Didactic and a dud - not good, and it's all the fault of the scriptwriter...

There are only two good things about this overhyped, overrated, over-preachy BL/series: (1) the good-looking lead actors (Paolo tried his best but still needs a lot of learning in so far as acting skills is concerned; Ian's theater background helped him, although it really showed that his brand of acting, lacking cinematic nuance, is better for theater), and (2) the effort to showcase various musicians in the Philippines (although it would have been better if they took the effort to find musicians who can compose original music for it)

There, those are the only good things. Here are the awful, bad things:

1) The script by the supposed scriptwriter, Juan Severo, is absolutely lacking in cohesion and direction. He may have based it in an online story he developed earlier, and though fans praise that piece, it doesn't necessarily mean that the said piece would effectively translate as basis for a series/mini-series. God knows how I gave this series a chance due to the self-serving releases of the big studio that funds it, that company Globe Studios owned by the giant Philippine telecoms company. You would imagine the promise this series must have to warrant such an investment from a huge studio. In short, I had absolutely high expectations, especially since the writer is supposed to be this acclaimed poet with a huge clout, actually an influencer. I expected no less than at the very least something really entertaining and something well-crafted. But no. I sat though FIVE EPISODES WITH NOTHING HAPPENING, UNBELIEVABLE. I thought, how dare these people waste my time! Five episodes with nothing but this couple fighting over dishes? Are you guys serious? And yet the hype machine of this influencer-writer and the studio that backed this project is even more unbelievable. And how about the director? He agreed to direct a series with nothing happening in more than half of its duration? Am I watching a BL or an absurdist play? It's either of two things - the writer is too spoiled and he can't be called out to revise his script, or he is surrounded by fools who have no idea where they are throwing their money at. By the time I reached the 6th episode, thank god something finally happened, there was that good moment of release from both characters, which led me to think that perhaps this BL/series would have worked if it were a short film, just that one episode to stand for the whole thing, And then there came the 7th episode where there was a retreat to a usual BL trope, the identity crisis, which is ill timed, after the leap and the progress that the 6th episode finally achieved. We regressed, and i was wondering how this scriptwriter would bring it back forward again. Eventually, by the 8th episode, it's obvious they just really want it to end in the usual ways they have been ending every lacking episode: with a placard declaration. This writer is not a scriptwriter, he is a slogan writer. He is incapable of developing rich characters with depth, unable to construct scenes that are engaging and concrete, but worst of all, he had the audacity not to be corrected or ask for help, or not even identify the loopholes in his script. I think he absolutely believed all his fans, rather scary in their being rabid (I saw them campaign to have negative reviews taken down), when they delude him in declaring that he created a "masterpiece." Really? Wow. And this from a scriptwriter who dare find loopholes in Thai BLs and other BLs in his own country, and even Thai BL actors. But again, I'd give it to him, he writes ok slogans, and at least he is vocal about the abusive politicians in his own country. He shouldn't be writing BLs or any scirpts for that matter. Better enrol in scriptwriting basics first.

2) Bad cinematography, bad set design, and super bad lighting. I watched all 8 episodes squinting because of the damn lighting! Are the cameramen and lighting men of this series impaired with eye defects that they could not discern how dark their sets are? Again, uneffingbelievable! It's like the whole thing was shot in a cave, it's so annoying! To aggravate the lighting situation, the set is too strange-looking, it is so damn hard to suspend one's disbelief seeing how weird the setting is: a loft, with rooms the size of full apartments? Wow. How big are these rooms exactly coz they look like they are big enough to be occupied by families. But it doesn;t end there, coz adding to the strangeness of the setting's dimensions is that staircase that leads to the loft, which would make you wonder - how huge is this building if there are other loft units like this that have rooms as big as party places? See, we don't even deserve to be having these problems anymore and just watch and enjoy - but how, when you got no solid narrative to hold on to? When all that is such a big deal for at least the first five episodes is who should wash the dishes? And then there's the super bad cinematography. Example, I remember one episode where that Judith character was kissed on the cheek by her brother - when Ian rose to reach her, he totally blocked the camera! And you do not make mistakes like this in filmmaking, because these are too basic, too amateurish. Didn't the big studio bosses see this? And if they did, again, why didn't they intervene? And how about the director yet again whose command responsibility it is to fix anything and everything that are not working?

3) The overall pretense of the entire project. Self-conscious, self-praising and self-reflexive. What the script lacked in basic effectiveness in scene-building and characterizations, it overcompensated with tricks like referencing hit movies, Thai BL actors in the end credits, and other such gimmickry such as post-episode online discussions with cast and staff which they called "banlaw sessions"; and what for? For explaining each episode? For fanning unfounded, blind and rabid hype? Remember - the biggest sign that a work failed is when it needs to be explained. A good film , a good work of art, any good creation can stand on its own. But not this one, precisely because it is not even art. It's just 8 sets of 20-minute long drivels that refer to itself as important because it's supposed to be reclaiming the gay narrative? It seems that the powerful and clout-bearing scriptwriter also forgot that those things don't need to be brandished nor used as marketing tactics - you inject your message subtly into your work, not forcefeed it into people and yapping about it by getting characters to just mouth the declarations in unfounded scenes. I feel bad the most for its supposed market, its supposed audience, because they have been gravely tricked with this really lousy piece of script, so full of loopholes that just makes it easier for them to just fill in themselves. It's like a case of, as another viewer-friend pointed out, the audience just projecting what they want to see into it, because they've already been manipulated into liking it despite its mediocrity.

There, I got nothing more to say about this series which i am sure I will easily forget. If you have been lucky enough not to be tricked, don't worry, I swear you are not missing anything. Just read the wattpad version, or better yet just watch that one ok episode, episode 6. Believe me you don't need to waste your time on the before and afters. And as for its messianic self-important claims that it reclaims the gay narrative, that's a laugh. There are so many other gay narratives out there which do better in delivering their messages, seek those instead, there's so many of them, and definitely more worthy of your precious time.

Read More