Excellent treatment of the red card/bullying issue

EP 11: The Atonement.I was impressed by how much time EP 11 gave to the back story of Talay and Bupha. It's a conscious choice on the production team's part to bring some resolution to the whole red card and bullying issue. Needless to say, this version is the best among all the adaptations to tackle this issue. Thyme has truly learned his lessons and worked to repair personal harms he inflicted on the victims involved.On whether this issue is dealt with in a way that brings about a complete, satisfactory conclusion? Of course not. Though still minor, all the people involved in bodily harms of others could arguably be charged and trialed for a criminal offense. This legal aspect was not addressed but if it were, Thyme, Talay, other bullies would all be subject to such a process as minors.The corruption of the authorities and adults involved in taking bribes and protecting Thyme and F4 from consequences of their bullying was also not addressed YET. This is a systemic, structural issue where money prevails over truth and justice. And a root cause of that is Thyme's mom, but it goes well beyond that.In Thailand, the King, one of the wealthiest men in the world, is untouchable. Thanks to a draconian Lese Majeste law, any faint criticism of the royal family could land you in jail. Worse, several vocal people have disappeared without a trace. What I'm trying to say is that the problem of the injustices of wealth, influence and corruption is so big it requires an overhaul of Thailand's social, cultural, legal and institutional landscape. True justice cannot be served until it is dealt with systematically.F4 Thailand reflects just a small slice of this system. And Thyme, even a small part in the small world that the show tries to convey. He has come a long way from a tyrant king to a man kneeling to ask for forgiveness for his past behavior. The redemption we see in this EP is a personal one. The more structural part of this equation is not directly addressed yet but at least alluded to. We'll see how that gets resolved in later EPs.But what I really want to address is the comment about Thyme needing to be jailed (for justice to be served). While I agree the potentially criminal nature of the violence and abuse needs to be addressed, jailing is not necessarily the way. There are two main approaches to repair harm and achieve justice: one is punitive, the other is restorative. Unfortunately many countries's laws have adopted the Western approach of punitive punishment (locking up, jail terms). But this is equivalent to "an eye for an eye" way of inflicting suffering, and doesn't necessarily bring about true healing and repair of hurt. A better approach is the restorative way (many indigenous societies around the world use this approach and some Western countries have now started to incorporate this approach into their legal and criminal framework) where the perpetrators and victims get to both reconcile, repair harms and heal, which is closer to what Thyme was trying to do.I know what this EP did could not satisfy everyone and address everything, but I sincerely applaud the director and scriptwriter for giving weight to this important issue of injustices and healing. This EP is especially relevant given what's been in the Thai news recently (rich, influential people causing an actress to drown under mysterious circumstances, paying off the police and others involved, and likely escaping legal persecution).Thyme has learned what's right and wrong and tried to atone his past sins in his limited way. But the journey is not over. Now we'll see how he, with support from Gorya, can work to challenge his mom and change the corrupt, unjust patriarchical system that has raised, protected him and is also grooming him to be its "king," to bring about a more just world.As a Thai, I give this EP 10/10!! The relevance and timeliness of the social commentary cannot be applauded enough!

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