My Stand-In (2024)

Plot Line and Poom's acting skills make me stay with My Stand-In.

This series hasn't come out entirely as such I'll updating my review once all 12 episodes are out. I've watched it till Episode 6 and the plot is honestly interesting but the acting skills of most of the characters make it an average.

I love Poom, he is doing great. His mannerism as a stunt man gives the story a lot of dimension cause otherwise it's a shitshow in my opinion seeing as the other characters have no originality. Up and the dude playing Tong are the most annoying beings, demons if I may, in this fantasy world. May is clueless. Wut is great supporting character, love that for Joe. Let's see where it goes from here.

I do like the plot. Not gonna lie, it's peaked my interest to see how the new Joe deals with life with having the insight of people in his life from before the accident. I want him not to fall for the crap again. I want him to be successful. And though the "ship" crap is gonna go on forever, if the dude is toxic, he is toxic, I don't wanna hear nothing.

The nice guy needs to pull up his big boy pants and move on. But this is a work of fiction, and not real life so of course there are going to be people shipping Joe and Ming. But I'm completely against Joe ending up with Ming (Up) or Sol (Porche) for that matter.

Ming deserves the hot and cold behaviour Tong shows him. I have no sympathy for his a$$.




⚠️ Side Note: The way Poom says Minggg with that loving and elongated baby tone, I'm sitting over here listening to everything he says with a "Yes, Sir" attitude cause who wouldn't. The love just seeps out of him and damn, my name ain't Ming but I'm ready Poom. I'm ready.

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Warning, long review ahead.

Some of what I liked:
Wut/Sol – They realized that new Joe and Ming would be together again and seemingly stepped back. Or, we just didn’t see them anymore. I choose to believe they decided to leave JoeMing alone to flourish or flounder because they’d done all the advising and helping they could, and you can’t make someone leave a relationship if they don’t want to…you can only support them from a distance and hope for the best. Liked that Sol realized he’s just like Joe, hopelessly in love and can’t get over someone. Good on Sol for going back to Korea to get away from the drama and hurt. Too hard to get over someone you see all the time.

Joe – It took his death for him to start feeling a little more confident in himself and seeing his worth. He didn’t exactly reach the pinnacle on that, but he’s making progress and that’s all any of us can really hope for. I can’t be upset because he fell in love, stayed in love, and forgave his ex. Who among us?! If no one was ever forgiven or got a second chance, where would the world be? I’d love to see him continue standing up for himself and voicing his needs…he never did get to “be the one behind” Ming.

Ming – He did fall in love with Joe, but he was also still obsessed with Tong. Yes, I liked that. Feelings don’t just vanish. Doesn’t matter what drew him to Tong initially, he developed genuine feelings for Tong over time due to the proximity of him dating Ming’s sister. He could never be mad at Tong because there was no reason to…Tong never sent out mixed signals or cheated with Ming, or even hinted that he liked men. Ming was the owner of a one-sided love, so he took out his frustration on Joe, and thus, himself. Did he have a reason to be mad at Joe, you ask. Yes. Joe wasn’t Tong, that was the reason. Ming finally got over that, but it was too late and too much damage had been done. Later, Ming was apologetic, he kept waiting for Joe, he didn’t date (or obsess over) anyone else (until he was drawn to old Joe in his fresh-from-a-coma body), he became famous (I love how easy it is to do that in this series! LOLOL!) so Joe would see him, and he started showing his love and making amends (once he knew old Joe was back).

The Story – There was a lot going on, in a good way! So much content packed into each episode that I felt like each one was a movie. The flashbacks lasted too long for my taste, though. And thank you for not giving me yet another school drama! I’m so over that.

The acting – All the primary players did a phenomenal job! Up has got some range and I’m happy to see him playing a different kind of character (than I’ve seen him play).

Some of what I didn’t like:
Ming – You hit that man over the head (Joe could’ve been concussed or sustained brain damage, but whatever) and kidnapped him. Those are crimes, for shit’s sake!! Joe is dead, so turning yourself into the police is pointless, but Ming could have done some community service on his own or something. I just didn’t see him taking responsibility for that.

Joe – I’m sooooo glad that they didn’t do some Walking Dead nonsense and have Joe survive that fall. I’m curious about the new Joe’s soul, though. Did new Joe choose to walk out the hospital door to escape his loop (he did commit suicide after the stuff with his mom and boyfriend) and that’s why there was a body available for old Joe? I kept dreading the moment when old Joe would be zapped outta that body and new Joe's soul would “wake up”. Did anyone else wonder about that? How could old Joe NOT worry about that?! Seems like, since we’re accepting the supernatural here, original recipe Joe would be trying to find that master guy and ask what happened to new Joe's soul and how much time he has. I also secretly wish new Joe became the one who didn’t want to have sex face-to-face. Hear me out. Old Joe knew the reason Ming always wanted Joe to turn around was because Ming was thinking about/visualizing Tong. So now that we’re done with Tong, new Joe should have had a moment of doubt because he doesn’t have the same face anymore. So, is Ming still thinking of someone else, even though that someone is technically him? This was kinda hinted at in a different way, but I think they should’ve explored it. How we look, and how we think we look, are parts of our identity. Does Joe think he looks better or worse than he did before? Does Ming think he looks better or worse? No good answer, right?! We’re all a little shallow. Season 2 issues, maybe?

Tong – He and his wife should be separated because he absolutely used her for her family’s money and connections. Not saying there wasn’t love there, but his actions warranted a separation and some form of estrangement from the family. At least for a while! You can’t just do all that and say all that and cost us this much money and then pop ‘round for Sunday dinner! Who does that?! More season 2 stuff?

Some stupid shit:
Joe – Dude got shot like 17 times in the back and strolled outta that hospital like it was nothing. Ok, he was shot 3 or 4 times, but that’s a huge deal!! Spine, lungs, ribs, he would not be ok for a minute! Shows/movies never do a good enough job (to me) of showing the passage of time unless they write it out on the screen. I don’t know how long new Joe was in the hospital, but when he got out, he should still be showing signs of pain/discomfort while walking, getting in and out of cars, having sex, etc. I’ve winced more from a paper cut than Joe did after being shot in the back 3 or 4 times...not to mention the guy had been in a 2-year coma just months before all this. And while we're on that, no way this guy can wake up from a coma that long and be strong/healthy enough to be a stuntman so soon. Unused muscles atrophy. Directors, pay attention to detail!!

Joe again - Of course Ming was setting you up after the funeral. You know good and goddamn well that boy ain’t finna burn all your stuff. That’s not even how obsession works. He will NEVER give away or destroy your things. Please send Ming to therapy in the next season! Couples counseling could be funny, and helpful of course.

Still Joe – So, we’ve established that it’s super easy to get famous, and you need money. The guy whose body you’re squatting in, yeah, he used to be a model. Why wouldn’t you pursue that instead of going back to your old job with no explanation for your martial arts and stuntman skills?!

Should I just rename this section “Joe”? – Joe had sex with Ming in Joe’s home (their home) before Ming was told that Joe had been found. Later when they went back, Joe was acting like he hadn’t been there in years. He also acted like they hadn’t just had sex days ago. Just stop. Say you regret it, but don’t act like it didn’t happen.

The brother we didn’t know about (finally something that’s not about Joe!) – Why was he always there when Ming went to see the master? I thought he lived there, before I knew who he was. Made no sense. He was just there so we would be surprised to learn that he was a sibling.

The master – Why?


I thoroughly enjoyed this show, and even the music. I laughed, cried, yelled, clapped. Second chances, undying (literally) love, and the lesson that love does not protect you from anything or anyone. Ppl who love you the most will hurt you the most. But, that’s where those handy-dandy second chances come into play. And second seasons. =P

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It’s compelling but

It is a compelling watch, mostly because of Joe’s actor - he does a good job of emoting and making you feel along with him. The plot is fine, too, I can give credit where credit is due for the attempts to branch out from university student story lines and storylines that are built entirely on miscommunication but…

I hate Ming.

No shade to his actor, because he does a good job at playing him, but there’s really only one villain in the series and it is definitely Ming.

What keeps me coming back is the fact that it’s interesting to watch the dynamic between the two, but it is most certainly an imbalanced power dynamic that Ming regularly and remorselessly exploits. He treats people like they are objects to be bought and sold, and then he absolutely refuses to take accountability for any of his behavior. I’ve heard a lot that in the novel he has a redemption arc, but we’re nearly through the series now and I have not seen much remorse or accountability from him. To be fair, the plot hasn’t really exposed what his motives are, but there isn’t a whole lot the story line could do at this point to make me feel like he’s really “earned” that happy ending. And maybe it won’t end happily, I dunno, I just know that this I wouldn’t call this story romantic.

It’s interesting, sure, and I’ll probably finish it, but Ming makes it hard to have sympathy for the devil.

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This was pointless

This series was just… empty. When I started it, I thought it would be an amazing one —as everyone said it was awesome and so good and even had a ★8.5 rating on MyDramaList—, but it happened to be just an easy one for me.
The story itself was pointless in my opinion. A man in love with another I don’t know why, being treated like sh*t and yet still loving something about it. Also a man who’s in love with his brother-in-law just because he saw his back in a trailer??? I don’t know. The thing about dying and coming back to life in another body is like what?? And Ming somehow felt it was Joe.

I’ll only talk about the main couple as there’s no secondary one *crying*, so let’s start:
There’s not so much to say about them. I couldn’t love their relationship nor buy their love and I hated Ming all along the series, so it was difficult to understand Joe’s feelings for him.

So the only way this series could have had a better ending in my opinion, is if it ended in episode 11, with Joe choosing himself and starting all over again. But no.

So I wouldn’t recommend this, but I also have to say that so many people liked it, so if it is a gender you like, please enjoy it.

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Not an redemption arc

While I am happy that "Up" had a chance to play a different character (and we all did really hate him), I'm disapointed in the story. Ming understands what he did was wrong, but he did not change his character that much. I can believe that he now really tries hard to be a better partner, but we have no idea if his control and power issues has been dealt with and I doubt it.
There were scenes where he was lying on the floor not eating, just drinking and not doing much, but this did not help to change his narcisistic flaws which are still present in the finale. I guess the screenwriter are contradicting the character because they wanted an redemption arc.

I also would have wished, they used "Winner" for the first part of the show and only "Poom" for the second half. This would of course complicated filming, because both actors would have to learn the same mannerisms for their characters which would have made the story more interesting and the immersion in the story more believeable. That the same person plays both characters irked me a bit.

I'm not happy with Mings character development and the same for Joe. Joe is always Joe not standing up for himself, not understanding when to say no. I can understand you love whom you love but there should be a moment when your brain says "enough is enough!". This show had so much potential, the first four episodes had me hooked and I thought about how they will solve the redemption. And because of the lack of a real redemption arc this show fails. For me the finale was especially lackluster because everyone is now "happy", all is good and even Mike got Mings secretary as future BF (They should have expanded that arc as well), because most of the later episodes is a repeat of the first ones without the violence and lack of self-reflection on Mings part but he forces Joe once again repeating the same mistake again.

So overall the show is still above average even when the story-writing falls of a cliff. It did at least try to do something different in the sea of average shows, it did try to give us a mature story in the sea of university settings. And Up as Ming was really great!

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The Novel and the Series

My thoughts bout the early part of the series and the differences that I saw between the light novel and the series.

LA Joe is different from the novel Ah Xiang. Zhou Xiang is already kind and soft hearted but Joe really took it to another level. (The ending really annoyed me). He still cooked breakfast for Ming?. "In the novel, Ah Xiang shoved MingXiu away harshly and fled frantically from his own home. Then he drove aimlessly as he didn't know where he should go. He can't go to Wei Ge's (P'Wut) house because his sister-in-law is pregnant and he doesn't want to disturb them. And so after driving aimlessly in that winter night, he decided to go to the company and stayed in Wei Ge's office."

Joe again is used as a scape goat between Director Pao and that snake. P'Wut also is kinda different from Wei Ge in the novel. I know and I can see the brotherhood between P'Wut and Joe but dyk that in the novel it was Wei Ge who convinced Ah Xiang to accept that lead role offered by Director Pao? Because since Ah Xiang already offended that snake (yes, I'm not gonna say his name even the og from the novel) and he will surely receive some backlash from that snake's fans as it was already rumored (everyone already knows) that the lead role of Director Pao's next project is that snake. Then his reputation will surely hit rock bottom and it'll be difficult for him to get any stunt jobs or any job in that industry. It's a lose-lose situation and so him accepting it won't really change anything. But rather it could give him a slight chance of finally making a break through. That snake and Ming didn't directly kill Joe but they pushed him in that direction. So Ming... grovel hard.

This will probably piss off all of you more. In the novel, after that snake attended the conference as the lead role he eventually dropped the project. He actually didn't want it. He just hated Director Pao and more importantly, he didn't want a mere stuntman to take his "place". So the project was eventually scrapped.

I wish they stuck to the monk rather than a fortune teller. And they changed that connection to his father?? Wth? It was supposed to be MingSu's master. Yan MingSu is Ming's older brother. P'Mike (MingSu) is the older brother of Ming. They're taking the character set-up of P'Mike and distributed it to other characters.

1st, they changed May into a supportive and loving sister (which takes away the character set-up of MingSu in which he's the only one who cared to support Ming after Joe's accident when everyone in the family are turning a blind eye that Ming is suffering due to a death of a male "lover" and he's the only one who accepted Ming for being gay). Which is why he was the only one who knew how much Ming loved Joe. I can accept this because May was such a b*tch in the novel that made me think that she and that snake deserves each other. Plus, more people to love and stand by Ming's side so I'm fine with it.

2nd, as I've mentioned, the monk (in the LA is a fortune teller). The monk would show the supernatural events that Joe went through and the connection between Joe and Ming which involves fate and karma. Changing it into a fortune teller kinda makes it shallow. Moreover, it is an opportunity for them to show their culture. Hence, I really don't get why they had to change that.

3rd, P'Mike having a monk as a master would show that he is not the type of wealthy person whose life only revolves around money and that he is someone who values the teachings of a monk. So when he saw that his beloved brother is almost at the death's doorstep, he sought the guidance of his master.

I am utterly disappointed of how much they downgraded Yan MingSu (P'Mike). He's probably the 2nd if not the top favorite character of everyone who've read the novel. He's the BEST BROTHER anyone could ask for. Someone who'll always make sure Ming is still breathing no matter how far and tired he is. He would fly in and out of the country just to take care of his younger brother. All those sleepless months just to take care of Ming because no one in their family wanted to accept that Ming is gay. He took care of Ming himself all while managing their business. And he doesn't look down on Joe unlike the typical attitude of those wealthy people. I really loved MingSu's character so I'm really emotional with these changes. His role is actually more significant.

I liked how Poom showed Joe's feelings, you can really see it his eyes softening while watching Ming but then the moment he heard how Ming would only smile when he's acting in that snake's movies, you can see how it made his walls higher and stronger.

I don't get why Joe was looking aimlessly around his house. Ming left it EXACTLY how it was 2 years ago as it is in the novel.

I needed THE mental breakdown that MingXiu showed in the novel.. My heart is sad for Ming but I hope they wrote it with something like hyperventilation. I needed the scene where Ming is having a hard time breathing. I just needed more anguish? Because seeing him crying is making me heart ache a bit but I hoped what I felt was heartbreaking instead. I really shouldn't have read the novel first. Up, my baby you did well.

BUT the scene where Ming and that snake are talking in Ming's room is a hella lot MORE satisfying than in the novel for me. In the novel, it was Ming who went to that snake's room. Ming did slam the door after their conversation but this in LA is much much more satisfying. I laughed so hard as it was so satisfying when he casually just pointed the door and did the hand thingy like he's shooing him away and kicked that snake out. He didn't even bother to look at him nor walked him to the door ?. And the way he reminded that snake of the fact the of all people, he has the least right to talk about Joe in front of Ming because they were the reason why Joe was pushed into making that decision.

I like the added detail where this is a sequel of that snake's first movie with the same director. I also loved how the director regret his decision of encouraging Joe to sign a contract where he won't be credited.

I've read comments saying it was Joe's fault why his second life is becoming like his 1st one. Like why did he accept Ming's but rejected P'Wut and Sol's help. He and Ing (I finally know her name, I've been calling her Chen Ying) have a 3million thb loan from a loan shark which is really dangerous. And his mother is sick and is in need to receive dialysis every week which cost a LOT of money, they needed a better place to live for Ing's condition. He needed to pay that loan ASAP, have a good place to live, money for dialysis, other medicines, hire a caretaker for Ing and money for other expenses. So, why did he reject P'Wut and Sol's help? Because he felt guilty to receive that AMOUNT of financial help from them. He knew P'Wut somehow still blames himself why Joe died and so P'Wut has been very active in giving him support as a way to release his guilt for Joe's death and Sol practically told him that he's only receiving this much support (the jobs that P'Wut got for Joe2) was because he reminded them of Joe1. He felt guilty of using that to get their help. Jobs are one thing but financial matters are a different thing. So why did he accept to be a "stand-in" AGAIN for Ming? Because with Ming, it is a transaction. He doesn't have to feel ashamed nor guilty (but it must have been painfully heartbreaking for him to practically sell 1 year of his life to ming of all people) because Ming was still gonna screw him over so why not benefit from it? Joe's decision is actually the most practical choice. He wasn't being dumb.

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Confusing at first but incredible acting.

I wasn't planning to watch it at first but then i followed the mass.
I'm gonna be honest the first few episodes were kind of confusing to me but once i got the hang of the plot then i started to get invested in the characters.

The story is something i've never seen before in bl and the way they executed it was quite good, it could have been better for some parts but overall this was enjoyable.

Joe is an absolute sweetheart, i couldn't help but feel bad for him literally every second of this damn show. I have no idea if Poom is a new actor or not but his performance was pretty impressive.
I still don't like Ming and i had a really hard time believing in his redemption arc or whatever they tried with his character.
Tong was despicable and i hate HATE that he got an happy ending.
Everybody was so good but i have to give it up to the main leads for their incredible and believable performances.

The music wasn't noticeable to me and i dont think this is a show i would rewatch. I feel that once you know the twists and turns they gave us every week it's not interesting to watch this again.

Overall this show was a nice surprise, i wasn't expecting anything from it but everyone did a great job. I don't agree with some people calling it the best show from 2024, there's a few that i'm enjoying way more but this was a great project nonetheless.

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joe deserves so much love

Thirty years ago, Korn and Intouch were university students in Bangkok. Intouch entered Korn's life despite knowing that he was the son of one of the most influential crime bosses in Bangkok. At first, Korn pushed Intouch away, but in the end, he couldn't resist the boy who was so full of life, his exact opposite.

However, their love was star-crossed in a time when homosexuality was unacceptable. Amidst mounting chaos in their lives, Intouch kept fighting for their future, but Korn could not deal with all the suffering and decided to give up. That day, the sounds of two gunshots rang through the air. Though their story ended in tragedy, something had tied itself between them and kept them bound even beyond death.

Years later, nineteen-year-old Pharm returns to Thailand as a freshman at T- University. Riddled with sad dreams that wake him with a wet face, plagued with a fear of loud noises, and bearing a birthmark on his temple, the boy has always had a sense that he was missing someone. Twenty-one-year-old Dean is a third-year student and the swimming club's president at T- University. He, too, has spent his life searching for someone whose face he can not remember.

The red thread of fate that had tied them together in their past life pulls the two boys together once again, tying them to each other and to a past that might not be worth remembering. The red thread that binds their two hearts together will always lead one back to the other; it may tangle and stretch, but it will never break.

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Uma Boa Série Com Falhas de Roteiro

My Stand-In teve uma história bem legal. Atores consagrados na indústria Boys Love, com uma ressalva para dois atores coadjuvantes, Billy Possathorn (fez o papel do secretário Jim) e para o ator Tanathorn Charoenratanaporn (fez o papel de Sol), sem falar em tantos outros que foram igualmente bons.

Qual a falha? Acredito que fazer um BL que vai passar por essa fase de encarnação não muito fácil, isso porque muitas vezes, como foi o caso aqui, o roteirista acaba por deixando as transições entre cenas confusas. Ao observarmos os momentos em que o Joe no corpo do novo personagem, interpretado por Winner Tanatat, ele só aparece quando o próprio Joe se olha no espelho, para os demais que ali estão, mesmo quando chamam o Joe para conversar o corpo que sempre aprece é do Joe que “morreu”. Tanto do ponto de vista religioso quanto para a produção isso gera uma certa confusão. Do ponto de vista religioso, o corpo não existe mais, na produção, é preciso inserir o público no conteúdo e estas transições de cenas servem justamente para isso.

O sofrimento do Joe também foi muito tenso durante o BL, pensei até que iria estender para uns 14 episódios. Contudo, gostei do BL, foi muito bom! Apenas a ressalva mesmo quanto as transições das cenas.

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