Hey relax, Taejoo is a rich kid and it's not surprising that he acts spoilt sometimes. Also, he is the impulsive…
For me this is a hallmark of the best Kdramas -- the complexity of the characters.
Tae appears to have every advantage but he craves something that money can't buy, and because of his pampered upbringing it's a challenge for him to pursue that without making a lot of mistakes. For the first time in his life he will have to give of himself in order to get what he needs so much -- it won't just be handed to him. This is an area where he lacks any experience.
He clearly loves Gook and is *in* love with Gook. This is the arena where he has the least amount of confidence so he says and does stupid things. I think he hopes to push Gook to the point that Gook will take the initiative and spare Tae from having to take the risk himself. To lose Gook would devastate him, which is why he forbids him from even joking about an end to their arrangement.
Where Your Eyes Linger!!! It's so good. You can watch it officially on Viki.
Agreed. In fact after watching the latest episodes I'm a bit less optimistic for a happy ending. The undercurrent of anger makes me worry that the rest of the series will be about them finding ways to hurt each other.
Wow this LGBT drama reported on SCMP news website with positive review! https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3086453/how-thai-lgbt-show-2gether-series-became-automatic-hit
LOL that's quite a puff piece.
And you know it's full of baloney when it says things like "2gether doesn’t have unnecessary drama or conflict."
But the part I like best is under a subhead of "The show affirms that queer love is OK and normal".
The author says:
"Spoiler alert: at the near end of Episode 6, Tine and Sawarat attend a ... concert.... Tine puts his arms on Sarawat's shoulders.
"'Thank you for being here,' Tine says.
"'It was fun,' Sarawat replies.
"Then, they smile at each other.
"The show paints a portrait of how young queer love would look, and how it would exist in an alternate universe – free from prejudice and discrimination."
I might be wrong but I don't think Taejoo is such a thoughtful guy. He's definitely attracted to Gook but he doesn't…
I think Tae is wavering between wanting to draw Gook to him and wanting to punish him for not taking more initiative.
The thing is, Gook would be crazy to make the first move since his livelihood depends on maintaining their friendship and living arrangement. He has much more to lose than Tae. And this worries me a little because I fear that the "first move" will be Gook losing control when Tae pushes the teasing too far.
The subtitle I saw on Twitter wasn't the same as Viki's "Stop provoking me ... please, okay" -- it was "Stop provoking me .. I beg you." I think the latter implies more danger.
Where Your Eyes Linger!!! It's so good. You can watch it officially on Viki.
Whether they'll end up being intimate is an open question right now, but they are both attracted to one another and probably each feels too scared to make the first move.
To me that's not a bromance. A bromance shouldn't have this much sexual tension lol.
I’m a Kim Min Seok fan and have actually tried to start this drama a couple of times only because he’s in it. I guess I must find it to be pretty boring too. :)
I appreciate the frankness of your review and now I won’t feel bad about not watching.
I liked ‘Put Your Head on my Shoulder’ and have been curious about ‘Coup De Fondre’, so I think I’ll follow up on your recommendation and finally give that one a go.
Very enjoyable, although it feels wrong that Min Hee was allowed to get away with her treachery. She not only betrayed her friends but violated their privacy for the sake of her lame broadcast. Those two guys should be nominated for sainthood for not dumping her sorry ass.
I am sure my questions will be answered in time, but I have to ask:(1) What’s with the ear thing? Is that the…
For (1) and (4):
When I was younger my best friend had the same compulsion to touch people's ears.
He went mainly for the earlobes, and mine got rubbed and lightly squeezed many times lol. It would happen when he was enjoying himself, but he'd do it only to people who understood that it meant only that he was feeling affectionate.
In this series, the intimacy that it communicates might make Gook uncomfortable, but at the same time it might also make him uncomfortable to see Tae Joo touch another person's ears in the same manner. Since they haven't yet established a truly intimate relationship the symbolic things like this take on much bigger meaning.
For (3):
I think Tae Joo might have abandonment issues and has projected them onto his beloved Gook. It seems that Gook has come to understand this, and Tae Joo knows that he understands, so any teasing feels hurtful.
Where Your Eyes Linger!!! It's so good. You can watch it officially on Viki.
So true! Where Your Eyes Linger is so confidently directed and acted, it's like a world apart from 2gether.
Plus the chemistry sizzles. If anybody thinks Bright and Win had chemistry in 2gether, you should see the sparks that fly between the leads in this series. With just a fraction of screen time they make you believe in long-suppressed desire between them that won't be held back much longer.
I’m not sure the problems between Bright and Win can be blamed on the director, the editor, the writer, casting…
I like your analysis.
If an actor is fundamentally uncomfortable doing scenes of m/m intimacy, he'd have to be very skilled in his profession to be able to make the audience believe he was in character and that his character was excited, even turned on, by his beloved. Bright is not such an actor.
It wouldn't surprise me if the high five was *not* the director's first intent, and that it was only after a few takes where he saw that the chemistry for a big, emotional finale wasn't there between Bright and Win, that they talked it out and came up with the high five as a compromise:
"Well, yeah, you could just put your arm around him, but the script has you doing that in earlier episodes. We need something that says this is a new beginning."
"Um ... how about a high-five?"
I mean, the high five is just so f'in STRANGE that I've come to believe that there has to be a unique explanation to go with it. It's hard to imagine that the director (with BL credits in his CV) really thought that a high-five was a legit way to end a BL series. I hope a BTS video surfaces someday that shows how the scene was filmed and what decisions were made on the spot.
I've gotten flack on Twitter for saying that Bright should stay away from BL in the future, but honestly, it's for the sake of his own career as well as for fans like me. If he does another BL and delivers another detached and wooden performance, people will start to think he's just another pretty face who lacks talent, who might also be a tad homophobic.
I'm up to the fifth episode and so far both the ML and FL are petty and obnoxious. But like always I'm curious to see how they go from being antagonists to lovers. It's fun to see how a series pulls that off.
5 
6 
2 
Tae appears to have every advantage but he craves something that money can't buy, and because of his pampered upbringing it's a challenge for him to pursue that without making a lot of mistakes. For the first time in his life he will have to give of himself in order to get what he needs so much -- it won't just be handed to him. This is an area where he lacks any experience.
He clearly loves Gook and is *in* love with Gook. This is the arena where he has the least amount of confidence so he says and does stupid things. I think he hopes to push Gook to the point that Gook will take the initiative and spare Tae from having to take the risk himself. To lose Gook would devastate him, which is why he forbids him from even joking about an end to their arrangement.
And you know it's full of baloney when it says things like "2gether doesn’t have unnecessary drama or conflict."
But the part I like best is under a subhead of "The show affirms that queer love is OK and normal".
The author says:
"Spoiler alert: at the near end of Episode 6, Tine and Sawarat attend a ... concert.... Tine puts his arms on Sarawat's shoulders.
"'Thank you for being here,' Tine says.
"'It was fun,' Sarawat replies.
"Then, they smile at each other.
"The show paints a portrait of how young queer love would look, and how it would exist in an alternate universe – free from prejudice and discrimination."
Hilarious! xD
The thing is, Gook would be crazy to make the first move since his livelihood depends on maintaining their friendship and living arrangement. He has much more to lose than Tae. And this worries me a little because I fear that the "first move" will be Gook losing control when Tae pushes the teasing too far.
The subtitle I saw on Twitter wasn't the same as Viki's "Stop provoking me ... please, okay" -- it was "Stop provoking me .. I beg you." I think the latter implies more danger.
To me that's not a bromance. A bromance shouldn't have this much sexual tension lol.
I appreciate the frankness of your review and now I won’t feel bad about not watching.
I liked ‘Put Your Head on my Shoulder’ and have been curious about ‘Coup De Fondre’, so I think I’ll follow up on your recommendation and finally give that one a go.
Wonderful to see a Korean film with a gay theme that isn't a subtext to bromance.
Bravo!
When I was younger my best friend had the same compulsion to touch people's ears.
He went mainly for the earlobes, and mine got rubbed and lightly squeezed many times lol. It would happen when he was enjoying himself, but he'd do it only to people who understood that it meant only that he was feeling affectionate.
In this series, the intimacy that it communicates might make Gook uncomfortable, but at the same time it might also make him uncomfortable to see Tae Joo touch another person's ears in the same manner. Since they haven't yet established a truly intimate relationship the symbolic things like this take on much bigger meaning.
For (3):
I think Tae Joo might have abandonment issues and has projected them onto his beloved Gook. It seems that Gook has come to understand this, and Tae Joo knows that he understands, so any teasing feels hurtful.
Plus the chemistry sizzles. If anybody thinks Bright and Win had chemistry in 2gether, you should see the sparks that fly between the leads in this series. With just a fraction of screen time they make you believe in long-suppressed desire between them that won't be held back much longer.
If an actor is fundamentally uncomfortable doing scenes of m/m intimacy, he'd have to be very skilled in his profession to be able to make the audience believe he was in character and that his character was excited, even turned on, by his beloved. Bright is not such an actor.
It wouldn't surprise me if the high five was *not* the director's first intent, and that it was only after a few takes where he saw that the chemistry for a big, emotional finale wasn't there between Bright and Win, that they talked it out and came up with the high five as a compromise:
"Well, yeah, you could just put your arm around him, but the script has you doing that in earlier episodes. We need something that says this is a new beginning."
"Um ... how about a high-five?"
I mean, the high five is just so f'in STRANGE that I've come to believe that there has to be a unique explanation to go with it. It's hard to imagine that the director (with BL credits in his CV) really thought that a high-five was a legit way to end a BL series. I hope a BTS video surfaces someday that shows how the scene was filmed and what decisions were made on the spot.
I've gotten flack on Twitter for saying that Bright should stay away from BL in the future, but honestly, it's for the sake of his own career as well as for fans like me. If he does another BL and delivers another detached and wooden performance, people will start to think he's just another pretty face who lacks talent, who might also be a tad homophobic.