jpny01

3WBF is historic in that a trans character was not only not a joke, but a character with real agency and not at all helpless that was integral to the plot - and in fact Jennie was at times terrifying. There are not enough thumbs up for that portrayal, and that shows us Thailand can do it, so there's no excuse for any more transphobia.

Over analyzing is what we do here! My problem was that Rocky's panic translated into cruelty towards someone else, which is a character issue to me. Judah was thoughtless, but he never mistreated Rocky intentionally. And Rocky better get used to being objectified because COME ON. I'm not even sure Royce is a good actor because I'm too distracted to pay close attention (I'm joking. Sort of).

Judging by the ep that just aired, your analysis is right on. To me I can understand Rocky's gay panic, and Judah was coming on way too strong - and although he was too cruel for the provocation, that behavior could be corrected with an apology. But leaving Judah alone and sick when he had the only quarantine pass and is the only person who could have infected Judah is almost unforgivable. I'm glad he came back quickly, but I think they glossed over their fight way too quickly - there really needed to be an intermediate episode where all this was being processed. Also, Judah's sudden transformation into someone 10 years older and more mature should have been stretched a bit with some reflection leading him there. I still love the show, but this episode was not their best.

I don't think those dynamics are absent in Western cultures, we just have a stronger sense of individualism and an identity that's more independent of the family. I'm going to guess you're younger than me - but you'll likely end up spending a lot of time taking care of your parents when you're older. I'm American (albeit my mother isn't) and I'm my parents' house visting right now, hiding in the guest room watching my Friday BLs. They're reaching the age where they aren't independent anymore, and I'm the oldest and nearest.

Totally agree. I think maybe because I'm older, to me a phone is just a phone, so last ep that wasn't as monstrous an invasion of privacy as it it struck Millenials - I was way more put off by Rocky's being a huge asshole and abandoning Judah when he was likely the person who infected him. Rocky can still do whatever he wants to me, but I still disapprove of his behavior.

BL audiences want Prince Charming (Top) and a damsel in distress (Bottom!) for him to rescue - not complex and realistic characters who make bad decisions like real people. Also BL characters Are Never Effeminite Period.

But Rocky was a huge asshole. First of all, HE initiated it, and second, Judah can only have been infected by him, so for him to leave was inexcusable - especially since he has the quarantine pass.

You're right, but without showing his face it was not right in a fairly minor way. And certainly not as bad as Rocky's behavior.

American. Which is a little embarrassing at the moment, but there's an election in a few weeks that may help fix that.

Well put!

I'm not sure why it didn't work for me either - it was innovative and well-acted. I guess it seemed repetitive, but I think maybe one reason is that I live in California where it's socially unacceptable to be homophobic - in fact sometimes the "political correctness" can be exhausting because you have to be very careful how you express everything. Which I'm not complaining about because it's a necessary corrective to thousands of years of oppression, and certainly benefits me as a gay man - but it does make the political correctness of Gameboys less resonant because it's "so 2004" by our standards. But I can see why it would be so powerful to people in less tolerant areas of the world. If you look at Thai BLs, they're downright offensive in their fetishization of straight men, racism, and the overt and toxic misogyny and fem-bashing. If a Thai BL were airing as an American TV show there would be boycotts and protests. That would not happen to a Philippine show.

Gameboys also was the first BL to air with a gay sensibility, i.e. much of the creative force was gay men and the audience was more general, whereas Thai BLs are 19th c romantic fantasies written by women aimed at 12-year old girls, so it made a splash. People get stuck on their first loves, right? That's why SOTUS is still so many people's favorite even though much better shows have followed.

I'm also responsible for COVID response at a large corporation and the portrayal of COVID in Gameboys really bothered me. And the attitude of Cairo's family made no sense to me - it was inconsistent and didn't ring true, which is another issue - consistency of character was often abandoned for the sake of cliffhangers, like Pearl (who annoys me too) sabotaging Gav at the end of Ep 2 by introducing herself in a hostile manner as Gav's girlfriend.

I think modern audiences are also strongly influenced by the online cultivation of fandoms by show producers and the online personalities of the stars - Gameboys invested a lot into that, and Thai BLs do as well. The aforementioned Hello Stranger didn't so much, and it's two stars are boring IRL.

Why are Thai BLs so totally lacking in modern social values? It's like they were written by Protestant ministers in the 1950s, and then somone dropped a boy into the girl's role. They need to get more gay people involved in the productons like in the Philippines. I think as a fandom we have to support the position of gays in Thai society and stop consuming dreck that perpetuates sterotypes, homophobia, and misogyny. These shows fetishize heterosexuality by hiring all straight actors (or at least all straight-acting) and making effeminite people ridiculous for vicious throw-away humor. It's gotten a little bit better, but not much.

Don't forget Gaya Sa Pelikula - it's amazing!

I agree with all your comments, although I do like PhuKao, largely because the big macho guy is the pursued instead of the pursuer like in all other Thai BLs. Totally agree about New & Bright in DBK & 2Gether - but I'm surprised fans haven't come burn your house down for saying that out loud, LOL. My Day surprised me - I thought it was a total trainwreck, and it's evolved into less catastrophic trainwreck lately - that love scene... yowza. The boys do such an amazing job of making their relationship look natural and unforced - I'm really impressed with the improvement in the show.

If you watch the actor who plays Solo elsewhere, he's cute and charming, so I wonder if he's just being directed poorly - he reminds me of an acquaintance I have that studiously avoids facial expressions because he's afraid of wrinkling as he ages. Personally, I think smile lines are sexy, but to each his own.

LOL too - I'm ranting about how bad it is, but I'm ranting about Ep 8, so I'm clearly watching every week. I'm not sure what that says about me.

No - but I'm not sure if you're saying it's fluffy & cute or it's not fluffy & cute? Do you mean there's some fluffy & cute and some drama and you don't want them to add unnecessary drama? If so, I'm with you - I hate added drama if it doesn't serve the plot or is inconsistent with the characters' personalities. For example, I thought the second half of the original 2Gether series was ruined by the jealousy of a girl plotline.

If it's fluffy and cute I will completely lose interest. Without drama, it's just Yaoi porn.

I aim to please!

Your last sentence is a perfect description. PhuCow has a bit more Bara flavor and it's refreshing to have the big macho man being pursued rather than pursuing. Also, they are much better actors than the main pair.

I know that I'm in a small (scared) minority, but Gameboys was just "meh" for me - it wasn't my thing. Holy COW did I get rained on with hostility, as if my thinking it was good but not the best thing that's ever happened invalidated them as a person. I was actually confused - I was accused by more than one person of having ulterior motives, and I couldn't understand what possible ulterior motive I could have. I guess because I liked Hello Stranger better? There seems to be some really weird fandom competition with these two shows that baffles me. I'm allowed to think HS is OK but not think it's great or like it better than GB. I don't even think HS is BETTER, I just LIKED it better. (GB is too sanitized for me - I love the absence of misogyny, but people behave poorly at that age and if the drama is almost entirely externally generated rather than internal, I tend to lose interest. Also, my job involves COVID response so it's easy to put me off when that topic is involved.)

If someone thinks I would criticize aspects of GB because I'm trying to tear it down as some sort of HS loyalist, then that means they do the same thing the other way around - otherwise I can't understand how that thought would even occur to anyone.

Anyway, there's nothing wrong with getting heavily invested in a show - I just think some people are investing in the wrong ways.

How can this... calling it a trainwreck would be unfair to trainwrecks... this apocalyptically bad show also have a sublime scene like this?

https://tv.line.me/v/15355426_นิยามรัก-so-much-in-love-ep2-4-5/list/629274

I mean, this is breathtaking. When I first watched this ep I played this dozens of times I was so entranced. It's not even technically perfect, but the image, the way North is walking - good Lord. Of course it's ruined because of what happens later, but at the time it was really, really moving.