Triage (2022)

THE BEST ASIAN BL EVER MADE

THE GODS THEMSELVES BLESSED HER. F*CKKKK, WHO TAUGHT SAMMON (writer of Triage) HOW TO WRITE.
Triage absolutely caught me unawares. Now, I have watched BLs for 8 years (since 2014) and in that period I have watched over 370+ BLs, BLs from every area of life, from different countries and genres. I can proudly say that Triage is my best BL ever made or released (followed closely by The Untamed at number 2).
I was not ready for the phenomenon that is Triage, like I started this series and it was kind of slow in episode 1 and 2 but I am not the type of person that usually drops a show if I don't like the first few episodes and I can say that was the best decision of my life with regards to BLs, I absolutely love how well knit this series is and how realistic it is, the social issues that it handles and addresses and how it does this without being cliche or boring.
But what amazes me the most is how this woman managed to tie the entirety of Triage to Manner of Death, like her brilliance in all of this, I don't know how I will ever lower my standards for Thai BLs. THIS SERIES WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED IN THAILAND
Anyways, let me get to the review proper.

If you have read my reviews in the past, I review series in 8 standard areas/categories.
1. Introduction
2. General Review, Themes and Specific Issues
3. Story Arc and Storylines
4. Characters and Casting
5. Acting
6. Misses
7. Production
8. Rewatch Value

Introduction
In summary, this series is more about how interconnected the lives of different characters in the series can be without them knowing, it is about an abuse of a position of power and trust, it is about the complexities of love, it is about the desperations of life and how life can hand us such a bad set of cards, it is about the weaponization of poor disparity to keep the oppressed in an oppressed position. Along the line of all these things, we get to witness two men fall in love, in what might be one of the purest forms of love, a love that nurtures and guides, a love that doesn't judge, a love that grows us and develops us.

If I say this series took me by surprise which was what made it all that more pleasant to watch because I had ZERO expectations from it, but it absolutely SMASHED!!!! every possible barrier. Like when this series was being made, all the gods of earth were in the room with them because that is the only thing that can explain the execution I got from this series. I saw one of the videos on twitter, they literally had doctors on set with them to teach them what certain procedures should look like, the precise places to perform a surgery etc and I had a medical student as well as a doctor who watched the series who said their medical procedures were really spot on.
The series was so mature in how they handled their storylines, their concepts and issues, they did not make caricatures of any characters, they did not attempt to villainize any of the characters out of stereotypes (I was particularly worried they would do that to Mai, but the mature way the addressed Mai, Heart and Tol's relationship in the series).
LIKE FUCKKKKKKKK, these people really gave me such a good time in the series, that just thinking about it makes me smile like a child and giggle. I am almost tempted to say this series had no flaws but I won't lie the slow start in episode 1 and 2 is kind of a flaw because it may dissuade the impatient viewer from continuing with the show and making them miss the gem that they will get in the rest of the series.

Alright I know I am sounding like a broken record, so it's time for me to move to the next segment.


General Review, Themes and Specific Issues

For a general review, Triage is a sleeper hit, because Triage was such a refreshing breath to me, I had intended to give up watching BLs in October of 2022 (I don't know why I had a specific date) but the series just had the IT FACTOR, it was refreshing to see detail in that sense, as well as the amount of detail paid to medical terms, autopsy, surgery etc.

I was pleased with the level of suspense they left us with after each episode, like they dropped tidbits of knowledge that make you eager to learn more by the next week, and there was a certain level of complexity with the amount of attention devoted to the mystery. Knowing each character's driving forces and having the utmost suspicion for each one

I loved the series for so many things, they always made me laugh and roll over with laughter with how in love Tol was with Tin, how much of a bxtch Tin was to Tol, sadness with Rit when he discovered his information, sadness for Tin when Tol and Fukfang both died. This series made me feel all the emotions possible, joy, happiness, sadness, rage etc.

Now to the themes and issues addressed, there were so many real-life issues addressed in the show that if I decided to touch on everyone, I would exhaust my word limit on the review, because Sammon is just that good of a writer, she knows how to handle issues, but here are a few that I have identified and picked out:

1. Medical Malpractice and Organ Harvesting - Seeing a BL cover an issue as serious as this and as underrepresented in mainstream media was so exciting because this is a real-life issue we battle in the real world. From the improper administration of drugs to patients to the illegal removal of patient's organs, the series touched on an epidemic that has plagued the lives of so many persons who have had a need to use health facilities especially where the person cannot afford the most expensive of facilities. People don't understand the pain that comes with having your organ stolen but the series handles this pain so beautifully it could not have been better.
2. Relationships that build each other - I think in Thai media and media at large, we have been exposed so much to a love that is always toxic and destructive, that we have started to adapt to this as a form of "healthy" relationship. One thing I loved in the series was the fact that Tin never once judged Tol for his actions, instead he worked with him to try and do better, which is more important than most in a relationship that you are developing each other. Another angle in which I saw this was with Tol to Mai, we can all clearly see that Tol loved Mai in the previous loops (else why would he always die because of her), but I love how much when he found out about the reason why she was dating him, he didn't become bitter or vow to destroy her, no he understood why she did what she did and helped to ensure her mother got the appropriate care she needed, this is what I mean by having relationships when you edify each other.
3. The Effect of each of our actions: This is best portrayed in Tin and Tol and the drunk guy that was saved in the last episode. The effect of choices, every decision we make, no matter how remote or isolated it is, has an adverse effect on tons of lives, take an example, Tol saving that man's life now, impacts not just the man, but his family as well, who only God knows might be the sole bread winner of the family.
Tol said that is in-line with this -"Because someone doesn't love his life, doesn't mean there aren't those they love and that love them back. Saving a guy's life can make a lot of people happy "
It goes to the fact Tin was so blinded in rage about his sister that he forgot one of his core oaths as a doctor, DO NO HARM, his actions hurt someone, whether or not he sees them or not. Tol just talks about making them happy but me, my thoughts take it farther, not just their happiness but the overall impacts on their life
4. Wealth Gap and Oppression of the Poor - One of the most important themes of this series is how the voice of the poor is often robbed from them, we see Rit who initially commits suicide is led to those actions because his rich and more powerful friends' asides treating him like shit, steal his ideas and get away with it because the society is built to favour the rich and powerful. We also get this in Mai, who basically forced to enter a relationship she does not want to be in because it can pay her mother's bills, again portraying how expensive the health system is but also how it oppresses the poor from getting vital healthcare.
5. Mental Health: I felt almost foolish at the finale for hating Doi all through the series, the way she handled Doi's mental health, she didn't do something that writers and the world likes to do often and that is treating mental health as a crime. I always asked myself what Doi's motivators were and I wouldn't lie, I hated him for his interference in the series but I must say, when it was unveiled that he has mental health issues with him in the psych ward, damn, I was so happy with the writer becasue she shows often times, what these people need is the appropriate help not hatred
6. Senseless Injustices - Another prevalent issue or theme in this is the uncontrollable nature of injustice, asides Rit and Mai whom I have spoken about in number 4, we see uncontrollable injustice with Tin's sister and I think this specific theme is important because I understand how bad it can get when some of these injustices happens.
7. Forgiveness because there was a lot of forgiveness going around, from Tol towards Mai, Rit to Tol etc.
8. Bribery and Corruption - Honestly on this theme, I don't think I will go so much into it

So that is everything on general review, themes and specific issues.



Characters/Story Arc and Storyline
1. Tin, for Tin we see Tin have to come out of his shell, his dislike for humans and his judgemental high grounds to actually develop a conscience, fall in love and try saving people. At the start of the series, we meet an already broken person in Tin without realizing that he is broken, although we get a first hint of this where he is being kinda bitchy about treating a drunk person but the story arc of Tin has him maturing, seeing that life is not always what it seems to be especially with him discovering that Tol was not actually drunk and he had judged him too much. From his attempt to save Tol, we see Tin slowly change as a person on a whole he becomes softer not to only Tol, but those around him as well. His character development was really great to see. Seeing the efforts Tin put in on his side to being there for Tol broke me😭😭😭😭, man legit studied a course he has no background in, just to stop Tol from cheating.... This is why I always say, it's the tiny things that matter.... This is such a positive example of passing across what a healthy relationship should look like.... Working to build each other up.
Also Tin being an ER doctor makes sense, when you explain it like this, he is an ER doctor, prolong their lives long enough to see other doctors. Because his personality doesn't mix well with other humans, and as an ER doctor, most patients are not in a state to be able to talk.

2. Tol is a rich boy, who it pretty and has always gotten what he wants, this of course makes him a spoilt brat who doesn't appreciate anything beside him. It makes him ruin his friendships with people without realizing that he is doing so, it makes him lazy and naive (the attempt to cheat in the anti-fraud exam.... the irony of cheating on anti-fraud). I mentioned it earlier but I love how his dynamic with Tin through the series, why did I particularly love this because Tin corrected Tol with love rather than judgement, he took his time to teach and explain why each of the imperfections and flaws. I think we get to see Tol develop from this immature self to ultimately being the one that has to save everyone in this final loop. If that is not character development, I don't know what is.
But can we take a moment to acknowledge how cursed Tol is with love, I mean my guy, women are using him for his money and the man is cursed to either watch him die or he watches the man die, like my dude should just give it up. But Tol was so in love

3. Jinta, our ultimate hookup master, lol, this man needs to be taught what privacy laws, because the way he just drops in it is funny, Tol trying to cover his eyes from seeing him and Tin do the deed got me. Jinta's hookup service is extreme because it is literally do or die, either you get him to be with you or he dies and you never get him back, the terms of his deal are simple, which is hillarious to see him stress Tol like that

4. Heart and Mai, surprisingly, I did not hate Heart and Mai, I love the clarity that the series gave to them both, Heart was not made to be some deadbeat guy who was using his girlfriend to defraud someone, instead you could see him actively trying to be better and available for her and Mai couldn't be blamed either, society put her in the position of having to trick Tol for the sake of her mother's life.

5. Gap and Sing were just adorable, watching Gap get jealous all the time was so funny to see because he was sulky about it. I liked how in this current loop; they are already together.

6. I hated Sak and his Lackey


Now on a general, I love how they tied their stories together and created parallels
1. If you followed the memories carefully, you would notice that the Tol and Mai fight, where he throws her and she gets cut, it's a replica of Heart and Mai fight, so since in the previous loop, he is in the knowledge of everything and he is already with Tin, balance is struck by having Heart and Mai have the fight instead.

2. Similar to how Tin also died at 10:55pm July 18th similar to Tol's time of death in the loop. Notice the cause of death is always linked to a party? Since the first cause of death was him chasing after Mai at the party, he threw to appease her, Tin's death was at Tol's party for his accomplishment because in this loop, Mai's party couldn't exist and be the cause of death... So now it's Tol's party that has replaced it and is the cause of death

3. The crossing of the loop with Tol seeing the memories, thus why Tol was physical in one of Tin's loops just made so much fucking sense, because in Tol's view, he is seeing how far Tin went for him, literally battling days of no sleep, just to have a way to save him and if you link if to the previous episode 4, it is shown to be a driving motivation for Tin... if you go back to episode 4 where the OG Tin seeing Tol scene happened, the music is the same as the music in episode 11, the conversations are also the same... Word for word.... The scene also makes sense now, on why Tol was so intimate with him in the scene when they didn't have a relationship yet.... Also, if you noticed, Tin "woke up" in episode 4, right when Jinta switched the memories in episode 11... LIKE THE FUCKING ATTENTION TO DETAILS!!!!!!!!!!!

4. Using their parents to get to each other

5. There was no scene that was left unexplained, every part was carried fully

Casting and Acting.
1. Tee Thanapon Jarujitranon is a FUCKING ACTOR!!!!!! The way he portrayed one important factor in his search for Jinta, so he can bring back Tin.... It's very important because Tin has had a cool and measured approach because he started trying to save Tol when he had no feelings for Tol, but subsequently those feelings developed and that's why his death in episode 6 pained him more.... But with Tol, we see that he is already in love with Tin when Tin dies, so the way they portrayed his anxiety to get his lover back is so great and realistic...... Like the utter desperation he displayed to Jinta as well as when he was still in his ghost form at the beginning of the memories and Tin was trying to save his life.... His reactions 🥺🥺🥺🥺, when he is back to the past, we can see the desperation with which he tries to reunite with Tin, including faking the medical emergency (to a literal doctor), Tee is able to embody all of this, including the great love for Tin, which is beautiful

2. Tae was absolutely awesome as well as Dr. Tin, he gave the sassy and bitchy vibes completely well, his sequence in episode 6 after the deaths of Tol and Fang was so painful to watch, the tears and all. His gentle smile when he sees Tin. He absolutely delivered his scenes as well. His struggle to save Tol was palatable to me, I felt his frustrations in episode 1 and 2, I felt every disappointment of his because he was communicating it so well. I love how he characterizes Tin as a flawed human who was also in need of fixing.

3. The entire burial scene of Tin was really good acting from the cast, it felt like someone really died, the tears and crying didn't seem forced

Misses (There are none to me, so here are funny bits instead)
1. Tol assaulting Tin in his sleep (joking), so he can get him to remember him
2. Tol trying to block Jinta's eyes from him and Tin
3. Tin saying Nosy/Rosy
4. Tol trying to fake drowning (a medical incident to a doctor)
5. Gap thinking sing wanted to have sex in the medical room

Production
On production this series definitely put total thought into all aspects that they needed to make sure they are a 100% and they did their assignment on that, from the medical scenes to the acting etc. Like the open heart surgery, it was way too real, the irony of that scene was that right before they showed it, I was dragging them that they won't show it, they would just skip the scene and show us hours later, next thing I saw a blade cutting someone's skin and blood gushing out and I was like "alright, too realistic for me" but yes, scenes like that accentuated the series for me.

Rewatch Value
Heck I am rewatching this show this night

Again, I must say I absolutely love this show. It is the Best Thai BL ever

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Had the potential to be the best BL of all time, but ended up a mess.

This series got off to a good start, but took a wrong turn around ep 10 and largely fell apart. The plot centers around Dr. Tin, who gets trapped in a time loop that he can only escape by saving Tol, an accident victim. He repeatedly fails, falls asleep, then begins the same day again, etc. Along the way he gradually uncovers more and more of the mystery of what happened, and draws closer and closer to Tol, the man he has to save.

It's quite well written - until it's not. Close to the end the perspective shifts to Tol, which deflates all the dramatic tension built up to this point, and then suddenly people's personalities change, to the point it doesn't feel like we're dealing with the same characters anymore. The story also starts to take a lot of "cheats", where the "rules" of the setup are changed in fairly silly ways - like all of a sudden kisses restore memories of past time loops - even if non-consensual, even unwanted, so it's not Love or something, it's just lips touching that works. There's also a magical notebook which makes no sense, i.e. if you go back in time, what you wrote before shouldn't be there anymore, and the way it's given to someone else makes no sense.

The finale is so random that I stopped caring what happened, and the ending is flat and anticlimactic. It's happy-ish although it doesn't make sense so it's not really satisfying.

The acting is superb all-around. This is Tee's best performance - he was adorable in Miracle of Teddy Bear, but here he plays are darker and more complex character, and everything he does is so authentic. Tae is also wonderful in this - he has that impish smirk, but he can also play cute and vulnerable and then shift to on-fire sexy - but it's his subtle moments that are the most impressive. At the end of Ep 9 he's so powerful - both of them are. Their chemistry is so on point, and so natural, and their characters are so fully realized. But then that's all thrown out and they essentially become different people.

The music is way better than typical - there are no old-fashioned power-ballads, and the soundtrack effectively supports the story.

One warning - there is a huge amount of secondhand embarassment in this - Tin is a terrible liar and he screws everything up constantly, and it's painful to watch. It's very well done, but I had to take breaks sometimes.

I loved this series up to about Ep 10 - after that I more or less stopped caring. It was still overall a good experience, but the lazy writing in the last few episodes prevented this from being one of my favorites of all time, and I was sure it would be.

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Must watch series

I’m so glad to see Tae and Tee together again after 2 moons not giving them any screen time together. Im soooooo happy. Their chemistry is off charts and I love this series so muchhhhh. I really recommend everyone to watch this series! I’m so excited for the upcoming episodes, currently its on my top ten list.

This series offers something completely different than what we are used to and I’m here for it.
My friends and I have been crying over this show since it started. Really obsessed with the cast, plot, dynamics and everything. I cant really say much without spoiling it to those who hasn’t seen. Haha

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Good but definitely not the best BL series ever

Wow... I'm surprised by the amount of reviews and comments that have labeled this series as the "best BL series ever" writing long reviews that basically don't say much as all tend to go around in circles. People tend to give positive reviews based on how cute or hot the actors are, how well they acted, how much chemistry the main couple has, and other banal things that have caused an explosion of mediocre BLs over the past 2-3 years (most of GMMTV BLs for example) and an explosion of BLs done by low-budget companies who just produce a BL for the sake of getting some money. Most people forget to judge the show on concepts like plot, storyline, writing, and directing... which are always difficult to judge as many get blinded by how hot Tee looks or how well Tae portrays his character. In reality, "Triage" was good but it was definitely not the best BL series ever, I mean, did we watch the same show? Here is why...

First, the good (which I admit, there is a lot of):
1. The acting: I believe we've seen Tee (playing Aek/Tol) and Tae (playing Dr. Tin) at their best. Tae was recently with Singto in "Paint With Love" and the show never really brought that much excitement and Tee played a cute/lovable character (for some moments) in "The Miracle of Teddy Bear". Both played the originals Forth and Beam in "2Moons" (before the whole cast changed for "2Moons2" and then changed again for "2Moons3: The Ambassador" that is supposedly coming at some point this or next year), so we knew they were familiar with each other and it shows. The chemistry is there, and not only for the kissing scenes, but also for the more dramatic moments as both seemed to have a connection in terms of what to expect from the other. The supporting cast was also good with Tonnam (playing Dr. Sing) and Dr. Aob (playing Dr. Gap) being the secondary couple but providing real support to the leads while dealing with the organ harvesting and corruption of Dr. Sak and Dr. Doi. Fiat (playing Rit) had some solid moments and it is a shame that he is currently dealing with some mental issues and on hiatus from acting until he recovers. Morris (playing Jinta) and Kradum (playing Dr. Sak... who we recently saw as an exemplary police officer who was also the father of Tee's character in "The Miracle of Teddy Bear") take the more adult roles in the show one serving as the guide to all the loops Dr. Tin has to go through and the other serving as the villain of the series. The other doctors and the lead male nurse all provided good moments in the show as well as it was clear they were there to fill a specific purpose and not just to fill the show with more faces.

2. Dr. Sammon: The writer does it again... "Manner of Death" with Max and Tul and this series have been two of her most successful stories so far (she also wrote "Bite Me" but that was mediocre at best due to terrible directing), as both are set up in other places different from the hundreds of BLs set up in university and both deal with serious topics that are barely covered in Thai TV and/or a BL story such as abuse of power, human trafficking and prostitution (in "Manner of Death") and organ harvesting, corruption, bribery and abuse of power (in "Triage"). In both stories these subjects are dealt head on by the lead actors and are handled correctly. In addition, being a doctor herself, the actors who had to work in the hospital received actual training from real doctors and Dr. Aob was also selected to play a character (Dr. Gap) but had the role of supervising his fellow actors in the challenging medical scenes. I think that made a huge difference from just training Tae, Tonnam, and the others, and then just let them do it on their own compared to training them and have an actor who is an actual doctor going to the scenes alongside them, that was a good move. As a side note... Dr. Sammon's next story to be adapted into a BL has more doctors but with a supernatural theme and apparently will have Judo (who appeared in "The Miracle of Teddy Bear") and Fluke Natouch as the leads... it might be weird to see Fluke without Ohm but also interesting to see how that story is developed.

Now, the in-between:
3. The plot: Here is where the series begins to falter a bit... the idea of someone living inside a time loop and having to repeat the same storyline over and over is not new on TV but it is for BLs... so, from that point, the show scores one point for being original and forgetting about engineering/medical students, universities, trope parents who either ship gay couples or who are completely against them, screaming/whining/ultra jealous female characters, unnecessary love triangles (sometimes even love squares), and boring storylines. The plot then also becomes a bit of weak point of the show after episode 10 as these episodes were set from Dr. Tin's perspective, this is his time loop after all, right? Jinta mentions that he needs to save Tol to break from the loop cycle and he gets better and better at connecting the pieces together and trying to solve all the issues around Tol's death. We are aware that his actions have consequences in what he changes on each loop and also we know that while he takes a bit of time to remember previous loops, I was under the impression that the others were not able to remember them. From episode 11 until the end we switched to Tol's perspective as Dr. Tin is killed in one of the loops and Tol begs Jinta to bring him back. That to me was the weak point as the series begins under the premise that Dr. Tin MUST save Tol's life or repeat the loop over and over... on episode 10 he does that, but he dies in the process... in theory, he broke the loop and that should be the end, EXCEPT for the fact that now Tol feels bad and wants to save Dr. Tin so he is now able to summon and see Jinta and ask for one chance. What takes Dr. Tin 10 episodes to partially solve, takes Tol only 3 thanks to the magical notebook with all the notes from the previous loops that Dr. Tin can't see on episode 12 and the magical kisses that suddenly restore the memories. The side couple of Dr. Sing and Dr. Gap doesn't even have a relationship until the final loop and while we know Gap likes Sing, Sing's personality is trending towards being a bit of a jerk towards Gap, so it was weird that all of the sudden, a new loop happens and they are happily together. Finally, some of the female characters in the show like Mai, Dr. Fang and Dear are good characters in the whole Dr. Sak saga but just bring unnecessary tension between the lead couple in their relationship as in some loops Dr. Tin seems to be close to Dear and Tol is jealous and Mai is just using Tol to pay for her mother's treatment when she is already dating Heart.

And the not so good:
4. The final episode: Once again, and I'm not sure if this they way Dr. Sammon planned it in the written novel, but just like in "Manner of Death", the ending of "Triage" felt so rushed. The episode is around 45 minutes long (taking out the introduction, the reminder of what happened in episode 13, the final credits, and the pictures of the cast and crew), and in that time Dr. Doi kidnaps Rit and Dr. Sing, shoots Sing, takes Gap as hostage, fights with the latter two, gets knocked out, suddenly appears in the basement where Dr. Sak and the organ trafficking gang were keeping Tol and Dr. Tin hostage and tries to kill Tin with a poisoned needle and then is captured and goes crazy. That's a lot for a character that was simply moved by greed and power and then apparently had some daddy issues or needed Dr. Sak's approval as he "is doing all of this for Dr. Sak" and "wants to show him he can do the job of cleaning up". Such a useless character played a major part in the final episode and as it happened on "Manner of Death", the villains don't get proper punishment through the justice system, which is quite disappointing... Dr. Doi goes crazy and Dr. Sak is murdered by the organ traffickers who are never captured. But, what I think bothered me the most of the ending was the actual ending... Dr. Tin is in a comma after being poisoned by Dr. Doi and Tol writes him a diary in the magic notebook for him to remember when he wakes up as he is transported to a different hospital. Tol goes on to live his life until one day Dr. Tin suddenly appears in the clock tower where they kissed for the first time and after pretending not to remember Tol, he tells him about how the magic kisses bring back memories so they kiss while Tul makes another special appearance to discover the organ traffickers harvested Dr. Sak's kidney before he died. Oh the mystery!
The way Dr. Tin came back was a bit underwhelming as he is in a comma and then suddenly he is there, next to Tol... AND Jinta is nowhere to be seen after the loop ends... for a character who appeared in every silly way possible and in every unexpected moment possible, it was odd not to have him in the final scenes at all.

So, in summary... "Triage" is a good series and a ray of light in a sea of mediocrity that BLs have become lately as it brought a different story with a different pace and brought great acting and solid writing. But, is most certainly not the best BL series ever written, let's be real about that.

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TRIAGE IS A MASTER PIECE

Everything in this Bl series is perfect the acting, the background music 🎶 played at the end of each episode fits the series. The story is perfect and I won't like to spoil it for you but just to let you know episode 4 and 11 are deeply connected by timeline. Remember Triage is not about sex scenes but of true genuine love 💕 and sacrifices . Triage will go down in history like "Not me" an unexpected,underated but excellent 👌 Bl series! Just watch it . Prepare your pillows, your popcorns, your tissues for some highly emotional 😭 scenes( I have cried on three different occasions ) as a fantasy this story will be remembered lovingly like the chronicles of Narnia. Author Sammon has once again presented us with a novel which like Manner of death ( Triage outshines manner of death ) is realistic and relates to our struggle in this world! Triage is a bl series that I will be sitting down to rewatch again and again! Triage is definitely in my top 5 Thai Bl series this year
1,Dr Tin: In the beginning I viewed him as a lazy doctor who didn't care about his patients especially after how he causally announced Tol's death and even Yawned when professor Sadka reprimanded him. However I have grown to love him! Yes he rose perfectly to the occasion, his resolve to save Tol at all cost is heart warming. Despite being ignored by Tol, being punched by Tol, being rejected by Tol he stays by his side through out all the loops and finally he wins his trust and heart! That he's determined to save Mia's mummy,Ritt from sucide, Tol from heart attack and to become his boyfriend is cute and noble! When he gets stabbed I cried 😭 out my eyes not because he was going to die ( I knew he wasn't) but because he risked his life to prevent harm to his fellow doctors. His death left me in shock he laid down his life for Tol unconditionally and lovingly and fulfilled his promise to protect Tol!

2, Tol: my first impression of him was a paranoid,rich boy who suspects everyone around him of being a threat to him. His love life with Mia was to me a facade, a forced relationship and a one sided obsession.The way he punched Tin without waiting for him to finish explaining boiled my blood! To me he treated Ritt to shabbily.However as I progressed I find him to actually feel insecure. When Tin delivers his first kiss, Tol is flabbergasted and pretends to be angry though he liked it. His love for a lone cat he found got me.( I'm a cat lover ) Tol is a true friend standing by Ritt despite their quarrel,he saves Ritt from the assassin,saves him from repeating his last year in university and goes ahead to even apologize at the party. For me Tol redeemed himself.

3, Art: a friend in need is a friend indeed. This describes Art completely who like Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of the rings has remained completely faithful to his friends. He risk his eye for Ritt, his life for Tol when he accompanied him in his car to go after Mia and her boyfriend. He exposes the green snakes {Lupakatir and Win} to Ritt. He accepts Tin unconditionally,he tries to mend the broken relationship between Tol and Ritt, he prevents Tol from drinking alcohol and he's totally honest!

4, Ritt: To me Ritt is easily manipulated, his weak, always depressed and a coward. He can't see the handwriting on the wall! He's scared of being killed so he doesn't go to the police (that didn't stop the assassin from trying to kill him) he believes that Tol hates him that he's being oppressed for being poor. Luckily for him Tin has come to save him

5, Lupakatir and Win: who needs enemies when you have such friends. That aptly describes the duo who are jealous of Tol and Ritt and destroys their relationship by sowing lies, hatred and malice between Tol,Art and Ritt. They got what they deserve for cheating in the examination hall.

6, Gap: he's a lovely doctor,who jokes around but is serious with his duties. His friendship with Tin is rock solid as he dances and plays with him. He loves Sing and cares about him. However don't be deceived by his lovely, cute puppy face he's not weak,as he takes on Dio who welds a loaded gun. And he's also brutally honest telling Ritt that he can leave a perfect life with one kidney.

7,Sing: here's a doctor who believes in hardwork, who's strict and looks merciless but he has a soft heart which he hides beneath an exterior of a frowning face. He dislikes professor Sadka and works hard to expose him! His love for Tin was shown when he uses an extreme bloody method to try and revive Tin ( can get that bloody scene out of my head )

8, Mia: She's a good example of a girl who wants it all! She wants Heart's love, Tol's money and her mother being given cosy treatment. She is indirectly responsible for Tol's death and rather than tell Tol her true feelings for him she plays him around her fingers. Tol has however ratified that part thanks 😊 to Mia he meets his true soulmate and love.

9, Professor Sadka and Dio: my first impression of the above mentioned professor didn't last. At first I thought him an upright learned man not knowing he was a beast in human flesh. Him and Dio works together to reap what they have not planted, they're both filled with greed and covetousness. They kill innocent patients as to harvest their organs. Dio is Sadka's lackey who carries out the heinous acts in collaboration with some Nazi nurses and doctors who euthanize their victims and harvest their organs. Dio carries out the dirty jobs while professor Sadka remains and looks innocent in his immaculate white. And as a someone stated in this group Dio owing student loans doesn't excuse his evil!

10, Jinta: Dear me Jinta and Tol makes a comical pair and you will surely laugh when you watch them both in episode 12


EDIT: JUST FINISHED WATCHING IT ONLINE TODAY BEING JULY 11 ON ITS OFFICIAL CHANNEL AISPLAY YOUTUBE. THE FINAL EPISODE WAS REFRESHING AND YOU WILL LOVE 💕 IT. JUSTICE IS SERVED AND LOVE PREVAILS!

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With each loop, it gets better!!

The time loop continues every time Tol dies and so does their story right from the very beginning. When I first watched the series I didn't have much expectations from it but damn it I was hooked from the very first episodes. It's just so good from the storyline to the cast, everything... like every single thing. The first time I read the synopsis of Triage I thought it would have a lot of loopholes and it does have a few but very minimal that it can be easily ignored. It's a very interesting story. It keeps getting better with every episode. The characters are well portrayed and it such a fascinating watch plus a unique genre in the BL world. And my god Tae and Tee make it so much more better. It feels so good to see them together again in a series. Moreover Sing and Gap are adorable. It's definitely a must watch.

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Much More than Romance.

Triage is a BL. But for those who like their boy love series filled with romance and kisses, this is NOT it. Since the author is Sammon, as expected of her, Triage’s strength is it’s solid plot with the hospital as backdrop. The romance adds color to it’s story. What’s lovely about this series is the way the script keeps the viewers in suspense. This is one stressful series that I enjoyed immensely. Rest assured, Triage will give us breaks for laughs, loving gazes and falling desperately in love…but remember, not much on the kisses …This is not your usual BL.

For the main couple, Dr. Tin and Tol, the relationship builds up. Starred by actors Tae and Tee, these two men have marvelous chemistry and the producers could not have chosen a better pair than these two.. With the help of a great script and fabulous direction, TaeTee were able to capture the viewers interest on the developing love affair between the lead characters despite the obstacles and the time loop….

We root for Tin’s perseverance, well performed by Tae. We’ll see different spectrum of Tin’s emotions, disgust, anger, helplessness, realization, love and the never-ending determination. Tae’s Tin is the embodiment of ‘the little engine that could’. Tol WILL fall in love with him and solve everything as well! And Loopers (loyal viewers of Triage) are rooting for him every week…

Tee’s Tol is icy, arrogant but tragic. There are episodes that our hearts break for him and episodes that shock us when Tol acts more of a prick, not befitting the other half of the romantic pair. There would be more coming from Tee’s Tol as the episodes develop. His unraveling was even more fantastic to witness. From a detached hard-to-reach rich kid, to a suspicious childhood friend, to, finally, a man in love who is desperate for his lover.

Another reason why I like Triage are the subplots, they don’t get in the way. These subplots are connected and support the main story. The characters wonderfully portrayed by good actors, specially the medical colleagues of Tin and the character Rit, kept me invested with the series.

With the same directors, production staff and author of the successful Manner of Death series, what they’ve learned from MoD is applied on Triage, which has better production value and cohesiveness in the story. Admittedly, MoD beat Triage in the romance department. But for deep desperate love, Triage wins… because Triage is not your usual BL.

Will I rewatch Triage? Just like Manner of Death, I will definitely watch this again once all episodes are out. I look forward to discovering new angles that I didn’t notice the first time. But the thrill though might be lessened because the unknown is already known. And SUSPENSE is the MAIN EVENT of this series and with romance secondary.… because this is not your usual BL. Triage is much much more than romance.

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Best BL I've watched in a while

There was something special about Triage and usually it takes me at least three episodes to decide whether or not I'm interested. Not with this one. I was hooked from the very first one.

(This is my first review so I hope someone finds it useful, also, beware spoilers if you read this but I will also try not to give too much away)

It also takes me ages to actually finish something but I binged this series in 3 days, it was that good.
There are certain things that attract me to what I feel is a good series, Plot, Characters and Chemistry.
Sometimes you don't get all three and a bad series is usually saved by one of those three things.
Luckily this one had all three in perfect symmetry.
The plot is well thought out, written and executed when from the synopsis and trailer, I had expected to be confused and struggling to keep up.
But it was told in such a wonderfully clear-cut way that even when you understood it, you could still think back on it and marvel at the little details that you missed, or different theories that you can concoct, it is definitely a series that shouldn't be watched idly, pay attention to even the most insignificant things because trust me, it all ties back into a perfect circle.
It was exciting and there was never a dull moment, there were no filler episodes, (even though personally I feel like they could have actually gotten away with it) it was the perfect blend of thriller, fantasy, and romance.
Maybe it might not be as romantic in the sense of they kissed a lot or they had a ton of fluffy moments together but it didn't need that, it was a love that transcended time, logic, reality....it was about how precious and fleeting love is, how far will someone go for it, and how much they'll treasure it while it's still theirs.
As for the characters, Tin starts off as a jaded and anti-social ER resident who is just doing the bare minimum to prolong the lives of people that he doesn't like while silently judging and cursing an unfair society that allows the rich to get away with what they want and for no justice for people on the ground.
When he enters the loop, we can see his frustration with having to keep someone like Tol alive and many, many loops are gone through before he decides to actually get to know Tol.
Although you can see that he's not impressed in the beginning, things start to come around when he becomes connected to the people that Tol has affected and how they impact his life as a doctor as well.
Through being pushed to change the fate of not only Tol, but others as well, he starts opening up, empathizing with people more, getting softer and gentler and ultimately opening his heart to falling in love with Tol.
Tol is your classic rich boy who's never had to work for anything and take advantage of other people but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a conscience. He understands that some of the things he's done are wrong and he simply lacks the courage to own up to his mistakes and quite frankly that's a very human thing.
I also loved the side characters and I loved how they weren't neglected because so often (and it really irritates me to no end) they will shove so many unnecessary characters into a series and then do absolutely nothing with them.
But each "side character" (and I'm using that term loosely because they felt just as important as the mains) had their story, had their moment and purpose.
You can see how they change in every single loop because of different things being changed around them and what I loved was that the progress that each character went through wasn't forgotten with a new loop, it was steadily built upon which was perfect in showcasing how a butterfly effect works.
The smallest of changes has bigger effects than you are aware of and the more you change the bigger the effect is.
As for chemistry, it was out of this world and sometimes that's what I crave seeing the most.
That comfort that characters/actors have with each other where you can see it in their body language that they aren't forcing themselves to be something they're not. Many, like me, will have known Tae and Tee from 2Moons where they never really got their moment but I'm glad that their pairing up hasn't been forgotten and this felt like compensation for not having them together all those years ago.
They are truly phenomenal actors, something I had not had the privilege of seeing all too often and you can see that they gave their all into preparing for their roles, my god, just the fact that they all learned CPR and I imagine basic first aid to immerse themselves in their roles was praise-worthy enough.
I'm no medical expert but I love how realistic the medical scenes "looked" and how nothing felt out of place or over the top and thankfully it wasn't as gory as I was worried it was going to be.
All in all, if you haven't watched this series yet, or even if it's not a genre you like as it was with me, I encourage you to give it a try because it will definitely be worth it.
(Also, it has great music just sayin')

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Forced to meet to save each other <3

Wow, I was really invested in this one. Triage is a romance + fantasy drama about emergency doctor Tin who gets caught in a time loop to prevent university student Tol from dying at the hospital after a car accident.

Tin had to come up with plans to prevent Tol's death. Because of the limited time he got before the loop resets, Tin's actions seemed random and out of the blue - and thus a little creepy and sus to Tol, which was super fun to watch! haha. Since he came up with different plans for each loop after a failure, the drama never got boring. I was interested the whole time, about how the next plan will turn out and what the butterfly effect will have in store.

To actually prevent Tol's death, he had to dig deeper into the cause and influences that led to that outcome. Because of that, Tin discovered corruption at the hospital, and how certain happenings are connected with each other. So there were quite some things going on in this drama, besides the developing romance between Tin and Tol. <3

What I really loved were the characters. Tin was super kind and someone who'd help people, hence he's a doctor. But he also has a different side. Tol, on the other hand, seemed like a brat who doesn't trust people that easily. But whenever Tol and his feelings got swayed by Tin, he had those incredible cute puppy eyes that looked so whipped for Tin. It was adorable! This also made me love their chemistry. Although I wished they had a few more lovey dovey scenes, since I liked them together a lot. But the story alone was definitely interesting enough.

What I can't judge is the portrayal of the medical stuff, since I have no knowledge in that field. But I appreciate the hard work of the actors who learned from actual nurses.

I also loved how the tables turned towards the end. I was hoping for that from the beginning, and I wasn't disappointed. I had lots of fun watching Triage. Thanks! <3

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Gurl what???

The best Asian bl?? Its far from it. Yes it has a very unique and interesting storyline. Very well written and directed but best bl? Sorry, it's not!!
The acting is lackluster. Actors who played Rit, Art, Jinta stood out. The rest are mediocre to say the most. Also more than a bl it can be seen as a very interesting medical/fantasy drama. The bl aspect is sadly lacking. There's almost no character development. One day suddenly Dr Tin starts to creepily smile at Tol while trying to save his life and starts to even more creepily invite himself to places all the time wearing his doctors scrubs(?) all over town, to malls restaurants colleges you name it. Tol remains clueless till later episodes and then suddenly gets emotionally attached to Tin.

There! A honest review 👌🏼

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Pretty entertaining, but not without its faults.

I didn’t have super high expectations for this series as I was not the biggest fan of Manner of Death, but after seeing good reviews and a high rating I decided to give it a try. I was surprised to find the story to be entertaining with a decent mix of comedy, drama, mystery and intrigue. Although I found the series to be over dramatic at times.

This series had some solid acting. I was loved to see a strong supporting cast, and I particularly liked Sing, Fukfang, and Rit. Tae did great portraying Tin’s growth throughout the series, and really made you root for his character. At first I thought Tol might be a bit of a flat stock character when they first introduced him to the story, but I didn’t think that for long. Tee did a good job bringing his character to life (or death haha).
The romance between Tin and Tol had a good pace and chemistry, and didn't feel out of place. They worked well together despite how strong the secondhand embarrassment could get.

The soundtrack wasn’t anything too spectacular, and there were a few tracks I thought were fine. Overall, it was okay and once again fit for your average TV drama.

Unfortunately the series lost its compelling aspects in the last few episodes. The main issue being that the story starts breaking its own rules when it comes to how things work in the time loop. They shifted towards using cheats and external help to beat the time loop, instead of using their heads to plan strategies and solve problems. Also, the personalities of everyone in the cast changed... Yeah.

(Spoilers ahead relating to the last few episodes) The shift in POV that starts at episode 10 contributed to a loss of some of the previous tension, and felt like a discredit to all of Tin’s hard work and character development. The most jarring change for me was how the loop Tol entered didn’t feel like any of the previous time loops Tin had experienced. Instead it felt like Tol was transported into some kind of alternate universe.
Tin acted like a completely different person (which only kind of made sense as he hadn’t met or had to try to save Tol yet), but regardless the change still felt quite extreme. Sing and Gap were suddenly dating with no explanation of why they are together. Gap’s feelings for Sing were pretty clearly hinted at throughout the series, but it made no sense that Tol entering the time loop would make it so things that never happened in any of the previous loops would suddenly manifest out of the blue.

Even though the writing wasn't particularly good, Triage was a fun watch to take as it is. I doubt I will be rewatching it though.

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Interesting time loop BL

The question in my mind when I started watching this series: you mean this is a TWELVE-episode series about a doctor who has to keep going back in time until he saves this person. (Won't it get boring by Ep 2? And how on earth do you have BL if the protagonist is just going back in time to do something different to save the person in the ER?

Expectedly, the only way to avoid repetitions with few possible variations is for the doctor to go back to different points in time. And the ostensible mission he's given is modified: it may not really be about saving this one guy he doesn't even really care about at first.

Yet, the series surprises with rather nuanced characterization. The characters seem a bit different from one loop to another, showing how slight changes to one's experiences can have significant changes to one's values and character. There is a lot of fun in the time loop premise, but the series avoids being frivolous. Ultimately, it seems to be saying that, unlike the characters, we don't have multiple chances to try again in life and it is important to do what is right--a bit of kindness can change everything for the better while a moment of callousness can make everything turn out unexpectedly terrible.

It takes quite a few episodes to get to the BL. I think this is evidence of confidence that the story is good enough to draw audiences in even without the BL. No one finds it necessary to make the lead actors bare skin or have a kissing scene in Episode 1 when the story doesn't call for it (compare this with series in which someone dreams of or fantasizes about a kiss in Ep 1 just so that there is a kissing scene to titillate the audience).

While the main characters are flawed, they need to be characters we care enough about before the time loops can be interesting. And this is deftly handled. Dr Tin has a back story and his character changes as he undergoes the time loops--from trying to save Tol just so that he can get out of the time loops, he becomes someone who genuinely cares. The story also becomes more intriguing as Dr Tin discovers more things each time he returns to the past. The stakes also get higher with each return to the past, so there is a lot to keep us watching.

Triage may not seem exceptional at first, but it is certainly one of the more unusual Thai ELs. Don't be deceived by the hospital setting. For a story with a strong supernatural element, the medical drama parts are surprisingly good (at least to someone who doesn't have much medical knowledge like me). But this isn't just another BL featuring a doctor.

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