Seems to me that *both* of them needed that hug. Juju because he wants to be free of his family's smothering judgement, and Rocky because he wants his family's love and presence.
As an example of how there can be chemistry between two leads without skinship, watch this episode of 'Ingredients'…
This was the show that started out as basically fronting a grocery chain, then gradually took a life of its own, yeah? A part of me kinda admires Thailand's blase approach to BL hahaha.
Thai Exec (TE): "Hey, we need a larger market share for our retail chain. Ideas?" Marketing Person (MP)#1: "Music video?" TE: "Too temporary, we want something that lasts longer." MP #2: "Endorsement from an idol group?" TE: "Hmm... keep talking..." MP #3: "BL series about people who buy from our grocery?" TE: "Go. The boys gotta be cute though and have great chemistry."
Did you mean, instead of kissing properly, Sar just makes 'sniff' sounds on Tine's cheek? or head? I read somewhere…
Oh, it's interesting you mention those sniff kisses and their place in Thai culture. Interesting because in the Philippines, those exact sniff kisses are given by grandmothers and aunts to babies and toddlers. School-age kids too, but they'll try to evade as they grow older haha.
Ian and Pao's answers are reassuring, particularly in the wake of... other people interviewed. I sincerely hope the show lives up to Juan Miguel Severo's advocacy.
I kind of disagree with you personally because I watch a lot of LGBTQ+ content because it allows me to feel represented…
If I understood your point correctly, then I agree with you. I think Sarawat and Tine, despite a year of being a couple, don't seem to have 'lived in' on their relationship.
Now, to be fair to the actors, I don't think they're phoning it in, in fact I think they're doing exactly what the showrunners want. And their success and popularity validates their approach. They're here to make money, first and foremost, and it's high time people come to terms with that. That's one of the differences between a mainstream vs an indie production.
2gether and Still2gether came with a boatload of product endorsements, and all the strings attached to those products. On the other hand, a show like Gameboys only recently got sponsorships after a lot of their episodes had been released already, so they had freedom to say what they wanted and the sponsors had to decide that they were okay with the brand association.
The ideal show would have the courage and sensibilities of an indie combined with the consistency, quality and reach of a mainstream. Maybe one day we'll get there.
"Oh no they still haven't inhaled each others' brains out through their mouths the world is gonna end!"
If we plot BLs in a scale where one end is shounen-ai (think Lisa Frank notebooks) and the other end is yaoi (think pixelated Japanese porn), 2gether definitely skews toward the former. It's perfectly fine if you prefer one over the other, so I think what's going on here is an issue of managing expectations.
Orion is causing Otep's "spider sense" to tingle, and for good reason.
Orion told Tau that "shuai ge" means 'big brother' when it actually means 'handsome boy'. And the line Orion spoke in Mandarin "I thought you mean boyfriend" while facing Otep, knowing full well that Otep wouldn't understand.
(It would be such a plot twist if Tau was an unreliable narrator all along and had been lying to everyone, including the audience! But they'd never be that audacious, would they? Naaah.)
Alright. I just saw Ep 1 and right off the bat, I like how the show made it clear that Juju and Rocky are of different socioeconomic statuses but they didn't turn it into poverty porn nor did they rely on tired stereotypes. It's "real", but it's not "too real" (does that even make sense?).
(okay, like, in "too real" world would you really fall asleep on a shirtless Royce Cabrera's lap while getting a head massage? SERIOUSLY? hahaha)
I'm getting the "A for effort" and "at least they tried to be different" vibe from the comments here. I tried watching the pilot several weeks ago and all I remember was a disorganized cringey blur. It looks like it hasn't improved in the interim. Maybe interactive series with procedurally-generated meta plots are too avant-garde for this time?
Now that I'm not so emotional about Ep. 12, I noticed a few things on re-watching, ranging from what's printed on Wesley's shirt to the fact that the entire fight was a long take/continuous shot.
And also, I shouldn't be surprised at Elijah and Kokoy's acting chops since they've had more harrowing roles in their previous indie films. I'd prefer raising the bar to satisfying the lowest common denominator any day :)
I had to look up where this place Bukidnon was. Boooyyyy, that's too far from the Manila. Now I'm getting the…
Bukidnon's not just on the other end of the archipelago, it's a land-locked province filled with mountains and a plateau. It has two cities, and is an agricultural powerhouse, known for pineapples and bananas. Quite the opposite from Manila's megalopolis.
For a show called "Gameboys", it's the furthest thing from "fun & games". I want to sue for false advertising hahaha!
Seriously though, I'm concerned with the story "budget". A no holds barred shouting fight in the penultimate episode? How can any of this be resolved in the last episode without it feeling forced/rushed, unless the last episode acts as a set-up for the movie? Personally, I believe a series should be self-contained and not function as a lead-in to its movie spin-off.
The acting, though. I think everyone can agree that the acting by the leads is top-tier. It's the sort that makes you say "Alright, I'm going to follow this actor's career beyond Gameboys."
Thai Exec (TE): "Hey, we need a larger market share for our retail chain. Ideas?"
Marketing Person (MP)#1: "Music video?"
TE: "Too temporary, we want something that lasts longer."
MP #2: "Endorsement from an idol group?"
TE: "Hmm... keep talking..."
MP #3: "BL series about people who buy from our grocery?"
TE: "Go. The boys gotta be cute though and have great chemistry."
https://youtu.be/B1yOppAVZew
Ian and Pao's answers are reassuring, particularly in the wake of... other people interviewed. I sincerely hope the show lives up to Juan Miguel Severo's advocacy.
Now, to be fair to the actors, I don't think they're phoning it in, in fact I think they're doing exactly what the showrunners want. And their success and popularity validates their approach. They're here to make money, first and foremost, and it's high time people come to terms with that. That's one of the differences between a mainstream vs an indie production.
2gether and Still2gether came with a boatload of product endorsements, and all the strings attached to those products. On the other hand, a show like Gameboys only recently got sponsorships after a lot of their episodes had been released already, so they had freedom to say what they wanted and the sponsors had to decide that they were okay with the brand association.
The ideal show would have the courage and sensibilities of an indie combined with the consistency, quality and reach of a mainstream. Maybe one day we'll get there.
If we plot BLs in a scale where one end is shounen-ai (think Lisa Frank notebooks) and the other end is yaoi (think pixelated Japanese porn), 2gether definitely skews toward the former. It's perfectly fine if you prefer one over the other, so I think what's going on here is an issue of managing expectations.
Orion told Tau that "shuai ge" means 'big brother' when it actually means 'handsome boy'. And the line Orion spoke in Mandarin "I thought you mean boyfriend" while facing Otep, knowing full well that Otep wouldn't understand.
(It would be such a plot twist if Tau was an unreliable narrator all along and had been lying to everyone, including the audience! But they'd never be that audacious, would they? Naaah.)
(okay, like, in "too real" world would you really fall asleep on a shirtless Royce Cabrera's lap while getting a head massage? SERIOUSLY? hahaha)
You might like this compilation of reactions to "the confrontation" scene:
https://youtu.be/u89CtlR2ucw
https://youtu.be/GeArqr0EoaA
And also, I shouldn't be surprised at Elijah and Kokoy's acting chops since they've had more harrowing roles in their previous indie films. I'd prefer raising the bar to satisfying the lowest common denominator any day :)
Seriously though, I'm concerned with the story "budget". A no holds barred shouting fight in the penultimate episode? How can any of this be resolved in the last episode without it feeling forced/rushed, unless the last episode acts as a set-up for the movie? Personally, I believe a series should be self-contained and not function as a lead-in to its movie spin-off.
The acting, though. I think everyone can agree that the acting by the leads is top-tier. It's the sort that makes you say "Alright, I'm going to follow this actor's career beyond Gameboys."