solipsism5

I think it's only ten. I'll only accept twelve if it just involves Thitnuea and Jean in the last few.

They can ship him anywhere they want. It's a case where getting rid of the main character improves the drama. Of course, they won't let anyone communicate with him either because of an edict from His Majesty forbidding texting and calling in BL's when couples are separated, so we won't have to be bothered with him for a while. We get to enjoy Thitnuea & Jean without interruption, yay!

This is kind of slow. I think the slow drip coffee is a metaphor for this show, and you might find the most entertainment in Coffee Melody by watching the coffee brewing in a zen-like meditative state. If this is not your cup of tea [or coffee], you could at least watch the secondary couple by fast forwarding through 90 percent of this. There is the zombie main couple, and the sassy, fun secondary couple – you choose which one you want to watch. I was hoping the guy who played Arthur in Second Chance would have a bigger role in this, but he doesn’t do much other than let zombie twinkie cry on his shoulder. He doesn’t look as sexy here, somehow – is it the haircut? Good luck with this one, and if you have trouble sleeping, you might want to give this one a chance.

What are you smoking? That was some entertaining conjecturing - very creative and maybe some part of this is connected to reality although I'm struggling to see which part, tbh. I'm not sure the holiday special of YYY included ghost Pan - that's a stretch among several other items you've mentioned here.

Everything is so well done in this series. Bew's sensitive portrayal is really touching. He has to be the first character in this series you can fully sympathize with. He's gentle and naive, and you want to protect him. I think his betrayal by Gus is coming up and I think it will be tragic because Bew is so angelic. Gus comes across as a totally superficial user that most people would run from. He won't even let go of Bew after he's sort of been found out, and I think it's because he has some serious psychological problems, like being an inveterate leech. I might be wrong about this and he actually has some feeling for Bew but, at the minimum, he has manipulated Bew and that can't be good. Bew isn't stupid - he can understand even complex media maneuvers like the acting about acting as they play a fake real couple - he just is probably too good to understand people like Gus. The writing here is just so subtle and captures a lot of psychological complexity.

I agree completely. I think he portrayed this dynamic tension of severe anxiety and rage and moral indignation so wonderfully. I think he’s an amazing actor.

I really couldn’t disagree with the person above more - but still respectfully disagreeing. This is really done very well and I’m rather picky - at least in pointing out the better BL’s. The acting is great by all the side cast members, and I think Seng’s performance is fantastic. I really don’t know what’s restrained about his performance especially when he has these massive emotional outbursts. They do delve deeply enough into the issues in the BL industry while developing the love story. It’s definitely possible to do in 5 hrs. And they did it. Just consider movies are far shorter than this and many have even more complex stories conveyed in less than two hours.

Just finished episode 5. Just phenomenal ending to the first part. Well done to all involved! Every part of this drama was executed amazingly well. I'm glad that section had a happy ending especially since Pan went through total hell. Koon's outfit was pretty striking, and those glasses have to be iconic. I love her expression when Pan rejects her.

This show is phenomenal. I don’t know what it is - something like a mockumentary, lackorn-style gay drama - but it’s incredible. I know it’s a little over the top, but it’s ok because I think they justified everything that’s happened so far, and it’s a really incisive expose. I’ve seen a little bit of this in Lovely Writer but that was childish drek compared to this. Call It What You Want was another show that explored the dark underbelly of the BL industry, but it was really low budget. This feels much more like a real effort, like they went undercover to expose everything, no-holes barred.

Seng Wichai has to be one of the few handful of great BL actors. He’s conveying everything here with a character that is so complex that I was totally unaware of who he was at times. He’s a small town boy with an obsessive desire to become a movie star who is willing to sell his soul for his dreams, but who fights, with some vestige of scruples, to maintain his dignity. The arc of his story is really amazing because he’s someone you hate at the beginning and you slowly learn to sympathize with him, and it seems that every failure humanizes him more and more. Pan just dominates every scene and I felt gripped by every misstep. I’m like watching a scene and he’s about to destroy his career over and over again and I’m thinking ‘Oh no Pan, don’t do that, don’t scream at the director, oh f*ck, you went there anyway. Oh no Pan, don’t say that to your boyfriend, he’s all you got, oh f*ck you just told him you were just using him, and never loved him. Why, Pan, why??” But every time he shatters some dishes on the ground, things become more and more intense. And something that really adds even more intensity to every scene are his interactions with his manager. I really, really think the actress here just nailed this character. I said characters in other BL’s dramas had gravitas, but I didn’t really mean it before, but now I mean it, lol. She is totally penetrating in this role – believe me, you’ve been penetrated. I feel like she should be playing the dowager Empress in some film about a Chinese empire. She just conveys this feeling of total ruthlessness. I just stopped the series just to look at that profile – just the look of a killer, functioning at the upper reaches of society, treating people like useful pieces of meat to be positioned in advantageous locations. Her fights with Pan feel like WW2 and neither is ceding an inch. You couldn’t have made for two better antagonists, especially in the BL World.

All the scenes with Pan’s boyfriend are also super hot and dramatic. I think I’ve only seen this level of steaminess in KinnPorsche, but it feels more real here. Billy is doing everything right to add that mix of sexiness and romantic passion to make this one of the most intense physical relationships I’ve ever seen in BL’s, if not the most. I think Billy’s crying scenes are some of the best as well – I can really feel his pain completely. At the level his character is written, he really is matching Seng’s phenomenal performance.

All the side characters feel very real, and are played perfectly. I thought it was funny they brought in the director of that vomit-flavored bromance You Never Eat Alone as a serious director, but forgetting about that reference, he really did justice to the no nonsense money-machine upper level recruiter – it’s painful seeing Pan make a fool of himself in front of him. I liked the other director who’s filming Mafia Baby. He seems very laid back. He was also very giving and compassionate. You feel even worse when Pan blows it in front of him and is kicked off the set. Even all the other minor characters are played so well, the bumbling second couple in Mafia baby, the First Gen couple, the femmy make-up artist, the other managers, the seedy businessmen – just about everyone. I think this show is really next level, and should only be compared to the very best that’s ever been done in this genre, although it’s not really a BL – let’s say in the orbit of planet BL. Who would have ever thought that Copy A Bangkok had this level of talent? I can’t believe there are still 16 episodes to go [still 2 episodes behind]. I already feel worn out, but in a good way.

There is so much to cut here. It's hard to understand why they added so much filler. Every minute of production time costs a fortune, and Asuka is totally wasted on this ridiculous character Shuu-kun. That whole segment with the girlfriend could have been totally omitted - it didn't advance the story one milimeter.

I really love the chemistry of the leads and their acting is just still the best among any BL. I agree with most everyone else that there was just so much unnecessary filler, like the unnecessary scenes with the former girlfriend. I know a lot of people are also disappointed that there is not enough physical intimacy, but there will never be any in Japanese BL's - there isn't any in their hetero dramas either. The Japanese just don't engage in much PDA [in real life]. I keep seeing people come to these BL's expecting that but it's probably not going to happen, and you should probably not watch Japanese BL's if that's your expectation. Now, if it's a Japanese movie, that's very, very different and you can have something totally sexy, and very dark as well.

One thing I won't buy in this series, though, is Shuu-Kun falling for Asuka. That would be like a zombie falling in love- we are already on episode 11 and Shuu-kun has not shown one human emotion. It is just too late to salvage this couple. I still can't see how Asuka could ever have fallen for this guy. Isn't it ironic that the most alive character, full of an irresistible joie de vivre, fell for the most lifeless, corpse-like character? There has never been one attempt to make this relationship believable. I just hope they don't go there in episode 12.

Well said! This is really a hopeless situation. I have no idea why the ratings for this is so high. It honestly is a mystery. I know what makes a series popular but in this case, I am honestly baffled. This is terrible science fiction and it is bad BL. What the hell do people like about this show? Someone please tell me. I would love to know what you appreciate about something I consider to be a disaster.

I want to be clear about something - it's very difficult to make any movie or series. What goes on behind the scenes is unknown to us, and you have to applaud any effort to make any series at all because it involves a ton of work. But we still have to draw a line at anything that is just seriously substandard.

I’m sure some of you like this, and those of us who don’t, have stopped watching because we have no interest in continuing to watch something we feel has little merit. Ok, they put a lot of money into this series. You can tell just by the cinematography, and the huge cast they’ve assembled. It’s just bad, and nothing can salvage it. I like Jimmy is making an effort to be an actor but this is not the profession for him. He is just not up to the level of a normal actor and shouldn’t have been cast in this. The story is just full of a thousand plot-holes and people who just rave about this show are diminishing the efforts of other shows that have put in the effort to work on the script and who have made an attempt to get some proper casting.

If you admit this and still love this show, I have no problem with that. You can like whatever you want, and I’ve liked really bad shows for weird reasons. Just admit you like this show for personal reasons to yourself, at least. I want better BL’s and we’ll never get there if we just praise anything, even if it isn’t close to being good. I keep seeing that and not just in this show. It’s just a trend that will drag everything down and if you want to see the BL industry succeed you shouldn’t just praise everything equally – that’s just going to have negative consequences.

I hate to be bothersome but your profile pic is just very difficult to view. I had to just get out of this screen to write a review, to be honest, because your pic is just so difficult to get past. I'm sure other people are being bothered by it as well.

Thanks! I hate it when someone becomes so preachy to me, especially when I admitted I might have made a mistake. I might have judged Chang Min too harshly, but I can't understand having such good fortune as having such a lovely person being your potential partner, and just letting that go, and so quickly at that. I can't wrap my head around it, to be sure. I would give my right arm to have been so lucky, and I can't understand why no one saw my side of this till you came along.

I am also intuitive and feel you would be an exceptional novelist. I am sorry for the delays in responding. I'm sure you are as busy as I am, and will understand the length of time I take in responding. I wish you luck in publishing your novel - I'm not sure you've considered self-publishing on Amazon? It's probably what I will do. I just have to find an illustrator. It's just very fun writing, and I don't really care about an audience myself. Fortunately I have another source of income so I don't have to worry about it. It's seems, in time, if your work is good it will always be discovered. I like the story of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos which were used as wrapping paper in a butcher's shop. The margrave of Brandenburg sold the work for $24 (in current US dollars), but what an amazing, timeless work, and I'm sure Bach would just be happy it survives to provide endless inspiration to all of us.

One of the worst tropes in BL's is the screeching ladyboys. I feel they have been transformed in this series into revolutionaries - the most buffoonish characters were transformed into the most serious ones. I've been tired of seeing femmy gay characters treated so demeaningly in other BL's and even if it feels a little odd having them play this totally different role here, it is worth it. Thank you GMMTV for finally doing something to alleviate this stereotype. And overall there is a very positive LGBTQ vibe in this show, including the depiction of the diversity cafe.

Huh? I'm not a child. If you read what I just wrote, I'm conceding a lot of what I had said previously, and I said it is quite possible that they could be justified in breaking up. I'm done discussing this. Have a nice day.

This is a really engaging BL. I'm really fascinated at the complexity of the various characters. Ayan has to be the most interesting because he is so vulnerable while possessing granitic strength. I thought the one scene where he was crying while First is holding him was just a ruse, but he continues to cry after First has left. He's really going through incredible pain while fighting everyone in the school. It has to be a super difficult trial to be singled out by all the teachers. The cruelty of the principal to force all those teachers to go after him was truly evil - it just reminds you of an analogy of dictators using any means to achieve their ends. Other people would be driven to suicide, or would go into a deep depression being harassed like that by adults who are supposed to act as the guardians of the students, not as the bullies themselves. I know we see action films where one man takes on an army of opponents, but this is more of a realistic scenario, and you have to feel the immense weight of what Ayan has to go through. How he even has the energy to help his friend Thua with his own bullying issue is surprising, but you feel Ayan is capable of it - it's just the great acting of Khaotung that is able to capture this fierce, yet sensitive character that is just wonderful. What is also great is First's acting which captures the quandary he has siding with Ayan while fighting for the school, but I think Ayan is really winning him over in this episode. Akk sees how incredibly unfair the prinicpal's plan is, and how Ayan deserves all his sympathy. As Ayan says, he needs to show them what these people are really like, and that certainly includes Akk. I feel Akk's investigations of Ayan have almost become a form of stalking with him trying to find out the motivations of his lover, rather than discovering any secret plots Ayan is involved in. When he does go after Ayan, it is only to discover things like he is acting as a true friend to Thua, or he is remembering his lost mentor, and it must occur to him he is uncovering only good things about Ayan, so why keep following him? I think his mixed motivations in looking after Ayan is done well in the screenplay, and just reveals a thoughtfulness in this series that is way beyond the norm for BL's.

The character of Thua was also done well this episode. I might have seen a hundred types of stories about bullying of gay kids, but Louis captures this with finesse. He plays the vulnerable, reticent kid that is the victim of bullies perfectly. I think you can really feel Thua's quiet sadness, and his defensiveness with Louis' subtle portrayal. It's a character that is totally different from the one he played in Fish Upon the Sky, and does show some good range.

Overall, this series continues to be great in all ways - it's suspenseful, dramatic, unique, serious, complex, and constantly entertaining. Hopefully it can sustain this great momentum.

I guess it's good to know they're on good terms. I don't really follow it that closely, but it does seem that Chang Min didn't make much of an effort to keep the relationship going. Any relationship I've had lasted for many months to years, so I guess I'm not familiar with such casual relationships. I think relationships are important and shouldn't be handled so lightly. But it is quite possible that they saw the relationship would never work and ended it quickly before any damage could have been done to their friendship, if that is what it is.