Deserves More Love!

Week after week, I would check the rating here on MDL to see if other people were seeing what I was seeing, yet the rating remains consistently poor. If you've come down to the review section out of curiosity, please don't let the low average rating scare you away! This is a beautiful show that gets better the more you engage with it as a viewer.

I think the thing that might be throwing many people is actually the thing I also like most: namely, that this series is more like a stage play than a TV show. There are a limited number of sets, a relatively small cast of characters, and high dialogue to action ratio. This ties in with the main character's profession as a play actor and also serves in a metacontextual way of engaging with the act of storytelling in a rather novel way. Not only does this show have a main plot and a few subplots, but everything about it is also a love letter to the very notion of storytelling itself. Characters serve as stand-ins for the audience, the chorus, and even the storyteller in turns. It's a fun device that really adds to the depth of each and every shot, line of dialogue, and character choice made along the way.

I also have to applaud the way that this show handles religion and spirituality and the supernatural. It's also a deep dive into grief and loss. Honestly, there's so much to this show! Also, Jared is adorable and it's worth watching for each of his appearances onscreen alone.

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Stumbled In the Final Quarter

For a show that warned viewers to leave their morality at the door, the ending is what lost this almost-masterpiece an entire star.

I'm just going to say it: Boston deserved better writing. Neo Trai's acting performance was easily the strongest across the heavy-weight cast, but even I tired of his sad eyes and out of character whining by the end. He should have stood firm, he should have been allowed to be a non-monogamous king in peace, and he should have gotten to end the series with the threesome he was promised in the beginning. I just hope he gets the last laugh while off in New York.

Edit: After sitting with this show for a bit longer, I'm dropping my rating to a 7/10.

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What To Even Say

How can I sum up my feelings about this show in a way that would be helpful for others?

I guess the most important part is provide some trigger warnings:
incest, mentions of offscreen rape of supporting characters, implied attempted rape, blackmail, homophobia including homophobic violence, unsafe sex, bullying, and tbh I'm not quite sure how to put this one but a sister actively shipping her own brother with a guy he hates. I have likely missed even more because this show drove me to befriend the skip button.

This show is hard to rate because the main pairing is so sweet and earnest, they eventually figure out how to best communicate when they're upset, they support each other as friends and as partners, and they're overall one of the most compelling onscreen Thai BL couples from this era. And yet. And yet. This show insists on splitting the focus across at least five or six couples, and every single side pairing is awful. Truly awful.

My best recommendation is to scrub through each episode; if you don't see Perth and/or Saint in a scene, don't bother. Their story is the only worthwhile part of this series.

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My Top Drama of 2023

I’m still shocked that this show passed censorship—in a good way, I should stress. I’m almost speechless.

I should also stress that this is a heavy show and it’s hard to watch. The script plays fair with the audience, which means that nothing goes smoothly for the sake of convenience. Every single outcome is actively earned and every setback is established fairly too. We know the villains, we know the heroes, and they know each other. It’s part spy movie, part guzhuang, part Law & Order SVU, and part love story. The love was there. It didn’t change anything, but it was there.

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Painfully Bad

How is this show so well-rated and beloved?

I've seen other shows with Off and Gun paired together, so I know I can't blame their lack of chemistry on the actors... but damn if their characters Khai and Third have literally nothing going for them. You can't even blame the ratings on it being a steamy show because there are only a few kisses between the leads and they're all awkward as hell. Honestly, you know it's bad when the only pairing with any on-screen chemistry is the 'teacher emotionally cheats on fiancé with student' one.

The plot is ridiculously slow and Gun's narration constantly lampshading the fact Third is stupid for liking Khai doesn't help; if anything, it only makes the watching experience more frustrating because it destroys what little audience buy-in there was to begin with! Why should I care to see Third get treated like shit for 11 episodes of a 12 episode show? Gun's definitely a beautiful crier, but I still got bored of his constant tears by episode 2.

Meanwhile, Off's performance is, dare I say, off-putting. His coming out scene is so wooden and flat that I had to walk away. As a bisexual who didn't come into my identity until I was well into uni myself, I was hoping for more: more enthusiasm, more confusion, more distress or relief or incredulity. More anything. And it never got better. There was no sense of physical attraction between Khai and Third at any point in the entire show. A more generous read would be that Khai is a homoromantic heterosexual, but the stupid boner jokes undercut any credibility there. Instead, we're merely told that Khai thinks Third is attractive rather than that ever being shown.

Final verdict: 2/10 stars, direct to video.

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Feel-Good Story of 2022

This drama is getting a lot of undeserved criticism in the review section, so I feel obligated to leave a review of my own. I put off watching Vice Versa for an entire year because of its reception despite it being fantastic! It's thoughtful, beautifully shot, heartfelt, well-acted, and fun. It's fun! I wouldn't describe it as a comedy, but it's lighthearted in its use of cameos and other GMMTV show easter eggs. The plot contrivances are familiar tropes taken straight out of any web novel (which makes sense considering the story is based on one), but everything is handled with an earnestness and integrity that allows the story to feel resonant. It is fiction and you do have to buy into the worldbuilding, but Vice Versa makes it easy for viewers to do so. Also, the scriptwriting team also worked on the critically-acclaimed My School President, so you know that they're good at what they do. Please give this show a shot and watch with an open mind.

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Nominated for an Award for a Reason

This is a drama that improves upon rewatch; you can't always make that claim. P'Jojo's homage to the mafia lakorns of his youth blended with his passion for telling nuanced stories that transcend genre limitations mix for a sometimes stilted but always earnest exploration of class and queerness in contemporary Thailand.

This is more than just a BL/Series Y, but it's not playing the game of being above its genre the way The Eighth Sense strives to be something more akin to SKAM than I Told Sunset About You. Do not come into watching this drama with any preconceptions set by 3 Will Be Free or any other of P'Jojo's works or you will be disappointed. This is not as polished perhaps, but only because he's trying to push his own stylistic limitations and the growing pains around the edges are to be enjoyed rather than admonished.

Do give it an earnest try with an open mind and cautious heart. You may be surprised how many tears your eyes can shed.

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Hidden Gem of 2024

This show has been widely overlooked by MDLers and other drama watchers in international spaces despite being utterly—if you'll excuse the pun—thrilling to watch, whether week to week or all at once. The acting is so good that it genuinely boggled and continues to boggle my mind. I must devote special praise for the male and female leads as Liu Guan Ting depicts a scumbag you cannot help but root for while Wang Ching brings life, subtlety, and strength to his long-suffering long-term girlfriend. This isn't the sort of show I would normally choose to watch, but even several months on, I'm so glad that I did.

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