GAP is a materpiece of Asian Lesbian representation

GAP the series, as Thailand's first major lesbian wlw drama to be aired on national TV there, is a standard bearer in lesbian and gl media, I feel as if a lot of the other reviews here are unfair to the final product and I will be addressing a lot of those concerns so keep other reviews with a grain of salt should you read more. GAP tells the story of Mon, a 22-year old university graduate who idolizes and admires Mom Luang Samanun (or Khun Sam in the story), the great-granddaughter of a previous King of Thailand and has several encounters with her in her childhood that leave her with an immediate and strong infatuation, Mon and Sam meet again when Mon goes to work for Sam's social media company to be closer to her, only to find Sam has changed since the younger version that she knew.

Mon and Sam have an instant, immediate, sparking chemistry that is unlike anything I have ever witnessed on screen, you can feel the tingles and sparks through the screen.

Extreme heteronormativity and comphet leaves a LOT of younger gay women mistaking their crushes for "idolization", and Mon is no exception,

Plot-wise, the show is nothing special. The story is not bad, but in this series the plot does it's job extremely well, providing a foundation for our two characters to fall in love and interact. In a drama like this, plot is not as important to me as romance and character development. In this way, GAP the series excels

Khun Sam is a very complex character, being subject to immense childhood trauma, leaves her unable to express her desires or feelings in a proper way, also leading to her lacking many skills and being unable to communicate properly. She comes off a certain way but as you get to know her character and watch her develop and grow, you cannot help but love her.

Mon is also a complex character in her own right, being seen as naive, happy, hopeless, dainty, and meek but is able to muster a great deal of courage, speaking her mind and standing up for others. This is also a character flaw later on, as her rigid sense of justice (right and wrong) leads her to make decisions she should not. This is a departure from the trope of the happy sunshine girl who is nice to everyone

The cinematography (specifically light and color) is extremely well done, the use of parallel shots and light and fire to highlight Sam's world is worth paying attention to. I often notice foreshadowing, use of light to contrast other scenes to show Sam's growth and subsequent rewatches, there is so much to analyze just here alone.

There is more than meets the eye , as it may seem to have a light-hearted, cheesy, corny feeling both in the trailer and at the start, but do not be fooled. It's just a lure to the real story, as it morphs in tone to a 'star crossed destined lovers' who will sacrifice the sun to be together sort of story.

On an unrelated side note, the costumes are amazing, I love Mon's wardrobe and want all of it for myself.

Due to this show not having any sponsors and having to be funded mostly by the producer and CEO Saint's own money, we did not have a long enough show as 15 episodes instead of 12 would have been more effective for this story, but you often have to make due with what you are given, which lead to the series and ending 'feeling rushed', but despite this, the story is told complete with no plot holes.

An additional criticism I have is the director did not do much to indicate the passage of time, so you might feel as if the entire story takes place over the course of a week, but it was supposed to be many many months (at least 6 months) so keep this in mind as you watch.

You will NOT regret watching this series, it's cute, funny, will make you cry and sob, breaking your heart before putting it back together again with a satisfying ending.

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