Episode 2: Reunited
Damien brings Hayden to his apartment after realizing that he doesn’t have his keys on him. He helps him settle on the sofa and is about to go back to his room when Hayden grabs his hand and pleads with him to stay. Eventually, Damien settles down next to the couch to finish his beer while watching Hayden sleep.
Returning to Paki, she now tells Shawn about her friend Archie, whom she met in England and has recently moved back to Hong Kong. Pali gives Archie a call and asks to meet at the same bar where she is meeting Hayden to introduce them to each other. Meanwhile, Archie, who is trying to find his way to the bar, follows a familiar figure he sees crossing a different street but loses sight of him. Paki greets Hayden as he enters the bar and complains of his tardiness before she begins lecturing him about moving on from his ex-boyfriend Owen, whom she has always thought was a jerk. Hayden defends himself by saying that not everyone is like Paki, who can sleep with strangers, and that it’s simply the way things work when you like someone. At that moment, Archie shows up and is given his first introduction to Hayden. Archie goes to the bar to get himself some drinks, but to his surprise, he runs into Kelvin, his high school sweetheart, who seems to have not recognized him. A flashback shows Archie being bullied by his classmates, which only stopped after Kelvin got involved and defeated the bullies in a basketball game. On their way home, the two go into a nearby snack shop and share Archie’s drink, a silver chrysanthemum tea that Kelvin surprisingly liked. Kelvin then offers to buy another glass for Archie after they finish drinking his.
Back to the present, Archie runs to the snack shop and begs the owner to let him purchase a cup. Seeing the desperation on his face, the owner decided to make him one even though the shop was already closed. Returning to the bar, he gives Kelvin the paper cup that once held the drink they had too often shared in the past. Kelvin then finally recognizes Archie.
Episode 3: Misunderstand
With no recollection of what happened the night before, Hayden finds himself inside Grandma’s apartment. She mentions to Hayden that Damien is the one who took him to their apartment while complaining that her grandson’s job as a tattoo artist has irregular hours as they prepare their meal. Afterward, she asks Hayden to get a sticky note from Damien’s room so she can leave him a note that he has food in the fridge. Hayden is surprised by the artistic tattoo designs plastered all over Damien’s room and even meets his pet turtle, Koopa, in its cage. While searching for sticky notes in Damien’s drawer, Hayden accidentally discovers an old photo of Damien with someone who appears to be his lover. Grandma says that while she is aware of Damien’s lover, her grandson is now mature enough to have his own opinions, and all she can hope for is that he will find true love. As Hayden is putting the note in the refrigerator, Damien shows up, says hello, and then grips about his grandma messing in his room once more. While having dinner, Hayden is asked by Grandma if he has a girlfriend, to which he answers no. Grandma excitedly pipes in that Damien doesn’t have one either. The two exchange uncomfortable looks with one another afterward. Later, Damien goes to the rooftop for a smoke, where Hayden follows him and shows him the photo he found in his drawers. Hayden admits to being the one who rummaged through his drawers and apologizes; meanwhile, Damien nonchalantly tells him that there are things they can no longer change, no matter how much they try, before he asks for him to burn the photo.
After finding out that his grandmother told Hayden about his job as a tattoo artist, Damien shares that he gets asked to tattoo his clients’ names on their bodies, but they always get them taken out after the relationship ends. With a few drinks in between them, Damien talks about how his grandmother raised him when he was a child and how much he loves that memory—even though he gets hit for misbehaving. When the evening wears on, Damien presses Hayden about his relationship with Owen, whom he brought up while intoxicated, the latter responds that he is his ex-boyfriend and uses Damien’s own lines about the end of his previous relationship. As they look at one another and come dangerously close to kissing, Hayden’s ringing phone interrupts them. Hayden gets up to answer the call, but not before Damien calls him and invites him to drink again next time. As this is going on, Kelvin’s son, who had just returned from visiting his grandparents, greets him. Kelvin takes out an old school uniform with handwritten notes from his high school classmates from inside the bedroom he shares with his wife, Joanne. Later that evening, while Kelvin is cleaning up the bar, Archie shows up unexpectedly with a determined look on his face. Kelvin hands him his old school uniform and tells him his greatest regret in life: not receiving a message from him back then before he kisses him passionately. In the end, the two fulfilled their longing from earlier years and made love. When Joanne gets to their house the following morning, she finds Kelvin dozing off on the couch. Her son then calls her out and complains that his uniform is dirty, only to discover that the uniform he is referring to is Kevin’s old school uniform, with a freshly written note from Archie.
Writer’s Thoughts:
‘Stay Still’ is a series that instantly grabs our attention with its indie vibe and creative storytelling that blends the past and present of the characters. Keeping an eye on the main couple, Hayden and Damien, who connect with the latter’s kindly and caring grandmother, the two begin to form an unlikely friendship for two people who appear to be at odds with one another. Even if we exclude the drunken first kiss they had on the stairs of their tenement, there is undeniably intense romantic tension between the two in every scene. It will be interesting to see how the two respond to the attraction that even Grandma senses between them even during meals! As for Kelvin and Archie, well, things appear to be far more complicated than two former lovers getting back together because the former is already married and even has a child of his own. The events between the two that Kelvin’s wife, Joanne, seems afraid of will finally be fully revealed as we go on the next episodes so be sure to check out BLTai’s recap of the series’ finale!
Enjoy watching ‘Stay Still‘ on a bigger screen because GagaOOLala is now available to watch on your Smart TVs by downloading the app on Google Play, Amazon Appstore, and Roku.
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