Pinoy BL Series
Thailand
This review may contain spoilers
Safe Haven (2020): An Unremarkable Pinoy BL Series
With respect to plot/storyline, performance, and production, “Safe Haven,” a do-it-yourself (DIY) series, was generally, an unremarkable Filipino (Pinoy) boys’ love (BL) series. Substantially, it was simple and technically, it was weak.
While efforts to present common-looking lead characters interacting on social media representing contrasting economic backgrounds should be lauded, “Safe Haven” didn’t really took advantage of these characterizations to provide character depth and character developments that generate realism and relatability in its plot/storyline. This series had a very shallow and slow-paced plot/storyline that employed the overused enemies to lovers trope. While this trope isn’t intrinsically bad, there wasn’t anything special that differentiated “Safe Haven” from other series. Yes, there were references to gender-based discrimination in the workplace but they came across as superficial. Yes, Dave, Terrence, and Panter had character developments but they seemed shallow.
Script was unnatural at times. Screenplay had cheesy lines and long dialogues. Because of these, script was dull and tiresome every so often.
While acting improved throughout the series, it was for the most part, still amateurish. All the actors occasionally overacted. Sometimes, their performance appeared scripted. They also made big unnecessary hand gestures that were quite distracting. Chemistry between the couples was also weak. Still, all actors should be fairly compensated for their performance (cf. social media quarrel between the actor/director and a former cast member).
Audio-visuals were mostly poor. Sound wasn’t consistently clear and there were some loud background noises. Camera work and the quality of shots were pedestrian. There were also mistakes in the computer graphics (e.g. split-screen framing, Twitter handle name, etc.). Editing gave a school project vibe. There were times when scene transitions were just too abrupt. On some scenes, mouth movements were not even in sync with the vocals. The soundtrack “Sunset With You” by Catherine Cafe wasn’t a good fit for this series.
All in all, I would only recommend rewatching “Safe Haven” if you’re really interested in DIY series and have nothing else to watch. Nonetheless, this largely unremarkable DIY series should still be congratulated for the efforts of its cast and crew! Hopefully, Gen-Z Production’s next Pinoy BL series, “Love Lies,” is a massive improvement compared to this series.
While efforts to present common-looking lead characters interacting on social media representing contrasting economic backgrounds should be lauded, “Safe Haven” didn’t really took advantage of these characterizations to provide character depth and character developments that generate realism and relatability in its plot/storyline. This series had a very shallow and slow-paced plot/storyline that employed the overused enemies to lovers trope. While this trope isn’t intrinsically bad, there wasn’t anything special that differentiated “Safe Haven” from other series. Yes, there were references to gender-based discrimination in the workplace but they came across as superficial. Yes, Dave, Terrence, and Panter had character developments but they seemed shallow.
Script was unnatural at times. Screenplay had cheesy lines and long dialogues. Because of these, script was dull and tiresome every so often.
While acting improved throughout the series, it was for the most part, still amateurish. All the actors occasionally overacted. Sometimes, their performance appeared scripted. They also made big unnecessary hand gestures that were quite distracting. Chemistry between the couples was also weak. Still, all actors should be fairly compensated for their performance (cf. social media quarrel between the actor/director and a former cast member).
Audio-visuals were mostly poor. Sound wasn’t consistently clear and there were some loud background noises. Camera work and the quality of shots were pedestrian. There were also mistakes in the computer graphics (e.g. split-screen framing, Twitter handle name, etc.). Editing gave a school project vibe. There were times when scene transitions were just too abrupt. On some scenes, mouth movements were not even in sync with the vocals. The soundtrack “Sunset With You” by Catherine Cafe wasn’t a good fit for this series.
All in all, I would only recommend rewatching “Safe Haven” if you’re really interested in DIY series and have nothing else to watch. Nonetheless, this largely unremarkable DIY series should still be congratulated for the efforts of its cast and crew! Hopefully, Gen-Z Production’s next Pinoy BL series, “Love Lies,” is a massive improvement compared to this series.
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