KinnPorsche (2022)

Kinn and Porsche made me cry

10 points for KinnPorsche. I love the way their relationship developed, hardships made them love and understand each other more and more. If you give Kinn a gun and tell him to kill Porsche, he'd better kill himself. One more thing that made their relationship so intense is the acting of the main actors. They did so so so well, their chemistry is so great.

Kinn is a great boss. He values his people, he is willing to take all burdens for his brothers, he even sacrifies himself just to protect his beloved one. He has to handle so many things, he almost lost himself. Then Porsche came and became his sunshine.

I've been seeing many fukin haters tryin to drag this series and the main couple down by distortion. If you really wanna fully understand the whole story, watch it and read the analysis of every episode. A simple eye blink, or hand gestures have underlying meanings. There are lots of valuable hidden messages in KinnPorsche's scenes. KinnPorsche got worldwide regconition and there're reasons for that :)

The main actors nailed it, there actin is so real. I have nothing to say about the side couple vegaspete, but i see many of their stans are doing stupid and disgusting things again :) blaming the main couple for having so much time on screen while this series is named KinnPorsche, distorting and talking bad about the main couple relationship, trying to hype their favs by dragging others down. This is the situation in the fandom as vegaspete stans never stop picking fight and distorting.

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would’ve been a 10 but..

I loved almost everything of it, it was so spectacular and beautiful.
I thought this was overrated until I watched it, I think this is a must watch for all bl lovers (I wanted to watch it since 2022 but I watched to many other things that I forgot) and i’m pretty sad that I watched it only now.
I enjoyed all of the acting except Gun’s (Ex), when he had act sad, idk if the thing was supposed to show him pretending or the acting was bad, but I like him more when he’s doing the villain part.
Anyways, the story was great, very intriguing and interesting and I enjoyed mostly all of the couples, all except Vegas and Pete, let me tell you why: as if you know if you watched the series, Vegas was a complete jerk, he kidnapped Pete, made him a literal animal treating him like one and maybe even worse than how people treat animals, tortured him and Pete still wanted him, they had sex and Pete was there for him when he was sad, didn’t have to courage to shoot him or didn’t even want to run away when he clearly had the possibility to, crying together with him after Vegas’ hedgehog died. I mean, poor animal, but he almost killed you multiple times.
At the end, he resigned and ran to Vegas to get together with him and be a couple, this made me so mad..
I found the last episode a little confusing because as a non-fluent english speaker who had to watch it with english subtitles, but it’s a problem of mine.
I absolutely loved Thankhun, he made everything a little funnier and enjoyable, more than it already was, he was hilarious.
Big’s dead (I suppose he was dead since he was last seen and mentioned in episode 10), made me so sad, he was one of my favorite characters and the way he protected Porsche from getting shot made me cry (╥﹏╥)
Let’s not talk about Tawan, he made me soooo nervous, I got scared when he first appeared in the series because I thought it was Porsche that was going crazy, but at the end it wasn’t. He is the perfect description of a bastard to me, why would you even come back just to ruin things??!!
That’s it, a summary of my review is that, it’s a very good series except for one couple, intriguing, interesting and fun to watch!

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Promising Start Meets a Messy End

(Before I write this review, I just want to give a disclaimer saying that I'm obsessed with this show despite the title, and I like MileApo both as a pair and as individuals. This is my first BL and first Thai drama overall, so I'm not very familiar with the tropes.

Directors: Khom Kongkiat Khomsiri, Pepzi Banchorn Vorasataree and Pond Krisda Witthayakhajorndet

Cast (as mentioned):
Mile Phakphum Romsaitong; Kinn Theerapanyakul
Apo Nattawin Wattanagitiphat; “Porsche” Pachara Kittasawasd
Bible Wichapas Sumettikul; Vegas Theerapanyakul
Build Jakapan Puttha; Pete
Jeff Satur; Kim Theerapanyakul
Barcode Tinnasit Isarapongporn; “Chay” Porchay Kittasawasd
Tong Thanayut Thakoonauttaya; Tankhun Theerapanyakul
Bas Asavapatr Ponpiboon; Arm
Job Yosatorn Konglikit; Pol
Notd Nutthasid Panyangarm; Big
Perth Nakhun Sreaigh; Ken
Kob Songsit Rungnopakunsi; Korn Theerapanyakul (Kinn, Tankhun and Kim’s dad)
Ex Piya Vimuktayon; Kan Theerapanyakul (Vegas’s Dad)



I got to know this drama through a classmate of mine, and on a vacation I randomly checked it out and saw videos of it on YouTube, Shorts and fan edits of them, and I fell in love with Mile Phakphum and Apo Nattawin's amazing chemistry there. However, another classmate warned me by saying that this show is "horrible" and told me not to watch it; hence, I changed my plan to watch 2gether first, then KinnPorsche.

However, I was way too curious about this drama, and I kept seeing spoilers all the time, all thanks to the YouTube algorithm; hence, I decided to just watch it. Even though "Messy End" is part of the title, I'll say without regret that I enjoyed this drama a lot, but that doesn't mean that I won't point out things I didn't like about it.

Before commenting on the strong acting here, this review will be incomplete without mentioning the amazing cinematography. Almost every scene is beautiful, and I would feel tempted to screenshot every scene if I didn't watch it pirated. I know that the team worked very hard here, but still, I'll have to pay iQIYI for watching it, which I couldn't do. Dailymotion still saved me. This drama is definitely expensive! I loved the production here, from the locations to the cars (yep, a bit of an emphasis here) to the costumes, everything is on point! There is definitely symbolism in every outfit the characters wear, but for this, you need to see an interesting Tumblr post on it because I'm not an expert in fashion nor am I interested in it. I just mentioned it after seeing that post, which I will link after this review.

The performances exhibited by the actors, especially Mile, Apo, and Bible, were commendable. My praise goes to these three actors for putting their all into their performances. Mile and Bible, as first-time actors, portrayed such complicated characters to near-perfection, and it didn't even seem that it was their debut. Mile nailed it as Kinn, having the right amount of charisma and acting prowess in his cold, confident, and badass persona and also being equally convincing as a romantic softie with the same kind of prowess (I have to admit that soft Kinn hits different).

Bible really made me hate Vegas at the start, but I gradually grew to like him. He also shows a good range in his performance, from being a cunning, sadistic, and manipulative bastard to showing more of his caring and a more complex side as someone who experienced parental abuse and is always wanting to make his father proud of him. I heard that in the book Vegas was 10x worse and this was a more "healthier" version, but still, I wish he was a bit more humanised. (Although I think that Vegas isn't the best-written character.)

Apo showed that his previous acting experience did not go to waste, and he does an excellent job acting with his eyes. His transition from being a jovial bartender to a serious and confident person in the end is commendable. He shined in episode 5, expressing confusion, vulnerability and frustration to near-perfection, and it was totally worth it for someone who is allegedly the most experienced out of the cast. Apo was very good at doing action scenes, since his prior training in martial arts came in handy.

Build performed very well as Pete, from an adorable bodyguard to having a more darker side shown to him; however, he wasn't as good with the intimate scenes and doesn't have so much sexual chemistry with Bible, but more emotional (someone on Reddit said that, and I agree with it). He is better at doing comedic scenes and excels at showing a lot of vulnerability.

Kob was understated as Korn Theerapanyakul, a cunning and manipulative mafia boss who, in my interpretation, sees Kinn as a pawn in the game. Ex as Kan Theerapanyakul was okay; it just didn't have so much impact (I really despised Kan till the end, though).

Bas and Job as Arm and Pol, respectively, bring comic relief; Nodt performed well as Big; Perth as Ken didn't make much of an impact.

But the one who stole the show is Tong Thanayut as Tankhun! He was amazing and memorable throughout the series. This actor provides the most comedic relief with a lot of sass. He makes me laugh and smile whenever he is on screen! From his “grief” and anger at the deaths of his fishes Elizabeth and Sebastian, his excitement when Kinn confesses his love for Porsche, everything, I really enjoyed seeing him and Tong acted amazingly in it.

Jeff Satur's character Kim was an interesting one, but he didn't make much of an impression on screen. This is my first time seeing Jeff act, so I don't know how he is as an actor, but I see him more as a musician than an actor.

Barcode was adorable as Porchay (Chay) in the first half of the series. He charmed me with the innocence of his character and his heartbreak as well (that's where it went downhill, according to me).

I watched it for these three characters: Kinn, Porsche, and Tankhun! I love these three, especially seeing Mile and Apo sizzle on screen, and they have a really versatile chemistry (warning: obvious biases because I love them a lot). People may emphasise their NC scenes, but they also need to see that they shine in their action, comedic, romantic, and cute scenes as well. From episode 6 onward, I started loving them even more! Because Kinn wasn't the cold mafia boss everyone sees, he showed his childlike innocence there, especially when both of them were constantly arguing. And I live for their date in episode 8! (No word pun intended.)

I'd see all of their scenes repeatedly and never get bored of them. I also love how Kinn is willing to take responsibility for what he did wrong to Porsche, as shown in the climax of episode 6, where he said sorry to him for "that night" (episode 4), where Kinn technically raped him since Porsche was drugged and wasn't fully consenting to it, as well as telling Porsche that he is willing to erase all the things he did him wrong, as well as letting him go so that Porsche could fulfill his dream of having his own bar and to go back to his brother (till circumstances brought them back). He constantly apologised to Porsche in episode 12, where Porsche got to know how he actually got hired, even going out to his house to live with him. At the end of episode 7, Kinn genuinely felt guilty for calling Porsche a whore, and before he went further, there was a gesture in which Kinn nodded his head to Porsche, hence asking his consent before going further (source: Reddit/Tumblr, and I watched this scene many times.) This proves that his apology in episode 6 wasn't empty; he actually learned a lesson from what he did to Porsche in episode 4, and he was honest in saying that he would erase whatever he did wrong to him. That "small" gesture proves that. I also love that Kinn is willing to wholeheartedly trust Porsche and shed his persona, since his ex Tawan (god I hated him!) betrayed him.

Also, Porsche was obviously confused about his feelings for Kinn after "that night", since throughout his life he never had any sexual activity with a man or had feelings for a man either. He was disturbed and furious at what Kinn did in the aftermath of "that night," and deservedly so (though I don't exactly blame Kinn for that). But in my interpretation, after their time in the forest handcuffed together, he realised that the one who punished him and did terrible things to him wasn't the real him at all; that same Kinn was always smiling endlessly around Porsche and was also willing to share his piece of fish with him. The moment he saw Kinn's excitement at catching fish for the first time in one go, it made him fall for him all the more. That mafia-boss aura is gone, and Porsche got to see this side of his for the first time.

Someone wrote this on the YouTube comment section, and I'm paraphrasing it here: as someone who never had a parental figure and had to be a parent to a younger sibling, having someone so caring and loving to him is a huge deal, and hence he felt attached to Kinn, and this was the time where he didn't have to bear the burden of being the older one anymore. We also need to keep in mind that Porsche had to take an informal loan and had to face a lot of pressure from the mafia gang he took a loan from, seeing his uncle getting physically assaulted by them, and hated them a lot, hence his lack of seriousness about his job in the initial days that really cost him.

And in episode 8, I love how dedicated Porsche was on their first date together. Although he thought that he "sucked", this was definitely memorable for Kinn, and he wasn't shocked or angry at seeing the contacts of Kinn's past sex partners (to be fair, Porsche was engaged in sexual activities with a lot of women before Kinn). Alright, that's it—racing about them! They did go a bit downhill in the ending episode (not spoiling it any further), but their amazing chemistry is what prevented me from dropping this drama (and Tankhun ofc).

And TANKHUN! MY MAN! I really loved his character throughout the series. I love how hilarious, over-the-top, sassy, and caring he is! His past as someone who got kidnapped as a child isn't a joke, but what I love about him is that despite his "crazy" personality, he is not shown as a "retard". Instead, he is a very intelligent person and a realist, too. It's just that he is underestimated because of his behaviour and personality. *Spoiler Alert* There was a scene in the last episode where Vegas, having his foot on a lying Porsche, was "about" to shoot him, then Tankhun and Arm saved them with a toy car that contained explosives that would explode as programmed. I think the toy car symbolises Tankhun's worth because it is seen as a child's toy; they may be underestimated at first impression, but they are actually not how they seem to be.

Another positive thing about this drama is the bond between Porsche and Chay. The scenes of Porsche and Chay in episode 5 nearly made me tear up, after all Porsche went through. Imagine seeing your older brother, who is the only guardian for you, after such a long time, and being with him. I love how Porsche is willing to work his entire ass off just for Chay. Before Kinn, Chay was the only one Porsche truly had love and affection for. He meant everything for him, and the reason he decided to take his job as a bodyguard was to provide for Chay. It's understandable why he never told him about his job, but Chay never had any hard feelings for Porsche, even when he got kidnapped and got to know Porsche's job, because Porsche is all he has, and hence he wouldn't know what to do if Porsche dies. He knows that the environment Porsche is in is very dangerous, the reason being that he himself knows the amount of pressure and doorknocking they both have to experience after the informal loan. I wish it had delved deeper, but then again, this is a 14-episode drama. And I wish there was a scene in which Porsche confronts him for throwing his resume.

KimChay are my second favourite pair, but I just enjoyed watching them among the angst in the first half. Chay was too innocent, and I liked Kim's reaction to Chay's shrine filled with his pictures (I'd die of embarrassment if anyone saw my shrine). Thankfully, I don't have one. However, their story was very underdeveloped, and Kim's feelings for Chay weren't explored enough. I wish Chay thought of his brother before throwing his resume in the trash bin! But I preferred the innocent Chay more than the sassy side of him. Barcode portrayed the innocent side of Chay very well, but he needed to improve in case he had to act sassy, but I think that's the point of his character. Jeff suited the cold and mysterious side of Kim well, and he performed decently, but I couldn't feel much for him. His character isn't explored enough, but that's okay. I really liked his fight scenes, though. However, although this is a plot armour, I'm more than glad Kim saved him when Chay's "friend" was about to feed him some drugs. In short, KimChay was only written for fluff in the first half, then got a bit angsty in the end.

The soundtrack was great as well. Slot Machine makes us jump, groove, and shout the lyrics to Phiang Waichai and Free Fall (the English version of Phiang Waichai, though). Jeff and Aek Season 5 soothes us and makes us teary-eyed with their beautiful voices and compositions with Ka Ter/Why Don't You Stay and Contradict, respectively. Barcode reminds us of our first high school crush in "This song is called 'You'", which his character wrote for Kim when he was told to write a love song. My favourites were WDYS and Contradict.

Now, coming to the negatives: The first thing is VegasPete (and I might be biassed here). Now I know that the fans of VegasPete will have pitchforks at me, but this is my honest opinion: I didn't like them, and that is because of the toxicity. I know that Kinn did shit to Porsche, but what he did doesn't compare to what Vegas did to Pete, who tortured him for pleasure till he nearly died, constantly dehumanised him (that dog bowl scene), and electrocuted his "thing" a lot. I understand where he comes from, but this doesn't justify what he does to Pete. This drama doesn't justify it as well, but their story was way too rushed. They were surely very compelling, but I would've enjoyed them more if their story wasn't sold as a romantic one but rather as a Stockholm/Lima Syndrome one. Fans like them a lot because they were both willing to see the good in each other despite all this, but I would be more convinced if Vegas was more humanised from the beginning than what is shown in the series and if it was made clear from the start that Vegas experiences abuse every single day and has a trauma bonding with his dad. Speaking of which, VegasPete revolves around the trauma bond (so do Kinn and Porsche to some extent). But Vegas really needs help. I liked their bit in the end, though, with Macau. (And I just forgot to add that the BGM in their NC scene was quite creepy; maybe discussing their personalities and the state of their relationship? (And they used a romantic theme in Kinn and Porsche’s dubcon scene.)

Another negative is that it was weak in direction, especially when Pete went to spy on Vegas alone. Knowing who Vegas is, Kinn should've sent more bodyguards to accompany him, and Kinn forgetting about Pete. Plus, Pete and Porsche are roommates, so Porsche should've shown some concern. How did he know that Pete was "on vacation"? Also, how come Arm and Pol aren't concerned when he hasn't come for a long time? Well, their characters are pretty minor, so I'll give it a pass, plus Tankhun was there. But Porsche being gullible to Vegas despite being warned multiple times that Vegas is the enemy annoyed me a lot, and that it wasn't explored enough about Vegas nearly raping him while Porsche was drugged in episode 4. Thankfully, Porsche learned his lesson after seeing Vegas being a snake through his own eyes. Also, why did Porsche, despite being a former bartender, just drink without thinking when he should've known not to even touch a glass given by someone without seeing for himself what is mixed in it (YT comments and Redditors said it)? Keep this in mind: these are just nitpicks, and it didn't stop me from enjoying the show. I just wrote it for the sake of the review, but I can't deny that the ending was a mess when this cousin thing happened between Kinn and Porsche, which was so stupid! Also, Porsche's mother turned out to be alive. Yeah, Korn is cunning and all that, but why should they connect everything between Kinn and Porsche? This was so unnecessary! It would've been much better if Porsche remained an orphan and that there was no such "connection" between them.

In conclusion, this series is a good entertainer and is pretty compelling. But as the title says, the first half showed a lot of promise, but in the end it became a huge mess.

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Don't expect too much

Well, I watched Ep 9, and I'm now dropping this. I will tell you why: The writing is abysmal. You can FEEL this is based on a trashy fanfic that's only popular because of the hotness, the toxicity, the tension etc. I didn't read the novel, but it seems to me they are doing a better job in the series and are trying hard not to make it too stupid and too cliche. Unfortunately, they failed. Let me go into detail: the characters.
Kinn: His real persona seems to be a nice guy, who doesn't really want to be in the mafia. When he was out in the woods, he felt great, and didn't want to return. We got to see a very child-like, fun and adventurous side of him. So what now? What does he do? Is he planning for the future? Is he trying to escape his family? Is he trying to lead the family business in another direction? Is he doing anything? Yes, he is "acting" as the cold/bad mafia boss he is supposed to be. He rules by fear without being very convincing. What else is he up to? His love life is apparantly very important, but also pretty messy. That's what he is doing. Thinking about love, and who he can trust.
Porsche: Apparantly he is a nice guy too. He was working as a bartender. We got a sappy story with his uncle gambling away the money. You would think the family is poor, but their house says differently. Now he works for the mafia. He has to kill people. Gruesome! Does it bother him? Yes, a little bit and for a short time. What is he up to now? His love life. I would expect him to think about the future, to have nightmares, to wonder in what kind of mess he finds himself and what bad things will happen next, but nope. He is busy dancing in his underwear and flirting with the mafia boss. Guys, come on!
Then Vegas/Pete: Everyone on the internet is gasping if Vegas appears on the screen. Yeah, great. I'm getting wet too. Not really. What makes this character special? What? He seems to have sadistic tendencies. Is he smart? A mastermind who pulls the strings in the background? Nope. If his manipulative games are working, then only because everyone around him is dumb. And Pete? Well, he is the comic relief of the show. Great pair!
Then our 3rd beloved couple: Kim (the next as*hole) and Porchay. Well ... Kim plays guitar. You know, because it's not a BL without a guitar player or a soccer player. Enough said.
I don't want to go deeper into all this mess: Like making EVERYONE gay and most of them behaving like a f*ggot. You would expect gay guys in the mafia being more hardcore. Tankhun is too silly, and gets too much screen time. The character is not believable. Kinn's friends neither.
If you go for such a story: make it dark, make it intense, make it believable, play ugly mindgames, make me scream and clench my teeth from excitement! But no. Lets drink and dance and have some sex, while showing occasionally some torture and blood, before skipping to some sappy dialogue where Kinn's or Porsche's friends gives some deep love advice as if there is nothing more important than having a sincere love life, while being in the mafia. And if there is some time left, make everything more gay and more stupid.
Come on! That's all you have got? Sad enough.
I will still give it a 7, because of the good performance and charms of the actors. They somehow manage to breath some life into those boring and brain dead characters. The filming (especially the love scenes) is pretty good, and overall you can see the effort and how hard the team worked. Just fire those stupid writers or hire some good ones. With such actors, such a production team, you could aim for the sky. Instead they give us a silly rom-com with mafia background without exploring it much further. Just do it for god's sake! Be brave! Be edgy! Be revolutionary. Nope. Play it safe. Show us some sex, so people will keep watching and talking about it. No offense to the sex scenes. They are without a doubt the highlight of this brainless series.

EDIT: I watched until Ep 13, though I skipped many parts. I'm shocked, really, and I will lower my rating. The VegasPete story was soooo strange. Is this BDSM? No. What is it then? It was cruel, and then it was cheesy, and everything happened too fast. I'm baffled how bad this relationship was presented. Meanwhile KinnPorsche became also such a cheesy couple with lots of scenes nobody needed. This went downhill BADLY. Stupid people, shallow emotions, unnecessary violence and sex scenes that don't do anything for the story. But you know, 50 Shades Of Grey was apparantly also popular. I'm out here. Bad. Really bad.

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Definitely Could Have Been Better

Edited 12 June 2022 after episode 10.

Story. 6/10
The plot progressed more quickly this time. A new story arc has been developed, and some resolutions have been reached. The romance is still in the foreground.

Despite the chess analogies, I still find the plot weak and unconvincing. The protagonists are not particularly smart, and the villain is manipulative and cunning. Even if he really is just average, he just happens to be dealing with naive, gullible and stupid characters, making him look brilliant in comparison.

***********************

The plot is plausible within the universe of the series, in this case, the mafia universe. My expectations of dark themes, violence, morally questionable standards, greed, lust for power, control and money, and illegal and heinous dealings were met, albeit as a backdrop to the more important romance.

Characters. 8/10

The main characters are multi-layered, and have their own hopes, desires, weaknesses and aspirations. They are multi-layered and motivated. The main actors played their roles well. The characterisation of some of the minor characters could be better. But that does not detract from the enjoyment of the series.

Storyline: 6/10

The comedic parts are a bit too much for me. But maybe that's progress (an improvement in standards) for a Thai series BL. Still, I personally think the "in-your-face" comedy does not fit this theme. I would have preferred a satirical treatment like in Joy of Life or Inglorious Basterds.

Dialogues 7/10

The dialogues are a step above the Thai BL standard. I wish they had put the same attention to detail and care into the dialogues as they did with the cinematography. Then it would have been an even more enjoyable experience. The dialogues between the leads are almost always a hit with subliminal subtext. The rest is mostly a miss.

Cinematography: 10/10

There is a consistent visual language enhanced by lighting and wardrobe. This has been done deliberately and thoughtfully as if each image tells its own story. The result is beautiful and poetic.

Fandom meta-enthusiasts will go into raptures and gain absolutely delightful insights into these scenes, the meanings behind the photographic compositions, the use of colours and lines and even the use of costumes. Every detail is part of the whole story.

This is only possible because the staging was very consistent in its thoughtfulness.

Editing and effects 8/10

The production likes to use 2 different types of transitions between the storylines.

Butterfly cut: The butterfly cut brings a scene to an abrupt end, usually at its climax. It creates the greatest possible contrast with the following scene: from ominous to harmonious, from euphoric to depressed, from complete darkness to glaring brightness or from loud to quiet. This can be a little irritating and to some it seems bipolar. Personally, it does not bother me.

Cross cuts are the cuts between alternating storylines of a parallel montage. Normally, this shows simultaneous events in two different storylines, giving the audience the illusion of real-time action and making the viewing experience more exciting and intense. The production uses this style very cleverly.

Staging 8/10

The main theme, the romance, is well-staged. The fight scenes and the stunts are well choreographed. As I mentioned earlier, the comedic scenes could use more work. The potential was there.

Unique 10/10

The series is unique, innovative and groundbreaking in terms of cinematography in its genre. There is no other BL series like it. There is something unique about the series, the cinematic shots are poetic, and the acting performances are phenomenal, especially those of the lead actors. The dedication and hard work of all the actors, staff and production lifts the series to unparalleled heights and deserves a special place in our hearts.

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Almost Perfect

Kinnporsche has surprised me in so many aspects. I'm so glad that after 2 years, it's finally out, and of course, it only took me like a week to finish. It had everything going for it and more, I was worried about the production change and the switching of cast members, but it all turned out to be perfect -- well, almost. Kinnporsche is a dark and angsty mafia series, including humor and spice which made this series worthwhile and entertaining.

Let's Dive In.

Kinnporsche is the story of a mafia boss and a bartender who incidentally meet. Kinn hires Porche as his bodyguard and thing take off from there. We also have Pete and Vegas, the mafia's son and the Main family's bodyguard, as well as Kim and Porschay, the son of Korn and brother of Porche, whose stories add to the intensity of the series.

The one thing that pulls this series to be a top-notch watch is the action and the adventure. There's so much plot in this perfectly planned out series that it's impeccable. Everything falls at a steady tempo, and everything is revealed in a perfectly timed manner. I can't believe how much fun I had just on the story alone. The revelations, the impacts, the fighting sequences, the intensity, the anger, the hurt, the formulating of plans and pulling them through -- it was all just absolutely faultless.

Now, moving on to our main duo, Kinn and Porsche, I think I have a hate/love relationship with them. Outside of them being a couple, I enjoyed these two individually. Porsche was humorous and charismatic and a charm, while Kinn was serious and suave and brilliant. In the beginning, I wasn't really feeling the tension between these two. At best, they formed a nice friendly relationship, but I have a hard time understanding how and why Kinn is so quick to fall for Porsche, and him being attractive doesn't count cause so was Ken and Big and Pete and Pol and Arm. But as the story progresses, it gets better. I really started feeling it towards the end. But I do wish their chemistry between one another didn't ratio between platonic and romantic, and only held the latter. I do appreciate that both of the actors are so comfortable with one another during their sex scenes, which have to be one of the most erotic and sensual heat scenes I've ever seen, while also being filmed so intimately and with very steady care. It was so nice to watch a couple on-screen have genuine sex, with the groping and grinding and thrusting and kissing and moaning and even at some points, revealing their climaxes. Big applause for that. I'll give them a 7/10.

Moving on to Pete and Vegas, I'm probably the anomaly here when I say I didn't enjoy these two at all. However, individually, I loved them. I loved Vegas as the villain, who was demeaning and manipulative and scary, practically pulling me in overload at how sexy and evil he was. And the same goes for Pete, who I enjoyed his very quirky and corny side, as well as being serious and endearing. But together, these two don't work for me. And this is a mafia series, so I won't go into how toxic and terrible their relationship is. However, I cannot fathom how and why Pete would fall for someone who physically, emotionally, mentally, and sexually abused him, kidnapped him, and tortured him. There's just nothing that will change my mind on how sickening it is to watch someone that has done so much harm to you in every which way becoming your lover. Yes, they've spent a lot of alone time together, but it still just doesn't make any rational sense. I found the scenes where they were both being vulnerable to one another great, but it still doesn't justify Vegas' actions. By the end, I pretty much just skipped their scenes. Vegas was obviously a man who was hurting and hurting pretty bad, and I think once he gets better, I would enjoy seeing him grow into a better person and then try to pursue Pete. I hope if there is to be a season two, that they focus on the emotions Pete will have afterwards, and maybe even find him another love interest to start a love triangle (Which I was kind of hoping would be Ken, but whatever). I'll give them a 4/10.

Moving onto the couple that made me stay, Kim and Porschay. The minute I wandered onto these two lovely humans, I was so excited. Chay is this bubbly and giddy dude who has this very novice crush on the brooding and stoic Kim. But the series did the two of them so dirty. With very little screen time together, comically rushed chemistry and a terrible ending. This show is all about lust and romance, and they had neither. I found Chay's crush on him to be cute, but it grows a little weary when the "I love you's" come into play. It's all too rushed and too quick. And then their ending is heartbreaking and sad, but still not enough. We don't even get a kiss between these two, and yet they're built up to have so much angst against one another without any leverage to pull from. Their story felt so incomplete that I feel the writers had something in store for Kim and Chay, but because of the change in actors, they had to go the less spicier route. But again, this series is full of exoticness and sex, so having not even a kiss is ridiculous. This still doesn't stop me from loving these two, and even them being my favorite couple out of the three. If they can manage to pull this couple from the ground and turn them into the best watch of season 2, then I'm all for it. I'll give them an 8/10 (High score specifically because of episode 9 when Chay announces to Kim he likes him and he's just so nervous and giddy and shy, followed by the cutest kiss on the cheek and a tentative hand on the waist.)

There were a lot of side characters, but they all play into the story quite well. I couldn't remember everybody's name, like Kinn's close friends, and the same with Porsche's, but I still liked them. Khun was by far the most endearing character out of them all. He is wild and expressional and silly and weird, but he also knew when to be serious and take his flamboyant traits and use them for his own good. Ken was an excellent secret traitor, although, I am sad they killed him off. I loved Big's expressions and I really enjoyed watching him. The rest were decent and did their job good too.

The story of the Main and Minor family is so freaking good that it blows my mind. Where we now leave off is so upsetting cause if a second season is to happen, I fear it might be a while. I can't wait to find out why the mom looks so pathetically unenthusiastic as her children whom she hasn't communicated with in years are hugging her.

Ratings:

Story: 9.5 - As perfect as it could've been. It's so enthralling that if the romance for this series doesn't do it for you then the plot will. I'm only taking off half a star cause I don't like just how many people they killed off. Although I loved Ken, his was understandable, but I feel like some of the others were just unnecessary. Other than that, it was brilliant.

Acting: 8 - Really good! Tong, Apo, Mile, and Bible stand out the most, with the others following close behind. Barcode is good, but I think he could be better. Jeff at times feels a bit too stiff. Some of the scenes that needed those emotions also weren't a hundred percent there. But it doesn't take away from the story, so an 8 feels suffice enough.

Music - 6.5: Didn't really pay much attention to it, but I know I didn't like the theme song. Felt like a completely different mood than the series.

Rewatch Value - 3: I don't really ever rewatch, but I could see myself going back to watch certain parts, maybe like a compilation of all of Kim and Chay's scenes on YT.


I'm nervous about the thought of a season 2, but there's so much more to see with these characters that I'm ready! I recommend this to a mature audience, obviously. There is some serious no-no's that a lot of people can't handle, so I say be mentally okay enough to get threw this (more so Pete and Vegas' story).

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I have always waited for this review

okay before I start on nitpicking on this series I just wanna explain that I have watched this series three times since it came out like two months ago, once while it was still airing and another after and I never got bored of it. I will definitely watch it in the future so overall it's pretty good, and it should be on your list regardless if it was perfect or not.

starting with the plot it was really really good the first ten episodes I felt like it was heading somewhere new and original and they might introduce us to something new maybe about Vegas and it had potential you know? that's refreshing and dangerous and we're going to get swept in mafia world again after a calm romance break

but no in the last episodes the writers pulled the same plotline of " oh my mother knows your mother" shit trope that I absolutely hate and was completely unnecessary on this kind of drama. it was really a pathetic try from the writers I'd have adored it if it was just about mafia issues but romance on the side.

I also hated the fact that some characters were forgotten in a very "huh?" way and had no screen time at all like big for example, they could have given that man a scene to explain his feelings to mourn his death? anything really would have been fine.

Kim's plotline was really stupid for me like if you want to explain go ahead but I just don't understand why did he approach porchay for that reason? what did he think he's gaining? and the fact that he went and liked a minor ? I'm not going to talk about this.

despite the controversies around this couple but I loved vegaspete, it was really refreshing when kinnporsche got boring and settled. it was wild definitely but refreshing and new to me.

about the acting

I really loved everyone's but if we are talking first and last place and if we're excluding people who had no real screan time and barcode because he's young and inexperienced I think bible would be first and apo ( I'm so sorry I love you istg) would be last. I just felt like sometimes his acting was funny when it wasn't supposed to be. I love apo either way he did well enough to make this show enjoyable to watch.

bible though that man is going places.

the chemistry was great between everyone like official ships, bromances, fan made ships. they all look amazing together.

I loved free fall, KP is the only series that I liked its opening theme song like sometimes I would just play it and it's so nice.

overall that was pretty memorable to me and watchable too.

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Genuinely excellent, the best onscreen chemistry in the genre

This series is mind-blowingly good. It isn't just 'great for a BL', it's sincerely incredible. The music is great, production value is through the roof, the casting is perfect and every actor did an amazing job.

Mile and Apo as Kinn and Porsche sell their love almost effortlessly. Mile's Kinn is strong, loyal and loving, and Apo's Porsche is headstrong, wild and passionate. The two of them together creates explosive chemistry. Underneath it all, there's this undeniably charming silliness to both of their characters that just feels real. There is so much life to their relationship, and rather than having them fall in love just because the plot demands it to be so, you can feel them falling for one another as the episodes progress. It's tangible. It's fucking awesome.

Oh, and a little self-indulgent point here? The intimate scenes do not hold back. They're well-acted, beautifully shot and extremely emotional. They are extremely explicit, but not in a gratuitous way. All of them serve to further the plot or express Kinn and Porsche's relationship progression.

There is one personal gripe I have with the series, and that is the second pairing. It's inherently unhealthy and abusive and, although I put up with a lot of toxic shit in the fictional relationships I enjoy, I cannot support this one in good morale. If you love dark, edgy and dysfunctional relationships in your media (nothing wrong with that as long as you can differentiate what works in real life compared to what works in fantasy), you may actually really take a liking to the second pair. It didn't click with me, but there's a portion of the fandom who loves them together very devotedly.

I almost never rewatch anything, and I immediately rewatched this series a second time with a large group of people because I felt inclined to spread the love around this series. All of them agreed it was amazing. If you skip on this, you're cheating yourself something really great.

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