Never Let Me Go (2022)

One of the better Thai BLs I've seen in more than a year!

Despite all the negative comments I read here on MDL, I really liked this one and am going to miss it. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS

STORY. Yes, that's right. Sure, there were some moments that suspended belief, but what Thai BL doesn't have those? For the most part, I found this compelling. And, contrary to so many BLs, it actually HAD a story (yes, I'm looking at you, Bad Buddy). Even better, everything was wrapped up in the end, and with no cliffhangers.

ACTING. I really had no issues with the acting. Nat was great as the villain, as was Perth as his conflicted son. Phuwin played his lead role respectably, with some really good moments here and there. Pond was pretty good, as was Chimon (in a part that gave him little to do). And Pawin was delicious as the conniving and underhanded Phum.

OST SONGS. Phuwin has a beautiful voice and I loved his OST. Pond singing was surprisingly pleasant and I enjoyed his OST, played in the ending credits. (As for the rest of the music... what was up with all those misplaced Christmas carols? And that hideous cowboy song??)

CHEMISTRY. Palm was so adorably sweet and protective with Neung. And they weren't afraid to kiss with some passion.

CONS

"ELDERLY" PEOPLE. That dance class for the elderly! The oldest person I saw looked to be maybe 45. What's the life expectancy in Thailand, 48?

"JUST SHOOT ME!" It was either Episode 10 or 11 (I forgot) where three or four of the characters (separately) got themselves in a situation where they felt compelled to scream out "Shoot me! Go ahead, shoot me!" A bit silly.

THE NOTES AND LEAVING. It was annoying enough with Neung did it. It was downright ridiculous when Palm returned the favor in the finale.

Still, none of those were dealbreakers for me. I'm giving it a 9.0.

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the writing did not support the interesting premise

Overall: I was super excited for a twisty action thriller but the nonsense/cliche plot turned this into just another teenage GMMTV BL series. Aired on GMMTVs YouTube channel.

Content Warnings: murders, attempted murder, beaten up/violence, bullying, blackmail, manipulation, unwanted public outing, drugging, kidnapping

What I Liked
- that the first scene wasn't a flashback or flash forward
- the beginning/first episode hooked me
- Chopper and Ben (Perth did a great job)
- production value (minus my quibbles in Room For Improvement)

Room For Improvement
- there is a lot of nonsense plot things, some of which could have been explained with a few lines or a short scene and that makes it even more ridiculous (one example, a highschooler is a full time fisherman and he happens to fight and shoot a gun really well)
- characters don't feel realistic or have realistic reactions (Palm's interaction with his mother as an example, both of them just chillaxing on their beach vacation instead of how I think most people would be feeling)
- I wanted some plot twists or for this to be different but it's a standard GMMTV romance with window dressing
- the night scenes were too dimly lit, a couple of times the music was too loud over the dialogue
- it dragged in many places, I wanted an action/thriller and this was not it
- Chopper and Ben felt very rushed at the end
- overall I just didn't end up feeling much of anything, scenes that were supposed to make me sad didn't because of the huge plot holes

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