The Trainee - Tumblr Posts
jack & joker giving me the only acceptable reason for a 5 years later no contact relationship
i can't believe "the trainee" is already on q3.
let's fucking go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! offgun supremacy reigns
The first episode of The Trainee is intriguing to me — and I’m enjoying seeing everything get set up.
To begin with, I enjoy the way the serious tone of the workplace works with the lighter, comedic tone of other scenes. The show is going to have fun with us, but also take itself seriously in the topics it covers in relation to work at a production house. If I recall correctly, the story is also heavily based off Parbdee itself, and what it’s like there, and you can tell, from the commitment to really making the company feel like a workplace that takes itself seriously.
I enjoy Ryan as a main character. He’s very quiet, awkward, and confused about what he wants in life, He’s the type who needs time to start talking (otherwise he stays silent) and the type who gets kind of pushed around into situations because he can’t speak up. Ryan has been thrown into a situation where he truly has no idea what he’s doing. A total fish-out-of-water. And all of the interns are struggling, but Ryan most of all. We’ll see what keeps him at the company soon, and I’m excited to see where his character goes. There’s a clear character progression set up for him.
Honestly, I commend Ryan for keeping it together emotionally after this episode, actually. Because if I was him, I’d be incredibly broken up after that first day. He doesn’t know what he’s doing and fumbled around for most of a day. His friend’s messages deliver a clear contrast in what would be ideal versus what is happening.
Jane is an interesting love interest. He isn’t very present in this episode (though the next episode preview promises a lot of him soon) and all we have of him so far is negative. He’s immediately unimpressed by Ryan from his first scene meeting him (if his eyes are to be trusted) and he’s critical without much support, at least for now, though he does have the grace to explain things when asked. I’m looking forward to see what the series will have in store for Jane, and how they’ll endear him to us, as well as make Jane and Ryan begin to like each other. Because their current conflict makes a lot of sense, and I’m curious how things will begin to change. Ryan is not prepared for this work. But what is this all for if not for him to learn?
I love the side cast and how they’re being set up. Especially Pie. Her deadpan affect and clear passion for filmmaking is already endearing her to me, and I feel like we’ll be seeing her story a lot, from what’s said about Ryan and Pie having to work together a lot if they’re chosen. I want to see them bond! I’m a sucker for set-ups like this, and I can’t wait to see how the characters continue to work together and evolve.
Also: I like the ending chat-style segment explaining things the audience may not know about production houses, agencies, and pilots. Ryan is already a protagonist who is relatable for the average viewer who is unaware of the goings-on of the production house, and with this, there’s a fun way to get exposited some crucial information while having the characters involved.
And as a side note, this show is very visually appealing. Pleasing to the eye in a way I can’t describe, like other Parbdee shows. I’m already here, buckled in for the ride.
THE TRAINEE Gun Atthaphan as Ryan Episode 1
Thoughts on The Trainee ep.2
As someone definitely watching the show from a perspective close to Ryan (I’m a student in university right now, and I expect I’m in the part of my life the show intends to depict through Ryan’s character) I really do appreciate how real it feels to how stressful the early stages of the internship are! The unsure, lost fumbling through the first tasks you’re given. Man, this show definitely got me into Ryan’s headspace. I definitely cheered with him at the end of the episode.
I’m really enjoying seeing the full side cast!
Pie and Pah as a dynamic being set up in the background was fun to watch. I’m not 100% sure of it, but I’ve seen some discussion on the possibility of the pair being a couple, if I recall correctly because of some behind the scenes? I’m fine either way it goes, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of the entire group. Also, I found it lightly amusing (despite my dislike of Harry Potter for obvious reasons) that they acted out the Ron and Hermione dynamic with the Wingardium Leviosa reference.
Though as a side note: not a fan of Pie this episode for making Ryan ask that question to Jane, partially for the reason Jane listed but mainly for making Ryan do it. I’m intrigued if her personality will be built upon more. We can also see more of her flaws when she’s talking with Pah about painting the swords and berates him about the paint, and then not listening to the explanation. It feels intentional.
I respect Jane. He’s stressed, trying to keep the project together, and acts fierce and frustrated, but both us as the audience, and Ryan himself, know better than to see him the way that the side character who badmouths him this episode does. And it’ll be a fun experience to watch Ryan learn more under his wing and for Jane to soften up around him.
All in all, I really enjoyed the episode and the potential future for the series it’s setting up. I think it’s a shame that the show is getting reviewbombed over on MDL, and I’m looking forward to next week.
happy to have an offgun sunday show back on the docket but i can already tell this series is going to put a bee in my bonnet every week about late stage capitalism foisting its cancer upon all workplace cultures and turning things like internships from learning and exploratory opportunities to build skills and discover interests in a field, to an expectation of free/low paid but inexplicably pre-skilled labour. do you think ye olde blacksmith's apprentice showed up to the first day of the apprenticeship and the blacksmith is like "what do you mean you don't know how to shoe a horse?? that's so basic" no. the expectation of apprenticeship is that a newborn emptyheaded youngin with a vague notion that metal is cool shows up, and is taught how to blacksmith. the expectation is not that the young savant of metalwork turns up with a list of horses already shoed, including One Very Special One in the Royal Stable, and god would you please please please allow me to debase myself for you, o blacksmith? my resumé is just like the journeyman's!! this workplace culture is a modern invention!! they used to teach you things at work!!
[breathing audibly] i just think entry level should mean entry level, and that as much effort goes into gathering experience that makes people competitively hire-able, ability, opportunity, and luck also play a role. it is lucky to know your passion early enough to be able to groom yourself to competitiveness in a sharky field of work, but a person should be able to turn up for entry level positions/interning with an unabashed "i know nothing" as long as it's followed with an "and i'm ready to learn" and it is in neoliberalism's favour to allow work environments to cut their costs by eschewing the responsibility to teach. to train the trainee.
Hi! If you don't mind me asking since you've been referred to in terms or maybe being able to explain Jane referring to himself as "phi" in the latest episode of the trainee could you maybe clarify in a detailed way what it meant? I've read different takes and I'm honestly so confused. Someone explained it as him basically speaking casually to Ryan and I thought that Ryan asking him to keep talking to him that way meant he was telling Jane he wanted to be closer to him without crossing the line too much. But then someone else said it was as if Ryan was telling him to speak to him as a lover would and I'm so confused and asking for a friend 😭
Hiya anon ✨️
Sorry for taking a bit to answer, I first needed to actually watch the show djshdhsjs but I'm here now and ready to explain!
Quick disclaimer, as per usual: I'm not a native Thai speaker, just a big nerd who's still learning!
Let's do some groundwork first and then zoom out on the show for a bigger picture!
Thai has a shit ton of pronouns and ways to refer to oneself and others and every choice communicates something about the speaker, the addressee and the relationship between them, and conveys different levels of formality, politeness, familiarity, respect etc. If you or anyone else is interested, here's a good detailed breakdown in English of common pronouns:
Now! As for The Trainee, all the interns call themselves ผม /pom/ and หนู /nuu/ (= polite respectful 1st pers. pronouns used by men and women, respectively, when talking to elders/seniors/superiors/etc.) and their mentors พี่ /phi/ (= 'older sibling', used as a 2nd pers. pronoun, informal but polite) except for Uncle Moo lol
Jane is the only one among the mentors and other staff at Good Pick who speaks formally with the interns and I love that choice because it is so in line with his character! But let's look at the others first for comparison:
Pah and Tae's mentors use กู /guu/ and มึง /meung/ (= impolite familiar 1st and 2nd pers. pronouns, respectively). These are really casual, vulgar even, and used between age mates or by someone older for someone younger, used with strangers or elders these are super rude.
Judy calls herself พี่ /phi/ (= 'older sibling', used as a 1st pers. pronoun, informal) with Bamhee from the get-go and mostly either omits a 2nd pers. pronoun or calls Bamhee by her name (= familiar). It sounds friendly and polite but not too distant or rude.
Jane uses ผม /pom/ (= polite respectful formal male 1st pers. pronoun) and refers to the interns as คุณ /khun/ (= polite formal 2nd pers. pronoun) or omits pronouns where possible. It both makes him sound formal and a bit distant - or at least a lot less familiar than the other mentors - but also elevates the interns in a way!
How to explain? It's like he's respecting the interns in their professional capacity by using these formal pronouns instead of looking at them as kids. In contrast, I've noted down other staff members calling the interns ลูก /luuk/ (= 'son/daughter/child'), น้อง /nong/ (= 'younger sibling', used as a 2nd pers. pronoun, informal) and เด็ก /dek/ (= 'kid'), for example.
All of these are meant to be friendly, of course, and create a casual familiar atmosphere. But with Jane being so dedicated, fair, serious about work, and making sure to include and respect the interns, the choice to have him use polite formal pronouns with them is really quite lovely to me. :)
It's like when he argued with the obnoxious extra in ep. 3:
ก็เด็กมันพูดรู้เรื่องที่ไหนอ่ะ เพิ่งหัดทำงาน ให้มาสั่งพี่ที่เป็นรุ่นแม่ /gaaw dek man phuut ruu reuuang thee nai a? pheerng hat tham ngaan, hai maa sang phi thee bpen roon mae/ อย่างน้อยเด็กมันก็ทำหน้าที่ในสิ่งที่ตัวเองได้รับมอบหมายมา /yaang naawy, 'dek man' gaaw tham naa-thee nai sing thee dtuua ehng dai rap maawp maai maa/
Or when he said he'll always apologize if he's at fault, regardless of age or hierarchy:
ถ้าวันนึงผมทำผิดกับคุณ ผมก็ต้องขอโทษคุณเหมื่อนกัน /thaa wan neung, pom tham phit gap khun, pom dtaawng khaaw thoht khun meuuan gan/ ไม่เกี่ยวว่าจะเป็นเด็กหรือผู้ใหญ่หรอก /mai giiao waa ja bpen dek reuu phuu-yai raawk/ = 'Kid' or 'grownup', that doesn't matter.
Sidenote for my fellow nerds: Jane has also called Ryan เรา /rao/ (= 2nd pers. pronoun, used by someone older for someone younger) at least once, when he was gently scolding him at the end of ep. 2. Jane emphasized that he's an intern (เราเป็นเด็กฝึกงานนะ /rao bpen dek feuk ngaan na/) and thus can't know everything, he needs to communicate with his mentor.
Moving on! Remember how both Pie and Baimon have commented on how it's starting to look like Ryan is Jane's favorite junior now? And that's just from what they've seen! We know more still-- like Jane personally taping down Ryan's shoelaces and also removing it again, inviting him to his place for food because he's hangry, giving Ryan his clothes, etc. etc. Most recently inviting him to dinner because he's hangry (again lol) on top of being mad! And that's another factor in this scene:
งอน /ngaawn/ = sulky, pouting, huffy, mad and ง้อ /ngaaw/ = try to make up, reconcile
You'll likely find this situation in most Thai romance media, be it series, lakorns, novels, songs, ... งอน-ง้อ /ngaawn-ngaaw/ is not limited to romantic relationships but it's definitely a trope in romance! For anyone who's like Huh???, I'll link this article in English:
So! Ryan is sulking (งอน /ngaawn/), jealous, and clearly wants Jane to care about him while Jane can tell that he's mad at him for some reason (and also hangry) and he wants to reconcile (ง้อ /ngaaw/). Note that Jane's tone is soft, he smiles a lot because he can tell that Ryan isn't seriously pissed, and he coaxes Ryan with a meal, gentle questioning, and then comes in with the steel chair as I saw someone put it lmao (🫵 if you're that someone, dear reader, I love you mwah):
ตกลงโกรธอะไรพี่ /dtohk lohng groht a rai phi/ = So why are you mad at me?
If you've read this far, you can hopefully tell by now that Jane changing to พี่ /phi/, 1) makes him sound more familiar, relaxed, closer, and 2) is a sweet way to coax (ง้อ /ngaaw/) Ryan by showing him he does care about his feelings and wants to be closer to him. And the fact he so easily agrees when Ryan poutily insists and then nicely asks if Jane can keep calling himself พี่ /phi/ with him? 🥺 Who wouldn't indulge this baby boy!!
We're halfway through the show so a shift in their dynamic was overdue anyway! But to have it happen via a change in pronouns is very much my jam hehe Thank you @babyangelsky for the shoutout btw ☺️ It's gonna be interesting if Jane's gonna call himself พี่ /phi/ only outside of work/when it's just the two of them or really all the time, in which case I cannot wait for everyone's reactions to that shift 👀
Anyway! Hope this lengthy explanation and analysis helped, anon, but absolutely do feel free to ask more questions. I'm always up for yapping about Thai lol
It definitely had the same reaction for me, but thinking of it more and seeing reactions of people on Tumblr I felt like things being so drastic is intentionally done to be able to see the differentiation which makes a lot of sense in my head. Especially the Bamhee and Judy stuff.
Also about Pie not being as focussed or work oriented I think is her feeling secure in her role there. Knowing that she will be included in a project and having already proven herself she could be feeling a little more relieved and centred there.
In terms of Jane and Ryan, although by themselves they feel so far away into a romance stage, I think seeing it in different comparison to Bamhee and Judy, I really enjoyed what they did. So, well hopefully if it was intentionally done they actually pay it up as the series progresses.
I’m glad for Tumblr bc I was so weirded out by ep6 of The Trainee but everyone on here loves it so I’m gonna rewatch and give it another shot.
I just felt like there was a huge tone shift it suddenly became more cartoonish with exaggerated acting (especially that harassy client) and Pie was suddenly not work-fixated and acting warm and curious like a love expert when she was so emotionally distant before, and Ryan and Jane’s mutual attraction jumped forward after being slow burn and I wasn’t sure why.
Like on its own a great episode but seemed jarring in context of previous eps. (OffGun flirting was off the charts amazing even if it seemed too sudden.)
Hopefully I was just tired and brain dead. I really loved this series up til now so I’m going to rewatch eps 5 & 6 back to back and hopefully it’ll make more sense this time!
(Even Judy seemed less professional all of a sudden? At least Bahmee’s behavior made sense—that girl’s been messy all along! She’s learning a lot about herself but it’s tough to watch sometimes!)
I liked that Pah stuck up for Tae this episode (fucking someone needed to) and also that he took it too far and got unprofessional. That’s exactly the kind of thing I’d expect in a workplace when personal emotions get messy and entangled. The things he said to Ba Mhee were all true, but that was not the time or place to say them, and refusing to get the production shots for the client was just wrong. Having Ryan there as a silent uncomfortable observer being prevented from doing his own job underscored why this kind of messy interpersonal stuff in the workplace leads to badness.
The twin fantasies!!!
They are BOTH down so bad!!
I love this parallel to show they are in the same place with their feelings for each other, even if Jane can’t really express himself properly with words yet - possibly cos unlike Judy he’s aware of the power dynamics that exist between them and that it’s not the right time.
Ryan hallucinates Jane haunting him, Bahmee actually finds Judy in her family's restaurant... fascinating.
Jane is trying to handle things professionally and is definitely going to be keeping his distance while Judy has apparently never heard of HR and doesn't care.
Yesss! This. Thank you!
Give me flawed characters, but please don't try to tone down or pretend that what they did is justified
Thoughts on The Trainee Ep 9
I continue to adore the show soeosso much.
I would've loved to see Ryan and Jane more this week but then the moments they did have I loved them.
Ryan being on literally cloud (nine) was EVERYTHING to me, although I absolutely do not like the new shoes (this is coming from someone who ALWAYS struggles with the shoelaces. 😭😭😭
Pai trying to drink her coffee in peace only to get interrupted was sad to watch. Let my girl drink her coffee in peace. She needs it.
(I'm gonna address the love triangle scenes at the end.)
I love how intentionally the windows error sound effect comes up everytime Pai thinks Phi Baimon is the crush.
Jane has literally thrown caution to the wind and has started to actively and obviously pay attention to Ryan only for his stupid ex to come back.
As much as I don't enjoy the continued jealousy I think this episode especially is much more nuanced. One of them coming from the fact that it is an ex, and the other from what Ryan also says out loud about not knowing what Jane wants, because although Jane acts in ways which are romantic for him, Ryan doesn't necessarily see that isolation because he has only (mostly) seen the caring side of him. And even the jealousy that Ryan had until the previous episodes was more so him observing people liking Jane and not liking it without understanding if he could even feel that way. (Kind of reminds me of Rain with Phayu in the special episode, everytime he would get pouty towards Phayu because he is liked.)
The very obvious manner that Jane was tense while making the coffee for Ryan, like you could see his shoulders just be so stiff and and shaken, with the conversation with the ex, with Ryan's accident, with the implication that the accident could have been avoided and the thought of losing Ryan shows how brilliant of an actor Off is. How he can embody his entire physicality into it and I absolutely love it.
I love Pah and love that he finally got to talk things out and got a resolution with the accounts lady. The entire conversation he had with P' Jo was so so beautiful and meaningful because it addressed the insecurities and addresses other people being rude to him and showing that P' Jo is like a Jack of All Trades and an amazing human being and seeing that as a kind of reflection with Pah I feel. Also was nice to have a mentorship moment for Pah finally after ignoring for so long.
Was starting to hate the accounting lady but was redeemed which was good.
Love the final conversation between Ryan and Jane. Love that Jane was forthcoming finally. Love that Ryan was asking questions like Jane wanted him to. LOVED THE HUG. Was soooooo soft I melted. I also like that the physical connection was built after having finally addressed if they are on the same page.
Which brings me to the part ai find iffy and the part people will say I'm being a hypocrite about but, I have my reasons to dislike it.
I do not really like where all three of Tae, Pah and Judy are at right now. I'll start with Tae.
I think it makes sense that he feels unmoored about being single again, but it felt like the scene where he is begging Pai to tell him how to be, was so that we feel bad for Bahmee. So that it feels like Tae was useless and relying on her fully, while giving nothing and was being framed so that, Bahmee kissing Judy and cheating on him was not a problem. I hate how the next episode is him trying to get her back, I hope if that happens, the resolution is accepting that they are not good together and that being separate is their growth. I also feel that Bahmee should come out of this single and I'm gonna talk about her next.
I think Bamhee going from being only focussed on Tae and her relationship with him to latching on to Judy while also constantly comparing both of those is not gonna help in the long run and is only gonna come back to her not being able to work through things. I hope it doesn't really in that.
As to why I am happy that Jane and Ryan physically moved towards each other while I'm critical about Judy and Bamhee, is the same reason. Jane and Ryan got onto the same page before they did anything. Even as small as touch. Judy on the other hand has been making physical touches a regular thing without considering the power imbalance, the fact that they were on different pages, including when she reached out to kiss Bamhee again makes me question it.
Anyway, I'm not sure if I'll be able to watch it this weekend because my mum is visiting me and I finally have my graduation ceremony. Ahhh I really want to watch it because I love it but also cause it'll be a good distraction from the stress.
The BL that wasn't a BL gave me the love story that was better than a love story.
Don't get me wrong, I have a million things to say about Jane and Ryan, but at the end of the day Ryan didn't need to be swept off his feet. He needed to feel pride in what he is capable of, feel confidence in his efforts and not be swayed by failures. He needed to depend on others and feel safe to take risks. He needed to be curious about the world and brave enough to go find out what is possible.
Jane certainly helped Ryan build all of that, but so did Tae and Pah and BaMhee and especially Pie. Even Baimon and Jo and my baddie in the art department. OK, maybe not him. But everything else was part of the environment and experiences that helped Ryan learn to love creating and commit himself to a future of his own choosing. As they say, soulmates aren't born, they're forged. He going to go far with all that love in his life.
And it's a love story worth telling.
