Pit Babe (2023)

Not Exactly An Entertaining Watch

Adapted from the web novel “Pit Babe” (พิษเบ๊บ) by _alittlebitch (also known as alittlebixth), Peter Nopachai’s rustic adaptation ended on a high note. Based on the fictional ABO/Omegaverse universe, the show’s ratings skyrocketed because of the natural chemistry between the various pairings littered across this universe. While the storytelling was indeed faulty in some places, the stellar casting made up for the odd pacing. This was one of those shows that leaves you with mixed feelings; I won’t say that I was exactly enamored with the series. Nevertheless, it was flavorful in its own ways. There are reasons to watch this show; let me list them first before we journey into the disaster zone!

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https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/02/14/pit-babe-series-review-ep-3-to-13/

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Pit Babe wins 1st Place in my heart

Pit Babe's pilot episode is one of my favorite episodes of the series, it has the magic to pull you in before you even realize it. The story is fresh and sprinkled with omegaverse elements. Pavel shines on the screen, fully embodying Pit Babe, almost like he was born for this role. Pooh follows in stride and eats up the golden retriever boyfriend vibe 100%. The entire cast is full of talent and I enjoyed seeing them all onscreen together.

This series, while far from being perfect, still had me clinging to every episode desperately. And there will be a void felt for some time now that it's done airing.

Positives:
- Complex storyline that felt new and refreshing
- Solid acting, especially from Pavel
- Amazing cast through and through (hard to not love them honestly)

Negatives:
- Omegaverse or not omegaverse? I really think they should've leaned harder into these elements or they should've removed them altogether. For the casual BL watcher, who maybe doesn't read fanfic, these dynamics are confusing and create a lot of distracting points if aren't already brushed up on what omegaverse is.
- Too many characters / storylines - too little time to make them all worth it
- I love Pooh, but there were times he did pale in comparison to Pavel. Some of this is intentional, and some of this stems from lack of experience. They needed to give him some emotional depth, but it was missing and he felt one dimensional at times.

Overall:
Pit Babe captivates from the starting line, has a few bumps in the road, but finishes solidly. Will be adding to my rewatch list and to my favorites overall. Would love a s2, special episode, or movie.

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Miscast Pooh Took Me Out

Almost every actor did good/great. Then you have Pooh as Charlie who keeps taking me out of the series every time he came on. If the role was given to someone with some acting chops this series would have been so much better. Every delivery done by Pooh was weak to the point of being cringey. Something about his performance reminds me of Dunk. All whiny and lacking substance.

Patel was born to play Babe. He really pulled of the tsundere bottom flawlessly. I am not sure if Pooh was suppose to be a helpless yandere. When Charlie absorbed Babes powers, It was hard to believe had them because Charlie was still wake as ever thanks to Pooh’s performance. Pavel was the only one who gave off any heat in the NC seasons. For Charlie to seduce Babe to have Charlie become Babe’s boyfriend instead of Babe’s boy toy. I was mystified as to why. Other than Charlie constantly stalking Babe then being all clingy as to not leave whenever Babe tells him to leave. I don’t understand why Babe fell in love with Charlie. The sex wasn’t even hot. Unless that’s what the director thinks is hot. If anything it looked like Babe and Charlie like BJs in the locker room is hot.

OMG, all their rescue mission was a disaster. They might as well not have tried for the results were were the same.

Seriously, Alan and Jeff gave 10x more heat and they weren’t having locker room sex. Uncle Alan schooling Jeff on sex was cute and sexy AF.

All Pete/Way and Pete/Kenta were left with jus5 crumbs in the end. I am sure y’all must have pitchforks out by now. Especially PeteWay shippers. The series did you dirty by killing him off. At least PeteKenta fans can still hang onto hope for a future off the series.

North and Sonic must’ve been a couple already for them to be always joined at the hip. I guess part of the fun was playing up the are they or are they not a couple until the end.

I hope Winner was beaten to death by Way, North and Sonic and not just severely and survived. I am disappointed with what happened to Way.

I am happy Kenta literally stabbed Daddy Chen in the back and dealt the final ending of the big baddie. While the death was too quick and we would like a lot more torture of Tony. Unfortunately, with this being the last episode with so much to wrap up. We were left with a disappointing death scene.

For the most part having Pavel in this series worth it. Phuwin can learn from Pavel on how to cry. This series had so much potential to be a better series than it actually is. There was so parts that was poorly executed. The pace was not as exciting as t can be because of the editing. Overall this series left me wanting more of something different. I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is. I need to process the last episode and will look for some closure after reading the comment section and reviews.

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Does it live up to the hype?

Pit Babe, like KP, is one of the most anticipated and hyped series because of its unique premise and storyline. If I'm not mistaken, this is the first BL which has an omegaverse (without the Omega) kind of theme. We have Alphas and Enigmas and they have supernatural abilities.

The casting is great, definitely a treat to the eyes. Their acting? A little meh. Needs more improvement. But i understand, it's their debut after all. Well, except for Pavel. He's a good actor.

The music is meh. It didn't leave a mark on me. Didn't even notice it.

The stunts? Meh. It felt sloppy and I could see they're punching the air. Sloppy works. The standard when it comes to action scenes is KP. On episode 12, when Charlie rescued Babe, the action scenes are... bad. I couldn’t feel Charlie's grit and intensity with those punches.

The ep 13, I don't know if it's just me but it didn't feel like a finale. I didn't feel any excitement. It felt bland. It felt rush in a way.

Note: The series stayed true to the source text/material. Maybe 85 to 90% is the same in the novel.

Rewatch value: for me, though, its definitely rewatchable because it's relatively on the light and fluffy side.

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I Wanted SO MUCH to LOVE THIS...

Omegaverse. I'm barely familiar but I'm a huge fan of Pavel since his days as the 2nd Forth in the sh*t show that was the 2 Moons 2. Don't get me wrong 2 Moons wasn't a bad series per se but it's production company was the actual sh*t show but I digress this isn't about 2 Moons.

Quite honestly when I heard about this and Pavel being it's star I was thrilled because his initial return to BL fell so short. (Sorry, Coffee Melody) I thought Pavel finally gets his chance to shine again. Because quite frankly the man is a star.

However for me, the pairing was like Coffee Melody and Pavel and Pooh just didn't fit for me. The chemistry was there I guess but yet it wasn't. The deluge of senseless side characters that was on and off that I couldn't like nor hat's because they came and went then came again.

Unlike the masses I couldn't get on board with the Alan/Jeff. It just seemed I don't know creepy in away. Kinda sorta inappropriate like on Absolute Zero when Adult Suansoon romanced Teen Ongsa. I don't know maybe it was just me. So I dropped it somewhere around Episode 9 or 10.

I just want Pavel to shine. I wasn't a fan of all the recast of 2 Moons 2 but I wish all of them the best in moving on from Motive Village. It was so long ago but Din, Ben, Joong, Dome and Pavel (Nine seems to have gone a different direction and if he's happy I'm happy for him) deserve to shine with reputable companies behind them.

This just wasn't it for me but plenty people loved it so Pavel shined for them and that at least makes me happy for him.

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Three words: Fresh, Cool, and Therapy

This series offers a fresh plotline that takes place on race tracks, with elements of the Omegaverse. Fast-paced and thrilling, I was hooked from the first episode. Babe and Charlie's chemistry instantly clicked for me in their first scenes. They suited each other, and I find their personality dynamics cute. Babe's confident and alluring nature complements Charlie's calm and collected nature. Charlie played a pivotal role in changing Babe's cocky personality and turning him into a better person. Whenever he's with Charlie, Babe becomes giggly and smiles more. Charlie calms his aggressiveness and provides reassurance for his massive trust issues. Although Charlie deceived Babe a couple of times, it was for a reasonable cause unlike Way's plan. I don't agree with the BabeWay ship since Way emotionally manipulated Babe and made him feel miserable. Way's intentions to rape Babe and have a baby with him were beyond disturbing, and I appreciate that Charlie intervened. The attempt to redeem Way's character failed miserably and led to his unnecessary death.

It was smooth sailing at first, and then I was jumpscared by the "child trafficking plot" in the middle. The topic of child trafficking is heavy, and unfortunately, they did not handle it with the necessary sensitivity. The pacing of the series started off strong but became inconsistent. Some episodes were slow, and at times it felt like there was too much going on in one episode, making it feel cramped. Charlie's decision to fake his death did not have any impact on Tony's evil plan. It was unnecessary and only brought emotional stress to both Babe and myself. I found myself crying along with Babe when I thought Charlie was dead, even though I already knew about the spoiler. Additionally, I expected Charlie to play a more significant role as a mastermind behind Tony's downfall, but it turns out he wasn't.

Additionally, the collective effort of the characters ganging up against Tony seemed overly dramatic and excessive to me. Tony and his evil plans received more spotlight than necessary. Bringing down Tony's downfall shouldn't have been as hard and complicated as portrayed; instead, they chose to drag it until the end. The fight scene between them and Tony made me frustrated, as I found myself urging them to pull the damn trigger already. Even Way's death felt unnecessary, considering the number of people against Tony. It was a whole group against one person, and yet they gave Tony too much power while leaving little to none for themselves. However, I do think Kenta stabbing Tony to death was more satisfying and reasonable, given how Tony treated Kenta like a dog and never acknowledged him as his son.

The ending of the series left me dissatisfied. There were numerous plot holes that remained unexplained, leaving me with a lack of understanding. I had questions regarding what happened to Kenta and all the children at the foundation. Did the serum actually work, and how did Babe's father create it?

The chemistry between couples is subjective. While I felt an instant connection and chemistry between Babe and Charlie, the same cannot be said for Alan and Jeff. I have mixed feelings about them as a pairing; it seems a little forced at times. Their reconciliation scene in Episode 6 gave me second-hand embarrassment. Occasionally, I feel their chemistry, but other times I don't due to the age gap and overall performance. Their romantic timing also falls flat at times.

On the other hand, North and Sonic were adorable and brought life to the series with their comedic scenes and banter. I thought they would become an official couple, but sadly, that chemistry was wasted. Nevertheless, in my mind, they got together. As for the PeteWay and PeteKenta pairing, I prefer either of the two because Pete had chemistry with both characters.

When it comes to acting, I noticed Pavel's inconsistency. Sometimes he's good, but other times he comes off too strong. However, I did appreciate his acting in scenes where Charlie was presumed dead and in the scene where he was a victim of Way's attempted rape. The hoarse voice and trembling added depth to his performance. On the other hand, Pooh didn't leave much of an impact on me. He lacks the use of facial expressions, and sometimes his voice comes off as monotone despite the intensity of the scene. Most of the time, his acting is overshadowed by Pavel's. However, I must say that Pooh does a pretty good job with his facial expressions during intimate scenes. I loved how his eyes would darken, dropping all his facial expressions and turning into a smirk. That was particularly captivating. Honestly, most of the cast could benefit from additional acting workshops. I'm not saying they're not great, but they have the potential to improve further. The action scenes were not executed well and appeared choreographed. Among them, Nut's acting is what stood out for me. Even when the camera wasn't focused on him, I could notice his facial expressions. His eyes are especially expressive. The scene where he cried in the car while reminiscing his sweet moments and memories with Babe melted my heart. He is a pretty crier and excels at using his whole face, especially for subtle micro-expressions.

As someone who doesn't have much knowledge about racing, I'm glad that the series emphasizes and utilizes it, making it more interesting for me. I appreciate the non-stereotypical portrayal of the couples, as none of them were excessively feminized, particularly the bottoms, which is a common trope in BL Dramas. Instead, all of them exuded a strong aura, or dare I say, an alpha presence, given that most of them are.

The series also had its fair share of cringy scenes and lines that could either make you cringe or laugh. Nonetheless, I mentioned therapy because most of Tony's sons in the series are in need of therapy due to the emotional and physical trauma they endured from him. It also has a lot of good plot twists, but unfortunately, I got spoiled on most of them. It encompasses various genres, including romance, mystery, action, drama, thriller, and comedy. This wide range of genres can either overwhelm and confuse others or provide them with a thrilling emotional rollercoaster ride. I would be lying if I said I didn't cry, laugh, and thoroughly enjoy watching this series.

Despite the problems with the plotline, pacing, and ending, I had a good time watching the series, mainly because of the sweet scenes and banter between Babe and Charlie. I stayed for them. It was honestly a breath of fresh air, as I hadn't come across a good series such as this one. Despite its flaws, I would still recommend it to others.

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COME ONNNN this could have been SOOOO GOOD

This show was one that I fully intended to joke watch with my friends because we love asian dramas and we are obsessed with joking about the omegaverse... but once I got into it I literally could not stop watching. I started watching right after episode 8 came out and literally watched 1-8 in one night. TBH i watched them so fast I can't even fully remember what happens all I know is I was HOOKED.

I love a show where the couple is together the entire show, so when they got together in episode one I was so happy because a bitch hatesssss to wait and the chemistry was there already. I was very confused about the "omegaverse" aspect of this series because i'm pretty sure in the literal first scene you learn that Babe is an alpha and he's hooking up with another alpha which i'm pretty sure is not how the omegaverse works. 12 episodes later and i guess this show just made up their own version of the omegaverse because there were not betas nor omegas. Were alphas just people that have powers?? who knows. Maybe the alphas were the friends we made along the way.

After Charlies fake death literally everything went downhill for me. I started getting confused about who is who and who knows what and what information only the viewer knows. Just a lot of information being given in every single minute of the episodes but also I was bored at the same time and sick of seeing babe cry every 5 minutes like plssss let this boy live.

The last episode was definitely the most disappointing part to me since I was so so invested in what was gonna happen with the Pete/Way/Kenta triangle, only for you know what to happen and then not seeing pete or kenta ever again. I also wanted to know if North and Sonic had feelings for eachother, or if they would get together but there was literally not a single frame of them once the funeral was over im pretty sure. I just don't understand why they would start storylines they never intended to finish. It wouldn't have been as bad if they didn't try to fit AN ENTIRE STORYLINE about Babe and his father into the last episode and have it literally take up 15-20 minutes of the 50 minute LAST episode, and be completely unnecessary?????

TBH Alan and Jeff were the highlight of the series they were soooo cute and their pacing wasn't too slow and they had some good moments in the last episode (completely overshined Charlie and Babe the entire episode BTW). I remember Jeff's actor from Gen Y and he literally still looks so young I can't believe he is 28 years old that's nuts

Anyways I still enjoyed the show and would recommend watching bc it's still a good show if u ignore the last few episodes

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Starts off Strong, ends with many questions

Pros
The beginning is really captivating. I read the first few chapters of the book and feel that the show is able to make the intro race scene very exciting it also introduces the characters well.
The Charlie/Babe dynamic really works on me hahaha. Kinda hard carries my rating. I enjoy Pooh's portrayal of Charlie even though I do think it is the most different from the book. Though I think there is just a bit too much of shoving/pushing Charlie

Cons/Rant
My biggest gripe is that towards the end there are many plot holes and explanations that add to the confusion
*Spoiler*
For example when Charlie asks Jeff how he knows Reval is because he found him when he tried to escape Tony. This made very little sense to me because my previous understanding was that Charlie and Jeff managed to escape together. Overall it doesn't make me enjoy the show less but the more time I spend thinking about some of the plot holes the more I feel that I can't rate it above a 7/8.
I also don't really enjoy the waterdowned ABO explanation. I know that ABO isn't palatable to everyone, but the explanations that the show gives is a bit confusing. I think it would of made more sense to get rid of the ABO entirely and just say some are born with special powers. Though that would make the pregnancy plot impossible.
Overall I feel like there were also too many characters. I know people are upset NorthSonic didn't happen and I agree. There were just too many characters and not enough time to develop any relationship outside of CharlieBabe and AlanJeff and the confusing relationship between Way Kenta and Pete
I also wish there was more time to resolve issues in the final episode. Like Charlie and Jeff get no punishments for literally faking Charlie's death. Like yeah everything worked out in the end, but seriously no one reacts at all about Charlie not being dead for longer than one minute. In general Charlie is never really punished for his actions,,,
Another thing with Charlie's death is that everybody moved on wayyy to quickly. Like I can understand if they were locking up their emotions to process after they dealt with Tony, but literally no one other than Charlie seemed to care basically the very next day. Especially since all of the AlanJeff scenes happen after Charlie's death. Jeff knows that Charlie isn't dead so him not mourning is fine, but Alan didn't and he wanted to get with Charlie's brother basically right after he died
My review does sound like there are more cons/pros but I did find it enjoyable and cons are just overall easier to write.

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Finding Their Way Back: A Rollercoaster of Love, Laughs, Drama, and Pit Stops!

The series was nice. I really liked the actors that was chose for each character and the couple choice was so cute. My fav side couple was JeffAlan ❤. CharlieBabe was cute too, but Babe pissed me off so much omg! ⋌༼ •̀ ⌂ •́ ༽⋋

He kept on believing everything he saw/heard about Charlie, didn't properly talk about it with Charlie and kept running into Way's arms. Don't get me wrong, I was very sad when Way died, but I'm so glad that Babe always found his way back to Charlie. (see what I did there ?) I also really liked the switch in the relationship, it was so cute. (top and bottom yk)

And seeing OV in a series was refreshing, as it's not very known sub-genre. I would recommend. 7,7/10

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A varied ride

I really like the opening credit sequence. The editing of the sound effects with walla interwoven with the music then with the visuals of color and light splashes over the various sequences is really energetic and cool.

Pavel is the standout performer as Babe with a nice emotional range, charismatic screen presence, and a fully committed performance. He is the best part of the entire show. I really love the confidence he gives Babe, not just as a racer, but of Babe in his own skin as a person. His emotional moments are very well done, it's so nice to see an appropriate response to the intensity of the respective situations. He shows the emotions in his eyes and expressions so nicely. Paval carries the scenes he's in and I really hope to see him in future productions with acting partners on at least a similar level of skill to play off each other. Babe does have insecurities in terms of his relationships with other people stemming from the betrayal from both his bio dad and adopted dad, and later from his best friend which I'll touch on later.

The acting of the rest of the cast range from hit or miss to extremely distractingly green without enough directing to steer them. The second lead who plays Charlie in particular is so lost and needs more direction to go further from just acting cute and with a pouting voice ALL of the time regardless of what the scene is about. It got tiring a few episodes in when it was clear there was no further modes to the character. There are so many scenes where it's supposed to be emotional and Babe is bringing it, but Charlie is giving nothing. The character is also already written so one dimensionally with no purpose outside of being with Babe that it would have given him some bare minimum pathos if his interest in racing was genuine and worked to be good at it. I really watched all the way to the end hoping there would be an improvement once the reveal about his true intentions kicked in, but no change.

The intimate scenes seem to be well coordinated. I'm curious to know if they employed a coordinator, but however it was done like through a scripted breakdown and the director discussing ahead with the actors, there was a clear plan and choreography for every sequence. It's tastefully done even though sometimes it seems like it skirts the line between artistic choice and self-censorship with more freedom in the uncut version. It would have been great if the same level of attention were given to the fight scenes which the actors did their parts very well, but the filming and editing really needed to cheat the angles better to make everything look more believable, which again not the actors fault at all.

The regular sets of Babe's house with the wild interior design of the automobiles and faux broken concrete walls, americana-esque bar, and racing garage were pretty nice. Way's and Alan's house were shockingly expensively looking as well, no wonder Dean is extremely mad he's not getting into the big races because it looks like it pays extremely well. The most hilarious set was the hotel that Kim was staying with the murder scene level amount of blood in the bathroom but Kim is not bleeding anywhere. I guess we can assume it was blood from whoever Kim was fighting off, but nothing in the show indicates that.

The show is the strongest in the first few episodes and then proceeds to lag and drag on the plot points with very surface level coverage of the story and implications. I'm not gonna talk about them all, but I have to talk about Babe and Way's storyline which had a lot of time paid to it, yet still oddly fumbled at the same time. There is a tantalizing scene where Babe tells Alan that Way has been making him feel like he's not worthy of love by telling him that others only want to take advantage of him. It's so fascinating that he realizes that Way has been doing something toxic like that. Way is so certain that Babe must have noticed him being in love with him all these years. There is so much for these two to actually confront each other about. Then the scene where Way attacks Babe was fully horrific and is the most affecting scene from the terror in Babe's reactions to him being immobilized, realizing Way has powers, realizing his best friend has betrayed him, and being assaulted all at once. Serious kudos to Pavel's acting in this scene. You would think after this there would be a huge showdown between the two to air out their years and years of history which includes the shared trauma of being adopted and abused. Way gives an apology followed really quickly by his sacrifice, which he should have had some blood on his face for the severity of his wounds. Babe cries and tells Way that he loves him, after Way is dead which is really ridiculous and funny, he didn't tell Way what way wanted to hear a second earlier when he still could. Pavel's performance is really good, just an odd decision in the writing/directing. Babe being open to him and Way returning to their friendship was a really great opportunity for them to have a much needed deep conversation that would hit on the major themes brought up as supposedly important to the story, but it's such a huge missed necessity that the show didn't bother to do.

A few odds and ends that again does not encompass everything else, Kenta and Pete's story only showed up towards the end, but the set up of their emotional connection and stakes was one of the more interesting ones after Babe and Way. Sadly they didn't get time to finish their story. Kim's whole plot just randomly stops as well. I'm really glad that Jeff who gets paired off with Alan is at least 20, though the power imbalance of his boss constantly disrespecting that he's already said he doesn't like being touched is pretty gross.

Overall, the show had the parts to be better, but wasn't utilized to it's potential.

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Needs some Work!!

I’m gonna start this by saying I realllly wanted to like this show I started it multiple times but couldn’t make it pass ep 2 bc it was just making me cringe but I finally got through it by watching it with a reactor and I was disappointed the only way I kept watching was bc I was watching with a reactor on my own I would of dropped it again. the amount of plot holes was something and no hate to pooh since this is his first lead role and all but the acting was stiff and I couldn’t feel any chemistry between babe and Charlie aside from when they were doing nc scenes, I felt more general chemistry between babe and way talking than Charlie and babe so a lot of their relationship development was forced and fast with no explanation as to why babe is feeling this way a lot of the characters were one note kind of characters so it was a tough watch but the trailer for s2 looked pretty good so hopefully they give the answers and explanations

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