Rainbow Moon: Ep 2 Caps

Episode 2 was alright. It did feel like an after school TV special about a young boy who is learning to deal with his father’s homosexuality. Though I support it, it doesn’t mean I have to enjoy watching it on screen.

I do love the two additions: Kaew (“Tao” Sarocha Watitapun) and the soccer coach played by “X” Thitnan Soowansak. They seem real and decent and not like caricatures in most lakorns. Tawan needs a mother figure and Kaew fills that role well with compassion and understanding. Though his father is overly effeminate, the soccer coach can teach Tawan about guy stuff–playing soccer and other guy stuffs that I don’t know about.

There is a saying that no man is an island, meaning humans can’t thrive in isolation. At the beginning, I felt Luck, out of fear, isolated himself and Tawan from the community. Kaew and the soccer coach became their bridge back to civilization, back to interacting with other people in a personal/ intimate matter. It’s a good thing.

Watch it at YOUTUBE

The first 5 minutes of episode 2 spans several years. Through the years, Luck works diligently and respectfully as a hairstylist. He does his job so well, he even inherits the hair salon from the previous owner. Luck is adored by his female customers, they love his work and the way he treats Tawan. The woman in red, getting a perm, even said she wanted Luck as a son-in-law.

Luck is a devoted father, doing everything for his son–cooking for him, playing with him, taking him to school, telling him bedtime stories, building a rooftop garden for him to enjoy at night.

When Tawan can’t sleep, they play a cute little game of counting stars at the rooftop garden they created together. So far so good, Luck enjoys his life with Tawan quietly.

One night after he puts Tawan to bed like he usually does, he hears a ruckus from downstairs. When he goes downstairs and sees a female figure lurking in the darkness, he automatically thinks it’s Awn, Tawan’s biological mother. The innate fear of most adopted parents kicks in, the fear of having their child taken away from them by the child’s biological parents.

Tawan:“Awnadee! You are here to take Tawan away from me, am I right? I won’t let you.I will never let you take him away from me ever.”

Tawan raises his voice lourder and repeats:”Tawan is my child, Tawan is my child. Do you hear me?”

When he sees her face, he realizes it’s not Awn. Then another set of fears kicks it. It’s a thief!

In panic, Luck starts shouting out:”Thief, Thief.”

To silence him, Luck’s female intruder Kaew covers his mouth and explains she is not a thief and he should be quiet or else they will find her. In her home village, she and several of her friends have been abducted by gang members to be prostitutes.

When her abductors stopped for a bathroom break, she took the opportunity to escape. She is hiding in Luck’s house while the gang members are outside searching for her.

To save Kaew and her friends, Luck calls the police. They immediately come and arrest Kaew’s abductors.

After talking with Kaew a little more, Luck learns that she was not abducted at all, she was sold to the gang members by her parents to be a prostitute. In her village, people sold their daughters into prostitution to earn money. Kaew is scared, if her parents knew she escaped, they will find another owner for her. She can’t go back to them, she begs Luck for a place to stay.

“I will do whatever you say, I won’t cause problems, I just would like a place to stay and be feed. As long as I’m not sold into prostitution, I’m satisfied. Please let me stay. “ Kaew begs him.

Luck agrees.

The first 3 months, Kaew lives with Luck harmoniously, she does the cleaning and cooking, he works and provides the rice. She becomes a mother figure to Tawan and also develops a crush on Luck.

Kaew even asked Tawan whether he wanted a mother. Tawan said yes, he wanted one just like the nice one on TV. She then asked whether he wanted her as his mother. Being a little cute kid, he said “yes” immediately. Kaew smiles and slowly starts to hint her feelings to Luck.

When they rode the scooter together to the park, she tightly hugged Tawan and Luck. At the park, she looked at Luck and Tawan longingly and happily like this is the family she wants to be part of.

After watching a couple and their son enjoying a good drink and snack break at a bench nearby, Kaew starts to imagine she is Tawan’s mother and Luck is her husband and they are the couple sitting on the bench feeding their child. Her daydream is interrupted when Luck’s soccer ball hits her head.

That night, as Luck is reading Tawan a story at their rooftop garden, Kaew interrupts them and gives him a birthday gift. It’s a dress shirt. The next day, he wears it when he gives alms to the passing monks as part of his birthday “boon”.

“Boon” means religious merits.

That night, Kaew sees both Tawan and Luck asleep at the rooftop bench. She looks at him longingly and says, “since I was born, I have never meet a man as good-hearted as you. I love you and I hope my good deeds will make you like me.”

She leans closer and extends her hand to caress his face. He wakes up and she quickly moves back.

When Kaew tried to pick up Tawan to put him to bed, Luck held her hand. She felt a sensation of happiness while he felt nervous and uneasy.

Kaew:”If you keep holding my hands like this, how can I carry Tawan to bed?”

He apologizes and she continues to smile happily. Before he puts Tawan to bed, Luck asked Kaew to chat with him first.

His first question–”What kind of feelings do you have for me?” Kaew answered as a person who has been her savior and benefactor.

Her answer pleased him and he starts to smile. He tells her he is glad she doesn’t think of him in another way because if she did, she would get hurt.

Kaew doesn’t understand his answer and asked, “If I think of you in another way, why would I get hurt?”

Luck starts to stutters a little and showed he had an itching to tell her about his homosexuality but he diverts it by saying he can never love any woman, which makes Kaew believe Luck’s love for Tawan’s mother is so strong, he can not love another woman. Luck tells her it is not like that. It’s complicated and a personal matter to which he doesn’t want to divulge.

Ding! The next day, Kaew learns why she was rejected. After seeing Luck do a feminine dance number, Kaew realized Luck is a katoey. At first she is shock but her shock quickly subsides. She tells Luck she accepts him and Lucks tell her about Tawan and how he was fated to be his son. He also asked Kaew to keep it a secret from Tawan that he is a homosexual. Kaew agrees.

Years pass, Tawan grows up to be very athletic young boy, he makes into the soccer team. When Luck gets a letter inviting him to part of a soccer game among fathers of the players, he panics. He doesn’t know how to play soccer and also he feels very uncomfortable around other men. The difference between Luck and other men are magnified when he is around them. He fears Tawan will find out his father is a katoey.

That night, Kaew tries to teach Luck to be more manly by imagining it. ??

Kaew makes him repeat. “I’m a man. I’m an athlete, I’m manly.”

What the hell, this is the dumbest thing I have ever heard of. You can’t just repeat something and believe it will come true. It’s a process. And some things, you just can’t be. Like for example, I’m 5ft. If I repeat to myself I want to be a 6ft supermodel that ain’t gonna happen. Just accept who you are.

Yep, it didn’t really work. Compared to other fathers, Luck was very feminine and screamed like a woman when the ball came to him. He even ran like a woman. All of the other players in Tawan’s team started accusing Luck of being a katoey. To defend his father, Tawan beats up the kids calling his father gay After the match, Tawan asked Luck whether he was gay. Luck lies saying he wasn’t and Tawan’s happily accepted the answer as the truth because Luck has never lied to him.

That night at their rooftop garden, Luck lectures about tolerance. Tawan doesn’t understand why he has tolerate it when others are taunting him. Luck explains he doesn’t want him to tolerate people teasing and taunting him. He wants Tawan to understand to tolerate and endure the hardship of life. Tawan still doesn’t understand.

Luck looks up and points to the full moon, he then asked, “If the moon is the color of the rainbow, how would it be?”

“It will be the most beautiful moon in this world.” Tawan answered

“The colors of the rainbow, the ones you have said are the most beautiful color in this world, there will be colors you don’t like and like mixed in together. Am I right, Son. Just like in this life, there will be good times and terrible times. When terrible times come flowing into your life, it’s like using the colors you don’t like to draw with. If you can’t escape it, you have to endure it. The more you can endure the terrible things in your life, you can life your life happier.” Luck explains.

Tawan: “Just like the colors mixed in together to make the color of the rainbow, the most beautiful color in this world. Am I right?”

Luck nods “yes” and pats Tawan on the head and complimented him. “You are very smart, my son.”

Tawan promises to endure life’s hardships and try to make his life like the rainbow.

Do you guys get? This is what I got from it–life is beautiful with all it’s diversities and hardships, the complications and the things we endure make life worthwhile and beautiful. Interesting concept.

Usually when I think of the rainbow, I think of multiple colors. In this lakorn, the rainbow is one color made up of several colors. It’s not multiple, it’s single. I have never looked at a rainbow like that.

Several days past, Pol, Luck’s long time katoey friend comes to visit. Pol brings out the girl in Luck. They reminisce about when they were “girls” growing up and the men they meet and flirted with. They were being very rowdy and their chatter wakes up Tawan.

Oh hell na, Tawan overhears Luck talking about his past as a showgirl and his katoey life. Tawan cries and accuses his father of lying. He runs away.

HAHA. Only in Asian series would they have this. Before urgently running off, he had to put on his flip flops. There was a pulse and then he ran off.

Everyone runs after Tawan.

Tawan runs off to the soccer field. He sits on the bench and cries. His soccer coach sees and is gravely worried.

Soccer coach:”Tawan, why are you sitting here crying? What’s the matter?”

Tawan starts stuttering and crying:”My dad….My dad is…”

Since all he is hearing is “Dad”, the soccer coach believes something happened to Luck, like possibly he got into an accident.

Tawan finally finishes his sentence…”My dad is a katoey….my dad is a katoey”.

Soccer coach guy is not judgmental and tries to make Tawan understand that Luck being gay is not a bad thing.

“Though you father is not like other people, but he loves him very much, Tawan.”

Tawan:“That’s not true, if he loved me, he wouldn’t be a katoey and make me feel embarrassed among other people.”

Soccer coach:”Tawan, no one wants to be born as a katoey. If your dad was given a choice, he would chosen to be born as a normal guy. Not like a person who was born differently and be hated by the community like this.”

Tawan still doesn’t understand that it’s not a choice and says:

“Because my dad chose to be a katoey, my dad shouldn’t have made me.”

Soccer coach:“No matter whatever the reason, he is your father. He has raised you well all these years, you should look at the love that he has given you and not of his actions.”

Tawan still doesn’t understand, he stands up and yells at his soccer coach.

“Teacher, you’re not me. You wouldn’t understand. If I had a soccer ball, I would kick my father away from me forever.”-I think that is what he said. ?

The soccer coach yells at him for cursing his father.

“I will curse him. I would rather be an orphan than have a father as a katoey.” Tawan yells back.

Soccer Coach:”If you knew how hurtful it is to be born without parents, you wouldn’t dare even to think of cursing your father, Tawan. I think you should go back and talk to your father.”

The soccer coach takes Tawan’s arm and tries to take him back home. Tawan breaks free and runs off again.

Luck finally finds Tawan, as Tawan is running away from his soccer coach. Luck almost hit Tawan with his truck because Tawan was running away in the middle of the road. Not very smart.

Happy that he didn’t his son, Luck goes to Tawan and asked whether he was fine. Tawan pushes him away and still keeps his stance. “Don’t even touch me, I don’t want a katoey as a father.” He runs off again, crossing the street. Luck goes after him and gets hit by a red truck. DUDE, it was intense. The red truck came out of nowhere and Luck flew. Literally he flew. It was very realistic.

Luck is rushed to the hospital. Tawan cries frantically. Pol who is very upset, lashes his anger out on Tawan. He curses Tawan for causing this to happen. The soccer coach defends Tawan and tries to calm everyone down. Pol tells him, because of Tawan, Luck has had to sacrifice his freedom as a gay man to raise Tawan. Tawan’s ungratefulness pisses him off.

Luck is badly injured and he is about to die. Tawan rushes to see him and apologizes for cursing him and causing him pain. “I won’t curse you again, Dad. Please. Please don’t leave me.”

There is beaming and Luck dies. In anger, Tawan yells at his father. “If you leave me, you don’t love me. Don’t leave me. If you love me, you wouldn’t leave me. You don’t love me.”

Luck lets out a tear and he comes back to life. It’s a miracle. The doctor is baffled. “How could it be?” He wondered. It’s a lakorn, Doctor. Anything can happen.

“You have come back to love me again. You love me, dad.” Tawan hugs his father and thanks him.

I gotta say, this kid is chinky. HAHA.

Tawan watches his father day and night. He wants to be the person Luck sees when he gain consciousness. When he wakes up, Tawan apologizes to him.

Luck:“How can I accept your apology when I was never angry with you.”

Tawan promise to be a good boy from now on and to never disappoint his father again. They hug and cry.

“I will make you proud of me for the rest of my life.” -Tawan

During his hospital stay, Tawan takes full responsibility for his father’s recovery. Good boy.

When Luck dropped his pills and screamed like a woman, Tawan looked at him weirdly with disappointment. Though he loves his father, he still gripping with his father being a katoey.

Tawan then asked Luck the question he has been dreading all these years.

“If you don’t like woman, how did you have me?”

Luck is silent and Tawan tells him if he doesn’t answer, he meaning himself will be troubled for the rest of his life.

Luck tells him the pretty version of the truth. He knew Tawan’s mother but didn’t know his father. Luck lies that Awn was a seamstress who worked at a shop near his work. Because of hardship, she had to give up Tawan to Luck. Liar. Tell the kid the truth that his mom is a prostitute and tired to kill him when he was a baby.

Tawan cries because he is disappointed Luck is not his biological father. He thanks Luck for taking him in and asked whether he can continue being his father from now on.

Tawan promises to respect and accept his orientation because Luck is the only father he knows.

Luck is healthy again and is able to take Tawan out to the park to play soccer. When they arrive to the park, a homophobic family sitting at a bench nearby teases Luck about being gay.

“Not only is he gay, he is a limp too.”

Tawan defends his father by declaring to everyone who could hear him that he loves his father and accepts him for who he is. His father can do everything, his cooking is delicious and he can play both the mother and father role well. He rather have his father than have a mother or a father set like some people.

Tawan:”They are probably staring at us because they are jealous.”

Luck kicks the ball and the grown up Tawan catches it with his chest at a soccer game at school.

After the match, they invite the soccer coach Chana for dinner.

During dinner they talk about Tawan’s upcoming university exam and how everyone is going to help him get in. Kaew offers to make his favorite dish every morning to give him encouragement while he studies for exams.
Tawan studying for exams.

Tawan passes. He gets into the university of his choice. It’s in Bangkok.

The night before Tawan leaves for Bangkok, Luck gives Tawan a rainbow moon necklace to remember the lesson he told him years ago about enduring hardship.

Tawan promises to endure and to never disappoint his father ever.

Since Tawan will be living in Bangkok from now on, Luck fears he will miss him terribly and will probably have trouble sleeping because of worry.

To make his father feel better, Tawan tells him he knows a way to help Luck fall asleep, counting stars. The same method Luck taught him as a child.

Drop off day! Kaew and Luck drops off Tawan at his university. When Tawan runs off to class, a kid is almost run over by a car in front of Luck and Kaew.

The woman driving rolls down her window and curses the kid for not checking before he crossed the street. It’s Awn. Luck sees the woman and is shock. It can’t be Awn because this woman is driving a Mercedes and looks rich, he tells himself.

End of episode.