180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us

Ugh!!! Literally has my stomach in knots.

I very rarely if ever take the time to give a review. This story has so much potential. The emotional intensity and chemistry between Wang and In was breathtaking and kept me on the edge of my seat. The storyline was great. Acting great!Scenery beautiful. Music lovely. Everyone played their parts and made you have an emotional response to them.

BUT the end left me feeling anxious and extremely agitated. I rarely feel hate (strong emotion) towards a character but mom had my stomach hurting. I have two sons 31 and 28. I can't imagine being that selfish and self absorbed to watch their pain for my benefit. Oh! She has my stomach hurting!

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Stagey at Times, but a Wonderful Bittersweet Story

I need to get my one criticism out of the way. I felt this series was too stagey at times, including with over the top acting at times. It was distracting because in my opinion, I would have preferred a film style presentation, but I ended up being able to overcome my bias.

I had difficulty finishing this series, not because it was lame and cliche, but due to my feelings of not wanting the protagonist, Wang, to continue being in the middle of a love triangle that will never be resolved, because it cannot be resolved. Wang is one of my favorite fictional characters I've had the pleasure of meeting. Wang is such a delightful person, that it really hurt me to see the adults in the generation about him being so stuck in their own misery, mostly a misery they made and sustain. Initially, I was pretty judgmental about Wang's mother sending him to board school, but now I realize that it may have saved him from a s similar fate. Being away from his mother allowed him to not experience her over the top demands 24 hours a day.

The shallowness of Sasiwimol and In's existences are in sharp contrast to the liveliness and optimism of Wang. Even when offered a ray of light, neither of them could reach out for it. Since Siam was with Sasiwimol and In all of the time, he wasn't able to break out on his own, while Wang has the strength the adults never had. Sasiwimol won two prestigious awards and could not find one person to share her victory with, and In could not acknowledge his feelings and chooses to be alone.

I half jokingly said that Wang should take his father's ghost, and move out on his own. I stand by this. Wang will honor his father by living, while In and Sasiwimol will continue to be the walking dead.

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More than BL, a true artistic piece

Edit for ep 8: NOTHING, and I cannot emphasis more on that, has ever moved me in a way this show has. This not romance, this is not bl, this is not drama, this is real life. This show is a direct, raw, almost cruel reflection of reality that so many of us live in. And just like real life, there is no happy ending. Just moments of happiness followed by grief and the cycle continues. This show is an experience, a thing to feel, to think, to ponder upon. Watch this only if you can handle the harsh truths of reality because this show is explicit in it's delivery of emotions and struggles.

Original review: Firstly I'm going to say, don't start this series if all you look for in a bl are s sex cenes, cliche troupes and hot dialogues. Go watch something else because to enjoy this series you need to forget what you have seen in bls till now.

I literally created this account to leave this review because people aren't understanding the depth this series has. It was created by Punnasak Sukee who is an artist of Thai Modern Theatre and you can see it in this series. Everything from the opening credit to even a blink carries meaning and weight. This series is about 4 people, and we see 3 of them. That's it, no third wheeling girl, no homophobic parents, no dramatic friends, this is about 3 people and them only. This is not a show, it's an analysis of human psyche, presented to you in the form of 3 characters.

And the reason why I saw it's more than bl is not because bl shows are shallow, I love them as well, but the topics this series focuses upon are much more than just 2 men falling in love. It's about their life, their experiences, their demons, and amidst trying to fight all that, they will find love.

If chemistry b/w leads is important for you, then don't worry, because this show has more sexual tension than any you might have seen. It's not explicit, it's not violent; it's subtle and soft but just as ever-present. It so slow burn, 100k word novels will look short in front of it. But it's worth it, its so worth it.

It's a true artistic piece, it needs patience. Don't start it if you don't have that.

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A masterpiece

This series is perfect in all ways. There are no flaws that I can point out. This is literally a work of art. The story is so mesmerizing and heavy. Even though the shooting only took place in one location and it only the characters talking, they did it so good. This is why you call a character driven story. The story of Wang and In was done so beautifully. Wang is a person that is doesn't have any ambitions and knows what he wants to do in life. But when he found the thing he wanted, he fights for it even it hurts him. It was beautiful seeing his growth. He looked like a cocky person that knows all but as you continue his story, he is actually a person that is lonely and yearning for love. In on the other hand, seems like a person who it intelligent, composed and rational but when hardship arrives he tend to run from it and avoid it. He is a coward and he stayed a coward till the end. It was nicely depicted that some people can't change no matter how much we try. In the end, In stayed in misery and choose to stay in misery. He never even said 'I love you' to wang. though his actions and gestures displayed it so obviously. It was sad to see this ending even thought it was highly predictable from the first episode. But I think it was a nice way to end thing. I am a person that doesn't like sad endings. I don't like reality to come with my fiction, but still I am alright that it ended this way. This series may not be for everyone, since it is a character driven story and only focuses on the characters. So some may not like, but if you're into things that are plot heavy and focus on the characters, with deep dialogs. You should definitely, no you MUST try this. The actors did such a splendid job. Pond is a terrific actor, when he cried, I cry, when he was happy I was happy. He displayed emotions of someone who is cocky but is lonely and yearning for love so well. As well as Nike. You may not notice it at the beginning but when it was an emotional scene, he did it so well. As well Mam, she made me annoyed of her and that was her character so she did a splendid job lol. The music also was spectacular. Like I said this series is a masterpiece so I am just repeating the words now lol. One of the best Bl, which I would say you can't even say it is a bl. More like a lgbt+ series. Beautiful, outstanding and a work of art.

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A masterpiece

The few characters and basically two settings (inside and outside the house, if we exclude their home in Bangkok in episode1) gave the perfect vibes of a theatrical piece.

The story is totally original for a BL (to be fair, this is not a BL in its pure essence): a son with a complex relationship with his mom and a strong love for the dead dad finds his way to the exact longitude and latitude of the one friend of his parents that knows the truth about their family secret.

The acting was pure masterclass. Even Pond (the actor playing Wang) is extremely stunning, despite the young age. The other two actors have great performances too. The feelings were so real you could touch them.

The music and the OST (sung by Pond) are pretty on point, and start at the exact time to fill the silence and accompany the feeling.

Despite the bitter finale (which I find realistic and maybe even the best one to conclude the show), I'd love to rewatch it because the performances were undeniably awesome and the topics were important and well-discussed.

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Family is politics.

Cinematography, storytelling, casting and acting, symbolism, the simple, yet complex nature of this drama is simply mesmerizing. It will pull you in, won't let go and break your heart in the end, because nothing is more complicated than human nature. This show is about how one person influenced the lives of another three people that keep dwelling on the past and keep hurting each other in the process, leaving their scars open and gapping, instead of tending to them.

“People keep saying they are okay with you being gay - but it’s not acceptance, just tolerance.”

N O T S P O I L E R F R E E / N O M A J O R S P O I L E R S

Sasiwimol and her son Wang are influenced by the loss of their dad, husband Siam. Sasiwimol doesn't like to talk about him, since she's not able to reminisce on the good things, so Wang has to find someone, who knows his father well and is able to tell him more about the person he lost and the one turns out to be an old family friend, In. In the span of a few days, Wang uncovers more than he maybe would wish for...

180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us shows us how powerful unresolved trauma and regret can be, how expressing our feelings and being truthful to ourselves and others can hurt so much so to heal means cutting people out of your life.

The Great Sasiwimol, successful producer and mother of Wang, always energetic and with a sharp mouth, yet a carrier of trauma of her husband passing away drunk driving. Sasiwimol keeps hurting herself and her son, sending him to boarding school and seeing him only during the weekends, not really listening to him or accepting his opinions, because her own opinion is the only one that matters. Maybe she can't listen to him, as Wang resembles his father too much and it's painful for her just to look at him, or she's simply ashamed of being a single mother, not introducing Wang to any of her friends, lovers, not mentioning him during her speech. She projects her insecurities onto Wang, keeps being homophobic, toxic to her suroundings, gaslighting people into doing things she wants them to do.

Wang, who lost his closest person, his father, was backstabbed by his mother for sending him away, bullied and defending others from bullies during his school days and figuring out his own sexual preferences he could never talk about with anyone, especially not with his mother. The suddenly missing father figure pushes him closer to In, who keeps wallowing in the sadness and who doesn't want to get on anyone's bad side by playing a diplomat, which doesn't help anyone. Wang, even for being only 20 years old, is the most mature one in this doomed triangle.

Lastly In, who shut himself away from the world. He likes to say he likes his quiet, but maybe he's just running away from his problems which used to be Sasiwimol and her husband, later on his own feelings of betrayal, hurt and regret, that haunts him now in the form of Wang. Wang who is too much like his father, like In's best friend, his idol he abandoned when Siam needed him the most. When Wang's father was there for him, but In wasn't there when he realized his and his own feelings, that could tear Wang's parents apart. And now, years later, he serves as a catalyst between Wang and Sasiwimol.

There's no good way of handling the situation those three find themselves in. Someone will get hurt and it will only get worse, before it gets better. But the change needs to happen, if they like it or not.

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Loved every minute of it.

This was wild.

I surprisingly really loved that we figure out very early on what actually happened between In and Wang's parents. It's not a drama about this huge mystery that keeps you on the edge of your seat. It's about very real, human emotions and pain that still cuts so deep you can't bring yourself to say the words out loud. That being said, I was hanging on to every word being spoken, so still very much on the edge of my seat. And when I think about it, really, the ending is very much expected as well, and yet I was incredibly invested. The progression of them meeting, the intense gazes, getting to know each other, to confessing is so seamless.

Pond is phenomenal. So talented. And his smile had me kicking my feet, he's super cute, let's be honest.

[Spoiler-ish] There's honestly so much more I feel like I need to think about and digest when it comes to the daddy issues part of it all. But it was so interesting. I mean, the fact that they never address out loud how he looks just like his father, leaving us to connect the dots with the pictures of the two of them from the past with the way In looks at Wang when they first meet. That got me so good.

Highly recommend.

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Underrated and wonderful

I don't usually write reviews for shows but I had to after watching the last episode. There's no doubt that this show tells a story differently. It can be difficult to get into if you don't like quieter, carefully paced shows. There are entire episodes which consists of just one scene and dialogue between two characters (similar to that of the book "The Symposium" that Int gives to Wang). Not to mention, many parts of the acting and scenes feels more like watching a live play rather than a tv show. And many aspects (geographical lines, affection and attraction, loneliness) are spoken of metaphorically. All of which gradually builds up until the final episode where everything is so clear in who the characters are, what their "lines" are, and how they go about living. The only score is the song sung by the actor who plays Wang. It complements the show beautifully.
It is a very cathartic and special watch. Highly recommend.

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52 Blue

I enjoyed this drama series to the extent that it compelled me to write a review about it. I have rarely watched such a drama which made me feel this conflicted. There was no clear side to choose from and no clear character to root for. At the same time I felt completely involved in all three characters and indentified with them on many levels.
This is a story about three characters. How their past caught up with them and how all three reacted in different ways. It's a story about lost chances, deep scars, finding and acknowledging one's identiy, healing, moving on and much much more.
The setting of the drama is like a stage play. Only three characters, set in one house with long dialogues between characters. But in no point I felt bored. In fact it felt like a thriller at times where each character was revealing somehting that helped solved the puzzle that was this drama.
The story is a-typical. Where love is portrayed as a means of self-exploration and realization. Love is not treated as the remedy to all problems rather a way to face the reality. And the reality is different for each character. It is a love story but one where love alows the characters to face their darkest fears and come to terms with it.
each actor playing the three characters did brilliant. I could relate with all three. In many instances I found myself in all three of them.
The visuals and color palette of the drama is spectacular. Each character wore a specific color through out the series and it blended with the settling seamlessly. The camera angles and shots were manipulated as such that each frame felt like a painting.
Finally the direction, it is the director's debut venture (as far as I know). He is a veteran theater director. Hence the treatment of the drama was very fresh. I have become a fan and will look forward to his work in future.
I hope this drama gets wide spread acknowledgement both at home and globally. I will come back to it.

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