Ngao Jai (Shadows Of The Heart) Episode 8 (A SqueeCap)

Shuk: The tension between our main couple is almost to the breaking point, as Rut still firmly believes May to be a thoroughly rotten woman, and she just tries to make everyone happy. But at some point and time, you need to show a clear side, and May, I'm ready for you to be firmly in Camp Rut.  Or Camp FakeWatit. But really, Camp Rut. Stay away from Gully Goon!
becca: Yep. It's time we get this ship out to sea and leave Goon crying on the shore!
Our second set of siblings also has some communication problems, but as they are younger and closer to cosmic forces, I think they will have a much faster resolution than the older, more stubborn ones.
They are adorable. I love them, and I'm so happy that they're not as frustrating as their siblings. Give me the cuteness!

Episode 8

As I feared at the end of the last episode, Rut just dumps May onto the bed, re-injuring her ankle. He doesn't care, since her poison is more powerful than any mere cobra. She calls him crazy, but to him, it’s all her fault. He crawls onto the bed towards, asking why she’s only happy to see other men, not her husband. Especially Koon.

She tries to elbow him, but he was ready for that move, and grabs her upper arm. He doesn't anticipate her fingers in his eyes, and pulls back with a yelp. She tells him that she prefers the old Watit to his current brutish behavior. He looks….hurt?
He should be!
In between the houses, Naree waits for Evil Goon on a footbridge. He is interested in the events surrounding the snakebite, and Naree wonders if her only usefulness is as an intel source. (To which I say, DUH.) He grabs her in a punishing grip, and wincing, she tells him everything she knows. He releases her, grumbling that this new Watit is brave to the point of risking his life for her. Naree gets in a little dig; no doubt May is softening towards her hero husband. Evil Goon storms.
I… was about to go into another rant about Naree's emotional issues, but I don't have the energy. Just go away, Naree.

That night, our couple is in bed, but May can’t sleep. She quietly rolls out of bed, after making sure he is asleep, and meets up with Tippy at the pool. They talk about the profound changes between the Watit they went to school with and the current nasty Watit. What about the fight? Tippy muses that maybe he fainted before his heart had a chance to misfire. LOL. HAHAHAHA. Oh, is THAT how it works?! Pffft. And the snakebite? When he was treating her, he kept using formal speech, and never even suffered a twinge from all that flower pollen. May enlists Tippy in a strategy to test the New and Improved(?) Watit.

We talk a lot about how much we love Toomtam, but View is doing a great job, too. In that moment when she turns back to look at him, her expression is heartbreaking. So many emotions right there, and I don't know about you, but it kind of kills me.
May had always been friends with Watit, whatever their current status is, So it has to hurt on how negative and nasty he is to her now, in a way that he wasn't throughout  their entire lives. So, yes, I feel for her. And View is definitely a shining jewel in this lakorn.
When she returns to her suite, JerkWatit is awake and waiting for her. Oh how she must love the snakes, to be bit by one in the daytime, and go visit another at night. Okay, that comment might have amused me a bit. May explains she couldn't sleep and went to chat with Tippy. He doesn't believe her, naturally, so she’s ready to head to Tippy’s room. He decides to let her off the hook… this time.

But from now on, she isn't to go catting around in the middle of the night. He demands this as lord and master, but she refuses to back down. After all, she is not his prisoner! He can’t trust her, and if he had his druthers, he would tie her to a fence. Real classy, Rut. He keeps crowding her and making demands until she pulls a fireplace log from behind her and wedges it between them. He backs away and all but throws up his hands.
Uncle is finally back, and hears about everything that happened while he was gone. They meet up on the deck; Uncle is upset that those “thieves” knew about his son’s medical problems and tried to kill him. Rut can’t identify them, though; could it be the previous people who attacked RealWatit? They don’t know; Rut ask Uncle not to tell his family about what happened.

Next the pesticides and herbicides. Rut shows Uncle the full warehouse of hazardous chemicals, and the older man is understandably upset. He is hard on himself, since he has been paying less attention to the day to day operations at the farm. And Koon knows his stance on using dangerous substances.
Yes. Let's fire Koon.
 
Uncle decides that Rut needs to oversee the orchards. Rut is worried that Goon may get even more suspicious, since it will seem like they've declared war. Uncle doesn't care; he isn't willing to let things continue. They call Tippy to gather up all the farm staff for an important meeting immediately.

May wonders why the urgency of the meeting, but, per Uncle, May must be at the meeting as well. She is ready to go to the house to pick up Watit, but he’s already with Uncle going over the books. Which surprises May because he was sleeping when she left to gather flowers. Plus, when has Uncle ever asked Watit to audit the business logs? Strrrranggggeeee.
Oh, just figure it out already!!

All the familiar faces are already at the cafeteria when the main group arrives. The Evil Duo wonder what's up. It’s not long before everyone knows. Watit is promoted to the top of the food chain, second only to Uncle, for all the businesses Uncle owns. May, his daughter-in-law, will become Watit’s assistant. Tippy is happy; May is shocked.
With that, the meeting is adjourned and Uncle leaves. Koon and FakeWatit stare daggers at each other. Henchman sidles up to whisper that Watit’s new responsibilities put him over his boss. Goon just vibrates with anger.
Seriously. Fire him. Family is family, but he's messed with his cousin's marriage and his uncle's business. Obviously not a good guy to have around.

At Greed House, Naree’s Dad is upset to hear the news from the farm. He blames his daughter for not securing Watit and going after the now-powerless poor cousin. But, Dad, didn't you toss her at Goon? But he says it was when he thought the injured guy would die. Dad is still convinced they can do something to turn the situation around, maybe restart the old plan of seducing Watit? Naree refuses and Dad gets ugly. Naree stands firm for now.
Girl, you're just exchanging one abuser for another.
 
Flower Mom and Boy are unloading at the market when Mom suddenly becomes faint. Mai makes her sit down and rest as he makes the deliveries. When he’s done, she’s feeling better so he glomps on her a bit and leaves her in the care of their servant.

At school the girls get a good response to their project. In fact, everyone has turned in their report except for Maitree, who either turns it in by Friday or loses the grade. Flower Boy hustles through the school, only to bump into Veggie Girl and her group. Rin doesn't say a word, but the girls are helpful and deliver Teacher’s ultimatum. They are all worried for him; it almost time for mid-terms. Rin sniffs that he’ll fail his classes if he’s not careful. The two of them get into each other’s face; he tells her not to bother with him because it’s not her business. She's rebuffed yet again, poor thing.
I need cuteness. Now. I love these two so much, but it's hard to watch them like this.
Greed Dad meets with Evil Goon to get the information from the farm. He offers his help to the younger man; if there is anything he can do to help increase Goon’s status on the farm, he is willing to help. Goon wonders if this is because he wants Uncle’s business shares. Dad grouses that they should have been his anyway. They agree to work together, but you can see there is no real trust between them, with their poor-me-I’m-a-victim mentality.
I feel no sympathy. You are both horrible people! Also, why isn't Pimp Daddy's wine blurred?? WHY.
Maybe he's drinking blood?

FakeWatit, May, and Uncle go on an in-depth tour of the processing plant. I visited Sunharvest Orange Groves in Fort Myers, so the fruit processing looks accurate to me. Anyway, at the end of the tour, Tippy brings them the purchasing logs. FakeWatit starts going through them as the girls exchange glances and look at FakeWatit. When he notices, May and Tippy both feel stressed after the last whirlwind couple of days. He tells them they will do whatever the pair wishes.
I watched Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, and he visited a many places like this. That makes me an expert... right? It looks accurate to me too. *nods like she knows what she's talking about*
Aha! This is Operation Check Out Watit’s Wierdness! First thing they want is to listen to piano music, he sits down, and bluff an almost-blackout headache. Time to drag him back to Watit’s old physician (pre-coma), but his headache is gone. Then they should go back to the music room. Oh look! The headache is back.
That sudden headache was hilarious. You are a terrible liar, Rut! But at this point, I kind of love that about you.
Phase Two: Let’s go to some of the places we used to go! They end up at a restaurant jam packed with Westerners. The girls say it was special to them all in high school, because they came here when they matriculated to juniors, and also for several of May’s birthdays. Oh yeah! He remembers now! Poor schmuck, he’s being led down that primrose path.

He takes his wife's hand, thanks her sweetly for the meal, and kisses her hand, Tippy is wide-eyed, but quickly recovers when the meal shows up. Sure enough, it's farang food: Breaded porkchop with some type of white sauce, and what looks like creamed corn? Blech. He gamely (although clumsily), picks up the outside spoon, and tries not to eat Thai style. He manages a spoonful of the corn goop, and pronounces it delicious.
*wrinkles nose* It looked nasty.

The girls head to the bathroom, and he quickly spits out the sock-smelling stuff. In the hallway,Tippy finally agrees that Watit is behaving very very weirdly, even with amnesia, and May is ready to play some head games with him.
Ohhh, okay yes, I approve of this plan. He deserves to be messed with after all he's done.
Early the next morning, May is in her garden when FakeWatit catches up with her. He's grumpy because she didn't wake him up, so he could enjoy the garden too. She's cool to him, and he accuses her of behaving differently to her. She counters that he is the person who has changed, and even if something is wrong with her, it's her business and not her husband's.

Naree spies on the interchange as Watit grabs her arm and demands that they come to an understanding. Just then Goon shows up; she was cutting the flowers for a delivery with Goon. Watit tries to stop her; while Goon plays the beta male. Watit grabs her and refuses to let go, so she kicks his shin, tosses the flower basket at him, and takes off with Goon.
*sigh* I mean… why.
 
Rut decides to consult with Uncle, fearing that May has a problem with him and won't tell him. Ya think, Rut?? Uncle thinks she left with Koon out of spite, and Rut apologizes for messing things up. Uncle understands, since, after all, Rut didn't grow up with her like Watit does. In my humble opinion, that street drives both ways, since he doesn't understand her either, Rut promises to do his best to fix things between husband and wife.
Ha! I'd like to see that, but I doubt it will happen. You need an attitude adjustment if you want to keep up this little ruse, Rut.

Evil Goon, of course, is thinking about the next excuse he can come up with to stay with May a little longer, and steps aside at the flower market to call Chard to find a customer that would not be available.
Shoot. I just remembered where this is going.

Flower Mom tells her daughter that it isn't good to be with Angkoon in any way, shape, or form (THANK YOU), but silly May still believes in Santa Claus. She tells her mother that he loves his cousin and is sorry for his previous behavior. Mom realizes that May argued with Watit again, but the younger woman denies it.
Oh, May. May, you gorgeous idiot. Is it possible to get brain damage from sniffing too many flowers?

Mom warns her that love doesn't disappear in a snap, but May just thinks she needs to find him a good woman and he will be fine. Mom agrees. After all, there are probably thousands of women who are cuter, nicer, and smarter than her daughter. LOL.
No, May! We need to keep him away from all women! Mom and May are cute, though.
Maitree catches up with his teacher on campus, and they talk about his recent problems with the other students. He gives Mai two more days to finish his report. He ends up in the library, surrounded by books and typing up his report. Rin sees him, and when he leaves the table to grab another reference book, she sneaks over to look at what he has typed. In the process, she loses his place in each book, and drops a couple of them on the floor.
*facepalm* She is a terribly inept stalker.

She ducks away when he comes back. He looks around, sure that someone is bullying him again. Rin winces from her hiding place and whispers an apology.
Rut is all antsy at home, worrying about May because it’s getting late. He checks his watch. Interestingly, she is also checking her watch at the same time as Evil Goon walks to the car, all apologetic about the client who is “suddenly” unable to see them.
*sputtering in anger*

As they head back in the car, it’s raining cats and dogs and snakes and lots of water. Suddenly, a lightning strike causes a large tree branch to land on the road. Goon tries to swerve, BAM! The truck hits a tree, hard enough to start a fire in the engine compartment, but strangely not enough to activate a single airbag. The doors are jammed, and Koon is forced to break out the driver’s side window, and they climb out into the rain. They managed to save a few items before the whole thing becomes a torch.
It's ridiculous, I know, but I totally wouldn't put it past him to have somehow engineered that tree falling. Logic tells me he couldn't, but the rat is so sleazy and devious, that I can't dispel the idea completely.
As much as I'd like to, I don't think we can blame this one on him. I'd like to, definitely,
At the farm, Rut call’s May’s phone and it goes to voicemail. I’m assuming based on the smoke effects that it was left in the burning truck, but Rut doesn't know that and throws his own phone in frustration.
Yes, she left it in the truck. She's really good at forgetting her phone.

The pair is getting wetter and wetter. Goon shares his jacket over their head for some meager protection. May wonders how they are going to get back; Goon is just happy to be rubbing hips with his obsession the girl he likes.
*gagging* GROSS.
 
And, of course, Rut is fit to be tied and pissed off. The horrid housekeeper offers to stay up in his place, but he is in no mood to sleep. He’s already (as usual) assuming the worst of her. You know what “assume” means, right, Mr. Veggie Farm??
He understands the first three letters just fine.

The rain has stopped, but the smell of burnt manmade materials and scorched metal seems to have brought out the romantic in Koon. He confesses to May that he regrets the day he attacked her, becoming a bad person in his eyes. May assures him that she remembers all the good things about him, but she is married, and intends to keep those marriage vows, both for herself and Watit. Koon doesn't care: he loves her and wants to take care of her forever. His dreams have been shattered, but he wants, just for the rest of the night, for her to trust him. What’s he trying to do?
He's trying to drive me bonkers, that's what. Oh, and to win May over to his side.
Rut is getting more and distressed as the night gives way to morning. Horrid Housekeeper stirs the pot by complaining about a woman who abandons her husband to play all night long with someone else. She makes me angry, but I have to remember that Rut encourages her behavior and disrespect towards May. Annnd he doesn’t stop her now as she gets more upset.
It's a conspiracy. They all want to drive me nuts.

Finally an old truck drops off our weary pair, and JerkWatit wastes no time getting up in her grill, closely follow by HH. Koon tries to get between them to explain, but JerkWatit just yanks her around his cousin , throw his jacket off his wife’s shoulders and drags her into the house. Koon is stopped by HH.
May has really good hair and make up for someone who's been out in the rain all night. Honestly, I might doubt her story, too. Why couldn't she show up all dirty and bedraggled?
Rut flings May against the bed and demands to know the address of their No-Tell Motel. She tries to explain about the accident, but all he can focus on is that the two of them were together. She throws up her arms and gives up trying to explain. If he only believes she is bad, then why should she even try to clarify things. He yells that she is younger brother’s wife, not the older brother’s. Yeah, AssWatit, think about what you just said.

He warns her to stop her path of sin. She slaps him for his presumption. If that’s how he really sees her, then there is no point in continuing this sham of a marriage. After all, she agreed to this union as a way to help her family, exchanging her vows as a promise to take care of Watit as his wife.

Rut laughs bitterly. Being Watit is a pitiful existence. And didn't Uncle Bulldozer tell him anything before this? It's seems like he didn't even know that Uncle bought his son a bride. (Uncle conveniently forgot that after he got his way.) Oh well, since he has a wife who only married out of obligation, maybe she should fulfill all the duties required by a spouse. He pushes her back on the bed and pretty much treats her exactly like Evil Goon did, holding her arms and force-kissing her while she struggles. Is there a taser in the house? Or a baseball bat? I will cheerfully use either.
I'm too mad to even yell at him. I'm just sitting here seething.
She finally gives up and goes still, and so does he. He pulls back – oh shit what did he just do?! She finally looks at him with eyes filled with pain as he gives a weak apology. Despite the tears streaking down her cheeks, she is almost calm now. Since he didn't keep his promise to respect and not force her, and actually injured her physically and mentally, she doesn't have to keep her promises, either. Since she means so little to him, and has no respect for her, she wants a divorce.
GOOD. Also, why can't you tell that to Goon, who did the same thing?? Leave them BOTH.

At that pronouncement he finally lets go of her completely, looking shellshocked.
Go sit in the corner and think about what you've done, Rut. I don't want to look at you right now.

After changing, May wanders to one of the windows and looks out over the farm. Rut is doing the same thing on the deck. She ends up in the bedroom, looking at the picture of her and Watit on the nightstand and thinking about his attack on her, as she cries some more.

When he finally returns to their suite, the bed has been straightened out, but May is nowhere to be found. He spots her from the deck, alone and hugging herself on the rear lawn.
Oof. We need Tippy to come and give her a hug.
Rut tells Uncle what happened, but no doubt he tells it as the recalcitrant wife and the poor neglected husband. I refuse to believe he actually said what happened; that he tried to rape his younger brother’s wife, as a punishment for his own bad thoughts. Uncle Bulldozer is not happy, and Rut doesn't know what to do. Even though she’s having an affair with Angkoon [please can I punch him??? Please??? You have my full support. Punch away.], they can’t make the decision when her real husband isn't there. But how are they going to prevent it?

May tentatively approaches Uncle Bulldozer. He asks if she really wants a divorce. She’s sad, but firm. A marriage where there is no respect only hurts the couple and everyone around them. She apologizes that things became like this, and asks for a loan contract to pay off Mai’s fees. Uncle seems surprisingly calm about it.
I smell a rat.

Suddenly HH shows up yelling. (There she is.) Watit is having chest pains and trouble breathing. Oh no, the worst actor in the planet is not going to act like Watit now, is he? Sure enough, FakeWatit is grabbing his chest and wheezing as if an Academy Award was on the line. May immediately tries to help, but he just bats her hands away wheezing that she doesn’t love him anyway so why should she care? She promises not to divorce him if he calms down and takes his medicine. After a fake refusal, he agrees and they hug. Behind her back, Rut gives Uncle a victory sign; Uncle smiles with a thumbs up. You both are asses, but I have to say the scene made me laugh.
I was pointing and yelling at them for being horrible people, but I was laughing my head off, too. It's so wrong but sooo funny!
At the pool, May tells Evil Goon everything. He asks about her own happiness now that she’s trapped with a bully. But it doesn’t matter to her as long as her brother is safe and mom can live in contentment. He still offers his help if she ever needs it. Rut sees this from across the pool and promises that the two lovers will never be together again.
I'm… okay with that. Not really okay with your methods or your attitude, but I support the separation of Goon from all humanity.

Rin yawns and drinks some PPL juice before mooning over Maitree’s FB picture. Mom catches her staring at the handsome young man – is that her boyfriend? She admits it is the boy who helped her before. Mom wants to invite him to the house for a meal, but Rin is positive he would turn them down.
Outside, she spills the beans, and Veggie Mom agrees with Flower Boy’s actions. Why? Because anyone who automatically puts you down and thinks of you in a negative light can’t really be your friend. Rin sighs. Will she ever have a chance to make amends with him? Mom promises that will sincerity and diligence, it will happen.
Aww, I love the moms in this show, I really do. Despite occasional lapses in judgment, they are lovely.
Things are not so cute at Citrus Farm when Naree marches up to May and gives her a resounding slap. What brought that on? She yells that May is a malicious person who ruined her life. She tries to assault May, but the other woman pushes her and throws a glass of water. That stops Naree in her tracks, and May promises to treat a thug like a thug. May 1, Naree 0. May walks off, head held high, as Naree just stops and squeals.

At Veggie Farm, Wat is dancing around the cabbage – the eyelashed Isuzu is here! He smoothes his eyebrows and straightens his hair before strutting to the truck. Except Boobs isn’t there! Just the driver; Jae Bood has no intention of returning to Veggie Farm until Rut is back. Poor Wat! Who cares, I’m shipping him with Tippy anyway.
Me too! And I will continue to do so until the credits roll on the final episode!
The girl in question is chatting with her bestie. May tells Tippy about the encounter with Naree, and they wonder what brought on the outburst. Tippy speculates that she is jealous because May moved into the position of wife when Naree had been taking care of Watit for all those years. May is frustrated: why is her life so filled with problems?
It's the men. They keep messing with her. :(

Evil Goon calls her with a last-minute flower delivery. She tries to get Tippy to come with her, but she has a meeting to go to. May then calls FakeWatit, but his phone is turned off.

Wat is turning in the R&D results on a strain of strawberries, but accidently switches it with a printout of “How To Capture An Older Woman’s Heart”. Whups!  He quickly swaps it out for the correct report. The extension agent wonders whose heart he is trying to win, but Wat sadly says she doesn’t even like him. Since he has a lot of work, he asks one of the employees to go to the cooperative meeting, only to find out that it’s being held in Boob’s restaurant.
I'm disappointed that he's suddenly so crazy about her. He went from hating her to loving her in about a day, which is… sudden.

And off Wat goes. On the way, he sees a perfect rose outside the extension office, and quickly breaks it off. The rose owner, though, who just lovingly watered “Wilai” the perfect blossom, screams as if the rose was kidnapped. Wat quickly hides it and runs away.
Hee. Okay, that was kind of funny.
At the market, a thug grabs a woman’s purse and tries to escape, but a handsome man stops him. It’s Nike Nitidon Pomsuwan! A knife fistfight ensues, and ultimately the thug is rendered unconscious and the purse is returned. “Cut!” Oh, it’s a production set. Haha, no wonder Boobs was just watching from the sidelines.
I know, right? If that really happened, she would have been beating the guy with her purse until he cried for mommy. :D

Wat sidles up to her as she's flirting with Nike. (Does he know that he has a girl's name?) He coughs to catch her attention, and asks if she plans to be a celebrity’s manager next. He turns slightly so she sees the rose. She smiles; it’s a rose! He brought a rose! He gets all bashful at her praise, until she turns and offers Wilai to Nike as a token of her exteem. LOL. Poor Wat just got pwned. Nike’s coordi pulls him away and the rose gets tossed on a nearby table. Wat grabs it back and warns Boobs that he’ll snitch to Rut.
Dude, you're threatening to snitch to the guy that the girl you like likes. Somehow that doesn't make sense.
Yeah, that had me puzzled too.

After Episode Extra

It’s our Disney Princess again!
Aw, we love our Disney Princess.

Final Comment

I entered this episode with mixed feelings, especially after my ire during the previous one. Even though this episode escalated in almost-rape, Rut realized the line that got crossed, which he didn’t get with the mental cruelty by the pool. Is this a turning point? Because I for one am reallllly getting tired of his suspicions. Despite the little subterfuge of sickness, May is strong enough not to stick around where she isn’t wanted, and Rut should know that by now.
We've been in this stage of the story for about four episodes now, so it's about time to change it up again.

I like Wat. After the towel dance, I think he’s a great person and very very funny. Why in the world would he want this loudmouth sasaeng-y woman? Bood clearly sees nothing past shallow beauty, and, even if they were to get together, it won’t last. He needs Tippy! Rut! Get your friend over there! Oh wait, that would blow up the whole switched-twin thing. Hmm, I might need to think on this some more.
I saw we bring Wat to the Fruit Farm! No one's caught on yet, despite Rut's terrible acting, so it really can't make it that much worse, right? So yes, let's bring Wat over, then contrive to have him spend lots of time with Tippy. The two best friends would make a great pair.