This review may contain spoilers
Unrequited? More like Unrealistic.
StoryUnrequited love is nothing new in the BL genre. In point of fact, it shouldn’t even be called unrequited, as at some point it always ends up requited. Theory of Love falls into that exact category—unrealistically so. In any world adjacent to the real one, Third and Khai wouldn’t have ended up together. But since this a BL, of course they do, because the plot said they had to. If there were ever a series where we needed to use the word “gay” this would have been it. Why is it never brought up as a possibility that Khai wouldn’t be interested in Third because he’s not gay? That would have been the most obvious reason. “Not wanting to ruin their friendship” would have only worked as the main reason if Khai were a gay man, dating multiple guys at once. In fact, that would have made the entire story work a lot better. But no, we barely touch upon the idea of sexual preference here. As in most BLs, there was some desperate need to make it look like two straight boys fell in love, and it came at the expense of the story.
Another failing of the story: Why on earth was Third in love with Khai to begin with? Khai was not a good friend, or even a good person. Sure, he’s good looking, and sometimes they had a laugh, but that was it. The show leaned way to hard into the whole “the heart wants what it wants,” aspect. I was told that Third was in love with Khai, but never shown why throughout their relationship or interactions. Without really understanding why Third was so head over heels, it made it very hard to get invested in his plight.
On the plus side, tone-wise, I thought the show often balanced drama and light-hearted well. Not all the time, mind you. Third’s habit of crying in the shower while fully clothed and pouring water bottles on himself was silly. It could have worked, had he cried during a regular shower once or twice. Not everything needs a comedic undertone—these moments certainly didn’t.
I actually liked the voiceovers, from both Third and Khai’s perspectives. I thought the perspective shift (from Third to Khai) about half-way through would weaken the show, but it actually held up fairly well. There were a few really cringe-worthy scenes, Khai’s first and final confession being good examples. Just way too many people present and involved in those scenes. Some scenes were cut/edited weird, like the bedroom scene, where Khai said sleeping over was different now, then the opening credits played, and then after that suddenly they were on the train. Where was the rest of the scene?
As stated in the opening paragraph, I think the biggest strike against the story is Khai falling in love with Third. He was never presented as gay, or even bisexual, so the only reason I can think of for his sudden love is “the script said so.” That isn’t good story writing. The story would have been better served by either Khai not being presented as straight to begin with, or the two of them not getting together in the end. But then I guess we’d stray into realism and away from BL.
*Side note: The product placements were egregious.
Acting/Characterization
Acting was probably the strongest aspect Theory of Love. I thought the group of four male friends felt very real, and the cast in general was well-rounded. But this, again, is brought down by the characterization of the characters.
Third: No question about it, Gun killed this role. I didn’t particularly like Third, but I found him to be a real character, and that’s more important to me. A lot of BL actors come across extremely awkward or even laughable when attempting to cry and do sad scenes—Gun is the king of crying. Nothing seemed staged in those scenes, though there might have been one too many of them. Though he’s a really small guy, his size never affected his character. He wasn’t weak or wimpy, or cute. He went from angsty and depressed to super jaded. I liked his introspective side. That’s different for a BL character. Again, I did not understand why he was in love with someone who treated him so poorly, but since he was so obsessed in the beginning, it made it hard to believe he’d make Khai jump through so many hoops at the end. Some, sure, but Khai having to prove his love really dragged on.
Khai: Off held his own here. Prior, I’d only seen him in comedic roles, but when it was Khai’s turn to be sad and pine, he pulled it off. Again, I didn’t like Khai as a character—he was a thoughtless friend and a womanizer—but for the most part, I believed him. He was a real character. A lot of people probably know or have encountered a Khai. And I did like when he made an effort to be a better friend, but the biggest problem is that I don’t buy, for one second, that Khai would fall in love with Third. It happened for no reason. He went from only being into girls (very into girls) to suddenly being madly in love with Third for no reason other than he found out about Third’s feeling. That doesn’t happen, and I don’t understand why they didn’t just make Khai gay or bi to being with. The story would have been better for it.
Two: I’ve liked White since I saw him in Love Sick, and it was nice to see him in a more mature role. While I liked his relationship with Un, it wasn’t explored enough to be really satisfying. It was so brief that some parts had me scratching my head. I couldn’t figure out how Un had known to go to the beach that one night, or why he’d decided to stay without actually knowing if Two was into him or not. They just didn’t cover any of that. Two being torn between a girl and a boy would have worked better had they actually shown us some sort of struggle with his sexuality, but sexuality is again a non-existent non-issue. The twist of Un having actually been into Two the whole time and not Third was neat, though I didn’t think it needed to be back-dated to freshman orientation. Unfortunately, White got stuck with that horrible, horrible colorism line, directed at Un, who is beautiful. That line was so bad and so uncalled for, I had to pause and seriously consider whether I wanted to keep watching or not. Clearly, this demonstrates a much deeper industry problem, where fair=attractive and desired, and anything else is ridiculed. I can't imagine anyone thinking that it's okay to include a line like that without calling out the character who said it as awful.
Bone: Sorry to say, but I didn’t watch the hetero storyline. That’s not what I watch BLs for. In what I did watch of Bone, I liked him. I’ve seen Mike in other series, and he always seems to play the same buddy character. Not much innovation here, but he was fine.
Female Characters: Oh dear. From crazy women to women as two-dimensional plot devices meant to bring male couples together, Theory of Love is not good at female representation. The worst I’ve seen, I’d say.
Intimacy/Heat Level
Quite low. Not all series need to be risqué, but after all the angst and pining, Theory of Love would have benefited greatly from some heat and passion at the end, or at least a bit of intimacy or romance. Off & Gun complement one another pretty well, in a physical sense. What kisses were shown were really good—they clearly had no qualms about this, so it was a shame they didn’t have more couple scenes. The most passionate kiss ended up being the one in the bathroom, in which Third didn’t participate, so that was weird.
The dock scene between Un and Two sorely needed a kiss—impossible to think they wouldn’t have kissed there, but just hugged awkwardly. There was a later scene where Two is dodging Un’s attempt to kiss him, after they are a couple. Why? At least it came across more as playful then as gay panic—something BLs really like, though I can’t imagine why.
All in all, too tame in this department for such a heavy-handed drama.
Music
I don’t care about this music. As long as it’s not disruptive, I don't even notice it. No affect on overall score for me.
Re-watch Value
I don’t understand why this is one of the criteria. Some people don’t re-watch series even if they liked them, so I don’t like rating anything based on this. No affect on overall score for me.
Summary
In summation, the need to have the majority of BLs show two “straight” boys falling in love really brought this series down. While the show runners could have made a statement about unrequited love for a straight guy, and learning to move on and stand up for yourself, they instead strayed into the realm of unrealistic fangirl fantasy. It’s too bad, because some excellent acting talents were wasted here.
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This review may contain spoilers
This was my second introduction to BL Dramas, I was really loving it at the beginning until at some point I just couldn't. The characters were okay, some were relatable while being also annoying. Great actors tho, but a lot of choices that just didn't fit with the show. I would have preferred them not being together at the end but somehow forgiveness finds its way and for me that was not valid. My opinion* a lot of crying Waaay to much crying and suffering. Like a said Great actors, the script was not the best. Was this review helpful to you?
It’s complicated...
First of all, my review refers only to the main story of Third and Khai, cause i skipped the rest.For me this is not the typicall BLstory, especially in the beginning when you see that Third falls in love for his toxic friend feels so real that it hurts.
But when the Perspective turns to Khai reminds me of my experiences when a close Person has feelings for you and you have to decide to give him that love the he deserves or let him go, that he get over you and his heart will not broken.
But whatever you decide, the friendship will never be as before.
When it comes to the middle Part (i think it’s episode 7) it loses his realistic way and goes more the way of a typicall BL-Story but still in a cute, lightweighted way which is actually not too bad.
But the series gives the chance away to be an outstandig drama about a toxic friend/relationship and how to overcome it.
The Finale is the typicall BL-Happy end and even, when there are more serious subjects, like trust and communication it’s far away from the intensity in the beginning.
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This review may contain spoilers
First of all, one of my favorite BL couple is OFFGUN. I was very happy to see them with their own series.STORY: The story line was okay, but just annoying how the whole time, I feel like they were just going on circles between their love story with each other. One thing, I can is though, I like how they made it realistic. I appreciate that. Even though off and guns relationship here i find toxic, it is still realistic because people really do go through hell when they have feelings for their best friend but have to hide it. Story line was okay.
CHARACTERS: I love everyone here, I enjoyed how everyone is on this drama. I do have to really give it to GUN his acting skills here did MADE ME CRY COUPLE TIMES! cos when he is crying because he’s heartbroken, made me feel like I was going through heart break with him! He really was amazing here.
Overall: go watch the drama because it’s good and OFFGUN is one of the best THAI BL ACTORS ?
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My favourite.
This is hands down my favourite Thai BL. I've rewatched it multiple times and I never grow tired of it.Plot line is well constructed and believable, acting is on point, not too many cringey scenes, nice side characters, great chemistry between OffGun and the rest of the cast, etc.
Khai and Third are characters you can see yourself in, specially Third. Someone who has fallen in love with his best friend and just tries to keep it cool before him, but breaks down when he's alone.
I just really enjoy all the characters developements, not only on the main cast, but also on the supporting roles, such as Bone and Two.
Also the production and the image of the drama is really good. All the sceneries are really pretty.
It's just the perfect slice of life, and the movie they released later was the cherry on top.
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This review may contain spoilers
Very emotional and somehow frustrating
Okay so imma be honest... Gun made me cry like SO MUCH during the first episodes like imagine just watching your crush/best friend switch girls ever so often like that's so pitiful.I love the acting. Off and Gun did great in this and it's even better knowing their sweet scene was unscripted uwu Anyway, I really disliked Off's character at first, like I wanted to kill him for hurting Gun like that, but then when he starts to like him back, I felt better now.
When Off started to like Gun back, I was lowkey annoyed at Gun's character for being worked up and now I started to like Off's character. Ngl I felt like Off deserved being avoided because what he went through was not even 5% of what Gun has put up with for 4 years(?).
The ending was sweet and it was enough for me. I felt bad for Bone though, but it's nice he found "the one" in the end. Also, for Lynn oof I'm currently watching SOTUS right now and why does she never get the guy like my girl needs some love up in here lmao
Anyway, I liked the plot. The twist in the half part was unexpected but I loved the acting and it was very memorable and emotional. I recommend watching this if you want a good cry and stuff lol
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This review may contain spoilers
Middling not too memorable story.
This is not a bad story but also not a very memorable one. The story of a best friend who is really just a friend zoned guy hung up on his best friend who is a player, tug-pull occurs until enlightenment sets in and someone realises why he can't hold down a relationship. Entertaining enough as you watch it but nothing that really sticks in memory beyond the week.Was this review helpful to you?
Cutting corners? Or patchy writing?
I'm not going to read the novel, so I'm not sure if my criticisms apply to only the show or also its source material.I'll start by saying there were many scenes that were well written and well acted. The show is much better than average BL in general. I loved the side couple.
My criticism comes in where i kept feeling that plot or character foreshadowing was going one way only for it to go a completely different way. Sometimes that can be a good thing if it's a certain genre. But it's the foreshadowing that makes the progress of story and characters feel more satisfying. So a good emotional romantic plot can't thrive so much with too many unexpected turns.
As a writer myself I always (on reflex) try to guess characters motives and goals and what kinds of things it would take to change a character's feelings.
The character of Khai was a well written jerk that had a solid characterization even if it was a cliche.
I think the problem came in that his jerk-ness was made so solid and consistent that there were so few options that felt like a believable way to make him fall for the lead character.
I spent half the show trying to figure out if Khai was indeed half of the main couple or if he was merely the object of desire which would result in the MC moving on and finding a healthy relationship because of his crush trainwreck.
I don't know if maybe the characterization evolved more naturally in the novel, but Khai's transformation was a little too sudden for how bad he was in the beginning. I don't like pairings where the success of the relationship hinges on one character's transformation. It's too easy to feel unnatural.
The side couple had a little more consistent buildup and characterization, but there were still confusing parts where you feel like they were suddenly replaced with a different couple and their one-on-one scenes together were for no reason. They had the better story, even if the show forgot about them multiple episodes in a row.
Even if i feel like i could've written the story better in many different places, it kept my interest enough for me to want to finish it quickly.
It also didn't rely on basic tropes with the same conflict and outcome. You think the same tired scenario will play out like every other BL, but then it won't. That was refreshing.
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Best BL of 2019? Surely.
After watching more BLs than anything else, I think Theory of Love are one of the ones that shocked me. I have a lot to talk about, so let's go.STORYLINE:
The plot was so unique from what I'm used to seeing, the opening scene with Third analyzing, explaining and reviewing movies was just different than other openings I've seen. It was refreshing to see the film majors (coming from a theatre kid), instead of your usual highschoolers. The inspiration for the romantic films, such as 10 Things I hate about you, Flipped and etc. really brang out the cliche, yet realistic part in the series.
ACTING:
Off did so good considering I'm used to him acting out roles that are comedic or supporting roles, you can really see the variations, and that's what makes him such a good actor. Portraying a character that's this punchable, you can really test your acting skills from there.
Gun! This is my first time seeing him act, as I'm not used to his face often, and I can say! He's so talented! You can feel the body language and emotion he's trying to emit. And that's what actually inspires me to start trying hard with my acting classes haha.
The supporting characters and ship really played off, Two is such a good friend and I love him for real.
The casting for this series was perfect! The chemistry balanced and you can tell they've developed a friendship outside of their characters which doesn't make it hard to watch since sometimes there's balanced awkardness between actors.
MUSIC:
The use of music in scenes were really well, you could tell that it was the appropriate sound for the scene.
REWATCH VALUE:
Absolutely would watch again! The first time I've watched it, the second time, and so on, it just will never get old.
CONS:
I felt like they could've made Third less of a crier since it can get really annoying with the repetition of it, and it'll depend on the watcher but personally it feels repetitive and tiring to see him cry over every little thing Khai has done.
CONCLUSION:
Theory of Love have flaws as all shows do, but these flaws don't ruin the show and anything else. 10/10 would recommend.
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The acting was really good.
All the crying scenes felt so real they made me be on Third side making me to Believe Kai was more than just a really shitty friend.
Support cast acting was good too.
The only thing i don't like about this drama is the ending. Where Kai Realise he likes Third. Their ending seems rushed and cuz it is rushed or it ends this way it kinda lacks chemistry.
Overall i like it a lot. Each time i watch it i cry like crazy (the way they make us believe and see the story different. That's why you should watch it at least twice to see the difference.).
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not the best thing I have ever seen but still pretty good
So the average for the episode was an 8.1, so I rounded down and gave it an 8. The highest I gave it was a 9, and that was the first and last episode. The lowest was a 5, and it was the motorcycle crash episode. funniest shit I have ever seen. I have never laughed so hard. Why was he rolling? And what did he even hit? Third was really getting on my last nerve with his bullshit toward the final episodes. I completely understand where he is coming from because he wants real love and whatnot, but God damn. and the fucking singing. Please stop singing. This isn't a high school musical. Just shut up. Un and two with their goofy asses relationship, I think that was cute. Bone having to let go to find happiness, I'm glad that was the end instead of Paan cheating as well. That was deep and needed. All around, not a bad show at all. It was a hella slow burn, but I really enjoyed it (yes, I stopped working on it for three days because of the "cheating" part, but I got through it). I would recommend this. This took a lot of brain power. No tears, luckily, so I am stronger than a Thai drama once more. I love these actors to death, so I am biased, but this was a good one. Un's 6 foot ass being scared of the dark. Bro, the dark is scared of you. I am watching the special episode right now because it was a pretty good show. I really liked this friend group. Okay, good acting, because the person who played Shane had my blood boiling. Everything that went wrong was his fault. shane getting on my last nerve for real for real. Just shut up; you are ruining everything. And ching chong (that was her name, i swear) the whole thing happened because Khai ran that bitch over with his bike. That was so funny. I am sorry. Okay, let me watch the specific episode, and then we are onto the next. okay bye!Was this review helpful to you?
All the emotions
Gun has the most natural acting, not overly express on the face but i can feel the pain, shyness, the frustrations.I like how they use classic romcom movie titles for every episode title, relates to the series as the characters are students major in film making.
Ep 1 Best Friends
Ep 2 Love Actually
Ep 3 Friends with Benefits
Ep 4 Crazy, Stupid, Love.
Ep 5 10 Things I Hate About You
Ep 6 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Ep 7 Flipped
Ep 8 The Proposal
Ep 9 Love Triangle
Ep 10 Begin Again
Ep 11 He's Just Not That Into You
Ep 12 My Dear
Definitely will watch it again!
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