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Not the best ending
I'm not forgiving ya'll for that ending. That was wrong. This was one of the first descriptions I have read in a hot minute. and this was 3 hours, so I was like, whatever, I will knock this out in like 3 hours. Yeah, it didn't take 3 hours. It actually did; never mind, it felt so much longer. I love me some yin and war, and the start was a really good one, and then the end. They were so wrong for that. Unreasonably wrong for that.The stupid girl whose name I can't be bothered to remember is a little snitch, and I hate her. She's so wrong for that. She's actually just starting shit because Dew doesn't like her. Like what? I know in the end we found out that he did like Best, but at that moment she had no idea; she was literally just going based on Dew staring at Best while he was singing on stage. Now I know why he doesn't like you, girl.
This was short, but it also felt like the longest three episodes I have ever seen, and I don't really know why. It felt slow-burning, but how can something be slow-burning when it's this short? It can't; that's the thing. Meh, it wasn't bad; just the ending was bad. I like the plot of a secret crush and a big confession because I find those so cute and adorable.
They could have had Dew run after Best and be like, I love you, bro, move to Chiang Mai with me. and he could have been like, But your mom and Dew could have said, Fuck my mom, I love you. and then they share an awkward kiss as the camera pans out to a sunset and all their friends in the back. Sorry, I got a little to excited with this goofy ass ending.
I love yin and war. They are a good pair, and I love them. Ive been obsessing over their partners in crime tralier for their coneert for the past 9 months (since the video has been out), so it's nice to see these two in another show with their sweetness and good vibes. You can disagree with me if you want, but my god, war is gorgeous. His beauty is ethereal; it's unreal. Oh my god, and the way he speaks, it's like he's floating, and he's so cute and handsome, with his skin shining and his eyes shining. Oh my god. Okay uh anyway, thats really it.
I mean, you can watch this. It's short; there's not a whole lot going on and not a lot of brain power. so a light watch I wouldn't recommend it, but I would at the same time. Do what you want; don't let some person on the internet dictate your favorite dramas. Yeah. Okay bye!
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This review may contain spoilers
Oh the woes of having a crush.
For those who are wondering, this short series does not have a *happy ending*However, it ended beautifully. Still got me crying while typing this.
TAGS: unsupportive parent, selfish female character, ultra supportive best friends.
To start it, I just want to say that War's acting is top notch in this series. It reminded me once again why I fell in love with him as an actor in En of Love. YinWar's acting got me back to the past where I had these high school crushes and it hit so deep that I can see myself with Best.
Another thing I love in this series is the friendships. Such supportive friends and they are not judgemental as well. No bias whatsoever. I love them. The actors also acted very natural as best of friends.
The plot flowed naturally even though it is only three episodes. It is short in a way that I want to watch more, but it is also short in a way that it gave us viewers the liberty to think up what could have happened next.
Things that I didn't like comes down to the characters only. I really don't like when BL series makes a female character selfish especially a female character that acts as if she's sweet, but is bitchy behind the back. I also don't like parents who are close-minded and controlling. I feel so bad for Dew.
Lastly, I just want to say that I don't think it was a one sided love whatsoever. This series is bittersweet and well directed. A must watch!
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A shining example of storytelling at its finest.
I always admire effective and successful short story writers because it’s so much more difficult to make an audience care about characters and their circumstances when you have a limited number of pages (or in this case, episodes) to tell the story with. So if I’m crying at the end of 3 episodes (when I barely feel anything at the end of other dramas that run for 8-12 episodes, except maybe impatience), then I’d say that the story was effectively written.STORY: 10 - Yes, the story’s rather clichéd, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I’m thinking that that’s probably why the storytelling could be effectively done with just 3 episodes. Most (if not all) of us have experienced young love, we know what it’s like and can relate to a lot of what Best is going through without needing a lot of exposition.
I also very much appreciate the lack of filler scenes and interactions that don’t really help move the story forward. Even the product placements didn’t feel awkward or out of place, like in oh-so-many Thai dramas.
For those who are despairing over the ending (like me a few hours ago) and are desperately looking for some form of closure (again, like me a few hours ago), you should read the MDL review written by LABCAT. That REALLY helped me calm down. 😅 That said, I DO still hope that someone out there somewhere will green light a second installment of this story.
ACTING: 10
1. Like I said, I cried at the end, and I very rarely cry.
2. It’s a small cast, but they all carried their fair share of the burden of telling the story. Even the extras (like the girls who asked for a pic with Best, or the audience during the festival) were effective (unlike the extras in other dramas who could just as easily have been replaced by potted plants).
3. In most of the Thai BLs that I’ve watched, there’s usually 1 or 2 characters whose acting is a little over the top. Thankfully, there are none of those here.
So, in summary, the 10 stars is for drawing out the sappy in me with the well-chosen cast.
MUSIC: 9 - I’ve watched so many Thai BLs where the singing had me watching through my fingers and cringing with secondhand embarrassment. This is 1 of only 2 BLs I’ve watched (so far) where that didn’t happen. I also quite liked the other songs in the OST.
REWATCH VALUE: 9 - Not the full 10 only because I’d rather not put my heart through the wringer too often. But this is one of the very VERY few shows with a heartbreaking ending that I would watch again —— like whenever I need an emotional purge.
It has a total run-time of 2 hrs. 3 min. 21 secs. In my opinion, it’s more than worth the time that I invested in watching it.
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ONE WORD... AMAZING!
Been a fan of YINWAR ever since Love Mechanics and I thought that was the best series they could ever have but I am mistaken because this one is as good as that in a very different way, what I mean is that War in TBS has a very different character personality than LM I don't know but I live for shy War I'm not comparing since they are the same person but I prefer War in TBS since it suits his face the shy type cutie boy hehe. There is so much to say about this series and I mean in good way. Although this is just your typical Bl troupe nothing really special or unique however, it gives you butterflies every time they encounter and the character development is a top notch for me no need for so much drama just to understand their feelings with each other. Really a good actor especially War my cutie boy he really deserve an award and of course same goes to Yin who keeps improving. And I fell in love to their OST who sang none other than our cutie boy War adding this in my music list :) It's also a good choice to add Ray and Bright in the story I just love the friendship between the three of them. And lastly I really hope that they will give this series a longer version just like what they did to EN love Mechanics or atleast a special ep will do or season 2 or any sequel... gosh will wait for an announcement, hopefully.Was this review helpful to you?
this is sad asf. (ATTENTION SPOILER)
i think this is one of the best serie i ever watched, even if the end was sad it fitted perfecly and shows how hard it is to confesso your feelings to other people. The start is really cute but then i started to cry and cry AND CRY, expecially when he read what the girl wrote on his shirt. There were some problems with the translating in the end that i hated cuz i couldnt understand what dew wrote on best's shirt.the acting was perfecly perfect for someone like me that doesnt know anything about it and i love the cast they seem so cute and caring☹😭. In the end this is in my top 10 fav bl 🤷♀️😕
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what a bittersweet ending..
I get and at the same time don't get why this series has a low rating. It did the best it could with only 3 episodes and it told the story of Dew and Best beautifully, sure this drama may not have a happy ending but I would like to see it as a better sweet ending and an ending let to your own interpretation. Best changed cause of Dew, he became more lively and happy and more interested in life. Dew realized his feelings long ago for Best when he found his diary. I loved that he was secretly watching him and falling in love with him. The things that I didn't like was the girl and the mom. The girl had no fucking right to tell Dew's mom anything about Dew, its up to Dew and Dew only and the mom being fucking unreasonable when she found out that Best liked Dew, and made him change to any state. Bitch tf, they are not even in a relationship yet and you get mad cause his friend likes him? Again, this series had only 3 episodes so that can't do much. If it had atleast like 8 or 12 episodes I am sure this would have been a top tier bl. Now the acting, the acting is just spectacular. Best's actor really did a splendid job. The way he portrayed the emotions of someone who has a crush was so real and the way he expressed sadness was just *chef kiss* almost made me teared up. Dew's actor also did a splendid job. The chemistry between these two is undeniably spectacular. You could see the love from their eyes. The music is also so good and Best's actor can sing very well. Overall, this was a really nice drama. I would like to think in some years Dew and Best will be together, even its against his witchy mom's wishes and that bitch fern get what she deserve for being a fucking bitch. This was a really nice drama, its short but it was great.Was this review helpful to you?
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very realistic
i loved this drama a lot. it shows everything in a teenage love story, like crushing over then in secret, cheesy love song, writing in the notebook about feelings, snapping pictures. you can tell best is so head over heels like all of us were in middle/high school at times! they dont hang out often but you can see a very strong connection and feelings popping out of the screen and it really captures you in all the good places. just enough to make you cry at the saddening parts. best friends hyping him up and ultimately taking care of a sad best when he couldnt tell dew his feelings. it really grabs all your attention and gives us that connection to the viewers feelings because weve been in bests shoes before somewhat. when best wrote “กูชอ…” (i li…) then seeings ferns confession absolutely broke my heart! and dont get me started on fern!!! that honestly angers me a lot how she betrayed dew like “if i cant have you no one can” .. i wanted to reach through the screen and fight her 555555 but anyways this is a very beautiful realistic story that also gives the viewers a connection to both the characters. i honestly wish it was a lot longer!Was this review helpful to you?
Cute Crush
Really liked it...but I'm not sure why! Imagine having such a crush that you don't know what to do with yourself or how to behave when you see that person. Imagine realising that it somehow crept up on you!It was a lovely short drama.
What I liked: Yinwar. I've only seen them in music videos and a trailer (a mini drama itself!) for their concert. I love War's (who played Best) acting; his expressions are great. I liked Best's friends - nicely portrayed as true friends who hugged and tried to cheer up their friend when he was down. There were so many things I thought were sweet.
What I didn't like: not overly fond of school dramas, but it was sweet
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Reminded me of what it felt like to be a teenager
Though I've never experienced a love like this, I know how quintessentially queer of an experience it is. To have your teenage love be reciprocated, but have it happen at the wrong time is also just a universal experience.Part of me wishes it was longer and had a happy ending, but that's not what the story is about. It's about the beauty and pain of youth, how queer people hold back a lot more with our feelings because there's so much that could go wrong.
The cinematography, music, acting, everything was top notch. I only wish there were better subtitles, I looked all over and it's the same translation everywhere but some scenes are not subtitled at all. Regardless, it feels like an important drama to watch, just to take a break from all the BL tropes and watch something more grounded and realistic.
This series combines love and warmth with reality and heartbreak in a beautiful way.
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Teenage Love and Pain: The Realism of The Best Story
I was honestly surprised by the low ratings for The Best Story. I feel like some BL fans didn’t fully appreciate the *intent* of the story, because while it may not have all the typical romance tropes, it’s deeply emotional and grounded in reality. The leads are still very young, and their hesitation to jump into a relationship felt super real to me. Not every love story gets a perfect fairytale start, especially when you're still figuring yourself out.Yes, it’s a low-budget, short BL series, but that doesn’t take away from how meaningful and relatable it is, especially for teenagers. It focuses mainly on Best’s perspective, his inner struggles, his insecurities, and that bittersweet hope we’ve all felt at some point when we like someone who might not feel the same way.
I also appreciated that the cast was small. It made the story easier to follow and gave it a more intimate, personal feel. And let me just say—*the OST is amazing*. I’m completely in love with the music; it adds so much emotion to the series.
The ending? It’s sad, yes but honestly, I think it had to be that way. It reflects real life. Sometimes, the person we care about doesn’t end up being ours, and that’s okay. That kind of realism made the story hit even harder.
If you’re looking for something short, honest, and emotionally resonant The Best Story is worth a watch.
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The Best Story depicts a sweet, simple, and sentimental high school romance. This BL drama doesn’t do anything too different from the norm, so the ordinary love story between two teenagers will feel familiar to you. There’s an age-appropriate wholesomeness that will definitely appeal to younger (and older) BL fans. It does a wonderful job at capturing the innocence of first love, including all the bashful glances, the playful teasing from your friends, and the butterflies in your stomach when you encounter the boy you like.Best and Dew are cute to watch together. There’s a little bit of conflict at the start, but the rest of their interactions are filled with warmth and positivity. I especially love the scene where Dew teaches Best how to shoot a basketball, showcasing their intimacy through a simple platonic moment. Other scenes highlight Best’s shyness or apprehension around his crush, which feel very authentic and relatable. Overall, their romance seems down-to-earth, relying on small ordinary moments to convey the romantic rapport between the main characters.
Where The Best Story shines is its beautiful cinematography. The drama looks gorgeous with lush colours, warm hues, and a dreamlike ambience that sets a distinctive aesthetic in all the scenes. If you look closely, the entire series is filmed in classrooms, school courtyards, and a tiny bedroom. Yet, the production team transforms these mundane environments with colour grading, lighting techniques, and intuitive camera angles, giving each scene a polished and stylized look. There’s some fabulous production work that elevates the quality of the series.
Although my review has been positive so far, The Best Story falters in its final act. The last episode should’ve focused on Dew, who doesn’t receive as much character development up until now. Instead, we get a big smack of bigotry, jealousy, and pettiness from the only two female characters in the drama. I really hate the conflict introduced by the evil mom and the scheming love interest, which clash so much with the pleasant vibe of the series. The last-minute melodrama feels abrupt and forced, as if the storylines are engineered just to drive a wedge between the couple.
All along, The Best Story has been building up a blissful and pleasant schoolboy romance, until the fantasy comes crashing down in the final episode. Not all BL dramas need to have a happy ending, but damn this one hurts. The ending makes me take off my rose-tinted glasses as I scrutinize The Best Story with a more critical eye. I start to notice the barebones plot, the shallow characterization, and the disappointing romance that goes nowhere. These storytelling flaws were always there, but I overlooked them because the series had seemed so charming until now.
After the last episode, I ended up feeling less enthused about The Best Story, but that shouldn’t diminish the excellent qualities of the series. There’s still a lot to enjoy about this BL drama, from the aesthetically pleasing visuals to the positive portrayal of adolescent friendships. Even if the story is nowhere near the best, it’s certainly decent enough if you’re a sucker for a wholesome high school romance.
***Spoilers Ahead !***
STORY
Simple story
Best is great friends with Bright and Ray.
The Best Story has a remarkably ordinary story about a high school student with a crush on his classmate. There aren’t any twists and turns, scandals and secrets, or curveballs and complexities. It’s simply an age-appropriate love story featuring down-to-earth teenage characters and their mundane lives.
The Best Story also does a fantastic job at portraying high school friendships in a positive light. Best really has the best friends in Ray and Bright, who are both so supportive of him during his ups and downs. Sure, there’s a little playful teasing from time to time, but these two friends are loyal to Best and always have his back. They offer him love advice, emotional support, and absolutely no judgment. They’re there for him when he needs his friends the most.
More than the romance itself, the emphasis on friendship may actually be my favourite part about The Best Story. Even if Best doesn’t get with the guy in the end, I think he lucks out having such a positive network of friends. Hey, who needs a boyfriend when you got your bros? 😎
ROMANCE
Wholesome romance
Dew gives Best a piggyback after he falls unconscious.
The relationship between Best and Dew is very, very wholesome. Their romance consists of longing gazes, bashful smiles, and pleasant conversations. In fact, I don’t even know if there’s enough to classify what they have as a romance. It’s more like a schoolboy crush, which never develops into anything more.
You may be disappointed to know that Best and Dew don’t become a couple at any point in the series. There’s no kissing, no affection, and absolutely no physical intimacy between them. In fact, the tragic part about their relationship is that they never confess their feelings for each other. They come close on several occasions, but have to resort to cryptic Instagram stories to communicate their love.
Basically, Best and Dew have a crush on each other. However, it doesn’t work out before they can even start dating. The end. 😞
ACTING
Good acting
The actor playing Best (War) looks so good on camera, radiating in every scene.
The acting from everyone in The Best Story is pretty good, but the one who catches my attention the most is Best’s actor (War Wanarat Ratsameerat). Mostly, it’s because of how telegenic he looks. This drama is my first exposure to the actor, who caught me off-guard with his wide eyes, rosy cheeks, and angelic smile. He looks so good on camera, almost radiating in every scene.
After watching The Best Story, my first order of business was not to write this review, but it was to look up every piece of information about War online. I checked his age, read his bio, translated his Twitter feed, stalked his Instagram, and marked down all the other BL series he appeared in. After consuming the entire experience, consider me an official fan of this actor. Where do I sign up for his fan club? 🤩
ENDING
Sad ending
Best cries as he walks away from Dew without a love confession.
I must emphasize how much I hated the ending in The Best Story, which really brought down my overall opinion of the series. Everything in the first two episodes indicated that we were headed towards a happy ending. Best was on the verge of confessing his feelings, Dew seemed to reciprocate the crush, and their romance was progressing nicely. OR SO I THOUGHT.
In the final episode, Best and Dew don’t end up together because of Fern’s outrageously out-of-line meddling. After Dew rejected Fern, they had a nice conversation and cleared the air with each other. Let’s be clear that he didn’t lead her on, he was completely honest with her, and he treated her with so much respect. Dew was the perfect gentleman, whom she immediately stabbed in the back. 🔪 What was Fern’s agenda when she went to Dew’s mom and OUTED HIM behind his back? Did Fern think snitching on him would make Dew like her more? Or was she simply doing it out of spite? Either way, Fern had nothing to gain from outing her closeted friend. It was a scummy lowlife move and she had no right to do that to him. WTF!?
Homophobia
Fern tells Dew's mom that her son might be in love with another guy.
Dew’s mom is also trash, reacting horribly to a nasty rumour just because she suspects her son might be gay. She uproots his entire life, chucking him out of the house without listening to her son. What’s your endgame here, lady? Are you just gonna relocate your child every time he gets along with a male acquaintance? The next time Dew makes a close friend in Chiang Mai, will you panic again and deploy him to another city instead? 🙄
Worst of all, the mom character feels SO contrived. She doesn’t show up at any other point in the series, only existing for this storyline alone. She has no characterization other than being a stereotypical bad parent with no logic or compassion. It’s infuriating to see this new character suddenly show up in the final act, and her only purpose is to deny her son happiness. Ugh, I’m just so angry with this ending, like a painful curveball thrown straight into my face. It feels duplicitous to build up this sweet, sentimental gay love story, only for homophobia to win in the end.
Ending explained
Dew has read the journal entries and he's aware of Best's feelings for him.
What makes the ending in The Best Story so tragic is that we find out Dew had feelings for Best all along. As you may have predicted, Dew read those journal entries and he’s completely aware of how Best feels about him. Dew reciprocates these feelings, but he’s just as shy and doesn’t want to make the first move. He has been observing Best from afar, waiting for him to confess. Except the love confession doesn’t happen, and it will never happen now that he’s moving away.
The Best Story is a tragic love story about two schoolboys who like each other, but they don’t end up together. Best never confesses because he doesn’t believe his feelings would be reciprocated. However, Dew also doesn’t confess due to shyness, passiveness, and a little hopelessness about their relationship. With such a homophobic mother, can you blame him for not taking more initiative to pursue this romance?
What Best & Dew wrote
Best stops himself from finishing his confession on Dew's shirt.
What Best wrote on the shirt and what Dew posted online are partial sentences that say: “I like-“. However, they both stop themselves from completing the full sentence: “I like you.” Their love confessions are interrupted midway, each for various reasons.
For Best, he hesitated to finish his confession after seeing Fern’s message on the shirt, making him doubtful once again. Like before, he feels insecure about competing against Fern (aka. a girl) for Dew’s love. For Dew, he posted that Instagram story to let Best know that his feelings ARE reciprocated. Yes, I like you too! However, he’s also unable to complete his love confession. Dew is now forced to move away, plus his mom is strongly homophobic, so he doesn’t feel any hope about starting a relationship.
Best sobs because he got confirmation of what he always desired: Dew’s reciprocated love. Even though both of them know about their mutual attraction, they can’t be together due to circumstances out of their control. That’s what Best finds so upsetting, because he finally learns that Dew wants to have a romantic relationship. Except it isn’t possible for them to be a couple anymore. Sadly, their romance is doomed before it can even begin.
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it doesn’t end in an HEA
OK, so I’m all for realistic endings, and not not everything being happy roses but I really do come to the stories to escape life and although I think this was cinematically done really well and gave us a realistic ending it also felt almost like a slap in the face because his friend is a really bad person and she doesn’t get punished at all. The show just ends, and then his mom ships him off because she is also homophobic.I think this has great potential if there would be a season two, and we would get more of an ending.
I didn’t see any of the reviews at first that said it didn’t have a happy ending so I went in thinking that we would get one so it’s my fault for not looking further into the series before starting it
But for anyone who likes their stories they have a happy ending. This does not have it, so I would not start it if you are someone like me.
that being said I love YinWar.
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