This review may contain spoilers
Were they trying to set a record, perhaps?
Let’s address the elephant in the room: the utterly mind-boggling 10-minute-plus makeout scene. It must be seen to be believed. What went on in the production meeting that allowed this to happen? Who in their right mind thought this was a good idea? You keep expecting it to, y’know, escalate, in some way, since all signs indicate that they are supposed to be having sex, except they are forbidden by the channel from from removing any clothing (or doing anything beyond kissing and breathing heavily), so it just keeps going, and going, while the same song loops approximately seventy-five times. It’s like being trapped in lesbian purgatory. Did they not want to waste any footage? Was the editor on holiday? The whole episode is only 39 minutes long—it is literally ONE THIRD of the episode!! I could not stop laughing. Truly one of the scenes of all time.
Anyway, Apple My Love is a cute little series. It is a Chao Planoy adaptation, so the plot is not exactly Shakespeare, and it’s fairly short, but it uses its limited time wisely (apart from that, uh, anomaly) and finds a comfortable groove as a sweet fluffy romcom. It’s less good the more serious it gets—the conflict between Kris and Karn at the end kind of sucks, and is way more dramatic than it needs to be. But when it’s focused on speedrunning every GL trope, Apple is lots of fun. It even manages to have good side characters (Kris’s friends <3), which many longer series fail to do, and squeezes in a little classic side couple angst along the way. Bonus points for having a theme song that feels like a hit of pure dopamine and nicely designed opening credits, which many big-budget series can’t claim (I’m looking at you, Pluto).
Orm and Folk deserve special mention for their chemistry as Kris and Karn. A show with so little substance really depends on the main couple and whether we want to see them flirt with each other or not. Thankfully they have the secret ingredient and are a delight to watch. Knowing the long journey they took to star in this series (both were attached to a previous GL project which got canceled), it makes me happy that when they took a chance on this smaller project their dedication paid off, and that they’ll be starring in another series together in the future. I only hope they’re never forced to simulate bizarre fully-clothed sex for fifteen minutes ever again.
Anyway, Apple My Love is a cute little series. It is a Chao Planoy adaptation, so the plot is not exactly Shakespeare, and it’s fairly short, but it uses its limited time wisely (apart from that, uh, anomaly) and finds a comfortable groove as a sweet fluffy romcom. It’s less good the more serious it gets—the conflict between Kris and Karn at the end kind of sucks, and is way more dramatic than it needs to be. But when it’s focused on speedrunning every GL trope, Apple is lots of fun. It even manages to have good side characters (Kris’s friends <3), which many longer series fail to do, and squeezes in a little classic side couple angst along the way. Bonus points for having a theme song that feels like a hit of pure dopamine and nicely designed opening credits, which many big-budget series can’t claim (I’m looking at you, Pluto).
Orm and Folk deserve special mention for their chemistry as Kris and Karn. A show with so little substance really depends on the main couple and whether we want to see them flirt with each other or not. Thankfully they have the secret ingredient and are a delight to watch. Knowing the long journey they took to star in this series (both were attached to a previous GL project which got canceled), it makes me happy that when they took a chance on this smaller project their dedication paid off, and that they’ll be starring in another series together in the future. I only hope they’re never forced to simulate bizarre fully-clothed sex for fifteen minutes ever again.
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