They're all idiots, your honor
This so clearly needs a second season.I'll keep things vague but maybe add a reply with hidden spoilers below, but in general the comparison to The L Word is spot on. I love overly dramatic soapy shows, and this brings the DRAMA. The music is outstanding, everyone is beautiful and impulsive, the production values are pretty good but not perfect, and the connection to real world things like jobs and how many stripey shirts any one individual should own are tenuous at best.
AND. I finally get why some of the popular pairings appeal to fans, which I didn't before. I might even give A Boss and a Babe another chance based on watching this. I am now officially a Mark fan. I see you, GMMTV.
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Love the drama.
Love SandRay and the pool scene with Boing, this show is pretty much problematic people trying to put their shit together while being depressed and drunk I guess but still love it.Was this review helpful to you?
BEST GMMTV series of the year?
STORY: I didn't expect a good story from a series that focuses on messiness & (let's be honest...) sex. But the story has some twists along the way. There are 1-2 magic moments that wows you in (almost) every episode.ACTING: Khaotung as Ray deserves acting awards! He's (arguably) the best Thai BL actor this year. First as Sand supports him so well. FirstKhaotung is the Thai BL CP that shares a similar level of acting skills (which is rare).
Neo & Mark Pakin's acting are surprising GOOD! They need to be main leads in other series.
Book has 2 scenes that wows me. I was like "Book can act!"
Force is good at side eyes (which he does often in Only Friends.) He's also hot so he fits the character (Top).
MUSIC: The team has great taste in music (3 music types for 3 CPs). The music fits the scenes well. It helps you feel the characters' emotions.
Rewatch value: SandRay (FirstKhaotung) have MANY memorable scenes. Gonna watch them again some time.
At least 2 of their scenes should win (or at least be nominated) for BEST Thai BL scene of the year.
SUMMARY: Only Friends is Director Jojo & Ninew's BEST work so far. They should do a season 2 in the Only Friends Stay (hostel) setting. And add new main characters like Mix, GUN, & Earth...
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It had potential
In the first 9 episodes this series was addicting. After that, it became a little bit boring and I really lost any interest in Mews and Tops story.I think the last three episodes could been shorten into two or even one. Or they could written a better storyline with Boeing.First of all, I didn't forgive Top and I don't feel like he actually redeemed himself enough, but maybe it is realistic that Mew forgave him anyways. But I still felt really annoyed watching their cute scenes after they became a couple again.
Secondly, the Boeing storyline was really weird. It would have been interesting if he actually had wanted to date Mew, but instead he was a one-dimensional bag guy. Also, It was really unnecessary that he tried to get together with Sand. And why did Sand just accept it? I feel like this should have been resolved better, as it seemed like Sand wasn't sure if he should pick Ray over Boieng.
Anyways, I still like Sand and Ray together, even though it was unrealistic that Ray suddenly became a better person and suddenly forgot his trauma. To be fair though it makes sense, as Ray is very impulsive and changes his mind easily, I still feel like him improving this quickly should have backfired.
Another "couple" was Boston and Nick. In my opinion, they were the best written couple, even though they broke up, which was the perfect end for them. Boston couldn't have changed that quickly and he didn't. Also, I liked watching Nick's character development!
Would I recommend watching it? Actually, I would, if you like messy drama. It may not be the best written story, but it sure was entertaining.
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Messy but in a good way
I truly enjoyed this show, although I have to admit that for me as a couple First and Khao stole the show.The story is messy, the hookups, the break ups and makeups are a lot, but as incredible as it may be it does work. The script is quite good which made it not only easier to follow the mess that is the life of this group of characters but it also made it believable and entertaining.
Are there a lot of NC scenes yes there are but this series also found space in itself to touch on tough subjects, an example would be addiction which is very well dealt with.
The actors did an amazing job, for me First, Khao and Neo stood out in this, Neo's character in particular. He made it so easy for us to hate Boston but at the same time care for him, which just shows how good of an actor he is.
I didn't really care much for Mew's villain arc but it did add to the series interestingly.
The mess that was Bosto-Top-Mew-Ray-Mew-Sand-Boeing-Top-Sand-Ray, I'm sorry what?
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Not what I was expecting
I hope this isn’t going to be the norm for GMMTV BL series now. Too mature. I love my sweet, cute, funny GMM actors. There was very little of that. The storylines for each couple was dark and intense. Lots of backstabbing and lies. Focused mainly on addiction. Alcoholism, Drug use, and Sex addiction. Some of it was resolved, some not. My heart broke for Nick and I was disappointed there was no happy ending for him. Hopefully he got together with his coworker. He seemed nice. I’m sure lots of people like this but I was too upset the whole time to enjoy it.Was this review helpful to you?
I loved it and I didn't
This was total mess.But.
I wanted to watch it for First and I am glad I did. He nailed the character so well. Once again his eyes and smile was everything. Sand is my most favourite character. Sweet, kind, knows what he wants but gets little confused once facing the feelings in front of his eyes. Guitar player as well - yeah you had me there ?
Nick was also my favorite. I was rooting for his happiness.
Every other character was total mess. One big red flag after another on almost every step..
P.S.: I am not fan of smoking but that smoke kiss was something really hot. Great job guys.
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Imperfect, realistic take on modern love
I initially was drawn to watch this series via the trailer. The All Star cast excited me and the adult storylines seemed to be a “finally” moment for many BL fans of diverse ages and nationalities. As someone who identifies as a part of the LGBTQ+ community, I felt that this series has something for everyone. Character development is a true strong suit of this series, and I was impressed by the writing and each character we are given. From the innocent, naive virgin who has his perspective shifted from heartbreak (Mew) to the one sided, slightly obsessed guy in love with a toxic f***boy (Nick), there was character development to appreciate from all. (Even Boston got a tiny, TINY change of perspective or introspection, albeit not enough).I found myself identifying with Nick (Mark) the most, and it was impressive to see him and Boston (Neo) act out their toxic characters and situationship in a mature way. The writing for them was spot on nailing the essence of a situationship that many of us in the LGBTQ community can identify with all too well. Likewise, the evolution of Sand (First) and Ray (Khaotung) is a roller coaster that most viewers will find that they can’t help but root for. While Mew (Book) and Top (Force) did well and the acting was great, I found myself less invested in their story.
My only wishes for this series is that the trans and lesbian characters had more development and screen time, and a scrapping of the Boeing plot twist/character introduction, but enjoyed the mature writing of the overall series and felt it truly nailed many aspects of the often messy and drama filled romantic tropes that exist for some of us in 2024.
Watch this series if you want some drama, plot twists, character development and growth, a great OST and playlist, mature characters, and someone to root for or identify with.
Don’t watch this is you want a cookie cutter GMMTV BL with nothing but happiness, no conflict, and a perfect romance! (also you will get plenty of fansevice fluff in Only Friends, you just have to wade through a pool of sometimes toxic behavior to get there).
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One of the Best "Gay BLs' Ever Made
One can argue until the cow comes home as to whether it is a BL, but it is without doubt a solid and outstanding gay series, surprisingly. The whole series belabored the negative issues with each couple without concentrating on the thing that would have taken this series to greatness. It lacked human warmth. It tried to do too much to show us the issues that it lost sight of its humanity. What humanity it showed was ugly. What I did greatly admire about this series is that it is GAY. This represents the gay world. This is how the gay world is in reality. I am not sure if this series recognized what it had on its hands. I wish it would have gone just a bit deeper into what motivates these characters.You can read my full review of this interesting and raw gay BL series at BLBliss.com.
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Bagunça!
Apesar da história ter como foco principal a história dos amigos que administram um hotel, ela não conta realmente a história deles. Isso pq logo de EP 2 o conteúdo se espalha e cada vez aquilo que deveria ser o foco se torna apenas pano de fundo.Todos os personagens compartilham da falta de desenvolvimento, a série tem vários arcos importantes mas não traz impacto o suficiente pq os personagens não tem intimida com o público, não são apresentados da maneira correta para o público.
O casal protagonista (Mew e Top) também é apagado, não tendo química ou qualquer tipo de brilho eles acabam sendo ofuscado toda a série pelo casal secundário (Ray e Sand)
Apesar de ser um personagem que claramente foi feito pra movimentar o enredo, Boston ao decorrer dos episódios se torna o melhor personagem da série pois mantém sua veracidade, história e personalidade.
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only grindr fans who hate romance
Firstly, this is a very watchable departure from the standard BL mode. This is both bad and good...bad that it wasted the actors on a hook-up culture that leaves little room for anything that resembles love or intimacy. And good in the sense that you have good-looking couples with chemistry stepping on and crushing the BL mode. It's great to experiment and change things up..this goes a little too far in the direction of only-fans or the opposite of a romantic comedy.The story is basically each character getting out of their underwear to pass the time on conquests and cruel mind games with others. Toss in drama drama drama and you have a recipe for a hot mess. But, strangely if you get past episode two you can't stop watching. Like with most trainwrecks or messy characters, you root for them to redeem themselves or have fun yelling at the screen when characters do unnecessary bad things to other people.
In the end, I hope this opens conversations and expands future BL shows to show the many different sides of relationships. I tend to connect more with romance, and less trashy characters but maybe there's a way to do both or watch create watchable variations like is show...
but also that can give viewers hope that love exists.
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Entertainingly Messy
This show can be summed up by just one word...mess. This isn't necessarily a bad thing because it was very enjoyable. I binged this series so quickly and most episodes didn't disappoint me. The only episode that truly made me think "was this necessary" was episode 12/the finale. I think some choices on the production side took me out at times (esp audio). I wholeheartedly believe this show would have never been as good if it wasn't for the actor's performances. I'm pretty new to Thai bls and quickly fell for some actors. One of these included Khaotung's portrayal of Ray. He portrayed this complicated character who people could either love or hate and not many could have pulled off this character the way he did. Overall enjoyed the show and will probably rewatch it, especially for the growing and complicated relationship between Sand and Ray who were honestly the only couple out of the main 3 I was rooting for.Was this review helpful to you?
