Wandee Goodday 1×05 Review: Episode 5

OK, I think I have to reassess some of the assumptions I made earlier in this series. Wandee Goodday, while not tossing any out of left field plot twists into the narrative, is still managing to not be quite what I expected. I’m starting to wonder if anyone knows anything on this show. (Other than Plakao, who seems to know everything.)

I’d originally theorized, I think all the way back in episode 2, that in the trope of “x fell first, y fell harder”, Yak would be the one who fell first. But then Yak threw out that whole thing with Taem last week, and now I am so confused. I do think Yak recognized that he has feelings for Dee before Dee did, but at this point, he doesn’t really realize what it all means.

I saw someone on Tumblr say that, currently, Yak is compartmentalizing his feelings. How he feels for Taem is separate from how he feels for Dee, and it hasn’t seemed to have occurred to him that if he gets one, he can’t have the other. Right now, I don’t know that he knows that. He’s so natural with Dee, but it’s still kind of stilted and awkward with Taem. There’s a tenderness in the way he behaves with Dee that is completely absent from the way he acts with Taem. 

Just look at the difference in their scenes. When he’s with Taem, their interactions are very buddy-buddy. They do tease each other, but it doesn’t have the undercurrent of tension that Yak’s scenes with Dee have. Meanwhile, Yak is out here telling Dee that he’s gotten used to sleeping with Dee in his arms. He’s keeping track of how long they’ve been fake dating down to the minute. He just assumes that they’re going back to Dee’s apartment at the end of the day.

There’s also the fact that he’s so casual with his affection for Dee. There are sniff-kisses and cheek kisses and hugs and hand holding. But with Taem, it’s, like, high fives and fist bumps. I have to wonder if he’s been holding onto these feelings for Taem for so long that it’s habitual, and he doesn’t realize that he no longer feels the same way that he used to.

By the way, don’t think I didn’t notice that Dee’s suggestions for changing Yak’s appearance made him look shockingly similar to how Ohm dresses.

Meanwhile, I thought Dee would be clueless for a while and then suddenly get hit by a truck with his feelings. But he seems to be completely aware of what’s happening. You can see him die a little inside every time Yak brings up Taem. Kao was right when he told Dee that he was complicating an already complicated situation. I don’t blame Dee for being all turned around, though; Yak is throwing out some serious mixed signals.

Perhaps, as someone on Reddit suggested, it was purposeful to provoke a reaction. 

Hey, look, I made it this far without mentioning the penis plushie. Talk about restraint! But seriously, there is a lot of phallic imagery on this show. I’m literally dying right now. In this episode, we had not only the giant plush penis, but also we segued from Dee and Yak eating what looked like corn dogs to Dee peeling a banana and comparing it to Yak. Stop, I can only blush so much!

I do like the way they’re so casual about everything. The way Dee’s grandmother took everything in stride, from finding the condoms, to finding a half-dressed man in her grandson’s apartment, to finding a giant stuffed penis. That’s why I’m so very curious as to why Dee didn’t explain the situation to his grandmother. Surely she put two and two together and realized that their excuse of “the air conditioning broke in Yak’s apartment so he’s been staying here” was bogus. Why did Dee lie?

And, is Dee lying to his grandmother the reason Yak was so adamant about being introduced to Dee’s dead parents? Because nothing says “friends with benefits” more than getting introduced to your fake boyfriend’s dead parents. 

Then, as if that wasn’t all that today’s episode hit us with, there was yet another almost kiss on the balcony… But this time, it wasn’t Dee who stopped it! So, do you think that if not for the oven timer going off right that second, Dee would have broken his “no kissing” rule? Because I sure do. That was not the face of a man who was going to stop.

On the other side of the relationship coin, we have Yei and Cher, who until this episode seemed to have a pretty strong relationship. They’ve been nothing but adorable and supportive of each other so far. So it seemed a little out of character that Cher was suddenly insecure and suspicious. Apparently Yei has been acting oddly for a few days, and Cher’s immediate assumption is that Yei is cheating on him.

I saw someone say that it’s all tell and no show with them, and I agree. I love Yei and Cher’s scenes; they’re so cute together. But I don’t think we’ve seen enough of Yei’s supposed change in behavior for me to really feel connected with the scenes. All we’ve seen is Yei be attentive and affectionate. Cher telling us that Yei has been different doesn’t mean anything if we don’t really get to see it on screen.

We need to see more of these two, and we need to see more of them away from work. Their first scene, with Cher confronting Yei about his behavior, just felt so sudden, because last we saw them, they were fine! If they’d had the flashback scene first, and we got to see why Cher was concerned, before he voiced those concerned, I think it would have worked better. As it is, it just felt like it came out of nowhere.

I will agree that it seems odd that it doesn’t look like Yei told Cher why he was going out. Cher follows him, still thinking that Yei must be cheating, not at all reassured despite Yei insisting that he was still just as in love with him as ever. When Yei catches him, he admits that he was meeting with a promoter, and that he didn’t tell Cher because Cher has never been comfortable with that type of person. Speculation is that this was a lie, and that either Yei is doing something illegal for more money or that he’s borrowed money from shady people so as not to have to borrow from Cher’s mother.

I continue to love Kao and everything he stands for. The way he just seemed to appear out of thin air when Yak and Dee were at Café for All, and how giddy he is to discuss how their sex life has changed since incorporating the animal costumes into it. I love that he seems to have a good head on his shoulders when it comes to relationships, and it makes sense; when you remove sex from the equation, you’re able to really develop the emotional connection, which is equally important.

Now, I suppose we should spare a second to talk about Dr. Ter, aka The Devil. I’ve seen talk that the reason he’s all over the place is because he’s in the closet, which makes a lot of sense. It’s why he wouldn’t react well to Dee’s confession, and why he might seem to be annoyed that Dee is “flaunting” his relationship. However, being closeted isn’t an excuse to be a jerk and toy with people’s emotions, which he seems to be doing with Dee. (“If you loved me, you’d let me have the scholarship.” Get hit by a bus, Ter.)

Anyway, it looks like next week is going to complicate things even further. I can’t wait!

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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