Only Friends

เพื่อนต้องห้าม ‧ Drama ‧ 2023
Completed
NipplelessAladdin
1 people found this review helpful
Nov 11, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 9.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 5.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 2.0
This review may contain spoilers

Boston is the winner kkk ?

In a show where the word love is misused because it hardly exists. Everyone is just on for a good duck. All of us be ashawo haha.

Boston makes it on my list of beloved characters. Of course in real life I would not wish even my worst enemies a Boston in their lives haha. But got to give to the guy he stayed true to himself, he was an a***hole through and through and unapologetic about it. That’s what we call consistency haha. Too bad someone was hell bent on taking him for who he is and supposedly loving him no matter what.

I loved Sand. I adored Ray. I cared less about the other couples. These two were the only reasons I kept watching, the reason I’m giving this “interesting show” a 9. My fav couple they were not perfect but whatever they had was so much better. Sand was perfect for Ray. Ray was a douche sometimes but he quick to realize his mistakes and seek out Sand. Unlike Boston the Ashawo, who even had the audacity to f someone while on a date with his bf.



Spoilers
I sympathized with Nick. I get it all he wanted was love, but he was looking for it in the wrong person. The only time I was genuinely annoyed with Boston was he forged a lie to hook up with Top. But I didn’t blame him much for breaking Nick’s heart because he at least had the decency of telling Nick so many times before that he would not give him what he wanted. He was honest with him, he told him he is an ashawo and was not willing to be anybody’s bf. It’s Nick who insisted on sticking around. At first I thought all Nick wanted was to be loved, so I was happy for him when some one, Nick’s showed genuine interest in him and was even willing to be his bf, but Nick only had his heart set the ashawo.

I never bought into Top and Mew’s love. First of all I was annoyed by how Mew’s so called friends were so eager to get him laid. Was like let the guy be, he will get there himself when he wants to.

Anyhow going into the show I knew exactly what I getting into so not gonna complain about any of the “interesting” stuffs.

Everyone is an Ashawo in this series 😂.

Most problematic lines/ scenes for me.
There were so many of them as expected
But this one’s stuck with me.


Mew telling Ton: I’m going to finally sleep with Too because I’m afraid he will get bored of me I don’t.

Ray wanted to have a threesome with his bf and his bf’s ex. Was like this show has gone too far with fan service.

I predicted that Sand and Top were also going to kiss haha since I saw everyone was kissing everyone it didn’t matter whether or not they’re “dating” other people.



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Completed
Maya kotori
1 people found this review helpful
Jul 24, 2025
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
I didn't even want to watch it at first, but since you saw it and said it was great and especially First and Khao are in it, I couldn't refuse. So, I watched it, but the story itself bored me extremely. The only positive points I give are for the great acting and cast (we have one) and the other for (finally) my parents (Hooray, I have my own bl parents guys). Otherwise, not much happens, but it was watchable. After all, it only had 12 episodes xd
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Completed
evelyn_002
1 people found this review helpful
Nov 18, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.5

loved it.

My friends made me watch this series and I loved it. The cast is great, especially First and Khao are just incredibile, immense chemistry and they’re both very good actors, always believable in their performances. The story is very nice, intrigues of friendships and romantic/sexual relationships that never fall into ridicule, and the plot twists, unexpectedly, were definitely surprising. The several relationships feel overall natural, and all the conflicts take the right amount of time to be resolved, nothing ever feels rushed. And last but not least, is a very hot series, lol, many interesting scenes indeed…
I would definitely recommend!!

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Completed
KhurlimanM.
1 people found this review helpful
Jan 9, 2024
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 4.5
This review may contain spoilers

It shows real world or...

It really shows real world outside of our dramas. It not about bl but a person. His emotions, living ways and so on...

But at some points i found this show is really crazy u find any characters hooking up with each other but i kinda expected it.

Everything has come to MIDLE. Nothing compled like a hole drama i think but this also shows that life can change any time and cs of anyone.

It's good to watch but not to rewatch nevertheless u want ur head goes crazy


PC i want to know why did the director end them like that really want.. cs their casting contains really good actors. Maybe this way director thinks they can attract viewers

All of the my opinion..

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Completed
oaktree56
1 people found this review helpful
Dec 30, 2024
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 7.0
This review may contain spoilers

A Work of Art

TLDR: This is a nuanced show that can only be enjoyed by a psychologically mature audience. If you see things as strictly black or white, if you cannot empathize with characters who don't think like you, or if you're expecting this to be like GMMTV's other BL shows, then this show will frustrate the living poo out of you. This is a sophisticated piece of work. Each cast member delivered on point.

It's been a year since I first watched this show and have watched it multiple times since in order to understand each character's unique perspective - trying to judge the show as objectively as possible. Considering the cinematography, the soundtrack, color grading, the screenplay - and how all of it comes together cohesively & paints an incredibly vibrant picture of the multifaceted "queer-college-student" life - this was one of the BEST shows that was produced by Thailand in 2023, not just one of the best shows to come out of GMMTV or just one of the best in the BL genre. Each and every aspect of it was meticulously choreographed, and this attention to detail is what I liked the most about this show. It was a VERY high quality production.

Here's my more subjective take.

Story:

This is a dramatic story, which might not be for everyone. Each of the characters behaves in immature ways and they're all toxic in one way or another (some more problematic than others). Each character has very unique flaws but each individual represents a different version of the messy, confounding and spontaneous college student life. The story begins with & stays driven by the character's infatuations, lust, and obsessions with one another, so the focus is entirely on the nature of their evolving relationships. There is no other overarching theme or 'takeaway' from it (and that's fine). At first glance upon this group of friends, Mew (Book) appears to be the bespectacled, dependable, studious & prudent kid, Ray(Khao) is the recklessly alcoholic, money-to-burn rich kid, Boston (Neo) probably has the highest body count in Bangkok, and Cheum (Lookjun) is just a chill girl. Top (Force) is introduced into the mix by Boston and has a reputation of being one of the most desirable men in the country (well, Force *IS* absurdly attractive, so this was an excellent casting choice) and Nick(Mark) as well as Sand(First) go to the same college, eventually encountering a member from this group, which then enters them into their drama. The story is shaped by the character's drinking habits (lol), their love lives, their social relationships and the resulting personal agendas.

Is the story interesting? Yes, very much so, if you can watch it without getting attached to the actions of the characters. If you're easily triggered by fictional characters doing fictional nonsense, then you're not mature enough to watch this. The key word here is MATURE. The series can only be enjoyed if you're open-minded and mature enough watch it as merely a bystander. This is not teenage drama - it's much more complicated. If you're used to seeing everything as black and white then this is NOT the show for you.

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Completed
boalud
1 people found this review helpful
Nov 3, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

Finally the real gay community

I was so excited to see the chaos this would be. I was so proud of GMMTv for the audacity. Realistic stuff always get me, it's a love-hate thing.
But let's go to the character analysis.
Everyone sucks. The only character who is an actual angel is Sand.
Mew: was descent until he became Harley Twink and turned toxic as well.
Force and Boston: both can't keep it in their pants. Except Force was willing to join monogamy at the end, but Boston couldn't, that's not who he is.
Nick: did some fucked up shit and was very colorblind when it came to red flags, but he was not a bad person at the end of the day and I'm glad he teamed up with the best person in the "group".
Ray: messed up, poor little rich kid... nah 'cause Ray fucking sucked and would make a scene out of every little thing. He definitely doesn't know how to deal with anything and that could be because he doesn't got a mom and a present dad but took him too long to even want to try to be a better person. He hurt too many people. Sand was a saint for pulling up with all that shit.
Sand: I think he is flawless, but he gave too many chances to Ray, also kinda colorblind. It went well at the end, thankfully.
Chuem: I was so happy that this actress would be gay in the show. Also was so happy that she was dating Nanon's sister. But damn, she was so annoying and had no own opinion. She would just believe anyone that came up to her and said like '"your girlfriend said "blah blah"'. She wouldn't even ask or talk about it, she would just come for the person. There was also kinda of a lack of chemistry between her and April tbh.
April: is only there to be Chuem's girlfriend, barely appears.
Yo and Plug: I wish their story had more screen time, cause they meant nothing to me (which is sad 'cause I love Jennie)
Atom: bro was filthy. I tried to understand that he was very confused and fell for the first guy he hooked up with right after he found out he likes men too, I was kinda sorry for him but he fucked up still.

We can see most characters are very well written and developed. I really liked that and the fact that everything was very real, like getting out of that romantic perfect bubble. I kinda wish the couples wouldn't end up together, because that could be like a lesson about real life: some things don't work out and that's okay. I loved that Nick and Boston didn't get together in the end, Boston tried but he was unable to be monogamous, so he should just try and stop making other people's lives miserable. Overall the drama was very nice to watch, chaos is very entertaining. Seeing our beloved actors getting out of their comfort zone and playing shitty characters was an experience.

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Completed
JVKDrama
1 people found this review helpful
Feb 7, 2024
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers

Crazy, but Fun

Like the title of this review, Only Friends was crazy, but fun. There's a LOT of drama, but that's the whole point of the show. If you're looking for a gentle, sweet, kiss-on-the-cheek drama, check out 2gether or something like that. This show is NOT for the people wanting the innocent first love story. This show is meant for the people that want the drama that comes with boys that are capital M - messy!

Story:
I gave the storyline an 9.0 instead of a 10.0 because there were so many misunderstandings. Don't get me wrong, I love me a good misunderstanding, but it felt like there was a point where the only drama for every couple was the a misunderstanding arc. Use it once or twice, but don't keep reusing it in the same fashion for every couple. Communication is key!
I will say, the ending was pretty good and the way that the characters reacted to things was fairly understandable/reasonable for their characterization. This is to say that the reactions may not have been reasonable in a modern IRL setting for an everyday person, but for the characters and their stories, the reactions and motives were fairly on point.

Acting:
First/Khaotung were amazing as always. Their chemistry is OUTSTANDING. I loved them in The Eclipse and I loved them here. They were messy messy, but they were real in a way that I appreciate. Sand stayed firm in his boundaries and Ray learned how to see himself through Sand's eyes leading him to loving himself more than he had in the past.

Give it a go if you're looking for a far more mature series (and you're not afraid of a little mess.)

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Completed
lau
1 people found this review helpful
Dec 8, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 2.0
Story 2.0
Acting/Cast 2.5
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 1.0

waste of my time and braincells and for what

started great with good potential, ended up being more and more dissapointing each ep that passed until the final ep was in no other words, trash.

overall left me with a sense of having wasted my time for 12 weeks. the writing was shit, mewtop was boring as fuck, and the acting in dramatic and emotional (crying) scenes of some actors was cringe im sorry, things i cant say in twitter because they will doxx me and kill my entire family bc you can't possibly have an opinion there.

in addition, ray's addiction problem was dismissed completely??? they could've used it as a major plot device and give proper representation of mental health issues but no, lets just forget about it like its some personality trait and not something that could kill you .

in my opinion, this should've been a series that centered on sandray and sandray alone with bostonnick and cheumapril as 2 side couples. no shade to forcebook im sure theyre amazing people but they should take acting classes i dont mean any wrong with this.

in conclusion, if you're planning on watching this dont waste your time and watch last twilight or i feel you linger in the air as a substitute for a thai bl series, you'll thank me later.

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Completed
Nulky
1 people found this review helpful
Aug 11, 2024
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

The hype was deserved

I had seen this go viral everywhere but didn’t have time to watch it then (thank god because waiting a whole week for an epi wld have been so hard). The story is messy, as it’s intended. This is how many 20-somethings party, the toxicity doesn’t seem unbelievable. Though it seems like a superficial drama, there are many real character developments for everyone, and not all same.
It was my first FirstKhao show and I GET IT. I GET WHY THEIR “IT”. They have the most sizzling but cutest chemistry, they were my endgame.
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Completed
catastrophy
1 people found this review helpful
Sep 1, 2024
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 10
Rewatch Value 6.0
This review may contain spoilers

Khaotung and First were amazing here! Sadly, the rest of the plot wasn't as good.

Only Friends presents an interesting premise, where you dive into how different people in a friend group perceive relationships, and how internal and external factors change the way they interact with other people (e.g, personality, addiction, social status, etc).
I was sad that the plot didn't meet my expectations, but there were good things too.
Namely, Khaotung, First, and Mark did an amazing job. For me, Khaotung was truly exceptional here, with the way he was able to portray so many different scenes and emotions, seemingly so effortlessly. He really brought Ray to life, and it made the show worth watching for me. First was the only possible choice to be paired up with Khaotung, since not only is he also an amazing actor, but also the two of them have incredible chemistry. For me, they could easily become next generation's offgun, but that's a personal opinion.
Mark was also amazing in his emotional scenes, especially given he doesn't have as much experience. I look forward to see him in more projects!
One thing I really disliked was Boeing's plot right at the end. It felt super rushed to me, and like an unnecessary way to quickly shove more drama into the last episodes. I can see how Boeing was this character who used Sand when they were together, and then left him for Top, but it just felt as though him coming back to screw both their relationships felt... very forced and weird. Personally not a fan.
Overall, I liked the series, and SandRay were truly an amazing ship.

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Completed
gela
1 people found this review helpful
May 18, 2024
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 4.5

What an incredible messy but fun ride

If you've been in a an Australian/American queer group chat, you might get a little bit of a traumatic flashback while watching this series. I'm actually convinced the screenwriter just snuck into a queer gc and copied their drama as plot points.

First things first. This is messy but also a good representation of extremely liberal slash problematic queer friend groups. I'm convinced all of them should be in therapy and/or a polyamourous commune where they can just mess around with everyone. I just don't think monogamy works for some of these characters and that's fine!

Secondly, while I do agree that this is an accurate rep of the messy side of the queer community, it can be a triggering to see that many topics of cheating, emotional manipulation, privacy infringements, and violence in one drama. So please proceed with caution. It is good to get a rep of the messy aspect of being queer, but also there is mess in all communities really.

Thirdly, I love having a drama catered for nosy bitches like myself. I thoroughly enjoyed this although I do want to do the Gordon Ramsay's sandwich meme to some of these idiots. Make sure your blood pressure is controlled before watching this fr.

I still highly recommend watching this despite my above review.

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Completed
saucyy
1 people found this review helpful
Dec 9, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 5.0
This review may contain spoilers

Some things were fantastic, some made no sense

My overall impression is the writers/producers/editors knew which couples were going to end up together, but not exactly how they would get there. A LOT of the show seemed improvised, which in my opinion is where First and Khaotung shine through. As much as I genuinely love Force and Book (and I adored A Boss and A Babe, I rewatch and bought the DVD), I don't think they had as much chemistry or coherence in their pairing. As they got together it felt like a competition, then a lot of declaring "I love you" without actually showing what made them fall in love? They have cute dates and cute scenes but in the end it didn't feel believable to me.
I thought the show was trying to make Neo and Mark layered characters, but in the end I don't think Neo's character had any real growth or understanding of what he was doing that alienated people. Mark was fantastic, I am begging GMMTV to give him a lead role again.

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Only Friends poster

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  • Score: 8.0 (scored by 28,280 users)
  • Ranked: #2563
  • Popularity: #345
  • Watchers: 50,950

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