That Summer 1×02 Review: Episode 2

I suppose I only have myself to blame that I expected, like, a basic summer romance with That Summer. I should have realized after the first episode that this would be a little harder, a little more serious. This episode really blew all my previous expectations out of the water.

I thought we were only going to have to deal with amnesia. Amnesia is a fairly common fanfic trope, and I’m not opposed to it in general. When done correctly, it can be a very interesting character dive, showing who we would be as individuals if we didn’t have the weight of our baggage and backstory. But That Summer isn’t just giving us amnesia! Episode 2 gives us the beginning of a whole coup!

As many people predicted, there was absolutely something shady about Wave’s friend, Victor. Now, to be fair, I was only suspicious of him because his father was obviously up to something. But this episode opens with a flashback to two weeks ago, with Wave and Victor in Thailand, and he just did something with his face that made me point and go, “He’s shady.”

And he is! Due to a series of circumstances, Wave ends up remembering how he ended up in the water. Of course, he has no context for what happened, but the audience recognizes that he was betrayed by someone close to him. Victor attacked him with the boat’s oar and left him for dead, all as part of a power grab for his father.

The entire thing was a setup. The waiter at the restaurant who suggests that they enjoy the local party from a boat in the middle of the water (as one does), later shows up when Wave and Lava are at the market. He seems shocked to see Wave alive, which indicates that he was part of the attempt on Wave’s life and not just making a romantic suggestion.

Victor’s father’s coup turns the series on its head. It ups the stakes of the entire situation. You have the heir to the throne lost somewhere in Thailand; not only does he have no idea what’s going on, he doesn’t even know there is something to know. And with the waiter aware that Wave should be dead but isn’t, that implies that someone unsavory may eventually come looking for him, thereby putting everyone else on the island in danger.

One note before I move on from this: Gawin. His character doesn’t have a name yet, so I’m just going to call him Gawin. Now, I don’t remember seeing him in the credits last week, so when he showed up, I was surprised. I think there’s something more to his character. When Victor’s father (who also really needs a name, this is annoying) comes in to announce he’s taking over the throne, Gawin moves immediately to stand by Anya. He says nothing, but I found myself wondering if he is actually on the side of the royal family. Mostly because I can’t picture Gawin being a bad guy. Have you seen his face?

I am so in love with Lava and Wave and their dynamic. Lava is absolutely taking advantage of someone in a vulnerable position, but Wave is kind of a brat, so I don’t necessarily blame him. While Wave is vulnerable in the sense that he doesn’t really have anywhere else to go, he doesn’t just sit idly by and accept Lava’s abuse. Wave uses malicious compliance to perfection. When Lava makes Wave handwash his underwear, Wave scrubs so hard that he rips a hole in them.

Though they’re aggressively antagonistic toward each other, there is an underlying tension in almost every scene they have together. It was evident in last week’s episode, with Lava telling Wave to hold his towel up. It continues in this week’s episode after Lava dumps Wave in the pool, and then Wave pulls Lava in after him. Lava has a way of threatening Wave in the most homoerotic way possible, because all of his threats involve waist grabs and intense eye contact.

Nonetheless, Lava isn’t as heartless as he appears. I feel bad for him, that everyone keeps writing him off. It sounds like that’s been happening since his father died, and he puts up a callous front to prevent himself from getting hurt again. But we’ve seen that he does care about others; he was sent down to live with Peng because he got in a fight defending a woman, and he did jump to help Wave when he found him unconscious on the beach.

Satang continues to impress as Wave has yet another breakdown. As memories of his attack resurface, he doesn’t have the context to understand them, and he lashes out. But I was also impressed with Winny in these scenes. I know they’re actors, but so far, Winny’s roles haven’t allowed for the kind of softness he’s displaying with Lava. (Q from We Are to an extent.) The scene where Lava calms Wave down from his freakout, and the scene where Lava climbs into bed to hug a crying Wave, are two great examples of the stellar acting Winny and Satang are giving us.

I think it’s interesting how much of Wave’s personality he retained while knowing nothing about his life or his past. He’s incredibly demanding and seems used to people following his orders; he orders Lava to stay on the island, even though he is no one to Lava and really has no say in what he does with his life. He’s also accustomed to a certain level of luxury, in the way he adamantly refuses to wear anything secondhand.

But it’s also in his mannerisms. I noticed when he sat down to comfort Lava after his fight with Peng that he sat with perfect posture. I don’t know anyone who sits like that automatically unless it’s been drilled into you since birth.

The dynamic between Peng and Wut contrasts nicely with Lava and Wave. Peng and Wut are settled, even though they’re not public about their relationship. This is why we need more established couples in BLs. Yes, the falling in love part is great, but I really enjoy seeing what comes after.

I love watching the two of them together, because Peng is so clearly smitten. I don’t think Mond has delivered any of his lines without staring at Ryu’s mouth, which I think is a phenomenal acting choice. And I love the casual intimacy in their bedroom scene; the way Wut just keeps idly touching Peng – running his fingers up Peng’s chest, using his thumb to stroke Peng’s ear – made me want to die.

This episode gives us a little more insight into Peng’s fears about people discovering their relationship. When he and Lava are arguing, Lava mentions that Peng ran away from home. Peng gets this look on his face that indicates there is a much deeper backstory. Given the conversation he and Wut have later, it seems pretty obvious that Peng’s family – including Lava’s mother – was homophobic. Peng even says that his sister has barely spoken to him since she found out he was gay.

I definitely got Moonlight Chicken vibes from this episode. We were already kind of there: a nephew gets sent to live with his uncle for various reasons. Jim was a little more open about his sexuality than Peng, but Peng has a similar backstory as well as similar motivations. Despite owning the resort, he doesn’t consider himself successful enough to be worthy of Wut. There’s a nice dichotomy in Peng’s outward demeanor versus the way he is in private with Wut.

I am seriously enjoying That Summer. It’s way more nuanced and layered than I expected it to be, and I love pulling at the threads.

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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