4Minutes (2024)

A BL You Can’t Miss

This show is seriously everything a BL fan could ever dream of, giving us the perfect blend of a captivating plot, intense chemistry, and seriously mind-blowing cinematography. From the moment you dive into it, you can just feel the magic brewing between Great and Tyme. Their dynamic is off the charts – like, it’s one of those pairings that makes you hold your breath in anticipation for every single scene they share. There’s something electrifying about their connection, and honestly, it’s impossible not to get hooked.

What makes it even more special is seeing Bible completely stepping out of the box with this role. His portrayal of a character who’s flustered and caught off-guard by Tyme’s presence is both adorable and surprisingly deep. Watching him stumble over his emotions is so endearing and makes their interactions even more heartwarming. It’s refreshing to see this vulnerability, especially in a BL series where those tender moments can feel so genuine.

The way their story unfolds is something that demands your full attention because while it might seem fast-paced on the surface, when you really dive into it, you realize just how complex and layered their romance is. Every glance, every exchange, holds so much weight. It’s like peeling back layers to discover the raw depth of their feelings, and trust me, it's worth taking the time to fully absorb.

Visually? Oh. My. Gosh. Every frame looks like it was crafted with so much care, and the cinematography just takes your breath away. The use of color and lighting doesn’t just make things look pretty (though it does), it actually adds layers of meaning to the story. The way certain hues are used to highlight emotions or underline the tension between characters is just… chef’s kiss. It’s the kind of show where every detail counts, and those tiny touches in the visual storytelling make the whole experience richer.

And this cast? They absolutely nail it. Each actor brings something unique to the table, infusing their roles with a kind of authenticity that makes it hard to remember you’re watching a show. The chemistry between the leads is so amazing, and it’s not just the romantic tension that works – it’s the entire emotional spectrum. They’ve managed to create characters who feel multidimensional and relatable, and that’s what really pulls you into their world.


Episode 8 EXTRA REVIEW

The ending wasn’t perfect but I'm not mad at it. Could the main leads have had more time to bloom, more space to grow? Absolutely. Yet in the end, what I got was closure, and sometimes, that’s all the heart craves. ✨

Spoilers unfold from here, so tread carefully.

? Great and Tyme—oh my greatness, what an odyssey they traveled. Their love wasn’t confined to just one world, or one life, but stretched across time itself. Three lives, three timelines, and in each one, they found each other. They fell for each other, not once, but three times over, each time a little deeper, a little more profound. And the miracle? They remember. Every glance, every touch, every fall from every world, they carry it all.

Can you imagine? The same soul, found again and again in different universes, until your heart can barely contain the depth of it? ?

And the way they change each other… it’s more than growth, it’s transformation. Tyme breathes life into Great’s fractured soul. He makes him better, stronger, softer. He leads him to his truth, until Great is standing at the crossroads of his life and chooses redemption. He turns himself in, takes responsibility for his past. And it’s Tyme who gave him that strength to face the fire.

But Great—he pulls Tyme from the abyss. He’s Tyme’s peace, the reason he lets go of his vengeance. Tyme, who was drowning in darkness, in rage, he could’ve taken his revenge, ended his enemy, but he chose a different path. A softer one. He chose Great. He chose love. The healing between them is sacred, like they are stitching the pieces of themselves together, thread by fragile thread, each one held by the other.

And in the end, they choose the real world—the messy, bruised, beautiful reality where their love can thrive, no matter how many scars it bears.

But then there’s Tonkla and Korn—and oh, how different their story is. I’m sorry to the Win and Tonkla shippers, but there was always something… unsettling in that dynamic. Win’s connection to Tonkla was surface-level at best, a shallow crush built on fleeting moments. But Korn? His love for Tonkla was deep-rooted, forged in years of devotion, even if it was twisted and tangled in darkness. Some might say Korn didn’t truly love Tonkla, but I disagree. He started that whole dangerous business because he wanted a future, one where they could be together, where they didn’t have to hide. But power consumed him. He lost himself in the journey.

And in the last episode, when Korn lost everything, his power, his control, it didn’t matter. Because in his mind, he still had Tonkla. That was all that kept him going. But then he lost his baby, his one last tether to hope. And in that moment, the weight of the world crushed him. He couldn’t bear the thought of living without Tonkla. So, with a heart already shattered, he chose to escape. A bullet, a split-second decision, and he surrendered to the dream. A world where reality couldn’t touch them, where they could be together forever in an untouchable fantasy. In that dream, they are safe, preserved in a perfect, tragic eternity. ?

And this is where the contrast shines. Great and Tyme chose the bitter reality, the world that hurts and heals, the world where love has to fight to survive but where it’s real, where it’s alive. ? Meanwhile, Tonkla and Korn, they chose the dream, the fantasy where nothing could break them, but nothing could grow either. They chose a love that was frozen in time, safe from the world but suffocated by it too.

Great and Tyme, chose the sun, the warmth of something real, the promise of a future where they can grow and change and live. It’s painful, it’s imperfect, but it’s theirs. Tonkla and Korn, they chose the moon, a cold, distant dream, beautiful in its stillness but untouched by the life that burns outside it.

And that’s the beauty of it all. Love doesn’t just live in happy endings; it lives in the choices we make. It lives in the worlds we choose to build or abandon. ✨ And for Great and Tyme, their love is something that can stand in the light, scarred but whole. Meanwhile, for Tonkla and Korn, their love is a shadow, beautiful, but fleeting, forever lost in a world that never truly existed.

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First Impression

This show is going to be FANTASTIC. I already knew this show was going to be great just from watching the trailer but, so far for this being the first episode....this show is unbelievably amazing. The concept alone is amazing...not to mention the cinematography is absolutely stunning along with the plot and cast. I can just tell this show is going to be a rewatch for me once it's finished.


Alongside the NC scene...it is an absolute masterpiece already. The side-couple....yeah, you heard me THE SIDE-COUPLES NC scene is so fantastic and intense that I'm sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the next episode on Friday

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could have been a 10/10

Overall: although I enjoyed the beginning, things unraveled for me. 8 episodes about 1 hour each. Aired on GagaOOLala uncut: https://gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4688/4minutes-2024 (except Thailand, Japan, Korea); iQIYI uncut https://www.iq.com/album/4minutes-sultrier-version-2024-1zc6sune8fl?lang=en_us and cut version https://www.iq.com/album/4minutes-2024-1h7yndte6zx?lang=en_us (Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Spain, United Kingdom and United States); Viu with some countries having the cut version (Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macau, Myanmar, Singapore); Rakuten TV in Japan and Heavenly in South Korea. The cut version has NSFW shortened/cut and also cuts out some plot as well.

Content Warnings: most content warnings, it has some very dark/graphic parts in it

What I Liked
- mystery element
- grey characters
- use of the number 4 or things adding up to 4
- production value* (includes cinematography, use of color as symbolism, props to represent things)

Room For Improvement
- not a fan of a flash forward (or back) as a hook for a series
- there were too many characters/plot to fully develop them all, also pacing
- misleading trailer, it felt that a different character is the main lead instead of a character people were led to believe
- tricking the audience, not a fan of how that was done
- sweet moments that didn't actually happen
- cliched plot stuff
- no reason why a character had a girlfriend, I couldn't support a romance because it was built to not be a romance
- cringey guitar playing/serenading
- *many scenes were too dark to see the actors' faces or even what was happening, even for scenes at night they need to put light on their faces
- nonsense stuff: I can't comment on all of the medical things and their realism, but I highly doubt any surgeon would spin his medical implements before/during a surgery, that seemed to be a ton of papers for a small clipboard in ep 1, an investigator who didn't wear gloves at a crime scene, in ep 4 a character oddly didn't wear a mask when he should have
- Be On Cloud decided to sell it to a company where it is only airing in 8 countries (and perhaps 2 more) and then had the gall to not respond anywhere to questions about the remaining 180+ countries but instead posted about how to only watch it via official channels, I don't mind companies needing money to get things made but they should have been clear about where and the why (update: after 5 weeks they had an actual international release and the reason was likely money/maybe they couldn't say their whole release plan due to a contract but it still was bad to not have an official platform for 180+ countries for 5 weeks)

Note About an Actor's Age (I didn't take off points for this but as an fyi 1 actor was likely 17 when he filmed several very explicit scenes, age of majority in Thailand is 20)
- it's valid to feel uncomfortable with a 17 year old actor doing explicit scenes and to not watch this series
- it's valid to feel fine with a 17 year old actor who voluntarily agreed to do explicit scenes (and had his parents' permission) and watch/enjoy this series
- everyone gets to make that decision for themselves, I hold no judgement either way for this example, personally I am watching the series but I'm not re-watching that actor's NC scenes

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script and quality

BL OF THE YEAR (until now ??
I think BL delivered everything and more in this first episode, we had quality and a production of another level (which was already expected), the cast of millions and the perfect performance from everyone.
I loved the effect when the Bible went backwards in time (4 minutes) and still managed to run over the woman anyway (but it was destiny).
We as blzeiros won a lot today, because this work is incredible and only increases the level of bls (as the next ones can become, if they have quality and a good production).
Looking forward to knowing what will happen in the next episodes (because this series promises to deliver everything and more), stay tuned.

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This Drama Owns Me Child Support

See, now this is why you should always throw salt over your shoulder whenever you see a black cat. I blame whoever gave Tonkla that cat. Also, Dafug was up with that finale? *Bombastic side-eye*

That being said, whoever choose to end the series with that KinnPorsche song should be beaten, and left in disneyland on their birthday. Dafug?? The moment that song played, I was pulled out of this series and into KinnPorsche, reminiscing about that instead of going through the motions of this drama. That decision was just the worst!

Anyway, this show was a series of me going, Dafug is going on?!? Where are we peoples? Who is driving this thing? I am confusion. WHAT universe/timeline are we in? And what's up with Tonkla always wanting it raw banana no wrapper? I don tire! I am going to sleep!

See, at first, I was like: 'Now how we gonna explain that unholy first episode couch scene to our ancestors on judgement day? Cuz most of y'all going to hell for using that replay button ^^.' But after episode 4, I was screaming 'Forgive me father for I have sinned!' Lord have mercy, what is Be On Cloud doing to us?? SIR! SIRS! THIS IS A DRIVE THRU!?!?!

No, but how the eff am I supposed to function in the society as a calm human after being exposed to all that butt and sounds and Win's junk and Tymes stroke game? These people have no respect for our mental health whatsoever, and frankly, I respect that XD.

Listen, Imma need everyone who worked on this to give me child support, and like two weeks worth of therapy, cuz I'm pretty sure you can get pregnant from watching this. Trust me, you can, I'm a doctor, i got my certificate from Temu, the same place the doctors in this show must have gotten theirs (No, but seriously, did these people go to med school or am I tripping?) Tyme tying his own robe after cleaning his hands, that one doctor telling Great where to find Tyme while he was having an operation??? HUH?? Then they made Tyme a professional doctor, LMAO good luck to his patients I guess.

PLOT:
This show had me convinced me and my two remaining brain cells had the same IQ as Einstein. Which was saying something, cuz on a good day, I can barely remember how to tie my shoelace. No, but, I went through so many theories in my head. Was this a flash-point sort of situation, a continuum or a parallel universe? Episode 4 had me in a chokehold. Headshots, backshots, alternative universe? I felt so lost, but also so intrigued with million questions. I was still picking my jaw from the floor two days later.

Then, THEN, after all that. This was the ending we got?? Literally how? This drama feels like a very delicious bag of caramel popcorn I enjoyed, only for the last piece to taste like burnt sugar. Like a perfect delicious five-course meal ruined by a tasteless creme brûlée.

That ending was not it. It was such a buzzkill.
1. Were Korn and Tonkla that in love? We met them as secret lovers, sure they seemed in love in the flashback, but they both cheated, and functioned without each other. Korn was ready to take Great and disappear, and didn’t even fight Tonkla when he threw his sorry arse out. Plus he only ever seem to remember him when he's his last resort. So how in the world would they take the ‘Until We Meet Again’ Romeo and Juliet way out? I’m just gonna comfort myself by saying he didn’t want to go to jail. Cuz like… aint no effing way.
2. So if Great and that woman got this 4minutes thing by going to that art show, how did Tyme get it?
3. How did that Dean? doctor knew that Tyme was living in 4minutes timeline and shouted for him to come out?
4. Great turned himself in for helping Dome. Did he do the same for leaving that woman in the beginning to die when he drove off? From my understanding he’ll get no prison time, cuz reasons? (Also, what happened to that woman he drove over, wasn’t she doing some dark curses stuff? did the writers forget that plot?)
5. So Great's parent are going to jail or fled the country?
6. So Win couldn't do anything to stop Korn huh?
7. Do they really expect us to believe, Tonkla who was going around killing people for revenge, and killing using Win so he'd do him raw will jump in front of a bullet for him? I doubt he did it for Korn, cuz he knew Great was Korn's brother and how hurt he would be if he killed Great, and he still attempted that... so why the eff did he suddenly jump between them?
7. Literally, what the eff was up with that ending? (even their happy ending felt flat.)

Sure with 8 episode they were limited, but the explanation to that whole 4minutes thing was all over the place. Seems like everyone and their mama could get this 4minutes thing. The bad guy was taken care of behind the scenes, and have a loving daughter. His parent fled but he's working to get them caught? The finale felt rushed and not in a good way. And the WORST PART was choosing to end this series on a KinnPorsche song. So out of place and such a buzzkill.

Anyway, good plot, some holes that needed filling, rushed ending, but it made me think, and it was fun coming up with theories, so I enjoyed the show nonetheless.

CHARACTERS.
This show had a great cast who knew what they were doing. I came in expecting TymeGreat, but Tonkla somehow stole the show in the first episodes. Literally, he shot the main lead and I was like… oh, it was you…? it’s alright baby, run before they catch you. Drink some water, you must be tired carrying that heavy weapon.

Also, this show was having a buy one get four free special on red flags. Tyme was a code Red. Of course, so was Great, Korn, Tonkla, Win, and basically every character on the show. It was like they were allergic to being nice people. Which of course made for a good show, cuz although I was cheering for some of them, I was prepared to accept whatever ending they got. Happy or sad,

Bible and Jes did great as leads, glad I wasn't one of those delulus who acted like someone stepped on their grandmothers' toes when they were paired. I liked GREAT, Bible played him very well, both when he was acting nice and when his real character came out. I found him so interesting as a morally grey character. He was neither good nor bad, just seemed to be living and doing things that mostly benefited him. TYME was more dark than grey, cuz some of the decision he made were very very questionable. I would not trust him to be my doctor if he was the only one available in the ER. I'll probably go in with a headache and come back with tetanus or something.

I’m not sure how I feel that they ended up together, but I’m glad they have each other. Great has at least one family now. But then again, perhaps they deserve to end up together. I mean, Great choose Tyme over his brother in both timelines, when he’d literally just attempted to knife him. Also killed his mother off in his fake world. And Tyme recorded their intercourse and posted it all over the internet, and Great still gave him those poppy eyes… so… love amirite? Such sweet nonsense.

Speaking of Raw. TONKLA, boy, damn! This is literally him in every episode.

MEN: What's your favourite colour.
TONKLA: Triangles. So, you wanna do me raw?
*Durex Condom has entered the chat* #productplacement

Homeboy was such a wreck.
- His dad was a bum: (who he straight up shoved down the stairs and murdered)
- His cat dead. (Then turned into an evil cat who meowed him into committing murders) invest in salt people.
- His boyfriend kept him a secret. (Then he cheated on him, and attempted to kill his brother. That confession scene though, my boy was like, yeah I did stuff, so what. what is yous gonna do, huh?)
- His brother got his head smashed in and died. (I'm still wondering how he heard his brother calling him. Was he also in the 4minutes? just how many people were messing with the timeline. Probably why there's always so much traffic ^^)
- He got shot and killed while trying to save the policeman he’d be effing/cheating with, causing his secret ex-boyfriend? to blow his head and die with him. (Literally, are people ever that in love or am I feeling this whole love thing wrong?)

Anyway, Tonkla had a lot of problems, like damn Sharon, leave some of the struggle for the other characters. He was so on, but his character was very interesting. I liked him, and he was carrying the show the first 4 episode. His back must have been constantly hurting though, carrying his role and taking those backshots....fine, I'll see myself out.

Win used this police statues to get some bedroom action, which made him no better than the rest. When he said he wanted to move in with Tonkla, I was like, what? why? dude just…then in the end he was acting all hurt. Like how did you think this was gonna end? Seriously though, Win's ding-dong was really just out there--like--I saw it right? I'm not delulu and blind? Am I just tripping?

Anyway, this show was doing too much and not enough at the same time. There were a lot of NC scenes, and side stories, that it took so long for us to understand the plot. Well, I’m still not sure I fully understand it all. 8 episodes was not enough for this sort of plot-line to be properly executed to perfection. If they had more time, I'm sure this would have been great, instead of just good. I wish we had more episodes to flash out the storyline.

So yeah, good show, great cast, but the it felt rushed and the ending didn't live up to the hype. I’ll recommend it though, cuz it’s a very enjoyable drama and would have you pulling your hair in the episodes where nothing made sense. I'm gonna add this to my most fav dramas of the year along with Unknown, My Stand-In, Meet You At The Blossom and Century of Love.

I’m looking forward to the casts’ next work, they were a joy to watch.

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Great Tyme Continuum

Hello, I'm Great! No, I don’t mean I'm doing great (have you seen the show?), but that I am Great! Ummm… no, I'm not saying I'm a great person (have you seen the show?), but my name is Great! Oh… I give up. I’m the crazy cat lady. Happy?

Anyway, what did you make of me and my story? Wasn’t it fun? Admittedly, it isn’t fun to die Tyme and Tyme again for your entertainment, but you knew I was going to live, didn’t you?

I’m grateful to my creators for putting me in one of the *greatest* bodies out there, on whose head not a strand is out of place, and whose body Adonis and Antinous would envy. They also seem to have had a big budget, which they mostly spent on interior design porn, and renting cars from the Fast and the BiCurious outlet mall. *I* have no objections. I do wish the writers had been paid more… Because I really don’t understand who I am, and what has been happening to me. I also didn’t know *how* to feel about what was happening, but fortunately, the background music was always at hand to tell me.

Since I’m now alive — I’m not sure, this might be a Black Mirror kind of situation — I have been lurking around the forums online to find out the truth. I’ve pretty impressed by the hard work of the “fandom”. There are some good theories out there. But I’m still not sure I understand. (I'm a bit thick, you see, but thickness, like size, matters.)

***Ignore the following three paragraphs if pressed for time, or to avoid "plot" details. ***

What I’m most confused about is perspective. So, when I was going into cardiac arrest -- as were Tyme and Tonkla and everyone else who’s ever been shot it would seem -- I had four comatose minutes during which I could see four (?) consequential moments where I could have chosen a less evil path. Fun. I love guilt-tripping. Some, including my maker, Sammon, argue that each of these moments is a pathway to an alternate “reality”, but my physicist friend assures me that this is not how the many-universe theory works. (There, reality splits every measurable moment, because quantum decoupling happens every measurable moment. Besides, neither the heart nor the brain are quantum systems, but... never mind.) Also, can an unconscious person see? Or hear? Or feel? Isn't that an oxymoron? I, for one, certainly don't remember any of it! Before you accuse me of being pedantic, know that Sammon prides herself on her scientific and philosophical sophistication. But the most existential question for me is this: once we do enter this liminal space, and 'choose' an alternate 'reality', what happens to the reality we leave behind? Do I die? Am I dead? Am I Bruce Willis in that movie?

Now, there is also that whole other storyline involving online gambling, TonKla, Korn, Win, and Nan. I know you didn't care for any of it, but bear with me. Did *I* see that too? Did Tyme? Or were their storylines alone real all the time? Are my parents good or bad? If good, why did I see what I did? If bad, why did Tyme see what he did? Fine, let's allow that my perspective and that of an omniscient narrator can co-exist. But then, didn’t TonKla’s dead brother show up at one random point? More confusingly, if the four minutes represent opportunities where deaths could have been prevented, didn’t other deaths happen anyway? Are some lives more worth than others? I mean, I know my beautiful body is worth more than Tyme’s grandmother’s life, or that bastard TonKla's, but still… Am I the asshole? Or is the universe fatalistic all the same, and our subjunctive possibilities mere hallucinations? If so, what’s the fucking point of all this?

Of course, Tyme is still in a huff about the fact that *his* perspective got half a measly episode, but mine got six! Poor TonKla, he fared even worse! While we’re at it, what in crazy cat lady’s name was that last episode all about? I'm so confused, and I don’t know why my creators were in such a hurry to wrap things up. I don't even understand why I'm still alive, and why Tyme's still alive, but not my brother. Why did he have to kill himself? Don't we all have blood on our hands? Also, who chooses these realities for us? Sammon? If so, why choose these, and not one in which my story actually makes sense? As I said, the writers should have been paid more, if they were paid at all. But then, all those “cute” moments between me and Tyme — it satisfied you lot, didn’t it? How many of you screamed at the last shot? Good, I’m happy for you. I'm happy for us too. Not for my brother, though.

*** Here endeth knowledge. ***

I know some of you thought my sex scenes with Tyme were a tad on the soft side. Listen, I know my body, and the fact that I was listening to Limp Bizkit all of next day is no coincidence. Tyme is a Great lover, and he bore his arse out for you: be Greatful. But I will admit, that bastard TonKla stole the show from me. Never trust a power bottom. Were you really surprised when he shot me, and revealed his face in the campest way possible? I’d say I’m glad he’s dead, but, I’d still love to have had a Great Tyme with him and Win and Korn. And yes of course I'd have sex with my murderer if he's hot enough -- ask any self-respecting gay man. Besides, you all saw a flash of JJay's p-JJ, didn't you? How many times did you go back, freeze the frame, and thought to yourself, "I've become my mother"?

Oh, one last thing. Why 4 minutes, you ask? It is, apparently, the length of time it would take for consciousness to fade after the heart stops, during which, you can enter an alternate dimension, alternate reality, alternate universe, or whatever else is alternate. That’s what the last-minute narrator -- where the fuck did she come from? -- says. Turns out, not possible. Anoxia induces loss of consciousness in 6 seconds, and inflicts permanent brain damage within 2 minutes. (You should have seen the first draft of this review. There are parts of my brain to which I no longer have any access.) So, I can only guess that my creators were listening to Madonna on repeat on Spotify as they fell asleep (or while doing cocaine), and concluded, with Mr. Timberlake, there were only 4 minutes left to save the world…

Reader's Digest:
DO SAY: In Search of Lost Tyme
DON'T SAY: The Great Catsby

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Once again BoC is trying too hard

4 Minutes has the exact same problem as DFF: too much time wasted on elements that feel like nothing at the end, and the plot gets dumped and rushed in the last 2 episodes. BoC is again trying too hard to make something different and artistic, without making it enjoyable. We know BoC can make a good show, like KinnPorsche, and we know Sammon can write nice stories that turn into good shows, like Manner of Death. Maybe the problem is BoC and Sammon together.
In terms of acting the highlight is Fuaiz. He’s constantly the best part of every episode. An interesting character played by a good actor. Bas and Bible are good, even though Bas doesn’t have much to do. The same can be said about Job, since his character is basically just there, like his girlfriend. I believe Jes is a good actor, that short film/MV he did with Bible was great, but I didn’t really enjoy him as Tyme, specially toward the second half of the episodes.

This series could work as a binge watch, but I’ll not be trying to test that theory.

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Picking up shredded paper

I never want to watch a show where I'm completely lost episode to episode again. This was just some pretty faces slapped under very overwhelmingly underwhelming 8 weeks... I'm not the brightest sunflower in the field, but I've never squinted my eyes and had a frown an entire TV Show in a while.

I only enjoyed a handful of things like the visuals. Colors and scenes were on point to every second. Every scene was a desktop wallpaper.

Now, unfortunately I will have to say something quite controversial. Tonkla carried. His story might be extreme, and to be fair I don't even know if Dome is actually alive because I was under the impression we were watching three different timelines. An altered timeline, the truth, and the desire timeline. Idk maybe I'm too slow. So, does Dome die is all three or what? But Tonkla's story at least had something to look forward to until he was ghosted. Now, I get that people were upset about of course because he's a "supporting role" and he shouldn't have more screentime then the mains, but at least when he was on screen I wasn't falling asleep.

I'm really disappointed in BOC though. Following Bible from KinnPorshe I thought his next character would mean something strong like Vegas was, but instead it made me wish I never was roped into this show in the first place.

Really looking forward to something different, especially with Bible and possibly Jes (they were robbed out of a good execution of a story) but for now all my tomatoes have been thrown.

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Convoluted storytelling, romances fall flat

I don't have much confidence that the finale will save this series, because it has a lot of problems even outside of the hackneyed way it attempts to do things--there's a difference between a challenging, ambiguous narrative and being needlessly opaque/convoluted.
I've got no reason to actually care about any of the main guys or their relationships, partly because of a severe lack of chemistry but mostly because the writing gives me nothing to hold onto (hello, insta love). For the most part, people don't act like people, they act like props. I'm always excited for ambitious Thai BLs trying to up the quality but they've got to find better writers to do it, these actors deserve better.
Edit after final episode: You have to automatically dock any Thai BL score on this site by 2-3 points to get something realistic, and it still holds true here. What in the heck was that. Hard to tell if Bible can't pull off less assertive characters when he's given little to nothing to work with. Skim through the first episode for the NC scene and pass on the rest.

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Result of the combination of good script, acting and staging (First update from the original review)

In 'Manner of Death', 'Triage', 'Dead Friend Forever - DFF', 'Make a Wish' and 'Bite Me' the famous Thai screenwriter Isaree Siriwankulthon (Sammon), reiterates her interest in witnessing the suspense, the alteration of the time, time loop, medical-forensic work, hospital environment, police investigation, kidnapping, murder, slow-burn romance, friendship, family relationships, school and university ecosystem, unjustly accused characters, action, political, police and business corruption, always having homosexual characters as protagonists.
For her part, director and screenwriter Ning Bhanbhassa Dhubthien has demonstrated, through the series 'KinnPorsche' (2022) and the film 'Man Suang', that both film and television language constitute a tool that she can also use at her own discretion taste, and in which, incidentally, you have the possibility of continuing working with your most recurring motifs or thematic interests.
In '4Minutes', the series in which Sammon and Ning join forces for the first time, the actions of the peculiar creatures that populate the creative universe of the Thai author duo remind us of those of some of the protagonists of the aforementioned works, bringing us closer to their characters in a very sensitive, fluid and ethereal way, recording their most banal movements and glances and turning them into revealing moments by transmitting all the intensity of love through tenderness, melancholy and an enveloping atmosphere.
Great, its central star, is one of the most striking characters to emerge from Sammon's imagination: a university student at the Faculty of Business Administration and son of a rich businessman, blessed with a gift that is also a curse, since he has the supernatural ability to know what is going to happen in the future 4 minutes in advance, always and when it affects him.
This power leads him to alter the results of many events, while the memory of what happened visits him again and again in his imagination. Thus, the story restarts from the beginning, over and over again, so the audience will have to pay attention to discover which is reality and which is not.
He a piece of character, very competently defended by Bible Wichapas Sumettikul ('KinnPorsche'), in which it could very well be the most significant role of his still young and promising artistic career, and thanks to which he unleashes fervor among lovers of the Thai dramas, especially LGBT+ themed fans.
He knows it and devotes himself with devotion to building it, polishing it, making it unique, to providing it with an empathy that overflows the screen and allows him to put himself in the viewer's pocket. His acting counterpoint with Jes Jespipat Tilapornputt ('Sassy Player', 2009), - his counterpart in 'Spaceless', a short film directed by Jatuphong Rungrueangdechaphat, also in 2024, and which serves as a letter of introduction to the acting couple - seduces and fascinates. As do the episodes that make up the drama from its beautiful presentation to the no less admirable farewell.
The friendship that develops between Great and Tyme takes them on a journey of discovery and acceptance that explores male vulnerability. However, it is not a simple story of a couple of friends succumbing to love. That is very seen and would be too predictable.
On the other hand, '4Minutes' is a more rounded, absorbing and sentimental story about two young people who find themselves involved in an exciting intrigue in which there will be no shortage of industrial espionage, murder, kidnapping, betrayal, infidelity, unfulfilled promises, political and police corruption, the proximity of death, revenge, score settlements, martial combats, and explicit sexual scenes (completely removed from the universe of pornography) and that provide absolute meaning to the characters' history .
On the other hand, '4Minutes' is a more rounded, absorbing and sentimental story about two young people who find themselves involved in a passionate intrigue in which there will be no shortage of industrial espionage, murder, kidnapping, martial combats, and explicit sexual scenes ( totally removed from the universe of pornography) and that provide absolute meaning to the characters' story.
With this premise, the director manages to develop a deep character study, investigating the existential motivations and experiences that shape them as individual beings but also as people united by an unbreakable bond. Likewise, it explores complicated relationships, social barriers, and depicts more than one gay romance while challenging social norms and embracing the power of love, acceptance, and understanding. It is much more than a simple love story.
Sammon has created a very intelligent script, in which the dialogues are the basis of the story. Through the conversations that Great and Tyme have, two characters emerge like few we have seen. The screenwriter's prose is almost lyrical and manages to capture the realism and naturalness of their relationship, friendly first, then romantic. The viewer is transported into the story, as if he had the two young people in front of him and was asking permission to jump to the other side of the screen at any moment to join the conversation.
As Great and Tyme connect, their relationship faces numerous complications. Great tries to understand what is causing his abnormality and how to escape it, while dealing with personal and family problems. For his part, Tyme secretly investigates criminal acts in which Great's family may be involved, especially his father, mother and older brother, Korn, played convincingly by Bas Asavapatr Ponpiboon, a character who adds greater complexity to the story.
Likewise, the stories that unite Tonkla, Inspector Win, Dome and Title, characters played by Fuaiz Thanawat Shinawatra, Jay Patiphan Fueangfunuwat, Mio Athens Werapatanakul and Jet Jetsadakorn Bundit, in that order, play an important role in the development of the series.
In this sense, a chance meeting with Great could help Tyme try to get closer to the young university student with the intention of penetrating his family circle to carry out his revenge, since he blames Great's family for the death of his parents. All this, while trying to save his grandmother from reprisals and fulfilling his duties as a doctor at a large hospital in Bangkok.
What begins as a game of cat and mouse will end up becoming a journey of no return. While Great secretly serves Tyme's interests to get even, the boundaries between sexuality and male friendship are continually compromised, with both characters drawn to each other.
The incredibly talented cast, which in addition to the aforementioned actors, includes JJay Patiphan Fueangfunuwat as Inspector Win, Fuaiz Thanawat Shinawatra as Tonkla, Job Yosatorn Konglikit as Den, Mio Athens Werapatanakul as Dome, and Jet Jetsadakorn Bundit as Title, It adds a touch of depth, elegance and authenticity to the series, and nails each scene and makes it believable.
The plot of the story is woven based on the two axes of coordinates that constitute Great's respective relationships with Tyme, a surgeon whom he knows due to his supernatural ability, and the one he has with his powerful family, businessmen they will not hesitate to commit the most terrible crimes if these help them get away with their crimes in the competitive business world.
The development of dramatic tension will be the result of both vectors, which pull Great in opposite directions, and which will narratively establish the counterweight between two categories of values, which will face each other on the stage table, and to which he must have a clear and lucid choice for one of the two: both at an aesthetic level and in content, which we will see trying to be resolved in the treatment of the psychological level and development of the characters.
In the photography of Pavarisa Tadde and Ittipong Klinchart, the exuberant beauty of colors and light of the luxurious surroundings of the Great mansion, the beautiful city landscapes, contrast with the most gloomy and degraded spaces, such as those of hospitals, also seen as a setting of pain and death, the humble house in which Tyme lives with his grandmother, since his parents died long ago, or those in which a corpse frequently appears.
In the context of Great's environment we also see how, both at the level of photography and staging, there is this significant disparity: the luminosity and brightness in the daytime scenes, with the darkest, warmest tones (from yellowish to almost reddish from inside the house); In both, he participates in the fiery internal love dynamics in which the protagonist begins to anticipate, in the form of a visual fantasy, his passion for Tyme.
The soundtrack by Terdsak Janpan fits perfectly with the moods of the characters and the tone of each moment. The music wonderfully delves into this suffocating, mysterious and at some points almost depressive character, in which we see Great's tortured spirit immersed, until he decides to free himself and surrender to his love and resolve the conflicts that surround him.
As I've probably already said in some way, the main charm of the series comes from the relationship between the two young people, who build a very special bond. The chemistry between Great and Tyme is palpable: the two transmit tenderness, camaraderie and a lot of passion. This helps a lot at a certain point in which the protagonists meet like two chess players with a board in between.
At the level of content, the struggle of opposite poles is manifested in this clash between the protagonists' will for healthy fulfillment and the suffocating reality that surrounds them.
Once again, Sammon demonstrates his good eye when it comes to finding unexpected narrative angles, building a solid network of emotions, designing fascinating characters and plots, and telling an attractive story while weaving its edges, taking his time, pampering and caring for the story, to give rise to a series that is summarized as one of the best in recent years.
'4Minutes is an emotional and heartfelt proposal that makes us forget that it is not Jespipat Tilapornputtde the actor who was supposed to play Tyme.

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