ichiboi

MDL needs a status that says "Too cringey to watch while sober". I'll probably binge this when In Between is complete.

EDIT: Probably via reactors like Revil so at least I can laugh.

So of course Ronin and Makisig had a "2Moons" backstory of being Mr. Uni and the 1st runner up :)

Destroys my mental construct that TauTep are the "hot" couple while Pangs are the "cute" couple.

You want problems for them? I got some :)

1. Tau's parents don't know about them yet. Then Tau had to say the magic words "Don't worry, I'll take care of it." That never happens in series! Drama incoming hahaha.
2. Otep has these split-second looks of uncertainty. There's something there. Maybe ever since he realized how vulnerable he was to Tau (ref. breaking up with him so he moves to the US), he's more guarded now.
3. We still don't know who Orion is and what his deal is.
3.a. Is he Mr. Mondragon, Tau's boss? Notice in the preview for next week's episode, Tau was laughing on the phone and Otep shot him a laser-sharp glance.
3.b. Is he Makisig's boss? I just feel like "Shuai Ge" would really fit Makisig, not just in translation of a Mandarin term to Filipino, but visuals-wise too.

In my opinion, they had to choose between two plot points that are opposed pacing-wise. Either they focus on:

1. Processing the grief from Cairo's dad's death, which takes a long time
or
2. Deal with the urgency of Cairo's family's moving to Bukidnon

If they go with #1, we know that grieving is a long process. Either you spend several episodes to treat it with dignity and sensitivity (time which the series doesn't have), or you do a timeskip that propels the narrative but is callous and tone-deaf.

So that's why they went with #2 I think. Their grief will be there for a long time, but they can process their grief off-screen and pay attention to the business of living instead.

"Someone's gotta do the dishes."

My take on the whiff of heteronormativity is that Tau has work, whereas Otep's on vacation. And Tau's a "guest" in Otep's house. Actually, I'm not sure if Otep is gainfully employed, so I could excuse a bit of domesticity on Otep's part. It's probably give-and-take, and hopefully they depict domestic!Tau too.

Putting it into perspective, Tau & Otep are nowhere near the seme/uke or husband/wife tropes we see in other BL series.

That's only unpopular to the secret ghostshippers of #GavRence/#TerReel lol

I think that while on the surface, we are seeing Gav's jealousy in action in Ep. 11, the deeper truth is Gav has issues with abandonment.
1. Orphaned "twice" (parents, then grandmother)
2. Cheated on (Terrence)
3. LDR (Cairo)
4. and now Pearl's busy too?

Yep, it seems My Day got trapped in a static dimension and just recently rejoined our timeline. While the rest of the Philippines pushed forward, My Day got stuck with outdated stereotypes. Like, I would appreciate it more if they were overtly satirizing or parodying shows that used said stereotypes, but I don't feel like that's the sort of commentary they're trying to make here -- their portrayals seem to be earnest and therefore cringey to watch.

I feel as if this show is banking mostly on the visuals of their main actors (after all, Iñaki Torres is an influencer) but is being dragged by problematic and inconsistent writing.

Did it pass my three-episode rule? Barely. I might stick around just to watch them shake their bulges at the audience.

Full disclosure: If you made me choose between watching:
1. two cute guys churn butter for one episode
2. a sensitive, nuanced, deeply moving and fulfilling series acted by guys I'd swipe left for

I'd choose 2gether :p

There, I said it.

I agree, everything needs more kisses!

But, I would gladly take XavMi's needy, can't-wait, get-over-here hug over some of the "kisses" I've seen in other shows where the lips technically touch but the chemistry is flat.

I'm also considering that in GB, their physical attraction was more overt (see Ep. 2, nipples in your face), whereas in HS, the one time Mico got flustered by Xavier's body was only in his dreams. So it would make sense for GB to have a kiss as payoff, whereas HS focused more on the feels.

Also I can't see Tony Labrusca kissing anyone without being forcefully reminded of how he ate Angel Aquino's face in "Glorious" LOL!

As you can tell after watching Hello, Stranger, the Filipino vernacular is comprised of constant code-switching between English and Filipino, what we call "Taglish" (Tagalog + English).

So what shinshinshin is trying to say here is that although the literal translation of "gusto kita" is "I like you", in the Philippines, saying "I like you" to someone is far more casual and less romantic than "gusto kita".

You can bet that if you say "gusto kita" out loud to someone, heads will turn lol.

Actually, to add more context to Pinoy BL Series' answer, after a certain age, we don't say "gusto kita" (I like you) to our friends precisely because there's a romantic connotation, and you don't want it to be misinterpreted as a confession. "I like you" is getting the value meal; "I love you" is eating the whole buffet.

*googles "How much does Dimpleplasty cost"* haha

I laughed at the futility of Tau covering his pecs when he realized he was in a video call with Otep's parents.

I agree that in general, the "I'm just gay for X" trope should be retired.

However, specifically for In Between, I think there's a justification. Tau and Otep are childhood best friends - they've been together since they were ten years old. Otep might probably be Tau's first and only love. Note that Tau hasn't shown any evidence so far that he's attracted to women, either.

Now, the dialogue you presented is far better and is much more satisfying to the general audience than the few lines a hungover Tau says to Ronin, but as someone who also fell in love with a childhood friend, I knew deep in my guts what Tau meant when he said what he said.

(Or maybe, that's just it -- the guy had a massive hangover and the last thing he wanted was to deliver a TED Talk about his sexuality right in front of the hotdogs lol)

Well, if we are to believe Ron Angeles' (Jet) MDL page, he's going to star in his own BL series. :)

I think this is more of image management (and therefore, career management for an actor) in a largely conservative country. He's threading a fine line here. As he has alluded to himself, rumors about his personal life have made him one of the more controversial young actors in the Philippines. I don't want to get into a whole debate about how media are the gatekeepers of homonormativity, but suffice to say, gradual steps should be acknowledged.

If you asked me last year if I can expect a high-quality Filipino-made BL series produced by a notable studio within the next decade I would have laughed myself unconscious. These shows are real paradigm shifts.

The fan con showed them kissing through the acrylic barrier. So it's not exactly hugzone, it's at least an Acrylic Kiss hahaha

The actress replied to one of my comments: "You have to watch this. I promise you will see me in a different light."

I will hold you to your promise, madam. :)