-Aprillen-

It's weird how some people want to police other people's choice of label, and doing so by attacking them and making assumptions and being very rude.

Was this more fanservice than plot? Yes, but isn't that what we all signed up for? And Boat and Oat did exactly what we epected from them, with superior flair.
I loved how there were issues, but that Sorn and Juin were both prepared to listen to the other before jumping to conclusions... you know, like adult, sensible people who really love each other. They cared enough about each other to want to solve the issues. They were attentive, sincere, prepared to make efforts to improve the relationship and make it grow. And that's what sells the relationship for me. Senseless breakups because of stupid misunderstandings and raging jealousy/insecurity paired with lack of communication, before a Big Gesture Reconciliation (which is exactly what other special episodes might put us through) does NOT sell the relationship for me, it just makes me think they won't make it past the first anniversary. These two? They make me believe in them, totally and utterly.

I'm also happy that we weren't subjected to all the other pointless couples from the main series (except for a random cameo for Plot Reasons from the lesbians) but just focussed on Sorn/Juin, with just enough side characters to give it some barebones appearance of plot/slice of life.

Yes, me too. It takes a certain skillset to do this type of character, and even more seasoned actors who can be otherwise great might not be able to do it really well. I haven't watched any of the BTS (and also haven't read the book) so my perception comes solely from what we see on screen. And I can't help but think that because Khem's portrayal is so subdued and understated, you might not pick up on the nuances and subtleties if you watch on 1.5x speed and FF through the episodes. Because there's so much going on below the surface.

^^THIS^^
Khem looks really blank and spaced out a lot of this episode and I think that might be why some people feel that Namping's acting is not good. But the blankness is in fact hopelessness and despair. He is being constantly harrassed by Rampheung and is trying to keep that from his friends because he doesn't want to scare them or make them feel the same despair that he does. When we see those flashback scenes with Rampheung filled in, it all makes perfect sense. He is losing his hope and his strength. He's exhausted. I love all the little details they are setting up for us.

I don't really want to engage with the "good or bad actor" fights going on here right now, but I will say that if people watch this episode on double speed and skip a lot of the scenes, they're definitely going to miss most of what makes this episode so insanely good.

It's really amazing how the episodes don't flag, they just get more and more intense and the acting better and better! And there are so many little details thrown in that you'll miss if you don't pay attention. I love that they are not spoonfeeding us this story like so many productions do

Domundi really is hit or miss for me. But at least they dare to go out on a limb, taking risks, doing something new. Sometimes it's a total bellyflop. But this time they really took off flying

When she put that curse on that family she basically tied herself into the cycle of the curse. So she turned herself into a vengeful ghost who is just as relentlessly stuck in that cycle as all the victims.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teeth_blackening

I watched all of it and my personal opinion is that they dropped the ball on it

You have some very good points. At first I also found Khem a bit milquetoast and unengaging, but as the series has progressed, I have changed my mind completley about him, and also about Namping's portrayal of him. I see Khem (the character) as a young person with very limited experiences of normal life and at the same time lifelong ghost/curse PTSD. It's like he was born on Death Row. Take for example someone who has been bullied or abused all their life. They're not going to respond to more instances of that the same way as someone experiencing it for the first time. People with different personalities may respond in other ways to this kind of situation, but a very common way to deal with that is to go numb, to start dissociating, to at least partially disconnect yourself from the world and other people. Being afraid becomes the default state. For me Namping's portrayal of Khem suggests a boy who teeters between hope and hopelessness. He hasn't completely given up, but he also doesn't really dare to hope. He feels, but he doesn't dare to let himself feel all the way. He needs help, but he doesn't want to drag other people down with him. He wants love, but he also knows he might not survive the next few weeks. Any emoting he does needs to reflect that inner conflict, his constant fear, his inability to fully *live*. And Namping might not always succeed 100% in conveying this to the audience, which is fair since it's his first main role. But a role like this is also insanely difficult to do well. It would be easy to make Khem too weepy and dramatic in a very cringe way, or to be stiff and inexpressive to the point of mannequin blandness. I understand that for some people, he appears more the latter, though I think that's an intentional choice from the director and the actor (better to lean that way than the other). At least that interpretation is believable in the context of the character's settings. Perhaps you really have to pay attention (and maybe draw some inferences) to notice the subtleties in Namping's portrayal of Khem's character, but I do think that Namping has done exceptionally well with such a difficult main role as his first one, considering his lack of experience. Can he get better? Absolutely, and I believe we will be seeing that happening in the future. But I think very few rookie actors could have pulled Khem off as well as Namping has done.

We're definitely being refunded for The Next Prince 😅

Honestly, "sparkles and trauma" should be the unofficial tagline for this drama

"Queer as Folk" is a play on the well-known British idiom, "there's nowt as queer as folk" which means that people can sometime behave in strange ways. It's a play on words, since the word "queer" has also been reclaimed and normalised by LBGTQIA people for quite some time now. You're correct that it originated as a slur, but it's not a slur in modern day English. It's basically a synonym of LGBTQIA and is used by LGBTQIA people about ourselves, which I think disqualifies is from being used as a slur.

I guess if you have a very loose definition of BL? Like everything that features two men who love each other? I wouldn't call that a BL necessarily, not all gay media is BL. But YMMV

I actually like the domesticity. We so rarely get to see established gay couples "at home" because BLs usually just focus on the journey to get there.

I haven't watched episode 2 yet since I'm waiting for the fansubs.

Fansubs on DO

It's not BL, the main leads just happen to be a same sex couple. It's not focussed on their relationship except that they are in one.

It's out on Viki now

It's really something when Hua Yong the sociopath is the one with higher emotional intelligence 🤣

It felt incredibly amateurish