Yu Zhen Xuan is the pinnacle of my emotional capacity!

I'm so happy this special episode exists to tell us what happens with Yu zhen xuan because the entire season was a mess and failed to deliver anything significant in terms of a story continuation of the main couple or any characters at all. Only thing good and the best for me to come out of the season was Yu Zhen xuan. I cannot put into words how much I love this character. I don't even care about anything of this show at this point. Shih chih tian was flawless in this character which has become one of my favorite characters of all time. This character has pushed my emotional boundaries to oblivion. The way he sits, plays with things and communicates with and sees the world around him is just beyond beautiful. The way he danced in that health centre was so satisfying and happiness personified. He pushed a person who literally had a disorder of lacking emotions to feel for him. The dance by Yu zhen xuan and shou yi at the ending of this episode was raw, carefree and blissful at its finest. I can't thank enough for this character to exist. This means so much to me. Thank you.

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THIS SERIES TRANSCENDS THE BL GENRE

This is my first time writing a review for an Asian drama. I just couldnt help myself writing one for this series and pouring my heart out because I have been devastated emotionally day in and out since i started watching it. I’m telling you I had been living under a rock all this while oblivious to a genre called BL until I stumbled upon 2gether: the series like a lot of us here. Since then ive never looked back and have completed watching a couple of great BL series and now when ive watched “A Tale of Thousand Stars”, I can tell you one thing – This one transcends the BL genre to a whole another level. This series challenges some of the norms of BL like the usual university-college backdrop, the past love interest/jealous side character trying to separte the lead couple, the side couple(s) for the audience to ship other than the leads amongst others.

The series right away stands out from the BL lot with soothing folk inspired music, mesmerising cinematography that makes the person watching feel like s/he is right there in the heart of nature (this series made me feel like i went on a vacation or a retreat to a beautiful remote hill station right from my messy bedroom) and a deep informative dive into the lives of the rural people. I never thought I would actually LEARN in a real sense from a drama but I was proved wrong by this series as it packs a lot of life lessons in it that are scattered throughout the length of the series in the words of Khama the village chief or simply what Tian experiences along the way through this life-changing journey apart from the quotes at the end of each episode.

Both Phupha(ironically cutest name ever given to a stern guy though it literally means a mountain) and Tian are likable charcters that surprisingly are aware of each other’s feelings since the very first time they met and it only feels more like destiny. These charcters are strong in the sense that they never had to prove their love to each other and the audience through physical or sexual intimacy till the very end (one might think that they did it to fulfill the demands of the audience including me which might be somewhat true though ive not read the novel but it did not feel forced in any way like some other movies or series).

TIAN: Tian is the strongest mentally in this story who literally moves from his luxurious spoilt life at Bangkok to voluteer as a teacher in a place which lacks electricity, water supply or the internet to repay his donor Torfun whose death he feels responsible for. He does break down a few times but he pulls himself up each time even if everyone else has turned their backs on him which is something that left a lasting impression on me. TIAN IS A CRYER and Mix did the absolute best job in crying; the expression everytime he cried was guaranteed to make me cry and it was his crying face that made me cry for a whole two days while i binge watched the sad scenes over and over again. Apart from this, Tian is really ungrateful for someone who recently had a heart transplant and a second chance at life as he vehemently manages to almost kill himself multiple times throughout the series.

PHUPHA: Phupha is a military guy and he looks like one. He is this stern guy who doesnt know how to express his feelings or emotions or put himself into words and maybe this was why I sometimes felt he wasnt returning the same energy as Tian did which was making me doubt his acting but turns out it is how the character is supposed to be. In hindsight, I also love this clash of personalities in love. There is something about a expressive rich tiny boy falling for a stern muscular army guy in a remote setting that makes it perfect and exciting in a way atleast for me and the same must have worked out for this story all in all.

OTHER CHARACTERS: I loved all side characters which rarely happens. Especially, when the relationship between Phupha and Tian was still in the developing state or when there was tension between the two, I and a lot of the viewers shipped Longtae and Tian. Their friendship was just so wholesome and effortless. Also Longtae, Khama and Tul were the ones who fully understood Tian most of the time and rooted for him. I loved the doc; he knew about the growing developments between Phupha and Tian from the very start and seemed to keep finding ways to make it happen between the two. The kids too were cherries on top of the cake. All the actors acting as villagers did a great job at representing the rural community and it felt naturally to them. I loved the fact that none of them turned out to be evil and tried to separate the leads (Dr. Sakda and his men were after Tian and not his relationship with Phupha though eventually it leads to Phupha getting shot. Also it was never a question that Torfun was actually the cupid here who made it happen between Phupha and Tian rather than someone who was between them).

MUSIC: I have been listening to the intro song on loop. It perfectly fitted the story and it is kind of therapeutic as well. I also like the wind song and some others. The music was well placed in the scenes elevating the emotional capacity of particular scenes.

Some key moments that left an impression on me were the last part of second episode where Tian realises why he came to the village in the first place as he is giving up on the village, the analogy of the hornbills while Tian cries for help for bleeding Phupha which literally scarred me emotionally for life and the inspiring metaphorical quotes of Khama and the Head of the foundation.

Overall, I cannot stress enough how amazing this series is and it feels as if it is limiting to put it into a box called BL.
P.S. I am not okay anymore after watching this series and i keep going back to the emo scenes *sob*

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Meh (tbh)

I think if yall read some of the more honest, unbiased and lower rating reviews, yall can get a fair idea of some of my disappointments with BBS coz they explained almost all of them very well. So I’m not going to discuss those in detail. I’ll talk about some of my other experiences with this series.

I struggle to get invested in Thai BLs and here too was the same case for reasons that can extend from weak storyline to quirky-cringey sound effects. But I still struggled through the first episodes only to be really invested by ep 4 which only peaked at ep 5 with that kiss. Omg... that kiss was everything. I was watching ep 5 at midnight and I almost woke up my entire neighbourhood. I was caught so off guard and wasn’t expecting such lip action when many of them have a history of pecking each other like fishes.

So I was obsessed after that episode and then came ep 9. That ep 8 cliffhanger was one of the most anxiety inducing scene I’ve ever seen tbh. So I was waiting for what should’ve been ep 9 but was completely thrown off by a half baked ass “redemption” episode. I hate that episode from the bottom of my heart. Wai outed his best friend in front of everyone and it is Pran who is following wai asking for his forgiveness. The irony is revolting. But suddenly it all makes sense since BB doesn’t have homophobia as it is an utopian world so there’s also no outing. And wai also has a background story to justify his actions— I couldn’t cringe my teeth any harder tbh when BBS stans or the director or writers puts forward these kinds of reasons as an excuse for such terrible writing. I combusted when wai was joking and smiling on video call with patpran after doing the bare minimum of finding a cctv footage overlooked by the lazy cops. This episode couldn’t have gone more wrong.

The show just took a major dip for me after that horrendous episode 9 and I again went back to struggling to get through each later episode. I just muted many BBS stans on Twitter coz the level of overyanalyzation of the show and fetishisation of ohmnanon was unbearable. They were writing big ass posts overanalysing every detail and scene about a show that literally has an unoriginal plot with cliches and was carried entirely by the actors and their chemistry. BBS would’ve been way nicer if these stans would’ve just let it be what it actually is-simple and sweet.

The episodes after episode 9 were Meh overall. It failed to bring back the charm of the holy trinity episodes of the show- 4,5 and 6.

Then came episodes 10 and 11 which were angsty and somewhat disconnected. The scholarship issue was reasonable and also unreasonable. The entire western culture vs eastern culture discourse that ep 11 sparked and all the gatekeeping that was being done against western fans couldn’t have been more disgusting. I am Asian and I am aware of the importance of family and education. But that doesn’t give my parents any right to stomp on my happiness and what I want in life. Children’s happiness shouldn’t come between the family, rather parents should find a way to find happiness in their children’s happiness. Children should be allowed to take their own decisions in life. People were acting like patpran weren’t grown ass men who didn’t know their priorities right. Children shouldn’t also fully give in to controlling toxic parents coz even if children love their family and will do everything for them, children should have it in them to stand up for what’s right and call out what’s wrong. Coz if parents are so adamant on their thinking, it isn’t right for the children to be adjusting. By giving into such toxic family dynamic, its going to be everyone who are going to suffer directly or indirectly. Rather than giving in, children should try to have deep talks with parents about whatever issue it is and explain to them patiently and wait for them to come around. Realistic isn’t always correct.

People were putting toxic controlling parents on such a pedestal on social media over that episode and being emotional and sharing their stories which is great. But- So when in ep 12, it was revealed that patpran actually never broke up and had been straight up lying to everyone all this while, all those stans had suddenly become silent. They were coming after western fans and gatekeeping BBS from western fans for what? This was all so dumb.

At last, All I’m going to say is BBS is indeed a good series and has a lot of plus points which yall will find in any other 10 rating review here. But I said what my experience with this series was and it was love-hate. This series peaked in the middle and ended on a meh. Ohmnanon are great actors but again the bar is that low when it comes to BLs. It was certainly not worth all the hype but it’s still a good series. I was obsessed too until a certain point so I get it why people are so invested in it but yeah... if I go on to tweet an unpopular opinion about BBS, suddenly an entire army of BBS stans would start attacking me. I’ve seen many getting attacked like that. It’s the stans who are just making this simple series into such a big thing and calling it end all and be all of BL. “Bad buddy wasn’t perfect” an there’s so much room for growth and better BLs that could come in the future.

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AN ALMOST MASTERPIECE THAT MESSED UP BIG TIME

OMG!!! I was expecting so much from this one because of all the through-the-roof high rating and rave reviews about perfection and best BL/best Asian drama etc. and not going to lie it delivered almost that in the first 3 episodes but WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE LATTER HALF??? I'm honestly a bit much pissed off and mad at the way things unfolded after episode 3 and the way things ended.

This story to be absolutely fair is not a wholly new one. We have seen this childhood-best -friends-falling-apart-and-reuniting-later-down-the-line-and-discovering-their-love narrative enough to not be too surprised but still this series could have done so much more with this and I almost believed it could nail it with the first episodes and was so hooked and excited about it.

I will give a run down of each episode and where they might have effed up so as to have a closure with my disappointments with this series because I need one badly-

EP 1: The first episode was near perfect for a pilot episode that sets the stage for the rest of the story to unfold. It gives a nice back story to the characters who had been childhood besties but fall apart unfortunately and ghost each other for many years. This gave me flash backs to one time I fought with a good friend of mine and we ghosted each other for years. I have to admit one thing though that the whole reunion of Teh and Oh felt a little early in terms of a series as I was expecting them to slowly come to terms with each other through bittersweet developments. It would have brought me to devastation if they reunited in that beach towards last of the first half of the series or later. But since it felt a little abrupt, I couldn't connect as much because I felt connected with the child version of theirs and then suddenly they are all grown up and saying sorry to each other and crying. Also after that emotional reunion at the beach, the very next scene about the whole friend group just chilling in the beach felt a little misplaced.

EP 2-I don't have much to say about the second episode apart from that it was cute and paved the way for the rest of the story. I specifically liked the scene where Teh helps Oh to find out if Bas really likes him. That was true bestie goals:). Honestly I would have also liked it this way. The last part where they just sit in the river boat few seats apart looking in the opposite direction and afterwards how they address though rather loosely where their friendship stands was so artistically beautiful.

EP 3- This episode was my favourite. In this episode, their true feelings for each other surfaces and their story seems to come full circle and the fact that this one is not the last episode with the sunset scene as the closing scene is killing me. We come to know of the near toxic obsession of Teh for Oh and it only becomes more obvious in the forth episode.

EP 4- This is when all of it goes downhill and becomes a bit much real for me. So Teh is saying that he wants to be just friends after kissing Oh underwater in one of the most beautiful kissing scenes ever? Quoting Oh aew:"Do friends do that"??? I get that Teh is not ready, is a teenager, is going through a lot of confusion and his obsession for Oh isn't helping it as well but could he not have talked about it with Oh or for that matter anyone in the family? I know it can be hard to talk with family or friends about this sensitive of an issue but I believe they would have understood from what I knew of the characters or at least made it easier for Teh by letting himself out and free finally. I think I also need to cut Teh some slack because I know myself being an Asian what it is like being an LGBTQIA+ person and born into a conservative Asian family. But I also feel like since he was suffering so much and by holding it inside him it made it impossible and painful to watch which was clearly the case towards the end of the episode. It is one thing to make a cute scarpbook about Chinese idioms to help your boyfriend (there I said it!) get into uni and another to throw away your and your family's entire future, dreams and expectations over reserving him a seat there. It was nothing but painful and hurtful to watch the mom feeling helpless and questioning what befell her bright son. The crying scenes in this seemed comically exaggerated after having stupidly relinquished for his so called friend Oh. It was cringey when the next thing was them childishly fighting about this great sacrifice over IG stories (so gen Z but so out of place) . And I couldnt even watch at that point when Oh drops this great sacrifice of Teh which was expected and it makes it only funny(sorry). Oh needed to come to Teh's house at once and not wanting to see Teh sad was not a reason at all wtf?Teh crying over his cut out Chinese mastery book seems like something that can be fixed by rebuying it at the bookstore? I can't even imagine the pain Teh must have felt though because I know what getting into a good uni means to an Asian family and here too in this story an uni becomes a major make-or-break. The only thing I liked in this episode was the bra scene which is something so less portrayed in cinema so kudos for that. However this scene should have been given more importance with Oh seeing some flashbacks to his childhood or something.

EP 5- This episode did not do justice to the story of Teh and Oh and the ending seemed half baked. The ending closure felt constricted and short. The issues that Teh was facing weren't addressed well enough. Talking to his brother was not much of a help. I felt like Teh deserved to be helped with whatever he was going through and there was never a proper explanation for everything. I wanted Oh to come to Teh and have a conversation about everything which never really happened and the whole accepting himself was not seen. I wanted Bas who was so comfortable with his sexuality to help Teh in those rough times or at least give him some advice. I wanted Teh's friends who knew something was up to come help their hurting pal. I wanted Teh's mother to know the truth about her son and hopefully accept him. Teh deserved a healthy coming out.

In the whole story, I approve of Bas the most. He is sensible, smart and understanding. He is comfortable in his own skin and is not afraid to hold the hands of his boyfriend in public. He says out loud what he honestly feels about someone and is so wholesome. BAS DESERVES ALL THE LOVE IN THIS WORLD!

Overall, I don't dislike this series and am not mad about it and honestly would recommend it highly because of great performances, enchanting cinematography and addressing of certain important topics. When I was watching it, I got deja vu to the movie Call me by your Name due to the way it was shot and directed. Like Call me by your name which is also highly regarded and artistically beautiful but has its own set of flaws, ITSAY remains a worthy watch provided one doesn't hold too much expectations and know their priorities well.

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Love love love it

Gameboys the series and the movie both are so well scripted and well thought out. It is actually the most progressive BL ever with literally no toxicity and not-okay stuff that many other BL glorify and romanticises. Literally one of the best LGBTQ+ representation in the history of cinema. The movie felt like a happy hour that I never wanted to end. Many a time I watch how much time there’s still left for a series of film to end but with this one time flew and I was so invested effortlessly. The movie did justice as a story continuation for the season 1 of the series. It was just one and half hour and still it did it’s best to bring everything and everyone together. It wasn’t trying to incorporate a lot of unnecessary drama out of nowhere which is something I liked. Due to this, the movie told a wholesome stripped down story of Gavreel and Cairo and their friends. The writers and producers deserve my respect and applause along with everyone’s I believe for making this series and this movie because this series addresses lgbtq issues just the way it is without exaggeration or sugarcoating. The cinematography is next level and it’s evident in the soft vintage colours which I really loved.

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SHIH CHIH TIAN (YU ZHEN XUAN) STOLE THE SHOW FOR ME!

This 2nd season for me was purely YU ZHEN XUAN! This character caught my attention right away by its subtlety. There was something about the way he sat in that L-from-Death-Note-like fetus position, how he played with things in wonder and how he communicated with and saw the world around him. Shih Chih Tian was so natural in this character I can't even....

Zhen Xuan being picked up by shou yi and Zhen xuan trying to stand awkwardly with a peace sign in the intro of every episode made me dare not even think about skipping the intro in my wildest dreams and made me smile even if the show started going downhill from early on. The scene at the Riverside where he tells Shou yi how he had been looking for shou yi for 12 long years and wouldnt give up no matter even if he left him then or now again BROKE ME! I can't even imagine what kind of level of love it takes for someone to look for someone for 12 freaking long years. At this point, the 5 years of ghosting between Zhou Shu yi and Gao shi de looks like a baby in front of what Zhen xuan underwent. Don't take this the wrong way. I love shu yi and shi de and they were the only reason I started watching this show but 2nd season made their story look so weak along with their characters and then there was Zhen Xuan who literally made me cry like a baby and feel for him on another level.

Shou yi revealing his "affective disorder" to Zhen xuan as a reason behind ghosting him for 12 years was so out of place when Zhen xuan was the one with asperger's disorder. So this is about two people with disorders which should have worked but just the way the story was handled wasnt it for me.

Zhen Xuan carrying up the box of things that he had preciously kept for 12 years to return it to Shu yi was the pinnacle of my emotional capacity. The way he delivered the words, the emotions....!!!! The way he scaled step by step to shou yi!!! His habit of smiling through pain and tears!!! The sad violin and piano music (which has been a constant throughout the show and something I love about the show) playing with it!!! I CANNOT WITH THIS GUY!!! HOW DID HE END UP WITH AN EMOTIONLESS GUY LIKE THAT?! WORLD ATTACC ZHEN XUAN, I PROTECC ZHEN XUAN!

I AM SAYING IT NOW AND WILL SAY A THOUSAND TIMES: I WANTED AND NEEDED MORE OF ZHEN XUAN AND I WILL PROTEST IF THEY MAKE A SEASON 3 AND DONT GIVE US MORE OF ZHEN XUAN OR MESS HIS STORY IN ANY WAY! THANK YOU. PLEASE.

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HAD TO DROP THIS AFTER EP 4. HELLO, CULTURAL APPROPRIATION!

It might not be my place to write a review for a series I’ve dropped but the elephant in the room has to be addressed which is CULTURAL APPROPRIATION. Sorry I’ve nothing against the rest of the show but this very scene about those guys disguised as Sikhs doesn’t sit right with me. There is a fine line between okay comedy and inappropriate comedy and that scene really didn’t handle that well. Something is funny ONLY till a smile sustains on the face and when that smile goes away and starts developing into more of a frown then we should know that there is something not right here.

This series is packed with ridiculous comedy and is really not meant to be taken seriously which is okay. But even if we keep that in mind, I still cannot see how that scene is okay. The outfit represents the Sikh community which is a really respected community in India who are hailed for their bravery, morality and spirituality. And to use the same outfits in a scene like that made me feel uneasy. I don’t even know if the people involved in this knew what those outfit stood for and what were they going for with this but here it is. COMIC RELIEF AND IGNORANCE CANNOT JUSTIFY CULTURAL APPROPRIATION. It is too great of an issue. There has been several cases in the past where people have gotten in serious trouble for such depictions of various cultural. If a show or a film has to add some form of an element of a particular culture they should be extra careful with it. And with comedy, the carefulness becomes two fold because using an element of a culture for comedic purposes can be received as mockery and insensitivity. The people involved in the comedy should know better about that particular community /religion/culture and do their research and then should deliver it respectfully. Many comedians around the world know how much guts it takes to joke about religion and a particular community or culture and very few venture into these territories and come out as winners.

It is one thing to have a sense of humour and joke about yourself or your own religion or community or culture because you’re a part of it(however here too one has to be careful) and another for people belonging to other communities/religion/cultures to joke about another community/religion/culture. I shouldn’t have gone this far with it but it needed to be addressed. And so many people who are Indian are appreciating this inclusion which i can see to a degree why but their reason still doesn’t justify this form of cultural appropriation. I’m saying this in hopes of preventing any such depictions in the future as much as possible. Thank you for hearing me out:)

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