Last Twilight 1×09 Review: Episode 9

OK, that’s it. All other shows can pack up and go home. Last Twilight has achieved what may be the most perfect episode of television ever. With everything that happened in episode 9, it’s hard to believe that was only one episode. I’m actually lowkey terrified of the remaining three. What else can they possibly do?

This week’s episode picks up exactly where last week’s left off, with Day’s absent father approaching him at Aon and Pla’s wedding. As tacky as I think it is, doing something so visible at someone else’s wedding, I can understand the desperation his father must have felt, thinking that was his only chance to see his son. While Day initially balks and flees with Mhok, he does go visit his father the next day.

As sweet as I found the scene with Day and his father – which I honestly was not expecting – I still find myself wondering why, in a show that has crafted everything else so perfectly, they waited to introduce the concept of Day’s father. We now know the topic came up naturally last week because it turns out Day is from Songkhla, and his father knew Day would be at the wedding because Night told him. But I do wish they had floated some tidbits about his father earlier in the show. It’s not so much because it feels like it came out of nowhere (although it does), it’s that they introduced him and then said goodbye to him basically in half an episode.

One thing I’d like to applaud Last Twilight for is how they so seamlessly answer any question I have that pops up during the episode. I’ve been wondering what happened to fracture Day and Night’s relationship, and we finally found out. (More on that later.) I grumbled about his father showing up after years of no contact, and then we discovered that Day’s mother forbade it. When Mhok was able to get a phone call on the mountain despite not having reception the day before, Mhok acknowledged that. It’s like they had a view into my brain.

This thing with Night both was and wasn’t a surprise. Fandom figured out pretty quickly that the reason Day was so antagonistic with his brother was because Night was somehow responsible for the accident. I had just assumed Night was driving, but that turned out to not be the case. And it turns out that Day acknowledges that it was an accident, but that his main reason for being angry is Night’s behavior since. He feels that Night’s do-gooder act is him trying to usurp Day’s position in the family, and not Night trying desperately to make up for what he’s done.

And while Day’s anger at his brother is understandable, I feel like he’s also being a bit unreasonable. He’s angry, and that anger has to go somewhere, and Night is the obvious target. But Day shares some of the blame; he took his eyes off the road, even though there were other options. He could have pulled over (possibly – I don’t know what the road was like). He could have just let Night be sick in the car. But he was too concerned with the cleanliness of his car and thus, the accident.

Also, none of this explains what Night and Day’s relationship was like pre-accident. I believe it’s implied that Night was a little bit of a mess, what with Day having to pick him up, passed out at the bar. Day says something that indicates this is a recurring thing. But I also get the sense that Day was the golden child, and Night lived in his shadow. This explains Day’s anger somewhat, in that the accident was just the straw that broke the camel’s back, and why he feels like Night is “replacing” him as the good child.

But whatever. Let’s talk about Mhok and Day because are we even here for anything else? At this point, I don’t think so. I’ve mentioned before how natural their chemistry is, and their skinship is top-notch. The way Mhok casually puts his hand on Day’s knee, or the way they hold hands, or how Mhok drew Day into a snuggle when he asked to be taken to the mountain. I realize that these are potentially directorial choices, but they look like they just came about naturally, and that really helps to sell the relationship.

The love scene was just perfection. It’s all soft touches and low lighting. I saw someone speculate that it was intentionally done, so that we could see the scene the way Day was likely experiencing it. It wasn’t graphic, which makes sense with the emotions of the entire series. Their interactions have always been very tender and intimate; that shot of their legs was probably more erotic than some of the steamier scenes in other shows. The light touch at the small of Day’s back, the gentle kisses, everything was just quiet and romantic.

Also I didn’t realize this was, like, a thing for me, but Day gripping the back of Mhok’s head and you can see the chain around Mhok’s neck??? There’s a similar shot in Not Me that hit me pretty much the same way. I’m learning all sorts of things about myself with this show.

I actually really love that they never verbally acknowledge that Mhok is wearing Day’s shirt. We know it’s Day’s because it’s the shirt he bought in episode 3. There’s no reason given for why Mhok is wearing it, but that isn’t important, because that wardrobe choice was just for them to be able to open the love scene with Day asking for his t-shirt back. And that was smooth as hell.

This whole episode was just Mhok proving why he belongs on my list of Top 5 Green Flags in Thai BLs. Their entire trip up the mountain is evidence of that. It wasn’t only how he moved branches out of Day’s way, he literally kicked rocks out of his path so that Day would have an easier time walking. (And I just want to point out that Sea has made some subtle acting choices to show how Day’s eyesight is deteriorating.) And he was also so determined that Day see this sight, because he knew it would likely be his last chance to do so, even though he has to realize that he’s risking his job. He wants to do it for Day.

The last scene is the cherry on the sundae. I loved Mhok’s frustration over the view not being what he was hoping it would be, for Day. (He yelled at the sky.) The cinematography was fantastic, the way we were shown what the view actually looked like versus what Day was imagining it to be. And I know fandom was excited to finally get the song from the trailer, and how perfectly it fit with the moment and with Day and Mhok’s relationship in general. Then there was Mhok desperately trying to hold it together, so that his smiling face would be the last thing that Day would see.

Mhok has been Day’s rock through much of this ordeal, and I love that their roles have flipped. This episode has shown that Day has accepted that he’s going to be blind. He’s clearly sad that he can’t see these things, but as he said in last week’s episode, you don’t always need eyes to see. And this is the first time Mhok has cried since he learned about his sister’s death. (There are still a lot of emotions locked up in him because of this; are we going to see him face them? I hope so.)

Now that Day has accepted his blindness, I wonder if the cornea transplant will still be a thing. They’ve mentioned it so many times, I thought for sure it had to be something that would happen. But now I don’t know. We do still have three episodes left.

I think we’ll move on to Day’s relationship with his mother. After learning that she blocked any communication from their father, I’m revising my opinion of her. She’s so controlling of where Day can go and what he can do, and yet she’s never home with him. Judging by the promo for the next episode, it looks like he does stand up to her when she tries to dismiss Mhok.

I really don’t know how they’re going to top this episode. I want to live in it forever.

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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