#but pran breaks that narrative cycle

[snickerdoodlles]

Engineering’s flaws are also our favorite strengths in them

Pat is a people pleaser. He’s so caring and considerate to the people he loves and we love to see how he shows this love through his acts of service. However, this same tendency to please those he cares about can also lead to him to sacrificing things he wants and/or acting badly for others, such as his attitude during his initial introduction where he’s trying to be this alpha tough guy leader with a strong reputation (aka him trying to be the ‘alpha’ son his father wants him to be), or how he doesn’t stop his friends from picking on Wai at his job in ep2 because they’re having fun and he doesn’t want his bad mood to keep bringing them down.

Korn is aggressively supportive. He’s the ride-or-die friend, the one that will always be there for his friends through thick and thin. Even when he struggles under outside pressure, he will always choose to standby his friends in the end. He’s even a little defiant about it, which is really something Pat and Pran needed in ep9. But on the flip side, sometimes he’s so aggressively supportive, he gets caught up in it and he forgets to listen. We see this in ep1 when he decides Wai’s apology to Pat isn’t enough to settle the slight against Pat, or in ep2 where he tries to help Pat ask out his ‘girl from across the hall’ and he insists he’s helping Pat (despite Pat’s protests) as he catcalls and harasses Pran through his door.

Chang is an advocate. We love to see when he brings up a side to things his friends hadn’t previously considered, such as in ep2 where he calls out the casual sexism in Korn’s jokes and in ep9 where he points out how Mo cannot be neutral under the pressure of their seniors without hurting Pat. However, he’ll often compromise on his own stances to try to avoid conflict with his friends, as we see again in ep2 where he shows visible hesitation over harassing Wai at work, but then caves and overcompensates by filming the harassment; or in ep9 where he hesitates too long to bring up his support for Pat and then tries to insist he did because he’s still assessing the situation.

Mo is a backer. As he says in ep1, true friendship is always staying by your friends’ sides. His quiet and steady support of his friends is really sweet and very reliable, but he’ll also take it too literally. You can’t just always go along with or mindlessly enable your friends because sometimes they do stupid stuff that hurts others (see: ep2 where he’s the one that really eggs on Korn and escalates the harassment against Wai). It also makes him freeze when there’s a conflict between his friends and he’ll try to play to both friends in a situation where he can’t be neutral (ep9), versus bringing his own thoughts and opinions to the table.

#bad buddy #was thinking about this in the shower #accidentally shampooed twice i was thinking about it so much #idk how u meta gods do this so often. i standby my takes on chang and mo bc thats how ive always seen them but like #i was trying to think of the specific descriptors for chang and mo for over an HOUR and im not sure i nailed the right words still #ANYWAYS #i have a lot of similar thoughts about the architecture gang but its not that their faults are their strengths (quite the opposite actually) #but instead their faults bring them closer/stronger in good food times but bring out the worst in bad weather times #*WOULD bring out the worst in them had pran not broken the cycle #something something pran is the cold to wai's hot; safe is the passive to louis's active #usually pran tempers wai's aggressiveness and impulsiveness while wai encourages pran to be more open and try new things #safes passivity encourages more introspection and louis's active keeps them from stagnation #but those things are *not* a good combination when facing a problem #pran avoids things hes uncomfortable over until either he breaks or the thing goes away (and he is *incredibly* stubborn) #pran usually avoids confrontation PERIOD #usually he turns to lies or misdirection or literally anything other than confronting a problem head on with the truth #wai's response to anything he doesnt like is FIGHT ME and is so aggressively in its face about it nothing moves forward #safe has mastered being passive aggressive and louis is like oil on flame #but pran breaks that narrative cycle #he acknowledges wai's anger over being lied to without conceding anything. he reaches out but stands his ground #he doesnt apologize for loving pat nor for hiding it. he doesnt compromise himself to make wai more comfortable. #instead his previous tendency to ice something out is now how he can confront wai so calmly and not give him the fight hes itching for #and it forces wai into a cold stop and forces him to sit and think on those things #prans refusal to reciprocate tempers safe and louis as well and thats why theyre all able to come together in the end #still needing to talk about and address the hurt caused between them but able to stand together and support each other regardless #its so good #theyre less brittle now than where they were when it started and its PRAN that started that #we love to see it #im so proud of him #.........so anyways i just realized i made an engineering squad post and then cried exclusively about architecture in the tags whoops

[jojotichakorn]

After everything that happened with the parents last week, the words Pat and Pran managed to say and the feelings they managed to express, I cannot believe they would back out on us like that and go "but we'll submit to your wishes still after all". Forget about it being "realistic" or understandable or whatever, it's a betrayal from a narrative standpoint, for the journey the characters went through. Plus it means that the parents are even worse than we thought??? To pretend like nothing was said.

And I agree with you, even if they're lying, it still gives victory to the parents. The message is still "appease your family since you can't be free of them". Which yeah thanks a lot of us went through this, we know!! But that wasn't where this was going. This whole ep is just cruel, knowing where it's heading, I don't understand the point.

Plus this is just so unnecessary? Confronting their parents again and deciding how they would go on from there was more than enough drama and emotional high for the final episode, whether the parents came around or not. Even if it strained their relationship, even if they did have a "is it even worth it" moment. Break up - time skip - make up means it will all be rushed and unsatisfying and DAMN yeah I'm mad.

Sorry I've been enjoying your bad buddy content and I wish my first ask was something more positive but they really let us down here...

to me, this conclusion about the parents recontextualizes the whole series. because we always knew that the parents thing would come to a boil eventually - it was the central point of the whole plot, and it seemed like we were coming to some sort of a compromise there, like we'd have issues with the parents, but eventually, they would come around. but instead, they pulled the blanket onto the parents completely, with a conclusion so painfully familiar to every abused child. going no-contact with your parents is generally frowned upon anywhere, but i come from a culture where respecting your elders and valuing family are things you must do regardless of what your elders and your family think or say or do, and this is exactly the conclusion that we came to. they are family, therefore you should stick to them, do exactly what they tell you to do, and that's final. which i have heard many times myself, it's just devastating to hear it from something that was supposed to be comforting, but instead became piece of media #387542 that perpetuates the generational abuse cycle.

#bad buddy #archer responds #inrainbowz

[boyfriendsmalec]

Why I believe Pat and Pran will be engaged by the end of Bad Buddy:

1) If Pat and Pran truly do separate for another three years, I can see upon them getting back together that they don't want to waste anymore time. They would want to get married to each other, proving their commitment and love to their families, their friends, and the world.

2) The marriage and honeymoon references/allusions. This isn't just something P'Aof would have sprinkled throughout episodes 10 and 11 if he weren't meaning for it to lead up to something.

3) Nanon said the series ending is very "P'Aof" and one of the writers said that people would be screaming and demanding a season 2 after finishing the show.

4) Pat and Pran agreeing to get married is actually important to the narrative and theme of the story. It represents the union of the two feuding houses finally putting their rivalry to rest. A joining of houses. Pat and Pran getting married is the ultimate way of tying their families together and would show growth of the two families in forgiving past wrongs and moving forward for the sake of their children. It is a breaking of cycles, and Pat and Pran's marriage would show how the cycle of generational trauma and rivalry has ended.

#bad buddy #I'm really sorry if I'm wrong and built people's expectations sky high #but I really do think this a proposal/engagement likely going to happen #if it doesn't I will actually be shocked pikachu face

[jojotichakorn]

Honestly Archer you are so brave, both for being a voice that calls out how parental abuse is portrayed as ok and for staying here to answer asks about Bad Buddy the following week. Even during these hard times, you're still here and a safe space, so thank you so much for that. I appreciate you and everything you do. I hope you first and foremost consider your own health, and take all the breaks you need. I want to let you know I agree with you about the direction Bad Buddy has taken. I hated the use of that parallel and the message it's sending.

People saying it's realistic and in character for Pran, I get what you mean. In real life people can have a hard time changing and changing how they react to situations. In my opinion though, this is a narrative, where the characters don't have to act "realistically" in that sense. By making the narrative choice of them pleasing the families instead of fighting, they disregarded the character development in Pran. I may have missed some cues, but from how I understood and interpreted Bad Buddy, that is bad writing. I haven't experienced anything similar myself so this isn't really my place and I apologise if I'm overstepping. I don't think it would've been unrealistic to go with breaking the cycle, though. That's also why I'm really struggling with the message they are sending right now. Previously I was of the impression that Bad Buddy was about reconciliation with the hopeful tone that things can get better. They had the opportunity within the narrative to question established/problematic views, and didn't in this case. Isn't that what art is supposed to do? So yeah, I'm disappointed.

As of now I can't enjoy this episode or Bad Buddy in general to be honest. After having read, written and processed a little, I feel like I'm ready to take a break too. I will reserve my final judgement for when the series is finished, though.

Sending all my love and virtual hugs to everyone who needs it,

song rec anon

thank you very much, i really appreciate your kind words!! i very genuinely and seriously want this blog to be a safe and kind space for everyone who is upset by what's happened, so you would all be able to talk about this and to feel supported and understood instead of feeling judged. so i am doing my best to reconcile talking to all of you and not completely breaking down over some of the hurtful mentions and messages i get. so sometimes i don't get to certain asks right away or just take big breaks because of this, but i promise i am here for all of you and you can continue talking to me about this, my response just might take some time.

as for your point, i think there is space in an unspecified character's development arc to go back a bit and then return on its path to change, but with one episode left, this is clearly not what bad buddy is doing, and with junior's arc in episode 11, the message regarding the parents was also made loud and clear. so with the former, we get all character development going to the drain and both the message and the tone of the entire series shifting completely. and with the latter... well, we get yet another media that perpetuates the generational cycle of abuse not just without criticising it, but with upholding it quite loudly and firmly.

sending you lots of love and hugs back, thank you for being here for me, dearest song rec anon <333

#archer responds #song rec anon #friendunfriend