The Eclipse (2022)

Tanto potenziale sprecato

Avevo aspettato tantissimo questa serie. Premetto che ritengo che #NotMe sia la cosa migliore che sia mai capitata all'industria BL, quindi, quando avevo letto di un progetto che avrebbe portato in scena le rivendicazioni civili all'interno di un istituto scolastico superiore, il mio hype aveva raggiunto livelli assurdi. #TheEclipse aveva delle premesse incredibili, continuo a pensarlo, ma la mia attesa non è stata ripagata. Tutto il potenziale drammatico è sfumato presto e la trama indiziaria non è mai riuscita davvero a essere convincente e sostenuta dalla giusta suspense. Dalla protesta portata avanti da 3 ragazzini alla ricerca di colpevoli che non sono mai veri colpevoli... Mi è sembrato che tutto si sia appiattito e sgonfiato, riducendosi alla sola storia d'amore. First e Kaho sono magnifici, però, ecco, la storia non mi ha soddisfatto e, anche se loro mi piacciono, ho trovato tutto abbastanza prevedibile e a volte perfino banale. Tutta la costruzione del mistero alla fine ha svelato ben pochi misteri. Mi dispiace perché era la serie del 2022 che più aspettavo e davvero credevo sarebbe diventata una delle mie preferite. Forse il primo trailer, che era più oscuro e drammatico, mi aveva portato fuori strada. Peccato.

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To be fair, non mi pare giusto darle un voto (tipo 9- ish)

Allora, parto col dire che per 10 episodi la serie mi ha proprio appassionato: belli i posti, bella la storia, bravi gli attori, insomma, merita. E poi sono arrivati gli ultimi due episodi dove un po’ tutto si risolve alla cavolo. Nell’ultimo episodio Thua dice una frase bellissima, che riassumo, “per fare coming out ci vuole il proprio tempo, le persone giuste accanto…” che forse è una delle più belle frasi che si trovano in un BL sul coming out… però non puoi pensare di farla dire al personaggio che nell’episodio precedente ha fatto coming out a Akk ed Aye “solo” perché gli serviva per mandare avanti la sua narrativa (poi viva la vita, la libertà e tutto quanto, ma stiamo attenti). Quindi la mia delusione parte da questo momento nell’episodio 11 dove per l’appunto ci si ritrova a risolvere tutto sostanzialmente facendo fare ad Akk (per una ragione) e al professore (per un’altra) coming out. E in teoria (ma anche in pratica) non va bene. Che poi, e questa recensione in gran parte è “anti Thua”, se questo coming out obbligato fosse stato fatto da un personaggio etero (non che sia giusto, ma chiaramente non può comprendere il disagio di essere out in una scuola dove l’80% del personale e degli studenti rasenta 24h l’omofobia) non l’avrei accettato (perché comunque è una cosa sbagliata), ma almeno non mi avrebbe dato tanto fastidio come il fatto che lo abbia fatto un personaggio la cui intera storia per i primi 5 episodi ruota attorno a episodi di bullismo causati dal fatto che è gay. Per poi non scusarsi. E questa forse è la seconda cosa che mi ha deluso di più: Thua non si scusa e non ha neanche un minimo segno di rimorso del fatto che abbia detto alla scuola omofobia che Akk stava con un uomo. Che poi, se si osserva attentamente la scena, il focus, tutto ad un tratto shifta: invece che restare sul fatto che Akk ha mollato il freno a mano di un auto per investire dei tizi, si sposta sul fatto che sia gay, stia con un uomo, insomma quello. E qui mi collego alla cosa che mi ha deluso di più: finisce bene. Nella vita reale le cose non finiscono bene, non sono tutti amici come prima da un frame all’altro e sicuramente non si cambiano le cose solo perché 4 persone hanno deciso che dovevano cambiare. Avrei apprezzato un finale alla Not Me, magari un po’ più aperto, dove si comincia a vedere il cambiamento, ma il cambiamento nella vita reale impiega anni per avvenire. Quindi bella, la parte BL è molto carina, i due protagonisti sono molto bravi… ma resto delusa.

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Troppo semplice e stereotipato

Non riesco a dargli la sufficienza. I due protagonisti hanno una buona chimica, convincono e hanno delle scene molto sentite, ma tutto il resto....Non c'è. Non c'è una trama, è tutto estremamente semplice, ripetitivo, intuibile da subito e risolto in modo fin troppo sbrigativo senza una vera morale se non superficiale al massimo. Potevano ampliare l'indagine sul colpevole degli incidenti e renderla con più suspance, invce lo spettatore lo scopre quasi subito. Potevano creare suspance sulla scomparsa dell'ex professore e zio di Ayan, invece capiamo subito come è morto. Potevano giocare meglio sulla maledizione e magare far fare ai sovversivi altro che non fosse fare manifestazioni con cartelli ogni santa volta. Potevano evitare verso la fine il clichè della storia nella storia con il film nel film. Potevano fare tanto, ma non l'hanno fatto questo è il problema. Pigrizia? Temo di sì. Temo abbiano basato tutto sulla chimica dei protagonisti senza capire che anche il contorno è importante. Peccato perchè trovo che First (Akk) sia veramente un bravo attore, ma qui non può brillare data la sceneggiatura spicciola e stereotipata.

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ECLIPSED POTENTIAL

What just happened? Is that it?

The promotions to this show oversold it as a mystery drama - but wat was promised to be an intriguing and unique (crime)unexplained death solving/revenge plot with a touch of supernatural turned out to be nothing but shallow build up.

The only saving grace is the cast - First and Khaotung are both too good for the scenes they could have done it even while sleeping. It is a shame that both stellar actors are not getting the right break to catapult them into proper BL idols, i thought this was it. Oh, I also thought they're too old to play high school, in shorts nonetheless.

Im sorry to say but nothing about the plot is successfully executed - the investigative-mystery solving arc turned out to be nothing but one nephew's cry for attention. The failed attempt of being a gay activism show (un)spectacularly influenced by the metoo movement is just preachy and pointless. The enemies-to-lovers angle was shoved in our faces but isnt even fully developed. Even the second pairing felt forced. And has anyone sensed a creepy teacher to student lovers vibe?

Also, you cannot make a story with two trying-hard psychopaths that put other students lives at risk (to advance their causes) just to literally make them get away with it at the end, there was no consequences and literally no risks. Everybody came out unscathed and everything is rainbows and butterflies by the end. Just no. It made the whole series pointless.

Episode 1 wasnt compelling enough, i stayed because of the cast. I was already too bored by episode 3 and i kind of forgot about it. Came back and binged the next 4 episodes but it didnt get better. I skipped it again and bitch watched (Im sorry, i meant to say binge watched) the rest after the finale aired. Im just glad i didnt wait for it every Friday.

We all know we have too much school BL drama now, and giving it a twist could have been interesting but man it is just a show with big potential but was eclipsed by the shallow execution.

Overall, 6.5 stars. watch it for the main leads otherwise ignore it if you have other things to watch.

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Poor writing partially saved by a great cast

This was a real disappointment - the story had potential and some good ideas, but the execution was sloppy and the plot ran out of steam after a few episodes.

The acting is great with First as the standout, and Neo and Louis quite engaging whenever they had screentime. The music is also quite good, with well-chosen and moody background score that supported the story.

The problem was the writing. We started out with good ingredients - a story about tradition and authority vs modernity and individuality. At first it looked like we'd get an intelligent examination, with a quite excellent in-class argument in which the rebellious Ayan manipulates an authoritarian teacher into supporting his perspective while he takes hers - but it's like all the intelligence in the script went into that one exchange because it was never repeated.

Instead, the authors come down heavily on the side of freedom, equating rules with depression and suicide - which might have worked if he rules weren't so mild and commonplace - wear a school uniform like 90% of humanity as mandated by ministries of education, and don't use phones during class. Really? That's it? And the writing contradicts itself, as almost everything bad that happens is due to preoccupation with social media, so maybe phones were the problem after all.

The Curse of Suppalo was another interesting idea, which quickly petered out and became incidents so benign that people's OTT reactions to them were ridiculous.

There is a plot twist in Ep 11 that you won't see coming, largely because it isn't set up in the slightest and ends up requiring someone to behave totally out of character, and everyone else to behave out of character in their reaction to it - and since there are no consequences resulting at all, it's meaningless - just a random twist for no apparent reason.

The relationship between Akk and Ayan starts off interesting, but quickly degenerates into a string of tropes including the most stupid accidental kiss I've ever seen, by far - it's so bad I dropped the series and only picked it up again when everyone assured me it got better. It didn't. There is no real organic development between them - they're pushed together by stupid cliches and tropes, and it's never clear why they like each other, so you have to conclude it's a physical thing. I will say that I liked that they didn't do the seme-uke thing - in fact people in the forum argued over which was which.

This is basically a six-episode story stretched out to twelve. It really has nothing to say, and despite its promising introduction, was basically just a typical formulaic high school BL, albeit set in an all boys school, so we're at least spared the stock evil gf character, and it is refreshing that the characters are actually gay and identify as such.

The last episode is cloying and preachy. Nobody watching BL has a problem with homosexuality, so preaching to the choir is pretentious and irritating - plus the absolute ease with which coming out is accomplished and greeted sends no message - in fact it's a bit offensive in a story that has pretentions of social commentary and in its portrayal of depression and mental illness to just handwave away the most difficult and painful thing LGBTQ+ teens have to deal with.

I'm not sure I can recommend this. If you're a big fan of the cast, then I'd watch it - but otherwise it's a frustrating, shallow, formulaic melodrama. I doubt I'll have any recollection of it in three months.

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excellent premise and actors let down by bad writing (minor spoilers in content warnings)

Overall: the trailer totally hooked me but the writing just wasn't there. This is basically a classic Thai BL romance with window dressing. Aired on YouTube.

Content Warnings: death, suicide, mental health struggles, grief, manipulation, non/dub con kiss (fake sleeping), non con touching (sleeping), punches, fight, homophobia, non con photo/video taking and posting, unwanted outings, blackmail

What I Liked
- acting and chemistry, especially First and Khaotung (hope to see them as leads again either together or separately)
- promising premise with mystery elements
- flirt and cute moments
- Akk's parents
- good OST and opening credits

Room For Improvement
- that a main drama was private school students being angry about wearing uniforms, this fell flat and would have been better if it focused on bullying/homophobia as many private school students everywhere have to wear uniforms
- too few plot twists and too late
- the writing was a let down, was Ayan even investigating most of the time? A teacher wearing louboutin shoes? Why weren't the 3 students just expelled? Random bonfire on a beach? Why on Ayan tell Akk that at the end of episode 10 at probably the worst possible time? I still don't really understand a character's motivation in episode 11
- Akk was reluctant and Ayan was aggressive for too long, Ayan consistently violated Akk's boundaries, he was being disrespectful not supportive
- two slow burns, would have been better with a fast burn and a slow burn
- what two characters did in episode 11 is close to unforgivable but they have no consequences and all of a sudden everything is totally fine
- hugging and thanking that character in episode 12 part 1 was bizarre
- very angry/sad about what Ayan told Akk's parents in episode 12 part 2, that's not his place to say especially without first discussing it beforehand with Akk

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Simplistic symbolism and how being a teenager is actually hard.

A rare case when my brain sees all the flaws, but my heart says: I don’t care. The whole show has a great juvenile charm to it, and the sloppy storytelling and in your face symbolism just adds to it. Sure, I strongly believe that with a few different directing choices this could easily become one of the best BL shows up to date, but even as it is right now, it’s truly enjoyable.

Yes, the setup on the surface is painfully stupid. We are sold the story of this abusive authoritarian school and students fighting for their rights, but what is presented is 3 students not wanting to wear uniforms. Is it that simple? No. It was never about uniforms, it was about self expression and more accurately sexuality.

The uniforms and the rules were supposed to represent the norm in terms of sexuality. Following the rules in school meant following social norms. Suppressing your sexuality to fit with what was established and deemed as "normal". The whole show is a commentary on the conservative and outdated ideas and how they harm the youth. It’s a great subject with a idea on how to present it, but not as good of an execution.

The storytelling was not detailed enough. We are presented with a wall of rules that were established, yet we actually know about only two. What are the others? No idea. What consequences are the students facing if they break the rules? No idea. There is the curse, but that’s it. Where are the parents? The whole adult side of the show is ridiculously unbelievable.

On the other hand, it made perfect sense why the teens were being “overdramatic” - they are teens. Suppression of individuality at the time when it's most crucial to figure yourself out is not really a small thing. The Eclipse did a great job to make me sympathize with the issues these kids were facing and how big of an impact it has on them. From the point of view of an adult, my initial reaction was: why are they so dramatic? Just be patient for the next few months, graduate and move on. But that type of thinking is the issue - if they are told to follow the rules and not question anything now, how will they learn to fight for their rights later? Their actions as teens will shape their behavior, motivations, personalities later on. Nothing really changes as you grow up. First you are told to do what your teachers say, later you are told to listen to your professors. Then you need to follow your bosses instructions. That’s why it’s so important for the youth to ask questions, debate, reflect on the problems and issues and not just do what adults tell them.

For the characters, the leads were phenomenal - both in the writing and portrayal. Seeking validation and purpose. Sticking to the role one obsesses over, because it feels like it's the only thing that defines who we are. The fear of being seen as disappointment. The drama also touches on the subjects of depression and suicide. How we should not judge one’s struggles based on our own standards. How we should be patient with others, because we cannot know and truly understand what they are going through.

What I appreciated the most was the takes on coming out and accepting your sexuality. It’s not the “I don’t like guys, I only like you”. It’s not “everyone is either gay or loves gay”. None of the unrealistic scenarios here. It often takes time to figure yourself out, it takes time to accept what you find, it takes time to then admit it to others. In that aspect I could not like the relationship between Akk and Ayan more. Not to mention one of the best on screen chemistry I have seen in ages.

For the acting, I've been a fan of Khaotung for some time. Realistically speaking, he is one of the best that Thai BLs can offer. I rewatched some scenes simply because of his performance. Thank god First was cast as his co-star, also delivering a solid portrayal.

Production wise I don’t really have complaints. I think some of the setup and directing ideas were too big for the production team, which led to a few questionable and ridiculous takes, but damn the show was pretty.

Overall, I liked it a lot. Yes, the setup and the way they decided to present some serious issues was questionable, but I still believe it was better than the majority of BLs out there. The biggest problem was the transition from rules at school being the issues, to how they relate to the overall social norms and homophobia - it was too jarring. You get the idea behind it all, but you still feel like it’s a bit too disconnected from each other.

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An Eclipse I wish would happen everyday !!

this is hands down one of the best BL series I have seen and it's up there with the likes of BBS and ATOTS...the way they depicted d struggle with one's sexuality and the fear of accepting oneself was so well done...the pressure that people have to face just to be accepted in a society which is ready to shun you the moment you show your true self was so beautifully depicted...in a galore of BL shows that depict homophobia as something which just doesn't exist in the world I'm glad that a show had d guts to tackle the subject and do justice to it....last but not the least First and Khaotung have once again proved what brilliant actors they are and the range of emotions they can portray if given a proper script with an assured direction !!! overall mesmerizing, splendid and just wonderful....wish to see more shows like this

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Started quite good. Ended quite bad.

So... This series was never a favourite of mine but I enjoyed watching it when an episode came out.

I'm going to start by the things (or rather, thing) that I liked: the cast. This is - personally - the only good thing in this series. Khao and First are, as usual, very good in their roles, but I particularly want to put Neo's and Louis's acting in the spotlight because they are the ones that impressed me the most. Especially Neo whom I'm used to see acting as the funny character only here to make jokes. In The Eclipse, he shows that he is more than just the funny guy in a series and I'm happy for him. I hope that he will be cast in other serious roles. As for Louis, even though I expected a bit more from his role (like an antagonist, or something) - but it's not his fault -, I really liked his acting in this series.

Now, the thing that I didn't like - or not so much... the plot. Well, it started out with an ok plot - not great, but interesting: a curse and the mystery behind it. But then, it rapidly went down the drain. First, I expected something bigger than just Akk doing all those things by himself. Also, the things in question were not exceptionally frightening. I kind of hoped for Thua being the mastermind behind this curse, it would have been more interesting plot-wise and character-wise. Second, the three guys who protest all the time are annoying and they should have been suspended from the school a long time ago already! I mean, I live in France and our education system is probably different from the Thai's one but... wearing a uniform is not something the school is responsible of, right?... So why demonstrating in front of the school instead of the Ministry of Education? Also, even though they have the right to demonstrate to show their displeasure, if they don't agree with the rules of their school and don't abide by them, I think they have the freedom to change school! I'm a teacher, we have rules, and if a student don't abide by the rules, they are punished and that's how schools work in most countries. So even though, the Suppalo's rules are old-fashioned, the students have to respect them or they have the right to go to another school of their choice.

To finish, I'll talk about the editing that was horrendous, especially episodes 11 and 12. In episode 11, we have a scene in which Thua exposes the truth in front of everyone and Akk and his friends were quite unhappy with this "change of personality" - even though, he was always a bit dodgy in my opinion -, and the next part of the episode, they all are reunited around a table talking about Wat's short film as if nothing happened a few minutes before. That was SO WEIRD. Especially from Kan's perspective because I would have expected him to talk about what happened with Thua (as they were already a thing) but nothing. It was so weird... Also, in episode 12, not only was the whole coming out thing a bit too rushed (Aye could've waited a bit before telling Akk's parents that they were together), the teacher joining the boys on their little trip to Akk's house was also very akward. I sometimes even felt like there was supposed to be a thing between her and Wat and that weird me out.

Anyway, I enjoyed watching the series even though I would definitely not rewatch it as once was more than enough.

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This show has so much potential but- yeah there's a but.

This series is honestly a potential wasted series. It has so much potential, an amazing cast but the writing is underwhelming. The plot is poorly written. It has so many rooms for improvement. Like I don't see why the students are even protesting in the first place because the school rules shown till now i.e. episode 10 is neither too restrictive nor too pressuring. What's so hard about wearing school uniforms and not using phones during school hours? And even the way they brought the curse, honestly if it had the paranormal aspect with an actual curse it would have been much better. The plot started off interesting but the pace and the way it unfolded was a huge turnoff. The twist in episode 11 didn't feel justifying in anyway and I didn't like the way it came out. Sigh! Anyway to some extent the compensating factor are the actors. They have portrayed their characters well from Ayan and Akk to Kan and Thua and even the other side characters. Their acting is good, their chemistry is bang on and I know I can actually finish up the whole series just seeing their chemistry and that's also the reason why it's a 7.5 and not a 5. And yes I finished up the whole series.

P.S: I haven't seen any product placement so far and that's a surprising factor too.

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INVESTIGATION of Invincible Chemistry - Burning Romance

A MUST-WATCH. The enemies-to-lovers slow romance is perfectly executed while not rushing over with the plot. I have watched quite a hand full of LGBTQIA+ series but I find this to be one of the most outstanding and capturing ones, for me personally. Something between the chemistry of First and Khaotung and the cinematography of this series. I´m IN LOVE.

If you’re an NSFW scenes hunter, you’ll regret missing this MASTERPIECE. This is one of the first times I've been a bit disapproving of some ratings, at least to the extent of giving this series less than 7 stars. YES, we don´t know much about what is going on but it is a mystery and investigation series, plotholes are basically the fundament of "The Eclipse" to be suspenseful and thus meet higher standards than just a "simple" high school enemies to lovers romance trope.

Story >> 8.5 >> 8.0 >> 8.5
When it comes to high school, more precisely all-boys-high school, LGBTQIA+ Awareness, and Against The System dramas this is a MUST watch! While this plot focuses a lot on the romance of two very different young men, the story also contains and shares some important messages and morals, as well as the mention of George Orwell´s 1984.

Acting/ Cast >> 9.0 >> 9.5
If this isn´t a 9.5, then I don´t know what is considered flawless acting. I´m obsessed with the dynamic between First and Khaotung, it may not change the story much, but it does change the presentation extremely and if it was only based on them, I had given this section a 10-star ranking. Every eye contact between the two of them has such an intensity that it can hardly be compared to any other couple in that industry, in my opinion. I was shocked too when I found myself cheering for their cooperation the most because it was such an unexpected match for me. Khaotung has my mouth literally gaping with his performance because I was only used to him playing cheerful, playful, and goofy characters, and watching him portray Ayan with such dedication, makes me incredibly happy and satisfied. Also, Neo brightens my day whenever and wherever he appears on the screen.

Music (/Production) >> 8.5
You really have to pay a huge compliment to the production and tell them that the effort was worth it and that they should please spoil their employees. Especially the screenwriters and the director. I think that even the intro alone is so much better than most other intros I have seen from GMMTV/GMM25.

Rewatch Value >> 9.0 >> 9.5
This might be one of my best ratings when it comes to the Rewatch Value but this series has become one of my ALL-TIME FAVORITES! I can only recommend it to everyone, except for those who’re only hunting for ND/NSFW scenes, who are missing out on plot quality.

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THE BEST GMMTV BL OF 2022 - Not ME's Brother

Doing this review to highlight this cast and IMO the cast is full of actors who have not been fully utilized by GMMTV properly and I'm happy to see them all together here. This show was very promising led by a fantastic performance by Khao.
From Khao to First to Neo to Louis to AJ and even Pawin I must say this is a really strong cast of actors IMO who should have been far more lauded more for their performances. This is also a mini reunion for the Cause You're My Boy cast with Neo/Khao and AJ.
Another Classic BL to add to the collection. this was so well done and the finale episode was so powerful. the emphasis on the first part of the episode about not calling being gay abnormal and emphasising that loving some of the same sex is normal and should be the norm.. we should not have to COME OUT. loving a man or loving a woman should be the NORM. props to the entire cast on this.

The Eclipse joins Bad Buddy and Not Me as GMMTV's best BL shows released in the past 2 years. this was such a breath of fresh air and was truly a masterpiece.

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