kazel87
Kuala Lumpur
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I have watched this series twice. I think you will enjoy this series if:-1. You view it from Asian lens (further details in the review below)
2. You do not really give heavy emphasis on the inconsistencies within the Kiss series (ie some knowledge will be useful such as Pete and Kao are already together for 3 years, Pete's dad knows about them, etc)
I have not watched the earlier 2 Kiss series in entirety. So perhaps this might be the reason I enjoyed DBK immensely.
What I like about the series are:-
1. Each main characters were thrust into realistic situation that any gay man may encounter in real life.
Pete - having to constantly being compared with his dad's friends' sons and worry being a disappointment to his dad.
Kao - being a breadwinner for his family with his sis still in college. I felt his story arc was important but somehow misunderstood by some viewers without the understanding of the situation he was in. Coming out may put his and his mother's reputation at risk. This will certainly have economic impact (ie loss of students for Kao and promotion for his mother) even if he has strong support system and acceptance from friends and family. I felt this fear is very real especially in Asian society.
Sun - somewhat estranged from his dad because of his sexuality and the dad tried to bargain with him in return for his acceptance.
Mork - accidentally outed by a good friend (with good intention nonetheless) but reiterate to that friend that coming out is a very personal thing that can only be decided by himself.
2. The awesome opening intro with the dramatic music and symbolic action/item hinting at the storyline (ie the coffee bean and breaking of glasses) as well as the theme song.
Now this series is far from perfect. I wish they had done certain things differently. I felt the introduction of Non was to tie in to the Kao's fear of coming out but somehow the execution was muddled. There was no background to Non's action as to why he kept pestering Kao. Perhaps some flashback might be useful.
Nonetheless, this is my fave 2019 BL series for 2 simple reasons:-
1. Realistic scenes that any gay man would face. I especially like the conversation between Pete and Kao on needing to be a better person simply because they are gay.
2. Sizzling chemistry between the 2 main couples.
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After binge-watching all 12 episodes over the weekend, the ending completely let me down. I felt the ending was unrealistic and did not serve the characters well. Please do bear in mind that my review is based on the fact that I have never read the novel nor watched LBC.1. In the final confrontation scene between Tharn, Type and Lhong (which in itself was a bit long IMO), Tharn was seen to be beating himself up over what happened to Tar (someone he loved deeply before meeting Type). Yet there was no follow up to that. A meeting with Tar over the unfortunate circumstances will provide so much emotional resonance. This would have allowed some character depth to Tharn and also enable Tar to have some sort of closure given that he is the real victim. As it is, Tar miraculously recover from his year-long anxiety and depression in the last few scenes and can continue his education at France which was super-unrealistic. Also, given that his band broke up over this Tharn/Tar separation, I felt they could have also resolved the dispute between Tharn and Tum.
2. Tharn and Type's characterization. From the beginning, it seems like Tharn and Type enjoyed a healthy friendship (despite how brief it was given that they are first year's students). But this was not shown and viewers were quickly introduced to their dispute over Tharn's homosexuality. Flashback would have great to establish this. What I couldn't accept was Tharn's inconsistent characterization. He was portrayed as a loving son/brother (in his scenes with his family) and loyal friend (flashback with Lhong) yet he crossed the line and sexually assault Type because he has a crush on Type. That was highly disturbing to me.
3. The good thing that came out from the series is Techno. Played extremely well, the character is likeable without being annoying. However, we also did not get to know him more other than his ambition to be a football captain. Perhaps that is the reason I like the character. There was no introduction of background with serious implications to the character.
All in all, I would have a hard time recommending this one to anyone other than to enjoy the fluffy scenes between Tharn and Type.
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