Guys, pals, fam.
Where do I even start with this mess.

The BIG ASS issues with this drama are:
- Toxicity
- Nonsense (both for the story and the characters)
- Lack of Consequences
(- Editing too but not as bad as the rest)


Let's start as usual with

GENERAL

• NO COHESIVENESS WHATSOEVER

1. Character's personality, their relationship, and the situations in general happen/change however and whenever the plot needs them to.
Ex.
a. Sarawat & Tine's friends become friends but then they're rivals but then boh
b. Fangirls hating on Tine but then suddenly shipping them together with no apparent reason (it's not character development, sorry)
c. Green appearing and disappearing accordingly to what the story needs

I could go on but this review is already going to be long as it is.

2. Double Standards.

A big point in the TOXICITY issue is how relationship are represented.

Green stalks and harasses Tine, in the EXACT SAME way Tine does with Sarawat at the beginning, or Man does with Type FOR THE WHOLE TIME, or even PhuKong does with Mil.
So why is it that when it's Green the one doing it, it's annoying and "dangerous" (Tine's words) and we hope he stops, but when it's the rest of them it's funny and/or romantic? That's NOT how it works!

• GIRLS REPRESENTATION

Three (3). It's the number of girls with an actual working brain we get to see during the drama. The rest of them (A LOT) are either weird (Tine's exes), a brainless screaming crowd or become brainless screaming people the moment Sarawat appears.
It's just really sad.

• EDITING

It's really confusing sometimes. It's not easy to understand if you're watching a flashback, a dream, the present, the future or what.
Also. I'm sorry but I HAVE to mention this. THE SEQUENCE OF TINE SEEING SARAWAT EVERYWHERE IN EP 7.
That edit is just HORRIBLE.
Tine sees Sarawat everywhere without a real reason, without a good bgm emphasizing the process of Tine realizing and coming to terms with the fact he misses Wat, without even having the time to reflect on it. It's just bad.

( My Engineer did a way better job in the same situation, but the "missing" was about a frogging gift box. I feel ashamed in behalf of 2gether ' staff, honestly)

• ACTING

.... Y'all remember Sarawat used to smile too, right?
WHERE TF WAS IT IN THE LAST 6 EPS??
Especially when with Tine I remember seeing it maybe once, when they were both on the couch while Type was "sleeping" in the bed.
That's it.
I honestly don't know what happened to Bright, or to his acting coach for him to have almost for the entire second half of the drama this sort of facial paresis.
Maybe it's just that they didn't get the note that while the drama progresses and we get to know him better, he should start showing MORE emotions. But okay, whatever.
I kinda liked Win tho, especially the emotional scene in ep 10. That was good, and a cute scene as a whole.
I hope they'll both get to improve and act in other series in the future.

Gunsmile and Taptop the gems of this series, bless them.

• GENERAL NONSENSE

to name just a few examples:

1. How Sarawat says in front of Green & screaming fangirls that he and Tine are only friends just to tell later in the same ep that he likes Tine. In front of Green & screaming fangirls
2. Sarawat not letting Tine talk even if he's supposed to be secretly in love with him already
3. Whatever happened in the bg during Phukong's interview in ep 5
4. Sarawat beaten up because some girls liked his ig posts??

• TOXICITY

Direct consequence of the "double standard" problem I talked about, or together with it, is the narrative this series is normalizing:

"No doesn't really mean 'no'. They're just playing hard to get, and if you keep doing whatever you're doing they'll eventually love you back"

Do I really need to say how wrong and creepy and dangerous this belief can be?

And not just that. There are a number of bad behaviors normalized. Stalking, harassing, catfishing, getting drunk WAY too often...


CHARACTERS


• Tine
He's often showed as just dumb. And that's really sad. Even the time he cut the pick in half, it would have been so easy to make it an act of ingenuity to affectionately make fun of in the future but the way it was shown, it just made Tine look stupid.
Also there is no character development, all his flaws are there for the whole drama.
Ex. He was selfish and irresponsible when he paid Phukong to go somewhere else, and again later when ditched the music club because he didn't need Sarawat anymore, and when he went outside alone in the dark during the trip ecc.
At least he's coherent I guess

• Sarawat

Complete opposite to Tine, he changes his behavior CONSTANTLY.
From distant and reserved, to affectionate and clingy to distant but also flirty to caring to uncomfortable...
It's a rollercoaster and it doesn't have a logic development

• Man

I hate him and I'm not even sorry.
Helps Wat getting Tine drunk, stalks Type and keeps following and harassing him even after Type VERY CLEARLY tells him he's not interested, catfishing him in the meantime.
He's not a good character.

• Type

He deserved better. I knew he would eventually end up with Man, but he really deserved so much more than a liar creepy stalker as love interest *sigh*

• Gunsmile and the rest of the friends

I don't even remember their names, that's how important they are in the show.
Tine's friends especially don't really do a lot, except maybe constantly going after girls and sometimes randomly giving an advice that the plot needs to "develop".
They also don't have any consistency in the way they act, but I blame this to the writing of the plot more than to them as characters.


• Mil

He doesn't have the space he needed. For Tine and Sarawat, he is an asshole that keeps bothering someone who already has a bf and doesn't know when to stop.
But he also seems to have morals and be kind. No space to develop it tho

• Phukong

Another stalker in the series.
Doesn't really have a plotline besides trying to become Mil's bf

• Green

Green doesn't make sense as a whole.
I appreciate having a semi-good representation of a "feminine" gay, even being seen as strong when he goes against Tine's masked friends in ep 1
But... He doesn't want anyone to know he's dating P'Dim but he has no problem to follow Tine everywhere being super loud and direct? And if he broke up with P'Dim for 2 mins ecc... Why was the whole question still going on in ep 7?


Last point.

RELATIONSHIPS

• Sarawat/Tine

I have no idea where their chemistry went from the moment they became official. They look progressively more awkward and uncomfortable being around each other. To the point where they seem to be almost forced or in pain when together, and far more comfortable and happy with their friends. Hello?? Aren't you supposed to be a new couple who just moved together (way too fast too, if we have to be honest)?? Where is the intimacy? The tension? The love??
They also have NO communication nor trust.
In ep 12 for ex. First Sarawat turns his back to Tine even while being well aware of him feeling upset. Then he reassures him the following morning, just to act suspicious and hiding things from him immediately after. And don't let me start with how Sarawat with the help of his friends makes Tine get drunk so that he can post a suggestive pic on Tine's IG to declare to the world he's taken.
Should that be romantic? Cause it's NOT. It's creepy and a BIG red flag.
But as with everything else, this action has no consequences.
Like when Sarawat promises not to let their friends know they're together yet, but announces it to them 0.3 secs later instead. Or really anything. No consequences at all.

• Man/Type

I won't repeat the whole "creepy obsessive stalker" thing, but let's talk about how the infamous dinner went. Type tried to tell Man not to go, but Man completely ignored him (as per usual) and decided to go. During the dinner he talks about Type and tells to Type's coworkers things it's absolutely not his place to tell. He doesn't know if Type is friend or even comfortable with them. It's so disrespectful towards Type. After that, Type STILL tells his colleague to stop when he was making fun of Man and tries to protect him.
And people hated on him because he left with his co-worker. OKAY.
(I think he should have walked home or taken a taxi and left them both there)

EXTRA

They are red sometimes when drunk. I promised to give extra points for this so here I am.

And another one because they wash hands after using the toilet.

I appreciate the little things ?

CONCLUSION

What can I say. This drama started up in my top 10, but from ep 4 on it started going down. A pity, honestly. Especially because I love the "fake bf" trope.
Even putting the toxicity aside, the complete lack of consequences for literally anything that happens completely destroys any tension even when you are supposed to feel it. And things keep happening without a real reason, completely random.
I honestly have NO idea what show the people praising this, the acting, the story, the relationship and so on are watching, cause it can't be the same.