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Top Secret Together thai drama review
Completed
Top Secret Together
16 people found this review helpful
by labcat
Aug 19, 2021
15 of 15 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 6.5
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 6.5
This review may contain spoilers

More isn't better when it comes to the number of BL couples

I imagine at least one creator behind this series thinking: "Let's throw in as many BL couples as possible. Maybe at least BL fans would find one of the couples their cup of tea."

The inclusion of Newyear and Both, a real-life couple that is semi-fictionalized here, is a symptom of this desperate attempt to make the series commercially successful. After all. the fans of their YouTube channel may be drawn to the series because of them. Never mind that their purpose in the story is really just to own a cafe that the other (mostly unrelated) characters patronize so that there is a semblance of a unified story world. The subplot of Newyear and Both is rather unimpressive as far as the creation of a series is concerned--even if they do look cute together.

The story should simply have focused on one main couple and one side-couple, namely Simai/Lukmo and Phob/MaiEak. Lukmo is an employee of the company at which the other three are interns, and the focus on just these two couples would have allowed their stories to be more developed.

Simai and Lukmo's story, while not original, is the most compelling. I think it would have been interesting if more had been shown of Lukmo's youth and the longstanding grudge he has been holding against his estranged father. More revelations of his inner world early enough would have made his uncharacteristic openness to Simai more moving. The transition to Lukmo's reconciliation with his father could also have revealed more complex emotions. For instance, how does he feel regarding his relationship with Simai when he is told that Simai is not really his half-brother. As for Simai, the actor playing this role seems to suit the role of the innocent and sweet Simai (with a dash of playfulness) very well. The story would have been more interesting if more work had been done on his struggles after being told that Lukmo is his half-brother. Surprisingly, the two new actors playing these two characters seem under-stretched in their roles.

Phob and MaiEak's story is the old story of secret one-sided love. They would have been a good secondary couple if there had been more scenes of them, such as the scenes of Phob's crush on and quiet sacrifices for MaiEak from the time they are freshmen. This is mentioned by the other characters but we don't see it for ourselves, and so we are unlikely to feel much for Phob. MaiEak's uncertain feelings towards Phob could also have been the focus rather than his (sloppily written) attempts to woo a girl in the company. The focus on his attempts to woo the girl simply makes it unconvincing that he would later start to realize that he loves Phob too--he is supposed to have felt something for Phob all these years, but it is not convincing. Adeptly executed flashbacks would have helped in the portrayal of this couple.

The other notable couple is Copy and Nampu, whose story is unabashedly ripped off SOTUS. The inclusion of this couple is unnecessary. So is the inclusion of Plawaan and Suea. Sure, more cute actors are thrown into the series, but at what expense?

If effort had simply been spent developing the Simai/Lukmo and Phob/MaiEak storylines, this could have been a rather good series. The disjointedness that results from moving from one couple to another would also have been effortlessly eliminated. To the credit of the series, at least the five couples are clearly differentiated and their stories are usually not confusing. But audiences have grown to expect more from BL.
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