Hello and welcome to Big Gay Energy. I'm Caitlin. And I'm Fiora. Come along with us while we dive into the fun and nuances of queer media. Representation matters, and we're. Here to talk about it. Cheers, queers. What's on the big gay agenda today, Fiora? Today we are talking about a very anticipated topic, which is Gap the series apparently. I'm a little excited. I'm sorry, I just love that you name this our outline. Gap the series. The Outline. And with the acronym GTSTO.
And why would I do something like that, Caitlyn? I'm assuming it's because of the last show we talked about, which was High School Musical The Musical, The Series. Just so many words. How to say the whole thing? Though anyway, yes, that's what I was making fun of just for you Caitlin. It was a little call back but today we're talking about Gap the series. So wanted to shout out first and foremost Monsters Inc Oh I forget your numbers handle on Twitter who has been like like
tweeting at us for like a while. I mean like can you guys cover Gap the series. Can you cover Gap the series and like this came out or like not came out but became like a big international success during the Warrior none era. So we were if you've seen our content, very tied up in Warrior none and unable to get this while it was going. And also a friend of the podcast, Nancy, We love you, Nancy, who also has been wanting us to do so.
This is for you guys and I wanted to thank everybody who's I mentioned this show because honestly it was very fun and we're happy to be here talking about it. If you haven't seen Gap, the series, that's OK Like stick around for the first like little bit of our episode, this particular one where we'll give like a little synopsis, A spoiler free review of the show as a whole, and then we'll dive into all the spoilers. But we will give you a warning
before we get there. But before we do that, is there any housekeeping we should address Caitlyn? We should all be used to this by now. All right, let's see how quick I can get through it this time. If you're watching this podcast on YouTube, be sure to subscribe to our channel, give this video a like, and drop a comment to share your thoughts. We absolutely love hearing from you. For our podcast listeners, please download this episode and leave a review if you can.
Your engagement helps us reach a broader audience and spread the joy of queer content. For even more exclusive queer content, early access to videos and full reaction videos, join us on Patreon. Dive into discussions on our Discord channel where we enjoy connecting with all of you. Explore our merchandise at biggateenergypod.com to show your support. All links will be in the description. Lastly, stay connected with us on all social media platforms by following at Biggate Energypod.
Your interactions mean the world to us, and these actions contribute to our ongoing celebration of queer media and advocacy for better representation. Woo. Hoo, one day I will do that without no mistakes. I mean, it's with more organic with mistakes. All right, let's get into Gap, the series. Where can you watch it? Theora. So. Yeah, you can watch it all for free on YouTube.
There's 12 episodes total. It's like a one and done season, which is so lovely because then you're not like campaigning for a second one because it's all wrapped up nice in 12 episodes. The show itself is like a telenovela style ROM com that takes place in Thailand, so if you don't speak that language, subtitles will now be your best friend. They were mine. Did you? Write I didn't write this part. Natural synopsis.
Who wrote those? Google Ever since Sam came to her aid years ago, Mon has always considered the former as her role model. When Mon graduates, she decides to apply for a job at Sam's company. No, this has always been the goal anyway. Yet Sam's distant and icy exterior surprises her. The closer Mon gets to Sam and the more of Sam's barrier she breaks, the more Mon's feelings gradually change from idolizing to love, and Sam's world becomes brighter.
However, between them lie many obstacles such as gender barriers, the eight-year age gap, company rules and social class, as Sam is a descendant of royalty. So that's your spoiler free synopsis of basically what the entire show is about. I found this interesting too when I was researching it. Apparently it's a live adaptation of the novel that's called Gap Yuri, and I've included a picture of the actresses holding the book. Wait. A minute.
It's called Gap Yuri, yeah. Which is interesting that. Is interesting. Yeah, so I I assume I can't read it or find it. First of all, I can't find it for purchase 'cause I don't live in Thailand and I'm pretty confident it's not in English, so I don't know if the names changed, but that's the name of the book. So here we go. I wanted to add something else too from friend of the podcast Nancy Who gave a bunch of like
context to the show. Also I kind of wanted to talk about so the two actresses, Becky Armstrong and oh crap, I don't remember the other exorcist name. I all I know is their their ship name or whatever is friend Becky I think. I feel like I'm gonna butcher this name. So, Serosha I. Think I. Think she uses? Friend though. That's her middle name, I think. Is that it? OK. Sorry I didn't hear it spoken about.
So hold on. OK, apparently the two actresses, so they have, they have a bunch of projects they've done together which is actually crazy. So they met on the, I think it's called SCOY project when Becky was 17 and Frein was 21. So they have a 4.5 year age gap and they found this really unique bond with each other and they've been doing projects together pretty much like
non-stop since then. They have a movie that they shot called Uranus 232423, something like that again where there it's like a sapphic like sci-fi movie where they're like the lead romance. I watched the trailer and I'm dying for this movie. It's it's right up my alley. It sounds amazing. And they have a new series coming out called The Loyalty Pin which is also based on like a Thai book where they again play like love interest.
So they're like basically carrying Sapphic Media on their backs and they must be pretty tired from doing that. But these two are like an international kind of like Sensation and this show Gap apparently like they they made like a pilot for it and it didn't do really well.
And then they kind of like changed things and shopped around and found Idol Factory, who that's who hosted on YouTube. And they didn't really know it was going to blow up, but apparently it like blew up and it became this like international sensation. And so these two women are just like all over Thailand and all over the world kind of like, I don't know, making things happen for media. So very exciting, very fun.
And this this show is honestly like really great and it's I I I'm happy that it's accessible on YouTube because otherwise, like I wouldn't be able to watch it like and it had such a big impact all over the world, which I think is really cool. I want to bring up something real quick. You mentioned Skoy. I believe that stands for Secret Crush on you. OK. Got it. Yeah, I think. I think Nancy said The two of them were like a supporting, yeah, characters, but their chemistry was so insane.
They made them leads in something else. Cool. Good for them. So good acting partners. All right. So before we kind of like actually wait, let's, I just want to give you a disclaimer before we go any further. So if you're new here, hi, welcome. And if you're not, you'll already kind of know this. But all hosts in attendance today, it's me, Caitlin and Cole. We are not fluid in the Thai
language. We are not members of this culture, nor are we residents of the part of the world where this television show took place and was filmed. Therefore, as a disclaimer, we are limited in our perspective of this piece of media and cannot analyse it without our Western life experiences. And so therefore that is going to kind of bias what we're going to say about this. But we did our best to research Thai culture to put this show
into context. But again, we are not experts on this topic and we wanted to be very transparent about that going forward. So we were very much going by the subtitles that were given to us like so we're we are going to miss things and we're going to look at this through an American lens because unfortunately that is where we grew up, for better or worse. And that's. Our bias to deal with. What we were taught in school and trying to learn as much as we can, now that we're out of
it, yeah. So we're going to be skewed. We are going to miss things. And if we do, like, please correct us in the comments, please like help us. We're we try. We are trying. OK. So just, I want to be very transparent about that. Yeah, So with that being said, spoiler free review time. So what did you, if you guys had to like, give a quick summary of like, your thoughts and feelings on Gap without spoiling anything, what would you say
this? Question is literally in or outline, yet we have no answer for it apparently. Yeah, it's in that one. I would say a slow burn that lasts years for one of them. A lifetime. A lifetime, one might say. Really great queer friends, drama with family who cannot relate to that, and a really sweet love story. I would say a stalker has an aggravating relationship with a superior all. Right. In a cute way. That's cute. Don't worry about it.
Oh man, that's good. I would say this is a love story that bridges many gaps. Just throw the. Title into it. OK, throw the title. In there mention as many gaps and in one season it tells a complete story from start to finish of this Sapphic couple, which for me is not normal. Usually we're side characters or that's not really the main plot but they are the plot from start to finish and it tells a complete sorry like end to harken on everything you guys says it's a slow burn.
I think it's fun and funny like honestly it's it's cheery for the most part but there is there is drama with a capital D happening there but keeps things interesting. So overall I super enjoyed it and thought it was a very good show. All right, to close out the spoiler free section, the best way to kind of give people an idea of whether or not they should watch it or invest their time in it is to rate it on the big A energy scale.
So on a scale of one to 10 or whatever you want, this is an informal rating system. How much Big Gay Energy does Gap the series have, Michael. So much call to leave I. Was thinking about this that I it kept me up last night, so I didn't ask. Caitlin. Absolutely. Going through numbers of my head, like literally analyzing this because it's scientific. I. Think I'm going. To give it an 8 1/2. Yeah. Because do we give a reason? I forget. Yeah, give reasons. We're.
Trying to. Entice people because it is quite it's quite queer, but there's not enough multiple representations. Like you see things, but they it's not like focused on see like heart stopper. They have a bunch of different. Plot lines, yeah. Plot lines representations in it where this one is mainly focused on the main couple and like Sapphic love basically so. But they're they're in it the whole time. They don't forget that they're. I mean they. Don't die. They don't.
Yeah, nobody dies. Spoilers. Queer. That's. Queer. Oh, yeah, I guess that's Never mind. A queer was harmed in the making of this show. Like trigger a warning. Yeah, OK. That's good. That's good. Cool what you got. How much big gay energy would you Get Get? Oh, I mean it's very gay. Like, it's almost like it's very gay. Like there's I don't, I guess my rating I would say on a gay scale. It's very gay. On a would I watch it again my my numbers. That's a different that's a
different scale. Yeah. So. Would I base off the this? Is Big Gay Energy the? Hydrate lesbian, yeah. That's the end, OK. OK, OK. So I I mean well we do have. OK. So yeah, I would I would go with like an 8 or a nine. So I'll probably have the very similar, a similar score like rating for like just eight point gayness. Yeah, just on the the gayness. And it was the lack of diversity in the queer community, and I don't think that the whole
relationship was that great. So that's why I knocked it down a little bit. But overall, very queer. Theora, what is your score? For me, it circles the globe. That's how gay it is. So honestly like yeah, I think that it's it's almost like red, white and royal blue because it's like it's a ROM com style that focuses on the the ROM com couple. So I understand that it's not going to be hard stopper where it goes into different plot
lines. It's literally just focused on the two leads as again they go from the start of a relationship to the end. And so I thought that was fine for what it was trying to do. And I do appreciate the fact that there there is a, there's a variety of queer people in it. And it's not really addressed or discussed. It's just part of what this is and it was normalized.
And like there's another queer relationship that happens during the show and the course of the show and it's never commented on. It just is. And so I enjoy that about it. And I think they do talk about, you know, queerness in the context of that culture, particularly like as the old guard is passing, you know, power onto the new guard with like the older, more conservative people to the younger people.
And in the context of, like, what's going on in Thailand politically when it comes to queer rights, I thought this was an incredibly important television show, not just for depicting queerness, but for like kind of like having a conversation about like what is going on in that country right now through the lens of this show. So for me it breaks the scale because I think this has the impact to like change culture. So I thought it was huge.
Whether or not like you like it as much as other pieces of career media, that's a whole another story. I think that this is incredibly important piece of career media and the fact that it has taken off across the world is so important for just representation. So the value of the show in my mind is just uncalculable. I think it's fantastic. And the actresses that are in this are very good public figures and very positively and
well received. So again, like the real world impact of this particular show is so huge, which is really what representation media is all about. So it breaks the scale for me. So circles the globe. All right, she's gays and they's and everybody in between. We have reached the spoiler section. So if you do not want to be spoiled and you haven't seen Gap the series, turn this off and go watch Gap the series. It's free on YouTube. Just dedicate half of a day.
It's 12 hours. You can binge it all. It's fine. You won't regret it or maybe you will tell us in the comments. I don't know. But when you're done, come back and listen to this. And if you've seen it or you have it and you're just like a spoiler hoe, there's no slut shaming on this podcast. Keep listening, because we're about to dive into quite literally all the things about Gap, the series, including all of the Super gay stuff. Woohoo, woohoo.
All right. So before we jump into like scene by scene kind of stuff, we'll do like a general spoilery overview of what we thought. So what were your general likes Dislikes of Gap the series like overall as a show? I I just started with a few. Dislikes because most of my likes will be like when we talk about the show overall. So I just want to talk about Mon's obsession with Sam, because I just feel like it's it's a stalker behavior and I.
She's basically stalking her for. 13 years and like, yeah, I get idolizing someone. But she made sure she went to the same college and then got the job at her company. Like she's trying to do everything the same. She's trying to become Sam, basically. And that's like when the I feel like the creepy stalkers, like they're trying to like become their that person and like take over their life, You know, like those types of storylines.
I mean, we know that mine's not like that, but like that was like the kind of level that I was getting. I don't know if you have a different take, but there's a lot of photos. I mean, to me it kind of felt like when you're a teenager or something and you have celebrities up on your wall, like pictures of celebrities on your wall and that's that's kind of end what's if we find out later you you find out about like what she knew wasn't actually Lady Sam. Like what she knew about Lady
Sam wasn't actually who she was. It was like a curated version of her like like the media portrays and stuff like. All celebrities. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. No. Yeah. That's fair. It's just. The following her, the. Following her part is where it treads into stalker behavior. I agree, Caitlin, but whatever. Works on. Me. Yeah, it is a little stalker, the. The the issue that I had mostly was just like literally trying to do every single thing that
Sam did, Yeah, yeah. And then wind up at our company. I mean, on the surface it reads that way, but from on I think it's more like she, you know, she's like Sam is such a good person. I want to be as good, like a good person like that. Not necessarily be her because it's not like she tries to dress like Sam, like because it's commented that like from all the interviews or whatever. Like she's like, oh, Sam's favorite color is red and mine
never was red. It's not like she's like trying to, I don't think she's trying to be Sam. I think she's trying to like be like her and be successful and be a good person and put good out into the world because that was the impression she was left with, get stuck with her. But on the surface, yeah, it's it's, it looks like stalker behavior, a little bit, little bit there, man.
Just. Need some red string and it's like turning into like a. Yeah, no, Like, that's literally what I pictured on the board, you know? Just turning into some like. Oh. Criminal Minds type thing I. Did forget about that aspect, which I would think is why I like the second-half better because I stay get rid of the I am obsessed with you as much because they literally, we'll get into it later. In the second-half, Bond gets to actually know Sam.
So it it goes away from like I'm it's what I can find about you from researching you to like I'm actually spending time with you. So it's a different the relationship changes from like observation to like an actual interactive thing. And so I'm sure if you were to interact with your celebrity crush in real life for like months, your relationship and your view of that person will obviously change because you don't know celebrities unless you're actually with them.
Like this show is demonstrating I. Mean I would love to figure that message, so I think. More people need to get that message through their heads about celebrities. Oh yeah, of course. It's all fake. They make money off of your clicks even. When they're like fully honest on social media, like it's not their whole life, you. Cannot be fully honest. There's no way. It's all curated. I will say I like the show so much that I decided to method podcast.
And so when we were doing our reaction videos, I had Sam here. Now I have here. And also I wore Gray for Sam today. So let's get into this. I love you, Fiora. OK, so I'm going to just jump right into my next dislike because I wouldn't be me if I didn't bring up something that had to do with the filming. So they use Dutch angles, which is basically the tilted angle in every scene. And it makes no sense, because the show is generally shot very well and beautiful.
Like there's some very beautiful shots, but the random slanted shots make no sense because these types of shots are meant to be used to invoke uneasiness and tension in the viewer. But since it is so overused and incorrectly most times because it to be fair, the only time it really made sense was when mom was trying to scare Sam. Yeah, that doesn't. Make sense? But it so it loses its meaning. And then of course, I have to bring up that they're a crossface and basically every single.
Scene You would meet Kayla if you did it. And I I was. I was. Writing this as I was watching it, so I said. But I'm working on getting over it. I I feel like this show show we watched together was glamorous. Where they over you. They overdid the the lens flares and I feel like this was, which is another queer show. Like, if you haven't seen it, go watch it.
But I feel like this was all aesthetic, no meaning behind the actual like technique that they were doing with the exception of like, OK, so one aspect I do like about the show is that it was romantically shot, which I thought was important because literally it's a romance story. So the fact that they were conscious of that when they were filming it to me adds to it.
And so they would do a lot of like, I don't know if it went or like they would do these like positioning of them with like light and like showing all these things. And it was very well done. And I feel like that hit the nose of what they were trying to go for. But then some of these other things I think was just like an aesthetic they were going for and it had no meaning whatsoever, mind it like the touch ankles like you're saying.
And the crop fades were showing the passage of time, but it would be like 2 seconds. And so again, it has doesn't have the same effect, no? There are sometimes where they would just transition into, right? That's what I mean. Like, practically. Oh, technically it passed. Like, you know what I mean? Oh, it's like that. Movie when they're like doing all those crossface and I'm like, it was literally like 30 minutes, right? No. Oh my God, the Christmas movie. Yeah, a New York Christmas
wedding. Yeah. No, exactly. That's what it gave me this vibe for. I'm like, it's been 10 seconds and they're like crossfading. So technically time pass, but not a a significant amount where you would need a crossface. It's not a good. Enough reason. Another thing is that it's it was really hard to tell the passage of time. Like we knew that there was like a month time because you had like the deadline. Yeah, the deadline was like you have a month to get this done.
That was a. Long time for like a month like I thought the month passed. Seriously. Yeah well that's what I'm saying the the time was so non existent kind of and like if they were trying to use crossfades as like a change or like a a passage of time passing of time, it did not match the actual time frame that they were. Yeah, that's true. Yeah. I I kind of like forgot space on time. And then at one point, they'd be like, it's been 2 days, man.
I'm like, it's been 2 days. It's been like 5 episodes. What do you mean it's been 2 days? Yeah, I saw him with you about that because I think like in the beginning spent a lot. It's if I slow burn, I mean, like the beginning is like 3 episodes of just like day one. And then think, you know what I mean? So yeah, the the pacing is interesting. Funky, That's a good way to put it.
Yeah. So positives, I've mentioned this already, but I will say it again, I think this show has high cultural representation value. It is a, you know, a show shot in Thailand with like women of color, like the whole cast like, which if this was shot in America that would never happen. So I think it's really great and I think it's, it's good to show, you know, at least for me as a, you know, somebody born in America who's lived here forever. I think it's I like seeing
queerness in other cultures. And like, to me this really gave me a, a different lens to kind of look at, you know, how queer women specifically as they had believed, kind of navigate that in this different kind of culture and in this kind of like, you know, parallel time that because it's a modern time, it's not like this was like 100 years ago or something. It's like takes place now, quote, UN quote. So it's a modern take in a different country, which I
really, really enjoy. And the plot, the plot of the show is literally the sapphic couple. Like that is they are the plot. And to me, that's usually my favorite thing. That's why I loved killing Eve so much. Because it's like those two women are the plot. Everything else that happens around them literally doesn't matter. The company, by the end who knows what's happening with the company. We don't know.
It doesn't matter. That was the McGovern to get the two together to like tell their story. And like while sometimes I'll make fun of that, honestly, I love, I don't care what's happening with the company. Like I want to see them And so I really like that because I don't think like Sapic women like ever get that enough. Usually we're side plots. There's something else going on like, so I like that it's and I I do enjoy that. It's almost like a mini series in a way.
It's like 1 and done like the complete story is told by the end. Like, yeah, I would love to see more of them, obviously. But like, I feel like the story is told. I I don't need to campaign for a Season 2. I don't feel unsatisfied. Nobody got pushed into a portal to another dimension and like, you know what I mean? I was like, what the fuck like and the story's going to do, apparently. That is very common in Thai media, which honestly at the rate we're going let's. Do it.
Wait one season, right? That's. OK. Just just making. Sure I'm on the same page. Like telling a complete story? Yeah. And having 12 episodes and not 6 not. Six. Like, so it's basically like two seasons of American TV or like British TV. Yes, give me more of this. I want miniseries. Like I want to be satisfied at the end and just tell me the story like you know you. Know I I would be fine with these two actors doing another show as the leader. They are. Yes. That's. They are. Yeah.
That's not. Exactly. But like that's that's what I want. I just want the two good chemistry, Like people together. They can. It doesn't matter what show they're on. It doesn't have to be the exact one, just the two of them being new characters. Be like, who cares? Yeah, it's just doing something else. For me it's like more. It's like, it's like fanfic AUS. It's like, give me the AU where they're in space. Oh, that's the movie they did. So, yeah, exactly. I'm with this.
Like, I'm here for this. Sorry, Caitlin. It's OK. I. Wasn't I'm not. What I say it's not important anyway, yes. It is. Tell me no. What are you going to say? Caitlin, Caitlin, Caitlin, I think, I said. My hydrate. I think it's AI would have trouble getting used to them being different characters. I mean, honestly, are they going to be different characters? They could just be themselves. Who cares if there's just another story? I'm just here for the sci-fi couple. I don't.
It doesn't just like what we were talking about before. The background, the actual story does not matter. Maybe they're back. At the company, who cares what is the company? It doesn't matter. That's. Fair. Yeah, I love it. OK. I do want to know more about the company though, but that's just because I work. I work in that area so I'm like. I can help you. Honestly. That is the one thing I'm unsatisfied with with the show I was like. What?
Happened. There was high stakes invested in the company and then it just disappeared completely. I was like, what happened anyway and. Also, what the hell did mom do to get 50? 500,000 I need mom to come on the podcast and tell us what she did. I would like 50,000 followers, not 5500. Sounds like a drink, she. Posted one thing and got 50,000 followers. Yeah. I don't. I don't. I don't understand. I will get up later. Continue, yes.
OK, so. Something else that confused me at the beginning was the title, 'cause I was just like Gap. The series. I'm like, am I? Is it a translation thing? And I don't understand it. But as you mentioned in your like Google synopsis Caitlin, there there is a bunch of, like things that separate the two protagonists. And so I finally come to realize that like literally, it's like people who are have gaps between them and like, the love bridges the gap, so hence the title.
So once I figured that out, I was like, so I was like, am I missing something? Is that a translation thing? But I get it now. I get it now. They're so different, yet so similar because of love. All right? Chemistry, OK? I thought the telenovela style was fun. I know somebody who watches or has been exposed to a lot of like telenovela, soap opera, Y kind of like media. So at first I was like, this is a little weird, 'cause I'm not used, not in a bad way, just I wasn't used to it.
But once I kind of like got used to like the style, like the comedy style, the way they shot it, the dramatic music, which is probably one of my favorite things. The placement of some of the dramatic music makes me laugh so much. My favorite instance is when for what episode it is, and I'm sure I'll comment an hour later when he basically like, he's trying to make Sam jealous, Like, 'cause when when is that not happening?
But like takes Mon out for prawns or whatever and like, posts a photo and then Sam shows up and gets out of the car to confront them. And it's just that like final boss dramatic music is playing as she's just walking like 2 feet. It's it's one of my favorite things. So like. Drama that it adds just because it's ridiculous, I thought was very. Fun. And it made it funny, even when it was supposed to be dramatic.
So I like that overall. My only experience with telenovela style is Jane the Virgin, which is also another great show. I recommend it for everybody because. Loved it when he got. Queer did not expect it one bit. Anyway, I wanted more of that in the middle because I felt like it kind of went down and like just was like nothing and then went back up. But I just wanted something else to catch me off guard.
I will say that's fair. It is like when you're not used to it, it does like you're like, oh OK, but it is fun. The only thing I thought, I think that was consistent, whereas like the soapy telenovela feel wasn't there consistently. What I thought was very consistent was the romantic cinematography we talked about.
Like they're just so many shots where they did a lot with playing with positioning of the two of them and like light and the way they would kind of like across the camera so that like they were bathed in this like light. And it was just it made the moments feel like more magical because a lot of this is them staring at each other. But like we do there's so much staring and I've I've since watched other Thai like Sapphic shows.
I will get to the gay ones soon. There's a lot of good ones out there, but I've noticed that this, this, the whole like them staying very still and just like sitting in the moment is like seems like it's very quintessential to this type of media like this ROM Comi type type of TV show. So I think that's a staple. But this show plays with the lighting on a in a way that the other shows really don't and just like it just captures you in that moment and makes it
fantastical, magical. And I I thought that was very consistent like kind of like as they went on with the show and as like their relationship progressed and all that stuff. For me, every time I saw the light, because it was so prominent, I was just trying to figure out the lighting source. And like sometimes you could see literally the light that they used. But that's because I learned that in school and I just know this you, it ruins media.
For you, it's a little bit. But like lighting is such an art form though, and I think I hated nailed it. Yeah, they did. Lighting is difficult.
Yes, it is. So like kudos everybody that direct the director for like frame all the framing and blocking and whoever did the lighting wow just like it was it was very stunning to look at as a as a overall as a piece of media I. I like the the use of the colors in it also like I thought that they played a lot with like almost like they used yeah they played a lot with like light and dark kind of thing of like very like monochrome with Lady Sam
and then lots of color with with Mon and then even addressing the like Co workers at the building being like no you can't wear that color because it hurts my eyes. Like you love that? Part. And just like you have to change right now because you can't wear that colour and so like everyone in the office kind of wears like muted tones as well. And so I think that's really neat. And then just the. They. Almost.
It's not like they they don't blow out the colour, but they make the colours very like pale but bright like of the of the whole show. It's just very overexposed. Overexposed. Yes. Thank you. So and I think that's an interesting choice that they that they that they did and it makes go ahead no I. Don't want to cut you off? No. No, no, I I that was that was it. OK. So I feel like if they're when people go for overexposed, it's supposed to be more like dreamlike.
So it's probably like this is mom's dream and Oh my. God, does she dream. We're all a daydreamer. Good Lord. Well. Sometimes, well, that's that's a very good, that's a very good point. Sometimes it was hard to tell what was dream and what was reality because the entire show was just a little bit too like overexposed. So there wasn't as hard, like definition between dreams, dreamlike scenes and what's actually happening. Why we? Thought Sam was a singer for.
Most of the show, the first episode, yes. But like, isn't that what falling crazy in love is? Like though, it's hard to be like, is this real or is this a dream? Because it's very overwhelming. So I think, yeah, maybe that was the choice. What? Might have been interesting, though. Was like having the light, like the overexposure, depending on if we're looking from Mon's point of view versus Lady Sam's point of view, or like seeing things from one or the other, having it change.
And then like, I don't know, I think, I think it was the entire show was, in my opinion, too overexposed so that when certain things happened, you miss. They could have used the. Nuance of it. Yeah, OK Something else that was consistent that I really love was the soundtrack. It's been stuck in my head like for days, like the freaking theme song, because in in you on YouTube it's broken up. Like the whole episode is not there as a whole episode.
It's like broke up into parts because like YouTube and so. But every time the the theme song starts that has been stuck in my head for days just. Days but I. Love it. And then I found out that, like, the two actresses sing it. Yeah, really. I didn't know that they have a music video. It's really cute. And in front of the podcast, Nancy told me that they sing a lot of the music in the show. Actually, it's them. Oh, cool, which is pretty cool.
And they have a. There's a. Sorry. Go ahead. No, go ahead. I was gonna. Say there's a music video of like The Pink Theory, that's like the theme song that they did. And it's also it's very cute. And so when I watched it, I was like, oh shit, that that's actually them singing. That's because, you know, when they do a music video, it's like a cover. Like you could tell. And I was like, this is the same fucking song. I'm like, shit, it's them. So it took me a hot minute to
figure that out, but. Yeah, they're they're credited in the the the show as the singers of the song. Oh yeah. So we also missed. That random person in the credits that was only in that picture I missed. It's your phone. Yeah, I don't. I'm glad we finally figured out who he was. But I'm glad, boy. Did it out. Yeah. We It was you. But I'm, I'm glad that there was a resolution to that. But man, he got like credit through the entire show. I'm pretty sure.
Like for being in one episode at the end, he got credit from the very beginning. So good job the. Credits are very complete. Even the dog is in the credits, so I appreciate it. Dog play 2 characters? Yeah, dog play two dog in two roles. The very distinct dog. Anyway, all right, Last thing I had was there. This obviously was made for queer women, with queer women in mind because there's so much
case staring. Like 90% of their interactions are just salmon mods staring at each other and then face caressing. So, like, obviously queer women were in the room where they're like, how do we do this? And I'm like, listen, let's do these two things and you'll, you'll sell this in five seconds. And so I appreciate that. I'm like they knew their audience is what I'm saying and I appreciate that.
Yeah, I mean it also adds to the like slow burn of the show as well, like just staring from across the room and like barely touching or like just, you know, it's, it was good. It was good. It was a good use of science. Time. Yeah. Thank you. More things like that. Please, America, take notes. Yeah. And but please, like, have them kiss like America, Take notes, but have them in a relationship because we get.
We. Get all of that gay staring from across the room, but it's always in a historical drama and no one ever touches or kisses or like or it does, but it's behind closed doors and it's just not good. And then someone dies. So. It's not a Canon ship. All we had was staring to begin with. And anyway, just pay off is what we're saying. There is so much pay off in the show. I was not expecting.
I was like, OK, this show. Yeah, there was some episodes where I'm like, I'm glad that this is not the one that I'm watching in a room full of people, 'cause there was an episode that I had to watch, and I was like, oh, thank good. I think it was like the episode right after the one that I watched in front of people. Thank you Gap the series creators. Well done, well played. I was. That threw me off. I was like, damn, I was expecting like romantic period
piece type of stuff. That is not what they they gave us. So thank you. No. And then they are also like this they they did the they they did the what is it the teaser trailer or something like that which is the which was completely different than how the pilot the teaser pilot or or trailer pilot. I don't remember how they worded it, but the IT feels like when they redid the first like episodes, it's very similar to the first episode it. Was it was a pilot? Yeah.
They they redid that one and it was very muted with the like interaction between the two of them and then it's like they just threw their changes out the window by call. Calls new Caitlyn with their camera. If you've been here that long that you remember, yeah. Leave a comment please, I would be. Very interested to know who remembers by Caitlin. I don't remember where I was. Oh shit. The pilot pilot trails compared to it was muted. I read it. They they they like, they like,
muted. And then they just kind of threw their changes out the window. And we're just like, no, we're going hard on the game. Like we're going hard on the interaction. We're going hard on the like the, the, the queerness and just 'cause it it. I don't know if you guys noticed that, but it just kind of felt kind of like they were worried about how it was being
perceived. And then in like the first episode, because I know the changes were like that, people were saying that it was too for the male gaze in the first, in the the the, the pilot. Was too aggressive too. Aggressive but that so then when they went into the first episode, the first real episode, it was super like they barely interacted really and it was very kind of muted. And then they also had a shift in their like colour scheme as
well. And then after two episodes or so, it just seemed like they kind of threw that change that they made from the pilot to the first episode and just went for it again. I like. The wardrobe changes that they gave from on 'cause I was like, oh, these are definitely better than the clothes that she was
wearing, yeah. What Nancy said was that basically that pilot you're talking about was the first thing they shot and they were trying to shop it around to get picked up. And basically it did it. They said, like the the comedy of it was like too much or too broad is what Nancy said. So they had to like focus it when they re shot it. And that's where you got like a different feel where it feels more muted and kind of things
like that. And Idle Factory picked it up once they had that made those changes. So. And Idle Factory has a bunch of queer content. So I think once they had that particular company, like, yeah, make it queer, we don't care. So that's why it's a the original thing you were looking at was that's what they were shopping with and it didn't shop well. So the changes were great and like thank you Idol. Factory. Yeah. Make more. Yeah. Make more stuff.
There's a ton of stuff on there, like there's like a bunch of queer content. I'm excited. I've started watching other Thai shows on there. It's very fun. I was trying to watch their their interviews that they've done with Frine and Becky, but they're not in English. There are no subtitles, there's no nothing. And I know that they've. What you? Should have to look at their faces and go. That's what I'm interesting.
I know that's what I was doing for like 20 minutes and I was like, I want, I like the behind the scenes stuff and I know that they were talking about like how it was filming certain things. I know at one point she was actually asleep in the bed when they were filming her snoring because. She was so. Tired that it's like I want to know that information and I'm so annoyed that but I like. We're basically experiencing with the rest of the world.
Oh yeah, experience with our content, of course. Of course I I yes, yes. So I guess the one of the things that I really did like about this show was Lady Sam's friend group. I thought it was pretty well diverse of like, I mean it was all, it was all female, but they're all gay and they're all like, if they. Weren't I'd be very. Surprised. All of them. Oh my. God or or like queer in some way like the just 'cause even the the one friend that was was pregnant with. Jim. Yeah, was.
I love Jim like. Jim like Jim. 'S. I wanted to fuck Sam. And it's like he just got married. Yeah, you have a baby. I. Know it was so not. Shy about that, I'm like, Oh my God. And, like, her pregnancy was like the time frame of the entire show. It was like the only way to tell how much time was passing was how big her. Like how like, how was. Yeah. So that was, that was pretty funny. I love her.
And then it was like, yeah. And then so I mean that was I just really like showing queer friendships and showing queer like supportive friends that are there for them, even if their family might not be or if other people in their lives aren't. And so I just, I really, really like a strong chosen family type
situation in a show. And then one of the things that I actually didn't really like in the show was the scenes with Auntie Me. So Auntie Me was the what would we call the maid of or like the the like the housekeeper kind of thing of the she cleans or. Yeah, Auntie Me cleans the office, but like the maid is is what it says in the subtitles. Oh, it. Said maid. OK, yeah. And so I I just, I don't know how to like word the feelings that I have about that.
Cause like I understand in the the show and in like, 'cause I did some a little bit of research on like how like, gay men are in or like shown in media and stuff and they tend to be like the butt of jokes or the. What do I have? Here it's the.
It's very. Hay is code Z. Yeah, and it's it just, it makes me feel uncomfortable and I'm trying to see it in not a like American view, 'cause I know it's an acceptable way to portray this type of character in Thai media and stuff, but it was just a uncomfortable because it's it's how it like, I don't know, 20 years ago, gay and lesbian characters were portrayed in media in the United States. So seeing it again in something that's more new is just odd. To me, I guess I.
Don't know. Yeah, I mean anti May is very much like, I mean loved in the office like nobody like or like, you know, Hazel's anti may or anything. Anti May is very like and the name is like it's some like proverb where like anti May is like the gossip that knows everything, like that's what the may means. And so it's very over the top acting and it's very like hyper emotional and the butt of the joke.
But it Andy Mae's like made to be the Comic Relief in the office while serious things are happening. Like Sam is breaking HR rules trying to fire everybody. So like, yeah, the levity of the office falls on the shoulders of Andy Mae. He was like the lowest employee there 'cause like Andy Mae's the maid, right? To me what it looked like, it looked very like he is cozy a little bit. That's how it read to me.
And if you don't know what that is, basically that's the what dictated television content in like the McCarthy era and all that kind of stuff. Because puritanic values are just the worst and cannot escape America. And so queerness was only allowed to be portrayed on in media like visual media, TV movies. If the queer person was evil, if the queer person died at the end, if basically they were portrayed as a way that showed you that it was wrong. So like basically that's why.
Like, your gay is such a big thing. Like that's the only way you could have queer people. So it was a cautionary to be able to see if you're gay, you're going to go to hell, you're going to die because like, that's what the code said that you were allowed to do. That's why if you look at a lot of, like Disney villains for back in the day, they read as queer. And that's 100% on purpose because that's the only way you
can kind of put it in there. So for Auntie May, what what Auntie May reminds me of is as it's kind of like the opposite of what's going on with tea, where you have a, like a male person. It's not discussed, but this is just my read on it. You have a male person who's female presenting essentially Auntie May, you know, dressed as like a woman. I don't know Andy May's trans or anything, but it's not discussed.
But this is my read. So Auntie May is a male presenting with female presenting males, my take on it. And so I'm in a culture where, like masculinity, patriarchy is prized above all things, a rejection of masculinity. It's like a big no, no and so very frowned upon. And and it is the butt of all the jokes. So, like, to me it's almost like an embodiment of that cultural aspect. It's kind of like my read on it
a little bit. It was kind of like that in other ancient civilizations that were very like highly patriarchal, like a rejection of masculinity was like the worst offense you could ever do. And so you were the butt of all the jokes and things like that. And it kind of, it just reads like that to me. But to take all that negativity away at the very minimum, like Auntie May is like the Comic Relief in the office. So like, I understand, like what
you're saying. And again, like these are just our takes on it. I don't know what the, how prevalent this kind of thing is, but yeah, that was kind of my read on it to me. Yeah. Thank you for putting more eloquent words into that 'cause I just have like little feelings, but thank you for the the the description of what I was. I have a feelings interpreter. It's fine. Just put them out there. I do my best.
OK, so Speaking of of queer queerness in the show, let's go into the How was the queer Rep in this section? So as we've mentioned, the plot is literally Sapphic love. That's the whole plot. So yay, I'm happy about that. I love it. And there's just there's a lot of queerness in it like you've discussed, even among like Sam and Von. Sam and Von, They're friend groups, which is lovely. And then we have T, who's another really interesting character.
I don't know that the cultural context of this, but I can make a bit of an assumption. His T looks to me like the opposite of anti May a little bit where it's like a female that's male presenting is kind of my read on T And to me that's the in a cultural aspect that's like the you know living masculinely and like T very much dresses exactly like a man would
dress. Acts a little bit like a man runs, runs their own company like is very like if you see tea with like Yuki very like courts her the way like a man would court a woman. So it's like the acceptance of masculine. So like in that culture like that's more accepted than like anti you know anti may who's like rejecting masculinity. So like it's my understanding that like masculine lesbianism is like oh more accepted and is
okay kind of in that culture. And my frame of reference for that is Sailor Moon. So I used to watch that as a kid, and we've talked about that when we talk about our favorite ships episode, Caitlin, where like, you had Sailor Uranus. It was exactly like tea. It was like a a lesbian living as a man, basically. And that was totally fine. Like no one bathed an eye at tea. It was like the whole issue with Sam and Ma is they're both female presenting females. And that's where everybody's
like, but you're both women. Like, you dress like women. Nobody's the man. So I think as long as you have like a man and a woman, like internal gender be damned, and nobody cares. So, like, that makes sense to me. But the fact that, like, Sam and Ma are both female, presenting thin women, that's where everyone's like, I don't understand this, Like, what do
you mean? And so it's more of a big deal in like classic society, which is represented by like her family and her grandma and things like that. So even like America. That's not right people. Are like, I don't get it, who's the who's the man? You know what I mean? Like, it gives me those vibes. Whereas with tea, everyone's like, oh, I get it, There's the man, there's the woman. This makes love. Makes sense now you. Know, but tea is like smooth like my. Just God, so good.
Oh my God. Oh boy. Want the spin off about? Yeah, tea so badly. I actually want to spin off of every single one of Sam's friends. Tea spin off is called What's the Tea? Oh my God, I want it so badly. You know what I do want more of the they do a dance at that at the wedding. I think it was. I just want like an episode of them all practicing and trying to learn this dance. How many?
You'd have to take a drink every time they try to kill each other, cause like you know that that's not I'm doing this at home, that's. Why They had a video and they learned it all their Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Oh my God, yeah. So I I love them. I love all the queer friends. I thought the queer friends are great. I'd mentioned that again, this is an important piece in Thailand because of kind of what's going on with LGBTQ rights in Thailand.
And so I kind of wanted to cover that because this is something I learned and and why I think this particular show is so freaking important. And the fact that it had such a big, you know, international response that was positive is huge, so very quickly at this point in time. So right now it's 2024, February 2024 when we're filming this, that the time actually matters. Why I'm saying it because it could change by the end of the year.
But at this point in time, queer people have some rights but not the same as CIS hat people, which is, you know, unfortunately kind of the norm. But the attitudes towards queer people has really shifted a lot since the 1990s, kind of similar to America a little bit. In 2024 there was a report put out by 2014 Sorry thank you 2014 report by United States Agency for International Development and United Nations basically said that LGGL GB T wow, I can't acronyms.
Queer people still quote face discrimination affecting their social rights and job opportunities and face difficulty gaining acceptance for non traditional sexuality even though the tourism authority has been promoting Thailand as a gay friendly country.
So like and I feel like the tourism and the fact that they have to conform to tourism does shift perspection, especially when younger people who are like well I see that it's fine like kind of thing versus the other people who are like pretending for money kind of thing. But what's different about like America versus Thailand is like there's more discrimination that can happen like legally than there is here. Not that there isn't, but like that sets us apart.
Just teeny type it. At this point in time of this reporting, Thailand does not recognize same sex marriages, civil unions, domestic partnerships or any kind of like combination thereof. So like there is kind of no legal binding for like two people to get married that are of the same sex basically. But the opinion polls amongst the Thailand people are constantly favoring the legal recognition of same sex marriage.
So there's a lot of public like support amongst the citizens for this, even though it doesn't currently exist right now, which is what brings us to kind of current times. There is a same sex marriage law that is currently undergoing review by the Thai Parliament and this was as of November 2023, so like a couple months ago, which is why I'm stating what time we're recording this so that that could go for a vote
maybe this year, maybe soon. So there is a piece of legislation that that that's getting high up and very close to like coming for a vote. So like maybe it will pass very soon. So the fact that there is something being written is really exciting. And so that's why I think this show coming out with such a big like kind of like public support thing is helping making this kind of like legislation happen. So it could kind of change lives in America, lives for these people.
But you know, there are some laws that exist that protect against discrimination, but you know, it still happens just like America and really nowhere is perfect in the world. But the general trend kind of everywhere, including Thailand, is it like progress is happening as time passed. Which is why I think a show like this at this particular point in time is huge, because it's helping gain more public support and like that's translating into actual legislation that can
actually change people's lives. So just wanted to bring that up because I thought that was really great and exciting and like things are happening right now, which is very. Cool step in the right direction. Stepping in the right direction. OK, Go backwards, America. Yeah, America. Like, yeah, those rights. Fuck that. It's like, you know, those rights that we gave you a few years ago, let's just take them burn. Them. Oops. That's not what the founders
wanted. When the founders didn't know any of these songs, they just didn't have YouTube. They didn't have Google. Well, they don't know what's going on. Come on, I. Think that's also been something. I can't remember if you guys have like are going to mention this or not, but YouTube was banned for a little while a few years ago. Yeah, so, like, yeah. I had that later, OK. You do, but you now go for it.
Yeah. No, I mean that's that's about it. Like, I mean YouTube was banned, so like AI think it was between 20/14/2017 ish. I think it was and. I believe it's because it was like 1 video that was, yeah, that they trained. The Tyrel family? Badly. I'm gonna have a whole section about the Tyrel family when we talk about Sam, but yeah, that. Yeah, but like so but for in this in this in this case of things being able to being like starting to change and and what not.
There's it seems like there's well now they have YouTube and there's now more access to queer videos and a lot of stuff is being not closed, captioned or translated and like there's just more access than people actually care about access for other languages and other cultures and stuff like that. So I I think that's also helping change minds. In a way, it's Hooray. For accessibility, yeah. So what we're saying is thank you YouTube. You may not be. Perfect.
But you're helping. You're watching this in another country. Thank you. Say thank you to YouTube. Yeah. All right. So we will continue our Gap series, starting with the scene by scene breakdown in the next episode, going from episode one all the way to episode 12. Thank you for coming along on this journey. Do you have a secret word for the I? OK, so you know, like 30 minutes into this episode I realized I
didn't have one. So I was going to go with something that Cole said, monochromatic. That is the word I explained him getting into it. That is the word that I would like you to spell without looking up. This was not as hard, but in a comment on the YouTube video or in a review for the podcast, just naturally put that word in there without explaining why and try to spell it without looking it up. Just be happy I didn't give you kookaburra again. Maybe that'll be in the next one.
Spoiler Well, I guess if you want to see if Kookaburra is the next word, you're just going to have to keep listening to our next episode. So until next time I drew it for Lesbian Jesus and Gate. Up all over the place.