Toxic
Khai is an extremely toxic person, an extremely toxic friend and an extremely toxic lover. The whole story and plot is extremely toxic. The whole series is overly hyped. Third deserved someone better than Khao. I don't get the shipping when we all know what an asshole Khai is. Third should have seen the red flags with Khai. Khai is a walking, living, breathing disaster of a red flag. The whole show is just Khai hurting Third and Third being a masochist. They should not have been the endgame. Khai deserved shit and hell.Was this review helpful to you?
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Where to start with this? I’m really not getting the love for this show. I thought it was pretty dire.The main couple were utterly unlikeable and I was not invested in them at all, they both should be with other people from the start. They had zero chemistry all the way through. I really did not feel them. Khai was mean and a bad friend. Third was whiny and pathetic.
I like Off as an actor, but this role did him no favours. As for Gun - did never change from the two expressions of pouty/sulky?
I was rooting for the side couple way more than the main one. White was great (note to self to watch Waterboy). I also love Mike whom I first saw in 2Gether - but his story was depressing until the end.
By episode 5 I was ready to give up but I wanted to see if it got any better. It did not.
Other things to comment on. What was with the little man bags Khai sported? I’m so out of fashion! Khai reminded me of Blaine from Pretty in Pink.
Why does Third wear such unflattering oversized clothes?
Why did Third never take off his backpack?
Why did no on all an Ambulance when Khai came of his bike?
The fact that I am picking at petty things just shows how dull this show was. It ha promise, but the lack of chemistry between the two leads was a huge failure. I know they are friends in real life but in this show even the friendship seemed forced.
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This story is about Third's struggles hiding his feelings from his womanizer best friend, Khai. I loved the concept of this story so much, it was so angsty! I don't see this concept played out very well in dramas because the best friend barely concerns his feelings so there never is much angst, but in this drama, the writer's made Third act like a real person who is afraid of losing their best friend. I think anyone afraid of their feelings ruining a friendship would act the way Third does. The realistic aspect of the story is what has made it one of my favorite dramas.
Acting/Cast 10/10
I loved the cast in this drama! I think I loved it this much because of how amazing all of the actors were. Gun and Off were so expressive in the simplest ways which made it so enjoyable. Throughout the series, Gun's character kept his feelings at bay so he was unable to really express his heart, but Gun was such an amazing actor that I could see the pain that Third felt in his eyes and through subtle changes in behavior. Also, I HATED Khai in the beginning which tells you the actor is amazing. If they are able to act well enough to make you hate them, then they really are talented. Then, he made me fall in love with him in the span of a few episodes all through the emotions and actions he expressed. The supporting characters also all did an amazing job, they were 8/10 for me! I just felt like we didn't get much of them to really make a decision on whether they were amazing or not.
Music 7/10
Re-watch Value 8.0/10
I would re-watch this drama only to focus on the side stories more. By the end, when I noticed the side couple coming together I realized I'd been so focused on the main couple to the point that I barely noticed moments between the side couples, so I hope to re-watch and change that soon because I LOVED the side couple in the series.
Overall 9.0/10
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Not as good as everyone promised
The first 6 episodes dragged me emotionally. Khai was a complete dumbass rich kid who takes advantage of every person in his life, especially Third. Khai is also a dick and self-absorbed. Third is an abused spouse stuck in a loop and unable to escape until halfway through the series. Post ep 6, characterization improves and Khai becomes a puppy. Lack of communication and underused emotional scenes drag down the rating. The show became palatable after episode 6 and better after the train station scene, but I still wouldn't go back and rewatch anything for this show except that train station scene. OST is repetitive and unmemorable. Off and Gun do very well with what they were given.Was this review helpful to you?
Third, Kai, Tu and Bone are the most popular guys from the film major. They are all famous for their own reason. Tu has slept with every girl who modeled with. Kai is famous for his Korean oppa looks, and he changes girls like he changes his clothes. Whereas Third is famous for giving direct and brutal rejections to every girl that confesses to him.
His reason for doing that, it's 'cause he is in love with his best-friend Kai. But Kai has a "no dating friends" policy.
Third has been love with Kai for 3 years. Over the year he has always helped Kai, but Kai never seems to notice. There was even once when Third waited in line for a Blackpink concert ticket, for Kai, but Kai buys them online from someone, and goes with his girlfriend.
Tu finds out about Third's feeling for Kai, and decides to help. But even with his help, Third and Kai go nowhere, there is no progress.
Third then decides to stop hurting himself every-time Kai is with a girl, and decides to stop loving him. But as Third starts keeping his distance from Kai, and hang out more with An, Kai starts having feeling for Third.
Whats gonna happen the two friends?? I can't wait find out!!!
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I like how the first half of this series is Third’s POV, which is a bit frustrating to watch. Then the second half is Gun’s, where it gets more enjoyable to watch. The acting definitely gets a 10/10 from me. Gun is a really good actor who gave a lot of emotion to the series. The OST is also great! Fake Protagonist is such a fitting song for KhaiThird’s relationship and I never skipped the ending song. Overall I enjoyed this series a lot and wish there could be a season 2.
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The writing and the direction was really done well plus the great BGMs they used. The plot is not really something new but it worked well except for the side couples' stories. I usually skip and go to the main couple scenes. This series is one of my top recommended Thai BL series.
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Bridget Jones's diary written by a masochist.
If your looking for a slightly different, happy ending BL it is almost perfect, as long as you don't look too deep. It is honestly enjoyable if you suspend belief. It's a BL made for women and succeeds brilliantly at that.In reality, there is a lot wrong with this show.
There are moments of brilliance, but a few episodes are so cringeworthy I had to FFW through the scenes.
The episode with Third acting out scenes from well-known romance films was painful to watch.
The 'Love Actually' scene? Pure cringe!
Khai is toxic, period. For Third to even call him his best friend was unbelievable. Khai uses Third. It is made abundantly clear from the first episode.
I had no respect for Third's character.
Aun quoting the line 'You get the love you think you deserve' from Perks of Being a Wallflower summed up Third in just one line. The screenwriter did not see the irony in using that in a scene.
Third, moving in with Khai, thinking he would change made Third look extremely self-absorbed. Add Third watching Khai in bed with a woman, bordered on stalker behaviour.
The sudden shift in Khai's feeling towards Third after seeing the video and hurting Third purposefully, only to then realize he has feelings for Third is an outdated and tired cliché.
Especially for a character like Khai who jumps from one woman to another. (If there was only ONE scene of Khai flirting with another guy this could have made sense.)
But of course, this is a BL where a character's sexuality can suddenly change in the space of a few weeks
'I can be gay for you, and you only' is such a lazy and overused trope, it is used in almost every MM romance book, almost all BL shows, films and series. And I'm not talking about Asian BLs only, it is a common plot device in major films as well.
That people still don't realize how homophobic this is, is astounding. The word gay is not even uttered once in this entire series.
And of course, we need another couple, Two and Aun. It just happens. Tow automatically assumes Aun is speaking about him when he overhears Aun and Shane. Aun makes a vague statement that could have been about anyone, (even Third).
Two does not discuss this with anyone and no one is surprised when Aun suddenly appears.
After all this Third forgives Khai, they start dating, but there is no physical interaction between the characters. It's almost as if Third is punishing Khai for past behaviour.
Apparently, being 'boyfriends' will consist of them holding hands for the rest of their lives.
Third does not trust Khai, how this relationship is supposed to work is only in the writers' imagination.
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I spoil somethings : Third, Kai, Two, Bone are in a famous team. Third has been into Kai for 3 years, but nobody knows. Kai is fuck boy because he plays the feeling of girls and Third.. He pretended to flirt Third because he wanna know whatever Third loves him. When Third tries to believe in Kai, Kai let him down.....After Third decides to give up, Kai realizes Third is right for him...Kai wants the beginning again, but Third changes his heart.-My feeling:
This drama is so amazing because it's just like us in daily life. Third presents people who crush their friends in silence. The viewers's happy, sad and depressed with Third. Kai is similar. Some people are stupid to lose their true love.
-About acting, Gun who stars Third so well, especially in tear scenes....I cry a lot when Third cries. He's one of the best actors in GMMTV. I don't like Off in his previous film....I means his acting is not good, but he makes progress in Theory of love.....Others perform well. If you don't know, OffGun is one of the official couple in GMMTV ( in work, not reality), so they creates perfect chemistry in this drama.
- OST : The loudest voice sang by Gun, but i prefer the original version by Getsunova. In addition, the main OST " Fake Protagonist" reaches my heart. It shows truly one-side love in drama. I remember the last line " I'm always here, just to love you" so moving.
- Color, outfits and others is good, I have no ideas.
Note: If you note, you can see some meaning quotes in every eps's end. My best line " Third who I know, love me.....but Kai who I know, only love himself" ( ep 11 in this Saturday).
Long short story, This BL drama attracts viewers by different pure feelings. Hope you see it and enjoy many accepts in love. ( Sorry for my bad English )
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Relatable, Realistic & Bittersweet 'Toxic' Relationship Portrayal
«Warning : If you're looking for dreamy, cheesy, lovey dovey & sweet drama, this is clearly not for you. This drama really portrayed the realistic version of toxic relationship of enduring unrequited love for someone who was clearly not interested & not worth your time, but sadly it's indeed very relatable to our life like me..»I always knew from the reviews and comments that ToL was far from usual cheesy BL dramas. But I never ever imagined the pain, agony and depression feelings that I felt while watching this. .
What I love from this drama :
❤Great and magnificent acting works from all of the casts. I'd like to give OffGun both standing ovation, as they really deserved it. Their interpretation & execution really brought this drama all along. 1000/10. I never stop admiring Gun's ability to easily cry or how Off had successfully made us to ride on his roller coaster of feels. You'll find yourself despising and in the end supporting and pitying him. It really showed how great he executed the role. The supporting casts playing Two, Bone & P'Un are incredible too!!
❤Every story line that involved unrequited love & redemption are spot on!They are indeed hurtful, painful but very realistic. At least once in our life, we'll meet that one person who we couldn't say our feelings to, as everything would be different (for better or worse) if we did that. So the choices from all of the characters were very understandable if you saw it on their PoV.
❤The concept of using the names of legendary romcom movies into their episodes. Every episode was named with different movies that incorporated with the plot line. They really bring back my memories of watching these movies like Flipped, Love Actually, Notting Hill, 10 Things About You, etc. I also love how they respected and brought tribute of every single movie by reenacting legendary plotlines.
❤Hands down one of the 'best' & realistic character dev. I've ever seen in any thai dramas. Third being independent and more mature after breaking down, Khai being more responsible,honest & careful towards his actions & words, Two finally realising the love of his life, Bone being gentleman by moving on with his first real love and wishing her the best, etc. It's satisfying to see after all the tears, angst, disappointment & numbness, there will be rainbow for every characters as they fought for the best version of themselves.
❤Beautiful, lovely & bittersweet friendship. Despite Khai's toxic behaviour in the past, we can't close our eyes on how Two & Bone are undoubtedly loyal, caring & understanding towards their bestfriend (esp Third). They really got each other back when they saw one of them was hurt. I felt that it's both karma & sad to see sometimes Khai being left alone by the three of them, but he deserved the cold shoulders after all that he has done in the past. I'm glad they were able to reconcile.
❤The long bittersweet lessons to be learned :
-You must love yourself wholeheartedly to be able to love others
-If it's unbearable for you anymore to hold on to something, just let go, don't torture yourself with something that is not certain
-Not everyone deserved a second chance but someone will be, if he/she really showed that he/she wanted to repent their mistakes in the past
-It's hurtful to see a broken man, but it's more hurtful to see a changed man broken
-RESPECT, LOVE & BE GRATEFUL for everyone who stayed beside you.
-FIGHT FOR YOUR DREAM/OPPORTUNITY, BCS THE CHANCE MAY COME ONLY ONCE FOR ALL
-LISTEN & BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART
And let's continue to what I 'hate' the most from this drama :
(-)I can't emphasize enough on how toxic the mainleads relationship was. It should only be seen as a lesson or bad example of friendship gone bad. I don't like how Third really tortured himself by watching his love being with someone else in the house, unvoluntary being Khai's 'slave'/secretary, had to face the neverending saga of Khai's ditching his promise, etc. If it was in real life, I'd suggest Third to let him go. It's never okay to be with someone that really degraded you to the bones. Put aside all the romantic feels, if a friend didn't have any respect for each other, then, he/she can't be called a friend. Well, again, it's the norm, guys. I know for sure, if I was in Third's position, I'd also face the same difficulty to move on.
(-)Bad portrayal of 'violence'/forcing someone. There was this scene where Khai grabbed Third wrists until he was unable to move. It was kinda disturbing actually. I'm glad that they developed their relationship to be more mature & caring in the end. But still, you know what I mean if you often to see thai dramas. It's horrifying to imagine how normalized, violence/to do anything without any concent is in a relationship.
(-)Laughable, dramatic & 'doesn't make sense' scenes. Like the accident scene was unbelievable. Well, at least, it can become meme for BL fandom, LoL
Overall thoughts : If you're bored on watching the same repetitive BL dramas tropes (engineering student characters, 'unrealistic' bright & sweet relationship, etc), and able to hold on to all the HEAVY ANGSTS & SLOW BURN, this could be the answer. Prepare your tissue and your heart, as while and after watching this drama, you might remember again the sad past of your unrequited love/secret crush and thankfully, it still gave the hope to believe in love again.
Would rate it 8,5/10 ❤
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Must Watch.
This series truly deserved a 10/10 over-all rating for its wonderful twist of event. I have watched many BL dramas from different countries and I must say all of those series have one thing in common except for this one. This series is not your typical BL high school story. It tackles different forms of love . I love how the story was being presented from beginning 'till end and how every characters of the story played with the viewers emotion. The actor who portrays the character is also a plus factor since they've really brought out the essence of the story. By just watching a few episode of this series one can tell that it was well-planned and well-written. The story was not in a "fast-forward' nor in "slow-paced" mode. Everything in this series screams perfection to the highest level. The ending part of the story is my favorite so far since it shows a different timeline of event.Was this review helpful to you?
