directed by a dramatic teenage kid
The base story is good with huge scope but how it was presented took away the life from it.Every single episode surprised me, every single one.
Its not just dramatic, its dumb and toxic.
I don't understand why this needed more than 5 episodes.
this is the definition of creepy obsession, and stalking!
wouldn't recommend it to anyone mature by mind who doesn't have a flare for drama.
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14 hours of torture
I don't know what is more absurd. The drama romanticizing stalking or the so called BL lovers rating it 10 to pull it out of the bad rating. This is 2022. Falling in love with your stalker is not cute anymore. This is not a Wattpad story. A whole series with full production house. How did they make something like this? And all the 10 ratings givers saying "love is for everyone " multiple times. Please consider consulting a psychiatrist nearby. You have got some serious issues.And the acting. I don't think I saw this kind of acting even back in 2014. They portrayed the gays in very stereotypical way. Anyone except fetishizers would find it appealing.
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Now my standard for BL
Not sure when it was but this series got me. I never like watching a series while it's airing because I dont want to wait for episodes every week. And I was right because I dont know how those watching this series waited every week because my Heart could not possibly handle it. How can every episode gets better than the last one? I've never had an experience like this with any series/drama BL or non BL... EVER.When I saw the trailer I thought it was another romcom but It was everything and more. I just finished a few days ago and had to gather my thoughts before posting here to tell everyone to watch it. Yes it's cringy, you'll get 2nd hand embarrassment and you will LOVEE EVERY character in the show, protagonist and antagonist alike. I say this because I wasn't sold on the characters until ep. 2 lol even then I had my doubts but by the last episode, I LOVED all of them. It's a reality most of us have gone through and they dont sugarcoat it, that's what I love. It made me feel like I could be their friend.
It's the best series I think I've watched in such a long time. WRU and Bad Buddy were up there for me but now SCOY has taken it's crown ... as it should.
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It gets better with each episode!
To find enjoyment in this series since the very start, it's quite necessary to not get into it with the same mindset as with other BLs.The first 3 episodes aren't really introducing the romance, but rather all the characters and friend groups. This may seem like a waste of time in the beginning, but turns out to be a key point of enjoying the story since it's really not all about the romantic relationships even if they're still the main focus.
Another important aspect is that this drama needs to be treated as a pure comedy. Most dramas are majorly focused on serious storytelling with the use of comedy as a way of lifting the mood and making it more light-hearted, but SCOY deviates from this pattern. It does get serious later when there's a need to address something, but the first episodes are made all for laughs and not too much realism.
This is also the reason why Toh's issue with collecting things shouldn't be treated with too much negativity. Not only is it the kind of overexaggerated trait which should be taken as comedy, but it's also not as creepy as some people make it out to be. Toh doesn't actually steal any of Nuea's belongings, he only takes trash as memorabilia. This whole thing doesn't get brushed off and is properly addressed and explained in the second half which makes it even more justifiable.
What makes this drama special is all the LGBTQ+ diversity and the way all of their identities are treated with upmost seriousness. At first I was really worried about Toh, Jao and Daisy being used as comedic relief with all stereotypes related to their identities, but this turned out to be so far from truth. Toh and Jao are actually stereotyped less than a lot of gay characters in other BLs.
Also this was the first time I didn't mind a BL using the term "wife" when referring to a partner in a same-sex relationship because it was made very clear that the intention was not to imply same-sex relationships follow the roles of traditional heterosexual couples. In this it really felt like it was the character's conscious choice to be called a "wife" as he felt comfortable with the label instead of the writers forcing that role upon him. Which I think is one of the examples of how well this drama managed to portray the LGBTQ+ themes.
And the most important part is all the healthy communication and consent between the couples! Issues and misunderstandings are talked through and immediately solved, there's a lot of support and understanding coming from both partners and an absolute lack of non-consensual drunken kiss scenes with no repercussions. The relationships develop organically without the use of certain tropes commonly used to speed up the process or needless sadness and arguments.
What I didn't like was the editing which sometimes made it difficult to figure out whether some scenes were imagined situations or not. I also thought some of the plot arcs dragged on for a bit too long, but that might've only been an issue with my personal preference.
As the biggest disadvantage I'd pinpoint the feature of too many couples with an unequal amount of screen time. This can work well of the viewers who come to prefer the main couple, but from what I've seen a lot of people were dissatisfied with how little some of the couples were featured.
Overall though, this BL is one of the best I've seen this year so far and I hope more people can give this a chance and watch more episodes before deciding their judgement of it.
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Cute, quirky, sweet, considerate... Special!
This series said respect and proved it in every sense!!Now that I think about it, this series reminded me of the very first Thai BL I ever watched. Not because the plot was similar or the actors or anything but because of the feeling. At first I felt estranged, trying to grasp what exactly I was seeing, like discovering a new genre. So just like when I first discovered the BL genre I gave it another chance, trying to fully understand how it worked, this time too I think I saw this genre being rediscovered in this show.
The story starts off in a way lots of BLs do, with secret admirers and fans all over the place. What differentiates this series from any others is that it takes the characters that are usually the comedic relief, or the outcasts, or the antagonists and gives them a voice and a story. BLs tend to offer us unrealistic perfection when it comes to their characters. The main leads are usually hot, popular, rich, successful, smart and cool with little to no exceptions. It is often hard for people in the LGBTQ+ community to identify with these characters because, um, not all people are the same and in real life all these characteristics combined are hard to find (and that's the beauty of being a human, being imperfect and unique). I really appreciated and enjoyed that they addressed issues such as body-shaming, cyber-bullying, trans identity issues and even more common but important points like friendship and found family, honest communication between couples and building strong support systems. Really this series was a delight to watch because it was serious when it needed to be but almost always was funny and relaxing.
I am fully aware that this series was not perfect and I struggled to find the "right" rating. I think this series will excite some while others will simply hate it. It is provocative in its own sense and not everyone's cup of tea and that's okay! I am usually generous with ratings but I often think that giving a series a perfect score is a serious business, as I am afraid to be unfair to other potentially better works. However, I still gave it a 10 because this is a piece of work that is indeed worth it. The plot is fast-paced enough with no annoying back-and-forth between the MLs, the couples are explored in a satisfying way and the side couples are cute and wholesome. There were a lot of characters but they are easy to remember and not some dull foils, only there to fill the episode or help the MLs shine. I especially loved Daisy's character and would have loved to see her experience being explored even further.
All in all, I will give the advice almost everyone that loved it gives: Give this series a chance! The first couple of episodes can be a little bizarre and you might get some second-hand embarrassment but strangely this is the charm of the main characters and you will be rewarded for your patience by the series as a whole. Hope to see the issues addressed here in even more series, with the same respect and diversity as displayed in SCOY! ~
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Hold your breath and clench your butt
SCOY is something that is not often touched upon in recent Thai series. It has effeminate gay leads, a trans character with a love interest, a side wlw couple, and incredibly goofy, downright bizarre humour. These types of shows are not to my taste personally, however, I was interested seeing how the industry has exhausted the tropiness of shoving in these types of characters only for comedic value. This series actually gives these characters "life" to them , if you couldn't believe.What's bad?
The main issues I have with SCOY are editing and plot conflict. The editing is noticeably lacking in a good portion of each episode, often overdone with certain effects I am not a fan of. There's too many times than I can count where they cycle through music too much in short amounts of time, which is distracting. As for the plot conflict, there's some things that give you an eye-roll because it's "here we go again" all over again. It weakened the storyline to me, and would've improved more if they cut those parts out to leave room for how the relationships develop. There's also a lack of screen time for certain characters which I feel were falsely shown as something big incorporated to the story.
What's good?
It has a diverse landscape for every relationship. It doesn't treat the mains as some "background" nonsense, they actually give story and development in one way or another. Both main friend groups are a joy to watch with their interactions. It's hilarious and KNOWS it's making fun of itself. I'll admit there were some scenes that made me bust a gut laughing. There's nothing remotely homophobic - some parts may allude to it, however the main focus is how each character grows as a person. There's some decent coverage on sensitive topics like body dysmorphia/shaming and bullying. The translations are helpful. Instead of "insert character dialogue here", they actually provide context for certain scenes which is a big help for those not fluent in Thai and just goes to show how mindful they are of their audience.
If you can manage cringe, please give SCOY a watch. They worked hard to create a story that represents a minority group WITHIN a minority group. It's something you don't often see so do support the series and hopefully this is a gateway for more stories with effeminate leads, trans characters, and GL side couples.
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This review may contain spoilers
Onslaught of emotions
STORY: 6/10The story is very simple, bordering on weak. In essence, it doesn’t really matter where the characters are or what they’re doing there. What matters is what’s happening to them. This is certainly a character-driven drama. And while some characters may be an acquired taste, I believe they’re interesting enough to entertain you on their own. Once you get over the second-hand embarrassment, that is. Tone changes between melodramatic and more serious scenes are present, but usually handled well enough. Some subplots are rushed, though, especially later on in the series.
There are five pairings in the show – NueaToh, SkyJao, Intouch+Daisy, Kongkwan+Fon and Tor+Som. Out of them all, only NueaToh and SkyJao get adequate amounts of screentime.
NueaToh is your main “secret crush” romance. What I liked about them is that they stay true to themselves throughout the series and don’t feel the need to change for their partner drastically. What I didn’t like is how unrealistic they seemed at times, even though they were portraying a clear message. There is also certain power dynamic in play between them, but it felt fairly balanced to me and not concerning.
SkyJao is basically a watered-down version of NueaToh. It’s presented more one-sidedly than the aforementioned, but ultimately it’s just a slightly different perspective of the same dynamic. Instead of providing a contrast for the main pairing, they’re used more for a quantitative comparison.
I won’t touch up on the remaining 3 relationships, since anything I want to say would be too spoilery. I don’t believe the production had a chance to balance them all, and they haven’t even given an impression of intending to do that. I just wish they would have given one of them a proper progression, at the expense of SkyJao development.
POTENTIAL TRIGGERS (with minor spoilers included) :
Stalking – This one probably won’t surprise anyone. I believe it was dealt with quite well. It’s not dark enough to be truly uncomfortable, and we get *some* reasoning behind it. So unless the theme’s pretty close to the heart for you, I don’t think it will be a deal-breaker.
Body image and identity struggles – I hoped they would go deeper with those parts. It can certainly get uncomfortable at times, but it’s not prevalent enough that you wouldn’t be able to get past it.
Hoarding/object collecting – SCOY really dropped the ball here in my opinion. It’s very present in the story, inflated for comical relief and the resolution leaves much to be desired. This is the main trigger I could imagine someone quitting the show for. I will leave a very spoiler-filled comment under this review talking about my view on it (along with the "stalking" aspect), for those who are done with the drama. I don’t recommend reading it before finishing the show, since it partially dissects the whole subplot.
(Public) intimacy – It’s certainly an 18+ drama, no way around it. At least, the official youtube version (available for free on “IDOLFACTORY OFFICIAL” youtube channel) is. I heard there is a 13+ cut version being broadcasted in Thailand, but I’m uncertain of how to access it. That said, it’s not so obscene it should be a problem for mature audience. What I personally don’t like about it is the public involvement in some romantic scenes. Love declarations, kisses and touches are often happening in front of the whole friend group, which gets annoying real fast (at least for me). As for consent, it’s generally fine. There is at least one scene with dubious consent (intoxicated person), but there are no lingering regrets and the intention for it was established beforehand from involved parties.
Jealousy, mild possessiveness and forceful courting - It's there, especially in SkyJao plotline. I haven't thought much of it at first, since it fits the overall tone of this drama . But for someone who's sensitive to it, it might be too much (both main couples show signs of "macho seme" going after "smol uke", even if said uke doesn't appreciate it). It's less of an issue (more two-sided) between Toh and Nuea, but still present.
ACTING/CAST : 8/10
All actors felt natural for their roles to me, no problem there. They are also all good-looking, as is customary in BL shows. I’m not sure if I’m glad for that or a bit disappointed, considering the themes of SCOY. But in the end, it turned out pretty good. They might seem overacting at times, but it fits well in the story.
MUSIC: 7/10
The songs they use are pretty good. But there’s only 2-3 main songs being repeated all over, so it gets tiring and sometimes doesn’t reflect the tone of a scene. I guess that’s a budget problem, but I would wish for a more varied soundtrack.
REWATCH VALUE : 8/10
If you enjoy it the first time, you will most likely want to watch it again. If you only finish it to tick off a box on your list, there is no reason for coming back to it in my opinion. Certainly not as far as plot is concerned.
OVERALL : 8/10
It’s pretty enjoyable and mostly inoffensive experience. It’s not challenging, but rewarding enough for the effort it requires (which isn’t much). I could imagine myself watching it again. Especially when I need a mood-upper. Or when I’m drunk. It might not work very well as a background noise, since it can get loud and OTT. But it’s light and silly. I certainly recommend giving it a try for few episodes. Just be aware it can be a lot, both visually and auditory. So maybe watch it alone or in a very close company.
EDIT: After taking some time away from it and watching other dramas, I decided to change the overall score from 7.5 to 8. The main takeaways stay the same, but I appreciate the positives a little more now.
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Pastel Candy Coated Amazement!!
When I initially saw the trailer for this series, I said that this would be "pastel candy coated trope for the young ones!"I never, ever could have foreseen how wonderful this series would turn out to be. Turning certain overused tropes to show, how the "outcasts" have every right to be front, and center, so that they too can be seen as the preferred, desired, adored, appreciated, respected, and loved ones of the popular class. That they too have every right to be seen in a BL, as not the laughing stock, not the undesirable ones, not the ones being made fun of, but the ones that are praised. The characters of Toh, Jao, Som, and Daisy will be remembered, due to their true bond that was established in the writing for their characters, and their strong, supportive, loving, understanding, and caring friend base.
How Nuea, Sky, and Intouch were able to be portrayed as the emotional, caring, understanding, and at times, insecure guys, that also needed to affirmations, confirmations, and declarations of their love accepted, and returned by Toh, Jao, and Daisy.
Even the messaging was done in a creative, fun, and important way.
Bravo to everyone connected to this series. I'm definitely ready to see what Saint, and Idol Factory have in store for us with "Gap The Series", starring Freen, and Becky!!
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IS IT WORTH WATCHING?
Absolutely!I'll give you 5 reasons why you should watch it:
1. The storyline is really good
2. The cast was also very well chosen
3. The acting was great
4. The music made the ambient very nice
5. The production was very well done
6. And overall it's an enjoyable series to watch
The thing I liked the most was the little messages inside this story. A lot of problems can be relatable to people and I like how we were (or at least I) able to relate to them. I don't think I can find anything that I didn't like about it except that from time to time I was a little confused about whether the main couple did reveal their feelings to each other already or not. But apart from that, I can't find anything else.
The series has (in my opinion) some...not mistakes, what do I call this? Ummm...shortcomings(? but it's only natural. Still worth all my time to watch this.
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do not drop this show
this show is literally really good if you can get past the first few episodes. it is extremely cringy but in a good way and still makes u smile and giggle. do not and I repeat DO NOT drop this show I didn't start this right away (started around ep7-8 were aired) as i saw ppl had negative reactions towards this but honestly i couldn't wait for the next ep every Friday once i started.storyline: there really isn't much plot? its just based on falling in love with your crush and having the greatest friends. it tackles a lot of subjects and one being the daisy and "day" situation. it shows the meaning of true friendship and how to keep a secret crush. its a tearjerker and does pull at your heart in times.
acting/cast/characters:
the main couple chemistry is great and flows nicely i like how the characters made me uncomfortable the acting was great overall the main support cast acting was great and cant wait to see more future projects.
skyjao: I wanna just give them their own paragraph. MY FAVOURITE couple out of this whole show I literally fell in love with jao he is the definition of adorable and sky is the biggest walking green flag character I've ever seen he's written so nicely I just love them both with my entire heart they deserve their own series. sky was always patient with jao made him feel more confident in himself and comfortable. sky is the type of character that we need to see more with bls.
intouchdaisy: were rarely seen in the novel but i did wish they got a little bit more screen time especially when it came to the daisy/day situation it was rushed super quickly.
music: it was mid it was fine i don't really pay attention to the music but it did fit most scenes and there were scenes that definitely needed music
re-watch value: I would not re-watch this as much as I loved it I don't think I could physically put myself through the second embarrassment again and if I was to re-watch it I would just skip to skyjao parts
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Watch Once for Billy & Seng's Chemistry!
The story isn't written particularly well, and is pretty goofy, but the two leads have The Most Amazing Chemistry! Billy is especially charismatic; his energy radiates, and his face and eyes are so expressive. He and Seng were awesome in War Of Y, and I got through this series mostly because of them (I did a lot of fast forwarding through stuff that didn't interest me). Their intimate scenes are a 10/10! The story starts slow with a lot of second-hand embarrassment, but it does get sweeter, and there are a few interesting plot developments here and there.Was this review helpful to you?
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Made with Love
I was sceptical when I started this series, mostly because its another college student BL, of which we have PLENTY and of which only a few are really good. I started watching because Saint was involved in creating this BL and since I'm an admirer I could not leave it. I watched all episodes on IdolFactory's YT channel, bc apparently other sources have missing scenes.Boy did I make a good choice! The first few episodes actually had me thinking I made a mistake watching this and I was afraid I might have to drop it. I'm glad I didn't, because after ep. 3 it redeemed itself and then some.
The acting is very good. It was very carefully directed and there was enough space for believable character development. You see the characters growing in their relationships and in their self-evaluation. This is delivered in a very natural way. The nerdy, insecure Toh starts believing he is actually not so bad after all, and grows stronger en empowered. The handsom jock Nuea is suprisingly caring and insecure about Toh. They both grow to appreciate each others insecurities, take each other seriously and help each other.
The love radiates from the screen. Fortunately there is plenty of age-appropriate skinship. These are guys in their early twenties. They will do more than just pecks and hugs. The love-scenes are endearing and hot at the same time. They made my heart flutter and in some cases even tear up a little.
What I liked: No-one wants to change the other person. There is a lot of respect and kindness. Toh is not a " pretty boy" (although he has absolute flawless skin). There is a low-key lesbian couple, a trans character, very accepting and loving parents, great love-scenes.
What I didn't like: The first 2/3 eps are very cringy. The storyline of Toh keeping everything even remotely to do with Nuea, even crabshells really grossed me out. The childish behaviour of both Toh and Jao annoyed the hell out of me. This does get better further along, but keeps creeping up on the characters and I just don't like it. As said, these are not children but young adults, there is no reason whatsoever to behave this way. The secondary couples could have used more screentime. There were pieces missing in that area. HOW did DaisyTouch, SomTor and KhwanFon get together??
All in all you can see that this was made with a lot of love and care and because of that I can forgive a lot of the bad. I really enjoyed (binge)watching.
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