Y Destiny

Today the first episode of the anticipated new Thai BL series Y-Destiny aired. This series is a collaboration between CopyABangkok and AISPlay.  Surprisingly, international fans can watch as soon as the show airs with subtitles.  I’m used to waiting for subs, especially when it’s not from a power giant like GMMTV who has many people on their production team. I have to admit, for the sake of transparency, that I am a massive fan of Shewin Thanamin Wongskulphat, the director. His shows include Lovesick Season 2, Make It Right, Make It Right On The Beach, Why R U, YYY, You Never Eat Alone, and now Y-Destiny. He has a distinctive storytelling style that I enjoy.  His style has shifted from the simple boys love high school stories of Lovesick Season 2 and all the Make It Right series to a more visually attractive color aesthetic with unique storylines like YYY.  Yet each tale he directs has, at its core, characters that you can relate to overcoming problems in everyday lives. They have heart.  So what about this first episode? Did it live up to expectations?

—Edited by TheFNGee

Plot Synopsis:

Y-Destiny is the story of 7 best friends: Sun, Mon, Tue, Puth, Thurs, Masuk, and Sat, each of whom has different personalities according to their birthdays, and fate leads them to meet their loved ones.

Each episode focuses on a specific day and character. (Source: My Drama List)

Cast of Characters and Actors

Jia – Yoon Phusanu Wongsavanischakorn

Masuk – Lay Talay Sanguandikul

Tee – Perth Nakhun Screaigh

Sun – Max Saran Rujeerattanavorapan

Nuea – Nat Natasitt Uareksit

Thurs – Pee Peerawich Ploynumpol

Mon – Korn Kornnarat Ongsaranont

Tue – Chap Suppacheep Chanapai

Team – Gung Kunpong Kultanaruangnonth

Aek – Tae Chayapat Kongsub

Pao – Au Nititorn Janruechai

The opening montage is delightful. I would expect nothing less.  The music for WhyRU, YYY, and You Never Eat Alone, along with colorful aesthetics, make these credits unforgettable. A catchy song plays along with different color palates rotating in the background.  This style is Shewin’s trademark. Each hero is named after a day of the week. What does that have to do with the bright visuals and music? In Thailand, the days of the week have a color. And they also have attributes listed for each day of the week. They often ask people when they were born to determine lucky days, colors, and unlucky days. Shewin uses these colors for his pairings.  I’m assuming that the heroes will have the corresponding traits listed below.

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday Morning

Wednesday Afternoon

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

After the opening montage, we see seven friends standing side by side on the bleachers of their school soccer pitch. Each of them wears something of their signature color, whether it’s a sweater, a tie, a scarf, or a bag. Max is the leader who sends out a rallying cry to the others. Max is Sunday.  It’s their second semester & he proposes they all find a significant other this semester. They tease each other for a moment then the music plays once again as we are introduced to each pairing in this story. 

Tuesday – Pink

We begin with two boxers in the ring. It’s a match between two college students. Park Anomakiti is the boxing coach of Kong. Park portrayed Japan in Why RU the series, directed by Shewin. It’s like seeing an old friend. They might be different characters, but you instantly recognize them. One of the boxers in the ring wins, and as he talks to the coach, he decides, at 19, he wants to quit boxing and become a coach.  In talking to Kong, we learn his name is Tue. Coach agrees to allow it only if Tue is his assistant coach first.

On club registration day, we have Coach Kong directing people to fill out forms. Of course, he has to pee, so he tells Tue to take over his duties. A familiar scene, right? Why RU’s Fighter had the same experience when he first meets Tutor. As Aek, the new student rushes in to find Tue closing the booth, and we sense immediate tension between the pair.  As seen in a brief flashback, the two have a history. Not sure what that history is, but it’s enough for Tue to stubbornly tell Aek that registration is closed for the boxing club.  Aek becomes insistent.  As Kong comes back, he sees the tension and steps in, calmly telling Aek that the club is closed.

Aek pleads for a chance to box. Then Coach Kong visualizes a hungry fighter in front of him. He asks him to demonstrate some punches. As Aek shows good form, the coach decides to let him in but asks that he respect his assistant Tue.

We skip forward to the training camp for the club. Of course, Aek shows up late once again, and Kong scolds him. The hostility is still there between Tue and Aek. Coach pulls Tue aside telling him if he wants to coach, he needs to be calmer in situations with conflict.

At this point, we have the obligatory physical training montage of all school sports clubs.  We don’t know the history, but we still see the hostility between Tue and Aek. During running exercise, we see that Aek is always last. Why? We don’t know.  He then misses the next practice claiming to have a fever and staying in his room. Then we see Aek wandering around eating a pastry. Tue sees him and accuses him of lying. I don’t like either one of them at this point. There must be a reason, but Aek appears lazy & unmotivated. This doesn’t seem like someone who desperately wanted to be in the boxing club. And Tue has a grudge against Aek, always looking to start a quarrel.

Three days pass, with Aek still sick in his room, according to his roommate.  Tue finds this suspicious and does a check-up on him. He feels his forehead, and the boy has a high temperature. Tue is still unhappy, but as he’s leaving, he spots a branch of leaves in the trash. He goes on immediate attack mode, storming back to Aek. He tells Aek that he knows Jasmine leaves raise the body temperature mimicking a fever and forces Aek to show a green tongue.

I don’t know what is to be gained by this behavior. Why is Aek avoiding training? As Tue and Aek stand before the coach, Aek pleads not to be expelled from the camp. The coach gives him one more chance but puts Tue in charge of getting along with and making sure Aek is disciplined. Coach claims it is a test to see if Tue can change Aek. If he can, that means he’s ready to be a coach.

Their chemistry doesn’t feel romantic at all at this point in the episode. It’s more mutual hostility that sometimes works as chemistry, but I’m annoyed at both characters, so I don’t care if they get together. I want them to stop being assholes.

Then we have Tue moving into Aek’s room. And the wrestle for the phone to go to sleep ends with the cliché fall kiss. The kiss is another Kiss Me Again and Why RU moment. Of course, it’s cliché, but it’s kind of cute here. The kiss doesn’t lead to more and is a bit stiff and awkward, but the dawning realization of attraction appears.

This next moment had me laughing, though. Aek tells him that he’s hard and says something like, you caused this, now fix it. Tue gets all flustered and says he’ll wait outside. The always grumpy Tue seems to be more aware of Aek.

The next day we have the ‘oh my god, there’s a roach protect me’ moment as Aek jumps and hugs Tue because he’s scared. We learn Aek has a fear of insects, and we see that Tue is just a little charmed by this. Tue teases that he was scared of Aek this morning, to which Aek replies, “No, you liked it.” Chemistry finally. The flirting begins. And it seems mutual.

There is a strange game of strengthening your neck muscles where they have to hold ropes and a water jug with their teeth. It makes me giggle to see Tue helping Aek while smiling and making eye contact. They are flirting.

That night they open up to each other a little more. We learn about Aek’s dad and a missed opportunity at a boxing match. And then Tue agrees to ask not to command Aek when he wants something – it’s progress.

However, we still don’t have the backstory of the pair. Was it only the chance meeting? Or did they somehow know each other before, casually? Maybe I missed it, but I remember looking for a connection for the animosity and didn’t understand the flashback. If any of you know, please let a comment below.

The following day Tue has a fever, and Coach asks Aek to take him to the hospital. He doesn’t want to at first. Weird cause he was flirting the day before. Also, as an aside, what is up with everyone getting fevers in Thai BL’s? They must have a lot of sicknesses there. Or it’s a plot device. One they all seem to use. So Aek puts Tue on his bicycle to pedal him to the hospital made me laugh.  Can’t they take a taxi to the hospital? A tuk-tuk, any method is faster than that. With that said, it was cute to see them on the bike together.

We move forward in time to Tue and Aek back in their shared room. Aek says he had the same sickness as a kid, so he offers to take care of Tue.  Aek finally says something that makes sense to me. He tells Tue not to scratch the pimples or it will cause scarring. Tue has four of the lesions on his face. Suddenly, it hits me that Tue has chickenpox. However, he should be covered in blisters. Plus the fact that chickenpox is virulently contagious unless you have already had it. And to top it off, he was standing next to the coach with a fever. Coach should have chickenpox now as well. Also, why isn’t he vaccinated against it? We all get those as a kid – at least where I live.

Next, we have the scene in almost every single Thai BL I’ve ever seen. The sponge bath. Apparently, it’s the cure for everything. Hangover? Sponge bath. Cold? Sponge bath. Been drugged by date-rape drugs? Sponge bath. I rolled my eyes but still find myself smiling. Then Tue says something that surprises the heck out of me. “If I weren’t sick now, I would give up my body to you.” Huh? You’ve fallen-kissed once. Been thumb-kissed once. Now you are ready to give your body to a guy you couldn’t stand a few days ago. Aek tells him to hurry up and get better. Guess he’s ready too.

Thoughts

Not bad, but not a strong start. The new actors were a bit wooden in the beginning. They improved during the episode, but their characters as portrayed lack any depth – script issues there. But Park as Coach was enjoyable to watch. He portrayed a disciplined, kind but fair, even-tempered leader of the boxing club very well. Park fleshed out his character, and it was enjoyable.   

For a one-hour show about each day of the week, it feels unresolved. We don’t know why Aek is always late. We don’t know what his history is with Tue. And will we see Aek in the boxing ring? For a story about boxing, there was very little actual boxing in this episode. But maybe, they overlap as one episode finishes while another begins. I’m not sure. I will keep watching, of course. I want to see some of the other familiar pairs like Max and Nat, Perth, Talay, and Yoon.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars. [See our Review Guide]