Don't get the hype... it's still toxic.

7.0 Overall; entertaining, I enjoyed it, and the acting is really well done, but in the end, it has serious flaws that I can't look past.

It was good and had a more interesting plot than your typical Thai BL. That does not make it worth all the hype; it still has all the same problematic elements that your typical Thai BL has.

I love mafia related/crime stories. One of my favorite BL's is HIStory 3: Trapped. I remember when I first watched it, I wanted more but better-developed stories like that in BL. I thought Kinneporsche would be that, and it's definitely getting closer, but still has so much of the toxic sh** that I just can't stand it anymore. I watched this as it was airing, and could understand at the time that people were excited because we were getting something "different" and with a more developed plot than a typical BL. But that doesn't mean it deserves the hype it's getting— and the amount of unconditional love this series has garnered honestly baffles me. Like, it's good, it's entertaining— but there's still so much of the same toxic and disturbing tropes in it as the usual BL. It's not that different.

HIStory 3 Trapped did the mafia concept way better; cinematically, no BL beats ITSAY. In the end, Kinnporsche was entertaining but certainly does not reach the pedestal people like to put it on.

I want more series with serious, developed plots; Kinnporsche — I'd hoped would come close to that — missed entirely. It had a great premise and setup, but when it came down to it, it devolved into typical BL tropes of power imbalance, fetishized abuse, and "love makes it all okay." It threw the plot to the wind of coincidences, used the mafia as a backdrop more than anything else, and turned two interesting characters to mush once they "fell in love."



- Semi-spoilers ahead-

Honestly, when I watched this as it was airing and the stuff with Pete started going down, I remember searching comments for other people who found it disturbing or saw that it was an obvious case of VERY, VERY disturbing Stockholm syndrome, as Pete is kidnapped, abused physically, mentally, and even sexually— and then falls in love with his abuser. But literally… no one else seemed to have a problem with this, because their romance was… cute? Sexy? Because they liked Vegas? Their plot was so disturbing to me I could barely watch it. I liked Vegas too— was ready for him to be the best part of this drama— and he could have been, if what he did to Pete was framed differently. If it was framed as " Vegas is a very bad person who did some fucked up shit", if he'd consistently been considered the villain, he would have been a villain/character that I could really like. But instead... We got this weird fetishization of Pete/Vegas, this angle that because Vegas has an attitude of "Only I can abuse you" it's cute and romantic... This is exactly why there's so much toxicity in BL plots; because when it happens but fans like what the outcome is, they decide to ignore it.

The plot between the two male leads involved some of the same abuser/power imbalance dynamics, that in a regular show would have been called out but in a BL are seen as just elements used to increase tension and totally acceptable. And definitely when compared to Pete's storyline… it was mild.

While the mafia set-up made it different to other BL series, in the end, the details of it didn't amount to being so different. The best part of this show was Tankhun tbh. The only consistently interesting and redeemable character lmao.




I have long wished that the BL industry could get some better writers— not just in regards to skill, but in, I don't know if this is the right word, morals? I have not read the original book because so many fans have mentioned that it's even more graphic and disturbing than the series, and especially now with everything coming out about the writers and the power they held behind the scenes, things need to change. I wish there were better writers out there so studios don't have to give power, money, and attention to people who are abusive or perverted.

I feel so bad for the cast, to whom this filming period must have become a nightmare.

So many people are still hoping for a season two— I'm begging for there not to be one, for the sake of the actors. Not unless they can do it without the original writers (lol).

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