Middle Love (2023)

womp womp....

i have been waiting for tutoryim to have their own series after they acted nuersyn on cutiepie and i waited for sooo long ever since it was announced that they will be playing the main characters, jade and mai. it honestly made me very happy because i am a very big fan of both actors, but i waited for what cost?

before i start reviewing, keep in mind that i watched the cutted version of this show. but that doesnt really matter. i think either way, i'd still rate it the same.

it isnt rewatch worthy and i wouldnt really recommend it to many people.

okay so, i could still handle the first few episodes, but after the release of ep.5, i got bored catching up with it. tbh, i kinda forgot that the series existed and it took me half a year to finally decide that i will try to finish the remaining episodes because i thought it would get better :P (but as i get into it, it got worse...)

the storyline is very nice but is also a bit confusing. my biggest icks were the acting and the lines, its either the actors did that on purpose or the directors did them dirty. i know they can do better than that. i like the workplace setting since it is very underrated. but, everything was going bad, what were they thinking? it was very repetitive.

moving on to the characters, i only liked how uea and king were there for maijade. jade is very stubborn, he made me very impatient. the more i watch the show, the more his character became annoying, i couldnt handle it. mai was fine, but i never felt the two's chemistry. tong and gus definitely deserved more screentime.

i am a very big tutoryim fan, and i want be honest, this was a waste of time. i honestly want to hear others' opinions about this show but for me, i'm disappointed, i waited for so long just for this. the overall outcome was meh.

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I need a side story of Tong and Gus

This drama was not one of the best ones of 2023, but we all were waiting for it all the way once it was announced and after bed friend finished, but it wasn’t too good. I’m only giving this a 3.5 just because of my favorite couple in this series which was TongGus. They were just so cute every single time they were on screen and had so much chemistry together. Every scene that they were in made me so happy from the very beginning of Gus falling for Tong right away saying he’s his type and made him a coffee while flirting, when they left the office all the time together, when they had hot pot together and Gus saying his sad past with his mom, telling Tong off saying that the listener always remembers what the speaker says, when it was songkran and Tong was trying to make Gus like him again, when it was the office event and Tong got injured and Gus told the medic that to take good care of his boyfriend, and let’s not forget their steamy scene it was so insane I was screaming the whole time.
I can’t really write too much about this show because I can’t really seem to find a lot of good things about the show because it was either to messy or to chaotic. I do love both Tutor and Yim and think their a good pair, but this show was not it for them and plus Jade was also super duper loud throughout the show. Their would also be some comedic parts, but didn’t really help make the show more enjoyable. I also feel robbed about their being barely any scenes of Uea and King, because I do think they would also would’ve helped make the show a little bit better, but we only had to scenes which were valentines and a wedding ring scene of them because I do think they would also have helped make the show a little bit better. I would recommend this show, but their might be a lot of non enjoyable parts of the show.

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For the love of everything read the book

If you read the book it becomes super ovious why this did not work. Bed friend and middleman run at same time. Same timeline. Jade thinks Mai has a crush on Eua and tries to play middleman to them. While giving snacks etc to King and Eua from staff who like them. King and Eua are not together yet as i said same timeline, i dont know why they didnt just stick to that. Than have them be a married jelous couple. Baffling. There is not secondary couple although might be what saved this show. And Jade swears a lot and gets pissed hes not a weak mouse. He has personality but very little confidence. Mai makes him feel special but all the time he thinks Mai is only doing that to get closer to his crush. Its heartwarming and just a fab book. But whoever rewrote it just made it up its not true to the book except characters and name.

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My impression of this series

I wanna say this is just my opinion and you dont have to agree but i just wanted to express the way i felt about this series and the anger i felt .Honestly I was so disappointed . When they announced about this series with tutoryim i was so happy i waited more then a year and when it fainelly came out i was so angry. they had an amazing opportunity to make an incredible series with this 2 magnificent actors and they messed up so badly its painfull .
The series has nice moments and the cast is great but over-all i recommend to find another series to watch . Absolutely not one of my favorites.

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This show deserves more love, like Jade

I believe this show deserves more love and credit, in the same vein that a person like Jade deserve love and appreciation.

Look, it definitely came out at a time where BL shows with very textbook/likeable lead characters, plots beefed up with twists and steamy scenes were appearing left and right— and therefore there is the risk for the audience to undermine the simplicity and humour of The Middle Man’s Love.

What this show attempts to tell is that even a slightly off-beat guy, who masks his insecurities with his positivity and denseness, is deserving of a person who will love him and will see his “flaws” as a part of what makes his character charming and loveable.

I’m sure there’s a person out there who can resonate with Jade or knows someone like him, and we’ve often misjudged this person as not capable of finding love or attracting someone “out of this league”. I think the writers did well in making Jade’s character close to reality as an awkward human being, with some slight exaggeration to match the comedic approach of the show. One might say he’s an anti hero, but I saw myself rooting for Jade after ep1.

I also appreciate Mai’s character immensely, he complements Jade’s personality and continuously communicates well with him. He’s genuine, honest and patient, without toxic traits, which is exactly the kind of person Jade needs to surround himself with.

The show also lightheartedly tackles the theme of how insecurities and past relationship trauma can impact the way we deal with emotions. These moments appear in the most common situations, which we can all relate too.

The office dynamic is also cute and comical. It doesn’t try too hard. No toxic boses, no abusive or predatory behaviors. Intern/mentor ships are not uncommon in the BL world (even in the real world), so let’s not pretend to be holy beings here by calling that out.

Don’t get me wrong, the show is not perfect, but it’s not bad at all and does not deserve so much hate. The first time I tried to watch it, I was indeed overwhelmed by the hyperactivity of episode 1. But after giving it another chance, I started understanding its intentions and appreciating its approach and what it brings to the BL world. Eventually, I got used to Jade’s volume level and understood why that’s part of his character, as someone who tends to overcompensate.

The plot is not the thickest but it also doesn’t try to be that show. It doesn’t force crazy subplots nor introduce unnecessary characters nor overcomplicate situations which we often see in some Thai BLs. It rather focuses on the height of people’s emotions, how one would overthink and make conclusions, and situations that I honestly was able to relate to on a personal level. I’m an avid BL watcher but I’ve not written ANY reviews except for this one as I feel the need to defend it.

I’ve dropped a number of shows in the past and this one made me stay and I wish people will also give it another chance.

Overall, I genuinely enjoyed The Middleman’s Love and the TutorYim ship. They did a fantastic job as a love team.

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Excuse me... where's the real story

When I read the book, Jade was a kind naive young man. This series version makes him an idiotic simpleton. There's more depth to this story than is portrayed. Overall instead of giving this story a little more true content the series creates a frantic confusing portrayal of Jade. Bedfriends had a complex story line with character development and relationship building. This unfortunate redition is childish and has an undeveloped romantic relationship. Jade is so silly it's hard to imagine him being in love or sexually interested in anyone. Mai definitely has a swoony persona. The series doing a little more justice to his character. I'm going to perservere and watch all 8 episodes simply because I enjoyed "Bedfriends" so much.

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As advertised unfortunately

If you watched the trailer then you already know what to expect. There’s a lot of cringy and aloof characters especially our main character Jade. Yim always seems to get these types of characters. I don’t know why they have my man Yim yelling the entire show but GOD it can be unbearable *insert crying emoji*. I do wished they dialed down of Jades character a bit but what’s done is done.
As expected the show was not advertised to be something like bed friends, cutie pie or anything of that sorts but instead light and sit com vibe. I love TutorYim and their chemistry*insert heart emoji*.
I do hope one day we’ll get a more mature character for Yim instead of always getting this aloof character they like to give him.
Unfortunately the side couple Tong and Gus are the best in the show and we barely see them interact but also thankfully they have a lil scene together that was scrumptious. I hope to see more of that pair because the chemistry they gave off really held this show together.

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It... Has a plot... (If you squint really hard)

I will have to say I AM GOING TO WATCH THIS SERIES TILL THE END BECAUSE IT JUST STARTED TO GET GOOD.

I started watching because of Bed friend and that Yim and Tutor will be the main couple. Was really excited too. But GOOD LORD does the director not know how comedy works. I think the screenwriters who wrote it did not intend this much over the top acting and the actors probably really tried their best to fulfill the vision of the director. (Seriously, Yim and Tutor have better acting roles in 6 min shorts and have been successful characters is other dramas ie Cutiepie. Even in Bedfriend Jade was a better character).

The 1st episode was so painful and I had to physically hit the wall with how over the top Jade was. But pretty sure the director figured what he was doing wrong cuz in the 2nd episode onwards, Jade seemed to have toned it down a bit though not much.

Mai is a good character as in he's the calm to Jade's chaotic nature and I think they worked well to an extent. But perhaps we need a bit of a balance where Jade needs to match Mai's energy since Mai seems to be able to catch up to Jade more times than not.

For Uea and King, I have no notes. They are perfect. They are the definition of a healthy relationship and act like it. And after what happened in Bedfriend, this was a suitable outcome. Not to mention how they both are more than happy to wing man Jade (seeing as they have been good friends in a long time.) We support friends supporting friends.

Tong and Gus are good too. I liked seeing how Gus was trying hard to win Tongs affection and Tong wasn't reciprocating but when faced with Gus ignoring him, (What's this? the consequences of my actions?) Having Tong chase after Gus was entertaining and brings an homage to the previous series (Bedfriend).

Once you get to episode 5, The heavier, more relatable stuff kicks in and it's actually starting to be good. (At least compared to the almost derailing of the comedy scenes were.)

Khun Cheewin Thanamin Wongskulphat, if you are reading this: (Press X to Doubt) before you start the comedy, please try to make the MC relate to viewer first. Or at least let them sympathize with MC before you throw in the fact that they're bat shit crazy. But you a have very good eye for support characters, so A for effort on that part.

Or you know, you can just stick to sexual tension and heavier themed based drames. You seemed to have more success in those areas.

Also: If you are going to make a driving scene in the day, PLEASE DON'T MAKE IT LOOK TOO OBVIOUS THAT THE CHARACTERS ARE IN A STATIONARY CAR. SOUND EFFECTS CAN'T SAVE BAD CAMERA ANGLES AND EDITING!

EDIT: I am convinced that this director is only well versed in sexy time scene cuz.... Well when you get to episode 7 & 8 you'll get it...

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Loved it

Great show excited for next ep, people are composing about the show, but in my opinion, I enjoyed the first episode very much. I do agree with the commentary on king and uea’s roles sorta being swapped because king wasn’t his usual self portrayed in bed friend, but it didn’t bother me to the point where I hate it. I just brushed it off as relationships change, (me trying to convince myself it’s not a big problem) and I just dealt with it. I think that this is a worthwhile watch and since it’s only been the first episode, people should be patient and give the show a try.

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QUANDO FOI QUE O JADE FICOU TÃO CHATO?

Essa série vem logo após "Bed Friend" que é uma das minhas séries favoritas de todos os tempos mas nessa aqui a qualidade caiu muito.
Em "Bed Friend" o Jade era engraçado e inocente na medida (era até mesmo fofo), mas aqui eles exageraram demais no quesito comédia e ficou parecendo uma série infantil, você sente muita vergonha alheia em várias cenas.
Jade e Mai não funcionam pra mim, a química é baixa e eles são bem sem graça, eu estava muito mais interessada em tudo que estava acontecendo ao redor com todos os outros personagens do escritório.
Eu gostaria muito de ter visto mais do Bas, ele e seus problemas pareciam muito mais interessantes que todo o resto, e é claro que eu estava obcecada por cada migalha de King e Uea porque eu sou apaixonada por eles.
Enfim, o que segurou minha nota na média foi a comedia paralela que estava acontecendo no escritório, os personagens coadjuvantes e o carinho que eu tenho por "Bed Friend".

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7 Episodes of Chase

This show makes me so angry... I enjoyed watching it to an extent, because I like Yim & Tutor, have since Cutie Pie and I liked Yim's character in Bed Friends but their chemistry in this one felt a little off to me, I'm not sure If the characters are supposed to be a little awkward (i haven't read the novel) but Jade didn't seem like this in Bed Friends.

Jade & Mai - These two made me mad, for 7 episodes They were playing chase with each other, and then of course on the last episode we saw them being cute and cuddly and it just made me upset because I like these two together and would've like to see them in love more than one episode - I hope they get another series together soon- also the beginning of Ep 8 when they kiss, Toturs big lips devor Yim and i needed more of that.

Uea & King - I will forever love these two, I know that this show isn't about them and they were just the side helping BUT I needed more of them, just like a little more. Their spicy chemistry is next level and I wish we could've seen just a smidge more of them.

Tong & Gus - Same for these two, I have loved them together since Friends Forever but we didn't get to see much of them, I hope they can have another show together. I think what we got of them was so good and they have great chemistry

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