Ep 5 was cute, I like Teo acting, he have a tough role , I think it's better drama than for example "like in the…
The people who financed the series might have wanted exclusive broadcast rights to start with. The people who produced it, on the other hand, probably wish they could make it more accessible to international fans. Maybe their hands are tied for now.
The YouTube clips of the "Director's Cut" scenes all begin with a note to international fans saying that subs will be available eventually. It's not clear how long that will be though.
One thing that strikes me about this series is the difference in tone between the two main storylines (Tan/Oil and Sea/Tin). It's almost as if each was scripted by a different screenwriter.
Part of the reason might be that one story (Tan/Oil) deals with two people who are already in love but who haven't faced it yet, while the other is about one boy pursuing another out of an attraction which, by comparison, is based mainly on superficialities.
With Tan and Oil's story there is a lot that depends on sensing what's happening with them internally in addition to watching how they behave. In their scenes together you can feel the hope and fear that permeates their every word and gesture, and in such an electric atmosphere even a silence between them can become heavy with meaning. As a result, in each one of these scenes you worry a little over how things will turn out.
This makes a simple act like Tan placing one shrimp after another into Oil's bowl before Oil has come to the dinner table take on more meaning than just showing that Tan 'likes' him. By this point we know that Tan has been struggling with his attraction to Oil since they were both adolescents, in addition to dealing with grief over the loss of his mother and the hurt he felt during the two years when Oil was out of his life (almost all of which time Tan was entirely alone in his house, since his mother's death came only two months after Oil moved away.)
In another series, Tan's sharing of food would be just one more detail among others revealing that one character has feelings for another. It might even take place off-handedly and go unnoticed. With Tan, though, he's alone on screen and the placing of shrimp is the only action occuring, making this simple act the centerpiece of the moment. As a result we know it signifies a step forward for Tan that carries a profound meaning all its own, and as we watch we can't help but to feel a bit thrilled by it.
While Tan and Oil's story isn't entirely lacking in humor, it has been filled with moments that carry similar emotional weight, each leading up to a feeling that the two boys are getting ever closer to finally admitting their romantic love for one another.
In contrast, the Sea/Tin story is more typical of a BL. It's enjoyable in its own way, but much of the enjoyment comes precisely from how familiar it is.
You know you can take the Sea/Tin story a little less seriously because it includes the kind of preposterous plot elements that many BL series have. For instance, we're expected to believe that Sea would not only get invited into an elite school based on a video of him playing guitar and singing on the sidewalk, but that the school would go to the trouble of tracking him down and giving him a full scholarship, all without ever speaking with him! It's actually endearing how silly it is.
Tin happens to be the one who recorded the video of Sea, and in that instant he became smitten. This fact informs everything he does relating to Sea. And, even though Sea's motivation in accepting Tin's friendship is to become more like Tin so that Sea's childhood crush (a female) will finally notice him, we feel like we already know every twist and turn that this story is going to take on the way to the hither-to 'straight' Sea awakening to his bisexual within and returning Tin's affection.
Whether Sea's gay epiphany will require actor Bank Nuttawatt to deliver a more 'interior' performance has yet to be seen, but even if it doesn't it shouldn't surprise or disappoint anyone. Many side couples in BL series have intentionally lighter plotlines to balance the more seriously grounded main couple. (Take, for example, 'Why R U's Saifah and Zon as the counterparts of Fighter and Tutor.)
In 'Friends Forever', another familiar BL trope is the bullying behavior from It. In a BL series, a bully like It is almost always suppressing a desire to be with the boy he's bullying. That's not exactly what's going on here (It's eventual pairing seems to be with Voice, a friend from It's little gang of ruffians) but we learn that his acting-out behavior all began after he received an anonymous love note from one of the other boys at the school.
With It's homophobia on full display, by the end of the series BL tradition dictates that he should be happily paired in a loving relationship with another boy. For the experienced BL viewer this will come as no surprise, nor should it -- rather, the fun will be in seeing how this particular series makes that transformation happen.
By comparing the Tan/Oil story to those for Sea/Tin and It/Voice I don't mean to say that the latter ones are inferior or should not have been included. My guess is that the contrast between them is intentional. The more conventional stories of Sea/Tin and It/Voice provide the viewer with a break from the more unusual and emotional story of Tan and Oil. Whenever the action returns to the school we know we can relax and 'recharge' for the next round of emotions with Tan and Oil.
I've only been able to find English subs for the first four episodes of 'Friends Forever', so it's possible that MDL members who've seen the later episodes will know I'm wrong about some things. One thing for sure, this series has captured my attention in a way I never expected. The performances by Leo and Tai as Tan and Oil are extraordinary, and it's amazing to think that this is their first time with leading roles in a drama. I can't wait to see where their story goes.
5 
6 
2 
The YouTube clips of the "Director's Cut" scenes all begin with a note to international fans saying that subs will be available eventually. It's not clear how long that will be though.
One thing that strikes me about this series is the difference in tone between the two main storylines (Tan/Oil and Sea/Tin). It's almost as if each was scripted by a different screenwriter.
Part of the reason might be that one story (Tan/Oil) deals with two people who are already in love but who haven't faced it yet, while the other is about one boy pursuing another out of an attraction which, by comparison, is based mainly on superficialities.
With Tan and Oil's story there is a lot that depends on sensing what's happening with them internally in addition to watching how they behave. In their scenes together you can feel the hope and fear that permeates their every word and gesture, and in such an electric atmosphere even a silence between them can become heavy with meaning. As a result, in each one of these scenes you worry a little over how things will turn out.
This makes a simple act like Tan placing one shrimp after another into Oil's bowl before Oil has come to the dinner table take on more meaning than just showing that Tan 'likes' him. By this point we know that Tan has been struggling with his attraction to Oil since they were both adolescents, in addition to dealing with grief over the loss of his mother and the hurt he felt during the two years when Oil was out of his life (almost all of which time Tan was entirely alone in his house, since his mother's death came only two months after Oil moved away.)
In another series, Tan's sharing of food would be just one more detail among others revealing that one character has feelings for another. It might even take place off-handedly and go unnoticed. With Tan, though, he's alone on screen and the placing of shrimp is the only action occuring, making this simple act the centerpiece of the moment. As a result we know it signifies a step forward for Tan that carries a profound meaning all its own, and as we watch we can't help but to feel a bit thrilled by it.
While Tan and Oil's story isn't entirely lacking in humor, it has been filled with moments that carry similar emotional weight, each leading up to a feeling that the two boys are getting ever closer to finally admitting their romantic love for one another.
In contrast, the Sea/Tin story is more typical of a BL. It's enjoyable in its own way, but much of the enjoyment comes precisely from how familiar it is.
You know you can take the Sea/Tin story a little less seriously because it includes the kind of preposterous plot elements that many BL series have. For instance, we're expected to believe that Sea would not only get invited into an elite school based on a video of him playing guitar and singing on the sidewalk, but that the school would go to the trouble of tracking him down and giving him a full scholarship, all without ever speaking with him! It's actually endearing how silly it is.
Tin happens to be the one who recorded the video of Sea, and in that instant he became smitten. This fact informs everything he does relating to Sea. And, even though Sea's motivation in accepting Tin's friendship is to become more like Tin so that Sea's childhood crush (a female) will finally notice him, we feel like we already know every twist and turn that this story is going to take on the way to the hither-to 'straight' Sea awakening to his bisexual within and returning Tin's affection.
Whether Sea's gay epiphany will require actor Bank Nuttawatt to deliver a more 'interior' performance has yet to be seen, but even if it doesn't it shouldn't surprise or disappoint anyone. Many side couples in BL series have intentionally lighter plotlines to balance the more seriously grounded main couple. (Take, for example, 'Why R U's Saifah and Zon as the counterparts of Fighter and Tutor.)
In 'Friends Forever', another familiar BL trope is the bullying behavior from It. In a BL series, a bully like It is almost always suppressing a desire to be with the boy he's bullying. That's not exactly what's going on here (It's eventual pairing seems to be with Voice, a friend from It's little gang of ruffians) but we learn that his acting-out behavior all began after he received an anonymous love note from one of the other boys at the school.
With It's homophobia on full display, by the end of the series BL tradition dictates that he should be happily paired in a loving relationship with another boy. For the experienced BL viewer this will come as no surprise, nor should it -- rather, the fun will be in seeing how this particular series makes that transformation happen.
By comparing the Tan/Oil story to those for Sea/Tin and It/Voice I don't mean to say that the latter ones are inferior or should not have been included. My guess is that the contrast between them is intentional. The more conventional stories of Sea/Tin and It/Voice provide the viewer with a break from the more unusual and emotional story of Tan and Oil. Whenever the action returns to the school we know we can relax and 'recharge' for the next round of emotions with Tan and Oil.
I've only been able to find English subs for the first four episodes of 'Friends Forever', so it's possible that MDL members who've seen the later episodes will know I'm wrong about some things. One thing for sure, this series has captured my attention in a way I never expected. The performances by Leo and Tai as Tan and Oil are extraordinary, and it's amazing to think that this is their first time with leading roles in a drama. I can't wait to see where their story goes.
It covers the Tan/Oil story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7ZHoQ73mz0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7ZHoQ73mz0
Click below.
It also makes you disable adblock in order to view the video and the ads that result have been flagged for "malvertising".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2JAQ41tI2I
I posted the link to the video itself in the Discussion section.
There's an official site for the unsubbed episodes here. Most of the link is in Thai so there's a lot to it lol:
https://www.watchlakorn.in/%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%97%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%B7%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%97%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%87%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%B5%E0%B9%881%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%B5%E0%B9%8819%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%992563-video-326538
They finally even got the ubiquitous 'female best friend' character to hit the right note -- no more spouting lines like a hyperactive volcano.
This one's a keeper!