Perfect 10 Liners 1×20 Review: Episode 20

Every week, Faifa and Wine strive to prove me wrong. Just when I think I have the two of them figured out, they change it up. And I really appreciate them keeping me on my toes!

First of all, aren’t Faifa and Wine just the cutest? I’ve said before how much I love a good slow burn. These two are already in love with each other and just don’t know it yet, and it’s wonderful to watch. There were so many cute moments between the two of them today that I don’t think I’d be able to pick just one as my favorite.

Faifa buying the reusable coffee cup because the face reminded him of Wine? The way they were staring so goopily at each other that the barista called them out on it? Falling asleep while on the phone with each other? Faifa literally rushing to make sure that when Wine tipped over in his sleep, he didn’t hit his head on the floor? Faifa asking Wine if he could hug him, and Wine saying no, but then making absolutely no move to get Faifa to let go?

I don’t know that I’ve ever seen two characters more suited for each other than these two. The fact that Wine had bandages in his bag just in case Faifa cut his fingers on his shattered screen protector – something Wine warned Faifa might happen when it broke in last week’s episode? Perfect. That Wine just went out and bought a new protector for Faifa, walked up to him, and put it on while barely even breaking his stride? I need a man who does that.

Wine has Faifa clocked in a way that the other characters don’t. While everyone may be aware of Faifa’s self-destructive tendencies, the way he puts everyone else’s needs above his own, only Wine actually makes the moves necessary to make sure that Faifa is taken care of. There are only so many times you can tell someone that they have to put themselves first. At some point, you just have to do it yourself, if they’re not going to. It’s like aggressive affection.

Can I just say that I have never been happier to have been proven wrong in a theory than I am with this episode of Perfect 10 Liners? After the post-episode promo from last week’s episode, I assumed that Faifa and Wine would still be locked in this ridiculous “practice dating” mindset. It turns out that Wine was just as annoyed by that as I was, because he told Faifa in no uncertain terms that he no longer had feelings for Tor. This was one of Faifa’s main concerns, so it’s great that there was no hesitation when Wine corrected him.

Wine’s feelings for Faifa, on the other hand, are still confusing him. But this is fine! This is great, actually. Because now the two of them are on an equal playing field, to a certain extent. Yes, Faifa now knows he doesn’t have a rival for Wine’s affections. (At least from Wine’s side of things; considering how often Tor came up in today’s episode, I’d wager we’ll see him before the series is over.) But Wine still has to deal with whether or not he’s special to Faifa because of the way Faifa treats everyone the same.

And today’s episode finally showed the consequences of Faifa’s behavior. In two separate incidents, it’s clear that everything Wine has been saying is true. Faifa may treat everyone the same, but an individual person is going to interpret his behavior in a completely different way. Case in point, the guy who thinks Faifa is making moves on his partner because Faifa drove them to campus. Or Jan, from last week’s episode, who assumed that Faifa tying her shoelaces for her was his way of flirting.

The reactions of Faifa’s friend Phuri, who exasperatedly points out that everyone doesn’t know Faifa’s intentions, and Yotha, who jumps in with the angry boyfriend to protect his brother, indicate that this is a recurring issue. We may not have seen the aftermath yet on the show, but clearly this has happened before. What changes in this episode is that, for the first time, Faifa wants to change his behavior.

I appreciate that they showed how hard it was for Faifa to say no. It’s incredibly difficult, when you’ve spent most of your life being a people pleaser, to step up and enforce boundaries, even if it’s just as simple as denying someone a ride to school. I actually love that Faifa needed Wine to do that for him, because he knew he wouldn’t be able to do it himself.

The best thing is how well these two are actively communicating. As I mentioned before, Wine is clear in telling Faifa that he doesn’t have feelings for Tor. And while the two of them may still be figuring out just what they feel for each other, they’ve been fairly open about saying that there is something there.

Wine tells Faifa that being with him feels good, while Faifa admits that he purposely ran into him when he spilled the coffee. And when they finally decided that they would try figuring out their feelings together, I just about died. Yes, trial dating makes sense when it’s two people who want to see how they feel about each other rather than one person claiming to help someone learn how to date.

One thing that I’m not a fan of is how focused the narrative seems to be on Wine’s feelings. There’s a lot of concern from everyone, including Faifa’s brother, that it’s Wine who will inevitably be hurt. No one seems worried at all that Faifa has just as much potential to be hurt – possibly even more. After all, Faifa has never been chosen before (even his own mother only chose him because she “loved Yotha too much”), and if Tor does show up at some point, it could seriously damage Faifa’s already nonexistent self-esteem.

And I think they’re doing Faifa a disservice; they all talk about how Faifa is the same with everyone, but we’ve already seen in this episode that Faifa is willing to change for Wine, and I’m a little sad that no one else seems to notice.

However, I do like that Gun and Arm seem determined to meddle and make sure Faifa and Wine end up together. So while they may be worried that Faifa’s people-pleasing will hurt Wine somehow, they still think Faifa deserves the chance. And as Gun rightly points out to Yotha, it’s not like Yotha was any better, before the two of them dated. Sure, Faifa may not yet know what love is, but he still should be given the chance to learn.

We lost the English subtitles for the final part of the episode, so I’m not entirely sure what they said. (The auto-generated translation was just not helpful.) But it looks like next week’s episode will be Wine’s turn to visit Tawan the love guru and get his bracelets. I’m actually really looking forward to seeing what Tawan has to say to Wine and Faifa.

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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