Sorry, I can’t leave this place. WHYRU holds a power of me and my heart can’t seem to escape it. So in light of the FM coming up, that I will enjoy virtually, and not in person thanks to the lovely Rona virus, I’m going to walk through this series once again. Please join me in watching once more.
And one more thing. I’m sorry if my early writing was shit. I just reread my WHYRU episode 1 analysis, and am a bit embarrassed by how bad it is. So hopefully this will flow a little better, and you will enjoy it a bit more.
Episode 1
It’s been so long since I’ve watched you, my old friend. I usually start my rewatch from episode 5, but it’s like coming home to the smell of a home cooked meal, or a warm hug from an old friend. It’s so welcoming and inviting, I couldn’t stop smiling the entire first episode.
Let me say once again, how fantastic the opening sequence is. It’s amazing. It delights all my senses and pleases me on so many levels. We have the carnival music going in the background. We have the night scene, with the bright lights of various attractions like the carousel or Ferris wheel. But it doesn’t come across garishly, as the music is muted slightly and the focus is on our main character Zon. The color scheme is so beautiful with its various shades of blue. And then there is the sound. There is the ticking of a clock, the clicking of shoes, the muffled sounds of the world going by.
Zon stares around in bewilderment, trying to figure out why everyone looks so strange. We feel his confusion as the world spins slowly around him, people pass him by, all staring at him. Then he see’s something familiar amidst his surreal surroundings. Tutor.
I love that we see Zon and Tutor interact as Tutor prompts Zon to reflect on what has come to pass, and what will be. It feels as if we’re Alice stumbling down the rabbit hole, unsure of our surroundings and our reality. Curiouser and curiouser….sorry, couldn’t help it. 😁
Then Zon get’s bumped and the world changes to animation. To be honest, I miss this part later on in the series. I love that each episodes closes with the important scenes illustrated, but it would have been nice to see more dream animation sequences. I know that there is an animated scene when Zon is sleeping against the building at school, but I wish they had put a bit more of this into the series. It feels fresh, as I haven’t seen anything like this, especially in a bl.
After Zon wakes up from his dream, the opening credits roll. I swear the music in this series is my jam. I could, and frequently do, listen to them all on repeat. I even bought them from Apple Music so I can listen while not connected to the Internet. (I love that ZaintSeeTeamSub, ShipperZS and ZaintSeeChannel translated and subbed the lyrics…truly grateful to them 💙❤️)
After the credits roll, we see Zon at his desk, working on his novel. Once again, I’m amazed by how pretty the aesthetics are. The attention to detail make this scene so good. The background props, like Star Wars, Lego’s, the Aliens figurine, Thor’s hammer Mjolinar and the posters are on point. If you don’t already know this, I am a huge nerd as are/were my kids. We are MCU fans, and have a family portrait of ourselves with Stan Lee, so this room really appeals to me. And the ambient blue light really sets the vibe of a science fiction writer. Kudos to the set design team. I live for details like this.
Then we get filled in to the backstory of how Zon made the bet with his sister, so we see why he threw himself into writing. I miss Zon and Zen teasing each other. I loved this brother sister duo. I wish they had more screen time too. Gah, I’m so greedy. But I really love their rapport.
Next we see our boy Tutor, shining as bright as the sun.
And I’m not kidding, there’s a beautiful glow around him when we first see him, and even the birds are singing. I think that at this point I squealed really loudly and my husband laughed at me. Even though I’ve seen this a million and one times, I was so excited to see him again. Yes, I realize I might be a bit obsessed. Yes, it might be a problem, but I KNOW that it’s one that we all share. So many in our fandom can’t get past this show. It broke the mold for me, and a lot of other shows just can’t compare or measure up.
And y’all he’s tutoring the little jerk, that I just want to punch in the face, the first second I see him. I remember how much trouble he caused them over his unrequited crush on Tutor. 😡
Then we pan over to our first glimpse of Fighter…..I’ve missed him so much too, Why am I in the feels over these fictional characters? But I love them so much.
Then we have the coffee cup spill, which I love because when Tutor’s not looking at him, Fighter looks contrite, but his mask slips back in place when Tutor looks back at him. He’s trying to stuff his emotions down.
Next we have the bakery scene. Let me once again extol the virtues of P’Kae, the bakery owner. I love him. He tries to be polite to his super rude customer, the son of a debt collector of Tutor’s father. RG(rude guy) orders something, puts his feet up and tells P’Kae to move the table closer. I love P’Kae’s response is to politely push the table so close RG can’t move. Then place his food slightly out of reach. Genius. 😁 Tutor comes in, gets shooed to change and warned about RG who is waiting on Tutor.
Tutor picks himself up as he changes, putting on his smile, despite his difficulties. He’s a fighter. He will keep going because he wants to help his family, his work, and do his best. So he puts on his pageboy hat and goes to deal with the RG, who turns super creepy, demanding that Tor become his bride if he doesn’t have the money. Ugh….
This is where WHYRU does things differently. P’Kae comes to intervene, trying to protect Tutor. He has been nothing but softspoken. A gay guy who is in touch with his feminine side. However RG crosses a line and calls him a name, and we see fierce P’Kae come out, scaring the little twerp, as he defends Tutor, thrusting the money at RG and ordering him out of the cafe.
I love how they took the trope of the gay guy as soft spoken, weak, and turned it on his head. P’Kae turned into a fierce Mama Bear defending her cub. And I use the term Mama Bear behavior, because thats what it is. Don’t mess with ones under their protection or you will get swiped. We see that P’Kae is kind, and cares a lot for Tutor. He is more than a stereotype. In the brief interactions we’ve seen him in, they’ve managed to make him human, fleshing out his character. For a first scene, this is impressive. And it goes to show you that the supporting veteran actors and actresses they added to the cast were brilliant choices. They bring their A game, causing the newer cast members to step up to meet them in the scenes they shared.
We switch back to Zon/Zen which is still so cute to see. And the parents are upset his grades have gone down so they tell him they want him to put his novel on hold, and focus on his studies. This stings as Zon is now into writing, and it hurts that he won’t be following his dream. They mention, and rightly so, that Zen keeps up her grades and manages her writing. But here’s one takeaway I loved from his mother. She asks him to take time to think over what they said and if he agrees with them or not. Although they want him to focus on studying, at the end, she’s letting him decide if that is the path he’s going to take. We can offer advice, but they have to make their own choices in life. That’s part of growing up.
Then we have the Zon and Zen promise which causes all the mayhem inside Zon’s brain, lol. The next morning we see confused Zon, who sees two guys holding hands at school. He is so cute here. Tommy, even from the beginning, does a good job making you fall for his version of Zon.
Then the adorable cafeteria scene, with Zon standing on the table to be eye to eye with Saifah. With Tutor calming everyone down, ordering Zon to sit down and Saifah to move, this is the Tutor we know. He’s assertive. He diffuses the situation with decisive action. Then we see Hwa come to tell Tutor she wont be able to join him for lunch as Fighter is taking her to lunch.
Fighter is deliberately needling Tutor when he comes up to the table by being all sweet to Hwa. He wants to get a reaction. He’s jealous because he thinks Tutor like Hwa, so he’s taunting Tutor, see you can’t have her and I can’t have you. We are all dissatisfied. Lol. Here is a link to their first meeting and the ceremony of ribbon tying.
Tutor Fighter 1st Meeting/Ribbon Ceremony
I love the flirting that commences after the ribbon tying ceremony. It’s so cute. Fighter bringing Tutor a drink, but he’s too embarrassed to say it nicely. And Tutor teasing him is so cute too. There’s this tension there between the two of them. And I recognize it from other episodes, it’s definitely Tutor’s flirting behavior. And yet Hwa swoops in and ruins the moment. Fighter is ok with Tutor teasing him when they are alone, but he’s got a damn homophobe control freak father at home, so no flirting in public for him. I think he was starting to become self aware of his feelings at this point, but not wanting to acknowledge them. When he finally starts dating Hwa, it’s like he’s trying to be the “normal” guy who loves a girl and does what’s expected, because we know that he’s pushed into this by his dad. The disappointment on Tutor’s face. He doesn’t know why he’s feeling unhappy, he tells himself he’s trying to protect Hwa from a player, but deep down he’s hurt that whatever they were starting, got the brakes pulled on it fast. I think it was subconscious for Tutor at this point. He had the feeling but wasn’t really aware of what it was.
Now I’m going to rip your heart out. Sorry. I can’t watch that scene without thinking of the scene from episode 12 where we hear Fighter’s true feelings. I have to say in the first episode, they did a great job at only shooting things from Tutor’s point of view. You don’t see Fighter’s face when Tutor is running. Very deliberate choices there. Of course in the first episode scene we are captivated by Cute Face Tutor…..omg, he’s adorable and puppy face Saifah is adorable too. So so so cute. And even though he wrote his name as Tor…he always called him that after that day…..I love these little details.
Ok, now for the part where we see how much Fighter was captivated by Tutor, from that scene to this one. He fell in love so quickly. The more he tried to go away from his love, the closer he wanted to be. He lived in a constant state of wanting what was just out of his reach. He dated Hwa also to be close to Tor. He knew they were close, and though he might complain, he was glad to see him. 😭😭😭
Zee said it was so hard for him to get out of character from this scene. Someone suggested, and I feel this is probably true, that Zee became Fighter and to him Saint was Tutor, so he was losing an important person to him. So he couldn’t let go of the sorrow, because he was lost without his love. So Saint had to say to him, you still have Saint, I’m right here. Which just breaks my heart and makes me melt at the same time. I need to remember where I read this. I think it was in one of the BTS episodes or a reaction video. When I find it, I will insert it in at the bottom, so you guys can see it too.
That’s all for episode 1. I hope you watched along with me. Tell me what you guys think. Can’t wait to start talking about this again. I’m getting excited all over again. Thanks for reading. 🤗💕 – Jen
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