This review may contain spoilers
It just didin't click for me
I couldn't buy their romance. It felt way too rushed and I didn't think they had good chemistry. Yes, Mr. Thee is hilarious but his cartoonish-ness was almost too much for me to be emotionally invested in his character. Also in the horrible, capitalistic world we live in we don't need media that makes us sympathize with the uber-rich.Another thing that I couldn't stand about this show was the horrible product placement. I genuinely haven't seen a worse case and I am a Thai BL veteran. Every obvious advert would immediately take me out of the illusion. I understand if you enjoy this show, it is rather campy, but just not my cup of tea. (Or should I say Thee).
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Realistic, creative, and poignant.
Damn. You can really tell the director knows what he is doing. The entire show from costumes to editing is perfectly stylized. Also everything is shot so artistically.The characters felt so realistic and this was further pushed with subtlety in the acting. Lines between friendship and love stay blurry witch lead to raw emotional turbulence, perfectly captured by this show's amazing cast.
Gel boys is a comedic and tragic look at the lives and loves of teens in this day and age. I have never seen characters on TV use their phones more than in this show. (If anything these characters were bigger phone addicts than the average teen.) But every time a character was on their phone it felt so natural and I loved the ongoing incorporation of text exchanges and social media use. Like this is how real teens are using their phones people! (Also blocking someone on Spotify was so real.)
Overall this show is a beautifully made look at modern teen culture including relevant topics such as idol worship, TikTok, Insta stalking, fashion, music, spending money on useless things, melodramatics, situationships, and most importantly nail polish.
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A car crash you can't look away from
Are all the characters good people? No. Do I still love and root for them? Yes. Only Friends is one of the best paced and most thrilling Thai BL's out there and makes several creative choices that pay off (for instance the mockumentary style interviews with the characters). This series also has a phenomenal soundtrack and an intro that I never not once thought of skipping. I will now do my best to explain the characters and their dynamics:SAND: A very caring and compassionate man who works hard to get that bag whilst studying at University. He ends up falling for an alcoholic, self centered, rich boy who turns his life around. (He is also a very talented musician.)
RAY: The rich boy in question. He's an asshole but he has trauma that explains his behavior. He has been in love with Mew forever, and starts a fling with Sand before sorting out his feelings.
TOP: I hate this guy bro. He is an insincere man with no self control who "quits" his playboy ways in order to date Mew.
MEW: I also hate this guy. He is the "nerd" of the group with a sweet guy persona. In reality he is petty as hell and self destructive (although the reason for his downwards spiral was kinda valid). Mew is not a bad guy and actually cares about his friends but I couldn't help but dislike him.
BOSTON: A selfish man engrossed in hookup culture (he a baddie he know he a ten). He uses his "i don't care about anyone" attitude as a shield and does bad things to the people he loves in order to feel better about himself. Boston has a slight obsession with Top after hooking up with him once and eventually develops a soft spot for Nick. (Even though he is objectively the worst person in this show he is so charismatic I can't help but like him).
NICK: A man who falls in love with and grows protective over Boston after becoming his regular hookup. Nick seems like such a sweet guy and its sad to see him become so desperate over Boston, who he knows full well will never commit to anybody. Does Nick make some poor decisions along the way? Of course. But he's in loooooove you can't blame him.
Namchueam: A lesbian queen who is the only thing holding this collapsing friend group together. She is an amazing friend who isn't afraid to put others in their place. Namchueam and her girlfriend April, have the most stable relationship in this series by far.
So what are you waiting for? Watch this show and enjoy the absolute mess unfold. (At least one couple gets a happy ending).
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This review may contain spoilers
The ending...
The fact that Jira (a struggling artist) ended up with Koh (the rich owner of an AI company) is crazy work. Especially when Koh fed Jira's art (without his consent) to his AI softwear. Their morals are diametrically opposed and Jira rightfully left Koh because of it. I would have been happy if the show just ended with them broken up. But they just HAD to get back together without actually resolving any of their previous conflict. Like don't piss me off. I think this show really could have delivered a powerful message on the challenges artists are facing because of the rise of AI. Instead it tells artists to succumb to the whims of the AI CEOs. Like actually wtf.Overall a very well produced show but I can't get over it's confused messaging.
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