Selfish Desires
This is EXACTLY the kind of show I needed from OffGun. Dramatic, sexy, thrilling, and MESSY! Throughout the entire show I was upset with both of their characters, as well as Dew's, and that's what made this show so fun. Truly, this is a story of three people motivated almost entirely by their own selfish desires, and the conflicts that they end up in because of it.Jira (Gun) is a struggling artist, currently unemployed and unwilling to take jobs that involve AI because of his moral aversion to generated art. Even art isn't motivating him anymore, so his friend suggests he head to Burn Out Bar to meet other people in similar situations. There he meets Pheem (Dew) and the two hit it off - Jira listens to Pheem's stories of his overbearing boss, and Pheem is happy to have someone to listen and flirt with. Soon, Jira is offered a job working for Koh (Off), but the details are a bit murky. Eventually, Jira learns that Koh is one of the biggest names in tech right now, with an AI model in development that will blow the others away - but since Koh hates dealing with people, he hires Jira as his stand-in for in person events. As much as Jira hates AI, he loves the rush of inspiration he gets around Koh, and finally his love of painting is back and sexier than ever. Jira is torn between his feelings for Pheem and Koh, and the two men both struggle for Jira's attention, but it's unclear whether they're fighting for him because they love him, or because they want something from him.
I loved the way that this love triangle played out. Yes, one of the downsides of watching a GMM love triangle is that you always know who they plan on having together at the end, but the way the relationships developed over the course of the show as so fun. Koh is motivated by his desire to use Jira for his own gain; Pheem by his need to win Jira's attention; and Jira by his sexual fantasies of Koh and entertainment from Pheem. All of these characters seem to disregard the other characters' feelings for their own gain, and boy does that make this fun to watch!! And even as an OffGun fan, I absolutely cannot deny the chemistry between Dew and Gun - frankly, the show is worth watching just for that! Not to mention, the directing/cinematography of this show is GORGEOUS! I'm not gonna lie, I feel like it's rare that I say that about GMM shows nowadays, but WOW this show blew me away with how beautiful it was. My biggest complaints about the show are just that it could have used a little more time on the final conflict, since the ending felt a bit rushed, and I wish they committed more to the messaging around the harm of AI since it was a central theme of the show. Still, this show was VERY good and definitely worth watching if you're into messy and dramatic plots with very flawed characters.
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BETTER than Not Me or Theory of Love, but still flawed
Theory of Love has lots of realism to it, but it has a big Off’s character redemption arc that it not believable for multiple reasons, so this makes the series way less realistic that it could have been for the sake of fairy tale happy ending typical of the BL genre.Not Me (2021) is unique and outstanding conceptually for many reasons, but the details of what and how it happens are not believable, they demand lots of “suspend disbelief”.
This series, being also faulty, is not even a BL:
1. No multiple couples
2. No stupid sound effects
3. A love triangle.
And it is way more real than nearly everything out there.
In regards to the question of the “AI”, which is actually just neural networks (JNN), versus art.
I call it all JNN because they can not reason, derive causality, understand anything. There are attempts to combine them with algorithmic logic to imitate thinking, but this is a rigid thing that comes from the 1980s and it is nothing alike to what an actual person can do.
In the future alive human artists will still have a niche as performers who can draw quick sketches or even bigger works in real time in clubs and galleries. Of, at the very least, have their works in expositions with certified multi-angle video shoots of the whole painting process. Maybe even some analogue or provably simplistic digital cameras will be certified and offered for rent to artists to prove the authenticity of their work as being done by their own hands.
The “AI”, as described above, can not think, it is just an aping of parroting tool that can rehash what it was trained on. It can produce works that can be perceived as made by a human, but it is not different from e.g. stones in nature randomly situated in a way that can be read as meaningful.
So if we define art is an act of an artist that includes thoughtful consideration, the neural networks can not do it. But if we define art is some object itself, then it does not matter if a human or nature or a neural network has made it.
* * *
Details and drawbacks are noted in a comment with spoilers below.
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One of the most genuinely relevant things I've watched in this genre — and OffGun deliver
This series opens with a conversation that stopped me immediately. A man in burnout being told by his "girl"friend to take a break, go to therapy — and him answering that he can barely afford rent, so how exactly is he supposed to afford therapy. That exchange alone signals what kind of show this is going to be: one that's actually paying attention to the world it exists in.The burnout bar as a concept is inspired — a place where customers therapeutise each other because professional help is out of reach for most of them. It's absurd and completely believable at the same time, and it sets up a story about art, AI, labour, and the very specific exhaustion of trying to be creative in a system that doesn't support it. These are not themes I expected to find handled this thoughtfully in a BL series, and I found it genuinely exciting.
OffGun carry it fully. The chemistry is there, the performances are strong, and the three-way dynamic at the center of the story is genuinely compelling — chaotic and messy in the way real human entanglements are. What I found most interesting is that the main character isn't positioned as a victim of circumstance but as someone who is himself flawed, himself capable of toxicity. That honesty gives the series a texture that most shows in this genre don't attempt.
In terms of story and acting, one of the strongest series I've seen. The kind of show that makes me wish more BL trusted its audience this much.
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Burnt Out? Watch this Documentary
I was excited for this show from the minute I saw the teaser. I was teased and I was satisfied. This was so good, I feel like at this point Off and Gun are very particular with what shows they pick up. Everybody was fantastic in this and looked so damn good, the lighting helped for sure and the clothing choices. I was living for it all! The plot was interesting, frustrating in a good way and wrapped up really nicely in my opinion. So stylish and I definitely wanna watch again.Was this review helpful to you?
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Moody, Sensual, Messy & Thought-Provoking
When this story starts, it presents itself as social commentary with a side of romance. 10 episodes later, and this is, in fact, romance with a side of social commentary. It is a slower type of romance as a large part of the story is spent on Jira trying to pick between the two men, Pheem and Koh.The Characters
🎨Jira - He's indecisive in the romance department, stringing two men along for far longer than it was necessary IMO. On one hand, there's Pheem. The seemingly good guy, who, according to the synopsis, is physically Jira's type to a T. On the other hand, lies Koh. An unapologetically capitalistic arsehole, who, if you listen to Ing, is Jira's type, personality-wise.
Jira is also an artist down on his luck and broke. He wants to keep doing art in a world that is slowly being taken over by AI. And worse, he now works for a tech bro whose world is AI. He hates the tech bro for his values, which clash with his own. He's also attracted to tech bro but tries to deny it
💻Pheem - The seemingly good guy. While he may look like the better option at first, he wasn't the right choice for multiple reasons, the biggest being that he's fake AF. He only pays attention to what Jira likes because it'll increase the likelihood that Jira will sleep with him. He's also in a one-sided beef with Koh, which didn't do him any favours, if we're being honest.
💼Koh - The unapologetic asshole with debilitating social anxiety. He's unlikable, and I think that's the point. I don't quite think that we, as the audience, are meant to really like him. Only Jira is, and so we like him or give him a chance because Jira likes him. And because, as the story progresses, he changes parts of his life to make space for Jira. Does he become the perfect man? No. But parts of him are softer because of Jira.
Ing & Mawin also made rather interesting side characters and friends to both Jira and Pheem
The Relationships, Specifically the Romances
🌹🥀PheemJira - The chemistry between the characters was undeniable, but they'd have never worked for multiple reasons. Noteably,
1. As previously stated, he's fake - From changing his taste in music to getting that new tattoo on him. He never fell inlove with the things Jira liked enough to make them his own. He simply co-opted them to make himself look good in front of his conquest.
2. He's very pushy, especially in the sex department - All he knew how to do was flirt and insinuate that the two should sleep together. A note I wrote in ep 5 stated as follows 'Almost all their interactions end with him suggesting that they go home together. Jira is sometimes willing n other times doesn't seem into it. Like in ep 5, I feel like he took him home coz Pheem asked. Had he not, I don't think he'd have brought it up.'
3. He never made a good muse - Remember when Jira finally asked him to sit so he could paint him, and the man couldn't do that. He kept moving around and once again, resorted to flirting with Jira. I don't paint, but that seemed disrespectful AF to me.
I was never quite convinced that Pheem loved Jira. Even in that emotional and very well done scene in ep 7 in the rage room. Pheem only seemed to care that he won Jira and Koh lost him. Eventually, in all his scheming and jealousy, he fell in love, but it was too late.
🌹🖥️KohJira - I like to refer to love stories like theirs as 'the heart wants what it wants.' They shouldn't work. Actually, they'd probably thrive better if they went their separate ways and never crossed paths ever again. Yet, they choose to remain together. To try and forge ahead even when their circumstances and even values show that they likely will not work long-term.
Something keeps pulling them together. Such love stories always scratch a very special itch in my brain. I love them. They are human in such an interesting way. It's like they scream at you 'Hey, humans and love aren't black and white. They are very much shades of grey.'
They fall for each other partly in the bickering and partly in the silence. I think that Koh made a more interesting love interest because
1. Jira actually liked him. - I found it most interesting and hilarious how Jira was always so physically unresponsive to Pheem. However, with Koh, the man just needed to look at him, and bro would be hard. Jira would try to transfer those horny feelings to Pheem, but it never worked.
He looked like a ragdoll every time Pheem kissed him. So stiff with little emotion across his face. However, with Koh... Refer to the bedroom scene in ep 1, the painting scene in, I believe, ep 8 in Koh's house with the flowers, and the kiss scene on the rooftop.
2. Koh willingly changes to better suit Jira - Not fully, of course. But where Pheem's changes felt manipulative and held an ulterior motive, Koh felt genuine. And the changes were never extravagant.
Simple things like going to get him from his house coz he knows his commute is long, getting breakfast in the morning when Jira slept over, even if he himself said he never liked breakfast, or even braving that club environment to go get Jira.
All these were sincere, and I think they speak to romance better than a tattoo.
3. A clash in values vs attraction - Koh has the personality of a lemon. He's also a ruthless capitalist who only cares about the bottom line. Jira thinks that everything should be above board and humans should care for each other. Koh is also a pro AI fellow, and Jira is an artist at heart. Jira cares about human-made art, and his main source of income is being threatened by the very thing Koh is pushing for. Bruh, when I heard 'input Jira preset' in ep 9, I died. I simply passed away.
However, despite all this, they continue to be attracted to each other. Jira fell 1st, although he tried to deny it, but Koh fell harder. But Koh doesn't seem quite interested in changing. How the hell does such a relationship survive? I like that their relationship ended on a 'happy for now' note, because honestly, I wonder how they'd survive long-term.
🎭🧑🏻🎨The Social Commentary⚙️👨🏻💻
The story posed an interesting question in the AI vs Human debate. I think once on Twitter, I saw Nunchy say that they weren't really looking to answer if AI was good or not. Whether it should be shunned or remain. Rather, they were asking the audience to ask themselves if and how these two things can co-exist side by side. The story doesn't give us a conclusive answer. If you think about Koh as the 'AI' and Jira as the 'Human', you see them work together, clash, diverge, then come together once more.
They end on an uncertain future at the end of the plot. Can the two truly walk and work side-by-side?
I think this is an interesting and real position that reflects where society and technology are today. You cannot escape AI, no matter how much you want to. While people online are loud and angry about AI, the tech bros are still making strides to incorporate it in everything. Job postings are demanding that applicants have the knowledge and willingness to use AI. Many people are also losing jobs to automation. It's maddening, and a lot of fields feel uncertain, especially the creative ones.
Just like Koh and Jira don't know if they can truly work, neither do we, the general population, know what the future holds
💭Random Thoughts💭
a. Some BL ships work incredibly well in darker, moodier stories, and OffFun are squarely on that list. FirstKhao are another. Both excel in grittier plots that make you think, confront feelings and emotions you'd rather not face, and push the envelope in what human relationships are.
b. I find their (OffGun's) fade-to-black NC scenes rather interesting in the BL landscape. I've watched this ship in 3 stories: Not Me, The Trainee & Burnout Syndrome (I dropped Cooking Crush, so we're not counting that). They always have such good chemistry, and their kissing is so good, but their NC scenes are always so short.
I don't quite follow ships outside of TV shows, so I often wonder if this is something they've chosen for themselves. To always go with fade-to-black scenes. I'm not saying they should adopt the scenes in shows like 'Don't Say No', 'My Stubborn', or the currently airing 'Peach Lover', but I'd like more. Unless they don't want to do it, in which case, I'll respect it
c. I'm glad the show introduced me to Dew both as an artist and an actor. I added 'Mr. Kill' to my 'plan to watchlist' because of him. A show I'd originally ignored since bromance is not my jam
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Gently toxic
One interesting creative choice in this series is that none of the three main characters is likable. They’re all toxic to varying degrees, which gives a certain charm to their interactions. The story strays a bit from the beaten path to explore emotions that are less conventional than usual. The three actors know their craft and deliver strong performances; it’s good casting.That said, even when the show surprises (in the script, the narrative, etc.), it never really takes risks — as if the viewer always has to stay on familiar ground. That’s somewhat unfortunate, because the series loses depth because of it. The ending is a good example: very conventional, and inevitably a bit disappointing. A little more boldness might have turned this good series into a very good one.
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Artsy, dark vibes, oozing toxicity and bad decisions...And frustrating!
This Thai BL features a trio of characters that meet in a bar and are trapped into ultra toxic relationships (professional and romantic) inspite of themselves. The series can feel highly frustrating because of the waste of potential, however, there are also quite a lot I appreciated. Do I regret spending time on it ? No, certainly not because it made me think a lot. Unfortunately the attempt at social commentary regarding Art and AI fell apart with the conclusion, which was truly disappointing.Cast is one of the strong point of this series but also one of the downside. Indeed Gun, Off and Dew are doing a very good job at acting out those broken human beings. The tension scenes with the intimate moments or the painful moments were also very well acted. However, the way couple pairing are working in Thailand clearly removed part of the interest / turmoil of the series as the ending seemed predictable because of the CP but was not convincing because of the plot itself.
I would recommend this drama to people looking for an artsy BL featuring a fare share of angst and pain. It is for sure not without flaws because of its odd and too slow pacing, unconvincing ending and frustrating because of the waste of potential. But it is also a very different kind of story, truly thoughts provoking, with a captivating muse-artist relationship. Even if it unfortunately does not hold its promises, the actors and the very good production value with some truly impactful and memorable scenes, make it worth the watch.
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Sizzling
This series is surely fresh, electric, overwhelming with chemistry, and incredibly sensual. OffGun is the perfect couple to execute the story. The overall dark theme of Burnout Syndrome mirror the reality of people who've lost their spark and through emotion they gain it back.The story is well-written up until the final two episodes where they faltered which is unfortunately common to a lot of BLs that I've watched. Episode 1 was a great set up for the rest of the episodes, its a slow burn but once you get to settle in, the rest of the episodes pull you like magnet. While the plot is sensual, mirrors reality, and gets you invested, there are a few details that missed. Overall, you have got to sit and be patient to let the story establish itself.
The acting in this cast is perfection. OffGun is already an established couple and they've proven their versatility time and time again. Mew surprisingly has a great chemistry with Gun and he definitely did a phenomenal job. The supporting casts also did a very good job.
I don't have anything to say about the music. It's perfect. The song choices matches every scene, the tone, the theme, it's cohesive.
While I don't necessarily recommend the series as an introduction to OffGun, I would definitely rewatch this series.
Overall, this is another great series from OffGun. Their chemistry is beyond perfection yet they still have a lot of room to explore in terms of their acting prowess.
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This review may contain spoilers
In this drama, I mainly see two different friends getting caught in a situation involving a money-hungry, feminine boy. That feels like the core conflict of the story. Personally, I’m not blaming Koh for what happens. For me, the worst person in this drama is Jira. I feel like he is playing with the feelings of both boys, and he’s actually very good at manipulating people’s emotions.Even though Koh comes off as rude and emotionally distant, he is actually the most sensitive person in the entire drama.🥹 And yes, I am sad for Pheem too 🥺 I really felt bad for him. He’s such an innocent guy—honestly, truly innocent. A big part of this drama revolves around emotions and art, which gives it some depth.
One of the funniest parts is when Jira paints on a shirt using wine and calls it “art,” a so-called wine-stain shirt. Honestly, if anyone else did that, it would just look like a mess. But when a boyfriend does it, suddenly it’s art. I guess love really is blind.
Overall, this is not a boring drama. It has a storyline that keeps you watching continuously. The actors are also very talented—they express emotions incredibly well, especially through their eyes and facial expressions. However, I do get irritated when Koh is always wearing sunglasses because I can’t read his eyes properly. Other than that, the drama is decent
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Dew as Pheem adds such a messy, chaotic energy to everything, and even when the love triangle gets a bit loud and stressful, it really fits the vibe of the story. I loved how the director focused on the quiet, desperate moments instead of trying to make everything look perfect. It’s definitely a heavy watch about people reaching their breaking point.
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Fixed pairings will be the end of good stories
The dark/toxic/burnout vibes of this show was perfect. The art, the music (not the osts) all were perfect. The sensual vibes with every character, even Ing was great (they really were whoring out everyone for this show). The story was also interesting.I did not like the ending at all. I know this is gmmtv and their fixed pairs HAVE to end up together but they are losing the greatness of their work by sticking to this format. Khol is toxic, a greedy person who takes and takes and does not see anything beyond his needs. Making Jira and him end up together without any proper explanation kinda ruined the story. They had to increase the number of episodes or do something else to tell this story properly.
Another complaint I might have is the lack of Khol's side of his emotions for Jira, we never really get the feel to when he falls for Jira, we don't see him in his thoughts much. Compared to this we see Pheem's feelings and his battles with it which gave more depth to his relationship with Jira.
The acting was great, this would be Dew's best performance and the only decent one he had after homeschool. Off and Gun are great but Off was slightly weak here. The side characters also did their jobs well
I'm excited to see more shows like this but with proper length to develop the story and a readiness to step out of fixed pair setting.
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I really wanted to like this more.
When I first saw the trailer, I was so excited to watch this drama. Not Me was an awesome drama and one of my favorites, and I love OffGun and their chemistry when they star together. That being said, I was initially ready to give this series a much higher rating. The adult story line, acting, and drama felt refreshing, especially after Cooking Crush and The Intern. I was thinking this would finally put the Not Me curse for OffGun to rest.Unfortunately, I felt like it was close but no cigar. Dew, Off, and Gun are all very good, but I felt the character of Jira was a little toxic for me and strung both guys along. Koh is cold and a major a**h*le at numerous times and I found that hard to look past. Pheem is the only character that I felt had some redeeming qualities and deserved a lot of sympathy. The scene in the rage room was very heartbreaking and Jira just kind of disgusted me because he didn't seem to grasp both what he had done to Pheem or even care to grasp it, he just wanted to paint and cared about his art.
Overall, the series was pretty good, but just didn't finish in a way that made sense. The writers set up the perfect path for the drama to break the BL drama mold and have Jira realize he was the issue and was burnt out and dealing with complex emotions and a life that was chaotic and needed two failed romances to see that he needed to focus on himself, his art, and his life. However, the series stopped just short of that and leaned back into the typical BL trope of a clean reconciliation between the leads and having the relationship rekindle. This was much, much, MUCH better than many of the other GMMTV BLs that are getting released lately, plot wise, I just wish it had gone the full way and broke the mold of a stereotypical BL pattern.
Side bar, the themes about expression, art, emotion, creativity, and passion were AMAZING, as well as how the scene tied that part of Jira's life together with him and his relationship with each man, and his interpretation of them differently in his work. I loved the idea of expressing the emotions of the artists and the subject of the art so differently. The rage room scene and finished work was AMAZING. I just wish GMMTV had been a little less....GMMTV.....and this would have been a solid 8.5 or higher. Still, the drama is worth a watch and the actors are great.
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