solipsism5

This is a great post. I really do think that what people consider the greatest drawback of the series is actually its greatest strength. I tried to tell people, earlier, reasons why they should overlook Duang's behavior, but you've made the better argument. This couple is also just totally solid, like you've said. It's rare to see a BL couple come off so naturally. They seem perfect together.

I think this show is just a breath of fresh air. It's not going to be for some people, I get that, but for anyone who wants a light-hearted drama that's well acted, this show is one of the best. I like the contrasting personalities of the two main characters and they are playing that contrast off perfectly. Duang's utterly silly character is just melting the ice prince in a really convincing way.

I loved the scene with Duang and his parents, and they did such a good job of showing us why Duang is the way he is. It's the kind of background development that's part of any good show that cares about the details. It feels like the show is made with heart. The scenes with Qin's parents also offer a lot of context for Qin's quiet reserve. I can relate - they seemed just like mine when I was growing up, and you're going to develop a hard shell when your parents constantly try to control you. Qin was also probably hurt by his former boyfriend which adds to his sense of self-protectiveness. Qin is apprehensive of people and feels they might be dangerous, but, at the end of the day, he yearns for that authenticity of Duang (his friends sense it far before he does). Qin always shows that quiet yearning for Duang's affection, and Por's acting presents that in a subtle way that's very impressive.

As far as Duang's antics, I think people don't get that they are essential to the show. The comedy is all based on it, and that might make him look hyper-immature, but they can't get around it. I actually enjoy it a lot - it's like something out of the Three Stooges, and very reminiscent of Japanese manga or anime which also have very ridiculous, buffoonish characters. It's what makes the show so breezy, and carefree. I also don't think it will impair the developing romance. Having been in an Asian university growing up, people are a little less mature than what you might be used to in the West - not saying they act like Duang, but they're not like your seemingly mature young adults on Western campuses. It's Duang's sincerity that will make the romance compelling, and they have developed that as much as his endearing clownishness.

Overall a great show that is worth its rating. Don't worry about the critics. I've never heard a valid point from any of them yet. I tried to tell one of them, in a really nice way, that I disagreed with them, but they seem to think they have a holy right to not be contradicted. If it's done in a considerate way, you don't need to get so defensive. And I'm not saying you don't have the right to voice your opinion - I encourage you to do so, but if someone tries to say I think you might be wrong, you don't have to go crazy. It's much better to learn from / listen to other people on here, and that's the best thing you can get out of a '"discussion" board. Sometimes I've been proven to be totally wrong, and I admitted it. I felt thankful that someone pointed it out to me. You just have to get over your ego, and break away from group-think (which I find to be pretty bad on MDL).

You're welcome 😊

It's down below, look under wavesandstarrs

I can't quite relate. I don't think it's the quintessence of maturity to agree with each other on everything. I would think it would be more mature to seek out diverse opinions and grow from them as long as it is done in a respectful manner.

Because it is very amusing, and fits with the comedic aspect of the show. It's over the top, but it isn't totally superfluous as you might be thinking. But it's a matter of taste. I think Duang is doing an excellent job - his comedic timing is really at a very high level. It's hard to find actors that can do this. I can only name a handful of BL actors that could pull this off.

I'm curious why you need to have an involved plot for a RomCom. If you look at a show like Seinfeld, there is no plot at all. Perhaps the comedy in this BL is not enough for you. I've seen many people over the years complain about the plot not being enough, but it's always been puzzling to me. There are many shows that don't require them, or elaborate ones, but if that is a prerequisite for you, that's understandable that this show is not for you. I guess there are many others that feel the same way. I would just ask you to maybe get over this hang-up, and make an attempt to enjoy shows that don't rely on a plot as the central vehicle for your entertainment. This show is really enjoyable even with the virtually non-existent plot, and maybe you could enjoy it without expecting a lot of dramatic plot developments.

As far as saying a show is no good because it doesn't have a good plot, that is just a mistake. I can point you to many shows that are excellent that have very weak plots. I just mentioned one up there, Seinfeld - the show about nothing at all. There are plenty of others, not just comedies. Tons of art house productions, psychological dramas, etc. don't involve having great plots and are objectively very good.

Thanks for the heads up. It will be worth it, though, to see them playing such different characters.

That is a kind take about people with different opinions regarding the psychology of Duang. I was thinking of writing something like "Stop your psychobabble you fruitcake!!", but I think your approach is a lot better. I work in the mental health field and I wouldn't rush to analyze anyone without sitting them down and doing a thorough assessment. It's malpractice to diagnose someone without seeing them, but, ok, to each his own. Has anyone mentioned that TeeTee is literally in a boyband that does a lot of dance numbers. I really am impressed at TeeTee's comedic ability - he has to pretend, for this role, that he's a terrible dancer and doesn't know how to sing, and his fake dance moves are hilarious.

Love your analysis. I think Duang is a lot like all of us, as you say. I've done a lot of the awfully silly things Duang's done here when I was young, and I'm only cringing because I recognize him in myself. He's just a lot braver than I ever was, and is actually able to admit his mistakes rather quickly. I think it took me months to get over the crushes I had and I wasn't honest with them or myself in the process. I find Duang's character's very uplifting, in that sense - maybe quietly heroic. He knows what he wants and goes after it, committing some venial sins along the way, but quickly making up for them. There's nothing wrong with him. He's actually more sane that a lot of us have been at that age.

This is a great point. I think BL's are actually very affirming even if it's not exactly the affirmation that some gay community activists want. I'm not sure what kind of BL is the better kind this person wants to see, but Romcom BL's are the majority of the ones I see out there and they have done a lot of good for the gay community. I believe that the Thai government would not have allowed for the gay marriage bill to pass without BL's because they play such a large role in normalizing gay people in Thailand. You'll see posters of BL's plastered throughout Bangkok if you ever travel there and the advertising is everywhere. The government is actually spending money on BL's (over $150 million) because they are one of the largest growing sectors of the economy - I think it is projected to be over 3 billion dollars. BL's have a large growing market in Mexico and Brazil, and are helping gay people in those communities by doing the same thing. Romcom's like this are easily digestible and help people understand the gay community unlike your normal gay drama's with all their angst, and depressing scenarios. They might not provide the perfect depiction of gay people, but they help with modeling, showing people the right way to treat people in a gay relationship. They also get out beyond the gay community - mostly to the straight female audience which is the largest fanbase for BL's. I think we should happy that BL's are doing all this positive work and not focus on the small issues we find in them.

Just finished this. It's a fantastic BL - definitely one of the best ever made. I think everyone agrees the story is great, and that it is well executed. I disagree with most people on here about the acting. I believe that Namping did a good job in his role playing a restrained, well-mannered character. I think they were going for a character similar to something out of Jane Austen, and it works with the story-line. Even the previous Khem (from the time of the Japanese occupation in th 1940's) was like that. I just think that people thought Namping was supposed to play somebody else, like a character that was supposed to be fiesty, and passionate, but that is just not how the character is written. It's also nice to have a portrayal of a person who has a quiet demeanor while possessing a very high sense of virtue. It's something out of a Victorian novel, but also congruent with Buddhist culture. I think Namping executes this character with a subtlety that matches the requirements of the role, and does a fantastic job. I like how he changes his demeanor slightly, at the end, to capture his role as a parent. He's really not a bad actor, at all. I'm just surprised to keep reading this on here.

The Master is supposed to be someone that has a high sense of responsibility, taking care of a whole village like one of the elders. He's supposed to be very serious. Now, understandably, some people in that position can have another side to them that is carefree, but this character is, again, not written that way. He's a person that has a difficult time unwinding, and Keng captures that well. So the romance which people did not see, apparently, is between two people that are rather restrained in different ways, but I don't see how people could miss how they brought out the tenderness they shared with each other when they finally did get over their hang-ups. I felt that was actually stronger and more effective than in a lot of BL's where people are just throwing themselves at each other. For me, the romance was actually one of the strong points of this drama. It's romance that is built around characters that are very good people. It occurs in stages, and feels more real when it finally materializes. Master Peem forbids any romance at all, in the beginning, but Khem fights it in his quiet way, always trying to get Peem to relent. It took him a long time and Namping conveyed that hurt from Peem's rebukes really well, in the muted way that it should have been done in.

If you forget about the complaints about the acting of the mains which I believe is misguided, consider that the acting amongst the rest of the cast is also exceptional. The actor who played Ramphueng played her role with incredible heart, and the monk who played her "son" was just perfect, like the complete embodiment of someone from the Buddhist priest-class. Who can forget the magical performances of the two child spirits? They captured everything about those characters and when Thong dies, the character playing Ek is so moving in his sense of devastation at the loss of his soul-mate. What about all the characters that were set in the historical period where Ramphueng lost her child - that was some "Oscar-worthy" acting, especially from the actress playing the evil first wife that threw Ramphueng's baby into the river. What about Phong and Prim, Master Sek, Grandma Si or any of the actors playing in the historical set-piece during the Japanese occupation (Including Keng who's doing a completely different character that is much more dynamic)? I didn't even get into the acting by the second BL couple because no one seemed to have a problem with them, and everyone is praising their acting- probably because it is like the normal BL couple we are used to.

If you really look at it, the idea the acting was sub-par or terrible is just a joke. Take for instance, JennyStuckonThatRoofTop's pompous take in the reviews up there, including her idea that the script was poorly written. The rabid critics with their group-think followers, just got this idea set into everyone's head. It's just a bunch of nonsense.

I know, the manga's have such cute characters (like Monkey D. Luffy). I always thought BL's drew their inspiration from them. I haven't seen Your Sky - you've definitely got me interested.

I agree completely. I love Khemjira even though it's a totally different animal than this BL. It's nice to have diversity. Me and Thee is rated super high but I think it's because it's what people want. I've been saying for years that the BL's on this board were underrated, . If shows like Bad Buddy, and My School President aired today they would get 9.0's as well. It's more like things are catching up with reality - people are really beginning to love BL's at a new level and they like the RomCom's as much as the darker BL's

Ok, so am I. We're not a monolithic group. In my opinion there is nothing anti-LGBTQ in here at all. Having seen many Western gay dramas which are pretty depressing, where characters commit suicide, etc. I find this a nice alternative. Look, I'm not going to debate you. I'm just trying to enjoy this show. Have a nice life.

I really don't understand why there are so many people that come on these comment boards to express their disdain for BL's. They especially love to vent against the bubbly, fluff-filled BL's because they are such easy targets. Am I supposed to celebrate your glorious ennui? There are those on here with their group-think minds that want to share in your glory, and tell us that they also share your sophisticated palate when it comes to judging tv shows. I think that you actually have little to do, and are just self-involved, and possibly narcissistic. Just turn the show off and go elsewhere.

There is nothing wrong with criticism of a show. If an artist puts themselves out there in the ether, they are subject to criticism. I just object to the way too many people make useless and frivolous comments with no good intent. You know who you are. Just stop doing it. I stopped coming on to these boards because I got drawn into meaningless debates and couldn't enjoy the shows anymore even though I knew, better than most, not to engage with mean-spirited, dishonest people. For those of you who are trying to avoid the haters, just try to ignore them, or look to get on to a board that has people that are at least decent. You might have to curate your discussion board to just a few people (like creating your own discord discussion group), but if you like discussing things with a large group of people, just be aware of what you're getting into.

BTW I love this show, and think's it's doing everything a BL is supposed to do. I'm having a rough time out there in the real world, and this show is sweet and charming. I love the bubbly innocence of Duang. I think as a BL, the acting and writing are just right, and definitely above average. I think TeeTee is doing a great job with the comedic aspect of his character and it's rare to find an actor that can get that part right. Some people object to the over the top antics of Duang, but that is exactly what I like about his character and it provides a lot of individuality - the exaggerated pouting, the clownish gleefulness are actually very expressive rather than being superfluous. This is an innocence that is unadulterated and totally palpable. I love Por's acting as well. He's not just cold, but is actually quite complex. That one scene when Duang bumps into him at the camera shop, Quinn gives him a look of stark innocence, and longing, but moves seemlessly back into his normal look of apathy and coldness when he gets his bearings.

I really liked the settings in the show as well. Duang and Quinn were at the Wat Pho temple which has the huge statue of the reclining golden Buddha, and they also went to the Temple of the Dawn, Wat Arun - I highly recommend these sites if you ever visit Bangkok, and it's really nice to see them used as settings for a BL.

Great points, and subtle analysis. There is quite a lot of depth in a lot of Romcom BL's that is completely overlooked. As you say, very effectively, creating a mask of silliness doesn't mean BL's are lacking in deeper meaning. I do like the "cushions" in this one. The last BL I watched just had a pointless death for one of the main characters in the plotline, and you could tell no one appreciated that - you can convey the difficulties of having relationships without throwing off the guardrails, and this drama is doing that brilliantly.

This is what I watch BL's for. Some of us have difficult jobs and need this kind of drama. I can see why many people on here would not like it, but they are looking for a "deeper" kind of BL's which I consider to be an oxymoron. There is nothing wrong with that kind of BL, either, because that allows a healthy amount of diversity in the BL genre, but shows like this are the essence of BL drama - naive, simple, refreshing, child-like. This is what a BL should be like, a kind of escapist adventure.

BTW here is a video with Quinn and his boy-band. I was happy to see James is part of the group - didn't know where he was after he left NetJames: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xy1j7dpffdQ

That was really an outstanding BL, and one of the best ever made. I still have a few qualms, though. I don't see why they had this massive break-up that lasted 3 years. This is commonplace in Asian BL's including one's from Korea and Taiwan, but it never makes sense and has nothing to do with Asian culture. This is just a common writing flaw in BL's that is endemic within the genre. You would never see straight couples break up for three years and just jump right back into the relationship as if nothing had happened. I would have loved to see Day get over his distaste for how Mhok didn't tell him about his job prospect and let him have a second chance after maybe 6 months, and he didn't have to block him as a contact for so long. Mhok should also have attempted to see Day a few months after breaking up. Respecting Day's wish for the break-up should only have lasted so long especially considering that Mhok was still in love with him. This extremely long break-up really took me out of the story, and I had to exercise some extra fantasizing overtime with my brain that shouldn't have been necessary.

The other main issue is that the recovery from his blindness was too on the nose. We could have waited a few years after they got back together for him to recover from his blindness. There was no reason to pile on the good luck at the end as if Day won the lottery twice in a row on the same day. They even threw in a throw-away time lapse where they showed Day is recovered helping a blind guy cross the street. They should have used that time-lapse to show the actual day he got cured which should have been years in the future (just like the 3 years they had in the meaningless time-lapse). The show did a good job to show the realism of a relationship with a blind person and they just seemed to throw it away at the end. I think they wanted to veer back into the fantasy world of BL's way too hard - I like this fantasy element in BL's but I do appreciate when people try to go beyond the limits of this genre at times. I wish they could have just stuck to their guns a little better at the end.

Nonetheless, I'm, overall, very satisfied with this series which mostly brought us a fresh perspective for a BL. Jimmy and See did an outstanding job as the Mains, and Mark was phenomenal as Night. I think the directing was pretty solid, for the most part, and most of the screenplay was pretty good, keeping away from many of the tropes that plague BL's. Overall, an excellent series you shouldn't miss despite its drawbacks.

A fantastic series. One of the main things this series does well is to show the obstacles facing a couple after they get together rather than being completely about the "chase" to set up the relationship. It's become tiresome to see hundreds of BL's only devoted to this when it is totally unnecessary even for the fan-girl crowd that is supposedly only interested in this aspect of gay relationships. I think the blindness of one of the mains is an additional vehicle that helps interest the audience in the struggles of a gay couple, and cements, in my mind, the fact that this is a depiction of a real couple with real world problems. I'm contrasting this couple to one of the bubblegum couples of something like Secret Crush on You, and it's a big improvement. There is definitely a place for those saccharine series for those who want a pleasant watch, but those sugar highs are never as satisfying as something more substantial like in Last Twilight. The last episode was really the epitome of that. I, myself, was set for a much more serene ending [haven't the mains suffered enough already?], but was quite happy in the end that the series went the direction that it did. It's not easy being in a relationship with someone with a significant handicap, and I think they really did well to capture that - it's a service to people with disabilities to depict that somehow and not just go the BL route of rainbows and unicorns..

I like how they made this such a complex situation. Mhok can't treat Day the way he should, as an independent and supportive partner, because he can't forget the horrible consequence of his neglect for Rung in his past, and because his main job was to take care of Day which entailed treating him like a complete dependent. He does not pity him like the other caretakers and tries to make Day more self-reliant, but he is constrained by his other impulses from fully realizing his goal of treating Day the way he wants everyone else to treat him. Day is a person that demands to be treated like a normal person, and has emphasized that from the beginning of his involvement with Mhok, and I like how resolved he is to be treated this way even if it meant breaking up with Mhok. Yet he feels very sad having to do this, and asks his mom if he had really done the right thing. I think that made him much more sympathetic in the end than if Day just seemed like a stubborn idealist. This is how relationships work in the real world, and nothing is ever simple.

I also like how the mother is more worried about Mhok than Day - this shows some insight. She's right about that, and it's good to see the depiction of the supposedly more vulnerable handicapped person as being the stronger one emotionally. This series is really hitting all the right notes in an understated way. It's been good on every front and is definitely one of the classics of the genre.

All I can say is wow! What an enormously good show. Not only does it have a compelling and elaborate storyline, but everything is exceptional. The budget seems like it's through the roof for a BL. I've never even seen CGI this good in a BL, especially that dragon Naga.

I want to also commend them for going into the mythology of Buddhism/ Jainism / Hinduism. If people were not aware, the Garuda that is depicted here is orignally from Hindu mythology/scripture going back as far as the Rig Veda from 1500 BC, with an oral tradition going back much further to beyond 3000 BC. Garuda is the mortal enemy of the Nagas who are depicted here, and has something to do with the storyline. I haven't read the novel but there is something to do with Garuda and the Nagas and the ancient antagonism between them. Garuda is the mount for Vishnu who is among the triumvirate of the gods in Hinduism.

The other depiction you see is of Sesha, the naga (snake god), with the many heads. This is also a mount for Lord Vishnu who is supposed to end every age of the Hindu ages of the universe (a kalpa which is 4.32 billion years). It's really interesting that they are going into this in a BL. I have no idea what they are doing with this, but kudos for attempting to delve into the mythology.

This show is sometimes graphic, and sometimes comedic in the typical Thai style as you can see in the scenes with Thongthai and Khem. It's really capturing everything in a normal Thai Bl, but going way beyond it with its supernatual/mythoglogical element, as well as going into the skullduggery aspect like Manner of Death.

This has to be one of the most well-rounded and innovative BL's I've ever seen. Congratulations to Idol Factory for producing this marvelous show, and I love everything about it including the great pairing of BillyBabe who have awesome, limitless chemistry. A great BL that has to be among the best ever made.