"turn him into a bad guy" is fales, no one turn no one, most people have their bad motive and interes when it's…
This is a story. It's entirely in the hands of the creators to turn any character into a bad guy. They'll of course try to justify why he's turned bad (give him specific background, motivations, etc.) but what I'm saying is that I don't want the creators to turn him into one.
For me, one of the main problems of this series is its inability to progress in terms of characterizations. The characters are just too simplistic and unrealistic. With four episodes released, there's still no character development and depth. Because of this, acting of the lead cast appeared bland most of the time. Miko's acting had become monotonous as of late while Aki's performance had become stiff. Not even the fun and sexy moments of Episode 4 could hide the weak acting direction given to the cast. It's a pity especially since this series started with a lot of promise given its good production value. But hope is not yet lost. With eight more episodes, this series has plenty of time to arrest its downward spiral.
Yes, we did get some sexy moments from Tau and Otep and some cute moments from Nin and Makisig (plus some Nin and Makisig back story) but all and all, the plot/storyline didn't really move much on Episode 8: Unawa. This episode was slower than usual and seemed to be really setting up for the conflicts ahead. The screenplay wasn't as exciting as previous episodes but it was ok. The actors seemed to be more comfortable and relaxed with each other in this episode. Production design, cinematography, musical score, and editing were satisfactory. For next week's episode (most probably with Orion), I'm hoping for a more complex narrative.
Episode 5: Happy Birthday, Micro-Cheater! was not as good as the last three episodes. It was still ok but it wasn't as strong as the previous episodes. While there's more clarity about Mark's inner feelings and his relationship with Henry, I found Kevin's exit disconcerting, even upsetting. I just thought he was treated unfairly. There were some good dialogues in this episode but there were also some cringy and preachy lines. Acting was generally uneven. There were good scenes but there were also bad scenes. Some scenes were dragging which could have used some good editing. Still, I like this series so I'll see this series through till its finale.
I was surprised that Episode 11 (rated 8.7 as of this writing) was rated so low compared to Episodes 1-10. While I can agree that it was a notch lower than Episode 10 (rated 9.5), I don't think Episode 1 (rated 9.1) was better than Episode 11. The problem was that people were judging Episode 11 with Episode 10 as the standard which I think wasn't really fair. But now that Episode 12: Jealousy in the Air has been released, I think very few will disagree that this episode is among Gameboys' best episodes. It continued to have a clear grasp of its context. The effects of the pandemic on relationships are real. It also remained true to its ability to make its audience experience a roller coaster of emotions. I got excited, I laughed, I got annoyed, I cried. The cute and sweet moments between Cai and Gav were really nice. Wes and Gav taking off their shirts was funny (Gav's sexier!!!). Wes was really irritating! I've long forgiven Terrence so Wes now infuriates me more. And that virtual shower scene was sexy and tastefully done. But the best parts of this episode were its two most dramatic scenes. One was tender while the other one was tension-filled. Both were really realistic and relatable. Kokoy was really good when Gav cried while having dinner with Cai. I choked up watching Kokoy's eyes. And of course the back and forth between Gav and Cai during the last scene was outstanding. I cried because that scene really reminded me of fights I've had in the past that ended my previous relationships. By a mile, Elijah and Gav's performance is the best acting by a duo in a boys' love (BL) series! You don't really see such range in acting from both lead actors in a BL series. I've seen around 100 BL series (Thai, Taiwanese, Filipino, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Korean). Oftentimes, one of the actors was really good but the other was just so-so. A lot of times, both actors were just easy on the eyes. But with Elijah as Cai and Kokoy as Gav, we got two high-caliber actors who are also easy on the eyes! By the way, congrats to Elijah for another Best Actor nomination (for the movie Kalel, 15) from the highly prestigious Gawad Urian (Urian Awards). The only thing I didn't like is the fact that there's only one episode left! I know there's a Gameboys The Movie but I'm really hoping for a happy ending next week. Cai and Gav deserves to be happy, and so do we.
Episode 2 didn't really improve on the pilot episode. The plot/storyline lacked complexity. The screenplay was underwhelming. Acting was poor. Joe was tentative with unnecessary hand movements while Daniela was too scripted and stiff. Graphics was dull and editing still needs a lot of improvement. I just hope Episode 3 is better than this episode.
Episode 6 was better than last week's episode. While it might be confusing why Zag, who was running after Zig since day one, was not ready for Zig's confession, I do understand why Zag's scared not only for himself but for Zig. He raised real-life concerns that a lot of people (especially queer) can relate. And I love the last lines from Zig: "I know trusting someone is really hard... but... promise... leaving you is not... it's none of my choices... You're that place I would always want to go back to... even if the road is ZigZag... so... do you trust me?" The chemistry between Kelly and Kristoffer was good. I haven't said much about the series' background music and the OST but they really contribute to what I like about this series. In this episode, they're in sync with what the scenes called for. There are still four episodes left. I hope ZigZag end up together. They both deserve to be happy.
Wil was scheming while Kenji was a bit creepy (dude, you've only met Joey and you're already asking him about his love life?). I'm really Team JoNuan. Based on the trailer for the next part, Nuan will be heart-broken and he'll be crying. I just hope they don't turn him into a bad guy.
According to World-of-BL (via Twitter): "I've received official confirmation that Amore will run for 30 episodes, each with 3 parts, making 90 parts in total.
If they continue with the current schedule, the final episode will be on Wednesday 3rd March 2021."
Everything thing you said is on point! You're right, Nuan has been the only non-manipulator so far, but he's also…
I think Nuan is less persistent because he lacks confidence. He may think he doesn't stand a chance compared to Wil and the other guys. I really hope they don't make him a bad person with a dark secret in the end.
I remain hopeful for this series. It has a clear idea of what it's all about which makes its plot/storyline promising. Episode 3: Oh My Daddy still exhibited the same technical and substantive problems as previous episodes. Audio and editing were still poor. Queer characters were still depicted as one-dimensional while female characters were portrayed not only as vain, but also whorish. Add Jimmy and his gang's hegemonic and toxic masculinity and we have an almost complete set of problematic gender representations in this episode. But the good thing about this series, with 30 episodes, we can still hope that its future episodes will give queer characters their own storyline and treat women more fairly. Hegemonic and toxic masculinity in this episode were also countered by the hybrid and inclusive masculinity of the other lead cast members particularly Joey and Nuan. I reiterate again why I'm Team JoNuan. Out of the four boys (Jimmy, Wil, Nuan, and Kenji), Nuan is the only one who hasn't done anything problematic or shady. He's also a working student representing a lot of students struggling financially. I just hope they don't do him bad on this series. While not super funny, screenplay in this episode was cute enough to make you smile from time to time. Acting and chemistry of the lead cast members were also good. My only other issue was casting Buknoy. Why was she even included in this series? Her acting in this episode was barely tolerable! Anyway, I'm hoping for continued improvements in the next episodes!
If they continue with the current schedule, the final episode will be on Wednesday 3rd March 2021."