Bad Buddy: Watch Diary, Episode 3

Let's just get into it.

The Bus Stop

The "truce place" from episode 2 turns out to be an actual bus stop. I didn't pick up on that at the time. Most of episode 3 is dedicated to the fallout of its destruction. Apparently video footage of the incident shows that Pran's friends are the initial aggressors in this incident, but what exactly happened between them is left suspiciously vague. The fight in episode 2 definitely portrayed both sides as equally aggressive and they only stopped fighting when nothing of the bus stop was left. To put the blame solely on one side seems uncalled for.

Pran takes on the challenge to design, fund and construct the new bus stop. However he struggles to do it all by himself. Pat assists him on several occasions, most notably when the two meet at the bus stop one evening to sketch a design. They engage in a role play where Pat embodies Pran's girlfriend and pretends to need shelter from sunshine and rain which gives Pran inspiration. That particular scene is great actually. It shows our protagonists not simply interact, but actually work together for a common goal. It's an actual bonding moment. It's the first great instance of what I would call "chemistry". (The comment sections of every episode are flooded with the word, but it has lost all meaning. The only chemistry that's going on for the most part are the happy hormones in the viewers' brains when they imagine the love story between the protagonists.)

When Pran tries to get a sponsor for the project, his first attempt at presenting his design doesn't convince them. Pat then presents the same concept again, but framed in connection with the sponsor's corporate identity as an eco-friendly bus stop. And suddenly the sponsors are on board. How did Pat learn about that corporate identity? He saw it on a poster. How did they find the sponsor in the first place? Pat saw their poster—but a different one. Apparently Pran doesn't lood at posters. I guess all he can see is how poorly they are designed.

In the end of the episode, Pat convinces his friends to help with the construction of the bus stop. He does this by reminding them of the story that the bus stop was constructed by both architecture and engineering faculties, and that it would belong only to architecture if they don't collaborate. I'm still not entirely convinced that the story is actually true though.

Happy Memories

Pran is trying to write a song (not sure what for). He doesn't find the inspiration though until Wai tells him to think of a crush he had in the past. And Pran immediately thinks of a moment between him and Pat in high school. It's just further confirmation of their deep and long lasting infatuation. But the more they flesh out this past love story, the weirder it becomes that they dislike each other so much at the beginning of the series. Instead of cutting to random moments in the past, why not try to create a story where Pran and Pat actually create new memories? I want to see them grow, I don't just want to be told that they have been secretly in love all along. That's the plot of literally half of all BL stories ever. SOTUS, 2gether and Fish upon the Sky all have this exact plot element and these are just the series from GMMTV alone.

Conflict?

I suspect that one reason why I'm frustrated with this episode's progression is the lack of reference to the initial conflict. Where is the prejudice? What are the families even doing?

The episode begins with not just one but two scenes that are essentially just confirmation that "Yes, these are the protagonists of Bad Buddy, the series you are currently watching." In one scene, they accidentally bump into each other at a street restaurant and then fight with their chopsticks about their food. In the other scene, they have a race from the dorm entrance to their rooms. One of those scenes would have sufficed to tell us that they are still in their permanent competition of one-upmanship. Other than that they only avoid being seen in public together alluding to the presence of the larger conflict.

At one point Pran blames Pat's friends (and Pat by proxy) for the destruction of the bus stop and for posting the video of Wai's "misdemeanor" online. That is the only element of the story that actually features some sort of conflict between them. And Pat makes up for it by just scrubbing all the faults that Pran blames on him. He assists with the construction of the new bus stop and takes the video offline.

It's not bad actually. Pat seems to be taken by surprise that his friends might not be as innocent as he thought and it seems to spawn some doubt in him. A potential precursor of future change. Pran similarly becomes more friendly to Pat after he helped him. This part of the episode is fine. It gives us a plausible sequence of events for why they would change their minds. It just seems a bit removed from the greater conflicts between their families and friends and thus not very impactful. Pat convinces his friends to help with the bus stop, but he does so by appealing to their rivalry instead of their kindness. His efforts to call them out on their shitty actions fall flat which in turn weakens the change we see in Pat himself because he doesn't seem to mind engaging with them anyway. Or rather, he is afraid that people might realize that he cares for Pran.

The Guitar

We learn that Pran left his guitar behind when he left the high school after the band incident in episode 2. Assuming that it is lost to time at this point, he looks for a new one at a music store. However we later find out that Pat held onto the guitar. He returns it to Pran claiming that he tried to sell it, but I assume (and hope) that that is a lie because it would destroy a beautiful piece of symmetry. Just like Pran held onto the watch that Pat returned to him, Pat held onto the guitar that Pran left behind. It's a sign of mutual care for each other.

I find this moment a lot better than the flashback mentioned above. All it takes is one picture of Pran's guitar and we know how much Pat cares for him. No words, no drawn-out flashback. In just a few seconds we learn all we need to know.

The Shifting Dynamic

In previous episodes, Pat and Pran have been mostly equals. In this episode, this dynamic shifted when Pran had to shoulder the responsibility of rebuilding the bus stop. Pran subsequently doesn't want anything to with Pat, but Pat keeps nagging him. In two different instances, Pat stands physically close to Pran and won't step away even after Pran tells him that it makes him uncomfortable. At several points Pran struggles to move forward with the project. Designing the bus stop, finding a sponsor, convincing the sponsor, finding workers to build the bus stop; in every single of these steps, Pran is struggling, but then Pat comes along and solves the problem for him—apparently with no effort whatsoever. Pat also solves Pran's guitar problem by simply giving him one. Pat is also the one to convince the dean to allow Pran back into the music competition. These moments just keep piling up the more I think about them. In the end they even agree that they are "even"—presumably in reference to Pat's ten year old debt (though I'm not entirely sure if that's correct).

I'm worried because this is a stereotypical top-bottom-dynamic. The bottom wants to be alone, but the top keeps annoying him. The bottom has a problem and the top solves it with ease. I was hoping that this series would avoid this dynamic, but in this particular episode, the symmetry I enjoyed so much was broken. I hope that it doesn't set a trend for the following episodes.

:(:

Pran actively turns around the door hanger to indicate that his mood switched from :( to :) at the end of the episode. That is all.

Conclusion

This episode was definitely less dense in plot than the previous two. The first episode established the world, the conflict, the characters etc. The second episode developed this in many more directions. The third episode on the other hand is mostly driven by one plot element: the bus stop. We get a couple of scenes focused on Pat and Pran with no plot relevance whatsoever and a few scenes that show them actually undergo some growth as they begin to work together. There are a few more glimpses into the past underlining the strong bond they already shared a long time ago. But overall, the scope of this episode was far more narrow as it focused on one plot line.