview so they don’t have to spoil too much stuff.

but, still, new is the only one who's going through with his plan, and he wouldn’t waste time on lighting a cigarette! unless it’s truly chaos, and like we know, he smokes to de-stress.

creepily, when i saw the scene the first time, i thought ‘this is his last cigarette. they’re holding him at gunpoint and they allow him to smoke one last time before they pull the trigger’ because he’s clearly shivering. but that may be way too far as i don’t think any of them would shoot anyone in cold blood if they weren’t actively threatened.

but a more plausible theory would be that they’re forcing him to smoke. in the scene where new is urging phee on to shoot, phee looks at him ‘like, what the fuck?’ like he’s not liking new telling him what to do at all.

maybe then, phee doesn’t shoot anyone, not fluke, not tee, but instead turns on new and points the gun at him. maybe phee really doesn’t want any kind of revenge for non anymore as his brother became too violent for his liking. but phee wouldn’t shoot new.

he could however hold him at gunpoint, and force him to smoke one of the drugged cigarettes, one with an X. maybe so he isn’t an active threat to them anymore, urging them to kill each other and to cause more chaos. they’d be on equal ground as he’d start hallucinating too.

what do you think?

[vegasthehedgehog]

The only two without giant smiles are Tee and Non. I didn't think I would ever say this, but I think Tee is the only one who has really recognized that he was wrong and just doesn't know how to show that or actually be better. He has been nicer to Non. I know in this scene he pushes the work onto Non but I wonder if he is really just trying to make sure Non can make his movie the way he wants? Everyone knew what this movie meant to Non. And I don't know why else he would want Non to work on it since he is supposed to be doing the horse accounts for Tee. Like he seems like he feels guilty. And most everyone else doesn't seem like they feel guilty for anything. This is not to say that Tee is having a redemption arch, but I do think that Non was what made Tee change into the person that White knows. This change may have happened after Non disappeared, but I'm sure Nons the reason for it. Also, i think the fact Non acknowledged Tee as a human that deserves more than the gang is really important.

[7ringzsidetoside]

hand senpai?

everyone else commenting on the finale but me being like, "okay so what was that creepy ass hand in episode 1 groping tee's dick?"

[lovelyrickyyy]

Found another one this is tee 😔

[velvetshirtnumber3]

I want to go back to the scene in Episode One where Tee and White were kissing and we see the masked figure's hand touch Tee.

I find the scene very interesting for a couple reasons. First of all, I think it strongly indicates that the masked figure is in some part supernatural. I don't think it would be possible for a masked figure to just walk up to them, stay there for a little while, and then leave/disappear somewhere if a living human was in the mask. They would have to notice in some way. Even though they are focused on each other and their eyes are closed, they would have at least heard something.

Second, the way the inclusion of the hand is solely for the audience's benefit. What I mean by that is, this scene is meant to show a couple different things, and one of those things is introducing the masked figure to the audience. This is the first time we see the masked figure in the present time with this group (or at least its hand). The opening sequence and the shots in the movie both belong to separate occasions that aren't a threat to the characters we are currently seeing. Meanwhile, us seeing the hand being close enough to touch Tee and for neither Tee nor White to notice is disturbing because the masked figure has been introduced to the present-time in a threatening but also subtle way. And the scene isn't really important for the characters, because White and Tee, regardless of what happens later in the show, aren't ever going to realize that the masked figure was there. They will never have any reason to believe the masked figure was there: Tee will assume White was lying about touching him, and White will assume Tee was referring to something else he was doing. It is overall inconsequential to their stories, so who it is really meant for is the audience.

This brings me to my third point, which is: who is the "narrator" of that scene? Whose point of view is it from? A lot of the way the show has been shot has served to give us the feeling that we not exactly in the "middle" of the story as we usually are, directly next to the characters as their lives play out), but on the outside looking in at the characters. I believe this scene, because of the hand, is one of these types of scenes. The scene isn't from Tee and White's point of view, we are not experiencing their characters actions and reactions what is happening alongside them, we are watching things happen TO them. I would argue, so is the masked figure. So is the scene the audience's point of view, or the masked figure's?

[hughungrybear]

Thinking about the past episodes and reading fan theories in this site reminded me of two pertinent questions that the series have not answered yet:

1. Why does Tee's Uncle's picture in a headline of a newspaper (the one that White saw left on the kitchen benchtop)?

It is now established that the Uncle is a criminal who have no qualms in killing anybody that threatens to expose his illegal activities. He hit Mr Keng with a car when he rightfully suspected he was being investigated. He even have Non kidnapped and beaten to (almost) death because Phee's dad held a press conference revealing that Non is just another victim of an unnamed gang and not a master scammer. If that is the case, then how come he is headlining in a broadsheet just the same? Who exposed him? Is it Tee? (Because if it is, hello redemption arc?)

Edit: Well, sammie-lightwood-bane (I tried tagging, but for some reason their ID is not showing 😭) pointed out that the reason the Uncle is headlining because he is dead. Still, ordinary people's death does not normally grace a newspaper's front page unless it is a violent death. One of the surest ways to headline a death is if the one who passed away is (a) a celebrity/politician, (b) a pillar of the community, or (c) a well-known criminal. Also, how the fvck did he died and who killed him?

2. Aside from Mr Keng, Non, and Tee's Uncle (plus cohorts and maybe, the other person Mr Keng was talking on his mobile phone before he was ran over), nobody really knew what happened to Mr Keng that night at that shady restaurant. So, why did Jin hallucinated a bloody Mr Keng?

So far, the gang's hallucinations are rooted on things that are not that far off in their current reality. Por, Top, and Fluke are all carrying varying degrees of guilt when it comes to their treatment of Non, which (with the help of New's drugs) is literally haunting them.

But Jin. Jin is not being haunted by Non. His first hallucination is a bloodied Mr Keng - a person that nobody knows (outside the mafia's circle) has been fatally ran over by a freaking car. The official press release was Mr Keng and Non were seen riding in a bus and running away together. Alive and well. So, why would Jin's hallucination involve a Mr Keng in a condition that he should know nothing about?

🤔🤔🤔🤔