Is someone making comments disappear here? I just posted a long comment and a few other comments criticising various points have also disappeared. I didn't realise there was censorship on this site or this page........
I don't know if I like Olan specially, but I don't think I dislike him in any way. He might not turn out to be…
Yes, you are right about the actual level and status of approval re the request for courtship during that evening. But at least he was trying to do the right thing in asking, I suppose. In French, we have a saying; "Qui ne rien dit, consent" (who say nothing, consents....), which, right or wrong, is probably what made me comment in that way. Glad we agree on the rest.... and yes, I hope he finds someone too, he is not a bad penny, as one says.....
Quite apart from the fact that I agree with most of what is written immediately below this post, this whole thing is becoming incomparably nutty !!! We have just learnt that Solo, who we thought was a sad, lonesome student in Musicology (mother's death, etc.) - until he met Guitar and his warm milk - has actually been an active business executive since the age of 15 having concluded numerous successful international contracts worth billions of baht..... Excuse me, but was it the Fairy Godmother of the East or the Wicked Witch of the West that waved her magic wand and got the spell a bit wrong ?????? Absolutely nuts !!!
So does anyone else notice the (actor portraying Ben's) "uncanny valley" acting?
haha, can anyone please explain what the "uncanny valley" phenomenon is ? Perhaps I am not of the same generation and this expression has gaily passed me by..... lol.
Am I the only one that doesn't like Olan that much? To me he seems too pushy and also a bit creepy. I am actually…
I don't know if I like Olan specially, but I don't think I dislike him in any way. He might not turn out to be the person for me, but I think he has behaved quite decently so far. He even asked Ben and his friends if he could have the chance and the opportunity to court Ben (how polite is that ?). He wasn't to know what was playing out in Ben's world as far as Jim was concerned. And if you have "leave", so to speak, to court someone, I am not sure that coming round unannounced and bringing food (for 3 people !!) is exactly the most outrageous or the creepiest / pushiest thing in the world. Olan's problem is that he is in the wrong place at the wrong time and he plays the role of the person who is in the way of what everyone else is rooting for, i.e. Ben X Jim. Otherwise, I agree totally that this is a series that does not eschew complexity while remaining very realistic and thus touching for our emotions. The real b*****d in this series is clearly Leo, although, to be fair, I suppose that he is more than mentally unbalanced...
Skimming through the comments I have the impression that some viewers instantly get the shudders if the characters…
And also remember that it is not always easy or obviouis for young men of that age (sorry, I am not sure how old they are supposed to be in the series, but around 20-22, I think) to assume being gay in a complete and wholesome way. They fear the reaction from all the people around them, and clearly in this series Jim's Dad and Ben's Mum do not come across as very understanding or compassionate people. Consequently, they may find themselves trying to get out of the various corners they are backed into with lies, or half-truths, or other forms of manipulation, in order to get a minimum of breathing space. I think I personally had a relatively easy time of it at that age, but many people cannot just conclude "f**k the parents", or "f**k friends and relatives" and all the other people in society who will very quickly judge or reject them. Sometimes, it is not easy to simply decide "to thine own self be true" and tell everyone to go take a running jump!! So yes, all of these characters have flaws and make mistakes, but the various pressures from their environment and the society around them are what push them towards that. It makes me think of China where I lived for 6 years, and where there are millions of "homowives", as they are called, and people criticise the gay men who get married to save face, given pleasure to their parents, and give them a grandchild (so important in Chinese society and, I imagine, in many Asian societies....). And to quote vaguely the title of a film by Rosa von Praunheim, "it is not the gay man who is at fault, but the society around him"...... I am sure I would not act like Jim or even Ben in some of the situations that came about, but at the same time I have to have understanding and compassion for the situations they find themselves in and that they are not always totally equipped to handle.
I would counter that before the Judges said that, Jeff purposefully sung quite restrained in order to contrast…
OK, I certainly take your point about the contrast between the two songs that Win himself sang, although I still think that, in his restraint, as you said, his voice had a beautiful line and feeling to it and was "music to the ears", so to speak, after what we had previously heard. I seem to remember that Win was invited to audition and I supposed, perhaps wrongly, that it was an audition by invitation only for all concerned (this is not an unusual occurrence). In any case, I found it difficult to believe that someone, whose singing was so excruciating to my ears , could be found in such an audition ("less than stellar" is a delightful euphemism!). If, as I think you might be suggesting, they put in a bad singer to highlight Win's / Jeff's quality all the more, I am not sure it was very subtle or really very necessary given Jeff's ingrained talent. In any case, we both agree on why we fast-forwarded...... I also take delight in the very "palpable" longing and desire that both clearly show (I mean, that is basically the reason I even watch it), but I still feel that, after 34 weeks, they should both be given a (gentle, of course) kick from behind and told to stop pussyfooting around and express their obvious love for each other already. But I suppose that, as you also say, the extended advertising format of the whole series puts that into context. Let's just hope for some loving some time soon....... and no more awful singing!!
The kiss between actors playing Tul and Hin had more spark than the actors playing Tin and Can.
Oh yes, that last sequence in episode 12 resembled something of a kissing contest between the two brothers....... and it is clear that TinCan were not the winners...... not by a long chalk!!
OK, so I have just watched episode 12, and my overall conclusion is, first of all, that nothing, absolutely nothing, in all of this second season will ever replace the love and intensity of AePete in season 1 (but then Saint is something of a minor god in the BL acting world and Perth showed that, even at such a young age, he was more than equal to the inspiration and emotion coming from Saint). However, I must also admit that, after the initial confusion, chaos, and aimless wandering of the first 4 episodes or so, this season has improved in a number of ways: by focusing in a more concentrated fashion on TinCan's progressing relationship, revealing more about Tin's lost humanity, demonstrating how Can finally learns to love, providing deeper insights into the family and sibling relationships, as well as into the background of Tul's life and behaviour (thus presenting him slightly more as a damaged human being than an evil psychopath....). This has added a few welcome levels to the otherwise bland story. I have read many comments from other people about some of the things in the novel and can only be grateful that many of the dark elements were softened or toned down for the series. In respect of Mame, I can only conclude, once again based on other people's comments, that she is something of a "sicko" and should seriously consider therapy. Of course, this series is far from the perfection of Gameboys, GSP or ITSAY, which I have just started watching, and well...... the usual flaws and shortcomings are all over the place, particularly as far as the secondary couples are concerned: - Ae seems to appear every now and then and for no apparent reason, simply because Perth was contracted to play in the second season, although it is true that his evolution from agressive despair to a mild form of serenity was quite moving. - They clearly don't know how to deal with the rape trope, so we just have Klengkla trying to approach P'No every few episodes, with the latter shying away or running off screaming. Perhaps they will sweep it all up quickly in the final episode. Finally! - And, very much at the last moment (!), they seem to have dropped the Tum-Tar story altogether. I really don't care whether it corresponds to the novel or not (the series can, in my view, be treated as an adaptation and a separate work altogether), but what a damp squib after all the ups and down and handwringing of season 1. And what a waste of Earth's (or Cooheart's) talent!! And one other point that I just cannot get out of my mind........ how come Tin, after returning from his trip, pushes Can down on to a bed in a bedroom nobody has seen before (well, I certainly don't recognise it....), for them to wake up later in Tin's bedroom ? I don't know if anyone can explain that one, but I am seriously wondering if the director and the producers are on acid or something most of the time..... At a time when the Filipinos are coming out with a whole slew of excellent and overwhelming BL series (Gameboys, GSP), not to mention the Koreans (WYEL) or the Japanese (LLOTL), or even a few Thai directors (the poetic ITSAY is hitting my very core...), how is it possible to come up with such sub-standard, incoherent dishwater? I know some people will just tell me to shut up and not watch it, but as I have said above, I have begun to appreciate of the recent developments in the series. Also, I was invested in the TinCan story from season 1 and wanted to see where it went. And anyway, I reserve the right to watch everything I want, whether I like it or not, and duly exercise my right to critical comment, like everyone else on here. Just hope there is much better to come with the three new Thai series coming out now....
Count me as someone not supporting the Tul/Hin relationship. From what I gather it's a master/slave thing... which,…
Well, this is so right, but thank goodness we got none of this in the series.... or I totally missed it...... Sounds like this Mame is a bit f***ed up all round......
Count me as someone not supporting the Tul/Hin relationship. From what I gather it's a master/slave thing... which,…
Consenting to one’s master is always a real possibility. Just think of the Stockholm syndrome in which victims sympathize with their kidnappers.... Nevertheless, I think in that last kiss scene Hin show he won’t stand for nonsense and even knows quite well how to manage Tul.....
I should like to start by stating that I do like Ingredients because it is so cute and adorable, as are the two actors, Gameplay, in particular. But it can also be quite annoying, above all, for the reason that it has taken now more than 34 weeks (or a bit more than 8 months) to get....... well, more or less nowhere. Last week we had the stolen kiss on the cheek (at last!!), but now we are back to: "hmm, the food was yummy, but I am tired, so I am going to bed..... you will do the dishes, won't you...." (huge sigh!!!)
I have a very specific complaint this week, which is that no-one on the show or on the production team (except Jeff, of course) seems to possess anything resembling a musical ear!! There was the young lady, who went on before Win, and whose singing we were subjected to for about 3 or 4 minutes (I don't know how long since, after about 15 bars, I desperately fast-forwarded to Win); I don't think she sang a single phrase that wasn't widely out of tune, mainly incredibly flat!!! And then one of the judges had the gaul to state that Win had a nice voice, but that it didn't stand out. Well, excuse me, darling, but in comparison to what preceded him, his voice and his singing were absolutely beautiful and full of feeling, and Jeff stood out a mile as someone who knows how to sing and enchant people with his voice!!! Seems to me that the show needs a musical advisor, if they are going to come out with that kind of crap.....
OK, so I am almost binge-watching this (at a rate of about 2 episodes a day, and I have just finished episode 7. I am liking it quite a lot in spite of some obvious flaws, and it is certainly not the best BL I have seen this year. So I have just finished episode 7 and beginning episode 8 and: - clearly, the father is an absolute b*st*rd, certainly doesn't deserve to have a son and probably he was the one who passed on the bad character traits Ace had at the start (I suppose this is why the mother is waiting in the sidelines, but that is just a guess); - I really cannot understand why everyone is so het up and angry (or self-loathing as in Sky's case) after the cake competition. He came 2nd in the world out of 48 different competitors, and he is but a student doing an intern.... Why the hell is that a "failure", and what is there to be embarrassed about?? It's an incredible achievement!! I don't know if it has anything to do with losing to Indonesia, the neighbour (just a hypothesis, so I hope some will comment on that). I suppose it might be a plot device to accelerate certain things, but it does not seem very realistic or convincing. The only thing that was worse was when they let the dog out and it got lost in episode 2. I mean that was just sheer, unbelievable stupidity, and I must admit that I began to share Ace's contempt for stupid people. But thank goodness there are lots of things to keep me watching and waiting for the big moment..... or moments..... So, interested in any comment to help me pinpoint my ideas on this more precisely.
Hehe, I don't know if anyone recognised the historical musical allusion to one of the most beautiful films from the whole history of cinema about a love relationship blossoming in a railway station ?? Beautiful reference !!!
I didn't realise there was censorship on this site or this page........
Not razor-jawed android like the father.....
Glad we agree on the rest.... and yes, I hope he finds someone too, he is not a bad penny, as one says.....
We have just learnt that Solo, who we thought was a sad, lonesome student in Musicology (mother's death, etc.) - until he met Guitar and his warm milk - has actually been an active business executive since the age of 15 having concluded numerous successful international contracts worth billions of baht.....
Excuse me, but was it the Fairy Godmother of the East or the Wicked Witch of the West that waved her magic wand and got the spell a bit wrong ??????
Absolutely nuts !!!
Otherwise, I agree totally that this is a series that does not eschew complexity while remaining very realistic and thus touching for our emotions.
The real b*****d in this series is clearly Leo, although, to be fair, I suppose that he is more than mentally unbalanced...
So yes, all of these characters have flaws and make mistakes, but the various pressures from their environment and the society around them are what push them towards that.
It makes me think of China where I lived for 6 years, and where there are millions of "homowives", as they are called, and people criticise the gay men who get married to save face, given pleasure to their parents, and give them a grandchild (so important in Chinese society and, I imagine, in many Asian societies....). And to quote vaguely the title of a film by Rosa von Praunheim, "it is not the gay man who is at fault, but the society around him"......
I am sure I would not act like Jim or even Ben in some of the situations that came about, but at the same time I have to have understanding and compassion for the situations they find themselves in and that they are not always totally equipped to handle.
I seem to remember that Win was invited to audition and I supposed, perhaps wrongly, that it was an audition by invitation only for all concerned (this is not an unusual occurrence). In any case, I found it difficult to believe that someone, whose singing was so excruciating to my ears , could be found in such an audition ("less than stellar" is a delightful euphemism!). If, as I think you might be suggesting, they put in a bad singer to highlight Win's / Jeff's quality all the more, I am not sure it was very subtle or really very necessary given Jeff's ingrained talent. In any case, we both agree on why we fast-forwarded......
I also take delight in the very "palpable" longing and desire that both clearly show (I mean, that is basically the reason I even watch it), but I still feel that, after 34 weeks, they should both be given a (gentle, of course) kick from behind and told to stop pussyfooting around and express their obvious love for each other already. But I suppose that, as you also say, the extended advertising format of the whole series puts that into context. Let's just hope for some loving some time soon....... and no more awful singing!!
However, I must also admit that, after the initial confusion, chaos, and aimless wandering of the first 4 episodes or so, this season has improved in a number of ways: by focusing in a more concentrated fashion on TinCan's progressing relationship, revealing more about Tin's lost humanity, demonstrating how Can finally learns to love, providing deeper insights into the family and sibling relationships, as well as into the background of Tul's life and behaviour (thus presenting him slightly more as a damaged human being than an evil psychopath....). This has added a few welcome levels to the otherwise bland story.
I have read many comments from other people about some of the things in the novel and can only be grateful that many of the dark elements were softened or toned down for the series. In respect of Mame, I can only conclude, once again based on other people's comments, that she is something of a "sicko" and should seriously consider therapy.
Of course, this series is far from the perfection of Gameboys, GSP or ITSAY, which I have just started watching, and well...... the usual flaws and shortcomings are all over the place, particularly as far as the secondary couples are concerned:
- Ae seems to appear every now and then and for no apparent reason, simply because Perth was contracted to play in the second season, although it is true that his evolution from agressive despair to a mild form of serenity was quite moving.
- They clearly don't know how to deal with the rape trope, so we just have Klengkla trying to approach P'No every few episodes, with the latter shying away or running off screaming. Perhaps they will sweep it all up quickly in the final episode. Finally!
- And, very much at the last moment (!), they seem to have dropped the Tum-Tar story altogether. I really don't care whether it corresponds to the novel or not (the series can, in my view, be treated as an adaptation and a separate work altogether), but what a damp squib after all the ups and down and handwringing of season 1. And what a waste of Earth's (or Cooheart's) talent!!
And one other point that I just cannot get out of my mind........ how come Tin, after returning from his trip, pushes Can down on to a bed in a bedroom nobody has seen before (well, I certainly don't recognise it....), for them to wake up later in Tin's bedroom ? I don't know if anyone can explain that one, but I am seriously wondering if the director and the producers are on acid or something most of the time.....
At a time when the Filipinos are coming out with a whole slew of excellent and overwhelming BL series (Gameboys, GSP), not to mention the Koreans (WYEL) or the Japanese (LLOTL), or even a few Thai directors (the poetic ITSAY is hitting my very core...), how is it possible to come up with such sub-standard, incoherent dishwater?
I know some people will just tell me to shut up and not watch it, but as I have said above, I have begun to appreciate of the recent developments in the series. Also, I was invested in the TinCan story from season 1 and wanted to see where it went. And anyway, I reserve the right to watch everything I want, whether I like it or not, and duly exercise my right to critical comment, like everyone else on here.
Just hope there is much better to come with the three new Thai series coming out now....
Sounds like this Mame is a bit f***ed up all round......
Nevertheless, I think in that last kiss scene Hin show he won’t stand for nonsense and even knows quite well how to manage Tul.....
I have a very specific complaint this week, which is that no-one on the show or on the production team (except Jeff, of course) seems to possess anything resembling a musical ear!! There was the young lady, who went on before Win, and whose singing we were subjected to for about 3 or 4 minutes (I don't know how long since, after about 15 bars, I desperately fast-forwarded to Win); I don't think she sang a single phrase that wasn't widely out of tune, mainly incredibly flat!!!
And then one of the judges had the gaul to state that Win had a nice voice, but that it didn't stand out. Well, excuse me, darling, but in comparison to what preceded him, his voice and his singing were absolutely beautiful and full of feeling, and Jeff stood out a mile as someone who knows how to sing and enchant people with his voice!!!
Seems to me that the show needs a musical advisor, if they are going to come out with that kind of crap.....
So I have just finished episode 7 and beginning episode 8 and:
- clearly, the father is an absolute b*st*rd, certainly doesn't deserve to have a son and probably he was the one who passed on the bad character traits Ace had at the start (I suppose this is why the mother is waiting in the sidelines, but that is just a guess);
- I really cannot understand why everyone is so het up and angry (or self-loathing as in Sky's case) after the cake competition. He came 2nd in the world out of 48 different competitors, and he is but a student doing an intern.... Why the hell is that a "failure", and what is there to be embarrassed about?? It's an incredible achievement!! I don't know if it has anything to do with losing to Indonesia, the neighbour (just a hypothesis, so I hope some will comment on that).
I suppose it might be a plot device to accelerate certain things, but it does not seem very realistic or convincing. The only thing that was worse was when they let the dog out and it got lost in episode 2. I mean that was just sheer, unbelievable stupidity, and I must admit that I began to share Ace's contempt for stupid people.
But thank goodness there are lots of things to keep me watching and waiting for the big moment..... or moments.....
So, interested in any comment to help me pinpoint my ideas on this more precisely.