vanwarren

Sei alluded to Fujisawa r*ping him when talking to Hagiwara.

#SHADE 🤣🤣🤣

For a GMMTV series, I'll give it an 8.5/10. While the idea of Style and Fadel as a couple was more intriguing to me due to their polar opposite personalities, I have to admit that First and Khaotung seem to be the more seasoned actors. There were some parts of the series where I couldn't tell whether Dunk was playing into the character of Style given how shameless the character is supposed to be or if Dunk just had issues conveying certain emotions. Joong's acting was significantly better than I thought it would be if I'm being honest. Overall, I tend to enjoy when GMMTV takes risks and produce BL dramas outside of a high school/university setting. While the final episode didn't feel too much like a filler episode like other GMMTV series (i.e. "Kidnap"), I feel as though there were some things about it that could've been tweaked in order to make it a stronger finale.

*SIDE NOTE*

This may sound a bit morbid, but I kinda wish that they would've actually SHOWN Lilly dying just to make sure that she was actually dead; especially since she's the "final boss" of the series if you will. Her death scene should've been more dramatic/theatrical in my opinion.

I was thinking about watching this, but after seeing such a low rating (especially for a Korean drama), I feel less inclined to watch. With that being said, you all can drop spoilers if you want to.

I'm happy that Thame and Po are finally in their boyfriend era. The fact that Thame thought that "watch a movie" (or as they say in the States, "Netflix and Chill") literally meant watch a movie gives me the feeling that due to his busy schedule/life as an idol, Thame was most likely a virgin until he and Po became boyfriends. On the same note, it seems as if Po is Thame's first love, which to me explains why he gets jealous so easily. Jealous/assertive Thame was enjoyable to watch in this particular episode because I feel as though Po wouldn't have gotten to the point of purging his apartment of all things Earn (his ex) as quickly as he did with a slight nudge from Thame (it was giving "I'M your boyfriend now," and I love to see it). As annoying as it was to see Fern barge into Po's apartment looking for the guy he's dating (because when I initially saw that scene, I really thought it could've been a text message), thinking back on it, it may have been a blessing in disguise since this is how Thame found out that Po kept A LOT of his ex's clothes and their couples' mugs; which in turn triggered the purging of all physical things connected to Earn. I know that Po is still dealing with the scars from his previous relationship despite being in a happy relationship with Thame, but I do hope that Po will be able to reach a point to where he can reassure Thame that he doesn't have to worry about any other man (because I think that a part of Thame's jealousy is caused by the fear of possibly losing Po, especially if Po is in fact his first love). Based on the preview for the next episode, it's possible that everything that's going to happen will be triggered by someone spotting Thame and Po embrace backstage. I really hope that episode 10 doesn't irritate me TOO much.


*SIDE NOTE*

"Being with you is what I do for myself."

This is the line that got me. 😍

In my opinion, the main thing that hinders this series is the lack of character development with Luo Bu Shi given the fact that this series is eight episodes deep. Had that character alone been written better, I feel like the series as a whole would be a bit more digestible. I've seen worse BLs but given the standard that most Taiwanese BLs have set in recent years, I have to say that I'm rather disappointed so far. Hopefully the remaining episodes are written with a bit more substance.

Okay, let me start off by saying that the theme song for this series is a BOP!!! Now that that's out of the way, infidelity aside, the two leads have insane chemistry. The end of this episode (episode 5) had me gagged. Sei's "relationship" almost feels more like a domestic partnership of convenience than a genuine relationship between two people who love each other. While a part of me feels a bit bad for both Kaori and Fujisawa, both relationships suffer from a severe lack of communication and expression of emotion(s). I'm not condoning infidelity at all, but a part of me wishes that both Sei and Hagiwara would garner the courage to leave their respective significant others (especially since it seems as though both of them are visibly unhappy in their respective relationships).

Honestly, if Kant were smart, he would've kept copies of the tape he had of the Captain bribing the school to get his son enrolled for leverage (because as Style pointed out, he's not the most trustworthy person). Hopefully the final episode wraps this series up sensibly as opposed to just feeling like a filler episode. Otherwise, this episode (episode 11) while a bit sad, felt like it could've been the final episode had some writing/events been adjusted. Wednesdays really are going to be quite dull without this series.

As messy as Jun is, something tells me that he had genuine feelings for Po (despite denying it when Thame asked him about it) but decided to bow out once he realized that Thame liked Po just as much as Po liked Thame (if not more). Since this is a GMMTV series, I wouldn't be surprised if Po's ex materializes out of nowhere just to cause drama between Thame and Po. We're eight episodes in, and Po has yet to truly unpack the trauma of his previous relationship, so unfortunately, I feel as though that will resurface during the "cursed episode" (episode 11). I do enjoy the fact that GMMTV is exploring more stories outside of a high school/university setting; and I hope that they continue to do so. Overall, so far so good.

I'm not too certain how many people will understand this analogy, but this episode gave me Yu-Gi-Oh! Season 4 vibes (if you know, you know). While I did enjoy this episode, I couldn't help but wonder what happened to the Thai speaking Caucasian cop that was hunting down Bison and Fadel (it seems as though he'll be returning in the next episode). Based on the preview for the next episode, it almost feels like a finale episode; so, I'm curious to see what episode 12 would be about. I have a nagging suspicion that Keen still isn't to be trusted fully even with the life of his boyfriend on the line. He's just been giving "pick me" energy for the duration of the series thus far, and I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up tipping off Lilly about Fadel and Bison's plan(s). Although I never read the novel, I had a feeling that Lilly was the one behind the murders of Fadel and Bison's parents just to train them to become the hitmen that she once was (and seemingly became too old to do herself). While this series hasn't lost steam like some other GMMTV series (i.e. "Wandee Goodday" and "Kidnap"), I AM a bit worried that this series is going to end in a similar way that "Kidnap" ended; and I would honestly hate that. I'm hoping that this series has a strong final episode that doesn't feel like filler.

Overall, this series isn't terrible, but I find myself being more invested in the side couple more than the main couple.

In the sense that all four are "main characters" yes; but more often than not, one couple tends to be prioritized over the other in BLs. For example, the Taiwanese BL, "See Your Love" had two couples consisting of characters that were listed as "main characters." However, it was evident that one couple was written to be the "primary couple" despite both couples consisting of main characters.

I know that Bison and Kant are meant to be the "primary couple" in this series, but Fadel and Style are far more interesting in my opinion. As someone who hasn't read the novel, I'm still having a hard time seeing how this series can end well for Bison, Fadel, Kant, and Style; but since this is a GMMTV series, I'm inclined to believe that this will somehow have a happy ending.


*SIDE NOTE*


I assume that was Keen who shot Style; but I could be wrong.

I feel as though the series wants viewers to believe that Po fell first, but paying attention to each episode, one could argue that Thame actually fell for Po long before they were formally introduced to each other. I really need Po to learn how to keep people on the "need-to-know" basis. Jun didn't need to know what was going on between him and Thame (just like the people interviewing him for a job in episode 1 didn't need to know that he quit working because of his ex). Hopefully as the series progresses, Po will learn to be more careful with volunteering such information to others. The only thing that would've made the final scene where Thame confirms his feelings for Po is if Po hugged him back (especially since he also likes Thame). I understand the confusion to an extent, but the cordial thing to do (in my opinion) would be to reciprocate the hug. Overall, so far so good. Let's just hope that GMMTV doesn't do the thing that GMMTV likes to do with a lot of their BLs (if you know, you know).

On paper, Babe is really the ONLY innocent character in this series. Out of the four main characters, Fadel is the one I feel the most sympathy for; especially after finding out that Bison played a role in getting Style to pursue Fadel JUST so he could hookup with Kant. This episode almost felt as if Style fell for Fadel even more AFTER being kidnapped and held at gunpoint by him. In a weird way, I think that Style is genuinely happy to finally see the real Fadel (even if he's a hitman). In my opinion, their relationship is far more interesting than Bison and Kant.


*SIDE NOTE*

It's interesting to see Joong play the older brother of Khaotung when he's in fact three years younger than him.

This series is a solid 9.5/10. The main thing preventing it from being a 10/10 is the fact that the relationship between Johnathan and Xin Jia wasn't nearly as fleshed out as it should've been seeing as how despite being the "side couple," they were also technically main characters in the series. Had they been given the screentime of Shu He and Jessica to better develop their bond, this series would've been a 10/10 for me even with the "cousin" who acts more like a toxic ex-boyfriend that's upset that he was blocked on all social media platforms. I honestly feel like the story would've progressed just as smoothly withOUT the inclusion of Nat. A part of me is a bit upset that Shao Peng's mother didn't appear in this final episode since she's pretty much been ghost-shipping Zi Xiang and Shao Peng since episode 5. Overall, this series was beautifully crafted. Although it's rare for ships outside of Thailand to appear in more than one series together, I really do hope that Raiden and Jin get to work together again. It's crazy to think that they initially auditioned for each other's roles.


*SIDE NOTE*

Hearing Shao Peng's voice for the first time in the series was a nice surprise.

Just a heads up, there is indeed an 11th episode that's been released for those who don't know.

No worries: we're both BL fans, so there's no ill will intended. In regard to Hirakawa's mother, one could argue that as a parent, it was her job to reassure her child that she's a safe space for him to confide in her no matter what. In a roundabout way, her actions (or lack thereof) played a role in Hirakawa having that specific mentality since she seemingly failed to provide that reassurance for him as a child. Also, this may be a bit of a reach on my end, but I feel as though a parent would've been able to put two-and-two together after seeing that their child no longer comes to their house bruised and bloody AFTER their father passes away (because if I'm not mistaken, it was implied that he's visited her in a battered state more than once). It just didn't sit well with me watching her wrongfully assume that his bruises came from school altercations. If that were truly the case, one would assume that the new school that he transferred to would've contacted her about how troublesome her son was (since at that point she was his only living parent). Point being, while it's possible that he and his mother repaired their relationship during the time jump, his mother is still trash in my opinion.

I remember Hirakawa saying something to the effect of enduring the abuse from his father in order to protect his mother from it in the earlier episodes of the series (I can't remember which episode in particular, so I'll have to rewatch). Either way, the fact that he knew that he wouldn't be able to live with his mother after his father died because she has a "new family" pretty much confirms that his mother is still trash.

This, and "Life: Love on the Line" are my favorite Japanese BLs in recent memory. Everything from the writing to the acting, to the production was perfection in my opinion. Now that I got that out of the way, NETHER of Hirakawa's parents ain't sh*t. His father was obviously terrible and abusive, but the fact that his mother just ran from the abuse to start a secondary family without even trying to protect her CHILD makes her even worse than the father in my opinion. While Minase's parents weren't physically abusive, I feel as though they were borderline negligent; especially since there were many scenes/episodes where Minase would be home alone. Thankfully, that borderline negligence helped create the space for Minase and Hirakawa's romance to blossom. Hirakawa fell first, but as the series progressed, it was clear that Minase fell harder. Minase completely broke when Hirakawa distanced himself from him (although Hirakawa's reasoning seemed relatively valid given the trauma he'd endured throughout his life) to the point where he started smoking the same brand of cigarettes just to retain the memory of Hirakawa. Minase had already loved Hirakawa as is (as evident by his confession in the final episode). Although their relationship can be considered to be the product of a "trauma bond," I'm glad that both Minase and Hirakawa were able to find solace in each other.