This review may contain spoilers
Straight out of the 2018/19 BL's hell
DISCLAMER: i fully watched only the first three episode, then skimmed and skipped untill the end of episode nine. I also skipped on majority of the side couple (they were treated like garbage by the production as well)
So... already two episode into the series and I was already about to throw my ipad. It was clear since episode one that this series would have been a cliché after a cliché, but I still had hope for it, and ofc, I was disappointed.
Dont get me wrong. Clichés are literally everywhere. In every single series there is a cliché; HOWEVER!!! this series is just a compilation of those, thrown all together, with much more cringe and bad editing (plus mediocre acting, but we'll get there in a bit)
Since I have a shit tons of problem with this series imma list them to make it more clear:
#PROBLEM N.1: STRAIGHT OUT OF 2018
Oh, this show was released in 2024? If someone had told me it was from 2018, I would have completely believed them. Justifuing whatever i was watching with “Ah, a product of its time.” But no, this was intentionally made in the present day.
And let’s be real, this is a clear desperate attempt to ride the ThomasKong hype train, securing a fanbase in Thailand (where, apparently, BL trends are still stuck in 2019). Which, honestly? I hope that’s the reason. Because if they actually gain founds&fans they are now able to diverse their genre and do other things (let's pray)
Now, onto the trainwreck itself. The plot? THE cliché of all clichés. Teerak (Rak, for short) is being harassed by a walking red flag, so Meunfah (Fah, for short) swoops, pretend to be Raks boyfriend and save him on the spot, just to agree later on to become fake boyfriends (guess whats gonna happen??? Ull never guess it totally never happened before). Sound familiar? Yeah, because 2gether already milked this trope dry. But, of course, if a show makes money, why not copy-paste it with even more 🚩🚩🚩 and downright disturbing behavior that the script conveniently refuses to acknowledge? Innovation is overrated anyway.
#PROBLEM 2: JUSTIFICATION AND DISMISSAL OF OH'S BEHAVIOUR
Oh tricked Rak and his friend into drinking at his party. Brought them shots, swore multiple times they were alcohol-free—guess what? They weren’t. All so Rak would be drunk enough to not reject him and his friend too wasted to step in. And the worst part? It worked. But did anyone ever call him out on it? Nope. Not a single soul questioned this absolute psychopath move. The next day nobody was blamed.
And THEN, as if that wasn’t enough, Oh tried to sexually harass Rak, and the show just… downplayed it. I swear, I almost threw up. Biggest letdown of the series happened in episode ONE. Not only does he get him drunk to make him more vulnerable, but he publicly asks him out, knowing damn well Rak can’t say no, then tries to kiss him while he’s literally fighting to get away. And the consequences? Non existent. Did anybody address this? A half-assed “Oh, if my sister knew, she’d kill him” from Rak a couple of days later (which she didn’t, but okkkk), and then Oh just disappears from the plot.
Was he stupid? He spent the whole show refusing to take a hint, but the second Rak finally says “I don’t love you,” he just vanishes? Not when Rak was already in a fake relationship to get rid of him? Not when he tried to ruin Fah? But now? Intresting is an understatement. And the show has the audacity to try and shove some weak-ass sympathy down our throats :oh no, his parents only cared about their image!" Yeah? And? Explanations are not justifications. We do not need to feel bad for someone this messed up. And the fact that he was rewarded with a new boy that he meets at the end.. poor Oh! His childhood was so sad!!!! But whatever, moving on from this shit.
#3: PORTRAY OF GAY CHACTERS
One trope that makes me want to punch a wall is the absolutely deranged way gay people are portrayed in these shows. Episode one, Rak & Co. need to wash off a coffee stain (yeah another cliché oh god), so they end up at some place where the owner, whether they were supposed to be a "fashonable" gay man or a trans woman, who knows (they just throw in people who seems gay, *for comedy*), was basically depicted as a horny creep.
Why is it that, aside from the protagonists, every other gay character is either evil or a hyper-stereotypical caricature? Like, do they think the queer community is made up of nothing but predators and walking memes? Not to sound weird, but the way they push these tired-ass, damaging stereotypes is actually insane.
#4: THE OBNOXIOUS CHARACTERS
The biggest problem with this show? The characters were fucking unbearable. Especially Rak. I know a lot of people liked him, but I genuinely couldn’t watch his scenes without experiencing severe secondhand embarrassment. I love naive characters, but this? This is an eight-year-old in a university. I have never met a single human being, like ever who acts like this. It’s beyond childish. It’s annoyingly immature. And when a main character feels like they belong in a kindergarten, enjoying the series becomes physically impossible.
And, of course, that means most of his choices are absolute garbage. If I can’t even begin to understand the logic behind a character’s actions, they instantly lose all appeal for me. And Rak? Rak is that character. It almost made the NC scenes feel off cause how does a character this pure have NC scenes this early in the relationship? And let’s be real, the whole lik“no” one day and “yes” the next ? Yeah, that was weird as hell.
Then we have Fah, aka Mr. Zero-Personality. His entire character is “I love Rak.” That’s it. No interests, no depth,just smiles, and Rak obsession. And don’t even get me started on the scene where he snaps and beats the shit out of Oh (which, deserved). How the fuck was Rak not scared? The moment Rak opened his mouth and said “I was scared you was getting hurt” instead of, I don’t know, being terrified of his aggressive boyfriend, I mentally checked out. The absurd choices, the ignored red flags, the completely out-of-pocket characterization. Even if I was just skimming, i knew i reached my limit
Also, their ages made no fucking sense. They’re university students, yet Rak acts like a literal toddler while Fah is somehow a secret bar owner or some shit?? Like… isn’t he 20?
#5: HORRIBLE WRITING. IN EVERYTHING.
Why is the writing in this series so fucking terrible? Like did they even try? Or did they just sit there, nodding like“Yes this totally makes sense”—because, spoiler alert, it absolutely does not. I swear. They weren't able to keep anything cohesive for more than five minutes. It reminds me of that one scene when Fah calls Lee (while he was at uni with Rak&Co), asking him to go to the airport and Rak decided to follow him like one minute after Lee left. Yet Lee was able to arrive at the airport FULLY CHANGED, with a big ass suitcase ready while Rak arrived LATE??? Make it make sense.
The dialogues are painfully unnatural. The number of times I had to hear "P’Fah" come out of Rak’s mouth is an insult to my patience. And let’s talk about how no human being on this planet talks the way these characters do. If someone spoke to me like that in real life, I swear I would just laugh in their face. And I wouldn't be sorry
And don’t even get me started on the endless, pointless exposition. Every little thing had to be explained. Everything is just painfully didascalic Like, calm down, you’re not a football commentator, you don’t have to narrate every single move out loud. It just makes the whole thing feel even more unnatural and ridiculous.
#6: BAD COLORING, BAD AESTHETIC, BAD EDITING
I hate hate hate this coloring. It’s the most boring and lifeless filter I’ve ever seen, and for some reason, it only ever shows up in BLs (or the occasional K-drama in korea they just love whitewashing). This pale-ass filter literally bleaches the melanin out of them, making everyone look like damn ghosts. Whyyyy?? I thought we collectively agreed to leave this 2019-ass aesthetic in the past.
And the editing?? A joke. I’ve seen Indian reels with better editing than this. Where’s the suspense? The visual appeal? They barely even tried to create any memorable imagery. Only the beach was pretty. That’s it.
.
.
.
--> THE ACTORS
The actors themselves were definitely not the issue. I mean, the protagonists did a good job with what they were given, which was... wait.. oh right! that was absolutely nothing! Honestly, I can't even blame them. Thomas had to either smile or make the biggest dead fish face for most of the time (because that's the full range of emotions Fah has). And then there's Kong, who was just a bit too much with those ridiculously over-the-top cute expressions. The rest of the cast? They did an a job, considering they were working with a script that barely existed.
WHAT I LIKED:
-- Lee. And his actor. Honestly, this dude was serving character and visuals like he was on a mission, and he only had like three scenes
-- The chemistry, the kiss, and the NC scenes? Oh, they were done pretty well. chemistry was chemistrying pretty hard.
-- Rak's friend group. they felt very real. especially the girl.
-- Rak and his sister relationship, super cute
In conclusion... if you’re one of those super nostalgic folks for 2019 Thai BL, then by all means, dive in. Im just convinced that no series like this should be made in the big 2024. We moved on from this mess. This tropes. This.
So... already two episode into the series and I was already about to throw my ipad. It was clear since episode one that this series would have been a cliché after a cliché, but I still had hope for it, and ofc, I was disappointed.
Dont get me wrong. Clichés are literally everywhere. In every single series there is a cliché; HOWEVER!!! this series is just a compilation of those, thrown all together, with much more cringe and bad editing (plus mediocre acting, but we'll get there in a bit)
Since I have a shit tons of problem with this series imma list them to make it more clear:
#PROBLEM N.1: STRAIGHT OUT OF 2018
Oh, this show was released in 2024? If someone had told me it was from 2018, I would have completely believed them. Justifuing whatever i was watching with “Ah, a product of its time.” But no, this was intentionally made in the present day.
And let’s be real, this is a clear desperate attempt to ride the ThomasKong hype train, securing a fanbase in Thailand (where, apparently, BL trends are still stuck in 2019). Which, honestly? I hope that’s the reason. Because if they actually gain founds&fans they are now able to diverse their genre and do other things (let's pray)
Now, onto the trainwreck itself. The plot? THE cliché of all clichés. Teerak (Rak, for short) is being harassed by a walking red flag, so Meunfah (Fah, for short) swoops, pretend to be Raks boyfriend and save him on the spot, just to agree later on to become fake boyfriends (guess whats gonna happen??? Ull never guess it totally never happened before). Sound familiar? Yeah, because 2gether already milked this trope dry. But, of course, if a show makes money, why not copy-paste it with even more 🚩🚩🚩 and downright disturbing behavior that the script conveniently refuses to acknowledge? Innovation is overrated anyway.
#PROBLEM 2: JUSTIFICATION AND DISMISSAL OF OH'S BEHAVIOUR
Oh tricked Rak and his friend into drinking at his party. Brought them shots, swore multiple times they were alcohol-free—guess what? They weren’t. All so Rak would be drunk enough to not reject him and his friend too wasted to step in. And the worst part? It worked. But did anyone ever call him out on it? Nope. Not a single soul questioned this absolute psychopath move. The next day nobody was blamed.
And THEN, as if that wasn’t enough, Oh tried to sexually harass Rak, and the show just… downplayed it. I swear, I almost threw up. Biggest letdown of the series happened in episode ONE. Not only does he get him drunk to make him more vulnerable, but he publicly asks him out, knowing damn well Rak can’t say no, then tries to kiss him while he’s literally fighting to get away. And the consequences? Non existent. Did anybody address this? A half-assed “Oh, if my sister knew, she’d kill him” from Rak a couple of days later (which she didn’t, but okkkk), and then Oh just disappears from the plot.
Was he stupid? He spent the whole show refusing to take a hint, but the second Rak finally says “I don’t love you,” he just vanishes? Not when Rak was already in a fake relationship to get rid of him? Not when he tried to ruin Fah? But now? Intresting is an understatement. And the show has the audacity to try and shove some weak-ass sympathy down our throats :oh no, his parents only cared about their image!" Yeah? And? Explanations are not justifications. We do not need to feel bad for someone this messed up. And the fact that he was rewarded with a new boy that he meets at the end.. poor Oh! His childhood was so sad!!!! But whatever, moving on from this shit.
#3: PORTRAY OF GAY CHACTERS
One trope that makes me want to punch a wall is the absolutely deranged way gay people are portrayed in these shows. Episode one, Rak & Co. need to wash off a coffee stain (yeah another cliché oh god), so they end up at some place where the owner, whether they were supposed to be a "fashonable" gay man or a trans woman, who knows (they just throw in people who seems gay, *for comedy*), was basically depicted as a horny creep.
Why is it that, aside from the protagonists, every other gay character is either evil or a hyper-stereotypical caricature? Like, do they think the queer community is made up of nothing but predators and walking memes? Not to sound weird, but the way they push these tired-ass, damaging stereotypes is actually insane.
#4: THE OBNOXIOUS CHARACTERS
The biggest problem with this show? The characters were fucking unbearable. Especially Rak. I know a lot of people liked him, but I genuinely couldn’t watch his scenes without experiencing severe secondhand embarrassment. I love naive characters, but this? This is an eight-year-old in a university. I have never met a single human being, like ever who acts like this. It’s beyond childish. It’s annoyingly immature. And when a main character feels like they belong in a kindergarten, enjoying the series becomes physically impossible.
And, of course, that means most of his choices are absolute garbage. If I can’t even begin to understand the logic behind a character’s actions, they instantly lose all appeal for me. And Rak? Rak is that character. It almost made the NC scenes feel off cause how does a character this pure have NC scenes this early in the relationship? And let’s be real, the whole lik“no” one day and “yes” the next ? Yeah, that was weird as hell.
Then we have Fah, aka Mr. Zero-Personality. His entire character is “I love Rak.” That’s it. No interests, no depth,just smiles, and Rak obsession. And don’t even get me started on the scene where he snaps and beats the shit out of Oh (which, deserved). How the fuck was Rak not scared? The moment Rak opened his mouth and said “I was scared you was getting hurt” instead of, I don’t know, being terrified of his aggressive boyfriend, I mentally checked out. The absurd choices, the ignored red flags, the completely out-of-pocket characterization. Even if I was just skimming, i knew i reached my limit
Also, their ages made no fucking sense. They’re university students, yet Rak acts like a literal toddler while Fah is somehow a secret bar owner or some shit?? Like… isn’t he 20?
#5: HORRIBLE WRITING. IN EVERYTHING.
Why is the writing in this series so fucking terrible? Like did they even try? Or did they just sit there, nodding like“Yes this totally makes sense”—because, spoiler alert, it absolutely does not. I swear. They weren't able to keep anything cohesive for more than five minutes. It reminds me of that one scene when Fah calls Lee (while he was at uni with Rak&Co), asking him to go to the airport and Rak decided to follow him like one minute after Lee left. Yet Lee was able to arrive at the airport FULLY CHANGED, with a big ass suitcase ready while Rak arrived LATE??? Make it make sense.
The dialogues are painfully unnatural. The number of times I had to hear "P’Fah" come out of Rak’s mouth is an insult to my patience. And let’s talk about how no human being on this planet talks the way these characters do. If someone spoke to me like that in real life, I swear I would just laugh in their face. And I wouldn't be sorry
And don’t even get me started on the endless, pointless exposition. Every little thing had to be explained. Everything is just painfully didascalic Like, calm down, you’re not a football commentator, you don’t have to narrate every single move out loud. It just makes the whole thing feel even more unnatural and ridiculous.
#6: BAD COLORING, BAD AESTHETIC, BAD EDITING
I hate hate hate this coloring. It’s the most boring and lifeless filter I’ve ever seen, and for some reason, it only ever shows up in BLs (or the occasional K-drama in korea they just love whitewashing). This pale-ass filter literally bleaches the melanin out of them, making everyone look like damn ghosts. Whyyyy?? I thought we collectively agreed to leave this 2019-ass aesthetic in the past.
And the editing?? A joke. I’ve seen Indian reels with better editing than this. Where’s the suspense? The visual appeal? They barely even tried to create any memorable imagery. Only the beach was pretty. That’s it.
.
.
.
--> THE ACTORS
The actors themselves were definitely not the issue. I mean, the protagonists did a good job with what they were given, which was... wait.. oh right! that was absolutely nothing! Honestly, I can't even blame them. Thomas had to either smile or make the biggest dead fish face for most of the time (because that's the full range of emotions Fah has). And then there's Kong, who was just a bit too much with those ridiculously over-the-top cute expressions. The rest of the cast? They did an a job, considering they were working with a script that barely existed.
WHAT I LIKED:
-- Lee. And his actor. Honestly, this dude was serving character and visuals like he was on a mission, and he only had like three scenes
-- The chemistry, the kiss, and the NC scenes? Oh, they were done pretty well. chemistry was chemistrying pretty hard.
-- Rak's friend group. they felt very real. especially the girl.
-- Rak and his sister relationship, super cute
In conclusion... if you’re one of those super nostalgic folks for 2019 Thai BL, then by all means, dive in. Im just convinced that no series like this should be made in the big 2024. We moved on from this mess. This tropes. This.
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