Lukewarm and mundane, lacks heart
1/ The basic premise – the titular love mix-up – is not new, but it is okay; it applies only to the main couple, as there is no mix-up leading to the formation of the secondary/support couple. Also: the mix-up relates only to the first 2-3 episodes, after which the series is a standard BL. This reminded me of “Hidden Agenda” – the titular agenda was of some importance for several episodes, but it was not something show-defining (which caused some complaining from the audience).2/ The plot and script are weak, uninspired and unimaginative. Problems do not end there: pacing, story progression, characters (immature, often dumb – but not in a cute way – and annoying) – all of that felt subpar.
3/ This is not a bad nor boring show, but it is not particularly interesting nor captivating either. There are very few actually emotional scenes and a handful of genuinely funny ones – the rest of the content just is there. It all felt lukewarm, especially compared to previous two projects of Gem4th: “Moonlight Chicken” and “My School President”. “My Love Mix-Up!” does not have the sweaty and gritty real-life feel of the first one nor the emotional power of the latter; it is an average BL with two of GMMTV’s biggest stars, who deserved a better show.
4/ Gemini and Fourth work with weak material and – at least for me – their efforts are the only reason to watch this show. Fourth in particular uses his talent for comedy to make the show entertaining – which also makes his character less annoying. BTW: Aungpao is in this series – and he’s criminally underused. After what he displayed in “Cooking Crush” (the guy can actually act and has a knack for comedy similar to Fourth’s) GMMTV should trust him with much more than what he got here. Instead we got Chokun (cute but bland) and Pahn in supporting roles, as a pointless secondary couple. The actual support for Gem4th came with a cameo of Chinzilla in ep. 11 – and for less than a minute we could see what this show could have been, but is not.
5/ This is a minor complaint, but still: there are too many adds and product placements in this show. Clearly GMMTV wanted to capitalize on Gem4th’s magic, but went too far. Properly done product placements in a BL – see “Bad Buddy”, GMMTV’s best BL.
6/ The soundtrack is good and – as is GMMTV standard by now – performed entirely by the cast. The opening theme song “ลบยัง” is the best example of how clever, interesting and amusing GMMTV creations can be.
Most of this show’s problems might be coming from it being an adaptation. The source material may be hot and interesting for Japanese standards, but it did not translate into a hot and interesting Thai show – my guess is because of how conservative Japan is compared to Thailand (at least when it comes to BL shows). With other words: it might be a too faithful adaptation. For Thai BL it would be good in 2016, but in 2024 it feels outdated.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Second chances
I watched it and I loved it – plain and simple. Aspects of the show I found most appealing include the following.- Universal topics. Issues raised by the show include first love, trust, search for happiness, expressing feelings, difficulties of communication, fear of getting hurt, fear of hurting a loved one, longing for love and companionship, overcoming insecurities, dealing with trauma and emotional baggage – among others.
- Relatability. Myung-Ha and Yeo-Woon – so different and yet sharing many similarities – are like mirrors reflecting issues we all have. Myung-Ha’s “I don’t know what to do when I like someone” and Yeo-Woon’s “You’re my first everything” and “Whenever I see you, I both feel good and want to cry” sum it up perfectly.
- Minimalism. No time was wasted on filler, unnecessary scenes or gestures, also there is almost no “fluff”. Despite focusing on one couple and one plot (Chun Sang-Won and Ahn Kyung-Hoon are not primary nor even secondary characters in this story – they are merely there, just like the rest of the cast, for the main couple to have someone to interact with) the show managed to convey an abundance of story and content. The storytelling was very concise and highly effective.
- Performances. Lee Taevin and Cha Joowan did a superb job, their performances are very strong and convincing. Both actors were visibly comfortable with the material and each other, displaying a top-tier on-screen chemistry. Very impressive.
- The switch. Initially Myung-Ha is the active one, getting through to Yeo-Woon, but once Yeo-Woon embraces his feelings he takes the lead, while Myung-Ha begins keeping his distance, realizing his own problems. In someone else’s hands this shift could be wasted or become incomprehensible or would require more time to be developed – but not in LFLS.
- Serious tone and humor reduced to a minimum.
- Very good cinematography and camerawork.
- Memorable and well-chosen music, with the instrumental bit accompanying Myung-Ha’s search for Yeo-Woon in ep. 1 (as well as Myung-Ha’s and Yeo-Woon’s reunion at the beach in ep. 8) being my absolute favorite.
This was the second Korean BL I watched (“Choco Milk Shake” being the first one) and this might explain my initial surprise at the difference between Thai BLs and LFLS. As I tried to explain to a colleague of mine: when I watch Thai BLs I treat the characters as Polish (I am from Poland), only played by insanely good-looking guys. That is the level of similarities and relatability I sense when watching Thai productions. LFLS was initially different – either because of cultural differences, Korean style of BL making, source material, artistry of Kim Kyun-Ah or other factors. That feeling of otherness, however, lasted for about 10 minutes.
LFLS is a true gem. It is not perfect, however its flaws are so few I decided to omit them in this review. Some might be surprised that so far I did not mention the computer game like setting and everything connected with it (including the “plot twist” in ep. 7). The reason for that is rather simple: I did not find it important. This is, after all, a love story, and not a story about computer games; what matters is the plot – not the setting.
Was this review helpful to you?
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.
Was this review helpful to you?
