It sort of had a climax? It had a denouement for sure. It had very little in the way of a plot and the story had no meaning. Its just them getting together.
I think the climax is supposed to be when Sorn confesses his love to Jun. So its Yaoi without the Y hahaha
I will be real with yall,it’s such a nice story with lots of fine actors . but the plot is lacking serious depth…
Its YAOI, what do you expect? :D Yama nashi, Ochi nashi, Imi nashi ("no climax, no point, no meaning"). This is pure yaoi and it is great! Same thing with My Stubborn (do we even know what company they work for? What work do they do?) :D
That was sweet. A little carried away at times, because the writer is female and isn't aware that boys only choke…
I agree. I keep thinking this is one of the very few series in which the couple not having sex right away makes a lot of sense.
I really liked that in My Tee they have Drake's character trying to put his hands down Frank's characters pants very quickly within them meeting each other, but overall I prefer the slow-simmering romance and honestly here it became physical pretty quickly with them kissing before they even say they are BFs. In most BLs, they first declare their interest and then they kiss. So I really like that about the main couple.
I think the hesitation from Shane is also very realistic. He barely knows Kit and he is afraid of love in general. He pulls back not because he is the typical Uke (is he an Uke?), but because it is in his nature. He also eventually relents to the pursuit, not because he is tired, or for whatever random reason most Uke's relent to their Semes, but because internally he was in conflict and he needed to resolve that conflict first...
I also hope for a Per/Tar ship. They are very cute together. It doesn't have to be the kind of relationship that we get to see "all of it", but at least I hope by the end it is clear they are a couple.
The first red flag the show had was the dialogue that Day vomited on Mhok's first day as caretaker. Something…
I agree with your analysis. I remember being so mad in the episode where Mhok and Day fight about the issue of Mhoks job offer. I kept thinking but he is scared of not being there for Day. Like, nothing up to that point made me think Mhok was over protective of Day or had any kind of toxic relationship with him. In fact, i thought that he was able to heal through his relationship with Day.
And then they gave Day his vision back and I lost it lol. Just so mad.
But yeah, spot on analysis of the series. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
a person who gives great shows like ATOTS a 7.5 rating and Last Twilight an 8 should not be talking about quality…
ATOTS was ok. The ending was really bad, thought not nearly as bad as the ending of Last Twilight. I think both shows follow the general tendency of Thai BLs to have a strong beginning and middle and a terrible last stretch.
ThamePo is similar in this regard. When I thought it was finally getting better, it took a left turn and headed straight to nonsensical.
Now, I will tell you, at least ThamePo didnt hype us as much as Last Twilight. Day almost loosing his vision only to get it restored at the end of the series was a total betrayal of the message the series was trying to tell about disabilities.
I agree with your review! In my opinion this isn't a BL in the classic sense, but a realistic queer series. I…
Hey, quick question, are you USA based or native? We have a usa based group and i think you would be a good fit. You dont know how many ppl (usually non westerners) i have fought over about the distinction between queer and BL. Just the fact you understand it makes me want to add you to our group. If you are interested, let me know here!
I agree with your review! In my opinion this isn't a BL in the classic sense, but a realistic queer series. I…
I would call this a queer series with BL elements. The BL elements are there: the boys all turn out gay, friends don't really care their friends are gay, there is no coming out, there is no consequences for being gay in public, you get hints of seme and uke dynamics, etc.
IPYTM was the same, maybe even more queer than BL.
Chian and Fou4mod had a long kissing scene in ep 5
I think that it depends on how you interpret the scene.
Did we watch only the first few minutes of them making out in the photobooth or was that the whole thing? Did they kiss off-camera? IDK
When they were in the Chian's room, I think they did AVOID kissing. That was definitely a director's choice. I interpret it as they are not wanting to acknowledge their feelings for each other. "I am horny" seems to be the message they want to say to each other.
Again, it goes back to the tagline of the series: they are avoiding showing their true emotions.
Maybe if I watch it again I will see something I missed, IDK I have a feeling there is more to this... :O
How did Chian "come to his senses?" He hinted right at the end at how he would soon be up to his old, sadistic…
See my comment below to the other posters.
I think people focusing on the idea this series s about consumerism (not capitalism BTW), is wrong. If you went in expecting a critique of consumerism, you would be disappointed. That is not what this series is about.
Critique on Masculinity?
I am all about critical analysis, so please point out to me exactly WHERE you see these critiques or messages, because I don't see any.
I always analyze three things about Thai series: name of series in Thai, name of series in English, name of characters.
If you do that in this series, you will realize this series is not about masculinity, but simply about the teenage experience. You can see my post below about the name in English and Thai. As far as the characters go, I haven't done much with that yet, but here is what I got: Bua represents Purity (lotus = Bua), Baa Bin (Reckless or impulsive), Chian (Cheer/joy, but can also mean quick skilled and expert), Fou4Mod (its an old T-pop group, but it also means four-ants, mod is ant). All in all, I think they represent different aspects of your teenage experience, coming-of-age and they also represent the main traits of the characters. Bua is pure and innocent, Baa bin is reckless and crazy in love, Chian is always cheerful and he is the less emotional (expert, older, wiser?), and Fou4Mod... I owe you that one :) I think this is also a play on opposite attract.
In any event, there is little here to make me think this is a comment on masculinity. And as I said, I am a firm believer it has nothing to do with Capitalism/Consumerism either.
How did Chian "come to his senses?" He hinted right at the end at how he would soon be up to his old, sadistic…
From what you have posted (I have read a few of your post), I think you are missing a few key pieces. I don't blame you. They are things that are not obvious to any casual viewer.
The first thing you need to fit into your interpretation of the show is that this show has the title Gelboys, and the subtitle "Sathana Gak Jai". Google translates this to "Status of holding back", but the word by word translation reveals that it probably means something closer to "What happens (status) when you hide your feelings (lit. heart)."
Fou4Mod wrote on the stairs: "ไร้ สถานะ" right after Chian tells him they don't have a status. That's the same word "Sathana" but he used rai before it, which means "without status".
Status here is used as both the situationship and also the result of a lack of situationship.
Gelboys, of course, refers to the one thing they all had in common, but a lot of people here have also mentioned the possibility that it refers to the consumerism aspect of the series. I don't think so, but that is a separate debate. I think this series is not about consumerism, but about how social media has impacted dating and the modern teen experience.
When Fou4Mod tells Chian that he wonders if they are going to do their nails when they are adults (this is one of the last scenes of the finale), Chian says he doesn't know, but that he will let him know if he can't make it to an appointment (or something to that effect). The way I interpret that scene is that he is really wondering about growing up and what their priorities will be. Right now, fashion and doing what is trending is at the core of their experience as teens, but Fou4Mod is now older and questioning if it will always be that way. Thus, I think that ending scene, regardless of the situationship question, is more about them crossing that threshold into adulthood. It left me with the idea that they are on the cusp, but not there yet.
Going back to your numerous observations about the relationship between Chian and Fou4Mod and how they are still possibly not ready to be a couple, I think that is not the point of the series. As BL fans, we do love to ship the couples and we love when they end up together, but I think the motivation of the writer/director of this series is showing us the consequences of hiding our emotions, how social media has changed (and not changed) the teenage experience, and how fashion, fads, and trends shape the teenage experience. To me, the fact that I found myself identifying with the characters (as a 48 year old man), makes me think that, at its core, the teenage experience is the same. Teenagers still go through the same torments we did growing up 30 years ago.
So, for me this series was really good and I did enjoy the ending. Do I think they will be together 10 years from now? IDK Honestly, I will agree with you that I can see Fou4Mod going back to his bad habits, but I can also see a sliver of hope at the end of the episode when he questions himself and ask if he will always be doing his nails. He is maturing. Same when he told Baabin (and had me crying), that he will always like whoever he likes because they are friends. That was BEAUTIFUL BTW and is one of my favorite scenes of the series. Fou4Mod shows that he is maturing. Thus, I think he MAY be with Chian in the future.
Bua and Baabin and an entirely different thing. I do see them together 10 years from now. Baabin is 100% boyfriend material. Bua is very insecure, but I think Baabin brings the best of him. Or maybe that is the BL fan in me wanting to ship them hard. LOL :)
You consider that, especially in the case of F4M and Chian, to be "sorted out?" F4M, as much as I like him, is…
The point is not that the feelings can change or not change. That is a separate question. The point is that they are transparent with each other about what they are feeling, at the time, in how they interpret it.
Once Baabin realized he liked Bua, he tried to hide it from everyone, but on the last episode he broke free and was transparent about his feelings for Bua.
Fou4Mode never told Chian how he felt about him. He always went along with whathever Chian said. I think in the second or third episode he did tell him he wanted to be something more, but he never said what.
On the last episode he tells him he has been in love with him (this is true) for a long time. Thus, he finally opened up.
Neither Bua, nor Chian had been hiding their feelings. They were the ones that had been confused. To some degree they also concealed their feelings but mostly from themselves.
How did Chian "come to his senses?" He hinted right at the end at how he would soon be up to his old, sadistic…
Thats not how i read that scene. Chian is reassuring him by basically saying, "I am yours".
Up to that point their status was, as Four4Mod wrote on the stairs "withdrawn".
The very final scene has Chian again trying to reassure Fou4Mod by saying to him, he will always let him know if he cant make it to an appointment or be out of reach.
When Baabin said he wasn't into Bua because he's a foreigner..that's actually fucked up.
The weird thing is I was just thinking that the actor who plays him probably had a hard time fitting in and finding ppl who find him attractive becauae i bet with him it's the extremes: ppl either find him very hot or very ugly. And 5 minutes later Baabin said that and it broke my heart.
You consider that, especially in the case of F4M and Chian, to be "sorted out?" F4M, as much as I like him, is…
No. But the story reached its logical conclusion. Look at the Thai title: "status of holding back [your emotions]". They finally were all honest and transparent about their feelings.
1 
I think the climax is supposed to be when Sorn confesses his love to Jun. So its Yaoi without the Y hahaha
My Stubborn is a series that goes back to the roots of BL: Yaoi stories. Its pure Yaoi.
I really liked that in My Tee they have Drake's character trying to put his hands down Frank's characters pants very quickly within them meeting each other, but overall I prefer the slow-simmering romance and honestly here it became physical pretty quickly with them kissing before they even say they are BFs. In most BLs, they first declare their interest and then they kiss. So I really like that about the main couple.
I think the hesitation from Shane is also very realistic. He barely knows Kit and he is afraid of love in general. He pulls back not because he is the typical Uke (is he an Uke?), but because it is in his nature. He also eventually relents to the pursuit, not because he is tired, or for whatever random reason most Uke's relent to their Semes, but because internally he was in conflict and he needed to resolve that conflict first...
I also hope for a Per/Tar ship. They are very cute together. It doesn't have to be the kind of relationship that we get to see "all of it", but at least I hope by the end it is clear they are a couple.
And then they gave Day his vision back and I lost it lol. Just so mad.
But yeah, spot on analysis of the series. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
ThamePo is similar in this regard. When I thought it was finally getting better, it took a left turn and headed straight to nonsensical.
Now, I will tell you, at least ThamePo didnt hype us as much as Last Twilight. Day almost loosing his vision only to get it restored at the end of the series was a total betrayal of the message the series was trying to tell about disabilities.
IPYTM was the same, maybe even more queer than BL.
Did we watch only the first few minutes of them making out in the photobooth or was that the whole thing? Did they kiss off-camera? IDK
When they were in the Chian's room, I think they did AVOID kissing. That was definitely a director's choice. I interpret it as they are not wanting to acknowledge their feelings for each other. "I am horny" seems to be the message they want to say to each other.
Again, it goes back to the tagline of the series: they are avoiding showing their true emotions.
Maybe if I watch it again I will see something I missed, IDK I have a feeling there is more to this... :O
I will die on fhis hill. This show is not about consumerism and the best proof of that is how it wraps up its last chapter.
I am not arrogant. I am opinionated. And i welcome other POVs. Just giving you my own. No idea why you take it so personal. I am not insulting you.
I think people focusing on the idea this series s about consumerism (not capitalism BTW), is wrong. If you went in expecting a critique of consumerism, you would be disappointed. That is not what this series is about.
Critique on Masculinity?
I am all about critical analysis, so please point out to me exactly WHERE you see these critiques or messages, because I don't see any.
I always analyze three things about Thai series: name of series in Thai, name of series in English, name of characters.
If you do that in this series, you will realize this series is not about masculinity, but simply about the teenage experience. You can see my post below about the name in English and Thai. As far as the characters go, I haven't done much with that yet, but here is what I got: Bua represents Purity (lotus = Bua), Baa Bin (Reckless or impulsive), Chian (Cheer/joy, but can also mean quick skilled and expert), Fou4Mod (its an old T-pop group, but it also means four-ants, mod is ant). All in all, I think they represent different aspects of your teenage experience, coming-of-age and they also represent the main traits of the characters. Bua is pure and innocent, Baa bin is reckless and crazy in love, Chian is always cheerful and he is the less emotional (expert, older, wiser?), and Fou4Mod... I owe you that one :) I think this is also a play on opposite attract.
In any event, there is little here to make me think this is a comment on masculinity. And as I said, I am a firm believer it has nothing to do with Capitalism/Consumerism either.
The first thing you need to fit into your interpretation of the show is that this show has the title Gelboys, and the subtitle "Sathana Gak Jai". Google translates this to "Status of holding back", but the word by word translation reveals that it probably means something closer to "What happens (status) when you hide your feelings (lit. heart)."
Fou4Mod wrote on the stairs: "ไร้ สถานะ" right after Chian tells him they don't have a status. That's the same word "Sathana" but he used rai before it, which means "without status".
Status here is used as both the situationship and also the result of a lack of situationship.
Gelboys, of course, refers to the one thing they all had in common, but a lot of people here have also mentioned the possibility that it refers to the consumerism aspect of the series. I don't think so, but that is a separate debate. I think this series is not about consumerism, but about how social media has impacted dating and the modern teen experience.
When Fou4Mod tells Chian that he wonders if they are going to do their nails when they are adults (this is one of the last scenes of the finale), Chian says he doesn't know, but that he will let him know if he can't make it to an appointment (or something to that effect). The way I interpret that scene is that he is really wondering about growing up and what their priorities will be. Right now, fashion and doing what is trending is at the core of their experience as teens, but Fou4Mod is now older and questioning if it will always be that way. Thus, I think that ending scene, regardless of the situationship question, is more about them crossing that threshold into adulthood. It left me with the idea that they are on the cusp, but not there yet.
Going back to your numerous observations about the relationship between Chian and Fou4Mod and how they are still possibly not ready to be a couple, I think that is not the point of the series. As BL fans, we do love to ship the couples and we love when they end up together, but I think the motivation of the writer/director of this series is showing us the consequences of hiding our emotions, how social media has changed (and not changed) the teenage experience, and how fashion, fads, and trends shape the teenage experience. To me, the fact that I found myself identifying with the characters (as a 48 year old man), makes me think that, at its core, the teenage experience is the same. Teenagers still go through the same torments we did growing up 30 years ago.
So, for me this series was really good and I did enjoy the ending. Do I think they will be together 10 years from now? IDK Honestly, I will agree with you that I can see Fou4Mod going back to his bad habits, but I can also see a sliver of hope at the end of the episode when he questions himself and ask if he will always be doing his nails. He is maturing. Same when he told Baabin (and had me crying), that he will always like whoever he likes because they are friends. That was BEAUTIFUL BTW and is one of my favorite scenes of the series. Fou4Mod shows that he is maturing. Thus, I think he MAY be with Chian in the future.
Bua and Baabin and an entirely different thing. I do see them together 10 years from now. Baabin is 100% boyfriend material. Bua is very insecure, but I think Baabin brings the best of him. Or maybe that is the BL fan in me wanting to ship them hard. LOL :)
Once Baabin realized he liked Bua, he tried to hide it from everyone, but on the last episode he broke free and was transparent about his feelings for Bua.
Fou4Mode never told Chian how he felt about him. He always went along with whathever Chian said. I think in the second or third episode he did tell him he wanted to be something more, but he never said what.
On the last episode he tells him he has been in love with him (this is true) for a long time. Thus, he finally opened up.
Neither Bua, nor Chian had been hiding their feelings. They were the ones that had been confused. To some degree they also concealed their feelings but mostly from themselves.
Up to that point their status was, as Four4Mod wrote on the stairs "withdrawn".
The very final scene has Chian again trying to reassure Fou4Mod by saying to him, he will always let him know if he cant make it to an appointment or be out of reach.