pros:

- the cinematography. everything is on point. the camera effects, the shots, the lighting… everything fits in the aesthetic of the show and is beautiful to look at.

- the acting. James Teeradon, man. he slayed it. he’s truly incredible and it makes me want to see him in other roles, because damn. all the other actors are also amazing! there’s not one single bad performance, everything is perfect

- the story. it truly touched my heart in a way no other has done before. you cry a lot, you smile a lot, and the whole conclusion of the story is probably one of the best lessons you could learn

- the way it deals with depression: amazingly. there’s no flaw, it shows the point of view of the depressed superbly, but also shows the reactions of those who are not directly affected by it

- Tony Rakkaen. man his character design for this show is crazy good. he looks like he just came from a cool ass comic or something. I guess that bullet point is more about character design, universe design, all that shit: it’s done wonderfully as well. as I said previously everything fits together

- the characters. all of them are endearing, and both Simon and Boo’s dad have great character development

- contrarily to Spike and Side by Side, the ending is entirely happy. all three shows have a hopeful ending but Spike and Side by Side are sort of bittersweet whereas Skate Our Souls is just plain happiness

cons:

- none which never happens

would I rewatch it: 1000% yes.

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Basic story, but memorable scenes

I'm writing this straight from the premiere. I didn't have many expectations for this movie, as the plot seemed (and really was) very basic and simple, but I really enjoyed it!

it's very well executed, with a beautiful cinematography, great writing & very impactful scenes that make the movie stand out a lot more despite its simplicity. there is a lot of soul behind this movie, which is something that is not always present & changes everything.

the acting was very good, and the chemistry between nanon & film truly beautiful. nanon especially really shined in this role that got him to embody a bunch of different emotions & expressions. the scene where they share a bed & nanon is all shy is truly THE CUTEST EVER, I was smiling the whole time bc it truly put an adorable twist to an otherwise basic scene we've seen many times before.

the characters were all great, and even the side characters who didn't get much character development stood out with their unique descriptions (ohm with his constant boner, neo the scratcher of balls & ass, chimon the annoying one, & euro with his ridiculous bike compared to the other guy's motorbikes.) it all created a very believable friend group, and the friendship was definitely one of my favorite aspects of the movie.

this movie is so fun, and I laughed a whole lot. obviously the two most notable scenes that I have no doubt will be all over twitter once the movie leaks online, is first nanon's whole ass appearing in the movie (ballsy!), and nanon full on making out with fluke pusit, throwing him on a table and straddling him, before neo does the same after him. I don't think I'm ever getting over that scene, and the whole audience lost their shit in that moment, how fucking random, and if you're a gmmtv fan it just makes this moment even funnier.

now for what I didn't love... the ending kinda disappointed me. I was not adverse to a sad ending, but for me it felt way too forced & didn't make much sense with the personalities of the characters, who have been very obvious they like each other since pretty much the beginning & have put a lot of effort into their relationship. for them to give up after one dumb fight felt too forced, even though I know with the showing of an alternate universe where they get back together, that was the point, I guess I just don't agree lol.

moreover, it's still a very basic story, so even without the last 30 minutes of the movie losing me a little bit, this could've never been my all time favorite thai movie for this reason. but the level of great execution from gmmtv on this is giving me hope that if they adapt original scripts, they'll do great. it's an exciting start for the movie-making side of their business!

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FINALLY a good bl sequel

PROS:

- the cinematography!!! you can definitely tell they got more budget & creative direction for this season because some shots literally fucking stunned me, they were gorgeous!!! they went full film d’auteur for this one & I couldn’t approve more, this is my jam!!!

- the characters, and especially kang seo joon. like I just love this character so much??? everyone in this show fucking WORKS, but kang seo joon is like this cartoon-y character who also feels so real & he’s just really fucking amazing.

- I love the writing & its realism. this sequel made me realize that even the original season had a deeper aspect to it compared to other kbls, a sort of looming feeling of mental health issues & other problems, even with a happy ending. and in that way, the writers perfectly continued that story & gave us more context as to who both characters are as people, and I think the writers did a great job underlining the possible problems in their relationship & playing on their differences. I feel like this sequel worked when all of the others haven’t because the writers stayed true to the characters & story they wanted to tell. obviously season two has a different tone & setting, yet both seasons really work together, whereas it’s usually really not the case.

- the chemistry & acting just work. I don’t think han ji woo’s actor is the best actor & the more emotional scene wasn’t the best imo, but apart from that this pairing just works really well, and overall the acting is very solid. even with all the issues between the characters, the chemistry between the actors makes you care about this pairing a lot more.


CONS:

- v angsty, and I know that this is not what some people are looking for in this sequel, and in that case I would skip this one out. or just binge it all in one go bc I guarantee you, binging the first 8 eps and then having to wait a week for the conclusion like I did was HELL.

- I think han ji woo is a very interesting character that I really like, but since he’s been the driving factor for every drama & break up this couple has had, and he’s very cold & everything, in some moments it was really hard to care for him. there was literally a point in the show where I felt like these two were better off broken up, and I’m not sure that’s exactly what the writers wanted. so I think they went a bit too far with ji woo’s cruelty in certain moments, when it should’ve been slightly more push & pull rather than one hurting the other repeatedly if that makes sense.


WOULD I REWATCH IT: maybe not on its own bc it’s very angsty, but if I rewatched the original show I would definitely follow it with season two.


CONCLUSION: FINALLY a sequel that is not disappointing!!! I despise second seasons, but here I’m so glad I gave this one a chance, despite not even knowing how it was gonna end! This just proves me that you can introduce angst, break ups and challenges in a sequel and still make it good, and I’m just really happy that one of my favorite 2021 shows actually got the sequel it deserves <3

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I didn't watch the movie this was adapted from so I won't be judging this as an adaptation but as an original piece on its own.

STORY. The story was beautiful, but really hard to put up with to be honest. Like it just hurt too much, I hate sad gays I only want happy gays! But apart from that it was well written, the pace and structure was great and I don't have much criticism except for the fact that yes, the teacher/student relationship is a bit icky. Frankly though I expected it to be much worse and I actually found quite respectful, though they could've written Liu as an 18 years old and it wouldn't have changed anything. But thankfully there was no kiss or more inappropriate scenes and even though they act like a couple in the last few scenes of the movie, I didn't find it too disturbing. Would've way preferred if she was 18 but I'll let it slide.

ACTING. The acting was so damn good! I came for Ohm, as I think a lot of people did too, and he did not disappoint one bit. It's beautiful to see how much he has grown as an actor since the Make It Right days, He already demonstrated his growth in He's Coming To Me but I feel like this movie pushed him even further, and he was just so good as Dew. Anyways I love Ohm we stan him he's so cute! But the rest of the cast did an amazing job as well, there was no bad performance and I really could empathize with almost all the characters. The acting was just perfect in my opinion so I've got nothing more to say.

THE MUSIC. It was good, not ground-breaking or anything but I obviously like the older thai songs that helped anchor the first part of the movie set in the 90s. And I especially loved the last song of the show on which the movie ends, it was really full of emotion and made me cry so it did a really good job.

REWATCH VALUE. I'd say it's not a movie I'd watch every month because it's just quite sad but I can already tell I will rewatch this movie at one point or another. It's so densely packed with feelings that I feel as though it's the kind of movies you need to rewatch multiple times to fully be able to enjoy.

OVERALL. The director did an incredible job for this, every frame of this movie is absolutely gorgeous and I really feel like no scene is wasted at all. Every scene furthers the plot beautifully without being too undeveloped or, on the contrary, made to feel too important. While the movie lasts almost 2 hours, it honestly felt like only one and that's pretty rare for me to say that. I greatly enjoyed this movie, I honestly already want to rewatch it even though it will hurt me too much but I'd recommend it to anyone who can handle sad gays! A really good surprise :)

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One of the best straight thai romcoms!

PROS:

- the characters were amazing. ying ying is a great main character as she’s quite reasonable in her choices & feels very relatable to the viewer. noina is a little more over the top, but she’s so cute it’s hard to be mad at her, even when she’s too desperate & pushy for her own good. korn is extremely bland & boring at first, but for once in a male lead it’s actually on purpose, and seeing him come out of his shell little by little was very satisfying. as for pat, he’s basically the perfect man. he’s mature, a great friend & boyfriend, but still very funny when he’s scared & as an ex-playboy. wisa is frankly one of the best villains ever? she’s both completely cartoon-ish in her villainy, yet has very real moments that show her struggles to define herself outside of how her parents view her. I kinda stan her ngl :’)

- the acting was really good! whoever thought of pairing baifern & mild as bffs deserves a raise, bc the chemistry of these two in emotional scenes is THROUGH THE ROOF!!! you feel every emotion they’re going through. as for nonkul he did great, and this is actually the first role of his where he leaves a positive impression on me as his other roles were honestly just too bland. ploy was also amazing as wisa, she feels like a whole other person from her usual sweet roles so it was great to witness that! all of the other actors were great in their own way too!

- the chemistry was also top-tier, which is pretty amazing considering ying ying & korn spend most of the show apart, and even when they’re together ying ying is trying to make him like noina so it’s not like too much romantic stuff can be going on. even with that, the way those two look at each other was enough for the viewer to completely feel the love between them. pat & noina were an amazing side ship who are way more light than the main one, but the chemistry which already existed in girl next room: richy rich absolutely continued & even deepened in this series :)

- the friendship in this series is great, and showcases why exactly female friendship is simply superior™. gonna be honest I almost feel like this show is more about ying ying & noina than their love stories, and I loved seeing how close & loyal to each other they are. these two are basically sisters, and it was great to witness such a beautiful friendship on screen.

- the story is entertaining as hell, it definitely has a lot of over the top elements that come with lakorns & simply this type of story, but behind all of that it still feels pretty realistic. the choices made by the characters make sense, their character development is written well and it all fits very well into a cohesive story.

- I literally never comment on it, but the costume design was TOP-NOTCH!!! I loved how ying ying’s outfits are a bit more boyish & streetwear compared to noina’s hyper feminine & cutesy outfits. I love how wisa’s extravagant clothes match yoo’s top-tier wardobe compared to korn’s bland one. I love that the two doctors dress very simply as fashion is clearly not their priority, but that pat is often seen wearing stripes, as if it was his favorite pattern in clothing. this costume design was just very well done in my opinion, and it’s one of the rare times I actually noticed & appreciated the clothes used in a show.

CONS:

- I gotta say the transphobia in the show made me pretty uncomfortable. I feel like there’s two separate things about it: firstly they’re trying to show the transphobia that pang faces, but it does feel pretty clumsy considering her transphobic dad accepts her out of nowhere after having completely denied her gender for years... secondly there are other instances that just feel insensitive, like when ying ying introduces pang to korn as her “big brother... oh, I mean big sister.” that remark really bothered me bc ying ying has known pang’s gender for years at this point & is very close to her, so there was no reason to introduce her like that apart from making it clear to korn that she’s transgender, which... is simply not her place to say that at all. idk, I know the show had good intentions, but for me that wasn’t what was translated on screen.

- like every romcom, this does fall into pretty cliche territories. ying ying & korn HAVING to be each other’s first loves was v obvious & pretty unoriginal, though I like that they’re balanced by pat & noina who are not each other’s first loves. there’s a few moments in this show that feel like that, and it’s not like the show as a whole isn’t incredibly predictable. I don’t think you’ll be surprised once during this show, there’s no plot twist whatsoever. but I don’t think it was the point anyway, so... yeah. it’s just what keeps me from giving it a higher grade.

WOULD I REWATCH IT: why not!

CONCLUSION: This was a really lovely show that completely exceeded my expectations compared to its trailers. In terms of straight romances, this is definitely one of the best I’ve ever watched from Thailand so I’d definitely recommend it! It also gives pretty good lessons about love & marriage that feel way more realistic than most romcoms.

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So much potential... misused :/

PROS:

- I LOVED the world building of this series. The idea to color code Diew (and consequently his cousin) in yellow & Mix (and consequently his brother) in blue was genius!!! This immediately creates a super interesting color palette & lets the viewer know that Diew & Mix are basically soulmates who complete each other. Also calling Diew like that which means “the only one/alone” in Thai to show his loneliness was great as well :)

- I loved the settings. All of COPY A BANGKOK’s shows manage to have really beautiful buildings that seem to come more from a European country than Bangkok & it’s rare to see such original settings in a thai series.

- The chemistry between Peak & Zee was SO GOOD, it's frankly a crime they didn’t get a more developed ship.

- I loved seeing the mental health portrayal in this series. I find it to be way too rare in series in general but especially thai dramas so I was glad to see a character struggle & be vulnerable on screen (even though it was sadly too little according to me.)

- The acting was honestly pretty good. I really like Peak as an actor & I way preferred Zee in this role than in Why R U, I thought Mix suited him way better as a character (since he’s such a cutie hehe.) The cameo performances weren’t as good or uniformous in quality, but as you’ll see in the cons I didn’t like them anyway so it didn’t change much :’)

- The cinematography was really solid. Again the settings & decors slapped, but also the shots of the food??? That was some top level advertisement quality cameras they used for that, I was so hungry haha :’)

- The story had SO MUCH potential, paired with all of the points above... Like legit this could’ve been an amazing show, and there are still many points in the story I enjoyed.

CONS:

- Wayyy too long. firstly the first three episodes were kinda useless & could’ve been cut entirely as Mix isn’t introduced until ep 4, but even then this series in the way it was executed (giving more screentime to random guests from different bl shows & focusing more on who Diew would eat with rather than the psychological aspect of his & Mix’s condition) should’ve been 8 episodes max, not 13.

- Honestly the random guests appearances every episode were so goddamn unnecessary. I feel like it’s sort of a pattern for COPY A BANGKOK’s shows to showcase how many famous bl actors they can get on their shows, but... here it truly added nothing. The only cameos that were well integrated in the story were Leo & Tai who play their family members (though they should’ve been featured way more honestly, they were the only sightly interesting side characters), and surprisingly to me BounPrem’s characters who not only play a confirmed couple (in a show that didn’t confirm their obviously in love main characters loool), but actually had a very touching moment with Diew that I really enjoyed. For the rest, they could’ve all not been there & it wouldn’t have changed anything for me.

- This truly wanted to be a bl but without intimate scenes... There are so many moments that come straight out from a bl, even clear feelings between the two main characters... Yet we don’t get to see them become boyfriends. I get not wanting to do a kiss scene, honestly I wouldn’t even have cared. The problem is that the series becomes frustrating when it’s very clear it’s still very much a mlm love story without intimacy... So why not directly confirm it instead of putting a bunch of really gay moments between the two main characters that are so obviously in love? That was just poorly done.

- There were a lot of inconsistencies or just weird scenes, for example their university classroom is in a freaking warehouse?? That was so weird. also I spent most of the show thinking Mix was faking his fear of eating alone bc legit the scene after he reveals he has the same condition as Diew we see him eating alone in front of his room alone lmao, and also the show doesn't explore his psychological reasons for his fear at all contrarily to Diew. Like again so much potential, but the execution in the writing just wasn’t there.

WOULD I REWATCH IT: hm... not for a while

CONCLUSION: This had crazy good potential, but like most COPY A BANGKOK shows it didn’t deliver. It was still an okay show & there are a few things I frankly LOVED about it, but its flaws are too big to be overlooked.

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