Wandee Goodday 1×03 Review: Episode 3

While last week’s episode of Wandee Goodday featured the beginning of the ‘friends with benefits’ part of Yak and Dee’s relationship, Episode 3 has our leads hitting a bit of a snag. Namely, Dee’s coworkers are The Worst™, and Dee wants something of Yak that Yak isn’t sure that he can give.

So we all agree that at the rate these two are going, they’ll be married by episode 7, right? That’s what I thought. Someone please explain to Yak and Dee that, traditionally, a friends with benefits relationship doesn’t include all of these intimacies. I’m still stuck on the fact that Yak gave Dee a necklace when they’ve only known each other a little while, and that Dee not only accepted it willingly but actually wears it in public.

Not only that, but they apparently call each other just to chat! They are also pretty quick to declare how much they miss each other, even though it’s only been a few days. That’s why I find Dee’s “no kissing” rule so interesting; they do a lot of things that one would consider more intimate than kissing. But I suppose kissing is such a traditional romantic display that it’s only reasonable he should want to reserve that for someone that he’s actually dating.

(OK to go back to the necklace… I wonder if it’s important to Yak at all. It doesn’t seem like it, but Cher clocks its absence from Yak’s neck right away. And Oyei notices it on Dee when he shows up to the gym later. So the necklace itself may or may not be a big deal, but this is Yak essentially marking his territory.)

Unfortunately, Dee works with a bunch of nosy people. The schism between the hospital staff continues to deepen in Episode 3, with the nurses gossiping about Dee’s sudden desire for the scholarship. They obviously think very poorly of Dee and believe that the only reason he could possibly want the scholarship is to be petty. I mean, what other reason could there be, other than he wants to punish Ter for rejecting him?

Naturally, Dee is very upset that the nurses continue to trash talk him behind his back, and he blurts out that he doesn’t think about Ter at all, because he’s seeing someone. But when he asks Yak to pretend to be his boyfriend, Yak is immediately against it.

There are a lot of reasons, I think, that Yak is so vehemently against Dee’s plan to the point that he would rather completely end the relationship. The excuse he gives Dee – that he doesn’t think it will look good for him to date a man – doesn’t really make sense given that his brother is also dating a man. Though truthfully, I’m not sure how open Oyei and Cher are, or when they started dating. Still, boxing is a very traditionally masculine sport with a lot of homophobia, and I can’t fault Yak for not wanting to risk it.

However, I also think it’s possible that Yak knows he feels something for Dee that is more than their current status. And he doesn’t want to enter into such a ruse when he knows (or thinks) that Dee doesn’t feel the same way. Whatever the reason, Yak does not want to do it.

Honestly, he shouldn’t have had to. Dee was totally out of order for much of the episode. He dropped a huge request and framed it as a favor, steamrolled over their established boundaries, had no regard for Yak’s concerns about his career, kept hounding Yak after he said no, and then lied about needing the money from the scholarship in an attempt to engender empathy. Dee deserved to get dumped for that, and I don’t blame Yak at all.

But eventually he ends up acquiescing. It might be Dee’s puppy dog eyes. It might be the fact that Yak is clearly completely gone on him. My money is on the latter, because there’s no reason to agree otherwise. He agrees, and he shows up to the hospital and makes a very public appearance, bringing Dee flowers in front of all the gossipy coworkers.

I cannot with these two. I am so in love with the way they are with each other. They both have appearances that they need to keep up, but they are able to be soft and vulnerable with each other. But also there is some serious tension between the two of them when they’re together. I like that when Yak asked Dee why he chose him for a fake boyfriend, Dee’s reasoning didn’t have anything to do with the convenience of their current status. He wanted Yak because Yak is kind.

One thing that I’m hoping comes out of this arrangement is that Dee has the opportunity to show up for Yak the way Yak has consistently been there for Dee. If that doesn’t happen, I will be very upset. Especially after his behavior in this episode, Dee needs to make some concessions in their relationship.

I believe I’ve mentioned this before, but a nice thing about having an established couple in a series is the variety of storylines that we get. I love watching Oyei and Cher interact; they have clearly been dating a while and have a comfortable dynamic. I do think it’s a bit odd that Cher shies away from Oyei’s flirting by saying it’s “embarrassing”. Surely if they’ve been dating a while he wouldn’t feel that way anymore. But then, he could just dislike public displays of affection. Or they might not be fully out.

Oyei and Cher have such a balanced relationship. We learn that Oyei is basically the World’s Best Boss, going into debt in order to make sure his employees were taken care of. And Cher doesn’t want him to shoulder the burden alone, so he does everything he can to help out. I think this isn’t the last time we’ll hear about Cher’s mother potentially bailing out the business.

Lastly, please give Kao something more to do than just be Dee’s support. Don’t get me wrong, I love a supportive bestie, and the fact that Kao seems determined to let Dee lie to himself about his arrangement with Yak drove him up another ten points in my estimation. But I would hate for the first asexual character in a Thai BL to just get nothing to do. Not that queer characters in general need to have a “point” other than just existing, but I am dying for a romantic subplot with an ace character. 

I am enjoying this show far more than I thought I would. It’s so much fun, and I was legitimately giddy when Yak showed up to the hospital in this episode. *grabby hands* Give me more!

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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