Burnout Syndrome episode 8 was definitely one of my favourites! I loved it so much!!
My favourite scene of the whole series so far is when Jira draws Koh in the pile of clothes and Koh opens up about his past. I feel like that was where Koh and Jira began to build an emotional connection so I really loved that the first half of the episode connected up to that scene. I’ve always really enjoyed the Koh and Jira scenes and wished there was more so I was really pleased that there was so much of them this episode! (Wish the episodes were longer though)
This scene was amazing, now potentially my favourite of the series! I love how hopeful Koh seems about Jira, not to mention how Koh ‘spoke’ to his mother about Jira. “But I just want to take risks with him” and how he starts off by saying that he knows she always told him to not trust people and he’s always tried to do that. Koh wants to learn to trust Jira and is breaking down his walls for him. I think that says a lot about how deep Koh’s feelings are for Jira. I do think that Jira has helped Koh out of a bad place. “I don’t even know how this will end, but I will accept it regardless” I thought was interesting because when you compare it with Pheem’s interest in Jira because especially since Pheem found out about Jira and Koh and the rage room scene. Pheem seems to view it as a competition more and is obsessive and impatient (I’m not trying to defend Jira, he definitely plays with Pheem’s feelings though) when it comes to getting Jira. Whereas I feel like Koh is saying that no matter what happens between them, he is glad to have spent time with Jira and makes his feelings seem a lot more genuine.
This scene was shot so beautifully too! I really love the use of natural lighting in the scene and mostly only ambient diegetic sound used throughout the series! The music in this scene was lovely though. It makes it a lot more naturalistic, along with the slow pacing which I’m personally a big fan of. I really like the objective framing of Jira in this scene. As a film student I have to compliment the cinematography. The frequent mirror shots in the series as a whole also are impressive! I kinda got the impression that Jira was getting artistically inspired by the objects catching the rain — I loved that.
When Jira tells Pheem he is worried about him it reminded me of when Koh told Ben that when he’s not with Jira he feels like something will happen to him. I think the series has done well with building up the relationship between them. Comparing this then to when Pheem tells Jira that he is worried about him and Jira replies ‘are you worried or jealous’ it shows the further difference between Koh’s and Pheem’s feelings for Jira and how Jira and Koh are actually falling in love.
Anyway, the rain kiss was everything! Off and Gun’s chemistry was amazing as always!!
The next episode looks great too! I think this series is so underrated (at least from what I’ve seen)!
