To Be Continued

Pretty disappointing, overall.

The show was really, really slow. Even watching on 2x speed, there was a lot of standing around in silence during conversations. On 1x speed, it literally felt like it was in slow motion some times. A whole lot of nothing happened in most episodes, and the whole plot is based on a trivial high school misunderstanding, and I think it could have been boiled down into four 30 minute episodes. As it was, it was just boring.

Also, the acting from whoever plays Achi was pretty bad. He always had this same wide smile on his face, even when it didn’t fit the mood. Ji would be upset or angry and Achi would just be standing there with that dumbass grin on his face. He was so tone deaf too, like smiling and telling Ji to eat and think later when Ji is upset about a patient with cancer, considering that his mom died of cancer. The acting was just really one-dimensional and not convincing, overall. I didn’t buy that Achi was in love with or even attracted to Ji whatsoever.

There was a lot of consent / boundary issues on Achi’s part. He non-consensually kisses Ji in episode 2 and rightfully gets punched in the face for it. Ji tells him to leave him alone and that he doesn’t want to see him again, so Achi decides to show up at his house, coerce his way in, and then proceeds to refuse to leave for the entire day AND night. During which period he make further physical moves on Ji, such as dropping a face mask on his face and picking it up with his mouth (Ji pushes him off and is upset about this), and touching his face in his sleep. He was constantly showing up uninvited and unannounced and refusing to leave. Achi could have appealed to Ji by being kind, being friendly, just using open communication, but instead he kept violating his boundaries and sexually harassing him. Even during the high school flashback scenes, there was a scene where he stalked Ji on his date with Pear.

There were two scenes that I think had good consent. One was when Achi kisses Ji in the present in bed. When Ji stops him, Achi respects it and doesn’t try again. The second was the high school flashback NC scene. They’re watching an erotic movie, and Ji tells Achi to turn it off. Achi respects it and does. Achi puts his hand on Ji’s and when Ji doesn’t move away, Achi asks Ji if he wants to try it. Ji says no and Achi removes his hand and backs away, until Ji himself grabs Achi and initiates things. When they’re getting undressed, Achi looks to Ji and waits for a nod of approval before removing his shorts.

I didn’t understand why Achi having a girlfriend was at all necessary. I couldn’t understand the timeline of their relationship either. When Achi meets Ji in Chiang Mai, he says he has a girlfriend and her shoe is in his car. But he non-consensually kisses Ji minutes later. And the girlfriend says in an interview that they’re broken up the next day. So did he break up with her after kissing Ji or were they already broken up? If they were already broken up, then why did he lie? And if they weren’t broken up, why was he still with her, when he came to Chiang Mai with the explicit intent of chasing after Ji again? And speaking of, what changed after 10 years that he suddenly decided to go after Ji again? And Achi never tells Ji that he and his girlfriend broke up, so is Ji going along this whole time thinking that Achi is cheating on his girlfriend, and he’s just okay with that? The girlfriend added nothing to the plot and just made me uncomfortable with the whole emotional and potentially physical cheating that was going on.

There were other inconsistencies as well. In the high school flashback scenes, Ji says he likes Pear, but then he immediately tells Achi that he has a pretty face, eyes, nose, and mouth (in a clearly non-platonic way). He then goes on the pursue Pear and continues to talk about liking her. But then when Achi finds Pear “cheating” on Ji, Ji says they were never together and were just friends. And then he and Achi have sex. So what?? Did he like her, did he not like her, what was their relationship and at what point did his feelings change?

And in the finale, they show that Achi was aware that he hurt Ji and he was aware that the reason Ji was hurt was because he disappeared without a word right after they had sex. So why in the beginning, when he met Ji in Chiang Mai, was he acting like he didn’t know what was wrong and why Ji was acting cold towards him?

I felt that Achi, Ji’s friend, and Ji’s brother all scheming together to reunite Ji and Achi behind Ji’s back was really messed up too, considering that the friend and brother knew how much Achi hurt Ji. They never should have disregarded his feelings and wishes and prioritized Achi’s instead.

The side couple with Achi’s brother and the random farmer guy was also really pointless. They weren’t shown enough to really develop their relationship, what was shown was boring and not convincingly romantic, and it felt disjointed from the rest of the show.

Also, a side note that could be written off as a cultural difference or extremely problematic depending on your perspective: I believe Ji's family's butchering business sells dog meat. It was translated as "pork" in the subtitles, but it was clear based on his mom asking how they could keep a dog as a pet when they sell "pork" at the shop.

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Not bad, just average

I think prolonging all of the backstory kind of killed it because I spent up to episode 7 thinking Ji was exaggerating a lot, especially those first episodes with the punches and being very rude, and since we basically did not know what really happened it seemed off putting.

After seeing why they fought it makes a little more sense I guess, but with only 8 episodes I spent basically the entire show frustrated with the male lead. Especially since Achi has that puppy smile that makes you think he can do no wrong lmao.

I would have dropped this but I was looking for something mild to watch because I'm bored and I didn't want to get too invested in a show.

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COMMON STORY BEAUTIFUL EXECUTION HEARTFELT

I can't believe I finished this this fast, I just started watching this yesterday and now I am done, somehow I'm gonna miss the leads here. I am impressed that the makers of this drama did not made this one too long but idle, I mean not all but most of the Thai BL I watch there was too long but nothing is really happening and here I think this is one of the most precised I have seen, I got a little bit bored in the middle coz it was like I did not know where was the anger of Ji coming from until they have shown what really happened on their past, It was beautiful for me because maybe their past was not the right time for their love story, thankfully they are able to get back to each other after 10 years. It was all just a misunderstanding haha.
All in all good acting, not really good script , very light drama and heartfelt, watching this was not heavy in the heart, I think I would rewatch this again after some time and I hope I will see the boys to have another drama in the future.

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Simple and Clean

This is pretty much your cookie cutter separated childhood friends to reunited lovers trope. Youthful misunderstandings and all. Now with that being said I truly really did like this series, and not because I'm such a sucker for this specific trope itself. But the chemistry and cinematography of the show are excellent in my opinion and while the story isn't groundbreaking its still done with a coherent plot progression that many similar BL struggle to maintain. The eight episode runtime especially helps this show go at a comfortable pace without feeling too rushed or long. My only complaint with progression in the series is how the side couple isn't really that developed. But just a small gripe since its truly the main couple that grabs your attention throughout the series, so perhaps it truly is for the betterment of the viewer it turned out that way. My favorite scene is the one where both the leads have their first intimate moment with each other. Extremely romantic and tasteful with My Beautiful Man Eternal vibes. Solid 8/10 for me.

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This drama is infuriating!!!

I started this drama with little to no expectations. At first I found it funny and cute, the first episode was really entertaining, Very handsome leads great chemistry, but as I continued to watch it got draggy and boring too much of the same and nothing really going on.

I thought about dropping it but the dimples man, those dimples kept me hooked so I stuck with it, I was really curious about why they stopped being friends and then episode 7 happened.

I finally got interesting again it drew me in completely and when the fallaout came I got so mad! You're telling me these two morons haven't talked in 10 years because such a stupid misunderstanding?!!! uhggg I am so mad I might not even watch episode 8.

Don't waste your time with this one, seriously! It's a shame too because these two actors are excellent together, I hope to see them again in something actually worth watching.

I caved, the dimples, I needed to see those dimples again. The final episode is beautiful, perfect!! I loved every single scene. If only the writers could've come up with a better conflict and not drag things so much it would've been one of those that makes you come back and rewatch again and again but, as it is I sat through it once and never again, not even for those adorable dimples.

Not a good story but if you're like really bored and have nothing else to do, I suggest to watch episodes 1,7 and 8. you won't miss anything important you'll save yourself hours of nonsense, the misunderstanding is stupid, there's no way around it but it's so insignificant that it's resolved in less than two minutes and from then on it's just fluffy cutness and dimples.

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“To Be Continued” is a simple and easy watch about second-chance romance, which is one of my favorite tropes. This is also the reason why I watch this drama despite its low rating. The plot itself is simple and there really isn’t any plot twist. Flashbacks play a big part in the storytelling, as it goes back-and-forth between the past and present timelines throughout the drama. It’s not hard to follow along, but it gets exhausting in a way. With only 8 episodes, the pacing is fine. I wish the drama has spent more time on other characters instead of all on the leads, when their story is quite simple.

This is my first time watching the main leads, Fluke (who played Ji) and Junior (who played Achi). I have to say I was not impressed with their acting, especially in the earlier episodes. They both lack facial expressions, no matter how handsome they are. I actually find Fluke really cute and adorable, more than the supposedly handsome superstar Fluke/Achi. The camera also likes to stay on their faces for 5 seconds too long. When you can’t act, it just makes everything feels awkward.

However, as we enter the second half of the drama, I do think their acting improved. I was particularly impressed with the acting In episode 7. That scene was beautifully shot and I can feel all the mixed emotions - lust, love, longing, care, hesitation, shyness and uncertainty. Their conversation and everything that happened afterwards broke my heart, even though I knew what’s about to happen. But aside from that episode, the acting is a hit or miss.

In the beginning, I found Ji to be quite mean to Achi. Through the flashbacks, you knew how Achi felt about Ji when they were in high school. So, in the back of my mind, I wonder why Ji is so mean, until the full backstory is told. They were young and innocent back then, thus making such mistakes is totally believable. But 10 years seems a little long for Achi to come back and try to patch things up. And when they finally resolved their issue, it was underwhelming and anti-climatic. With the buildup for most of the series, I was expecting more.

The secondary romance between Ji’s brother, Ki, and the farmer is also underwhelming. They could have been so cute together, but the writing of the story makes them an afterthought. It seems like there’s more to Ki’s story and why he’s a food vlogger instead of an architect.

Overall, I would only recommend this if you are interested in second-chance romance and can get past some questionable acting. It’s also nice to take a break from most Thai BLs that have a strong and sole focus on students. Though this one has many flashbacks to high schools, at least you also see the leads as a doctor and a superstar/idol (in a semi-believable way).



Completed: 4/16/2024 - Review #428

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Standard Thai BL

Admittedly, this series is perfectly named. It did seem to continue to go on and on endlessly. It was like being adrift in a rudderless boat floating in an ocean of tropes, clichés, banalities, stereotypes, and platitudes. Sooner or later, you would bump into one of them on your way to wherever it was you were supposed to be going. Unfortunately, this series went nowhere because it had nowhere to go to. Honestly, you have seen this story hundreds of times if you are an avid BL watcher. If not, you will no doubt run across its plot again because it is standard. It is another high school love story between two best friends. I know that many will no doubt like this series, but I found this series wantoned for its shallowness, use of endlessly tropey and cliché storylines, supporting characters that were superfluously infantile and not funny, the main characters never got to be a couple until the last episode and by that point it was too late, and a supposed secondary couple that was never fully developed into anything meaningful. I also found it quite sad that these two guys, who are otherwise solid and successful, could not bring themselves to communicate with each other. That for me is simply not a subject matter I can find funny.

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Disappointing because manipulative

When will BLs reflect the real diversity of the LGBT+ community in Thai society?

Something missing from 'To Be Continued' is a convincing explanation of why Ji has rejected Achi for over 10 years.
It is evident that while Achi fully accepts her sexuality, Ji hides it and does not want to acknowledge it. That's why he approaches a girl, but still doesn't decide to make her fall in love with him. It can't be any other way: he is gay. He hides his homosexuality and denies his love to the person he loves. He is a victim of internalized homophobia.
Ji knows his place in an inhospitable world, but he doesn't dare to position himself in it. Ji lives in a world built by and for the heterosexual man. He lives in a heteronormative society that still discriminates against homosexuals, harasses them, persecutes them and excludes them.
Ji, like the other members of the Thai LGBT community, is a man who lives surrounded by heterosexual stimuli everywhere. And everything that goes beyond the "normative" is viewed with suspicion and incomprehension and even hatred. Anyone who dares to feel differently runs the risk of being separated and excluded from the group. As an animal of habit, Ji is afraid of the unknown, he doesn't really know how to act when faced with what is different from him and those who are like him. That is why he chooses to sacrifice his love to try not to be attacked, cornered, ignored.
In series like 'The Promise' a boy hides being in love with his friend, but his decision not to confess his love is justified for fear of breaking the relationship between the two, but he also damages the friendship by putting distance for 10 years, which It is also excessive.
But that's not the point in 'To Be…'. Here the two boys are in love. And while one is open to the relationship, the other does not dare to take the next step. They are in a world and a society that prevents them from leaving the established rules. Going outside the norm has always implied social exclusion. They know each other and love each other. But out of fear Ji does not open himself to love. The series fails to be convincing about why two men who love each other and have no other impediment than the one indicated above, can declare their love and be together.
When will the creators of BL series stop being afraid to demonstrate in their works that love and feelings have no borders?
The question is that Thai BL series have not yet decided to address the reality of LGBT+ people in that country. Until now, BL dramas tell us two very different realities. Although the "positive representation" of relationships between male characters is celebrated, in the sense that they are no longer always synonymous with tragedy or come with a strong load of stereotypes, the genre of love dramas between boys does not show representations close to the Thai reality.
BL series generally focus on “young love,” omitting the realities faced by gay men in Thailand, who still do not have basic rights such as equal marriage. This leads many viewers to misunderstand that Thailand is a gay paradise. And that is not true.
Even homosexual romance dramas are broadcast with the intention of not disturbing "the tranquility and sleep" of the most conservative sectors of the country. The episodes of the BL series are broadcast on alternative platforms through smartphones and digital devices, in order not to interfere with the usual TV soap opera programming.
When will BL series come to reflect the real diversity of the LGBT+ community in Thai society? While dozens of BL series are produced and broadcast each year, stigma and discrimination against LGBT+ people continue to occur within society. When will the creators and directors of television channels understand that making homoaffective representations in BL series more nuanced and political could bring important and positive changes in a society that is beginning to observe its diversity through television creations?
Why do two young people of the same sex, like Ji and Achi, live 10 years of their lives apart, suffering, dying in life, despite loving each other? What prevents you from living a life together, as you wish? While Achi fully accepts her sexuality, Ji hides it and does not want to acknowledge it. And I answered myself: "The reason is that same-sex marriage is still not recognized in Thailand." And he argued that Ji is a victim of internalized homophobia. Ji represents one of those hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of young homosexuals in the world forced to hide their homosexuality to comply with what a conservative society with strong patriarchal and heteronormative traditions demands of them.
In the South Korean BL series 'Jazz for Two', broadcast in parallel with 'To Be Continued, three of its protagonists are also victims of internalized homophobia. Tae Yi, one of its main protagonists, is a victim of the discrimination, rejection or shame he feels towards his own sexual orientation or gender identity, living, like Ji, in a society that stigmatizes and represses sexual diversity.
But the creators of the Korean series did not hesitate or mince their words when addressing this complex and current topic. By exposing the reason why Tae Yi rejected Seo-Hun, the series put its finger on the sore spot and, in addition to making internalized homophobia visible and generating debate and reflection on this issue, it denounced a homophobic society. What courage on the part of the actors, the production team and the directors of the television channels, taking into account that South Korea, like Thailand, is a society in which, despite the fact that sexual activity between people of the same sex is Legal, Gay Marriage, Equal Marriage or Same-Sex Marriage or other forms of legal partnership are not available to same-sex couples.
To argue my point of view, I allow myself a spoiler: Towards the end of the series we will learn that Ji and Achi have suffered a voluntary separation for 10 years due to "a simple misunderstanding." Let no one justify that "they lacked communication or were very young." They are the same age as Tae Yi and the rest of the young high school students in the aforementioned South Korean series. How can "a simple misunderstanding" be credible as such a crude justification for the human suffering, represented in these two young people?
Ji and Achi did not lack communication or experience due to their young age. Ji and Achi lacked the courage of the creators to address sensitive topics, such as internalized homophobia and the homophobia itself present in Thai society.
Ji and Achi lacked the courage of the creators to denounce the harassment and discrimination suffered by real, flesh-and-blood gay youth depicted in Thai BL fiction.
Ji and Achi lacked the courage of the creators to criticize the discourse that seeks to suffocate minorities by stating that being homosexual is something abnormal and depraved.
Ji and Achi lacked the courage of the creators to propose to reflect on real and tangible issues that the members of the Thai LGBT+ community have suffered and suffer, who have been affected by that intrinsic message that society constantly sends you and that tells you that You are not normal, that there is something wrong with you and that you have to hide, make yourself invisible.
It is unfortunate and very questionable to witness how BL lovers set themselves up as censors in the face of reviews like this and, feeling attacked by a critical intellectual exercise and having no arguments to refute the author's approaches, they choose, through trivial arguments, to question the sincerity of someone who carries out a critical analysis with objective criteria, without being carried away by their own tastes or passions.

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Totally Unimpressive

Admittedly, this series is perfectly named. It did seem to continue to go on and on endlessly. It was like being adrift in a rudderless boat floating in an ocean of tropes, cliches, banalities, stereotypes, and platitudes. Sooner or later, you would bump into one of them on your way to wherever it was you were supposed to be going. Unfortunately, this series went nowhere because it had nowhere to go to.

Honestly, you have seen this story hundreds of times if you are an avid BL watcher. If not, you will no doubt run across its plot again because it is standard. It is another high school love story between two best friends. Ji (Fluke Pongspat) and Achi (Junior Kajbhunbitt). Both are handsome with each focused on wanting to be successful in different ways. Ji is obviously in love with Achi as he is a bit more overt about it. Achi senses it. Although he likes it, Achi is understandably terrified of reciprocating. This is all such a confusing time for teenage boys.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/05/21/to-be-continued-series-review-ep-1-to-8/

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Teenage miscommunication with not enough begging for forgiveness.

I was very bored for the majority of this series. Anytime there was a flashback? Bored. There were dozens of them as well, placed literally everywhere in the story. Side couple time? Bored to yawning, which is sad because I liked Ki. My attention drifted so much during their scenes that it was a full-time job staying focused. Anytime Ji and Achi were in Ji's apartment? You guessed it, bored. Honestly, bored and annoyed.

The acting didn't help. Poppy was the best actor in the series. The girl who played Song did a good job as well. Junior was okay, but to be honest, his excessive smiling creeped me out, and I just wanted him to stop. None of the couples really had chemistry, and it left even the non-intimate scenes feeling stiff and awkward. Fluke did get better as the story progressed, and he even made me cry in episode 7.

I cried not because of Money (okay, maybe a little) or Achi leaving, but because I could tell how Ji felt truly small, powerless, and abandoned in that moment, and he wanted to hold onto the only thing he had left of Achi and was scared that his mom wouldn't let him.

If Achi hadn't lied and fled the country and left things unresolved, they could have been together MUCH sooner. I do understand it, though, because they are teenagers and they don't fully understand their feelings, let alone know how to express them. Communication is the most important and difficult thing in a relationship.

As much as I wasn't enjoying the majority of the show, Achi and Ji getting together felt very abrupt, and they had no problems with anything after. It was literally like 4-5 episodes of Ji pushing Achi away because he doesn't want to be hurt again, a couple of episodes of Ji giving in and letting Achi get closer, and then last episode BOOM together and happily ever after. I get that they both never stopped loving each other, and they don't want to waste any more time, but you'd think that they would talk a little bit. I don't consider the flashbacks to be them talking. Show us the flashback; we needed it, but show them talking things out. It would have also been nice to see if their being in a relationship had a positive or negative effect on their lives because of Achi's job.

In my opinion, Ji gave in way too easily. Make him beg a little bit! Achi's smile would have already had me creeped out, but this man showing up in the random places I am, and then at my home? Combined with the sudden kiss that he did not have permission for, it would have had me telling him off and avoiding him, and if he wouldn't leave me alone? Restraining order. But Ji is still in love with him and gave in to everything Achi wanted. Achi should have been working for forgiveness every step of the way, but it felt like he had to put almost no work at all into it because Ji loved him more than he loved himself.

The plot had a lot of potential, but not enough time was spent forming, breaking, and then fixing the main relationship. They did an okay job at breaking it, but it still felt very surface-level. It's hard to put my thoughts on it into words. Like I felt the pain Ji was going through, but I felt nothing from Achi. If they are limited to just 8 episodes, they should have just cut out the second couple altogether, given us a full episode ( & maybe a half) of just flashbacks, then spent the rest of the time with Achi begging for forgiveness, them working things out, and then given them a happily ever after. As it stands, their finally getting together was unsatisfying. I found myself actively not wanting them to get together because it didn't feel like Achi put in enough effort after the pain he caused. I don't care if it was 10 years ago, and Ji is still in love with him. It clearly left scars on Ji.

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I Really Wanted to Like This

This is 8 episode which I would binge watch in a day. This took me 3 days to complete. It could not grab my attention. The story was okay because I can see high school kids acting like this. My opinion for so many years pass before reconnecting is because the writer wanted to show two teenagers who fell in love and did not understand it. The parted, have successful careers but still is missing a big part of their lives, each other. Their history being told in sporadic flashback was confusing and boring. This particular story should have been told, yes showing them as adults in their careers but the flashbacks should have been done as it's own complete section and then goes into them as adult and their path to reconciliation. What I watched felt disjointed and the second and third couple needed some more storyline.
The acting I honestly can't seem to find the words to explain it not being bad but not being good either. The actors' smiles appear more as placement ads than anything else. There dont seem to be the level of vibes to show the viewer I am crazy in love but I dont want that person to know until their feelings can be verified.
Yes, I needed that stimulant flashing light to capture my attention and this didn't have it. I even forgot what the story was about a I write this review and this was immediately after watching the last episode.

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