I find it interesting that they chose to characterize Heaven as a relatively well-to-do student with a full scholarship (brand-new Hondas ain't cheap) while Shake is a half-scholar self-supporting man. I wonder if that was intentional, and if so, what was their motivation for this characterization?
I agree with one comment below that this show is a bit overrated. I don't know, I'm watching a Filipino BL, but…
Based off of your post, it seems that you have some faculty with English yourself, so I think the comments insinuating your socioeconomic status are both unwarranted and off the mark.
I don't know if this is still taught in schools nowadays, but before it was considered common courtesy to reply in English when spoken to in English, and to reply in Filipino if spoken to in Filipino. That is how we *ought* to speak, yes, but the reality is code-switching in Tagalog/English is now the norm in the metropolitan areas.
Additionally, this series has established from the start that the characters are middle-class or even upper-middle class urbanites (who can afford to travel to Bangkok during the holidays), so their speech is consistent with their setting and their characters. Are they pandering to an international audience by speaking more English? That's an opinion, but the fact is it *does* make the show more accessible internationally.
I would question an extensive use of English in a series like Lakan, for example, but not in a show about college students whose families have migrated abroad (ex. Hello Stranger, Quaranthings).
In an unusual twist of fate, this is probably the first BL show written by a female in the Philippines. This is exceptional because the majority of BLs in Japan and Thailand are in fact authored by females.
I'm interested to see how this show will stack up against its contemporaries here in the Philippines, which have all been written by gay men so far.
Okay I think this is what happened with the gifts:
1. Sue gave Vlad a jockstrap for Christmas. 2. Karl's gift for his parents was a framed illustration/caricature of the three of them. 3. Karl accidentally brought home Sue's gift for Vlad. 4. Vlad opens the gift meant for Karl's parents. Sue laments that couriers are "unreliable". 5. Karl opens the gift meant for Vlad (while he's at home with his family). The next day, he comments on Sue's gift to Vlad, teasing him "Mr. Jockstrap".
After seeing the first episode, I think I'll keep watching for now - there was enough in that episode to keep me interested. Having said that, there are a few things that I find worth mentioning:
1. I hope they address why Ben's being a bitch towards the delivery man. I know of some people who try to flirt by being irritating, and I would prefer that Ben was that shallow instead of a more deeply-seated character flaw.
2. In this fantasy Philippines, it's perfectly acceptable to sleep with open ground-floor windows. Not only do burglars not exist, apparently there also aren't any mosquitoes.
And now for something completely superficial -- I find Teejay's alabaster skin and too-straight nose bridge a bit android-like. He's definitely twigging my uncanny valley. He should consider roles in science fiction films.
Part of "taking back our story" and normalization of non-heteronormative narratives (wow, that's a tongue twister) is portraying LGBTQIA+ stories in mainstream formats.
The rom-com formula is by now a patchwork of familiar clichés, and prior to GSP, we've never seen a rom-com featuring two guys and that's the inspiration for this entire series. Maybe one day we'll get an LGBT thriller, an LGBT superhero flick, or an LGBT war story. Who knows? We can start here with romantic comedies.
Until one day, it becomes so normalized that nobody bothers to point it out. To borrow from Avril Lavigne,
"He was a boy, he was a boy. Can I make it any more obvious?"
Not gonna lie, this series got me on the first half... before it became In Between Flashbacks. It started to feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread, to quote Bilbo Baggins.
Three-episode rule, sorry. I can just google for "basset hound" if I wanted to look at sad puppy eyes. Female characterization here is subpar for 2020.
I'm invoking my three-episode rule for this one. With the explosion of Filipino BLs, I can't afford to watch everything that comes out, unlike six months ago.
Looks like I was right about "I suspect this end credits sequence will evolve as the episodes pass by."
Incidentally, the end credits song is entitled "Unti-Unti" by Up Dharma Down and it literally translates to "little by little" -- which is what's happening.
Since this show is aired on free national television (TV5) here in the Philippines, it will be interesting to see how they navigate the regulation and censorship of our largely conservative, Catholic-majority country. All the previous Filipino BLs this year avoided this mine field by airing on YT or subscription cable.
I don't know if this is still taught in schools nowadays, but before it was considered common courtesy to reply in English when spoken to in English, and to reply in Filipino if spoken to in Filipino. That is how we *ought* to speak, yes, but the reality is code-switching in Tagalog/English is now the norm in the metropolitan areas.
Additionally, this series has established from the start that the characters are middle-class or even upper-middle class urbanites (who can afford to travel to Bangkok during the holidays), so their speech is consistent with their setting and their characters. Are they pandering to an international audience by speaking more English? That's an opinion, but the fact is it *does* make the show more accessible internationally.
I would question an extensive use of English in a series like Lakan, for example, but not in a show about college students whose families have migrated abroad (ex. Hello Stranger, Quaranthings).
I'm interested to see how this show will stack up against its contemporaries here in the Philippines, which have all been written by gay men so far.
1. Sue gave Vlad a jockstrap for Christmas.
2. Karl's gift for his parents was a framed illustration/caricature of the three of them.
3. Karl accidentally brought home Sue's gift for Vlad.
4. Vlad opens the gift meant for Karl's parents. Sue laments that couriers are "unreliable".
5. Karl opens the gift meant for Vlad (while he's at home with his family). The next day, he comments on Sue's gift to Vlad, teasing him "Mr. Jockstrap".
1. I hope they address why Ben's being a bitch towards the delivery man. I know of some people who try to flirt by being irritating, and I would prefer that Ben was that shallow instead of a more deeply-seated character flaw.
2. In this fantasy Philippines, it's perfectly acceptable to sleep with open ground-floor windows. Not only do burglars not exist, apparently there also aren't any mosquitoes.
And now for something completely superficial -- I find Teejay's alabaster skin and too-straight nose bridge a bit android-like. He's definitely twigging my uncanny valley. He should consider roles in science fiction films.
The rom-com formula is by now a patchwork of familiar clichés, and prior to GSP, we've never seen a rom-com featuring two guys and that's the inspiration for this entire series. Maybe one day we'll get an LGBT thriller, an LGBT superhero flick, or an LGBT war story. Who knows? We can start here with romantic comedies.
Until one day, it becomes so normalized that nobody bothers to point it out. To borrow from Avril Lavigne,
"He was a boy,
he was a boy.
Can I make it any more obvious?"
<-- sus
Incidentally, the end credits song is entitled "Unti-Unti" by Up Dharma Down and it literally translates to "little by little" -- which is what's happening.