YYY – Episode 6 (Season 1 Finale) – Review

This week will be the final installment in our joint reviews of the series YYY. I’ve really enjoyed sharing reviews with Red from Psycho-Milk to give our readers two different reviews under one rating system. I am so grateful that such a fantastic reviewer & writer agreed to collaborate with a small fry like myself. It’s allowed me to stretch my wings a bit, and I’m really happy with the way this turned out. YYY has been a crazy ride, but one I’ve thoroughly enjoyed.

Let’s get to the nitty gritty of this final episode of Season 1. I’ll leave the link to Red’s review and the episode links below. Remember my reviews contain *SPOILERS* so if you haven’t seen the show, watch it before you read further

Where we left off: Nott had just confessed to Pun on the rooftop of their apartment building which was on fire. It seemed pretty clear that their feelings were mutual and they just needed to tie up loose threads before the show ended.

Of course this is YYY, so why would I expect any predictability from this show. The tease you with one thing, then deliver something completely different, yet it all somehow works. It’s part of P’Shewin’s charm as a director.

This week we start off with Porpla, Mocha and Latte dressed in construction outfits outside Mahan and Wang Chao’s tent. Porpla punished them for setting fire to the apartment complex by making them sleep in a tent. She is also going to make them clean up the apartment instead of pressing charges against them. The joke that at least in jail they’d get meals provided for them gets tossed around. While Porpla scolds them, we have Nott and Pun return from the hospital. I just love this little funny bl trope that works its way into their conversation.

Nott also tells Porpla that he is Pun’s boyfriend and they walk off with Pun’s arm around Notts waist. Once they are back in the room, there’s the obligatory scene with sponge bathing the sick person.

Of course given that P’Shewin’s latest work was WhyRU, I can’t help but compare these two scenes.

After the sponge bath, we get the I’ve made you soup, now eat and take your medicine scene.

I really enjoyed the cuteness of the scene. They are playful and flirty, even ending on a pillow fight while their song, a duet, plays in the background. Things are happy, which is why you know the shoe is about to drop.

Pun asks Nott why Nott didn’t ask about his feelings after the rooftop confession. Nott replies that he already knows how Pun feels. Pun is bad at hiding his feelings and has already admitted to being jealous of Arm. This makes Pun bold enough to ask Nott to be his boyfriend. He’s all smiles, confident of Nott’s answer.

Pun is stunned. Why would Nott say this. Nott gives him reasons, like I’m an orphan I have no one. I’m no good for you. I confessed my feelings to you because I would have regrets if something were to happen. I am content with just that. At this point Pun sits in stunned silence. It doesn’t make sense. And yet once again P’Shewin pulls out cards from the WhyRU deck. There’s more than just the two of us in a relationship. Sounds familiar right? Same argument Tutor uses to justify his breakup with Fighter. Nott also states that he wants to pursue his dream, and doesn’t want Pun to resent him for it. This is actually a bit mature, because until Pun has his own dreams, he won’t understand the drive of Nott.

Pun leaves, visibly upset. Given the clues and way that Nott had been treating him, he assumed they would become official boyfriends. And now he’s rejected.

Another nod to WhyRU is the tears that flow after Pun has left. I can recall Tutor holding his mouth trying to sob quietly so Fighter won’t hear it and come back to him. He’s not showing his own pain because he doesn’t want to make Pun come back and question him.

Pun has a wedding photo shoot with Pao as a job they are doing. During the photo shoot he replays everything that Nott said, and realized that Nott always had a dream, but that Pun didn’t. This makes Pun realize he’s going through the motions of living his life without consciously making decisions. He tells Pao that he will not be doing any more jobs together because he’s going to find his dream. Pao calls him selfish, and he is, but he’s also determined to figure out what he most wants in life.

Meanwhile, back at the apartment complex, Yuri confesses to Porpla that she is dating Ohm because Ohm was a gentleman to her. Porpla is impressed with Yuri’s honesty so she agrees that Yuri can visit Ohm since they are together. Yuri confesses to Ohm in front of Nott.

I love the simplicity of their response to Nott’s confusion. It doesn’t have to be complicated. If it works out, great, if it doesn’t, we break up. It blows Nott’s mind. And of course, there is meowing….😂😂 I don’t know if P’Shewin has a thing for cats, but this is still one of the cutest WhyRU scenes.

Back with Pun, he calls his dad and agrees to move back home. This next scene is the most touching scene in this episode. Poppy shines so brightly as Porpla, who opens up her heart to Pun. There is so much heart in this scene. To be honest, I’ve seen his characterization of Porpla grow and evolve during each episode. He gave us moments of vulnerability and also moments of sweetness. I am looking forward to seeing more from him.

Porpla and friends give Pun a going away party on the rooftop, and they are dressed as women. I love that even though it could have been played for laughs, it wasn’t. Everyone just went along with it because that’s what Porpla wanted. They even come up with their feminine names with sass and flair. I loved that this wasn’t treated as something disgusting or transphobic. The entire show we see that even though Porpla, Mocha and Latte are weird, no one makes fun of them. They just accept that’s who she is. This doesn’t happen often in a series.

Nott, of course, refuses to come to the party. He tells Arm that he doesn’t want to say goodbye and they have a lovely heartfelt discussion with Arm dressed in a frilly jumpsuit. It still is a touching scene and I love P’Shewin for that. The whimsy on the outside, with heart in the middle.

By the time Nott decides to come to the party, Pun is back and packing up. The party is over and he missed his chance. He still refused to say goodbye, and Pun leaves heartbroken.

Honestly I shouldn’t have been surprised by the spaceship. That would explain all the mysterious things that happen during the series. Like the ability of people to appear and disappear at will. It made me chuckle. And to have Porpla hand Nott a space suit to go chase his love, was both sweet and surreal.

This scene where Nott truly confesses to Pun is again, tinged with the overdramatic flair of the cheesy space suits straight from a costume rental stores. They both manage to deliver a heartfelt performance. They both agree they have growing to do.

After this we see the apartment complex with Nott breaking the fourth wall, telling us that things are back to normal. He walks around talking to the camera, and of course, there are crazy residents teasing and planking each other in the background. At the very end we see Pun show up and say to the apartment building, it’s been so long I wonder if anything has changed. Then they announce season 2.

Overall this episode was good, but it felt too rushed. They tried to wrap things up quickly with conflict that seemed to appear out of thin air. I still have problems with Nott’s behavior around Pun. He treated him as a boyfriend, even called him wife, but rejected his actual confession. Talk about mixed signals. Pun had to grow up. The whimsy was there, but with heart. Again, Poppy stole the show. The entire series I couldn’t take my eyes off Poppy. Talay and Yoon did a good job together. Their chemistry was mostly ok, but it felt like they were more like bros who flirt with each other. With all that said, I will look forward to season 2. Where they will go with the storyline is anybodies guess. And that’s part of the charm.

Rating: 4/5