Star and Sky: Star in My Mind (2022)

The North Star never moves, and neither does this story.

This story was BL Plot #3, "Boys kept apart by implausible miscommunication". If both of a pair are in love with each other, mutual friends know that, and one of them doesn't talk about anything else (and yet everyone wants him), and on top of that, one of them actually told the other that he likes him, how is it possible that nothing happened? That puts Khluen into the "you are a total idiot and deserve to die alone" category.

In today's world, how is it possible NOT to know that two people broke up several years ago? Dao is obsessed with Khluen and never looked at his social media, or Gia's? Have you ever had a crush on an actor, saw him in an instagram photo with a girl, hated it, hurriedly copy/pasted what he wrote into google translate and was relieved it's his sister? Yeah, I have too. And Khluen was clearly very upset by whatever Gia said on the phone before he rushed off, so a non malignant narcissist would have said "OMG, is everything OK?" instead of making it all about him.

Everything about the plot is contrived, the characterization is inconsistent and implausible, and nobody has agency except Dao, who uses all of it to be a self-absorbed prat. And the series really boring. Try to decribe the plot. For example, Not Me would be "A guy replaces his evil twin in a marxist motorcycle gang to fight for justice and falls in love with his brother's enemy." That sounds ridiculous (and it is), but there is no world in which I would not watch that. This is "Two guys who have been in love with each other for several years continue to not communicate for seven episodes while nothing else happens."

Dunk is cute, and Joong is attractive enough, but there was just zero heat. I kept shipping Dao with Fah because there was so much more chemistry between them. Sure, they're brothers and it's wrong, but that would have been a lot more intesting than this. If not for Mek, I would have dropped this lifeless series. Honestly, the brotherly love scenes with Dao and Fah are the only thing about this that worked for me. Fah's reaction when he walks in on Dao and Khluen was actually funny, unlike all the fart and poop jokes.

The technical aspects were weak, with inconsistent lighting in scenes. The very last one where they're on a dock at night looked like someone was flashing a spot light on them on and off. And the soft-focus filter was again abused to the point that everyone looked botoxed to within an inch of their lives and their facial expressions were smoothed away.

I would skip this. If you're more interested in the follow-on series about Fah and Prince, there is absolutely nothing in this series that you need to see to understand Star In My Heart, which is clearly to a painful extent "inspired" (to be generous) by another series you may have watched that takes place in the mountains.

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IDK why GMMTV are pushing out these mediocre BLs..

I don't have much to say about this series because I felt like I watched 8 episodes of nothing. Everyone was just running around and laughing and crying and kissing and then eventually it ended. This was just a cash-grab for GMMTV, not that their other BLs aren't, but this had no plot, no real conflict, or anything essential to the story that made it an ounce interesting. Star in My Mind is basically GMMTV's version of 2 moons 2, but only with one couple. That's the best way to put it.

Let's Dive In.

Star In My Mind is about our main lead, Nuea, who's had the biggest crush on Kluen ever since high school. They then find themselves in college together going for the Moon title. They ignite a friendship that turns romantic and, plot twist! Kuen's always had feelings for him too! and then the end. No literally, that's the story. Other than some irrelevant conflicts to get in between our main couple, nothing else happens. It's a cat and mouse chase, with aggravating miscommunication and misunderstandings. If anyone was coming for an interesting plot, then don't bother wasting your time here. They could've wrapped up Kluen and Nuea's story if you take out the majority of their problems. There are only a few incidents in which the show has caught my interest until it throws me out of its doors and into traffic.

For one, I did at one point, fall for the love triangle. I was mostly on Phoon's side since he was way more open with his feelings than Kluen was, but then he goes and disrespects Nuea's space by kissing him to prove a point to Kluen, and I was over it. I also liked the way they handled Gia and Kluen's relationship. Instead of her being a jealous ex, she helps Nuea (even if it is very unnecessary) and it's nice to see two people care deeply for one another without it having to be romantic. Fah was also a delight to watch. I loved his and Nuea's dynamic, and he was pretty much the caring older brother who gave great advice. He played his part right in making me more interested in watching his love story in Sky In My Heart.

I have no bad blood with any of the characters. I actually think it's this show's stronger suit since they all were charismatic and brought along some needed elements. I truly love Maitee with all of me, and I want to see him have his one series. Everyone played their part by being there for both Kluen and Nuea. Again, JJ was used as a side role, and it's part of my hatred for this series. get him his own Series!!!! Now!!!!!!

My theory is that Joong and Dunk didn't really know each other that well when they first started filming this, cause I absolutely hated the first and second episodes. They were awkward, stiff, and had zero connection. It gets a bit better by episode three, and then from there, their relationship is a least a little bit more convincing. As I explained earlier, they had no real conflict keeping them from being together. It was literally the writers making these two the most non-communicative human beings in the world. Half of everything could've been solved with conversations. And then they throw in an extremely unnecessary forced kiss between the two of them, and I've never wanted to punch my screen so bad as I did at that moment. Their story would've been much more entertaining if the writers would've done at least two more minutes of brainstorming. The last episode was the only one I didn't watch in 2x speed, and that was only cause they give a little more focus to Fah, whose two extra minutes of screentime was more interesting than this entire series.

Ratings:

Story: 5 - Enchante at least had a plot worthy of interest. Nothing ever caught my attention enough for me to just really enjoy this. Some chunks here and there, but this is probably the blandest story of 2022. I'll only give it five stars for the way they set up Fah's story for Sky In My Heart.

Acting: 8 - It wasn't the best, but it wasn't the worst either. Joong's acting felt a bit weird, and Dunk was a bit stiff at times. For Pawin to have such a small role, he really stood out the most. Mek also did a good job. Everyone else was decent.

Music: 6 - Fine. Didn't really pay attention to it.

Rewatch Value: 1 - not likely.

I originally watched this only for Joong cause I missed him dearly, but this wasn't the series I would've put him in for his comeback into the BL community. If anything, I wish they would've spent more time on finding him the perfect role instead of pushing him into the first one available. Dunk was fine, but I probably wouldn't have hired him to play in this series, let alone a BL. He just kind of fits awkwardly, and it makes for an odd watch. I don't recommend this unless you want to see Joong or to get some context for the Sky In My Heart, otherwise, don't bother.

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A show where NOTHING HAPPENED

This show is over and I feel like nothing happened and my life is still the same.... BL's are feeling empty now that there are a lot more substantial shows with better plots.. fluff BL's are no longer working and this is proof of that.
I feel like Bad Buddy has delivered so amazingly well any shows that are following it on GMMTV are just paling in comparison. I just don't feel the chemistry between these two. I love Mek so I am looking forward to Sky in your Heart. Save yourself the cringe and don't watch this.. I regretted it and GMMTV keeps focusing on quantity rather than quality.

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IT'S SO CUTE!

It may be similar to a lot of your typical school-themed BL series but Joong and Dunk didn't let me down. Their chemistry alone makes this show enjoyable to watch. It's undeniably their chemistry truly affects the series. Khabkluen and Daonuea as Joong and Dunk is a perfect match and I can't see any other actors to portray the roles. I love that the cinematography and the music of the series as it sets the mood of every scenes. I would REALLY recommend this series to anyone who will ask me a BL series that is fluff and enjoyable to watch. Overall, I would really love to rewatch this series and I won't get tired of it.

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One of a number of mediocre Thai BLs this year

2022 looks to be the Year of Mediocre Thai BLs. That said, Star and Sky: Star In My Mind fits right in. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS

CUTE BOYS. That's all.

SHORT. Thank goodness, they got everything done in 8 episodes. Although it could have been done within a 90-minute movie.

MAITEE. I liked him. And I would date him.

CONS

DUNK. What was the casting director thinking? They give Dunk a character who cries in just about every episode, and he can't act. (It's been awhile since I've seen an actor that stiff.) He never shed any real tears, he just got a silly, pained expression on his face that looked more like he was having problems passing a bowel movement.

BOOOOORING. Even watching this at 2x speed, it managed to drag on incessantly, and there wasn't much of a cohesive story.

LACK OF CHEMISTRY. There was no chemistry between the main leads, and that kiss in the last episode was about as dead fish as a kiss can be.

But not the worst thing I've seen. 4.5 from me.

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I tried to find points to like, but sorry this series sucks

- The story: I had high hopes for some first episodes, it was pretty good, but then from episode 5, everything seemed to fall down. What a messy story! Even the drama/series from 10 years ago still does better job.
- The actors: They did their work really well, the visuals, the acting is good, but with a bad scripts, I couldn't feel it.
- The music: The music is so good, I love both of the two theme songs, they're on my spotify now, I give 10/10 for the music.
Overall, the only thing I love about this series is the music and the actors, the story is so bad. I won't rewatch it.

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When you order a #PinkMilk, but get #GuavaJuice instead

STORY : 7/10

It's your typical thai college BL premise. Boy has a crush on another boy (often from his past). Boy 1 doesn't think his feelings are reciprocated (spoiler alert: they are). Boy 2 is unclear about his feelings, which creates drama (often a female rival is introduced). All communication issues will be cleared and we'll be treated to happy ending, hopefully. If you've watched 5+ thai BLs already, you'll think you've seen this film before. Mutliple times.

Personally, I still enjoy this kind of plot. So instead of judging its uniqueness, I'll judge the execution of it. And Star in My Mind doesn't fare that well. Let's break it into parts. I will try to avoid spoilers as much as I can, but if you wish to skip it, head straight for the "acting/cast" part. To give you my overall feelings - start was great, upper middle quite bad, ending couldn't save it. Miscommunication seems to be the main conflict for major part of the show.

Episode 1-3 : 8.5/10

I adored this BL when it started!! Was there anything new? God, no! But it was really cute, really funny, dare I say well-written? The characterization was also good and consistent. We've got a bit of mystery and angst, too, on top of all the cliches. It was paced a bit faster than I expected, but not too fast. Nor too boring. If you're gonna watch this drama, stay for at least those 3 parts!!!

Episode 4-5 : 6.5/10

This is where it started to go wrong. For one thing, they rushed through the part I looked forward to the most!! Then introduced a non-fluffy filler. A lot of angst. Unnecessary conflicts-to-be. Characters were still consistent imo, but the acting is showing its limits.

Episodes 6-7 : 5/10

All the good things go to hell. Consistency? We don't know her. Rational thoughts? Never had those. A lot of stuff is reaching its climax and resolution without believable progress, pushed mostly by side characters and not-so-shocking rushed revelations (which felt made up just to patch some plot holes). The lowest point of this series. I hated it. Actors are trying, but they can't do much with this mess.

Episode 8 : 7 / 10

Mostly fluff and introduction to Sky in Your Heart. Perfectly skippable in my opinion. Since nothing important is happenning, it dawned on me that their acting actually hasn't been that great (the whole time, I presume), especially from one of the MLs.

POTENTIAL TRIGGERS (with minor spoilers included) :

Domestic violence - mentioned, aftermath shown in one scene. Not much has been done about it and it wasn't very graphic, but could be triggering if it's personal for you.

Consent in relation to kissing - It's flat out not there, vast majority of time. Even before establishing to each other that their feelings are mutual. Sometimes it's forceful, but mainly not. It might be uncomfortable and disturbing, but not exactly emotionally triggering in my opinion.

Emotional manipulation / Hiding one's true feelings - One character doesn't talk about themselves, at all. Other one is so emotional, they not only let other people push them around, but they also do things without thinking it through, hurting others in the process (whether intentionally or not could be debated).




ACTING/CAST : 6.5/10

I'll talk only about the mains, since side characters were your middle-of-the-road, good enough actors in this show.

Main leads look perfectly fine for their roles, as always in BL series. They are cute/hot just in the way they need to be. Their acting skills, on the other hand...

Dunk (playing Daonuea) is the newbie lead this time. At start, I considered him adequate for the role. But with added depth, cracks started to appear. If nothing else, he should really work on his facial expressions during emotional outbursts. Often I cringed so hard, it took me right out of the scene.

Joong's character (KhabKhluen) is controversial enough to claim Joong acted badly. Khluen is very stoic for the most part. Very blank. Doesn't require much acting. So when he shows more emotion, it may look out of character and wrong. I was satisfied with him, though.




MUSIC: 7.5/10

The song(s) they use are nice. A tad forgettable, but sweet. There isn't much of them, though, which hurts the overall variety of soundtack.




REWATCH VALUE : 7/10

Liked it once? You'll like it a second time. And third. It's the kind of basic story you can just play in background or when you don't want to be challenged. Problem is to fall in like with it in the first place. The plot isn't strong enough to encourage rewatching, but it's also not bad enough to prevent you from doing it.




OVERALL: 7.5/10

This is what you'll get when you purchase 2moons from wish.com . A faulty replica. Usable, but very disappointing. If they just took the content of first 5 episodes, edited it and added more context with filler, this could have been exactly what I wanted from SIMM. I'm giving it a bonus .5 points just for my love of cliché college gay love stories. But in the end, I wish I had gone somewhere else.

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GMMTV & Director New collaboration

Star in My Mind is a collaboration between GMMTV, one of Thailand’s biggest entertainment powerhouses, and Director New, who’s practically a legendary figure in the BL universe thanks to his work on Love By Chance and Until We Meet Again. Naturally, this combo had me counting down the days to its release like it was the BL version of a lunar eclipse.

So, is it any good?
Well… yes and no.

Let’s be honest, anyone familiar with GMMTV knows what they’re capable of. And Star in My Mind? It’s not bad, but it’s also not great. It’s definitely not GMMTV’s crowning achievement. The problem is that the plot is so simple and straightforward that pairing it with Director New’s understated, elegant style was a bit like serving plain toast with a side of plain toast. His strength lies in taking heavy, emotional stories and making them feel simple, but when you give him a story that’s already as uncomplicated as tying your shoes, it just ends up feeling… a bit flat.

In fact, Star in My Mind is the kind of show that’s built for binge-watching on a lazy Sunday afternoon. The plot is so simple that even those 8 episodes felt like they were stretching it out a bit. I can't help but think that in six months, most viewers will struggle to remember much about it—other than, perhaps, "Oh yeah, that was a thing." Which is a shame, really, because the main actors show real potential. With the right project, they could have made a big splash. Here? They barely cause a ripple.

I had a tough time rating this drama because, well, while there’s nothing particularly wrong with it, there’s also not much to rave about. It’s like a lukewarm cup of tea—not bad, but not exactly something you’re excited about either. If you break it down—acting, plot, script, directing—it’s all above average compared to many BL dramas out there. But when you put it together, it somehow just feels… mediocre. Even the screenwriting, which is stronger than some of GMMTV’s recent offerings, couldn’t elevate the whole package.

Now, if you’re a fan of simple, wholesome love stories with no big drama, no major problems, and certainly no twisty plot turns, this might just be for you. I imagine a younger audience or people who are new to the BL genre might really enjoy it for its easy-going charm. It’s like the BL equivalent of comfort food.

In conclusion, Star in My Mind is the kind of drama where everything is technically good, but somehow it all comes together in a way that’s distinctly "meh." The script and directing felt mismatched—perhaps a more energetic, "showy" approach could have spiced things up and made it more memorable. As it stands, I have a strong suspicion that in half a year, I’ll be struggling to recall anything beyond a few key plot points and the fact that, yes, this drama existed.

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A bright shining star that slowly loses its spark

They almost got me. I was so indulgent during the first few EPs and feel like this drama will climb itself to the top of my fave BL shows but lacks the consistency of offering the same kind of excitement.

The flow of the story is enjoyable; lesser cringes and cliche scenarios, no overdramatic plots, loveable characters, and something that can make me attached to the romance. It’s a glorious show since it can make me thirsty for the next EP.

GMMTV’s actor squad in a BL that can pull the show. It’s nice to witness a good-looking cast that can live up to their title as actors. Joong and Drunk are worthy to be the main character for their exceptional on-screen chemistry. The thing I adore the most is their exquisite facial expressions that definitely carried out their roles as Khluen and Daonuea. Two thumbs up for the creative names from them; Dao means Stars and Khluen means Waves.

Maithee and Sean are wholesome. Their flirty moments are always a minute of giggles. The comedic personality of these two surely makes me laugh a lot. The mesmerizing sensor of Sean that always detects Khluen’s affection for Dao, and Maithee’s cute and frisky personality that liven up the mood. Had a great time watching them as an extra-fine addition to the drama.

Phoon, the character who fell to the badly-written ending. Ever since his first appearance on the show, this boy caught my attention for his handsomeness. It’s clear that his role is going to be the usual male second lead that lifted up the drowsing courage of the main couple to admit their love for each other by him being the source of jealousy. Phoon’s direct personality is admirable. He can verbally confess his feelings without hinting any sense of disruption. However, the turn of events in his story is unacceptable. The show ruins his character; a side role that needs to do something awful just to justify the romantic development of the main couple. I hate this kind of twist.

Phaphaeng, the girl who also fell for Daonuea, is such a cutie too. I sincerely felt sorry for her after the rejection she endured from being in unrequited love. This has a different vibe compared to some girl roles in a Thai BL that mostly played as the wall to the love story of the main character. It's a real sadness to experience the deep pain of the heart from one-sided love.

So where did the drama go wrong? Personally, I feel extreme boredness the moment that Khluen and Dao finally reopen their feelings for each other. The enjoyment and thrill aren’t the same in contrast to them being all fluffy and jolly in the past. The scenes after the confession didn’t generate an impact on me. Khluen’s constantly stealing kisses from Daonuea aren’t romantic. I always feel uncomfortable when Khluen shows a fondness for Dao without making a clear conclusion about his relationship with Gia, in which people around them thought that they were dating.

Another drama that has an outstanding start but failed to be consistent. The ending is simply an average ending to me, contrary to my expectations. Despite this, it was still better than the usual university love story that I’ve seen from most BLs. Lastly, Joong singing the OST of the drama is ethereal. His voice is like a flowing river of mixed sweetness and sexiness.

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Repetitive & Stretched Story

The story is good but something that we have seen over and over again in so many series
Even as a sub-story and not the whole series based on it, why it needed 8 episodes to cover this is a good question from my side.
Many scenes are illogical and too dramatic.
This should have been a mini-series instead, anyone can say that the series was just stretched.

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What the fuck was that

No like really what the fuck was that ending. Episode 8 was really dragging and the ending was like how did you leave us on a cliffhanger. I was really enjoying the series and i thought it was really cute. However the story was really well written in the beginning but towards the end your like what was all of that for. It was quite dry. I just felt like they could've done more. I just can't believe how bad that last episode was. Oh all is forgiven because we loved each other the whole time and now we are a perfect couple. Its just kinda dry and overplayed at the same time. I want them to be happy but weres the emotion and happiness. To be honest it just felt like it was missing something. Maybe its because there is no real rival.

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