Love by Chance (2018)

TinCan should have been the Main Couple

Apart from the fact that this seems to show rape as being okay, it is a pretty good series.

Good chemistry between characters, nice cute and funny moments, and nicely done emotional scenes.

However, the side couple, TinCan was much more interesting than the main, AePete, which I thought had a few overdramatic conflict scenes but was not that bad overall - a pleasant story. KlaTechno was alright but I’m not really a fan of rape-to-love type storylines and TumTar was cute and done well - their emotional scenes were good and it matched the characters better not to have any physical type scenes, the caring light skin-ship was perfect.

There is also a bit of an error wherein it focuses for a while on Pond courting and successfully getting a girlfriend but then her whole existence vanishes from the story without an explanation.

Overall, this is a good series but it the side couples really do suffer from a lack of screen time. TinCan should have been the main couple as AePete is really not that interesting and seems better suited to being a side couple.

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I really loved Love by Chance. It was my first Thai BL drama (and first Thai drama in general), and I think it was such an adorable introduction into the genre. My favorite couples were AePete and TinCan. Truthfully, I skipped through scenes with the other two couples and I don't even know their names, so I'm going to be exclusively discussing AePete and TinCan in this review.

(NOTE: One of the couples that I didn't watch apparently has a scene that's sexual assault, so if that is something that triggers you then I'd recommend steering clear of episodes 12-14 unless you can just skip those parts easily. I know I skipped them, but I did see pieces of scenes and it was uncomfortable for me since I understood the characters' backstories up until this point. I wasn't a fan of LBC's choice to include these storylines, but I'm rating this show based on AePete and TinCan ONLY.)

Love by Chance begins with Ae and Pete meeting by chance (ha ha), which launches their initial relationship. Pete is a rich boy at the international college while Ae is a poor engineering student. They start a friendship that quickly becomes more as they realize their feelings for one another. I really loved how Ae was more of the confident gay (though he doesn't explicitly state his sexuality, which I love), and I loved the scene where he tells Pete that there's nothing wrong and "abnormal" about Pete's attraction to men. Similarly, I loved the scene between Pete and his mom where he comes out to her and she just hugs him and tells him it's okay. So many LGBTQ+ stories both in fiction and real life are about awful parents hating their children for their sexuality, so it was great to see a supportive mom. I don't think Ae ever explicitly shares his relationship with his family, but he doesn't seem to hide it either. Like I said: Ae is kind of a confident gay.

AePete is just a really adorable, loving story. I couldn't get enough of them. Truthfully, I would've loved a season 1 where it's just AePete and a season 2 with just TinCan. I felt that both relationships needed enough space to develop and while AePete had a lot, TinCan didn't get as much space for development. Also I wanted double dates asdlfkj.

Speaking of TinCan: their ending was tragic and upsetting, and I'm still not happy about it. I love their relationship in general so I don't want to dock the entire show for its ending, but I can't deny that I was severely disappointed. LGBTQ+ couples already deal with unhappy endings, and if there was no guarantee for season 2 then I think they should've given TinCan a good ending at the very least. Something uplifting and promising, not this. Tin didn't deserve it, and it felt so out of the blue since Can was clearly beginning to develop feelings for Tin. I just think there was so much potential there and it was lost... but for what?

Also, the other two couples in the series are boring and not really worth watching, so I don't recommend them. I think most reviews say more or less the same thing. AePete and TinCan are the most popular pairings and it's understandable why that is. One is just a wholesome, beautiful story about young love and discovering your sexuality while the other is an enemies to friends story that's also about discovering your sexuality. I think both stories were handled really well, and it's sad that so much screen time was given to the other two couples that really didn't make a difference anyway. LBC would've been so much better without them, and I think there would've been more space for AePete and TinCan to develop.

Anyway AePete is a beautiful ship and TinCan deserved more. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

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I really don’t like the characters Tum and Tar, it’s confusing the whole storyline. It has no value to the story, and i do not see the connection AT ALL. What? Did they have an incestuous relationship? Aren’t they brothers?? And Type and Tat? What are they? These are unnecessary people in the story. And lastly I don’t like Tar or Earth in real life, even in the Until We Meet Again, he should completely play a female role because of his physical appearance. Sometime he looks like a female and sometime he looks like a gradeschooler and playjng an adult role doesnt suit him. Please no more Earth.

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I think this should have a much higher eating than people have given it.

First Ae and Pete are the most unproblematic couple of seen so far and it is wonderful, they communicate with each other and they don't let issues fester. I don't understand people's bent for drama, but alot of BL Drama go for the "let's just be mad and not communicate for 12 episodes and then resolve it at the end". This doesn't happen here. Yes at times their relationship is saccharine to the point of diabetes, and sometimes too easy, but they work their issues out and move forward. Neither one felt fake I their characterization

The character of Pete had the most annoying voice that was forced but I get it, he's literally supposed to be this untouched innocence.

Pond was a fun, unproblematic friend and crazy supportive, like most in the series, but I actually liked when he appeared, not only was he his own character, which I wanted to see more of, he added to the show overall, not just a device to further the main characters story.

Ok now the two issues... rape, it's wrong period and the show didn't handle it well, they tried with tharn/type, but they kinda left tum/that's story drop too. So tum forcing himself in o tar wasnyot as severe as people make it sound, and it was over before it began. No on the other hand was raped and the issue was treated like "haha, the guy tricked him into being his boyfriend even though he slept with home when he was drunk". That is problematic but alot of BL don't handle drama well, so much trauma happens yet therapy doesn't exist it's like oh I'll never talk about it and it'll heal.

Tim/can was another cute couple though it's not as tragic as people make it out to be. You have two guys who are having the preconceived notions challenged by each other and it is causing them to look inward. Like can confessing he doesn't like the new emotions hes feeling when he's with tin, but he wants to be with tin, and tin learning to open up.

I honestly think this show is the best BL out there in terms of character,and story. The actors feel rooted in there characters and it shows. There are arcs and clear objects the move the story along at a place that is never fully or aggravating...i.e. My Engineer, but I digress.

I highly recommend people give this one a shot, it's vastly different from others out there and worth a chance

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spoilers? i guess?

anyway i absolutely loved this series. i started it two days ago and i couldn't stop watching, i'm so addicted to watching bl's i swear it's probably not healthy lmao. ae and pete were so adorable in the beginning, though I kinda wish ae wasn't so possessive and clingy. it was cringy especially when one of his friends would so much as put a hand on pete's shoulder and he'd be fuming and get all fired up. also the sex scenes weren't my favorite, especially since it was just weird to imagine someone as timid, soft, and quiet as pete having sex with ae. while i'm glad the writers didn't waste time on letting pete and ae get into a relationship pretty soon compared to other bl's where the couple waits until the last or second to last episode to date/resolve their feelings, which was pretty refreshing to see actually.

like most of the reviews here i'm just going to be blunt and say TINCAN. DESERVED. BETTER. POINT BLANK PERIOD.

honestly tincan was the main reason i kept watching. yes ae and pete were cute for a while but their excessive cuteness got boring and overbearing after a while, and tincan was a nice addition to the plot. i how liked how the enemies to lovers trope was portrayed and was interesting to watch. it's kinda like in 2 moons, i mainly kept watching for the mingkit ship haha what is it with me and side pairings.

unfortunately tincan is the only side pairing i was truly invested in and cared about. the two other main pairings (kengkla x techno, and tum x tar) were unnecessary i feel and the aepete/tincan plotlines could've been better developed without these unnecessary couples. it's kind of like when your watching a tv show on tv and it transitions to commercial break for a while and shows the same five commercials it does every commercial break-that's basically how i felt watching the two other minor ships. first of all WHAT'S WITH ALL THE RAPE?! i get trying to bring awareness to this horrible crime that occurs in the world every day, but if you can't do it right then don't do it at all. idk if this is spoiling but there was one scene in a later episode where one of the characters takes advantage of another and it was so uncomfortable? and the aftermath of this encounter felt like rape was being romanticized but idk if that's just me. i feel like this pairing could've gotten together in better, less illegal and immoral ways.

in conclusion: tincan is the main thing that kept me going lmao but the drama was actually really good. it was actually pretty realistic especially the platonic relationships, and less use of cliches such as supportive parents instead of entirely homophobic parents because not all parents are homophobic and pete's mom beat that stereotype. and i felt myself becoming comfortable with most of the characters quick because they acted like relatable teenagers such as myself. they weren't awkward and they seemed like they weren't even acting and that they were all best pals in real life. speaking of the acting, it was amazing, and holy shite the actor who played ae was only 17?! he was so young but managed to pull of his character so well and i admire that so much. minus a few parts i didn't enjoy, i couldn't stop watching. this is one of those shows that really do need a season 2 because there were a lot of things left unclear or had conflicts to be explored in more depth that couldn't be done in the first season.

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i have to say that i was expecting something totally different and i was a little bit disappointed. i decided to watch it because i've been seeing some clips all over the internet and i was reeeally excited when i started it..but that's actually not that exciting. i mean okaay it's a drama, it's kinda normal but -i swear- there were scenes i couldn't even watch bc they were way too cringe. not all of them, i mean there were some that i really apprecciated like the one where pete tells his mom he is gay, that got me like ''ohww protect!!'', but the rest was a bit awkward for me. SOOOO many cliches and uuugh not my type i'm sorry. if i watched it in middle school i would've definately loved it ahah. but i got to say the actors were preeetty pretty good!! HUGE shout out to Mean, the actor who plays tin, not only bc he's so ̶h̶o̶t̶ but he's truly good! anyway it was okay after all but i can't really recommend it :(
btw tin and can were so cute ????????

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The story is a 7 because it's not something that we haven't seen - panicked gay, benevolent straight guy that turns gay, a rich brat, a troublesome monkey, a vicious snake and some experienced seniors. That brings us to the cast - I can't say that I am fully satisfied with it. The main actor playing Ae in the series was not even an adult at the time of the making of the series and they made him do intimate scenes with the actor playing Pete. Other than this, I am fine with the rest of the cast. The acting of the casts was in line with the story so I enjoyed that. It's good to see when efforts are made to play the characters right. However, certain scenes did feel awkward probably due to editing and I hope this doesn't follow suit in the sequel.

Although Pete x Ae was the main couple, I still wanted to see more of Tin x Can and Techno x Kengkla. My immediate thought on them having less air time is that the other two couples will have their own series is that this series is mere introduction to their stories. Tin x Can have a little more air time than Techno x Kengkla and now we are having Love By Chance 2 that will feature their story.

I couldn't digest the fact that Trump's character was dissolved so soon in the series despite the drastic impact it had on Pete's character. I would have liked him being around a little longer. Considering how twisted and vicious Trump is, he was put off rather easily and early in the series. But then I haven't read the novel so I can't be demanding. Perhaps, the story isn't the kind where you want the bad guy to linger for long. Tin's prejudice was held long enough to irritate Pete and Ae.

Techno seemed an interesting character to me and I hoped to see more of him but guess, he and his buddies Type and Champ are for limited comic relief. Kengkla's obsession towards Techno is portrayed to be subtle however, I hope they could bring it out to light and strong if they both get to have their own series someday.

I did watch the series twice for fun and because I was bored so the rewatch value is 8 if you can overlook Can's annoying character. He gave Tin a hard time but then I think he deserved it considering the prejudice he held for so many reasons to so many people. Their bickering was refreshing though, I won't lie. They kept things from getting monotonous.

In the end, I will say this that Love By Chance is worth a watch. Its a mellow story for fun time.

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Ae and Pete Should Be The Gold Standard Of BL

So if you haven't seen "Love By Chance" and you enjoy BL romance shows WATCH THIS ONE pleaseee. Now even though TharnType is still one of my top shows because of the plot and love for the two main characters, this show succeeded past TharnType in a very prevalent way. Open discussion of consent and protection. These are 2 very verryyyyy important topics that TharnType either glossed over or didn't properly convey at all. I can say without a doubt Ae and Pete's relationship specifically is the healthiest, sweetest, most well-developed couple in any BL series I've watched so far. There's no hatred towards each other from the start, which is such a trope that needs to be dropped unless it's for a valid reason (like in TharnType) just kindness. The actors have very sweet chemistry, seriously there's a lot of emotion there clearly and it made me really happy. Each scene was done well and again CONSENT was blatantly established which is fantastic, as well as protection being openly discussed.

Ae and Pete should set the standard for BL couples for real. I don't understand people's arguments of their arch "getting old" because I didn't feel that at all. It felt genuine, well-deserved/built up well and I wanted to see more from them as a couple that didn't need to go through a ton of BS to be great. Pete also has become one of my favorite BL drama (or just television) characters ever. Every time his character was on the screen I melted and smiled like an idiot. He is best boy, so freaking wholesome and needs to be protected at all costs! Literally I would protect Pete with my LIFE. Seriously great job on Saint's part because this is his best role in my eyes.

The series also has a solid straight couple arch in it, including a character (Pond) whom I didn't like at all at the beginning but who grew on me a lot throughout the story. However, Chompoo man...she was so irritating! I liked Tin and Can as well, they grew on me more as time passed. Mostly because Tin's character was interesting and I really like that actor. But the other "couple" was a huge nope for me, you know what I'm talking about (explained more at the end of review). However, Ae and Pete make up for it so much! Discard any TharnType references in this show, they don't pan out in the TharnType show since the entire cast got replaced (thank god, though I am sad for my sweet boy Earth who plays Tar in this).

I also wanted to say a negative about this show is Techno's storyline with Kengkla. Not good, for a show that's very consensual that certainly wasn't and I want a positively thought out discussion about it in the second season. Especially when you have a character like Tar in this who's gone through assault and suffered from it. It doesn't taint this season, but it is a concern for season 2. Finally, please bring back Ae and Pete for another season with the same actors I'm begging you!

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The second BL drama I've ever watched and I'm glad I did. Ae and Pete are so sweet, I completely fell in love with them!

I took two points off the story as it unfortunately not only revolves around AePete. It would have been so much better if we had stayed with them for the whole 14 episodes! I wouldn't have minded TinCan or PondCha because these couples were cute and funny as well. But the other two pairings? The brothers and the stalkerish thing? God, please, no.

Ae and Pete had a great chemistry and their acting was always on point. The actors worked great together and all the actors in this story showed a great talent!

The music was alright, nothing to say to this.

I probably will rewatch at some point. Already rewatched my fav scenes (which are aepete's kisses, what a surprise ;)), but maybe I'll rewatch the whole thing at one point.

Overall, a very satisfying and sweet drama! I want more of this, please!!!

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Good but once again romanticizes r@pe

Story
The story is great I think that there are a couple of faults but every story has at least a tiny one. This case my question is how would that Trump kid just disappear like that I think there should have been more to make the story make sense. Otherwise I think the story does super well with both a coming out story and a finding feelings. However I would prefer no "I don't like men I only like him" statement sometime.

Acting/ Cast
I think the casting is great how ever I do have one tiny thing about the cast. I love love love love and did I say love Earth but I do like Gulf as Type better. That is literally the only reason I don't like the casting. Now the acting as per normal for both Perth and Saint (don't forget about Sammy and Yacht lmao) are amazing. I especially loved when Ae was having some character development.

Music
I think the OST is good. Nothing really to say about it. Of course I do think that it doesn't stand out to me as much as others do but it is a bop.

I HATE THE PART WITH THE R@PE
Towards the end Techno gets r@pe and Technic literally helps!!!! I don't care if the become a relationship later that is fucked up. They were even playing like fun music during that.

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