KUMASHOCK
This is why I hate motorcycles, girl.
If there's one life lesson I always seem to forget is the one that says that I should not judge a book by its cover.Honestly, as a gay man, I have always abhorred fujoshi and, most importantly, shipper culture. Usually, these two cultures tend to have the bad habit of shamelessly romanticize people and behaviors that should NEVER be romanticized for their own sick fetishes. So, that being said, my original reaction to this series wasn't very pleasant, but I still decided to give it a chance out of pure curiosity due to a Japanese drama I recently watched with a similar topic and that turned out to be an absolute masterpiece.
~Story:
Here is where it gets confusing to explain. It is a well-known plot and I feel like most of us at some point have read, watched, or even imagined a similar story out of our own volition. And it is not a bad story, but what is important here is not THAT specific plot, but the twist the author(s) added to it. It is important to know that the series becomes stale very quickly, with some unnecessary events getting dragged for too long without providing nothing interesting to the continuity of the story but, if you manage to survive that slow segment, you will be greeted with the best plot twist that makes of this a good show worthy of being remembered by the audience.
I have read some reviewers that shared displeased reactions to this twist and I'd like to differ with their opinions. They say that a twist like this isn't a very "BL" thing to do, but I personally think this is the best part of this series. After so many BL series that are relentlessly reusing the same plot and tropes over and over again, it IS good to have a series that breaks these tiring patterns every once in a while. This was, in my opinion, one of the BEST and most successful ways of making sure the audience remembers this drama.
Going off the topic for a bit, I would like to give this drama the award for the best love confession coming out of a Thai BL. It was, in lack of a better word, heartwarming. Like I said, don't judge a book by its cover. Once we start finding out the real truth, this becomes a very emotional and the most heartwarming moment of the story. Everything else that connects these two characters suddenly turns into a beautiful love story. It made me wish we could have a short second season placed within a parallel universe that dwells into the what-could-have-been.
~ Acting and Cast:
Acting was not the best, but it wasn't the worst either. It is sort of a comedy style acting that I personally didn't like. I preferred those moments where the actors were more natural because it didn't feel forced. Let's talk about some of the actors:
- Pan: I was never a big fan of her. I remember her from "Theory of Love" and that was not a very good memory. She was quite stiff and barely, just barely made it better this time around.
- Way: He grows on you very nicely. Specially because he gradually becomes more involved with the story and develops at the the same pace this is happening.
- Kim: Yes and no. I appreciate that he tried to give you more Pan, but it came out a little too forced and it was obvious he wasn't fully into that "funny" side of her character. His serious moments were a lot better, more believable and natural. Honestly, #WayKimForever. His chemistry with Way was really, really good as both Kim and Pan.
- Khett: A little forced, but passable. I am a fan of this actor from some of his previous works, so I already knew what to expect.
- Angel of Death: Jennie!!! I'm a huge fan of hers and I think she brought good vibes into the series as an actress. She has that good entertaining personality that shines through anything.
If I could change something about this drama it would be the writing itself. Like I previously said, it got stale very quickly and I feel like if they had shortened down the number of episodes and only focused on what's actually important for the story, this would have been delivered more successfully and consistently.
Sis, this show has everything: Problematic fujoshis, school drama, forbidden relationships, tasteless school uniforms, toying with life, body like an angel, gestures like an idol, good inside and out, legendary love confessions, that weird kiss, and ugly facial hair. This is not a masterpiece, but I still recommend it. Good shit.
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One part of me likes it while the other one is over it.
From the start I'm going to say that the story was aggravating to watch, but at the same time I wouldn't consider this to be a bad drama at all. There's always two sides to every coin and even though some things drove me crazy, there were others that I enjoyed watching.Let's start with my favorite part: the pacing. Most dramas I've seen usually start slow and suddenly turn fast towards the end giving the impression that they are trying to rush through the story skipping some important development. However, TOL was the complete opposite of that, and I loved this so much! The story started fast paced, but gradually began slowing down to focus on each couple individually and giving time for the audience to grow empathy by watching the struggles they were facing. This is EXACTLY what I look for in a drama! I enjoyed being able to slowly go through the characters' struggles and how they found a way to learn and move forward. Most other dramas give you a problem and pretty much solve it in one or two episodes, but TOL gave time for those problems to sink in a show the severity of the situation.
The editing on this drama, though... I'll just say... it left me with A LOT to wish for. It's just too amateur.
The soundtrack was pretty excellent too, if you ask me. I'm a soundtrack geek and the music is one of the things I look forward to the most when I watch a movie, anime, or any TV series. TOL's did not disappoint me at all (compared to many others tbh). The composer focused on ambient music with a kick of melancholy that fit very well with the mood of the episodes. It wasn't a soundtrack that felt generic at all, but more of an intimate style exclusively made for this show.
The acting in this series wasn't that bad, but it was not the best I've seen either. I felt like some actors were lacking some emotions in their voices, but nothing cringey, fortunately. I'll talk about each couple below:
Khai and Third: This was actually a very uniquely written couple. I have not seen a lot of dramas and this is the first couple with such toxic relationship. Quite a different toxicity than the Tharn and Type couple. This is probably the most aggravating part of the show because if I were Third I would've cut off this friendship so quickly, but well... it's a drama after all, can't complain much. I did like Off a lot more than Gun, though. I felt like he was a little more expressive than Gun. I just finished watching "I'm Tee, Me Too" and I noticed that Gun is lacking a lot of facial emotions to the point that his characters look dead inside. By the way, am I the only one who thinks Off's acting resembles a lot to Captain's (Love Sick)? So many mannerisms reminded me of him.
Two and Un: Honestly, this casting was terrible. Not because they are bad actors or anything, but because they don't look good together as a couple. I was constantly hoping that Two could end up with the girl instead and got really disappointed when it didn't happen. Shame.
Bone and Paan: As a gay man, I am happy to see straight couples being represented in BL. Why? Because it shows that we are accepting of them and call for the same treatment from non-BL series. I think both actors did very well, if not the best from the three "couples."
One thing that did bother me about the story is that they left Khai's major character development for the final episode. With how long the episodes were, it would have been more preferable if he had taken at least two episodes to go through his development. This is just me being picky for a good reason.
All in all, this is a good drama that deviates from the usual lighthearted stories most people would be probably used to. If you like some tragedies, then this is a drama for you.
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I realized I'm a sensitive b**ch.
How do you turn a cold hearted man like my gay a$$ into a sensitive b**ch? Show me a drama that constantly reminds me of "Love Sick."To be honest, I've been trying to write a review for this one for three weeks already and have failed miserably because I don't know where and how to begin. Writer's block, everyone. I'll try once again hoping it works out this time.
2gether has gotten people divided into the ones who love it and the ones disappointed with it. I see myself leaning towards the ones who "like it for what it is." Maybe it's the fact that it is literally "Love Sick" reimagined or it is just because I see a lot of potential in the story. I don't know, but the point is: I can't come to dislike it.
Beginning with the story. It is a 100% slice of life drama that shows you the everyday life of college students as they fall in love, struggle, mess up (constantly), make a drama about it, and try (try?) to learn from their experiences. There are a lot of details that made it hard for me not to continuously compare it with "Love Sick" because they are very similar to each other; however, I do not necessarily find that to be a bad thing. I mean, what drama hasn't taken inspiration from it? I'll wait. The only problem with this is that 2gether also added the things that aren't that good about Love Sick.
There isn't anything that can be called memorable. The life of the characters is normal and bland, but real. Plenty of authors who write BL novels get this strange misconception that gay people have this super special life, so it was appealing to see a story that was leaning towards the "normal" side of the spectrum. The series also began with a strong plot that promised a rom-com style of writing; even so, it didn't meet the standards you would expect.
The pacing was decent until we reach episode 10. From then on it does look like the editors rushed through quite a bit of story that didn't allow the viewer to sympathize and connect with important dramatic scenes. As soon as drama began, everything was resolved shortly. Honestly, this is my biggest problem. This series called for a longer run with at least 20 episodes to really build up for those important scenes. Plenty of characters and story deserved to be fleshed out more and was, unfortunately, cut short so they can mostly focus on the main couple. Tragic.
It was a shame seeing good actors being overshadowed by the main couple because of the editing (and most likely the writers that only focused on them as well). Toptap, my baby, I love you and I wish I could've seen more of you. At this point I wonder why were there even other couples in here since we barely had any time with them.
By the way, that eyebrow guy? I don't even know his name, but I could not stop staring at his super thick eyebrows. Trim them, man, I promise it won't make you any less of a man. Just do it for the sake of everyone who loves a good eyebrow.
From the main couple, Sarawat was the character I liked the most (the flashbacks of episode 11, y'all. My gay heart couldn't take it). The transition between his bad attitude when we first meet him to his more open self was one of the smoothest character developments I've seen in a BL drama. Truly something to pay attention to. Additionally, the chemistry between Win and Bright was decent. From what I saw they looked pretty comfortable with each other in most scenes. Win was a good actor despite this being his first professional work; his character was believable and natural until the end and was not overshadowed by Bright. I blame the editing for whatever happened to them after they became a couple.
Moving on, I like it when dramas showcase something specific about things that you may not find important at the beginning. "Until We Meet Again" was constantly taking its time to showcase traditional Thai desserts, and 2gether wanted to showcase music! Scrubb's music, to be precise. The soundtrack was beautiful, it was used correctly, and flowed nicely on each episode. But I am angry that the album was missing all the Scrubb songs when I bought it.
Overall I will recommend this drama despite its flaws. It was popular for a reason and that should not be taken for granted. Worth of a rewatch.
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