What in the high quality BL is this??? I. Am. Impressed.
I mean I expected it, knowing it's based on Jittirain's, directed by Nuchy, the actors are OffGunDew. BUT STILL. I'm still surprised by the quality??
First of all, nice, nice writing, love the premise, the characters building and introduction are chef's kiss. This is how you "show, don't tell" in cinema. The foundations are being laid out cleanly so far, which is a good sign.
Secondly, loveee Nuchy's direction. I was a bit worried bcs Nuchy is known for her dark themed works, and I feel like her style won't fit this one. But boyyy, she did even better than that. Not Me was dark and raw, Burnout Syndrome was elegant, artistic, and the screenwriting moves gracefully like a dance. Absolutely love this idea of showing the scenes in a non linear way (?) Like it's being cross cut and overlapped smoothly with the previous scenes.
Lastly, I was ready to expect "another sad, intimidated, softie character by Gun" and "another mean, intimidating character by Off" BUT NO. They're so much more complex than that, and it shows. This doesn't feel like BL, they feel like real people. They all cooked, served, and delivered. Gun played Jira so well, he gives him so much more depth than just a guy with a miserable life. And Koh....... I. Have. No. Words. I am surprised by Off, literally. And maybe impressed with the character's writing and building too. But Koh is totally not what I expected. I thought he's just this cold, mean, CEO, but no. They built an entire villain, a real life one and he delivers it well. Dew's delivery with Peem is so damn good. I've never seen his acting before so I have no expectation, but his lines and expressions are sooo smooth I could die.
I love that this gives off Call Me by Your Name and Stranger by the Shore vibes. What is it with these gays and working during summer holidays in rural, pretty places 😭
that scene when Baabin said 4mod is handsome and everything while on mute is too hilarious 🤣🤣🤣 and I'm losing it at his reason for the finger hearts, "if you go back to him, your heart will shrink like this" 😭😭😭
After 1 intro episode and 4 episodes focusing on the 4 characters, I can conclude that this show is too damn relatable. Every little things are TOO REAL to the point that I felt like I'm getting called out. I felt so insulted sometimes, it feels like they are mocking me every episode 🤣 We have: Fou4mod - This emotional lover boy, total simp, when he falls, he falls hard. Become 100x stupider when in love. The pettiest, who would go extra mile as to use his own friend to make his target jealous. Being okay with anything, any status, uncertainties, even getting hurt, just to stay close to the one he loves. Chian - Loves yearning, yearning is his middle name. Also is very loyal like a puppy, hoping to be noticed and loved back all the time. Tried moving on several times, but got pulled back easier and quicker than a heartbeat. Which ends him up in a complicated situation where he hurts both sides, because he can't commit to one decision. Baabin - The most classic "I fell in love with my best friend but I can't tell him because he doesn't like me, and I don't wanna ruin our friendship" victim. Will only like and support the best friend by being by his side all the time, because seeing him everyday is enough, even if it hurts sometimes. Bua - Loves attention, likes being taken care of, being loved, but has low self-awareness and doesn't realize he's in love until it's too late. Another classic "You don't know what you have until it's gone." case.
Tell me I'm not the only one feeling called out by these four 😭
Wow eps 4 is probably the best one so far. I mean, the writing is so classic, so cliché, a young boy and his unrequited love, all the impulsive things he did are driven by his emotions, but such a simple story is executed in a very deep, high-level filmography I rarely seen in other BLs. The rawness of the emotions, the acting, the dialogues, is just too damn real man.
I noticed people complain about the "lack of plot" in this series. And that's actually kinda interesting, because I think the BL industry has evolved so much throughout the years and all of us BL watchers are used to those bizarre, dramatic plots. Mafias, bodyguards, hitmen, vampires, ghosts, doctors, and their crazy love stories in mysterious crimes, passed-down family drama, star-crossed lovers from previous life, reincarnation, time travel, alternate universes, or even petty gay drama who cheats on boyfriends who also cheats on them. We're so used to seeing all of these, that this story of simply falling in love or crushing on someone at school might seem very empty. As if we ourselves didn't go through that at some point in our lives.
Personally, I've always loved simple stories like this, that are very grounded to real life. We all had crushes at school, and it wasn't that dramatic most of the time. It's just longing to see them at school, a little jealousy, and petty tears. That's it, and that's what Gelboys is about.
This is why I miss old BLs like Theory of Love, it's not very good in direction, but the premise is very realistic as well, fell in love with your best friend, hurting but not knowing what to do, but don't wanna lose the friendship. Simple, but hits home.
Oh the story sums up the current thing that is going on for genZs — situationship, where both parties agreed…
Damn I feel every single word you wrote. I'm going through the same thing, and I really cannot wait for the day I finally stop clinging onto the beautiful memories and got rid of these feelings 😭😭😭 Hang in there, we got this ✨
That's it, I'm making a nail appointment next week, and I'm getting those colorful gen-z coded nails. If there's anything gmmtv could learn from this show, this is how you advertise things without advertising things 😂
Watching this makes me realize how much I miss this level of quality in BL 😭😭😭 I've been settling for less for the past 5 years since ITSAY. Not saying that this is gonna be as good as ITSAY, but so far, Boss Kuno's direction style just kinda woke me up and slapped me with reality that "this is what I've always liked in films".
If I can be honest, I'm only here because of FirstKhao, and stick around till now because of the acting (JoongDunk's included) and Jojo's direction. I love Jojo's works even if he sometimes missed, but when the genre fits him, he's good.
But the story.... err not so much. I actually stopped caring about the plot since 2-3 eps ago. It's just too messy and far-fetched. Maybe it's just me, but I never liked complex stories. Complex stories only work when you're really, really good at writing. If the quality is not up to par, and you cannot handle it well to the end, the flaws will be more apparent than a simpler, more basic plot.
Which is why I did not expect myself to cry, but I did during that scene when Bison and Kant said their goodbyes and hugged, before going with the police. At that moment, shout out to Jojo for doing this, but there's no music. It's just silence, outdoor traffic noises in the background, night wind, and Kant's trembling voice. Combine that with FirstKhao's teary eyes. Damn that was good as hell.
Ep 8 part 3/4 10:05 - 12:06 is probably the best 2 minutes to ever come out of GMMTV's BL 🤯🤯🤯
My god Idk how many times have I said this but, First and Khao deserve a project that is NOT. JUST. A. BL. Get them an amazing script, a serious as hell plot, a super talented director, get them an ITSAY level work, get them their own Call Me by Your Name movie. Srsly how come no one in GMMTV thought of this??? If I had them in my company, I would milk the fck out of these gems.
I'm impressed at how good First is as an actor. Kant felt so real to the point that, for some reason, I don't like him as a person 😂 He reminds me of someone I know, he gives off this type of guy that has a lot of charm and he knows it, so he tends to use it to his own advantage, and it kinda gets annoying sometimes. And I think that shows how good First is at bringing this character into life. Kant really feels like a real person to me.
Who's still here in 2025, because none of the BLs they've watched in the last 5 years has topped this series from the number 1 position in the list? Me 🙋♀️
This is not funny tho, it's actually depressing. And to add more to that, ITSAY was like, the fourth BL I've ever watched. So imagine the emptiness (from the sky high standard set by ITSAY) that I felt watching all the BLs to this day.
Another cool thing about Khaotung as an actor. I remember watching the early episodes of Heart Killers and loving Bison's hopelessly in love, puppy eyes whenever he look at Kant. I remember thinking, damn those were eyes full of genuine love. I want someone to look at me like that 😂. And then in eps 7, he keeps showing that loving puppy eyes towards Kant, but this time it's like, almost too much, that it's kind of... unsettling and less genuine. That was so brilliant of him to do that.
I've lost count of how many times have I complimented Khaotung and First in this platform, throughout all of their previous works. From the first time I watched their already amazing acting in The Eclipse, to Only Friends, and now this. They're only getting better and better each time, it's crazy.
[Spoiler alert] There is something more to that scene where Bison imagine himself killing Kant (ep 7 part 1/4 26:08). I don't know if this is me overanalyzing but the thing that I noticed from that scene is how perfectly the director depicts the parallelism of killing and sex in Bison's head. Let me explain.
As we all know, Bison is into BDSM, right? Violence and sadism turns him on. We were shown this the first time in ep 3 part 4/4 11:57. The way Bison goes over the "weapons" on the table that he imagines killing Kant with, reminds me of the "tools" he went over in his drawer. And then the black and white shots of the killing act, are always started with "I love you Bison" from Kant, along with camera angles and position of both Bison and Kant that are exactly the same as the sex in that episode. And then the following scenes are just very strange, the way he stabs him over and over, and then finalized by a gunshot, the way the "weirdly translucent blood" splashes onto Kant's face after, and then the rope, another parallel to the red rope from the same scene.
I don't know if I'm onto something, but damn, the director is good.
I mean I expected it, knowing it's based on Jittirain's, directed by Nuchy, the actors are OffGunDew. BUT STILL. I'm still surprised by the quality??
First of all, nice, nice writing, love the premise, the characters building and introduction are chef's kiss. This is how you "show, don't tell" in cinema. The foundations are being laid out cleanly so far, which is a good sign.
Secondly, loveee Nuchy's direction. I was a bit worried bcs Nuchy is known for her dark themed works, and I feel like her style won't fit this one. But boyyy, she did even better than that. Not Me was dark and raw, Burnout Syndrome was elegant, artistic, and the screenwriting moves gracefully like a dance. Absolutely love this idea of showing the scenes in a non linear way (?) Like it's being cross cut and overlapped smoothly with the previous scenes.
Lastly, I was ready to expect "another sad, intimidated, softie character by Gun" and "another mean, intimidating character by Off" BUT NO. They're so much more complex than that, and it shows. This doesn't feel like BL, they feel like real people. They all cooked, served, and delivered. Gun played Jira so well, he gives him so much more depth than just a guy with a miserable life. And Koh....... I. Have. No. Words. I am surprised by Off, literally. And maybe impressed with the character's writing and building too. But Koh is totally not what I expected. I thought he's just this cold, mean, CEO, but no. They built an entire villain, a real life one and he delivers it well.
Dew's delivery with Peem is so damn good. I've never seen his acting before so I have no expectation, but his lines and expressions are sooo smooth I could die.
We have:
Fou4mod - This emotional lover boy, total simp, when he falls, he falls hard. Become 100x stupider when in love. The pettiest, who would go extra mile as to use his own friend to make his target jealous. Being okay with anything, any status, uncertainties, even getting hurt, just to stay close to the one he loves.
Chian - Loves yearning, yearning is his middle name. Also is very loyal like a puppy, hoping to be noticed and loved back all the time. Tried moving on several times, but got pulled back easier and quicker than a heartbeat. Which ends him up in a complicated situation where he hurts both sides, because he can't commit to one decision.
Baabin - The most classic "I fell in love with my best friend but I can't tell him because he doesn't like me, and I don't wanna ruin our friendship" victim. Will only like and support the best friend by being by his side all the time, because seeing him everyday is enough, even if it hurts sometimes.
Bua - Loves attention, likes being taken care of, being loved, but has low self-awareness and doesn't realize he's in love until it's too late. Another classic "You don't know what you have until it's gone." case.
Tell me I'm not the only one feeling called out by these four 😭
Mafias, bodyguards, hitmen, vampires, ghosts, doctors, and their crazy love stories in mysterious crimes, passed-down family drama, star-crossed lovers from previous life, reincarnation, time travel, alternate universes, or even petty gay drama who cheats on boyfriends who also cheats on them. We're so used to seeing all of these, that this story of simply falling in love or crushing on someone at school might seem very empty. As if we ourselves didn't go through that at some point in our lives.
Personally, I've always loved simple stories like this, that are very grounded to real life. We all had crushes at school, and it wasn't that dramatic most of the time. It's just longing to see them at school, a little jealousy, and petty tears. That's it, and that's what Gelboys is about.
This is why I miss old BLs like Theory of Love, it's not very good in direction, but the premise is very realistic as well, fell in love with your best friend, hurting but not knowing what to do, but don't wanna lose the friendship. Simple, but hits home.
Watching this makes me realize how much I miss this level of quality in BL 😭😭😭 I've been settling for less for the past 5 years since ITSAY. Not saying that this is gonna be as good as ITSAY, but so far, Boss Kuno's direction style just kinda woke me up and slapped me with reality that "this is what I've always liked in films".
But the story.... err not so much. I actually stopped caring about the plot since 2-3 eps ago. It's just too messy and far-fetched. Maybe it's just me, but I never liked complex stories. Complex stories only work when you're really, really good at writing. If the quality is not up to par, and you cannot handle it well to the end, the flaws will be more apparent than a simpler, more basic plot.
Which is why I did not expect myself to cry, but I did during that scene when Bison and Kant said their goodbyes and hugged, before going with the police. At that moment, shout out to Jojo for doing this, but there's no music. It's just silence, outdoor traffic noises in the background, night wind, and Kant's trembling voice. Combine that with FirstKhao's teary eyes. Damn that was good as hell.
My god Idk how many times have I said this but, First and Khao deserve a project that is NOT. JUST. A. BL.
Get them an amazing script, a serious as hell plot, a super talented director, get them an ITSAY level work, get them their own Call Me by Your Name movie. Srsly how come no one in GMMTV thought of this??? If I had them in my company, I would milk the fck out of these gems.
Kant felt so real to the point that, for some reason, I don't like him as a person 😂 He reminds me of someone I know, he gives off this type of guy that has a lot of charm and he knows it, so he tends to use it to his own advantage, and it kinda gets annoying sometimes.
And I think that shows how good First is at bringing this character into life. Kant really feels like a real person to me.
This is not funny tho, it's actually depressing. And to add more to that, ITSAY was like, the fourth BL I've ever watched. So imagine the emptiness (from the sky high standard set by ITSAY) that I felt watching all the BLs to this day.
I've lost count of how many times have I complimented Khaotung and First in this platform, throughout all of their previous works. From the first time I watched their already amazing acting in The Eclipse, to Only Friends, and now this. They're only getting better and better each time, it's crazy.
There is something more to that scene where Bison imagine himself killing Kant (ep 7 part 1/4 26:08). I don't know if this is me overanalyzing but the thing that I noticed from that scene is how perfectly the director depicts the parallelism of killing and sex in Bison's head. Let me explain.
As we all know, Bison is into BDSM, right? Violence and sadism turns him on. We were shown this the first time in ep 3 part 4/4 11:57. The way Bison goes over the "weapons" on the table that he imagines killing Kant with, reminds me of the "tools" he went over in his drawer.
And then the black and white shots of the killing act, are always started with "I love you Bison" from Kant, along with camera angles and position of both Bison and Kant that are exactly the same as the sex in that episode.
And then the following scenes are just very strange, the way he stabs him over and over, and then finalized by a gunshot, the way the "weirdly translucent blood" splashes onto Kant's face after, and then the rope, another parallel to the red rope from the same scene.
I don't know if I'm onto something, but damn, the director is good.