Welcome back to the weekly segment where Red from Psycho Milk and myself review our thoughts on the current episode of YYY. Make sure you check out his review below. And if you haven’t watched the episode, please do so before reading as this review will include clips and images from the show, aka SPOILERS. 😁
Where did we leave off last week? Nott and Pun had made up from their argument because Pun finally admitted to being jealous of Arm and Nott. They slept in each other’s arms to save Pun from sleeping in the bed that Om had messed up. Of course that was just an excuse. Nott waited until Pun was asleep before he cuddled up to him. You can see that he is definitely starting to become aware of his own feelings.
This week we start off with a shot of the apartment complex and this obligatory shot. Every time I see the goldfish, I just adore the nod to Lovesick, which is one of my favorite bl’s of all time.
Enough with the fish. 😁 Back to YYY. We see Nott tinkering around on something, with vials bubbling in the background. I love this mad scientist laboratory vibe. Pun is sitting on the bed behind him reading, when Arm comes in to get his watch. Arm and Nott get into a tug of war over the watch, as is typical for their playful friendship. This makes Pun a little jealous, so he interrupts them. Arm gathers his courage and asks to speak to Nott alone. Pun reluctantly gets up and announces he will go upstairs on the roof to film something. It’s pretty clear he doesn’t want to leave the two of them alone.
Pun, nothing good can come of eavesdropping. 🙄. He overhears Arm asks Nott if a person has a secret about another person, and that person knows it, should the person who knows it reveal it? It’s confusingly worded in the subtitles. I think what he’s asking is this. Arm thinks that Nott could possibly have feelings for him due to Nott’s previous actions, like the attempts to kiss him or the hugs. And Arm is ready to gather his courage and acknowledge his feelings for Nott.
Nott’s answer is honest and sincere. He tells Arm if that person knows the secret, you shouldn’t keep it in your heart, you should tell them directly. Nott puts careful consideration into his words. He believes that it is better to speak from the heart, than keep it all bottled up inside.
Arm bravely confesses his feelings to Nott, only to get laughed off at first. Then Arm gathers up even more courage to admit that he is serious about his feelings. Arm could have just laughed along and pretended he was joking, but he took a risk, gathered his courage and confessed his love.
Of course eavesdropper Pun overhears the confession, and leaves before he finds out Nott’s response. He walks down the hallway, remembering Arms actions and reactions in previous scenes, realizing that Arm has liked Nott for a long time. The love song from WHYRU plays in the background.
At this moment, I need to clarify one thing that bothers me about the series. I know it’s meant to nod to other bl’s and that they reference WhyRU a good bit in this show. But I associate these songs very strongly in my mind with certain scenes from WhyRU. This particular song played during episode 9. Tutor pretends to be asleep on the outdoor couch after they’ve arrived and Fighter gazes longingly at the love of his life sleeping, then decides to rest his head next to Tutors. This song also plays after Fighter and Tutor confess their love for each other in the bubble bath after their first time together. As you can see, it’s tied to my emotions of the show and those scenes. Therefor I find it jarring to hear in a different context. I realize that I’m alone in this way of thinking, but if I hear WhyRU music it takes me out of the current show and into WhyRU.
Ok, enough about the music. Let’s get back to the action.
The credits roll and then the we see that Arm is packing his suitcase when Om comes in from the shower. Ohm and Arm sit on the bed and open to each other. Arm tells Om what happened and how he was rejected. We see the scene from Arms point of view. This scene is important, and they give it the weight that it deserves. They don’t try to lighten the mood by inserting comedy, they let the actors and their feelings take center stage. An honest conversation is had about feelings. You don’t often see this in bl. It’s mature and handled in a way that tugs your heartstrings for both characters. P’Shewin is really good at this kind of scene. He’s able to pull real emotions out of his actors and make you feel what they are feeling.
Nott does not want to hurt Arm, as he considers Arm a dear friend. Nott also wants to be very clear about what he feels for Arm, so there can be no misinterpretation. Arm asks if it’s because of Pun. I’m especially impressed that Nott doesn’t let the easy answer be an excuse not to return Arm’s feelings. Nott clarifies that it doesn’t concern Pun, it is just that he views Arm as a dear friend and nothing more. This hurts both of them. Arm tells him to forget their conversation and takes his leave from the awkward conversation. Beautiful scene. I felt sad for both characters. 😔
The scene shifts back to Om and Arm sitting on the bed.
Om acknowledges that he knew of Arms feelings. He tries to comfort his friend by reminding Arm of the benefits of being a friend, like the ability to say what you really think. This scene is sweet. I enjoy finding the real moments mixed in with the comedy and surreal. It gives this show heart. The characters are not one dimensional, but have hidden depths. Both Arm and Om have dealt with unrequited love.
Of course I love that Om is now the resident busybody, so he goes to tell Nott that Arm is trying to move out, hoping to help his two friends sort this out.
On the way to talk to Arm, Nott bumps into the brothers, who are off to make an offering. They have bowls filled with paper, things for a shrine and two cars made from cardboard. This is important because their offering causes calamity and mayhem later.
We have another touching scene with Arm and Nott discussing how to move forward now that Nott has rejected Arm. It is handled well, with depth and a little humor as the pair resort to using song lyrics to discuss feelings. Nott leaves, saying they should go to Karaoke together.
Next is another WhyRU nod. The scene where Om tells Nott his life is like a Y novel.
It’s a nice change of pace from the seriousness of the episode. I love that Yuri just pops up there. And that Om and Yuri are trying to hide their relationship from Nott, but they aren’t very good about it.
Meanwhile the brothers have started a fire that quickly gets out of control, and everyone in the building proceeds to run and scream like crazy as they race around inside the building. I’m going to put some funny Porpla bits in here because we all know that Poppy is a show stealer. And no, Porpla, that’s not an amulet. 😂😂😂
In this scene, at the end, we have Nott realizing Pun is still upstairs, so he must go rescue him.
We have this scene, the action hero off to same the damsel in distress. I love how serious Nott is during this montage. Makes me smile through the cheesy special effects.
During all this craziness, Pun remains blissfully unaware, standing on the rooftop while contemplating his feelings. He admits that he likes Nott. Then suddenly Nott shows up, placing his arms around Pun. Time for their heart to heart. He tells Pun about Arms confession, letting Pun know that Arm was rejected. The bravery of Arm pushed Nott into telling Pun how he feels. I love this scene. It wasn’t overplayed, it was just the right amount of sincerity. The characters were finally on the same page, understanding each other and their feelings for each other.
This episode was by far the best for me. The journey of our main couple has now reached their happiness. And even Yuri and Om have found their place in each other’s heart. I can’t wait to see where it goes next, will we have angst or domestic bliss, or something in between? We’ll find out next week. Hope you guys enjoyed this review. Make sure to check out Red’s review on his blog as well. Feel free to comment and let me know what you think.
Rating: 4.5/5
It was an awesome episode that explores the main couple’s relationship while Poppy continues to be – still – at the center of the universe with his undeniable charisma as the actor to offer comedic relief, yet he holds the whole series together.