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Gen Y thai drama review
Completed
Gen Y
2 people found this review helpful
by labcat
Jan 29, 2021
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 7.0
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 6.5
This review may contain spoilers

So bad but I'm asking for more

Gen Y offers us what 2Moons 2 could have been if the same actors playing Ming and Kit in 2Moons 1 had acted in it. We have the same actors of Ming and Kit (2 Moons 1) playing the characters, Mark and Kit. (Yes, even the names are a bit of a rip-off.)

The Mark and Kit part of Gen Y is actually fairly decent where BL is concerned -- nothing really exceptional, but it is cute and sweet nonetheless. What I find myself liking even more is Kim and Bas acting as the best friends, Mark and Wayu (the parallels of Ming and Wayo in 2Moons). Kim and Bas work really well as BFFs.

Wayu, if it's not obvious enough by now, is the parallel of Wayo in 2Moons. And his boyfriend at the start of the series is Pha, just like in 2Moons. (The full names differ though the shortened versions of these names are the same or very similar.)

But Gen Y is not merely a ripoff or unofficial sequel to 2Moons 1. It's like 2Moons with a few twists, which are sometimes interesting and sometimes downright bizarre (and perhaps both at times).

For a rather light-hearted series, a couple of characters take a rather sinister turn. Sandee, for instance, seems like a really nice person at first but is given an unnecessarily dark turn later on. The motivations for his actions are vague. The same goes for Pha, who breaks up with Wayu for unknown reasons. There may be extenuating factors in his break-up, but his behavior is either weird or creepy (or perhaps simply badly written): he breaks up with Wayu, but wants to secretly see him and even secretly "spies" on Wayu after Wayu has gotten over the break-up and in the end appears again as though he has the right to ask Wayu to reconcile with him. (Seriously, wtf, dude?)

Wayu, on the other hand, despite his apparent love for Pha, actually gets over him quite easily. It seems that, in this series, that kissing a hot guy would help one get over a sudden breakup with someone one totally loves. Anyway, this is why Wayu shifts his affection to Thanu instead.

Thanu is another fascinating disaster of a character. Perhaps you won't be able to take your eyes off him because the actor playing Thanu looks really good. But, more importantly, you will find it difficult to look away because of incredulity. Have you ever encountered a character who is portrayed as a really nice person and yet inexplicably do things that assholes do?

And perhaps you can't even blame Thanu--just blame his creator, the scriptwriter. Because his creator has decided to endow him with some mystical experiences. He sees a guy once and basically falls in love (ok, this is common in BL, but more is coming). Then one day, he touches the hands of the same guy, and they both have visions of the future, with this guy being hurt (heartbroken) very badly because of him. Wow, magic! But wait a minute. Thanu is also falling in love with Wayu at the same time. He vacillates between the two guys. Surely the destined one should be the one with whom the magical visions take place, you say? No, when he touches Wayu's hand, both of them have flashbacks of the past, which reveal something they don't know. I guess if I have to sum it up, Thanu is basically this good person who inadvertently ends up being an asshole because his creator has overdosed on hallucinogens.

There are also too many characters in this series. I thought Thai BLs of late have started avoiding this, but apparently not. By the end of the series, the series does not even bother to address some of the issues that it has given considerable attention to, such as the problem between Thanu and his ex-good friend, Padbok. (I thought that was an interesting part of the plot, but obviously Thanu's creator had a different idea of what makes a good story.)

Watching Gen Y is like listening to your next-door neighbors quarreling loudly. It can be rather annoying, but you may well find your attention progressively grabbed by what they are shouting about. Then when they suddenly stop, you might find yourself anticipating a continuation.
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