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inventedfangirling · 11 months

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Episode 7 Pat : To lose or not to win that is the question

Okay I saw a post talking about how episode 7 pat "loses the bet everyday" and how in this rooftop scene...

Pat raises the stakes (asking pran to confess in public) to keep Pran from saying the words just then (knowing he won't take that option) is making me feel and think a lot of things and now my brain is all over the place and i might as well just all note it down here or i won't have peace of mind.

At the outset i want to confess that eventhough i know that the bet has been for pran's sake i still viewed at as a legitimate competition that both pat and pran were trying to win, but i'm realising more and more how (for a large part of the bet) that just wasn't the case at all.

Pat came all the way from Bangkok to the hostile architecture trip alone only and only for Pran. Pat wants to be with him. Pran knows that and Pat knows that Pran knows that. He hasn't tried to hide it at all.

Pat knows that Pran has feelings for him, Pran knows that Pat knows that. But he also isn't ready to admit what it would entail and the familiarity of competition between them allows him to explore that.

"Whoever falls in love first loses" - when both of them know that they have feelings for each other, is hilaaaarious on first watch, but once you've rewatched it countless times and reached a whole new level of brain rot where your blood cells have p cells embedded within p cells in them then it isn't funny, it isn't funny at all * screams into a pillow *

Coming back to the bet, and what it actually means which is that whoever admits it(their feelings) first, loses. And all of us including pat and pran know that pat has already lost. Him coming to the trip just to get Pran to talk and his confession that he actually didn't like Ink 'like that' is all pointing to just one very obvious thing.

So Pat has already lost and yet they're both entering into the bet as if on equal ground. Pat could (and is very much willing to) keep losing over and over again, he very clearly wants to be with Pran but he would keep the charade of the bet up if it meant Pran wasn't ready.

Which means that the entire time that they were teasing and flirting with each other, all throughout episode 7, pat keeps on losing just for Pran's sake.

Do you realise how absolutely insanely madly crazy (mature) in love Pat is???? This might be a childish bet to YEW but to him its a space for Pran (and him) to explore their feelings without the responsibility of a relationship on them, it's actually revolutionary.

Kinda like killing with kindness, which basically sums up the kinda guy Pat is when he's with Pran.

"Don't force me to" he says in response to Pran's "You're just not brave to" (confess) when all of us know Pat is very well brave enough to do that and that is exactly what Pat is reiterating here. He's saying "you very well know why i'm partaking in this charade don't act like you don't i could kiss your competitive ass right now but im not doing it cos i want you to (admit that you) want it".

The man is basically losing (coming over to play and then offering to clean pran's face cos he looked upset screams somebody who wants to win real bad right hahahah NOT *argh pat can you not be so unreally sweet people have to go back to their real lives with real men to be disappointed by*) over and over again asking Pran to "just let me love you, you dork".

Here Pat is literally doing the confession, the very thing they started the bet stating, "i'll make you beg on your knees for me", well he's almost doing the next best thing, and he's doing it willingly, in front of people, with the most genuine smile on his face.

And when he raises the stakes on the rooftop and he does it entirely for Pran again. As much as he wants to be with Pran he equally wants it to be when Pran is ready for it. Not for it to be a decision he is forced or boxed into. He doesn't want to beat Pran he wants Pran to walk into the loss like he himself did, over and over again, because that's just the kinda guy he is.

Boy basically said if me winning the bet means you losing your chance to make that choice for yourself then i don't want that kinda win.

Which is why he's been willingly giving up all the chances to win throughout the episode, but continuing to put up the charade of the bet cos 1. yeah ofc its loads of fun teasing pran and he is so grateful he gets to be close to him again but more importantly 2. he can't (but he is fully willing to) wait for Pran to mentally be ready to get into a relationship.

"As for me, when i have a lover, I always let my lover win" - And truer truths haven't been told. Man has been losing since the very beginning. And that too happily. He is only doing it to give Pran the time that he deserves to process the whole thing and accept his love.

See even here he isn't expecting Pran to confess his love and sweep the whole bet thing away.

Look at Pat pausing trying to figure out what Pran is doing here. I can almost hear the cogs in his brain turn, until the very moment that Pran extends his hand to wipe the stray piece of rice away and then gives him that look. The look that says, "I love you, i'm done making you wait, thankyou, i love you".

So to conclude, Pat like the simp he is entered the bet (and kept willfully losing) only to make Pran comfortable. And literally the first moment that he completely feels comfortable, Pran gives in.

This whole post is borne out of my thoughts after i read what was said in here.

For more of my bet era patpran brainrot :

#and then they both lean in to kiss #which is all that pat wanted in the first place so who's the real loser now?#its me. i was supposed to be prepping for an exam tomorrow #but ofc i had to process all of that and now we're here #bad buddy #patpran #pran x pat #bad buddy meta #bad buddy brain rot #pat napat #pran parakul #bad buddy the series #episode 7 #ahh i love this show and their love so much #some very valid points as to how prans need to win was linked to his feeling that he was always at a disadvantage cos of falling in love 1s #AND how each time pat tries something pran amps it up further #in the reblogs to this post which i have had such a delight reading though #i love how we are all at such wild levels of brain rot as this show deserves

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geonbaeeee · 11 days

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Episode 7 redraw 😘

(Patpran in 2024 from moi? Oui 🤌🤣)

#my art #patpran #pran parakul #pat jindapat #episode 7 #badbuddy art #digital art #bad buddy series

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freensrcha · 2 years

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ep 7 or as i like to call it 'peak feral musky scented hoe pran era'

BAD BUDDY REWATCH EPISODE 7

#badbuddyrewatch #bad buddy #bad buddy the series #bb ep 7 #111gif #i mean this scene and the ‘but i want you to do it for me’ in ONE EPISODE ?!?!

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jemmo · 2 years

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“i never know what to think about, so i think about you” - the 1975

bad buddy week: day 2 favourite episode - ep 11

#just smashed this together bc i listened to this album for the first time today and omg was this fate #bc this song is ep 11 perfection #esp pre- second half of ep 12 #when you still think they've broken up #like it just hits right #i heard the married line and was like !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! honeymoon !!!!!!!!!!!!!!#and ep 11 is my fave #well top 4 ofc i have a top 4 its ep 3 ep 5 ep 7 and ep 11 #so basically every other episode #which is basically all episodes #look its pretty impossible to pick it depends on my mood and how much i wanna cry #bad buddy #badbuddyweek #made by jemmo #oh and you will get a costar post too i just can stay up late to make shitty edits this week so i took the opportunity and ran

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thegayneurodivergentagenda · 1 year

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illicit affairs (by Taylor Swift) × Bad Buddy The Series

Make sure nobody sees you leave Hood over your head, keep your eyes down Tell your friends you're out for a run You'll be flushed when you return

Take the road less traveled by Tell yourself you can always stop What started in beautiful rooms

Ends with meetings in parking lots

Leave the perfume on the shelf That you picked out just for him

So you leave no trace behind Like you don't even exist

Take the words for what they are A dwindling, mercurial high A drug that only worked The first few hundred times

And that's the thing about illicit affairs

And clandestine meetings

and stolen stares

They show their truth one single time But they lie, and they lie, and they lie A million little times

And you wanna scream Don't call me "kid", Don't call me "baby"

Look at this godforsaken mess that you made me

You showed me colors

You know I can't see with anyone else

Don't call me "kid", Don't call me "baby" Look at this idiotic fool that you made me

You taught me a secret language I can't speak with anyone else

And you know damn well

For you, I would ruin myself A million little times

illicit affairs (by Taylor Swift) × Bad Buddy The Series

BadBuddy× my Playlist 5/n

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undertheknightwing · 1 year

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I'm not done talking about Gar yet, the scene where he's sitting on the stairs after connecting to the Red RYAN'S ACTING THROUGH FACIAL EXPRESSION AND BODY MOVEMENT IS SO GOOD

#also is no one gonna mention that the man talking to gar mentioned buddy baker and mari mccabe #aka animal man and vixen #this just keeps getting better #I NEED EPISODE 7 SO BAD #gar's finally in the red dimension I NEED TO SEE #titans #titans spoilers #gar logan

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social-media-shy · 1 year

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I love this moment in ep 6 when Pat says, "thank you for saving Pa." It is such a turning point in their relationship. Until then, Pat has carried the guilt of not acting on that day near the river, and of Pran's transfer. He has constantly been trying to make it up to Pran, feeling like he owes him. And he has done a ton of stuff for Pran, but it has never felt monumental enough compared to the stuff Pran has done or gone through.

For Pat this was the moment he let go of all of that. And in a way Pran truly became one of his own, rather than an "other" he owes or has to make up stuff to. Recognising that all he ever needed to do was thank Pran. That there was nothing to feel inadequate or responsible for.

And while he told Pran that he thought about things from his perspective and Pran was put in the same position as him, so he could never hate him for any of it. Pat also finally gave himself that same consideration, empathy and kindness. Such a healing moment from the shit Pat's dad put him through. I love him. Iove them.

#Pat's dad has really done a number on him #To carry so much on your shoulders because you were always told you had to be better #And your sense of self worth has been tied to being better #While Pat in his heart hasn't cared about being better than Pran for a long time #And then the self-damage that causes because what does that say about him #To acknowledging that not caring about winning or being better is one of best things about Pat #Which ties to the confession in ep 7 #The character growth is phenomenal #I am going to cryyyy #Bad buddy #Bad buddy episode 6

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leconcombrerit · 2 years

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Pran's teary eyes in episode 4 still get me and it remains my favorite. Pat being a total menace and unabashedly flirting without even realizing it is also perfect. Ink is perfect too. We got our first bits of Inkpa. Flashbacks of heavy pining. I'm a simple girl I don't ask for much more than that.

#episode 5 is a close contender for the title too #ep 10 as well #you can never go wrong with ep 1 though #and ep 2 has so much more to offer on rewatch #ep 3's hallway scene is still a must that puts it on the list #the turning point that was ep 6 is also full of charm #and ep 7 is the one I watch most cause it's so cute #ep 8 ? Perfection too it's so satisfying so it's also a contender #now ep 9 is a wild ride but we love it for that #we do not speak of ep 11 bittersweet heart crushing perfection though #the true ending #and ep 12 wraps it all up in such a nice bow #I think all of the episodes are my favorite I need help #bad buddy #bad buddy the series

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dribs-and-drabbles · 2 years

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#BADBUDDYREWATCH

Ep 7

Wait... so Pran says "It's hot" after getting a photo of Pat to which Pran's mum says he should "blow it first". I mean, I know I easily hear innuendos but I can't be the only one to notice this?!

Oh the happiness when Pran says he's messaging a 'friend'.

And then the heartache when Dissaya says Pran can date anyone but Pat or Pa.

Pran letting his Nanon show through at 6:07 in part 1 - with his head-twitch (you can see Nanon doing it in interviews and events etc).

Pa and Ink!! That's it. That's the comment.

I love the differences between Pat and Pa's sides of the room, and that Pa got the full bed whereas Pat is just on the mattress on the floor.

Remember what I was saying about the show manipulating us in ep 4 with Pat, Ink, and Pran? Well, they're doing it again with Pa, Ink, and Wai - having Jimmy do the voiceover for the note Pa receives with the peer mentee gift. I mean, it could never have been him because he's not in her faculty...but still, it made us question whether we were going to get InkPa.

SEE WHAT i MEAN BY THE SHOW USING THE PRODUCT PLACEMENTS TO DRIVE THE STORY?! BECAUSE WE GOT FERAL HOE PRAN EXPERTLY FLIRTING WITH THE "Can you?" AND PUPPY EYES IN THE PRINTER SCENE.

Don't we all agree that Pran basically confesses to Pat with the curry - he said he wanted to cook the dish for the person he liked and then offered a spoonful to Pat - he effectively did cook the curry for Pat it's just that Pat chose not to eat it. These boys 😄 smh

I love Pa's friends and want to see them in another show.

With the way Wai is recounting the synopsis for the Riam/Kwan play, you'd think he'd be a bit more sympathetic towards Pat and Pran.

Also, library scene my beloved (pfp ftw!). And Pran in a yellow shirt whilst thinking about his and Pat's flirting (they're so happy!), and then Pran in a blue shirt amongst a sea of red in the lecture hall. AND THE MINT GREEN BOOK DIVIDERS. God the design.

Oh Oh and the LIGHTING! I forgot how this show had used light and shadow throughout this ep to emphasise how Pran is "still closed off, not yet ready to be open and honest with Pat, needing the bet still as a premise to ‘date’ Pat...whereas Pat is ready and has always been ready...and it’s only right at the end, when Pran has decided he’s also ready to leave the bet behind and get on the same page as Pat, that he becomes fully illuminated."

Really, show me another series that is doing product placement like Bad Buddy. THE BOTTLE 'SPONGE BATH'! Please!

Wai teasing Pran with the 'ja' particle when kissing his neck/cheek... I guess making Pat doubly jealous...

"Your Man?" !!

Pran looks so smug but Pat's about to wipe that off his face.

Disgruntled dimples!

And I can't watch the noodle scene without thinking of this post.

But also knowing that Pat has pretty much confessed to Pran through his audition monologue kind of makes this scene hit different. Yes, they're having a flirting competition, doing things with Ink and Wai that they want to be doing with each other, but poor Pat has already said he wants to end the bet but Pran is continuing as normal.

Micellair my beloved. Pat says he doesn't always come to play but that is what he actually does. He tried to lighten Pran's mood by playing. He puts paint on Pran's cheek so that he can clean his face... I mean, it works! Until Wai shows up... And they're still telling each other to 'say it first' but Pat's already confessed! istg asfagad;lkgjadjh;kjg

Yes! I love fierce Pran. He doesn't stand for any shit. 👏🏼

Also, you know @thiansong's post about Pran being so Loved? Well, I just realised that Chart was implying that Toto would have to chose between him or Pran and that, if so, Toto would chose Chart... But actually he doesn't because Pran stays and Chart goes. Pran is so LOVED!

Oh... Pran then repeats Pat's "I'm not always playing games with you" on the rooftop...

When I first watched the rooftop scene, I thought Pat was being stupid by preventing Pran from confessing but in hindsight he is entirely valid since Pran was doing it because he needed Pat to act in the play. It took me while to understand.

Forever May my beloved. Like with the instrument shop in ep 5, the editing of this scene with this music is inspired! (Again, a scene that feels 'danced' is one that includes an instrument.)

It's interesting that the other actors who auditioned played the role of Kwam - the original male character - whereas Pat played the role of Riam - the traditional female character - reminiscent of the bus stop scene when he played the girlfriend. Thus the show, yet again, is subverting the seme/uke/wife/husband tropes.

And of course in his confession Pat/Kwam talks about not playing games anymore. (And then I'm thinking about that post by @grapejuicegay along with @casualavocados about how the show does things in threes - introduces the idea [micellair scene], increases the tension [rooftop scene], and brings it to a conclusion [confession scene] 🤯)

Oh but that confession though 💖😭💖

AND SOMEONE OPEN THAT DOOR FOR PA!

#bad buddy #badbuddyrewatch #bad buddy episode 7 #THE BET!#oh this ep was fantastic #i forgot exactly HOW GOOD it was #it's competing with ep 11 for my favourite episode #so many great things in there!#also...why am I so obsessed with the product placement?! 😂#I find it so annoying in shows because it breaks us out of the story #but I think bb have used it so well and keeps us /in/ their world

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thequeenofsastiel · 2 years

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Omg Ohm!

#now I want to watch bad buddy again #thequeenofsastiel liveblogs #vice versa episode 7 #vice versa

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grapejuicegay · 1 year

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texas chicken successfully finding a spot in the insane flirting through food market that patpran’s seaweed snacks had a monopoly on so far

#i love this for them #they just.... ate at each other #can you believe this shit #we're going to get another dating but not really episode 7 and i don't know if i can handle it actually #my school president #my school president series #bad buddy brain rot #this isn't about bad buddy but when is anything not about bad buddy anymore

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inventedfangirling · 10 months

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PatPran & the Bet Era™

A week ago Bad Buddy PatPran Bet Era discourse started heating up again and i thought i should finally try to put to words my unending (that's in BOLD so you know what to expect :3) all consuming thoughts about this most brilliant, jam-packed with funny, heartfelt and equally wholesome moments of an episode- episode 7, an episode that I have watched a minimum of 14 times in the past 2 months and so yes finally, here I am, let's go.

Before anything else though I first want to scream about something i realized while writing this post which is that episode 7/ bet era is probably THE ONLY time in the whole show where PatPran truly and completely enjoyed having and keeping their secret. Like they were truly thriving off of the fun they were having at the expense of and with the other. And keeping it hidden only added to that experience.

With the whole world oblivious to what's going on between them, the secret is undemanding, mostly easy and even fun to keep cos the bet was for them and just for them...

...unlike a relationship which they would want to experience around other people too.

But for an episode that leaves you with so many good feelings (after the first watch) it is quite easy to forget just how much it took to get to that ending. Episode 7 Pran still had his reservations about their possible relationship and he still had to work through years and years of repression and trauma. Episode 7 Pat too was not always in the best frame of mind, because while all else was said and done they were still in an in-between, unlabeled, unprecedented and unfamiliar space in their dynamic. One that a simple uncomplicated guy like Pat would loathe to continue to stay in. And yet for an episode set on such an underlying premise for the most part they made this liminal space appear as such a fun, warm, wholesome and enjoyable place to be in that there are times when we forget the shakiness of the foundation of it all -> A still undefined rival-turned-friend-situation-ship.

And in the light of this, episode 7 can easily be seen as a microcosm of their incredibly layered relationship and the show as such and when packaged in such an attractive, intriguing, exciting, seldom seen set-up (that was designed to subvert years of terrible tropes in the industry) who wouldn't sign tf up for it. If i could live in an episode of the show, it'd most probably be episode 7. If i was asked to name an episode to rewatch forever it would be episode 7. If asked to write endlessly on my thoughts about the show again it would be episode 7 that would take a substantial part of it cos i just love it that much.

Here's some secret footage of Pran feeling all warm and fuzzy over thoughts of him and Pat me any time i think about episode 7.

Alright now actually getting into the episode, we know that Pran was still deciding when and how exactly to progress with his now reciprocated feelings for Pat yes, but he was also finally getting a space to express his long held affection for Pat without having to pretend otherwise.

Without rolling his eyes and "reluctantly" letting him in. Without pretending to scold him for "stealing" his breakfast when he had in fact made it for Pat himself. Without stopping himself from getting closer. Without the numerous restrictions he had placed on himself, the bet era finally gave Pran space to care for Pat openly but also unleashed the romantic in him (not that i'm ignoring the fact that Pran wrote a whole song about Pat in high school, but you geddit).

And eventhough none of his schemes to make Pat confess worked, (Pat confessed on his own like he would have on the first day of the bet if Pran had allowed him to talk about it), the baby steps he was taking was crucial for laying the base for their eventual relationship, but also for Pran as an individual making significant strides in learning to be vulnerable and more open.

It not only gave Pran opportunities to try out a lot of things, helping him figure out along the way what Pat likes and what he doesn't, and what Pran himself would like to do to and with him, things that a younger Pran would have died to have gotten the opportunity to do with Pat- the cooking, the feeding, the prolonged charged eye contact, the physical proximity (and I will never stop being devastated but also delighted over the fact that baby gay pran would be thinking that he's dreaming if he could see his future) but also of course the bet gave Pran time to process his own issues while it operated on the familiar turf of competition, with his fav and only rival and boy, and allowed him freedom to think and act in ways he wouldn't have earlier.

The seeds to Pran's "being with you already feels like freedom" to Pat in episode 11, were sown right here in this very episode. What he learnt and absorbed during this time expanded his field of vision regarding the possibilities of his own life and the power he had over his own choices, broadened his emotional horizons and quite literally opened his heart.

While earlier the dark shadow of his closed off heart would loom large over his face each time his feelings surfaced...

....post bet era Pran's face could fuel a couple of hundred thousand solar panels.

Pre-bet Pran loved Pat of course. But the feelings of love that bet era and post bet era Pran exude, is of a wholly different texture. It's borne of a more layered, luminous sort of love. The one that gets to be expressed and is reciprocated. And you observe the look of love on his face and its is as if he glows from inside out.

It's based on the foundation of reciprocation and therefore no longer something that needs to be hidden from the receiver, but it's also as if he learnt to love in a different way, like he learnt that he could love this way too, that he could make use of his heart this way too. Post bet era Pran's love just flows out of him in waves, nice and easy, minimal repression and none of the doubt that accompanied it earlier.

And at this point I can't not mention the swagger that Pran gains post Pat's episode 6 reveal (that he didn't have feelings for ink), finally secure in the knowledge that Pat really feels the same love that he feels for the other, his whole demeanor changes and its something that just hits you immediately.

The assurance and confidence of reciprocation in his face, contrasting with the hesitation and doubt each time he allowed himself to feel pre-bet (as if each time he is looking at Pat 'loving you is a losing game' plays in the background) is just remarkable. And that confidence just increases each episode and i was LIVING for it.

And again, back to episode 7 and my point which is that Pran has loved Pat for years and years by then but all that time his love was something to hide, his heart was closed off and barred from any encroachment no matter how ineffective it was against Pat. It was the bet era that allowed Pran's heart to undergo a renewal, a second coming, a rebirth so to say, of a heart that is no longer so boarded up and closed off, a heart with a lot more windows and a few more better oiled doors and a heart that most importantly Pran would eventually, wholeheartedly hand Pat the keys to.

In many ways we can see Pran's growth beyond this episode, from the "I care about you more" to the "I came quickly because i was worried about you" to "how can i stop if i think of it like that" to the brave way he stands up to both Ming & Dissaya all of it in the span of a few weeks, all of it as borne from the lessons he learnt during the bet era.

Pat also went through his own growth during this time. I have already talked a bit about the episode focusing on Pat's side of the things here. While not as evident as Pran's growth was during this episode (but only because we see him transform more gradually over the course of the first few episodes itself) Pat also learns to use his heart in newer ways that veered off a bit from how he had pre bet era. For the most part though the bet was more of a fun thing for him than it was for Pran for whose sake Pat even agreed to this in the first place.

And so while Pran tries to make Pat confess, Pat defers the confession because he knows that Pran needs more time, and Pat takes to that reality and adapts to it so beautifully, with such wisdom that's so above and beyond what could be expected from a 19-20 year old man, the thought of it still takes my breath away and turns me into a puddle.

Just look at just how careful and gentle Pat is with Pran. And think of how much he has grown and how much he will grow from here. Think of Pat as a child telling Pran to not talk to him in front of people cos "they will think we're buddies". And then years later (in episode 8 and beyond) think of him wishing wishing oh so desperately to proclaim his love for Pran out to the world, for Pran to let him do that, to claim their relationship and celebrate their love. I WILL NOT BE OVER THIS. Or anything in this episode/show actually. Cos it really is that special. Episode 7 Pat my beloved did that.

That being said, it ofc wouldn't have been all easy and he would have had his share of upsets. The confusion, the lack of clarity, the staying in the limbo, the lack of any tangible progress could all have deterred him. There is also the fact that Pat doesn't strike you as a patient guy. He is the first born male child in a patriarchal asian household having been pampered as a result of this his whole life. His every whim and wish probably granted within days. And yet for the bet, for their relationship, for Pran he learns to be patient. He learns to bide his time. He learns to not immediately take action without thinking (the time he silently walks away from Pran's room post Wai's guitar return, he could have said some hurtful things, but he didn't, he bit his tongue, kept quiet and moved on).

{I am totally in the camp of "we should have gotten a 'how could you give it away Pran?' conversation after this scene but i also understand why it didn't happen}

Over the course of the episode and his time with Pran in general, right from the beginning Pat steadily starts learning to put the other person first. To cater to people around him and not for them to cater to him, always. We see this transformation begin in episode 3 itself when Pat just goes out of his way (multiple times) to help Pran out, but that is at least partly in due to his new found need to be around Pran (courtesy his crush that he is still not aware of) and not as much a conscious effort to be better. Although ofc that is there too. His transformation from entitled boy in the episode 1 family lunch scene to the considerate helpful man in the finale family dinner scene is so stark you might think they're two different people, and a lot of that growth is owed to what he learnt and unlearned while he was falling in love with Pran.

He learns to read Pran. The feelings that won't be uttered with words, but the ones he'd have to pry out from his eyes. And he does all of that while still being respectful of any boundaries that Pran may have, while also testing the waters to come closer.

I know i've used gifs from this face cleaning scene thrice already but i just love it so much?? I love how it might look like just a fluffy scene but the layers?? Just how deep and meaningful and just full of substance it is??? I might need to write a whole essay for that itself. And also when you think about it what i said about this scene could literally be said about bad buddy (and the whole of episode 7 for that matter). With an uncritical eye you can watch it as the beautifully executed romance(cute fluffy episode) that it is. But when you unearth the layers whoa boy thats where the real beauty of the show (episode) comes out. But also this is extra special because this is the first scene where we get to see Pran completely softening when Pat tends to him. His adoring melting puddle looks reserved usually for when Pat's attention isn't entirely on him. But this time he lets himself be softened. Lets himself feel. Lets himself be babied. And even if non verbally he lets himself express, agreeing to move closer and tracing hearts on Pat's face. It is more than just a cute moment, it's a small declaration of faith. Among the first in a long series of declarations of faith that led to the ending we ended up loving.

So yes, Pat was learning to use his heart in a different way too, to love in quieter more mundane yet still special ways, but also learning to respond to Pran's emotions, and the repressed ways he sometimes continued to express his feelings, he learnt to read between the lines, not jump to hasty conclusions he would have done earlier and was thus steadily progressing into the partner that Pran could trust his heart with always.

Episode 7 shows us how patpran changed and molded themselves in various ways to fit into the other, but it also shows how they change to accommodate not just the other, but also the world. Not in a compromising way, but in a way that allows them to function in it more effectively and later on in the fake break up era, diabolically using it to pull wool over the eyes of anybody who threatens their peace.

Also i wont go into it in detail here but it is entirely possible that Pat was going through a spiral of his own issues during this time because of worries fueled by insecurities due to the fragile nature of their relationship at that point and the lack of certainty in the situation like I talk about here, but even if he was feeling all of that, even in that in-between state of limbo Pat had tons and tons of fun teasing Pran and trying to outdo him each time and we know that his cheery exterior which he may have put forward occasionally to keep it light for pran wasn't just for show, he really did enjoy the whole push-pull thing they had got going on, his smiles popping out when alone too.

I mean look at his delight each time one of their(Pran's) plans to outwit the other fails.

The bet era was without a doubt a VERY fun time for both of them (and for all of us watching) the flirting, the teasing, the act of courting one another, the familiar feeling of competition and the easy sense of play that pervades their interactions during that period....

...everything, everything, everything was just * chef's kiss *.

And also I still can't get over the fact that it's the only time the secret is theirs and only theirs and they have THE BEST TIME keeping it.

And also if Pran was able to shed his loving you is a losing game attitude to finally accept the love that Pat offered, it was possible in no small amount due to Pat's willingness to lose to Pran over and over again if that meant he was happy. And Pran having had to harbour a long drawn painful unrequited love for years and years, used to all the repression and self denial, he really needed that assurance, that dependability. And Pat readily gave it to him because that's just the way he loved. Fully, freely and fiercely. And you won't ever catch me feeling normal about any of that ever.

And also speaking of things i wont be normal about that scene at the end when Pat arrives to save the day and all eyes are on him and the flashback to Pat's audition with his callback to their rooftop conversation and Pran's 'fuck i love him so much i can't believe he's doing this here' face oozing pure love and then present PatPran exuding the sun looking at eo, with Forever May playing in the background, that scene? That scene is everything to me. I will die for that scene.

So to recap, Pat flexed his emotional intelligence muscles and his literal actual muscles and learnt to be more patient than he had ever been his whole life, meanwhile Pran got to flex his flirting skills, looming skills all while he learnt to let go, express and be more vulnerable.

And also not to forget that apart from all the space for growth that the bet provided patpran it also allowed them to indulge in their love for shenanigans and roleplaying that continues well into their relationship even years later, more on that in the ever amazing miscellar's post here . There are so many more posts of their's and a buncha other accounts i really want to reference but then we'd be here for days if not weeks and so i wont :3

And also I can't not take a second to mention just how wonderful it was that throughout this episode we see the seeds being sown of all the ways they and their relationship would grow, and especially when it came to consent and boundaries. Just how equal their relationship is. How they're always, always meeting in the middle.

No interaction, nothing is initiated without knowing what the other wouldn't want. And of course both PatPran were being respectful of each other's non existent boundaries with eo, they were all up in each other's faces but you just know that if one of them expressed actual discomfort the other would step away immediately.

And thats just so so rare not only in dramas but also real life and i love them so much for it.

Episode 7 showed us not only how patpran became better partners to eo but also better human beings as such, their influence on one another so evident, molding them on a fundamental level into better versions of themselves. Pran who gifts a bottle of liquor (to the man who ruined the better part of his & his mother's life) as a peace offering but also as a sort of pre-engagement ritual, choosing to open up, to be vulnerable, to love more loudly, being a more well adjusted adult and he did it for Pat, because of the lessons he learnt from Pat. And Pat who learns to read between the lines, who recognizes the value of gestures that might appear small but aren't, offering to wash dishes, serving food to his sister and in general taking responsibility and also the importance of order and routine to contribute to society and just be a well functional adult, and he learnt it in no small amount from being inspired from the man he loves, from Pran.

But all of that of course is in full splendor only after the time skip. That being said Episode 8 that comes immediately after this episode shows PatPran taking the lessons they started learning in episode 7 and putting it into effect with them openly communicating, asserting their needs but also compromising their wants for each other and illustrated exactly how and why they work together so well, why this isn't the product of a childish bet but a very serious relationship into which a lot of thought and effort has gone into.

A relationship based on the softest, kindest, most tender (but also often, feral) forms of love even in the more hostile of circumstances. There's a saying in my mother tongue that "What's born in the fire, won't wilt in the sunlight." And that to me perfectly captures PatPran's resilience despite their obstacles. Ming & Dissaya & the Architecture-Engineering rivalry and whatever other hurdles stood in their way never really stood a chance against their love.

TLDR; The bet era played an irreplaceable role in their lives helping PatPran pick up and refine the tools that were going to prove invaluable in their eventual relationship with each other but also with their relationships with everybody else around, but they did that while having (for the most part) the time of their lives where for the first time since they realized their feelings they were getting to act on it, each attempt at getting the other to confess a declaration of their own love, without the pressure of a relationship and...and despite whatever anxieties or worries they may have had during this time, we also can't forget that it ended up in the biggest most content whipped in love smiles known to humankind and a relationship for the ages <3

The work they put in this episode thus laid the foundation for the rest of their relationship and their lives and I'm so glad it worked out in the best way for both of them, that they worked for that together and even more that they grew up and beyond the versions of them that got together and then stayed together as the better versions that they made together.

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