Only Friends: Dream On

I genuinely think the first season was better than this one and it was not because this cast was bad or they are bad actors. it's because there was no commitment to the characters, either from the actors themselves or the director. this show is meant to be messy and to showcase these new adults relationships and behavior in the situations they were put in. It looked like they were scared to kiss people outside of their fixed couple when it made total sense for their character to do so. I feel like stuff was cut that was meant to make us care for certain characters that did these big things or were from the past, in the end it didn't have the desired effect.
AouBoom is what made me come back and catch up with the show, because I was bored halfway thru. it was kind of stuck.

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boring !!!

THAnk god it’s over, when I start watching something I need to finish it, I never drop any series even if it’s bad. And I never write any reviews, but after this, I had to.
I’m sorry but that was horrible. ONE OF THE worst BLs I’ve watched. Not the worst. !
When I saw the pilot I was excited, bcs I liked the first show, so i had very high expectations, too high….I haven’t read the novel but does the plot really look like this? Really I don’t get the plot, they act like someone was killed, they didn’t even cheat on each other. While watching this, in my mind was only “It’s not that deep bro 🤡” boring, boring and boring. Seriously, what a big downfall compared to the first show.
Forgetting the plot, their acting was mid 🫠
The only good thing was the intro/music and Aou carried this show. Boom was good too.
I haven’t watched any series with this cast, but I heard a lot about them (bcs they are popular ships, right?) so that was my first series with them and yeah, guys remember, popularity≠quality.
And what was that ending even supposed to mean? Season 3? Hell nahhh, better not. Don’t do it 🙏🏻 Actually, it’s not even about the acting, but the plot was SO boring, 0️⃣🧪.

Not the best, not good, not mid but not the worst 👍🏻

(Ofc, it’s only my opinion, I’ve read many reviews from other people about this show and others as well. I keep an open mind about every drama and other people’s opinions bcs I like it. You know, so many people, so many minds.) OH and I’m sorry for my English but it’s not my first language…😌🫶🏻

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A tame version of Only Friends

This can be watched as a standalone series, but I will be comparing them!

Compared to OF, this series had very little kissing, almost no sex (and it didn't show nearly as much as OF), and basically no drug use. It had alcohol and half the amount of drama. It was like they were afraid to push the limits as they did in OF. The toxicity levels in OF broke the meter, while here it barely reached halfway. Everything was too safe.

That being said, I enjoyed OFDO more. Maybe it was the school setting that made the world feel bigger. Maybe it was that the overall chemistry between the actors was better. In OF, I only really liked FirstKhaotung & I really liked Mark as Nick, whereas in this series, even though I only liked the couple of RomeRaffy, I loved EarthMix's chemistry. Whatever it was, I got invested in the story faster than in OF.

I wasn't stressed at any point in the series(unlike in OF, where episodes 7 & 8 gave me SO much stress I couldn't be around people), and I honestly didn't care about Arnold & Tua (hate his name, it sounds like you're spitting) and cared very little about Jack & Dean. In episodes 7-8 & 11-12, I didn't even give Arnold & Tua half my attention because it was simply uninteresting. Jack and Dean (like Top and Mew) were the main focal point, but I found myself not caring if they got together or not, not because of what Dean did, but because Jack is a hothead who escalates situations using violence, and uses Raffy's feelings for him to hurt Dean, which hurts Raffy in the process. Jack, overall, was the most toxic character with nothing likable about him.

Dean rubbed me the wrong way with his interactions with Raffy. I'm assuming the reason they hate each other is because of Raffy's crush on Jack, which, okay, fair enough, but there were several times when Dean crossed the line and was straight up being nasty or rage baiting Raffy for no reason. So I didn't really like Dean either, but I don't think he deserves to end up with Jack.

I was 100% invested in Rome and Raffy's story. They honestly didn't get enough screen time, which left the scenes that would have caused me the most emotional pain to fall flat because as soon as the hurtful thing happened, they would jump to another couple. Their kiss scenes, though? I will admit to rewatching multiple times, especially the one in episode 2.

The main point of drama in this series was easily avoidable. If Dean and Arnold felt like they did nothing wrong, and they were single at the time, then they should have told the people they were pursuing the morning after. If it meant nothing, they wouldn't have felt guilty. Honestly, I don't even know how Dean remembered it, considering how much he drank that night. Dean didn't help matters any by going to Gameplay for a place to stay because he "had nowhere else to go". Excuse me, does Timmy not count as a friend? You can't tell me he would refuse to help if you had nowhere else to go. The only real drama that I felt was unavoidable was Raffy's feelings for Jack and Raffy & Dean being double cast as Romeo, which led to Dean and Arnold making couples content together. There were already massive amounts of jealousy going on there, and it naturally progressed with the story.

In Only Friends, Boston was the main reason behind the drama, and everything kind of spiraled out of control and became a chaotic mess because of how the characters reacted and retaliated. In this series, the drama felt more controlled and, in some cases, easily avoidable. Don't make the drama avoidable; it's not what we are here for. We are here for a toxic mess, and instead, we got characters toeing the line but never crossing it, while in Only Friends, Top and Boston didn't just cross the line, they obliterated it.

As for Tua's reaction, you know it's bad when Boston is the voice of reason. Like honey, sit down, you're not ready to handle the big leagues.

Like in OF, this series focused on the drama and didn't really care about building up character backstories or just dropping characters completely. This made it hard to care about the characters and what they are going through, and in some cases, even like them (like for me, Jack). Some things, like with Pete, just kind of resolved themselves in a lackluster way, and then we heard nothing about him after, and in both series, there are issues with at least one character's parent that are just never resolved; In OF, it was Ray, and in this one, it's Raffy. Honestly, for a character like Pete to be doing so much that SHOULD have caused drama, he felt more like a wall decoration with how involved he actually was.

Boston has changed a lot from the first series to this one. I expected him to be here to start drama, and his entrance made it feel that way, but he actually helped fix things this time around. I'm really glad that Nick found someone new, but I also can't help wanting him to have actually changed, and Nick sees that and gives him another chance. If anyone doesn't deserve one, though, it is Boston.

I like that we get a one-year time skip at the end to see how our characters are doing.

Was the guy at the end a hint at a possible season 3? We saw Mix at the end of OF, and he became the main character of OFDO, so I would like to think it's possible.

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Huge Disappointment by GMMTV

Only Friends: Dream On is a huge disappointment compared to the first season. I’m honestly surprised and frustrated by the direction GMMTV chose to take with this installment. The chemistry and bold storytelling that made the original season so compelling feel noticeably toned down here.
One of the biggest issues is the decision to cast actors who are then seemingly restricted from fully interacting in the kinds of adult situations the story implies. It ultimately feels like an injustice to the actors themselves. These performers have proven they are capable professionals, and limiting them in this way makes it seem as though the studio doesn’t trust them to handle the material.
The drama that was promised never really delivers. What should feel intense and emotionally charged often ends up lukewarm. Even Boston—who was such a strong and chaotic antagonist before—has been reduced to mostly implied moments that require very little actual on-screen development.
It’s disappointing because Only Friends had the potential to be an amazing franchise. Instead, the direction choices here feel overly cautious and end up limiting the actors’ performances, which does a disservice to the talent involved and to the fans who loved the original season.

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I really like the ArnoldTua storyline

Only Friends 2 – The story feels more rigid and contained within a smaller circle compared to the first Only Friends. This time, the narrative is centered around a stage production of Romeo and Romeo, which becomes a key part of how the story unfolds.

I really like the ArnoldTua storyline—their chemistry and sweet, swoon-worthy moments are undeniably captivating and easily grab my attention. As for the other pairs, I’m not as invested. It sometimes feels like there’s too much focus on flirting rather than actually developing the plot.

They’ve already hinted at partner switching and possible infidelity, which could add drama, but right now it feels a bit overemphasized. I think the series would benefit from integrating stronger storytelling alongside the romance to create a better balance and make it more convincing and worth watching.

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This was not Only Friends, this was a disaster

I absolutely loved OFTS and was excited when OFDO was announced. I regret it now.

Not a single right thing about this, maybe except casting AouBoom and letting Mark Pakin write the BostonNick scene.

They labeled this Only Friends and that's what I expected - the mess, the chaos, crazy hook ups, no boundaries, lot of borderline illegal issues. But I never got anything like that. That crazy mess was the charm of OFTS. As some lovely moot on Tumblr.com said, it was not about finding the goodest character, it was about picking your favorite asshole and rolling with it.

The problem of OFDO is that the characters are shallow, they have nothing going on and you don't develop any strong emotions towards them. I only somehow liked RomeRaffy, but not because they would be written that well, but because AouBoom did pure magic when they brought them to life on screen. But I gotta admit, they also have decent development going on and grow as characters, though the writing was very questionable (like why did we not get the scene where Rome tells Raffy about Pete???). It only kind of scares me, that RomeRaffy as we know them weren't the original plan. This series would be so much worse if AouBoom weren't here. Because honestly, RomeRaffy in AouBoom's hands had the biggest Only Friends potential had they been given the proper script. They had the tension, the chemistry, and definitely could pull the angst and more fights, were they given the chance.

Arnold and Tua are empty shells, they have nothing going on and hell, how I wish I would actually love them, because I am a big fan of JG. But they fell so out of place in this series, as if they took their part of the script from different series. Especially Arnold was so empty, we know nothing about him even after the 12 eps, hell we never even get to see his place and only characteristics he got was that he is kind and gets along with everyone. Tua is not much better, but we got to actually see his house and had some more character shown when he exploded and broke up with Arnold and kicked Dean out.

Jack and Dean are just awful people (and terribly written too) that did not have any character development and I was forced to believe they just happen to get together because love? It's so upseting because they were the centerpiece in this season. But no matter what they went through, they did not learn anything or grew as people. Dean showed biggest development when he geniunely apologized to Tua. But that not explains anything that happened with Jack. They just got back to square one. I will admit, I haven't seen any EarthMix work before this, but I can tell they are hella good actors (the scene in the gallery/ex exhibition was strong and emotional, though still a waste for this trash series) but the writers didn't do them justice. I understand they were very likely supposed to reflect TopMew from OFTS, but TopMew had character development and it made sense why Mew ended up forgiving Top. But that did not work with Jack and Dean. For a second they got me hoping they won't end up together, but of course, that can't happen because some people apparently are sensitive snowflakes.

Regarding that I also have to say I did not get why we had to see JackDean delivering the flowers or dealing with Dao (Dean's sister), because it did not move the story anywhere and it was just waste of our time (I mean, the whole series kinda was, but this was extra waste).

They also totally failed to connect the couples, like they did in OFTS. Mew, Ray and Ton were friends. Sand and Nick were friends. Top and Ton had history. Boeing connected Ton, Sand and Top. The whole cheating plot was TonTop sleeping together, Nick wiring the car, showing the recording to Sand, who passed it to Ray, who passed it to Mew, that caused the fight. But it also distanced RaySand because Ray thought Mew might give him a chance. It was all connected and that's why we got enough screen time for all.

In OFDO, they kept the couples separated. Yes, Rome and Jack are step brothers and Tua and Dean are friends, but the first thing barely played any role in this and the second was only used for the fight. Other than that the couples were always hanging out together and barely had scenes with others (maybe only during the play part and when it wall all of them). But the story didn't connect them so nicely like it happened in OFTS.

I also want to specifically talk about Ton. I am Ton lover. I love him and I will defend him forever. I was very excited about his return. But if you promise me Ton level of chaos, you better fucking deliver it. There was nothing of that. And hear me out, I woudn't mind this shift if they gave us the TonNick scene earlier, because Ton changing his attitude after seeing how much Nick was hurt by him would make so much sense. But what we learned from him was that he slept around in NY and it got boring there, so he went back to Thailand because in his opinion, Thai dudes are more fun to sleep with. That sounds like the same old Ton to me. But then he backs off the first chance he gets.

Which brings me to another big problem. They wouldn't let actors kiss outside of the official couples. TonTua, ArnoldTon, TonRaffy, JackRaffy, RomePete, ArnoldDean, GameplayDean ... why didn't we get these kisses? I know for sure the actors wouldn't mind (literally the reason Neo doesn't have fixed partner is because he likes to be open to anything), it's the creative team's choice. It would work much more if the kisses actually happened. Every scene of these not-kisses just felt like a slap into my face. And like it makes you not even believe in anything outside of the official couples, when they are visibly scared to let it happen. Like would you believe this is the sequel to the series that let KhaoBook kiss, NeoForce film a whole sex scene, FirstMark kiss, Mond kiss everyone he saw, NeoDrake sex scene and more? (Again, thank you snowflakes, who would cry and have tantrums if their couple kissed someone else).

Also, Ton and Pete appearing at writer's convenience was pissing me off bad. What was that writing? They both worked on the play so they should've been there all the time.

That brings me to Pete and the main "drama" of this series. The not-kiss between Arnold and Dean. It was such a non-issue, oh my god. On one hand I am pissed that they didn't let Tua get Mew-level of toxic, but on the other hand, this was such a non-issue (compared to actual cheating from OFTS) so I can't even feel that mad because it makes sense that ArnoldTua simply talked it out. JackDean were unable to just fucking explain it. Dean never gave solid arguments, just begged Jack to not leave him. And it's crazy because Dean had valid argument - he was drunk AND drugged (which btw was never addressed afterwards). But as I said, JackDean are awful characters, so why bother ranting about this. And RomeRaffy were not affected at all by this "drama" so they were just chilling together (the fact it wasn't Raffy was cleared in two sentences). And final confrontation of Pete wasn't bad, but it went by so quickly (remember what happened to Top and especially Ton after the cheating?) and once again, why didn't we get to see the conversation between Rome and Raffy about this? Because that was a breaking moment in their relationship and surely a big shocker for Raffy, who saw Pete as a friend.

I just hope that Great at the end doesn't mean the threat of season 3. If you want to do that, please let OFTS crew work on it at least, otherwise please let this series rest in peace.

In conclusion, I'm disappointed. This series shouldn't have happened. Never do this again, GMM. Thank you.

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Only Friends But Without Its Soul

I wanna preface this by saying 3 things:

1 - I enjoyed season 1. It was messy and convoluted and, yes it did have some issues (the series' treatment of Boston and how it portrayed Cheum as some sort of saint) but it was fun to watch.
2 - I like the cast. I knew all main actors from previous work they've done and I think they have enough skill to carry a series like Only Friends.
3 - There's nothing inherently wrong with producing a mediocre series.

This being said Only Friends: Dream On sucks.

First and foremost because it lied to us. The teaser and the trailer and the very fact it carries on the name "Only Friends" all indicated the same messiness, complicated relationships, multiple character love connections, dark themes and overall vibe as the 1st season. None of this was proven true.

The relationships seem at first to be complicated but when you look into it, and especially as the drama progresses, you can tell the issues between the characters are either silly (like the not-kiss kiss drama), repetitive (like Rome and Raffy running into the same unaddressed problem multiple times and nothing coming out of it) or just rushed through (like Pete's entire thing about the video and the money). Not only that but the characters, even when jutified in their issues, are explored in such a shallow manner that you can't even properly connect with them, let alone find them relatable. And this happens even with season 1 characters who ABSOLUTETY DID NOT face this issue before. It feels like they were just brought in for hype and then entirely butchered before our eyes (especially Boston).

Then, as if not enough, the relationships are shallower than baby pool water, without GMMTV actually having the guts, in a series like this, to make ANYONE even kiss outside of their company assigned couple (which is a whole other issue, with them panning to the weirdos who think their favs should be locked from the outside world so they can only interact with each other and feed the fantasy that they have in mind because these people don't even consider them humans, just dolls that should play the part for their entertainment):

1 - Arnold and Tua could've had a good development exploring the consequences of falling in love with a friend and how the dynamic change might be awkward or cause confusion and you might need a period to adapt to it or even not be able to adapt at all. Instead all we got was a mild conflict and skipping ahead to wanting to spend their entire lives together #LoveWins.

2 - Rome and Raffy could've had such an interesting exploration of how your family and your relationship with them affects the way you perceive love, want love, experience love and even believe yourself to deserve it. I'll still give them the point that their relationship was the best development and that Aou and Boom pulled some massive weight to try and make it work but their skills are almost entirely wasted on that script. Justice for my babies, please.

3 - I don't even know where to begin with JackDean because it was so utterly boring and atrocious but I think if there's one thing to be said is that they had a good opportunity to explore the fact that love itself isn't enough to make a relationship work and that, sometimes, even if 2 ppl love each other, they'll never make a good match and instead it was just like "you should always fight for love, no matter how toxic it is" #FéNasMalucas.

And that's not even getting me started on how they skipped over domestic violence and totally used it as just a plot device or how Jack's alcoholism AND EVEN RAY'S (which had previously been addressed in a meaningful way) were both treated like a character accessory that is nothing but a silly personality quirk. As someone who's watched more than one close relative struggle with it, I cannot tell you how disgusted I am in words that are anything but a string of swears.

But, last but not least, because this wasn't bad enough already, they had to make the script a mess (which, truly, is the only real kind of mess we get in this series) that makes no damn sense and where everything that happens just happens so that the series can get the characters to a specific purpose. No rhyme or reason.

It just overall feels rushed and lazy and ridding off of the hype of season 1. Not even the actors, no matter how much they tried, could save it. And it's honestly a shame.

So what do I take? Boston and Nick getting their closure, which was only good because Mark Pakin himself wrote the dialogue for that (and the RomeRaffy sex scenes that AouBoom put their entire p**** into). That's it.

Needless to say I don't recommend it and I hope I never have to watch it again (and yes that includes that stupid cliffhanger they left with Great at the end, please someone save him from this monstrocity).

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JossGawin’s Impactful Performance & A Standout OST – A Memorable GMMTV Series

Only Friends” and its sequel “Dream On” deliver an intense, character-driven story that stays with you long after the final episode. One of the strongest elements is definitely the OST, especially “No One Can” by Gawin Caskey. The song captures the emotional tension of the series perfectly — raw, haunting, and incredibly memorable. It fits the tone of the story so well that it feels like an extension of the characters’ inner worlds.
I also want to highlight the performances of Joss Wayar and Gawin Caskey. Their chemistry and acting are genuinely impactful. Both portray complicated emotions with so much depth, especially in the more emotional and confrontational scenes. They bring their characters to life in a way that feels real and believable — you can truly feel their struggles, vulnerabilities, and connections.
Overall, this series stands out because of its bold storytelling, powerful OST, and the strong performances from the cast, especially JossGawin. If you enjoy relationship-focused dramas with great acting and memorable music, this is absolutely worth watching.

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