This review may contain spoilers
Thai BL's HeartStopper
So, SO many mixed emotions about this series. I want to say that my overall feeling about Boys in Love is that it's an average show with great depictions of actual teenagers going through normal teenage problems, but enviably, it falls into the usual GMMTV spiral of a series; Amazing, then good, then okay, then, when will this be over?
Let's Dive In.
Boys in Love was number two on my list of my most anticipated GMMTV series when the line up came out. A bunch a teenagers falling in love for the first time + their incredibly adorable teachers finding love too? I was hooked. I started this as soon as it aired and it became my norm to watch on Sunday nights.
I want to start off with this: this series doesn't take itself too seriously, and that's perfectly fine. This is a very lighthearted and just an easy watch, especially if everything else you watch is hard-hitting and dramatic, this can ease that pain immediately. But that doesn't stop me from critiquing it like usual, as I do tend to have harsher judgment on GMMTV series cause they have the money to do better, always.
Like most BLs, this show starts of amazing. No notes, everything is chef's kisses and rainbows. Until something shifts and it gets to be extremely tedious to get through. Instead of the usual formula of BLs, BIL was more episodic than anything I've seen. Each episode brought on a new problem in which it was then solved by the end and a new conflict arose in the next, and that went on and on. Not bad in hindsight, but the writers didn't know what else to have conflict over cause KitShane and KimMon's conflict always repeated itself in each episode. With Kit and Shane, it was mostly about how comfortable Shane was with being with Kit or how he was trying to find himself within the college world. With Kim and Mon, it was usually lots of communication problems and self-pity. These problems would've been so fine to have as the conflict throughout the series, but when the problem is resolved in the same episode it happens, so you can see how redundant it is to bring up that same conflict again in the next episode and then in the next episode after that. Yes, these are teenagers so maybe there's some truth to their madness, but oh my gosh, how annoying to continue to repeat the same problems.
Looking further into the couples, I never thought that by the end of this, my favorite couple would be Kit and Shane, but those two stole the show (their show yes, but main couples don't usually get as much love from me as the sides do). There were too many episode to count how many moments they had that were too precious for me to handle. They were the sweetest. They had a few rough patches, but the way in which they resolved them was so healthy that it really shocked me at times, truly. Shane as a character is like the cherry on top of this series for me. He is so complex on the inside with very little details that he slowly allowing to be shown on the outside, and it's everything. Kit is a ray of sunshine. He is a lot more comfortable in their relationship before Kit gets there, and he guides him through that process with such tenderness that I was a puddle of goo after their scenes. Utterly shocked at how fast their relationship progressed, as we had received a kiss in episode 2 and a relationship by like episode 4 or 5. I liked that the majority of the series was us seeing them as a couple going through typical teenage love problems and being perfect for one another by the end. My KitShane, I will miss you.
Now moving onto the biggest disappointment of this series; Kim and Mon. I can't believe that the closer we got to the end, the more I wanted them to just break up. Kim is extremely insecure in a lot of aspects, but most importantly, insecure about how much Mon likes him. Kim goes through hoops to impress Mon, then more imaginary hoops to keep him. When there was conflict, most of it was resolved by Mon speaking and Kim nodding. They say in one episode that they promise to have better communication with one another, and then, in the next, there is miscommunication which is entirely Kim's fault, but Mon will take the fall. I can tell you this for sure, Kim and Mon do not make it in college. Mon will get busy with classes and his life and won't have enough time to reassure Kim every three seconds that everything is fine. I absolutely hate that my feelings for this couple has changed since the beginning, because they were one of the reasons I started this series in the first place. Aston's dimples, me wanting to see Chokun again since MLMU, the library scene, all of it was so perfectly set up, like a little present left on my doorstep. I can't believe I open the gift and end up hating it. Also, Mon's mom was a menace. I hate that they never dive into that aspect of their son and mother relationship, I hate that they give her some kind of redemption arc when all she did was try and break them apart. I hate that they make her some supportive ally when she was calling Kim, "just a friend to Mon".
I loved Per and Tar. I was in-between on whether I would've liked them to explore a relationship with one another or just stay friends, but I think it's so much more complicated than that. They were everything to me, I loved that they had moments of just pure love and then in the next, I was laughing my ass off. I wouldn't mind even for a split second to have a second season but one that followed them more closely as they go to college together.
Moving onto the second most biggest disappointment: Tan and Nut. They start off so strong. We get everything you could've asked from a teacher relationship, but once they get together, the forget to give them screen-time. We see them go on dates, flirt in the office, even move in together, and still... no kiss. Whatever, honestly, I feel like this was a test series to see if an audience would be interested in an older BL pairing, so I'm hopeful that this means Pappang and Podd get their own series in 2026 (single dad trope pretty please).
Rating:
Story: 7.5/10 - Some of the episodes are so tedious to sit through, like the sport's day episode, just skip that entire episode, my goodness. But some episode were amazing, like the episode with the house party, with Kit trying to stay the night at Shane's, with Kim following Mon around when he discovers that Mon's ex is a girl. Some of the romantic development is a little heartbreaking, but you know what, whatever.
Acting: 9/10 - Nothing bad in this department. Everyone did great.
Music: 6/10 - Distracted me a little cause some of the songs sound so disney-esque that it took me out of the episode.
Recommendation Value: 8/10 - even with all I have to complain about, this series is cute. If you watched Heartstopper and enjoyed that, then you'll really like this. I think that's where a lot of the creative expressions come from is that show. But its adorable, no dead-fish kisses (surprisingly), and Aston's dimples.
Let's Dive In.
Boys in Love was number two on my list of my most anticipated GMMTV series when the line up came out. A bunch a teenagers falling in love for the first time + their incredibly adorable teachers finding love too? I was hooked. I started this as soon as it aired and it became my norm to watch on Sunday nights.
I want to start off with this: this series doesn't take itself too seriously, and that's perfectly fine. This is a very lighthearted and just an easy watch, especially if everything else you watch is hard-hitting and dramatic, this can ease that pain immediately. But that doesn't stop me from critiquing it like usual, as I do tend to have harsher judgment on GMMTV series cause they have the money to do better, always.
Like most BLs, this show starts of amazing. No notes, everything is chef's kisses and rainbows. Until something shifts and it gets to be extremely tedious to get through. Instead of the usual formula of BLs, BIL was more episodic than anything I've seen. Each episode brought on a new problem in which it was then solved by the end and a new conflict arose in the next, and that went on and on. Not bad in hindsight, but the writers didn't know what else to have conflict over cause KitShane and KimMon's conflict always repeated itself in each episode. With Kit and Shane, it was mostly about how comfortable Shane was with being with Kit or how he was trying to find himself within the college world. With Kim and Mon, it was usually lots of communication problems and self-pity. These problems would've been so fine to have as the conflict throughout the series, but when the problem is resolved in the same episode it happens, so you can see how redundant it is to bring up that same conflict again in the next episode and then in the next episode after that. Yes, these are teenagers so maybe there's some truth to their madness, but oh my gosh, how annoying to continue to repeat the same problems.
Looking further into the couples, I never thought that by the end of this, my favorite couple would be Kit and Shane, but those two stole the show (their show yes, but main couples don't usually get as much love from me as the sides do). There were too many episode to count how many moments they had that were too precious for me to handle. They were the sweetest. They had a few rough patches, but the way in which they resolved them was so healthy that it really shocked me at times, truly. Shane as a character is like the cherry on top of this series for me. He is so complex on the inside with very little details that he slowly allowing to be shown on the outside, and it's everything. Kit is a ray of sunshine. He is a lot more comfortable in their relationship before Kit gets there, and he guides him through that process with such tenderness that I was a puddle of goo after their scenes. Utterly shocked at how fast their relationship progressed, as we had received a kiss in episode 2 and a relationship by like episode 4 or 5. I liked that the majority of the series was us seeing them as a couple going through typical teenage love problems and being perfect for one another by the end. My KitShane, I will miss you.
Now moving onto the biggest disappointment of this series; Kim and Mon. I can't believe that the closer we got to the end, the more I wanted them to just break up. Kim is extremely insecure in a lot of aspects, but most importantly, insecure about how much Mon likes him. Kim goes through hoops to impress Mon, then more imaginary hoops to keep him. When there was conflict, most of it was resolved by Mon speaking and Kim nodding. They say in one episode that they promise to have better communication with one another, and then, in the next, there is miscommunication which is entirely Kim's fault, but Mon will take the fall. I can tell you this for sure, Kim and Mon do not make it in college. Mon will get busy with classes and his life and won't have enough time to reassure Kim every three seconds that everything is fine. I absolutely hate that my feelings for this couple has changed since the beginning, because they were one of the reasons I started this series in the first place. Aston's dimples, me wanting to see Chokun again since MLMU, the library scene, all of it was so perfectly set up, like a little present left on my doorstep. I can't believe I open the gift and end up hating it. Also, Mon's mom was a menace. I hate that they never dive into that aspect of their son and mother relationship, I hate that they give her some kind of redemption arc when all she did was try and break them apart. I hate that they make her some supportive ally when she was calling Kim, "just a friend to Mon".
I loved Per and Tar. I was in-between on whether I would've liked them to explore a relationship with one another or just stay friends, but I think it's so much more complicated than that. They were everything to me, I loved that they had moments of just pure love and then in the next, I was laughing my ass off. I wouldn't mind even for a split second to have a second season but one that followed them more closely as they go to college together.
Moving onto the second most biggest disappointment: Tan and Nut. They start off so strong. We get everything you could've asked from a teacher relationship, but once they get together, the forget to give them screen-time. We see them go on dates, flirt in the office, even move in together, and still... no kiss. Whatever, honestly, I feel like this was a test series to see if an audience would be interested in an older BL pairing, so I'm hopeful that this means Pappang and Podd get their own series in 2026 (single dad trope pretty please).
Rating:
Story: 7.5/10 - Some of the episodes are so tedious to sit through, like the sport's day episode, just skip that entire episode, my goodness. But some episode were amazing, like the episode with the house party, with Kit trying to stay the night at Shane's, with Kim following Mon around when he discovers that Mon's ex is a girl. Some of the romantic development is a little heartbreaking, but you know what, whatever.
Acting: 9/10 - Nothing bad in this department. Everyone did great.
Music: 6/10 - Distracted me a little cause some of the songs sound so disney-esque that it took me out of the episode.
Recommendation Value: 8/10 - even with all I have to complain about, this series is cute. If you watched Heartstopper and enjoyed that, then you'll really like this. I think that's where a lot of the creative expressions come from is that show. But its adorable, no dead-fish kisses (surprisingly), and Aston's dimples.
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