dropintheocean

I literally can't stop shaking, those last 10 minutes were amazing!! I love them so much, my heart can't take it! No lie, this series has been my favorite part of 2020 so far. 3 episodes left!

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by Pearl having to explain Cai's emotions? Can you expound on this point a little bit?

The thing is, Elijah's character is someone that bottles up all his emotions and tries really hard not to show how he feels. And you see this so many times; like when he types out several responses to messages, only to delete them and settle with a reply that's very neutral. Or how he always looks down or off to the side to smile when Gav does something he particularly likes. It's supposed to be hard to read his character because that's who he is as a person. Gav himself admitted that he can't always tell what Cai is thinking, and Pearl mentions how people under the cancer sign always put up these walls.

I do like Elijah's acting. It's not always perfect, but (at least for me), he has been able to portray Cai's character very well so far. I like how we only see glimpses of how he really feels. I like how he's able to look really soft and vulnerable when Gav says something so sweet he can't help but react. And I thought he was amazing in episode 7. His emotions were so raw and real in that last scene, it was almost hard for me to watch because I felt I was invading on someone else's pain.

Anyway. I'm not trying to convince you to change your mind, just wanted to share my thoughts. Thanks for giving this show a try. May the drama gods be ever in your favor, and may you find something you like.

Am I the only one that hopes Cai doesn't reply to Terrence's question? I really don't like how Terrence is basically putting Cai on the spot and forcing him to share his feelings. It's none of Terrence's business in the first place, and Cai doesn't owe him a thing. I also feel like Cai admitting his feelings for Gav would be a big step for him, and having to do it in front of someone so manipulative would just cheapen the experience for both Cai and Gav. And they deserve better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1oXN_JMDAs
Aww!! <3

Yes, having a person act as a "bridge" is totally a thing in the Philippines! Although I don't completely agree with the way Pearl acted to discourage Cai in the beginning, I'm really enjoying her character now. Her presence makes for some interesting dynamics in the relationship between Gav and Cai. I think Cai feels pretty cut off from his family (and maybe even the rest of the world?), so having Gav in his life makes him feel less isolated. Which is all well and good, but not really healthy in the long run. Having Pearl be friends with Cai just makes for healthier relationships all around. And I personally loved the "drinking session" scene. Their interactions in that scene (the talking over each other, the teasing, and even the cringing) all felt very genuine and natural to me.

London is Cairo's older brother. Remember how Cai talked about his brothers having places as names as well in the first ep? His younger brother is named Paris.

I'm really digging the song, ("Panalo Ka"), that they play near the end of this ep. I've lost count of the number of times I've replayed the last 2 minutes, it's just so good! And based on the lyrics I could make out (which are really cute, btw), I'm guessing this song takes on Cai's POV. I'm especially taken by the lines "I surrender, you win, my heart is yours".

Also, can I just say that Pearl's excitement had me grinning nonstop? Girl was adorable. I usually get annoyed with the way BL series portray the "shippers," because most of the time they are shown as being way too invasive and having no boundaries. And the only reason they ship two guys is because they look hot together. But Pearl was respectful. She was skeptical when she thought Gav was just messing around with Cai, but once she realized Gav was serious about him, she gave her full support.

Yeah, I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt as well. My theory (hope) is that it's all a misunderstanding. The girl is Gav's housemate/best friend, knows that he's only interested in guys, and is therefore comfortable with calling him babe.

OMG, same. Well, almost. It kept showing up as a rec on my YouTube, but I kept ignoring it. But then I saw Tsuliwaensis suggest it, (along with "Where Your Eyes Linger," IIRC, and I was already watching that), so I decided to give this one a try. So happy to have given it a chance! Ditto on the thanks!

Right?!?!? He's such a charming character. When he talks to Tine in the hospital in episode 9, there's a part where he smiles and looks down, and then later on he just gives a shrug - my thoughts in that moment were, "Oh no, he's cute!"

I wouldn't say every BL did that though? It's been a while since I watched 'Sotus', and 'He's Coming to Me', so I might be wrong, but I don't remember any screaming fangirls in either of these series. In fact, I'd say Sotus did really well in portraying their female characters, and this series came out in 2016. I haven't watched every BL series that has come out, but I feel like the fangirls are a recent development? The first time I saw them was on TOL, and then it was like every show I saw after that featured them. It boggles the mind.

'He's Coming To Me' and 'Theory of Love' are pretty good. And you might want to look into the HIStory series as well.

Eh. While I do appreciate that so far none of the female characters are being shown as manipulative or toxic, I wouldn't say that they are being kind with their portrayal of females here. Apart from Pear, Earn and Air, practically every female has been reduced to a screaming fangirl that has nothing better to do than to stalk and fawn over Sarawat. Both Earn and Pear are sweet and lovely, but their characters are pretty much one-dimensional and have just been used to further the romance of Wat and Tine. I would say Air is the most developed character of the three - I love how supportive she was of Tine when he first joined the club, and how sassy she is with Dim all the time.

Aww, that was just the most precious thing ever!

Thanks for your input! I could see where Wat was coming from (saying no at first because he wanted things to be real, but then giving in later on just so he could spend time with Tine), but I was having a harder time with Tine's character. Your thoughts help with this though, so thanks again!

HIStory is a series with three seasons, but with a number of different stories for each season. I think the first season had three stories, the second had two, and the third season had two as well. You don't have to follow a certain order when you watch them, as they are all pretty much unrelated anyway. I suggest you read the summary of each story, and then choose which ones interest you the most. I haven't watched all of them, but my personal favourites are both stories in season 3 (Make Our Days Count and Trapped). Each story in season 3 consists of 20 episodes. Have fun!

Ok, I understand a bit better now. So would you say Tine's reaction of dismay was more because Sarawat didn't share the information (i.e. that Green and Dim were together) with him, rather than dismay in thinking that Sarawat didn't need to pretend to be his fake boyfriend in the first place? Thanks for helping to make things clearer for me!

So I am confusion. Can anyone help me figure this out? Based on this episode, Green and Dim got together during the Freshman Orientation. Which I assume happened before the start of the series? And then they had their "break-up." So is this when Green starts pursuing Tine? How does Sarawat's decision to be Tine's pretend boyfriend while knowing about Dim and Green change things? They were supposed to be broken up at that time anyway, right? So for everyone concerned, Green's interest in Tine was genuine. Or is this a situation in which Dim thinks they are on a break, and Green thinks they are broken up? I don't know. I'm just not sure this "revelation" makes sense or even really fits into the story? But if anyone can make sense of it for me, please do so? I've been puzzling over it for so long, my head hurts.

I adored this so much, I had to give it a rewatch as soon as the credits started rolling. It's quite short - only about 20 minutes - but everyone involved in the making of it really made sure every single minute counted. The chemistry between the two leads is just so good, and the journey from them being hot for each other, to getting to know each other and just enjoying each others company was, imo, pretty much flawless.

I could really feel TPTB struggling to meet their minutes - were they even able to complete their run time of over an hour? I don't think I've seen so many montages or flashbacks in a single episode of a series ever.

Having said that, given the circumstances, I still appreciate the work that was put into making the episode. Sure it was mostly filler, but we got some really cute/sweet/sexy scenes out of it. I especially liked the "It's (Fighter) not my name, it's because you are one" bit. I do believe TPTB did their best with the footage they had available, and if it weren't for the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of these scenes might have just ended up on the cutting-room floor.

It is what it is. Personally, I've always thought the show is a bit of a mess. But it's a mess I don't mind spending an hour each week on. Plus I will always, always, always, be weak for how soft Fighter looks when his eyes are on Tutor.