Till the World Ends (2022)

It's good, but...

Given the limited budget, this is extremely well-made, with obvious passion invested by everyone involved, which I've come to expect from this group. The cinematography and directing are wonderful with fantastic performances pulled out of talented actors, the music selections ar great, and the German subtitles are first rate, so I hear.

It's great to see Art Pakpoom in a leading role again, and Michael Kiettisak puts in another top-tier performance - he may be the most underrated actor in BL - I'm still haunted by his horrifying abuse victim in Call It What You Want.

The story, however, prevents these ingredients from reaching their full potential. It perhaps tries to do too much - social commentary, messaging about how short life is, wanting to be a '90s Gregg Araki film, horror, adventure, romance, comedy...

So while I appreciate how well-done this is, the big question is, did I enjoy watching it? Not really. It's very violent, it's a bit all-over-the-place as a genre, and commentary about the corruption in society and the human condition are either extremely unsubtle (like who gets to go to the bunker - that was hammer-over-the-head commentary), or undermined by the contrasting trio of antagonists. Because the villains were all psychopaths, they contributed no meaning. If we're looking at different choices in how to spend the last two weeks of your life, basically good people versus people who want to violently murder as many people as possible before they die says nothing. There is nothing about them identify with, you can have no sympathy for them, they have no point to make, they're just evil and must be destroyed.

Why not have people who are so greedy that they steal and accumulate wealth, or so desire power that they try to rule everyone else? Or even if they had wanted to have sex with as many people as possible before the worlds ends, that would be relatable, for sure if everyone looks like the cast.

So as a result, the series gets bogged down in with a large amount of screentime being chewed up by horrible people who have nothing to do but have surprisingly graphic and sweaty sex (probably the most realistic sex scene ever in a BL) and kill people, which they do, a lot (unfortunately the killing, not the sex).

In addition, instead of examining how impending doom might affect the course of romance, the main pair fall into a depressingly conventional seme-uke pattern, where Art acts like a Victorian twelve-year-old, when even a Victorian twelve-year-old would throw up her hands, say 'f$%& propriety', and want to bang Golf and his brother 24/7 if the world were ending. But Art acts like a kiss on the cheek in a completely abandoned world is scandalous. Art has no agency and is helpless and useless, requiring Golf to do everything for him.

Everything is too predictable, and you end up stressed out knowing characters you don't want to die are going to die, stupid decisions to be made are telegraphed - decisions that are inexplicably out of character, which is lazy writing.

And to get it out of the way, there was an incredible amount of criticism of the faulty astrophysics - if the moon were on a collision course with the Earth, the Earth's gravity would break it up, and there would be horrendous natural disasters, so this is too unrealistic. THAT'S the line you're going to draw in the sand? There are BLs where one of the main pair is dead, or a vampire, nobody sweats after running a mile through Bangkok in the afteroon while wearing a wool suit, every male student at the school is gay and rich, you can turn a straight guy gay if you trip and have him catch you - but not having earthquakes and tsunamis in a project that likely had a 5-figure budget is unacceptable? Anyway, the moon crashing into the earth is symbolic and metaphorical - it doesn't need to be realistic.

So do I recommend this? Yes, unless you don't like gore. All the positives I mentioned at the top make it worth your time - this isn't a rehashed plot, it's not full of tropes and cliches, and you get to watch very attractive people who can both act and look great with their shirts off. If that seemed like a lot of criticism, it's because I think this could have been one of the best BLs of all time instead of merely good. While the characters are largely more appealing, this doesn't quite have the polished genius of Call It What You Want.

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Another Anusorn frustrating story

All this saga started, if you remember, after Director Anusorn directed "2Moons2". Despite the entire new cast of mostly unknown and inexperienced actors, some ups and downs in the series and having to waste 4 episodes so viewers could be reminded of what happened on the original "2Moons", the story was more of less successful and it gave us BL fans, Din and Joong. But, when the show was over everyone was waiting anxiously for season 3 but the company in charge decided to botch the project, yet again, by creating a musical group without Din and later getting rid of director Anusorn just to "flex their muscles" and show they had the power to do that. Director Anusorn went on to create "Call It What You Want" and "Call It What You Want 2" as a response, where he promised to expose the darkest secrets of Thai's BL industry... however, his productions fell short as he lost track of the initial plot/storyline and gave us some choppy story with some more or less disappointing acting and a villain who never gets punished.

Well, he did it again! This time with "Till the World Ends" and here's why:

a) The science behind the plot: OK, let's get this out of the way... scientifically, the Moon crashing into Earth is possible (it will be complicated as the moon is tidally locked with our planet and it's actually moving away from us every year) but, even before it crashes, it will bring immense consequences from the minute the moon begins getting closer to us... even Jim Carrey's movie, Bruce Almighty, showcases this when he tries to seduce Jennifer Aniston's character by pulling the moon closer to make the scene more romantic... instead, the next day, the news from severe flooding in some parts of the world begin to spread because the moon is responsible for the low and high tide of our oceans... even that silly movie pointed that out, but, OK moving on. In addition, if the moon crashes with our planet and nothing will be left (as the official government announcement keeps telling us all the series) there is no need for bunkers as NOTHING will survive... even if they do survive the impact, explosion, lack of moon to regulate day/night (which helps with our sleep patterns), etc., there will be no water, animals, plants and what, the bunkers will be floating in space if Earth is totally destroyed? Don't think so...
So, leaving the nerdy part out, and ASSUMING the bunkers could be a realistic possibility and ASSUMING that there will be some solid ground for them to step out of the bunkers after the crash... let's move on.

b) The plot/storyline: This story begins with the announcement of the end of the world and with Golf (played by Best) and his jealousy, lousy temper, annoying personality, and plain idiocy taking center stage throughout the whole series. He just blatantly attacks and nearly kills Art (played by Art... so original!) and then gets a guilty conscience and tries to help him recover only to fall in love with him. His older brother Gus (played by Michael) is in jail but is always Golf's moral compass and voice of reason. The end of the world drives most of the plot in the story as it becomes the centerpiece of the Golf-Art relationship as they navigate between staying at Golf's apartment while Art recovers, then Art discovering the truth and very quickly forgiving Golf, both living under the threat of the gang, Gus appearing after being let go or escaping (can't recall which one it was), all trying to reach a bunker in the Laos-Thailand border but taking a detour to see if Art's family is still home and then everybody dying before the actual end of the world leaving Gus and Art to cry, kiss and be killed by the moon.

The plot was original but the storyline began declining after episode 2-3 with very slow progression, barely any character development and violence... lots of unnecessary violence... almost to the point that the gratuitous BL steamy scenes we got between the 2 bad guys (Long and Joke, played by Knight and Songklod) and by Golf and Art felt somewhat out of context... the bad guys brutally kill someone and then turn around and start having sex or Golf brutally kills Long in the last episode, they witness Joke kill himself with a gun, and they (Gulf and Art) take a shower, go to the roof of the house and have sex. I've never rejected a NC scene in a BL story, but even these scenes felt wrong after I just witness all the killings, blood everywhere, an eyeball being stabbed and pulled out of its socket, suicide, Joke picking up pieces of Long's face after being killed by Golf, etc., the graphic nature of all this violence was shocking and almost nauseating. There is no explanation for the bad gang to be hanging around the apartment complex... they could've gone to a bunker, they could've gone to another apartment complex looking for more food, take a car, something... instead they hang around like vultures but don't do much. Golf kills a gang member in the early episodes and that sets the "we are getting revenge and killing them" mood, plus we don't get much of their backstory so we just know they are psychopaths who instead of trying to save themselves by reaching a bunker, decided to stay and kill as many people as they can before all dying courtesy of Gus and Golf.

In addition, the storyline also began including all these political and social messages, which we've seen in stories like GMMTV's "Not Me", and in both cases, they waste time talking too much about human rights and equality that it almost becomes boring when we have to listen to the same message. We know there is corruption, racism, discrimination, social and income inequality... no need to remind us every 2-3 episodes.
And, Art never really gets any closure... it's all Golf! He gets his brother back, he loses his brother, he falls in love with Art and lives his last days with him. Art wants to visit his family to see if they are still there and then go to the bunker to reunite with them in case they made it to the bunker... but he is the one who never makes it... this storyline was left to die as all centered on Golf.

c) The acting: Michael is the saving grace as his acting is the most memorable of all the cast with poignant moments in both dramatic and funny scenes. It is nice to see Art get a lead role as well, especially when he is on screen as a very marginal side character in "Between Us" and was affected after the scandal with Mew Suppasit after filming "What the Duck" in 2018 resulting on him getting harassed online by Mew fans and not many jobs afterwards (just look it up online if you don't know anything about it)... too bad his acting and Best's acting wasted some golden opportunities to truly deliver in some of the most emotional scenes of the show. As I said before, Art forgives Golf quite easily after nearly killing him and Golf seems to be 100% straight at the beginning, so his change of heart towards Art seems a bit sudden. Both lead actors do a decent job for moments, but there were just too many things for them to deal with... Golf's initial actions, Art's feelings before and after finding out the truth, all the deaths they had to witness, going to die, etc., so it was just too much for them to navigate through.

In the end, director Anusorn is becoming a synonym of frustrating. He thinks and develops some interesting ideas but so far both "Call It What You Want 1 and 2" and this series, end up falling short of my expectations.

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Diamond in the Rough

I rarely write reviews for the shows I watch but I was so impressed with the series that I had to. I did not go into this expecting much. I though its a low budget, standard Thai BL that will hopefully be middle of the road at best and to cringey to finish at worst. I was absolutely wrong.

This was amazing! The acting, the script, the pacing....all of it were spot on. I laughed, I cried, I screamed out loud, I cheered and sometimes all in the same episode. Will this be a show for everyone,...absolutely not. It does have some really heavy violence but it does fit within the story.

I highly recommend this series but maybe watch with friends to share the emotional roller coaster.

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How would you react if you find out that the world will ends in 12 days?

I'm really enjoying this series.
I really liked how Golf's character grew during the story and in particular I find the bond with his brother very nice, he's like a light in the middle of all the mess that happens around.
Art is a lovely character, sometimes he reacts a bit on impulse but it's understandable because waking up not knowing what happened doesn't have to be nice (especially if you later find out that the world is about to end and that your roommate has beaten you with a guitar...).
Their chemistry in the nc scene is very high, but also in all the almost kissing scenes. (OT: I was screaming in all these scenes because I wanted them to kiss so bad ?).
The two villains, on the other hand, I expected to be much more evil, but considering that the world is about to end it's okay that they behave in a strange way, who wouldn't? I really like their chemistry: their kisses and their nc scene are on fire.
I'm on episode 9, so almost at the end, and I can say that the actors and director did a great job! I'm very curious to see how it ends... ?

PS. if the world ends i hope i find myself in a room with a nice guy too ??

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I beg to differ

It’s not half as bad as described in another review. In fact I was kinda more drama into the story after episode 4. The leads are cute and although I can’t say the story is relatable, it’s definitely interesting and worth a watch. Looking forward to more of such bold content and good acting coming! I just really say the story line of sis is very touching. If only there are more of such kind and cute souls as neighbours. Golf was a little irritating at the beginning yes, but when he opened up to Gus, isn’t that one of the cutest thing in the world? What happens when it’s the end of the world? Be brave to love!

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So many poor choices they deserve extintion

The idea behind the series is good: the world is about to end, and in this dramatic background two students are facing a journey that will lead them to knowing - and loving - themselves and each other.

Unfortunately, however, the plot is poorly written, so slow and full of poor choices it makes you root for the Moon. So, you're running away from the place where your friend was shot. You know the bad guys are chasing you. You're out of gasoline. Your brother, who almost got killed in a previous scene and who drove all night long to save your life, is now longing for a little rest. You offer to go search for some gas while he takes a nap, but he says you only have 30 minutes: you promise you'll be back in 30 minutes with all the gas you need. Next scene is you and your boyfriend in the fields, looking at the moon and singing a cappella (out of tune, of course), as if gasoline grew on cherry trees. Until you fall into a corpse and decide you'd better be back - empty handed, of course. And that's only one example. They both look so stupid they deserve extinction... :-) And it's a pity, because of all the unexpressed potential the idea had.

Apart from the plot, recitation is generally bad; the only really good character is Gus, and Sis Mam is not so bad after all.

I doubt I will ever watch it again, and I'm not recommending it to my friends.

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Weird but Good

I don’t even know how to start this..?
I kinda like it??
Is it the best world-ending story.?.
No, I don’t think so. But it’s definitely doesn’t equal some of the bad reviews here.

By my opinion the story is extra slow,
but on the other hand interesting.
The acting is average (I’m saying this bc I know they can do better).

I was kinda praying for it to end as its ended, there was no reason to push the slow story anyway.

So in short: an amazing BL to watch when you bored over heel, or want to see something weirdly bloody. Don’t think too much about the meaning/plot of the story. Just go with a flow.

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How beautiful the moon is!

This is the second time that a BL series revolves around the reactions of people facing the end of the world. The first one, ”Love at the End of the World”, directed by the late Shandii Bacolod, was reviewed extremely controversially – some commentators called it a masterpiece while others criticised the non-linear storytelling and allegedly unnecessary NC-scenes, to name just a few complaints.

”Till The World Ends” has been discussed controversially, too, and this time the main point of criticism was the false scientific aspects. If the moon were approaching the Earth as closely as shown in the series, commentators claimed, there would be natural disasters, e.g. flooding Bangkok etc. This criticism doesn't take into account that this isn't a scientific documentary, but a work of fiction, and the threat of the moon crashing into Earth is a metaphor for people, or rather a complete civilisation, facing a life-threatening situation.

The series follows two groups of young people. Golf (Best Anavil), his brother Gus (Michael Kiettisak) and Art (Art Pakpoom) are the good guys (with some flaws, though), whereas a gang including Long (Knight Pichayut), Joke (Songklod Kunlachat) and a very evil girl, who resembles the young Britney Spears, aim at killing as many people as possible before the world ends.

Gus, who has been in jail as a leader of anti-government protests, joins Golf and Art at Golf's condo. Art and Golf have fallen in love, but their love is based on Golf's lie about how they met. He tells Art, who has lost his memory, that Art fell down the stairs, but it was actually Golf who hit him a guitar on the head, because he was jealous after Art had been talking to Golf's girlfriend.

The two groups meet several times, and Golf defends Art by killing one of the evil guys. Golf is injured in this fight, and Art stitches his wound which probably hurts the viewer more than the actor. Art, Golf, and Gus meet a lovely lady called Sis Mam (Pong Kusuma) who lives in the same building as Golf with her dog, but the bad guys use the dog, which had run away and been caught by them, to make Mam open the door for them. They kill lovely Mam, which again is a hurtful scene for the viewers, and in the ensuing fight, Golf kills the evil girl.

Golf, Gus, and Art decide to leave Bangkok and drive North, hoping to reach a bunker near the border to Laos. On their way they meet another lovely person, a sick, old man who tells them about a bunker, where he spent a short time, but only rich people have a pleasant life there, whereas poor people live in miserable conditions so that he decides to go back to his house to spend his last days there.

He gives the young men his car, and they drive to Art's house, where the bad guys are already waiting for them. Long and Joke overwhelm Golf, Gus and Art and tie them up, and when the bad guys have just decided to stop killing people, the good guys can free themselves, so there is another fierce fight.

The final episode is a rollercoaster like the series as a whole – the ugliest bloodbath is contrasted with the most beautiful, quiet and loving scenes. And when everybody has accepted that Golf and Art die together hugging as the moon crashes into the Earth, writer and director Aam gives us a glimpse of hope. So after the sad ending there is a very short moment of a happy one, what a relief.

Let me repeat that this is not a scientific documentary, so there is no use asking how realistic the plot is. The question is rather, how realistic the thoughts and actions of the characters are, given the life-threatening situation of the end of the world. Aam Anusorn succeeds in showing that people act radically in such a situation – bad people will act more evil than normal, whereas good people will show fear, love, but also the will to survive as long as possible. The latter may mean that they have to use violence to defend themselves.

Aam Anusorn also succeeds in criticising the current state of Thailand, where even murderers are allowed to find shelter in bunkers, but ”enemies of the state”, elderly people, and drug dealers aren't. The conditions in the bunkers mirrors the social conditions in Thailand where rich and well educated people live a pleasant life, while the poor and badly educated masses lead a miserable life.

The script has drama, comedy, tragedy, violence, deceit, jealousy, and love, so there is everything a good series should have. The cinematography is good – dark scenes are contrasted with beautiful shots of the Thai landscape and a huge moon, even with aurora borrealis.

Director Aam Anusorn has gathered experienced actors who are able to play their characters very much like real human beings, who aren't one-dimensional, but have their good as well as their bad sides. Best is able to display Golf's contradictory character traits convincingly, Art is not only extremely handsome, but also allows his character to be shy, fearful, but in some situation also courageous, and Michael Kiettisak, one of my favourite Thai actors, has one of the most heartbreaking scenes when he tells the story of his and Golf's childhood in front of a breathtaking vista. I've already mentioned Pong Kusuma, who makes everybody love her character, Sis Mam.

To sum up, the plot and the characters of ”Till The World Ends” are very different from your usual high school or college BL series, which often ends with the main couple's shy kiss. Here, the guys who like guys have gay sex, and there are some good reasons why some of the episodes are age-restricted. I already said before that this series has been reviewed quite controversially. I am one of the many viewers who like it, because it brings some fresh air to a genre that is all too often stuck in the same old tropes, none of which will bore you in this series. So I would like to thank Aam Anusorn and his cast and crew for putting their energy, hearts, minds and skills into this project. Among many other things, some of the most beautiful pictures in this series have reminded me of how beautiful the moon is.

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appreciate that they tried something different

Overall: though I liked that they tried something different (i.e. darker plot with flawed characters, violence, etc), it was just too slow paced for me. I watched ep 1-3 and 8-10 on YouTube.

Content Warnings: murders, attempted murder, attempted suicide?, suicide, graphic violence, gore/blood, held against will, manipulation, manhandling

What I Liked
- different approach with a darker tone
- like how Art didn't just stand there in episode 3 and actually did something
- realistic/well done NSFW scenes (that scene in episode 8 was amazing with the awkwardness and communication)
- acting
- supportive brother
- ep 8 that humor with the chicken was funny
- cinematography*

Room For Improvement
- I wanted scenes cut shorter or omitted and for it overall to be faster paced, an example is how the scene at the beginning didn't hook me into the series
- the pre explanation of how getting hit in the head causes you to lose oxygen and then lose your memory did not make sense, it should have been how blunt force trauma can cause memory loss
- trying to make comedy around the suicide attempt did not work for me at all in episode 1
- I realize the premise is fictional but I wish they would have gone with something that could cause an end of the world situation like nuclear war/fallout, major natural disaster or global pandemic. Countries track asteroids that are thousands of miles away from Earth, and how would an asteroid knock the moon into Earth? How does 80% of the Thai population fit into a bunker? Being in a bunker wouldn't matter anyway if the moon somehow smashed into the Earth.
- the very ending of the final episode was disappointing, it makes everything else before feel unearned
- *a night scene in ep 2 was too dim and I could barely see anything, might have been more night scenes that needed some lighting

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A present day "Twilight Zone"

As a fan of old time sci-fi series such as "The Twilight Zone" and "The Outer Limits," I appreciated what Aan Anusorn attempted to bring to the BL genre here. These are my pros and cons:

PROS

ACTING. Of course, I was excited to see Art back after a long hiatus. From the very start, he proved himself a worthy veteran actor, far beyond what we normally see in BL. Michael brought his usual professionalism and talent as well. Best (as Golf) was a welcome and pleasant surprise, as were those in supporting roles. Strong cast all around!

UNUSUAL PLOT. As mentioned above, this reminded me of an extended version of a "Twilight Zone" episode. Is the plot realistic? Of course not, but neither were most of the stories of that classic television series. It was an interesting premise.

SIMULATED SEX. Yes, indeed! And it was hawt.

CINEMATOGRAPHY. Beautifully shot.

CONS

VIOLENCE. Why were the killers going around assassinating people, with just days before the end of the world? For sport?

THE END OF THE WORLD. Hard to believe that everyone would be so calm -- as opposed to freaking out -- knowing that the world was ending in a matter of days. And I had to chuckle at the amount of times I heard "for the rest of my life." Yeah, 48 hours or less.

GOLF'S TURN AROUND. He went from psychotic to perfect in like... 2 days, with no explanation.

ENDING. Art's dream? I don't necessarily need a Season 2, but I would like some answers. Or maybe it's better to just leave it to our imaginations.

It's a 7.5 from me.

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LITERALLY ONE OF THE BEST SHOWS IVE WATCHED.

I just finished this show and like- I have SOO much to say about it. First of all, the chemistry is amazing. The actors they chose for this show fits the theme so well and there acting is literally so good that the chemistry just adds on top of it so well. I loved the story sooo much, it perfectly shows how it would be like when the world ends and how many things you can find out during that time.
Both Art and Golf literally went through so much in just 13 days and there acting throughout the emotions is just, perfect. These actors are literally made for this show and there love for each other, don't even get me starteddd like they found out all of that in just 13 days which shocked me a lot but at the same time, I guess that is what happens when the world ends. This show is a masterpiece, and did I mention how good the visual effects were?? like when they showed us the moon up close it was so beautiful, it would actually look like that if the moon was going to hit the earth. and to be honest, if the world were ending, seeing the moon up close like that would probably be the last sight I'd want to see. Picturing being in that situation is oddly satisfying but scary at the same time.

I dont usually make reviews for shows but for this one, I had too. ESPECIALLY THE ENDING.

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What an amazing and unique bl!

Finally a unique bl with very good acting! I am gonna rewatch many times, it's a masterpiece. It's really hard to find a bl with good and different story, realistic acting, chemistry between all characters and sympathy for villain characters... I cried many times while watching this show. Especially the final episode broke my heart so much :( <3 I hope we get another season because I need more of BestArt, Michael, Songklod and Knight.. They are all so talented actors <3

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