Close Friend Season 2 (2022)

More Cohesive Than Season 1

Going into this, I was a little taken back that they only decided to continue the story of 2 out of the 6 couples they told in season 1. But by doing so, the plot was held together nicely, and they developed a decent story that followed along an easier path. Close Friend Season 2 has definitely outshone its prior season, and I'm quite pleased to say I'm looking forward to season 3.

Let's Dive In.

They took the story of Piece/Typhoon and Jedi/Ray and combined the two, where both of their stories overlap with one another. Phoon and Ray have been friends for a while, with Phoon helping Ray with his obsession with Jedi and being a good friend that gives him great advice. And Pierce is the songwriter who writes music for Jedi. So throughout, they all have interactions with one another while simultaneously dealing with their own conflicts. In the end, it all gets better.

Their choice of only continuing the lives of only two of their couples was a great idea. It worked because the storyline isn't jumbled up, and theirs no time for filler or unnecessary situations, and it all flows steadily on a thoroughly planned out plot. Even though I would LOVE to see more of Jimmy and Tommy's story (the 1990s couple) I was still please with what we did get. Max and Nat's story wasn't all that memorable, so it probably would be difficult to fit them in somehow. Lay and Yoon's story was decent, but nothing I craved to see more of. And of course, the cat story HAD to go. Anyways, the choices in this department worked out perfectly, and I enjoyed what I got to watch.

I remembered not liking Peirce and Typhoon's story all that much last season, but they redeemed themselves here. Pierce has that incredible fear of coming out to his parents, and Phoon is patient, but since they've been dating for so long, it's getting old for him. Phoon also gets a job at the same company as Pierce which causes some office turmoil, but I like that this part of their conflict was resolved pretty quickly and didn't linger on much more than needed. Eventually, Peirce comes out to his parents, and everything is wonderful and rainbows. I'm satisfied with what we got, but their story could've definitely been a lot stronger.

Jedi and Ray were why this works so well for me. I'm not usually a big fan of the idol/normal person stories that follow the same plot: the public finds out about idol's boyfriend, idol is told to break up with boyfriend but he refuses, idol then goes public with his boyfriend, it all works out because they both gain more fame from it. It's very much so blah blah blah, but, because it was Kimmon and Copter, it just worked. Copter is fucking adorable in this with his little pouts, panics, and whatnot. Once again, their dynamic is spot on. Chemistry is strong, and I can't wait to watch their other projects together.

Something I don't normally speak on, but I liked that the actors had on barely-there makeup, and we actually see their skin and they look imperfect because that's how everyone looks. It's a very different change in the usually caked-on, filter-heavy shit that's usually plastered onto the faces of these actors. Good job!

I sometimes take time to watch the BTS of series, but this show gave us the honor to watch it by putting it into the outro of each episode, and it was a delight to watch. It shows you that these actors are close in real life and just had fun playing their roles. It makes the story feel more real in a sense.

Ratings:

Story: 8.5 - Decent. A lot better than their stories in season 1. It follows a straight path from point A to point B and doesn't have anything unnecessary happen. Jedi and Ray's story is a lot more endearing than Peirce and Phoons's, but still, a very good job.

Acting: 9 - Good! Everyone did decently, and nothing was off! Some hiccups here and there, but overall, it was fine.

Music: 8 - I enjoyed the intro song a lot. Also, the songs Jedi sings weren't that bad either.

Rewatch value: 4.5 - Ehh, probably not. Not because it was bad, but just because it wasn't so good that I just need to rewatch it.

In the last few minutes, they bring in the adorable Bas and his partner Dun (from Gen Y) and show us that they've been living in Korea as Bas' character lives out his dream until they find out about Jedi and Ray and decide to move back to Thailand. I'm kind of excited to see how season 3 will take place, knowing these two will be added into the chaos. Overall, a decent watch, I recommend it, and you don't have to watch season 1 to be able to watch this.

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You don’t have to see the first season (I didn’t) to watch this one because there is a recap of what happened with the two couples from the previous season. The first episode is a little confusing because they tried to address the sci-fi aspect with one of the couples from the first season. However, the rest of the episodes are easy to follow as the series goes on. They also did a good job creating a connection between the two couples from the first season. The story concepts are not new, but the script handled the content very well. I like the cast, but the acting is ok. As for production, the series suffered from very odd/bad background music choices. The music often did not match the mood of the scenes. There is a suggestion of a third season at the end of the last episode by introducing two new characters (couple?).

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