My Stand-In? More like My Stand-6-Feet-Away-From-Me-Please....

Okay, so I actually kind of enjoyed it, but I also found myself feeling immensely unsatisfied at the end. I like doing pros and cons lists, so I'll start with that.

Pros:
1. The acting. I especially though Ming's actor really gave this snarky and condescending, yet desperate attitude to Ming.
2. There were no overbearing advertisement placements that are unfortunately abundant in Thai BL series.
3. It wasn't a show that had overbearing comedy or goofy sound effects.
4. The show looked pretty nice. I mean, some of the fashion choices were not it, but the lighting and directing looked enchanting at times.
5. Did not take place in a generic high school or college.
6. Some of the characters worked for me (I'll go into more depth about this later).
7. Some of the fluff scenes were actually extremely cute, but I had to turn my memory of the previous episodes off in order to enjoy them fully.
8. The nsfw scenes were pretty good ngl.
9. That catfight between Ming and Sol was pretty funny and just made so much sense character-wise lmao.

Cons:
1. Joe.
2. The fact that they end up together. It has been a MINUTE since I found a main couple nearly equally intolerable (the last time was probably Clary and Jace from Shadow Hunters.
3. Sol's existence.
4. The semi-rushed last like two episodes.
5. The random old blind guy that can astral project or something for some reason???
6. Joe's death was entirely unintentional. Call me basic but I actually wanted there to have been some bigger conspiracy or something idek.
7. His family suddenly became accepting???
8. The side pairing of Mike and Jim was barely explored in the slightest. Truly unfortunate because I hadn't seen Inntouch in a role since My Engineer and I was looking forward to more scenes from him.
9. It felt like acting and stunt doubling became lost in the plot already by the halfway point.

Sound:
Pretty forgettable, but not the worst I've ever heard in a drama. Sometimes I liked it, sometimes I actually wondered what a song had to do with the scene it was playing in (maybe because I can't understand Thai I couldn't tell why it was playing during certain scenes).

Characters: Oh boy, where do I even start?
Joe: I cannot stand how he was written. I do not understand how he could continuously be the biggest loser to the point that I didn't even feel bad for him anymore after the 100th time of me yelling "BREAK UP WITH HIM!!!" at the screen whenever he forgave Ming for being the absolute worst lover. Also, I know calling yourself "paramour" makes you feel a little better about the situation, but let's be honest here; you're a hoe-for-hire. And don't get me wrong, I love a good hoe character, but Joe was not a fun or relatable hoe character he was just a pathetic one. I actually sympathized with him at first but then I lost all sympathy by the end when he forgave Ming completely after LITERALLY DYING TWICE BECAUSE OF MING AND TONG'S ANTICS and had the audacity to say "you should forgive yourself as well" like okay man, just admit you are a complete pushover that has a hero complex enough to sacrifice yourself for this guy Tong that literally ruined your life. Also, why did he choose to lose his virginity to the incredibly intoxicated Ming? Like, that was dubious consent (and stupid) right????

Ming: He was a walking red flag. Bro was clearly selfish and narcissistic and it makes me sick that he got to be with the guy he treated terribly in the end. Also, why did he have such a fetish on male backs? You're telling me that he fell head over heels for someone solely based on their back in dim lighting that he saw on a mall screen? Yeah, okay. I also have no idea why he kept putting so much faith into some random blind old guy that set up like Mickey Mouse tea tables and chairs in the MIDDLE OF A FOREST. But, whatever.

Tong: Okay so I might lose some people here, but I actually liked Tong. I mean that I liked how he was as an antagonist, not his personality because FUCK THAT GUY. It was honestly refreshing to see an antagonist that seemed realistic rather than cartoon-villainy in a Thai series. He felt like someone you might actually meet in real life and that made me more invested in his character. The way he was mostly chill, yet still felt the need to put his name on things to secure his position made sense and the way he got cocky and took a gamble that backfired so he secretly abused his in-laws' trust to attempt to cover it up messily also felt kind of believable. Then the way he was using his own future baby as leverage as a last-ditch effort just sealed the deal for me. Though I do agree with other reviews mentioning how he didn't deserve a semi-redemption arc and happy ending, I think it made sense for his character. He never struck me as fully morally black, so while that redemption arc felt rushed, it also didn't feel impossible to me. His happy ending made sense because a lot of the time people like him get away with the things they've done because of status, reputation, family ties, wealth. etc. So while I find him detestable, I get why he got his happy ending in the end.

The rest of Ming's family:
1. Mike was cool. He's played by Inntouch so I automatically felt a little (a lottle actually) endeared to him as a character. I liked how you could tell he did care for his brother, yet wasn't just going to give him everything off the bat without verifying things for himself first. One of the few characters I sensed true maturity from. Too bad him and Secretary Jim were so neglected because I was kind of getting interested in them by the end.
2. May: poor girl was as forgettable as Secretary Jim. She had such a lack of relevance that I genuinely started to wonder if they forgot to include her in the family drama or what. Literally just served to be Tong's walking leverage.
3. The mom: I did like her by the end. When she called Joe a gold-digger I kind of laughed.....but then I thought that was probably was too because her and the husband look like they are at least 20 years apart and they already have three adult kids so I have no idea what that was about. The way she was avoided being seen by Ming made her seem a lot scarier than she actually was, which I felt was a bit anti-climactic. I could tell from her reactions that breaking Ming and Joe up actually hurt her deep down, but she thought was doing the best thing for Ming and her family by keeping someone like Joe out. Also, that final scene where she had dinner with them was adorable. Loved that.
4. The dad: This man just screamed domestic abuser to me. The way everyone in the family was scared of him (except for that ballsy loser Tong it seemed) and even his wife had no power to sway his mind honestly irked me. Though, there are actual families out there like this, so I didn't think it impossible. But, like, then they tried to push him just wanting the best for Ming and not being homophobic at all and I was just like "Huh?" They really tried to give him a Fighter's dad from Why R U? treatment I swear. I MEAN HE LITERALLY PULLED OUT A GUN TO THREATEN JOE AND THEY SAY HE IS ACTUALLY A PRETTY UPSTANDING GUY? YEAH MAYBE PULL THAT ISH IN A UNIVERSE LIKE LOVE SYNDROME, BUT NOT HERE MATE.

Other Joe's mom:
She annoyed me. I have no idea why Joe was SO attached to her. I understand feeling the need to repay her for her efforts, but this man called her "mom" like it was natural like one month into being her impersonator son. OH R.I.P. original Joe btw. He was so irrelevant and his weirdo ex too like anything linked to him lost relevancy by episode 5 or 6. Also this mother made me so mad when got mad at Joe for being a "paramour" and lying about taking out a big loan, but bitch didn't you also take out loans and sacrifice your livelihood to help your son live well? Stop acting like he sold his soul to the devil or something. You know I bet she wouldn't have acted NEARLY as hypocritically like that if he agreed to the hoe to a rich WOMAN instead. Just admit you are still mega homophobic and be on with it sis.

Sol:
Dear god he made no sense to me whatsoever. You could take him out of the story and virtually nothing would change. Why was he even here? His reason for leaving Joe was already dumb and rooted in homophobia to begin with, but then he suddenly, what, became gay and missed Joe so he no longer felt like Joe had bad intentions? Wtf. Okay, guy. Also, this man could NOT TAKE A HINT! Joe was so CLEARLY NOT INTO HIM.....yet he still kept pushing that fact that he liked him onto Joe...like, I'm pretty sure Joe knows you like him after the fifth time you told him so you don't have to reiterate it again mate......him leaving for South Korea was so refreshing because if he decided to stick around and be an eternal third wheel I think I might start feeling sympathy for Joe again. Oh wait, how come Sol could keep coming to Thailand for extended periods of time? Isn't the Kpop industry quite demanding on its actors? I figured he was a solo actor, but even that didn't make up for the times I questioned how he could spend so much unfiltered time in Thailand. Also, he filmed a BL music video....but isn't South Korea pretty homophobic? I wonder how that went over for him when he returned......


In conclusion; this series gave me a semi-headache. By the halfway mark I was already counting down the episodes until the finish mark because the characters (JOEEE) were tiring me out so much. Joe will now go down in my TierListMaker BL Protagonists list as near-bottom tier. Let's make a more tolerable main couple next time please. <3

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