Questa recensione può contenere spoiler
Entertaining at Least ...
Don't go into this BL with many expectations, if any at all. This series served as a decent watch and was at least somewhat entertaining due to the cast's cuteness, but that's about all they had going for them. I want to be easy on this review, seeing as this was a brand new group of actors, some of which this was their first BL and series ever. But, even with that, I can't help but deter the stiffness and staleness that was this series.
Let's Dive In.
Before we can even get into the actual plot, let's talk about those cut scenes and those disturbing panels. I need to know who thought it was a good idea to have the boys be shirtless?? It left me highly uncomfortable, and I felt like I was in a very awkward position. Why couldn't they just be in their regular school clothes? What about them being shirtless helped the series in any way (especially since none of them were chiseled or anything of the sort. They just had ordinary bodies, so what was the point)? It's a small problem that I had that didn't affect me too much, but I genuinely cringed each time.
Let's get into the plot that was basically nothing at all. It was super cliche, super cheesy, and super repetitive. how many times did somebody need to fall for Chol, and just how many times did we need to see Prab get jealous? Once would have been plenty. This series didn't need 13 episodes AT ALL. If they would've gotten rid of half the repeated drama and maybe some very unnecessary characters, then we could've ended it at episode 10 (and maybe even less). All the conflicts were frivolous and stupid. Chol needed to go to the hospital over a sprained ankle? Did two dudes need to be there to take care of him? And what about Chol getting hit in the head with a soccer ball, did everyone and their momma need to rush over and freak out like he had a heart attack? I understand that they needed something to drive this non-existent plot, but the amount of insubstantial conflict we had was ridiculous. Let get into the unnecessary plots. There was no need for them to have Chol's dad get hurt. It didn't do anything, it didn't drive the plot, and they could've had Prab's mom accidentally let slip that her and Chol's dad went to university over dinner or something. All these plots left some episodes feeling dragged out and boring. If anything, I could've skipped episodes 3-7 and still been able to keep up with the plot (cause, once again, it was nothing).
Let's get into the acting. Now, I don't want to be too harsh on these boys since they seemed pretty new, but holy hell, what the actual freak was that? I can't tell you the number of times I cringed at these boys on screen. Each actor was stiff and stale as hell. Phu (Chol) was the main lead and he only had one emotion; nothing. He kept a straight face the entire series. At some points, I was wondering if the actor himself was questioning why he was on this series, cause he didn't look like he wanted to be there at all. Folk (Prab) was a bit better, but no much. There's nothing you can really do when you're working with others that just don't have much talent. The other actors aren't listed on MDL for whatever reason, but Maping and those twins were on the top of the "how were they hired?" list. I also think some of this could have been due to these very unpleasant and long pauses. There were too many times that the characters were just staring and smiling at each other that left this very uneasy feeling in the air. I thought they might have forgotten a line and were doing something to just kill time. Whatever it was, it was awkward and it created tense feelings. Had they had hired some better actors, I believe that this series could've been rather decent than just meh ( I will give props to Kaow, Khun, the dad, and the mom who were on the better side of acting. Other not listed weren't good, but they weren't the worst either (mediocre?)).
I think one reason why this series also didn't work was because of the terrible subtitles. Now, I know this show wasn't made for my intended audience, but good Lord Jesus, those subtitles had to be the worst I have ever seen. I had watched on Dramacool at first, so I thought it was just whoever had done those subtitles but come to find out, that's just how they were cause I switched to Line TV and it wasn't any better. Because of me trying to decipher what the subtitles were saying, I missed key problems and conflicts (for example, I didn't realize Chol was talking to a secret admirer until Tri exposed himself. I had thought it was Prab the entire time since he had a frog on his bag and I tried to make connections there. whoops).
This series was slow-burn as hell. Now, I love me a good slow burn, but this was just ridiculous. How come it takes 13 episodes for the leads to get together? Once again, it was dragged on and elongated for no reason at all. All that unnecessary obstacles in the leads way were just so unimportant and not eventual. Chol and Prab were...meh. For one, they were step-brothers, so right off the bat, it's hella weird. Chol had no emotions, and Prab was a bit pervasive at times, but I will say, they were just decent and entertaining to watch. Chol looked too cute in his pajamas, and I did at times like Prab's sarcasm. But, how come at the end, everyone is okay with their relationship, as if their not stepbrothers? very unrealistic and weird, but I guess it was added for the emotional appeal. Also, that kiss was incredibly cringey (why were Chol's eyes open? like huh?...), and the dad walking in was too predictable. But, I will say, that I liked the ultimatum he gave them, and I actually kind of wished that they would've explored those more until he just says nevermind. The best thing about this show was probably the situation with the parents. It was an actual conflict that I found amusement in, except I think it was resolved too quickly. I also liked how this show handles peer pressure and following one's heart. Even though Chol was smart enough to get into Medical school he just wanted to be a photographer and didn't let peer pressure get to him. And vice versa for Maping. He wanted to follow his heart in being a florist, but he felt like he had to get into medical school because of his family.
Now, let's get into Maping and this weird love triangle (but not really) that he was in. I actually loved that he turned down Mhok. For one, Mhok had this very creepy vibe to him (and he's a grown man, like wtf), so I wasn't really here for them at all, but most series would've had them get together, but instead, Maping had never even grown feelings for him in the first place. The scandal that went on was pretty accurate in terms of student and teacher relationships. I think they still should've fired the teacher. If they had really looked at the surveillance cameras then they would've seen that Mhok grabs Maping's hands, which isn't appropriate at all, but whatever. The underlying clash with both the teachers was not looked at enough. It felt like their plot wasn't completed and that could've been something fun to see if it was decently plotted out.
Khun and Kaow were the best couple out of all of them. They went through trying to get to know one another better, and then actually had a very well-plotted out story. I loved the way Kaow had asked him out with the cake, and I liked their dynamic a lot. They were still a bit cringe at times, but not nearly as bad as the others were. If anything, I would rather see next season be more about them than anyone else.
Tri and those twins were the worst thing ever. For a second there, I thought they were going to have then all three be in a polyamorous relationship, but then they have Tri reveal that he's in love with Chol which was a poor decision to make seeing as we had not seen any prior actions form him to indicate that. But, those twins were just downright bad. They did nothing but annoy Tri the entire time, and be weirdly obsessed with him. If anything, they could've been cut to save some screen time.
We see something going on between the delivery man and the Prab's friend (sorry, they're not listed on MDL, so I don't remember names). I actually was kind of excited to see more of them, but we got nothing at all. I hope that next season, they'll focus more on their relationship.
I would complain that this show had way too many characters, but at this point, I'm used to it. It took me up until episode 7 to actually remember names with faces, but whatever. Some other small points, what happened to Sam? He just kind of disappeared and never came back. It was revealed that he too had a crush on Chol (BAD. He was a grown man, ew) but then he just goes away. I felt like I had missed an episode or something, but for some reason, they decided to cut the confession scene between Chol and Prab. Why do that? No wonder it felt off that they had just gotten together without any prior conversations or anything. Poor decision-making
It was already confirmed that they're getting a second season which I think is not needed at all, but oh well. A new secret admirer, who could it possibly be??? I can already tell next season is going to be a bunch of unnecessary drama between the leads. Quite frankly, I don't know what more they can show in this since everything had already been done. But I guess we'll see.
Some things I liked: I liked that we don't see some BL-obsessed fangirls or some jealous ex-girlfriend. This was one of the few Thai BL series that don't do that. Good for them. Although it's pretty unrealistic for everyone in a university to be gay/bi/pan etc, I still enjoyed that nobody had to "come out" and everybody was okay with everyone liking the same sex.
Overall, this series, was just meh. I kept watching cause I think that all of the cast is pretty adorable, and I also think they tried their best with what they were given and wanted to keep watching to support them (even though it was rough). I wouldn't recommend this series, since there are just better ones out there, but if you're looking for a slow-burn or just something pretty carefree and unrealistic to watch, then this is the series for you.
Let's Dive In.
Before we can even get into the actual plot, let's talk about those cut scenes and those disturbing panels. I need to know who thought it was a good idea to have the boys be shirtless?? It left me highly uncomfortable, and I felt like I was in a very awkward position. Why couldn't they just be in their regular school clothes? What about them being shirtless helped the series in any way (especially since none of them were chiseled or anything of the sort. They just had ordinary bodies, so what was the point)? It's a small problem that I had that didn't affect me too much, but I genuinely cringed each time.
Let's get into the plot that was basically nothing at all. It was super cliche, super cheesy, and super repetitive. how many times did somebody need to fall for Chol, and just how many times did we need to see Prab get jealous? Once would have been plenty. This series didn't need 13 episodes AT ALL. If they would've gotten rid of half the repeated drama and maybe some very unnecessary characters, then we could've ended it at episode 10 (and maybe even less). All the conflicts were frivolous and stupid. Chol needed to go to the hospital over a sprained ankle? Did two dudes need to be there to take care of him? And what about Chol getting hit in the head with a soccer ball, did everyone and their momma need to rush over and freak out like he had a heart attack? I understand that they needed something to drive this non-existent plot, but the amount of insubstantial conflict we had was ridiculous. Let get into the unnecessary plots. There was no need for them to have Chol's dad get hurt. It didn't do anything, it didn't drive the plot, and they could've had Prab's mom accidentally let slip that her and Chol's dad went to university over dinner or something. All these plots left some episodes feeling dragged out and boring. If anything, I could've skipped episodes 3-7 and still been able to keep up with the plot (cause, once again, it was nothing).
Let's get into the acting. Now, I don't want to be too harsh on these boys since they seemed pretty new, but holy hell, what the actual freak was that? I can't tell you the number of times I cringed at these boys on screen. Each actor was stiff and stale as hell. Phu (Chol) was the main lead and he only had one emotion; nothing. He kept a straight face the entire series. At some points, I was wondering if the actor himself was questioning why he was on this series, cause he didn't look like he wanted to be there at all. Folk (Prab) was a bit better, but no much. There's nothing you can really do when you're working with others that just don't have much talent. The other actors aren't listed on MDL for whatever reason, but Maping and those twins were on the top of the "how were they hired?" list. I also think some of this could have been due to these very unpleasant and long pauses. There were too many times that the characters were just staring and smiling at each other that left this very uneasy feeling in the air. I thought they might have forgotten a line and were doing something to just kill time. Whatever it was, it was awkward and it created tense feelings. Had they had hired some better actors, I believe that this series could've been rather decent than just meh ( I will give props to Kaow, Khun, the dad, and the mom who were on the better side of acting. Other not listed weren't good, but they weren't the worst either (mediocre?)).
I think one reason why this series also didn't work was because of the terrible subtitles. Now, I know this show wasn't made for my intended audience, but good Lord Jesus, those subtitles had to be the worst I have ever seen. I had watched on Dramacool at first, so I thought it was just whoever had done those subtitles but come to find out, that's just how they were cause I switched to Line TV and it wasn't any better. Because of me trying to decipher what the subtitles were saying, I missed key problems and conflicts (for example, I didn't realize Chol was talking to a secret admirer until Tri exposed himself. I had thought it was Prab the entire time since he had a frog on his bag and I tried to make connections there. whoops).
This series was slow-burn as hell. Now, I love me a good slow burn, but this was just ridiculous. How come it takes 13 episodes for the leads to get together? Once again, it was dragged on and elongated for no reason at all. All that unnecessary obstacles in the leads way were just so unimportant and not eventual. Chol and Prab were...meh. For one, they were step-brothers, so right off the bat, it's hella weird. Chol had no emotions, and Prab was a bit pervasive at times, but I will say, they were just decent and entertaining to watch. Chol looked too cute in his pajamas, and I did at times like Prab's sarcasm. But, how come at the end, everyone is okay with their relationship, as if their not stepbrothers? very unrealistic and weird, but I guess it was added for the emotional appeal. Also, that kiss was incredibly cringey (why were Chol's eyes open? like huh?...), and the dad walking in was too predictable. But, I will say, that I liked the ultimatum he gave them, and I actually kind of wished that they would've explored those more until he just says nevermind. The best thing about this show was probably the situation with the parents. It was an actual conflict that I found amusement in, except I think it was resolved too quickly. I also liked how this show handles peer pressure and following one's heart. Even though Chol was smart enough to get into Medical school he just wanted to be a photographer and didn't let peer pressure get to him. And vice versa for Maping. He wanted to follow his heart in being a florist, but he felt like he had to get into medical school because of his family.
Now, let's get into Maping and this weird love triangle (but not really) that he was in. I actually loved that he turned down Mhok. For one, Mhok had this very creepy vibe to him (and he's a grown man, like wtf), so I wasn't really here for them at all, but most series would've had them get together, but instead, Maping had never even grown feelings for him in the first place. The scandal that went on was pretty accurate in terms of student and teacher relationships. I think they still should've fired the teacher. If they had really looked at the surveillance cameras then they would've seen that Mhok grabs Maping's hands, which isn't appropriate at all, but whatever. The underlying clash with both the teachers was not looked at enough. It felt like their plot wasn't completed and that could've been something fun to see if it was decently plotted out.
Khun and Kaow were the best couple out of all of them. They went through trying to get to know one another better, and then actually had a very well-plotted out story. I loved the way Kaow had asked him out with the cake, and I liked their dynamic a lot. They were still a bit cringe at times, but not nearly as bad as the others were. If anything, I would rather see next season be more about them than anyone else.
Tri and those twins were the worst thing ever. For a second there, I thought they were going to have then all three be in a polyamorous relationship, but then they have Tri reveal that he's in love with Chol which was a poor decision to make seeing as we had not seen any prior actions form him to indicate that. But, those twins were just downright bad. They did nothing but annoy Tri the entire time, and be weirdly obsessed with him. If anything, they could've been cut to save some screen time.
We see something going on between the delivery man and the Prab's friend (sorry, they're not listed on MDL, so I don't remember names). I actually was kind of excited to see more of them, but we got nothing at all. I hope that next season, they'll focus more on their relationship.
I would complain that this show had way too many characters, but at this point, I'm used to it. It took me up until episode 7 to actually remember names with faces, but whatever. Some other small points, what happened to Sam? He just kind of disappeared and never came back. It was revealed that he too had a crush on Chol (BAD. He was a grown man, ew) but then he just goes away. I felt like I had missed an episode or something, but for some reason, they decided to cut the confession scene between Chol and Prab. Why do that? No wonder it felt off that they had just gotten together without any prior conversations or anything. Poor decision-making
It was already confirmed that they're getting a second season which I think is not needed at all, but oh well. A new secret admirer, who could it possibly be??? I can already tell next season is going to be a bunch of unnecessary drama between the leads. Quite frankly, I don't know what more they can show in this since everything had already been done. But I guess we'll see.
Some things I liked: I liked that we don't see some BL-obsessed fangirls or some jealous ex-girlfriend. This was one of the few Thai BL series that don't do that. Good for them. Although it's pretty unrealistic for everyone in a university to be gay/bi/pan etc, I still enjoyed that nobody had to "come out" and everybody was okay with everyone liking the same sex.
Overall, this series, was just meh. I kept watching cause I think that all of the cast is pretty adorable, and I also think they tried their best with what they were given and wanted to keep watching to support them (even though it was rough). I wouldn't recommend this series, since there are just better ones out there, but if you're looking for a slow-burn or just something pretty carefree and unrealistic to watch, then this is the series for you.
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