TharnType (2019)

approach in life

This is the first BL series i ever watched. I did it out of curiosity and my curiosity did not fail. I am a mother of two professionals, a grandmother of 4 beautiful kids. I have watched my children grow up with varied type of personalities and among them are gays. Seeing these children grow-up made me realize how each of these personalities tackle self identity. I am a doctor, and yet, due to familiarity to these kids made me a little hesitant to directly ask queries that may deem too sensitive for them. Personally, i found this BL series with a good storyline. Looking at a general perspective, it tackled introduction to relationships, childhood trauma, predisposing factors to self weaknesses, parent acceptance, usual third person troubles, jealousy, sacrifice and true love. Portrayal of some characters may have some flaws but overall i give it high rating... I love the sarcastic but sweet personality of Type. His eyes speak so loud but his lips convey a different message whenever he smiles.

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Toxic and overrated

This was the first BL I watched. I watched it not to long after the episodes were all out. At that time I thought it was pretty good albeit problematic. Fast forward 3 years and I just rewatched it since a friend who just started her BL journey asked for recommendations. This one is not making the list!

Half the cast is problematic. Except Champ - ok yeah he is my absolute favorite in this series and the next. I absolutely love his character! He's even better in the next one but sadly he cant save either of them.

Okay back to the story. For every redeeming thing that happens there are about 10 problematic things that follow. I did give this a 7 for the story because for the most part it was well written it just was a problematic story line and most things could have been handled sooooo much better.

The really sad thing is that they didnt learn anything! They do the same stupid stuff in the second one. I mean there is no trust or growth at all.

Well anyway if you decide to watch either of these you have been warned!

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This series just confuses the heck outta me

Okay, so... This drama was my frist thai BL and even BL in general. So it is very understandable I thought this was a masterpiece two years ago. It had me hooked, I watched the episodes every single night. But when I look back now, I see many problems I have with this drama.
First thing I wanna say that this has pretty weak plot but it is that type oof drama you will just wanna watch because it is lighthearted and stupid. But... when you look at it Type has been r*aped by a man in his childhood. Which is really portraied through out the wole season and we can (sometimes) see him struggling with trauma. This is very Very sensitive topic to work with, there is no doubt about this, but... this serie is just romanticizing it? Like imagine being r*ped in your childhood, the being r*ped by your roomamte and then asking him to sleep with you again?! WTF? How can you be serious with this... espeially when this drama is pretty well know in this industry. No seriously, how can you make a person with such a strong trauma ask a person to sleep with them for absolutely no reason and then somehow forget about it a few years later? Me as a survivor of trauma (not r*ape but childhood trauma) this is kinda offending since people with trauma are recovering from it and yes, you can recover but you cannot fully forget. And I am not even an SA survivor, these people should be offended because this show is directly spitting into their faces. The directors, script-writors, everybody involved (except for actors) are spitting into their face. This is exactly what happens when glamorization of trauma and r*pe meets the producars of TharnType. Thank you so much for readiing my thoughts about this... BL heh.

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Best Chemistry between the Leads a.k.a Terrible Plot, Fantastic Acting!!!

The storyline of TharnType is a hit or miss for many people, but the actors of Tharn and Type, Mew and Gulf respectively, have hands down the best chemistry in Thai BL!!!

Also, the plot had major issues, but the acting is Oscar worthy!!


STORY:

A spin-off of Love By Chance, if LBC was the light-hearted series, TharnType brought the drama. Unlike LBC's theme of first love, TharnType was very mature and dealt with adult themes of homophobia, rape, and sexual assault. If you can handle the darker themes then I'm sure you'll love TharnType.

That being said, honestly, if it weren't for the chemistry between the two leads, TharnType wouldn't be one of the most popular BLs out there. Tharn and Type's chemistry really carried the series because the storyline was very problematic. After talking about each couple, I'll explain why the story is so problematic. However, I will say that while the storyline isn't the best, the acting is amazing. Even if you're not a big fan of the storyline, you should watch the series to see some amazing acting talent.

Tharn & Type

The chemistry between Tharn and Type is amazing. They suck you right into the story, and get you so invested in their lives, you'll forget you're just watching a TV series. I think that Tharn and Type are really the best BL couple in terms of chemistry, and Tharn's actor is possibly the best actor in BL. He will make you cry hard with him. Also, for the actor of Type, this is his first acting gig. Can you believe it?!

Tar & Tum

It's not explained well in the series, but they are step-brothers. I kind of found Tum to be too possessive of Tar. He is supposed to be in love with Tar, but that doesn't get across to the audience at all. He just seems like a very possessive and worried brother who cares too deeply for this younger brother. I really think Tar and Tum need to get their storyline expanded on. Everything is from Tharn's point of view, not Tar or Tum's, so while they are supposed to be a second couple in the series, they just feel like supporting characters. If they are treated like supporting character, then they don't need as much screen time or drama.

Kengkla & Techno

They are a barely mentioned couple in TharnType, but they are a secondary couple in Love By Chance. However, Techno plays a bigger role in TharnType and gets significantly more screen time in this series than in LBC. In TharnType, we get a better understanding of who Techno is, his personality, and his loyal friendship with Type. While he's just a supporting character here, if you want to see his love story go watch LBC and more specifically LBC season 2.


ISSUES IN THARNTYPE

While lots of fans love the series and the charaters, but we all stand in agreement that sexual assault and rape is wrong. Many fans criticize P'Mame for fetishizing rape and sexual assault. They also say that because of the sexual assault in the series they cannot like TharnType the series or the couple. Personally, I consider TharnType the series to be one of my favorite BLs, and Tharn and Type are one of my favorite BL couples. Does that mean I fetishize the sexual assault or rape? No, I don't. I like the series because of the chemistry between the leads more than the storyline. The story of TharnType is very problematic, so let's talk about it.

1. Rape

With TharnType the issue of rape is a central part of Tar's storyline and even Type is raped before the series begins. The series highlights the negative effects of rape with both Tar and Type struggling to get over it. I wish they could have shown more of the negative effects and how it really impacts their lives, but the issue is swept under the rug. Tar and Type are not seen getting any type of help or therapy, especially Tar since his rape is so recent! Furthermore, as soon as Lhong confesses he was the mastermind behind everything and drops out of the picture, suddenly Tar is happy again! He's back to "normal" and can happily live with Tum! Rubbish! You don't get over rape so quickly.

Don't use rape in a storyline unless you actually show the reality of rape!
Rape is not a tool to push the plot along. Rape is a crime with lifelong mental repercussions!

2. Sexual Assault

In the beginning, Tharn knows that Type is homophobic, so he retaliates against Type's homophobic actions towards him in a very sexualized manner. In Tharn's eyes, he's retaliating fire with fire. For example, if someone doesn't like spiders, in retaliation, someone might put pictures of spiders up on the wall, put fake spiders on the wall, or bring in a real spider. However, for Tharn, since Type is attacking his sexuality, he is simply attacking back with it. Is it sexual assault? Yes it is. Does it mean it's okay? Not really. There might be a few people who see is as fighting fire with fire, or see Tharn touching Type when he doesn't want to be touched as a small joke of retaliation. If it's between two friends, maybe it could be a joke, but Tharn and Type are not friends. Also this "joke" is sexual in nature, so yes it's sexual assault, especially if Type doesn't like it.

There is also a big taboo scene which some people might not have noticed was sexual assault since it looked consensual. That is the scene in the shower where Type loses his underwear and Tharn returns it. Tharn pushes himself into the bathroom and goes in for a kiss, then eventually it gets a little steamy. This scene is actually sexual assault, but it is one of those in the gray zone since Type consented in the end. Because Type only fought back in the beginning and eventually gave in and enjoyed it, if brought to a court, the judge will say it's consensual. Due to this scene being in the gray zone, and Type not being too angry about it some people might agree with the judge and say it's not sexual assault, but I'd like to remind everyone that it is in fact, sexual assault. It's not a steamy or raunchy scene at all, at the core it really is assault. If Type hadn't given in, the courts would rule it as assault.

Similarly, he small kisses Tharn gives Type at night. Yes, it's sexual assault. No matter how sweet and romantic the gesture seems, it is sexual assault since Type and Tharn are not dating yet. There is no consent from Type. Tharn is just stealing kisses at night and it's not romantic at all. Of course, once Tharn and Type become an item it is consensual, so it becomes a sweet gesture, but until then it's not. He's literally kissing Type against his will, there is no consent when he's awake, therefore no consent when he's sleeping.

In TharnType there are a lot of scenes depicting Tharn sexually assaulting Type, however all the sexual assaults are made to look like it's a joke, or a form of attraction. It's not romantic, nor is it acceptable. It's wrong! Many fans saw through this fetishization and were rightfully angry.

Tharn's saving grace is that once he saw that his "jokes" had gone too far and that Type was actually hurt by it, (his nightmares about his rape) he actually stopped. He even started caring for Type, which led to the small kisses at night, which would be romantic if they were consensual. However, at the core, none of this is acceptable. Even if Tharn is a fictional character, P'Mame, should understand that romanticizing these acts are inappropriate. Sexual assault is not romantic, it's disgusting!

3. Crimes with no punishment

Towards the end of the series we find out that Lhong was the mastermind behind Tar's rape as well as a whole bunch of other things. In the series, he cries, apologizes, and runs back to his family to give us a sob story about how no one care about him. While it's sad his family doesn't love him, the audience shouldn't be sympathizing with a psychopath who thinks paying people to rape someone is okay. He even got away with his crimes because the police wasn't called. Lhong literally just dropped out of school and disappeared from their lives. Out of sight, out of mind, right? No! He needs to pay for his crimes. He is worse than Tharn, yet he gets away with it. He ruined Tar's life and gets no penalties for it. On top of that, there is the whole issue of trying to justify his actions with his sob story to get sympathy. Criminals get no sympathy, no matter how shitty their lives are.


OVERALL:

The storyline of TharnType was a mess, but the actors carried the whole show, that's why it's popular. I know there are tons of people who hate the series and the character of Tharn due to the whole issue of sexual assault, but I feel that yes they are right to hate the show and the characters. However, many of the actors gave their best performances, up until the writing of this review, in this show. We really shouldn't give up on the show based on the plot and forget about the actor's fantastic acting. I know it's hard since the plot is so terrible, but I feel we have to give credit where credit is due. Yes, the plot was bad, but the acting was amazing!

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Gotta love a good show

2020's first BL drama. Also the first BL drama to blow up, bringing in international fans such as myself to the BL fandom.

First thing's first, the cast. Amazing! The chemistry between Mew and Gulf is really good, and it really adds a lot of flavour to the characters in the series. Mild as per usual, amazing at comedy. Tong is the underrated cast member that needs more spotlight!

Secondly, the music. All OSTs were very good and the music that is played for each scene is superb! When it's sad, it's sad. When it's cute, you get butterflies. Very well done.

Thirdly, the plot. Ooh, the plot. The story itself is quite good, just that there many many problems to it. Non-consensual touch by Tharn to Type, r4pe of Technic (as seen in parent show), incest, overly possessive and jealous boyfriend, unhealthy relationship. All these are the fantasies of the writer who I shall not name, which is downright disturbing. Many underaged teens watch this series and will think it's okay for one to perform non-consensual acts on the person they like. It is all kinds of f**ked up.

Rewatch value: too much of that drama fights between lovers thing for me to even handle. However I would watch highlight clips of lovely moments. Therefore rewatch value is the lowest i can give.

Overall, it could be better if there weren't any problematic scenes in the series. It is the series that paved the way for the BL industry and an inspiration to many directors to direct a BL series.

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Toxic tale, cute cast

The way issues of homophobia, pedophilia, and sexual abuse are treated in this show is simply toxic. I have already seen toxic motives in BL, but this one tops them all... I've still watched the whole show, because ML is totally hot: he has a good looking face and knows how to act sexy. Watching cute boys make out is kinda the main point of BL and there are many squeee moments to please my fujoshi heart, so I probably should not complain? Nevertheless, I hope to see this actor in other shows/movies, with just as much cute content, but a little bit less toxic plot.

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Episodic Review

Ep 1: 4/10, Of course this show starts off with non-con T_T on another note Type is quite possibly the most dislikable male lead I've ever had the displeasure of watching. Will never understand what Tharn sees in him
Ep 2: 6/10, With each episode I somehow dislike Type even more >:( Tharn deserves so much better
Ep 3: 6/10, I thought Type was bad (he is) but Tharn is just as bad with the non-con T_T Sigh Techno is the only good guy in this whole show. Also, Type was totally in the right to tell off those club members (although the slur and garbage comments were unwarranted) , good on him for standing up for himself .
Ep 4: 6.5/10
Ep 5: 7/10
Ep 6: 3/10, Type really be testing our patience every episode, their relationship is so toxic, I don't support T_T
Ep 7: 7/10
Ep 8: 6/10
Ep 9: 7/10, How does this couple manage to get even more toxic with every episode and why does Tharn have so many exes geez, at this point the whole universe is against these two being together (me included <3 )
Ep 10: 2.5/10 I'm so sick and tired of these idiots
Ep 11: 1/10 how are we going downhill one episode before the show ends T_T also adding Song with Techno to the list of only decent people in this whole show
Ep 12: 7/10 I know I've been this couple's biggest hater since the beginning lol but good on them for getting their happy ending ig! They dragged the parts with Lhong out way too much though. Also gonna give the show writers the benefit of the doubt and assume Tar meant love in a brotherly way because we do not need incest on top of all the problems this show already has ( ・⌓・;)

Overall: 5.3/10. Would I watch this again? Most likely not, so final rating is 4.5/10.

Also, this is a very minor and unimportant detail but why do the actors shave 80% of their legs but leave the last 20%? (˃̣̣̥ ▿ ˂̣̣̥) I can't take it seriously lol everytime the camera pans down, I can see the perfectly straight line separating the shaved from the unshaved and it cracks me up xD

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I got recommended this a few times & I didn’t plan on watching it but I decided to give it a chance. I came into this show expecting a lot of spicy scene (because I’ve seen clips on TikTok) and besides the sex scenes that I felt awkward watching it was a really interesting series and the character development of Type was surprisingly good. Although there are many problematic things in this series. The whole issue with Tharn constantly getting on top of Type even though Type was clearly uncomfortable. Like if you wanna fuck with Type because he is homophobic fine you do that but if you’re literally getting on top of him and he’s telling you to stop and get off of him and he was very clearly uncomfortable and scared GET THE FUCK OFF OF HIM.

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How in the hell did this pass as a romantic drama is beyond me? All you see from start to end is toxicity, molestation, violence and manipulation. And all this going on between the two main leads. The back stories for a few other characters would require them to get urgent psychiatric help. Lets start with some of the characters

1. Tharn (Mew): An openly gay character with multiple partners in the past. Nothing wrong with that. But why oh why is he so fascinated by Type! He is diagonally opposite to what Tharn as a character is. I do understand that opposites attract but not with the kind of characters they both have. There is no way Tharn would be attracted to someone like that or atleast that has not been explained. Also, Tharn doesn't appear to care so much about consent. Kissing Type when he is asleep, going down on him when he constantly asks him to stop, showing concern when Type narrates his back story but does everything that would traumatise Type further and becoming a punching bag for Type both physically and verbally.

2. Type (Gulf): A homophobic person who hates gays from the core of his being because as a child he was molested by a man. A good reason to be a homophobe but without any rhyme or reason decides to sleep with Tharn. He doesn't like being labelled as someone in a relationship with another man and hence keeps it from everyone but in the next instance decides to let people know that he is with Tharn. He likes to verbally humiliate Tharn at any chance he gets but Tharn finds this endearing. Gets jealous of Tharn's exes and shows extreme reactions when he even hears their names.

3. Tar (Kokliang): A kid who looks underage is madly in love with Tharn but is going through some issues mentally wherein he can't stand a crowd and rushes home and locks himself in a room. He is a painter but seems to have given up on that due to a traumatic event. A victim of gang-rape by 3 men who drugged him he choses to remain alone and only trusts his brother. He was in a relationship with Tharn and were going strong until he breaks up with him. Later he tries to get back with Tharn and creates a wedge between Tharn and Type but all this due to being manipulated and blackmailed. In the final episode he appears to have been miraculously cured of his mental affliction.

4. Tum (Hiter): Tar's brother and an ex band-member with Tharn. He leaves the band after Tharn and Tar break up and blames Tharn for Tar's current state. Although the series shows that they are brothers, Tum appears to be in love with Tar.

5. Lhong (Kaownah): Tharn's best friend and his band mate who really cares about Tharn. But later we realise he is in love with Tharn and has been the cause of all the break-ups he has suffered. He tells all of Tharn's love interest that he is cheating on them and does the same to cause Type and Tharn to break-up. But if that wasn't enough he hires 3 men to drug and rape Tar and records it to later blackmail Tar to break-up with Tharn.

6. San (AA): A friend of Tharn's older brother who is tasked to take care of him but instead lures him into the music room when Tharn is 14 and has sex with him. Although Tharn states its consensual but we arent informed of San's age at the time so I have my doubts whether this was legal. He still wants to get back with Tharn although Tharn only respects him as a senior/brother.

What we have here are a set up hopelessly terrible characters all surrounding Tharn who himself has no redeeming qualities.

The series brings to light certain sensitive topics like child molestation, homophobia and rape but takes no time in brushing it under the rug with no explanation. It looks like it is used as props and its offensive. Type is still shown to be a homophobe after sleeping multiple times with Tharn going so far as to not talk to his friend who comes out to him. Willingly sleeps with Tharn after balling his eyes out recalling the time he was tied and molested by a grown man when he was just a child. Tar is drugged and gang-raped which causes him trauma but with no specific reason is all fine by the end of the series.

You can watch it for the great performances by all the actors and the music is good but be ready for your sensitivities to be hurt.

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Could've been a bit more Healthier

•In terms of chemistry, I can definitely say that this drama deserves it's hype. But when talking about storyline, I have a mixed emotions.

•Addressing the elephant in the room, the plot. When I read the synopsis, I expected the story to be a angsty, healing journey between a traumatized Homophobic and an open homosexual. What I never expected was the ride of mixed emotions and questionable actions. Both Tharn and Type are characters who are hard to root or sympathise for. While what happened with Type is understandably effecting him and causing his homophobia, it doesn't justify the way he treats Tharn. His angry and violent outbursts are pretty toxic. He claims himself as straight, but can't think of Tharn with anyone else. Tharn, on the other hand, first came out to me as a homosexual who won't give up to Type's homophobic demands. But the way he molested Type in his sleep was beyond disgusting. Him loving a man who hates his sexuality is twisted and rather pathetic. Plus, they both also have heavy communication problems, which can be seen as inevitable given the circumstances of their relationship.
•MewGulf's acting and chemistry as TharnType is one that I may easily never forget. Despite having re-watched the series 2 months ago, I can still remember the piping hot tension between them. They are on of those Bl couples who chemistry is one a different level. Whether it's their cheesy romantic scenes or hot NC scenes, they devoured it. Individually also, their portrayal of Tharn and Type is powerful, being able to exhibit the intense emotions both the characters have. While I essentially never feel sad during emotional scenes, their acting was enough for me to understand how efficiently Mew and Gulf were able to connect with their characters in depth.
• The other supporting characters like Techno, Thorn, Champ, Lhong, Puifai, etc are also memorable. This is a pretty decent accomplishment, since most BL shows in the present struggle to showcase effective side characters.

•Overall, TharnType the series might not be completely perfect. Though I appreciate the acting of each actor and the chemistry of the main couple, the toxicity and basis of their relationship makes me question it's generalizibility in real life. There could've been more elements added to upgrade the show, but alas this what we got. I like this show, but it's not one that re-watch frequently.

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I think for those who've watched it my reason for rating the story lower than everything else is obvious and it's been said by many people in great detail, so I'll move on from that. I loved the acting and the dynamics between the characters, although for Tharn/Type there were some hiccups that I wasn't into, but for the rest of their friends it was very enjoyable to watch them interact, especially Techno. And yes, storywise it was shitty like 15% of the time and watchable but still meh a good chunk of the rest of the time, but it wasn't a deal breaker for me.

Definitely not everyone's cup of tea, and quite problematic in many parts, but if you watch it while acknowledging that not everything shown should be taken at face value then it can be a fun way to spend a few hours when you're bored.

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