toxicbybritneyspears

July 26th!

Will be available on the Criterion Channel later this year. They've just announced it.

This drama is like a spiritual successor of Kurosawa Kiyoshi's work - deeply unsettling, existential horror that slowly creeps up to you with the sense of dread that never leaves. There is seemingly no reason behind anything that happens in this show, it just does. It's not something that can be rationalised or fully understood. As one of the character's said "Even if you haven't done anything wrong, misfortune can still strike you without a warning". Was it a work of serial killer or a coincidence? Do coincidences truly exist? Are you meant to suffer? Can everything be rationally explained?
We don't know. Does it matter?
That's a pure horror for me.

Thank you @HPriest for subbing this show. Another gem added to my completed list ♡

Cautiously optimistic for this one!
Looks like they have taken the criticism to heart and gave FayMay somethimg completely different from Dream. I'm here for it.

I thought that becoming a throuple was the whole point of their storyline. It seems so pointless now.

I agree with that but not completely.
May met Ai once, while she spent weeks or months being in a relationship with Oom. Obviously she knew only one person, so she couldn't love the other who was basically a stranger to her.
However, the whole thing is as twisted as it is because May actually fell in love with the idea of this inspiring, strong and supportive person (Ai) that she projected on Oom. I believe she never truly loved Oom, so Oom's feeling of betrayal seems valid. At the same time I can't say that she loved Ai back then, because they didn't know each other. She fell in love with real Ai later on.

that was truly psychotic. and the way they all laughed about it? what the hell lmao

People seem to forget about the historical and cultural context of this show which is crucial to understand character's behaviour.

This is something that GL landscape needs right now, it’s ambitious and refreshing. More complex and less formulaic plot, with a solid production that keeps attention to details. Even though there are multiple plotlines and only 8 short episodes, the show has still managed to tell a complete and coherent story without leaving any loose ties, which I think is impressive.

With that said, there are some aspects that didn’t let me enjoy it more. The chemistry between the leads is not that great and the last two episodes are rushed. Personally I think the plot is too busy with too many things going on but that’s because this drama is too short. It could have had at least 2 more episodes to flesh out the characters and their relationships more.

I don't like to make comparisons between GL dramas, but R4U is my favourite plot-wise. The script really stands out. I hope we will see more productions from Kantana, seems like they know what they are doing.

Whoever casted Namtan should pat themselves on the back

the fact that Ek got his BL happy ending is the funniest thing ever

I thought the series has been moving on a higher speed almost from the beginning, I felt like I was watching it on 2x speed sometimes. But I've always thought that's only my issue. By episode 7 I know that there is simply too much story and too little time, that's why the production needs to Speedy Gonzales'd through things. This is ambitious project and they are doing amazing job covering all plotlines, but I still feel their rush, which is a pity, I think this story deserves at least 10 episodes.

oh, this makes it worse. if they wanted to stay faithful to the source material then I would get it, but if it was the production choice then I have several questions.

Well, then the novel is also bad in that aspect

Really weird and unnecessary heteronormative narrative where women have to owe something to men. Forgiving men for their mistakes (which somehow doesn't work the other way), sticking around men even if they deliberately try to hurt you. Or when women need to be saved by a man. Honestly, no matter what type of show, these tropes are outdated and icky, but adding them to GL makes the offense even stronger.

it just occurred to me that the titular affair refers to the Mom!

I think it's two things.
1. Guilt. She's the one who brought Ek and Wan together which caused suffering to everyone involved, including Pleng. So now she wants to make up for her mistakes.
2. She's stuck in a loop of self-sabotaging her relationship with Wan, so she may unintentionally seek out conflict just to ruin things because it's more "safe" than facing her own feelings. She feels that she's not worthy of Wan for various reasons (fear of ruining the friendship, their past, internalised homophobia, disapproving Mom etc.).
Or... 3. The writer just doesn't now how to create a believable conflict 💁‍♀️

uhm, I did not expect that the final boss for them to fight would be a faux incest but here we are!

I love the snippets of behind the scene moments at the end of each episode. It shows how comfortable the actresses are with each other and that's the main reason why they have such natural and 🔥 chemistry.

the chemistry these two have is insane. for all I care they can introduce the most bonkers plot at this point, like aliens, zombies or time travel to ancient times and I'd still be like: "yeah.... but the tension tho".