Alright, We have officially passed the halfway point with THE WARP EFFECT. What I expected from this sex comedy from GMMTV was hot guys, hot girls, and a lot of comedic misadventures in the bedroom. Instead, GMMTV has created a series that, while often comical, has intricately woven critical sexual issues into its storyline. Issues that, for some reason, are not being discussed enough, at least not in the way GMMTV is doing it.
As an actor, New Thitipoom is one of the company’s top-tier actors, and fans of all genders absolutely love him. Myself included. So, it was an intelligent choice for the company to cast him as Alex, the sex-obsessed teenager who makes several TERRIBLE decisions after getting very drunk at a friend’s party. One of those terrible decisions (which we learned in episode 6) was not hearing (or choosing to ignore) the words “No” and “Stop” when Jean (Fah Yongwaree) asked him to.
The revelation gives so much more weight to her reaction to Alex when she first saw him again.
No matter the degree, sexual trauma is still sexual trauma. Usually, these scenarios involve some random one-off actor or at least a character we (as an audience) are supposed to hate – and they typically get their face smashed in by the series’ hero. So, to make Alex, the hero of THE WARP EFFECT, played by one of the most beloved GMMTV actors, was a very calculated and very (in my opinion) important choice. A choice that tells a worldwide audience that it’s not always the creeper in the corner. Sometimes, the person who hurts you is someone you love and trust.
I didn’t intend to get into my feels with this series, nor did I plan on it getting into my head, but when Jean stated, ” I’ve been trying to start over with someone new, but every time I get flashbacks to that night.” Trauma isn’t something that goes away – not entirely. It can (and often does) rear its ugly head at the most inopportune moments. So I relate to Jean, and I get why she doesn’t want to forgive Alex.
She does continue by saying, “You were drunk. So was I.” But that still doesn’t erase or somehow overpower the fact that she asked Alex to stop, and he didn’t – not until he came. He made a stupid, stupid choice. It will be interesting to see where GMMTV Takes this story and how Alex deals with the reality of what he did. Up until this episode was the lovable lead everyone was rooting for to succeed, but now, he’s something different. I don’t currently hold the warm fuzzies for him, and I’m conflicted about Alex as a character – which is the precise reaction GMMTV intended.
More Warp Effect and more from GMMTV soon so…
Stay tuned.
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