Only Touch In Slow-mo

I had a thought last week; yes, EwB is easily sliding into my top GLs but I wish it told us more about Lal. I think anyone could give you a solid rundown of Wine’s issues at this point. Lal’s main struggle has been how to get past Wine’s walls, while figuring out how to best take care of her. I was in a place of acceptance that we might stay more surface-level with Lal, just focusing on how she helps Wine. It would not be the first time I wanted more from character development in a GL. Wine would do the majority of the growth, but I would still love it! Look at her!

But Lal. Oh Lal.

My girl has been hailed as the greenest of green flags. A savior of sorts. And, you know, she is pretty great. Supportive. Takes accountability. Respects boundaries. Genuinely cares about people. She is just what Wine needs, and she can help her heal and be happy.

However…

Now that we get so much more about Lal, in just a few scenes, we see that there’s more to how “good” she is.

Supportive…to the point of self-sacrifice.

Takes accountability…even when it’s not hers to take accountability for.

Respects boundaries…but can’t set them for herself.

Genuinely cares about people…cannot apply the same care to herself.

While Wine is walled off to be self-protective, Lal is just trying to be enough; to be worthy of protection. But she can’t keep her metaphorical cup filled. She keeps emptying it out for other people who can’t, or won’t, refill it. She won’t even tell them it needs to be filled.

She keeps her needs locked up to deal with, on her own. That can be a pretty lonely place to be. I mean, how many times has she said some version of the phrase “I want to handle it by myself”.

Maybe Lal needs a little saving too.

Lal, while a social butterfly, has only one real, personal friend. (Compared to Wine’s robust 3). She isn’t even fully honest with him until she’s forced to be. She doesn’t tell her mom she’s sick. She always downplays her illnesses.

In hindsight, I like that we haven’t seen sat much of Lal’s weakness, up until now. We get glimpses, but nothing more. Because that’s how she organizes her life. Push through, keep going, work late nights, develop better systems, hide the pain or discomfort…eventually, the damn is likely to break, all at once.

And that’s where we get to see the balance that exists between Lal and Wine. Their strengths compliment each other. It started with physical needs, and it grew into more.

Wine uses the tools she has built her walls with, effectively, and destroys the woman who exploited Lal.

Lal is persistently friendly and has a near-compulsion to meet the needs and expectations of others. She repurposes it to break down Wine’s walls and take care of her.

They fit together. Their own unhealthy habits turn into tools of care for each other.

Lal’s reaction to being supported, being SEEN, by Wine is so telling (and wonderfully acted). As is Wine’s reaction to being told she deserves love. It can be an intense relief, to be weak in front of someone and have it be okay.

What is this look when Korn was introduced as new management?

It’s subtle but LOOK! THAT IS A SMIRK! She’s up to something. She knows or did something.

And the colors in her clothes

The name works because that’s what everyone THINKS they are. But it goes further than putting on an act to hide their situationship. I think the show does well at showing the complex, varied nature of actual healthy relationships…they are different from the inside. And they are so many different things.

It’s not just being kind and sweet to each other. Laughing and being happy with someone is part of it. But it’s also challenging, and compromising, and understanding each other, even when you start from opposite sides. It’s teasing and fighting and still coming back and working together. A team.

What looked like hate at the beginning wasn’t even hate. It was a desire to stay safe within rules and embarrassment. And attraction. Then it became a willingness to challenge themselves through listening to what sounded like insults, but was usually valid criticism. Being overly and consistently critical of your partner is not great, but listening to someone you trust ask you genuine questions as to how you do things - that has to be part of a functioning long term relationship if both people want to be fulfilled and loved and loving. The have to grow together.

Wine is so focused on rules and doing things the right way, while Lal is so focused on relationships.

In their first meeting, Jantra has just finished telling Lal that she should introduce herself to the other department heads, and Wine seems annoyed that Lal hasn’t done that yet. It’s the right way to operate within the company, but Lal is going about it more organically, coming to Wine when a situation arises.

Wine is firm about not letting a longtime client bypass required documents (it’s all so vague lol) but Lal thinks the relationship should be worth more than rules.

There are little examples that happen several times, but the show never comes down on one side or the other. Wine’s rigid rule following turns out to be a great decision bc that longtime client was lying about their financial situation. Lal’s focus on building connections with people makes her clients stick with her over lower costs and inspires her team to work harder.

My favorite part, though, is that Lal, unlike many other employees, never really blames Wine for enforcing the rules. She gets annoyed and frustrated, but she has thoughts like, “I’m going to make a new system” or “I’m going to come in early and work hard to get this thing right”. She takes accountability and takes Wine seriously. She never bad mouths her at work. She values her competence. (Kind of seems like it’s actually very attractive to Lal before she even realizes it).

And I’m of the opinion that Wine is drawn to Lal early on bc of her kindness and easy connections to others, even if she’s a bit envious at first. I think it’s why she does off-putting things like calling Lal out for addressing her casually for the first time or avoiding her apology.