BLISS RATING: ★★★★+
“‘Meow’ means ‘Woof’ in ‘Cat’.” – George Carlin
This is a deeply moving series guised to be light-hearted. But, at least for me, it was sad and very thought-provoking. I cried more than once in this series. To describe it or summarize it might make it sound fatuous. But it is far from that. Yet, I almost gave up on it in the beginning because it asks you to suspend your beliefs and move into the realm of fantasy in almost a caricature sort of fashion. It is only when you get into the story do you realize the characters are not meant to be real but allegorical in nature and representing us. A rather unique approach to BL storytelling. This easily could have slipped into a farce but did not.
There are of course significant issues with logic in this series. To enhance your sensibilities to this series, you must be able to suspend your judgment. You have to do this for two reasons – one is simply to enjoy this whimsical romp, and two, to fully understand its true message.
Let us start with a condensed version of the story.
It is a story of Meow (James Chakkhuchan). Meow is apparently a hybrid of a cat, and a human from a hybridization called the ‘Ear Tribe’. They are cats who can morph into becoming human but still retain their essence and cat-like behaviors. Meow has a brother, Faiyen (Bright Apisuttimsitree), who is also able to be human. But in his case, he can be fully assimilated into humanity except when he gets exceptionally stressed. It is then when he loses control and transform back into a cat again. The problem with Meow is he is unable to completely transform into a total human. He is unable to hide or make his ears disappear like his brother can. Meow can only hide his ears when he is around ‘the warmest person in his mind.’ In his case, the only person who has that effect on him is his brother Faiyen. For obvious reasons, Meow cannot go out into the public without wearing a hat.
Dermdem (Gap Techahuasing), finds a stray cat (Meow) and he rescues it only to discover this cat is unique in that he can transform into a human (with cat ears). This is their story to discovering who and to a degree what they are. Dermdem is a profoundly sad individual who has isolated himself from almost everyone. He lives alone and has been alone all his life. He was raised in foster care and had his heart broken as a child when he did not get adopted. So, to shut out the pain, he isolated himself.
His mantra is why does everyone leave him? Meow helps him to see, feel, and experience closeness, comfort from others, and sharing. Meanwhile, Meow is the essence of innocence and purity. Intelligent, curious to a fault, and hungers to try new experiences, Yet profoundly naïve to the world of human interactions. Every experience for him is a joy and a source of wonderment. Slowly, he begins to understand the world of humanity. But he never fully grasps its intimacy. The reason he does not, and therefore, cannot lose his ears, is the abuse he suffered along the way growing up as a cat. For him, humans are and remain a source of trauma and underlying mistrust. Perhaps on a deeply unconscious level.
On the other hand, his brother’s transition to humanity was easier. Along the way, he meets and falls in love with an odd individual whose life is painful because he is unable to express emotions. Evan (Bodo Schaefer) is an English instructor with a medical condition that does not permit him or allow him the ability to expression physical emotions, not even smiling. So, his life is full of pain as people see him as cold, distant, and withdrawn even scary when in reality he has no choice. (Note: there is a condition called Alexithymia which describes this condition as an inability to express emotions. One of the reasons is brain damage. It does not mean they are apathetic but simply unable to physically express their emotions on their faces). Evan obviously discovers Faiyen’s condition.
Despite and maybe perhaps because of their conditions, they have a deeper understanding and appreciation of each other.
Dermdem’s boss, Jin, (Kris Tanwitu) is a hard-nosed individual but underlying her toughness is an almost fragile individual who, much like Darmdem, feels loveless and lonely. Into her life walks this assistant, Manni (Po Atiwesangkun), who tries so hard to please. Perhaps too hard. She too has a secret under the hat she constantly wears. And she is profoundly in love with Jin. Inevitably, their relationship begins to flourish and develop.
On the surface, this sounds like a rom-com with a hint of fantasy. And it is but it is so much more than that. It is an ideal representation of our own realties in an allegorical format. Let me explain how this unassuming series messaged to its audience with such intensity:
1. It captures stunningly the pain, suffering, and long-lasting effects of bullying and abuse. It does so by heaping it onto animals yet seeing its effects on humans. Brilliantly done. It was an astonishing way to capture the ugliness of abuse and bullying.
2. Misfits are also people. People who are ‘different’ are still part of humanity. In a twist of irony this series took one of the handsomest men in the world (Bodo Schaefer as Evan) and made him wooden and emotionless, and made him frightening to others. Can you imagine the pain for someone not deemed or considered to be so handsome or beautiful with the same affliction and what their lives would be like trying to adjust? Think about it. Its profoundly sad.
3. The loneliness of being alone screams at you. It showed how painful people are without love in their lives – be it in human or animal form.
4. The impact of ‘family’ on each other – be it by blood or connection. Our lives are changed by the associations we have to others like us that can be considered ‘family’. And those bonds are as deep and strong as those with family ones, and perhaps even stronger at times.
5. Love is not simple nor does it cure all. We see this clearly in this series. To a degree, Dermdem and Meow love each other yet there is still a wall separating them from any type of complete fulfillment. Meow’s abuse and mistrust by human has wounded him perhaps irreparably. And Dermdem’s wall of isolation may be just too high for Meow to jump over. Love is as it is; not what it ought to be. The same for the other two budding relationships.
6. When we feel lost, scared, frightened, or overwhelmed, we can and will turn inward to those things that will protect us from that pain, even if it is not the healthiest choice for us. If we get ridiculed, we isolate ourselves. If we get rejected, we built up walls around us. If we get abused, we withdraw into ourselves and hide.
7. No matter how much we want to be ‘normal’, we might never be and hence hide the truths from others because of their reactions to who we are. How many of us have put on ‘hats’ to hide our vulnerabilities, our perceived weaknesses, or even our faults. Or, for that matter, who we are?
8. It does not take much of a stretch of imagination to realize that the ‘cat people’ was an allegorical meaning for being gay. If you look at it in those terms, this series takes on a whole new meaning. In essence, “Cat People” can metaphorically speaking be whatever you want it to be. In that sense, its message is more unfeigned.
9. The acts of kindness are so beautifully interspersed in this series so softly yet have profound meaning. Just a few examples are when Meow gives Jim his fish so she will not be lonely anymore, the rescuing of Meow not only by Dermdem but by his mother. It all became intertwined and interconnected. Those small kind gestures had such beautiful consequences.
10. This series breaks the stereotypical way we think of celebrating love and death. It twists us and asks why? What is an appropriate way to celebrate the death of your beloved dog? How do we grieve? It begs us to question, with all that love between all three couples, why is there not romance? Perhaps everything is not so orderly or drawn to the conclusions we want them to be. Sometimes we have to take it for what it is – “I am that I am”.
There is no happy ending to this series. The story leaves us taking a few steps forward, enjoying them, and appreciating what we have now, and, to a degree, experience happiness. I do hope there is a Season Two of this series to see if something more happens to this band of misfits.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. this series? The acting in this series is quite good, given that there was a lot of ‘pretending’. Surprisingly, James’ portrayal of cat behavior was spot-on and mimicked the idiocrasies of a cat with remarkable accuracy without looking silly. And his level of innocence as being human is also straightforwardly good. But the one role, albeit very small, helps change the course of Dermdem’s behavior. Although he is a famous actor, Plo (Mark Jumlongkul) knows Meow. Apparently, they were neighbors and had been friends for a long time. But there is something very mysterious about him, besides the obvious. He volunteers to take Meow out for the day but his motivation for doing so seems a bit suspect. While it is never overt, it seemed a lot like he was more interested in Meow than merely friendship. But he realized that Dermdem was in love with Meow and Meow had strong feelings for Dermdem. And the attachment to each other should not be broken. He helps Dermdem to realize that and he, despite whatever he might feel on a personal level, wants Meow to be happy. There was something sad about this portrayal. It was a lot deeper than what it superficially appears to be. Perhaps coming too late for Plo to do anything about it. While subtle, it did point out again allegorically, that there are many just like Meow and him. In a way, he helps direct the relationship between Meow and Dermdem into a much more meaningful was, as the “L” word is suggested out loud. I found it to be a very pivotal and brilliantly portrayed with simplicity with a hint of covertness.
This series is by no means perfect. The biggest issue I had was how Meow was portrayed. He was almost infant-like in a body of a young man. While Dermdem was falling in love with Meow, Meow response was indeed more like a pet to its owner. Sure, it might be love but more platonic, offering a sense of comfort and security. He gave no indication that he even knew what sex was about or even mildly curious about it. While many thought of this as a weakness, I saw it as a strength. Meow needed to know what it is like to be human, to feel love and acceptance before he can give of himself. At the end he could hide his ears for only an instant. He is on his way, but it will take time. As the adage goes, you must learn to crawl before you learn how to walk. Meow is still crawling.
Perhaps, as usual, I may be reading too much into this series that is just not there. But I do think it is a good solid story of what the complexity of love is and how it can take many different forms. Maybe to simply avert going back to being sad is enough for the moment.
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