SamW6

A solid core in a silly package

The first time I watched My Stubborn I thought it was kind of plot-less and not very good. I was distracted by all of the extended NC scenes and the not-so-polished aspects of the show - Penny and Girl Jun's weird office siren outfits, Sorn's ridiculous penciled on depression beard, Tai and Champ's gross anti-chemistry, and the distracting way Oat pouts his lips when he's acting stubborn/young/mad.

And yet... I kept coming back to this show. It's one of my most rewatched shows and it's not (only) because of how NC heavy it is. This is a show that really rewards a rewatch, especially if you fast-forward past the superfluous side-couple plots. As I rewatch the show, the actual plot and Boat and Oat's skill as actors rise to the surface.

Spoiler Alert:
One of my favorite scenes that demonstrates the strong points of this show is Sorn coming to find Jun in the stairwell after he's humiliated him with a stupid prank. The build up to the scene is layered - the night before, Sorn had driven Jun and Penny to the mall. Jun thinks that Sorn and Penny are still together and pulls away from Sorn. Sorn is angry and rude about Jun meeting up with Piang. The next morning Sorn pranks Jun, apparently to punish him for hanging out with Piang. As a result of the prank, Jun gets reprimanded by the boss.

From Jun's perspective, Sorn is
a) constantly trying to seduce him
b) still sleeping with his maybe girlfriend
c) insisting Jun doesn't sleep with anyone else and
d) intentionally getting him in trouble at work.

Jun has started falling for Sorn but is aware that Sorn is unwilling/unable to offer any commitment or even acknowledgment of real feeling and Jun clearly kind of hates himself for not being able to resist Sorn's constant advances. The prank is the last straw and Jun breaks down at work. The moment when Sorn comes to find him in the stairwell is so well done. Sorn realizes he's gone too far and that his actions are impacting Jun much more intensely than Jun has previously let on. Sorn has fucked things up beyond an easy apology and is still unwilling/unable to admit that he cares about Jun and wants a relationship with him, which is probably the only thing that could fix things at this point. He looks so lost and bewildered sitting next to Jun - it feels real, exactly like real life 20-something relationship drama.

The show is full of these well-written, well-acted, nuanced little moments, which is what keeps me coming back to rewatch it. If you've dismissed this show as a horny mess, I recommend giving it another try.

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So glad I gave this a try

Acting, Writing, Directing, Pacing, Casting, Soundtrack: Perfect. No notes. Everyone is good in this but Gun is fucking transcendent.

I put off watching this for so long because the whole "disguising yourself as your twin in a coma" plot description sounded a little too telenovela for me. I'm so glad I gave it a try, though. That is absolutely not what this show is about. Rather, it is about a group of young men exploring leftist politics and direct action. It's also not just a BL- the show would honestly work without any romance. However, queer relationship stories are woven into the themes of collective liberation, intimacy, vulnerability, and honesty, so the love stories don't feel randomly tacked on, either. Femme and kathoey characters are actually a part of the community and not played for laughs. The entanglement of oligarchy/capitalism/patriarchy/sexism/homophobia/ableism is explored thoughtfully. Characters with leftist politics aren't demonized for exploring direct action, including (non-lethal) violence and property destruction. They argue with each other over the effectiveness and ethics of their strategies, but without the black/white moralizing of a capitalist lens. It was really cool to see how the characters explore questions of justice and activism through their own lenses of diplomacy, law, and art.

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