Angie Shen
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ngl, one of the worst BLs ever
(This is by no means an objective or organized review)I went into this series with a decent amount of expectation because I like the cast. And in most cases, I like the story of two childhood friends growing up being lovers. HOWEVER, I am seriously disappointed and pissed for the whole series.
1. SCRIPT: Definitely poorly written. I find almost all the interactions between characters, especially Tonhon and Chonlatee, very awkward. Their romantic scenes feel to me as too pushed. I understand this is a lighthearted series and the screenwriters are likely to want to make us laugh. However, some scenes are just down straight stupid.
2. STORIES: I have a lot of issues with the social responsibilities this series touched on. Of course, it does convey a clear message that all people are no less of a person because of their sexual orientation. And I firmly believe it has a good intention of de-stereotyping the LGBTQ+ community. However, here are some of my main issues with it:
- The moment Tonhon "realized" his love for Chon, the first thing he did was having sex with him. This makes this whole thing seems like THAT is what he wants (Not to mention no consent was explicitly shown).
- Tonhon’s dad’s character development process where: this is a character who can have a lot of space for development. Despite so many ways writers can make him realize his misconception, they chose to make him realize "gay people aren't all bad" under the situation of an accident, literally overnight. You may have different feelings about this scene but for me, it seems like Tonhon's dad just "forgave" them for being gay BECAUSE they helped him. There's no further open discussion about whether he actually isn't homophobic anymore.
- Women ≠ baby-making machine: the last episodes made me super angry. Tonhon's dad obviously never realized his mistake of viewing women as a utensil to make an heir. Miriam even became a surrogate mother because he wants an heir??? What in the world! I personally don't think surrogacy should be legal for many reasons (it facilitates human trafficking, surrogate mother's risks, etc.) but I understand people may have other views. However, here, while I appreciate Miriam's selflessness, the whole reasoning behind it is simply fucked up.
- Tonhon kissing Amp for his ego (to prove his masculinity???) and sure he apologized but did he realize his mistake? He literally tried to get Chon to trust him by expressing how long he has loved Chon. A person does not need to "prove" their gender expression or sexuality to other people ok? Not to mention that one's sexuality has nothing to do with one's gender expression. And Chon apologized to Tonhon even tho he did nothing wrong?? Smeh...
3. PACING: terrible pacing. Both about character development and the story going forward. There are a ton of useless scenes without pushing the plot.
I will not forgive this series for not addressing the issues above. There are many other problems that I haven't mentioned (like privacy and personal space, stereotypes about women, lack of well-portrayed characters, etc.) but these ones are what I'm most dissatisfied about.
Probably not an issue for most people, but I dislike the fact that Tonhon is just getting shirtless for absolutely no reason. I just don't need it lol.
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A Show that You Should Definitely Rewatch
[First of all, keep in mind that this is the show that turned me into polca so I may have some biased opinions here haha!]To be honest, the first time I watch it, I don't really love the storyline. It's just repetitively showing Pete's jealousy and Koa's somewhat insensitivity. And I'm just extremely frustrated by how they let Non almost ruin their 3-year-long relationship. And Non is just the most hateful character ever. These points are still valid, HOWEVER, while rewatching, I start to understand where their feelings come from. This is not a simple story about the mess created by an over-possessive boyfriend but more about the real struggles people in the LGBTQ+ community are having these days. Pete's possessiveness comes from his insecurity of Kao not being able to open up their relationship, while Kao is struggling very hard to come out to his mom and his friends (although this is inconsistent with the prequels, let's ignore it here). Non is also under the pressure of his possibly homophobic dad who also has unrealistically high expectations of him. One thing I love about this series is how PeteKao is already a couple in this series and they deal with all kinds of troubles about their relationship, just as straight couples do.
This show is by far the best BL series I've watched regarding how it represents the LGBTQ+ community. It talks about PeteKao and SunMork's relationships without using the cliche line "I don’t like men I only like you" (this sentence made it sounds like homosexuality is still rejected by the people who say it, so I think it's a bit problematic). It went into discussing extremely relevant and realist social issues of being gays, being lesbians, coming out, marriage, parental support/opposition, and insecurity in their relationships. It also portrays a cruel society by discussing violence, economic struggles, parent-child relationships, peer pressure, sex education, as well as internet bullying. There are just so many themes that you will need to rewatch to notice.
I would say this show has a great cast. Of course, this series provides great visuals to start with! The chemistry between TayNew and SunMork are both undeniably amazing. TayNew's intimate relationship in real life surely adds to the show. PeteKao naturally arguing over tiny things and SunMork being conflicted about their feelings toward each other make their relationships super believable and realistic. Acting is not amazing but still well above average.
This show also has a super high production value. I'm a big fan of P'Aof's directing and cinematography as always. Some camera shots are just breathtakingly beautiful. For example, I fell in love with PeteKao the moment I saw the scene by the swimming pool. The visual tension is captured so well! His wide landscape shots are also great! As for the music, we all know how infamously dramatic the intro song is. I bet most BL fans can relate hahaha! But every I watch it, I grow affection for it just because it's very different and interesting to watch. I wouldn't call the use of music "outstanding" in this show, but I just want to say the music before and during the first kissing scene in the classroom makes the scene almost magical! Not to mention how all the photos in this scene are It's very well-executed! And of course, as a polca, I can almost sing No Definition even though I don't understand Thai haha.
If you haven’t watched it, be sure to give it a try!!
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You shouldn't miss this hidden gem!
[This is not a very well-promoted series but IT'S A GEM! ]In my opinion, its plot, production, chemistry, and acting are absolutely amazing. This is such a non-cliche BL story with well-crafted characters. You finally don't see college students in the engineering department (not saying it's a bad thing but it's just very overused). Every character grew a lot during the series even though it's just 8 episodes. The emotions built up very well.
Overall, this show has a sense of poignance. The story exists between the past and the reality. I love how it organically ties in Thai culture with issues people are experiencing in modern society. It very well represented the struggles of people in the LGBTQ+ community nowadays. The relationships in this series are healthy and soft.
The production is also very good. I have always been a fan of P'Aof's direction because of his cinematography. This series doesn't feel like a GMMTV series to me because it's not as bright, but the whole atmosphere fits the theme very well. The melody and lyrics of the theme song are so beautifully written! I almost cried the first time I watched it. Also, pay attention to the outro songs of all the episodes. They are all different and they even filmed different outros. This shows how much dedication went into the production.
Now talking about acting, we all know Singto is a great actor. Even though I now and then see comments on how his energy level is low during the shooting of this series because he was also shooting Friend Zone at the same time, I still think he did a great job. However, Ohm really surprised me! He was only like 18-ish when he played Than but HE KILLED IT! The rooftop scene specifically, is one of my favorite scenes across all series I have ever watched.
In conclusion, you absolutely shouldn't miss it!
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