This review may contain spoilers
I wanna preface this review saying: I have not read the novel so this is only a judgement of my experience of the series.
First points I did enjoy :
1. The music. It was chosen well and especially the band Scrubb had some really touching songs and unlike in some other Bls I never felt like the music was overpowering.
2. The side couples storylines. I likes them, they almost all had real and relatable issues and were all acted really really well. The only complaint is that they barely got enough screen time but more on that later.
Now points I really didnt enjoy :
1. Just the story overall. Now don't get my wrong some points of it were quite lovely. However at the start when Green starts stalking and harassing Tine, I started to feel really uncomfortable with the whole thing. I was watching it with a friend and especially the scene where Green kept touching Tines arm and body on the bench and Tine constantly scooting away, trying to flee this situation, made me cringe and feel bad. Even my friend said that this is a really toxic person and not something good to be around. I was thinking the entire time that if Tine was a girl and the boy would show up everywhere, join every club, isolate or physically drag you from your friends, beat some people up in front of you and say something according to: Thats what happens to people I don't like or something similar. It would be a case for the police and not just a fun drama. I do get it was exaggerated for comedy purposes, but as I personally have bad experience with being stalked this drama in the first episodes took me right back to those dark time and Greens behavior was never shown to be wrong or excessive. He was never met with and real criticism for what he was doing.
The the relationship between tine and sarawat starts to develop on the grounds of that fake relationship to keep away from Green. I do get thats the whole premise but what kind of messed up person is Green that he only stays away from a person when he is taken and not when that person clearly says NO multiple times. Its like a person in Greens eyes is defined by relationship status more than their own feelings.
I was kind of hoping for some really close and cute scenes and them having loads of time together and being all cuddly in front of people so green would get the idea. But no. It was kind of a let down. The fake relationship hardly came into part and only in certain moments even played a role. It was just kind of boring and not that interesting. It speaks volumes that I binged the series last night and I can hardly remember the mid section of this series for Tine and sarawtas relationship.
OK then I guess at some point Tine finally gets the idea that Sarawat likes him and through the jealously tool that was used waaaayy to often I might add, he realizes he likes him too.
One positive point I also have to mention to be fair. I liked the whole point of Tine wanting to See if Sarawat is jealous of him to see if he has real feeling ( even though Sarawat has already clearly shown his jealously multiple time in previous ep) and then get jealous himself and realizes his own feeling.
After this point it was like 8 or something the whole series started to feel extremely rushed. Sarawat starts flirting with Tine for real but again nothing really changes ! Then asks him to be his boyfriend gets a yes later on and they move in together ?!!?!?.
Ok was I the only one who thought the whole moving in together was way too fast and weird. They were dating for like 2 days and sarawat already rents a place for the two of them ? It just felt so unnatural and rushed.
Also no real cuddle scenes in bed ? I mean you sleep in one bed but everytime they always stay on their separate sides.. Like are you sure you are a couple and if you aren't ready for that kind of intimacy thats fine but then you are ready to move in with each other.
OK then the whole brother thing happens and i actually like the part where they sleep on the couch together. Really cute. It kind of felt like a drop in a desert though.
Then the whole Pam situation happened. And I was so confused. Like did Sarawat just have an entire character change, Tine was shown to be priority the entire time ´, he did some really weird things and used the whole Green situation to force Tine to be close to him etc. And then suddenly he starts spending loads of time on her and it creates that misunderstanding. However for me it wasn't really a misunderstanding, even though in the end he wrote that love song for Tine he did state that he tried really hard to write it for her !!! So even when he was in a relationship he spend lots of time with a girl he once loved and tried to help her get into his university and tried to write a love song for her.
It made no sense with his character before and from what i read from comments, it wasn't like this in the novel either.
It kind of seemed like they wanted to add some drama for the ending but ignored logic for the hell of it.
Ok another trope that was used way to ofter was. if I win this football game / Music competition you have to stay away from Tine or then Ill ask Tine out. I have always hated these kinds of bets cause it makes it seem like Tine doesn't even have his own mind and make choices for himself. Use it once fine but it was literally so many times that i was just like I don't care who wins if this seriously effects a relationship then it wasn't much to begin with.
Now on to the side characters story line if you even wanna call it that. As i mentioned previously they had a solid story but i couldn't really get into them as they each only had like 20 min of screen time together MAX. Also no kisses or extremely cute scenes there.
And again the storyline with Tines brother is based on his love interest stalking him to conventions etc. Even when they officially meet he then starts following him around like a puppy. To cafes and even his place of work. Its not as bad as what green did at the start as he did keep his hands to himself but still !
OK now to greens relationship. I don't know if I got that right. But was the storyline seriously, his bf hurt him, they broke up and then Tine. and then he just forgives him after he apologizes. and then there is this weird scene where green flirts with some boys in front of a bus and his bf shows up and raises his hand to threaten but then drops it and its played like a joke! I feel like I missed context here but if that is the storyline then it is so messed up !!!!!
The other couple with Sarawats brother was the best in the whole series. Had the best chemistry. If they had more screen time and were the main couple this could have been really good.
But it felt like half of their story got told and in the end it just jumped to them dating ? or something similar ? I again felt like i had missed an episode in the end? Like i get it you want a happy ending but just give them an open one and give them their own series.
2. The friends of Tine
Am I the only one who felt the portrayal of tines friends at the start was terribly sexist. The only thing they talked about was girls, they dropped their friend when girls where around, the broke promises for any girl that came around. Like what was going on? It was so hard to watch.
They got better as the series went on though.
And I did like how one friend was the devil and the other the angel on tine shoulder.
3. Something was just missing
This series could have been great but something was just missing. For me it felt like the two leads conducted themselves more like close friends then boyfriends. There were only two scenes I felt genuine chemistry and the rest felt either forced or just like close friends would act around each other. I mean yay we got back together and my babe won an important contest, lets high five???! The kisses also seemed too weird and without passion. Like they were being so careful to make sure it wouldn't look like their are into it.
I am not one for hardcore kissing and make out scenes they aren't always necessary. But they never had the casual skin contact a couple would have and only hugged in critical moments and never just to feel their partner close. Even when tine had his arm around Sarawat there was noticeable distance between their bodies, which made is seem like the actors were really careful not to touch more than they had to.
Also every time there could have been a casual touch or a slightly dirty joke was made, Tine always reacted by saying pervert and pushing his bf away. But it didnt come across a flirtatious or shy, but instead came across as serious and at some point I was like: If you don't like to touch or be a couple, then why aren't you just close friends.
A lot of scenes I just really felt the acting ! Like it was just too clear that they were pretending to be their characters. I don't know if that makes sense but that is how I feel about the series.
Some of this can be explained by character traits but I still blame the series as it made in not really entertaining to watch and at some point I actually wished they wouldn't get together so at least something interesting would have happened.
OK if anyone has made it this far, congrats....
This is obviously just my own opinion and I do have to admit I skipped a bit in this series as It became too boring sometimes.
First points I did enjoy :
1. The music. It was chosen well and especially the band Scrubb had some really touching songs and unlike in some other Bls I never felt like the music was overpowering.
2. The side couples storylines. I likes them, they almost all had real and relatable issues and were all acted really really well. The only complaint is that they barely got enough screen time but more on that later.
Now points I really didnt enjoy :
1. Just the story overall. Now don't get my wrong some points of it were quite lovely. However at the start when Green starts stalking and harassing Tine, I started to feel really uncomfortable with the whole thing. I was watching it with a friend and especially the scene where Green kept touching Tines arm and body on the bench and Tine constantly scooting away, trying to flee this situation, made me cringe and feel bad. Even my friend said that this is a really toxic person and not something good to be around. I was thinking the entire time that if Tine was a girl and the boy would show up everywhere, join every club, isolate or physically drag you from your friends, beat some people up in front of you and say something according to: Thats what happens to people I don't like or something similar. It would be a case for the police and not just a fun drama. I do get it was exaggerated for comedy purposes, but as I personally have bad experience with being stalked this drama in the first episodes took me right back to those dark time and Greens behavior was never shown to be wrong or excessive. He was never met with and real criticism for what he was doing.
The the relationship between tine and sarawat starts to develop on the grounds of that fake relationship to keep away from Green. I do get thats the whole premise but what kind of messed up person is Green that he only stays away from a person when he is taken and not when that person clearly says NO multiple times. Its like a person in Greens eyes is defined by relationship status more than their own feelings.
I was kind of hoping for some really close and cute scenes and them having loads of time together and being all cuddly in front of people so green would get the idea. But no. It was kind of a let down. The fake relationship hardly came into part and only in certain moments even played a role. It was just kind of boring and not that interesting. It speaks volumes that I binged the series last night and I can hardly remember the mid section of this series for Tine and sarawtas relationship.
OK then I guess at some point Tine finally gets the idea that Sarawat likes him and through the jealously tool that was used waaaayy to often I might add, he realizes he likes him too.
One positive point I also have to mention to be fair. I liked the whole point of Tine wanting to See if Sarawat is jealous of him to see if he has real feeling ( even though Sarawat has already clearly shown his jealously multiple time in previous ep) and then get jealous himself and realizes his own feeling.
After this point it was like 8 or something the whole series started to feel extremely rushed. Sarawat starts flirting with Tine for real but again nothing really changes ! Then asks him to be his boyfriend gets a yes later on and they move in together ?!!?!?.
Ok was I the only one who thought the whole moving in together was way too fast and weird. They were dating for like 2 days and sarawat already rents a place for the two of them ? It just felt so unnatural and rushed.
Also no real cuddle scenes in bed ? I mean you sleep in one bed but everytime they always stay on their separate sides.. Like are you sure you are a couple and if you aren't ready for that kind of intimacy thats fine but then you are ready to move in with each other.
OK then the whole brother thing happens and i actually like the part where they sleep on the couch together. Really cute. It kind of felt like a drop in a desert though.
Then the whole Pam situation happened. And I was so confused. Like did Sarawat just have an entire character change, Tine was shown to be priority the entire time ´, he did some really weird things and used the whole Green situation to force Tine to be close to him etc. And then suddenly he starts spending loads of time on her and it creates that misunderstanding. However for me it wasn't really a misunderstanding, even though in the end he wrote that love song for Tine he did state that he tried really hard to write it for her !!! So even when he was in a relationship he spend lots of time with a girl he once loved and tried to help her get into his university and tried to write a love song for her.
It made no sense with his character before and from what i read from comments, it wasn't like this in the novel either.
It kind of seemed like they wanted to add some drama for the ending but ignored logic for the hell of it.
Ok another trope that was used way to ofter was. if I win this football game / Music competition you have to stay away from Tine or then Ill ask Tine out. I have always hated these kinds of bets cause it makes it seem like Tine doesn't even have his own mind and make choices for himself. Use it once fine but it was literally so many times that i was just like I don't care who wins if this seriously effects a relationship then it wasn't much to begin with.
Now on to the side characters story line if you even wanna call it that. As i mentioned previously they had a solid story but i couldn't really get into them as they each only had like 20 min of screen time together MAX. Also no kisses or extremely cute scenes there.
And again the storyline with Tines brother is based on his love interest stalking him to conventions etc. Even when they officially meet he then starts following him around like a puppy. To cafes and even his place of work. Its not as bad as what green did at the start as he did keep his hands to himself but still !
OK now to greens relationship. I don't know if I got that right. But was the storyline seriously, his bf hurt him, they broke up and then Tine. and then he just forgives him after he apologizes. and then there is this weird scene where green flirts with some boys in front of a bus and his bf shows up and raises his hand to threaten but then drops it and its played like a joke! I feel like I missed context here but if that is the storyline then it is so messed up !!!!!
The other couple with Sarawats brother was the best in the whole series. Had the best chemistry. If they had more screen time and were the main couple this could have been really good.
But it felt like half of their story got told and in the end it just jumped to them dating ? or something similar ? I again felt like i had missed an episode in the end? Like i get it you want a happy ending but just give them an open one and give them their own series.
2. The friends of Tine
Am I the only one who felt the portrayal of tines friends at the start was terribly sexist. The only thing they talked about was girls, they dropped their friend when girls where around, the broke promises for any girl that came around. Like what was going on? It was so hard to watch.
They got better as the series went on though.
And I did like how one friend was the devil and the other the angel on tine shoulder.
3. Something was just missing
This series could have been great but something was just missing. For me it felt like the two leads conducted themselves more like close friends then boyfriends. There were only two scenes I felt genuine chemistry and the rest felt either forced or just like close friends would act around each other. I mean yay we got back together and my babe won an important contest, lets high five???! The kisses also seemed too weird and without passion. Like they were being so careful to make sure it wouldn't look like their are into it.
I am not one for hardcore kissing and make out scenes they aren't always necessary. But they never had the casual skin contact a couple would have and only hugged in critical moments and never just to feel their partner close. Even when tine had his arm around Sarawat there was noticeable distance between their bodies, which made is seem like the actors were really careful not to touch more than they had to.
Also every time there could have been a casual touch or a slightly dirty joke was made, Tine always reacted by saying pervert and pushing his bf away. But it didnt come across a flirtatious or shy, but instead came across as serious and at some point I was like: If you don't like to touch or be a couple, then why aren't you just close friends.
A lot of scenes I just really felt the acting ! Like it was just too clear that they were pretending to be their characters. I don't know if that makes sense but that is how I feel about the series.
Some of this can be explained by character traits but I still blame the series as it made in not really entertaining to watch and at some point I actually wished they wouldn't get together so at least something interesting would have happened.
OK if anyone has made it this far, congrats....
This is obviously just my own opinion and I do have to admit I skipped a bit in this series as It became too boring sometimes.
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