Love In The Air – Season 1 Episode 5 Recap & Review

The Calm Before the Storm

Episode 5 of Love In The Air starts with Rain and Payu sleeping in bed after they have had sex for the first time. Payu wakes first and notices that Rain has a temperature and leaves to make him something to eat. Rain wakes up and gets a call from his mother who asks him to come back home immediately. Rain spots Payu working out and leaves to go back home without letting him know.

Payu arrives at the room and is infuriated by Payu’s absence. He mentions that Rain has nowhere to go now that Payu had gotten a hold of him. Meanwhile, Rain has fallen sick and falls asleep due to his medication. Payu makes his way to Rain’s bedroom by smooth-talking with his mother.

Rain is shocked to see Payu. Payu is upset with Rain for running away without informing him but noticing how Rain is really sick, he gives in. Payu still wants to punish Rain so he forces him to use a rectal suppository to reduce his fever. Despite Rain’s incessant denial, Payu forces the former to use the device with Rain screaming chaotically.

Rain’s mother is at the door with snacks for the two boys while Rain is under the blankets without his pants on. Rain acts suspicious as Payu converses with Rain’s mother. Once she has left, Rain scolds Payu for messing with him. Prapai arrives at the garage and asks about Payu but Saifah tells the biker that Payu was with Rain.

Payu is still at Rain’s house when the two have a romantic conversation. Payu asks Rain to stop pursuing him as he mentions that he will be the one to pursue Rain. He gives Rain two options and asks him to choose between being Payu’s wife or making him Rain’s husband. As they make out, Rain states that he would be picking both options. Payu is happy with Rain and says something in his ear that makes Rain very happy. The couple then has an intense make-out session.

The next day, Payu is in a very chirpy mood at work and his colleagues notice how he seems very happy. Rain too is happily engrossed in his phone before his exam as he texts Payu. He recalls how Payu had whispered that he liked Rain in his ear the night before. Sky tries to get Rain’s attention but he ignores him. Ple asks Rain to have coffee with her and Sky is excited that his crush was finally going to ask him out. While at coffee, Ple asks Rain for Payu’s number and he is jealous.

Ple mentions how his brother, Som also had a crush on Payu. Rain wonders how Ple is still pursuing an interest in Payu despite her brother having a crush on the biker. When Payu shows up to pick up Rain, the student is angry because of the many people that have a crush on Payu. Payu promises that he has eyes only for Rain and takes him out on a movie date on his bike.

After their bike ride, the couple watches a movie together. Once the movie ends, Sky spots Rain and Payu together at the theatre. The trio go out for a meal and Sky confronts Rain for keeping the fact that his best friend was dating someone. Rain apologises to Sky. Meanwhile, Sky slips up by saying that Rain was only dating Payu to prove to Ple that Payu is gay.

Rain tries to get Payu to stop and eventually tries to win an angry Sky over with puppy dog eyes. Payu intervenes and asks the two friends about Rain’s connection with Ple which makes for a pretty awkward reaction from Rain. Payu confronts Rain about his motive to date him and Rain begins to sweet-talk Payu into forgiving him.

The biker is in the men’s room where here confront two men talking about the illegal race in public. Payu is in a pissy mood when he is back outside. Outside, Payu tells Rain about the incident but his mood is changed now that Rain had told his best friend he was dating Payu. Rain promises to stick by Payu even if he tries to push him away.

Payu calls Rain’s mother and asks for her permission to let Rain stay the night with him and she agrees so the couple goes to Payu’s house. The next day, Rain wakes up and finds Payu humming as he makes breakfast for the two. Rain asks Payu to sing him a song. Payu agrees and begins singing a song about his feelings for Rain that has the latter swooning.

Next, Rain and Payu have a PDA-filled breakfast with Saifah. The younger twin asks Payu if Rain can attend the illegal race but Payu states that taking Rain alone is risky. Saifah and Rain both try to convince Payu and he eventually agrees.

The episode then moves to the night of the race when Rain and Payu drive to the event together. Payu explains the race to Rain and mentions how causing trouble at the event will be dangerous. A flashback shows Rain as a high schooler when he missed meeting Payu, who was still a student because his friend took him away to a different faculty open house.

Payu notices the architecture faculty brochure on the table with Rain’s pencil case and unknowingly writes him a note encouraging him to be an architect. Payu leaves a geometric instrument for Rain as a souvenir which turns out to be the lucky charm that present-day Rain religiously uses before every exam. 

The Episode Review

There are some moments in BL dramas that really don’t make sense in order to create unnecessary conflict and this episode started with that.

It would have taken Rain 2 minutes to inform Payu that he was going back home to avoid him from showing up at Rain’s home unannounced. I wonder why Payu forced a rectal suppository on Rain who is clearly sick. This, when viewers were only moving on from what went down in the first episode seemed unnecessary.

What was the motive behind having Payu force punishment on the boy he likes who is clearly unwell? The concept is sadistic but the implication is comedic, both of which do not make any sense. I also wonder when we will get to see Sky and Prapai because the two have not even met and we are already in Episode 5.

The part in the prologue where Payu leaves behind a memento for Rain which Rain uses as a lucky charm is so romantic. However, I wish we could have seen Rain have a moment with the object in the prologue because he could only be seen rushing out with it.