The Promise (2023)

Promising, but sadly lacking in plenty of ways

Not gonna lie, this is a weird one. Mainly because what I liked about it most, was also what I liked about it least. And that might make no sense, but let me explain…

This show definitely isn’t your typical BL. It’s much less filled with all the cliches and tropes, which was quite refreshing. Actually, it's what I enjoyed most about it. No sponge baths, no accidental tripping and falling into a kiss, no treating a little cut like an injury equivalent of someone in need of heart surgery. Having seen so many BLs serving us the same old scenes, just slightly varied, really is beginning to get boring, so I appreciated that this show wasn’t leaning into it as heavily as most other BLs. However, there was one big issue. The point of all these cliche scenes is to create cute and meaningful moments for the characters to connect, and to make the viewers feel all smiley and giddy about. So if you don’t add any of those cliche BL scenes, it seems rather obvious that you need to come up with original scenes that serve the same purpose. You need to somehow create swoon-worthy, cute moments that make us root for the characters as a couple. However, this show didn’t really do that? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a BL with as few cute moments as this one, which led to me not really care about the romance at all. They had plenty of scenes together, don’t get me wrong. But only very few of them actually served the purpose of them having an adorable, wholesome moment. Or deeply connecting on an emotional level.

This can maybe be excused with the fact that this is a series about two grown men, not high schoolers. So it does feel natural that you wouldn’t get as many moments that make you feel giddy and fluffy, because aww look at these two kids in love! However, if you have almost none of these moments, it just leaves the audience asking themselves "Are they actually in love?“ You could take many of these cliche scenes and alter them to fit a more adult narrative, and make them appear more mature. But in my opinion, they didn’t really do that. Mostly, it just felt like two best friends going about their lives, and every now and again giving each other a sweet look. Then suddenly, apparently their love is mutual and they kiss. It just wasn’t enough to get me invested in them as a couple.

It didn’t help that the leads didn’t really have much romantic chemistry in the first place. That, paired with a drought of cute moments, was, in my opinion, the show’s biggest downfall. Even their kiss scene was disappointing. You’d expect quite the passion if one of the two people involved has been pining over the other guy for well over ten years. But nope, no passion, no spark, no nothing. In fact, they spent more time on showing us reaction shots of side-characters, rather than showing us the actual kiss. I assume that’s because even the director saw that there was no chemistry between them. And after their kiss, they didn’t even let the characters have a few scenes of happiness, and being cute together. Instead, the next scene after the kiss is Phu’s grandmother dying, so that’s that for the honeymoon phase, I guess.

I’m sad to say all of that, because I really wanted to like this show. I’m always happy to hear when a BL is being released that isn’t centered around the lives of high school or college students. We’ve seen so many of those already, so anything different is refreshing. However, as much as I was trying to enjoy this, I ended up not really liking it. It wasn’t incredibly bad. It didn’t have as many plot holes as other BLs, the characters were mostly consistent, and it wasn’t romanticising toxic behaviors. It was just very boring. Despite this being only 10 episodes, instead of the usual 12, this series drags a lot. Nothing really interesting ever happens in it. The revelation that Phu abandoned Nan because he was secretly in love with him, was predictable from episode one. All in all, it was very predictable, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but with a show that already doesn’t have a lot going on, it certainly doesn’t help. By episode 4, I started fast-forwarding through it. I think the show would’ve greatly benefitted from being even shorter. 6 episodes would’ve been enough.

Another thing that irked me was the whole set-up. We’ve seen this plenty of times before: Pretty Boy A is secretly in love with Pretty Boy B. They get drunk one night, and kiss. In a fit of gay panic, Pretty Boy A does the totally sensical thing of vanishing into thin air - leaving Pretty Boy B a sad mess. In this case, Phu was the one to leave Nan behind, after them having been best friends since childhood. He didn’t respond to Nan’s messages, and they didn’t see each other for 10 years. Of course, when they coincidentally meet again, Nan is not furiously upset with Phu. Because that totally wouldn't be a logical reaction at all to your best friend abandoning you with only a post-it note left behind. Nope, instead Nan is super happy to see Phu and immediately wants to rekindle their friendship. Eventually, the pent up anger does come out, which was nice to see. But I couldn’t help but imagine how much more interesting this whole thing would’ve been, if they started off with Nan being extremely pissed at Phu. Seeing Phu try to win back Nan’s trust would’ve made for a much more appealing story than them instantly going back to being best friends. If you haven’t seen or talked to a person for 10 years, you’ll probably have grown apart quite a bit, so this really didn’t feel realistic.

The story had potential. If it had been executed in a better way, it might have actually been enjoyable. As I said, it would’ve been more appealing if Nan stayed angry at Phu for a while. Similarly, it would’ve been a lot better if the story didn’t start with a summary of their childhood and college days. It should’ve started in the present day with Phu and Nan meeting, and Nan being so upset that he refuses to even talk to Phu. The audience isn’t stupid. We would’ve understood that these two have some sort of history. It would’ve been much more intriguing to figure out the pieces this way. I think the revelation of Phu having had feelings for Nan for so long would’ve hit much more that way too. Not that it would’ve been very surprising either way, because this is a BL after all, but you get what I mean.

Another thing that bothered me, and this might be a bit random, but… Can we stop normalising people breaking into their love interest’s condo? Such a scene happened, and was played for laughs. I understand that Nan only sneaked into Phu’s place to check on his cat (Which he just left with Phu, without any instructions??), but still. He could’ve checked on the cat and then left again. But nope, he snooped through Phu’s belongings, such as opening boxes etc. And Phu was not mad about this at all? I love my best friend to the moon and back, but if she went into my apartment without my permission and looked through my stuff, I’d at least sit her down for a serious conversation.

The characters weren’t really likeable to me. The only one I actually enjoyed was Party, Nan’s jealous best friend. At first, I was annoyed that we’d be doing this trope again, but it was done in a pretty decent way. Party was never portrayed as a villain, but as someone really likeable and mature. Other than that, I didn’t care about anyone. I probably could’ve liked Phu if it weren’t for him having abandoned his best friend without a word. His grandmother was decent, but I didn’t feel emotionally connected to her, so when she died, I didn’t even feel slightly sad.

Another issue was the humour. It didn’t land at all. Only one scene got a chuckle out of me. And them trying to make fun of the overweight child was in very poor taste.

The acting was fine. Not noteworthily good or bad. In emotional scenes, the actor portraying Nan was actually quite good with his delivery. The actor portraying Phu on the other hand was lacking a lot in those scenes. I didn’t really buy his emotions which also didn’t help getting invested in the whole thing.

Now for a few things that I actually enjoyed:
- In flashbacks, we saw that during their college days, Phu was the one taking care of Nan. When they reunited 10 years later, Phu immediately fell back into that role, and went to clean up Nan’s entire place. They could’ve done more with this, but that was actually a scene I liked. It would’ve been awesome if they went with the storyline of Nan being super upset and cold with Phu at first. Then they could’ve had a dramatic line like "I’ve taken care of myself for the past 10 years, so there’s no need for you to do this now!“
- The relationship between Phu and his grandma was very wholesome and cute.
- That one scene where Nan comforts Phu who’s having a nightmare. If there were more moments like this, I might have actually rooted for them. This was by far the cutest moment in the entire show. Like one drop of water in a drought.
- The birthday fish instead of birthday cake was actually funny. That was the only moment I chuckled at.
- As I said, it doesn’t feel as trope-y as most other BLs, which is refreshing. If only the execution was better, this could’ve actually been very easy to like.
- Party.

I’m not actually sure whom I’d recommend this to. I feel like it’s just not what most BL viewers want out of their BLs. Usually, viewers either want a lot of cuteness and fluff, which this show had very little of, or they want a great storyline, which this show also didn’t have. Ideally, there's both fluff and a solid storyline. This one had neither. It was dull and boring. So I guess I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone, really. It wasn’t offensively bad, but I would’ve preferred it if it had been, because at least then it might have fallen into the so-bad-it’s-funny category. But this was just 10 episodes of boredom with no substance, and without much cuteness. So if you skip this one, you’re definitely not missing out on much. And that is my promise to you.

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The waste!!!

I had high expectations and I was disappointed. Many moments could have been cut or postponed. Everything seems to happen together. They tried to put a lot of drama and overdid it. Sad waste of a good premise. With beautiful scenes and a good track. The actors seem to put in a lot of effort. There is a chemistry. A lot was put to resolve in the end and it was developed poorly and poorly. Looks like they cut a lot.

A week late for the finale, a mid-series break, it still didn't save. Characters that disappear. A romance that seems like it can't happen and when it seems like it will, it ends. That's the series. Like I said, it had potential and it was wasted.

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They do us as "Check Out" again! / On nous refait le coup de "Check Out"!

The prequel was at the TOP! Impeccable images, a worked and serious and mature story. And there... we are served a cheap BL scenario, with actors who overact to try to make us laugh with stupid jokes, and adults who behave like immature teenagers. I feel like I'm reliving the "Check Out" syndrome! I think they had to fire all the old prequel team... it's not possible otherwise! In conclusion, I force myself to watch just to know the end of this story in accelerated speed most of the time so bored. I find the way this sequel has been handled deplorable.
WHAT A DESAPPOINTMENT!
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Le préquel était au TOP! Des images impécables, une histoire travaillée et sérieuse et mature. Et là... on nous sert un scénario BL de bas étages, avec des acteurs qui surjouent pour essayer de nous faire rire avec des plaisanteries stupides, et des adultes qui se comportent comme des adolescents immatures. J'ai l'impression de revivre le syndrome "Check Out"! Je pense qu'il ont du virer toute l'ancienne équipe du préquel... ce n'est pas possible autrement! En conclusion, je me force à regarder juste pour connaitre la fin de cette histoire en vitesse accélérée la plupart du temps tellement je m'ennuie. Je trouve déplorable la façon dont cette suite a été traitée.
QUELLE DECEPTION!

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Enough of the nonsense

The story was an endless loop of misunderstandings, misinterpretations, miscommunications, or deliberately no communications. For those of you who are familiar with the movie GROUNDHOG DAY, this same theme repeated itself over and over again throughout 10 episodes. Just when one thought the message between the two would become clear some trope, or cliché or misunderstanding or no communication would thwart the message, or the other person would storm off in a huff and be mad or take offense. It became so exasperating to watch episode after episode of these same behaviors occur repeatedly. And the withholding of information almost drove me to drop this series. The prequel to this was so good. This was just plain awful. They are just so scared to show real gay love.
See my full review of this series at BLBliss.com.

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wasted potential

At this moment I want to give the show an overall rating of 0, but realistically that would be unfair. My rating is this low because I had such high expectations up until episode 9. When I looked through my ratings for the episodes before, it was usually 9/10. I enjoyed the slow build up and how Phupha was unsure of Nan's feelings. But the last two episodes were a complete trainwreck for me personally and left me extremly disappointed and angry. Thiscould have been one of my favourite series, but instead it was just a huge disappointment.


SPOILERS:

The confession made no sense, Phupha was shown to be very introverted, WHY would he confess infront of 50 people out of nowhere?? Why didn't they show how their relationship evolved after the confession, they just were in a relationship in the next scene. What was episode 10?? They had to include every bit of drama to really destroy the rest of the story. An action scene, a fight between the leads based on miscommunication, a plane goes missing but wait, Nan is not dead! Phupha and Nan looked more like friends than lovers in the last episode than they did in the whole show. Their intimacy felt forced and their NC was awkward. I'm so disappointed with this series...

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Broken Promise

Prior to watching this drama, I watched the two episode prequel which I very much enjoyed and felt was a setup for an excellent story. Instead what came to pass was a cheap story that very much deviated from the one begun in those two episodes and left me feeling disappointed and thinking of what could have been. I don't know who approved those changes, but I blame them for ruining what could have been something great.

If you too are planning to start this drama after watching the prequel, I urge you to stop right now. There are so many differences in terms of tone, story, and characterization that it serves little to no purpose to watch it beforehand. Watching it set me up for failure to like this drama from the get go because of those changes. Rather, I would recommend watching them apart and viewing them as two separate entities, albeit with the same characters and general story. Just my two cents.

Aside from the deviations from the prequel which I'll get to in a bit, this drama is just full of problems. The story makes no sense. Phu's decision to disappear for 10 years seems very over the top here. I understand being afraid of rejection, but to ghost your best friend for 10 years because you don't think he'll return your feelings? That's a tad dramatic. The decision to have half the male cast swooning over Nan was also unnecessary and didn't feel realistic. The drama it added didn't do anything to move the story forward really or at least not in a way that couldn't have been done in another fashion. Killing off Phu's grandmother was predictable and, again, unnecessary. Honestly, there was so much that was unnecessary in this drama. But having her die right after he and Nan finally confess their feelings was not okay. Also the whole thing with his grandmother thinking it was better to hide her condition. Like, really? That never ends well. The final episode was a trainwreck and full of more unnecessary crap. Khunkhao did not need to end up being Phu's half brother. I guess it gave them a way to end their feud, but it was lazy. Similarly, the plane disappearing with about fifteen minutes left was just stupid. What was even the point of that? There wasn't one. The pacing was atrocious, mostly I think because we have eight or so episodes of when are these two finally going to get together. It's dragged out far too long and we're left with almost no time of them together as an actual couple.

One of the biggest issues with this drama was the complete lack of communication between the main characters. Phu's failure to communicate with Nan led to their 10 year separation. And both of their failure to communicate afterward led to them almost missing each other again. The level of self-sabotage on both their parts is just astronomical. We also never see them have an actual conversation about what happened 10 years ago. Even when they finally confess their feelings for each other, we don't get to see them have an honest conversation about what went on between them, why Phu felt the need to leave, why Nan was hesitant to express his feelings as well, etc. Nan's anger at Phu is never really addressed either. It's there for a moment and then it's pretty much just swept under the rug and not mentioned again. In general, I don't think we got to focus enough on the myriad of emotions that both men had to be feeling, but especially Nan. I think his initial reaction of happiness made sense. After 10 years, he was just happy to know that his best friend was alive and back in his life. But eventually, those other emotions, not just anger, but sadness and confusion, would have come to the fore and while we saw glimpses of them, we never really saw them dealt with or even acknowledged to any degree. And then there at the end, Phu's lack of communication leads to a fight between them. Thankfully they finally have a moment where they do communicate and Phu tells Nan how he really feels about him going to China, but it's also a bit of a situation of too little too late since Nan had committed to going by that point. This is one of those dramas where I want to bang my head against the wall, because if they would only communicate, most of these problems would have never come up. And while lack of communication is incredibly popular in BLs for moving the story forward and creating drama, I find it extremely lazy. If you want drama, there are other more creative ways to go about it.

While Phu's reaction to run away was overdramatic, I found Nan to be more realistic in his reactions. Things like avoiding the fact that both Party and Khunkhao were attracted to him. He wasn't interested in either of them beyond friendship, but it seemed obvious that he could tell they were attracted to him and just didn't want to go there. He's not encouraging to either one, he doesn't lead them on, at least not in my opinion, but whenever they try to express their feelings, at least until they outright do so, he puts them off, creates some distance between them. I think a lot of people do that and not just in that situation. We think that if we avoid the situation, it'll go away. Clearly that didn't happen and he was forced to confront both men. Similarly with his comments that he wouldn't want to start a romantic relationship with a friend. How often do we say things that we don't necessarily mean as a way to protect ourselves? It was so obvious that he loved Phu but was too afraid to face that. Besides their lack of communication, fear was a primary barrier that prevented Phu and Nan from getting together sooner.

The characters were okay, but not amazing. I preferred the Phu from the prequel. He came across as more confident, less self-conscious than he was in the drama and less afraid. Don't get me wrong, the fear was still there, but he didn't let it control him as much. Here he just felt kind of weak and almost cowardly. I never felt he really took responsibility for his actions and the damage they caused. Nan's character was more consistent which I appreciated, but I felt he lacked the depth he had in the prequel. He became more one-dimensional which was disappointing to see. The other characters were tolerable, but nothing great. Frankly, aside from Party who was the only down to earth one, the rest were just annoying. Gigi with her tarot cards and mumbo jumbo was annoying most of the time. Also, who wears clothing like that at a professional job? Don't get me wrong, she's a beautiful woman who can rock probably anything she puts on, but it was just jarring to see the guys wearing suits, the other women professionally dressed and then she's there in a crop top and mini skirt with a suit jacket. Man was unbelievably annoying. I really wanted to see Ken give him a proper dressing down, but of course that never happened. I don't know why Ken kept him around when he was so completely useless. Khunkhao just came across as a jerk. I liked him better in the prequel as well. His character seemed more subtle and interesting there. Here he was just possessive and overbearing. I liked Party both for his personality and character. He was smart and dependable, but not flashy about it. I liked his courage in confessing to Nan and his maturity when he was rejected. I also loved how he treated Phu. He was never rude to him even though they both loved the same man, he gave him fair warning when he decided to confess to Nan, and after he was rejected, he not only gave Phu advice, but also helped the pair get together by blocking Khunkhao. Aside from him, Dena and Grandma get honorable mentions. I really liked Dena in both the prequel and here. Despite being a minor character, she had a great presence and like her brother, I appreciated that she didn't fly off the handle when rejected and turn into an ass. One thing I will say for this drama, I liked that they didn't use a woman to come between the leads. Yes, there's one minor scene where Nan misinterprets events, but I don't really count that. But Dena wasn't a harpy and once she realized she had no chance, she gracefully bowed out. Grandma was fun with her sassy attitude. I enjoyed her and her friends and the way she razzed on Phu. Their relationship was very sweet.

The acting wasn't terrible, but again, not amazing. For that, I am laying full blame though on the script and director, mostly the script though. There's only so much you can do with garbage. I actually like Kun and Kiak together. I thought their chemistry was promising and they interacted well with each other. I preferred Kiak's acting over Kun's. His performance was more nuanced and he was more emotive, especially with his facial expressions. He also managed to convey a good amount of emotion just with his eyes. Kun wasn't bad, he just tended to stick to one expression more. It's like he would get stuck in a rut for a bit then realize he needed to use other expressions. He doesn't have the same amount of experience as Kiak though and again the script was awful, so I'm not writing him off yet. I liked Boss as Party. His expressions were great and I just really enjoyed what he did with the character.

All of the negatives with this were just compounded by one primary problem, the glaring differences between the prequel episodes and the drama. I really enjoyed those episodes. They weren't perfect, but I liked the tone of them, the emotions, the depth, the symbolism, and the maturity. I felt it worked quite well. The drama though just went in a whole other direction. Gone was the more mature and serious tone of the prequel. Instead, we get a weak rom-com that got maybe two laughs out of me. It wasn't funny or clever. Most of what they seemed to think would get people to laugh were in fact just annoying. I'm thinking of Man specifically who seemed to be included to bring laughs but was about as unfunny as they come. The very story was altered. In the drama, Phu and Nan share a kiss and Phu panics and disappears. In the prequel, Phu is planning to confess his feelings for Nan in what I'm sure would have been a much more romantic scene than what we got, but instead sees Nan apparently accepting the feelings of a girl they know. He leaves thinking that he missed his chance. While still an over the top reaction, it made more sense and I could get onboard with it better than the kissing excuse. We also get left with the understanding that Nan is aware of Phu's feelings as his landlady essentially told him, revealing how Phu had carefully picked out the flowers in the bouquet he planned to give to the one he was going to confess to, the exact same style of bouquet as he received on his graduation day. We also have the symbolism of the pocket watch Phu gave Nan which I loved. The way it stopped working and then right before they meet again, it starts again. I was so sad they completely left that out. The one area I will give credit to is that Nan's episode gives background to his relationship with Khunkhao and how they meet and develop a relationship. There are more minor discrepancies, like the comment in the prequel that they're from the same faculty but different majors whereas in the drama they're both marketing majors which, as a side note, made no sense since Phu makes a comment about not knowing how to market his grandmother's coffee farm. Also the girl Phu sees confessing to Nan is named Gigi, but it's unclear if she's supposed to be the same Gigi from the drama. Presumably not since they're played by two different actresses and neither she nor Phu acknowledge ever having met before in the drama. But truly the biggest differences were just the tone, the story and the way the characters acted. I couldn't stop comparing the two and the fact that they were night and day just left a bad taste in my mouth and really colored my perception of the drama.

This is yet another drama in a string of dramas or specials I've watched recently that had so much potential and then just fell flat. I can only imagine how amazing this drama could have been if it had explored its character's emotions and motives, spent less time on the drama and focused more on our leads rebuilding their relationship and taking it to the next level. A lot of dramas leave the love confession until the end, but I think this one had the unique opportunity with the prequel episodes to get that out of the way early on and follow up maybe with Nan struggling to come to terms with a confession after 10 years and Phu having to rebuild that trust like I mentioned before. It would have given us the opportunity to see them together as a couple and all the challenges that would bring. It's just so disappointing that this is what we got. In all honesty, I wouldn't recommend this drama. Go watch the prequel and stop there unless you want to be like me, haunted by what could have been.

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I just done watching this drama. I really Love It. I dont know why the people giving bad Review and low rating. Are you crazy? As i read from Nanfah Phupha drama this is actually Base On Real Story. So what you expect? REAL life is not as beautiful as In drama. Its so sad to see their scene together as couple not much but its understandable its a real life story not a drama even they probably put some MSG in the series to sell it better.

But honestly it worth better rating. And many complain about the last episode, whats wrong? The ending is Good. You should watch till episode 10.
I think that people complaining is Crazy.
This series is Really worth to watch
I recommend it to people who Hesitate to watch it.

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Not so promising

It's funny because after I watched the first few episodes of this show, I was thoroughly excited and honestly had it in my 'could be a fav of 2023' category. However, this feeling didn't last long, as the initial promising feel of this was quickly replaced with irritation and disappointment overall.

#1 complaint is that this story was so drawn out, but things are never really resolved satisfactorily enough for you to really appreciate the four minutes they're actually together. We spend the majority of these ten episodes going through the struggle of one-sided love. For a large percentage of that time, you come to completely dislike Phu. And there's not really a resolve there to make it worth all the pain. It's quickly swept up under a rug and it makes Nan look like an idiot imo.

#2 complaint is the fact that the production company for this series liked to keep postponing things for absolutely no reason. First half of eps came out and then we had to wait a month for the second half. And not only that, but there were a few times where a day before the episode was going to be released, it was suddenly announced we'd have to wait another week. There were several times I almost didn't come back to finish this series out, but the curiosity of 'does it ever redeem itself' kept me in its grasp.

Sadly, it never got better.

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Literally a Hidden Gem — I Loved This !!

Okay, I love it when I find series like this that are hidden beneath the other pile of oversaturated BLs and it becomes something of its own that completely makes me fall for it. I was 100% ready to drop this series after the first episode, especially after looking at the rating and comments, but I was pleasantly surprised in the beginning and it carried out until the very last episode. I'm only upset I'm just now seeing it as it's been released since May 2023. I wish I was on that train when it was airing tbh.

Let's Dive In.

So The Promise is essentially a series about two childhood best friends who find their way back to one another after 10 years. The plot itself is pretty simple, but the execution, along with the production budget, makes this series spectacular. And if you don't know, friends to lovers is my favorite trope of all time, and if you mix a slow burn with that, it's damn near impossible for me not to love it. And oh, how I loved this series. It executed their relationship (friend-wise) so perfectly; showing those fleeting stares, those one-off comments, the small gestures. And it makes sense with everything that happens between them, with Phupha leaving and returning and not knowing how to tell his friend about his whereabouts or why he left. They did great at keeping that ambiguity from the audience as well until it's revealed, which I liked that we also didn't know until Nan knew as well. Same with Khunkhao, who was Phu's secret brother, which felt too coincidental, but I didn't hate it. Overall, they perfectly mapped out their friendship into a relationship so perfectly, and it's above all, my favorite aspect of the series.

Now, the chemistry is good, not great, but it's good. It's enough for me to be convinced that Phu really does have feelings for Nan, but I will say that once they get together, that tension between them dies and it's not as punctuated as it was before they got together. Not all of the kisses were bad, but there were some dead ones. The NC scene at the end is actually very sensual and very beautiful. Also, seeing them both topless doesn't hurt either.

The relationship between Phu and his grandmother had me in shackles. Oh, I loved it so much, the openness they both were able to have with one another without it being a deal that he likes a guy, which I'm pretty sure they innuendo that his grandmother was a lesbian/bi since she hung out with other older lgbtq people. I think her death is justified (?) enough in the series that when she does die, it doesn't feel like an irrelevant death, but something that for Phu's character specifically, needed in order for them to get across that Nan would be there for him and help guide him through it. Onto more of the smaller roles, Party was okay, I think it was irrelevant to make his character in love with Nan, but it is what it is. Giegie was super fun, I liked the comedic aspect of the series with her astrological antics and whatnot.

Now, onto some things I wasn't appreciative of. There were plenty of office scenes that could've been cut down. They drag for far too long in some episodes, and I just skip right over it because *Snooze Fest*. Same with Jo, I know he's the comedic boss who's bad at his job that everyone somehow puts up with, but I kind of wanted to see him fired, won't lie. Episode 10 was the only episode that I really didn't like. Before then, I honestly loved each episode, but the last one was the one that took down my 10/10 score. There were so many unnecessary, irrelevant conflicts that the writers dropped for no reason. Like how Nan is upset that Phu tells him to go move to his new job only for him to be okay in the next scene. Same with the bewildering, "Nan's plane disappeared" plot that was literally, like, what the fuck? And then again, resolved in the next 5 seconds. Also, I don't recall Phu explaining to Nan why he left, even after they got together, which was pretty anticlimactic.

I think this was supposed to have a season 2 (which it really doesn't need one) to go into further depth about the couple they throw in at the last minute (khunkhao and some rando getting beat up on the street), but it didn't get enough popularity within the fandom, which is kind of upsetting, cause besides all the negative stuff, this series really ate down, in my opinion.

Ratings:

Story: 8/5/10: some boring office jargon, and some really left-field writing decisions, but overall, the execution of the main leads is brilliant.

Acting: 9/10: Really good! This was Kun's (Phupha) first acting gig, and I could definitely see the minor mistakes, but he did an excellent job (also, that man is too fine). Kiak also did good, and everyone along the road did just as well.

Music: 7/10 - I actually loved the OST! it gave nostalgic vibes, so I was here for it.

Recommendation Value: 9/10 - I would highly recommend this series, especially to anybody looking for a good friends-to-lovers plot. It did such a good job, and I'm so upset this didn't get the hype it deserved, but oh well.

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Deviation From 2 Mini Series

I feel like Ive been waiting for this forever. Ive fallen in love with the actors and their characters. I will complete this series. That being said lets begin.

This review is preliminary as I have only seen 2 episodes.

Now in the mini series Gigi knew Phu. She spoke to him about the rumors about him and Nan. She made it clear she was interested in Nan. She was a freshman and Nan and Phu were seniors. However the Gigi in the series (played by a different actress) is she suppose to be the same Gigi?

In the mini series Nan tried to fix Phu up with Deena and Phu lost it. When Phu decided to be honest with Nan at Deena's suggestion he saw Nan with his friends and Gigi when he asked him to come straight home after his final and he left claiming to be going to Melbourne to be with his mother. Here it appears Phu left because Nan kissed him. A drunken kiss and Phu is obviously in love with Nan.
And another difference in the mini series Phu said he and Nan were in the same faculty with different majors yet here they both seem to be advertising majors but Phu wants to follow in his father's footstep and run a coffee shop.

This is a good series and maybe it will all come together in the 10 episodes. The changes aren't that jarring but to me it appears you need not (unless you already have) watch the two mini series since they're going in a different direction.
However I do suggest watching the two mini series just in case they refer to it in later episodes.

My last comparison is this...in the Nanfah mini series his landlady basically revealed Phu's feelings for Nan which is why Nan went to Melbourne every year in hopes of finding Phu. They showed Nan going to Melbourne in this series yet they dont seem to be showing his knowledge of Phu's feelings or his reciprocation of those feelings. So all I can do is wait to see where this series is going.

Okay, instead of starting over I will put my review below what I wrote after episode 2.

The problem with this series is it's complete deviation from the minis. They should've picked up where the Nanfah Mini Left Off. But shoulda coulda woulda.

This is still a decent series but the BL Fandom in my opinion got it wrong. All the blame is put solely on the character of Phu for leaving for 10 years without so much of an apology to Nanfah. Was Phu wrong, oh yes but Nan was wrong as well. You see in the minis Phu ran away after seeing Nan embrace Gigi and take the flower she gave him making him (incorrectly) think Nan accepted GiGi's feelings. Now in the series Gigi was played by a different actress and was clearly not the Gigi from the mini series.
So in the series Phu left after an extended kiss with Nan while they were drunk and Nan was all in for this kiss yet it was never discussed again. Nan clearly returned Phu's feelings but he didn't say anything either. Nan made a statement in the series that he didn't believe in dating friends to Phu.
What was Phu to think? In my opinion that kiss was Phu's attempt to get a conversation started about how they felt about each other. Phu was in pain. He was in love with a man that made him think if he confessed he would lose him. This was because of Nan's words and actions.
Nan could have at any time given Phu hope because clearly he felt the same. Now when Party confessed Nan said he knew Party liked him. But he did Party the same way he did Phu. He knew but he stayed quiet then shot him down saying what he said to Phu while they were in high school. Friends Are Just Friends.

So Phu was terrified. He loved his best friend and Nan told him he could never see a friend as anything more. Phu was a very likable character. In the minis he would do anything for Nan and did. Nan knew this and practically used Phu as an alarm clock, as a maid, as the food provider and as a dance partner. He walked all over what Phu wanted or needed. Im not saying Nan wasn't a decent friend. But there is plenty of blame to go around.

When Phu got back Nan went right back to using Phu. He stuck him with that cat and Phu basically took over caring for Nan's pet. He cleaned Nan's apartment. Nan is a grown ass man he should know to throw out rotten food and empty containers. So yes they both made mistakes. So Phu lied to Nan and that was wrong I 100% agree it was wrong.
But Nan's own words made Phu suffer in silence. Ultimately Phu running away was for his own mental health. They were codependent on the other which is why Nan could not even sleep without Phu in his world.
Then in Episode 8 they seem to revisit the minis with Khunkhao, suddenly it was back to Nan visiting Melbourne every year for 9 years in search of Phu. In the minis when Nan left to search for Phu he was well aware of Phu's feelings and he figured out he felt the same yet when Phu returned none of that was even covered.
Every fan has a right to their own opinion but Phu was a great friend to Nan from the beginning with those rowdy kids to helping him in high school and university. He got on his knees in front of Nan's father to beg for Nan to be able to follow the path he wanted. He even took that path himself and helped Nan all the way through.
The writing was the problem. For instance Phu said he didn't know how to market the coffee farm yet he studied the same thing as Nan. And Nan himself credited Phu for Nan making it. Phu was not perfect but neither was Nan. Mistakes were made by both them. Yet even Nan couldn't stay mad at Phu for his disappearance. The truth is he was just happy to have Phu back. The first night of Phu's return Nan slept like a baby without drugs. Nan wasnt angry at Phu because he loved him and he couldn't come out and say it either. Get over laying all their issues at Phu's doorstep. Nan's doorstep needs some baggage too. He isn't blameless.

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The whole story was fine but the main issue i had was what's with khun and the other nan guy... where did they even came from when his chapter got closed after he left phu house... i mean the scene was just about phu and nan then why did khun and that other nan guy come in..... if it's about showing that khun find a guy for himself then i think party deserves that too.... he loved nan so he deserved a partner instead of khun...

the second thing is what is wrong with the cat stare in the end? they connect the whole series with some magical thing... well i get that impression from the cat's stare.

They should have showed how nan realize his feelings for Phu. Because obviously phu loved him from a long time but they should've tell about how Nan find out that he loves phu... they straight out jumped into them flirting with each other and then nan find out the lie about phu disappearance for 10 years and the he followed him. i guess after that episode they should've portray the emotions of Nan realizing his own feelings for phu after he disappear once again.

it was a good series but i still think they make the leads too timid.... they showed them way too dumb to understand what they feel for each other.

i mean its understandable if they just doesn't want to confess because of their friendship but not even realizing that both of them love each other was way too dumb. The loving stares they were giving each other from the start was clear enough for Phu to tell that Nan loves him too and he should confess.... and of all time when he actually finally decided to confess that's also just because he wants to say it anyway because out of blue he became braver because of a guy who suddenly appears for a campaign...

the cast and acting was good but i still think that they made leads way too timid and dumb... i still wants to see them in another series.

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It tests your patience lol

I'll start with, I do love the ending. It has a lovely closure for everyone and ever element involved. But, the execution could be better. It feel really rushed in last 3 episodes or so. So, its not pleasant to watch towards the end,. The only saving grace is the good ending, otherwise, I'd be real pissed lol

It started out really great until it starts testing your patience. I mean, EVERYONE knows they like each other, but they don't?! Oh, cmon! lol...If only they stop dragging the confession, the last 3 episodes wouldn't have been rushed, then it'd be a nicer drama from audience pov.

Otherwise, I love both the ML, and both of them is hot af! Like, face, body, and everything. They are my favorite shipped couple now. Also, this is one of BLs where they finally cast all handsome male actors together. Honestly it shouldnt be that hard right? If other drams could put more effort in this, it'd be nicer for our eyes lol

Now, is this show perfect? No.

But, it isn't as bad as what everyone makes it out to be either.

I hope to see this couple again, but probably in a better drama next time

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