That Summer

The Best Narrative, Cinematography and Visual of 2025

I would say I usually have a issue with Thai BL's narrative flow, especially those which tend to dumb all everything in the final two episodes. That Summer is relatively in a good pace (although a slight tendency in squeezing plots in ep 9 and 10), and surprisingly it contains a good narrative callback which makes the story a circular and complete work. For those who have made to the end (ep 9 and 10), you will be surprised that some of the exact terms have been mentioned very early in the show (like ep 3). Take one example without too much spoiler, Lava and Wave discusses about the presence and future after their first intimate scene. When Lava (still a fuck boy at the time) says that the present moment is much treasuring and he would not think about the future (neither the past, as implied), later in ep 9 when he "lost" Wave, he was indulged in the past and Davin asks him, "to focus on your presence". I found this a very deep and insightful discussion of Queer time, which is rare in many popular dramas, and I have to say Director Jo executed this very well.
I would also give some credit to Winny's acting, as he truly portrayed a young boy's growth in a complex form. Growing-up is not a rare theme in Thai BL series, but Lava deals with more complicated questions. One example without further spoiler again: after learning the true identity of Wave, Lava's changes do not only stem from the fact of class difference, but also their relationships on this island. What does an island boyfriend mean? Is it as temporary and illusive as the "presence" he used to indulge in? I think Winny shows some deeper concerns in his micro-acting, especially in the dancing scene.
Another thing is just Jo's strength at all time: cinematography and all other visuals. Some fans may be disappointed to see Winny got so tan and sometimes even seeing his dark spots in some close up shots, but I think that with all the beautiful mise en scene is what a lovely island in Thailand looks like. The color tone of the drama, especially the night scene, made reference to well known Thai directors such as Apichatpong in his slow cinema. Besides, the careful use of camera angle throughout the show aptly show the change of characters, especially in terms of their relationships and personal growth.
Some people may not like this show because the trope is a bit dated (or is it?), but I would say in terms of its overall production, That Summer deserves to be regarded as one of the top. I am very grateful for WinnySatang and their first lead series.

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Better than expected

I kept my expectations very low when I started this, mainly because i can't seem to remember anything I watched for the main couple, and basically Mond was what had pulled me in to start it.

so I didn't know what to expect tbh~
That's why I enjoyed it despite being really slow burn with nothing going on and a very rushed end.

Story is nice, kinda expected but still the main couple were great, Lava had some character development that was enjoyable to watch, Wave on the other hand, despite being really nice characters, the whole memory loss thing is a bit too much, I think WaveXDavin should have a slight difference in character, like to have the same soul but slightly different, I don't know how to explain it in words but I couldn't believe the whole amnesia since I couldn't see any difference in behaviour, be that as it may, I loved Satang's performance.

What I didn't like is actually the pace, it was slow with literally just day to day life of the cast with things happening in the background, ignoring the main story or the main focus of it which is Wave's family and amnesia and what actually happened to him, still they had a fair amount of time showing their relationship in a slow burn way which - surprisingly - not boring at all.

But I wish they would include them in a scene or two showing what is happening with his family, to show that they are concerning about their child or at least searching for him, he is a prince for goodness sake, he is much important than they showed us, and that wouldn't necessarily be a problem, hadn't they show us the whole "you are the future of our family" sh!t at the last ep, and that he must gain people's trust and bla bla bla.

Another thing was how they squeezed everything in the last ep as if they didn't have a whole 9 episodes full of nothing to expand the last ep through.

Generally speaking, it was good drama, but if we looks into the details, this failed to show the whole potential of the very simple and predictable story that doesn't even require much thinking ~

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A nice feelgood series

This series was good, i liked it a lot. I just wish they gave us a bit more background story of Victor and Dawin and of the hostile coup.
The visuals and music were beautiful. The intro song was ok, but not great.

For me the couple Mond/Ryu was a big masmatch, their dynamics do not work and there is no chemistry. Not to blame Mond, he was trying so hard to make it work.
I liked the dynamics between Neo and Mint.
And i love Winny and Satang, their dynamics and chemistry just work. It isn't the most charismatic couple in the industry, but that's just like real life. Not every couple is extremely charismatic, some coupes are just less expressive and that is fine!

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Frustrating, Unlikeable Characters

Take this review with a grain of salt because in general, I don't enjoy memory loss tropes. Because it was Winny and Satang's first show as the main leads though, I really wanted to see how they would do. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed in this show. I found Winny's character to be infuriating, the plot was horribly rushed at the end, and the lack of character development with Satang's character for most of the show just made it really hard for me to enjoy it.

Prince Davin (Satang) sneaks away from the palace with his friend Victor to enjoy a last grab at freedom before he has to train to take the throne. Instead of partying it up, he ends up washed up unconscious on the beach, where Lava (Winny) saves him. However, Davin has lost all memory of who he was or where he came from. He works for Lava and Lava's uncle who he's staying with, and while Lava learns how to be a responsible adult, Davin (or Wave, as he is called after the memory loss) learns how to be a normal person. The two grow closer over the course of the summer, but the summer can't last forever.

Lava was genuinely so annoying to watch. How are you going to find a man clearly traumatized from memory loss and head injury and then almost immediately want to hook up with him? That's so weird and predatory! It also got really annoying that Wave couldn't remember ANYTHING for SO LONG. We got ONE flashback where it seemed like he was going to start remembering things and that went nowhere?? And then towards the very end, they had to try to wrap up the royalty drama plot, the regaining memory problems, the relationship issues that come with being a commoner x prince, etc. etc. and they just did NOT have the time to do all of that. The pacing of this show was totally off, the characters were mediocre at their best and genuinely unlikeable at their worst. Maybe if you like memory loss you'd enjoy this more than I did, but just liking WinnySatang was not enough to make me enjoy this show.

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Feels like a summer dream

That Summer is a mix of a light and unpretentious script, beautiful cinematography that manages to capture the island's beauty exceptionally well, and a couple with great chemistry and fluid development.

I didn't expect this series to be so good, and it was a great surprise. The story manages to balance well without becoming repetitive or too childish.

It's not a profound script, but the direction and photography really elevate the series to a level where everything becomes poetic and like a summer dream.

The secondary couple, despite their rapid development, works very well. However, the entire plot involving the coup in Arantha is absurdly poorly developed.

In addition, the final conflict, besides being rushed, is very cliché. Again, GMM-TV resorts to the same pattern of series finales with a time jump and a forced wedding.

However, this doesn't spoil the greatness of this series. It's an easy series to watch and has so many interesting moments that you simply fall in love with it.

A great success and without a doubt, one of the best cinematographies that gmm-tv has ever delivered in a BL.

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muito bom… até os três episódios finais

O título da review diz tudo. É um drama muito bem produzido, com atuações convincentes e detalhes técnicos impecáveis, uma prova de como os bl se consolidam cada vez mais em indústria, e uma de peso. O problema, para mim, se dá no final: todos os clichês possíveis foram utilizados, mas não se aprofundou o suficiente nas consequências desses clichês de modo a tornar possível um real aproveitamento por parte da história. Um exemplo: Darvin e Lava ficam um ano sem contato, e, quando se reúnem, parece que nada mudou, e a relação deles avança imediatamente. O roteiro tinha tudo na mão para fazer desse clichê horrendo e desnecessário em algo verdadeiramente interessante. Poderiam explorar as mágoas e incertezas dessa separação, poderiam mostrar o esforço do Davin em reconquistar o Lava (ao invés de fazer o otario ser largado por um ano e ainda pedir em casamento… ugh), e fazer o episódio girar mais em torno deles se amarem apesar de tudo. Tentaram criar ao máximo a angústia para proporcionar uma grande catarse, e terminaram por desperdiçar o final em clichês batidos que podem até servir para emocionar no momento, mas que em nada contribuem para tornar o drama memorável e alvo de revisitas

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Welcome to the island

1/ Jojo
To get this thing out of the way first: I’m not a fan of Jojo’s work. I was critical of "Only Friends" and still consider "Never Let Me Go" as well as "The Heart Killers" to be among the very worst GMMTV releases. This time, however, I have to applaud Jojo’s work; "That Summer" is by far my favorite of Jojo-made shows, with none of the schlock that annoyed me before. This time we got decent cinematography featuring a wonderful island setting and two beautiful gay couples, mostly good writing and Winny's show-carrying performance. Nicely done, sir.
2/ Plot and writing
Loved the plot – which, by the way, is not about a prince and a commoner falling in love, but about an amnesiac and the guy who saved him falling in love. The story writing is consistent and – with the exception of ep. 10 – pretty even; Jojo and Zaii mostly did a good job in this regard. Some of the writing choices I applaud include: (1) it's not a story about politics (even though it features local elections and a failed coup), (2) it’s not an "enemies to lovers" story either, (3) keeping the Arantha part of the story minimal, (4) Wave and Davin being – up to a point – separate and different characters (however the show could have done more with it). It’s not a "summer love" kind of love story either, and – after considering it for a while – I think it’s good that way. Getting reminded that all of this is fleeting and temporary, that things will return to "normal" after a while (once Wave regains his memories, Lava ends his stay on the island and returns home) etc. would have hovered over the show like a dark cloud, preventing me from enjoying it.
While the story progresses nicely from ep. 1 to ep. 9, I’m not sure why ep. 10 was so different – as if Jojo and Zaii didn’t know how to end the main plotline. It’s not like they have written themselves into a corner and couldn’t find a good way out – there are shows out there with this problem, but "That Summer" isn’t one of them. We got an "end of summer" with a shoe-horned, last-minute attempt to create tension or cast doubt that there will be a happy ending. It was pointless, just like the time jump – a fatal trademark of GMMTV shows. With minimal tweaks to its script ep. 10 could tell a story of Lava and Davin parting ways for real – there was so much put into this episode as obstacles for their relationship. The most annoying part was that once Davin told his parents he’s gay and doesn’t want the throne, everyone was okay with it. If so, what was the point of all that talk of returning to pre-island life, royal obligations, forced secrecy, living an unwanted life build on a lie etc.? Storywise it made no sense for Davin waiting one whole year to have that important talk with his parents. The whole ep. 10 Arantha part of the main story should have either (1) been expanded and come in ep. 8 or 9, to present an actual obstacle for Lava and Wave being together, a problem for them to solve and to create real stakes, or (2) been dropped entirely, getting dealt with off camera or with one scene in ep. 10. We got neither of that and most of ep. 10 was wasted on a non-problem.
As for characters, I liked how Lava was written, with solid background and good characterization. He’s unapologetically gay – one can clearly see Jojo’s hand here – and I loved it. Lava doesn’t have a full arc, but does mature during his stay at Peng’s, primarily due to his love for Wave. When he faces Davin in Arantha, Lava is a calmer, more collected version of himself; he also switches from stubborn to patient, which lets him wait for Davin once they part ways. That’s character development I like to see.
As for Peng, I understand his hesitation to come out and reveal he’s Wut’s boyfriend – that part of his character, as well as his at times strained relationship with Wut, was well written. What I don’t get about Peng is his attitude towards Lava. Throughout the entire series he’s overly critical of his nephew, complaining about everything Lava does; this doesn’t change a bit even in ep. 10. There’s no development nor progression, but also no explanation of why Peng would stay like that even after everything that happened to him and Lava in the show. Was Peng supposed to be a replacement for a strict parent or teacher or different figure of authority for Lava to oppose and rebel against? That could make sense if Lava actually was rebellious – which wasn’t the case.
My biggest complaint when it comes to characters regards Wave/Davin. He’s not a damsel in distress, but he’s not a fighter nor rebel either. It might be my bias, but I expected Lava and Wave having a different dynamic, resembling the Sound-Win relationship from MSP. With Wave being far softer that Sound this couldn’t happen. What almost ruined this character for me was ep. 10, which showed Davin as an undecided, timid pushover, scared to stand up for himself, to be honest with Lava and his parents, even when directly offered an opportunity to clear the air or given time to work on his parents (he literally did nothing for one whole year).
3/ Cast
After MSP Winny didn’t really get a chance to shine – the "Our Skyy 2" special was good, but his other appearances, especially in "We Are", were subpar. Fortunately we got none of this here; Winny’s performance in "That Summer" is by far his best. Lava seems like a part written specifically for the young actor and Winny played it beautifully – carrying the show and throwing in some surprises. Lava helping Wave after he got high in ep. 2 might be my favorite Winny scene ever; he nailed the delivery being warm, soft and reassuring – displaying features unusual for characters he portrayed thus far. Also, I enjoyed his performance of the title song "สายลมกับเกลียวคลื่น" ("Wind and Wave"). My only – and very minor – complaint is that in a scene or two Winny’s delivery was almost monotone, as if he lacked proper direction and didn’t know how to act; this shows that there’s still room for improvement when it comes to Winny’s skill.
I like Satang’s performance as it saved Wave/Davin for me. When the script wasn’t doing the character justice, Satang helped a lot, portraying Wave as confident or sickly-sweet and sassy. If I had to guess I’d say Satang followed his instincts on this one and was not lead astray.
Other cast members – who included some long time GMMTV employees like Sing, Thor and Gawin – gave serviceable performances. The supporting cast included Neo and his real-life girlfriend Mint as the only opposite-sex couple and Mond paired with Ryu. That couple initially surprised me, as the last time I saw Ryu paired with a guy was in 2024’s "Summer Night", where he portrayed a high schooler and Java’s boyfriend. Here he’s more his actual age and portrays a doctor – calm and responsible. Even if the character seems a bit boring, Ryu and Mond look good together and do what a supporting couple should do. Despite my reservations about how his part was written, I liked Mond’s portrayal of Peng; he brought some badly needed warmth to the character, with his big smile and goo-goo eyes.
4/ Final thoughts
All in all "That Summer" mostly works well. WinnySatang finally got a show for their own ("We Are" was more like a PondPhuwin + friends show) and did their best: the chemistry is there, the banter is there and they look great together. "That Summer" confirmed that this ship works well and can be entrusted with a BL, doing a better job than some other ships in the company's employ; hope GMMTV was paying attention.

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I didn't expect much, because I'm not a big fan of the main couple - even tought I don't hate them, I'm neutral toward them). But It was a great surprise, they portray well the two main characters.

I just did really hate the "re-lost" memory, it was unecessary and just boring.

Obvioulsy coming from Jojo, the queer part of the story is well written. I mostly enjoy the queer part of the story more than the romance (If that make sense to people). But the main couple and the secondary couple are well with each other (I hope MondRui will be playing together again).

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Finally Winny & Satang have their own drama… Let’s watch…

Story about Lava & Wave. Lava is a troubled teen, especially since his mother remarried. To get him away from the tension at home, she sends him to live with his young uncle by the beach. His uncle wastes no time—he puts Lava straight to work helping run the seaside shop and maintain the property.

One day, Lava finds an unconscious man washed up on the shore. At the hospital, Dr. Wut diagnoses the man with amnesia. With no ID or leads, Lava’s uncle decides to take responsibility—and assigns Lava as the stranger’s caretaker.

Lava names him Wave, and quickly shifts all his chores onto him. But Wave is clumsy, fussy, and clearly unaccustomed to physical labor—clues that he came from a very different life. But slowly, he begins to adapt to life on the island.

And as they spend more time together, Lava and Wave grow closer. They become more understanding and tolerant of each other. What started as frustration turns into understanding. They grow closer—learning each other’s moods, sharing small laughs, leaning on one another.

Before they realize it, something deeper begins to form between them—something quietly romantic.

But then, the Wave’s past starts catching up. Wave’s identity isn’t ordinary. And the reason he ended up on that shore? It was no accident at all.

So now the questions are:
? What will Lava do when he finds out Wave’s true identity… Will it change how he treats him…
? Will Wave regain his memories before the truth comes for him—or will the outside world reach him first…
? And when Wave remembers everything… Will he still remember Lava? Or will he forget the man who saved him?
? And what will happen to their relationship when Wave has to return to his real world… Will Wave’s family be able to accept Lava as his lover..

That's pretty much the story without giving the spoiler. Now what I like and don't.

What I like:
+ I'm so happy Winny & Satang have their own drama. And it's not really dissapointed… Although their character still feels one dimensional, that's just the problem for another day…
+ Wave’s uncle & Doc kinda cute couple.
+ Quite happy to see Neo didn't play a toxic character.

What I don’t too like:
- The story just too good to be true

Overall I'm happy for Winny & Satang for their first drama, but this just another drama on my list

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Unexpectedly good!

Definitely an underdog in the BL world especially because I didn’t see a lot of hype but surprisingly, it ended up being really good. The story was touching and compelling. I liked how every episode flowed smoothly and it never felt cheesy. It had a little bit of everything: it was funny, it was romantic, and it felt very balanced.

I also appreciated that, compared to other BLs, the intimate scenes didn’t rely on a heavy sexual tone. It felt perfect for the couples, even the second leads; everything fit their dynamics so well. The scenery was beautiful, and the soundtrack was lovely. If you want something that’s not toxic, not over-the-top cheesy, and not packed with sexual content, just a soothing series overall, definitely give it a watch.

The only thing I didn’t love was how they packed everything into the last episode. They even did a one-year time jump, but we didn’t really get to see them simply being themselves before suddenly jumping into “Okay, now we’re good, now we’re living our lives and doing what we want.” Still, overall, it was good.

I personally hadn’t seen Winny or Satang act before. From the cast, I’d only seen Neo and Mond and they’re obviously really good at what they do; so it was refreshing to see new faces too. The whole cast delivered really nice character portrayals.

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Almost That Summer

This is a series where you must believe that everything that could go right, does. It is filled with fairy-tale Edenic bliss. Surprisingly, a lot of it works and if they had tightened up the story and made it more plausible, it would have been a great melodrama. Instead, it simply ended up just another good drama, but merely becoming an addition to a long-line of throw-away BLs that have a cookie-cutter premise having a wildly Pollyanna ending. It is not bad; just disappointing. One must really suspend one’s perspectives with this story. The story itself was surprisingly strong most of the time. It is hard to sustain an ‘amnesia’ theme, and this tended to get a bit long-in-the-tooth, as the expression goes. This story was presented way too simplistically and hurriedly to be fully believable or acceptable. Yet, it did make for a cute story. It is an entertaining series to be sure with a stronger than usual BL component than your run-of-the-mill trite Thai BL story.

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Wholesome, alas with room for improvement

Well, a wholesome themed series finally found its end, and I assume it ended exactly as everyone assumed from early on, lol. Which, well is no shame, but a bit an ongoing watershed between good and REALLY good series. And it is a beef I have with series I know others see very different. I like BL stories, but personally I feel a BL just on its own just doesn carry enough interest for me, with some rare exception when either the actors or the directing is so great, it does all the job, like some of those small Korean "Kammerspiele" - small chamber plays which revolve around two people with little extra.

But that is not the Thai style, and if I compare it to, right now "Goddess Bless You from Death" (Pooh/Pavel) I felt there was a lack of story here. I mean BESIDE the love, a background against which the lovers to be develop and measure their growth. In this, this series was quite shallow waters. David/Wave had a very helpful memory loss, with Lava first disliking and then falling for him. Not entirely a really breathtaking or new idea, alas. As it is that story was well written and performed, but it had a foreseeable hiccup at Episode 9, the inevitable and again entirely foreseeable "I remember the past but not you" which again to no one's surprise made the 10th episode extremely rushed. So many problems were solved, even a one year time skip. Nothing about the coup, no development of the parents or the fake marriage, not much to see of a year of suffering. And suddenly a five minute happy end, which was nicer than other five minute endings but as lacking as such endings unavoidable always are.

Goods to mention are the scenery, the locations, camera directing and also the many beautiful songs. A scope of many different moods between the actors and their stages of relationship. However, being true to heart, Winny/Satang is not a power couple. Both seemed to act reserved and I have seen many stronger emotions on display given the dramatic moments involved. Satang's acting is okay, but I just could not really feel so much behind the face of Winny. He just sorely lacked the strength to show anger, fear, sadness convincingly enough to me. Often it felt more like a variations of stares. One could accept this, if we had a backstory, maybe he was traumatized, maybe if he had a form of autism or anything that would explain such a reduced facial reaction. It was just a love, given the acting, thinking of it without music, scenery and story supported I had a hard time to buy. Even in wording, I missed those powerful breaking points, explaining deep love or deep suffering at least in words. If you compare it to other series actors (First, Fourth or Pooh) there is just a way too steep difference.

I laude them for making an unusual couple, breaking a bit from the mold. Winny is no model type and Satang is. Winny is stoic manly but Satang isn't "feminine" but strong on its own. It saddens me to say, but Winny just was the weak link of the entire series. And I hate to say that because it seems like "I just want perfect doll actors", but he just didn't work for me as a convincing lover. And the problem is: it isn't their first roles, even though their first main couple series. So how much air to learn to act better is in the stars.

As a wholesome series I felt well watching it, I wasn't bored, it was okay, but against the rising competition it felt just weak. Sure a lot of series are worse, but a lot also now are just better. Just take Pond currently playing the excentric Mafia boss and you know what I mean with really interesting acting. As ever making use of the full scale, it is one of the more difficult series to rate, knowing some prefer just BL and not too much other stuff, so I split it up to explain:
STORY: 7
DIRECTING: 8
ACTING: 5
MUSIC: 9

OVERALL 7/10

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