This review may contain spoilers
A really good and funny rom com but...
Contrary to the rest of this review, I actually found Fish Upon the Sky to be a really entertaining and interesting drama. But like so many other BL dramas, it's all fun and games until the main couple gets established. It goes from romcom to drama with emphasis on Dramatic real fast in the last few episodes, but if you're prepared to expect that then I'd say this is still a pretty good drama to watch.
Story/Production
There were a lot of small conflicts I thought were super interesting and, unfortunately, a lot of overarching plots that made no sense to me. The beginning premise about Pi being in love with Mueang and mistaking Mork as his rival was pretty interesting and the scene where Mueang helps Pi realize his feelings for Mork was well done in my opinion. The unknown texter was just as cool to see with the way they shot those scenes, even if we knew it was Mork from the beginning. Even the plot about Mork wanting Pi to be public about their relationship (while I didn't enjoy the outcome) was pretty interesting. But the one thing that I absolutely hated the entire existence of the fanclub and any plot surrounding them. Not only did I feel they were super unnecessary (all the did was create conflict for the main ship, which I know is the point since it's a drama, but this was just excessive) but there was no valuable lesson learned from them existing in this BL. It would've been nice if they ended the fanclub's plotline when Pi expresses that he's uncomfortable with them getting involved in his personal life, but instead they shut down the fanclub twitter just reopen it for the random MorkPi vs MorkBam plot...? And that entire conflict was unnecessary to the development of MorkPi's relationship too. And because that plot along with the leaked pictures plot happened in the last episode, the ending of the series didn't feel satisfying. Honestly that's nothing new when it comes to GMMTV productions but it's still a shame. Also the fish upon the sky motif totally got lost on me. The entire beginning scene with balloons and the love confession was really interesting to me but I feel like it wasn't as nicely integrated into the story as it could've been which was a shame because that scene could've been so symbolic and a beautiful way to end the series. It did for the record, but it didn't really make sense at all in my opinion...
However the production of this drama went beyond my expectations. The editing is well done and it definitely helped give the comedy aspect of this drama, which was honestly one of the reasons I kept watching. Like a lot of BL dramas try to be funny in at least one or two scenes, but this drama? it's an actual rom com and I totally appreciated it. Extra kudos to the production team.
Acting/Cast & Romance
I really enjoyed Phuwin's performance in this drama! Although this isn't his first drama and I haven't watched any other productions he was in, I can tell from this BL that he's definitely talented. Boy's got range! They made him do everything from the heart wrenching confession scenes to the silly scenes, and he certainly delivered. Pond did a good job too, but if I'm being honest it was nothing too special. I can't tell if that's on him though or if it's because his character doesn't... really... have emotions? Or at least not in the beginning. When they get to the conflict about Mork wanting Pi to tell people about their relationship, I can kind of see more of his skills but there's not much for me to work with. Neo has always done an exceptional job in my opinion, I absolutely loved him in Tonhon Chonlatee and he didn't let me down in this production either. I'm not sure if this is Louis's first BL drama but I think he did amazing! He did a wonder job giving depth to his character. And Jan is one of the best female actors in thai BL in my opinion, so of course she did an amazing job as well.
Mix gets his own paragraph because the whole reason I picked up this series was to watch him act hehe. He did phenomenal as usual AND HIS SMILE IS SO CUTE!!
Now to rate the romance... The romance scenes? 10/10 I was squealing the whole time because the couples are so adorable when they're being cutesy with one another. (The scene where they make PiMork official and Pi has to hide Mork from Duean? I was losing my mind. It was adorable and a tad bit spicy which I can totally get behind). If I had to speak on PiMork's relationship overall though... It was good until they actually began dating. Honestly I felt like Mork was just a bad boyfriend in general, trying to push Pi to make their relationship public even though Pi was clearly not ready for that, etc, etc. It made their relationship seem so unhealthy, which is why this pair lost some points with me. But the build up before that, where Pi is coming to terms with his feelings and Mork is pursuing him is cute and kept me interested and invested enough to continue following their story.
Meen and Duean on the other hand? Now that's some good character development. We know from the beginning that Duean is a complete ass so the bad things he did to Meen in the beginning doesn't come as a surprise to the audience. What makes this couple so good is that Meen's personality type is to be upfront so as soon as he realizes Duean is lying to him/not treating him well, he immediately confronts Duean. (well save for the part where he avoided him for a little bit, but I'd say that's well-deserved). Also just Duean simping for Meen and becoming all soft for him later on in the series is just adorable ><
Music
The opening OST? AMAZING. Literally goes so hard and I didn't even realize Louis sang it until I was near the end of the series, but dang he did a good job with it. (Side note but if you haven't watched they're TPOP stage for that song you should definitely go watch it right now because PondPhuwin and NeoLouis are so charismatic and the entire performance is so impressive and fun to watch).
Also I know I just praised the production team earlier in this review, but... The bgm music used in the actual series was just not it. Who thought it was a good idea to put some sort of nightcore song over an emotional scene between MorkPi? Like no one rewatched those scenes afterwards and thought "huh this doesn't really go together"? It was so silly and kind of ruined the scene at times but if you just mute the video it's all good.
Rewatch Value
At first I was like no way I'd bother rewatching this series but I had to go back to watch a couple of scenes before writing this review and honestly... I watched 3 whole episodes before returning to writing this. So yeah... I'd say pretty good rewatch value.
TL;DR
If you're looking for a top tier, impressive, goes beyond all expectations BL, this is not the drama for you. But if you're looking for a not-totally-serious romantic comedy with a relatable main character and a push & pull relationship dynamic between the main ship then you're in luck -- Fish upon the sky is your answer. But save yourself the trouble and just skip over episode 12 altogether.
Story/Production
There were a lot of small conflicts I thought were super interesting and, unfortunately, a lot of overarching plots that made no sense to me. The beginning premise about Pi being in love with Mueang and mistaking Mork as his rival was pretty interesting and the scene where Mueang helps Pi realize his feelings for Mork was well done in my opinion. The unknown texter was just as cool to see with the way they shot those scenes, even if we knew it was Mork from the beginning. Even the plot about Mork wanting Pi to be public about their relationship (while I didn't enjoy the outcome) was pretty interesting. But the one thing that I absolutely hated the entire existence of the fanclub and any plot surrounding them. Not only did I feel they were super unnecessary (all the did was create conflict for the main ship, which I know is the point since it's a drama, but this was just excessive) but there was no valuable lesson learned from them existing in this BL. It would've been nice if they ended the fanclub's plotline when Pi expresses that he's uncomfortable with them getting involved in his personal life, but instead they shut down the fanclub twitter just reopen it for the random MorkPi vs MorkBam plot...? And that entire conflict was unnecessary to the development of MorkPi's relationship too. And because that plot along with the leaked pictures plot happened in the last episode, the ending of the series didn't feel satisfying. Honestly that's nothing new when it comes to GMMTV productions but it's still a shame. Also the fish upon the sky motif totally got lost on me. The entire beginning scene with balloons and the love confession was really interesting to me but I feel like it wasn't as nicely integrated into the story as it could've been which was a shame because that scene could've been so symbolic and a beautiful way to end the series. It did for the record, but it didn't really make sense at all in my opinion...
However the production of this drama went beyond my expectations. The editing is well done and it definitely helped give the comedy aspect of this drama, which was honestly one of the reasons I kept watching. Like a lot of BL dramas try to be funny in at least one or two scenes, but this drama? it's an actual rom com and I totally appreciated it. Extra kudos to the production team.
Acting/Cast & Romance
I really enjoyed Phuwin's performance in this drama! Although this isn't his first drama and I haven't watched any other productions he was in, I can tell from this BL that he's definitely talented. Boy's got range! They made him do everything from the heart wrenching confession scenes to the silly scenes, and he certainly delivered. Pond did a good job too, but if I'm being honest it was nothing too special. I can't tell if that's on him though or if it's because his character doesn't... really... have emotions? Or at least not in the beginning. When they get to the conflict about Mork wanting Pi to tell people about their relationship, I can kind of see more of his skills but there's not much for me to work with. Neo has always done an exceptional job in my opinion, I absolutely loved him in Tonhon Chonlatee and he didn't let me down in this production either. I'm not sure if this is Louis's first BL drama but I think he did amazing! He did a wonder job giving depth to his character. And Jan is one of the best female actors in thai BL in my opinion, so of course she did an amazing job as well.
Mix gets his own paragraph because the whole reason I picked up this series was to watch him act hehe. He did phenomenal as usual AND HIS SMILE IS SO CUTE!!
Now to rate the romance... The romance scenes? 10/10 I was squealing the whole time because the couples are so adorable when they're being cutesy with one another. (The scene where they make PiMork official and Pi has to hide Mork from Duean? I was losing my mind. It was adorable and a tad bit spicy which I can totally get behind). If I had to speak on PiMork's relationship overall though... It was good until they actually began dating. Honestly I felt like Mork was just a bad boyfriend in general, trying to push Pi to make their relationship public even though Pi was clearly not ready for that, etc, etc. It made their relationship seem so unhealthy, which is why this pair lost some points with me. But the build up before that, where Pi is coming to terms with his feelings and Mork is pursuing him is cute and kept me interested and invested enough to continue following their story.
Meen and Duean on the other hand? Now that's some good character development. We know from the beginning that Duean is a complete ass so the bad things he did to Meen in the beginning doesn't come as a surprise to the audience. What makes this couple so good is that Meen's personality type is to be upfront so as soon as he realizes Duean is lying to him/not treating him well, he immediately confronts Duean. (well save for the part where he avoided him for a little bit, but I'd say that's well-deserved). Also just Duean simping for Meen and becoming all soft for him later on in the series is just adorable ><
Music
The opening OST? AMAZING. Literally goes so hard and I didn't even realize Louis sang it until I was near the end of the series, but dang he did a good job with it. (Side note but if you haven't watched they're TPOP stage for that song you should definitely go watch it right now because PondPhuwin and NeoLouis are so charismatic and the entire performance is so impressive and fun to watch).
Also I know I just praised the production team earlier in this review, but... The bgm music used in the actual series was just not it. Who thought it was a good idea to put some sort of nightcore song over an emotional scene between MorkPi? Like no one rewatched those scenes afterwards and thought "huh this doesn't really go together"? It was so silly and kind of ruined the scene at times but if you just mute the video it's all good.
Rewatch Value
At first I was like no way I'd bother rewatching this series but I had to go back to watch a couple of scenes before writing this review and honestly... I watched 3 whole episodes before returning to writing this. So yeah... I'd say pretty good rewatch value.
TL;DR
If you're looking for a top tier, impressive, goes beyond all expectations BL, this is not the drama for you. But if you're looking for a not-totally-serious romantic comedy with a relatable main character and a push & pull relationship dynamic between the main ship then you're in luck -- Fish upon the sky is your answer. But save yourself the trouble and just skip over episode 12 altogether.
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