axelcarlisle

You're not alone. I prefer Zon/Saifah (although Tutor/Fighter is improving... still not a big fan of Saint, but I prefer him here over Pete in LBC, and I do love Zee).

Zon/Saifah just seem so fun. After a lot of nice but angsty BLs in the last year, it's a breath of fresh air to have one that's genuinely fun again this time.

See, as you pointed out, how the novel presented it makes sense especially in the context of the reincarnation story.

This could have easily been fixed / adapted to the show with subtle ways, such as maybe a simple whisper of, “Korn?” from Pharm when Dean touches him - implying that Pharm is not comfortable because it’s Korn and not Dean making advances. It doesn’t need to be a drawn out explanation, subtle hints will do.

As it is, how the director has made it, it just seems like Pharm is such a mega-prude with his own boyfriend, and it’s not a good look because we don’t actually get to see or understand why.

I believe this is the same director as LBC. I guess similar pacing and storytelling problems did happen in LBC (the almost non-existent subplots of TechnoKengkla and TumTar, and the imbalanced way of how the story of TinCan was underdeveloped). I wish he learned from the opportunities he had from LBC in that aspect (pacing, weaving of plots, etc.).

Again, I still believe UWMA is a very good series. In fact, I like it way better than LBC. But the last 2-3 episodes have really gone downhill, and I hope it recovers in time for the finale.

I still love this series, currently just finished episode 11, but the rating of 9 that I was thinking of giving it around 6 episodes ago has dropped to 8. Maybe even 7.5.

The last 3-4 episodes could all have been compressed into one episode. I like slow burns sometimes, but this is just beyond normal slow burn. The stories have barely moved forward, both past and present. The only key things are the introduction of Dean’s grandma and now Pharm wanting to meet her, and in the KornIn story, really it’s just same old, same old.

We also just get told that Korn and In have a tragic love story where everyone keeps them apart and they need to hide their relationship, but none of this has actually been shown in the last few eps. They just keep on talking about the conflict, but we don’t actually see the conflict. The last time may have been when Korn’s father had them followed, and then... still hasn’t moved along.

I put all this on the director’s plate. I’m starting to think he will get paid by the number of eps he can do so he’s stretched the whole story out with unending sequences of extended music and silence.

I also love Pharm, but it’s starting to bother me how much he pushed intimacy away from Dean. We don’t really need to have sex or anything, but even little sweet gestures, Pharm cuts Dean off. The way Pharm acts, it’s almost as if Dean wasn’t his boyfriend yet but still a suitor. It’s just strange, and Dean at this point should be awarded “Most Patient Boyfriend of the Century.”

The actors are great though. They all deserve props.

Hopefully the last few eps, the director picks things up. I will see it through, but I just wish some substantial things happen each ep that will move the story along more effectively.

Definitely after all that Lhong did, he deserves no sympathy, but it’s to Kaownah’s credit as an actor as well as the writer that they made the character three dimensional and multi-faceted and not just a flat, mustache-twirling villain.

Kaownah deserves an award for that performance in this final episode. Wow.

As an aside, Kao is Thai for "nine."

Earth is annoying over-all for me. He annoyed me on Love By Chance, he's annoying here, and clips of him on YouTube as "himself" annoy me. Too bad because I really like Nine/Korn.

Mame, the author, is collaborating with someone (a subber IIRC) for the translation, targeted to be released next year.

Wow. That was a short special episode, but it was pretty great IMO.

I’ve always known Lhong was evil, and I never expected Kaownah could imbue him with such depth and (some) sympathy. Nothing excuses what he did and will do, of course, just that Kaownah managed to give you insight into Lhong’s pain and loneliness while at the same time showing the glimmer of manipulativeness and evil with just subtle shifts in his eyes and facial expressions.

I (almost) felt sorry for Lhong as he struggled to take care of a grieving Tharn who could only cry about Type. “Almost” because we all know what despicable things Lhong has done.

I always liked Kaownah but this special episode has solidified me as a fan.

Also: kudos to the author. Lhong is clearly another character suffering from mental health issues. This series has tackled various manifestations and effects of mental health issues as well as PTSD: fron Tar to Lhong to Type. In the world of BL where often everything is rosy, TT has tried to depict some different things. And it works.

Mame as well as the show’s cast and crew are doing a great job, and now I can’t wait for the finale.

I agree with TayNew/PeteKao Our Skyy. New was pretty good there.

But I think maybe it’s because it was light and a bit comedic too, sweet and not heavy.

So maybe New should for now stay away from heavy drama and stick to lighter fare.

TumTar is fairly irrelevant in LBC, but in TharnType, it will be crucial to the plot in the last two episodes and can’t be considered a simple side story because it will serve as a catalyst to major changes/growth in Type.

To be fair, Arthit and Kongpob of SOTUS are similar, except more toned down. Arthit is the bottom but aggressive, while Kongpob is the mild-mannered top.

Pre-Type:

1. Tharn dated Tar and was very much in love.
2. Lhong, who has been in love with Tharn for the longest time, makes arrangements for Tar to be drugged and gang-raped.
3. Tar is traumatized. He breaks up with Tharn, feeling “dirty” and “not worthy of love.” He also doesn’t tell Tharn and Tum why and what happened (can’t exactly recall, I think Lhong was blackmailing him, too).
4. Tum thinks it was Tharn who broke up with Tar and that Tharn broke Tar’s heart. This is why their friendship (and band) breaks apart.
5. This is also why Tar is portrayed on the show the way he is - he has PTSD stemming from what Lhong did.

To Come:
1. Type investigates who Tar is.
2. He learns what happened and works to help Tar out.
3. IIRC, Type pretends to break up with Tharn as a ploy to expose Lhong.
4. Lhong also tries to harm Type, Tharn and Techno come to the rescue.
5. Tharn also finally learns what happens to Tar.
6. Tar becomes good friends with Type as well. In LBC, which happens years later. Type is shown to be meeting up with Tar, and Tar even brings Type (and Tharn) stuff from his trip abroad.

I may be misremembering, but I believe Tum still doesn’t learn about what happened to Tar because Tharn and Type agree to keep it a secret. So Tum still holds a grudge against Tharn and is also averse towards Type.

Tum only finds out several years later when Tar finally tells him (this happens in Love By Chance).

So yeah, the whole drugged and gang raped thing (if accurately adapted on the show) is bound to be even more emotionally exhausting than the most recent episode.

They’ve been faithful to the novel so far, so if they continue to do so for the last couple of eps, then this will be even more emotionally exhausting. What happened to Tar in the past is extremely disturbing and can even be triggering to some. Prepare yourself.

It will mostly not be fluff, that much I can say unless you want spoilers. Just let me know.

New hasn’t really been a strong dramatic actor to begin with.

Just watch him go head to head with Krist in crying/emotional scenes on Love Beyond Frontier (particularly in a climactic reveal). Krist is acting his ass off as usual and is crying so effectively, and then the shot switches to New, and his acting is cringey.

And now Tay, who’s generally been the better actor, is fresh off 3 Will Be Free where he was able to hone his acting chops even further by playing a vastly different gay character from Pete (the mild-mannered, kind, and dejected Shin). Tay has proven to be a versatile actor, and now having New act opposite a further-improved Tay has really highlighted New’s shortcomings as a dramatic actor.

Having seen New in Wolf, where he had some funny plotlines/scenes that he was good at, and Room Alone, where he was a playboy who had funny moments, I do think New needs to do lighter and/or comedic roles. Maybe that’s really where his strength lies as an actor.

He’s leagues behind several of the GMM BL “pillars” such as Krist, Singto, Tay, Pluem (watch Happy Birthday!), Chimon, Ohm, and Gun. He needs to step up.

I’m a fan of Thai BLs, but really it is pretty concerning that a lot of them seem to revel in toxic relationships and romanticize them. This is almost Twilight territory.

This includes TharnType, but at least in that one, the writer was trying to provide context as to why the characters are toxic (PTSD, sexual assault, mental health issues, etc.) and that it’s not always treated as something light or right.

In many others, there’s no attempt to even explain the abusive personalities and thus makes it just seem normal and romantic.

Wow, I agree with everything you listed, both likes and dislikes!

Especially Mork and Pete explicitly identifying as LGBT instead of the wishy-washy “I don’t like men, just you” typical of many Thai BLs. This is why I really appreciated Pete and Kao discussing their sexuality by the pool some eps ago.

And I’m a fan of New, but he really is a weak actor. In Love Beyond Frontier, Krist overpowered New in their emotional scenes together (even if Krist could overdo it at times). Now in DBK New continues to be outshone in his scenes with Tay who has vastly further improved (I think his versatility as an actor was really elevated because of 3 Will Be Free where his character was totally the opposite of Pete).

New’s strength may be in comedy, not drama. He was pretty funny in Wolf during the comedic scenes he had, and in Room Alone he played the funny parts of his character well.

Ultimately, I think the problem with Sun and Kao, just like with Tharn in TharnType, is that they can’t seem to trust their partners (or love interest for now, in the case of Sun) to be capable of changing.

All three of them have boys with violent tendencies / temperaments (Mork, Pete, Type). They can’t seem to trust these boys to change, which is why in the case of Kao and Tharn, they choose to lie / keep things a secret in order not to trigger Pete and Type. In the case of Sun, he jumps to conclusions that Mork once again started the fight without even asking what happened (or even asking how Mork felt, how was he, etc.).

So the three of them need to start believing that the boys can and have in fact changed. That’s one of the root causes of all these problems: lack of belief that their partners can become better people.

I believe they use the terms the other way around because Tharn is the top and Type is the bottom.

Have to disagree. This episode, while slow, is very pivotal because it “introduces” Type to Tar’s existence as well as the unraveling of Lhong’s involvement. Type finds out about Tar, and it heralds the final act of the series. Skipping it would remove the nuances of how all these characters are finally seen to be linked together.

Yup, the actors are close in age despite Kok looking young for his age.

Mew is 1991.

Kok is either 1993, 1994, or 1995. His profile says 1995 is the birthyear which would make him 24, possibly if 23 if his birthday is late December (23 turning 24). However, the same profile says he is 25 years old, which could mean he was born in 1994 - or 1993 if born in late December and just about to turn 26 this month.

The characters are also meant to be close in age. They got together when Tharn was still in high school. At the most, their age gap would be 2-3 years.