This review may contain spoilers
More than the sum of its parts
This was kind of unexpected, but I liked watching this show despite its flaws, which would normally make me dislike a series. There is plenty of things that should have lowered my rating of "Boys in Love", but somehow – to my surprise – they did not. It's not that the positives of this show outweighed the negatives; it's a little more complicated. I think that the things I liked about "Boys in Love" combined, creating an added value – like an overall feel or vibe of the show, which was generally sweet, nice and made me return to it week after week.
What I enjoyed
- As for characters – Kit. He's the only one with something roughly resembling an arc, in course of which he becomes a model boyfriend. As one of only two characters he has some depth: he seems easy going (bordering on spoiled rich kid), but it’s really a pose, a mix of light nonchalance and distance to himself; he's very well aware of his own shortcomings and flaws, finds motivation to change, but nevertheless doubts whether he’s doing good enough. He's flawed and therefore relatable, but – at the same time – he does all the important things the right way: supporting Shane both before and after they become a couple, being open about his feelings, respecting boundaries set by Shane, displaying patience and caring about someone else more than about himself. If I was back in highschool, I'd love to have a boyfriend like that.
- As for couples – Per and Tar. They are there for comedic relief, but most of their interactions were much more than goofy fun, having an emotional layer and a tension of sorts. All four couples in "Boys in Love" are build following the same principle, joining two very different guys; when it comes to internal dynamic and chemistry, Tar and Per work the best. They are almost always together (without being together), they visibly enjoy each other's company and there's that unspoken (yet palpable) thing between them. I loved their last scene in ep. 12, played completely straight (despite the smiles) and serious, with an absolute minimum of lines – a very good conclusion of their plotline.
- As for writing – which is mix of decent and subpar – there's a handful of scenes that deserve special mention: Shane's and Kit's final scenes in ep. 2 and 5, Kit's talk with his mom in ep. 12 (every kid should hear what she said at least once from their parents), the entire "Mr. Tan and Mr. Nut move in together" sequence in ep. 12 and the aforementioned final scene with Per and Tar. Well crafted, they left me with a lasting impression. Another thing worth mentioning: the writers decided to give more attention and screen time to two out of four couples; with only 12 episodes available that was the right move.
- As for performances – Luke and Paul. Very different, but both are solid (although I'm not entirely sure whether Paul was acting or just being himself), with good screen presence and competent delivery. Would like to see both of them in other roles.
- The setting - a vibrant, lively world inhabited by a lot of people. While a school of some type is probably the most common BL setting, it doesn't have to be boring nor mundane - and it isn't here. Same applies to the rest of the world in "Boys in Love" - which is full of students, teachers, family members and ordinary people (compare that to some recent BLs of the same company which seemed to be taking place in a desert or right after an apocalypse - in a desolate, empty world) creating proper background for the story and its characters. I also noticed and appreciated the variety and relatively high number of locations where the show was shot.
- The show – despite some issues I indicated below – was an easy watch.
What I did not enjoy.
- As for characters – ex æquo Mon and his mom. Paraphrasing the proverb: like mother like son. I commented earlier (before ep. 12 aired) on MDL on how Mon is written by indicating that in ep. 3, 4, 5, 7, 9 and 11 he was either displeased, annoyed or outright angry because of something Kim did, he was (at least initially) unsupportive of Kim’s efforts to become a model student in ep. 8, failed to notice (or ignored/disregarded) Kim's insecurities in ep. 10 and helped Kim with something only once (in ep. 8). He’s like the anti-Kit – the last person I’d like as a boyfriend. Mon seems focused primarily on himself and likes when things happen the way he wants them to happen – his mom is exactly the same. They may not be outright toxic, nevertheless both are unlikeable – no idea why a main character and a supporting character are written like that.
- As for couples – Mon and Kim. No idea why anyone would call them "KimMon" – Mon is the dominant side of the relationship from the very beginning and the power imbalance is glaring; I don't recall seeing anything like that in a GMMTV show before. While I understand that including such a relationship might be good for authenticity sake, I do believe that the show should have addressed this issue as a problem and at least tried to solve it.
- As for writing – how undecided the show was. Either by accident or on purpose, "Boys in Love" wants to be too many things and tries to include too many topics for its own good. It would be much better if it was just a rom-com (either more lighthearted and fluffy or tilted towards comedy); instead other story elements were introduced (sometimes – shoehorned in, like the conflicts in later episodes) and the show became less coherent when it comes to genre and message.
- As for performances – Mick. He was boring and wooden like a plank throughout the whole show; he can't act and I'm not sure anything can be done with it.
What I enjoyed
- As for characters – Kit. He's the only one with something roughly resembling an arc, in course of which he becomes a model boyfriend. As one of only two characters he has some depth: he seems easy going (bordering on spoiled rich kid), but it’s really a pose, a mix of light nonchalance and distance to himself; he's very well aware of his own shortcomings and flaws, finds motivation to change, but nevertheless doubts whether he’s doing good enough. He's flawed and therefore relatable, but – at the same time – he does all the important things the right way: supporting Shane both before and after they become a couple, being open about his feelings, respecting boundaries set by Shane, displaying patience and caring about someone else more than about himself. If I was back in highschool, I'd love to have a boyfriend like that.
- As for couples – Per and Tar. They are there for comedic relief, but most of their interactions were much more than goofy fun, having an emotional layer and a tension of sorts. All four couples in "Boys in Love" are build following the same principle, joining two very different guys; when it comes to internal dynamic and chemistry, Tar and Per work the best. They are almost always together (without being together), they visibly enjoy each other's company and there's that unspoken (yet palpable) thing between them. I loved their last scene in ep. 12, played completely straight (despite the smiles) and serious, with an absolute minimum of lines – a very good conclusion of their plotline.
- As for writing – which is mix of decent and subpar – there's a handful of scenes that deserve special mention: Shane's and Kit's final scenes in ep. 2 and 5, Kit's talk with his mom in ep. 12 (every kid should hear what she said at least once from their parents), the entire "Mr. Tan and Mr. Nut move in together" sequence in ep. 12 and the aforementioned final scene with Per and Tar. Well crafted, they left me with a lasting impression. Another thing worth mentioning: the writers decided to give more attention and screen time to two out of four couples; with only 12 episodes available that was the right move.
- As for performances – Luke and Paul. Very different, but both are solid (although I'm not entirely sure whether Paul was acting or just being himself), with good screen presence and competent delivery. Would like to see both of them in other roles.
- The setting - a vibrant, lively world inhabited by a lot of people. While a school of some type is probably the most common BL setting, it doesn't have to be boring nor mundane - and it isn't here. Same applies to the rest of the world in "Boys in Love" - which is full of students, teachers, family members and ordinary people (compare that to some recent BLs of the same company which seemed to be taking place in a desert or right after an apocalypse - in a desolate, empty world) creating proper background for the story and its characters. I also noticed and appreciated the variety and relatively high number of locations where the show was shot.
- The show – despite some issues I indicated below – was an easy watch.
What I did not enjoy.
- As for characters – ex æquo Mon and his mom. Paraphrasing the proverb: like mother like son. I commented earlier (before ep. 12 aired) on MDL on how Mon is written by indicating that in ep. 3, 4, 5, 7, 9 and 11 he was either displeased, annoyed or outright angry because of something Kim did, he was (at least initially) unsupportive of Kim’s efforts to become a model student in ep. 8, failed to notice (or ignored/disregarded) Kim's insecurities in ep. 10 and helped Kim with something only once (in ep. 8). He’s like the anti-Kit – the last person I’d like as a boyfriend. Mon seems focused primarily on himself and likes when things happen the way he wants them to happen – his mom is exactly the same. They may not be outright toxic, nevertheless both are unlikeable – no idea why a main character and a supporting character are written like that.
- As for couples – Mon and Kim. No idea why anyone would call them "KimMon" – Mon is the dominant side of the relationship from the very beginning and the power imbalance is glaring; I don't recall seeing anything like that in a GMMTV show before. While I understand that including such a relationship might be good for authenticity sake, I do believe that the show should have addressed this issue as a problem and at least tried to solve it.
- As for writing – how undecided the show was. Either by accident or on purpose, "Boys in Love" wants to be too many things and tries to include too many topics for its own good. It would be much better if it was just a rom-com (either more lighthearted and fluffy or tilted towards comedy); instead other story elements were introduced (sometimes – shoehorned in, like the conflicts in later episodes) and the show became less coherent when it comes to genre and message.
- As for performances – Mick. He was boring and wooden like a plank throughout the whole show; he can't act and I'm not sure anything can be done with it.
Was this review helpful to you?
