A (Very) Overdue Autopsy of I Promised You the Moon

[@daydream1258]

The part where they were singing together, and Teh kept looking at Jai, just for the camera to pan back to Oh-aew crying. Broke my heart to a thousand pieces.

[@fairyitsay]

One year later, you literally put into words the frustration that I experienced back then. I can't dislike IPYTM, cinematography, acting and ost are all top tier like in ITSAY, but it was so disappointing to see so many wasted opportunities. In any case, I will cherish what this whole universe gave me in this two years ♡ thank you for making this video :)

[@sweetasbloodredjam]

I don’t think they were just trying add drama by introducing the cheating plotline. I think what they were TRYING to do with it is to show Tae feeling increasingly alienated from Oh-Aew, unable to process the change in their dynamic and desperately holding on to something that felt similar, familiar to what he had with him. Their shared goals were such an integral part of their relationship, that without it he feels like the floor has been ripped out from underneath him. Since he doesn’t verbalise his problems and just doesn’t know himself very well, he looks for comfort and validation elsewhere, in a similar dynamic that he recognises. Wich is, you know, one of the reasons people cheat. Not everyone who cheats is trying to be an irredeemable asshole and fully aware of their actions. Mostly, In the absence of emotional maturity and a solid basis of communication in a relationship, any problem will slowly fester under the surface until the strain just becomes too much and something gives. It’s easier to not engage with the things you’re scared of and search for acceptance elsewhere. Find someone who will give you that rush of excitement of falling in love and not question or critique any of the things you do because they don’t know you well enough to call you on your bs yet. Obviously none of that is an excuse, and the breach of trust is basically fatal to any relationship imo. But at least in theory that’s an interesting thing to explore narratively. Especially if the cheating character becomes aware of their mistakes and works hard on themselves to become a better person. (Bonus points if it’s explicitly NOT for the person they cheated on, but genuinely because they want to do better as a human being). I think that’s what they were trying to do, they just stumbled at basically every singe hurdle in execution. I completely agree with your general conclusion about the show though.

[@Pastellyn]

Very good point! I felt that the show was just trying to manufacture drama, but it makes more sense that Teh would seek comfort elsewhere as he feels alienated from Oh Aew. I also agree that the show completely fell flat in its execution of this plotline. I really do wish Teh could have had a proper redemption arc; Oh Aew kind of forgives him out of nowhere. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I always appreciate comments that offer different perspectives on a story.

[@comegetyourb]

I LOVE this comment and I 100 percent agree with it, I think Teh was trying to hold onto something without knowing it because he's just a person who's unaware of his feelings and we clearly saw that in ITSAY That just makes the show a lot more enjoyable if you consider that not every person who cheats is trying to be manipulative and that's what makes being a human difficult, nothing would be complicated if you just knew what's wrong or right

[@comegetyourb]

​​​@@PastellynI love that you read comments and consider a different point of view, and I loved your reviews on both I told sunset about you and I promised you the moon. So let me also add that I don't think Oh-aew forgave him out of nowhere. Oh-aew took his time away from him even though we didn't get to see more of Teh (It kinda felt like Teh was the main character of season one and Oh-aew the main character of season two..), I think Oh-aew decided to forgive Tae and give him another chance after a long time thinking because he loved what they had and didn't want to let go of it just yet, and so he decided to get back with him even though he knew he might hurt him again in the future, basically I think their relationship dynamic is very one-sided but it just works for them.

[@bonghimakashyap4346]

I went through a lot of emotions while watching this drama. It left a wound in my heart . How could the ml do that to his lover. They acted so well that the audiance can fell all the emotions carried by the actors. Such a beautiful yet heartbreaking experience for me. I'm still recovering 😭😭😭

[@comegetyourb]

The acting was absolutely phenomenal especially whenever Teh started to cry, very well done Billkin.

[@Frickitzbatz]

god, do you ever miss? every time I watch one of your videos I'm blown away by your perfect illustrations of my thoughts. we always seem to share the same takes when it comes to a lot of these bls, and I really appreciate seeing someone else who is able to comprehend and appreciate them on more than a surface level. beautifully done!

[@Pastellyn]

Thank you so much omg!! I was honestly really nervous about how people would receive this video and I’m so glad there’s fans who share my opinions :’)

[@LuanSantos-gf6tf]

First of all, I love your videos so much! I was waiting for your take on IPYTM and it's amazing. I'm maybe one of the few people that really enjoyed the show and the directions it took. From the beginning to the end. I love how Teh is so complicated and complex at this moment of his life (I was such a mess in colllege too, haha) and how Oh-aew found his people and porpuse. But I really reflected on the potential of the story by your comments and views on this series. I've watched your video of ITSAY a lot of times and this one is another masterpiece. I really hope you continue these great analysis. Love from Brazil!

[@arvinreisawyertan]

Glad im not the only one! Though itsay is much moooore entertaining to watch because of it's chosen storyline, because it showed the blossoming of their characters and the cliches of love-hate relationship. To simply put, it gave us a show of what we wanted to see and enjoy as viewers. But I'd say ipytm is much more delicately done. Technically, i don't think any other BL can come close to it. Storyline was well thought of to think that there's really not much that you can tell about university students. But they were able to give depth on personal growth and how it affects relationships. The character development was solid. A lot of scenes are much more subtle, carefully and mindfully executed. As oppose to itsay that was meant to be enjoyed (because that is what entertainment is for anyway), ipytm was brave enough to take a different path. It was heavy and uncomfortable to watch from beginning to end. They presented a story that exposes the flaw/s of its main characters, to the point of you would end up hating them. With that, I understand the hate and frustration of most people. A lot of people are disappointed of how cliche the cheating plot is and even think it's unnecessary, but actually there's much more to it than simply teh falling for jai. Which i think a lot of people missed out. Teh being "infatuated" with jai is a product of manipulation, him being gullible. Both of them (Oh) coming from the province not knowing how cruel/twisted/complicated the world is. Contrary to most people, Jai's character is actually very crucial and was carefully created. Jai's represents people who would chase their goal no matter what it takes, this can be seen when he was flirting with a woman (his professor?) and later on saw teh's developing feeling for him and use it in his favor. Power tripping, manipulation, deception in the showbiz industry is very prominent and i think this is what the series wanted to show us. Welcome to the real cruel world.. Hence, the "cheating" plot. It's a lesson learned for Teh. He became a better person. He matured and worked hard to reach his goal of becoming a popular actor only to find himself still with a void of unhappiness despite of success. Meanwhile, not to prolong my message, Oh also matured learned things the hard way. A lot of metaphors came with it like him coloring his hair in bold red. By the end of the series, he became more secured and finally knew himself better. At the end of the story, they gave us 2 characters with much more wisdom and maturity. Teh and Oh realizing that there are no other people whom can fill the voids in their heart, but only them. They choose to start again, but this time with much more maturity and experience. The song coming of age perfectly summarized the show. They know a lot of things would still come their way, but they will get through it as long as they hold on to each others' hand.... and that for me is a beautiful story. :) I've yet to see another series that would give us this profound meaning of love.

[@sarahn8629]

As usual I love your videos! I was waiting for this one so much.

[@Pastellyn]

In retrospect, I think Teh and Jai’s relationship could be romantically coded in the first two episodes- I’m not great at picking up social cues, so I could have missed some meaningful looks. Anyways, thank you for sharing your thoughts! I’m so glad you enjoyed my video despite having a different opinion :D

[@comegetyourb]

I LOVED I told sunset about you, it's absolutely one of the best series in the romance genre out there (I mean worldwide and not only in LGB genre) But I liked I promised you the moon aswell, sure it was not as magical as the first movie but I kinda do feel like it is the point in my opinion. I think a lot of times it would be a realistic take on what growing up and facing the obstacles of life feels like. Love is all colorful and magical especially when you're a teenager and in this case when your world is smaller (Not exactly accurate but they did use to live in a smaller place with smaller social circles) But as you start to grow up everything starts losing it's colors and in this case they're young adults they've barely grown up to have learned much from their past mistakes, so moving into the city they feel like there's a lot to explore and unfortunately Teh does it romantically while Oh aew experiences this by finding new friends, in addition we saw in the previous season that Teh always has more trouble understanding his own feelings compared to Oh aew so we see him mistaking his relationship problems with Oh aew as being in love with someone else even if it's not how he truly feels. Speaking of character development, I too was frustrated with Teh to the point that even in the last episode I was rooting for Oh aew to not get back with him but that did not make me appreciate the show any less if not more. I would've loved to see more of Teh going through his feelings for Oh aew in the sequel but at the end of the day I don't think even at the end Tae had much of a character development, that was the MAIN vibe got from the sequel, we saw him kinda accept his feelings and commitment to Oh aew at the end of the first season of the series but in the second one we saw him kinda trip again, and that's why I think there was never a true character development, the thing about Teh is that his feelings are always on and off and he's never really sure of what he wants and even if he thinks he's come to a conclusion he changes his mind once again, but Oh aew loves him enough to forget and forgive him everytime and this makes their relationship shown more as a one sided relationship which I kinda like because I have seen a lot of real life relationships that are like that and it makes it realistic and makes Oh aew the bigger person in the relationship all the time.

[@johnuesi]

I was waiting for your take! Very interesting points. Personally, I loved this series. It was such a different perspective and story. It reminds me a lot of my uni days.

[@Pastellyn]

As a current college student, I also heavily relate to both Teh and Oh Aew in this series. The writers did an incredible job of portraying the college experience :’)

[@johnuesi]

Ok, so it's taken me a couple of days to absorb your critiques and Ive come to he conclusion that I agree. Especially about the several plot lines that were not properly resolved. When I was watching this series, I always just assumed they were being set up for another season or that it was an intentional way to just give snippets of their life, but I now think that more could have been done here. I'm thinking the character Q had a lot of.potential with Oh Aew that would have been so cool to see. I still love this series but am wishing we could see.more of the many side characters who were introduced. I wish this series didn't end yet.

[@Pastellyn]

@@johnuesi I had a similar experience watching IPYTM for the first time- I think I get what they were going for with showing snapshots of their college years but it sacrificed sooo much potential in the process. Oh well, maybe somehow we’ll get closure with another short film like Last Twilight in Phuket. Thank you again for watching

[@pepito3478]

This video is so meticulously put, it's very thorough

[@Pastellyn]

Thank you!!

[@esthela3521]

I haven’t even been able to bring myself to watch it.

[@theaolivia6989]

Yes just like you watching the first and second episode of IPYTM was fun, it's pick up where it's left. Teh mom blessing for their relationships, Teh effort to drive across city just to make time for them, and Oh-aew identity crisis about his major, his understanding about their distance that make it hard on Teh every single morning (just show how thoughtful both party are, it show how much effort they put on their new relationships), the way Tea feel out connection with Oh-aew after he changing his major i don't have a problem with "cheating" plot, sure it's a cheap ark that put more drama. But they way they wrapped the story line really left bad taste in my mouth. Tea characters become unexplainable, what make him like Jai? why running toward Oh-wae is he already had changed of heart? Why Tae never give a damn about Jai again, after Oh-aew find out? What Tae motivation or what he wanna achieve at the end ? What if Jai actually had the same feeling for him? Will he leaving Oh-aew (we can't even answer that, because i soon as Oh-aew find out, Tae because uninteresting to Jai anymore) I see a couple that had to go though, a third person to survive their long time relationship, but the last 3 episode had bad writing to conclude amazing series

[@comegetyourb]

I suggest you read the other comments on that topic they're very well explained

[@sprinkles4375]

I love your thoughtful analysis! Thank you! It was heartbreaking to watch Teh become a greater and greater jerk in IPYTM. After all that happened in ITSAY for Teh and Oh-aew to be together, Teh throws it away for Jai? I could not buy this storyline, nor Oh forgiving him seemingly easily. Agree that this series missed the magic of IPYTM. I enjoyed it well enough, but it was unnecessarily painful given my love for the characters of Teh and Oh.

[@25thming44]

Damn, I just discovered your channel and I am so impressed!! You never miss, all those essays are all so thoughtful and well written!!

[@Pastellyn]

🥺 thank you so much!! I’m glad you enjoy my videos!

[@comegetyourb]

I think what a lot of people fail to understand is that the "cheating" plot wasn't just a plot they just threw in it was connected with their careers and lives as well, if it was with any person yes, it would've been meaningless, but it's not just a random person we can really look at it from another point of view

[@wahtusy3519]

Its just a super duper unnecessarily melodramatic weeping fest tbh

[@joshuamiguelsanchez4447]

OMG1 YOU'RE BAAACK!

[@odumrita95]

Unpopular opinion,,, lol I’m saying this many years later, TAE has always had a shitty, entitled character, patriarchal, and a aew was supposed to be his -I love you as you are- homosexual. A aew has always been emotionally intelligent and available… till now, so we really see teh exposed without our a aew soft cushion, so it’s sad and such a shock because and it all happened in a short period of time . , TEHs attitude was evident in “I told sunset about you”. That’s the thing about first love, you cannot tell that you deserve better because they are the only one you see at that point. Rewatching I promised you to the moon made me sympathize less with tae, however this is very realistic and I love that. Sometimes there’s a happy ending without idk wedding bells. some of us just need to be friends no matter how passionately we feel about each other ( and I’m saying this as a raging lesbian, we lesbians are fond of this cycle with our friends and exes) I just wish we had some time to see both boys heal with several episodes. I think they wanted to make something for these characters as fast as possible because both actors have been and still are booked and busy. It’s understandable why it was rushed..

[@odumrita95]

Beautiful video, this deserves more views ,,, thank you for this…. Thank you for talking about IPYTDM

[@kenchan6477]

I thoroughly enjoy your analysis. It is time you considered talking about Heartstopper AND To My Star 2. Both are great. P.S. I may not be able to appreciate To My Star 2 fully because of the translation problem. Still, I love it and really want to know how you feel about it. I think it is even better than the first season.

[@Pastellyn]

Just finished To My Star 2 and loved it as well! I’ve got a couple more videos already planned but hopefully I can get around to talking about it soon!

[@DuongPhungNguyenAnh]

I love your videos. Can you review "Not me series" pls😭😭

[@kasia2750]

I liked this season much more than first one. In my opinion "I told sunset about you" wasn't very oryginal, it was basicly all known BL cliches ( from general enemy to lovers plot, to details like underwater kiss), only elevated by gorgeous cinematography and great acting. I feel like in second season they presented more intriging lot, themes and characters dynamics: growing apart, when Oh-aew change His study (and career) path and Teh took it not as personal choose, but as invalidation of His own decision. They didn't really need cheating in this story and they could have better pacing, but overall, I thing this season had more substance.

[@Pastellyn]

Interesting take! Coming of age isn't everyone's cup of tea (especially when it's such a common LGBT trope lol) but I think ITSAY executed it so well that it still felt fresh. However, to each their own! Thank you for sharing your opinion

[@arvinreisawyertan]

Glad im not the only one! Though itsay is much moooore entertaining to watch because of it's chosen storyline, because it showed the blossoming of their characters and the cliches of love-hate relationship. To simply put, it gave us a show of what we wanted to see and enjoy as viewers. But I'd say ipytm is much more delicately done. Technically, i don't think any other BL can come close to it. Storyline was well thought of to think that there's really not much that you can tell about university students. But they were able to give depth on personal growth and how it affects relationships. The character development was solid. A lot of scenes are much more subtle, carefully and mindfully executed. As oppose to itsay that was meant to be enjoyed (because that is what entertainment is for anyway), ipytm was brave enough to take a different path. It was heavy and uncomfortable to watch from beginning to end. They presented a story that exposes the flaw/s of its main characters, to the point of you would end up hating them. With that, I understand the hate and frustration of most people. A lot of people are disappointed of how cliche the cheating plot is and even think it's unnecessary, but actually there's much more to it than simply teh falling for jai. Which i think a lot of people missed out. Teh being "infatuated" with jai is a product of manipulation, him being gullible. Both of them (Oh) coming from the province not knowing how cruel/twisted/complicated the world is. Contrary to most people, Jai's character is actually very crucial and was carefully created. Jai's represents people who would chase their goal no matter what it takes, this can be seen when he was flirting with a woman (his professor?) and later on saw teh's developing feeling for him and use it in his favor. Power tripping, manipulation, deception in the showbiz industry is very prominent and i think this is what the series wanted to show us. Welcome to the real cruel world.. Hence, the "cheating" plot. It's a lesson learned for Teh. He became a better person. He matured and worked hard to reach his goal of becoming a popular actor only to find himself still with a void of unhappiness despite of success. Meanwhile, not to prolong my message, Oh also matured learned things the hard way. A lot of metaphors came with it like him coloring his hair in bold red. By the end of the series, he became more secured and finally knew himself better. At the end of the story, they gave us 2 characters with much more wisdom and maturity. Teh and Oh realizing that there are no other people whom can fill the voids in their heart, but only them. They choose to start again, but this time with much more maturity and experience. The song coming of age perfectly summarized the show. They know a lot of things would still come their way, but they will get through it as long as they hold on to each others' hand.... and that for me is a beautiful story. :) I've yet to see another series that would give us this profound meaning of love.

[@3rdWorldGirl93]

your analyses are great but i would like to point out/disagree with one thing (or two). as someone who watched IPYTM first (before ITSAU), it definitely works as a stand-alone show. i noted the pacing issues more at the end than its initial progression. Teh definitely wasnt the best guy but the story being mostly told from his perspective helped me understand him, his character development as you've briliantly compared with the first series deserving of the criticism when you have seen it before like that but in IPYTM alone it was making sense too. The time jump at the end actually did show Teh's reckoning with having lost Oh and them getting back together made sense for him, however my issue with that resolution being the way it was, was that Oh had been in pain that whole time which wasnt fair for him, Oh had wanted Teh to fight for him more the day the broke up but Teh just gave up so yeah that was frustrating. true though that Jai's character was hard to understand but i didnt care too much bout him after it turned out that he didnt even want to be with Teh after all. i liked how Oh's rejection of his friend was some dramatic thing with his friend taking it well and them maintaining civility with eachother, that was a realistically mature turn of events. much of things with his university friends group was well done actually. so after binging IPYTM and it leaving me in pieces due to similar emotional issues in my own personal life, i found out about ITSAY and got it too and it truly was a perfect show, i felt its pacing was a little too slow sometimes but thats probably due to my natural lack of patience with BL shows that have high school aged characters than it being about knowing they were together eventually. the beats and emotional ascensions broke my heart n put me back together as if i hadnt watched IPYTM already. i love them both. i do wish they could have been a little happier in the end though, simply saying oh so we get back together felt a little anticlimactic, at the time i thought i was just emotioanlly spent having watched them within 5 days n cried my soul out but your analysis has put some of the reasons for that into perspective. keep it up

[@3rdWorldGirl93]

* Oh's rejection of his frend - WASNT some dramatic...

[@comegetyourb]

I'm just out here reading comments because I would love to hear as many opinions on this show as possible lol I completely agree that It was very frustrating but at the same time made sense I actually loved that it made me very frustrated when I first watched it it made the show not boring for me personally

[@comegetyourb]

Oh and I think Jai actually explaied why he did why he did in the series He used Teh's instability to his own advantege whether he did or didn't expect Teh to actually fall in his trap. But I wouldn't think of any of the characters in the show as an absolute villian because none of them are black and white and I liked that about the show.

[@Frickitzbatz]

hello, i was just wondering if you have seen bad buddy in the series. I know it's probably old news by now but I feel like no one really talks about it as much as they should. i felt like although the plot wasn't exactly new or revolutionary, the ability to act and create raw and compelling characters brought that story to life. in my not-so-profesional opinion..bad buddy was everything that 2gether wasn't, and I would love to hear your thoughts if you have any!

[@Pastellyn]

Hi! Yes, I have watched Bad Buddy and I absolutely loved it. I’m a huge fan of Aof in general and I think Bad Buddy is one of if not the best series he’s directed. I’d love to talk about its fantastic LGBT representation in a future video. Hopefully I can fit it into my schedule!

[@Frickitzbatz]

@@Pastellyn im so glad to hear your thoughts! Aof is out here saving lives!!!! i look forward to any future video you may produce, keep up the great work!

[@andrewsurber4010]

OK, Jai frustrates the hell out of me. I buy the "bring out the emotion by any means necessary" approach, but the fact that he (apparently) never considered the potential ramifications his actions may have on Teh just flummoxes me. Worse, he knew Teh was in a relationship with someone (or at least it's implied he knows since Teh and Oh-Aew are not hiding it). I think a way to fix Jai (for me) is if he had been fully transparent with Teh from the start. Give us a scene with Jai fully informing Teh of the technique he was going to use and getting his consent to proceed. That way it would still be plausible for Teh to develop feelings due to inexperience and his own emotional state, and Jai could have rejected him and chastise Teh for not heeding his warning to getting wrapped up in the emotions. Another option: have him bring in Oh-Aew for the technique. Show it to both of them and then tell them to practice together. Teh could still get a bit to "into it" with Jai during instruction and get us to the same dramatic breakup scene. Or hell - make him go full sociopath, give Jai a scene explaining that he loves breaking up young couples because "it's good for their careers" or whatever. Just some kind of mask-off villain moment so we know it's OK to despise him. I am not necessarily wanting to shift any blame for the cheating onto Jai, that's definitely Teh's fault. The choices and motivations just feel so underdeveloped and baffling, but I guess that fits with the 2nd half of the story with the awkward time skip.

[@Pastellyn]

Completely agree! I wish they had gone "all-or-nothing" with Jai's character because as is, his motivations don't really make sense. Like he seems perfectly benign until ep 3 hits and all of a sudden the show frames him as this manipulative menace.

[@Frickitzbatz]

hi, sorry to bother you again;p this might be a weird question but have been working on a video essay of my own for a few months now as I have always loved writing. but I find myself struggling when it comes to editing. I'm not sure what to use or where to start. Idk even know the rules when it comes to what music you can use lmao.I had seen many other video essays and video essay-channels before but yours is the one that finally made me decide to go for it:) I was just wondering if u had any tips,. again I know it's probs a weird question, my apologies.

[@Pastellyn]

No need to apologize!! I'm unbelievably flattered that this channel inspired you.

[@Frickitzbatz]

@@Pastellyn I'm so incredibly thankful for such a thoughtful and generous reply! this is so so so helpful! i really appreciate you taking the time to help me get started it means a lot to me!