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And no stupid 'Forgive Your Monstrous Dad' crap!
SEA, SUN, SCENERY, FUN FASHION; UPTIGHT OH-SO-PRETTY, FISH-OUT-OF-WATER, RICH CITY TOURIST; WARM SEXY ISLAND BOY -- WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE?
This has been dismissed as not very well done but most of the flaws noted seem to me to be the flaws of the majority of BLs and I thought they were less egregious than in many.
The plot is coherent and makes sense. There's a good reason for Rak's 'love phobia'. It's great that Mut won't allow himself to be 'abused' by Rak's phobia and yeets out. It makes sense that the mother can fix everything from behind the scenes -- it's all her fault anyway for allowing the hideous, cowardly bully, low-life bum to impact on her children's lives for so many years. The mother has all the money in the world, so she obviously has all the clout in the family, and it makes sense for her to be able to send the ghastly cousin into exile. (I have to admit the cousin was a common 'BL Bit' that is lazy -- the character who exists just to cause trouble for the leads, with no motivation and then conveniently disappears never to return again.)
I was so happy that there was no stupid, "Oh he's your Dad so you must reconcile and forgive him." 10/10 for realism and allowing Rak to decide that he wanted that trash out of his life permanently. Too often, for a 'rosy glow ending', BL parents who are controlling, manipulative and sometimes downright evil, get the filial piety get-out-of-jail card.
The secretary was over-the-top but honestly, I went to school with a girl just like that! And, unusually, GL fans actually got a couple story that wasn't paper thin and an afterthought for a few minutes of screen time.
I was surprised that some people saw dialogue relating to Mut's 'dark skin' as racist! Even in het-romance, outdoorsy, sun-browned skin is a short-hand for 'masculine.' Mut is a dive instructor -- of course he's tanned -- and it plays up citified Rak's pale, delicately uke, skin. Come on -- it's one of the most classic romance tropes -- wherever you land on the sexual spectrum.
I'm not trivializing Rak's trauma but 'Plot Mechanics' guys -- he has to be traumatized to be healed by Mut -- and the back story shines a light on the 'Love as a Monetary Transaction' dilemma as well.
****** I ENJOYED IT. I FEEL LIKE I'VE BEEN ON A NICE LITTLE ISLAND GETAWAY *****
[I have one beef tho. Come on BL directors - NO MORE IMAGINERY COFFEE!!! (There were at least three scenes in this show where a character passed someone an obviously empty coffee mug.]
This has been dismissed as not very well done but most of the flaws noted seem to me to be the flaws of the majority of BLs and I thought they were less egregious than in many.
The plot is coherent and makes sense. There's a good reason for Rak's 'love phobia'. It's great that Mut won't allow himself to be 'abused' by Rak's phobia and yeets out. It makes sense that the mother can fix everything from behind the scenes -- it's all her fault anyway for allowing the hideous, cowardly bully, low-life bum to impact on her children's lives for so many years. The mother has all the money in the world, so she obviously has all the clout in the family, and it makes sense for her to be able to send the ghastly cousin into exile. (I have to admit the cousin was a common 'BL Bit' that is lazy -- the character who exists just to cause trouble for the leads, with no motivation and then conveniently disappears never to return again.)
I was so happy that there was no stupid, "Oh he's your Dad so you must reconcile and forgive him." 10/10 for realism and allowing Rak to decide that he wanted that trash out of his life permanently. Too often, for a 'rosy glow ending', BL parents who are controlling, manipulative and sometimes downright evil, get the filial piety get-out-of-jail card.
The secretary was over-the-top but honestly, I went to school with a girl just like that! And, unusually, GL fans actually got a couple story that wasn't paper thin and an afterthought for a few minutes of screen time.
I was surprised that some people saw dialogue relating to Mut's 'dark skin' as racist! Even in het-romance, outdoorsy, sun-browned skin is a short-hand for 'masculine.' Mut is a dive instructor -- of course he's tanned -- and it plays up citified Rak's pale, delicately uke, skin. Come on -- it's one of the most classic romance tropes -- wherever you land on the sexual spectrum.
I'm not trivializing Rak's trauma but 'Plot Mechanics' guys -- he has to be traumatized to be healed by Mut -- and the back story shines a light on the 'Love as a Monetary Transaction' dilemma as well.
****** I ENJOYED IT. I FEEL LIKE I'VE BEEN ON A NICE LITTLE ISLAND GETAWAY *****
[I have one beef tho. Come on BL directors - NO MORE IMAGINERY COFFEE!!! (There were at least three scenes in this show where a character passed someone an obviously empty coffee mug.]
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