Dramatic War on the River

Most historic dramas focus on the power struggle, succession to the throne and wars between the neighbouring countries. Those subjects are fascinating and creating captivating dramas that tell those stories seems easy.
This series is absolutely unique! It focuses on an engineering projects - dam construction on the Yellow River. The subject sounds totally boring and I only started to watch this drama because of the beautiful cinematography - I did not expect to be invested. I was so wrong! It turns out that when you are a good story teller, you can take any subject and turn it into gold. Our characters fighting against the river, which poses detrimental threat to the people, turn out not only to be nerdy engineers, but also valiant heroes.
The level of attention to the detail is out of this world and if you watch closely, you can learn a lot about how people managed to do everyday work. Acting is top notch. Music is simply beautiful.
Trigger warning: the subject of war with Taiwan is also important in this drama, which is quite unpleasant, but an obvious censorship requirement, I suppose?

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People, really?

Are we really doing this? Are we writing reviews before even the last episode dropped? Are we crazy?
Well, I guess we are! Crazy in love with The Sign.
The cast is composed of eye candies, who also manage to show all those strong emotions that the plot requires them to. In short, beautiful and talented. OK, I didn't like the acting of one side character, so here you go, I'm objective, right?
The plot lets you follow a complex criminal case and learn about Thai mythology at the same time. You see Bangkok, but also venture out of the capital, which is always interesting. You follow the boys, as they their crazy training from Mr Inspector. You also get to see a modern dance performance and action painting, and oh my, what awesome action is that!
It's like if you asked the showrunners, what else are we going to have in this BL, and they simply answered "YES".
So it's a big YES from me.

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Musical without the music

I fell in love with Lee Bong Geun's voice when watching Six Flying Dragons (which I recommend, BTW), and started researching him. When I found out that he was cast in a movie about a travelling singer, I HAD TO watch it!
How huge my disappointment was when this fascinating, unique traditional singing was covered up with generic "film music" of the type you can hear in cheap productions from around the world. Why would you do that? If I watch a movie about traditional music, I want to hear traditional music, not some stock musac.
The travelling singer is performing in front of the crowds? You can barely hear his voice from beneath a western style orchestra playing a romantic tune. A girl is about to sing a song for a granny? No way, you cannot listen to that song a'cappella, they need to play some cringy strings as an accompaniment.
You hate traditional music so you make a movie about traditional music? That's just plain stupid. Playing background music while the character is singing is in itself quite weird, if you ask me. In case of a movie that was supposed to showcase that very singing, it's absurd.
I was let down and irritated. As I wanted to watch this movie because of music, I dropped it in the middle.

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As addictive as heroine, but less toxic

If I had known that it was a remake of Addicted-Heroine, I wouldn't have started watching, because as much as I felt "addicted" to Addicted, I was able to see lots of things that were wrong in that series. I definitely didn't want to be taken on that ride again. If you fell the same, don't worry, Stay With Me isn't toxic like that. Actually, Stay With Me dropped the majority of all those numerous content warnings for Addicted, and I don't complain. For example, contrary to Addicted, this series shows that it's wrong to try to buy people's feelings and that it usually fails - which is an important message.
We all know about the communist censorship, so obviously there are no steamy scenes and the romantic aspect is more implied than shown. You can still guess pretty accurately the milestones of the relationship. Well, there are many shows with nicely executed NC scenes these days, so not every BL has to have them.
Besides, the way this large patchwork family is presented brings lots of diverse emotions, with Duoduo being world's cutest shipper for her geges and SuYu's mother painfully failing at her attempts to create a home.
If you loved Addicted and saw nothing wrong with that series, please give Stay With Me a chance nevertheless. Just treat it as a completely separate show, and you might enjoy it. I really hope so.

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Mental abuse of the viewer

This story mentally abused me. I was manipulated into shipping the main character, a cute, loving guy, with his cold, evil ex. Because the world is already ending, right? So why spend the last days alone, when you can have a company that makes your heart go faster? When binge-watching this series, I developed exactly this way of thinking. Nope! The main character should have stayed in his library, rather than letting that emotional parasite back into his heart, end of the world or not.
This manipulation was made possible because of how well the actors were cast and how well they were acting: they made the choices of the characters believable and commendable.
Otherwise, the plot has gaping loopholes, such as the whole motive of the pill of death, the appearance of that young boy, the way they met the idol's brother, and, above all, the idea of chaos, as the Japanese (cannot) imagine it.
Then again, I loved the actors and their chemistry was fire. Will probably rewatch the cute scenes...

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Swiss Cheese

Let's start from the good things. I loved the actors. They created every character in a credible way - including the characters that weren't all that well written. This applies of course to the main leads, with their contrasting personalities, the sister, hysterical and bitchy, the rich friends, spoiled and vain, as well as the thief, smoothly manipulating his a** out of troubles. I would also like to mention the mother character: she is just there, looking elegant, watching soap operas, enjoying her son-in-law's cooking, and never causing unneeded drama. Way to live!
The romance between the main leads was shown perfectly, taking the censorship into consideration. Watching those two mess with each other and care for each other all the time was pure pleasure. The way Gong Jun's character teases his bf, takes money out of his pocket because he knows he can, and simply moves in at some point is cute and hilarious at the same time.
Here the good things end and I need to talk about the plot. Starting from the premise, where a dude agrees to hit on another dude in the name of his younger sister, the whole story is absurd. The characters' actions are sometimes weird or stupid, or even plain criminal, but they don't get called out on this. And don't even get me started about the ending. Construction workers need a rich boy's help? Really? And then leave him in the well to freeze? Really, really? It's a pity, because with a story less offensive to reason, this could really be a great series.

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Emotional roller-coster

I watched this show with my hubby. When the character we hated the most was dying, we both cried. Yes, that's what this show did to us. Captivating!
The way it portrays family relationships is moving, but careful, this is not a romance - at least not in the way one might expect it to be at the beginning. If you aren't interested in history and politics, this show might not be that interesting to you, because it shows lots of real events, including political struggle, travel, and war.
Acting is top notch, costumes and interior design is beautiful (I am not a specialist, so I don't know it this is historically accurate), fictional story is smartly intertwined into the texture of real events. If anyone can recommend more series like this to me, I would be grateful.

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Unique take on the BL genre

This series is a "must see" for every Thai BL lover, but I think that anyone can enjoy it too, because the story is quite unique and moving. When we meet the main character, he feels unhappy and his life is meaningless, even though he seemingly can have anything he could wish for. Dramatic events of one night set him on a completely new course. Guilt, redemption, hope, friendship, love, caring for others - you will find all these strong emotions, beautifully acted by the main and supporting cast.
I encourage you also to watch the BTS materials, to see how much effort and dedication was needed to film this series, so that we can enjoy magnificent landscapes of northern Thailand and immerse ourselves in the life of a small village by the mountains.
It'a a 10 from me.

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Just a perfect BL

This show has everything I expect from a BL: chemistry between the main leads and a plot that is not too absurd. ;)
The plot is actually quite believable - a family feud is a thing that happens in real world. Thankfully, we are spared the annoying tropes and cliches that plague BLs - some of them are even called out directly as such. The supporting characters are often silly and/or irritating, but this is also believable - we meet people like that every day. The plot twists aren't super dramatic, but engaging enough.
There are many series, where the chemistry between the main leads is more steamy, I know, but in here, the focus is on emotions. Ohm and Nanon show more feelings in one kiss than most other ships manage to express during a whole episode full of fluff. Their acting is really good - I don't mean it like a "soap opera good acting" but generally good acting. They don't even need to say how they feel, their expressions convey the message. The relationship between the characters is generally very satisfactory to watch - there is no toxicity between them, there are lots of small and big gestures that can make the viewers squeal, and the communication between them is just as good, as you would expect from best frenemies and later boyfriends.
What I also really liked is the music. Bad Buddy theme song won at the 27th Asian Television Awards, and rightly so - it is so catchy! And the lyrics are well-written (of course judging by the translation). I really like Nanon's voice too.
I will definitely re-watch this series - it is a perfect mood-booster.

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What's real?

This movie invites the audience to an active interpretation - not only of the emotions and intentions of the characters, but also of the actual plot. Is the depicted event "real"? Is it her imagination? Is is his imagination? It also leaves you asking, what is more important: being free or being loved? Is it possible to have a relationship that is free from a power struggle? Why does the main character identify with that particular novel character, Josée?

The impact of this movie is so strong because of great acting, matching music and beautiful cinematography. I recommend it to people who enjoy some food for thought.

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Illogical plot and overwhelming cringe

The initial idea seemed brilliant. Fake it till you make it, right? I was really curious how they will present a transformation from a fake to a real relationship. I instantly liked the actors too. But the loopholes in the plot killed me. ML has the other guy's email address and writes to him... That he wants to meet up? Just that? Instead of describing his intentions, he causes a totally cringy misunderstanding. OK, he made a mistake. Instead of correcting that mistake and explaining the whole matter in another email message, he starts following the other guy, again, in a super cringy way. I like a comedy of errors, but these errors here were simply too easy to avoid. It's a pity, because the premise was interesting.

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Opposites attract

One of my favourite BLs! Non-toxic, non-cringe, no power struggle, with lovable, dynamic characters. Very accurate depiction of a nerd, who loves order and routine, and an artist, who introduces beautiful chaos into the nerd's world. Perfection! I'd watch it over and over again.

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Love in the Time of... COVID

A completely non-toxic BL. I know, this should be a given, but still isn't, so I guess it's worth emphasising. At first, the characters seem rather flat and predictable, maybe even shallow, but when we get to know them better, we discover their depth. Acting is great. It's a real pleasure to watch the characters' faces, how Cairo opens up and starts to smile, and how Gav shows something more that that charming playboy-smile - still remaining charming, of course. Pear is my personal favourite: I dream to have somebody like this around. A person with positivity, kind heart and a truthful word to share, when needed. The idea of hyper-realistic camera work, where we remain in the world of social-media all the time, together with the characters, who are in the lockdown, is not new, but it represents accurately the experience shared by people around the world during the pandemic. This show is heartwarming and brings sunshine to your day, regardless of the weather. Strongly recommended, if you want to improve your mood and get sentimental. <3

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Intolerable Absurdity

The very premise of this show, with an arranged marriage - something extremely backwards - but a homosexual one - something progressive - is quite weird. But that's OK, I was curious how they would handle this concept and started watching in good faith. However, the idea that the older man in the arranged couple becomes the owner of the younger man, who has to obey him and cannot even go out without his permission - that was too much. The main character becomes a slave to his arranged fiancé and even his mother checks if he wasn't "naughty". The fiancé feels that he has every right to control and adult person, tell him what to do, what not to do and how to behave. What a horrible, suffocating, toxic situation! With such power relations, building love chemistry is simply impossible. I admire the actors, who did their best to make it look realistic, but even though they are clearly talented, the level of absurdity was simply too high.

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Simply the Best

Zombie apocalypse in ancient Korea. Sounds absurd, right? Yet another, stupid zombie movie, right? No such thing! This drama has a well thought-out, smart plot - if not for the paranormal aspect, it would be totally plausible. Add to this great cast, interesting characters, who you really don't want to be eaten by the zombies, ;) power struggle, political schemes, and captivating cinematography... Well, I really cannot imagine a drama better than this one. Strongly recommended.

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