To Be Continued (2024)

Simple and Clean

This is pretty much your cookie cutter separated childhood friends to reunited lovers trope. Youthful misunderstandings and all. Now with that being said I truly really did like this series, and not because I'm such a sucker for this specific trope itself. But the chemistry and cinematography of the show are excellent in my opinion and while the story isn't groundbreaking its still done with a coherent plot progression that many similar BL struggle to maintain. The eight episode runtime especially helps this show go at a comfortable pace without feeling too rushed or long. My only complaint with progression in the series is how the side couple isn't really that developed. But just a small gripe since its truly the main couple that grabs your attention throughout the series, so perhaps it truly is for the betterment of the viewer it turned out that way. My favorite scene is the one where both the leads have their first intimate moment with each other. Extremely romantic and tasteful with My Beautiful Man Eternal vibes. Solid 8/10 for me.

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Standard Thai BL

Admittedly, this series is perfectly named. It did seem to continue to go on and on endlessly. It was like being adrift in a rudderless boat floating in an ocean of tropes, clichés, banalities, stereotypes, and platitudes. Sooner or later, you would bump into one of them on your way to wherever it was you were supposed to be going. Unfortunately, this series went nowhere because it had nowhere to go to. Honestly, you have seen this story hundreds of times if you are an avid BL watcher. If not, you will no doubt run across its plot again because it is standard. It is another high school love story between two best friends. I know that many will no doubt like this series, but I found this series wantoned for its shallowness, use of endlessly tropey and cliché storylines, supporting characters that were superfluously infantile and not funny, the main characters never got to be a couple until the last episode and by that point it was too late, and a supposed secondary couple that was never fully developed into anything meaningful. I also found it quite sad that these two guys, who are otherwise solid and successful, could not bring themselves to communicate with each other. That for me is simply not a subject matter I can find funny.

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“To Be Continued” is a simple and easy watch about second-chance romance, which is one of my favorite tropes. This is also the reason why I watch this drama despite its low rating. The plot itself is simple and there really isn’t any plot twist. Flashbacks play a big part in the storytelling, as it goes back-and-forth between the past and present timelines throughout the drama. It’s not hard to follow along, but it gets exhausting in a way. With only 8 episodes, the pacing is fine. I wish the drama has spent more time on other characters instead of all on the leads, when their story is quite simple.

This is my first time watching the main leads, Fluke (who played Ji) and Junior (who played Achi). I have to say I was not impressed with their acting, especially in the earlier episodes. They both lack facial expressions, no matter how handsome they are. I actually find Fluke really cute and adorable, more than the supposedly handsome superstar Fluke/Achi. The camera also likes to stay on their faces for 5 seconds too long. When you can’t act, it just makes everything feels awkward.

However, as we enter the second half of the drama, I do think their acting improved. I was particularly impressed with the acting In episode 7. That scene was beautifully shot and I can feel all the mixed emotions - lust, love, longing, care, hesitation, shyness and uncertainty. Their conversation and everything that happened afterwards broke my heart, even though I knew what’s about to happen. But aside from that episode, the acting is a hit or miss.

In the beginning, I found Ji to be quite mean to Achi. Through the flashbacks, you knew how Achi felt about Ji when they were in high school. So, in the back of my mind, I wonder why Ji is so mean, until the full backstory is told. They were young and innocent back then, thus making such mistakes is totally believable. But 10 years seems a little long for Achi to come back and try to patch things up. And when they finally resolved their issue, it was underwhelming and anti-climatic. With the buildup for most of the series, I was expecting more.

The secondary romance between Ji’s brother, Ki, and the farmer is also underwhelming. They could have been so cute together, but the writing of the story makes them an afterthought. It seems like there’s more to Ki’s story and why he’s a food vlogger instead of an architect.

Overall, I would only recommend this if you are interested in second-chance romance and can get past some questionable acting. It’s also nice to take a break from most Thai BLs that have a strong and sole focus on students. Though this one has many flashbacks to high schools, at least you also see the leads as a doctor and a superstar/idol (in a semi-believable way).



Completed: 4/16/2024 - Review #428

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Disappointing because manipulative

When will BLs reflect the real diversity of the LGBT+ community in Thai society?

Something missing from 'To Be Continued' is a convincing explanation of why Ji has rejected Achi for over 10 years.
It is evident that while Achi fully accepts her sexuality, Ji hides it and does not want to acknowledge it. That's why he approaches a girl, but still doesn't decide to make her fall in love with him. It can't be any other way: he is gay. He hides his homosexuality and denies his love to the person he loves. He is a victim of internalized homophobia.
Ji knows his place in an inhospitable world, but he doesn't dare to position himself in it. Ji lives in a world built by and for the heterosexual man. He lives in a heteronormative society that still discriminates against homosexuals, harasses them, persecutes them and excludes them.
Ji, like the other members of the Thai LGBT community, is a man who lives surrounded by heterosexual stimuli everywhere. And everything that goes beyond the "normative" is viewed with suspicion and incomprehension and even hatred. Anyone who dares to feel differently runs the risk of being separated and excluded from the group. As an animal of habit, Ji is afraid of the unknown, he doesn't really know how to act when faced with what is different from him and those who are like him. That is why he chooses to sacrifice his love to try not to be attacked, cornered, ignored.
In series like 'The Promise' a boy hides being in love with his friend, but his decision not to confess his love is justified for fear of breaking the relationship between the two, but he also damages the friendship by putting distance for 10 years, which It is also excessive.
But that's not the point in 'To Be…'. Here the two boys are in love. And while one is open to the relationship, the other does not dare to take the next step. They are in a world and a society that prevents them from leaving the established rules. Going outside the norm has always implied social exclusion. They know each other and love each other. But out of fear Ji does not open himself to love. The series fails to be convincing about why two men who love each other and have no other impediment than the one indicated above, can declare their love and be together.
When will the creators of BL series stop being afraid to demonstrate in their works that love and feelings have no borders?
The question is that Thai BL series have not yet decided to address the reality of LGBT+ people in that country. Until now, BL dramas tell us two very different realities. Although the "positive representation" of relationships between male characters is celebrated, in the sense that they are no longer always synonymous with tragedy or come with a strong load of stereotypes, the genre of love dramas between boys does not show representations close to the Thai reality.
BL series generally focus on “young love,” omitting the realities faced by gay men in Thailand, who still do not have basic rights such as equal marriage. This leads many viewers to misunderstand that Thailand is a gay paradise. And that is not true.
Even homosexual romance dramas are broadcast with the intention of not disturbing "the tranquility and sleep" of the most conservative sectors of the country. The episodes of the BL series are broadcast on alternative platforms through smartphones and digital devices, in order not to interfere with the usual TV soap opera programming.
When will BL series come to reflect the real diversity of the LGBT+ community in Thai society? While dozens of BL series are produced and broadcast each year, stigma and discrimination against LGBT+ people continue to occur within society. When will the creators and directors of television channels understand that making homoaffective representations in BL series more nuanced and political could bring important and positive changes in a society that is beginning to observe its diversity through television creations?
Why do two young people of the same sex, like Ji and Achi, live 10 years of their lives apart, suffering, dying in life, despite loving each other? What prevents you from living a life together, as you wish? While Achi fully accepts her sexuality, Ji hides it and does not want to acknowledge it. And I answered myself: "The reason is that same-sex marriage is still not recognized in Thailand." And he argued that Ji is a victim of internalized homophobia. Ji represents one of those hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of young homosexuals in the world forced to hide their homosexuality to comply with what a conservative society with strong patriarchal and heteronormative traditions demands of them.
In the South Korean BL series 'Jazz for Two', broadcast in parallel with 'To Be Continued, three of its protagonists are also victims of internalized homophobia. Tae Yi, one of its main protagonists, is a victim of the discrimination, rejection or shame he feels towards his own sexual orientation or gender identity, living, like Ji, in a society that stigmatizes and represses sexual diversity.
But the creators of the Korean series did not hesitate or mince their words when addressing this complex and current topic. By exposing the reason why Tae Yi rejected Seo-Hun, the series put its finger on the sore spot and, in addition to making internalized homophobia visible and generating debate and reflection on this issue, it denounced a homophobic society. What courage on the part of the actors, the production team and the directors of the television channels, taking into account that South Korea, like Thailand, is a society in which, despite the fact that sexual activity between people of the same sex is Legal, Gay Marriage, Equal Marriage or Same-Sex Marriage or other forms of legal partnership are not available to same-sex couples.
To argue my point of view, I allow myself a spoiler: Towards the end of the series we will learn that Ji and Achi have suffered a voluntary separation for 10 years due to "a simple misunderstanding." Let no one justify that "they lacked communication or were very young." They are the same age as Tae Yi and the rest of the young high school students in the aforementioned South Korean series. How can "a simple misunderstanding" be credible as such a crude justification for the human suffering, represented in these two young people?
Ji and Achi did not lack communication or experience due to their young age. Ji and Achi lacked the courage of the creators to address sensitive topics, such as internalized homophobia and the homophobia itself present in Thai society.
Ji and Achi lacked the courage of the creators to denounce the harassment and discrimination suffered by real, flesh-and-blood gay youth depicted in Thai BL fiction.
Ji and Achi lacked the courage of the creators to criticize the discourse that seeks to suffocate minorities by stating that being homosexual is something abnormal and depraved.
Ji and Achi lacked the courage of the creators to propose to reflect on real and tangible issues that the members of the Thai LGBT+ community have suffered and suffer, who have been affected by that intrinsic message that society constantly sends you and that tells you that You are not normal, that there is something wrong with you and that you have to hide, make yourself invisible.
It is unfortunate and very questionable to witness how BL lovers set themselves up as censors in the face of reviews like this and, feeling attacked by a critical intellectual exercise and having no arguments to refute the author's approaches, they choose, through trivial arguments, to question the sincerity of someone who carries out a critical analysis with objective criteria, without being carried away by their own tastes or passions.

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Enjoyable story that clashed with poor execution.

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

Overall, this was not a bad series. Unfortunately, the script and editing were not it’s friend. This was a shame because the series had a lot of potential. In its defense, the series main goal to keep views interested was good. If the idea was to keep you confused about the storyline to keep you watching, it succeeded. I kept watching because I was trying to figure out what the hell exactly happened with Ji and Achi in the past. However, the script was underdeveloped in some areas and lacked direction at times. The first episode did a great job grabbing the view’s attention but set an expectation for the rest of the episodes that was not met. The script also did a poor explanation on many things. I did not mind the slow pacing of the series, but they did not use their screentime wisely considering this is an 8-episode series. They could have eliminated some unneeded aspect to help fully develop the more important parts of the script. All of the characters were great and likable. The actors did a great job considering what they had to work with. Overall, it had beautiful cinematography but the editing seemed a little off. There were scene sequences that appeared out of order which caused some continuity problem. Actors made references to things that happen in the past from previous episodes as if it was still happening. However, the flash back scenes were done very well and not confusing. Most of the songs they used were good, but they made some odd background music choices that did not fit the mood of the scene.


******Spoiler Alert******

They were actually very smart on keeping us in the dark about what happened between Jirawat and Achivich in the past up to the second to last episode. I was so confused as to why Ji was giving Achi the cold shoulder which made me want to finish the series. Thankfully this only had 8-episodes.

They didn’t do a good job showing the progression between how Ji and Achi became friends in the past and how they became friends again in the present day.

The kiss in episode 2 was unnecessary and served no purpose to the script.

I wish they gave more screentime to Ki and Kambee. As much as I loved them, don’t introduce a second couple if you are not going to give them a proper storyline. Again, a miss use of screentime.

Although it had the mostly used story element to drive a classic story concept, I like that they did not use any of the predictable conflict scenarios in the last two episodes.

What the hell was up with Ki's college degree? What was that all about?

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A diamond in the rough? Almost! Kinda...

I have crawled out of my hibernation hole back into the weird and wonderful world of Asian dramas and what am I greeted by but this show - simultaneously a welcome surprise and a massive letdown. Let me explain.
Let's start with the positives:
While it is plenty obvious that the show didn't have a particularly high budget, the audio quality is occasionally poor, and the subtitles are sometimes just plain broken (this, to be fair, is not the show's fault as much as the studio's/distributor's), there is a familiar sort of cheesy charm to the series that the show-runners use to great effect.
The many flashbacks, soft filters, and extensive staring sessions that can be so deeply grating in lesser shows are given new life here, used as they are to tell the story of a man who is absolutely *haunted* by his first love and former best friend.
During the first episode particularly we see Ji being constantly bombarded with images and memories of Achi, desperately trying to escape from them only to bump into Achi by accident, meeting him again after a literal decade.
Cue the cheesy music, sparkly lights, and Achi's thousand watt smile.
Excellent use of time-honored cliches, this show has a Vision, it has Vibes, 10/10.
Later on these same tactics are used to showcase how much Achi has been haunted by Ji for these past ten years as well, which serves as a lovely balance for the first few episodes and provides deeper insight into the characters' motivations and general state of mind.
Furthermore, simplistic as the overall story may be, it takes the time to explore some real world issues - such as grief, loss, and some of the difficult realities of working in the medical industry - with surprising sensitivity and insight and even perfectly sets itself up to tackle complex topics like internalised homophobia and and the politics of para-social relationships ... only to utterly fail to follow through.

Yes, this is where we come to the negatives. This show was so close to telling a fantastically grounded, touching, and relevant queer story. So close and yet so far.
The series tiptoes around the realities of queer relationships , the complexities of self-image and social expectations versus internal desires and then just keeps tiptoeing, never committing to those plot lines even in a subdued show-not-tell kind of way.
Sweet as Achi and Ji's story may be, the lack of follow-through makes the resolution feel utterly anti-climactic, no matter how happy an ending we are provided with.
After a while even the previously so cleverly used flashbacks and filters lose some of their focus and effectiveness.
The show also tries to tell the side couple's story through the same visual tricks as the leads', which simply doesn't work.
Sickeningly adorable though they may be, these characters don't have a shared history, no complicated past between them to warrant such levels of cheesy drama.
You can't simply slap some sparkly effects on your show and call it romance, that's not how it works.
Then there are things like the completely unexpected and unnecessary parental abuse which rears its ugly head some time towards the end of the story and is then never addressed again.
Or the forced kiss in episode one which the show acknowledges as harassment only to then, once again, never bring it up again.
All in all, after I had finished watching I was left with a profound sense of... absolutely nothing. Of "Okay, and? Is that it?"

This is not say I wouldn't recommend watching this show at all. Give it a go, form your own opinion. For all my complaining I can't deny that it has lovely visuals, solid performances from the whole cast, a central queer relationship pleasantly devoid of hetero-normative dynamics, and some genuinely great portrayals of intimacy.
Also there is a very good dog if that tips the balance for you either way.
If you're looking for something sweet and light that won't take too much time to get through, then you might like this one.
Personally though, I'm just too hung up on what it almost was. Always the damn almost...

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Run on miscommunication

This reminded me a lot of The Promise. These types of misunderstandings stemming from miscommunication turn into long run on series. Much like The Promise, a decade rolls by before they meet up again. Even after meeting up, the friendship turning into a relationship takes the entire series to sort out.

Let me just say that I really despise the moderators of this platform for approving the most asinine synopsis to past because they need a reliable source which often is wrong.

They didn’t misunderstand each other from a kiss. They had sex before they were ready. Then due to being young they both read into the situation wrong by what each said because when you’re young you can be this dumb about love and sex.

This could’ve been so much better if they didn’t give a nowheresville story for the brother Ki and the farmer Gumbie. That was a waste of time where we could’ve had a better fleshed out character developments. The office extras were annoying. I wish they would e done he dad a better arc.

I can see why some people find the series boring. It definitely had a lot to do with the editing and cinematography. A lot of the dialogue scenes could have been shot better for it isn’t monotonous. The lighting was horrendous. It was either too blow out or flat. I don’t know what the last episode with the window kissing scenes was. It’s like the shot it during different times of the day and just splice it together.

This had potential but the director and editor clearly are doing amateur hour. The acting was strong at during emotional scenes but mostly weak when they were just playing around.

The NC scenes are not glossy with hot kisses. It was kinda good to show how realistic sex is like is the most soft porn kind of way possible.

Overall, it wasn’t bad as a BL that had some school scenes. It’s not fluffy but it wasn’t that deep either. I’m so glad I finally got around to watching it and checking it off my list.

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Can't even figure out why I didn't enjoy this

This series seemed like something right up my ally when it came to the plot. It is a story between two friends who had crushes on each other in high school but never get together and reconnect in the future, where they get together. I love stories with these kind of plots and gravitate most to them. But for whatever reason I found the series very boring and was the series I looked the least forward to throughout the week. The actors definitely had chemistry so it wasn't that but I just found myself constantly skipping when watching due to how boring it got for me at times.

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I WAS FIGHTING WITH MYSELF

I understand that the movie is supposed to have fluff and romance genre but it is SO BORING!! I literally have to fight myself to go through 8 episodes because I believe that the series have more than this but yeah no. Nothing. The fact that the conflict is just one of them being confused of their own sexuality literally brings me back to 2017 where Make It Right the series begins their journey for being whatdafak kind of plot. I feel like both of their actor lack of charm skills and making the series a bit boring. Their gaze is awkward and stiff. I only watch for Poppy to be honest. He is such a good actor and the only person making this series having it's fun moment. The acting gap between the actors are HUGE and I am sorry but I dont like the actors at all. Why don't they cast SantaEarth as the main pairing? I think both of them would have done a better job. I am so frustrated that the fact that this series are from Mandee which always produce a good series but what the fuck is this? Total disappointment to be honest and I don't understand how did they get these actors ??? UGH. Anyway, I've gone through my hell so if u are having trouble in falling asleep, feel free to watch this series :)

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Just a Dream?

TBC was full of very attractive people that made the series very easy on the eye. Junior's smile is just so distracting it's not funny. It was lovely to see Poppy again - he's always good for comedic value, and such a sweetheart. I don't often comment on female actresses as they don't usually grab my attention, unless, as in typical Asian fashion they're two-faced, evil, or just downright possessive, but I must say that I found Enjoy, who played Dr Song, a delight to watch, and she is one of the most attractive actresses I've seen in recent times. I'd be happy to watch her play any role. I remember Baan from Room Alone S2 and U-Prince, way back in 2015/2016, so it feels like he's been around for years. Now whilst there is only 4 years difference between him and Franky, I felt he was a little out of place, maybe because Franky looks so young. This is just a personal opinion and as such, shouldn't make anyone think negatively of Baan, but I did feel he was not quite right for the role. Speaking of Franky, it was such a delight to see Billy's younger brother step into the BL limelight. He looked comfortable - it was a shame he and Baan had a very vanilla relationship. I hope we get to see Franky play more BL roles in the future. It was also nice to see Leo, but it was barely more than a cameo - we never found out what happened to his character. I absolutely loved Tui as Teacher Ratri - shame we didn't get to see her on the farm.
I loved Fluke's role in My Dream, and was very disappointed when we didn't get the promised S2. Not sure what he's had done to his face, but I found it very distracting. The only time I saw the 'old' Fluke was when he smiled and we got to see those gorgeous dimples. The rest of the time was literally spent trying to work out exactly what's he's had done. I feel quite sad about this because it seems to be that so many actors and actresses are having work done, and whilst it may be a personal choice to 'fix' what they see as imperfections, it seems that certain companies have so many of their artists who've had enhancements, plastic surgery, or dental work done, and it seems as if it's almost a requirement. I do hope that artists are not being forced to have these procedures done. I'm sad because it seems that so many artists seem to be unhappy with how they look, but what they fail to realise is that there was never anything wrong with how they look in the first place, and secondly, they're erasing the very features that made them unique in the first place. If everyone is having the same things done, they're all just going to look like clones. I find it really hard to watch some series, only to find that I spend the whole time remembering how the stars used to look. I have no issue with anyone making a personal choice to improve or correct things they find lacking, but how can it possibly be that almost every actor finds so many faults with themselves? Their self-esteem must be so low. I used to think that Studio Wabi Sabi had an abundance of artists who were on a self-improvement kick, but hands down, GMMTV is leading the way - I reckon they must have arranged groups discounts for their artists! Anyway, that opinion aside, I felt that the 'reunion' was far too rushed. Having spent so much time on their back story, suddenly there's this whole new situation, and I'll be honest, I did not feel the chemistry - in fact, Fluke and Junior felt a little awkward to me. There really wasn't anything about Achi's life over the last 10 years, and Achi/Mona's story wasn't really covered very well either... there were lots of plot-holes throughout. I did think that Coin's story, which I thought was simply a consistent mistranslation, was a cute plot-twist however.
The story itself wasn't bad, but lacked substance. Not sure why Mandee is having so much trouble with their series lately - I'm only talking about the storyline here. It may be that they're trying to break down what could easily be a 12-epsiode story into only 8 eps, and they lose sight of what is, and what's less important. TBC reminded me very much of Why R U? which was affected by COVID. We ended up with contracted, and incomplete storylines - it felt that we were missing so much, which of course, we were. Is this simply a screenwriting issue, a directorial issue, or a company issue? I don't know, but it needs to be fixed. I've always thought of Mandee as leaders in BL, but if they don't look at the issues, they're going to start to lose credibility very soon. We now have 3 generations of Domundi Boys, but I'm beginning to think that's it's far too many. Even the First gen actors rarely seem to have anything more than a cameo role, yet they're trying to push out a whole bunch of newbies. I wish they'd utilised the actors they already had before introducing even more. This way, no one gets to shine.
The music was okay, but I didn't think much of the costumes, especially Achi's - his clothes usually looked to big, too baggy, or too short.
Was it worth watching - yes. Would I re-watch it - probably. Would I recommend it - yes.

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Close to not continuing

We have new faces in the BL industry and they’re all looking good. But that’s it, everything aside from their looks is just too ordinary. The story, acting, chemistry, and the overall impact were mediocre. I have high hopes that they can turn the series into a worthy show since they airing it on Netflix, a popular streaming giant. Yet, they failed and continued to be a failure until the last episode. I would also like for the producers to stop incorporating unnecessary items in the show to be sold as merchandise. The dolls are cringe and horrifying which makes no sense to the story.

Honestly, they got me into the pilot episode. I enjoyed it wholeheartedly and was excited to see more things from them but as usual, they just kept getting worse. Even the side couples are not helping to save the show. The medical side feels like a clickbait for viewers who like to see real medical stuff from the drama. Can they also stop pairing every character with one another? The ML’s best friend and the girl's doctor ended up together is nonsense.

Thankfully, intimate scenes were executed well and I wanted to see more. Yet, I also felt like staring at two men kissing and not getting attached to the emotional portrayal of their romance. Since their characters are unenjoyable. The drama wasted its budget and I felt pity for those smaller companies with a better production quality to offer to its audience.

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