Charbonnel

My favourite conversation from this show so far:
(from episode 4, in reference to events in episode 1 - so tagged as spoiler)

Are there Thai subtitles when (some) of the locals are speaking amongst each other because of them using a local dialect? If not, would it be because of a thick rural accent?

I do notice their speech sounds different to that of the main cast, but do not know enough about the Thai language to determine wether it is an accent or a dialect. Very interested to know though!

I had assumed it was an awkward blunder of him feeling like his heart was thumping/beating out of his chest..? I think he was nervous/excited to see Minato and could only think of his heart rate going up and verbalised his thoughts by mistake.
Don’t quote me on that though XD

I hope you’re right though, because at this rate Ton’s character development won’t be rushed and last minute, and the last few episodes of the drama will not have conflict between Ton and Chon.

I think that timeline would be good because it wouldn’t do the typical (BL) pacing of leaving main couple’s emotions unresolved until the last episode; but rather letting them come to terms with each other sooner and the remaining conflict be from factors outside of their relationship.

I’m at a loss for words, the part where Xiao Chen gets shot in the novel hits so different. He hasn’t been in contact with his brother since he was crippled, and his ex-wife Zhuo Lan who still cares for him in spite of their divorce shows up to rescue him, only for him to subconsciously block the bullet.

In the novel, Xiao Chen walks in to Lu Feng’s house knowingly (Lu Feng didn’t change his name), and becomes inprisoned there, however the brutal treatment he receives from Lu Feng is far more horrific than in the film. Really makes me hate Lu Feng. Meanwhile, Zhuo Lan is such a kind, forgiving and wonderful character, who has loved Xiao Chen since university, and even when he wasn’t much of a husband, still cherished him. After the divorce they (gradually) became the best of friends and found this suited them better. Even when she goes to Lu Feng’s mansion, there is not a trace of fear in her willingness to rescue Xiao Chen. I have to say, the novel feels more like a somewhat violent tragedy than a romance, but in a story like this I don’t think I’ve ever come across such a wonderful female character.

Meanwhile, I don’t know what happens to Yi Chen and Qin Lang, as the last mentioned encounter with them was when Yi Chen was being looked after by Xiao Chen and Qin Lang. No mention of them is made after Xiao Chen marries Zhuo Lan. However, I do think they’re still alive - in spite of Xiao Chen thinking of the loss of his mother and brother being caused by Lu Feng while being held captive there.

And now I’m nearing the end of the second novel, this means I’m about to go in to unknown territory story wise. People say the novel has a happy ending but at this point I cannot possibly root for Xiao Chen and Lu Feng ending up together. It’s a difficult position of Xiao Chen feeling empty without him, but Lu Feng being so persistently cruel that I would never wish that on anyone. For me, I feel like a happy ending would be Xiao Chen getting over him, reconnecting with his brother, maintaining his friendship with Zhuo Lan, and possibly regaining the trust of his traumatised son - regardless of if he found someone else or not.
However, chances are he still won’t be over Lu Feng, so we’ll see how outrageous the ending is.

Damn, I hate Lu Feng! He’s nowhere near as awful in the films as in the novel.

At the very beginning, Xiao Chen is 14 and Lu Feng is 18 - they are both in high school in the same class because Xiao Chen was very smart and skipped a few years of school. They are at school until they are 15 and 19.

Then, there’s a rapid 5 years until the next major arc (the novel goes through dull periods of time with a brief acknowledgement of what happens in between). By this point, we get another year of significance, when they are 20 and 24. This is a very long arc in the novel.

Where I’ve reached now in volume 2, there’s been a couple of chapters that then lead to 20 years later. Xiao Chen is now 40, making Lu Feng 44.

All of this came as a surprise to me, I knew there were time skips, but the films don:t make it terribly clear. I also spent a good few hours thinking about the fact that they were 14 and 18 in the beginning.

I will update this is there’s another major time skip, however if there is, it could put them anywhere from 50s to 70s which feels unlikely..?

So I’ve been reading the novel (currently on Book/Volume 2), and the timeline in the films isn’t super clear - I’ll mark my next comment under spoiler for those who haven’t seen it although it won’t spoil what happens, just tell what the jumps in age are. The reason I’m putting this here is because the timeline is insane :

(some people may find the intial ages of the leads off putting, I did when I found out I’m the novel, if you don’t want to know then don’t look)

I could enjoy a show that long if it had more substance than a childish push and pull romance, but there wasn’t an overarching plot - no goals or motivations from the main cast to hold the show together for that long.

The ending to this film is open because there is meant to be a part 3 to this series, however it didn’t happen due to China banning BL/LGBT titles. The novel does have a good ending though.

I wouldn’t say it has a bad ending either, it’s just left on an unfortunate cliffhanger because they didn’t get to film part 3. I do believe there are some short clips on YT showing a happy ending - but they are not part of this film.

I’ll also quickly say that this goes to darker places than the first film.

I’ve only seen the 2018 Chinese adaptation, and dropped it over half way through because of the immature push and pull. I might watch this out of curiosity for how this would play out in a Thai adaptation, although not a huge fan personally.

I’d probably like it a lot more if it had had a more recent adaptation from Japan or Taiwan, but don’t really want to watch the adaptations that are 10+ years old. Wondering if it’ll be slap/kiss because Thai drama specialises in that, although maybe less likely to because it’s less of a thing in youth dramas..? (Most slap/kiss dramas I’ve come across focus on a more mature cast of characters - although I’ve only seen one)

Yes, 3 Will Be Free is where I realised how amazing Gunsmile is, the more I see him the more I love him and his acting! He’s great for comedies or thrillers, and kills it every time! :)

Okay, all this show’s problems aside, I love Gunsmile’s acting, I’ve seen him in a few things, and he nails it every time! Although he’s supporting cast, low-key wish he was in more scenes, good at both comedy and serious roles!

Ahh, I did mean satire, but I get it if it doesn’t sit right with you. I also agree on the note of them failing with Type, I really couldn’t get behind TharnType and only half watched it.
I also agree about the lack of research about CSA victims in TharnType.

I wouldn’t really agree, Chon has liked Ton since childhood, and it’s very likely that back then Ton was not the way he is in the show now; which is why I can understand where Chon is coming from, it isn’t so easy to let go for feelings you’ve always had for someone close to you.

Also, in TharnType, I couldn’t understand why Tharn fell for Type, that IS something that I absolutely cannot understand from the point of view of self-respecting LGBT, and it bothered me, as he fell for a random very homophobic guy he lived with and had not met before. Here Chon’s feelings have lasted since childhood, which makes a lot more sense as Ton’s awkward homophobia is almost certainly a learnt behaviour that didn’t surface until early adulthood.

From the homophobia point of view, I think I’d say that while it is prevalent here, it is presented as ignorant rather than hateful. Ton has not expressed an overt hatred for Gay/LGBT people, he explained it as feeling like he couldn’t be friends and not ‘belonging in their world’, which is a very typically ignorant thing to say. Whereas Type had childhood trauma that led to the view that gay people deserve hated and he actively repulses and avoids them; as well as never fully reaching a point of acceptance.

I’m not saying that homophobia is okay or that it should be tolerated, just that although it is a main point in both shows, it’s done very differently. In Tonhon Chonlatee, there is also the fact that - if you think about it, the comedy being based around it is (trying) to make fun of the homophobia, without being directly to the expense of gays. The humour itself isn’t homophobic, it is making homophobia look ridiculous and (in places) demonstrating the hurt it can cause, and in no way glorifies it.

Hope this didn’t sound passive aggressive, just my point of view on the topic...

Almost certainly, making this one very fun show to translate!

I’m sorry, I haven’t seen any of his other works, but he is in Imawa no Kuni no Alice, which is starting around now and looks pretty good, although as supporting cast rather than main. This is also my first Machida Keita drama :)

Luckily, Cherry Magic’s fandom hasn’t attracted the stans and most people here seem to agree that it is wrong to ship/stan actors in real life. Unfortunately, most Thai BL shows attract this unhealthy behaviour.

Thankfully most people here support the actors as individuals and enjoy the show for what it is, and do not ship them outside the show. There’s also a lot of positivity here for the other works these actors are in too. :)

I’ve never been so excited to see special episodes before, usually not a fan. I can’t wait for them, this really is the series that just keeps giving! Very happy right now :)

To anyone who sees these, several new accounts (with female profile pictures) have been posting the same thing on several comment sections of shows, some of which do not even have set air dates. These are probably bots and the link does not lead to what is looks like it will lead to. This is spam. Please disregard messages like this one.

I don’t know if it’s mainly BL being targeted, but if you look through currently airing BL comment sections, you will see several comments like these by accounts made on the day the comment is posted with a profile picture and name that could be real. Occasionally there is a different visible link, but they all lead to the same unrelated site.