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Still 2gether thai drama review
Dropped 5/5
Still 2gether
17 people found this review helpful
by Pecbounce
Sep 18, 2020
5 of 5 episodes seen
Dropped
Overall 5.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

Poor representation, lackluster story

Representation: I'm disappointed that people including Sarawat, Man, and Dim (all gay men), called Tine, Phukong, and Green the wives - this is a regression from the last season and a persistant problem throughout the series. "Team Wives" never rebukes them. And it's obvious why the reverse (Sarawat and Dim being called the wives) hadn't happened - because they're perceived as tops/semes and Tine, Green, and Phukong the bottoms. The same director also directed Dark Blue Kiss, which also had the same issue. Surprisingly, he also directed He's Coming to Me, which was pretty much flawless in this department. Apart from this, I must commend the show for putting in effort in repping with decorations and clothing: there is a Call Me By Your Name poster on Tine and Sarawat's apartment wall; Sarawat wore a pride shirt in episode 2, etc. These are small things that LGBTQ people won't ever miss, so thank you. In episode 4, when Sarawat's friend from the music club talked to him (in a rather obvious PSA moment) about his being so open with his love, he said it was not about courage but about 2 people in love, and that it was up to the couple whether to show PDA or not. Well, he's wrong. It is very much about courage. Homophobia is very real, even in Thailand, especially when people still look at your relationship through heteronormative lenses, as shown by this very show itself. And this is the least of our problems. So don't try and whitewash the struggles of being gay to accommodate the delicate sensibilities of a portion of your audience. You don't have to highlight it but to erase it like so is to trivialize our struggles. Before we look at our preferences with regards to PDA, we must consider our safety, our livelihood, our social life, etc. For many, the fear is real. Like all other GMMTV shows, trans people are shown matter of fact although they play very limited roles.

Story: Apparently fans complained that Sarawat wouldn't leave Tine in the hospital with Mil when he had food poisoning and the director retconned and said Sarawat actually was there the whole night but left in the morning to change, before Tine woke up. While this is great, sadly, like the last season the story is still very lackluster. Compound this with how the show treats Tine, Phukong and Green, at episode 5, I no longer want to continue.

Acting: I'm not sure if the actor is the problem, or the director. Tine has an aversion to affection, an annoying trope in BL, and continues to wear a constant constipated expression when he's around Sarawat (seriously, he's a lot chipper with other characters). For example, when Tine was sad that Sarawat was leaving to practice, he just gave Sarawat a sad smile when Sarawat told him about the extremely sweet story where he searched for Tine everywhere and even applied to the university in hopes of meeting Tine again. Tine was pretty much expressionless. Every time (and this applies to the previous series as well) they kiss, Tine looks like a deer caught in the headlights even when he's the one who initiated the flirting. This is not something I expected from someone who's still in their honeymoon period. I'm not sure if the director want Tine and Sarawat to have contrast with Type and Man but I don't believe this is the way to do it. That said, Tine was great with the lonely scene by the pool.
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