Solid and enjoyable BL plotline, shame it wasn’t a bigger part of the show
Watching episode 1 of this show I realized William can act almost as good as he can sing – and that this single thing is reason enough to continue watching. That’s where the strength of “ThamePo” lies: in strong performances of William and Nut, both of whom have a very captivating on-screen presence. William radiates a calm dominance which makes the entire scene and all attention focus on him even if he stays quiet (there’s also a big load of cheerful playfulness in him, even though it is mostly unused in this show); this reminds me of Mix and Nanon, both perfectly capable of outshining other cast members with quiet, commanding presence. Nut is a very different beast, constantly provoking and challenging, almost aggressive – even when he’s quiet. When William’s Thame and Nut’s Jun clash – it’s a spectacle.
I haven’t mentioned Est so far and that’s no coincidence: his performance – either due to the writing or his limits – seemed muted and withdrawn, at times bordering on bland. Make no mistake here: Est has very good chemistry with William, all intimate moments of Thame and Po were presented very well thanks to that chemistry. However on several occasions I found myself wondering how Po can be the main character of this show being so inactive or slow/unable to react/respond. I keep wondering whether that was due to (weird) writing or Est portraying Po this way. Compare Est’s Po with Sea’s Kang from “Only Boo!” – Po’s counterpart from another GMMTV BL series with a boyband. I’d argue that despite multiple similarities of both characters and despite of Sea’s performance being similarly muted to Est’s, Kang is not passive – like Po often is.
There’s another comparison between “ThamePo” and “Only Boo!” to be made: how much BL is in those shows. “Only Boo!” is first and foremost a BL, with part of its setting being the entertainment industry. “ThamePo” devotes a far smaller share of its running time to the BL aspect, with a lot of that time going to LYKN cast members and the MARS plotline. As a result “ThamePo” is a BL as much as it is a series about a boyband. This bothered me a lot, as I’m not a fan of BL shows that put the same emphasis on BL and other (like setting-related) aspects.
Speaking of which: the entertainment industry part of the show is not as crazy nor groundbreaking as it could have been and some key issues were presented in an unsatisfying way. “ThamePo” goes easy on fans and their entitlement while going quite hard on the industry itself. ONER is portrayed as an archetypical evil corporation exploiting MARS members and no attempt was made to show that the MARS-ONER (band/idol – company) relationship is more nuanced. MARS members are employed by ONER and can’t decide on their own – while under a contract they willingly signed – that they will do what they want and disobey their employer. Why doesn’t the show get this – quite obvious – point across? How come MARS members are allowed to act in a childish way (because love and because plot), fans are allowed to be entitled (as long as later they come to see the error of their ways), but an employer is the villain of the story for expecting MARS members to do what their contracts say?
The show is packed with decent music, mostly performed by LYKN as a group (“All I Need”, “I Know You Want Me”, “จีบได้มั้ย / Would You Mind?”, “หูดับ / Who Says” and "Fly High") or its individual members (“ไม่ใช่บังเอิญ / Destined” by Tui, “5cm” by William). The soundtrack also includes: “ไม่อยากเป็นรักแรก / Your Last” by Est, an alternate version of “จีบได้มั้ย / Would You Mind?” by Joong and “ระหว่างทาง / Good Time” by William and Est – the “cuteness overload” song of the series.
I was impressed with very good cinematography of “ThamePo”. Several scenes had this dreamy, almost unreal feel about them, something one could immerse oneself in, while several other scenes had a cinematic vibe and quality, which surprised me in a very positive way.
Favorite scene: reunion scene from episode 13; it’s well shot and scripted as well as a rare example of the main couple doing something new/different, something not related to work nor their relationship.
I haven’t mentioned Est so far and that’s no coincidence: his performance – either due to the writing or his limits – seemed muted and withdrawn, at times bordering on bland. Make no mistake here: Est has very good chemistry with William, all intimate moments of Thame and Po were presented very well thanks to that chemistry. However on several occasions I found myself wondering how Po can be the main character of this show being so inactive or slow/unable to react/respond. I keep wondering whether that was due to (weird) writing or Est portraying Po this way. Compare Est’s Po with Sea’s Kang from “Only Boo!” – Po’s counterpart from another GMMTV BL series with a boyband. I’d argue that despite multiple similarities of both characters and despite of Sea’s performance being similarly muted to Est’s, Kang is not passive – like Po often is.
There’s another comparison between “ThamePo” and “Only Boo!” to be made: how much BL is in those shows. “Only Boo!” is first and foremost a BL, with part of its setting being the entertainment industry. “ThamePo” devotes a far smaller share of its running time to the BL aspect, with a lot of that time going to LYKN cast members and the MARS plotline. As a result “ThamePo” is a BL as much as it is a series about a boyband. This bothered me a lot, as I’m not a fan of BL shows that put the same emphasis on BL and other (like setting-related) aspects.
Speaking of which: the entertainment industry part of the show is not as crazy nor groundbreaking as it could have been and some key issues were presented in an unsatisfying way. “ThamePo” goes easy on fans and their entitlement while going quite hard on the industry itself. ONER is portrayed as an archetypical evil corporation exploiting MARS members and no attempt was made to show that the MARS-ONER (band/idol – company) relationship is more nuanced. MARS members are employed by ONER and can’t decide on their own – while under a contract they willingly signed – that they will do what they want and disobey their employer. Why doesn’t the show get this – quite obvious – point across? How come MARS members are allowed to act in a childish way (because love and because plot), fans are allowed to be entitled (as long as later they come to see the error of their ways), but an employer is the villain of the story for expecting MARS members to do what their contracts say?
The show is packed with decent music, mostly performed by LYKN as a group (“All I Need”, “I Know You Want Me”, “จีบได้มั้ย / Would You Mind?”, “หูดับ / Who Says” and "Fly High") or its individual members (“ไม่ใช่บังเอิญ / Destined” by Tui, “5cm” by William). The soundtrack also includes: “ไม่อยากเป็นรักแรก / Your Last” by Est, an alternate version of “จีบได้มั้ย / Would You Mind?” by Joong and “ระหว่างทาง / Good Time” by William and Est – the “cuteness overload” song of the series.
I was impressed with very good cinematography of “ThamePo”. Several scenes had this dreamy, almost unreal feel about them, something one could immerse oneself in, while several other scenes had a cinematic vibe and quality, which surprised me in a very positive way.
Favorite scene: reunion scene from episode 13; it’s well shot and scripted as well as a rare example of the main couple doing something new/different, something not related to work nor their relationship.
Was this review helpful to you?
