Something for everybody

As with all reviews, this is just my personal thoughts and feelings :)

Never Let Me Go
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t looking forward to this because I felt like NLMG as a series was very flat; I watched it each week but it just didn’t do anything for me. However, these two little episodes gave me everything I wanted from Palm and Nueng! I felt like we got to see the chemistry both actors have with one another and actually got to see them step out of their comfort zones and play off the storyline. I know a lot of people were dreading the whole ‘time travel’ thing, and I was one of them, but I really enjoyed these episodes and I feel like it gave me a new appreciation for the characters and the cast.

Star and Sky: Star in my Mind
I binge watched the series over the weekend before in order to be ready for these episodes since it was the only show I hadn’t seen of all those included in OS2. I won’t lie, I wasn’t a fan of the series as it felt so bland, leaving me feeling bored most episodes. I don’t think these two episodes really made me feel any different. When watching the original series, I preferred Sky in Your Heart; no, it wasn’t perfect, but Fah and Prince were much more enjoyable to watch and I didn’t feel like I was zoning out constantly. I actually would have much rather a continuation of that relationship over Dao and Kluen. (Also, we got like one mention of Fah and that was about his Condo; and what was with Prince apparently always being on the mountain or overseas? So did Fah and Prince not get married? Are they still together? I know Mek has left GMMTV so they probably didn’t want to bring him back - idiots - but they could have at least given us SOMETHING. Isn’t the purpose of Our Skyy to give us a conclusion to our favourite shows? Sorry, I just really loved Fah over everyone and I’m just bitter I watched two episodes of more or less no character expansion when I could have had more Fah and Prince.)

The Eclipse
I was most excited for these episodes because The Eclipse is my favourite Thai show EVER. Akk and Ayan are my absolute babies (heck, Kan, Thua, Wat and Namo, too) so I’ve been so hyped and nervous for this.

It was perfect.

Now, I fully admit that I am an emotional person, and I was feeling extra when these episodes aired but GOSH I just kept crying. I loved getting to see the different sides of Akk and Ayan’s relationship. I know some people felt like it wasn’t the AkkAyan we’ve always known, but it really was; this was us getting to see these boys without the constraints of Suppalo, without worrying about society’s view of them, just teenage boys being boys. We got to see an Akk who is actually very clingy and in love, but who still has doubts and is trying to find a way to fit into his own skin. We got to see an Ayan who is maybe a little more complacent because he got what he wanted (Akk) and perhaps sometimes forgets himself. (Also, did anyone really think Aye would forget Akk’s birthday? Come on!)

I love that we also got to see where the supporting cast are at in life; seeing Kan and Thua just be in love was beautiful. I had so much love for these characters and I love that Kan is exactly how I imagined in regards to being in a relationship with Thua - he tries to be the tough protector but then he literally cannot sleep for one night without him. I also loved seeing Wat chase his dreams, and even seeing Namo be worried about not mattering was just sort of cool? Like seeing little bits of characters that we love, that we never thought we’d get to see.

These two episodes were so special to me, personally, and I just kept crying! For some reason it really hit me that this is probably the last we’ll ever see of these characters (unless the rumour of that sequel novel is true and eventually we get another season - which I highly doubt, tbh). I do think this was both a cruel and perfect way to end for us; cruel, because now I’m stressing over where Ayan will go overseas for school, but perfect because they all just got to have happy moments and that will be our last memory of them. (Great, now I’m crying again.)

ViceVersa
Full disclosure, I wasn’t a huge fan of this series. I really only stuck with it because of the supporting cast. In all honesty, I think I just didn’t enjoy JimmySea in these roles? Because the whole switched universe thing is a great idea and I loved the story, but I just don’t seem to see the chemistry between Jimmy and Sea that everyone else seems to.

With the first episode of OS2 x VV I didn’t really have much of an opinion. I still don’t really see much chemistry between Jimmy and Sea, if I’m honest. I don’t know if it’s just because of the characters or if it’s them as actors; I do think Jimmy is a great actor, and I thought he was fantastic with the kid that played Jigsaw (part of me thinks the fact he’s a doctor gives him a bit of a soft touch when it comes to kids). The story felt a bit bland, and the introduction of the kid was so unrealistic; when we discover the actual origin of the kid, I didn’t find it funny or cute, just a bit uncomfortable. It all just felt too manipulative and kinda cruel, to be honest.

I just feel like VV is not as well written as it could be overall, and I’m sad about that because I was hoping these episodes might give me a little more appreciation for the original show (much like OS2 x Never Let Me Go did) but alas, I just didn’t feel much of anything.

My School President
Full disclosure, MSP is probably one of my favourite high school BLs. I thought I’d hate it, but it ended up being one of my favourites. The cast is fantastic, the writing was well done, and the whole production was great. It was so good that I was able to bypass all the singing without feeling second hand embarrassment (like I do with most BLs). So, needless to say I have been so excited about these episodes!

Sadly, I feel like they fell short, a little. They were fun, and I liked the multiverse thing and it was super cute, but you really could feel how rushed it was - like, they jammed an entire season into two episodes, so that was always going to be a bit tricky. Luckily the cast have such good chemistry and nothing felt forced. It would have been nice to have seen more of the Pat/Yo thing, because that was completely new (and throwing Korn in like that, that was surprising to me).

At the risk of being ‘that’ fan, it felt a bit weird that no one kissed? Even the ‘Bad Buddy’ kiss was faked, so it seemed a bit odd. In the original series I genuinely didn’t care if anyone kissed because it felt right, but with this I felt like it would have added to the story.

I did love the tributes to other shows (especially ‘He’s Coming to Me’ because that show doesn’t get nearly enough attention). All in all, it was cute enough, but I think the original universe was much better.

A Boss and A Babe
This was another show that I’d originally only watched because it was to be part of this series…but I fell madly in love with it. The writing was great, the whole cast had so much chemistry and ForceBook were just magnificent. So, I’m glad that these episodes were so close to the ending of the actual series because it meant I didn’t actually have to wait! In fact, it did actually feel like just two extra episodes, and I liked that!

Cher and Gun doing the whole sort of ‘king for a day’ thing, swapping roles so Gun would know what it was like to be his own employee was something you could actually imagine the characters doing in the actual series, and it was a joy to watch! Something I loved in the show was watching Gun come out of his shell outside of the workplace, so seeing how tough he can be as a boss was something new but also expected; and Cher trying to soften him in his own wacky way was just so much fun.

I really fell in love with ForceBook because of this show, and these OS2 episodes was a neat little bonus without being too out of the norm (compared to some of the other series included).

Note: I’m gonna do Bad Buddy & A Tale of 1000 Stars in 3 parts, because I think these 4 episodes call for it.

Bad Buddy
It should be no shock to anyone that I am among the legion of fans who LOVE Bad Buddy. It was one of the earlier BLs I watched and I hadn’t thought I would be that fond of it, but it became one of my top five of all time. I know this has been one of the most anticipated series to return for OS2, and I have been so, so excited for these episodes; but I’ve also been very nervous because we all know that Ohm and Nanon aren’t exactly very comfortable with one another at the moment, and I was so worried that what is going on off screen would affect their on-screen chemistry. Oh, how glad I am to be able to say that the nerves were all for nothing. You can say what you want about Ohm and Nanon, but you can’t tell me these guys don’t have amazing screen chemistry and talent. I truly felt like I was right back watching Bad Buddy once again, and getting a little canonically glimpse into their Fake Break Up Era was so much fun. It was cool to see their respective friend groups learning to be friends, especially knowing that Wai and Korn are best friends in the future.

Whilst the storyline for the Bad Buddy episodes isn’t anything overly extravagant, it was so true to what Bad Buddy was at its core, whilst still showing the development of the characters. Pat being and absolute softy for Pran, acting all tough but giving in so easily and basically tripping over himself to fawn over Pran is so on brand and I couldn’t help but giggle at him constantly. Also, Pran trying to take everything on and just being typical Pran…but also showing a bit of a soft spot for Pat. I adore these characters and I am so, so grateful we got this last chance to see them.

BB x A Tale of 1000 Stars
Now, I’m of the opinion that this cross over was concocted by the creators because they were worried that the Ohm and Nanon drama might impact the show, so perhaps giving them other screen partners would soften that. Of course there was no need for worry because Ohm and Nanon are more professional than we ever thought and still manage to carry on their acting chemistry despite what may or may not be happening off screen.

However, I thoroughly enjoyed the crossover! Having Pat and Pran travel to a place they aren’t familiar with is just another thing that helped make it feel like we were right back in the originally series - but having them interact with other beloved characters from another beloved show was just icing on the cake. Earth and Mix can give everyone a run for their money in terms of chemistry, so seeing them face off with Ohm and Nanon was brilliant! they all stole the show and bounced off one another so perfectly.

A Tale of 1000 Stars
Yes, another favourite of mine - I’m sorry, but EarthMix are AMAZING together and I literally would watch them sit in an empty room together doing nothing, because they just have the most amazing chemistry. They just seem so comfortable with one another and it really sells their performances. I adored ATOATS and I have been so excited to see Tian and Phupha on the mountain again. As I said above, seeing the Bad Buddy boys face off with our mountain boys was amazing to watch, and I think it also really held onto what ATOATS is; Tian is always trying to help people, but does still have his own little flaws and is so stubborn he gets himself into trouble, whilst Phupha is still willing to do anything to keep Tian safe whilst also being stubborn and not showing his true feelings when he should. That all said, we still got to see character growth in that both are starting to understand the other’s limits and how they feel.

I won’t lie, getting a proposal as the last few minutes of not just ATOATS, but as the end of Our Skyy 2 was a nice touch. Out of all the series included, I think the characters of Tian and Phupha were the perfect ones to end on.

End Notes:
Over all, I enjoyed Our Skyy 2. It was fun to interact with the BL fandom each week on Tumblr as we all anticipated what episodes were airing, and I especially loved seeing different people get hyped for different episodes.

I do believe that The Eclipse, Never Let Me Go, Bad Buddy and A Tale of 1000 Stars were the standouts, but I think most episodes had something for everyone. I’m a little sad it’s over and that it’s most likely the last time we’ll see many, if not most, of these characters, but it was a lovely way to say goodbye.

Lees verder