Fake Love (2023)

Do they know what fake dating is?

I don’t even know where to start with this one. Fake dating can be one of the best tropes out there when it’s done right. Which it wasn’t. If anything, I was left with more questions than answers through these two episodes.

We got to watch the events of the first episode twice. The fact that half of it was just flashbacks or replays of what has just gone down was the worst choice they could have made. It was the same footage with a slightly different effect plastered over it. The annoying part is that because so much time was spent on that, the story and emotions building was very weak, which made the events of the second episode feel completely unrealistic and unbelievable.

Peem and Phol were confusing. Leaving aside how they came to be a couple, were they even aware that they were a fake couple? Or did they just miss the memo? I also don’t know what to make of Peem’s feelings. He kept saying how he was going to tell Phol he likes him, but he also only wanted to date him for the few days until the party. And then threw jealousy fits and acted like a baby because Phol didn’t tell him everything.

North and Rew did a good enough job, but I think the story was weak and it didn’t really give them a chance. Their characters were not complex enough and things seemed very chopped into smaller parts. It wasn’t really well connected, which made the emotional bond between their characters seem non-existent.

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Fake it till you make it

Did they? Both their secrets are still intact at the end of the two episodes, but what was the point since nothing else really happened?

The plot is about two guys who enter into a pretend relationship to protect their respective secrets. And that's pretty much it. They know each other's secrets and they agree to keep those to themselves. A majority of the episodes was utilised to set up their contract relationship, and the rest of it was used to show that the conflict was resolved. It does sound like a well rounded plot when it's put that way, but there was so much missing.

Admittedly, Phol and Pheem do have chemistry, and by the end of the series, they do have an actual relationship that's somewhat endearing. Too bad we couldn't see much of that connection and development though, it was some wasted potential and screen time that they used to display flashbacks instead.

I'm a little disappointed, not going to lie, because I do love a good pretend relationship plot, but the lack of development and the wishy washy dialogues paired with an equally inconsistent story didn't really make for a good series.

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Love at first sight

This instalment of My Universe was messy but cute and not too bad. Just a bit too long, a bit draggy and a bit too many flashbacks!

The story is a bit simpler than the synopsis makes it out to be. Pheem is a university student, son of a garage owner and pretending to be rich. His ex-boyfriend, Ta, is pestering him to get back together which Pheem refuses citing a new boyfriend, unfortunately an imaginary one. So Ta invites them both to a major party he organizes in a few weeks time. Now, Pheem is hard-pressed to find a new boyfriend. He crosses paths with a student he bumped into a few days earlier and fell for at first sight. But he refuses to talk to him. Until Pheem finds a way to blackmail him into pretending to be in a relationship. Spending time together, makes Pheem fall hook line and sinker for Phol. And vice versa.

The story is interesting but not fleshed out enough. They had time to do it but they spent it on very long flashbacks, very long and totally unnecessary! The fake relationship became real very quickly! Some people consider it too fast but what is wrong with love at first sight? Which was exactly what Pheem experienced!

Production value is really low here. The filming is lazy, the extras practically non existent, and they should definitely avoid putting scenes of parties and clubs in this whole collection: they just cannot make it believable with 2 extras, 5 balloons and paper cups strewn on the floor! Music was better in these episodes: we were not subject to endless repetition of title song: there was actually some different background music insisting on the comedy aspect of the story!

But this is saved by the actors: they are cute, charismatic (especially North) and have good chemistry. I really hope to see them again in something better produced!

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Wow. This was surprisingly underwhelming. I started to watch at 2x speed after 15 minutes, because it was just so slow and boring. Nothing really happens. The scenes are terrible long, when it could've been way shorter, because they just look around. They meet pretty late in the first episode, so they waste a bunch of time where they could've built up and interesting connection. Both episodes have some flashbacks, which are stealing time again. Way too long and just unnecessary.

The story leaves me with a lot of questions, it's not even funny anymore. :'D a lot of things just doesn't make sense. I don't really get what the purpose of this story was.

The acting isn't really good.. the kiss was okay though. Well, thinking of the fact, that one guy throw up before they kissed, it's..not okay anymore, but who cares.

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