thehyper

Well, he is 19 now so maybe he'll stop listening to his mum and dad

Yes, she is.

Nice to know that homophobia is well and truly alive...

This story is many things but a real life situation it isn't! :)

It was average but I didn't lose interest. A bit tedious and slow at times. One thing that confused me throughout, and maybe someone with local knowledge might help explain. Surely if the "incident" between the male and female lead was as severe as it was made out in the show it would be a matter for the police to deal with and not for some University panel to discuss? Is this actual law in Thailand?

I agree - especially with the whole suddenly turning gay or just gay for you (SOTUS anyone?). That simply does not happen in real life, and I get annoyed every time I see it (to put it mildly! ). It is trivialising the issues and discrimination we face in every day life.

My understanding from the series is that Third was always gay and had feelings for Khai, however, they should have done a much better job with the character of Khai. At least we had one character be "properly" gay from the start as opposed to two "straight" men suddenly turning gay (small silver linings...).

I could write a long list of things I found unrealistic in this series from an LGBTQ perspective (and many more like it) - but we'd be here all night! And I'm sure you already know most of them anyway! :)

I don't disagree with many of your points, however, I think you had too high expectations :) and let me explain what I mean by that. These shows - entertaining as they are - ultimately cater to a particular type of audience. Apart from certain scenes and sections, the storyline is quite "imaginative" to say the least. I watch them for the entertainment value they provide, but do not expect any particular depth. If this show was made realistic it would probably not appeal to its intended audience. The original stories are usually not written by someone who is LGBTQ, and thus some very important subtleties are missing. As a member of the LGBTQ community I do get frustrated with how a lot of things are portrayed, the persistence of stereotypes, and the simplification of what can be very tragic and difficult situations for us. That said, I do appreciate the visibility they provide to the LGBTQ community, and they are lighthearted entertainment. But I wouldn't mind seeing a proper LGBTQ drama at some point. In that respect I've got some hopes for the character Shin in 3 will be free, but we'll see where it goes in the end.

I sense there's a high probability of that. Not that it matters.

His dad who he seems to be very close to.

I can't comment on the whole dark/light skin famous actors as I'm not from Thailand, however, when it comes to acting this is also very much down to the director. Drake's acting was much better in Slam Dance I thought. On this series it's a bit hit and miss but that goes for pretty much the entire cast, so to single him out is unfair.

This isn't helped by a storyline which I feel hasn't been properly thought through when they decided to make this into a series. Capitalising on BL storylines has meant a sacrifice on quality. I would much rather see half the amount of series produced but with better direction and scripts!

Is it the fact that they are "white" skinned which makes them more famous or their European ancestry (which might have contributed to them having "whiter" skin)? Where does this obsession with white skin come from? I have read various articles on it but wouldn't mind getting a local Thai person's view and take on it.

Btw, I'm a "white" skinned European and I can tell you it's not a particularly attractive skin colour and I'd much rather be a darker shade. Ironically - most white Europeans spend hours in the sun to get darker, and are embarrassed to go to the beach if they're too white!

One thing is for sure - we live in a very twisted effed up world... All these so called beauty ideals (regardless of what they are) are screwing everyone up, so you are right to speak up about it.

One piece of advice though is to not let your emotions get the better of you (as hard as that may be) when making posts, as it can detract from the point you are attempting to make.