This review may contain spoilers
The Most Underrated BL Lakorn of 2018
Words cannot describe the love I have for this drama series, which is a hidden gem amongst the recent plethora of BL Lakorns that have been produced in the past seven years. I decided to review this because of the negative review that I saw about this (and which I will address) and the low rating that it has on this site.This drama deserves at least an 8.3/10 as an average rating!
On first blush, the story seems typical: Boy has a rivalry/hatred with another boy. Boy loses his girl, gets other boy to be his fake boyfriend. They fall in love, and get together for real. Sounds familiar?
The story starts off with Mork- the typical badboy whose father owns a local barbershop. He's a delinquent, sells porn and is a general menace to the class. A prank by his classmates leads to the beginning of his rivalry with his polar opposite, Tee. Tee is popular, rich, a top student, member of the Cheer team, a local idol at the school and in a relationship with a beautiful girl who is also wealthy.
A school requirement forces Tee to get his hair cut at the barbershop owned by Mork's father, Muad. His dad starts the cut but rushes out due to unexpected news, leaving Mork to mind the store. He decides to get revenge by deliberately cutting Tee's hair badly, and later on fractures Tee's relationship by his lie that Tee requested illegal gay porn DVDs.
This leads to them clashing multiple times and eventually punished by their school. They're given the task of cleaning all of the toilets in the school for a period of time. Later on, Tee returns to the barbershop and Mork's dad fixes the mess his son made of Tee's hair. Then once again, he leaves for a reason.
Up to this point, you kind of have a general idea of where the story is going. Enemies slowly become friends, becomes lovers. Again, a story we've seen multiple times right?
Wrong.
It's at this point that the story pulls an amazing plot twist that based off of the first episode and most of the second, no one would have seen coming at all. They also created the greatest Thai BL scene that has ever been produced (the only possible rival being the harrowing scene in TharnType when Type opens up to Tharn and reveals how he was sexually assaulted by one of his father's workers when he was only a small boy).
Mork is tasked with washing Tee's hair while his dad runs off to do what he needs to do. Reluctantly, Mork obeys his dad and he begins the process of washing Tee's hair. That's when the plot twist comes to light:
Tee: Why did you pretend that we didn't know each other?
Mork: It's better this way.
Tee: It's been three years...how have you been?
Mork: Shut up.
While the budding sexual attraction was a given, it turns out that the story is not of enemies becoming friends becoming lovers, but friends who were already falling in love with each other are thrown together after years apart and complete the transition from friendship to love.
I suspect that this is one of the 'plot holes' that another review on this site is referencing. If you pay attention however, the rest of the season unfolds the story of how the two leads became friends 3 years before and developed a strong friendship that was torn apart by an incident that challenged both leads' perception of their orientation and a series of misunderstandings that led to them treating each other as strangers.
Then the story really takes off as Tee, already half in love with Mork suggests that he become his fake bf in a bid to re-establish his relationship with his now ex-gf. Mork decides to do so, but their pretend relationship quickly morphs into a genuine relationship as lovers as their feelings (as well as the schemes of his brother and friend) take off.
What follows is an amazing rollercoaster of emotional highs and lows as they become lovers and deal with their parents' reactions to their relationship, their challenges as a budding couple, friends and the threat of being forced apart by circumstances beyond their control. They laugh, they cry, they face scandal and sickness and through it all, keep a hold of their love for the other.
One plot point that to some might seem contrived is the illness of Mork that seemingly manifests out of nowhere near the penultimate episode and in the finale. He faints and is hit by a car and is later informed that he has a congenital illness that might take his life in a matter of years. This seems forced and out of the blue, but actually it's been set up since the first two episodes. Mork has a habit of getting nosebleeds in high stress or high emotional situations (like getting horny), that at first seems like a nod to the anime trope of horny people getting a nosebleed when they see a sexy person or situation, but is later revealed to have much more serious connotations. Again however, if you're paying attention to the episodes, it is easy to understand once the big reveal of his illness is revealed in the last episode.
The two actors who headline this drama are so amazing. They also seem to have a good working relationship since this is the first of several projects in which they are paired together over the past two or three years. You'll find them in 2gether the Series, it's sequel, Blacklisted, and the followup to 'Cause You're My Boy', 'Our Skyy'. This is I believe their first series together as a pairing, but the chemistry that they have is so amazing and it shines the brightest in this story. Some claim that the acting wasn't that good, but I respectfully have to scoff at such a statement in utter disbelief. The sheer depth of the emotions that are shared between these two actors in every scene, the dialogue, their facial expressions, the tone of their voices is hard to comprehend and is magical to watch on screen. There's a reason why nearly every single followup project that they star in together has them paired as a couple. They are glorious to behold.
The production level is not the greatest admittedly, but I still rate it near a 10 because it carries a lot of the nostalgic vibes of Love Sick season 1. Unpolished a bit, rustic maybe, but super affecting and genuine. The sets don't look fake or deliberately staged, and the story truly seems like it could have actually taken place in a high school in Thailand. And the editing is much better than several other dramas that have been given higher ratings on this website which tend to have terrible transitions music wise from one scene to another, or have issues with the sound quality when transitioning from music to spoken dialogue.
Altogether, this gem of a series has cemented it's place in my mind as one of the Top 5 BL lakorns that have been produced in the last seven years. I've seen dozens of BL dramas over the last few years, but this one has a special place that few currently in existence can rise above.
It isn't as overtly melodramatic as some other lakorns out there, but it has plenty of drama, and an overload of intimacy and romance, not just for the main pairing of Mork and Tee, but also the supporting characters of Mork's baby brother and his best friend, Mork's friends from his school. I can so easily re-watch this over and over and over again and never get tired of seeing their love story come to life.
I so wish that this drama could get a second season, but I'm satisfied that at least more is explored about their relationship in the anthology series, 'Our Skyy' along with some other popular BL pairings that we know and adore. Watch this drama! You won't regret it! Never mind the naysayers, they have no clue about what they're talking about. This is a real good drama. Only the series TharnType (and it's new sequel) could rival this series in my mind.
My Rating: 10/10.
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I can see where people might want the amped up drama, but some of these series are way over the top. This was more of a sweet story of boys falling in love without too much frivolous melodrama or crazy sound effects. I like how this was different than many of the Thai BL series which are centered around school. In this series there are a lot of real life, day-to-day type settings and situations . The story didn't seem all that out of the ordinary for teenage boys and how they talk and interact in real life.
The actors are cute, and Mork/Tee and Morn/Gord have good chemistry. Acting was pretty good for young inexperienced actors. I hope to see more of all these actors in the future. There were a few racy/sexy scenes, but no actual sex which I think is nice compared to American TV where they seem to jump into bed within 10 minutes of the opening. I seem to see that trend in many of the Thai BL series which is refreshing.
There are some production quality issues, and oddly they often seem to be worse in the later episodes. Sound quality is poor at times, but luckily I am watching English subtitled so that doesn't affect things too much. I feel sorry for the translators though, it couldn't have been easy deciphering the dialog. The story could have cut a few scenes and expanded a few others, but overall I get where they were going with the plot.
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Okay it doesn't have the best story, mostly because of writing. But compared to other BL series, or thai series for that matter, it's definitely on the good side. Tho i feel the story is being sacrificed to create more sweet scenes between the couples. The main conflict of the story was just introduced at the 4th or 5th episode (or i guess it is the conflict), and that's where the story really begins. The previous 3 episodes were there to set up the relationships of the couples. I will say tho that the reason I scored this a 6 (so far) is because of the bad writing of some parts of the story. Like that mork-tee in bed flashback scene. I believe that the story will get better (i have to because i am so invested in this series). I am still a bit confused at the story. They've been giving us hints that mork and tee knew each other before, and may have a "romantic fling", but the way they were put in the story is a bit confusing because they come out of nowhere. A little bit more drama could balance the sweetness thst the couples are giving. I'm tasting a bit of ovaltine, and i need some chamomile filled with drama.
Acting/cast:
I will say that they have the PERFECT cast! I am living for series with newcomers as main. The chemistry of the couples are off the CHARTS! I know I like the cast when I follow most of them on Instagram. Frank's cute, boy-next-door look is balanced with drake's manly appeal. The way they interact when they subtly seduce each other is AMAZING, especially for newcomers (i know Drake was in slamdance, but this is still his first main role). Although I may say that outside those sweet scenes, there are some where I cringe at the acting. That's where them being newcomers show. But with what they have shown so far, i know i will be keeping up with them in their next projects.
Music:
I LOVE the ost! It's hip, it's fun and it suits the vibe that the show is giving. The background music fits perfectly, and is not overpowering or setting the mood of the scene by itself. I need a bit more songs before I give this a perfect song tho. A perfect example of a "10" is the project s spike soundtrack because that is LIIIIIIT!
Rewatch value:
There has only been 5 episodes and i'm already planning on rewatching from episode 1 onwards. Thats how i loooove this series so much.
Overall:
So far, i love what the series is giving so far. There are still lots of room for improvement and I'm bracing myself for them.
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Nicely Surprised
I started to watch this drama without any high expectations: I'm just out of an intensive period of watching BL dramas and I was feeling saturated ... but, since I have a crush on Drake, I said OK let's go for this one ...Very quickly, I was hooked for the good reason that FINALLY we had teenagers expressing desires, sexually aroused, watching porn, talking between them of getting a "boner"... just normal, universal teenagers ... I had watched recently Theory of Love and I was shocked that during the twelve episodes of this drama, not a single time, the main couple talked about sex and desire, not a single time we saw them in bed ... even if they were writing a theory of love ... (rolling eyes), every time they kissed it was lips sealed ... It was pathetic.
So it was nice to hear in 'Cause You're my Boy, things be called by their names. It was nice to talk about homosexuality clearly: no girls were around, just two guys in love with each other for a long time and finally crossing the line, getting out.
Of course, the story has some flaws but it was forgivable for the reasons I just mentioned.
And there is Mork/Drake, smiley Drake, lively Drake, so cute Drake. It's true that in front of him Tee/Frank is a bit dull, a bit boring.
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ONE example of why so many rated this low;
They announce their 'gay' relationship (fake) at school. Post it on facebook, feed each other in the cafeteria, and THEN in a later episode, all of a sudden its a BIG DEAL that everyone knows they're together?? Tee tells Mork they wont get past hugs & kisses (very little of those). Not long after, Mork gets really angry at Tee for buying condoms. Wasted too much of my time already.........
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At first it seemed to be going in the right direction, story was a bit cliche and predictable in the BL region, but this story quickly falls apart thanks to poor editing and mediocre writing. There were several parts in the story that made no sense and it left me wondering if I missed some social more I hadn't been taught in my time in the east... Or whether it was simply really **really** bad editing/direction. I went with bad editing and buckled in for as long as I could...
I wanted to sympathize with the environment the characters were thrust into; but simply couldn't because the important bits were either poorly executed, or ended up on the cutting room floor. It left the main characters coming off as either schizophrenic or inconsistent. At episode 5, I remember talking to my family and asking, "was I that screwed up as a teenager?" While my mother laughed and said, "there were times I wondered..." Overall, I can say that with all the things that happened in my life -- at least it was more consistent than this story.
When it comes to the acting, an actor can only take his cues from the director and on-set script direction (writers sometimes, other times it's an assistant to the writer). Both Sattabut and Samthonglai often seem to be uncomfortable with what was being given to them and did their best. This is further exacerbated by the fact that most pieces are filmed out of order, leaving the actors incapable of injecting any personal bias for the overarching story. Because of this, it often felt rushed as they didn't seem to have time to draw their own conclusions or pull from their own experiences as teenagers.
The writing had moments of pure inspiration, but most times I found myself questioning what the point of the adaptation was. Bambi was the worst when it came to character development and seemed nothing more than some window dressing to try to push the plot forward. Sometimes she was a trope villain, other times she was saviour to the weird relationship between Mork and Tee. The fake relationship between Mork and Tee at the beginning was nothing more than a sketch or a farce and seemed to disappear quickly as the story unfolded. Tee's purpose through the whole of the story seemed as mystifying and as confusing as someone trying to herd cats. As for Mork's? Well... And the message of "love knows no limits of gender" was quickly buried in quagmires of traditional and modern dysfunctions against homosexuality. The secondary characters of Morn and Gord were more a bait and switch for the poor story of the main characters and should have either gotten their own story or completely written out.
About the only thing I was left with through most of my watching was, Mokr and Tee have more history than what was hinted at in the flashbacks. And while I see there's a prequel in the works/release... If it has the same director and writing staff; I believe it's in my best interest to leave it to my imagination. At least can put together a better plot.
Sound quality had several serious WTH moment leaving me wondering whether sections of the audio tracks were re-recorded because of poor rushes checking, or whether the production squandered their budget on other things than filming . Because during editing, someone might realized that the dialog was lost to wind or distance. On more than one occasion, I got the distinct impression that the actors were wearing their microphones as the scraping of pillows and other objects they were holding had interfered with the scene, causing me to lose immersion.
Admittedly I gave up at episode 7. The Story telling was too painful for my sensibilities. Those that got to the end, I salute you. This crotchety old critic would prefer something better to watch.
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Having just finished watching this series I just had to comment on how disappointing this was. Until halfway through I was enjoying it so much, the Tee/Mork relationship was blossoming into something special and episodes 5 & 6 are maybe two of my favourite episodes in any BL series I thought that they were that good (the scenes in the snow park were impressive) but after this the series just went rapidly downhill. The story became nonsensical and the writing was very poor, the cast did there best but even they couldn't do enough to save it, the Gord/Morn story was the only paring that was keeping my attention and sadly even this comes to no real culmination in the end. The final episode itself could and should've been the best of the lot but again due to poor storytelling comes over a bit messy (why for instance does Tee get Morks Passport as if he's taking him somewhere and then not tell him).
Over all I have to say how disappointed I was with this, it started so well and I really loved Tee & Mork but the execution was weak and in comparison to other series it doesn't hold up as well. It is watchable just don't invest too much thought in it and it'll pass the time well enough.
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Romantic teen angst and gay social issues
I've been watching BL's for years now and I skipped over this gem due to an awkward first episode and bad reviews. I held it in my watch list for over a year. I am so glad that I decided to come back and watch it. It was fascinating to see some very popular current actors and how they looked 5 years ago and the difference in their acting. I am not saying there is a bad acting in this because in my opinion there is not. They were awkward as teenagers are. there was awkward silences. some people said that they were gaps in the story and I agree that it did jump around a little bit but that made it even more real for me. I had a glimpse into their lives and if you pay very close attention to every single episode it's not hard to keep up with everything that's happening. I found it to be one of my favorite dramas ever. Tee has some serious Rizz!!! There are some beautiful conversations here and without spoiling anything I will just say that the scene by the sea had some of the sweetest words ever said.if you will remember middle and high school so much happened and one week back then... little things were huge to us and that's how it is in the show. there is very little skinship. don't even bother watching this if that's what you're looking for. However, despite that I could definitely say it was one of the most romantic school BL's ever in my personal opinion.
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It's a mess. - Let's be honest here, we only watch this for FrankDrake.
The headline might sound a little bit rough, but it is what it is.'Cause You're My Boy (2018) is a lighthearted love story in a high school setting. One of the main characters initially struggled with his sexuality - which seemed to be the main plot point in earlier episodes. However, the conflict progressed into a story about homophobia and family acceptance immediately after the initial struggle had been resolved. We also see many - dare I say - unnecessary conflict involving supporting lots of the supporting roles consisting of the main characters' friends that started from nowhere and just ended abruptly.
I must say when it comes to resolving the main conflicts, this series did a really good job - especially with the struggle in accepting one's sexuality part. That being said, the rest of the plot is - as the headline says - a mess. Things keep happening out of nowhere and seemingly for no reason as the story progress. Up until the last episodes, I must say that it is mind-boggling - but not in a good way. Nothing adds up, the writers just keep progressing from episode to episode without really paying any attention to the characters' development or even the environment around them.
The production in this series is not much of a help either. The lack of music and the quality of sound/audio is putting off the mood to watch what I initially thought a lighthearted love story. Not only that lots of the scenes felt empty due to the lack of background music, the camera angles and lighting were also a little bit off considering the theme and genre.
Despite all of the 'bad' things that I mentioned above, I would still recommend this series if you are a die-hard BL fan, especially if you stan Frank and Drake. However, if you are looking for BL with good story and production, you might want to stay away from this one because this ain't it. Overall, if you still want to watch this series I would highly advise you not to compare it to other BLs especially 2gether The Series (since Frank and Drake are also one of the couples in that one) because you might end up enjoying the story less than you should have.
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Started Great
Sagged a little in the middle
Ended Great
I would watch Season II. There were some characters left to be developed and the stars still had another story to tell. I enjoyed the small moments and the insight it gave me too another culture and way of life. It wasn't Shakespeare nor was it required to be. These young people did a great job and we should acknowledge their talent and hard work. It is so easy to be critical but we are not on the screen being criticized without realizing the time and effort put in daily to make this show. Job well done and I hope to see these actors on screen again soon. I would like to, "Thank and applaud all involved." Job Well Done.
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ONE OF THE BEST BL'S
This story was realistic, raw, and emotional. The couple was also very cute. I love how Drake's character stood ten toes down for his boo even after his mom tried to stop them from seeing each other. Anybody who hates this.... has comprehension issues that they need to deal with on their own time. I need this couple back but SPECIFICALLY.... as FRANKDRAKE and not "drakefrank" that was their true downfall as a pair....Was this review helpful to you?
