The Trainee

Identity Problem

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

Overall, this was a very cute series. However, you will need to change your mind set before you start watching it because this series had an identity problem. It seems the marketing department and production team received two different memo’s and were not on the same page. It’s marketed as a BL series, but the script had more of a slice of life vibe involving an ensemble cast. There is a BL couple and storyline, but it’s incorporated with other random storylines. For the positive, the relationship development between Jane and Ryan was great and had a nice, even pace. I also liked how all the interns supported each other and formed a good friendly working relationship, well most of the time. The Ryan after Work sections at the end of each episode were cute and informative. Now for the negative, there were big sections that didn’t involve the two main characters which is one aspect that created the series identity problem. The other aspect is there is one storyline that seems completely out of place when you watch this with a BL series mind set. However, it does make senses if you watch this from a slice of life viewpoint. The quality of the script was also inconsistent. There were parts that were very good, but were mixed with long periods of boring scenes. The comedy was also not quite right and there were too many sound effects.

Random Note:

The ending was ok, but it has one story element that I’m getting sick of seeing wrapped up in another story element that I’ve always found annoying.

The scene location used for Judy and Ba-Mhee’s work area was also used in the series GAP (Work section that Mon was assigned to).

******Spoiler Alert******

The storyline with Tae and Ba-Mhee quickly became annoying.

Beside the fact it was poorly written, the storyline with Tae, Ba-Mhee, and Judy seemed very out of place in a BL series.

Not only do we get a study abroad component, it comes with a 5-year time jump. The study abroad concept has been around for a long time, but it seems to be very popular lately.

Read More

OffGun Magic Saves the Day Again!!

“The Trainee” is a lighthearted BL series featuring OffGun in prominent roles. The series revolves around internships, careers, and personal growth. It follows the story of Ryan, Tae, Pie, Pah, and Ba-Mhee, recent college graduates who meet at an internship interview at GoodPick. Gun Atthaphan plays the character of Ryan, who is unsure about which company to choose for his internship. After listening to the advice of his close friend, he decides to apply for an internship at Goodpick. He gets selected as an intern in the Assistant Director department, where he meets Jane (Off Jumpol), his supervisor. Jane is strict but kind-hearted. Despite being strict, he teaches Ryan to be more open and brave in making decisions. The chemistry between Off and Gun is wonderful, and they are very comfortable with each other. Pie starts as a stiff and almost like a loner character, but as the series continues, her character becomes softer, more jolly, and open. She is a very talented character and View Benyapa did a great job playing “Pie”. Finally, let’s talk about our adorable couple, Tae and Ba-Mhee.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/10/09/the-trainee-series-review-ep-3-to-12/

Read More

Either you like this show, or you won't.

I never expected to enjoy this show so much. This was 100% my 2024 surprise BL. It had me screaming, laughing, squealing, crying and giggling like no other. The comedy in this was perfect, and the visuals and cinematography were amazing. Maybe it's because of the phase I'm in my life, maybe that's why I enjoyed this show so much. Cuz Ryan is genuinely my spirit animal. I am Ryan, and Ryan is me. Introverts, can't speak up, makes stupid mistakes, didn't have friends at uni and only went for lectures, and has no idea what to do with life. "Unlike me, who just shows up to study and goes home." -- Never met someone that spoke to my soul like that . Every time this boy did something or said something, I felt so called out. This show was so realistic sometimes to point where it was scary. P'Baimon said; "You want to be porridge with side dishes?... Something plain and bland, but goes well with everything." — I died. I was sold. I knew I was going to love this show.

Now, let's get onto my favourite part of the show -- P'Jane. This man is hands down one my favourite characters in all of BL. There is no questions. I fucking love him. At first, I thought we were getting a cold-hearted guy who's only soft for the main lead. But boy, was I wrong. I knew this guy was going to be it for me the moment he first complimented Ryan. "You didn't score a goal or find the extra, but at least you got my printer working today." -- I should be embarrassed that this got me smiling like a fool. He has a hard exterior but a soft interior. Man is so over worked, no wonder he's so stressed and gets annoyed/angry at everyone. Legit, when Rayn makes mistakes, I get so fucking stressed for the boy cuz you know he is in for a scolding. When Ryan cried after that scamming fiasco I started tearing up. I was stressed. Ryan is legit me, but more capable. But then Jane had to go and say this; "Actually, you're not a bad assistant." -- And I was down bad for P'Jane like Ryan was. Sue me.

I don't care what anyone says, I will forever be a P'Jane defender. He's such a good mentor, harsh, but gives praise when praise needs to be given. And you can just tell how much he cares for his staff despite them badmouthing him all the time. You don't understand the amount of times I watched the scene of him defending Pie. Screaming, crying , throwing up. That was so hot of him. And it was this moment when this man got solidified as my fav BL character; "All they can do it criticise me. I know my intentions." -- This was hands down the the moment I officially lost the battle and was on my knees for this man. I am not even ashamed of myself. And lets not even get started on this man's character development. Oof-- him tackling the insecurities and learning how to better himself to pursue his dreams was just... chef's kiss. I wish we had more of that, it more interesting then Judy and Ba-Mhee.

And the way Jane and Ryan's relationship developed??? Screaminggg. Yes, I would have liked more scenes with them, but honestly, I wasn't even that mad. I was eating up everything they gave me, and I lived for all their interactions. "Why are you mad at Phi?"
"Can you call yourself Phi with me forever?" -- SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP. YOU CAN'T JUST SAY THAT!! AND IF THAT WASN'T ENOUGH, THEY GO HEAD AND DO THIS;

Ryan: "What kind of feelings do you have for me?"
Jane: "Behave yourself and I'll tell you" -- LEGIT DYING THROUGH THIS WHOLE INTREACTION. DIED AND LEFT THIS EARTH. The way these two always solve all their misunderstandings in one day and it never drags out to the next ep is just amazing. The communication, the reassurance, the maturity from Jane -- UGH, I WANT HIM.

Now, let's talk about the other plot. I honestly didn't think the Ba-Mhee/Tae and Judy plotline would drag out for this long. And while I appreciated the time it took to flesh out the whole thing, the overall conclusion made the whole drama pointless. I enjoyed, but I didn't really care at the same time. You could tell that Ba-Mhee was holding onto someone that showed her the affection and attention she was lacking from Tae, and the whole thing was very realistic in the way's portrayed. But having her getting back with Tae made all her inner turmoil useless, and the GL bait quiet jarring to say the least. But also appreciate that they didn't just rush through it. I'm just annoyed about the execution of it all. If the conclusion wasn't her getting back with Tae, it would have been such a good plot. But in the end, it amounted to nothing really.

But the who situation did a very good job at showing that both sides weren't wrong. Tae wasn't there for her, didn't show affection and give his time and kept brushing her off. While Ba-Mhee cheated on him despite her having more or so convincing reasons. It wasn't all black or white, and I really appreciated that. Honestly, the main thing I got out of this, Pah is the best friend everyone needs. Man was not playing around and fired shoots left, right and centre. And I loved him for every second of it. And Tae. My poor boy. The way he pretended to be fine but then broke down when he was alone. OOF. "Without you to remind me , how will i live ?" -- TAE CRIED AND I CRIED WITH HIM. Boy finally realised just how much Ba-Mhee does for him, and it was about time he got that wake up call. Only if they just left it at that made them come to terms with the break up. And Ba-Mhee. This girl. I really don't know how I feel about. But one thing I do know, she needs to stop fucking crying. Istg, she shed one more tear and I was going to go rip her new one. But I couldn't hate her either. And it mainly because the show did a really good job at making you sympathise with her position/feelings.

I just overall love how all the characters had equal amounts of screen time. The show is called "The Trainee" for a reason. We got to explore and develop the whole cast, and I loved that so much about the show. "Whenever i feel like I lack talent, I tend to blame it on these things without realising it" -- Pah being the most relatable character next to Ryan was not something I expected, and us getting nearly an ep to explore him was something I really liked.

And special shout out to my girl Pie. Watching her go from this stoic hard-ass to someone who joins in the fun and is soft was amazing. I love Pie, and her friendship with Pah was something to die for.

Read More

Great physical comedy but terrible characters choices

It's a breath of fresh air in the midst of a year of weak releases with obvious stories, childish characters and mediocre productions by gmm-tv.

Is the series a masterpiece? No, and it has many flaws, but it still manages to deliver a slice of life series with excellent physical comedy and hilarious timing that is elevated by the exquisite editing work.

It's impressive how everything that was wrong with My Love Mix-Up works here. The refined coloring, the intelligent cuts that only add more humor to the scene, the extremely catchy soundtrack, the very well-used sound effects and, of course, the cinematography also deserves to be highlighted with beautiful takes, frames full of references and style and a direction that knew how to develop and use each of the characters very well.

Is it a BL series? I would say no. It's more of a series about five interns trying to survive their internship and prove themselves worthy of their fields while facing life's problems than it is about a romance between a clumsy intern and a cold assistant director.

And honestly, that's not a problem for me. The series is fun, the characters are captivating and the crazy things they get up to in each episode are engaging enough to give the series a dynamic and interesting pace.

But if there's one thing the series failed at, it was in the development of the protagonists. Ryan is by far one of the most boring characters in this series. I like the development that all the characters have and the series really highlights this growth in them, but Ryan was created in such a way that it's simply hard to connect with the character.

He has no attitude, his whole sweet and innocent personality is a bit too cartoonish, he never stands up for himself, he has no charisma, he acts like a child who doesn't know anything about life or even how to perform basic functions at the beginning of the series and this really sinks the character and makes the main couple end up disappearing in the middle of the series.

And that's the problem. The main couple doesn't stand out at all and they simply disappear in the series, especially when all the drama with Bah-mee, Tae and Judy happens.

And this is another point that bothers me about the series. I particularly hated Bah-mae in the beginning and she was indeed annoying, spoiled and immature. The character has a very interesting growth and I love her chemistry with Judy.

I don't mind the betrayal plot because I like characters who are flawed and make mistakes, but it was a shot in the foot to put her in this plot only to have her get back together with Tae and act in the same annoying way as before.

They simply destroyed the character and made viewers hate her for nothing. It's a plot that takes up too much screen time and has such a weak and lukewarm resolution.

The friendship between them is the strong point of the plot because the romance is completely overshadowed by the narrative. The theft of the music video and the time jump of 5 years apart are two decisions that I can't understand why they were included in the series.

And this is another point that needs to end in GMM-TV's BLs. The time jumps with the characters separated because apparently they go back to the Ice Age when they move countries so they can't send a message or make a video call.

It's not the best, but certainly the most interesting BL they released in this weak year.

Read More

Patience is Important

First 9 episodes was really good.. I loved it. but i was very disappoint in ep 10. it's not like it wasn't good. If they could make the ex do something that make ryan jealous or jane jealous. it would have been more better. still i liked the storyline as it wasn't adapted from novel or something and the concept itself was a bit unique.. For me good series isn't where there has to be intimate scenes, for me it is something where we become one with the characters or something like the last episode i guess..
I am not saying the acting wasn't good as we think becoming one with characters means the acting is good. it is true but sorry i don't know how to explain that.. Let's just say this project of OFFGUN is so much better than their previous project!! In another word, except ep 10 i liked all episodes.. And this series only has one OST and it is so catchy. i liked it.. I think everyone is going to complain about two thing which are Jane and Ryan didn't had Boyfriend Era and Ba-mee and Tae's storyline..
The acting of all the actors are as i expected.. Very Good.. I like the character of Poon, I really liked it. It was similar yet different from his previous/we are series character...

OVERALL, I LIKED IT!!! Won't say must watch series but it is fun to watch..

Read More

A Great Buildup to Disappointment

I don’t usually write reviews but I’m super conflicted because this was a great series. Acting, humour, effects, soundtrack were all good but the story/plot really threw me off towards the end and I’m just disappointed and dissatisfied. I’m disappointed in the Judy/Tae x Ba Mhee storyline and I’m also disappointed in the cop-out there was in Jane x Ryan’s storyline.

I think series developers need to know that you can just let couples be together without doing the ‘long distance/one partner leaves or cheats’ trope. I just can’t stress enough how dissatisfied I am by the plot choices! I feel like the last few episodes completely erased all the character development and buildup we saw in the first 9 episodes. It kind of just left me with the feeling of: “so then what was the point of any of it?”

Initially I was going to give the series an 8.5, but the last few episodes ruined it. I feel bad giving the series a lesser rating considering OffGun were spectacular and got me really invested in JaneRyan before things were ruined, I was really invested in JudyBaMhee and their actresses did an amazing job, and the series made me laugh so many times. However, I just don’t think I would ever watch the series again to avoid future disappointment. The majority of the series was good, but I think the letdown at the end wasn’t worth it.

Read More

Not unpleasant to watch but not unforgettable

The series depicts office life rather well. It lacks depth, but it's realistic enough. We follow the interns through everything that can happen to them, whether professional or personal. It's not ultra-captivating, but it works.

As for the love story between Ryan and Jane, it takes a bit of a back seat. It's a shame, because it's hard to understand how they come to love each other.

A major problem with this series is the character of Ryan, who is absolutely unlovable: whiny, childish but above all incompetent, which is problematic for a series set in the corporate world. It's hard to understand what Jane sees in him.

As for Jane, the series takes too long to develop his character.

In short: a fairly decent series, but likely to be quickly forgotten.

Read More