THE SIGN EPISODE 2 – EVIL JELLYFISH
I haven't watched this episode in full yet (will do so on the weekend) but the Ep.2 scene in the bar toilet (Ep.2 [4/4] 10.36) piqued my interest with naga Tharn and garuda Phaya getting frisky in the water room. And there's a bit more than meets the eye...
As the bar lighting flits from red tones to cool aquamarine and back again (echoing the dance of the fiery garuda and the waterlord naga), a drunk Tharn decides to call Phaya... EVIL JELLYFISH? 👀
Since Tharn is the reincarnation of a water-dwelling naga with dominion over all things water – the marine reference does make sense. However, the subtitles took a bit of license, and what Tharn actually says there is also reference to Phaya's garuda persona (remembering that garudas in The Sign are associated with sun and flame).
The name that Tharn calls Phaya is แมงกะพรุนไฟ/maaeng ga phroon fai, which refers to a particular kind of jellyfish. (I think the subtitles have slightly misspelt it as แมงกระพรุนไฟ though.) Anyway maaeng ga phroon fai literally means fire jellyfish and is a tip of the hat to Phaya's garuda identity. 🤩
(above) แมงกะพรุนไฟ/maaeng ga phroon fai/fire jellyfish; attribution linked here
And when Phaya talks about the jellyfish's sting, well... The jellyfish that Thai people call maaeng ga phroon fai is from the genus Chrysaora, which gets its name from Chrysaor in Greek mythology. Chrysaor was the son of Poseidon (the god of the sea) and Medusa (the gorgon with a head of snakes), and this coincidentally is also nod at Tharn's sea-going naga (or serpent) persona (even though he's using it to address Phaya).
Anyway Chrysaor literally means "he who has a golden sword". 👀 Let's hope Phaya wields his wisely! 🤣
