#padoem

I'm fascinated by the way Tanwa's smile falls in this moment.

Because, for once, Padoem is right - Tanwa did come to see him because he was worried. I think his 'plan' was just to gauge his father's mood/stress levels, by riling him up a little. He'd stroll in with a smile on his face, pretend to be there for his guitar, and see if his dad would argue with him, like normal.

But his dad staring wistfully at his mom's picture, caressing it so tenderly, isn't normal. Not anymore.

Because Tanwa hasn't seen this side of his father in a long time. Padoem's likely been overbearing, insulting, abusive since his wife died (if not before) - and Tanwa's long accepted that.

So to get a glimpse of how his dad could be, to realize he can be gentle when no one's around to see...

That's gotta make it all hurt even more.

I deeply appreciate Krailert's passive aggressive response here.

He's toeing the line, with his 'customer service' smile. He'll concede that Trin (like Tanwa) is young and hot-headed. He shouldn't have spoken to a powerful man like Padoem, his elder, with so little respect.

But he'll defend Trin too. Because it wasn't their family who just caused a scene.

You know, what's particularly sad about Tanwa's relationship with his dad? That there is some care left between them - I feel a certain amount of sympathy for Padoem, that he wants to spend time with his son on the anniversary of his wife's death and that he's afraid he'll overdose on drugs...

(The latter seems to be based on misinformation, since Tanwa was smoking weed - apparently that was an urban legend in the 60s and 70s)

But that's all overshadowed by the way he treats Tanwa - he's cold (won't even look at him until he starts smoking), insulting, overbearing, forceful. He lays his hands on Tanwa, and orders his men to manhandle him too.

And, of course, like so many immature/abusive parents, Padoem is self-righteous - even if he's embarrassed about losing control, he'll never try to change himself. Because it's clearly Tanwa's fault for making him act this way.

So, after a big fight with his dad, Tanwa went straight to the Grand Paradiso - there, we see him make out with a random woman, visit with Moira, play an acoustic set in the lounge, and stalk Trin in the parking lot.

With Moira, he tries to flirt and she rejects him, so they end up connecting about her past - which was probably the real comfort Tanwa needed at that moment.

But why did he flee to the Grand Paradiso, to Moira? And why did his dad seemingly guess that's where he would go?

My theory: Tanwa's mom opened the hotel with Moira.

I may be reaching here, but I think when Tanwa talks about spending his mom's money, he's implying that Padoem inherited his current wealth from her (which I'd bet is a sore spot for him).

(Of course, he could just be saying that his mom was due a certain amount of Padoem's wealth from having to put up with him... but this way's more fun to theorize about!)

During the (far warmer) conversation between Tanwa and Moira, it's implied that she's known him since he was a kid. He also, maybe, has his own room at the hotel?

I could be totally misinterpreting that last line - and when I first watched the episode, I did think she just meant 'why are you in my room right now'. But after a rewatch, I'm wondering if she's actually asking why he booked a new room for his hook-up instead of going to his room: a personal one that he's maybe had at the hotel since he was young.

Now, I'm not saying that Moira needed a co-owner/investor - we've learned a bit about her past work and marriages, and how she likely built up her own wealth - but maybe she had a good friend to go into business with? Someone who could appreciate what she went through to earn her place in the world...

And someone that both she and Tanwa may be missing tonight.

Oh, this was a prime fake-out!

If you're like me, your mind immediately went to the girl in the elevator when Tanwa was holding up his shirt - because surely it ripped during their overzealous make-out? And hey, maybe Tanwa is having some self-doubts about fooling around when there's this captivating new guy...

But nope!