This review may contain spoilers
Empty cuteness
Not a proper review, I simply noted some of my thoughts about the show.
- Both main characters were unlikeable: Duang – childish and annoying, Qin – unpleasant and obnoxious. The show tried to explain Qin’s behavior, but it felt like a justification rather than an explanation: he’s allowed to act like a jerk because he has absent parents and was mistreated by his nanny. Given how little time was spent on resolving this issue (it was less than 9 minutes from Qin’s parents entering his condo, where the ep. 11 argument takes place, to Qin resting his head on his mom’s lap) – it was a flimsy excuse at best.
- Unlike most BLs, which spend too much time on side plots and events that have nothing to do with the love story, this show could have used some proper filler or a side/secondary couple story. Instead we got some BL tropes (including an ex trying to get back with one of the main characters and behaving like an a-hole in the process) as well as tons of vapid fluff and what was supposed to be "student life" – which was so boring and dragged for so long, that I started to watch the show on fast-forward.
- Jamie and Marvis seemed more interesting than Qin and Duang (which was a very low bar), but were given so little time that their side plot can hardly be called a story. The remaining "supporting" characters did not seem to serve any purpose in the story of either couple; not sure what was the point in including them in the show.
- There was no character growth (I actually laughed at Qin’s "I think everything that happened has made me grow so much" in ep. 12). While at times the script allowed Qin to act less like a douchebag, those moments were too few to indicate an actual change, felt fake and served to baffle others (mainly Duang).
- Instead of trying to elevate his character or at least make it likeable or relatable, Por did the opposite. He seemed sleepy or drugged or bored in almost every scene he was in, which made Qin seem permanently uninterested in anything, giving the vibe of a self-centered and uncaring person.
- TeeTee’s approach differs from Por’s, but his performance isn’t much better – it is barely watchable, and his "being cute and funny" shtick gets old by the end of ep. 1 (and gets annoying by ep. 2). However, there was a handful of scenes where TeeTee dropped that routine and behaved like a normal person (he even became serious once) – Duang needed much more of that to be a three-dimensional character. Those very rare glimpses that we actually got prove that TeeTee was able to portray his character differently – like in ep. 11, when Duang comforts Qin, who collapsed to the floor during an argument with his parents. I’d love to see more of that: Duang who is not necessarily mature, but is not childish either, who is genuinely caring without the constant overacting, who is not the smartest kid around, but is not silly either.
- I did not detect any chemistry between Por and TeeTee here – which is weird considering I remember them having some of it in that shoehorned romantic scene they had in ep. 8 of "Your Sky".
- The comedy did not work for me. The only part I found actually funny was the Duang-as-Chucky sequence in ep. 2.
- I got secondhand embarrassed while watching the post-shower scene in ep. 7 with Qin and Duang discussing the intimate side of their relationship. While the idea to have such a scene was very good, the execution was everything but good – both writing and performances were cringy and missing every beat they should hit.
- It’s always good to see Tattoo Colour on stage.
- Both main characters were unlikeable: Duang – childish and annoying, Qin – unpleasant and obnoxious. The show tried to explain Qin’s behavior, but it felt like a justification rather than an explanation: he’s allowed to act like a jerk because he has absent parents and was mistreated by his nanny. Given how little time was spent on resolving this issue (it was less than 9 minutes from Qin’s parents entering his condo, where the ep. 11 argument takes place, to Qin resting his head on his mom’s lap) – it was a flimsy excuse at best.
- Unlike most BLs, which spend too much time on side plots and events that have nothing to do with the love story, this show could have used some proper filler or a side/secondary couple story. Instead we got some BL tropes (including an ex trying to get back with one of the main characters and behaving like an a-hole in the process) as well as tons of vapid fluff and what was supposed to be "student life" – which was so boring and dragged for so long, that I started to watch the show on fast-forward.
- Jamie and Marvis seemed more interesting than Qin and Duang (which was a very low bar), but were given so little time that their side plot can hardly be called a story. The remaining "supporting" characters did not seem to serve any purpose in the story of either couple; not sure what was the point in including them in the show.
- There was no character growth (I actually laughed at Qin’s "I think everything that happened has made me grow so much" in ep. 12). While at times the script allowed Qin to act less like a douchebag, those moments were too few to indicate an actual change, felt fake and served to baffle others (mainly Duang).
- Instead of trying to elevate his character or at least make it likeable or relatable, Por did the opposite. He seemed sleepy or drugged or bored in almost every scene he was in, which made Qin seem permanently uninterested in anything, giving the vibe of a self-centered and uncaring person.
- TeeTee’s approach differs from Por’s, but his performance isn’t much better – it is barely watchable, and his "being cute and funny" shtick gets old by the end of ep. 1 (and gets annoying by ep. 2). However, there was a handful of scenes where TeeTee dropped that routine and behaved like a normal person (he even became serious once) – Duang needed much more of that to be a three-dimensional character. Those very rare glimpses that we actually got prove that TeeTee was able to portray his character differently – like in ep. 11, when Duang comforts Qin, who collapsed to the floor during an argument with his parents. I’d love to see more of that: Duang who is not necessarily mature, but is not childish either, who is genuinely caring without the constant overacting, who is not the smartest kid around, but is not silly either.
- I did not detect any chemistry between Por and TeeTee here – which is weird considering I remember them having some of it in that shoehorned romantic scene they had in ep. 8 of "Your Sky".
- The comedy did not work for me. The only part I found actually funny was the Duang-as-Chucky sequence in ep. 2.
- I got secondhand embarrassed while watching the post-shower scene in ep. 7 with Qin and Duang discussing the intimate side of their relationship. While the idea to have such a scene was very good, the execution was everything but good – both writing and performances were cringy and missing every beat they should hit.
- It’s always good to see Tattoo Colour on stage.
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