#dead friend forever meta

[syrena-del-mar]

Dead Friend Forever Is More Than Just A 90s Slasher Film Imitation

Oh man, I went in thinking I would just get a whole lot of gore and murder, and instead I'm getting a buttload of social class distinction, parental issues, mental health crises, organized crime, and a highly-likely revenge plot line.

The thing about Dead Friend Forever is that it starts unassuming, almost like an copy of all other teen slashers from the 90s. A group of friends, up in a cabin and suspects to a potential murder, become hunted one-by-one. A cliche slasher plot if I ever heard one. Until it’s not. This show is taking up a very big corner of my brain, so I’m going to delve deeper into it.

If you haven't watched episode 6 yet, spoilers up ahead.

Pulling inspiration from 90s slasher re-inventor, Scream

The first four episodes really set up the expectation that DFF was going to be another slasher, seemingly particularly influenced by Scream (1996). Scream was a turning point for slasher movies, signaling a shift in from the movies of the 80s to that of the 90s. It was the first of many movies to allow for the characters to be self-aware of what genre they're working in, where the characters knew of the slasher-movie tropes and attempted to do everything right to survive. Scream is also the first slasher to truly humanize the killers, and I don't mean by making them empathetic, but rather the killers were human, so they made human mistakes. Prior to Scream, the antagonists in slasher films were usually this supernatural villain that was just murder-hungry. But in Scream, the killers are all just regular people and would often make mistakes on their way to kill the protagonists, like a normal human would. It's why Scream was scary, the killer could be anyone, it wasn't this supernatural being. And even when you're making the right choices to escape, you still end up dead.

In Dead Friend Forever, we're getting so many of the same tropes that Scream had subverted. The group is working understanding exactly what they're facing; Fluke warning to not pull out the stake inside Por, Top wanting to split up in the temple while Phee, Jin and Tan veto against it expressly stating it would be like the horror movies, White not wanting to be left behind in the cabin. They all know what they shouldn't be doing while there is a killer on the loose. Also, it's why there's these funny little moments of the killer in DFF (i.e. having to steal the motorcycle to get back to the cabin). I'm not completely convinced that there isn't any paranormal activity or at least some type hallucinogen-component at play, but the way the killer acts is very human-like. Not to mention the parallel of Barcode (arguably the most popular actor in the show) getting slashed in the first minute of the show, eerily similar to how in the opening scene of Scream, Drew Barrymore (the most well-known of the cast) gets killed immediately.

The Benefits of Series Format versus Movie Format

The series format is where I think Dead Friend Forever is really shining the most. @wen-kexing-apologist made an awesome post on the directorial direction this show is taking, particularly in how since the first four episodes we have very little context as to why the killings are occurring or even the state of everyone's relationship, we're freely able to form opinions on each character. Similarly, prior to getting to know what happened to Non, I also thought Tee was the better one of the group. But here we are, two episodes later and I find him to be the most detestable of the bunch (which says something, when Por and Top are competing in this category).

We're seeing and experiencing the absolute hell that this friend group had actively made (sans Jin and Fluke that suffer from the bystander effect) Non's life out to be. In a regular slasher movie, especially ones that model themselves after Scream, we find out why the Killer is doing what he's doing to the victims in the last quarter of the movie, but the emotional value is a little skewed. The little amount of time we spend learning about what the victims did to the Killer usually still leaves you feeling at least a smidge of pity for the victims and some joy that the Final Girl made it. Here, the mass consensus is that each and every one of them should die.

And it comes back to the luxury of spending several episodes in a flashback to what lead up to the killings after the game of cat-and-mouse has begun. We're introduced to Non as an outsider, where everyone, but Jin, has already formed a bad opinion of Non. They already have a brutal nickname for him (read @forkaround's awesome analysis on the term 'Greasy'). They already established that he's an outsider in the classroom, but they make an active point of only referring to him as 'Greasy' and Non just accepts it. We see the friend group frame him, causing him to spiral twice to point of suicide, proceed to prey on him into a money laundering scheme, get him caught in a criminal investigation, all while already undergoing mental health treatment. We're given that time to know and see the pain that Non is caused, the manipulation that he is put under, and ultimately the devastation that they've caused.

Dead Friends Forever is more than just another teen slasher, because it has time. And it's using its time wisely, giving us bits and pieces of information in the beginning before delving into something more sinister than the killer on the loose, the original five. Run-of-the-mill bullying has turned into framing, assault and other criminal activity, even murder. And yet, while Non is the one that has disappeared (or died), the other five have been able to make a life for themselves without suffering any of the consequences. It's showing exactly what they have done to deserve everything that is coming to them.

Final Thoughts

Man, Be on Cloud is truly blowing it out of the water with this show. I'm actually a bit sad that it's only barely starting to get the recognition that it deserves, because in my opinion, it's just that good, BUT I also understand why it's had a sleepy start. It's in an place, a BL in one sense, but not exactly a BL in any other. I've said it before, but no matter what you think of BOC as a management company, the stories that they tell are unique and they have the artists that are competent enough to deliver. Be on Cloud has, allegedly, allowed the writers take the reign on the show, even if this means messing with the couples, so even more chaos is going to occur. This is, frankly, exciting to see and experience the story as they want it to be told.

I said this when I first saw Barcode in KinnPorsche deliver that heartbreaking cry, that boy knows how to cry. He was a newbie and his stole that scene. Now this is his third show under his belt and his acting chops only continue to improve, I truly can't wait to see what more he is able to do here in Dead Friend Forever. I love that Sammon is also enjoying what Barcode has able to bring forth in Non and that all her worries have been eased. I truly think that Barcode is going to have an incredible career ahead of him, whether in music or in acting.

Ta, on the other hand, also deserves his share of accolades. I wasn't sure of how to read to Phee in the first four episodes, but with the information that episode 6 has given us? The picture has cleared significantly and now, having rewatched his scenes, everything makes sense on why he seemed to be conniving. Episode 6 had some of the strongest performances and yet the biggest gasp I made was in the last minute. The singular tear rolling down Phee's cheek after having to perform the two-finger method, to have Non throw up the pills, and holding him in his arms? Quite literally jaw-dropping.

Sammon has a strong repertoire of shows, so I have complete faith that she knows what she's doing for Dead Friend Forever. I hope this becomes as much of a cult favorite, much like Manner of Death and Triage.

Anyways if you need me, I'll probably be stuck thinking about PheeNon for the next week until episode 7 airs.

#dead friend forever #dead friend forever the series #dead friend forever meta #dff meta #dff the series #barcode tinnasit #ta nannakun #copper phuriwat #pheenon #be on cloud #pheejin #tabarcode #boc actors #thai bl #thai bl meta #bl meta #steph rambles

[tbhimnoteasyonmyself]

WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH PHEE?

(and other equally puzzling things)

An EXTREMELY EXTENSIVE Post-Episode 10 Analysis/Theory

So, okay. Episode 10 was A LOT. Like... A LOT, A LOT. And a lot of this lot seems... Weird as fuck. So many odd choices were made in the narrative.

Top's drugged manipulation; White pulling info about shrooms out of his ass; Fluke becoming a victim of involuntary drug abuse ghosts of his past and begging for mercy after "all he did to Non"... But nothing beats Phee's OOC moments in ep.10 while he's alone with Jin.

Which is what compels me to make this post. Because this series has been nothing but the richness of detail and now suddenly... It's all over the place? Call it wishful thinking (or Last Twilight trauma) but I don't think so. And it mostly comes down to: Phee. And whatever his "agenda" is.

PS: All screenshots of the show I use (and I will use a lot) will have been brightened because this show is FUCKING DARK, BOYYYYYY and I don't think y'all deserve to force your sight at 3AM to enjoy my posts.

WHAT HAPPENS AND WHY IT'S SUSPICIOUS

So? What does Phee say and do when he's alone with Jin in ep.10 and why am I suspicious of it?

It's hard to say for sure. But we can base ourselves off of 3 things: what we hear him say, what Jin replies to him and the flashbacks (no, they're not just there to fill in time for this very short episode, they serve a narrative purpose).

So let's do this analysis following the order in which things are shown to us, shall we?

First of all, we get a short flashback. The events are as follows:

Phee and New go to see the gang's film

New approaches Phee and they talk

New and Phee decide to try and figure out what happened to Non by infiltrating the group

New and Phee join the gang's school and start asking question

Jin decides to leave Thailand

New suggests going to Por's mansion for the goodbye party

Phee questions New in the lab about his decisions

New suggests using their homemade drug on the group as a truth serum

Phee asks if the drug is deadly and New denies it

Although we don't hear Phee tell this to Jin, Jin does reply very angrily something along the lines of "and you just let him carry on with it? why didn't you stop him? what the fuck is wrong with y'all???", so we can assume we've been shown what Phee told him.

So far, it's very unsuspicious. We've been shown these events before in the actual flashbacks so we can be fairly sure all of that is true.

It starts to get suspicious, however, when Phee replies to him: "There's so much more that you don't understand. About Non, and Tan".

And I think Jin feels the vibe too because, the man standing on his tall pillar of morality and righteousness /s, says he'll give Phee another chance to cut the bullshit and tell him everything. And so Phee sighs and the dreaded narration of ✨New's Murderous Adventures✨ starts.

So Phee tells Jin (and consequently us) that:

Phee and New set up a bunch of cameras to spy on the gang

New drugged the drinks

It was supposed to end when everyone was high at the party but New didn't follow the plan

New deleted the camera files

Phee kept drugging the group

Por's injury wasn't an accident but a trap that he thinks New set

New's drug enhances people's inner fears

Phee "never thought New would be so cruel with Uncle Dang"

New drugged Top at the temple

New must've left the hard disk for White to find

By the time he figured New's plan, there was nothing he could do about it (and we see him looking distressed at New's arrival at the house)

Now, here we have some interesting things. Let me list them for you.

Why would Phee keep drugging the group after Por got hurt?? If, as he claims, he didn't mean for people to get hurt, why would he keep people on drugs while a man is dying on the couch? Especially when the guy you're on a revenge mission with is ELIMINATING THE CONTENT OF THE CAMERA RECORDINGS!! That sure isn't gonna help anyone survive!

How does Phee know about Top??? He and Jin never saw Top arrive at the house. For all they know, that bro is lost in the woods. Right??

HOW THE FUCK DOES HE KNOW WHITE GOT THE HARD DRIVE??? There's no signal in the woods. We've established that. When White tells Tee and New about his actions they're ALONE. The only other person there is LITERALLY THE MASKY (I'm calling the masked person that for convenience, it's shorter. besides, it seems the fandom has been calling them that anyways, so... yeah). So how does he know? How does he know???

And in that same fucking sequence: THE MASKY TRIES TO HURT NEW!!! Bu if New told Top to hurt everyone who hurt Non, why would he hurt him??? And why, my friends, WHY would he SAVE TEE, when he's the only witness of those events??? It would be so easy to just say the masky killed Tee and he couldn't save him... Is it 4D chess??? Is it a different masky??? Or, is it simply not true that New did that?

It's very confusing, weird and suspicious. But let's wait it out, guys, because there's more to PheeJin in the temple.

After this odd-ass narration, they're back to having a convo. Which goes as follows:

Jin (very validly) asks Phee what the fuck is wrong with him and New

Phee says he'd never allow them to go if he knew New was going for murder instead of just confessions ("you can hate me if you want but I never wanted anyone to get hurt, I swear" or whatever he said)

Jin asks if Tan is New and Phee is Non's boyfriend

Phee confirms Jin's suspicions and even adds that "p'New came back from England"

Jin asks if they ever saw the group as their friends

Phee says they wanted to infiltrate the group to find the truth because they didn't know shit about what happened to Non and it's haunting them (good choice of words there, very subtle /s)

Phee explains his motivation, stating he told Non to "get lost and die"

Jin confesses to recording the child grooming revenge porn tape and posting it on Twitter (-_-)

Jin explains his motivation, saying he respected Non's relationship (by constantly making moves on him?) but couldn't stand him cheating on Phee (so he one-upped him by committing not one but two actual severe crimes?)

Phee appears to be mad and disgusted so he says "Fuck. So we both were the ones who hurt Non?", gets up and starts pacing (oh no! the big boy is angy~~~ /s)

Jin gets up like a sad wet cat

Phee randomly finds an axe and takes some exposition out of his ass by stating "this must be Tan's axe that he keeps as a spare. But it's good"

Phee breaks the gate

So by this point Phee's whole speech sounds a bit insane, considering the type of person we've seen he is. Not to mention he just INSTANTLY calms down upon finding an axe and just decides to move on. Like ??? Excuse me??? If that ain't weird then idk what is. Like, sure, Phee is a very confusing and confused character (as better explored by @crysta1ized in this post). He seems to have his heart divided between many things and they could all be pulling at his strings there. HOWEVER, we have to remember Phee's also THIS guy:

Does this look like the kind of person who would just move on after a (perceived) treason? Does he??

And, the thing about this is that it gets worse.

After the scene cuts back from the house, Pheejin are lost in the damn woods (parallels to New and Tee? mayhaps, man, mayhaps...) These are the events there:

Phee is back to supporting Jin's weight with his body while they walk (which makes no fucking sense bc Jin hurt his SHOULDER which is a part of his UPPER BODY so there's no reason why he couldn't walk on his own but okay, sure)

They make no progress walking for a while, even despite trying to mark the places they've already been at

Jin is very upset that Phee's not very good at navigating through unknown forests at night

Phee, however, is very understanding and says: "Jin. I told you that I would be the one who would protect you. So I'll get you out of here" then PROCEEDS TO HOLD HANDS with him and continues with: "Right now, our friends are waiting for us to help them. So, you must stay strong. Believe in me"

-Jin nods (because, despite trying to play the apathetic bitch, he's a softie and very much has feelings™)

-PheeJin finally find the exit of the fucking forest

DO Y'ALL SEE HOW SOMETHING'S VERY WRONG WITH PHEE HERE??? Bro's not just acting weird (that would be fine, we love weirdos. *looks at New and winks* <3), he's abnormal. He's not acting like himself.

So, before I jump into trying to make some sense out of all of this, I'll just add the last scene of PheeJin alone in ep.10, last anyone come tell me I missed it:

They're arriving at the mansion

Jin falls down

Phee abandons the axe to help him

I don't think this one is particularly relevant to analyse Phee's character in this episode (although the axe is certainly relevant for other plots and our dear 9th person) but it's there. After this, they're back in the house with everyone and Por's rotting corpse.

PHEE IS HIDING THINGS

So what the fuck happened, really? Well, a lot. Some are easier, I think, to interpret, some aren't but regardless, there was a lot going on with Phee. To make this very complex thing a bit easier to understand, I'll start from the things I think are a bit easier to explain and/or are more solid and then I'll move from there towards the rest of this mess. Okay? Ok- (gets shot bc I hate John Green).

One thing for me that's nearly set in stone is that Phee, at the very least, isn't telling Jin everything. If he was, then the flashbacks would've started with PheeNon's falling love montage but they don't. They start at the cinema. Plus, Jin has to ask if Phee is Non's boyfriend and Tan is New, like he's piecing things by himself. If Phee had told him that, he wouldn't need to ask. AND Phee would've have referred to New as New during his whole monologue but he did not. He kept saying "Tan". He only started doing so after Jin asked the question and he confirmed Tan was New.

Curiously enough, he also never mentions the antidote he knows exists and KNOWS New brought along. And that neither of them ever used on the others.

The million-dollar question here is then, naturally: why? Various reasons, I believe.

1st of all I think we have to account for the feels. Phee is definitely in a weird ass zone with Jin but it's something. And he feels that something (whatever it is. believe me I could make an entire post about that shit, it's so fucking complex, man, and it only gets worse this episode). He likes Jin, even if he tries not to or if he dislikes that he likes him. It's undeniable. So yes, of course, he doesn't want Jin to hate his guts more than necessary.

But also... We cannot forget why Phee himself is there: to find out what happened to Non. And what does he get out of the conversation he has with Jin? That's right. A confession.

Now, I don't think it's the confession he expected if his reactions are anything to go by:

I mean... If this is not the face of a man thinking "well, shit", then idk what it is. And also because, idk if it's a subtitle error or not, but he seems to ask "what did you three do?" when he's inquiring about the events of the past, so...

Someone is being excluded.

Still, I think it's super possible he was hoping to get something out of it. After all, even if he assumes Jin is innocent in his actions, I don't think he's excluding him from having knowledge of what went down. That would make his positive bias even sillier.

So yeah, sure, I bet Phee feels genuinely guilty and it hurts him to be in the situation he's in and he definitely wants to be in a good place in terms of his relationship with Jin, especially because, as he said, he doesn't know if they can get out of the temple. But also... As Ta (Phee's actor) himself said in an interview: Phee can be really manipulative (I can't find the damn interview rn but, during my search, I found @raelle-writing had also mentioned it in this post, so I think it's enough to say I didn't dream that shit). You know... 2 things can be true at once.

Which brings me to the next part:

PHEE IS LYING

That whole talk of "I never thought he would hurt you", "if I had known I wouldn't have let you come", blah, blah, blah. That's some major BULLSHIT.

Phee knew exactly what New was capable of. At least, on a subconscious level. After all, if my friends started being murdered, my 1st assumption would not be that my best friend did it. Unless, of course, my best friend was spiralling down to madness, constantly using drugs to see his dead brother and answering shit like this:

With a smirk on, when I ask him if the absynthe is gonna kill our friends. Because yeah, sure, I guess the green won't kill them. But you can't tell me this motherfucker wouldn't. He definitely would. And if we can infer that, so does Phee, who has been living with him as his close friend for the last 3 years.

In fact, the very fact that he feels the need to ask whether or not the drugs will kill the gang is proof enough that he, to some extent and, whether or not he's aware of it, KNOWS that's, at least, a possibility. Knows that's something New would do.

So yeah, he's perhaps not just lying to Jin (but also to himself) or not intentionally lying, but he's lying nevertheless. Phee knew this was a possibility. He knew New was capable of stuff like that. And when he pieces the story together, that's him admitting, even if no one realizes, that he knew it. And that he let it happen, in fact, because he never tried to stop the drugging. Or talked to New about what was going on (you'd think if he had that he would've told Jin in that situation). His biggest weapon is his knowledge and he chose not to swing the sword sooner. How very Fluke of him, isn't it? Especially because now 2 people are dead and that's on New, right? Right???

Not necessarily.

NEW IS NOT A MURDERER (initially)

You see, for all we see New is fine with death and murder in episodes 9 and 10, he makes it clear his nº1 goal is to figure out what happened to Non when he gets in front of a fucking firearm to harass Tee into talking.

So why would he talk Top into murder? Why would Top attack him?? Why would he kill Uncle Dang?? And why, on the goddamn Earth, would he eliminate the recordings in the house when his whole motivation is

(Thank you, hallucination Non &lt;;3) to expose them??? Especially when the only other person who knew about the hidden cameras was Phee. It makes no sense! Sure, he might've contemplated the murder, but on a later phase of the plan, I think. The priority was, always, to get them to confess on camera so he could later use the recordings to expose them to the country and clear Non's image. 'Cause we cannot forget, while the people close to Non don't buy the bullshit TV news sensationalist story (and, therefore, are searching for the truth), the rest of the country thinks Non is a slut who ran away with mafia money and his teacher(because, like @delululover explains in this post: Asian culture tends to normalize grooming of older teens and even blame them for the situation).

So what are we seeing when Phee narrates the events? Well, probably just Phee's guesses.

He thinks New is deranged and has drugs and that Top is missing and now they're being attacked by this person, who is conveniently wearing a mask. So he guesses that's Top. Plus, he doesn't know New was attacked by Masky in the middle of the forest.

He knows, like everyone else, that New had the hard drive. And, when Top and New go out in the woods with the bike he remains in the house. So, it's possible he saw the hard drive there where New left it before he went out.

And, because the only 2 people remaining in the house, as far as Phee knows, are Fluke and White, and New DEFINITELY wouldn't want the drive to get into Fluke's hands, he must've assumed New wanted White to find it (which may or may not be true but it's irrelevant, I think).

And, yes, calm down, I can hear you scream: "But how did he know White watched the video???" And the answer I bring you is very simple: he didn't. He has no idea. And the best part is: you only think he knows because you know. But Phee never says that. He says New left the hard drive there for White to find. And that's it. He never mentions a video whatsoever.

Now, is it convoluted? Yes. Absolutely. But we have to think this is Phee we're talking about. He's the guy who always thinks he has the upper hand (a.k.a thinking he can save Non or that he's not falling in Love with Jin). It's almost impossible for him to think he's in the dark as to what is happening to them. After all, in his narrative of his life, he is the hero. And, I know, lots of people in the fandom see it that way as well, so... It's not impossible to imagine that's what the story is trying to sell us. It's trying to make us believe Phee knows. When in reality, I think, it's more likely that Phee's the embodiment of this meme:

Okay. But then if New didn't do it, then who did? Because something is obviously going on with Top, right? And Uncle Dang IS very much dead. So what the fuck is that all about?

THE SECRET 9TH PERSON? ENTITY? THING?

As discussed several times by several people in this fandom, there's a very high possibility that there's someone else with them in the woods.

@blmpff points out the existence of various versions of the mask here. @subtextsays points out the crutches in the bathroom scene with Top here. There's this shit:

Whatever it fucking means (besides the fact that it gives me the hibbie jibbies). Someone is also obviously taking care of the Janta cult because there's fresh food in the offerings.

@raelle-writing also points out here that New is also seeing stuff even though our favourite insane motherfucker has got (and has been using!) the antidote.

And, as of episode 10, as @babyangelsky pointed out in this post. When PheeJin are lost in the damn woods, the cuts on the wood Phee supposedly make keep changing.

Which makes both of us question if they're all the same cut or even all done by Phee.

So, I think this is enough to speculate Phee could very much just be misinterpreting the whole thing and attributing guilt to New when, in fact, someone else has been causing the deaths.

Now you may question who and that's all very fair. You should even. But that is not what this post is about and, frankly, thank god, because this is already a monstrous creation.

So let's pick this cut these cuts in the wood and use it as a segway to the last part of this, shall we?

PHEE IS AS BENEVOLENT AS A GREEK GOD

So Phee's mad. Super mad. He's passing around and cursing.

Jin, the only person he probably genuinely thought didn't do anything, is the one who recorded and posted the video.

And then Phee finds an axe. And, suddenly, Phee changes. Why?

Well, we have to look at it with what urges Phee to talk in the first place (besides his feelings and his wants): Phee is losing hope. He states it himself that he doesn't think they're going to be able to get out of the temple. So, he talks. Sure, he doesn't say everything but it's the closest to being honest with Jin we've ever seen him be.

And then their whole reality changes. Because Phee found an axe. And it all comes down on him: they are going to get out of there. And what now?

As @yellingaboutkp states in this post Phee is not only hard to read for us or confusing to the other characters (Jin mainly). He's also hard to read and confusing to himself: "...is Phee still playing Jin? It seems like he's trying to, but the more time he spends with Jin, the harder it's getting to stick to the plan."

Thus, what we see at the end of their time in the temple and alone in the woods is a mix of things, I believe.

Phee needs to feel like he's in control again. And with the original plan being ruined and Jin knowing too much (and there's no way he's not gonna speak, in fact, it's the very first thing he does when they arrive at he house) he's simply not. So when he tells Jin everything is gonna be alright, he's also trying to tell that to himself. He's trying to reassure himself that they're gonna get out of that huge mess. And, perhaps, in saving Jin also finding some redemption because, according to his own narration of the events, he let New go to far (as Jin points out).

Phee also knows more now. And maybe, if he was able to get Jin to speak once, without even having to force anything out of him. who knows if he cannot do it a second time in front of the cameras they've set inside the house? So he's trying to follow the script and manipulate him into trusting him, like he always has been trying to do. Except this time he's more bitter about it. And this, alongside with reason 1, is why these two scenes feel so different:

And lastly: Phee knows the catastrophic effects his words and actions had on Non when they broke up. He knows the consequences of his rage. It's the entire reason why he's there. Because he failed at being a good boyfriend the 1st time. Does he really want that to happen again? Does he want to fail Jin too? There's a reason (besides the story itself and his need to justify himself to Jin) why we see that flashback of his break-up with Non in this episode. And I believe this is it. (so yeah, I understand it might be frustrating to see Phee be more benevolent to Jin who fucked up big time than Non who didn't do anything, it is EXACTLY because he wasn't benevolent to Non that Jin is getting princess treatment)

So, in conclusion: Phee is fucking confused. And it carries on being that way for the rest of the episode. Phee calls New out but he doesn't seem to care too much about Por being dead on the couch. He helps Phee on the ground, but he doesn't say a thing about Fluke pointing a gun at Tee. Sure, he does ask for the gun at a certain point but isn't that just more of Phee's desperate need to get control back?

And we see this all come down to the preview of the next episode and what it's probably going to mean:

Phee finally has got things under his control again. But this means, surprise, surprise, that Phee's gotta make a choice: to shoot (and stand on New's side) or not to shoot (and stand on the gang's side). Which, of course, metaphorically is a choice, in good romance and BL fashion, between 2 lovers: Non and Jin. But also, in good storytelling, as, once again, @raelle-writing (can't help myself, Rae's posts are FIRE 🔥🔥 sksksksksks) explores better in this post: a choice between the past and the present; continuing to drown in grief and a wish for revenge or choosing to move on and heal.

And, as I (YES, if I'm gonna tag a bunch of people and their works, YOU BET, I'm gonna link my own stuff) explore in this post about White's identity and role in the story (and other people in the fandom have commented), I'm inclined to believe he's gonna pick the gang, Jin, the present, healing. Because this is a story about the damage caused by cycles of violence and grief. And a story about how, the only way to stop them, is to choose not to participate in them by letting go.

CONCLUSION

Thank you for your time and attention. Feel free to comment and discuss this with me. And I'll see you either on my next long-ass monologue or next Saturday as we watch episode 11!

All the love 💜💜💜

PS: Shout-out to the group chat, including, but not limited to: @ayansbff, @cyberstalking and @squishysquadstuff who have listened to me ranting about this post since Saturday and told me to eat when I was too focused on writing it. Your patience was fundamental in carrying me through this monstrous project (it took me 10 hours to write this all) 💜💜💜.

#dff #dff the series #dead friend forever #dead friend forever the series #dff spoilers #dff meta #dead friend forever meta #dff the series meta #dff theory #dead friend forever theory #dff the series theory #dff episode 10 #dff the series episode 10 #dead friend forever episode 10 #dff ep10 #dff the series ep10 #dead friend forever ep10 #phee dff #phee dff the series #phee dead friend forever #dff phee #dff the series phee #dead friend forever phee #pheejin

[shannankle]

Space and Framing in Episode 5 of DFF

Non is introduced through a reflection. This represents both his future disappearance or death, but also his outsider status. He's on the outside, the other side of the door, only a reflection.

Non's isolation is visually made clear as we see two contrasting hallways. The left is where Por and Jin come from. In the background you can see students milling about, life and people. On the right, Non is alone. Meanwhile Jin stands at the threshold about to cross over into Non's space.

Por goes too, but he visually remains separated from Non's isolated space. Instead we start by seeing Non and Jin through a reflection, just as when Non is first introduced. This is an outsider's space, but this time Jin has entered it.

Once again we get Non in an isolated space. It becomes noticeable too that he is often squared in, not just separated but boxed in. This can be seen in the previous shots as well. You can't see it from this screen shot but the road on the left has cars moving back and forth, so once again Non is placed outside and in contrast to life and society.

And once again, Jin comes and moves into this space.

As Non leaves, Jin is left split. His body remains in what was Non's space, but his shadow isn't quite contained. Perhaps this represents Jin's feelings for Non, and his desire to follow him. Or perhaps the way he is teetering between feelings and kindness for Non and his inability to fully stand up to his friends.

Jin sinks back and fully enters the space, his shadow no longer hanging outside of it.

Even at home, Non is boxed in. Perhaps signaling the way that his home life is separate from and invisible to his "friends" at school. Or perhaps the way that financial troubles and anxiety weigh on him like walls closing in.

Jin uses the camera to watch Non. In doing so he perhaps intends to create an alternative space with just the two of them, or to join Non's world. But at the same time, there's a looming feeling as Jin boxes Non in. We know in retrospect that the camera leads to increasing problems for Non. But I'm also reminded of the Thai horror film Shutter. The film revolves around cameras (including Polaroid/instant photos which Jin uses earlier in the episode) but also a strong critique of the way bystanders can become complicit and even hurt victims the most when feelings are involved.

As we start to get Tee's struggles we see him framed as a shadow. His circumstances and struggles remain in the dark where his friends don't know about them.

And then a doorway. The pressure is on for him, the walls closing in.

Top chooses to frame himself, using the camera to act out his fantasy of being a hero. Yet moments later this fantasy breaks, much like the camera. He relies on Tee to cover his butt. In the future he will be one of the first to run and abandon his friends. And of course, ultimately he ends up killing one of them.

Jin comes to comfort Non after the camera "incident." They're boxed in together, contrasted from the dark world around them. Jin once again has entered Non's space. He stands further towards the light, trying to offer Non hope, and see him smile. And while this light reaches Non, parts of his body are still cast in shadow, representing his current and future struggles. As good as Jin's intentions are, he doesn't understand what poverty looks like and can't fully help Jin, even if his support casts some warm light on Non.

Even at the end, as Non smiles and is cast in more light, his hands are still in shadow.

Our next cut is to this shot. We're back to the two hallways, but from another outside angle. The space represents the way Non is being pushed into a corner.

And of course, enter Tee who takes advantage of this. Notice how Non is placed with Tee slightly on one side of the visual divide. I can't say for sure which hallway this side maps to. So we either have Tee entering Non's space, this time in a clearly manipulative way, unlike Jin. Or we have Non being pulled into the space of Tee and his friends as he is being taken advantage of and placed out of his depth in the worst way.

#dff the series #dff the series meta #dead friend forever #dead friend forever meta #my posts #my meta #dff episode 5

[random-crap-i-like]

I never liked Jin during the flashbacks...

I get that Jin is like a lot of us; too scared to stand up against his friends when they do wrong, or against bullying (i.e. bystander effect). But there is something else about Jin, something insidious.

I hated how folks treated Jin as some sort of prince charming just because he was showing a basic level of human kindness. Completely ignoring how he does not stand up for Non and tell his so-called friends to STOP the bullying. And no, that half-hearted way he has in telling them to lay off doesn't count.

But what makes Jin insidious is how he makes an effort to convince Non to "stay" with the group. Not because he wants them all to be friends and to keep the peace, but because of complete selfishness.

And possessiveness.

Jin is so selfish and possessive, that he wants Non to be with him, literally with him, despite it meaning that Non remains in an extremely toxic and dangerous environment. With no regard to his safety and mental health. Because I think Jin actually thinks that Non being with him is enough???? That their being together is worth the horrific harassment Non faces from Jin's bullying friends. Which is mind-boggling and infuriating.

And the minute Jin sees Non being affectionate or "sexual" (in his eyes) with someone else....

#dff the series #dff spoilers #dead friend forever #dead friend forever the series #dead friend forever meta

[italianpersonwithashippersheart]

Dead Friend Forever - What do we know about Non's brother

From the family pictures I am inclined to believe the brother is the older sibiling.

The younger one wears red in one of the pictures and as @shannankle point out in their colors in DFF post, Non is red.

In the family photo you can see the younger sibiling hiding behind the older one, indicating shiness, much like Non.

The other thing we find out that lends to that is that New doesn't live at home. And his parents send him money. Which makes me think he is in University, which would make him at least 19 three years from the present, which would make him at least 21 in the present timeline.

Other stuff we know (that I don't have screenshot for):

Non despite looking close to his brother in his childhood pictures can't rely on him anymore in the present, we only see Non try to text his boyfriend (❤️ > the red heart aka Phi) and never get a text or try to send a text or call to his brother.

I can guess that would make the brother feel pretty damn guilty.

Non and New's parents fight a lot, there is not a lot of love there, and that is probably why New stopped coming home. Again, guessing.

THAT'S IT!

Obviously everyone is thinking the same thing about the identity of the brother: Tan. Literally the only option within the friend group.

I am conflicted with that theory. Because even though I like it a lot, and there is stuff that does make sense.

Phi feels like the one more in charge, but Tan has more moments where there is an angry expression on his face, when the others talk about Non, and in other places.

Tan is the one that is the most insistant on getting the truth out of the group, getting them to confess, why? I mean why would it matter to get the truth, if he is that angry.

How the fuck did a poor normal uni student manage to fake documents and mess with two schools and the goverment for long enough to finish high school and go to uni again.

Why would a brother wait that long, hanging out with people that could be responsible for your brother dead? Can you even fucking imagine how angry that must have made him.

Why does Phi feel more responsible for Tan's well being if he is younger? Like the inhealer question.

Why does Tan nervous smoke in the wearehouse with the inhealer in hand if he is one of the killers?

Some of the moments where Phi and Tan are talking feel a bit weird if he is the brother.

This one is more doyalist: I know actor ages in thai bl mean less then nothing, but If I am right and the brother is older then did they have to give the part to an actor who is literally only a month older then Barcode??? They are both 19 this is ridiculous. They have actors in the cast that are older then both of them, why would the one who is only a month older play the secret older brother??

Now some of these I have theories for. Like Phi is the one more in charge because New was estranged from his brother, they weren't close, and Phi is a very natural and charismatic leader. It might also be part of the act. To make himself younger.

The fact that he wants to know the truth more might have to do with the dissaperance of Non, if him and the parents were stuck not knowing anything all this time, he might want to get the boys to confess everything just to get the satisfaction.

If Non is dead it might have taken them a bit to actually figure out everything that happened and investigate bit by bit and formulate a plan, that is why it took them 3 years to get revenge.

Tan was nervous because he wasn't sure the plan was going to go well. Phi asks more about his well being even if he is younger, because he is just like that (that is how he was with Non, asking if he was home, if he took the medicine etc.)

But of course the biggest reason for it to be Tan is very simple: If he is not the older brother, then WHO THE FUCK IS HE? He has to be in the plan, he is much to insistant on the wanting the truth, but if he is not the brother then who is he?

🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡

Clow theory time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think the brother is exeternal. Phi has been screaming about the ninth person since the begging I think that was the clue. I think, the brother is the third killer and the ninth person, and I think he is an adult that we have not seen before.

Like say someone who could get a job working for the people that take of the house

So he could learn the way, learn the layout of the forest, learn Uncle Dang habits. So he could know that he takes the scoter up there not the car when he is alone. And he could know where to set up the fucking steel rod that took of his head.

So he could take his time setting up that fucking temple, and learning where the cameras are.

And so he could make sure to be the one to be assign to get up there to get them, so that no one would come to save them, because the killers could not have known that Fluke would cancel the ride, and that seems like a coincidence you would not rely on if you are planning revenge for 3 years!!

#txt #dead friend forever #dead friend forever meta #dff meta

[live-from-flaturn]

My DFF Theory:

Phee and Tan are in it together, and they are fucking with legitimately supernatural forces.

Deets under the cut:

Phee is obviously guilty over saying what he did to Non after catching him seeking comfort in the arms of a literal groomer. And we don't yet know if they spoke again after that or before whatever tragic roofie bullshit is about to happen to Non. That being said, Tan is also new to the group. He "joined them later" just like Phee, after Non had already disappeared, but has no romantic attachments (unlike White).

Personally, I think Tan may be Non's mysterious older brother, New (not all older siblings have to be taller than you, as the shortest and oldest kid in my family).

Especially since he has zero qualms asking about Non despite how squirmy and uncomfortable the others get.

He's also in close proximity with Phee during most larger group shots.

At first I thought they might've been rotating who was under the Janta mask/taking turns harassing the group at large or doing their spooky window peeping. But after the bathroom incidents with White and Top, and the rate at which Janta appears/disappears in the woods, I think they may have actually sacrificed Keng in exchange for supernatural help.

I'm not going to go on a tangent about how "Phi" is also the casual term for 'ghost' in Thai folklore, but it's a detail to keep in mind.

Mophi folk priests are also said to work "using trances, sacred objects imbued with supernatural power (or saksit), possessions, and rituals". What's the best way to get your group's most annoying and shitty guy to dress up as the killer and take Por out for good? Or to convince someone that a nearly-dead guy just jumped off the couch and tried to kill them? Trances, baybee!

(the Janta costume and setting may also be soft references to Apichatpong Weerasethakul's "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Remember His Past Lives" but I can't say for certain since it's just a passing similarity)

Now you may be asking, "Well what about Phee and Jin?! Phee protects him in the faux-cemetery even though he's a certified weenie nibbler!" Or even, "Hey! Tan and Tee are in the woods together when they see the monster and both of them are scared!"

And my answer is: No duh! You don't want to give away the act by not freaking out when you see the creepy masked figure in the woods. And you certainly don't want to be the only guy who hasn't been harassed. Those would be the two biggest red flags!

Plus, how else are you going to make sure that the guy who posted revenge porn of your boo being groomed on Twitter gets what he deserves? Being at his side and offering comfort only to rip it away at the last second??? Priceless. And well fucking deserved imho.

So yeah, that's my theory so far. Thoughts?

#dead friend forever #dff meta #dead friend forever meta #dff the series #barcode tinnasit #ta nannakun #jj chalach #copper phuriwat #jet jetsadakorn #us nititorn

[the-pink-quill]

KimChay vs PheeNon Parallels

If you take the couples themselves with no regards to their situations and history, just how they work together and treat each other and react to each other's actions, then Kim is to Chay what Non is to Phee.

And I know what you would think. Feral Kim and Poor Little Non? Similar? But yeah, in my opinion, they are. And that makes the way people react to Chay and Phee blocking them very very interesting.

First off, of course, is how the relationship began. Chay and Phee asked Kim and Non out respectively, and Kim and Non both just kissed them in lieu of giving a proper answer.

Of course the way PheeNon's whole dynamic works is a lot more high heat and high stakes than the coffee shop AU feels that KimChay gives, but I would say the depth of their feelings was the same, since KimChay's relationship probably lasted a few weeks (giving allowance for the pictures), as did PheeNon's.

Chay felt betrayed because he felt used for the entire duration of their relationship, however long that may have been. Phee felt betrayed because he found Non being intimate with the someone he already suspected Non to be involved with.

Remember a year ago, when Chay blocked Kim after having all of the latter's lies exposed, we cheered him on. Kim's trauma - which undoubtedly existed considering all the points made in all the fics and meta posts we all have read - was irrelevant; we were all clapping Chay for prioritizing his own mental wellbeing above that of his ex's.

Why then, are Phee's different? Why is he villainized for priortizing his own mental wellbeing over Non's, which the later was never forthcoming about as is?

Kim was traumatized by an adult (Korn), So is Non (Keng).

Kim cannot take solace in family (I think we all agree he was aware about Korn faking his own death, but never told his brothers, for reasons talked about in about 114 meta posts). Neither can Non.

Kim lied because he did not want Chay involved in his problems. Same as Non.

Chay was hurt by Kim's rejection, even after giving him a chance despite his lies. Phee was hurt by the video, even after repeatedly asking Non to come clean about his problems and Keng.

18-year old Chay blocked Kim because regardless of the background information, Kim hurt him, and his own feelings took priority.

Explain to me like a five year old why 15-year old Phee is wrong for the same reaction.

"Because the situations are different?"

In regards to their age, relationship-duration and their knowledge about their significant other's situations, HOW. Just how.

#kinnporsche #kinnporsche the series #dff the series #dead friend forever #dead friend forever meta #dead friend forever the series #kimchay #pheenon #kim theerapanyakul #porchay kittisawasd #phee dff #non dff #dff non

[waitmyturtles]

Dead Friend Forever: I managed to catch up in time to watch the finale, and here are my immediate, uneducated, "holy shit" thoughts

First off: I acknowledge I am an utter interloper on this tag, having written exactly zero meta words about this mostly great show. Second: everything I know about slashers comes from my childhood memories of "Scream," and my recent conversations with the lovelies @lurkingshan and @neuroticbookworm. So I'm not an expert here. Thirdly! I was inspired in part by them to watch this, and also by the friendies who jumped into comments on my recent KinnPorsche liveblog watches for my Old GMMTV Challenge project. I've been waiting these past few weeks to finish Dead Friend Forever before putting pen to paper on my KP rewatch thoughts, because I thought Be On Cloud did something fabulously experimental with DFF as its second major serial drama.

Anyway: all of this is to say that now that DFF is over, in the near future, I'm gonna write a bunch on KP and a bit more on DFF -- but I want to offer just some quick wandering thoughts on DFF now.

I think like many of y'all, I found the tone of the last PheeJin moments to be discordant with the tenor of the rest of the finale episode. The way I'm calculating this, as I'm sure many of you are, is that I think there was a commentary on fate and Buddhist purgatory, particularly with New/Tan being able to hear from a thankful Non one more time before New's passing. New suffers, it seems to me, the least painful death, and I think that was in part Non’s doing.

In order to conclude the tone on PheeJin, I do wish that we would have seen a flashback back to PheeJin at the house. I guess we’d assume that Phee and Jin never regained their consciousness, that the antidote didn’t work, and that their cyclical fate would be returning back to the lakeshore, only to be haunted by Non again. While it seems to me that Tee, in whatever realm of fate they ended up in, got his appropriate ending — I don’t think that the PheeJin cyclical ending at the lakeshore assigned enough “blame” of fate to either of them, especially Jin. I know @lurkingshan notes that that’s a nod to the need to appease any hopes of surviving ships, and I agree with that assessment. But also — god, BLEH, they sucked, we were left with PheeJin?! JIN??? My boy White, my bubbala, he’s the good one that got really in-your-face off-ed? Wah. (But I do see and understand why White needed to die, to make Tee’s residual fate the utter living hell he deserves.)

Like I said: on a more macro note, I’m gonna have thoughts about DFF, Be On Cloud, and KP in the coming days, because I just like that BOC is dabbling with some experimental writing while allowing solid acting to really shine. (And I compare that to what’s happening at Idol Factory and the recent writing miss that was The Sign.) I wish the ending wasn’t as milquetoast as it was, but BOC still traffics in BLs, and I guess they felt they needed to throw the fans some kind of BL bone (huh huh).

But overall? I am REALLY GLAD I watched this, and it absolutely belongs on the OGMMTVC syllabus. This was incredibly new for the Thai BL genre, and I gotta give BOC — AND ESPECIALLY BARCODE AND TA, WOW — their flowers for taking Thai BL into this new direction. For the most part of this run, I had a great time with this show, as brutal as the content was.

#dead friend forever #dead friend forever meta #dead friend forever the series #dff the series #barcode tinnasit #ta nannakun #sammon

[syrena-del-mar]

An Ode to Older Siblings: New in Dead Friends Forever, Episode 9

Spoilers ahead for Dead Friend Forever Episode 9. Allusions to suicide and all other triggers that have accompanied this show will be here. Tagging @slayerkitty for the DFF Meta compilation.

Can you imagine New, who sacrificed his relationship with his little brother to make it into a university abroad with a scholarship, one that would open opportunities that Thailand did not have to offer him, having to come back on a plane ride? A minimum of 12 hours in a plane, in an airport, packed with people going on business trips and vacations, yet where nobody knows that you're going to back home to a hell that you never could have imagined? It was supposed to be a holiday for him, a chance to see his family again after months of being apart.

But instead, his baby brother was now missing. The same baby brother that had given up on having any semblance of a relationship with him because he felt abandoned, forgotten. His little brother who would find no difference if he was abroad or not, because it's not like Tan had ever paid him any attention when he was so focused on just getting out of their home. But New was trying, extending an olive branch, hoping that Non would accept even the smallest bit of it. He'll bring him the best snacks that England has to offer, he'll listen to any problems that Non may have, even while he's thousands of miles away. But no calls ever came from his little brother's number. No, he hadn't even known that Non had gotten into trouble until his mother called him. Non's missing.

And, now he's returning home. The snacks that he had promised Non probably weighed like a ton of bricks as he carried them, they were his burden to carry. Maybe if he had been there a little more for Non, had been a little bit more present, maybe Non would have reached out. Maybe he wouldn't have had to turn to his tutor. His home is broken, but it's still a home. He's the oldest, he's the one that has to repair it when his parents can't.

He knows his mom had mentioned Non's boyfriend in passing before, even though Non had never told him directly. So he had searched through Non's belongings, looking for his number, hoping that Phee might have more information. He's doesn't, they're both at a loss. Maybe Phee didn't know Non as well as he thought he did, but New knows his brother. Non was never good with his words, never good at speaking directly of the problems he faced, but he would have left a sign, something, that might show them what demons he was facing alone.

So, he pretends that he can go back to his life in England, pretends for his parents' sake, so they don't have to worry about their only other son. But he can't, not when his little brother is out there...alone, again. He takes a leave of absence from school. Maybe it's crazy, reckless, but he puts himself back in high school. If the cops won't give him answers, then he'll get them himself. He forges his records, pretends that he was Non's same age, changes his identity. He's now Tan. A new kid that just happened to meet Phee at the office on their first day of school. Tan can charm his way into the same friend group that likely destroyed his brother. Tan can dig for the answers that nobody was willing to get.

And Phee helps, maybe he helps a little too much and little too close. For a moment, a part of New's heart breaks for his baby brother, as he sees his boyfriend get close to one of the bastards that had a hand in Non's disappearance. Maybe this is why Non always felt abandoned. So New smokes, one pack turns into hundreds more. A bad habit that he picked up with his English friends as they hit the pubs. It's the only sense of normalcy he has anymore.

He builds a makeshift lab with the money his parents wired him, nothing like the state-of-the-art equipment that he had grown accustomed to at his university, but it was enough. He researches, he experiments with the one concoction that might finally get Non's friends to tell him the truth. He's so close to perfecting it. Then his dad calls, and it feels strange. He rarely talked to his dad, it's his mom that usually calls him. Mom's dead. For a moment, he forgets that he was supposed to be in England, that he was never supposed to be in Thailand. He's not Tan anymore, he's just New. His house isn't just broken anymore, it's crumbling.

His father resents him. He's drunk and he's spitting fire, New can't blame him. Afterall, he is a liar. He lied that he was back at university, back in England. He never visited his mom when they were only miles away from each other and now she's dead as well. Was Non right all those years ago? Does he abandon everyone? He was never his dad's favorite, he knew that, but how he could he go and leave him behind too?

Now there was no broken house, no dilapidated house, no place that he called home. He couldn't fix this anymore. And he's tired, he's so tired. There's nothing for him to salvage anymore. Maybe if he takes a hit of his own concoction, he can end his pain as well. But Non... Non deserves justice and New is so scared, scared of failing him again. He wants this to end, he can't save anyone. But Phee arrives and holds him steady, lets him cling tightly to his shirt like he used to cling to his mother as a child.

Maybe he won't live for himself anymore. This all started with the bastards who were supposed to be his brother's friends. They cost him his whole family. No. he wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of destroying his home, of destroying his baby brother. He once told Non that he would steal his novel, get it sold for other people to read. Maybe it can't be sold anymore, but maybe Non's story can finally be told as Non had wished.

How could New have ever known that getting onto that plane would just be the prelude to the hell that he was about to raise? He's the oldest brother of the family, he was supposed to protect them, take his responsibility for his parents and his baby brother, but he failed. His dad was right, he wasn't a good enough son or brother, but maybe this could be the start of his atonement.

#dead friend forever #dff the series #dff ep 9 #dff spoilers #dead friend forever spoilers #dff tan #dff new #barcode tinnasit #ta nannakun #mio athens #is this meta? #character analysis #idk its a weird hybrid #dead friend forever meta #dead friend forever character analysis #im also writing up an actual meta of the family but my heart breaks for New #dff meta #dff character analysis #Athens swerapat #mio athens swerapat

[tbhimnoteasyonmyself]

On Tee's Lonely Grief

I've seen people talk about New's and Phee's grief, Pimpa's grief but the gang has never been considered that much on account of their guilt. This episode, however, brings attention to that. Especially in Tee's case. Especially in the scene when he finds Non dead.

And I have to say, I fucking love this scene. So I'm here to tell you why.

PS: For the sake of this post, unlike what's normally my policy, the pictures used will not be edited in any way, shape or form unless stated otherwise. I think it would be taking creative liberties with the photography and it would diminish the validity of my analysis.

So:

Tee finds Non's body upstairs with his uncle's goons (dressed in entirely black outfits which obviously invoke death) very suspiciously looming over it.

So he does what capable and strong Tee, who has to support himself and his father and his uncle's business and now Non (as we saw very clearly this episode) would do: He lashes out. He demands answers. He threatens people. Because that's how he learned to solve his issues.

Yet he gets mostly silence. Arguably, the same exact silence he initially offers the 2 other people grieving Non this episode: New & Phee.

And so he argues with his uncle, makes accusations, mirrors New in the present moment so well it's uncanny.

And then he's alone. Everyone leaves, including Non's body. And now there's no one to perform that idea of a strong ruthless guy to. Now it's just Tee. And the contrast between the act of Tee and Tee is remarkable: one moment he's cold, and the other moment he's completely broken.

So he screams, at the top of his lungs, which is interesting. Because we do see Tee cry but not much. Tee's just not a person who cries. Which, besides being very relatable, is also terrible. Why? Because crying relieves you. It helps you cope, it releases the tension from you, at least a bit. Tee not crying here means this (Non dying), unlike the guilt of what happened before with him and the gang bullying Non

(something he is allowed to shed at least a single poetic tear about) Is a burden he can't be relieved of. At least, not at that moment.

So we watch as Tee screams helplessly. And the environment is so telling. GOD, I FUCKING LOVE THIS SHOW

There's an empty space. Virtually nothing is there with Tee. Because, of course, he's alone in the room, we know this, but he's also alone.

No one else knows this story like Tee does. No one else has been with Non when he was a creative student trying to make a film, when there was life to him in all senses of the word and also saw his dead, lifeless body. No one else has been the cause for both Non's problems and Non's death. No one has liked Non as a friend and cared for him and watched him die without being able to do anything about it. No one in Tee's life knows what he's going through, what it feels like. No one in Tee's life is able to share his grief. And he can't escape it either.

You see that weird ass mirror there? Why is it there? There are curtains around it. But it's not a window. That's odd. But while it makes no sense decoration/architectural-wise, it makes so much sense from the point of view of symbolism.

There's no escape. Even when it really feels like there should be. Because Tee, the guy with all the solutions, should be able to find a solution, shouldn't he? Besides... We come to care so much for him and for Non... So how come there's no solution? Because, we, like these teens do to adults, naively trust the narrative. Of course, there's no solution. We all knew this from the start. We're only here because of this: Non is dead.

So, instead of a way out, a hope for something better than what's going on in that room, we get just more of it. Tee and we alike, have no escape. We're both forced to face that scene, forced to accept it. And Tee, if he dares look for that way out, will only have to face himself.

But interestingly, he never does. Tee never looks at the mirror on the wall. He doesn't even acknowledge it. Which, of course, might be a reflection (pun intended) of how he tries to pass the blame of Non's death to his uncle.

He repeatedly claims he didn't know what would happen, that he wouldn't have brought Non back if he did but... Is that true? As Perth's character (BOMBASTIC SIDE EYE, btw) says:

"You already knew, right?" Because, let's face it, it was obvious. Things could only go poorly for Non if Uncle Joe got his claws on him. Tee had to know that wouldn't end well.

So this scene also tells us that, despite deep down his immense amount of guilt telling him he is guilty of Non's death, Tee doesn't want to acknowledge it. He maintains that position, in fact, nearly all the way until the end of episode Ep.11. where he slightly changes his narrative.

He never planned to.

Right now, he's a new person. One that would not make the same mistakes as in the past but that, despite the changes, is inevitably the one who somewhere in the past did make them.

But back to the scene.

Tee is framed right in front of the blueish-grey curtains and we all know what that means, I do not need to cite the ancient scrolls. But I wanna add that grey is also:

a colour associated with sadness;

seen as a colour of death, as it is literally in greyscale, hence colourless, lifeless AND because it can also be interpreted as a mix of white and black, both of which are mourning clothes colours, depending on the culture;

a reflection of Tee's grey morality because, naturally, while we understand Tee's motivations and background, he did some pretty fucked up things that his good intentions and unhelpful help attempts cannot erase.

And then Tee finds a small paper, written by Non (in vivid blue, properly highlighting not only Non's depression but also Tee's).

And the paper reads: "I'm gonna get out of this place. I'm not a loser." And it hits him even further because Non (at least in Tee's vision, I'll leave Non's death up for debate, I'm sure people will have theories) wanted so bad to be victorious once, to succeed just once. He wanted to get a chance to live normally and it didn't happen.

This, of course, ends up shaping Tee's own path, as he meets White and gets a chance to do things "right" and as he becomes this "new person" and gets away from his uncle. But, in that moment, none of that is relevant because it hasn't happened and Tee cannot know it will, he can only know, with written proof, that he failed. And now Non's dead.

And so, in the last part of this scene, we see a more zoomed-out shot. And Tee's still alone but now we have a more clear vision of just how tiny that space is. And how he's nearly taller than the frame. How his grief is bigger than the space in which it was brought to him. But also how the weight of it, represented by the walls, is nearly crushing him. Another gigantic, and perhaps the biggest of all, responsibility on Tee's shoulders.

Furthermore, as @shannankle has marvellously described and explained in this post about sex scene framing, the framing gives us a level 3 visual gaze which is used to remind us as the audience of just how intimate and profoundly shaping of Tee this moment is: we are not supposed to be here, this moment is Tee's and Tee's alone. Because, of course, he is alone. In all senses. The access we're getting is nearly forbidden. Even to the other characters. Because they don't get to see it, they only hear about it (or we assume they do).

And, to top it all off, the cherry on top of this great scene: all of this happens while Tee is wearing his school uniform. Because, of course, it had to. Because we need to be reminded: this is a teenager. Tee, who's mourning his dead friend whose corpse he just saw and whose death is largely his fault is just a teenager.

#So yes #I might hate that Phee is apparently omniscient #but BY THE UNIVERSE AND ALL OF US IN IT #do I LOVE the care and thought put into the details of this story!!! #it's so good!! #dff #dff the series #dead friend forever the series #dead friend forever #dff meta #dead friend forever meta #dead friend forever ther series meta #dff the series meta #dff tee #tee dff #dead friend forever tee #tee dead friend forever #dff the series tee #tee dff the series

[shannankle]

Touch in DFF Episode 5

Okay so one thing I noticed about our episode was how touch factors into the relationship between not just Non and Jin but also their other "friends." While Jin is using touch to genuinely show his interest and include Non, the other's use it manipulatively.

The first touch we get is Jin placing his hand on Non's knee. It's intimate and clearly conveys a touch of romantic tension. Jin openly encourages Non to join them and this reads as genuine.

Meanwhile, Por keeps his distance, hands in pockets. There will be no touching from him at this point. Also notice that Jin is sitting while Por stands. When Jin touches Non's knee he is placing himself at relatively the same level as Non, while Por certainly won't stoop that low.

The group (minus Jin) all call Non Greasy. I think it's relevant that this has tactile connotations. It implies that he is dirty, someone you supposedly wouldn't want to touch or get too close to. And of course this brings up class too and the association of uncleanliness with poverty.

Jin, of course, ignores this. He touches Non from the start but also is quick to enter his personal space without qualms. Again there is a romantic interest here as well. But it importantly contrasts with the way others either avoid touching Non or use that touch to control him.

As the group discusses the script and nag Non about it, we get both Por and Top touching Non. The each respectively put their arm or hand on his shoulder as they tell him what to do. They feign friendship and inclusion through touch. Notice how, with the exception of Jin (who's cut off on the left side in the above shot), all of them sit above Non. They may be touching him now but they once again aren't about to treat him as an actual equal.

Immediately after touching him, Por and Top wipe their hands on each other. They touched Non to manipulate him and exert influence, but they also reveal their true colors, treating even the act of touching him as disgusting behind his back.

They continue to do this in a way that is meant to make Non feel like "one of the gang."

Por even gets into Non's physical space much like Jin does earlier, but this time without the genuine interest in Non beyond his script.

This continues up until the script is complete. Por puts an arm on Non and praises them, then gives Top the stink eye until he does too.

And Por once again wipes his hand off on Top treating Non as if he is dirty and touching him is contaminating.

We see how touch among the group is an expression of comradery and belonging as they celebrate the approval of their pitch.

When Non shows up, Jin quickly extends that to him.

But the others do not. Even if their faces didn't say it all, we can tell from how they place arms on one another that Non isn't included by anyone but Jin. Top touches Tee and Por touches Fluke, but Jin and Non remain separate in the front of the group.

In following scenes we see the group touch Non but only in violent ways, shoulder checking him and shoving him.

And of course, tripping him.

As an interesting aside, we have Top using touch on Por to distract him. How quickly friendly touch can become a weapon

As Jin and Non talk on the rooftop they share a moment where they both briefly tap one another. It's a truly friendly moment, and I think it's important that Non is the one who initiated the touch unlike every other moment. I think it's interesting too how this touch is brief, it doesn't hang on Non like Por's hand or Top's arm. It's too brief to demand anything but enough to convey an emotion.

By the end, we have Tee jumping in and using touch as manipulation just like Por and Top did before. Where before Tee generally would stand back from Non, now that he wants something from him, he's ready to place a hand on his shoulder. Still, like Por and Top he remains standing above him.

#dff the series #dead friend forever #dff the series meta #dead friend forever meta #my meta #my posts #dff meta

[imminentinertia]

Pre DFF finale: brain churning, latching on to genre

I've nearly lost count of the number of genres Dead Friend Forever has pressed into service, but I'm trying to make a list, because I love this very good post on DFF and horror genres by @chaos0pikachu and that made me think about how much it's been throwing us around:

slasher essentially a frolicsome and fun horror subgenre, if not for those who see little amusement in some characters terrifying and murdering others:

the first frenzy about the curse of the film, Por impaling himself spectacularly

the masked would-be killer chasing various characters, notably Phee and Jin having to hide in something that looks very much like a funerary box

mystery thriller trying to solve one or more puzzles:

is Non alive, where did he go?

possibly the mystery of who is the killer with the mask - but that's more of a slasher staple and less of a mystery to be solved, slashers don't necessarily reveal the murderers' identity

horror of personality the villain is human and technically normal, but is awfully murderous and/or sadistic etc.:

Fluke's descent into madness - I think him shooting Top goes here rather than into the slasher basket, because it's notably done in front of everyone and not by the/a masked killer

Tan-New's losses escalating his focus on revenge

Keng being subtly menacing underneath the friendliness

note that Non's descent into vengeful violence doesn't count towards this genre, as he's the main victim in all the genres DFF uses

erotic thriller what it says on the tin, it's suspenseful but there's sex:

Tee, White and The Hand

Keng's arc including his manipulation of Non

Phee having sex with Jin with the primary secondary purpose of getting closer to the friends group

social drama and how. Surely they didn't have to go this hard. School bullying, money trouble and debt all the way into inhuman terms for repaying, class divide and upper class suppression of lower class, police corruption, inadequate health care, power abuse, motherfucking organ trafficking, the list goes on and the shift from episode 4 to 5 left me reeling.

Most of the genres DFF makes use of are of the horror/thriller variety, and while social drama definitely can cross-pollinate with other genres, DFF injects some social commentary into the first four slasher episodes but then drops the horror/thriller entirely. Then it proceeds to do a very well crafted critique of a number of societal issues, with no hint of anything horror-y, until it picks the suspenseful genres up again in the later episodes. I was still reeling when they turned the social commentary back into those.

gangster this may be stretching it a little because DFF doesn't really tell any stories from the gang life POV and the organised crime is present mostly as a threat to the characters, but:

Tee is a (low-ranking and untried) member of a criminal gang, working for his gangster uncle, and part of the story is told from his POV

and there's even romance! sweet sweet passion, affection, wooing etc. etc. etc.:

Phee falling like a broken parachute for Non and proceeding to do all the cute things in the world with him

Tee and White with their meet-cute and not too unsettling relationship (White has some lines that hint about a dynamic that may not be all sweet)

I'm sure I've forgotten about ten genres and subgenres.

There's one episode left, and while I fully understand wanting it to turn slasher/vengeance thriller/etc. again and MURDER ALL THE ASSHOLES IN CREATIVE WAYS, I'm very curious about what genre notes they end this on.

Personally I'm still stuck in the social commentary and expect the finale to be Mike Leigh levels of unhappy, but with a Final Girl walking away, and I have no idea at all who that would be. It would depend on how many Sharpened Screwdrivers it gets on the Leigh Scale (probably fewer than I think, it's probably not supposed to end entirely unhappily. 4/10?).

(Side note 1: for terrific examples of social commentary horror, check out George A. Romero's films.)

(Side note 2: horror of personality is one of my favourite genres and my absolute favourite such film of all times is Michael Haneke's Funny Games. I love it, it nearly made me throw up and I don't know if I can recommend watching it.)

#dead friend forever meta #dead friend forever

[italianpersonwithashippersheart]

DFF Questions And Theories Recap

I wanted to do a post where I could put down all the major questions that are still unanwered from the show and give all my thoughts and theories on each.

What Happened to Non?

Earlier I saw this post by @slayerkitty that pretty much outlined my own thoughts on this.

I have been leaning into the idea that the boys pranked and drugged him for a while now. And episode 7 just confirmed it.

What I am the most unsure off, is what happened after. Because the fact that some of these boys seem to be sure he is dead while others aren't makes me think that something happened after the prank

Now is Non alive? This one I am not sure off, if he is I am leaning thowards maybe him being in a coma or catatonic or in some kind of hospitalized situation, maybe under a fake name, thanks to Phi's dad.

Because the Mafia (Tee's Uncle) want him dead, so a fake name for both him and his brother/family might be to keep them safe.

I am not positive he is the third killer (if there even is one) if he is alive.

Most of my brain is on camp Non is dead. For the simple reason that Tan especially seem to be focused on knowing what happened to Non, and/or getting a confession. And if he can talk to Non there would just be no used for that. There would be no need to wait that long. I don't know just a feeling.

Who Are The Killers and How Many there are? And Is Tan Non's older brother?

I will start with the obvious, Phi has to be one of the killers, we are all on board with that.

While my previous theory was that Tan was not the brother and the brother was an unknown player I think I have changed my mind.

I am now 90% sure Tan is New, Non's older brother. Am I still a little bit miffed they probably casted an actor who is the same age as Barcode to play his older brother, yeah, but I figured if the actor pulls it off I can overlook the real life age, it's not like we have not ignored that before in BL land.

About the number I waffle back and fort. I am currently leaning more with there are only two killers. But I can't ever fully commit to it. If you discount the quick appereances I think I have a handle on who did what and when, mostly. And they could have definately pulled it off just Phi and Tan.

Again I do still think the way the guy that is supposed to come pick them up was introduce feel like a set up for a third killer. But it could just be about making sure they are trapped there. I don't know.

I think that Tan might be a bit of blank character on porpouse because if he is the brother, which I am becoming more and more sure with each episode, the bulk of his characterization will be post reveal.

It's definately a delicate balance to struck, because if you make the character too distinct then the reveal feels like it's coming out of nowhere. I really like the actor's microexpression and the way the camera stays on his face sometimes, I think it's very subtle and the actor does a very good job with them.

Who realesed the video?

This section is a bit shorter, I mostly just want to highlight the two post I have seen pointing out some stuff about the video

This one by @firstmix

and This one by @raelle-writing

I wanted to add that maybe Tee and/or Top hide themselves in the office because they thought they could film the teacher giving Non money, and then caught something else instead.

I also think don't think (EDIT: I made a mistake in the og post) it's Jin that realesed the video.

Humans or Suprenatural

I am firmly on camp there is no supernatural, there is no cult. It's all staged.

I think the killers might be using drugs on the boys (see this post by @lukaherehelp for an excelled post on that)

And maybe some sort of induced hynosis/trance on Top, but it also just might be that the drugs and the fear are making him more inclined to help the masked killer, especially if he already thinks it's a ghost.

Also I don't currently have a specific post or remember the specific person sorry my memory is trash, but someone pointed out that sounds, the voices they hear and stuff, might also be used to fuck with people, if you are the person with that theory and see this tell me I will edit this. EDIT: @slayerkitty pointed out it was @shannankle who had this theory, thank you.

I think the dissapearing quick motionless apparitions might be some sort of projection. Specifically something tech related. I am thinking about Tan weirdly awakard talk with White about how he totally doesn't know anything about technology (that was a lie if I ever heard one)

And finally last but certanly not least: What are the killers realtionship/attitude thowards White and What is White role in the story?

White is the wild card, he wasn't supposed to be there. We have at least two conflicting statement on whose idea him coming with them was. Tee initially says, we agreed you would be good if you came and then says actually you didn't want to come and I instited later.

I don't think he is one of the killers there are way too many shots of him alone that make no sense if he is in on it.

Phi seems to be occasionally protective over him. In the scene where they are seeing Tee and White make out he is laughing with everyone but then after Tee says enough my little one will be sad (something of that effect) he turns to see White being embarred and puts a stop to it. He also always seem to want to keep White at the house where he could be safer.

Then of course there is the little awkward moment with the hands when Phi is telling him what to do for the shoot. It was such a odd moment to include, that it makes me believe there is something behind it we are not seeing.

Tan instead seems to be gently stearing him in a specific direction, the direction where he asks questions and wants the truth. Someone left the page of newspaper about Tee's uncle before leaving Fluke and White alone in the house, probably hoping that White would find it. I don't want to used the world manipulation yet, but it does feel a little like he is using him.

White has to be one of the final standing boys. I am not sure if he is going to be the only one. If Jin didn't realsed the video then Jin might also make it. And of course it depends about the killers. Making the killers so symphatethic the audience root for them is always a gamble if you want to end your series with both of them dead.

Is White meant to have some parallels with Non? Tee obviously is trying to change himself and be better for White, although he struggles between care and selfinesh still. White might also come from a poor background, the boys might have been more nice to him because they felt guilty about what happened to Non. There is also that moment with the rash that I think will have a bigger meaning eventually.

And has @shannankle has pointed out in their post on colors. He and Phi have some color connections with the orange.

I think that is it. Obviously the last question is about the ending, but I don't really have any theories I am ready to share for that yet. As you can see I am sure of very little.

#txt #dead friend forever #dead friend forever meta #dff meta

[fracturediron]

Dead Friend Forever ep 6

Finally got around to watching this, and I have a lot of thoughts.

With the reveal that Phee is Non's FWB (ex-FWB? Friend either way), that obviously rules him out as being New, Non's brother.

So who does that leave as New? The obvious candidates are Tan and White, but out of the two, I think Tan is the most likely. There are too many moments shown where White's alone and he seems genuinely out of the loop, like when he sneaks into Por's room and says, "Sorry for the intrusion. But for your life's sake, I have to look." No one's around to watch him put on a face of politeness and respect for Por. If White was in on it, why would he bother apologising for going into Por's room? As he would A) Know exactly what's going on, so he wouldn't need to secretly look at the hard drive contents B) If he knew Non and what happened to him, he'd have every reason to hate Por and the others.

Whereas right now, we still don't know a whole lot about Tan or seen much of him either alone or introspecting. Apart from not being part of the original group and smoking when he's an asthmatic lol, we don't really know anything about him as a person, so there's a lot of potential there.

Otherwise, the next best candidate has got to be whoever Perth is playing, since he's yet to make an appearance and also his character is the only one who hasn't been named on the cast list.

Jumping to a different topic: Kru Keng. This fucker (CW for discussion of potential sexual abuse/predatory behaviour under the cut):

I knew he had creepy fucking vibes. Unless this is a fakeout to make you think he's a creepy predator teacher. But I doubt it; this feels too deliberate.

Going off of this, though, does raise questions about how and why Kru Keng then ends up dying, considering Jin either saw or hallucinated his bloody ghost. Which is doubly interesting, since Jin is the only one out of the original group to see Kru Keng, whereas everyone else has only seen the masked killers.

My question is: why would Jin of all people see Kru Keng's ghost?

From the very start of the flashback, Jin clearly has an interest in Non that ends up developing into romantic interest, likely one he may have been unaware of until this moment:

My theory: if Kru Keng does indeed try to prey on Non in exchange for giving him the money he needs to pay off Uncle Joe, is that Jin then finds out about this and ends up trying to defend Non from Kru Keng, only to then accidentally kill the teacher. Either that, or he's at least indirectly involved in the killing somehow, maybe by helping Non cover it up if Non is the one who ends up killing him.

Either way, my feeling is still accidental rather than premeditated, as I feel like from what we've seen of Jin (especially with this being him in his teenage years and still in the prime of his innocence), is that he doesn't really have the character (or the straight up guts) to actually plan out a murder and go through with it. If he ends up killing Kru Keng, it's gonna be an accident or a heat of the moment thing.

This does involve Jin going to bat for Non in a much more concrete way than he has so far in their time together, but I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility. He has some feelings for Non, and although his attempts to defend him to his friends or to help him are never quite enough, defending your friend from a predatory teacher is a much more tangible and immediate threat than, say, the peer pressure of being part of a high school group.

#dead friend forever #dff #dff the series #dff meta #dead friend forever meta #dff spoilers

[musingsofalovelymillenial]

Final Thoughts before Dead Friend Forever Finale

I had a lot to say about the show and I realized that it would not all fit in one post and I didn't realize how many posts it would actually take me to post it all. So below are the links to everything in one place; my thoughts about each character, theories about how it will end, everything. Thank you for checking it out and I hope everyone is excited to watch the finale.

#dead friend forever #dff the series #barcode tinnasit #be on cloud #copper phuriwat #dff spoilers #fuaiz thanawat #jj chalach #jjay patiphan #mio athens #bump pawat #us nititorn #ta nannakun #jet jetsadakorn #dead friend forever the series #dff series #dff theory #dff meta #dead friend forever spoilers #dead friend forever meta #dead friend forever theory #dff

[live-from-flaturn]

DFF Ep 8 Theory Update:

I managed to make it through Ep 8 of DFF and the only change in my theory is that Keng was not the human sacrifice. I think maybe Phee found his and Non's bones in the woods and those are the ones we see in the temple with Jin.

Cause honestly I don't see Mafia Uncle (Muncle, if you will) letting them live with all the information they have on his operation.

I also think that Top's blood on the knife is used as a kind of control mechanism when he goes after Por and shitty glasses guy whose name I can't remember atm. There's a lot of different magic around blood and mind/body control.

Also because his attack is the one they use in the movie for shock value - even though those may be Non's last moments alive.

#dff spoilers #dff meta #dff theory #dead friend forever #dead friend forever spoilers #dead friend forever meta #my theory grows!