jpny01

Yes, I'm sure you're right. But a crew is not going to be very motivated when it's clear they're working on a cash grab with an uninspiring story and director. Something can be low budget and have a lot of passion in it. There is none that I can see here - it's all flat and it doesn't feel like anyone cares.

"Mediocre" is very generous. I'd say "so bad it's hard to believe it's not intentional because you would have to work harder to make it that bad than to make it good."

Yes, I still think it's boring. Intensely. The author is telling, not showing, which is bad enough in writing, but fatal in a visual medium. The directing & editing is bad. Notice that their love scene in the bathroom is interrupted by an unnecessary shot of Techno puking into a bucket. Techno, who was a wonderful character, only exists to issue unfunny lines and then be hit in the head by Type. The dialog in all the scenes is terrible. In the bathroom:

"Do you know why I agree to let you work so hard? Because I know you love to do it. I love you when you love what you do."

"And do you know what I love most?"

"Me."

No wonder Techno puked into the bucket.

Nothing you mention is interesting. We already know Techno & Champ are Type's friends and that they support him.

The fight was about an important subject, but they didn't meaningfully discuss it like adults who have been together for 7 years. Tharn was absolutely NOT unreasonable - he only said he didn't want to talk about it right then and wanted them to cool down before discussing it, which is being the adult in the room, not snatching the comforter, stomping off like a child and calling his bf a "fucking asshole."

Type was forcing Tharn to have a discussion he didn't want to have, and then the moment Tharn expresses how he feels, Type says "You fucker!" then makes an irrelevant point about them both being men. It was long and badly written, and just uninteresting and boring. It's all telling, not showing. Compare that to ITSAY, where 100 times more is conveyed with no words spoken at all. That is the difference between art and a cash grab.

I thought when he said he'd gamble on Ben he meant that he wanted to be with him and plans to break up with Yana, but I guess we'll see. I just don't think he should have said that until he's sure what he's doing or has himself sorted out.

Well, I read the whole thing, so no apology neeed. It's hard to believe a director would interupt a love scene with somoene puking into a bucket. Or maybe the editor did that to let Techno communicate for him what he thought of the dialog in the bathroom, which was so bad I thought I might need a bucket too.

Glad to be of some use!

I would give it a 6 at best, being generous. It was feeling like a 10 up to ep 6, then it dived off a cliff. One of the greater disappointments in BL. I must have rated it early on - thanks for pointing it out, I changed it. Also, the scale has been raised a lot lately now that there are really excellent BLs out.

This guy is gorgeous. And those legs...

Why does this only have a 7.8? These ratings are so confusing.

Aron's smile is so beautiful that it made me cry.

They were missing at first, but they're present now.

Oh - I apologize. I should have put a spoiler warning.

I get what you're saying now - so then, she should just be depraved! The appeal of the original series WAS it's depravity. I loved the shower scene in the original series, the sort-of incest angle was kinda hot, the power struggle between Tharn & Type got me going, etc. We liked TT1 because it had that edge - it was a nice break from the rainbows and unicorns of standard BLs.

This series lacks the edge AND the sweetness.

Maybe, and that would be interesting if true, but I doubt it. If the point is as you describe, it could have been made with a non-effeminate character.

Imagine if Ton had said "There's probably nice black people, but I've never met any. And if I did, I wouldn't ever associate with them."

Even if he has an epiphany later, only horrible people have opinions like that, and I can't respect Chon for trying to win the approval of an ignorant jerk like Ton. Well, I suppose I can understand it when Ton takes his shirt off...

Agreed. But it's the quantity of bad art you review that concerns me. That can't be good for your mental health.

I'm not sure how she's good at what she does - this and Love By Chance 2 are the worst BLs out this year. Well, worst mainstream BLs. The writing is abysmal. Examples: In the bar scene, Techno dumps a load of exposition on us. We already know Tharn works in music production and he sings later in the scene, so why do we need to be told he works in music production and sings? The dialog in the fan-service bathroom scene was so awful I had to take breaks to recover from secondary embarassment.

What happend this episode? Almost nothing. T&T had a minor argument, people drank, sang, and played pool, and someone I've never heard of and don't care about hurt himself and was a dick to the nurse. And Type's boss was a dick, for reasons we didn't see, but were told about, because it's important to tell, not show. Or is it the opposite of that? (Hint: it is.)

Not everything has to be a masterpiece like ITSAY, but we could hope that this would be more than a boring as f#$% dump of exposition, incredibly cringeworthy dialog, and everyone involved just going through the motions.

Just because the plots are different doesn't mean you can't compare the quality of the writing, acting, and production - they are all awful here. To be fair to the actors, there's only so much they can do with such an incompetently written script and dull direction.

If I were to ask you to summarize the plot of this episode, what would you say? Tharn & Type have a minor argument, Type's boss is a dick to him, people play pool and sing and drink, and some character that nobody cares about gets hurt and is a difficult patient, then the episode ends with Type showing up and ominous music playing for no apparent reason.

I meant she probably got paid a huge amount, not that she's stolen anything. This whole series is just a cash grab for everyone involved.

I think you're right - there's no one like Tee to trim the fat. You've heard the phrase "show, don't tell" - which is a rule for writing, and 100 times more so for a live-action show! The conversation with Techno at the bar was a ridiculous dump of exposition, the dialog in the bathroom scene (and that was definitely fan service) was so bad I had to take several breaks to get through it - I was feeling secondary embarassment. Mame is a terrible writer.

There is not one single extraneous word or frame of film in ITSAY - everything is relevant, every shot necessary. It's ruined the rest of Thai BL for me. Not every series has to be a masterpiece like that, but they should at least not be boring as f#$%!

And Type hitting Techno on the head constantly isn't funny. Why is everyone always physically and sexually assaulting each other in Mame's stories?

The problem is that it was an effeminate character who made a predatory move, not a straight-acting one. The straight-acting gays are the good guys, the effeminate gays are the comic relief characters at best, and predatory at worst, like this one. Given this is GMMTV, I doubt they will redeem this. I suppose it's possible and I admire your optimism.

I think it's a very, very, very common and very, very, verry overused and tired trope, but it isn't a requirement. BL does tend to fetishize straight men, and even when some of all of the characters are gay, like in 2moons2, they're usually played by straight-acting straight guys. Until We Meet Again had to gay men, and 2moons2 had two gay couples and a third couple that fit the trope. Nobody was closeted or straight in Gameboys. I can't really think of too many others, though, tbh. Hello Stranger maybe broke the mold a bit by having both boys repressed, but I'm not sure that's a BL so much as a coming of age story.

Not sure about Mom's comment given the homophobia that suffuses the episode. What bothered me most was not Ton's homophobia, or even Chon hiding that he's gay, for the reasons you mentioned. What I find unacceptable is the extremely offensive stereotype of the effeminate gay character being predatory and ridiculous. I don't see them coming back from that.