MaintainingMama

My goodness, thank you soooo much for this! I was like, the way they have this set up, Sun's house must be on the complete other side of Thailand as long as they have been driving! 😂😂😂

This is going in my top 10 BLs. I did NOT have this being on my list as the greatest of 2024 when I saw the trailer, but my goodness they did it. Them not having the preview for next week is a level of genius I was unprepared for. I am going to be in pain waiting for next week!
Speaking of pain, My Poor Joe. That is what this show should be called. Cause the spirit guide dude (as a black person, I am NOT referring to that dude with the M word) was right. Aren't you tired, Joe!? When he got shot and the back and then they had my poor man roll down the steps too, I was like what more can they do to My Poor Joe!? I literally couldn't watch Joe die a second time for those people. And Tong beside the hospital bed!? Are you kidding me!?
My only complaint in this whole episode is I needed Ming/Up to act better when Ming got shot. Moo was more devastated when Kang broke up with him in the train station. I needed to see Ming lose his mind, knowing that Joe was going to be taken away from him a second time. I needed a gut wrenching scene from Up to show case the absolute tragedy that is Joe's life and I felt let down by the scene.
Other than that, no notes.
I am going to be in bigger pain that I thought going into the shows final week. I thought I would be a bit sad that we at the end and I was going to miss this high quality shit show of a drama. But the fact that they had Joe step into the white room and we have zero clue what is going to happen next week. Well, that is going to keep me up at night, I just know it.

I had to go back and look at MSP to see the kissing there. It had been a while since I watched that series. I think you are right, the kissing in MSP is better than in We Are. But I think both kisses suffered from something I pray they grow out of. I saw it with OffGun, TayNew and countless others. It's what I like to call the "straight virgin boy syndrome" They kiss like they have never kissed anyone AND they have a mental block about it being a boy. And to be honest, I give them all grace, cause they are crazy young, so I'm not mad that their kissing is less than perfect. Pond and Phuwin though, they have no excuses any more.

I agree with you, about the new faces and go one step further that if this was under any other production house, i.e. not under GMMTV, it would have terrible ratings and we would all be on here saying, "it's NOT that bad, guys!"😂😂😂 I'm not a huge stan of PondPhuwin, all of there series shows me that both Pond and Phuwin are uneven in their acting, especially together, i.e. the love scenes. They are great separately or in scenes that don't require any displays of affection, but it always seems like Phuwin pulls back...I know that Pond and Phuwin are the draw here, but I am actually preferring a AouBoom and WinnySatang. I honestly think that if WinnySatang get better at kissing, they could be the next big ship. And this show has we wanting a AouBoom lead series now. I think they could carry a show by themselves.

I'm not too sure why this show is this long. I was hoping for deeper content since it was 16 episodes, like either more scenes regarding Phum and his dad (I mean it was kind of hinted at in this episode with the lost puppy look Phum gave when Peem's dad came in) or maybe they started dating a lot sooner than episode 14 (for heaven sake's GMMTV) and we get to see them working through their issues.
I think what I think was a missed opportunity with this show is showing the growth they all had over the year as they go through typical college struggles. And I think it could have been done really well in the exact same story line as shown. Like stop all the nauseating baby talk and show them having real intimate conversations that help us see that you really know each other enough to proclaim love.
Like with Tan and Khao. The scene where he was jealous would have been a perfect scenario to see both of them grow as characters. Finding out about Khao's girlfriend and feeling some type of way is perfectly understandable. But instead of the pouting and then baby talk when they made the bracelets, it would be nice to see maybe some sulking with Khao confronting Tan, asking what the problem was. So then Tan could discuss how it's not really a big deal, he was just having some feelings about the ex girlfriend thing and he was just trying to process. Then the two of them could talk about their feelings, maybe Khao could mention that next time, Tan should just say something when something is bothering him, because he isn't a mind reader, but that he never wants Tan to think that he doesn't care about what he is thinking or feeling. Just something that shows that as the deal with problems/concerns, they grow in their relationship.
As CUTE as Winny and Satang are in these roles, it would be nice to maybe see Toey slowly change from the baby voice child character to someone who is growing as he becomes a college student. I think having his character be the baby of the group, and the fact that everyone coddles him is cute, but I am not a fan of the way he speaks all the time. I want to see Toey struggle a little bit in college, cause it's not easy, even if you are doing something you are passionate about. It would have been great to see him have trouble with a certain concept he is learning. And while everyone is helping him, he wants to succeed on his own and he eventually blows up at Q for being too overprotective and not letting him fail on his own terms. Again, then a bit talk about how hard Q has to work, despite everyone always going on about how easy this all seems for him. And Toey learning that sometimes you ask for help or let others help you and sometimes, you persist on your own. I just want something more interesting for them at this point of their relationship other than sniff kisses and then getting shy like hey haven't been boyfriends for months now.
Phum and Peem...I want Peem to stop acting like he doesn't actually like Phum. I get that that is a bit, but that acceptance to being boyfriends was lame, including the sad little kiss behind the flowers. Remember the kiss in Cutie Pie where Lian and Kuea kissed in the club behind the menu. That is what should have happened behind those flowers after the finally became boyfriends. I'm looking for passion and intimacy again from these two. It would have been such a big relief for both of them to finally get together, so having a intimate moment, even though it was in the gallery, would have been perfect for that scene. A true " we are the only people in the room" kind of moment. Then I want them to deal with what ever is going on with Phum's dad. 2 episodes left and we still don't know what's wrong.
I wanted more from this series. Oh well, like most GMMTV shows, it's mostly good, so there is that I guess.

No I totally agree with you.

I actually like this series so far. I love how soft Sun is with Lin, and yes Lin is cautious, it is understandable in their situation. It started off as an online date, which brings their own risks, but then Sun turned out to be his boss. And not just a minor boss, but the head of the entire company he probably wants to work for in the future. I imagine, he wants to be conservative with what he does with someone who potentially might not be who he presents himself to be and ruins Lin's future. The bedroom almost kiss scene was hilarious to me. First kisses are almost always awkward and weird, especially when it's the first kiss ever. The fact that they fell off the bed was cute and the laughing together is honestly what alot of times makes for a great relationship later.
The Hongkong section was soooo MosBank vlog coded and I LOVE their vlogs, they always do such a great job of showing the area they are in. Plus it showed them beginning to truly get to know each other. Lin not being ready to jump into boyfriendhood after all that made sense, because again, this relationship has the potential to ruin all the things. The couple necklace wasn't too much for me, as it is soo obvious that Sun is head over heels for Lin. And someone who is rich, and a jewelry company owner, giving jewelry as a gift makes sense.
I'm not sure how I feel about the GL story line yet. Prim is mean and they aren't giving me enough reasons to justify her coldness. They need to hurry up and get to her back story before I can ship the girlies together.
I don't know what to think about Sam and Yotha yet, but I am vaguely intrigue, so I'll stay tuned.
I have seen a lot of complaints that this is boring, but for me, it was just sweet and romantic. I like that they are moving slow, but not in that, nothing happened way, i.e. like in Bite Me. Sun is actively pursuing Lin and they share a bunch of moments that developed their relationship. And we can see how they feel about each other.
I do wish they showed more of the jewelry designs though. Much like in the shows when they are chefs, seeing they prepare the food and then seeing the final product, I think it would be great to see the different designs each intern is coming up with.
Anyway, I like it so far, I love MosBank. I will admit that sometimes Bank's acting is not right in some scenes. But I can give lots of grace cause I have seen WAY worst acting in these series, so I can just hope he gets better over time.

As usual, MAME does some things great and other things, meh. I'll start with the meh. I don't like the GL story line, although I liked them better together than in previous episodes. Mook as a character is just the worst and I need her to grow up. There is no way she works for someone who writes romance novels with graphic scenes and is old enough to work a job like this, but has a problem with two grown people having consensual sex. All that whining and jumping around were the peak of annoying in children, but she is a whole grown ass woman. Why would Vivi be into that? Even if you find it cute at first, after a little bit it would be too much for anyone. I also don't really like the way Vivi is written, but again, I liked her in this episode, especially with her interactions with Mut. I also kind of like her during the shopping scene. But it was also kind of boring, if I'm being honest.
And honestly, it wasn't just them, this whole episode was kind of boring. I do not need NC scenes every episode. (Although, when Rak came down in the long white shirt, a classic MAME repeating theme for sexy time, I just knew they were going to do it in the kitchen and nosy Mook was going to walk in and be traumatized!😂😂😂)
Now what was done right, in my opinion. What I liked about this episode was the maturity of the interactions between Mut and Rak. The getting an STD screening and sharing results. The open conversations about sex that were done casually and direct, to emphasize that sex is a normal, health, non shameful thing between two consenting adults. They are both single and shouldn't be ashamed for liking sex. A lot of times in these shows (much to my dismay), they act like one person initiating or even trying to discuss sex, is pervert. Or to be hidden from anyone ever knowing ever. Like they are going to die virgins, even though they have this new boyfriend who they love. And don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of abstaining until you are ready to take that next step in a relationship, however, the acting like it is gross to talk about or one person is weird for even thinking about it is sooo unrealistic. I like how Rak is clear that he likes sex, that he has sex and that sometimes, in order to be a better writer, he uses sex, again, with a consenting adult, to get clarity of thought.
I also like how Mut was clear with Rak that you may not believe in love, but you cannot stop me from believing and falling in love, while I will honor your wishes, you have no control over mine. He is submitting to Rak completely with out losing himself or respecting his own autonomy, and I like that. And I suspect Rak likes it too, anyone who likes someone who lets you run all over them, is probably abusive.
I was pretty meh about this episode, but I hope we get to see more Rak and Mut figuring out what their relationship is next week.

Also side note : Fort is GORGEOUS in this series. The hair in his eyes along with the half smiles/smirks are killing me!

😂 Her overacting was perfect in a series where they were all over the top. 😂 She fit right in! Plus, I think her dramatics were warranted. I mean the poor baby was going through it.

I'm not really routing for Ming and Joe, I'm mainly routing for Joe to finally be happy. And if that means being with Ming, then okay...I guess. I Ming has sort of learned his lesson...although he is still very much a stalker obsessed with Joe who likes to ruin Joe's life at every turn. Next week included cause I'm pretty sure that because of his shenanigans with his dad, which I actually applaud Ming for (standing up for himself and Joe), Joe is going to be a "Stand In" for Tong's kidnappers. My poor Joe! He can't catch a break EVER! I mean, even his mother is going to be mad at him! Joe better get the happiest ever after! And Tong needs to be in jail at a minimum, I don't care if he is having a baby with the sister! And I hope that was a bluff to get Ming to help Tong and not real!

I agree Phuwin is definitely the problem more than Pond. Maybe they are the exception, but I usually figure the more comfortable the ship is with each other and more specifically with doing BL's, the better the chemistry. Again, I point to JoongDunk. I'll even point to OffGun, TayNew, heck KristSingto. I just feel like as an actor, what ever the hang up is, they have been in too many series, especially together, to excuse subpar romantic scenes. Especially as the MLs.

So here is what I enjoyed about this special episode.
1)The production was still top tier. And story was pretty good for the length of time they had to develop it. I wasn't left with a bunch of questions. And it wrapped up pretty neatly.
2) I am glad that most of the main characters came back and that we didn't get stupid little side scenes with the sister and her...lover? (The never said if they ended up together) Or the grandmas. I also love they didn't take up a lot of time recapping like alot of series.
3) The action scenes were still great and that they kept the cheesy long unnecessary posing where some one just asked a question that could easily be answered, but they stare in the the distance in silence for way too long as the camera cuts to each character making a constipated face that is supposed to mean deep resolve and determination to get the bad guy that are ridiculous but it wouldn't be the Sign with out at least on of them .
4) The little girl. She acted circles around each and every one of them. And I have never been happier than when they revealed that she could speak both English and Thai fluently. Nothing makes me cringe more than when they add a TON of broken English/Thai to the dialog and there is literally no reason to have it. The addition of this multilingual queen made all the sense in the world in the context of this story line and I appreciate the addition. As well as then Billy and Babe's English dialog. Again, it made sense to the story, so I have no problem with it not being perfect.

Now to the stuff that wasn't as great.
1)The lack of actual police-ing the special investigation team actually did . I had a problem in the series as well with the same thing. All that training they did to then be bad fighters and never know when to pull out their guns drove me nuts then and it drove me nuts in this special episode. That fact that Sarawat Cutie Pie told new Chief girl to get a team and watch the house to specifically protect the girl and all she did was bring herself with one gun and zero extra clips arriving late is the most irritating thing! And then she called for back up and no one came. Like no one! Even when Tharn and Phaya came to back her up, they too came with zero back up. Where are the police in the area? Her whole team that should have been there to protect Deeni? Same goes for Sarawat Cutie Pie! Who sends in part of their team undercover with zero ways of communication?! Aren't they the special unit!? Didn't they have to go through Ice tube training so they would be elite!? And then when they figured out they were online, no one thought to call for back up to the warehouse before they broke in, so that the whole, "you are surrounded" wasn't a bluff?! Then the stand off! They brought a few extra folks to help, but then...where did they go!? Half the bad guys ran into the forest with the witness and only Phaya and Tharn went after them!? HUH?! THEN Tharn finally starts using his gun (where was the gun when they broke into the mansion! He didn't remember to pull that out until the end), he is able to kill/take out literally everyone by himself?! HUH?!
This is literally my only complaint. I don't need to be realistic. I actually loved Phaya's fight scene with the guy who injected himself with....dog?! That last "let me run, jump, stand on your shoulders, look down at you with rage as you look up at me with concern before I kick you in the face" was top tier tv. Maybe I'm just too American in my expectations. I just feel like they made the training such a big part of the show that it would be nice if at least those 5 that were selected as well as Sarawat Dreamy could at least mostly be bad ass.

For the most part I enjoyed it. I don't know what to make of the teaser at the end. Is that a spin off? Just an introduction to new characters in the same universe sense they also ended it with an Avengers closer? I guess we shall see.

Lastly, I must thank the producers as well as the actors for swimming pool scene. There was a lot of..."confidence" surrounding the pool and I appreciated it!😂😂😂

We finally get a drama with ALOT of episodes and they still are telling a incomplete story and with only 2 episodes left in a 16 episode series, we barely get to see the main couple be together. I liked all the story lines. And I love the friendship this story displays. I almost dare to say, if they had made this just a story about the friends you make in college, it would have been top tier. But how do the writers justify having Peem confess his love to Phum and then still have us wait 20 more minutes until they are actually together. And that acceptance was trash. I get that it was meant to be cute/funny, but there were several moments that missed the mark for me in this week's episode. That one and the scene where Peem confesses his love and Phum has zero facial reaction. A hug and a bad kiss and that was it for the top confession scene!? I really wanted Phum to either cry and suddenly grab Peem up into his arms, to show he was overwhelmed with emotion, or to break up the serious scene with his jaw dropping and Peem taking advantage of that to then either sniffkiss or direct kiss Phum. That lackluster hug, just made the scene lose all of its power.
I also felt that the whole arguing with his dad scene was lackluster as well. If they had had Phum break down and admit to how he felt about being sent away and what he thought his father felt about him to do that to him, and his dad respond with either an heartfelt apology or even a jerk response of dismissing Phum's feelings, if only so Khaofang could hear it and no longer try to force the relationship...just something other than the abbreviated scene with lack of too many emotions.
I guess I am disappointed because between the episode length and this being on iQiyi, I expected this to me on the level of Only Fans. And by that, I mean a well thought out, more mature story. And by more mature, I just mean, dealing with college age issues, like real college age students would.
While I love Q and Toey's story and relationship, it would have been nice to see them be more intimate, more mature acting. I get that Toey is supposed to be a freshman, and that the group babies him, but how refreshing would it be that when it's just the two of them, he drops the cutesy baby voice and speaks to Q with a bit more...intimacy. This could have been on par with Not Me and Only Fans in terms of showing a deeper level series, but they missed the opportunity. If they were going to keep this script, they could have cut out a couple or 2, a friend or two, and bunch o'scenes and made a typical 12 episode Sunday night GMMTV drama aired on Youtube.
Especially with these kisses. With the exception of AouBoom, these are some substandard kisses. I can give WinnySatang grace, cause this is really the first time they are more center stage and have had to do multiple kisses. Most GMMTV ships had pitiful first series kisses. But PondPhuwin have been in like 3 series together, they have zero excuse at this point for these fish kisses. Someone show them JoongDunk. Heck even ForceBook have improved (and they had the worst kisses in OF, ForceNeo kissed better!)
Again, I guess I was hoping that when they were given such a big project that they would do better. And I will say, acting wise, I do think they, especially Phuwin, are better. But otherwise...sigh, it's okay I guess...

I agree, OF proved you could have this many couples and still tell full and complete stories about them. The fact that We Are is getting way more episodes than OF but are still not telling balanced stories is frustrating.

I get that Rak was more comfortable. I just wish, as a viewer who didn't read the book, that it was made clearer that a greater amount of time had passed. A simple montage would have sufficed and still could have kept the schedule of them going to Bangkok. Thanks for mini spoiler (and warning), it definitely helped clarify. I just wish, MAME as the director had done something to make it more clear to the viewers.

I definitely thought we would get more island time.

Honestly, it was tackled realistically. But if you don't like that specific trope, you probably won't like that part of the show. For me, they really did that part well.

I did like like this episode, but I need just a bit more to help get me to the end scene more smoothly.
We went from Rak avoiding Mut until Mut had to chase him down. Then after the star scene, we had to cute little cuddle scene, which I loved, because it showed Rak being vulnerable and soft. But then we get to the environmental scene, which I again, I loved, but I feel like between the cuddle scene and the environmental scene, we should have gotten a montage of them being together, cause the beach/star scene led me to believe they had time together to "prove love was real". If we had had a montage of them exploring the island together, eating, laughing and so on, when we got to Mut's house and then HIM being vulnerable, it would have made sense to me why Rak would agree to staying. Because again, at the beginning of the episode, he wasn't even talking to Mut. I needed them to show why Mut would leave the sea that he loves so much for a guy that as far as they have shown, he has barely spent any time with.
Second, I am not into the GL story at all. I said it last week, but if they had just shown the actress and the assistant fall in love because they were always meeting up due to "work" circumstances but then they later revealed that all along, Vivi had a secret crush on Muk the whole time, it could have been cute. But this manipulation, driving Muk crazy with all the unnecessary errands is not for me. I skip their scenes, which is sad, cause I like the GL storyline in The Wedding Plan, so I was looking forward to this one.
Thirdly, no one recycles line more than MAME. The biting dog /woof line was HOT in episode 2, but the use it again in episode 3 made me roll my eyes. And then the thin walls line. That was just a rephrasing from LBC 1. And then the "do me" line from LITA also made an appearance. She didn't even bother to spread out the recycled lines. MAME, it seems, is getting a bit lazy with her NC scenes. She'll give you one original one, ie episode 2, but after that originality much need to tap out until the next series. 😂😂

This was the sweetest little drama! I'm going to miss Moo and Kang. I hope to see more of SeaKeen as I would love to see their growth in the industry. And Louder is quickly moving up the list as one of my favorite GMMTV songs. Keen needs to just ahead and join Gem, Fourth, Satang and Ford in the "real" singers category. I'll add Joong and Earth to this list, cause I LOVE Earth's song, Eyes Can't Lie. Anywhoo, this was a great series and I am really going to miss it!

I am still liking it so far. The acting is still giving newbie, especially, surprisingly from Bank, who has been in entertainment longer. But I also can't decide if it just appears that way because of his character. I think Bank's character wouldn't come off weird, if he had said any words at all about the whole situation with Sun being the president of the company. I simple, "Sun, I do like you, but I hate that you lied to me. I need time to decide if I want to continue to build this relationship." Or hell, yell at him and cuss him out. I cliched slap would have been better than to simply act like a robot in that scene or the balcony scene. That would have been a perfect place to show some emotions, like when the text came through, a tear, a middle finger, a hair pull, cause Lin just doesn't know to do. But something. Cause other than the crumpled post it notes, we have zero clue what he is thinking during this time. I do like how soft Mos is playing Sun. It is very different from his character in Big Dragon, which I like that this is showing off his range. I will say, their scenes together, especially the hair drying scene, are so MosBank coded. When Mos moved his hand up Banky's thigh, I half expected Bank to swat at Mos and call him Ter! 😂😂 They do have amazing chemistry together. And Man, I said it last week, but Mos was always handsome, but Sheesh he is really handsome in this series. Looks like next week we are getting our first kiss. I am looking forward to the sweeping off the feet that the trailer promised.