This review may contain spoilers
The Quiet Moments and Serious Conversations
11/10! That's my actual score. (It would have been 12/10 but that scene with the toilet humor just took it too far. Just the idea of..., no thank you.)
I haven't been in love with a Thai show since the second season of SOTUS. I am thoroughly impressed. Crazy thing was, I didn't have any expectations when starting the series. I just watched it because someone mentioned the couple reminding them of another guy/guy couple. Eventually, the show grew on me. The characters and creative direction grew on me. I feel like, if I had more time to wax poetry about this show and not do my coursework, then I most definitely would. Just a highlight of what I loved from this show:
1 - Gene and Sib and their developing relationship through honest communication. (Sib took a while to be honest, but once he did he never lied or hid anything from Gene again.)Their backstory, reunion and ending was well-rounded and I'm happy with their conclusion. I didn't leave the series wanting more because it was lacking or wanting to forget what I saw because it wasn't worth my time. No, all's well that end's well. Everyone got a just ending it seems (Aoey too!) and it was fitting. No issues there.
2 - The music and sound direction. I love the quiet moments in the series. The moments where minimum to no dialogue happens and there's only nonverbal communication and visual interpretations of the emotional atmosphere at that moment in time. The first time it happened after Gene and Sib kissed and the white fadeout screen and Gene writing out the scene for his novel and the audience seeing the kiss happen through that as a memory and flashback was surprisingly creative but unique. So I love it. There's more moments in the series when its quiet and intimate for the people on screen. (Tiffy and Tum were very awkward and hard to read at the beginning of the series but as the show continued they made more sense to me and their interactions held more meaning the more the viewer got to know them. )
3 - The acting! The acting was everything for me. Gene is quite lovely. The actor fits the role perfectly, I think. He was mean, quiet, nonchalant, nervous, naive, shy, serious, silly, mature, kind and complex. He was relatable as a human and I liked that it was easy to understand how serious Gene took his writing and his career. Sib was a firecracker and I loved him for it. He followed through on whatever he said he will do and was so brutal and blunt that it was refreshing to see against Gene when Gene gets shy and polite in public. They mesh well together in that aspect.
The meeting near the end of the series, before the Press Conference was my favorite scene of Sib. Everything he said to Tum's sister was true! All of the side characters were memorable too. Loved Hin and Tum! They suffered too and their pain and struggles were just as gut-wrenching and sad. I had tears for them when they were sad and abused and joy for them when they were happy and successful. I appreciate the attention to detail for their stories and character depth as well. This show really felt layered and more complicated than I originally thought and I love it. (I said that already but it's true.)
4 - The social commentary and serious conservations. The moment in the later episodes of the family dinner after the main couple admits to themselves that they want to be together but they're not sure about coming public with it yet - was tense but realistically harsh and necessary. The conversation concerning the toxic nature of the entertainment and BL industry as well as the political ideology of those of the older or more conservative background have on the topic of gay men and their human rights was a reality check in such a fantastical show. The show didn't go into the debate of legalizing same-sex marriage in Thailand but it did raise some interesting questions about how people in Thailand see BL as just an entertainment phase and not a prelude for more legal rights granted to LGBTQ+ members living in Thailand. (Almost as if some people think that it's all fun and games until someone actually is gay. Props to Gene's mom for being the first to come around and leading the other parents to broaden their horizons so they don't miss out on their son's lives.)
There's more! Oh there's more but this is something I can see myself rewatching over and over again. Plus, that last episode and the last 30 minutes of the romantic scenario scenes were the metaphorical cherry on top! I was smiling so hard the whole time! Gene's outfit looked like it was tailored just for him. I saw the costume interpretations of Snow White, Juliet and Cinderella on Gene and started to clap out loud. My neighbors probably hate me but whatever! They broke the 4th wall in that last episode and the true ending was so touching. So happy for Gene, Gene & Sib and Ms. Rose - who wrote Lovely Writer??
Just brilliant. Take all of my money.
I haven't been in love with a Thai show since the second season of SOTUS. I am thoroughly impressed. Crazy thing was, I didn't have any expectations when starting the series. I just watched it because someone mentioned the couple reminding them of another guy/guy couple. Eventually, the show grew on me. The characters and creative direction grew on me. I feel like, if I had more time to wax poetry about this show and not do my coursework, then I most definitely would. Just a highlight of what I loved from this show:
1 - Gene and Sib and their developing relationship through honest communication. (Sib took a while to be honest, but once he did he never lied or hid anything from Gene again.)Their backstory, reunion and ending was well-rounded and I'm happy with their conclusion. I didn't leave the series wanting more because it was lacking or wanting to forget what I saw because it wasn't worth my time. No, all's well that end's well. Everyone got a just ending it seems (Aoey too!) and it was fitting. No issues there.
2 - The music and sound direction. I love the quiet moments in the series. The moments where minimum to no dialogue happens and there's only nonverbal communication and visual interpretations of the emotional atmosphere at that moment in time. The first time it happened after Gene and Sib kissed and the white fadeout screen and Gene writing out the scene for his novel and the audience seeing the kiss happen through that as a memory and flashback was surprisingly creative but unique. So I love it. There's more moments in the series when its quiet and intimate for the people on screen. (Tiffy and Tum were very awkward and hard to read at the beginning of the series but as the show continued they made more sense to me and their interactions held more meaning the more the viewer got to know them. )
3 - The acting! The acting was everything for me. Gene is quite lovely. The actor fits the role perfectly, I think. He was mean, quiet, nonchalant, nervous, naive, shy, serious, silly, mature, kind and complex. He was relatable as a human and I liked that it was easy to understand how serious Gene took his writing and his career. Sib was a firecracker and I loved him for it. He followed through on whatever he said he will do and was so brutal and blunt that it was refreshing to see against Gene when Gene gets shy and polite in public. They mesh well together in that aspect.
The meeting near the end of the series, before the Press Conference was my favorite scene of Sib. Everything he said to Tum's sister was true! All of the side characters were memorable too. Loved Hin and Tum! They suffered too and their pain and struggles were just as gut-wrenching and sad. I had tears for them when they were sad and abused and joy for them when they were happy and successful. I appreciate the attention to detail for their stories and character depth as well. This show really felt layered and more complicated than I originally thought and I love it. (I said that already but it's true.)
4 - The social commentary and serious conservations. The moment in the later episodes of the family dinner after the main couple admits to themselves that they want to be together but they're not sure about coming public with it yet - was tense but realistically harsh and necessary. The conversation concerning the toxic nature of the entertainment and BL industry as well as the political ideology of those of the older or more conservative background have on the topic of gay men and their human rights was a reality check in such a fantastical show. The show didn't go into the debate of legalizing same-sex marriage in Thailand but it did raise some interesting questions about how people in Thailand see BL as just an entertainment phase and not a prelude for more legal rights granted to LGBTQ+ members living in Thailand. (Almost as if some people think that it's all fun and games until someone actually is gay. Props to Gene's mom for being the first to come around and leading the other parents to broaden their horizons so they don't miss out on their son's lives.)
There's more! Oh there's more but this is something I can see myself rewatching over and over again. Plus, that last episode and the last 30 minutes of the romantic scenario scenes were the metaphorical cherry on top! I was smiling so hard the whole time! Gene's outfit looked like it was tailored just for him. I saw the costume interpretations of Snow White, Juliet and Cinderella on Gene and started to clap out loud. My neighbors probably hate me but whatever! They broke the 4th wall in that last episode and the true ending was so touching. So happy for Gene, Gene & Sib and Ms. Rose - who wrote Lovely Writer??
Just brilliant. Take all of my money.
Was this review helpful to you?