solipsism5

We must have seen his post at the same time. I still wonder about the popularity, though. It doesn't seem to affect the ranking or Top Show Status. I just saw the Red Sleeve show is far less popular than Bad Buddy. Why did it just overtake Bad Buddy then?

I see that filter now. Ok, that makes a lot more sense. Thanks!

I can't find it but I'm thinking your theory is right that the shows are not placed till they are done airing. Kieta Hatsukoi just finished and it's the number 219th show, and ranked #394. Bad Buddy will probably be in the top 50 if this holds true, but of all the shows that have an 8.8 rating, I don't know where it will land. Shows with higher popularity aren't higher on the list - I've seen several that have less popularity and are higher than others with the same rating. Just check the top 10 list for examples of this - like Flowers of Evil is more popular than the one above it [Hospital Playlist]. On a side note, I'll have to check some of these shows out and see how they compare to Bad Buddy. The top rated BL I've seen on the top shows list is Tale of a Thousand Stars which is #94 [currently has a rating of 8.6].

Well the top show rating under explore is all wrong so no wonder some of this is off. I don't know how old that list is now. They need a little quality control at MDL - there are so many errors all over the place.

I still don't get this ranking system. Bad Buddy is now 66 but it's not listed under 66 under top shows. It's some other drama and Bad Buddy is nowhere near that number. I do notice that the show rating does play an important part - the very top show has a 9.2 rating. Most of the top 10 have a 9.1 rating [including The Untamed]. Among shows that have the same rating the number of reviews and watchers don't matter and don't determine the ranking - I have no idea how similar shows with the same rating are ranked at all. Popularity doesn't make any difference either. Another weird thing - the lowest ranked show with a rating of 8.8 is at rank 49, so bad buddy should at least be rank 49 [ or 50, since it's nowhere on this list]. Does anyone have any insight about this ranking system? I'm just curious since we cite it all the time.

This series is just so well done and it really goes beyond the BL genre in some ways, with some wonderful societal and political critique. The criticism of Thailand's corruption in this series is really surprising and amazing. When Gun [White] says to his instructors that Thailand had violated human rights and could not accept a UNESCO heritage designation till it reformed its corrupt practices, I was literally shocked. This is so incredibly more politically daring than even Manner of Death. Perhaps it is vague enough to not get the Thai authorities involved, but the message is very clear, that corruption is a critical problem in Thailand. I like how the father later attacks his son for being too blunt about his stance concerning the government, and this is so well written because a diplomat's job is about justifiable chicanery, the smoothing over of differences between countries usually involving a lot of mutual self-deception. It's such a great criticism of what his son did during his exam - like he's saying you were brave saying that but there's no place for that kind of talk in normal diplomacy. This show is just functioning on a much higher intellectual plane than most any BL I've ever seen.

The scene with Yok and his mother was another one that had some great social commentary. It was extremely moving to me because of the very pitiful circumstances of his mother. This part has nothing to do with Thailand, but more about poverty and social inequality wherever it may be found. I think the script there was done brilliantly and the inclusion of a deaf person who uses sign language was just such a beautiful touch. This was just a sterling scene and if nothing else good happens in this drama from this point forward, I will always remember this scene as being one of the best I've ever seen in a BL. The mother's acting here was just perfection and Yok did a wonderful job as well. This is also just such a wonderful 'backstory" to relate to us who Yok is and what his motivations were to fight political corruption. I also love the intensity which Yok expressed his passion for Dan. Even though love at first sight is cliche, who can deny that this was one of the best portrayed version of that you have ever seen. It was First's acting here that really captured the desperate longing for someone who they know little about but for whom they have formed an incredible and seemingly total attachment.

Gun's continual evolution in this drama makes it evident he is spiritually connecting with Black and becoming Black through an understanding of Black's views on political corruption and even Black's views on social privilege. Even as it seemed they had become two different people at the beginning of the drama, they really are very similar and when White has a chance to live in Black's environment he reacts to his environment in the same way Black does. The symbolism of their physical attachment, the scenes where he collapses whenever Black is in pain, reflects on their mental attachment. The way this is being portrayed in this drama is really poetic, and shows again the elevation of a simple, cliche plot device.

This show is really one of the best BL's and should be getting a lot more attention. I'm just amazed at its quality. It's very entertaining without being too cerebral to scare anyone away. There's a lot going on here, and the political messaging is very daring and commendable.

I think Thanu will be the person Wayu ends up with because of the contest that selected them to be a couple - read below in the comment section for more details. It's really a terrible way to write a script especially when they were going in another direction. I agree with you that the Thanu Padbok conflict needs to be explained but I do feel they will do that - I think they're not that terrible, just moderately terrible 🤣

Mark and Kit never progress. It's always the same with this couple even if they were to set them up on a new sci-fi show set on the moon. And I don't see how they have anything to do in this series especially when there are still 1000 other couples that still have to get air time.

I really like this drama but it is just more of a guilty pleasure. The cast if very attractive and Dun is in my top 5 so I don't mind a lot of the flaws as much. I can't believe that DunBas is the real couple of this series. The last season was veering so strongly for Dun being with Phai [Pon], and this is very sloppy screenwriting. I don't know how they are going to fix that - it seems virtually impossible. It's going to remain as one of the huge flaws for season 2. I really still like MarkKit and how cute this couple is. I'm pretty sure they are not going to be highlighted much in this series because their dramatic arc is already over, so I don't know what's going to happen with them, and they really can't help save this season like they did the last one.

Since season 2's original storyline has been completely disrupted Pha is also left out in the cold. Most of the first episode was just kind of jarring because of so much back-tracking. I'm going to keep watching this but it seems to be off to a very shaky start.

I agree Wai could have handled this better and really a hundred times better, but life is very messy, and people make big mistakes every once in a while. As I said above Wai did help enormously with getting Pat out a very difficult problem with the police. He can still do a lot more but that was a big step forward. I always believe in forgiveness especially when people are trying hard to do better.

Thank you very much and you have a Merry Christmas as well!

I agree that was going way over the line, but you can see Pran has forgiven him, mostly because they are best friends. Wai's action was impulsive but that is no excuse for how extreme his action was. He really needs some anger management therapy, lol. On the positive side, he did make up for a lot of his bad behavior by helping keep Pat out of jail. It must have taken quite a bit of time to find the right footage on the security cameras, and he sent it over to Pran just in the nick of time - he was helping Pat in this situation to the utmost of his ability. By the way, a gun law violation in Thailand carries a penalty of up to 10 years in jail with a $30,000 Baht fine so this was a pretty serious situation.

I know some people believe that the Wai redemption arc was rushed but here are some reasons to believe that it was handled in at least a justifiable manner. Wai was always a very close friend of Pran, perhaps his closest friend. He is understandably angry that Pran lied to him about something so important and Pran did it in such a callous way (if you look at the flashbacks), like a cool, collected criminal rather than as a good friend that would lie with at least a tremor in their voice or some sadness in their eyes. Of course Pran had to do it that way to get away with it, but Wai is reacting emotionally and he can't accept the way Pran lied to him like such a pro.

Wai and Pat had always attacked each other so Wai is particularly not happy at Pran having him for a boyfriend. Pat was really going out of his way to annoy Wai in episode 6 and we can see how impulsive Wai was in that episode as he almost beat up Pat with the Architecture gang. But Wai quickly forgot about his anger with Pat because he just as impulsively drops things as quickly as he picks them up. Being very young also could be an explanation for much of this. In this episode, the person who has been fighting and irritating him so much has gone out of his way to work with him, and later comes to his aid. At the rugby match, he offers to step out of the match if it would help Wai focus on the game. Wai reciprocates by finally throwing the ball to Pat. At the bar Pat really goes out of his way to help Wai where he is being humiliated continuously by the bully from the other school (and ironically the very opposite of his gang's behavior with Wai in episode 2). Considering that Wai is actually Pran's best friend and that Pat has done a lot to smooth over their differences, it really isn't that jarring when he basically makes up with Pran [and, again, he is very impulsive].

Some people were expecting, like myself, that this would be a more involved redemption arc for Wai, but it is really ok that the screenwriters took this route. It helps clear the way for the main conflict. In a Romeo and Juliet kind of story, you also don't want one of the side characters taking up so much of the spotlight.

Thanks! I agree that people were expecting more out of the Wai storyline, including myself but I believe it was explained well enough, especially through all the flashbacks with how Pran lied to him. I think his role would have become too large in this drama if he was one of the main villains - it would be like Tybalt or Mercutio becoming one of the main enemies of Romeo and Juliet. This was just nice misdirection which P’Aof contributed to with his tweet about Wai being bad. In general, though, I felt people tended to overlook all the positives in this episode. One glaring mistake they make is saying there was hardly any movement in the plot because there was so much time wasted on product placement. That’s just ridiculous - too much happened for that to be true but they were so upset by the product placement that they misperceived (greatly) how much time that took up. I don’t believe the plot was all over the place either. It was all moving toward a redemption arc for Wai and the set up for the confrontation with the parents at the end. There was some time taken up with more PDA in this episode since the relationship is out in the open, and a small segment to explain the continuation of the Pa and Ink storyline. It really was an episode that worked really well for me, but hopefully episode 10 gets people back on board that disliked this one so much.

I thought this last epidsode was done very well. I understand how some people perceived various flaws in this episode, but I want to point out all the positive features first. The continuation of the Pa and Ink storyline was done wonderfully. I really love this couple and think they are possibly the best GL couple I've ever seen in a BL. Both their personalities are so full of a certain gravitas, and are also very winsome and vivacious. Their personalities are just so stellar compared to virtually any couple I've seen in a BL, bar none.

What I also found great in this episode was the total reversal of my expectations concerning Pat's gang who turned out to be much more supportive and loyal than Pran's friends. It was surprising how Pran's friends turned on him after they found out that he was dating Pat when Pat's friends had no concerns about the relationship at all. Korn especially turned out to be almost a heroic figure in this episode while Wai turned out to be very weird, disloyal, and vindictive. And Wai who was expected to be the villain in this drama turned out to be just upset that his friend lied to him, and proves his loyalty to Pran by helping Pat while he was in serious trouble with the police. It's good to have some clever misdirection in a drama - any show that can remain unpredictable and make us question our judgement and preconceptions is almost always working on a higher level than your normal drama.

The level of intimacy in this episode was about the most since the rooftop scene. I especially liked the scene in Pran's room, and some of the public displays of affection in front of their friends that was occurring throughout this episode. This episode also had a continuous level of drama that was just like a roller-coaster ride. It went from the replay of the dramatic curtain drop, to the rugby match, to the fight at the bar, and onto the investigation by the police, and finally to the discovery of Pran's meeting with Pat by his father. This had to be the most dramatic episode thus far and there was more packed in here than in several episodes in a normal series.

Now, I want to discuss some points that people brought up that I didn't think mattered that much. Guns are common in Thailand and there is a large gun culture there. You can get a gun easily - it's a simple application process that takes 3 months with a $1500 Baht fee, so it is not that big a deal that someone showed up with a gun. Thailand has far more gun violence than any other country in SE Asia and is on par with the US. You can look all this up, but here's one article: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-shooting-guns/tranquil-thailands-gun-culture-in-spotlight-after-shooting-sprees-idUSKBN20D25W

I think Wai's redemption arc was only slightly rushed and it's not that big a deal. He was not totally hostile to Pran. He just needed a little time to get his head together, and just a tiny push like Pat helping him with the thugs at the bar was all he needed. We already could see that he wasn't really out to get Pran, he was just hurt by the fact that Pran lied to him so much.

I'll admit the advertising was OTT this episode, but you can just fast-forward through that stuff, and the sponsors are very much needed in BL's. There is only so much they can do to blend it in to the drama, so we have to make some allowances for when it becomes more pronounced than we would like.

Overall, I thought it was a great episode and just as good as any that preceded it despite the reservations that many have pointed out. I think there was so much that was just excellent in this episode and it definitely far outpaced the flaws.

Is there anyway to contribute directly to the producers? You seem to have some information about them. It might be good to ask them if one could donate to specifically help fund season 2.

If you look closely, in one corner, there is a small section of flooring that's from Hira's house. I don't know why they hid this so much.

That was a beautiful ending, and the last frame was shot like a wonderful piece of artwork. I like the relationship is still very thorny which captures the realism of their current frames of mind regarding each other. In some superficial reads of these main characters people assume one is a sociopathic stalker, and the other is a total narcissist, but I think both characters are actually quite loveable and are really good people under the facade of a certain personality they have created when they interact with others. I think they have the fundmental qualities that will lead to a long-term , nurturing relationship. If this relationship is toxic then so is virtually every relationship.

People looking from the outside can not understand what makes any relationship work, or why it might fall apart. What you think won't work in a relationship will often not be the case. I've seen many strange functional relationships, as well as seeing break-ups of seemingly perfect couples. What I enjoyed so much about this drama is the questioning of what will work and what is impossible in a relationship. This relationship could have ended multiple times as can be seen in the last episode, and each of those times could have been the last goodbye - every one of those scenes was very tense for me, because I wanted these two to get together so badly, but it was apparent that this could only happen if they both got over their psychological barriers. Hira had to stop worshipping Kiyoi, and Kiyoi had to admit that he liked Hira, and I think the build up to their breaking through those barriers was done incredibly well. There will be other hurdles for these two in the future, but it is their fundamentally good characters and love for each other that will always guide them through it, and that is true for any sustainable relationship, no matter how strange it looks to us from the outside.

This has been one of the best BL's I've ever seen. It was shot beautifully, the acting was superb, and the storyline was nearly flawless. I know some people have their reservations because of the unorthodox nature of this relationship but I think that is just a very superficial read of this drama. It's definitely one of the best constructed BL's. The Japanese do so well with any drama with their obsessive attention to detail. You can always appreciate this series for how every element was handled with such conscientiousness and finesse.

I've seen enough of these moral purists that they usually don't bother me, but that they try to block other people from watching this show got me really mad - it's one of my favorite dramas of all time. I got into BL by first reading yaoi works so I know what you mean. This is just weird how so much of the discussion in BL is dominated by these moral purists - I'll point you to a number of discussion boards as examples of this. I love the sweet, fluffy stories as well, but people should be able to decide what they want to watch, and I agree with you that most of those stories leave no impression on you, but act the same way as comfort food.

Oh good, I'm glad you were not dissuaded by the person above. I love that show and it's one of my favorite BL's of all time.

I love Japanese cinema going back to Uzo and Kurosawa. I started in this genre by first exploring anime and yaoi manga, and I love the level of detail some of those things went into. I like the subtle portrayal of characters and level of detail in Japanese dramas and how they delve into the darkest human impulses. I find that what we have in BL's is mostly very restrained and artificial, but I still enjoy the possibility of where the genre could be heading. It will never get there if these puritans dominate the discussion.