Multilicus
Poland
This review may contain spoilers
A near masterpiece of its genre
It's not really a review, it's a list of strengths (these are not just things I liked – these are the things that made the show successful) and weaknesses of "Bad Buddy". Generally speaking: it was the best BL I've seen, deserving high praise for direction, story, music and - most importantly - acting of Ohm and Nanon.
== Strengths ==
1/ Dynamic of Pat and Pran
(1) Communication. They didn’t overanalyse things nor kept their problems and doubts to themselves – they discussed everything of importance (they argued like twice). Hence the often praised lack of toxicity, jealousy and stupid BL drama over nothing (BTW: a lot was said without uttering a word. I’m glad someone finally realized that on TV you don’t have to say everything, you can show certain things instead – with a gesture or a glance or a flashback). (2) They supported, took care of and respected each other for real. Pran calling Pat back in ep. 8 and making him feel better when he was low after an argument with Ming is one of my favourite scenes of the series – and there’s plenty of other examples of them being for one another. (3) Cuteness and banter. That’s self-explanatory, I guess. Don’t know how much of that was scripted, probably not much or none at all, but it made the two mains even more likeable. No wonder so many reactors called their relationship wholesome and healthy.
2/ Story structure and direction
(1) Simple premise and plot, no convoluted story elements (with one exception) complicating matters for the audience and the two mains. With a simple structure, the show was easy to follow. Not something widely known to BL screenwriters. (2) Focusing the story on Pat and Pran (minimizing plotlines of side characters) and then going one step further: making sure, since at least ep. 8, that no externally caused problems will destroy the relationship of the two main characters – not Pran’s fears about other people finding out about him and Pat from Pat’s IG posts, not the reactions of Pat’s and Pran’s friends, not the feud of their parents nor their wishes. Pat and Pran weren’t able to “change the world”, but didn’t let the world change them. It was their story, their love and they were in control, because they wanted it. And yes, faking a break-up and lying to their parents was an option they had the right to choose and use.
3/ Show’s self-awareness
It was a rom-com with a simple plot – and it didn’t pretend to be anything else. It also didn’t take itself too seriously – hence it was able to keep a light, optimistic tone for most of the time. Product placement was included as a necessary evil and treated as such – by both teleplay and the actors.
4/ Trope and stereotype busting
The show dealt with the “I’m straight, you’re the only man I like” trope in an unceremonious manner – laughing it out loud. It also dealt - in a more polite, but still firm manner - with assigning roles of wife and husband in same-sex relationships.
5/ Intimacy done correctly
BB features real kisses instead of the "traditional" GMMTV awkward lip-pressing. Ep. 5 rooftop kiss (The Kiss, Mother of All BL Kisses, Kiss of the Century) and ep. 11 evening beach kiss were amazing. The show also addressed sex-related issues – sometimes through metaphors, sometimes openly. According to many comments Pran and Pat are both versatile (I got that feeling myself after ep. 11 and 12), which – even if it wasn’t stated directly – is of note, also from the trope-busting perspective.
6/ Inclusion of a GL plotline
Cute, short and to the point. Story-wise it wasn’t a necessity, but it got the deserved praise – which shows that people want GL content.
7/ OhmNanon
I'm mentioning this last, but the casting of the two mains was the shows biggest asset. Would the story work with a different cast? Probably. Would it be a success? That depends. It needed a coupling of two attractive, young guys with enough chemistry to get us emotionally involved and convince us, that we’re watching a cinematic masterpiece. I've seen some great chemistry in other shows, ATOTS chief among them, but OhmNanon’s chemistry was of the charts, beating everything I know (including EarthMix) and lifting this simple rom-com with a basic plot to a cosmic level. With eyes glued to the screen, I followed the show week for week, watched reaction videos to savour OhmNanon's scenes together again and again. Mesmerizing. If you’re not convinced about the importance of chemistry in a production like this – compare BB to “Fish Upon the Sky” (Pond and Phuwin had little to no chemistry) or “Tonhon Chonlatee” (Podd’s and Khaotung’s chemistry was one of the very few good things in that show and the only reason I rated it at 7.0 and not much lower). OhmNanon is a powerhouse and a force of nature. I'll say what I've said elsewhere: OhmNanon is the superior ship. Amazing.
8/ Music
Kacha's "Secret" is an optimistic song appearing several times to indicate that things are improving/the situation isn't as bad as we think (see first use in ep. 6 or ep. 12), I liked it upon listening to it for the first time. All three songs by Nanon are not just part of the soundtrack, but actually get used within the show: the first is "Just Friend?", in-show written and performed by Pat and Pran, and then covered in-show by guest starring Gemini and Ford, the second - though played mainly for laughs - is Sizzy's and Nanon's "Love Score" (the car scene in which Pat - or rather Ohm - interprets the song, is priceless), and lastly we get "Our Song", presented in-show as Pran's work-in-progress since his high school days, completed and performed in ep. 11 (an instrumental version of the same song is used in the opening credits of every episode). I loved how all those songs were not just used, but entwined into the story. In a post-credits scene of ep. 12 we even get a brief callback to "Same Page?" by Tilly Birds, which was used for the first trailer of BB. There's more of good music used in the show - like the musical backgrounds during the rooftop kiss scene in ep. 5 or Pran's and Dissaya's confrontation in ep. 10. Special praise for his input into the shows score goes to Ohm for his xylophone performances - the one in ep. 8 is emotional and powerful (I remember several reactors staying silent for that whole scene – so captivating were the visuals and the music).
== Weaknesses ==
1/ Outing without consequences
Wai in “evil bitch mode” (that's a quote, btw), revealing Pat and Pran to everyone in the theatre, was a scumbag many loved to loathe (Jimmy did a great job there); lack of consequences of that, Pran’s attempts to make up with Wai and Wai’s convoluted “redemption arc” were all let-downs. A short, simple and honest scene with Wai apologizing to Pran and Pat would clear the air. A connected, but smaller let-down: the initial reaction of Korn, Mo and Chang. What was the point of them acting like jerks for one scene - only to be Pat's friends in the next one?
2/ First 20 minutes of ep. 12
Keeping the audience in the dark for the first 20 minutes of ep. 12. Unnecessary and pointless – especially for all those watching the show once all episodes aired. It did – in combination with very manipulative previews for ep. 12 – make a lot of people watching the show wonder what really happened. The sigh of relief when Pat opened the door for Pran and said “You said you’d sleep at your house” (indicating they’ve been together this whole time, with Kacha’s song confirming that everything is okay) was heard all over the planet – but it wasn’t necessary to have us go through what preceded it.
3/ A world without homophobia (again?)
I understand that the tone of the show was meant to be light and there couldn’t be too many obstacles the two mains had to overcome, but – seriously – we got another GMMTV show taking place in a fantasy world free of homophobia. Real Thailand, real Asia and the real world are still homophobic. I’m dragging the real world into this because – once ep. 11 and previews for ep. 12 – a lot of people discussed Pran’s and Pat’s break-up in “real-world” categories, explaining to the wider audience (meaning: to the comment section) that in Thailand/Asia parents have an actual hold on their children, need to be respected and so on. The showrunners apparently shared this attitude (hence the 4-years-long deception explained in ep.12), so I feel like including the lack of real-world homophobia in this list of the show’s weaknesses.
== Strengths ==
1/ Dynamic of Pat and Pran
(1) Communication. They didn’t overanalyse things nor kept their problems and doubts to themselves – they discussed everything of importance (they argued like twice). Hence the often praised lack of toxicity, jealousy and stupid BL drama over nothing (BTW: a lot was said without uttering a word. I’m glad someone finally realized that on TV you don’t have to say everything, you can show certain things instead – with a gesture or a glance or a flashback). (2) They supported, took care of and respected each other for real. Pran calling Pat back in ep. 8 and making him feel better when he was low after an argument with Ming is one of my favourite scenes of the series – and there’s plenty of other examples of them being for one another. (3) Cuteness and banter. That’s self-explanatory, I guess. Don’t know how much of that was scripted, probably not much or none at all, but it made the two mains even more likeable. No wonder so many reactors called their relationship wholesome and healthy.
2/ Story structure and direction
(1) Simple premise and plot, no convoluted story elements (with one exception) complicating matters for the audience and the two mains. With a simple structure, the show was easy to follow. Not something widely known to BL screenwriters. (2) Focusing the story on Pat and Pran (minimizing plotlines of side characters) and then going one step further: making sure, since at least ep. 8, that no externally caused problems will destroy the relationship of the two main characters – not Pran’s fears about other people finding out about him and Pat from Pat’s IG posts, not the reactions of Pat’s and Pran’s friends, not the feud of their parents nor their wishes. Pat and Pran weren’t able to “change the world”, but didn’t let the world change them. It was their story, their love and they were in control, because they wanted it. And yes, faking a break-up and lying to their parents was an option they had the right to choose and use.
3/ Show’s self-awareness
It was a rom-com with a simple plot – and it didn’t pretend to be anything else. It also didn’t take itself too seriously – hence it was able to keep a light, optimistic tone for most of the time. Product placement was included as a necessary evil and treated as such – by both teleplay and the actors.
4/ Trope and stereotype busting
The show dealt with the “I’m straight, you’re the only man I like” trope in an unceremonious manner – laughing it out loud. It also dealt - in a more polite, but still firm manner - with assigning roles of wife and husband in same-sex relationships.
5/ Intimacy done correctly
BB features real kisses instead of the "traditional" GMMTV awkward lip-pressing. Ep. 5 rooftop kiss (The Kiss, Mother of All BL Kisses, Kiss of the Century) and ep. 11 evening beach kiss were amazing. The show also addressed sex-related issues – sometimes through metaphors, sometimes openly. According to many comments Pran and Pat are both versatile (I got that feeling myself after ep. 11 and 12), which – even if it wasn’t stated directly – is of note, also from the trope-busting perspective.
6/ Inclusion of a GL plotline
Cute, short and to the point. Story-wise it wasn’t a necessity, but it got the deserved praise – which shows that people want GL content.
7/ OhmNanon
I'm mentioning this last, but the casting of the two mains was the shows biggest asset. Would the story work with a different cast? Probably. Would it be a success? That depends. It needed a coupling of two attractive, young guys with enough chemistry to get us emotionally involved and convince us, that we’re watching a cinematic masterpiece. I've seen some great chemistry in other shows, ATOTS chief among them, but OhmNanon’s chemistry was of the charts, beating everything I know (including EarthMix) and lifting this simple rom-com with a basic plot to a cosmic level. With eyes glued to the screen, I followed the show week for week, watched reaction videos to savour OhmNanon's scenes together again and again. Mesmerizing. If you’re not convinced about the importance of chemistry in a production like this – compare BB to “Fish Upon the Sky” (Pond and Phuwin had little to no chemistry) or “Tonhon Chonlatee” (Podd’s and Khaotung’s chemistry was one of the very few good things in that show and the only reason I rated it at 7.0 and not much lower). OhmNanon is a powerhouse and a force of nature. I'll say what I've said elsewhere: OhmNanon is the superior ship. Amazing.
8/ Music
Kacha's "Secret" is an optimistic song appearing several times to indicate that things are improving/the situation isn't as bad as we think (see first use in ep. 6 or ep. 12), I liked it upon listening to it for the first time. All three songs by Nanon are not just part of the soundtrack, but actually get used within the show: the first is "Just Friend?", in-show written and performed by Pat and Pran, and then covered in-show by guest starring Gemini and Ford, the second - though played mainly for laughs - is Sizzy's and Nanon's "Love Score" (the car scene in which Pat - or rather Ohm - interprets the song, is priceless), and lastly we get "Our Song", presented in-show as Pran's work-in-progress since his high school days, completed and performed in ep. 11 (an instrumental version of the same song is used in the opening credits of every episode). I loved how all those songs were not just used, but entwined into the story. In a post-credits scene of ep. 12 we even get a brief callback to "Same Page?" by Tilly Birds, which was used for the first trailer of BB. There's more of good music used in the show - like the musical backgrounds during the rooftop kiss scene in ep. 5 or Pran's and Dissaya's confrontation in ep. 10. Special praise for his input into the shows score goes to Ohm for his xylophone performances - the one in ep. 8 is emotional and powerful (I remember several reactors staying silent for that whole scene – so captivating were the visuals and the music).
== Weaknesses ==
1/ Outing without consequences
Wai in “evil bitch mode” (that's a quote, btw), revealing Pat and Pran to everyone in the theatre, was a scumbag many loved to loathe (Jimmy did a great job there); lack of consequences of that, Pran’s attempts to make up with Wai and Wai’s convoluted “redemption arc” were all let-downs. A short, simple and honest scene with Wai apologizing to Pran and Pat would clear the air. A connected, but smaller let-down: the initial reaction of Korn, Mo and Chang. What was the point of them acting like jerks for one scene - only to be Pat's friends in the next one?
2/ First 20 minutes of ep. 12
Keeping the audience in the dark for the first 20 minutes of ep. 12. Unnecessary and pointless – especially for all those watching the show once all episodes aired. It did – in combination with very manipulative previews for ep. 12 – make a lot of people watching the show wonder what really happened. The sigh of relief when Pat opened the door for Pran and said “You said you’d sleep at your house” (indicating they’ve been together this whole time, with Kacha’s song confirming that everything is okay) was heard all over the planet – but it wasn’t necessary to have us go through what preceded it.
3/ A world without homophobia (again?)
I understand that the tone of the show was meant to be light and there couldn’t be too many obstacles the two mains had to overcome, but – seriously – we got another GMMTV show taking place in a fantasy world free of homophobia. Real Thailand, real Asia and the real world are still homophobic. I’m dragging the real world into this because – once ep. 11 and previews for ep. 12 – a lot of people discussed Pran’s and Pat’s break-up in “real-world” categories, explaining to the wider audience (meaning: to the comment section) that in Thailand/Asia parents have an actual hold on their children, need to be respected and so on. The showrunners apparently shared this attitude (hence the 4-years-long deception explained in ep.12), so I feel like including the lack of real-world homophobia in this list of the show’s weaknesses.
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