Nanapiote
This review may contain spoilers
Pretty nice to kill the time
I'll start first by saying that I watched this after Love in the air, which I hated, and that I'm pretty new to thai BLs.
I liked it overall and was surprised in a good way by many aspects, first because I've disliked almost all the thai BLs i've watched so far and second because it was written by Mame which, even if I'm still new, I have already identified as being a red flag itself. There is a looot to say so I guess I'm just going to list all the things I liked and disliked.
What I liked:
-Mahasamut. He was sweet, determined, a bit naive but not stupid, sensitive and overall his characterization made sense. I liked how he gave his all for Tongrak while staying human and getting actually hurt and angry with him. So many dramas (not just thai but japanese and Korean too) have completely unrealistic love interests who stay put whatever happens to them, but Mahasamut actually breaks down when he gets rejected and resents Tongrak. The scene where he cries in front of Meena and her mom is my favorite.
-The side characters. Almost none of them were ignored or felt out of place. Meena was very well written and the actress did an amazing job, Vie was a great best friend and her storyline was also interesting, Tongrak's father was a very good villain because he used manipulation rather than actual violence which is pretty realistic when it comes to family relationships, his mom, although never seen on screen, was always omnipresent which kept her mysterious while very important and I enjoyed this choice of the director. Also a big plus which you might undersand if you watch a lot of Thai BL: WOMEN. I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate how most of the Bls i've watched act as if women don't exist. I don't need them to be the center of attention, they're not the reason I watch BLs, but still I find it so ridiculous how writers go out of their way to have close to 0 female character appear on screen. Here, there's not only a lesbian couple, but all the women have a significant role.
-The scenario ovreall was pretty nice. It wasn't revolutionary, it lacked a few things that I'm gonna develop more below, but most of it had an easy and enjoyable flow that kept me hooked all the way to the end.
-I feel like the main couple had more chemistry than in LITA. The se*ual tension between the two was on point, and there were many moments where I found their proximity endearing, such as when Tongrak hugs Mut after he got beaten up, or the few times they cuddle in bed.
-No communication problem. Loved it. I hate when miscommunication is the center of the issue.
Now onto what I didn't like:
-Tongrak. Basically Sky 2.0, I know everyone is saying this but it's true. Except that Sky had that sassy attitude which I liked a lot. Rak is just a spoiled brat. Also, his characterization was all over the place. From the beginning, even on the Island, he keeps contradicting himself. He is introduced as this bratty rich guy who wants to hate Mut just because, but the second Mut gets close to him he flirts back, then he has this lovey dovey moment where he wants to stay with Mut but when they go to Bangkok he's back to pretending he doesn't care about him, etc.... He had a few badass moments (with Prin in the vip room for example) which were nice, but otherwise he's just a big baby and even if his trauma made sense, it felt too close to Sky's so nothing too exciting. Also a small detail that doesn't even matter but still: They keep saying how he has so much booze and keeps drinking. Never saw him drunk or even just drink once. Rookie writer mistake of telling but not showing.
-Mahasamut being pictured as the ultimate island lover, then going to Bangkok and never mention it again, not even showing once a bit of homesickness, then go back and all the sudden he cannot live without his island.
-Vie and Mook's relationship getting mostly skipped over. At some point Mook is desperate and completly avoiding Vie, then next thing you know they're dating. And that was in the special episode, in the official ending we never hear from their relationship again. I would have loved to see how they got close again, to see Mook finally accept that Vie is not just playing with her, to have Vie appologize and explain that she treated Mook badly just cuz she thought it was the only way to keep her close. And they were pictured as the second couple, not just some random side characters, so that was pretty disappointing.
-I swear to god all these guys had to do was call the police on the father, it was so frustrating to see everything go down without them even mentionning it once (actually they did mention it once, but it was after everything was over already)
As a last point, because we cannot escape it when talking about Mame's stories, let's talk about the toxicity.
Some people seem to think that it was super toxic. I don't share this opinion, and I'm not saying that just because there were no sexual assault like in other dramas, but because everyone stays in control all the time. Yes, paying for someone's company and treating them like a toy is pretty toxic. But Mahasamut is not in a weak position, he is never cornered, he knows exactly what he wants and has willingly signed the contract. Same for Tongrak, he can back up from the contract whenever he wants, and even if Mahasamut is very assertive most of the time, the few times where he actually is serious about needing space, Mut respects it.
What I find the most toxic in a lot of dramas is how one of the main (usually the Top/ more masculine figure) is always in control of everything. It'd be too long to explain but I'm sure some people know what I'm talking about. Here, it's not the case. Mahasamut is just some simple guy who goes along with the situation, and Tongrak tries to be in control but in the end they're always on the same level. So for me, it was not toxic, and that's very refreshing. Still, I found it weird how everyone (Rak, his mother, Connor, Prin) had a relationship with someone they initially paid for. Not sure that paying for love is such a common thing in Thailand, yet they treated it as if it was super normal.
I'll finish by saying that I was surprised that most people didn't like this drama, cuz out of all the thai dramas I've watched this is the only one I would recommend to someone even if it was not perfect. I'll keep watching new ones in hope to find gold.
I liked it overall and was surprised in a good way by many aspects, first because I've disliked almost all the thai BLs i've watched so far and second because it was written by Mame which, even if I'm still new, I have already identified as being a red flag itself. There is a looot to say so I guess I'm just going to list all the things I liked and disliked.
What I liked:
-Mahasamut. He was sweet, determined, a bit naive but not stupid, sensitive and overall his characterization made sense. I liked how he gave his all for Tongrak while staying human and getting actually hurt and angry with him. So many dramas (not just thai but japanese and Korean too) have completely unrealistic love interests who stay put whatever happens to them, but Mahasamut actually breaks down when he gets rejected and resents Tongrak. The scene where he cries in front of Meena and her mom is my favorite.
-The side characters. Almost none of them were ignored or felt out of place. Meena was very well written and the actress did an amazing job, Vie was a great best friend and her storyline was also interesting, Tongrak's father was a very good villain because he used manipulation rather than actual violence which is pretty realistic when it comes to family relationships, his mom, although never seen on screen, was always omnipresent which kept her mysterious while very important and I enjoyed this choice of the director. Also a big plus which you might undersand if you watch a lot of Thai BL: WOMEN. I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate how most of the Bls i've watched act as if women don't exist. I don't need them to be the center of attention, they're not the reason I watch BLs, but still I find it so ridiculous how writers go out of their way to have close to 0 female character appear on screen. Here, there's not only a lesbian couple, but all the women have a significant role.
-The scenario ovreall was pretty nice. It wasn't revolutionary, it lacked a few things that I'm gonna develop more below, but most of it had an easy and enjoyable flow that kept me hooked all the way to the end.
-I feel like the main couple had more chemistry than in LITA. The se*ual tension between the two was on point, and there were many moments where I found their proximity endearing, such as when Tongrak hugs Mut after he got beaten up, or the few times they cuddle in bed.
-No communication problem. Loved it. I hate when miscommunication is the center of the issue.
Now onto what I didn't like:
-Tongrak. Basically Sky 2.0, I know everyone is saying this but it's true. Except that Sky had that sassy attitude which I liked a lot. Rak is just a spoiled brat. Also, his characterization was all over the place. From the beginning, even on the Island, he keeps contradicting himself. He is introduced as this bratty rich guy who wants to hate Mut just because, but the second Mut gets close to him he flirts back, then he has this lovey dovey moment where he wants to stay with Mut but when they go to Bangkok he's back to pretending he doesn't care about him, etc.... He had a few badass moments (with Prin in the vip room for example) which were nice, but otherwise he's just a big baby and even if his trauma made sense, it felt too close to Sky's so nothing too exciting. Also a small detail that doesn't even matter but still: They keep saying how he has so much booze and keeps drinking. Never saw him drunk or even just drink once. Rookie writer mistake of telling but not showing.
-Mahasamut being pictured as the ultimate island lover, then going to Bangkok and never mention it again, not even showing once a bit of homesickness, then go back and all the sudden he cannot live without his island.
-Vie and Mook's relationship getting mostly skipped over. At some point Mook is desperate and completly avoiding Vie, then next thing you know they're dating. And that was in the special episode, in the official ending we never hear from their relationship again. I would have loved to see how they got close again, to see Mook finally accept that Vie is not just playing with her, to have Vie appologize and explain that she treated Mook badly just cuz she thought it was the only way to keep her close. And they were pictured as the second couple, not just some random side characters, so that was pretty disappointing.
-I swear to god all these guys had to do was call the police on the father, it was so frustrating to see everything go down without them even mentionning it once (actually they did mention it once, but it was after everything was over already)
As a last point, because we cannot escape it when talking about Mame's stories, let's talk about the toxicity.
Some people seem to think that it was super toxic. I don't share this opinion, and I'm not saying that just because there were no sexual assault like in other dramas, but because everyone stays in control all the time. Yes, paying for someone's company and treating them like a toy is pretty toxic. But Mahasamut is not in a weak position, he is never cornered, he knows exactly what he wants and has willingly signed the contract. Same for Tongrak, he can back up from the contract whenever he wants, and even if Mahasamut is very assertive most of the time, the few times where he actually is serious about needing space, Mut respects it.
What I find the most toxic in a lot of dramas is how one of the main (usually the Top/ more masculine figure) is always in control of everything. It'd be too long to explain but I'm sure some people know what I'm talking about. Here, it's not the case. Mahasamut is just some simple guy who goes along with the situation, and Tongrak tries to be in control but in the end they're always on the same level. So for me, it was not toxic, and that's very refreshing. Still, I found it weird how everyone (Rak, his mother, Connor, Prin) had a relationship with someone they initially paid for. Not sure that paying for love is such a common thing in Thailand, yet they treated it as if it was super normal.
I'll finish by saying that I was surprised that most people didn't like this drama, cuz out of all the thai dramas I've watched this is the only one I would recommend to someone even if it was not perfect. I'll keep watching new ones in hope to find gold.
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