vanwarren

Babe didn't cheat, Willy assaulted him. How are people just ignoring that?

I honestly felt bad for Babe in this episode (episode 6). One thing that's never really sat well with me in regard to Thai BLs (not all of them, but A LOT of them) is the fact that male on male s*xual assault/r*pe doesn't really tend to be taken nearly as seriously as when the perpetrator is a man and the victim is a woman. He basically had to compartmentalize his assault (because that's what Willy did in the sauna) to reassure Charlie that he didn't have intentions of cheating on him. It almost felt as if he was apologizing for getting assaulted, and it was low-key triggering. Also, I kinda have to call out Charlie's hypocrisy for being upset at Babe for not disclosing his plan and his suspicions with him since he literally faked his death and obliterated Babe's mental state to the point where he could barely function for months. Charlie had his reasons for what he did, and so did Babe. While I'm not surprised in the slightest that Willy turned out to be the one sent by Tony to make Babe in particular suffer, I'm curious to see exactly what his power is. Based on the creepy echolocation clicking he does before the "tick tock" chant, I'd assume his power has to do with either time manipulation of some sort or teleportation based on how quickly he was able to relocate to the other side of Babe's hospital bed (I haven't read the novel, so I could be wrong). Lastly, North and Sonic just need to stop acting immature and just get together after laying their feelings out for each other TO each other.

*SIDE NOTE*

I know they're minor characters, but I'm ready for Kenta and Kim's inevitable romance to pick up a bit of steam.

Haven't watched it yet, but based on his previous roles, you can't blame me if I find it hard to believe.

Literally NO CHARACTER that Pod has ever played in a series has ever been a good person. From the toxic "boyfriend" in "Tonhon/Chonlatee" to the insufferable cafe owner in "Dark Blue Kiss" to the doctor that assaulted Wandee in "Wandee Goodday," Pod has ALWAYS played a toxic character with a punchable face. Anyway, in regard to this particular episode, (episode 3) while I'm not sure of the reason, ghosting a significant other after breaking up with them via text is nasty work. Based on the flashback of Tam reheating food for Phi, the way Tam was asking Phi about their relationship almost felt as if he was trying to tell Phi that the end of their relationship was near. In regard to his job, I feel like Phi was in somewhat of a lose/lose situation based on the flashbacks of his earlier days where his coworkers seemed to take advantage of his initial kind nature and didn't really respect him enough to be proficient at their jobs. Even if he and Tam were still together, I feel as though he would've most likely reached a breaking point and adopted a sterner persona at work anyway. While Phi eventually turned into a d*ck that his coworkers would eventually grow to dislike, his coworkers aren't entirely innocent either.

*SIDE NOTE*

Pod is literally ALWAYS a red flag character. I hope I don't have to see his character in too many of the remaining episodes.

Okay, one thing that irritated me in this episode (episode 7) is the fact that Vee is being so paranoid over a guy that she CLEARLY doesn't trust. I understand the trust issues since Phut cheated on her, but why is Vee STILL with him when she clearly doesn't trust him still? Even if Phut hadn't cheated, something tells me she'd be just as paranoid; and if that's the case, she just needs to leave him and find a guy who'll actually treat her the way she wants to be treated. Obsessing over a guy that you don't even trust is crazy work. One thing I have to give this series credit for in a roundabout way is the fact that they're showing viewers through the relationships of Jun/Sorn and Phut/Vee, you TEACH people how to treat you. I may come off as a bit impatient, but I'm kinda ready to see Sorn's "redemption arc." At the moment, he's really just treating Jun like a human fleshlight, but then again, Jun allows it (which in a twisted way could be worse because Jun is actually giving consent).

I'm honestly surprised that Thun is the one making the first moves. Although it was obvious that Keen had been wanting to be with Thun since the second half of the first episode, THUN initiated their first kiss, THUN asked to be Keen's boyfriend, and prior to all of that, THUN reached for Keen's hand to hold after Keen setup the rematch with Typhoon. A part of me was a bit worried since the progression of their relationship seems to be happening extremely fast because we're only on episode 4, and there's a total of 12 episodes, but based on the preview for next week's episode, I'm intrigued to see where the story goes from here. Their first "date" was super adorable, and I'm glad to see that they were able to be happy simply being together by themselves even after Thun was robbed of his clear victory over Typhoon. I feel like whatever P.E.D. Typhoon is taking will eventually end up harming him in the middle of one of his matches (or possibly even killing him since he's increasing the dosage without Pakorn's knowledge). I also enjoy Ait and Mawin as the second couple. Hopefully, their story will also be able to grow as the series progresses.

*SIDE NOTE*

Initially, I thought that Typhoon was going to turn out to be Thun's ex (and since the series is only 4 episodes in, that may still end up being the case), but it seems more like ever since Thun left his mother's house, he's had an extremely small circle of "friends" that he considers family, and he does his best to hold onto them for as long as he can to make himself feel less alone (which may also explain why his feelings for Keen may have heightened so quickly).

I'm actually surprised that I'm enjoying how campy this series has been so far. It's a bit refreshing to see Krist play a character that was initially less serious and campy that eventually became the cold, stern character that reminds me a bit of the character he played in "Sotus." In regard to the main characters of the series, it's painfully obvious that both Phi and Tam still love each other, but both are far too stubborn to be the first to admit it to the other. Their breakup clearly hurt Phi to his core almost as if Tam was the one who initiated the breakup. Although it seems as if Phi took his unresolved frustrations out on his co-workers, I wouldn't be surprised if they purposely stayed live to catch Phi's outburst on camera as a way to ruin his career and get rid of him (because from the outside looking in, Phi did come off as a d*ck to his co-workers, and they've probably been dealing with his attitude for quite some time). The cameraman called "cut," leading Phi to believe that they were no longer live (I'm in no way condoning Phi's actions, because even if the confrontation wasn't live, assaulting someone with hot coffee is crossing the line to say the least), so again, I wouldn't be surprised if broadcasting the incident was intentional. I also like the fact that GMMTV decided to make this a 10 episode series as opposed to the "standard" 12 episodes that GMMTV tends to give their series (because in my opinion, A LOT of their 12 episode series tend to drag). I feel like 10 episodes should be enough to tell a solid story with decent pacing.

*SIDE NOTE*

I have respect for both Krist and Singto for essentially being the catalyst for making Thai BL as mainstream as it's become seeing as how they were GMMTV's first BL pairing. I hope this series is good for both of them.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. This series really didn't need 12 episodes. The story could've easily been wrapped up in 10 episodes (11 had the pacing and writing been stronger). The final episode low-key gave "Tyler Perry series finale" (if you know, you know). Although I do feel as though Nakan deserved what happened to him for killing Tonkla (the LEAST problematic character of this series in my opinion), I am a bit curious as to who Nakan's "person" may have been. I've heard some people speculate that he was referring to Tonkla, but they barely knew each other (definitely not enough for Nakan to have fallen in love). I'm thinking that Nakan was originally in Mark's position of looking after a human he fell in love with who possessed the Golden Blood but was killed by either Thara or Nakan himself in an attempt to stop Thara. To be honest, now that I'm thinking about it, THAT subplot would've been much more intriguing than the main plot of the series in my opinion. For those who genuinely enjoyed the series, I love that for you, but it just wasn't for me.

No shade, but did this series REALLY need 12 episodes? I honestly feel like this story could've been easily wrapped up in 10 episodes (11 at the most). While a simple solution would probably be to simply turn Tong into a vampire, I'm not sure if the Golden Blood would even allow him to be turned into a vampire (I haven't read the novel, nor will I; so I don't know if there's a way for Tong to be turned into a vampire). Also, it almost feels as though Tonkla's death only served to make this series feel less like a university BL with a dash of vampires and blood and more like an actual vampire themed BL. Up until Tonkla's death (who in my opinion was the most likeable character), this series was truly giving "standard GMMTV university BL." As a character, Tong is borderline insufferable. He just comes off as an extremely immature person that lacks critical thinking skills. I understand being worried about his vampire boyfriend but surrendering to Thara in hopes that she'd "spare" Mark KNOWING that her word is worthless just didn't make any sense to me.

So before watching the first two episodes, I was under the impression that this series would most likely give off less campy "Wandee Goodday" vibes (I enjoyed "Wandee Goodday" for the most part, but it could've been better in my opinion). While there are some elements that remind me of "Wandee Goodday," this series feels a bit more mature (for a lack of a better word), and I'm enjoying it so far. Keen seemed to be projecting hard when he flat-out asked Thun if he had feelings for him. It was pretty obvious from the moment they met, Keen fell for Thun, and he fell HARD. I'm intrigued to see how the story and their romance will progress, but I'm going to need Keen to AT LEAST learn how to fight so he can be of help to Thun despite Thun being a renowned boxer. Thun may initially seem like a cold person, but I feel as though it's a defense mechanism he developed over time; and the least Keen can do is make the attempt to protect Thun in the same way Thun is trying to protect Keen.

*SIDE NOTE*

I assumed that Samart may have been getting typecasted as a boxing instructor since he was also a boxing instructor/champion in "Wandee Goodday" UNTIL I did my research on him and found out that he's actually considered THE greatest Muy Thai boxer of all time. His casting makes a lot more sense to me now (not that it didn't make sense before, but knowing what I know now, it makes a lot more sense).

I'll keep saying this until it happens... THE RATING FOR THIS SERIES NEEDS TO BE HIGHER!!! Now that I got that out of the way, with the exception of the cheesy "accidental" kiss after Peace fell onto Sun, I enjoy their interactions with each other so far. It's almost as if you can see Peace slowly warming up to Sun throughout the episode (episode 4). In regard to Mei, while it would be easy to place blame on her for running away with her "boyfriend," that "boyfriend" was clearly an adult who had no business "dating" a teenage girl (and before the "age of consent" trolls come, just because something's "legal" doesn't make it right). I can't wait for Sun's revenge plot to finally come to fruition.

If the first apology was genuine, Jun would've most likely forgiven him right then and there. Also, Sorn shouldn't have had to be TOLD to apologize again if he wanted to show genuine remorse (he would've taken it upon himself to prove it to Jun without being threatened by Jun's boss). We really need to stop normalizing giving people credit for doing the bare minimum, because Sorn literally did the BARE minimum with his "apology."

As much as Sorn annoys me, he's only treating Jun the way he does because Jun is ALLOWING it. It's fine for Jun to have feelings for Sorn, but Jun has to learn to set boundaries with Sorn and demand respect (because again, in most cases, you teach people how to treat you). The ONLY reason that Sorn "apologized" was because Jun's boss threatened to transfer him to Vietnam for work; so, it wasn't a GENUINE apology. I hope that Jom doesn't turn out to be a terrible person (because he was flirting with Jun HARD at the restaurant). I prefer the relationship between Champ and Thai over the relationship between Sorn and Jun. I feel like this series is going to have to fast track Sorn's "redemption arc" just to keep me interested.

*SIDE NOTE*

It's crazy how Boat looks significantly older (not in a bad way) than Oat, yet Oat is two years older than him.

The MAIN thing preventing me from giving this series a 10/10 is the fact that Johnny didn't receive enough consequences from assaulting a clearly inebriated Akin. Aside from that, the chemistry, acting, and pacing were solid, and the story was a bit different from many of the standard BL plots despite having elements of the "enemies to lovers" troupe. I actually wouldn't mind a Season 2 since the ending (without spoiling anything) seemed to leave the door open for a continuation. This is one of the better Thai BLs this year.

So, I finally finished episode 9, and I can honestly say that Tonkla deserved better. His life essentially revolved around looking after Tong even into adulthood, but no one was ever truly there to protect him. He never actually got to live his OWN life, and I hate that for him. After watching the most recent episode (episode 10), I wasn't entirely surprised that Thara turned out to be the REAL villain in this series that's essentially been using the Golden Blood to remain the "queen bee" of the vampires. I never really why her "power" was deteriorating as she got older, yet she and the other vampires are supposedly "immortal." Despite the fact that he exposed Thara, Nakan still has to pay for killing Tonkla. I'm honestly struggling with how they're going to stretch this out for two more episodes. Now that Mark knows the truth, and Tong will most likely confirm it once he gets back to Thara's house, I feel like this series could easily be wrapped up in one more episode.

Am I the only one who wants North and Sonic to just get together? Stevie Wonder can see that they clearly both have feelings for each other. Hopefully, they can finally explore those feelings on a deeper level.

I like how Sun and Peace's initial meeting didn't feel forced. I'm enjoying the series so far, and I'm intrigued to see how the relationship between Sun and Peace develops throughout the series. This needs to be rated higher (AT LEAST an 8/10).

Instead of acting like a petulant child, you may want to take a few grammar lessons to learn how to properly construct a coherent comment. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Replying to something you didn't bother to read it in an attempt to comprehend exactly what you're responding to doesn't necessarily make you look like the brightest bulb in the chandelier; but do you sis. ❤️

I'm not sure what comment you were reading, but it wasn't my initial comment, because there was no mention of their chemistry. My specific talking points were in reference to the overall plot, pacing, and acting, and how a sizeable number of GMMTV series tend to fall off after the 8th or 9th episode.