A rollercoaster in the most positive way possible!

This was the very first series that got me to ACTUALLY wait impatiently for every new episode. Usually I watch one or two episodes during their “premiere” and then wait till the whole series is out but this one? Once you get into the story you’ll keep on wanting more and more and you won’t even notice when the final episode ends. Trust me.

Since there are 4 couples I want to kind of “rate” their storylines separately and then sum up everything at the end so bare with me through this long review ><

Couple no.1 - Mew x Top
Since the series basically starts off from Mew’s pov at first I kind of automatically assumed that they’ll be the “main couple” and at the beginning it was true - most of the screen time was dedicated to Mew and his personal experiences but (thankfully) it all evens up as you go through more episodes.
As for Mew - a “good boy gone bad” trope really came through with his character throughout the whole series and I’m so happy that happened. It’s like he finally got out of the nerd cage he’s trapped himself in. A truly interesting character development, despite the toxicity he served his friends because of it but I’m glad they didn’t try to make him that one angel with no flaws (cause at first that’s the vibes you’ll get from him).
As for Top - man had a true “personality glow up” and I’m here for it because it wasn’t done in that cliché way that’s supposed to play on your emotions just to make you feel bad for the “poor lost bad boy” he’s introduced as.
Together they make a really predictable yet somehow unique couple. They turned the cliche trope into a more interesting one with the whole “revenge plan” of Mew’s which shifted their storyline onto the new track. And I really like how it wasn’t only Top chasing after Mew with a big sign “I’m sorry that I slept with your friend” but also Mew having to swallow his pride in order to save the relationship once Top was about to give up on “trying”. It made it all more unique.
Acting on point, both Book and Force have a great chemistry especially for this type of a simple sweet relationship. One thing I wish for is for the scriptwriters to plan out the last two episodes a bit better since it was just too much. So many things happening at once and even more “quick answers” for the questions that formed throughout the series.
Would love to see how their relationship develops in season 2 since there’s still so much to their characters that can be told (hopefully we’ll get it soon).

Couple no.2 - Sand x Ray
Personally my favorite ship of the series but I may be biased since I’m a big fan of First and Khaotung’s acting skills. They’re one of the most talented yet still underrated actors in the industry and I’m so happy they were offered these roles because they really delivered their characters.
As for Sand - man deserves all the love from this world and is truly a walking green flag among all the red ones in this wonderful (feel the sarcasm) friend group. His character brought so much safety and comfort to the series yet still didn’t lack strong and characteristic personality - it just amazes me how well done his whole presence along with his own personal storyline was.
As for Ray - a character with so much hidden trauma it makes your heart ache. He’s basically a self-destructive, broken to the core man standing on the edge ready to push himself down the cliff and it’s all done in this raw, unfiltered way. So good and so… human. In my opinion he’s the one who makes Only Friends the series it is. There’s not a lot of characters with this type of a story and it was a fresh breeze in the BL world (or just cinematography world overall).
Together they’re like the missing pieces of one another and the development of both characters is so damn satisfying. Sand rescuing Ray from the self-destructive wheel he’s been living in and Ray teaching Sand that you can’t fix everyone is the most intense thing you’ll see in the series since it influences all the other couples.
And as I said - SO glad they chose First and Khaotung for these roles. Not only their chemistry and acting skills are a great match for this series but also their level of awareness of the characters they’re playing… While watching “behind the scenes” and different interviews of Only Friends you’ll find out how many of their scenes were improvised (for example: the iconic “cigarette kiss/smoke kiss”? Khaotung’s idea!) and it makes everything even more impressive.
Some things I wish for to be developed deeper in season 2: Sand & his father, Ray’s trauma & how he’s copying with it, building their relationship while healing and IF the healing is successful.

Couple no.3 - Boston x Nick
The most “whatwhyhow” couple in the series. Both want something completely different and end up in this weird (but somehow so close to the real life) type of a relationship which can’t lead to anything good. The Romeo and Juliet but drunk version of the 21st century.
As for Boston - I didn’t like him from the very start and I still stand by that (which honestly only proves how GOOD was the acting and the whole “concept” for this character) Man needs to talk to a sex therapist and work through his desires and narcissistic personality and I don’t say this because I hate him, cause I don’t. I don't LIKE him but not HATE him if it makes sense.. I just think that he should in the first place focus on himself but in a different way than he’s used to - work on your problems, figure out why are you hurting the ones you love and just overall notice that sometimes it’s you who’s the problem (even if you don’t mean to be the problem). That’s why his character is so real. Cause how many Bostons do we know? I can name a couple and I’m sure you can do that too. Sad reality but I’m glad they decided not to give him the “happy ending” for this season since it only adds humanity to it. Let’s normalize characters who need a bit more time than 2-3 episodes to heal/fix their issues.
As for Nick - the hopeless romantic who fell for the wrong guy and missed on the right one (yes, I’m talking about the green-flag-Dan). But who's to blame? It’s not like we can control our heart, right? Honestly even though he’s done some messed up things for love and caused a BIT of trouble (chaos even) I still can’t hate him. He’s just the type of person who needs to be loved and cared for just as much as they need to breathe in order to survive and his character in my opinion is so underrated. He started off as that “creepy stalker” and went through the “lovelorn boy” era just to end up as “finally ready to love myself” and I couldn’t be more happy to see him choose himself over the destructive love he was stuck in for a very long time. This is one of the most unexpected yet precious character developments I’ve seen.
I wouldn’t mark their story as any “unhappy ending” but it’s not the happy one either. Would love to see more of them and I’ll look out for season 2 mostly for these two. Hopefully we’ll get to see these two happy together some day in the future!

Couple no.4 - Namchueam x April
I have so many regrets regarding this couple. I was really hoping for them to be in the same group as other “main couples” but they didn’t do these two justice. It’s like they were in the series just to keep the plot running when there was a need for some push or “gender equality” cause they only focused on the male couples completely ignoring Chueam and Pril…
As for Chueam - she took the role of the real “caretaker” of the friend group and I feel like if it wasn’t for her they would have split their ways a long long time ago. She strikes me as that one lively, out-going but a bit silly friend that we all have and love and I’m sad they didn’t give her more chances to show herself or at least have her own storyline that isn’t based on what’s going on with the main couples…
As for Pril - girl really got like 5 minutes of the screen time for 12 full episodes. HOW?
This couple had so much potential. They could show them more especially after Ray’s iconic drunk expose of his friends’ secrets at Mew’s bday party but they literally cut off their thread after Chueam admitted to “not understanding” April’s indie movies. Why not give them an actual storyline? Well, maybe in the future GMM will notice what they’re sleeping on.

One more thing I really want to mention is the OST choices and visuals Only Friends is serving left and right. I’m a sucker for any good soundtrack especially when it comes to series kept in that old-vintage-cigarette smoke-raw-unfiltered-vibe. And this definitely passed as one of the best eye and ear pleasing series (similar to Not Me so if you’ve watched this one you’ll know what I’m talking about).
Camera work is amazing, acting is so on point, script is well-written (a bit rushed since they had to fit all that in only 12 episodes but still did a good job), OST matches the scenes, every character is unique in its own way yet they make a perfect mix together… Deserves 10 stars cause I honestly cannot name any similar (storywise) series/movie to this one. And since episode 12 ends by introducing a whole new character I hope we’ll get another season soon.

So happy I was able to watch this while it was coming out :)

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