#ppos*

Peaceful Property: on food and home and the intertwining of the two

"Well, what do you want for dinner? I'll cook."

I love Peach and how he's so scared and clearly carrying a heavy burden, but he's so kind in the face of his fear and he's so much braver than he thinks

I love Home and how lonely he is beneath his obnoxiousness and how he's learning to heal his loneliness and be a better person and how he notices things about people (like Pangpang being more OTT than usual because she wants to help Peach, and noticing Peach’s hand shaking)

I love Kan and her sense of justice and how she kept pretending she wasn’t scared because she's the logical one and how it always looks like she's there reluctantly but she cares about the others too

I love Pangpang and how much she loves her brother and her enthusiasm and silly little gadgets and how she just wants to help and feel useful

And I love Suradcech and... Well, he's Suradech!

First of all, I love how both ghosts so far have been workers who were essentially treated badly because of Home's family. It's interesting that the mistreatment of the working class is what haunts these properties so far. And, I guess if that theme continues, they'll be part of what unravels Home's perspective on his family and wealth vs poverty and his sense of entitlement. (And I'm assuming helping the ghosts move on will be part of what helps Peach heal, too, but that's an aside)

What I really like is that the ghosts could easily have been vengeful or violent (here's where I admit I don't know a lot about ghosts in Thai culture—I skimmed the wiki article on the subject—or how they're presented in Thai media because I haven't watched any other shows or movies centred on ghosts) but, while they're definitely restless, what's tethering them to this world isn't a lust for revenge on those who wronged them. 

I think the best ghost stories tell us something about what it means to be human, and the ghosts' final wishes here are so human. They might seem like little things—or perhaps less profound—but they're really not.

The first ghost is a construction worker who died in a possibly unsafe working environment. (It seems like an accident that could have been prevented?) But he doesn't move on from seeking vengeance or from letting go of any desire for revenge—it's the last meal he never got to eat, presented with kind words, that enables him to let go.

And then Rak, who had to work while she was dying and was unfairly fired, meaning her mother was denied compensation, again wants the last thing she wanted when she was alive: to have her hair back. (I'm definitely not saying that's a little thing, btw, but again she doesn't want to do anything to the guy who fired her, and it's not seeing her husband that helps her move on either.) Her story is so heartbreaking, too, and made me very emotional for several reasons (including personal) so I'm not going to dwell on it today. 

Like, it seems like a Rich Impractical and Out-of-Touch Guy move at first—kind of supported by the way he makes Peach dance for him, which: LMAO! Poor Peach!—but then we get that flashback of him at the club with his grandpa and uncle when he was little, asking his grandpa to give him the club and if he does he'll 'bring so many friends over'

And that's exactly what he did!! He chose it as their HQ and chose to let Peach and Pangpang live there because (consciously or subconsciously) he just wanted to bring his friends over to play like he said he would.

And maybe that's partly why he made Peach dance for him. Like, it was a [redacted] move, but I also get the idea he just... Doesn't know how to have a normal friendship with anyone or how to connect to people. This is his idea of playing with his friends. Actually, that’s another scene that gets turned on its head. Home is the only one having a good time watching Peach dance, but at the end they’re all enjoying their company and having fun with each other (sure, they still want to strangle each other, but they’re not together begrudgingly)

And I just... I love the family they’re becoming already and I love Home learning to connect genuinely and how they’re crashing through their own and the others’ expectations and arghhhhh

I really didn't need to have Feelings about another poor little rich boy!!! But here I am...

I've had this reaction a few times along the way, as well as being genuinely surprised, in a 'wow, I did NOT see that coming' way, and I think it's that mix that keeps me on my toes. But the genuine surprises never feel like they're out of left field either, or like they're solely there for the shock factor, you know?