Recap "F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers" Episode 12

Episode 12 of F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers (YouTube, GMMTV, Viu) brings us back to the rooftop with Thyme asking Gorya to be his girl, offering the meteor necklace. She declines as he’s still engaged to Lita. Damn, how could he forget that?

Thyme asks Gorya to hold on to the meteor necklace for him until everything is straightened out.

Not long later, Lita appears, catching them bickering. House Manager ‘Auntie’ Yu inserts that Gorya is there as a personal maid to Thyme. Later she notes it’s to pay for the vase Gorya knocked over. As ever, Gorya sets to work and starts learning the ropes.

Thyme explains that he’s working to sort things out with Lita but can’t seem to pin her down. Caught chitchatting, Auntie Yu tells Gorya she must ‘feed’ Thyme his breakfast. Ren catches them, taking an embarrassing photo of the scene.

MJ finds it hilarious but Gorya is not laughing. She’s not been able to work at the flower shop nor see Kaning since starting her new role. Not to worry, Kavin has gone to help Kaning. Then Ren and MJ head out in an attempt to scare up Lita.

As Gorya does various chores, Thyme can’t resist hanging out nearby and watching. She gets cut while gardening and Auntie Yu cleans the wound while encouraging her regarding Thyme.

At the flower shop, Kavin’s tenure as salesman is a hit. He promotes an offer to kiss each lady who purchases, setting the whole neighbourhood in motion. But it’s not going as well for the guys as Lita is still AWOL.

After work, Kavin teaches Kaning the art of making garlands, like his family has done for ages. A garland is a way for a woman to confirm her soulmate. They talk of the complexities of love triangles as someone will ultimately be hurt.

The two have a moment but Kavin suddenly thinks of how his mother would scold. He notes that the person who can hurt you the most can be yourself.

At the mansion, while he worries about finding Lita, Thyme still finds a few moments to tease Gorya. Of course, that’s precisely when Lita walks in.

Thyme asks her to go with him to see his mother and stop everything. But Lita has already emailed her, saying she’d like to move in with Thyme so they can get to know each other better. Request granted.

She sends Gorya to unpack her cases for her. Then threatens Thyme that if he doesn’t behave, she’ll have her parents destroy Gorya. Auntie Yu astutely gets Gorya out of the house on an errand.

Thyme accuses Lita of just wanting to win but she says she loves him and believes they’re meant to be. She promises to make him feel the same, offering herself to him.

As Gorya spaces out at the grocery store, it’s Ren who appears. Gorya asserts she trusts Thyme but is worried about Lita. Meanwhile, Thyme covers a half-dressed Lita, letting her hit him and cry on his shoulder.

Still in the shop, Ren blushes at Gorya’s touch, impressed by her boundless faith in Thyme. Finished crying, Lita asks Thyme what he plans to do, noting the business impact to cancelling the engagement. Instead, she’s ready to stop the nonsense and push ahead with the wedding immediately. It’s what her parents would like.

The next day they meet with her family. All the parents are keen to move things along. Before Thyme can speak, Lita rescues him saying she wants to call off the engagement – because he’s volatile.

And proceeds to torture him, setting him up to react in standard Thyme form. She talks of the type of the man she would want to love while thinking of moments with Thyme. In tears, she begs her parents to cancel the wedding. Her father calmly complies.

At the flower shop, Kaning is on her own as Boss takes a holiday. Kavin visits to confirm the wedding has been withdrawn. They close the shop in celebration.

As they clear up, a customer pops in asking about Kaning’s garland, as she used to make them too. Kavin rounds the corner to find a familiar face, however she quickly escapes.

Lita talks about the joy of love as Gorya goes about her maid duties. She spots Thyme’s shirt stained with her footprint from way back in Episode 1. Gorya’s phone dings with a video message from Lita, apologizing and saying she’s leaving to study in America.

Gorya runs to the airport to see her off. And gets knocked off her feet, just as in their first meeting in Ep 9. They hug, argue over who’s more in the wrong and part as friends.

With a wink from Lita, the guys carry Gorya to the car to find a trussed-up Thyme waiting for her. He grumbles about his crazy friends who just happen to be waiting outside for them to sort things out.

Finally free, Thyme asks the original question once again. Gorya gives him back the necklace – to clasp around her neck. But she has to explain to him that that’s a yes.

Shaken, he kicks her out of the car. The guys are waiting for confirmation that they’ve finally gotten together. And count down to Thyme’s shout of joy.

Here’s a highlight clip of the couple finally getting together in their characteristic style (sorry, no subs):

While they celebrate, Thyme’s mother reads news of the broken engagement. Gorya articulates that life is just one crazy thing after another. But Kavin breaks from the fun with his own realization.

At home, Kaning remembers presenting Kavin her beautiful garland. In response, he pulls over with a slam on the breaks asking whether she’s really getting serious about him. He recalls moving in for a kiss and there we wrap.

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The Episode Review

Another gripping chapter as Thyme and Gorya finally get in shooting distance of a relationship. Somehow, for all their goofiness, they’re at exactly the same velocity. And Thyme manages to get his meteor necklace around Gorya. But not before facing his fiancée (and her pal), Lita.

Meanwhile, House Manager ‘Auntie’ Yu has proven an ally of Thorya. (Is that the moniker we landed? Feel free to suggest better ideas in the comments below.) And are they going to need it. Did you spot Thyme’s mother’s face as she read the news of the broken engagement? And no one, including Lita’s parents, thought they should call her and explain? She’ll be on a plane by the time we reach next week’s timeslot. Guaranteed this respite will be short-lived.

But back to the goofiness for a moment. This is completely in line with all previous versions of the tale – focusing on their parallel if differently expressed innocence. It’s part of the sweet-silly of the story and key to them becoming a great match. Both fully vested and understanding each other.

Kavin and Kaning are edging toward coupledom too, as they spend more time together. But are on completely different levels, something they’ll have to adjust to make things work between them. Even tho we end just before the kiss, its worth noting that Kaning still has the garland with her at home. Find out a glimmer of what’s coming for them in the Ep 13 preview story here.

Interestingly, I don’t recall Kavin’s character having a previous significant relationship where he’d shared his heart. But it’s surely the thing that will both hinder and help him decide what he wants next.

We’re down to a final few installments and this week’s hour flew by with a clear focus on the romance. However, Nani Changkham as MJ continues to stand out, making a place for himself among all the pairings and triangles. Everyone else has a specific role to play in moving the story forward, yet even without a bucket of chicken, he brings some added exuberance to what could be fly-by scenes. Are you with me on this? #TeamMJ.