#scene breakdown

Ok, so, here we go. The scene starts at 35:42 with Sorn bringing food for Jun because he assumes Jun is at Tai's house--an assumption Jun hadn't corrected him on.

Tai is sitting while Sorn is standing and this gives Sorn the height advantage. It doesn't last long, since Tai stands up, but Sorn still goes with an aggressive, dominant approach, demanding to know where Jun is. And we know this approach won't work because of the camera angle. While Tai is even with the camera while he talks.

The camera is above Sorn, looking down on him as he postures. He is not the one in control of this confrontation, he just doesn't know it yet.

And, as per usual with Sorn, he is using very rude/casual speech here. Even when referring to Jun, if my listening comprehension is serving me right, he uses มัน [man] which is a very rude way to refer to a person. And Tai uses the same. In fact, it isn't until 36:28, almost a minute into the argument, that Jun is even referred to by name. Which is when Champ finally catches on to some of what's happening.

And Sorn is still all bluster, trying to bulldoze through Tai to get to what he wants but Tai has no obligation to defer to Sorn's demands. As the camera angle has already revealed, Tai, though he speaks softer and appears calmer, is the one controlling this exchange and his position is higher than Sorn's.

Tai calls Sorn out for his behavior and calls him a coward and this is the first break we see in Sorn's dominance and aggression that he uses like a shield around himself. It is also the first straight on shot of Sorn's face since the argument began.

Sorn then gives the same excuse to Tai that he has been telling himself for who knows how long and that he told Thanu. It's a flimsy excuse and he gets punched for it. The punch comes at 37:31, almost 2 minutes into the argument and I think it's significant that he is not getting punched because he had sex with Jun.

Mali's father in episode 8 kicked/pushed Sorn for touching his daughter and the teaser for episode 9 made it seem like Tai would punch Sorn because Sorn had sex with his little brother but that's not actually how the scene plays out.

Tai already knows Sorn has had sex with his little brother from the start of this scene and it isn't until almost 2 minutes in, when Sorn uses Tai himself as his excuse for not admitting his feelings for Jun that Tai punches him.

And this, right here, is one reason I wanted to write about this scene. Because, for 9 episodes now, Tai has been Sorn's excuse for both treating Jun well AND Sorn's excuse for not committing to Jun further. And that's convenient and all until Tai is standing right in front of Sorn, refusing to be his excuse; demanding Sorn to figure his shit out. I mean, to have your walking talking excuse to be noncommittal to just turn around, go up to you and say "Commit or leave, you idiotic coward" is a great storytelling choice!

We have these goods friends, on opposite sides of a fight, with Champ stuck in the middle trying to be the mediator, and Tai is not mad Sorn had sex with Jun, per se. He's mad Sorn played with Jun's emotions and used Tai as his excuse to do it. And while Sorn is established to be a stubborn idiot, he can't easily ignore what Tai is saying when Tai has been his excuse all along and now it is Tai himself taking that excuse away from him.

And now here, a minute after the punch, Sorn finally stops demanding, stops posturing, and shows his true, pathetic self. And, for Sorn, this is about as polite as we've ever heard him. He still refers to himself with rude/casual speech but he actually uses Tai and Jun's names instead of the rude pronouns he had been using up until this point.

And, again, Tai won't let Sorn continue lying to himself, Jun, and those around him. He demands Sorn be honest and the moment we've been waiting for for 9 episodes comes at last. Time stamp 39:10, nearly 4 minutes into the fight.

And this is the other reason I wanted to write about this scene. Because on my first viewing, this struck me as very easy and anticlimactic. Sorn continues.

Translation note, Sorn is back to referring to Jun as มัน [man] and what he actually says here is "I like him so much I don't know what to do." I'm not a translator or anywhere close but I know there is a constant debate when translating, do you go for the literal word for word translation or more of the intent of what is being said? Given that, I think this change in what Sorn said is interesting. I also think "I don't know what to do" is more accurate to Sorn, tbh.

And finally, we get the moment when Sorn actually hears himself what Tai, Champ, and the audience just heard and the dawning realization of what that means. And I really wish I knew how to GIF because Boat's acting here is subtle and great: the startled blink followed by the slight widening of the eyes in realization. Time stamp 39:57, go see some beautiful acting.

To me, Sorn's "fine...I like him" could have been just Sorn placating Tai, not a true admission. Like, the denial is strong in this one, and while Tai broke down a lot of Sorn's barriers during this confrontation, I still don't think Sorn was fully ready to say he actually likes Jun. So, it's like he told himself, "Just say you like him, you know you don't, not like that, but if you say it, Tai will let you see Jun," and so he half-heartedly is like, "Fine...I like him." But, once he said it, even if he thought he didn't mean it, it's been said. The words he's been stopping himself from saying, the feeling he's been stopping himself from acknowledging, it's out there, he's put voice to it and now that feeling, that truth, can no longer be ignored.

So, here, I think this is the true confession. There's so much more emotion in Sorn's voice when he says this, I think I even heard a hitch in his breath before saying it. And honestly, he sounds kind of devastated.

And it's so absolutely fitting that it is Tai that gets Sorn to this point because it was his imaginary version of Tai that would forbid any true relationship Sorn might want with Jun that Sorn used to deny his feelings for so long.

Time stamp 40:03, the fight is over. That's not even 5 minutes but it felt like a much longer scene. And what I first thought of as a little anticlimactic, I now see as a rollercoaster of emotions for Sorn.

So, if you're still here with me after all of that, let's just take this moment to appreciate a well blocked, well acted, and meaningful scene that, at first, seemed a little anticlimactic but, actually, was kind of a genius way for Sorn to begin facing the consequences of his actions.