Gen Y; A flashback into the concept of head vs heart when it comes to love
Coming into Gen Y has been a ride, but when I first showed up to watch this show, I was already eager, but I held a lot of close-minded opinions and fears close as I watched it. For some reason, I thought the writer wouldn't be earnest or deep enough. I expected the storylines to be brief and not require my full attention. I assumed it was just a fanfiction of 2moons, and since I had previously seen the programme, I didn't believe I needed to analyse it. But I also thought the show would repeat a lot of things that irked me about other bls; weird humour, loud sound effects, queer baiting, kiss baits, etc. There are still some of these issues, but actually, GEN Y surprised me because once I stopped closing my mind and started paying attention, I realised what was going on. I couldn't believe it; I even let myself stop thinking Thanu and Wayu would be necessary.
I thought they were queer baiting me, and they were doing it because of promoting DunBas for fanservice but no. They were more; in fact, their whole plot was one of the deepest out of all the storylines in the show. How they found each other again, fell in love, and were sadly meant to be torn apart in season 2 (that is, if the show had followed the book).
The show's themes stuck out clear as day, and I knew I had made a mistake. I had to write an essay and rewrite my understanding of the show; I had to show you guys the show's potential, the clues, the meanings, the choices, the dialogues that showed from the beginning the writers had some tricks up their sleeves. Before I do that, this is a disclaimer and warning to people; I get a lot of people on my essays rolling their eyes, telling me I overthink and writers don't think this deep, write this way, plan stuff like this. That's fine if they don't. My job is to rewrite a show how I see it; it could be what the writers planned, it could be a coincidence, I don't care. Mainly because it makes you enjoy the show more, it makes you see the potential of a show, it makes you want to appreciate the writers, it makes you like the couple even more, and it makes you notice things you didn't see before. That's what I do with every show I watch. I'm not 100% accurate. I always think outside the box sometimes. I always bring in a new perspective, but if it helps you enjoy a show, then I'm glad. I'm going to be saying a lot about this show, it's speculation, but I'll write it as theory and prove it with evidence, but even if the writers didn't plan it, I still want to write about this and show you my thoughts on the stories now season 2 is almost on our screens. I want to show you why I enjoy this plot so much and why season 2 will even be more fun. Okay, now that, that's done. Let's get into this show:
One thing I dislike about BLs is when there are too many storylines and side couples. They never give enough screen time to each pair, enough energy to them or enough depth to the others. It's always done half-heartedly, and it ends up feeling unsatisfactory. For me, GEN Y also feels like that at times; there are many stories, so there are more plot holes, unfinished storylines, and wasted character potentials. But because GEN Y always planned for three seasons, I'll see it as they wanted those storylines to appear later. They wanted just to leave clues, build up some stories, show some characters that will be more important next season. And yeah, that's what I think they did, but it did make the show's writing at times feel odd, sometimes messy, confusing, convoluted etc. Some plotlines felt like they came out of nowhere, some rushed, some just random. The acting at times also needed work to convey the storylines better. But did it stop me from enjoying the show? Nope. And by episode 9, it started clicking, the storylines, the hints from the past, how the ending would happen, and why some characters act the way they do: Let me explain with the first thing the central theme of the show;
So I remember in episode 2, when we were still slowly being introduced to the story, I questioned if this show could have more hidden in the subtext. I was intrigued because I knew that the writers were laying out an outline, but I thought with my closed mind that the writers wouldn't be serious or deep with the storylines. So, I told myself to stop searching. However, I still remember when I questioned what this show was going to be about. I disagreed because Mark and Kit, the main couple, weren't following this storyline. They were following a remix of their counterparts in 2moons.
However, this was true on a surface level; their story seemed different from the others, more chirpy and complete. But to my surprise, they did follow the same theme of the show (head vs heart). In his tsundere ways, Kit also struggled between logic vs feelings, between his head (wanting to help Pha first, focus on situations of others and people knowing Mark as a player) vs choosing his heart and being with Mark the way he wanted to. It was there. I'm just not here to analyse them.
I'm here to explore the rest of the characters in season 2. Theirs is more prominent and foreshadowed/hinted from episode 2. Sandee is introduced to us; he wants to help the café they just started working at, bring in more customers; he makes a cute gimmick about asking everyone what love is to them. When I saw this scene, I remembered questioning if the show was showing clues and information in the subtext, afterwards thinking that this scene would be necessary for later. And boy, oh boy, was it.
Let's review what the answers from each of our characters were to the prompt and what these answers showed about each character who wrote, and why it's essential to the theme of the show (head vs heart, logic vs feelings)
First, we have Saeb he says he thinks love is inevitable destiny (this gets into Phai's head)
Second, we have Sandee; he writes secretly whilst staring sadly after Phai that love is loving someone even if it hurts (which we all forgot and got distracted by because of Thanu)
Third, we have Pok; he writes that love is waiting for someone who is more than a friend as he stares after Tong, which gives you a clue that he has feelings for Tong
Fourth, we don't see him write, but we hear Tong's own answer; he wants to save his kiss for his first love because he believes love is special. This is either someone he can't move on from or has his own ideas about who that person should be
Fifth, we get Thanu's explanation; his is to learn what the meaning of love is by meeting his person (this card intrigues Phai)
Sixth, we get Phai's towards the end of the episode; he finally learns love sacrificing for someone to make them happy (this card also pushes Sandee to make sure Phai gets his happiness)
Wayu doesn't write his either, but he has the same as Sandee; to love even if it hurts because at least he loved (he says it to Thanu later on during the show)
So, we hear different explanations from our characters on what they believe love is. However, the storyline this revolves around at first is Phai. He's the catalyst for this reveal. He's intrigued by love because he's never had it before, he doesn't know how it feels, and everyone around him tells him it's about destiny. Phai is intrigued and excited by being with Sandee; he is in awe of how Sandee acts and sees the world, so he's intrigued by Sandee when he keeps mentioning the idea of being with someone because of fate. He sees a card (Thanu's), he likes the signature (OH man, do I have a lot to say about that), and then he proceeds to keep onto the card.
It happens to be Thanu's; they're pulled to each other and later realise they have a magical prophetic connection that suggests they're soulmates. Oh okay. So love is about this inevitable destiny that binds two people together, then in the show, it must be about coincidences and feeling that connection, right? Wrong. Well, 50%. That's what you fall for and get distracted by. People forget that these couples have the same theme, the same question when focusing on love. Is love following what you think is suitable for you, or who you have feelings uncontrollably for? That's the question—Head vs Heart. I want to break each of the couples in this essay, the important ones that show this hint; this will surprise you because I'm sure you'll be like, wait, they're a couple? But Couple 1 is SandeePhai, 2 is ThanuWayu, 3 is TongPok. I will mention how the other couples met this quota briefly, but these are the essential couples I will focus on. So Let me return first to SandeePhai because they start this whole thing. And boy do I love them.
SandeePhai: The moral good guy vs The ditzy naive one
When we get this storyline at first, apart from Markit, we're introduced to SandeePhai. Thanu and Wayu haven't met yet (Wayu is broken-hearted by Pha), and TongPok show up later. Sandee and Phai; we see them straight away. Phai is ditzy; he hurts his head, and we see Sandee come to him and check if he's okay. The first thing the audience thinks is, wait a minute, is there something here with these 2. Because Sandee had certain expressions, looks and gestures that suggested he was mysterious/secretive but mostly meant he had feelings and was affected by Phai. It wasn't evident. But they had a tension that was felt from the beginning; even Phai felt it. He looked dazed, and they kept staring into each other's eyes longingly like every other couple in this show. I was confused; it was pretty apparent to me from episode 1, that Sandee had unrequited feelings, but later I pushed it away because the show made me think it liked queer baiting.
Let's review what was shown from ep 1-3 before Phai met Thanu. It's crucial to notice. We have the questions:
Did Sandee have feelings for Phai at that moment?
Did Phai ever have feelings for Sandee?
My answer? Yes, they both did; they just didn't know. Well, no, actually Sandee knew what he felt, but he had chosen to keep it a secret. Let me explain. In ep 1-3, Sandee flirts with Phai, is affected by Phai's presence, looks at Phai longingly but later confesses he thinks love means loving someone when it hurts; he also looks at Phai as he contemplates this. What's really sad about this, is that because Phai doesn't know what love is, how it feels, or how it manifests, he doesn't know that Sandee, the person he keeps saying he'll let Phai know about, is himself. He was already laughing at Phai's eagerness to discover who his soulmate was; he wanted to know what Sandee knew. Sandee promised him he'd know what destiny was soon. At first, Sandee honestly seems like he's talking about himself, he's going to reveal his feelings to Phai, but because he later on, speaks darkly to the audience that there's more to Phai and Thanu's meeting, I stopped thinking he knew about his feelings and was playing a matchmaker role for his arc. Right? But rewatching the show, I was wrong. Before I continue explaining about them, let's explain Sandee firstly, because you need to understand why he is the way he is and why this is a massive flaw of his put purposely by the writer for him to learn about as he falls in love in season 2.
Sandee's flaw is his cunningness; he tries always to do what's right. Now, this is not bad; it's just misunderstood, leading to chaos from his actions. When we're introduced to him, Mark explains that his name means to be good/righteous. Because that's his flaw, he's always trying to do what's right. It's why he gets revenge on PokTong; it's why he's the villain in ep 9-12, and why he sent that picture of Phai to Wayu (there are more reasons than that, but it's one of it). Sandee believes everything has to be done right, correctly as the world sees it. So love has to be done right. People need to act right. Everything needs to be precisely the way it should be. This also brings the question of love. For Sandee, what he thought love was, as each of the kids, was that it's synonymous to destiny/fate, the search for a soulmate. The right one. So the thing is, he had feelings for Phai, but he pushed it down (because that's what love is for him, he was okay with being hurt and pushed to the side as long as it's correct) because he believed the coincidences and the way Thanu made Phai feel meant Phai's soulmate was Thanu. That's why it feels like he switches from episodes 1-3 as someone with feelings to all of a sudden a matchmaker. He stopped thinking he and Phai could be together. He thought with his head.
Let's speak about Phai and how he also fell for Thanu with his head, not his heart. Phai was naive, and he wanted desperately to find love, right? So he was prodding Sandee constantly for answers about it. What's funny to me is the show already showed they had something brooding. They both lost time when they stared at each other, both felt affected by the presence of each other; seriously rewatch episodes 1-3 before Thanu shows up to Phai. The thing is, Phai felt things for Sandee but didn't know what it meant, so he was naively always asking, being interested in Sandee's thoughts. If what I guess is true, Phai adored how Sandee saw the world, he liked how he spoke about things, he enjoyed being with him, he trusted and sought him out for advice. They were close, after all. However, Saeb and others told Phai, who didn't know what love is, that love was a soulmate, an inevitable destiny. (it's brilliant because it's twisted, it's right, but it's also wrong with the show's theme).
So Phai was curious looking for his one, and suddenly he bumps into Thanu; they have a lot of coincidences to the point it starts to be forced on them magically that they're meant to be, they're going to date, and fall for each other. Once Phai sees Thanu, especially the vision and the coincidences that happen with them, he wants to be with Thanu. The reason is simple;
Firstly, there's tension and a connection with Thanu (they need to date to help each other figure out what love is).
Secondly, he liked how he felt and looked in the vision with Thanu; it was sweet, romantic; he's never had that before.
Thirdly, this is what everyone was telling him love was.
Both he and Thanu couldn't escape the clues that they needed to be by each other's side. And the thing is, this is romantic because they do need to date; however, they're not the endgame. So Phai was going with his head, not his heart. He was following the obvious clues, the apparent coincidences, he wasn't thinking about his heart, but he did fall for Thanu.
Sandee, on the other hand, was okay as long as Phai was fine. But once Phai wasn't happy, once there was an obstacle (Wayu) making Phai sad, Sandee acted quick, did what was right, went back, and tried to cause a rift with Thanu and Wayu. He did it because of his need to be right and punish others who don't do right, but also he did it because he had feelings for Phai, cared about his happiness, and disliked seeing Phai being discarded by Thanu. But he's so dumb because for some reason, although his heart wants Phai, Sandee stopped thinking Phai and him could be together because of what he thought logically about soulmates. So his heart wants Phai, but he's willing to let himself hurt as long as it's right and the one he loves is happy.
Where does this leave SandeePhai? I think Phai was meant to date Thanu (if they didn't do that voting thing and changed the whole plan); the reason is that there's a reason for why he and Thanu are destined; it's not for soulmate reasons though you can have more than one soulmate. They're meant to teach each other what love is However, in the visions, Thanu still loved Wayu, not Phai. Phai clung to Thanu because he's a good boyfriend, but he's not the one for him. Sandee is. The person who truly cares about his happiness and will go to lengths to get it is Sandee.
This isn't me making things up; this has been in the show since episodes 1-3. With Sandee and Phai, Phai needs to know what love is before he can be with Sandee. He's who's going to be by his side as he struggles with the triangle, but also it's the anger and the questions for why Sandee went behind his back and tried to ruin Wayu and Thanu. It's when those questions start being confronted that he'll start questioning what their relationship is because their relationship is more, it's been more, they've always been by each other's side, both every close, each other's confidant, and person to run to. That's the thing with them. But they didn't understand it.
Let's get into more of the triangle by talking about ThanuWayu
ThanuWayu: The loyal servant and The fairest beau
Thinking about the theme of the show. It couldn't be even more obvious when you watch Thanu's plot in the show. Thanu and Wayu, before we even knew about their feelings for each other or that they were in love with each other from high school, were also soulmates. When they first meet in episodes 1-3, it's right in front of us, and I just didn't care to notice it. Their chemistry, tension, the way they're affected by each other from the moment they meet each other should have been a sign these two, like SandeePhai, had something uncontrollable.
Thanu truly struggles with the feelings, especially when he later has to also question what Phai is to him. But Wayu struggles with it too; in fact, he was also confused, his heart was being shaken up from the first time he saw Thanu (no one else did this to him, by the way, just Thanu) but because his head had rationalised Pha as his soulmate and destiny who saved his life in high school, he didn't want to let go of Pha. This is so important. This is the theme of the show; it's literally what all the ukes are dealing with. They can't let go of their logic on love/who they think should be their love vs what their heart is telling them. It's so good.
What I like about this is that when you rewatch the show, what Thanu and Wayu have is uncontrollable. It is felt from the start; they want each other, they long for each other, even when Wayu is still trying to hold onto Pha and thinks the reason he likes Thanu is because he's reminding him of Pha. He even hugs him thinking he's Pha when they first meet. This is ironic as we find out it's Pha who is taking Thanu's place. The person who Wayu thought Pha was, was Thanu who saved his life. It's so interesting because Wayu is clinging onto Pha because he thinks that's his soulmate, the one who he had a connection with as he fell, but it wasn't; it's why he cries about lost time in episode 12. It was a big confusing moment because yes, he loved Pha, but he loved Pha and chose to be with Pha because of Thanu saving him.
He also chose to be with Pha because Pha had reputation, status, popularity; everyone told Wayu he was the greatest. That was the thing; it was all his head choosing Pha because he didn't know his heart already belonged to Thanu. Like I said, ironic. And that's why it's a big deal to see how flustered he gets, how different he gets with only Thanu, even when he's struggling with heartbreak. He keeps crying on Thanu, calling him Pha, which I do recognise, but he later says what happened; he thought he wanted Thanu because he acted like Pha, but really he wanted Thanu for Thanu. He realised how much he fell in Episode 9 but didn't know how to deal with Pha. However, once he realised in episode 12 that Thanu was the first person he loved, he noticed the flowers, the necklace, but it didn't make him want to question what he had with Thanu. He cared about breaking the music box, having it fixed before the picture was sent to him.
It's the same with Thanu. He was also dealing with his head vs heart situation. His soulmate was Phai, which was being shown by weird occurrences that Phai and him had something; however, Thanu even got intrigued by Phai because he was searching for the person who made him feel a specific connection (Wayu). Remember, Phai and Wayu and Thanu both see visions in their respective ship, and Thanu knew he saved someone but couldn't find. When he saw Phai, he was intrigued because the feelings felt very similar to when he held Wayu. He was looking for him but got distracted by the expulsion, so they never met; when he saw Phai and later started having more clues and hints that something was more with them, he was confused because from the start when Wayu hugged him, he had become intrigued and was falling for Wayu the more he spent with him.
He knew this, so when he struggled to follow his head and choose Phai (avoid Wayu) because of what he saw with Phai, he regretted it because he almost lost Wayu. Only when Wayu is about to walk away, he stops him and says no, he can't let go of him because the thought of what his heart wants leaving was not good for him. That's why he's so determined and switches and tells Phai it doesn't matter. From the start, his heart wanted Wayu; we see it in the flashback of when he saved him; he's always wanted Wayu. They've always wanted each other.
And that's the weird thing about the situation because it's head vs heart, and although the soulmate thing felt like it was with heart (because of romance and destiny), it wasn't; it was what we think love is meant to be. Weirdly, there are supernatural occurrences with ThanuPhai, but it's shallow. Yes, it saves his life, yes it's basically a vision of a cute relationship, but even in the vision, Thanu still wants Wayu. Thanu still gave his heart (the music box) to Wayu. And it's so important to notice that. I think people don't see that he chose Wayu immediately after having doubts, he stopped even thinking of Phai in a romantic moment, he worried about the thing with Phai ruining him and Wayu, he panicked every time Phai waved because Wayu seemed like he knew something. Still, Thanu never once was thinking or regretting choosing Wayu. He had wanted Wayu from the start. That's why I'm telling you this was a done deal.
It's more complicated with Wayu because even if Thanu is his first love (initially), Pha still entered. They formed something for a year, and yes, he thought he was with the person who saved his life, but it doesn't change the fact that they dated, loved and cherished each other for a while. However, because Pha has been a toxic thing to Wayu in this show because he dumped him with no explanations and kept making him lose his mind, Wayu was glad to find a way to forget about him. Because the only reason he held onto Pha was because he thought he was Thanu (the person who saved him). So in a way, if the Phai thing hadn't been an issue with Wayu finding out about the connection and Phai is a close friend of his, who he cares about and who may have feelings for Thanu, Wayu would have just confronted Pha and moved on. That's why he got scared when he first received flowers and the necklace from Pha at the end, but he didn't put any energy thinking about it after; he focused on Thanu's presents and fixing them because he wanted Thanu.
I have more to say about them in another essay because I just realised this has to be two parts. But this essay is showing you the theme of the show head vs heart. ThanuWayu love each other uncontrollably, can't help it, and follow their heart when it comes to each other; however, they are torn because of their logical reasonings on what a soulmate is, Phai and Pha. Two people who they misunderstand for each other because from high school they've looking for each other. They've just been separated for a very long time. Sandee foreshadowed this in episode 2/3 when he says that sometimes true love is separation for a long time but will always uncontrollably come back to each other. However, Phai questioned the heartbreak and sadness that happens before the reunion, and Sandee says it doesn't matter if they're meant to be they'll reunite. This could be foreshadowing Pha's return, but I don't think, so I think it was telling us that ThanuWayu have been waiting and searching for each other without knowing and so when they meet with that hug, it explains why they're already pulled, attracted and start to fall for each other pretty rapidly. It explains why Thanu chooses Wayu as the final choice and why they both fought to get together in episode 10.
