“Yes, the Chinese ban is horrible and irritating. But on the flip side, I think TPTB who are doing this work are doing an amazing job and I'm freaking thankful that China is allowing them to do this AMAZING and BEAUTIFUL work.”
LOL... XDDD!
(Warning: Strong language)
This absurdity makes no sense!
It’s like saying, “Yes, beating me is absolutely horrible and painful but I am nonetheless extremely thankful that you are using a wooden stick and not a cat-of-nine-tails.” Hahahaha...! The humanity!
With all due respect: this is an insult to everyone who has stood up and paid the price for defending our freedoms while some others write comfortably and safely from the security of their living rooms and the anonymity of their laptops. I have friends and relatives who have died in the defense of these rights and I object very strongly to the subservient complacency expressed in your comment.
Do not tell me when to raise my voice in protest; and least of all when it is comments and attitudes like yours that have opened the doors to these institutionalized abuses.
I don’t know if to be shocked at the lack of respect for the dead, shocked for the amount of dead, or should simply stick to formalities and wish that the deceased may R.I.P.
I am going to try to straighten something out in the most dispassionate, civil (but) unapologetic way possible.
1. “Dispassionate”, because I do not put movies over people - movies are fake representations of a reality we live... and it would be silly to defend the fake over the real;
2. “Civil”, because I do not want to make anyone feel upset - I only want to dissipate some of the fog which has clouded the drama TharnType (don’t kill the blow horn, please... lol); and,
3. “Unapologetic”, because this site is made to share our opinions in a dispassionate and civil way with no need for apologies... ;-).
This writing concerns the series TharnType and some very condemning opinions and aspersions concerning Tharn which I found to be unfounded (that means, without foundation... it is not a bad word... :-).
What is the charge? The charge is that Tharn abused a traumatized Type and violated him against his will, insensitive (as he stands accused) to Type’s early trauma.
This is at best a misinterpretation... and at worst.... a __________ (well, lol, you fill in that blank because I won’t).
After I finished Episode 9, which continued to portray Tharn (as in all previous episodes) as a compassionate person - an image that does not click with any of the negative reviews I had read of his character - I decided to rewatch the episodes in which Tharn and Type came together for the first few times. My purpose was to examine their conduct and determine if there was indeed a rape, or anything forceful, in these encounters.
Physical encounter no. 01: In which Tharn decides to teach the cocky homophobic Type a lesson and plants a few hickeys on him to watch him flip in the morning when he wakes up. There is no rape as there is no penetration - and this is made clear when Type himself realizes the pain he experienced around his buttocks was the result of having fallen from bed (Type’s own words), and also because it becomes readily apparent that Type’s shirt is not completely unbuttoned (it remained buttoned down to where Tharn had unbuttoned it the night before); and to top it off, Type was still wearing his short zipped up. In the end, I discovered that the only one who had been buck naked in bed had been Tharn... and, it was his bed after all!
Physical encounter no. 02: In which an upset Tharn pins Type down after several insults and Type goes into a mental flashback regressing to the time when he had been abused by a pedophile (pedophile ≠ gay). Tharn is caught by surprise but immediately understands there is something wrong and sympathizes with Type while starting to calm him down - a scene that ends with Type kicking Tharn away from him (in a script as predictable as bad weather).
Physical encounter no, 03: In which Type has a nightmare in the middle of the night and in the commotion he breaks down asking Tharn for help, naming him by name twice in the middle of his nervous prostration. Tharn’s empathy at this point is moving - and of course, Type’s character being what it is... he kicks Tharn again... lol (this is not a criticism... I am just alluding to how his role is very predictable at this point).
Physical encounter no, 04: In which Type comes down with a fever and Tharn nurses him back to health while Type has recurring nightmares and grabs onto to Tharn in unconscious desperation crying, “Dad don’t go”. Tharn pretends to be his father in an effort to calm him down saying, “I am right here” while he hugs him.
Physical encounter no, 05: In which the fever and nightmares continue for a while as Tharn tries to help Type get out of the slump he is in. At one point, Tharn kisses Type in the forehead or the cheek (it is not clear from the angle of the camera) wishing him pleasant dreams with no further nightmares - while Type, incidentally, pretends to be asleep and accepts the kiss without even hissing.
Physical encounter no. 06: In which one finally encounters the first time a real sexual act takes place - and it happens between two consenting adults: Tharn, a self realized gay man, and Tharn... a cocky lil’ man still stuck in the closet. It starts in the shower where two interested parties come together around a few initial kisses and where Type does honor to the coyness displayed by southern belles in the best scenes from the old movie Gone with the Wind. Type manages to fake a few phrases like, “let me go”, at the same he has his hands clenched to Tharn’s shoulders in a way that reminds me of Bernini’s Abduction of Proserpina at the Galleria Borghese, in Rome.
So there! It is my conclusion that there is no rape or any sort of abuse in this movie. A crank called ‘hickeys’ (for the love of sanity... lol... the word hickey alone is already a crank), led to unanticipated results which brought the best out of one partner (Tharn) and may well have ended up opening a few doors to Type who had locked them up in his subconscious and which, no doubt, were making him very unhappy.
I welcome any well founded and documented interpretation. This is not a matter of opinion: the movie is there and remains our best sort of celluloid documented fact. Good night you all.
In the novel, Park did horrendous things. They just didn't show it in the series.
Too bad about the original series being canned. No doubt the reboot was the result of the success of the original and, to a certain degree, the thirst of investors for profit. That often results I a less accomplished product.
I will try the original 2Moons The Series; thank you. BL dramas are my favorite type of drama and I will visit your site to see your list of favorites. And thank you for accepting my friendship request. Henry.
Episode 1 introduces each contender; establishing early animosities and suggestive alliances. The series looks promising at this point but we really need to wait for episode 2. It will be the deciding factor because the series really needs to pick up the pace or else this will turn into a sinker really fast.
Will this be gay? I don't know but a boy can hope!
There were some significant looks between Toey and Valen (although I don’t think Toey is going to play a nice guy here). Oh, and we also have one Cruella De Vil and another girl set on taking revenge on poor Phong... XD...!
In the novel, Park did horrendous things. They just didn't show it in the series.
I agree; and, it always happens when the movie producers try to cover too much.
I, personally, see books and movies as two different kinds of vehicles of expression - involving very different senses. The best movies haven been movies where the script was originally written for the movie or movies where the original novel was adapted beyond recognition using the freest of artistic licenses. Of course, there are exceptions to this. Many exceptions.
In the novel, Park did horrendous things. They just didn't show it in the series.
I see. Thank you for telling me. In the movie he comes across differently because what Wayo did to him in the cinema, for instance… was unforgivable. In the movie Wayo used Park to incite jealousy - playing with Park‘s feelings for his own personal benefit. It is funny how movies can be so very different than the book.
Sorry if you think it's some type of animosity about a BL story being against my likes or anything like that.…
My dear Silver_Sylphy,
I must begin with an apology for having overreacted to what was a misunderstanding on my part. You see, written text (without the help of body language and facial expressions), often falls prey of this kind of misunderstanding. Besides… it is not the first time that I put my foot in my mouth, so to speak. Please accept my apologies for my sarcasm.
My only excuse, and not a good one at that, is that I have heard so many put downs begin with the phrase, “There is nothing wrong with [x], but...”, that those words sort of blinded me and took me in the wrong direction all together. I should have let my reaction simmer (as my grandfather used to say) until a time when I was a little bit more levelheaded. I am only that sharp-tongued when I go on the defense; otherwise, I am a very humble human being that harbors no resentment towards anyone. I just need to learn to bite my tongue sometimes, I guess.
On a brighter note, your discussion of Thai dramas (my favorite too - although I have yet to explore other Asian venues, e.g. Korean, Chinese, Japanese), is quite on point and I thank you for that. I learned a great deal from your insights. I too detest the commercialization to which some of the series have fallen prey; some excessive extensions and run-offs are obvious and no one would disagree they have been done for the sole sake of capturing longer air time. At that point, I usually just tune out. And, I am also turned off by the bland characterizations present in some series where the world is depicted as if, ‘it never rained in Southern California’... lol. They target a different demographic than mine; and that’s okay, I guess, except it runs the risk of sinking the entire industry in banalities if it does not get checked soon. And this, of course, applies to all of these productions.
I believe, some of these dramas do in fact go into a sort of never-never land where fantasy overrules reality. On the other hand, it is also true that viewers like to escape into this genre to forget the stresses and dramas of real life… at least for a little while. But, it is important to me to retain a certain doses of realism.
Finally, you have mentioned a couple of series - among them TharnType - which appear to carry a great deal of punch, and from what I have heard of TharnType I think it will be right up my alley. If it is anything like SOTUS II (which incidentally was even better developed than the prequel), I will be very happy. I have already made a note to watch it.
I thank you for your very helpful views and comments and hope that you can forgive my underved sarcasm. I will remain your friend and reader of your very well-written reviews.
“I mean another BL... Nothing wrong with a good BL story, but it's getting kinda long in the tooth,” says Mr. Silver_Sylphy, Trinidad & Tobago (2016).
Well, Mr. Hi-ho Silver, I am so happy you don’t find “nothing wrong” with another BL story; and as a gay male, I humbly thank you! I am honored to be able to partake of the world you live with your blessing and approval.
But, with regards to BL stories “getting too long in the tooth”,
I guess that 500 years of ‘heterosexual’ literature (since the libertine excesses of John Donne’s poems and the frolicking melodramas of William Shakespeare’s plays), must have grown to be the size of an elephant’s tusk, then... ????????????!
Anyway, I thought you would be able to widen your already “enlightened” opinion by reading the humble advice of a dissenting party:
Please refrain from repeating such cliched formulas like, “there’s nothing wrong with...”, when such clause is superseded with formulations of size, magnitude, volumen, or teeth”... ????????????! It usually denotes the presence of some veiled antagonism, at best; or some unbeknown bigotry, at worst.
Nice episodes, would recommend this drama. My country couple celebrity in it too Fann and Chris, a must watch.…
Hi Evan... I was going to watch the series thinking of something like Waterboyy. But then I read that China does not produce BL Series and I change my mind. But now I read that you say you love hubbies Non and Ben and I am a little bit confused... hehehe. Is it a BL story, you think? Thank you and regards from Miami Beach.
“Yes, the Chinese ban is horrible and irritating. But on the flip side, I think TPTB who are doing this work are doing an amazing job and I'm freaking thankful that China is allowing them to do this AMAZING and BEAUTIFUL work.”
LOL... XDDD!
(Warning: Strong language)
This absurdity makes no sense!
It’s like saying, “Yes, beating me is absolutely horrible and painful but I am nonetheless extremely thankful that you are using a wooden stick and not a cat-of-nine-tails.” Hahahaha...! The humanity!
With all due respect: this is an insult to everyone who has stood up and paid the price for defending our freedoms while some others write comfortably and safely from the security of their living rooms and the anonymity of their laptops. I have friends and relatives who have died in the defense of these rights and I object very strongly to the subservient complacency expressed in your comment.
Do not tell me when to raise my voice in protest; and least of all when it is comments and attitudes like yours that have opened the doors to these institutionalized abuses.
The gall!
I’ll stick to the third one.
(See below)
I am going to try to straighten something out in the most dispassionate, civil (but) unapologetic way possible.
1. “Dispassionate”, because I do not put movies over people - movies are fake representations of a reality we live... and it would be silly to defend the fake over the real;
2. “Civil”, because I do not want to make anyone feel upset - I only want to dissipate some of the fog which has clouded the drama TharnType (don’t kill the blow horn, please... lol); and,
3. “Unapologetic”, because this site is made to share our opinions in a dispassionate and civil way with no need for apologies... ;-).
This writing concerns the series TharnType and some very condemning opinions and aspersions concerning Tharn which I found to be unfounded (that means, without foundation... it is not a bad word... :-).
What is the charge? The charge is that Tharn abused a traumatized Type and violated him against his will, insensitive (as he stands accused) to Type’s early trauma.
This is at best a misinterpretation... and at worst.... a __________ (well, lol, you fill in that blank because I won’t).
After I finished Episode 9, which continued to portray Tharn (as in all previous episodes) as a compassionate person - an image that does not click with any of the negative reviews I had read of his character - I decided to rewatch the episodes in which Tharn and Type came together for the first few times. My purpose was to examine their conduct and determine if there was indeed a rape, or anything forceful, in these encounters.
Physical encounter no. 01: In which Tharn decides to teach the cocky homophobic Type a lesson and plants a few hickeys on him to watch him flip in the morning when he wakes up. There is no rape as there is no penetration - and this is made clear when Type himself realizes the pain he experienced around his buttocks was the result of having fallen from bed (Type’s own words), and also because it becomes readily apparent that Type’s shirt is not completely unbuttoned (it remained buttoned down to where Tharn had unbuttoned it the night before); and to top it off, Type was still wearing his short zipped up. In the end, I discovered that the only one who had been buck naked in bed had been Tharn... and, it was his bed after all!
Physical encounter no. 02: In which an upset Tharn pins Type down after several insults and Type goes into a mental flashback regressing to the time when he had been abused by a pedophile (pedophile ≠ gay). Tharn is caught by surprise but immediately understands there is something wrong and sympathizes with Type while starting to calm him down - a scene that ends with Type kicking Tharn away from him (in a script as predictable as bad weather).
Physical encounter no, 03: In which Type has a nightmare in the middle of the night and in the commotion he breaks down asking Tharn for help, naming him by name twice in the middle of his nervous prostration. Tharn’s empathy at this point is moving - and of course, Type’s character being what it is... he kicks Tharn again... lol (this is not a criticism... I am just alluding to how his role is very predictable at this point).
Physical encounter no, 04: In which Type comes down with a fever and Tharn nurses him back to health while Type has recurring nightmares and grabs onto to Tharn in unconscious desperation crying, “Dad don’t go”. Tharn pretends to be his father in an effort to calm him down saying, “I am right here” while he hugs him.
Physical encounter no, 05: In which the fever and nightmares continue for a while as Tharn tries to help Type get out of the slump he is in. At one point, Tharn kisses Type in the forehead or the cheek (it is not clear from the angle of the camera) wishing him pleasant dreams with no further nightmares - while Type, incidentally, pretends to be asleep and accepts the kiss without even hissing.
Physical encounter no. 06: In which one finally encounters the first time a real sexual act takes place - and it happens between two consenting adults: Tharn, a self realized gay man, and Tharn... a cocky lil’ man still stuck in the closet. It starts in the shower where two interested parties come together around a few initial kisses and where Type does honor to the coyness displayed by southern belles in the best scenes from the old movie Gone with the Wind. Type manages to fake a few phrases like, “let me go”, at the same he has his hands clenched to Tharn’s shoulders in a way that reminds me of Bernini’s Abduction of Proserpina at the Galleria Borghese, in Rome.
So there! It is my conclusion that there is no rape or any sort of abuse in this movie. A crank called ‘hickeys’ (for the love of sanity... lol... the word hickey alone is already a crank), led to unanticipated results which brought the best out of one partner (Tharn) and may well have ended up opening a few doors to Type who had locked them up in his subconscious and which, no doubt, were making him very unhappy.
I welcome any well founded and documented interpretation. This is not a matter of opinion: the movie is there and remains our best sort of celluloid documented fact. Good night you all.
I will try the original 2Moons The Series; thank you. BL dramas are my favorite type of drama and I will visit your site to see your list of favorites. And thank you for accepting my friendship request. Henry.
I, personally, see books and movies as two different kinds of vehicles of expression - involving very different senses. The best movies haven been movies where the script was originally written for the movie or movies where the original novel was adapted beyond recognition using the freest of artistic licenses. Of course, there are exceptions to this. Many exceptions.
I must begin with an apology for having overreacted to what was a misunderstanding on my part. You see, written text (without the help of body language and facial expressions), often falls prey of this kind of misunderstanding. Besides… it is not the first time that I put my foot in my mouth, so to speak. Please accept my apologies for my sarcasm.
My only excuse, and not a good one at that, is that I have heard so many put downs begin with the phrase, “There is nothing wrong with [x], but...”, that those words sort of blinded me and took me in the wrong direction all together. I should have let my reaction simmer (as my grandfather used to say) until a time when I was a little bit more levelheaded. I am only that sharp-tongued when I go on the defense; otherwise, I am a very humble human being that harbors no resentment towards anyone. I just need to learn to bite my tongue sometimes, I guess.
On a brighter note, your discussion of Thai dramas (my favorite too - although I have yet to explore other Asian venues, e.g. Korean, Chinese, Japanese), is quite on point and I thank you for that. I learned a great deal from your insights. I too detest the commercialization to which some of the series have fallen prey; some excessive extensions and run-offs are obvious and no one would disagree they have been done for the sole sake of capturing longer air time. At that point, I usually just tune out. And, I am also turned off by the bland characterizations present in some series where the world is depicted as if, ‘it never rained in Southern California’... lol. They target a different demographic than mine; and that’s okay, I guess, except it runs the risk of sinking the entire industry in banalities if it does not get checked soon. And this, of course, applies to all of these productions.
I believe, some of these dramas do in fact go into a sort of never-never land where fantasy overrules reality. On the other hand, it is also true that viewers like to escape into this genre to forget the stresses and dramas of real life… at least for a little while. But, it is important to me to retain a certain doses of realism.
Finally, you have mentioned a couple of series - among them TharnType - which appear to carry a great deal of punch, and from what I have heard of TharnType I think it will be right up my alley. If it is anything like SOTUS II (which incidentally was even better developed than the prequel), I will be very happy. I have already made a note to watch it.
I thank you for your very helpful views and comments and hope that you can forgive my underved sarcasm. I will remain your friend and reader of your very well-written reviews.
:-)))))
Well, Mr. Hi-ho Silver, I am so happy you don’t find “nothing wrong” with another BL story; and as a gay male, I humbly thank you! I am honored to be able to partake of the world you live with your blessing and approval.
But, with regards to BL stories “getting too long in the tooth”,
I guess that 500 years of ‘heterosexual’ literature (since the libertine excesses of John Donne’s poems and the frolicking melodramas of William Shakespeare’s plays), must have grown to be the size of an elephant’s tusk, then... ????????????!
Anyway, I thought you would be able to widen your already “enlightened” opinion by reading the humble advice of a dissenting party:
Please refrain from repeating such cliched formulas like, “there’s nothing wrong with...”, when such clause is superseded with formulations of size, magnitude, volumen, or teeth”... ????????????! It usually denotes the presence of some veiled antagonism, at best; or some unbeknown bigotry, at worst.
By the way, we are neighbor in South Beach where I live with my domestic partner. At your service my friend. Bye.