The Heart Killers Episode 1
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This is clearly another of Jojo's fantasies - visual style, sets, focus on sexual tension and sex itself all point to that. Since the emphasis is put on those things, story becomes unimportant and it's presentation makes it harder to take it seriously. On one hand - that's not really bad, as most BLs are desexualized and should focus more on relations between main characters and forming of their relationships. I stated this many times in comments and reviews: in a BL setting of the story is in service to the main plot - the guys becoming a couple and/or being in a relationship. That's what the story should be about. On the other hand - I'm not sure how future episodes will go about the story, will it be sidelined (will we get ep. 1 on repeat) for the sake of more visuals, or will there actually some development.Performances: Khaotung is good, First is alright, Joong felt off and weird (no idea why, normally he's okay), while Dunk (still) can't act and gave a weird, unconvincing performance. I'm used to that already, so it bothered me far less than it should.
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I was never a fan of PondPhuwin and criticised their previous shows, but I might enjoy this one a bit more. Santa and Perth gave subpar performances in this episode, while Est and Phuwin were a little better. Pond's deliberate over-the-top acting made me smile the whole time and I'll stick around for more of that. I guess I learned to appreciate Pond - he was really good in "Leap Day" and he's not wooden nor stiff anymore, displaying some comedic skill instead. That's enough to make me stay.
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MuTeLuv: Love Me if You Swear Episode 2
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One has to love those anthology miniseries, as they get to the good stuff quickly. Here we got a strong 2nd episode of the SurfJava temple love tour which included banter, teasing, tension, a proper climax and a smart subversion of expectations (just when you think Tum escaped with Oh's pants, he comes in with a knowing little smile). As a duo Surf and Java work here much better than in H2H - mostly, I think, because of tonal differences between the shows. Same applies to Surf, who seems much more relaxed and comfortable portraying Tum than he was with Farm. The entire "give me your pants" scene is an instant BL classic; Surf moving his hand to Java's waist sealed the deal.
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My Romance Scammer Episode 3
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It's nice to watch a GMMTV show which is a pure BL - by which I mean that it is entirely focused on the love story (love stories) instead of dividing screentime between that and other, setting-related storylines (like "Dare You To Death" tries to be combine romance with a detective story). It's even nicer to listen to dialogue which isn't as shallow, superficial and vapid as it's usually the case; dialogue that actually comes from something (instead of coming out of nothing "because of plot"). This should be a simpler way of making a show, but - for some reason - it's not the easy way. Poon and Ohm continue doing well, while Junior wrestles with some comedy stuff. At one point (last scene in the car) even Mark gave a watchable performance, with bits of his delivery being so different (and so much better) from everything in this and his previous shows, that I was pleasantly surprised. Keep going, it's getting interesting.
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They say that opposites attract - but this is not the case here. First, there's no mutual attraction - and we're on ep. 3 already. Second, main characters are not "opposites" of each other: Qui is an obnoxious growler while Duang is a delusional child; both are immature and annoying. Making both main characters unlikeable is just one of several signs of how bad the writing is - and the performances are only making it worse. Watching ep. 1 I thought that out of the whole cast at least TeeTee was trying - doing his best with his good looks and charm; now watching his exploits is simply tiring. The rest of the cast (Por included) is merely present on the screen - even calling it "performances" goes too far (and calling it "acting" would be offensive to actual actors). I'm pesimistic about the rest of the show.
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After a rather unimpressive ep. 3 there's some improvement. While not a fan of Great's part before, I'm appreciating it more now, after a mildly comedic appearance in ep. 4. Khaotung's portrayal of Lynx is still a bit off, while First tries his best to make this cat-infested show an actual BL. The short scene with the power out was so far the best FirstKhao moment in this series, with palpable tension filling the air. Hope Satang's Leo will stir things the right way next week.
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My Romance Scammer Episode 2
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Ep. 1 - all I could watch was Poon. Junior - whom I've long suspected of actually being able to act (and carefully hiding this ability) - was kinda there, but didn't catch my attention, while Mark was his usual unteresting self and Ohm was (for almost the entire episode, save the last scene he was in) as bland, stiff and artificial as I remembered him from "Between Us". This left Poon as the only member of principal cast who actually did something watchable. In episode 2 this changed - and I was surprised to witness the impossible: Ohm's plastic face actually displaying emotions. Nice to be wrong now and then. I might even enjoy OhmPoon in this show. BTW: Lookwa and Tao in the same show as mothers or mother figures - brings warmth to my heart. MSP was a brilliant show and those two contributed to it.
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I keep enjoying Pond as a detached from reality, comical mobster-heir-turned-CEO, an inhabitant of Delulu-land. Thee is genuinely funny, and not just because of over-the-top performance (which is the only way to play this character), but also because of his cuteness. Contrasted with the quiet Mhok and grounded Peach, Thee’s character and Pond’s portrayal of it provides all the comedy the show needs. Also, this episode’s daydreaming sequence (with Est popping up mid-scene for additional effect) reminded me of a similar scene with Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman from Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 musical "Moulin Rouge!". BTW: what’s with BLs reminding me of musicals lately? First it was "MuTeLuv - Diva Deva Mata" paying homage to "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert", now it’s "Me and Thee"… Continue, GMMTV, you’re doing it right. However, after 4 out of 10 episodes I’m worried about the romantic aspect of the show, which currently is missing – on purpose and according to script, as Thee’s feelings for Peach are unrequited. When exactly will Peach fall for Thee and why will he do it? So far nothing indicates Peach would even consider a romantic relationship with a man (all his past relationships briefly referenced in episode 1 were with women), not to mention with Thee. It’ll take some skillful writing to solve that problem and a decent performance to pull it off on screen; not sure Phuwin is the man to do it. As for the supporting/secondary BL couple: can we please stick with Rome and Mhok (now that William has graced the screen) instead of Aran and Tawan?
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Propelled by very good performances of Dew and Off as well as expertly selected music we're launched into the unknown. Gun's performance was uneven, ranging from very strong to uncertain and weak, as if at times he wasn't sure how to play Jira. The story flowed so smoothly that I didn't notice the passage of time. Like in the official trailer, several shots in the episode felt wide and cinematic - a real joy to behold. Also, eyeliner Thor looked hot.
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Gonna write just one thing about this episode: that shower scene was true BL gold delivered by Winny and Satang. Sure, there was a lot of necessary build up leading to it during most of the episode, but that conclusion was like a chef's kiss.
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MuTeLuv: “Hi” by My Luck Episode 2
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After a well paced ep. 1 which set the frame for this miniseries, we get a very good 2nd episode: smartly shot, nicely progressing the story and staying focused on the plot. While a huge fan of Keen since "Only Boo!", I'm very impressed with the good work Sea is doing here, portraying a surprisingly multifaceted character. Bon apetit, everyone.
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This show seems to be going from bad to worse. Started watching it hoping to see a BL, and - so far (after 3 episodes) - I see it's almost entirely a mystery/horror show. Nothing against it, but it's not what I wanted to watch nor what was advertised. Furthermore, we got strong hints (more than hints actually) that the supposed main couple (Peem and Khem) won't be based on present day same-sex attraction - it'll be some sort of continuation of an opposite-sex relationship from the past, which was interrupted by WWII, with both partners reincarnated as males. This sounds like stuff from shows produced 5-10 years ago, when it was standard practice to deny the characters are gay (remember lines like "I'm not into men, it's just you"?); they were always straight, falling for their childhood friends with whom they had a strong emotional bond etc. etc. Everything but gay. Reincarnated from female to male, but still in love with the same person as in previous life - sounds exactly the same. As for the supporting/side couple: by ep. 3 they started talking to each other - that's all; at this rate they'll become a thing in the last scene of the last episode. Also: tonaly this show became a mess. Ep. 1 was mostly consistent in this regard, being rather dark, even somber, sad and scary. Ep. 2 started to change that, adding more lighthearted elements; by ep. 3 we have serious and scary next to goofy and silly. Like I said: a mess.
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Poorly paced and weirdly scripted, ep. 2 was a whopping 77 minutes long - with content only for about 45 minutes. In all that time there was one, very brief moment where the story was vaguely hinting at the support couple - that's all. Keng's stunning looks are an asset of the show, but when he opens his mouth - the spell is broken; Namping is sort of there, but his "damsel in distress" portrayal is hard to watch. However, not all hope is lost: First did a good job in both ep. 1 and 2; right now I'm watching this show because of him.
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Since this is coming from a company producing BLs, is marketed as a LGBTQ+ romance/BL (as well as a horror/mystery) series and I'm watching it for those reasons (and not for it being a horror/mystery production) - I'm not a fan of ep. 1. Sure, it establishes the characters to some degree and introduces the horror/mystery storyline, but doesn't do anything in the BL departament; more than that: it implies that the main focus of the show will be its horror/mystery aspect - which disappointed me. As for the horror and mystery - it's nothing new nor groundbreaking, relying on well-known tropes from formats like "Final Destination" or the recently airing "Leap Day", released by GMMTV (btw: what looks like the same building was used in both productions).
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An interesting episode, well crafted (even with a tiny connection to events of ep. 9) and nicely paced - especially when it comes to the Kit-Shane plot thread (what I liked in particular was when the episode gave Shane time to dismantle everything scholarship related on his cockboard; this was given just enough time to breathe). Kit - again - was how a boyfriend should be: supporting, caring, but not intrusive, patiently waiting for the right moment to step in; Kit just might be a model BL boyfriend. BTW: while Kit is written as caring more for another (his bf) than himself, Shane, Kim and Mon are more about themselves - their plans, views, feelings, doubts and fears come first; this was very visible in this episode, but it wasn't the first time those characters behaved and acted like that. Also, Mon's mom wasn't in this episode - and that's a good thing.
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