#bbcct

10. Episode 5

This is the first of three shirts from this episode to make this list (the others are at no. 4 and 3) and it's not surprising really since Pat spends most of the episode gradually realising his feelings for Pran...and he figurately and literally wears his heart on his sleeve (or actually, his heart). This shirt appears towards the end, when he and Pran have co-ordinated colours - indicating they are moving closer to some kind of connection - both being in shades of blue and yellow/orange. The pièce de résistance, however, is the fully blossomed red/yellow flower over his heart signifying that Pat’s feelings for Pran have…well…fully blossomed.

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9. Episode 6

I had a difficult time deciding which shirts should be in these early spots (10/9) but this one just pipped the one at no. 10. It's seems very innocuous, un-interesting, un-important at first, but it's this subtlety that sets it a little apart -> Firstly, for a character who wears a lot of colour in general, it's very telling that this shirt is generally white - Pat wears it at a time when he's feeling troubled by the distance Pran has put between them after the rooftop kiss. And secondly, and this might be a reach, but Hilton Head (the grey print on the shirt) is a small island off the coast of South Carolina...so it could be symbolising how Pat feels disconnected, set apart, and detached from Pran. (Mentioned here)

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8. Episode 7

This is the first of two shirts in this episode to make this list (the other is no. 5) and one of the first times we see the colour brown up to this point (apart from on Pran's dad). At the end of the episode, Pat turns up at the theatre wearing this shirt with a face design to step in to play Riam - thus saving Pran the humiliation of grovelling to Chart (i.e. 'to save face') and instead choosing to sacrifice himself (hence the brown) by ‘losing’ the bet to Pran (even though he had already confessed).

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7. Episode 11

“An elephant never forgets.” -> A lot of episode 11 is about Pat and Pran running away from their lives...forgetting about their families, the lies they discovered, and the fear for their relationship once they go back. Pat also slowly realises that Pran is, and will always be, unable to forget his parents despite Pran being there for Pat and allowing Pat this moment of fantasy. They also spend much of the time at the beach not talking about any of this, avoiding the subject - i.e. the "elephant in the room" - instead distracting themselves with other things.

A bonus element with this shirt is the connection it has to the shirt at no. 6 in this list. Some people were wondering why "California” was used instead of the usual name of the store, “DM”, on the red t-shirt (below) - well maybe it's because Junior’s t-shirt in ep 11 - worn at the same time as Pat wears the elephant shirt - has “Malibu Beach California” on the front.

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6. Episode 10

@karometeenk has complete credit for the details about this one. First, the slogan is for a German drug store (we later see Pat and Pran get caught by Pat's parents in a supermarket) and it refers to a famous quote by Johann Wolfgang Goethe: "Hier bin ich Mensch, hier darf ich's sein" which translates to "Here I am human, here I can/am allowed to be one". This quote is from his tragedy Faust, and in one scene Faust goes into a monologue on a walk about the beauty of nature and how he can only truly be himself there, where no one is around. This foreshadows episode 11, where Pat and Pran run away to the sea, to nature. They can only be true to themselves there, where no one around knows them.

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5. Episode 7

I absolutely adored the moment Pat turned up in the theatre with this t-shirt and shirt combination. First, he's wearing his own blue underneath Pran's rich burgundy red - in a direct reversal and development of the Picasso-esque t-shirt with the splodge of red over the heart which he wore under a blue shirt when he realised his feelings for Pran in ep 5 (no. 3 in this list). But the pièce de résistance is that the only two words visible on the t-shirt are "your man?" Pat wears this during a scene where he confesses to Pran, thus losing the bet. He asks Pran - as Riam - "You asked if I wanted to be friends? What if my answer is no?" Essentially, "Am I/can I be your man?" (Mentioned here).

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4. Episode 5

The second of the three shirts from this episode...and the only reason this one isn't higher up is because of how ridiculous it is for the poignancy of the scene. BUT that is also exactly why it IS on my list AND so high 😂 But, putting the ridiculous aside, the deep red and blue of Pat's pants and top beautifully illustrate the depth of his feelings for Pran and the fact that the word "Baseball" almost blends in with the blue behind it shows how close Pat and Pran are to becoming a couple, a union, themselves. Of course, the loudness of the "mom" in white can't be ignored and it perhaps symbolises the obstacle they face in being open with their eventual relationship and a big reason why Pran left Pat alone. (As written about here).

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3. Episode 5

It took me a while after the episode to realise that the t-shirt Pat wears during his wonderful Oh moment about his feelings for Pran has a splodge of red over his heart. Not only that, but he's wearing a blue shirt (his own colour) over the top which partially obscures the red - illustrating how his feelings for Pran existed under the surface but took a while to be revealed. Even here they weren't fully realised, out in the open. It was only after being jealous of Wai's closeness to Pran later in the ep that he really understood the hold Pran had on his heart.

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2. Episode 9

To be honest, it was a close call between this and the shirt in the no. 1 spot...but this one is well-deserving for second place. As I wrote about it here, this shirt has Pran's red, his own blue, and a bridge lit up with yellow lights (their love and happiness) on the print. It symbolises how Pat this episode is the bridge between the two faculties and more importantly between Pran and Wai. Not only that, the bridge itself is an iconic image of the power of collaboration between architecture and engineering.

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Before I get to no. 1, I want to give a special mention to some that didn't make the list: the green 'Lucky' t-shirt from ep 1; the Tim Horton's 'Smile cookie' t-shirt in ep 3; the tie-die t-shirt at the end of ep 6; and the smiley face t-shirt featured in ep 1 and finally worn in ep 12. All fantastic in their own little way.

Okay, on to no.1...

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1. Episode 4

Even eight episodes on, I still can't get over the genius of this shirt...but in fairness its brilliance shines best when Ink's and Pran's coinciding tops are also taken into account. As I gushed about it before, this shirt has two colours overlapping in the leaf design: One a light yellowy/greeny/cream and the other a light grey/blue. These are the two colours that Ink and Pran wear respectively in their scenes with Pat in the episode - indicating his divided affections for them, with one fading and the other growing. 👩🏽‍🍳💋

Anon! I KNOW!! There's no reason why Pat would have red and Pran would have blue if their faculty colours are the opposite (their gowns would represent that)...other than if they purposely swapped themselves.

I just watched the whole thing again and I cried at several moments when some of the colour combinations actually registered in my brain. Now I can't wait to do my clothes post. I first thought this episode diverged from the patterns we've been seeing but no...so much makes sense according to what I've been sh*tposting all along.

I mean, LOOK at this moment...young-Pat in blue with red over the top and young-Pran in a minty-green/blue...I mean...this was the moment I couldn't hold back my tears:

(not in running order and all taken with a pinch of salt because I wouldn’t be surprised if the majority of scenes from the episode trailer all happen with the first five minutes in a flirting montage...leaving the rest of the episode as a complete unknown 🤪)

I’m ignoring the first scene at Pran’s home because anything with his Mum = angst to some degree. 

But then the lecture hall - there’s no green from what we can see, so I think this is just a cutsie scene 💛

Pran feeding Pat: Pran is in a yellow and blue top! - I think he’s definitely happy here, no angst (and by the scene in the trailer when Pat’s punching his pillow, I think Pran has absolutely succeeded in flirting 😏) (and is that a small yellow/orange detail over Pat’s heart, I see?! 👀)

This second food related scene also seems like it will be harmless (apart from death-by-flirting). Pran’s t-shirt might not be bright yellow but it’s a creamy/yellow, no? (Although, what’s that plaid shirt in the background?).

Whilst we might not get another kiss, or even a confession/end of the bet/start of the relationship yet, this rooftop scene has high hopes for being a happy one - look how bright Pat’s yellow top is! Pran is in white though, so he might still be holding back. There are a lot of yellow lights in the background too...

This massage scene also looks happy - and this looks like a sleeveless shirt...so maybe Pran’s wearing Pat’s top! - but the few green lights in the background might mean this scene isn’t as ‘obstacle-free’ as it seems.

Now for the potential angst scenes with obstacles to their happiness... This one we are all on tenterhooks waiting for and it looks so promising. My guess is they are teasing each other and it won’t end in a kiss. Also, look at that dark green t-shirt behind Pat - yes, he may have taken it off (signifying the obstacle is gone) but I think be wary of this moment! 😏

And lastly, this incredibly cute face wipe/nose boop moment. It’s going to be adorable...but look at Pat’s shirt...and the fact that they are wearing the same clothes as when Pat walks out of Pran’s room upset... I put an angst warning on this one.

Hey! Before you've even gotten the chance to get into the costume analysis of episode 10 i wanna talk about this shirt with you.

If you haven't seen Bad Buddy episode 10 stop reading now: spoilers below!

The text reads "Hier bin ich Mensch, hier kauf ich ein" which translates to "Here i am human, here i shop" (it sounds better in German, trust me)

This is a slogan for the grocery store DM. But the slogan refers to a famous quote by Johann Wolfgang Goethe "Hier bin ich Mensch, hier darf ich's sein" which translates to "Here i am human, here i can / am allowed to be one"

Now this quote stems from his tragedy Faust. In this scene Faust is on a walk and goes into a monologue about the beauty of nature and how he can only truly be himself there, where no one is around.

This could be foreshadowing for next episode, where we see Pat and Pran running away to the sea, to nature. They can only be truly human, true to themselves, in nature where no one who knows them is around.

Karometeenk!! This is amazing! Thank you so much for sending this to me. It took a while for me to reply/post because I didn't know whether to keep the info for my costume posts or to post this as is (or if I should wait until you had posted it since I didn't want to steal your thunder)...but I realise this information deserves to be seen and I know you've already added it to your original post (so if people want to see that then click the link) but now it'll reach more people (hopefully).

(I did also think that Pat texted that pic of Pran's dorm room to Pran, and that it was Pran that Pat was talking to on the phone when there was a knock at the door...but it wasn't until Pat opened the door and Pran was there that I could actually breathe a sigh of relief).

Episode 12:

How is it the last one?! 😭 It's taken me a while to write this because it feels like once I'm done then Bad Buddy really is over...but I can't put it off any longer.

If it weren't enough seeing Pran's mint green towel and Pat and Pran's bedsheets (the former being red and blue, the latter having red, yellow, and blue stripes) in the beginning, surely we should have known they were still together by their first outfits. I mean, they're literally wearing the SAME COLOURS. They're colour coordinating. They've become one. And with Wai in such a vibrant yellow - that should have been an indicator that Pat is still in love and happy!

Generally, a lot of this episode has quite a neutral, earthy palette of colours - apart from some vibrant choices which I'll come to later on. At first I couldn't see a pattern or reasoning for this (I like to make connections) until I took the screenshots and saw the two families side by side. I was then reminded of my interpretation of the confrontation scenes at the end of ep 10 - in which Pran and his mum wear pastel/muted colours whereas Pat's family wear brighter colours and deeper shades, highlighting the differences between the two families.

But now, here, four years later, we have Pat's dad eventually drink the liquor that Pran gave him and Pran's mum giving Pran's guitar to him and smiling when she hears him and Pat upstairs. The families may not have reconciled yet, they might not be openly accepting of their son's boyfriend...but they've started their journey, they're on their way, albeit slowly (and whilst they wait for them, Pat and Pran are living their best life regardless), and this I believe is reflected in the shared palette of colours.

Yes, Pat's family has more red (in the furnishings and Pran's mum's top and earrings) but there is blue in Pat's dad's stripes and Pat's t-shirt (see below). And yes, Pran's mum has a richer blue and there's no red to be seen...but the other colours are similar - and linked by Pat and Pran's once again coordinating colours...even Ink and Pa are contributing to this one big extended family.

Quick aside to bring up again the fact that Pat is wearing the same smile shirt that's in his laundry basket in ep 1 when he first reminisces about him and Pran as kids.

One reoccurring colour in this episode is brown in varying shades, which I think is representative of sacrifice or yielding. Pat and Pran both sacrifice something for each other, they know that to love each other fully they each have to give the other the space they want and need to grow as individuals - Pran goes to Singapore whilst Pat stays in Thailand to work for his father. They also sacrifice some element of their freedom by keeping their relationship a secret from their families and friends...although it also gave them the possibility to be together as a couple - a compromise had to be made. And the parents sacrificed being involved in a part of their son's lives by not being able to put their own rivalry behind them.

In this vein, I was happy to see Pat's dad in brown when he yielded to Dissaya and reversed so that she could drive on before him. 👏🏼

And now for a change of colours...and on to mint green! I've already mentioned Pran's towel at the beginning, but I liked that mint green was included when Pat took Pran to the airport to go to Singapore - symbolising the strength of their union in the moment of physical separation. They may not be seeing each other in person for a while but that doesn't mean they're any less of a couple.

I've also seen a lot of gifs/photos where the creators have enhanced the mintiness of the curtain behind Pat when Pat and Pran are reminiscing the past four years (handily recapping for us the audience as well). It's subtle but I do love that in a moment when they are showing the strength of their love and togetherness, once again mint is present.

And in a similar vein, I was so happy to see Pa in purple! I stand by it being their couple colour (like mint green is for Pat and Pran)...although I wish I could make a cool interpretation for Ink's blue demin shirt...but whatever (maybe it's just there as a connection to Pat 🤷🏽‍♀️ - not everything has to mean something).

So on to the more vibrant colours...I've already written about all the red and blue details in the episode - and that includes Pa and Ink's red and blue outfits in the bar. I do find it interesting that both in the bar/noodle scene and in the high school reunion, Pat is the one in 'neutral' colours (black/grey) whilst Pran is in orangey/red, and then green, blue, red, and white stripes. In some ways this feels like a bit of a reversal for them - it feels easier to associate Pat with the more 'colourful' outfits (even though this seems to show it's actually quite even). @transpat wrote a great analysis of Pat and Pran's character development, which I think explains this reversal well:

"ep12 was such a perfect mirror to ep8. where pat couldn’t bear to keep them a secret and pran was too afraid of being found out, pat now learns their love doesn’t need to be announced to the world to remain valid or for them to stay true to themselves, while pran understands why pat wanted to be loud about his relationship, he’s the one who doesn’t hold his laughter, the one to send his father-in-law gifts."

Pran used to be reserved and feared for the consequences of their relationship...but now he's unabashedly open. Pat used to be loud, brash, and impulsive but now he understands that his love isn't any less if it's quiet. ❤️💙

And lastly, the wonderful final scene 😭 With both of them again in neutral colours but this time Pat has yellow on his shirt...literally wearing his love and happiness on his chest. I received a lovely anon ask regarding all the fairy lights...suggesting that the shear number of lights and electric candles here symbolises Pat and Pran just being done with hiding their love and happiness. They're both loving loudly now.

I can't believe that's it. It's over. It really is over now. 😭

It feels difficult doing these last posts this week...because once they're done, I won't have any more episodes to write about. *sigh* Anyway, on to the small details I couldn't fit into my costume analysis post...and this week there are a lot of little combinations of red and blue dotted throughout the episode.

One reason why I wait for so many days after the episode airs to write these posts is partly because I need time for my brain to assimilate the information from the episode, as well as to read all your thoughts and analysis, to help me see the connections and make my interpretations. Anyway, all that is to say that I had an epiphany in my sleep last night that the presence of so many little red and blue details could be like a reminder that this story - the journey we have been taken on through the twelve episodes - is about Pat and Pran. It's their story. Not their friends'. Not their parents'. That might seem obvious but I think this is part of the reason why we don't see a big resolution of the argument at the end of ep 10 (just like we didn't see a big resolution of Wai dropping the curtain), because the story is focusing on Pat and Pran and their choice to be happy despite the external forces. (Others have written this better...but I don't remember to include the links unfortunately).

So, for the actual details...we first see both sets of bedsheets - Pran's with yellow as well as the red and blue, and Pat's (and Pran's, let's be honest it is their apartment) with red one side and blue the other.

I already mentioned the drum kit and guitar in another post, but I do love that this is the only time they play together with the blue drum kit and red guitar. Also note the drinks in the foreground...

I thought it was very interesting that Pran has this vibrant blue sweater round his shoulders in the classroom (if I'm not mistaken, in the high school scenes, they rarely have other clothes alongside their uniform - apart from the music concert) and although it isn't Pat who has the complimentary red, it's still in the scene on the other student (one of the others has blue and yellow on his jacket too).

The graduation photo moment - where Pat and Pran must have purposely swapped robes with each other since their faculty colours are the opposite to what they're wearing (and their gowns would represent their faculty).

And I love love love this tiny, blink and you'd miss it, moment of yet another of Korn's jackets - this one all yellow with stripes of red and blue on the shoulder. I mean, he's worn SO MANY that he could have just been in any of the ones we've seen already for this five second moment...but he's literally a walking advert showing - whilst protecting - Pat and Pran's love and happiness - this is where Pran is explaining how only Korn, Wai, Ink, and Pa know about them being together at Uni.

And lastly, Ink and Pa in the bar...Pa in Pran's red and Ink in Pat's blue. Yes, they're all there as friends, as equals, but this is reminding us that this story is Pat and Pran's.

You're telling me that Pran's stripy t-shirt from the end of ep 10, beginning of ep 11, and end of ep 11...the t-shirt he wears that bookends his and Pat's time at the beach, during which Pran's conscience is divided between Pat and his own mum/family...that t-shirt he then wears to go back home because he can never truly be happy unless he has some kind of relationship with his parents (regardless of how complicated it might be)...you're telling me that the stripes on that shirt are THE SAME colours as his parents' clothes?!?!