Sotus (2016)

One of the first popular Thai BL dramas, but doesn't hold up as well today

NO-SPOILER REVIEW

Before watching this series, keep in mind that it was one of the first Thai BL dramas ever made. Because it was a pioneer during its time, certain stylistic conventions hadn't been developed yet, so some parts may feel off compared to more current BL dramas. Other dramas owe a lot to this drama for helping the BL genre take off. For those who watched it when it first came out, they remember it very fondly. For those of us who are watching it after the fact, it may not hold up without the nostalgia factor. I wanted to like this series but unfortunately, it left a lot to be desired.

Pros
- The series portrays relationships between characters in a relatively realistic and mature way. No drama for drama's sake.
- The cast is good and the acting is on-point.

Cons
- The overall pacing is very slow. Multiple scenes could have been condensed. The overall development of the relationship takes a very long time to develop.
- It was a bit hard for me to believe that the main couple would have feelings for each other given the types of interactions they had on screen.
- There is a heavy focus on college hazing that ends up dominating the series. This becomes very tiresome and repetitive and can be off-putting for some.
- Potential side couples/relationships weren't ever really developed.

Overall
- Most fans of this series seem to love it for being one of the first big Thai BL dramas. It's still an ok series worth watching today, but unfortunately, it just doesn't hold up to other modern series.

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I am confused

Okay can someone tell me why everyone adores this series? I do not mean to sound mean or anything. I am genuinely curious. I wish I had enjoyed this series so that I can be as passionate about as I see some people be about it. But no. The series for me was bland. I did not find one part of the show that I was moved by in any way. I pushed myself to get through it. I even started its sequel too but abandoned it . I did not really like any of the acting. I do not know what it it is. I think I just found Singto rather lifeless or maybe I just don't feel like he connected with his character. I could be completely wrong though. Now that I have seen him in other dramas, I have enjoyed his characters but Kongpob just feels I don't know...eh? I liked Krist's acting just fine. Overall it was okay but to me just a little overhyped.

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Overrated?

Honestly, when I saw the reviews I thought WOW THIS SERIES MUST BE AMAZING.

But it's one of the worst series I have ever seen? I was watching and keep pushing myself saying "one more episode" to see when the good parts come. Till episode 6 I can say two main characters have ZERO CHEMISTRY.
I have seen many series where one of the characters was an asshole/cold person, but you could still feel the chemistry between actors.

I really have no idea how so many people rated this 10/10 . For me this series is one of the biggest disappointments, especially after seeing so many people praise the series. The story is just so boring till episode 6, just punishments blablabla, and ofc I don't believe for a second that Kong likes his love interest I just don't see any chemistry whatsoever.

Other actors are not bad actors, but I'm rating acting 1 since I see zero chemistry,

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I watched the show to see what the hype was. Arthit and Kongpop and Sotus are huge. I must say that I enjoyed watching the hazing ritual and Kongpop was a charming character. He lead the show easily and I kept wanting to see him defy the system and just do whatever he wanted. The hazers were also entertaining to watch. My biggest issue is that it takes half the series for Kongpop and Arthit to actually start interacting in a romantic sense, not just one off teases and voyeurism. I understood that one liked the other but the chemistry was just not there. The show is worthwhile to get an understanding of Sotus however it isn't a big love story. Maybe that's the charm.

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I feel like something is wrong with me

I have been hearing about this series for a few months and after watching a video on Youtube concerning enemies to lovers relationships, I decided to give this show a try. I initially starting watching 10 mins of SOTUS S be realizing I was on the wrong show.

Everyone loves this show. The acting was good but something about the plot just did not grab me. I did love the last two episodes. I wish I had found this series when it first aired. I may have been more invested and rooting for Kongpob and Arthit more but I just found Arthit to be a jerk, especially when it came to Kongpob confessing. I will admit that I did love that scene because it shocked me. I did love the scene when Kongpob ordered iced coffee than changed it to pink milk.

I do want to watch SOTUS S to see how their relationship progresses but I am not sure if I would watch this series again. I liked some of the other relationships like May who has a crush on Kong and the possible relationship between Prem and Wad. Let's see what SOTUS S has in store. I will be watching that soon.

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Wanted to add something to my original review.
I'm totally shipping Arthit and Kong pop.
The more I see of Singto I feel he's so cute when he's on variety shows! So I'm shipping both Krist Singto and Arthit Kong pop lmao
That said while I found the romance of Sotus really good, I still stand by my original thoughtson Singtos acting and the idea of hazing.

I have so much to say about this one.

But first off those last two episodes were so good! I love every moment between Arthit and Kongpop, everything from the pink milk to Arthit switching their foods, and the "cog" as the heart was just adorable! I love their sense of humor and that scene at the bridge was just SO GOOD.

Skinship wise this is a REAL SLOW BURN okay. Even when it happens there's not much proper skinship which made it feel like a teen show. The kissing was barely anything more than a peck. I feel like it would have benefited from more but still whatever. Not a deal breaker.


Because on one hand I'm totally in love with Arthit and their moments, they were so so good but on the other hand the premise is so ridiculous it really hampered my viewing pleasure.

First off, this is the dictionary definition of Hazing:

haze
/he?z/Submit
verb
gerund or present participle: hazing

force (a new or potential recruit to the military or a university fraternity) to perform strenuous, humiliating, or dangerous tasks.

Hazing is NOT A GOOD thing.

See, I love seeing all those weird tropes in fiction I wouldn't ever want in real life. Stalker tropes, non con, etc. I saw ADDICTED and despite that non con scene I was in love with Gu Hai and Bai Luo Yin! Mostly because Gu Hai knew he was nuts, he was obsessed! He said it himself, he didn't even expect Luo Yin to forgive him let alone rationalize what he did!

But the problem is not with showing that kind of passion in fiction but the problem is in not realizing that it's abuse and non consent. That's why SOTUS bothered me so much. They kept acting like hazing was something positive lol ugh NO.

I would have just preferred to have Arthit be abusive bully and it could have been a story about peer pressure and problems at home, the reason so many students bully everywhere in the world and they could have fallen in love regardless like ADDICTED. If you've seen Bad Romance this is why I freaking love Knock and Korn, just watch their interaction, they literally come to blows that's how angry and passionate they get but never rationalize hitting someone!

So now that's out of the way, let's get on to the other aspects of the show.

First off, Krist played Arthit and he constantly reminded me of Suga, he does resemble him a bit but it was more than that, it was his attitude too, typical tsundere with a genuinely adorable and sweet soft side.

Singto played Kongpop and I love that he was assertive and not a pushover despite having a good heart. But I was disappointed by Singto's performance tbh he's handsome and all, but his facial expressions remain the same in every scene! Does he not have any real life experiences to draw on? Either that or he's too immature atm.

But I would definitely watch the next season even if it's mostly for Krist and a BL story line. It was entertaining and I think you should see it but it's not my favorite. As for the supporting cast M deserves a special mention but generally all the support cast was appealing. I liked that there were no slapstick annoying characters.

Btw despite the faults of the premise I would have rated it a ten if Singto's expressions weren't so woody all the time. So, I'm confused about shipping them atm. I kind of ship them but mostly I ship Arthit! I hope Singto gets better in the next season.

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I gave it a try, but I couldn't finish this series.

I know it's an older serie, one of the older popular bl series, and I also read the disclaimer at the beginning that this is pretty exaggerated, so I really really had little to none expectation. But I guess, I wasn't prepared enough. The acting wasn't good, the dialogues were bad, no humor, the whole hazing is really over the top, that it made me laugh in a negative way, etc.
Over the time I found Arthit to be cute and I felt like there is chemistry between the main leads, so I had the hope, that these will help me to finish the show, but unfortunately that wasn't the case... I really couldn't watch ep 6 at all, it was painful/cringy/exhausting, so I stopped there.
I really wanted to watch this show, because I saw some cute clips of this couple in YouTube, but I guess this is one of the bl series that didn't age well. Especially for someone who started to watch bl dramas only in 2022 and has watched some good bl series, watching this is not possible, or at least that was the case for me...

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I'm sorry but I can't accept this bullshit.

I'm extremely surprised at how popular this series is. I only managed to finish the first 3 episodes because I skipped over the repetitive hazing rituals. They were hard to watch not only because is it boring, it is also highly unrealistic for a small group of seniors to publicly haze an entire cohort of freshmen without interference from their peers, seniors, university staff, and even parents. And the rationale behind the hazing is to train freshmen to stand up for themselves and learn discipline and respect? Don't play sappy music over this explanation. It's an insult to my intelligence. This is not the military and it sure as hell is not a military school. This is as insane as the marry your rapist tropes in early Yaoi. How do they expect their audience suspend their disbelief to this level? The writers should read up on the consequences of hazing because what they are doing is romanticize hazing, which they understand because of the disclaimer before the show starts. On top of this, we are expected to believe Kong and Arthit fall for each other?

I skipped forward to the last episode and saw that Kong recognizes the "values" behind the SOTUS system but wanted to change the methods, then he becomes the hazing leader the following year. My eyes did a full 360 degree rotation.

I should also point out 2 instances of homophobia within the first 3 episodes. First, Arthit displayed his homophobia by asking Kong to proclaim he is gay. Second, Kong retaliated by saying he would make Arthit his "wife." It's popular shows like this that continue to enforce heteronormativity in society. This is why straight people are still asking same sex couples, 'Who's the man, who's the woman?"

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This isn't going to be super organized, i just see a lot of ratings that, for what it is, seem too high. tbh i don't watch many thai dramas, maybe all this is normal, but the production was just.... really bad.

there's one point in the drama where he removed the string the other guy tied on him, and it NEVER comes up again. but it was supposed to be dramatic. and later on it's magically back on and there's no scene addressing this. and the way the music is cut, the way the end of the episode is cut, it seems very low-budget. but it doesn't really bother me that much.

but i love the casting and acting. as an mlm myself, seeing a cast that doesn't look all like runway models is very refreshing. and the surroundings too, they look very normal. and the cast, altho there's some forced/cringey parts, act very much like how any group of friends i've been in acts. it's really worth watching, so long as low-production value doesn't hinder your ability to enjoy smth.

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SOTUS Series Critique

At first glance, *SOTUS* may seem unappealing due to its initial portrayal of a harsh and somewhat negative atmosphere. The story begins with a strict university hazing system that might feel off-putting to some viewers. However, this seemingly rough beginning is instrumental in establishing the foundation of the narrative. It artfully sets the stage for character development and the evolving dynamics between the lead characters, Arthit and Kongpob.

What initially appears as a negative tone quickly unfolds into a deeper exploration of personal growth, relationships, and breaking through societal expectations. The narrative's structure uses tension and conflict to organically organize the progression of the story, which allows the audience to witness the transformation of characters from positions of power imbalance into mutual respect and affection. The hazing system, although controversial, serves as a metaphorical backdrop for how individuals navigate and challenge traditional roles, ultimately leading to their emotional and psychological maturation.

The strength of *SOTUS* lies in how it blends these heavier themes with moments of tenderness, making the journey feel authentic and engaging. The chemistry between the leads, especially through their gradual shift from antagonism to understanding, adds depth to the story. This slow burn creates a satisfying narrative arc, rewarding patient viewers with a relationship that feels earned rather than rushed.

Moreover, *SOTUS* addresses the theme of authority and questioning norms. As Kongpob challenges the system and Arthit's leadership, the show subtly critiques the hierarchical structures that pervade both institutions and personal lives. This adds a layer of social commentary, allowing viewers to reflect on issues of power, conformity, and individuality.

In conclusion, while the series may not immediately capture your interest due to its initial negativity, it meticulously uses this as a narrative tool to highlight its core themes. The progression from antagonism to affection, combined with meaningful character development, elevates *SOTUS* into more than just a romance—it becomes a reflection of growth, respect, and challenging the status quo.

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