The bond of love is even greater than that of blood, which has been explored in the Thai series Analog Squad. The director, Nithiwat Tharatorn, deserves accolades for trying to portray the beauty of familial bonds in the eight episodes of the series. Pond resorts to hiring a set of actors to play his wife and kids in front of his father, who is on his deathbed. The bond that the elderly develop with the actors is sure to move audiences. Every character in the series deals with certain familial issues, and how they manage to tackle them has also been shed light upon in the show! The excellent cast of the series includes Namfon Kullanut, Nopachai Chaiyanam, and others. The question of whether Pond will ever be able to confess his lies to his parents will keep bugging the audience throughout the series! Let’s find out what eventually happens at the end of Netflix’s Analog Squad.
Spoiler Alert
Why Did Pond Hire Actors To Pretend To Be His Family?
Pond is seen hiring actors Lilly, Keg, and Bung to play the roles of his wife, son, and daughter, respectively. He hires these actors to present them in front of his sick father after his mother informs him of his father’s final wish to see his family. He had given them small details about his own family and had asked them to try and imitate them in exchange for a fat sum of money. He had been distant from his family for the past 20 years, which is why they are unable to recognize his children, Mag and Mon, as they were small kids when they last saw them. They were also meeting his wife for the very first time after their marriage. Pond had to resort to lies, as his wife had left him years ago and taken the children away with her. After they meet the elderly, something in Mon changes, and she thinks that lying to them would be deceiving them but is later convinced by Pond. Meanwhile, Grandpa Kew has miraculously gained his senses and is quite overwhelmed to see his family. It is possible that the warmth of his family, which he had lacked for the bigger part of his life, caused his ailment to disappear.
What Conflict Did Pond Have With His Father?
Pond had returned to his house after 20 years because he held a grudge against his father for an incident in the past. He and his friend, Mek, had been celebrating the launch of Apollo 11 with firecrackers when, accidentally, Mek’s family barn caught fire. Despite Pond’s warnings, Mek decided to jump in to save some of the crops but succumbed to the flames. Pond came back home extremely scared and confided the incident to his parents. While he was expecting his father to stand by his side and hide the incident from the police, he decided to tell them the truth upon being interrogated. Upon seeing this from a distance, Pond had fled his house and had been on the run till he heard of his mother’s illness.
When he came back many years later, he brought in his two children, Mon and Mag, to meet their grandparents. Later, when Pond’s father learns that Mag had an allergic reaction to milk, he wants to take her to a doctor. Pond tries to stop him, as the arson case is still open. His father does not listen to him and takes his granddaughter to the doctor, which makes the police alert to his arrival in town. On his way to interrogation, his mother helps him flee the place along with his two children. This incident caused Pond to lose his faith in his father, and it made him think that his own father was his biggest enemy.
What Incident Brings The Entire Family Together Again?
After Pond goes back to Bangkok, Bung, Keg, and Lilly also go back from Pond’s parent’s house, and they all get back to their daily routines. However, they are again drawn together when Grandma comes to surprise them in Bangkok. Meanwhile, Bung had gone to Pond’s parents’ place to let them know about their real identities, as she felt that deceiving them would not do them any good. Keg and Lilly try their best to make Grandma feel at home, but the unpredictability of life comes into play, and Grandma suddenly passes away at Lilly’s house. They take Grandma to their old home and try to find Pond while he is away at work. Despite not having any blood relations, they were there for the old man throughout and supported him more than any family ever would! Keg and Bung try getting Pond to the funeral and have to face many obstacles in the process, as he was working for a mafia boss, Mr. Noi, to whom he owed a lot of money. However, after a lot of difficulties, they are finally able to get him back home for the final rites of his mother.
What Insecurities Did Keg Have?
There were a lot of insecurities that every individual in Analog Squad series faced back at home or in their personal lives, adding more layers to it. Keg was very insecure about his mother being a nude model from a very young age. At a very young age, he is seen tearing off the pages of a magazine displaying a picture of his mom so that his other friends would not fantasize about her. He was so embarrassed by his mother’s profession that he never used to take her to any events at his school and got a paid actor to play his mother’s role. He, however, never disrespected his mother upfront or criticized her career. He was very supportive of whatever she did but did not want to face the humiliation, and hence was trying to get a work visa in the USA so that he could settle there.
He had taken up the job of a paid actor because he needed the money to settle abroad. The call center that he used to work in had very low payments, but the only good thing that he had gained there was Ruk’s friendship. The elderly man who always seemed to guide him in everything was later revealed to be his own father, who had earlier split up with his mother because of her profession. He had, however, later realized his mistake and wanted to reunite with his family. He had joined his son’s office to get to know him better and to help him secretly get his visa. When he later reveals his real identity to him, he is traumatized but accepts his mother’s decision to get back with him and moves on.
How Was Bung’s Relationship With Her Father?
Bung had spent her entire life under the impression that her father had to stay away from home due to work. Little did she and her mother know that he had a mistress outside, with whom he had a child. It is not until much later that they get to know his secrets. While Bung is seen spending her time at Pond’s father’s house, she gets the news that her father has gotten into an accident. When she rushed to the hospital, she found out that he had been driving the car of another woman who had died on the spot, and his father had incurred a fractured leg. She also meets her father’s illegitimate son, whom she is initially unable to accept as her brother. However, later, her father relies on her to take care of her brother, and she eventually develops a bond with the boy. This proves the fact that the more a relationship is nurtured, the bond grows better and stronger over time. Despite her father’s deception, she eventually accepts his flaws and forgives him, as after seeing Pond’s relationship with his father, she realizes that holding on to grudges does no good but only creates distance in the long run.
Did Lilly Survive Cancer?
After being introduced as Pond’s wife to his family, Lilly gets a family that she never had in her life. She used to think that nobody would be by her side when she died. She initially did not reveal to anyone that she had breast cancer. She had only been able to talk about it with Pond’s mother after she told her that she was like a daughter to her. She laments the loss of Pond’s mother, as she had not expected her to be gone before her. After she comes clean about her cancer to the rest, they promise to stand by her side during her operation. Despite not having any familial ties, the people managed to stick by her side during her treatment. She had wanted to marry Pond from a young age when they used to date, but he had given up on their relationship and married someone else. However, she was happy that, at least in her final days, she was going to be so close with Pond and his family. She had unexpectedly found a family, even though it was all fake and part of an act, which eventually helped her survive the operation successfully with them by her side.
Is Pond Able To Recognize His Daughter?
Mag’s curiosity (real daughter of Pond) is heightened when she finds a few pictures of her father in her room. She asks her mother about them, but she discourages her, saying that he probably would not recognize her now after so many years. Just to test her father’s memory, she sets out on a search for him. When she eventually reaches her grandparents’ house, she finds out that a few people are staying with them, pretending to be Mag, Mon, and her mother, Mam. She does not reveal her identity right away but goes to the police station, thinking they are tricksters. She is, however, unable to prove their wrongdoings to the police and is later confronted by Keg. He tells her that her father had done it to make his parents happy.
She tries testing her father’s memory by going to her grandmother’s ash-scattering ritual. She thinks that her father does not recognize her, as he does not stop her from having a milk cookie knowing she is allergic to it. Later, Pond tells the others that he knew that the girl was his real daughter, Mag, but he did not want her to know that he had recognized her. He wanted to let things be just the way they were, rather than just mending them. Later, when Keg persuades him to approach his daughter at the Phuket airport, he rushes there, and the father-daughter duo are eventually reunited. The beauty of accepting a close one, irrespective of their flaws and failure to perform duties, has been beautifully portrayed through their reunion after so many years.
What Happens In The End?
Pond finally decides to tell his father about the lies that he told him. When he eventually tells him the truth, his father is not amazed at all and tells him that he already knows about it. He had read the letter that Bung had written for him before she decided to burn it. He did not say anything to anyone because he enjoyed the warmth of a family after many years, despite its flaws. All the debts of Pond are also eventually cleared off by his father and the others, with whatever little they can contribute, so that he does not have to toil under the mafia and can come back to his father for a better life. Keg is also eventually able to fulfill his dreams of settling in America, and Bung compromises with her imperfect family. Pond is seen calling Lilly to spend new year’s Eve with him and his father so that she does not feel alone, and this also indicates the possibility of a re-ignition of the spark between Pond and Lilly. With a little compromise, everyone is eventually seen to settle well in their lives.
Final Thoughts
Pond gets a new family in the process of creating a facade for his estranged father. After years of grudges against his father, he realizes that it is unnecessary, as his father is the first one to help him through any difficult situation. The irony of the estrangement of one’s own family has been shown as only strangers stand there in support of each other throughout the series Analog Squad. The bond that we choose to make with others through the exchange of thoughts and empathy is the only thing that eventually remains! The beautiful moments that the individuals spend together as a family have added a lot of meaning and color to the series. Analog Squad‘s plot is solid, along with the inclusion of elements of action, comedy, drama, and thrill, leaving no scope for ambiguity.
