#it could just be Phee being a little stoopid yes but come. on.

[leconcombrerit]

Phee is lying

I mentioned a theory of mine a few times (or is it hopeful thinking ?) and I decided I could share the big outline. I don't feel very legitimate making this post given that I'm one episode and a half behind, but then again I'm pretty sure I'd earn my clown costume either way.

Phee and Non's relationship : a carefully rushed framing

The cute montage at the beginning of episode 6 never sat well with me. DFF knows how to take its time ; how to develop characters, hint at dynamics without having to spell it out. And suddenly one of the most important relationships in the series is summed up in a five minutes montage ? Are you kidding me ? After that we get one scene (the bracelet one by the river) before their relationship starts to crumble upon the weight pressuring Non.

In other words, we get nothing. Most of my attachment for this couple stemmed from a) boundless joy at finally seeing someone, anyone on Non's side and b) Ta and Barcode eating ever single one of their scenes. Aside from this cute beginning, it's just Phee trying to help Non and Non not being mentally nor emotionally available for anything.

They could have done better. They could have shown us more. But they didn't. I know a common conception is that a montage with the occasional slo-mo fits the "first and naïve love" theme buuuuut I don't like it because I don't like it, sue me.

Let's see what they did show us first ; when you give so little, there's no room for triviality. And then I have just a few details I picked up on (or excavated and extrapolized like a mad scientist) that come feed my "Phee is a lying liar that lies" theory. But first, here goes a montage breakdown.

One : first in person meeting

There are several interesting points here. Phee is standing and bending to Non's level, Non is acting cute and waving his hand like a child would ; the groundwork of their relationship is laid down. Phee is the one taking care of Non. But what I found truly noteworthy is this :

"Do you wanna meet up ?"

Phee is taken aback by Non's suggestion. He clearly didn't expect him to do that. Except you don't have expectations for strangers or vague acquaintances. By that point, Phee and Non have been messaging for long enough for Phee to know Non quite well and for the both of them to smile like idiots upon meeting. How long exactly ? Nobody knows.

Two : perfect date and the start of a series of promises

Three or four shots of a traditional, happy date, what more could we ask for. Genuinely. Sad Non, abused Non, crying Non is brought back to a softer world. He earned this level of cliché and happiness. There's also the pinky finger promise ; that's what interests me the most, not as a singular instance but as the start of a pattern. Promises are a running theme in Phee and Non's relationship. As willing as Phee is to take oaths, he's quick to fail them -hell, just one episode prior he wasn't here for Non and it resulted in a suicide attempt. The situation with Keng isn't Phee's first failure.

Three : Non's home

Here Non is letting Phee in his home, his room -his life. And he does so with glee. We've seen beforehow Non tends to keepto himself. Jin has to try a lot and try hard to get him to open up a bit, so whatever happens here is meaningful.

Phee taking his manga from Non could be read as them not sharing common interests (unlike Jin, my imaginary public argues with a nod). I personally saw it as them being comfortable enough to do their own thing while sharing space, until Phee got bored. Or horny. Or both. No sex scenes are shown, which has to be intentional. Phee gets a graphic sex scene with Jin, Non gets a graphic sex scene with Keng -but none for Pheenon. There's enough suggestion that the audience will get the idea, and I haven't pinpointed what lies behind that choice, but it's definitely there. They go back and forth between tooth-rottingly cute and buying a house in the bone-zone.

Four : being each other's whole world

They're both giddy and running to find each other. Their families don't understand because they haven't told ; it's their own little world (and in Non's case probably his only happy place with no worries).

Five : the kiss scenes

The sensual aura that built up in all previous scenes reaches its peak here. Once again nothing is shown in terms of sex, yet you can feel the physical attraction just as well. I might be getting off the rails by saying that while they're honest, they also virtually keep things private. They show us the truth, but an amputated, rushed one.

Just like I suppose Phee gives Jin an amputated and rushed version of what happened.

Six : The river

Ah, yes, the river scene. I won't be talking about the longer one with the bracelet yet cause it's separate from the little glimpses we got so far (it has dialogue, for one). But this ? This is gold to my brain.

An apple. Not only are they both biting it, but Non's eyes are open and staring right at Phee, while Phee's are closed. Non is holding it too. Now I know the apple symbolism is a Chrisitian one and we're in Thailand, but that little detail struck me as odd when Phee and "Tan" were introduced :

We're entering full clown territory cause the cross was probably hung there like the curtains are probably just goddamn blue, but I added a badly drawn plan of how our brains read images, starting from top left corner (where the cross is) to skim over the middle in a downward axis to the bottom left (Fluke, Jin, the more innocent ones actually I just realized) and then to the bottom right. The cross is what we see first.

And then, wouldn't you know, our lovely apple comes back as New and Phee are discussing the boys -and where New is out to get them, Phee is already giving even Por the benefit of doubt. He's also keeping his left hand behind his back. I'll get back to Phee's left hand, but the apple comes first.

If the cross is any indication, and that we get two apples, then the first one that's set in the past, a flashback in a flashback, could be the Old Testament version, a fall from heaven ; and the second one that Phee is eating by himself, not blindly this time, could be the New Testament version as redemption from the original sin. Not to mention the greenery around them, almost like a garden.

"But then doesn't it mean that Phee, after falling for Non, starts to get redemption for failing him by saving the boys from New ?"

You know what, MAYHAPS. It could work, I guess. But same as the manga reading scene, it could go many ways. I personally think the redemption he longs for is redemption for having let Non down so badly. Besides, I don't think New is ready to kill people yet in that scene. He's just trying to gather evidence for now, and Phee knows it. So why defend those boys ? Jin I could understand, but Por ? And protect them from what, exactly ? Getting justice served and truth exposed for something they actually did ? If they're innocent, what's the rush in getting New to let go ?

Why wouldn't Phee be trying to keep New safe ?

Look it's not that far-fetched I swear. First I'm going with the fact that Phee knows Non is alive and got in contact with him somehow. One because I stand by my words, this is a face that calls for murder.

And two, the ring tattoo. I don't think it's a continuity error. And he just so happens to keep his arm hidden behind his back when trying to stir New into giving up on his search. As a sign he's actually carrying on Non's wish ? I'd love that.

Then someone in the group has to be in contact with the masked man, the ninth person, or else they wouldn't have known when to expect the group. Unless they literally live in those woods, which is also possible.

There's also a long post I'd started about how the show always plays by the rules, not even trying to be surprising in the decision it takes (A guy dying early on in a slasher, Phee being Non's boyfriend, Tan being New, both of them being part of the scheme) but pulling the rug off under our feet in the execution (no one else of importane having died after Por, quiet Tan being the one to murder people while decisive Phee is crying about, etc). Which gives me the feeling that it will be the same here and that Phee is much more of a mastermind than he's been whining on to Jin.

Speaking of Jin, it would also explain why Phee has been investigating him specifically. They might have been trying to determine if he'd done anything, had leaked the video or not. When push came to shove, Phee played the honesty card to get him to confess. And. He. Did.

Not to say Phee doesn't have genuine feelings for Jin, and that it doesn't make him feel torn and confused. But the fact that they banged right after Jin reminded him of Non more strongly also isn't something I'd ignore.

Anyway, I'm getting tired, short version :

Tl;dr :

I think Phee and Non's relationship was actually much stronger than we've been shown, that Phee knows Non is alive because he's the only person Non would have contacted and works with him. He was tasked with keeping New away from all this because Non doesn't want him to get hurt, but also doesn't trust him enough to tell him anything (remember that New was defined by his absence prior to Non's disappearance, only there to serve as a hurtful point of comparison, and that he wasn't close at all to Non to begin with, regardless of how much he regrets now ; I don't think Non factored New would go that far for him in his plan). The revenge plot is already underway for Non, and Phee is trying to keep things going the way they should.

Here it is. It was itching my brain and I slept very badly because of it, but I AM NOW FREE.

#dead friend forever #I don't know it was running in circles in my head #especially after seeing so many people boo Phee after ep 10 #It got my brain going 'hmmmm ain't that just too easy' #cause everyone seemed to think it was too easy indeed #it could just be Phee being a little stoopid yes but come. on. #what am I supposed to do with my braincells if I stop at that #dff the series