Recap "F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers" Episode 2

Happy Holidays and welcome back to F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers (YouTube, GMMTV, Viu). Episode 2 jumps straight in at that powerful kick from last week and its subsequent wildfire race through social media.

The guys note that Gorya is a rising threat to their supremacy at school – particularly for Thyme. They figure they have no choice but to leave it to him to solve. And he does!

The next morning, Thyme’s men pick up Gorya. Her kidnapping entails a make-over, clothes, jewellery and even a car. As long as she publicly apologizes to him. But she throws it back in Thyme’s face, not interested in selling her soul.

In the end, Thyme’s mother shows up and tosses Gorya out of the house, putting a hard stop to their arguing. The car key is bundled with her stuff. It’s a little tempting but…

Back to reality at school, the kids are sniggering over nasty things written on the board about Gorya – that she sleeps around, has a kid, etc, etc. She makes an excuse to get out of class as the baseless rumours spread like a virus.

Once again shouting on the rooftop, she encounters Ren and thanks him for helping her in the storage room. Instead of responding, he asks about the travel time from France. The mean girls observe them speaking.

At the flower shop, Gorya works out the travel time question. She admits to her friend that Ren is not like the others. Their boss overhears their giggles and talks about the importance of a first kiss, as there can be only one.

Hana shows up at the shop to apologize for not sticking with Gorya during the bullying. Gorya suggests that it might be better if she handles things on her own but that Hana can quietly support her in the background.

Elsewhere, Kavin and MJ can’t believe Thyme had Gorya kidnapped. MJ advises they take back Gorya’s red card, that it’s not too late. Thyme takes off in a huff to see Ren instead.

But Ren is out star-gazing at Mira’s billboard ad. Gorya spots him and delivers the travel time calculation she’s worked out. They get close, but as she dreams of kisses, he treats her like a child. She makes her escape back to Hana but Thyme witnesses the entire exchange.

Ren and Gorya in front of Mira’s billboard. You can see why Gorya may get the wrong idea…

The next day, Hana receives a red card. The school minions are looking to shave her head at the stadium but Gorya intervenes, realizing Thyme is really aiming at her. He offers her the opportunity to shave her own head by way of apology. Ren steps in with a distraction and MJ takes the opportunity to send the other students on their way.

Gorya wonders why Ren helped her yet again and notes the tide turning, with some students now facelessly cheering her on via #TeamGorya. Even the means girls invite her to Mira’s welcome home party, noting that it’s casual.

Later, the guys await Mira at the airport. Ren is ecstatic to see her again but she treats them all a bit like younger brothers.

Ren can’t hide his excitement at seeing Mira again.

Gorya and her middle school friend Kaning show up at the party only to be embarrassed by their plain attire. As they try to slip out, F4 arrives. So Gorya escapes to the pool instead.

The mean girls follow her out to give her a hard time. But as Thyme eyeballs from a window, it’s Ren who again steps in. And then Mira too. She not only sends the three girls into the pool, but upgrades Gorya’s wardrobe, hair and make-up. Mira says that Ren has spoken of her and further bolsters Gorya’s confidence.

Kavin intervenes when Kaning tries to find Gorya. She scolds him for standing by as things happen to her friend. He counters that she should have more faith in Gorya instead.

Upstairs, Mira commends Gorya for opposing Thyme. Fighting back is something she’s never had the guts to do, like a bird trapped in a gilded cage. Gorya re-enters the party at Mira’s side, capturing all of F4’s attention.

Ren looks ready to create a portrait. As he offers his hand, Thyme jumps in to object, especially as they’d given Gorya a red card. They end up punching each other. But Gorya steps in, knocking Thyme over and landing lip-to-lip with him. It’s Thyme who runs from the room, with the guys speculating that it’s his first kiss.

Gorya dives in to prevent Thyme from hitting Ren again but lands lip-to-lip with him as the entire party looks on.

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The Episode Review

Costume crew, seriously – why is Gorya dressed for a fishing trip at Mira’s party? It’s one thing to be under-dressed, another to be completely inappropriate for any event that doesn’t include camping. Apart from this weird outfit choice, we get another fun episode, ramping up the conflict between the characters and giving us a glimpse of the joint history of the Flower Boys.

With the compressed 16-instalment schedule, we’ve quickly jumped into the Bermuda-love-triangle, but at the same time ARE only glimpsing at the heart of our key characters. Gorya’s stance and personality are pretty clear, but F4 are only just beginning to let us get to know them.

We’re starting to see Thyme in his full petulance and a bit more on his ‘win-at-all costs’ mother, which opens the way for some sympathy for him, even as he takes out his anger and bewilderment on his mates. Ren’s childhood obsession with the uber-cool Mira is laid out. As the master of mixed messages, he also picks at the sides of a growing inner conflict. Both he and Thyme have their eyes on Gorya and neither really knows yet what it means or what to do with it.

MJ is showing up to be the most practical and mature of the four, recognizing when enough is enough and discretely speaking up about it, rather than running in fists first. Kavin still feels a little vague but we also haven’t seen that much of him to date – there’s still time. He’s only just met Kaning and, like the others, can’t help but admire Gorya.

Soooo, is it me or do the actresses seem to be carrying a lot of the vibe in this episode? The guys are all depicted fairly subtly while the actresses playing Gorya (Tu Tantivejakul), Mira (Yongwaree ‘Fah’ Anilbol) and Kaning (Chanikan ‘Prim’ Tangkabodee) are driving the major plot points. All strong characters, and once again it’s Gorya who brings the episode title, ‘Second Impact,’ to life. It may refer to several things, but somehow it’s that end scene (just as it was in last week’s close) that feels like its got true impact and the possibility of turning the tables.