The Heart Killers

Jojo's heartless shlock

Whenever I see "Jojo" Tichakorn Phukhaotong’s name attached to a project as a director or screenwriter – I worry. When it was announced that Jojo will both write and direct "The Heart Killers" I was worried sick – not just because I sensed a repeat of the worst aspects of "Only Friends" but also because I really like First, Khaotung, Joong and Dunk. Initially I thought that – when it comes to acting – FirstKhao will eclipse (pun intended) the much weaker JoongDunk. Apparently I did not learn my lesson from the abovementioned "Only Friends".

THK has a very interesting plot: two actual killers become romantically involved with people who need or want to bring them down, but later fall for them – and the aftermath of all that. On paper – it’s dynamite with great dramatic potential. Such a plot can be developed into a script for a fiery romance or a heartbreaking story about love, betrayal and (possibly) redemption or a morality play about crime, love and punishment or a tragic tale of desire, passion, anger and jealousy with no happy end. So many options to choose from. Shame Jojo didn’t go for any of them.

The script we got was little more than a pretext for stuffing the show with as much nudity and pretended sex scenes as possible. No wonder the writing is weak, characters are shallow, unrelatable and at times unlikeable, emotions are mostly absent, stakes are non-existent (THK has the least intimidating villains I’ve seen in any show) and the script generally makes little sense (two multiple killers get only 5 years in prison instead of spending the rest of their lives on death row; their boyfriends visit them regularly to have sex; Bison singlehandedly beats up 3 inmates etc. etc.). On the other hand we get plenty of eye candy, as Jojo’s mission – since at least "Only Friends" – seems to be "spicing up" BLs. I even had a theory about that; it went like this: Jojo – an openly gay creator – was fed up with the often sterile and non-sexual BLs and decided to offer audiences a more realistic view of male intimacy. This coincided with GMMTV facing stronger competition from Domundi and other companies, which recognized that at least part of the audience will be in for "mature" content – even if it’s pure clickbait and no substance (like "Bed Friend"). Jojo got his opportunity and used it – that’s how "Only Friends" got made. To be clear: I’m not blaming Jojo for wanting to get BLs more realistic and adding some of what they were missing (male intimacy and sex). However, Jojo overdid it – not just focusing almost exclusively on that one aspect, but also reducing all depicted relationships to it. As a result "Only Friends" had no likeable characters – everyone was either whiny and slutty, cold and slutty or weird and slutty. Nothing against including slutty characters, but – like with everything – overdoing it was a bad idea.

Similar thing happened with THK: almost all of the emotional scenes and moments fall flat, action scenes are unrealistic and used as filler, while the only scenes that seem important are those where the main characters are kissing, shirtless or almost completely nude. Even those scenes, however, suffer from the mostly tacky, phony aesthetic and frequent lack of emotion or tension. There are some exceptions, but the majority of what this show offers is either uninteresting, banal or outright boring.

This may seem unrelated, but the setting of most of the series weirdly matched the above: the show’s world seemed empty, with hardly anyone there – save for the characters. The most populated area – the bowling alley – was nearly deserted in every scene, with a few people other than the main cast present. Other locations were almost devoid of extras – empty stores, hotels, office spaces, restaurants etc.; even Fadel’s and Bison’s burger joint was usually empty. The few self-help group scenes were a good example of that: a huge sports hall, empty and dark, with a handful of people sitting in a circle. No idea if this was a creative choice or an attempt to limit production costs, but it looked very strange; where is everybody – I kept asking myself.

I was surprised by how weak the performances were. I’ll repeat myself saying that I really like FirstKhao and JoongDunk. I’m also aware that Dunk has no acting skills – he’s just a pretty face, privately seems to be a nice and good guy, and he has good chemistry with Joong, both on and off-screen. And – as mentioned before – I was having some hopes regarding First (I liked his performance in "The Eclipse" a lot) and Khaotung (loved him in "The Eclipse", but also in "Tonhon Chonlatee" and "Moonlight Chicken"). Unfortunately the entire main cast gave very disappointing performances. Dunk’s was by far the worst in his career, with dreadful delivery, missing every beat he could, often so badly that it wasn’t even funny. I was not "so bad that it’s good" – it was simply very bad. Joong seemed uninspired, sometimes lost and confused, regaining his charisma and spark only few times; some of that might be blamed on the script and direction (or lack of it), but Joong – whom I’ve seen actually acting in other shows – is just not doing his best. As for First and Khaotung, they shared some cute, intimate and even touching moments, but their performances were below average for most part. Khaotung’s over-the-top acting might have been deliberate – to showcase that Bison is a little unhinged – but felt cringy and embarrassing.

No idea if THK was supposed to convey a message, if the audience was meant to learn anything from it, if there was a point to it – for me it was another of Jojo’s attempts to produce a show with attractive young men as main content. An attempt as successful as it is pointless.

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Could be amazing but it's to lazy and mediocre for it

It's impressive how GMM-TV can take a promising story, great actors (some, not all) and a creative director, and still deliver a disappointing and lukewarm result.

To be fair, this isn't the worst series they've released in 2024 (one of their worst years in my opinion) nor is it a bad series.

But it's a series that wastes so much of its potential in repetitive scenes, incomplete arcs and a lack of courage in telling an original and bold plot.

I don't understand why they would create a story about hitmens and be afraid to explore this narrative. Films like The Wanted, Assassin Babes, and even Mr. and Mrs. Smith (I know they're spies but it's a dynamic that would work very well with Bison and Fadel trying to kill Kant and Style after discovering their betrayal) manage to bring comedy, action and a lighter tone to this violent narrative.

But here, Bison and Fadel's profession is simply a detail. At no point does the series attempt to explore the nature of their work - all we have are cut-up and overly censored scenes that never manage to create the atmosphere that a story about assassins requires.

There is no world-building, the character of Mother and the corporation they "work for", as well as the services they perform, are mere extras in the narrative.

Until episode 7 - one of the best of the series - all we have are the same arcs. Bison and Kant flirting and having the same conversation about relationships, sex and more sex. And Fadel and Style in a game of cat and mouse.

What bothers me is how shallow the series is and every time a deeper moment arises, they immediately crack a joke and ruin the moment.

It's the support group for people in mourning that Fadel attends. It's Bison's desire to get out of this life. It's the murder of their parents. It's the discovery of Kant and Style's betrayal.

All of this could carry more dramatic weight and deepen the narrative. But these moments last for minutes and in the next scene everything goes back to comedy.

The relationships here don't work for me. Bison is not even remotely the hot-headed and out-of-control character they describe. Kant and Babe have zero chemistry as brothers - even Babe is a character who only exists as a crutch to justify Kant's actions, even that bullying and teacher plot is completely disposable. There is nothing authentic about Bison and Fadel's murder scenes - and it's embarrassing how stupid the scene is where they try to kill the man who killed their parents at a crowded event with a gun and dressed in a giant bear costume.

And how forget about the amount of stupid decisions the characters make?! They could poison the man's drink, but they decide to shoot him. The police set up an ambush but there's no police officer at the front door to stop them from running away. Kant knew they were murderers and what was his first move? Involving his best friend and introducing his house, work and brother to Bison.

Another point in the script that tires me is the inability of the scripts to create connections that are not completely random. This is the case of Babe's bullying that only appears so Kant can talk about his past. It's the couple that Fadel and Style meet who have a problem with cheating that will talk exactly about what they are going through. It's a random character who appears to talk about Bison's family. It's the random attack at the bowling alley to show that Kant really likes Bison. It's all so shallow, without nuance, without construction, it's simply thrown there without the slightest connection or meaning just because the script needs these connection points that honestly could be really good work but are wasted.

If the technical part was still good it would be overlooked. But the direction doesn't stand out, the performances are good and Dunk is actually a little better here than his usual terrible performance. But that's it.

The photography is absurdly ugly. I haven't seen a high-budget series with such crappy photography since Pit Baby. The lighting is bad, the colors are faded and muddy. And the sound!!!! It's scary how bad the sound work is in this series. The noisy, the interference and external sounds, one could swear this series is a college project.

There is a huge lack of tension, the action and fight scenes are absurdly amateurish. Nothing has any consequences, it's all sugarcoated. They try to give importance to the death of Fadel and Bison's parents and all the series does is show a picture of them. The same happens with their relationship with their Mother. It's clear from the first scene that she is the villain and this whole "revelation" is predictable.

The only time we really see them acting like hitmen is at the end and even then they act much more like spies and young people seeking revenge than professional killers.

All of this, added to this canned American aesthetic, the soundtrack and costumes that are beyond caricature and a script that doesn't have the balls to get out of this cliché, results in a series that's kinda fun to watch but extremely disappointing. It's boring, it's predictable, it's lazy and has no personality whatsoever.

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Come on guys ... whats with these high ratings ?

Obviously ratings and reviews are subjective ... but 8.10 stars ?
I think some of you have a completely different rating system for bl cause most of them are so disappointing.
But if you analyse the drama it has was too many flaws ...
From the bad plot, bad writing, badly written characters, plots that go nowhere, mid acting, occasionally bad audio.
It's just not a good show.
Did it have good moments? Sure, it was fun sometimes but at the same timeI had to fast forward many scenes especially FirstKhao ones. Which was a pity, initially they had so much chemistry but the script killed all the excitement and chemistry with their bad writing.
So what kept me watching? Joong! He was incredible, he was a breath of fresh air and hi acting was incredible ! I can't wait to see him in more projects

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A masterpiece

So alot of people are saying not so cool things about this drama..it either the cast or the story line....i mean this same people complained they don't want high school romance drama...gmmtv is starting to get boring and all...but when they came out with masterpiece like this one...they stilll get bad reviews...

THE HEART KILLERS so far is a great show and am enjoying it so far...for who ever is seeing this...i advice you don't follow what people say and see it for yourself...before doing that though...put in mind it not a cinderella or sleeping beauty kind of show...it was directed by jojo...the same who directed ONLY FRIENDS...if you've seen only friends..then you should have an insight on what you would be seeing.

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When actors carry a show too hard

As someone new to the BL genre, I’ve naturally gravitated toward stories with action and darker themes. The Heart Killer immediately caught my attention with its premise—two hitmen entangled in a web of violence, morality, and unexpected emotions. Given that GMMTV is generally known for lighter series, this show seemed like a refreshing departure, offering something different. Unfortunately, while the concept was promising, the execution left much to be desired.
Pros:
• The acting was solid. Among GMMTV’s talent, First, Khao, and Joong stood out, delivering some of the best performances in the series. While Dunk’s acting wasn’t particularly strong, his character’s eccentricity worked in his favor, making his slightly unnatural delivery feel more fitting rather than distracting.
• The storyline had potential. It set up an engaging intrigue, and although the atmosphere didn’t always pull me in, I still found myself trying to get invested because the show introduced many interesting ideas.
• The music was a mixed bag. While it was fun recognizing famous American songs, their placement often felt random or out of sync with the tone of the scenes. That said, it wasn’t a dealbreaker.
• The humor was surprisingly enjoyable. I wasn’t laughing out loud, but the dynamics between characters and certain comedic moments were entertaining enough to keep me engaged.
Cons:
• The story ultimately fell apart. The pacing was uneven, with some scenes dragging while others felt rushed. The editing was questionable at times, with abrupt cuts or odd scene placements that disrupted the flow. Certain moments that should have been impactful lacked weight because of how they were handled narratively or visually.
• Repetitive dynamics. While some running gags and interactions were amusing at first, they quickly became overused. For instance, the “Good morning, krub” bit was fun in episode 2, but the reliance on similar interactions made the development of relationships feel stagnant rather than progressive, to the point where it felt like Fadel kinda surrendered to Dunk from constant « harassment » rather than from an actual buildup for their relationship. As for First and Khao’s pairing, their early relationship establishment took away some of the tension, but I admit I might be biased on that front.
• Emotional depth was inconsistent. The actors did a great job in dramatic moments, but outside of those, the characters often felt detached from their traumas. The show only seemed to acknowledge their emotional struggles when it served the plot, rather than integrating them naturally into the characters’ behavior throughout.
• The plot barely held together. Many elements didn’t make much sense, and by the later episodes, I found myself watching more for the romance than the story itself.
• The production quality was shockingly poor in some aspects. The green screen work was distractingly bad, which is surprising given that GMMTV is one of the biggest BL production companies. It made me wonder where the budget was allocated.
Ultimately, The Heart Killer was entertaining enough, but it reinforced a concern I have about certain BL productions. It seems that some series are crafted more to showcase actor pairings than to tell compelling, well-structured stories. Don’t get me wrong—the actors did well with what they were given, and I genuinely enjoyed Joong and Khao the most. However, when a show’s main selling point is the leads rather than its writing or overall artistic quality, it raises questions about how much effort is being put into storytelling.
So far, I’ve been fortunate to watch BL series that not only featured strong actors but also took their narratives seriously. Seeing how The Heart Killer (and, from what I’ve heard, other GMMTV productions) is primarily carried by fan investment in its actors makes me hope that moving forward, the company will prioritize delivering both great performances and well-crafted scripts. There’s clearly talent in front of and behind the camera—it just needs to be given better material to work with.

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