“Everyone has a different definition of love and as one grows, this changes”
Gen Y Season 2, was such a dramatic show, rivalling some lakorns on TV. The show had everything- drama, “betrayal”, angst, supernatural visions (I guess I love how they never really explained this very odd phenomenon) and a death!
Although the show started out quite slow, choosing to make very weird story decisions, particularly with Mark and Kit, who I believed deserved to spend the whole show basking in their love and showing the rest of the characters what it means to be content and in love; the show followed the theme of evolving love and focused on how the characters’ definition of love had changed through their relationships and the tough road some of them had to go through; to be the type of people ready to give and receive this love at the stages they are at in. Despite the slow burn in Thanu and Wayu’s relationship and the conflict in the other relationships, the show was written well and the character development was beautifully orchestrated, to the extent that by the end of the show, the once timid Wayu was giving Thanu cute little kisses in public. My analysis of the show will be character based because I loved how the couples grew throughout the series.
The story did develop beautifully, with Pok and Tong carrying most of the show and Thanu and Wayu coming in hot towards the end to give us a perfect resolution to their will they/won’t they gimmick which, at some point got exhausting (like please kiss already) I normally love romantic tension but Thanu and Wayu at some point just took it too far and I wanted them away from each other. I will break down the show commenting on the characters’ relationships because that is essentially what moved the plot.
Thanu and Wayu
Thanu and Wayu’s love story is one of the most frustrating relationships I’ve ever witnessed. Previously, both Thanu and Wayu had people they seemingly viewed as their soulmates, which seems to be the contentious part of their relationships as they were both confused by this and had to deal with this aspect of their pasts before being comfortably together. In Phai’s words, everyone has a different definition of love and as one grows, this changes and it was quite refreshing to watch Wayu grow, from healing from his first love P’Pha to actually making a connection with Thanu despite what he knew about Phai and Thanu. The arc with P’Pha’s sickness as a personification of Wayu’s internal conflict and his death as a resolution of Wayu’s misgivings. It was although a bit extreme and unnecessary to move Wayu’s story in that manner to get him out of the funk that he was in ever since Pha left him. Throughout the series, Wayu was always treated by all the characters as a fragile person, however, this season he gets to deal with issues that develop his character from the fragile boy we first met, to someone who is able to deal with life, sickness and death issues. I believe this also really highlights how Bas Suradej is a phenomenal actor and he executed this role to perfection. The show tries to highlight the fact that love is not always a fairytale and it can sometimes be messy. Thanu stands by Wayu throughout this ordeal, showing how committed he is to being with Wayu, despite having been convinced that his soulmate was Phai.
Mark and Kit
The Mark and Kit storyline had me shaking my head the whole time because why weren’t these two just cruising through the show, making everyone else gag from how much in love they were (lol). The show completely upset me with the way they handled Mark and Kit’s relationship. They deserved to be the comfort couple; the viewers deserved a comfort couple because the show got really heavy. Mark and Kit’s relationship is pretty much established in Season 2, however, Kit gets a scholarship and they have to negotiate new terms for their relationship and fortunately enough, talk it out as mature people and end up in a long distance relationship. Although their relationship wasn’t outright angsty, they deserved to be the problem free couple that just enjoyed all their screen time and would only squabble about what or where to eat. I’m glad that they did not go through a break-up and they resolved their long distance issue like normal people.
Pok and Tong
Pok and Tong’s story symbolised essence of unlearning an idea of what you think love is because it may in fact hurt the person you want to protect the most; of how along the way, one’s definition of love has to change in order to adjust to a more realistic and honest type of love that the other party deserves. Pok and Tong start out in a casual “friends with benefits” type of relationship in which, although they are having sex; both draw the line at kissing because Tong only wants to kiss someone he was in love with. This is a recipe for disaster, of course and both parties seem to be lying to themselves at every juncture. Pok finds out that Tong cheated for him in a test in high school (although the cheating was ultimately inconsequential). Pok feels that Tong had taken him for a fool and this caused a rift in their relationship. To Tong, love meant protecting the person you love by going above and beyond for them to ensure they do not fail and to Pok, this was not love but it showed that he did not believe in him and should anything have gone wrong, the consequences would have been terrible for Pok, his anger in this instance is completely justified. Pok is eventually able to get some perspective and forgive Tong and they realise that despite loving each other, they had also both been the greatest cause of pain in each other’s lives. From the cute forehead kisses in the finale episode, I’m sure the two realised the need to be softer with each other going forward and the need to affirm their feelings. Their relationship was always very combative and needed to be transformed into a softer version; because ultimately, both of them deeply cared for each other.
Phai and Sandee
Sandee is clearly the antagonist in this story and his actions stem from the fact that he loves Phai and wants to protect and avenge him, even if it means hurting the people that Phai himself loved. Despite Phai trying to talk him out of hurting people, he is stubborn and to him, this is a way of showing Phai that he loves him; but it is clear that he doesn’t fully understand the motivation behind his own actions and acts out of frustration. The resolution of their relationship, whereby Sandee admits to having had the wrong idea of love was cathartic because it shows the growth that he has gone through and how he is clearly working on understanding his own feelings and taking Phai’s feelings into consideration for once.
Koh and Jack
Because there are many main couples in the show, although their romance isn’t done much justice, I just found them very adorable and I’m glad that 3 years later they were still going strong.
Final Impressions (From Krishna’s POV)
I pretty much agree with Reveeiws’ thoughts on this show. Although the first season of the drama was presumably adapted from a novel; the sequel seems solely scripted by the production house. As such, they took undue liberties with the storyline; which either left the audiences confused or concerned.
The “Let’s Kill The Third Guy In The Love Triangle” formula might sound overused and overtly cliche’, but the effect was drastic and astounding. Because even on his deathbed, Pha drew marginal interest as well as apathy from the avid fans who were obviously saddened by his death (at least I was, he seemed like a good guy and deserved better). As opposed to the main couples (Thanu-Wayu and Mark-Kit), the side couple Jack & Koh received much more attention. Like Reveeiws has already mentioned, Mark & Kit were supposed to be the “Mature Couple”, all ready to settle down; but unfortunately Jack & Koh ended up being the “Comfort Couple” instead (even though they spend almost ten episodes proclaiming their hatred for each other). It’s anticlimactic when you need to draw consolation from side couples; since nothing is going well with the main couple’s romance. Obviously, there have been catcalls for a third season focusing on Pok-Tong and Phai-Sandee. I understand the charm; but with the three-year leap towards the end, I don’t think the production house will be revisiting this story. In brief, Gen Y S2 wasn’t bad; it did leave an impression, albeit bittersweet though.
Krishna’s Sidenote-
☆ Gen Y S2 stars Kimmon Warodom, Copter Panuwat, Dun Romchumpa and Bas Suradej were featured in popular magazine Madan!
☆ Gen Y S2 main lead couple Dun Romchumpa and Bas Suradej were featured in Sudsapda (Jan, 2022 issue)
The BL Xpress 