Blkittykat

First up, let me just confirm that Tonfah and Typhoon may be my comfort couple.

With that out of the way - wow?! I enjoyed this so much. The thing about being a show purely about romance, is that you need to get the romance right - and thank you because they did. They are my comfort couple, but it's actually a little unbelievable that they did because I'm someone who did not enjoy S1 of Fourever You. Before we talk about Fah and Phoon, let's discuss what actually made me flip.

It's only a couple of reasons, the first being, giving them their own part in the umbrella series. The wonders it did must be watched. Instead of doing three couples all at once, I'm so glad they gave us just one of them and have decided to give us the other two couples in their own parts, in the same timelines. Doing this made sure that the audience focuses on the leads without getting too caught up in the specifics like "which storyline is for which couple" and "why are there so many couples?!"

The second thing they did well was have the F4 and The Directions play an actual role in the plot. The fact that Fah and Phoon's respective friend groups not only shaped the plot, but also shaped their character growth was the best improvement they could have made, as compared to last season where each couple was in their own world with much else to do. Each interaction between the friend groups made my heart soar.

Now that we've got that out of the way, let's talk about THEM.

Beside the Sky follows Typhoon, a first year university student who is deeply scarred by his past. When he moves to Chiang Mai for university, he meets Tonfah, the older boy who lived next door, after three years. In those three years, Phoon's life has changed completely, but Fah does not know that. So when they meet, Phoon is caught between the truth and his feelings for Fah, which may be ruined if he ever tells him the truth.

I finally understand the appeal of slow romance. In my experience, slow romance is often filled with excessive trauma and too many misunderstandings, but Beside the Sky is executed in such a way that I think I can watch other dramas with the same trope.

Not because there wasn't excessive trauma. No this was brutal. Terrible parents all around, tormenting and blaming their children. Typhoon himself blaming and punishing himself because of his past, and doing it forever because of his family. It was downright despicable. But the thing about this plot was, they could've so easily jammed in a hundred misunderstandings between Fah and Phoon as a result of all the things Phoon did and said to protect himself. They didn't and I'm so happy they didn't.

Tonfah is a literal green grove - filled with green flags, he's such a perfect male lead when it comes down to that. He will always look after you, keep up your facade to make you comfortable, spoil you with trips to Japan so you can meet your estranged mother.. what won't he do?

And Typhoon is a green flag as well - just a flag for him, not the entire grove. Because he is a deeply scarred person, and our Maew needed some closure and some comfort before he could come out of his shell. Obviously, thank goodness for the other directions and Fah, but mostly good on him for being able to identify the toxicity of his family. And he is such a sweetheart by the way, they're both genuinely amazing and sweet characters.

I hope now you can see why this is my comfort series, yes it was a little too slow for me, but hey, I don't mind. Eight episodes of Fah and Phoon was well worth it.