Only Friends

A Rollercoaster of Emotions: A Late-Night Binge-Watch

When I first saw Ray with his head resting on the toilet seat, I knew he was the one. Have you ever watched a movie or a drama and felt an inexplicable connection to a character? Ray was that person for me—twisted and flawed, yet profoundly relatable. Life has a way of molding us into unexpected shapes, and Ray’s journey resonated with me.

As for Sand, he's such a sweet guy. I mean, he saved my Ray and made him a better man. What could be more perfect than that? I admire his hardworking nature, the way he takes care of the people he loves, and his deep bond with his mom. It pained me to see him cry or suffer, but such is life.

Mew's situation is perplexing. I felt anger toward Top for betraying him behind his back. It's as if fate inscribed in red ink, 'Innocence gets you hurt.' Mew possesses a forgiving heart—a quality I lack. If I were in his shoes... well, let's not dwell on what I'd do.

Top is still not my cup of tea from the first time I saw him. His character resembled a predator toying with its prey, inflicting wounds and then licking them. Perhaps my bias influenced my perception, but anyway...

And then there’s Boston, a lost soul who struggles to understand love and how to be loved. When he settled down, I hoped he'd find stability. Alas, he stumbled again, losing something precious. Boston reminded me of a thirsty lamb in a desert, bypassing an oasis to wander deeper into scorching sands. Sometimes, we all need a wake-up call—a metaphorical smack on the head—to alter our course.

Nick, the sweetheart, faced perpetual bad luck in love. His heart woke up one day and chose unrequited love. I'm relieved he eventually found self-awareness and escaped the torment he inflicted upon himself. Innocent face, wounded heart—sweet Nick.

The friend group was f**ked up to the core, probably why I sometimes wish I remained friendless to avoid the drama, betrayal, and complicated love dynamics.

The series itself was a whirlwind of emotions. Stellar performances by the actors, perfectly crafted scenes, and an engaging storyline held me captive. So here I am, writing this review at 5 a.m., fueled by my all-night binge-watch. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

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Obsessed with RaySand

I really enjoyed watching this, even though I actually prefer to watch cutesy, sweet, no-angst shows, which I would say this isn’t.

First off, I love RaySand’s story/romance it’s done so well and Khaotung and First do an amazing job acting. I will say I wasn’t really all that interested in MewTop, but that didn’t detract from the story too much. The acting is all quite good, I think this is a pretty top-tier cast (especially Khaotung, the way he portrayed emotions was really really good). Some emotional moments nearer the end did make me tear up, again the way Khaotung and First portray their characters is SO good. I also am a big fan of Neo, he did a great job (even though Boston isn’t the best).

I started this show not really thinking I’d even get through it, but mainly because I just wanted to give it a try- then ended up finishing it in 3 days. There’s a lot of messiness with the characters, and a lot of drama (and a lot of bad decisions made), and it makes for a great show.

I also really loved how the show talked about sexuality and consent and such were important and talked about. I see too many BLs living in some sort of fantasy world where consent is not given and it’s not a problem- not even talked about. Also there are some BLs that are just weird with pacing and the story and confusing, but this absolutely was not, the plot and pacing were very natural, the way characters react is completely natural. It was a very good watch.

I wasn’t even planning on writing this much, I just finished it so I think I have a lot to say about it. If you’ve actually read this, I definitely recommend you watch the show, and I hope you enjoy it.

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I think a very good study in human behavior. Funnily enough.

Explicit. Characters are of all shades of gray. When I say explicit it is definitely on higher end of explicit for a BL. And when I say I overall liked this watch, you may think it was those scenes but not really.

It was simply upredictable and exciting to see characters respond to plot demands. So dramatic! So fun! With burlesque quality to it. Cannot pinpoint it but I feel like I have been thrown into the OG Gossip Girl first watch. Does anyone get what I mean?

I was easily invested in the story of each of the characters, so much that I remember all of their names. And I do not have to say leave your morality at the front because these are not good people and they do not pretend to be.

At the beginning, everything and everyone seems superficial and thin like paper but throughout the show they flunctuate as people and do so in an honest and raw way.

The characters were developed with solid back stories that justified their actions in the drama, but were still unexpected when they struck you as audience. Ray was multi-layered character from the get go and fit Khao's emotional and vulnerable performance excellently. Even the lack of chemistry with Mew exemplified that his match was elsewhere. Sand was an absolute favorite in the way he was written, his sass was very well portrayed and his wimpy attitude was toned down but his cool and confident disposition. The chemistry was on point between the main leads.

Ton was consistent as hell in his immorality. He made me think so much. Even though I would condemn some actions in real life, the drama made me consider the angles of forgiveness and contempt and change ...and all in all, letting go. Nuncheon, I thought was useless in the plot. If judging from this as my first time seeing his performance, Force seems better person than he is an actor. In behind the scenes he was funny and charming, seems like a great guy to have around in any team --but his acting I just did not think was complex enough for the role of Top. Book was solid, nothing much to complain about. Mark Pakin the same case as with Force, this is my first time to see him acting and he did not impress, seems like a great guy perhaps the role did not fit. Also strange because his chemistry with Neo was not really lacking in the interviews and behind the scenes so I am not sure why I was not vibing with them. I am throwing all unpopular opinions here, sorry.

In all, a few things carried this drama: complex and unpredictable plot, refreshing mature script that matched perfectly with the scenography and Khao, First and Neo.

I know many people here rate it as trash, even tho I understand I would disagree. depends what you are looking for (or finding). With all those salacious scenes you expect to be kind of at the brink of oversaturation but characters were simply well written so you may end up caring more about what happens to them. Like me.

I think I liked Only Friends more than Eclipse, even though I think Akk fit better First than Sand did, and Ray suited better Khao than Ayan did... And well, I am First's fan girl first, and an objective reviewer (caring about your viewing experience) second, hihi.

Go for it. It's unexpected surprise. And 12eps only.

Thanks for reading.

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A great show that went off the rails somewhere along the line

Boy oh boy am I conflicted about this one! There are some things I adore about it, some things I absolutely hate about it and on the whole I suppose I'm just not quite sure where I stand.

Let me start off by saying that the acting and cinematography in this show are phenomenal, the soundtrack absolutely slaps, and best of all: it has some of the most realistic and multidimensional depictions of queer people and their lives I've ever seen in a Thai show.
Relationship boundaries are complex and shifting, sexual roles and preferences are fluid, and monogamy is often not all it's cracked up to be. For that alone the series scored big points with me.
Unfortunately though, they completely flubbed the ending in my opinion.

This story could have had the perfect three act structure: the building of relationships, then the complete breakdown of those relationships, before finally rebuilding connections and salvaging whatever possible from the wreckage.
And for a while it really looks like that's where the show is going. I absolutely adore the first third of the series and am very much on board with the sheer chaos of the second third (I especially love the twist to Mew's character and think this could have been the perfect set-up for a truly interesting and subversive character arc).
But by the last third I was so furious about some of the writing choices made that all that goodwill pretty much went out the window.

I strongly dislike the way Mew and Top's relationship rekindling is handled (I think it's a great disservice to both characters to be honest) and I just couldn't get invested in their dynamic anymore.
Boston also gets done pretty dirty in that the show frequently blurs the line between "this character is a complete dick who is unrepenting and pretty much irredeemable" and "this character is simply polyamorous/prefers open relationships" which plays into negative and antiquated stereotypes.
And then there is Boeing whose inclusion is as unnecessary as it is deeply irritating. It detracts focus from two of the most important relationships in the show and pretty much ruins several character arcs in my opinion.

That being said the series does still have a great deal to offer: it is raw, touching, and real. It subverts a lot of tired old tropes of the genre while also skillfully addressing several important issues like consent and addiction. It is incredibly sex-positive and unabashedly queer and features several loving lesbian and trans couples (though none of them really get enough screentime).
And most importantly it's pure, chaotic fun.

In short I hope to see this production team create more shows like this in the future and hopefully learn from some of the mistakes here too.
I also would like to take this opportunity to grab GMM by the proverbial collar and inform them that they better wise up and make space for more authentically queer productions going forward without leading good projects awry due to unexpected audience demands dammit!

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Crazy little thing called love.

Oh boy. This series was a ride and a half, and I'm still not entirely sure about my rating.

There were points when I was so frustrated watching this, but it did a fairly good job at engaging me. I'm a sucker for complex relationship dynamics, and I think each of the pairs in this delivered on that tenfold. So to best assess, let's look at the couples.

Mew & Top: When I started, I wasn't sure about them. Mew's character was relatable for me, and I wanted Top to be a good guy -- but of course, nothing is that easy. The fist shaking and face palming done during certain scenes with them was numerous. Surprisingly, I feel they did a good job at redeeming Top. I was rooting for him by the end, and in a weird twist, I was annoyed by Mew. His character flip due to heartbreak was enraging at points, but they pulled it back together. This was the pair I was least engaged with, though. Also can we talk about the random storyline they threw in at the end? Literally insanity to me because it had zero development and felt like someone was like "but wait... fire!"

Nick & Boston: This dynamic hit so much on Queer as Folk, but couldn't live up to that series. Still, Nick was endearing, though naive. Boston was not meant to be likeable and they did a fantastic job of conveying that. I really wish they would've explored more of his character, especially after what Nick said to him about wanting to be loved. I feel like that hit so hard, but wasn't fleshed out. Furthermore, they tried to redeem Ton, but there was no real moral dilemma evident when he just repeated his usual patterns. I feel like if they wanted us to believe he had some signs of hope, they needed to show that more. Ton grew on me, but like mold grows in a poorly ventilated bathroom. I'm sad but happy in the end that Nick chose himself. Boston has some growing to do, and he can't do it if he is enabled.

Sand & Ray: I actually chose to watch Only Friends because I enjoyed First so much in Note Me. This couple is really the star of the show for me. Ray was so enraging at points, and I think Sand was such a beautiful person, which they conveyed well. They were ying and yang at points, but complimented each other. As someone who works with mental health and addictions, Ray was a particularly heartbreaking character. His one therapy session had me near tears, and I wish we could've seen more of his exploration. I would've loved for them to delve more into the dynamics of recovery and loving someone in recovery. Their chemistry was palpable. One thing that bugged me a bit is the lack of closure related to Sand's dad.

Boeing: Not a pair, but he gets his own line because he created so many feels. Love the actor, hate the character -- so basically, he did another great job at acting. He was like Ton but boss level Ton. Any time he walked into the room, I was ready to throw something at my screen.

The ending felt a bit flat, but I enjoyed by journey (well, most of it).

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Splendidly messy, highly entertaining ! Hot, wild and thrilling !

This Thai BL follows the story of a group of 4 business students who are friends and open an hostel together as part as one of their university project. They are all somewhat very flawed individuals pursuing love in a very messy and foremost highly entertaining way. They are all entangled together with 4 additional characters and the relationships they all build along the show are full of red flags but also so wild and thrilling. I was pretty satisfied by the ending as I was afraid of it being full of potential redemption arcs not very believable. Here the choices done made overall sense to me, even though some resolution might seem a bit easy, it was pretty nuanced and convincing.

I watched this show religiously every week and I was invested emotionally in the adventures of the 8 protagonists but not at the same level for each of them. I had clearly 3 favorites characters that I was rooting for: Ray, Sand and Nick. I think what made me so attached to them is the great acting performance of Khaotung, First and Mark. I loved those actors in some of their previous works and once again they truly impressed me here. The other actors were not bad but there is for me a clear difference of skills level between those three and the others. This explains why there is one specific pairing that I adored so much that I was ready to forgive any mishaps happening between them while I was much more severe in my judgement for some other storylines. This pairing had also the most sizzling chemistry and the best emotional scenes in my opinion.

In terms of production, I really enjoyed the overall indie vibe of the drama. The soundtrack was pretty nice with its rock sound and it was very fitting with the story as a lot of the scenes were happening in bars, concerts or parties. The styling of the various characters was pretty cool: I rarely notice that much the clothing but there are a lot of noteworthy wardrobe moments.

I would recommend this to people looking for hot, wild and thrilling BL. If you are not afraid of messy relationships, you are in for a real treat. I would have loved for the drama to be longer even though the conclusion was good and satisfying (despite what felt as some shortcuts), that's why I would gladly watch a second season if they decide to make one.

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The Friends We Made Along The Way

There was one thing that annoyed me about this series once it started, I did not believe the core group of friends actually liked each other, if anything it felt like they only hang out together out of convenience but wouldn't miss an opportunity to belittle or mistreat each other.
But I think it was concise, since the story starts when the group starts to fall apart, when they reach the limit of what they can take from each other. It almost feels like a coming of age story where the main lesson is self love and worth.
The acting was top notch, while I think that Force and Book struggled with their characters and had a more lackluster performance compared to the others, at the start everyone still needed to break in their roles, Neo was the one that I felt was the most comfortable and ready for the challenge from the get go, Boston was probably the most different character he has played and it fit him like a glove, I was in awe by him. Khao had the hardest scenes to film and just like he did in Moonlight Chicken, he showed once again that he is one of the greatest actors in GMM, his character can give you a lot of mixed feelings from hate to pity, but it's certain that he will make you cry. While I think First bit a little more than he could chew with Sand, he still gives a strong perfomance, the chemistry he and Khao have is undeniable and allows the relationship between the characters to be believable and captivating even when it shouldn't. Mark was a pleasant surprise, Nick is a character to feel sorry for, with a lot of vunerability, I think Mark's performance was well done.
I feel that Cheum as the only girl of the group and the lesbian representation you rarely see, could have had more space in the drama, I would like to know more about her relationship with her girlfriend, while they treated her as the glue that keeps the group together, she seemed so out of the loop most of the time, her character was the hardest to relate to.
The story wasn't the best, but the execution justify why Only Friends got so much attention and praise, it is about people, about relationships, friendships, drugs, sex and betrayals.
I can't even say if it has a happy ending or not, because the end doesn't feel as a end, because life doesn't end after the credits roll, it keeps going, so I can only imagine that it will be the same for these characters, they will keep going and we will see Nicks and Sands and Rays and Mews walking around making mistakes and trying to get things right just like everybody else.

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I was only here for FirstKhao

What can I even say about Only Friends other than the fact that they absolutely do NOT live up to their title? If only they had stopped at being friends.

What kind of friend group even is this? Are you guys sure you’re friends?

ARGGHH, this drama is one continuous concentration of problems with absolutely NO BREAKS. At least we were spared the usual episode 11 trauma that stays with you for the rest of your life. Because honestly? The entire drama traumatized us instead.

I’m going to start with Mew and Top.

Their relationship actually had a pretty good foundation. I absolutely love the whole “I have a complicated past, but you’re the reason I want to leave it behind” trope. Mew, with his dearly missed little glasses and his adorable teasing, immediately won me over. And Top was just undeniably sexy.

The problem is that once the trust was broken, the way they found their way back to each other didn’t feel natural at all. Their relationship went from being something shared between two people to something much more selfish, where the only goal seemed to be hurting the other person as deeply as possible.

Can cheating be forgiven? This drama definitely gives us a pretty clear answer.

Ever since Mew started wearing those absolutely horrible shirts, his entire existence has revolved around revenge. Meanwhile, Top lives in guilt, and as a result, their dynamic becomes absolutely unbearable. Can you really spend your entire life trying to make up for your mistakes to someone who is no longer open to trusting you again? At some point, Top, have a little self-respect.

What annoys me the most is that until the very end, Mew never really apologizes for all the horrible things he did, even though they were very clearly just as bad, if not worse.

So ultimately, my conclusion is that once trust has been broken, sometimes the healthiest thing to do is simply let each other go. Because here, the only thing pushing these two people back toward each other is a deeply selfish desire to make things work.


Now obviously, I have to talk about Boston. Because for all the asshole behavior this man displayed, his character still has a surprising amount of depth.

Obviously, Boston is deeply selfish. But he’s also the only person in this friend group who gets blamed and rejected for mistakes that everyone else has already made. Cheating? Mew did it too. Exposing your friends publicly? Ray has done that. Being incapable of committing to a relationship? Please, don’t even get me started, I can name at least Mew and Ray.

And yet, Boston is the only one who truly ends up paying for his mistakes. Of course, Nick absolutely broke my heart. Poor baby, it was obvious that he loved Boston deeply. But as he said himself, he couldn’t force him to become someone he simply wasn’t.

Don’t get me wrong, Boston remains incredibly frustrating. But I think that through his character, the show is also trying to explore the impact of loneliness on a person, because at the end of the day, Boston is incredibly alone. He spends his time taking pictures of his hookups, almost as if keeping them at a distance through a camera allows him to preserve them on film while keeping them away from his heart.

And he’s also the only one who doesn’t really get a happy ending. He ends up without friends, in another country, and when he finally opens his heart by sharing that photograph, the timing is simply wrong.

So, in the end, isn’t Boston actually the most human and realistic character of them all? He throws himself into pleasure and distractions so he doesn’t have to think too much about his own existence.

And Nick, my sweet baby, also has a really interesting journey. Obviously, there couldn’t have been a better ending for their relationship. He learned that loving himself is far more important than giving everything he has just to be loved through someone else’s eyes.


And finally, I have to talk about my oxygen.My everything. The only reason I kept watching this show.

Ray and Sand.

Not only do they form a couple that completely takes my breath away, but their characters are incredibly interesting too. Sand introduces us to the theme of money and that endless race that can drown us in a world where everything is measured by what we own.
He also has no father and a very close relationship with his mother. Even though the whole storyline involving his father is somewhat pushed aside, Sand is, above all, a carer. And on top of that, he loves Arctic Monkeys. (PUT A RING ON HIS FINGER.)

As for Ray, even though he was significantly more unbearable, I actually found him to be the more interesting character. He doesn’t believe he deserves love. He has spent his entire life loving things that were always out of his reach, his mother, but also Mew.
He falls into alcoholism, which obviously has everything to do with his past, and spends his time convincing himself that he will eventually end up alone.

The whole storyline where Khao was kissing Book? Honestly, I took that as a personal betrayal.

But beyond all the problems constantly falling on them, this couple was the only reason I felt genuine excitement every time I watched this series. Ray and Sand are actually the complete opposite of selfish. Ray is incapable of moving on and is willing to accept a love that isn’t real. Sand, meanwhile, is incapable of truly opening up about what he feels. In reality, their entire relationship is built on countless misunderstandings.

But for those eye contacts? I would go through it all again as many times as necessary.

Thank you to FirstKhao for the acting and the chemistry because, honestly, they saved the show for me.


Finally, I want to talk about Cheum and April. Because yes. This couple exists. And I have a complaint. I’m tired of GL couples being introduced as extremely secondary relationships in BLs, only for them to contribute absolutely nothing and have storylines flatter than a pancake.
I’m sorry, but there was NO chemistry between this pairing. Even though I initially felt like Cheum had an important place in the story during the first episodes, she gradually faded into the background until she became almost completely unnecessary.


So, in conclusion: I recommend Only Friends if you enjoy problems. Because bon appétit. You will be served. Overall, this show disappointed me quite a lot because absolutely none of these characters were particularly healthy. In a way, it’s refreshing to see human characters with flaws and complicated pasts.
But here? It was too much.
Especially when Boeing suddenly appeared out of nowhere. At that point, I genuinely started wondering if this show ever planned on taking a break from creating problems.

I also don’t think this was ForceBook’s best performance. Or maybe their characters were simply too unbearable for me to care.

However, I did learn several things from this series, and I invite you all to apply them to your daily lives.
Thank you for the catharsis.

-> Forgiving cheating is probably a bad idea.

->You do NOT touch your friends’ exes or boyfriends. That's Illegal.

->A one-night stand has a relatively low chance of becoming the love of your life.

->Watch out for your friends, especially if those little demons are willing to publicly expose your mistakes.

->Get yourself a rich boyfriend. It can apparently get you out of poverty surprisingly quickly.

->If someone tells you that you are Only Friends, maybe don’t go looking for anything beyond the friendzone.

Thank you, SandRay. To everyone else, I appreciate your participation. But honestly? I could have done without it.

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Solid Acting and toxic relationships.

This was a RIDE!!! Kind of a guilty pleasure series filled with toxic characters and messed up relationships. But the actors did a splendid job. Since the series did not have a unique storyline or anything, the acting was holding it up. Display of emotions are done excellently and i am right there with them when the characters are hurt or heartbroken. I almost liked all the couples but i absolutely ADORED FirstKhao pair because these two were magical. And damn those smiles First had were the star of the show.

The character that took my heart and will hold it forever was Sand. I cried for him, fell in love with him and just whole-heartedly wished for his happiness. What he and Ray had was magic and the way he cared for broken Ray was worth watching.

Highly recommend!

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