Unpopularopinionbydemand

Wash Away Your Negative Body-Swap Ideations

I remember watching the trailer after the 2022 line-up and thinking, "this is how they're going to utilize this trending pair? In a god-damn body-swap BL??!" and this was right before I saw the masterpiece that was the Moonlight Chicken trailer. It was already so bizarre to me that Earth and Mix were getting two of their own series in just a year, and it also caused a little bit of fret since I, with no doubt, adored them in ATOTS and was concerned that them playing different characters would ultimately ruin their dynamic. They're so good in one thing that you hold up this high expectation for them in another, and while I won't say I loved this on the same terms as much as I love ATOTS, I for sure wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did.

Let's Dive In.

I went into this with very low expectations, since I was so ready to just be fundamentally let down, and I did that so that I wouldn't draw any lost hope. I'm happy that most of what I was expecting didn't happen, but then, of course, there were some other things I wasn't so fond of. Cupid's Last Wish is the story about Win and his family as they go through a great loss of losing their father and gaining his inheritance, including the family-owned farm. When Win founds out that his childhood friend has a part of his father's inheritance, he feels betrayed and like Korn was using his family. A year passed, Win finds out his sister was still in contact with Korn, and because of that, he storms off with her in tow, and sadly, they get into an accident, causing them to switch bodies. Win is given this task to find holy waters to return to his original body, causing this frenzied adventure, with Win being reminded how much he loves Korn, and by the time he gets back to his body, there's a little turmoil, but it's a happy ending. Genuinely, I think this was the best handle of a body switch in BL, and mind you, I was a die-hard fan of Great Men Academy (not a body switch, more like a body metamorphosis, but still). It didn't have any of the pathetic tropes that come with switching bodies, like the underlying, "I'm a guy but in a girl's body so it's okay for me to be in love with you." or, "I'm a girl in a guy's body which makes it technically okay for me to love you since I have the soul of a female". I worried that because this series had the same director as FUTS, it would be a total abomination, but I can say, this series is a knee-kicker compared to the disaster (excluding Meen and Duean (but not that kiss, ewe)) that was Fish Upon The Sky.

What could've been a lot better: The entirely of the conflict is just one big misunderstanding, and the problem with everything and everyone is not having decent communication skills. Of course, if communication were present, this series would only last maybe two episodes, but it's so daunting to watch everything spiral out of control when someone could've just spoken up and the situation would've been resolved. You could tell in the first episode that Korn wasn't doing anything that Win was accusing him of, and it's dragged on for too long, only to be made clear in the last freaking episode. I could've told you that! Also, I don't like how Lin just went along with getting engaged to Korn without even explaining the plan to Korn in the hopes that Win would speak up before they actually did get engaged. It's so mindless and stupid, what were the writers even thinking, and who thought this was a masterpiece of an idea??! Again, communication is so lacking, and I'm tired of watching BLs where their entire plot is ran off of human beings that don't know how to talk to one another.

This might've been a translation error, or maybe a culturally different custom, but in episode 9, Lin's mom asked Korn if he, "took advantage of her", in which he explains he did, but with his true feelings. Huh? Korn never, not even once, takes advantage of "Lin" (in my perspective of taking advantage of someone, it's taking their vulnerability or naiveness and using it to someone's advantage, physically, emotionally, mentally, and in most cases, sexually), nor did he ever do something for the likes of himself because of his "true feelings". Again, it threw me completely off my wagon, and I was hella confused. It made the conversation icky, and I know I felt icky thinking he would of course say no, but then says yes, and you just kind of want to vomit a bit in your mouth. I don't know if "taking advantage" has a different meaning in Thailand or culture-wise, but I know it through me for a loop.

Everyone knows that I love Mix, and I was so proud of him for being a rookie actor and giving us the performance he does in ATOTS, but here, his acting felt weak in a lot of spots. When he was goofy around with Korn, it's great, having heart-to-heart talks were great, the chemistry between them was off the charts, but in the scene where he was seemingly angry, I felt like it was severely weak, and it's really just him shouting with no desire behind it. Even in episode one, he's just shouting and yelling with such a monotone face. It's hard for you to play into his feelings, and you kind of just turn the volume down to save yourself from second-hand embarrassment. I wanted him to talk sternly and with emotion behind his voice when he was mad, not just yell in Earth's face.

Lastly, I wish that Korn was the only one that could actually see Win as himself, even in Lin's body. I wish that the Monk would've secretly told Korn that he was the only one that could see Win as his true form, and while Win is freaking out that Korn is only getting close to him cause he looked like Lin, it would be revealed that Korn never saw Lin and only saw Win, as he was before the accident. It would've made for a pretty good twist, and I was kind of waiting for it to happen, but then it never did, and again I had hope for something that went crashing. Because, sure, you're supposed to fall in love with somebody's soul and not care what they look like, but falling in love with someone also plays a part in falling in love with their appearance. So it's nice when Korn and "Win" kiss for the first time, but you can't help but think that's he's kissing "Lin", and while she might not be her actual self, it's still her body. I don't know, I wish they would've held off on the first kiss after Win returned to his body, but it was a really nice kiss, so who am I to complain?

What I liked: This kind of ties into why I like Great Men Academy so much, but I loved watching Win experience what it's like to be a woman. By far the funniest episode is the one where Win experiences a menstrual cycle and goes through the trials and tribulations of PMSing. Now, sure, most of it was exaggerated, but it was still fun to see. Even Korn trying to buy pads was just cracking me up. Because, if body-switching were a real thing, I believe it would be similar to what happens in tv series.

The chemistry between Mix and Earth is so much more poignant in CLW than it ever was in ATOTS. And I appreciate that we obviously see that they have feelings for one another before the switch happens, and it's even better after he switches back. They just give each other this look that is so vivid that you just gain butterflies at the sight of it. By episode 10, their chemistry is unmatched. The softness in their voices as they speak to one another, them kind of just being them for a moment and playing around in the bed, gosh I loved it all. It also didn't hurt that their make-out sessions were very intimate and sexy. Like literally I was shook watching them kiss, especially when you think back to their one and only kiss in ATOTS. Them boys got some mouths on them.

I loved seeing Jan again since FUTS (or at least that's the last time I remember her). She is such a versatile actor from playing a cute and shy girl to being tough once playing as Win. I really do hope to see her in more projects. It was also really nice to see Gun since the last time I saw him was Tonhon Chonlatee. Champ was so cute with his little curly hair, and It was nice to see him again, I'll always take my chances to see him again. White was adorable in those glasses, and while he and Lin end up together in the last episode, I would've liked to see them have that connection throughout the series. Na who plays the chef that has a crush on Korn is ridiculously handsome -- just throwing that out there.

The scenery was beautiful. the large oak tree that they sat under was mesmerizing, and I loved every second of it. I know some people were complaining about the color grading in the series on Disney+, and I can't make too much of a comment on that since I watched this through DC, but It does look fundamentally better on YouTube, so I'll give it that.

Rating:

Story: 8.5 - I liked watching "Win" and Korn go through their little adventure to get where they needed to be. The story was fun and a bit refreshing, but I'll take a star and half off for all the miscommunication errors that could've been easily avoided.

Acting: 9.0 - The acting was really good. Jan stood out to me the most, and Earth wasn't much far behind her. The mom was decent, but she struggled to cry. Mix was really good when he wasn't having to be mad. White and the rest of them were decent too. I'll take a star off for the struggle to show the emotional parts the characters went through.

Music: 5.5 - had a nice upbeat to it, but ATOTS is much more memorable. Cute songs though.

Rewatch Value: 2.5: I can see myself rewatching this series while it airs on Youtube, so that counts as a rewatch.

Overall, this might have been a body swap, but it's handled with much care. The director at least knew to switch between Lin and Win during their adventures, so it doesn't feel off (even though when Win gets back into his body, it's a little lackluster since we've pretty much seen him the entire time). I highly recommend this, it's super cute, super fun, and I can't wait to see Earth and Mix again.

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Still My Feel-Good Series

Wow, what a series. Kind of like I said with the first season, this would've been top tier back in 2016-2017. The series everyone was talking about, everyone was analyzing, critiquing, fangirling over. But we've moved on from that, we've BEEN moved on from that. Now we have complex character arcs, well-written on-screen romances, a great representation of a true gay love story, and creative new ways to tell these loves stories of men-loving men. But this is just down-the-drain bad. This is my feel-good series, and I can't even try and dig it out of the hole it kept digging itself in. Gen Y 2 is a laughable catastrophe of season one. So much happens, and yet nothing does. we get forced character redemptions. lacking romances, bullshit conflicts, and embarrassing forbidden kisses.

Let's Dive In.

Gen Y 2 is the sequel to the first Gen Y, which wasn't anything masterful -- oh nothing of the sort ---- but it was at least, entertaining. With this season, we get pretty much nothing. Again, we get this dream-like filter over all the actors that make them look so fake, and it's already something that hurts my conscience. On top of that, this season just felt off. Not something I could quite put my tongue on, but it was pretty telling.

Let's just roll into the real problem. Every single couple. Mark and kit get into a bullshitty rule about being apart, which causes them to not even have any scenes together for half the series. It was such a sad conflict cause Mark and Kit are what really make this series, so when they couldn't even be together half of it, you could feel like things were falling apart. But when they were together, I loved them. Yes, some kisses were *gag noises* but damn, the character development of Kit was surprising. I loved how he had trouble explaining how much he loved Mark, and by the end, he has no trouble saying it, showing it, literally marinating in it. I appreciate Copter and Kimmon. If we do see more of them, they're going to have to be in something that really showcases their acting abilities. I'm thinking something as deep as Manner of Death. No more stoic Copter and bubbly Kimmon. Give me something raw, conflicting, dramatic. That's what I want.

Onto Thanu and Wayu. Closer to the end, I did really enjoy them (I mean the literal last few episodes). Before then, it felt to come-and-chase-me, and it was tiresome. on top of that, Dun is the flattest actor I've ever seen. I was embarrassed to watch him at times. He showed no emotions, cracked a smile every now and then, and took off his shirt. That's it. Bas carried for half their romance, the already terribly-written one at that. Pha's entire story-arc was good until his death. It was intriguing to see the revelations of the characters learning he was sick, especially Wayu. But it was like a sandcastle getting hit by a wave. Somewhere in the middle everything comes tumbling down, and you're too over it to try again. it didn't make it better that their kisses were again *gag noises*. We get to see a somewhat credible intimacy scene, so you know what, I'm not that mad.

I was already not really invested in Pok and Tong, but their relationship this season was seriously done dirty. They break up, and really nothing happens after that, and to get them back together, Sandee gives some weak-ass reassurance, and then it's all good. All that and all Sandee had to do was open his mouth? It destroys the work they built to make their conflict seem important. It now looks stupid and frivolous. I wasn't a fan of Jack and Koh either, and their constant bickering was causing a headache. Everyone going around them and teasing them was tiresome too. Who are Jack and Koh? Like as people and not a squabbling couple? They tease at Phai and Sandee and then give us nothing. after two (or was it three..?) years they're still not together. Whatever. Overall, all couples were left anti-climatic and poorly written. It was like the writers had an idea at the beginning, but by the end, they forgot and just went with whatever they could.

Some nit-picky things. The bruises and cuts were so bad, just so so bad. I can usually look past it, but it looked like smeared ketchup instead of a bruise. Please, god, I know they could've done better. And while we're on the topic, the empty coffee cups aggravated me to the fullest. Adding water just to balance it out would be fine, but seeing Dun just swing the supposed-to-be-full-of-coffee cup around hurt, genuinely.

Ratings:

Story: 6.5 - Far from anything at least a bit good. I liked how evil Sandee was, but they just force a redemption arc on him and then it goes back to square one. Other storylines were boring, the conflict was seemingly embarrassing, and the romance is eh. I'll give 6 stars for the half-ass Markit we got, and a .5 cause Wayu is adorable.

Acting: 8 - I'm taking off two stars for Dun specifically. Not that the others were perfect, but Dun was just so bad that you don't care to pay attention to the others. God, it was so bad. Copter pulls through again, with Mark not too far behind. Supporting roles weren't that good either, but not distractingly bad.

Music: 6 - decent, I actually quite like it. Super catchy and fun.

Rewatch Value: 1 - no change I'm rewatching. That's the end of that.

Honestly, there's so much else to say about this series, but just know that it's not good. However, with all of this being said, this show is still my feel-good series. I waited every Tuesday just to join in on the fun, and laugh at how stupid everything was (and felt). This is cheesy, corny, not-good, laughable, but I can't help but want to watch it, want to tune into its silliness, and laugh at it. I recommend it only because it is really lighthearted (except the death, but then not really even that) and cute. A good first BL watch for sure. Star Hunter looks like they might have a decent series in the making right now. I really hope it pulls through, cause the shitshows Star Hunter has been giving is a shame, especially with the amount of talent they have in their company.

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Quick Entertainment

I wasn't anticipating anything more than what we usually get from Star Hunter Entertainment and My Mate Match kind of supports that. This felt like a quick money grab than an actual well-developed plot or any type of cohesive story, but for what we got, I wasn't all that upset. My Mate Match was a swift BL love triangle with terrible second lead syndrome.

Let's Dive In.

My Mate Match is simply a tale of one dude moving into a house and accidentally accepting two other dudes to live there when he can only have one roommate -- basically My Deal Lover but 10 times better and actually BL. I think this series was cute, it even had good potential, but it lacked cohesiveness and at times was extremely boring.

A few exceptions in this show: I enjoyed Big's acting here way more than in Gen Y. I feel like his acting in Gen Y is LACKING, big (lol) time. He's stoic, and pretty much sounds like he's reading off from the script, but here he played up on the personality, and gave us actual characteristics. For most of the show, I was shipping him and Match, which the show did a perfect job of playing at, except you know who gets together cause it's glaringly obvious.

I also thought that for a company that I complain a lot about for having terrible kisses, I think this one had to be one of the best. It was realistic, it wasn't chaste, and it didn't seem like the actors were uncomfortable. I'll applaud to that.

A few things that could've been approved on: I think the reason why we get a sense of Second Lead Sydrome is because Match and Ryu spent more time on screen together than Mix and Match (Just got that idiom. Love it). For the first couple of episodes, Match complains about Mix more than anything. They have a few cute moments, but those don't really come till the end, and then you're left wondering how they fell in love when nothing happened. That's my thought too. I don't think they had the best chemistry, I liked Ryu and Match much better since they actually got along and did stuff together, laughing and goofying around. The sudden connection with Mix and Match was offputting, and appeared out of thin air. Again, kind of ties into the plot, and how it should've been handled more carefully. However, I did enjoy Jet and Jame here way more than in Gen Y.

Them all sleeping in one bed was very senseless to me. I get what they were trying to do -- build up the skinship, created this lovey-dovey moment, in which we got once -- but it's irradical for three grown men to share one bed. Something that I continued to think about constantly and left me wondering what the heck the writers were thinking.

I didn't mind the vlogging until Match got into Mix and Ryu's personal buniess and decided to share it to the world. For him to go live and share Mix's song lyrics to everyone was a disgrace. Again, I couldn't help but ask, what the fuck were the writers thinking.

Production wasn't too bad. Star Hunter has this thing where they make everything look likes it's taking place in a dream, which I feel will hurt them in the future. The actors look great, but maybe they look a little too perfect? Also, there were some ad placements that took me out of the story and were a bit of a nuisance, but I've seen worse, so it wasn't all that bad.

Ratings:

Story: 6.5 - Could've been handled better. For what we got, it was fine, but the writers could've made different choices in the outcomes of some of their conflicts.

Acting: 8.5 - Nothing perfect, but nothing bad either. I think Jet and Jame did a pretty okay job. I think Big could do better, but he did show improvements from what we've seen in Gen Y.

Music: 7 - I actually was fully aware of the music, cause, for once, I liked it. I think it was the beat that caught my attention.

Rewatch Value: 1 - Again, got to move on, but I think some of these scenes are memorable enough for me to at least tune into a video edit.

Overall, this was an okay watch. Some parts are boring, some are funny, some are lackluster. I saw a lot of people say they dropped it after a few episodes. Understandable, but I don't think it was that bad to not at least tune in. I half-heartdly recommend this, there are some better ones out there, but if you're looking for lighthearted and fluffy, than this is it.

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The Perfect Korean BL

I was excepting this to be some type of tragedy where one of them dies at the end or has to move far far away, but finally, a gang-related movie that's a true love story that ends in a happily ever after. Long Time No See brings on some amazing cinematography with beautiful acting and an amazing plot-driven story.

Let's dive In.

Production is beautiful. The use of lights and darks and colors in this was amazing. The overall aesthetic was captivating and drew you into the story more. The music went well with their situations, and the setting were very nice.

Onto the plot. I really didn't see Wild Dog being an undercover hitman trying to take out Flying Dagger. I think that was the moment I was really into the plot. Of course, love prevails over all, so they don't end up killing each other, but that moment when Wild Dog's mask flies off and and flying Dagger looks him in the eyes was everything. You could feel the hurt, the confusion, the heartbreak. Both actors did an amazing job at showing what real love is suppose to look like. I loved their first encounter when they learn of each other. The tickling match, the perfectly clumsy first time that had me giggling the entire time. These two showed an actual true relationship to the T and I couldn't be more proud in their performances. The uncles in this situation were truly disgusting. Why couldn't these people just let them be happy and hitmans? Flying Dagger's father obviously took him when he was vulnerable and not in a good position (we won't even talk about him getting p***ed on in the bathroom; truly traumatizing). I'm happy he was able to stand up for himself and Wild Dog. Now they both can just do what they do and be happy. The sister was the sweetest human ever. She was truly just so excited to see Wild Dog happy, which made me happy for him.

Overall, this was so cute. It took me less that about 2 hours to finish, so it's a super easy watch. The plot flowed nicely and nothing felt irrelevant or slow. I highly recommend!

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This was Cute!

Second Chance was honestly a cup of tea I didn't think I needed. It took me a while to get into this series for some reason, so I finished the first episode in about a week, but then after that, it only took me a day to finish the rest. second Chance has a bit of a confusing plot, but the use of great actors, decent music, and driven relationships helps to circle this series into a good one.

Let's Dive In.

We won't hang long in production, they were as good as most BLs will get. I did like the very little use of sound effects, which is sometimes my problem with other series. Also, it was a nice change i seeing their uniforms be fancy than the button downs and kakis (I mean it was really only a blazer and the occasional sweater vest, but still).

Onto the plot. It had me at times really jumbled up, especially because of the opening scene. From my understanding, the opening scene happened in the present, and then most of the series is shown in the past. Now, where that opening scene plays in, I have no clue, which is why I kept wondering what the freak was going on. Other than that, I loved the plot. I liked each relationship and how they ended. They were all different in dynamic and it felt refreshing to see that they all had a decent amount of screen time (obviously Tong Fah and Paper had a bit more). Character development was also on point, I liked seeing Jeno's change more than anything, but the other characters grew very nicely as well. This story could've been even better if they didn't add BL-obsessed women. They weren't too bad, but they still were pretty annoying.

Usually I fall in love with the side couple more than the main couple, but here, I was very much wrapped in their relationship. I liked how they handled their emotions and how you could clearly read on their faces how they were feeling. Their relationship was a bit confusing, I think the premise of the title "Second Chance" was coming from Paper after Tong Fah's accident when I had personally thought it was going to come from Tong Fah after his fall in the pool, but that part of the story was choppy, Paper confused me a bit just because he clearly had feelings for Tong Fah, so him freaking out after the kiss (aka the most sensual shit I've ever seen) feels out of place. Maybe he was dealing with internalized homophobia? Scared of losing Tong Fah as a friend? I'm not all too sure, that part of their conflict was so unnecessary. The ending was beautiful, the emotions that gave off were so strong that it made my own self get a bit choked up. Tong and Fluke's acting was magical, I never really paid attention to Tong in Tharntype (but I dropped it so...) but here, he really showed off his ability to act so I hope we see so much more of him. Friends to Lovers wins again!!

Moving onto the secondary couples. Jeno and Chris were a really nice touch to the series. Jeno was being heavily bullied by his ex-boyfriend, where he would get cornered and beaten up (let's not talk about the irony with all those "don't bully" poster; and the excessive amount of them) so Chris was is savor (but so was Paper..?) Anyways, their relationship was cute. Jeno kind of being stand offish to Chris was getting kind of annoying. He likes you, he's being nice to you, what's the problem? Let's go back to that character development. It's obvious with Jeno since he becomes a shy and cowardly person to a tough and confident guy (with the help of Chris of course). Even Arthur (that son of a bitch) had nice character development. I mean, he's still a piece of shit but at least he tried somewhat going easier on Jeno. Their ending was nice as well (and a perfect kiss) I feel satisfied enough with this couple. Onto Near and M. Now for a while, I was so confused on what was going on. At first I was like, "oh look! A love triangle!" but no, it took me two episodes to realize they were two different people. Near and M were nice, they probably had the least amount of screen time, but their relationship was pretty cute. I also liked Near and Tong Fah's friendship. It showed a healthy relationship between guys, and I loved how they were their for one another. Anyways, coffee shop love, where can you go wrong? The two brothers did a really good job and Nine was decent.

Overall, this was a nice watch. It was super easy too and episodes went by like nothing. Maybe they'll make a second season, if they do, I want to see more of Near and M more than anything, just because I think that their relationship has so many more places it can go. I do recommend this series, it was a bit sad a times, but for the most part it was pretty fluffy and simplistic.

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Representation Matters

Call It What You Want was an inspiring BL that draws attention to the behind-the-scenes world of Boy's Love. While it wasn't very long and there were only a handful of episodes, we as the audience were still able to see and understand the severity of sexual abuse/assault in the entertainment industry and the dire circumstances that actors are placed under in order to be the "perfect".

Let's Dive In.

Now, once again, I forgot to actually focus on the music so I gave it its regular score of three stars cause I'm sure it was decent (and I'm too lazy to go back and listen). Production-wise it was alright. To me, it looked like they weren't given much of a budget, and at times it looked cheap. For example, the CGI in the car. Awful. Instead of paying attention to the conversations they were having, I was instead paying more close attention as to how bad it looked. Plot-wise, it was very hard to get into for the first three episodes, but after that, I started to really get into it. I had to push my way through the first half just because it was super slow and boring, but we actually get into the juicier parts in about episode 4.

Let move onto the characters. It took me a while to really enjoy James. The actor himself wasn't bad, but his character himself was very flat and not interesting. This is the first time (weirdly) that I've seen a Thai BL where the main character has long hair. At times I loved it, but at other times, it threw me off and he sometimes looked like a creep. Obviously, this part is just an opinion, but I wanted him to groom it better or to just cut it shorter. Ait to me came off super creepy in the beginning. The way he would stare at James was disturbing. Turns out they knew each other before then, but still his actions and words were way out of line. Closer to the end he got better, but I wished his character would've been more subtle about his feelings. Bas was by far the best character. At first, I wasn't sure what was going on with him. I thought that he was going to go through being closeted, but then I thought he was going to come out and say that he was suicidal, and then I thought that maybe he liked Ait and was jealous of James. A lot of things were leading up to these individual things, but when it came down to the real news, I was heartbroken. To hear him speaking to Ait about his situation killed me. I applaud the actor heavily on his portrayal of being a victim. We never really got to see Kaprao, played by the same actor from the 2 moons 2 franchise (Park). He was in it for like a few seconds on the last episode but that's it. It was mentioned plenty of times throughout the series, but I still would've liked to see him more.

I wasn't a huge fan of James and Ait. They felt really rushed, which is surprising seeing as they approached the question of why in BLs do they always fall in love so quickly, but it's hypocritical since they do the exact same thing (granted, more time probably passed by). They didn't really have many moments together, but for the later parts of the show, it got better. I'm more interested in the situation happening with Bas and Marco, and I'm excited to see what they do with that come season 2. I loved that Marco was there to listen to Bas and to also make him feel better. It was a nice touch on the creator's part to have most of episode 6 focus on Bas. I loved seeing his story.

This series called out on a lot of the bullshit that some BL series go through. From them forcing Bas to get botox done, to them making him eat just a little to no food, and even from them making both Ait and Bas not have access to their phones. It's sad to see that this is the reality for some actors. as well as being assaulted by the people in a higher power, and forced to do things that they weren't wanting to do. It was even sadder when you find out that this show was made after true events. I hear that it was particularly made after the 2 Moons 2 cast, but I'm not certain. If anything, this was made about something that actually happened, and I hope that whoever it was, they got justice.

Call It What You Want wasn't the best BL ever, but it did draw attention to some very important topics that I'm glad others are able to see and understand. Don't ship actors, let them have a love life outside of the show, and allow for them to be happy and do what they want. I recommend this watch to anyone willing to see the horrid stuff that goes on in BL.

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Face paced, but super cute

I was pleasantly surprised by just how much I loved this series. For one, these concepts of people falling in love during one of the most difficult times in the world has to be just about the perfect "meant to be" moment ever. And yes, this series was one of those. Ben x Jim tells an enlightening story about first loves and following ones' true desire. While there were plenty of plot bumps and an absurd resolution, I still found myself being entertained to the fullest.

Let's Dive In.

The first episode didn't leave too much of a good impression. The pacing felt a little slow, and I felt like I wasn't able to understand the circumstances of the characters (other than they were in the middle of COVID) all too clearly. But from there, the pacing got better, until about the last episode, and everything just kind of spiraled. The resolution was too...perfect if that makes sense. I think I would've been better off had they just left off on them being separated and we see in a sequel or second season their relationship being revolved. It felt too Disney, I'll just put it that way. But given that it was only 7 episodes, I guess I can understand the rush in the end.

Let's get into the characters and their circumstances. So Ben is an interesting character to me. While I personally enjoyed Ben to the fullest, I wanted to see him stand his ground when it came to Leo; and even Jim. He got walked over way too many times, and I would've like to see him take initiation once in and a while. However, Teejay did an incredible job at portraying Ben, and I could see the pain behind his eyes when it came to seeing Jim with Yana and everything in between. Let's move on to Jim, who I wasn't too much of a fan of, however, Jerome did an excellent job at portraying him, but let's be honest, Jim is the last person that you should date for multiple reasons. One, his machoness and possesiveness was astronomical. If I were Ben, that would be a big red flag. I was hoping there would be some kind of conversation on how he could fix the way he spoke about Ben, but nope, nothing. Two, it was the audacity for him to continue being in a relationship with Yana and see Ben behind her back. It doesn't matter if he was going through trying to deal with these newfound feelings for Ben, he should've taken the steps with breaking up with Yana way before he tried persuing anything with Ben, because then it becomes cheating (which it was). Again, it just kind of goes back to Ben needing to take some initiative and see that that was wrong. But, Jim did have his good moments. My favorite scene were the confession moments between the two of them. It was done beautifully, and the dialogue was just perfect. Lastly, the use of the words, "wife" or, "wifey". It's disgusting to use those titles incorrectly and to a gay person. What about saying husband, or a more gender-neutrual terms like honey or baby? It's nit-picky things, but it was just too much crap for me to even really want him and Ben together.

I really loved Flo. She was too funny, and she added the perfect amount of comedic relief to this series. I wasn't too much of a fan of Ron's (Olan) acting, but I guess I liked the added plot of jealousy. I could see him and Yana happening from a mile away, and part of me liked them, but the other part of me didn't really care for them much. Moving onto the last character, Yana. Oh lord, someone help her, she was just too clueless, like there was just too many signs that Ben and Jim had something going on. Just one example was during their mini little get-together. The game they played? The karaoke? The way they were looking at each other? Just too much for her not to see. Yana was a likeable character until she realized that Jim liked Ben and became pretty homophobic. I can understand being hurt cause he lied, but there was no reason to go and say he was ruining his life and blah blah blah. So, I kind of just lost repesct after that.

The plot was pretty vague, but the drama between their families did add that special umph to the story. It was a bit of a surprise at the revelation of the situation, but it added a necessary conflict that felt missing. With that being said, the rest of the plot was of the ordinary, but I like simple concepts, so I'm not even mad.

Overall, the show was a nice watch, and a quick one too. Teejay and Jerome as well as the rest of the supporting cast members put on a really good performance. The ost was played repetitivley, which got pretty annoying, but for the most part, it was an alright song (Though, it sounded like something I'd hear while playing the Sims). The production was good, and the setting had a nice, natrual feel to it. I would definitely recommend if someone wants a quick watch.

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Sweet Domestic Love Story

I can't get enough of this sweet web series Gameplay and jeff have my complete heart, and I'm so sad that this ongoing series that felt like it had been on for a lifetime has finally ended. A beautiful friendship turns to romance, with some incredible-looking food, and you have yourself a hella good BL.

Let's Dive In.

Let's start off with Jeff and how amazing his voice is. I don't like listening to people sing, mostly because it's super cringey or off-key, but I can't tell you how many times I went back to replay the parts of his singing. I would pay real money to go see him in concert. Onto Gameplay. Now, I don't know if he really coos, but the food in this was immaculate. I think my favorite parts were him cooking, and putting together the meals he made. It just all looked so delicious, and I'm glad that this show continued to follow the concept of ingredients and cooking.

For the most part, this is a very, very, very slow-burning relationship. I don't think we get to see them actually together until the last few episodes. For the rest, it's these cute moments that build up to them starting to develop feelings for one another. The beautiful domestic dynamic that they had was something I can only dream to have. I think the only problem that I had with this show is the duration of the episodes. ost episodes weren't longer than 15 minutes if that. I would've rather a longer duration and shorter episodes if anything. I don't believe they're making a second season, but if they do, I can't wait to see more of Gameplay and Jeff, and the amazing onscreen chemistry they have. A definite recommendation, it's the best thing ever.

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What was the Point

This felt like another series made to catch a quick bag (which, I will never complain about someone trying to get some coins, earn your money the way you can). With only two episodes and the blandest storyline of all, this series gave us nothing with a nice slice of nullity.

Let's Dive In.

The best thing about this series was seeing Mean and Plan again. I was quite a big fan of them in LBC (but the second season ruined them), although they don't have the best chemistry, their acting is enough to make me want to stay and watch. It was refreshing to see Plan playing a character that's one personality isn't whining. He did an incredible job at playing this stern and serious person. I really enjoy watching him. The same goes for Mean. He played the opposite of Tin in LBC and seeing him bubbly and happy was fun. The sad part about it though is that there was no story to this couple. No story at all. And the little storying that we did get made absolutely no sense. If anything this series needed at least 8 more episodes to be able to have a decent plot. Mostly everything was boring, and nothing was very entertaining.

Overall, I don't recommend this watch unless someone is in the serious mood to see Mean and Plan again.

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Bland at Best

Let's just hop right into this. What was the literal point of this? Nothing made sense, everything felt out of order, and none of the relationships made much sense. It was nice to finally see Plan playing a character that didn't whine every two seconds, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but they would have to be my favorite couple out of the three. They were the ones with the less amount of stupid drama or pointless fillers. Pin and Son got on my last nerve. Here's an idea, talk to each other? communicate maybe? Their drama was so pointless and could've been prevented had they at least said like two words to each other for the misunderstandings and situations. I didn't have any problems with Noh and Phun, I'm just not a huge fan of White's acting, so Phun always comes off as robotic and hard to connect with. Overall, I wouldn't recommend watching this, but it was just 3 short episodes (maybe why I didn't like it all too much), so the watch was really fast.

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BL? Maybe

Do I sincerely call this series BL? Not necessarily, but I won't say I didn't enjoy myself either. My initial reason for even tuning into this BL is because of how everyone told me not to watch it, and of course, I just had to after that. While it was very disturbing in a few spots, as well as being highly controversial, I still guiltily really liked it.

Let's Dive In.

The controversy of this series is drawn from two aspects. One, Kim and Khett are brothers, and even though Pan is the one controlling Kim's body, the problem is still there. Initially, Pan wrote a story about Kim and Way, but when she was Pan, her and Khett had their little lovey-dovey thing going on so that basically transferred from Pan into Kim that stayed. I honestly liked how Khett could tell that something was up with Kim before I realized that they were falling in love. Ohm played Khett very well, but that's nothing new because I absolutely love Ohm and any series he's been in. The other controversial part is the girl becoming a boy in which I see the problem, but I don't necessarily mind it until I see signs of it becoming an issue. For the most part, Pan being Kim led to some pretty humorous moments of her freaking out over male body parts and trying to navigate her way into becoming Kim. I believe this was my first time seeing First in a series, and he did an excellent job. I loved how he played up Kim's personality after having transformed.

Some other small things to discuss, Jennie’s character carried this ENTIRE show. She was hilarious and is an incredible actress. I want to see her in more stuff. I really hated the whole fangirl aspect of this, but the series wouldn't be the series without it, but I don't like seeing the over-fascination that BL girls have for BL. It's weird, it fetishizing, and it's just downright embarrassing. There was a lot of that in this that made it a bit hard to watch.

Overall, I had fun watching this series. l wouldn't really recommend it for a BL series, but for anyone wanting to see more of Ohm or just an entertaining series, then I think I would recommend this.

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The Better of the Kings

This series was better than the first, but not by that much. for starters, I liked how this centered around one couple instead of the three of four we had gotten last time. Also, they were given a respectable amount of screen time and episodes to actually tell a decent story. In season 2, they have changed the entire cast and story. Nothing is connected to the first series, only the fact that they're still playing the King game. Because of this, the acting is better, the story is slightly more developed, and a love triangle ensues.

Let's Dive In.

Pun was a cute character. The only thing I'd have to say is that I wish he would've made smarter decisions when it came to who he was going to choose in the end. Pun should've ended up with Em, no doubt. Even though Em was a ridiculous prick, in the beginning, he still proved himself worthy by the end. Speaking of the end, what the heck were the writers thinking? The time jump was so unnecessary, and it didn't even resolve anything in the end. Do we know if Tar and Sib ended up together? Do we know what happened to Em? nope, we are left in the dust with no questions answered. It felt like writers forgot what their initial ending was, and made this one up a day before production. If there is to ever be a third season (which I highly doubt since it's already 2021 and no production mentions), I hope we're able to see the actual ending that makes sense and can sew up all loose ends.

While the acting was better than the acting in the first series, it still was far from the best. Ryu wasn't the worst actor I've seen, but when it came to a scene in which he had to cry, he fell short on them. I was supposed to be feeling bad for them, but instead, I couldn't help but laugh. I would rather see his character looking upset than him forcing an ugly cry with no tears.

Overall, I enjoyed my watch. I gave this a higher score because I appreciate the consent between Sib and Pun before they decided to have sex. We don't see a lot of that in BL, and it's something to applaud when it's done well and with the right intent. I definitely recommend a watch. It was cute, a terrible ending, but it didn't ruin the show for me.

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Not Bad, But Not Good

Where does one even begin with this series? I haven't seen a series shitted on so badly like I have this one. I can't even remember the countless number of people who told me not to watch WTD, but of course, that made me want to watch it even more. To my surprise, it wasn't bad at all. Does that mean it was amazing? Not necessarily. Does that mean it's the best BL ever? Very far from it. Was it terrible and the worst BL known to man? No, not even close.

Let's dive in.

The overall concept of the series was different and one we hadn't seen played out before. Most of my fascination was from that alone. We didn't see the boring university get-up or the high school uniforms, and I liked their wardrobe for the most part. I wish this show didn't take its time in sharing Mo's story. I was so disinterested and bored with her plot, not even because it wasn't BL, but just because it was lackluster. Had she had less screen time, we could've seen other stories more, and a little less of the rush that I felt in the end. I will say that I enjoy seeing Mild and Sammy, but damn, was that a harsh pill to swallow.

Speaking of Mo, as much as I really didn't care for her character, I will say that I feel extremely bad for her. How could she have been in a four-year relationship and not see the signs that it wasn't working? I got shivers of pure disappointment when Pop explained that he's only ever seen her as a sister. Why was that not a conversation had years before? It plays Mo out to look like a naive woman when I know she's better than that.

I didn't a hundred percent love Pop and Oat, but out of the two couples we were given, they were hands down my favorite. While Oat's personality was a little off and a bit much, he makes up for it in the end. The number one reason I think I connected to this couple is that I understand how it feels to be mothered. To feel those moments when you just truly feel loved by your mother is something so different and heart-warming. The way Pop made Oat feel when he did a simple task that reminded him of his mom made my heart flutter. I could feel the build-up of their feelings growing stronger for one another. it was more evident as each episode passed by. It was probably closer to the end when I felt it the strongest. I thought we were going to have another situation of rape on our hands, but it was nice to know it was something else that was respectful and genuine. Honestly, their love story wasn't perfect, in fact, it was pretty all over the place, but it was nice.

Pree and Bo get a gold medal for the best creative setup. While it was very vulgar and erotic, I will say that it helps to give us an understanding of how their relationship was with one another. As much as it was super cringey and uncomfortable to watch, it still was super natural and most likely what other couples do. The setup for this couple was probably the only thing I liked about them. They were both so toxic to each other, and are highly problematic. There was so much shit that went on between these two. At times, it was so hard to keep up with their drama. Bo was toxic and problematic cause while his boyfriend is ready to tell the world about their relationship, he wants to keep it a secret. While each person can only be ready on their own terms, it has to suck for Pree to have to constantly hide the truth from others. On top of that, Bo is worried he might have an STD after having sex with a random stranger, and instead of doing the right thing and getting tested, he just throws all morals out the door and gets intimate with Pree. As much as Bo sucked ass, Pree wasn't much better. Throughout the series we see him make moves and flirt with Pop. knowing damn well he was in a relationship. Does he have the right to not like that he has to keep it a secret? YES. Does that give him the right to cheat? NO. There wasn't a moment after the first encounter with this couple that I liked. By the next episode, I was fed up with them and ready to move on. When will someone give Mew a role where he doesn’t have to be the gay guy trying to find love with the internalized homophobic man, or even just a decent pairing where it’s not so toxic?

Overall, this show had its faults, and it had its share of mistakes, but for the most part, it was a fun watch and I liked it. So why is this show given such a poor rating and ugly reviews? Only one reason, the MewArt situation. Because of what the actors had going on outside of the show, people automatically labeled it the worst series ever, when in reality, it wasn't nearly as bad as everyone made it out to be. Most people were just bandwagoners. Some hadn't even seen the series and were promising that it was trash. Always go with your own intuition. While this series was far from the best, it was also far from the worst.

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What is with BL and their Love for Incest?

Look, I know they aren't blood-related, but it doesn't make the story any less werid. I need the BL industry to drop the toxic tropes that paint gay people in a bad way. Incest? Rape? Sexual assult? It all needs to GO AWAY. Romanticizing this crap is way beyond me. Someone is going to need to point out where people find these tropes to be "cute" cause it's not here. This story could've been ten times better had it not involved incest.

Let's Dive In.

So besides the fact of them being step-brothers, this series was very entertaining and had a well-driven plot. It's so highly rated because it did such a good job at speaking on some tough subjects. An abusive father, suicide, illness, mourning, divorce, and remarriage; all packed into one and done amazingly by these fantastic actors. By far I loved the scene with Bank and his dad, and Golf saving him. I can't help it, heroic tropes are the best; they're my guilty pleasure.

I somewhat liked the back and forth between the past and present, but I’d rather have seen a well put together beginning, and then another season with them being older. Sometimes it felt like too much, and some of the pacing was inconsistent.

I shipped Tom and Bank A LOT more than I did Bank and Golf. Tom was sweet and compassionate towards Bank, while in the beginning, Golf treated Bank very poorly. (for example, stripping Bank in the classroom or having him sleep outside). Yes, Golf was also going through his crap, but he never apologized for it in the end.

All of the other storylines felt like a waste of time. I pretty much rushed through anything that wasn't about Bank or Golf.
I was pretty bored with those girls that were obsessed with K-pop. Overall, it was a good binge-watch.

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Unfortunate Execution

Where do I even begin? I found myself having a very difficult time rating this show because I loved it so much, but also hated it with the core of my being. I can't help but feel bad for the actors/actresses that participated in the making of this series. The production team DID THEM DIRTY. This show had such a beautiful story with actors that did so a wonderful job at portraying it, but sadly, it wasn't enough.

Let's dive in.

Production: TERRIBLE. THE WORST I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY ENTIRE BL EXPERIENCE. Granted, I watched what I believe to be the director's cut and also on a bootleg website (but I've never had trouble with any other series, soooo..). I couldn't find all episodes with the uncut versions, and trying to search for them was like trying to find a needle in a haystack; it just wasn't going to happen. 1, the god awful cuts. The editor for this show must've been BRAND SPANKING NEW, cause they had zero clues as to what they are doing. One minute Oil and Tan are having an important moment and then the next we cut and they're back to normal. This is where this show failed miserably and it's so undesirable to watch because of this. 2, the continuity errors. Watching this series was so miserable (I'll say miserable a hundred times cause that's honestly what it was) the continuity errors happened every few seconds and with each cut. Oil would look like he was crying and then the next cut he looks completely fine. I'm okay with continuity errors cause it happens, but this show has too many where you count how many in an episode without even consciously doing it. 3, the subtitles. This might've been more of a subber problem, but it doesn't matter, I'm adding it. I understand that this show was created to cater to a Thailand audience before any other country, but good lord O'mighty, this was just inexcusable. It's so hard to keep up with a show when you're trying to decipher what was being said every minute. It got a little better by the end, but still, whoever subbed needs to never do that again in their life (but I give them a C for effort). 4, the weird-ass plot cuts. What was the point of having a director's cut? Why was it needed? Why didn't we just leave all of the CRITICAL scenes in there? For one, Tan does actually kiss Oil when he's sleeping, but in the version I watched, it shows that he didn't. BIG, BIG scene that changed my entire perspective after watching (I watched when I was already finished with the series). There were some other obviously plot cuts that were probably very much needed cause there were so many plot holes, but I didn't feel like searching up each and every moment to see what I missed. Lastly, the music. Not necessarily bad, but very repetitive. Other than the crucial song needed to drive some of the plot points, music was the best thing about the production, and I still think it was only okay. I've spent enough time writing about why this show sucks balls in the production section, let's just move on.

Story: Because some of the plot points were cut, I'm still not sure what the actual story was, but from what I saw it was decent. I still have a million questions like, how did Tan's mom die? What did Tan do all day? Did he have a job, did he go to school? What's the history between It and Voice? What exactly did Tan's mom do for a living? Sew clothes or furniture? Why did Oil's family leave him behind? Why did he leave without saying goodbye? Was he there for school? Who did he live with besides Tan? That's just the few I wrote down but there are plenty of others. The parts of the story I loved most were Tan's family situation and TIn and Sea's story that was the one that made the most sense. (I think?).

Acting: The only part of this that I can actually applaud. The acting was pretty good for what this series was worth, and it's the only reason I kept watching. Oil's actor did a magnificent job, as well as Tan and Sea. Everyone else did a good enough job for me to not write about them.

COUPLES

Oil and Tan: 9/10

I really enjoyed Oil and Tan's story. I got very annoyed most of the time cause their scenes could sometimes run long and slow, but I do love a slow burn and that's what they gave me. From the very beginning, I loved their dynamic. The way Tan teased Oil, and the way Oil had such high hopes that Tan would do the things that Oil wanted him to do. Once you get to see it slowly slide into something more, it really does make you yearn for them to already hurry and get together. After watching the cut in which Tan does kiss Oil when he's sleeping, I've started feeling a little different for this couple. It should've never happened, and I think I liked it a thousand times more when I wasn't acknowledged. Oil was so precious, and I literally shipped him with Tan and Khun. I didn't care who he ended up with, I just wanted him to end up with somebody. I would've honestly preferred Khun just because he was a darling right off the bat. Tan was technically seen to others as Oil's older brother, so that could've been a really weird story to have to tell others, but oh well. This is me being nit-picky, but why oh why did they give Oil that god awful haircut in episode 9 or 10? He looked like a character in Star Strek, and it bothered the HELL out of me the entire time. I wasn't a big fan of the weird ponytail thing he had going on, but I would much rather have that. Anyways, I also loved how Oil was a feminine gay who was actually respected and loved and not played off as the comedic relief. However, we did lose that part of him the further into the series we went. Not too big of a problem, but I would've liked to see that part of him continue on throughout the series. The confession between the two of them was beautiful. There were so many moments when I had thought they were like lowkey confessing, but the kiss confession (also something I had to look up) was pure magic.

FIRST KISS RATING: This doesn't need a rating cause it was all disgusting, don't kiss people when they're unconscious. Period.

Sea and Tin: 8/10

Not going to lie, at the very beginning I was not for them at all. Tin's actor had this very scary expression on his face like he genuinely terrified me. But, the more of him we got to see, the more I warmed up to him. I liked that they had their comedic moments, and then there really sweet moments like the one on the rooftop. It was probably that moment when I started shipping them pretty hard. Due to some of those weird cuttings and the subtitles, their story didn't make all that much sense to me. The closer to the end we got was when it started getting super hard to understand. Sea asked his old crush to date him and then she declines and then he gets really sad and then Tin breaks up with Fasai (I don't even remember him dating anybody), and then he tells Sea and his friends about it and runs off with Sea and then they meet up again and start crying while singing??????? Definitely know we're missing something there. The ending with them was so precious, Tin giving him the ring was honestly the perfect ending for them.

It and Voice: 5/10

Definitely wanted to see way more of them. I could tell there was something going on between the two, but I wish it were more fleshed out, What we did get of them was super cute. It was this super tough guy but was so relaxed and nice with this new guy. The only reason there rated so low is because we didn't get to see much of them and because of that I didn't grow many feelings towards this couple.

RECOMMEND? Definitely not. I wish I could say I would, but this series is so poorly produced, which is unfortunate cause the actors don't deserve it, but oh well. It is what it is.

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