3
Stop with the Stupid Plot Lines!
This whole series is one giant contradiction. But it presents well. That much I shall give it credit for. It hides its flaws with beautiful men, a heart tugging storyline, and an endearing love story. While the men are quite beautiful, the core story is based on kidnapping and coercion, and the beloved love story (actually there are two) is right out of the trope cliché playbook. You have seen it all before. Everyone functionally acted well in this series. Can I say anyone caught my attention? Well, no. It all seemed rather robotic to me and with little effort and development to fully get into the characters or who they were. Overall, this looks good. Polished performances. Even sometimes heartstring scenes. But an empty plot and an awful premise. One should not divorce, nor should one, from how the story developed. Falsely under duress and coercion using kidnapping and abusive techniques. And frankly no ‘love’ should overcome that premise. That is morally, ethically and I suspect legally wrong and unjustified. “Love’ will not change that. To fall in love with your kidnapper, no matter how ‘valid’ the reasons might seem or be, is a foundation not built on solid trust and one that will become suspect in the future. That is the classic case of using the Stockholm Syndrome.Was this review helpful to you?
A Surprisingly Strong Short Series
Perhaps not quite a masterpiece, but most assuredly it is a Must-See series. This is an astonishing and discerning BL told in just about an hour and a half. However, it loses much unless you watch it in toto. In that way, you get its complete essence, since each episode is only between 7 to 10 minutes in length. This is not only an entertaining BL with surprisingly strong performances, but there is also a strong screen chemistry between the two lead actors. For a South Korean BL, which are not generally known for its straightforwardness in relationship scenes, this was surprisingly intense and emphatic. We could at first feel the sexual tension between them and then when they got together, their barriers broke down quickly, and then we could sense the warm yearning that they had for one another blossom forth. It was to say the least charming.Was this review helpful to you?
Reached The Top But...
Undoubtedly, this is one of the best BLs to come out of Thailand in a long, long time. Assuredly, it will be like nothing you have ever seen before. It is realistic, fresh, and reflective of today’s fast paced adolescent living. Antithetical to when I was their age? I hate to tell you this, but little has changed! It is exactly what it was like when I was their age. While the forms of communication, clothing styles and slang, and certainly the awesome freedom to express oneself are all vastly dissimilar, what the internal feelings and emotions are and how those are established and exhibited are exactly the same way that we expressed them some 60 years ago and I suspect goes back much further. It is comforting to know that egocentrically and emotionally little has changed. If this is representative of today’s generation, then the reality is we have always been generational gelboys. Where I wanted to see this unique series succeed was to tell a more truthful story. I wish they had used actual teens for the roles so as to have captured the genuine immaturity of the substantive times; not the reflections of the past memories of the current performers. I am not a proponent of using older performers for roles that are clearly contemporary and in the here and now. There is no reason to do so. That IS what the story is about. We want to see, sense, feel, and genuinely grasp what they are experiencing in real time. Not a reflection of what was but a reality of what is. If they had used contemporary performers this would have been a dynamic masterpiece and set the standards for others to follow. It would have lent a greater level of sincerity to the production and the story, and we would have grasped the deeper meaning of the emotions because they would not have lived them yet. We would have watched them project their raw emotions, and for me that would have given it a greater sense of uncertainty. After all, they are teenagers, and they have their whole lives ahead of them. Let us see how each of them would have portrayed their own ‘tabula rasa’.Was this review helpful to you?
Winter Is Not the Death of Summer but the Birth of Spring
1 people found this review helpful
Watch This Series From A Prisoner's Perspective
Don't listen to the negativity about this series! Sure, there are production issues but this is a different BL. This whole series is unique in that despite its dark surroundings, it is still a human connection that binds two people together and that might be the requisite for survival in their world. Perhaps without that, the days and nights become a crestfallen abyss. If that connection is a form of love, then let it be named so. All I know is that this throw-away series is an exceptional and phenomenal series that says more with less. This series, I think, is misunderstood. It does not flow well. It feels disjointed. Time is hard to discern, as in reality, it would. So much is done cryptically. However, I am guessing that is exactly what prison life is like, plus more. There is also more unsaid than said. It is up to you to fill in the blanks here. This is one of the few real, honest, and genuine BLs to come out of Thailand in a long time. It is brilliantly acted, as the story is told with a brutal sincerity that is relatable for all of us to understand, if we open our minds to their confinement. They lost their souls in prison. We see that clearly. They are shells of humans. The only vestige of humanity is the here and there touch by one another that brushes past them occasionally, and even then, it can never fully be intimate. This story is gritty, touching, and unfeigned and not comfortable to watch.Was this review helpful to you?
This is a Sleeper Hit! Just Wonderfully Entertaining!!
By every standard, this series should not have worked. It is an overused plot line with cliché and predictable character-types but it is so damn charming and just so weirdly twisted that, like a freshly made bowl of popcorn, I could not stop consuming the series. It is funny, witty, joyful, and addictively entertaining. It is also assiduously sad, melancholic, and depressing. If you could compare life to a coin, this is what it would be like if you flipped it. Happy/sad. Heartwarming/melancholic. Charming/reprehensible. It literally is a story of opposites that should not have worked but did.Was this review helpful to you?
Made Deaf People Normal! Yea!
While this is honestly a rather standard BL formatted series, for some reason it worked! Maybe it was because of the innate nature of the characters themselves. Or the rather great chemistry between the actors. Perhaps it was the elevation of the trite storyline to a more relatable premise. Or maybe it was a combination of all of these. No matter, it simply was effective. Perhaps this is what made this series so special because it touched a chord with a population we often do not relate to. This series helped us understand, perhaps just a little, what it is like to be deaf and what some of their needs are, especially in developing interpersonal relationships. Kudos for presenting a disabled condition in a very positive light and showing us that deaf individuals too can and should be as part of our overall community also. I liked this series for its pragmatic message and its portrayal of an individual with a disability being more like us than unlike us.Was this review helpful to you?
Absolutely Brilliant!
Confounding, convoluted, deeply disturbing but brilliant! Just Brilliant! It makes no sense. Yet it does. This might seem like an oxymoron but what you are watching is a journey. A journey through the mind of a of a deeply disturbed young man as he tries to cope with living with an almost unfathomable trauma. It is his stream-of-consciousness displayed in all its resplendence for us to see and participate in. This series is so creative not only in story but also in presentation. I have no doubt that most will intensely dislike it because it just does not fit into any traditional standard of presentation. Through much of it, you may be confused and might scratch your head and ask yourself, “What am I watching?” However, be forewarned, by the end, you may be forced to confront your own sense of reality. A remarkable and unique series. It is astonishing and I loved it!Was this review helpful to you?
The Performers Deserved Better
I hate to be so brutally honest, but this is one of the worst BLs of 2024. Literally, everything about this series, except perhaps the acting, was uninspiring. Although the young performers did a ‘yeoman’s job’ in trying to keep this shipwreck afloat, they alone could not salvage this complete mess from sinking. Honestly, to say otherwise, is living in a fantasyland and not dealing with any sense of reality. It is a tepid story with a fragmental screenplay, ineptly directed, disjointly executed, and undoubtedly should never have been (re)made. The only plus about this series literally is that they had the appropriate aged actors and actresses for the roles. They were young, attractive, innocent in real life, and tried their best to make sense of a story that was essentially senseless. Full disclosure, I did not watch the first ‘Love Sick’, so this was all ‘new’ to me. Thus, I cannot compare it to the original. Besides, this is a stand-alone production and ought to be judged on its own merits or faults.Was this review helpful to you?
It Had Me Hooked But....
The story itself is certainly intriguing. And from China. Stunningly audacious. And one of the few times it actually portrayed homosexuality with surprising openness and candor. A round of applause and kudos for their efforts. In a bit of a schizophrenic twist, however, it goes deep but yet stays superficial. By that I mean that while we do actually get to know the characters, we never see them use what they know about themselves to better themselves. Until the end. Then it all comes together but in such a confusing way. I felt like I missed a big chunk of what happened to them to get to the place that they were finally at.Was this review helpful to you?
One Of The Best!
When I first started to watch this series, I frankly was perplexed by it. It certainly grabbed my attention and honestly, I did not identify the same actors playing different roles. Sincerely, I thought they were different actors as the roles, setup, and stories were so vastly distinctive. But as each of the storylines developed, I did observe that the essence was the same. It was well into the third storyline when I had my epiphany and realized the actors were the same but each of the stories was wildly different. Two young men find each other fall in love and form a nexus. However, not always with happy endings. Each character represented different personalities and certainly different outlooks on life. Yet, something always draws the two of them together. And that something of course is love. The outstanding quality of this series is that while there is no direct link between stories, it all still flows so naturally. It is an anthology that comes alive for you. There is nothing metaphysical, esoteric, or destined in the stars that fate the two protagonists to be together in each story. It all seems to flow so naturally and organically and without help from any high powers. And to be rewarded at the end with having a feeling of watching something that felt so alive happening, made it all the more special.Was this review helpful to you?
Another Stockholm Syndrome Plot
I wish a story like this had not been produced. It is a wrong message that got twisted into a pretzel trying to make it feel and turn out respectable. I am sorry but it should not have. Someone was kidnapped at gun point, threatened, tied up, terrorized, and almost killed. And then the victim falls in love with his captor. This is another version of the ‘Stockholm Syndrome’. Yes, of course, the story is more complicated than this. But then again, it really is not. The story gets convoluted and endlessly waxes and wanes between ridiculous plots and scenarios. I cannot say anything bad about the acting.Was this review helpful to you?
A Brilliant Character Study! Phenomenal!!
This is one of those breathtaking series that come along every once in a while, that when you begin to watch it, you know you will be profoundly affected by it. This is a remarkable story of two of the saddest figures in a BL I have ever seen. Yet, there is something magical and mystical about their fate together. Almost from the beginning, you knew they would be together, but you also sensed that the price they would pay for that to happen would be heavy and ladened with sadness. This is an astonishing character study of two flawed individuals who were marginalized, each for different reasons but faced the same outcome. A life of degradation and despair. But they found each other, loved each other, and grew. They had to sacrifice so much. Much more than most of us could or would have possibly been able to bear to do. A phenomenal and brilliant series! Completely character driven.Was this review helpful to you?
This Is Almost A Guilty Pleasure!
No matter how hard I tried, however, I simply could not dislike this series. Perhaps I became enamored with the two main protagonists’ love story and conveniently then ignored the rest of it. Honestly, this could have been a great series and to some extent, it showed promise. But then there was always something that made it crash and burn. This series is unnecessarily complicated when it did not need to be. It would have worked softly, gently as a BL and GL simply at the Sky Valley Resort. There are too many characters acting like buffoons with no sense of direction or purpose. I know this series has received poor reviews and honestly, I understand the sentiment. However, I liked it. It is an adult-themed series which was refreshing. It is an LGBTQIA+ series and not a BL/GL (as in a standard defining way) since this deals with more adult situations and adult sexual circumstances. That part I appreciated as most BLs tend to gloss over that sex, especially more lustful expressions, is part of developing a (BL) relationship. They made that a major focus in their relationship, which is so accurate and honest in the augmentation of a new relationship.Was this review helpful to you?
A Gentle & Genteel Romantic BL
Undoubtedly, this series is one of the warmest and most genuine stories to come out of Japan in a long time. And unique. Not only in its storytelling, but in its overall presentation. And, for once, it was not afraid to show affection. They kissed - frequently. More importantly, it looked like it was authentic and genuine. How refreshing. This is an intensely beautiful love story concentrating more on their weakness and how that helps them see each other’s strengths. What makes it so meaningful is that they were not afraid to show the other what hurts. At the same time, they always take fulfillment in the most basic of human experiences as a joyful pleasure. Eating is not just functional; it is a celebration of the two being together. Sleeping together is the joy of holding each other and being in the presence of one another; not just carnal pleasures. They make being together – a gratifying celebration on so many different levels. And they made the simple act of kissing feel sensual. Without wanting to sound trite, they redefine the term soulmates not in any metaphysical sense but simply as life companions.This is a great series! You can read my full review of this awesome saga at BLBliss.com.
Was this review helpful to you?
It tells an LGBTQIA+ Story Brilliantly
The beauty of series like these, especially coming from the Philippines, is that they not only evoke a story with intensity, they bind it with a background history as to why. In other words, it explains how things are the way they are. More importantly, you get to feel that why and also be entertained. That is what gives them uniqueness and depth. For those of us who are not Filipino/Filipina, the characters are generally over-the-top with singularity and distinctiveness. So, we see clearly what has come about. It is far from formulaic. One of the best for this year!Was this review helpful to you?
