Episode one
Episode 1 of Ticket to Heaven opens with a flashforward to January 2025. Today marks the first day of implementation of the LGBT+ marriage law in Thailand.
Most recent videos
Video Pausing
Barth reaches a church and surprises Father Arnon who never thought he’d see him again. Barth says he’s here because someone close to him is being ordained.
It cuts to a seminary school in 1996. Some Grade 12 boys are making the church safe from a storm. The latest student is Barth. He’s just the typical rebel child, no belief in God, and scoffs at anything religious.
Father Arnon asks Tanrak to help Barth settle down. Tanrak is the head scholarship student, good-natured but reserved.
In the shower, Barth silently watches a gaggle of bullies, led by Kongkit, verbally abuse a student with homophobic slurs. Kongkit goes for Barth next but he gets shut down.
Tanrak watches over Barth as he gets ready for bed, telling him they keep all their belongings in unlocked lockers. But he gives Barth Kongkit’s locker by mistake.
Barth is a little distant, but thanks Tanrak for the tour all the same. Kongdech thinks Barth is weird. Tanrak’s best friend.
Deacon Valentino, Kongdech’s uncle, is to be ordained soon. His family has traveled all the way from their village, and they are very fond of Tanrak as well. Tanrak is an orphan.
A flashback shows baby Tanrak looking for his parents. As long as he is a good man, Father Arnon says they will meet in heaven. To this end, Tanrak enters the seminary.
Barth now comes late, in casual clothes and sits with the guests. In fact he walks out in the middle of the ceremony, irritating Tanrak.
Father Arnon later tells Barth not to be swallowed by his anger. We are told Barth was bullied at his old school and called homophobic names. He was kicked out for nearly killing his bully and no one would take him in.
Barth is a diocesan scholarship student at the seminary. And so he needs to figure out how he wants to serve God. Father Arnon tells Barth not to let him down.
Tanrak hears them. The boys see a painting of a ‘Ticket to Heaven’. Father Arnon explains that it is a symbol of unwavering faith as temptations try to waylay believers from the path to heaven.
He tells Tanrak again to help Barth to find himself. Tanrak is reluctant, but he does look after Barth sometimes. But even when the other boys approach him, Barth remains aloof.
We find out Kongdech and Tanrak are poor while cleaning up. Kongdech is at the seminary only because of a scholarship. He notes that the poor have no choice in the kind of education they receive, but for Tanrak the seminary is his best option.
That night Kongkit’s headphones go missing, and he sets his sights on Barth. They fight until Tanrak calls Master Phak, the manager, to come and break it up.
Kongkit gets revenge by dropping Barth’s school bag in an abandoned swimming pool. Barth is resentful that no one believes he didn’t steal the headphones and Tanrak keeps offering to help.
Also, Kongkit locks them in and they have to spend the night in the pool. Tanrak is afraid of being out past curfew but Barth bitterly says that at least everyone will believe him when he tells the truth.
They start talking about God. Barth, too, it turns out, believed in God until God did not help him when he needed it.
Master Phak and the students find them the next day. Father Arnorn looks disappointed, and Tanrak flips out.
Review of the Episode.
The amazing thing is how differently the show has been done. Ticket to Heaven’s mock pilot trailer is dark and angsty, just perfect for the complicated storyline. We were expecting a production along the lines of serious and well-made GMMTV BLs like Not Me, Moonlight Chicken and Eclipse. Especially as Director Aof has also directed the equally intense Moonlight Chicken.
Instead, we get a brighter version of Your Name Engraved Herein with peppy and cheerful aesthetics that, honestly, is better for goofy and silly rom-coms than a show with such serious themes.
The time jump is ludicrous too, because the boys are 17 in 1996, meaning Barth is 46 in the 2025 timeline. But Barth’s actor, Gemini, looks no older than 21, seeing as he is 21 and the makeup department slapped on some glasses and hair gel and called it a day.
Why is the music so loud, so happy, so full of noise effects? And why is everything so bright? We truly grieve for the promise we saw in the trailer for the pilot. And it also felt pretty rushed how fast Tanrak gets over his irritation with Barth, considering this chapter is only 6 episodes long. Expectations have been dampened, certainly with the cheap sets and costuming, commercial lighting and peppy soundtracks.
Hopefully story-wise things will start to pick up next week. Gemini and Fourth also sell the story, easily turning into Barth and Tanrak. Barth is the rebel kid, in a crisis of faith while Tanrak is his foil, steadfast until he meets his biggest test in the form of Barth.