I Wanted To Like It, But...
This is a drama that had a lot of potential but ultimately fell flat. Whether that was due to Covid, uncertainty of the writers, or something else, who knows. The show had a lot of great parts but, unfortunately, even more not so great parts. The pacing in particular left a lot to be desired.
Pros:
- I'm not typically wowed by the acting in BLs. Most of the actors seem very green and their flaws and lack of experience can be painfully obvious. Not so here. Saint and Zee in particular were fantastic. Their chemistry with each other was on point and their acting as individuals was also fantastic. Zee in particular was a master of the microexpression, those minute facial expressions that express so much. He also conveyed a lot of his character's emotions with just his eyes. There's a lot to be said for actors who have the ability to carry a story with more than just dialogue and he nailed it. And Saint was right there with him. He has great expression and manages to convey a great deal with just a simple look. Huge kudos to both of them for their superb acting.
Tommy was also good in a completely different way. While Zee and Saint have what I would consider more understate acting styles, Tommy was more over the top, dramatic expressions which actually worked quite well without being too cheesy or theatrical. I especially appreciated his range as the drama progressed and his relationship with Saifah progressed. His performance became more nuanced and it was his more subtle and understated expressions that really made his character appeal to me.
Jimmy was obviously the greenest of the actors and it showed, especially because his fellow castmates were so good. Absolutely nothing against him, he did a great job all things considered, he just wasn't quite as expressive or consistent as his costars, but it was an excellent first effort and I'm sure he'll continue to grow as an actor.
- Thai BL dramas in particular seem to have an issue with consent which I take issue with it to a strong degree. I was extremely impressed with how that was handled in this drama because aside from one scene, there is no doubt that both parties are consenting whether it be kissing or having sex. And that was truly fantastic to see, the respect that both couples had for each other, the way space was given when it was needed, and how, for the most part, they communicated. There is one scene later in the drama that lacks consent. While I understand what was trying to be conveyed and how emotionally unstable both characters were at the time, it's a hard scene to watch and I don't think it was necessary to take it as far as they did. Does it do a good job of emphasizing just how badly the characters were doing? Yes, but again, I think there are other ways that scene could have played out. Still it is worth it to note that that is the only scene where consent is lacking.
Of the two main romances, Fighter and Tutor are my favorite simply because theirs seemed to be the most organic and best developed. I will reiterate that the pacing was god awful at times in this drama, but theirs had the most logical progression. Their push and pull of will they, won't they was well done, the emotional conflict they each experienced and how they handled it was shown well, again a testament to the actors and their skills. I will say that parts of their story were a obvious and a bit cliche, it was pretty clear what the main conflict of their relationship would be, but I still thought it was played out pretty well.
Zon and Saifah were very different and that difference created a nice contrast between the two romances. However, their romance took a back burner at times and as such, it felt more choppy and less like a steady progression from enemies to lovers. Zon's progression especially was all over the place and more scenes showing how he got from point A to point B would have helped a lot with keeping me engaged in his and Saifah's story as well as feeling less whiplashed from his constantly changing mood.
- As with pretty much every BL drama I've watched the OST was perfect and I very much enjoyed it. I particularly enjoyed this one though because there was more variety. Most BLs seem to use a couple of songs on repeat which I generally don't mind because I like them, but I felt like this drama used more songs and they used them well.
- Most BL dramas have a parent or someone who is some level of homophobic and that rarely gets addressed or called out. There is one particular scene in this drama though where it is addressed and honestly that one scene made watching the drama worth it because the dialogue was so perfect. In short, it is emphasized that love is love and that being in a straight relationship does not guarantee a lasting relationship. This is reiterated at other points, but that one scene was done so well, I loved it.
Cons:
- Thai BL dramas seem to have a tendency to have an overinflated cast. There are a huge number of characters that pop in and out of the drama and its impossible to keep track of them and who they are and why you should care about them. With that comes the issue of too many couples. By my count, this drama had a total of six to seven different couples. That is far too many for basically any drama much less a thirteen episode one. There's no proper progression or conclusion to these relationships, but they give you just enough of a glimpse to tantalize you and want more which they don't give. I find that frustrating because I found two of the couples to be quite cute and I would have liked more of them, but didn't get that obviously.
- This was honestly probably the biggest issue for me. It was so confusing you just kind of had to go with it. But truly you have no sense of how much time has passed between the beginning and end of the drama much less between various events. It all just kind of blurs together eventually. I already mentioned most of the issues I had with it above so I'll leave it at that.
- Most Asian dramas like to make use of various sound effects, typically for comedic effect. I have no issue with those and when properly used they can be amusing and add to a scene. They were massively overused though in this drama to the point that they just got to be distracting and annoying. Moderation is key.
- The latter half of the drama got to be very repetitive. Lots of flashbacks and musical montages that really weren't necessary and just dragged on as well as multiple shots of the same scene from various angles. I'm going to chalk this up to Covid because the first part of drama did not have that same issue.
Overall, it was an enjoyable drama with some very high points as well as some very low points. Is it one I'm likely to go back and re-watch? Probably not, but it was fun to watch in the moment. I will again say it had a very strong lead couple in Tutor and Fighter and they honestly made the whole thing worth it.
Pros:
- I'm not typically wowed by the acting in BLs. Most of the actors seem very green and their flaws and lack of experience can be painfully obvious. Not so here. Saint and Zee in particular were fantastic. Their chemistry with each other was on point and their acting as individuals was also fantastic. Zee in particular was a master of the microexpression, those minute facial expressions that express so much. He also conveyed a lot of his character's emotions with just his eyes. There's a lot to be said for actors who have the ability to carry a story with more than just dialogue and he nailed it. And Saint was right there with him. He has great expression and manages to convey a great deal with just a simple look. Huge kudos to both of them for their superb acting.
Tommy was also good in a completely different way. While Zee and Saint have what I would consider more understate acting styles, Tommy was more over the top, dramatic expressions which actually worked quite well without being too cheesy or theatrical. I especially appreciated his range as the drama progressed and his relationship with Saifah progressed. His performance became more nuanced and it was his more subtle and understated expressions that really made his character appeal to me.
Jimmy was obviously the greenest of the actors and it showed, especially because his fellow castmates were so good. Absolutely nothing against him, he did a great job all things considered, he just wasn't quite as expressive or consistent as his costars, but it was an excellent first effort and I'm sure he'll continue to grow as an actor.
- Thai BL dramas in particular seem to have an issue with consent which I take issue with it to a strong degree. I was extremely impressed with how that was handled in this drama because aside from one scene, there is no doubt that both parties are consenting whether it be kissing or having sex. And that was truly fantastic to see, the respect that both couples had for each other, the way space was given when it was needed, and how, for the most part, they communicated. There is one scene later in the drama that lacks consent. While I understand what was trying to be conveyed and how emotionally unstable both characters were at the time, it's a hard scene to watch and I don't think it was necessary to take it as far as they did. Does it do a good job of emphasizing just how badly the characters were doing? Yes, but again, I think there are other ways that scene could have played out. Still it is worth it to note that that is the only scene where consent is lacking.
Of the two main romances, Fighter and Tutor are my favorite simply because theirs seemed to be the most organic and best developed. I will reiterate that the pacing was god awful at times in this drama, but theirs had the most logical progression. Their push and pull of will they, won't they was well done, the emotional conflict they each experienced and how they handled it was shown well, again a testament to the actors and their skills. I will say that parts of their story were a obvious and a bit cliche, it was pretty clear what the main conflict of their relationship would be, but I still thought it was played out pretty well.
Zon and Saifah were very different and that difference created a nice contrast between the two romances. However, their romance took a back burner at times and as such, it felt more choppy and less like a steady progression from enemies to lovers. Zon's progression especially was all over the place and more scenes showing how he got from point A to point B would have helped a lot with keeping me engaged in his and Saifah's story as well as feeling less whiplashed from his constantly changing mood.
- As with pretty much every BL drama I've watched the OST was perfect and I very much enjoyed it. I particularly enjoyed this one though because there was more variety. Most BLs seem to use a couple of songs on repeat which I generally don't mind because I like them, but I felt like this drama used more songs and they used them well.
- Most BL dramas have a parent or someone who is some level of homophobic and that rarely gets addressed or called out. There is one particular scene in this drama though where it is addressed and honestly that one scene made watching the drama worth it because the dialogue was so perfect. In short, it is emphasized that love is love and that being in a straight relationship does not guarantee a lasting relationship. This is reiterated at other points, but that one scene was done so well, I loved it.
Cons:
- Thai BL dramas seem to have a tendency to have an overinflated cast. There are a huge number of characters that pop in and out of the drama and its impossible to keep track of them and who they are and why you should care about them. With that comes the issue of too many couples. By my count, this drama had a total of six to seven different couples. That is far too many for basically any drama much less a thirteen episode one. There's no proper progression or conclusion to these relationships, but they give you just enough of a glimpse to tantalize you and want more which they don't give. I find that frustrating because I found two of the couples to be quite cute and I would have liked more of them, but didn't get that obviously.
- This was honestly probably the biggest issue for me. It was so confusing you just kind of had to go with it. But truly you have no sense of how much time has passed between the beginning and end of the drama much less between various events. It all just kind of blurs together eventually. I already mentioned most of the issues I had with it above so I'll leave it at that.
- Most Asian dramas like to make use of various sound effects, typically for comedic effect. I have no issue with those and when properly used they can be amusing and add to a scene. They were massively overused though in this drama to the point that they just got to be distracting and annoying. Moderation is key.
- The latter half of the drama got to be very repetitive. Lots of flashbacks and musical montages that really weren't necessary and just dragged on as well as multiple shots of the same scene from various angles. I'm going to chalk this up to Covid because the first part of drama did not have that same issue.
Overall, it was an enjoyable drama with some very high points as well as some very low points. Is it one I'm likely to go back and re-watch? Probably not, but it was fun to watch in the moment. I will again say it had a very strong lead couple in Tutor and Fighter and they honestly made the whole thing worth it.
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