Brutally Honest
This is my second time watching and I will probably watch again. What I liked most is how it portrayed people of different sexual orientations coexisting together. That’s how the world really is. We work together., frequent the same places, attend the same schools. Also, it may be hard to take but this bl doesn’t fall into the trap of romanticizing love and relationships. It can be hard and downright painful at times. But if it’s meant to be it will happen. I loved all the main actors. There was also a good balance of humor and drama. The music was good too. Overall, it held my interest throughout. I actually know of some males who were like Khai. If you are looking for realism in a bl this is it.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
MY EVERYTHING
This drama was done so beautifully and so poetically. I can't help but get so excited to write this review for TOL, since it is one of my favorite BLs of all time. My all-time favorite tropes and themes in romances are unrequited love and friends to lovers; TOL is literally a mix, and I can't help but pour all of my love into this amazing drama.Let's dive in
Production: Production was spectacular. The lighting was my favorite part. It matched the mood of the current situation happening and added so much to the story. I think the best example is the scene when Two ask Thrid if he likes Khai, and we see the soft tones that cascade over Thrid. Urgh, I will never get over the amazing cinematography in this series. The music played a nice part in the production as well.
Story: Yes. YEs, YES!! I absolutely LOVED the story. Once again, I'm a sucker for friends to lovers and unrequited love, and this series did just such a beautiful job at balancing the two. I think I loved this story even more for not having it be a reciprocated love, and instead, we see the build-up to them understanding each other's feelings, and the whole story that takes place. Yes, it was frustrating that Khai could be a little oblivious and that Thrid was a little hard-headed, but it created real people instead of just characters. The concept of them going through different themes in movies was just literally the cherry on top. I couldn't get enough of the mix between the two, and it really drew you in, and that's what made it different from other BL uni stories. On top of that, I absolutely loved all the other side stories, especially Two and Un. As much as I loved Bone, I would say that I paid the least attention to his story since I'm not a huge fan of teacher/student romances, so it was a definite turn-off.
Acting: YES!! All acting was perfect. Off and Gun have such good partner acting that just works for the both of them. You can see when it's words from the script and when it's just them being them. This series wouldn't have worked the same had it been anyone else. Mike and Nawat added so much to the story and were magnificent supporting roles.
COUPLES
Thrid and Khai: 8.5/10
I will continue to boast about how realistic and perfect this couple was. Yes, they had their flaws (many of them), but they were just so human, and I really do appreciate that. At times, Khai being oblivious of Third's feelings was hard to continue sitting through, but Thrid was just as annoying not seeing that Khai had finally found out and couldn't connect the pieces. Plenty of people have dived deeper into the meaning of their relationship, but genuinely they had great chemistry and worked out well in the end.
FIRST KISS RATING: 2/10 - Is there much that needs to be said? There was a point for it being so weird and off, but still, I hate it and still haven't watched it since the first time. of course, the kisses since then have been spectacular and perfect.
Un and Two: 6/10
I can't say too much about this couple since we didn't see really anything much with them, at all. It felt really slow with them, but also really quick. I think we needed way more screen time with this couple to actually get a feel for them. The only scene I can really remember is the scene when they both get stuck in the auditorium. Also, I love Earth so the 6 just might be me being biased, but oh well.
RECOMMEND? YES, thousand times yes. For first-time BLers, I would most definitely recommend that they watch this one first. It's fun, wholehearted, light, and happy for the most part.
Was this review helpful to you?
Gun Atthapan and Off Jumpol’s chemistry is honestly off the charts and I feel like them acting together is honestly so powerful and clearly it comes through in this drama.
Off’s acting has really improved as well ?
Was this review helpful to you?
It may be a messy review but it's what I found out after watching it.
The story is perfect, the interconnectedness of scenes the delivery, the characters are all awesome! Perfect.This series is worth-watching. I thought it's not a happy ending because of how Khai behave but guess what in the end, Third wants to end it- their task not the relationship. In that part , I was like O-my there is a break- up and instantly insisted there will be season 2 but guess what it didn't went like that.
They say if you have a crush on someone and it takes for several months it's already a love, but if you secretly love someone for a long time, how would it be possible? Well, sometimes it's better to keep your feelings than telling it but, time will tell when it's perfect. Sometimes it will goes wrong but at least we have showed our real feelings. We break promises and fixing it will makes things worse because it is a gateway to make more mistakes. However, sometimes if a person did many mistakes it's hard for other to believe in him even he's telling real. But love will always find a way to make a person understand why. We lied to someone unintentionally, and sometimes they tend not to believe on us but it's better to know the intention why someone did lying. We make couple of mistakes out of jealousy, loneliness and sometimes we are afraid. And that makes us more open of what love really is.
I never expect another couple will just show up in the middle, it's great how they shifted it. I love it!
There is a character who's not into relationship but I was amazed by his personality. He never took an advantage to someone he loves.
Well I am not going to name them all because you have to watch it. It took me years the time it was released just to watch it and I am very satisfied with the atmosphere of this movie. Very good! I hope I could watch all the film they mentioned in the series so I could understand it more.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Acting/cast: Khai was an ASS. I was fuming with the way he treated Third. Narcissistic, selfish, unaware, unapologetic! Jerk! Like you're about to catch my hands if you don't stop being an ass! But Off is a sweetie though :> He did a good job being an ass. Third was so pitiful. He kept getting his hopes up only to get himself hurt in the end. He sacrifice so much of his time for Khai but Khai doesn't see his worth. I wanted to tell Third to ditch the guy so many times and find someone better. Thank GOODNESS he stopped caring for Khai toward the end, like yes queen, you don't deserve the b.s. Seeing Khai come crawling back was SATISFYING. Gun is a sweetie too though :> His acting was awesome! His crying face had me wanting to hug him like a mom. Even though he was crying so much in the series, it looks like he has the power over Off in real life. Great friends!
Two was such a good friend. He was willing to help and stayed by Third's side always. He was on Third's side, and not Khai, because he has a good moral compass to support the friend that isn't the ASS. His side couple kind of came out of nowhere (imo) simply because Two was so into girls, but they were cute.
Story: I like it. I like that there's a split in the story. One is from the perspective of Third and the other is from the perspective of Khai. And we get to see both their sides of the story, although what Khai did is still unforgivable, it's good that he admit his wrongs and is able to face his feelings for Third. I think Two and Aun's story developed the least but they were still pretty cute.
In my opinion, Bone's story was the most pure. He fell in love with someone but he was mature and gave her happiness without being selfish about it. He was happy she was happy. That's the purest form of love.
Rewatch value: Yes! I think the story is memorable and I probably won't need to rewatch but maybe in a couple of years.
Overall: Give this a watch!
Was this review helpful to you?
Off is a better performer when he is with Gun
I´m doing this review because recently I watched Girl2k (series that stars Off as one of the main male leads), as a fan, it has been really satisfying to see Off (Papi) grow as a performer, his acting has been getting better since all the way back to 2015 in Sotus and I truly care and admire him as an actor and all rounded performer, with this being said, I genuinely think that doing main male leads in other type of series (like Girl2k) does not favor him at all, he seems kind of off in most of the scenes and his acting can´t be truly appreciate (although there is a plot twist in Girl2k, which is nothing but interesting, so I exhort all of you to give it a try if you have not already) but as an overall I don´t think Papi did all that good in Girl2k, that is why I decided to rewatch The Theory of Love all over again, and it is truly a way different experience, his acting is way more on point and he has marvelous scenes (Like the train one) that definitely favor him more.Now, as a film student myself I can tell how well donde this series is, everything from the cinematography to the music is all so well put together that this series never gets old, on the contrary, everytime I watch it (this is the fourth time, just so we make that clear) I have the possibility to find new details of the production that gives new meanings to the plot and its development, all the references to other movies, the compositions of the frames, and every expression of the actors are just so well executed that it just gets better every time. Now, I know that the plot may get a little cliché, and sometimes Third (Gun´s character) gets a little too much from all the crying and suffering (especially in the first couple of episodes) and I´m not saying this in not justified (it is) it is only natural that his character starts all broken hearted and weak (but that does not mean the the viewer has to empathize with him and his situation from the beginning) with this being said, I do think that the character development is so well done that this issue is quickly put on the past and transitions to the growth and change of Gun´s character and his performance, not to mention that Kai (Papi´s character) has one of the most beautiful transitions, personality wise, of all time, I mean, his development is just so well put together that is a must to for every BL fan, Lakorn fan or Drama Series in general.
Papi and Gun have a great chemistry, weather a couple or not (I´m tee, me too is the proof of this) and The Theory of Love is just the sum of that chemistry, consistency and beautifly well utilization of cinematographic language, so I do recommend this series to the ones that have not watch it already, and if you have, I recommend you to rewatch it (Also, if you have not watched the movies that appear as reference throughout the series I invite you too, it would give you a new perspective of the series and its creative decisions).
And remember “I don’t think one should be too hard on oneself if the object of one’s affection returns the favor with rather less enthusiasm than one might have hope.” - The Object of my affection (1998).
Enjoy the series and be happy, at the end "Love is actually, all around us" - Love Actually (2003)
Was this review helpful to you?
I like how this drama is like a longer version of the movie Flipped, but it's done in an exceptionally beautiful way( and they also referenced the movie a couple of times, sort of like a tribute). Seeing as how I love Flipped so much, I can say this drama did not disappoint. In fact, it took many steps further. The acting is superb, the chemistry on point, the music is great & set in the backdrop of a breathtaking cinematography. What's not to like.
Would definitely rewatch this a 100 times.
And also now I can understand the whole hype about the OffGun ship.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I have watched this series first in real (release) time and then again within a few days. My opinion on it has probably improved on the second watch.There are few things I did not like in this series:
- Probably it could have been reduced to just 10 episodes without losing any relevant part of the plot. With such a long "introduction", after episode 6 the storytelling seemed to stumble a bit.
- Two and Un's storyline didn't fully convince me. Sure, they had nice moments together, but Two's sudden feelings still felt somewhat off.
- I would have loved to see more of "Likebrary". When they first introduced the idea of the play, it seemed to have a lot of potential for influencing the development of the story (mainly Third's), but it felt a bit neglected later on.
Listing everything I liked about this series, on the other hand, would probably get way too long. So I will limit myself to just a couple of highlights:
- The cinematography was just great. Colours, camera angles, scene setting ... it was all extremely well-done and supporting the story the best it could.
- The use of music was great as well. I was skeptical when they first presented Gun and Off's cover version of the brilliant Getsunova song (too much auto tune and a weird arrangement imo) which I had learned to love before already, but the music used in the series itself was perfect. Love the English version of "Fake Protagonist" too.
- The acting was flawless, be it the main characters (never had a doubt about Gun, obviously) or the supporting cast (the relatively late introduction of Shane was a nice idea). No awkward scenes, no doubtful casting decisions, good interaction between all of the characters.
- Finally a series which took all of its main themes seriously. The relationship problems shown were deep enough to allow further thoughts and interesting discussions about them (see eg the comment section here on MDL), the writers did a good job in presenting the "theory" of love. Additionally, the movie theme was omnipresent and not just a minor matter; the characters' deep connection to movies and the relevance of movies for their everyday lives was a central central element of the story. I didn't know all of the movies they used throughout the series, but I feel inspired to watch some of them now (especially "Flipped").
- Many heartwarming scenes and dialogues were alternated with extremely heartbreaking moments. The balance was good, also the many comedic moments fit very well.
- Since I read many critical comments about Bone and Pan's storyline, I have to say that I really liked it. Bone's character growth was convincing and Pan was a lovely character. The resolution of the suspected cheating was well-done and we even got to see a wedding in the end.
Overall, I have a really good feeling about this series. The production value and the acting is above average and that really pays off. It does a fantastic job in conveying emotions, which in this case can be quite hurtful at times. Maybe some story arcs could have elaborated better while others could have speed up a little, but that isn't a major problem. Re-watching it was a good decision and I might do that again at a later point in time.
Was this review helpful to you?
Extremely slow and pointless BL
I really wanted to like this series but just found it extremely annoying and pointless.First of all Khai is one of the worst lead characters I’ve seen, he is completely cruel during the first half of the series and there is no reason at all on why Third would crush for 3 years over this guy who is a womanizer and treats him like garbage.
I also found Khai to be very one note, all his motivations are about himself, even after he realizes to chase Third he does it in a selfish way. There is a really good chance for Third to move on and be happy but Khai manages to ruin it and mess with his chances with Un.
The second problem I have with this BL is that the secondary characters and couples don’t add anything to the story and are not even BL related . Such a waste of talent with Mike’s character. Thankfully he got to shine on 2gether.
As for the character of Third, he comes across as sad during the first half and sulking or cold during the second half .
Why would we want for these two to be together??
There is also zero chemistry development between the main characters due to the fact that in most of the series they are on opposite emotional sides.
Overall Skip this BL that only gives crumbs and almost little satisfaction between the leads.
I’m glad most BL are avoiding this tired formula of straight lead being magically attracted to the other lead, completely ignoring years and years of behavior. While this is possible is a story that brings nothing to BL at this point.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
A Masterpiece
Soulful, emotional, and brilliant. This is absolutely one of the best BL series I have seen. It is an epic love story more than a BL series. The acting is perfection and captured the essence of each of their characters flawlessly. For me, this is a masterpiece and is a cinematic gem. The screenplay of this series is nothing short of brilliant. This series left me emotionally drained and in a real sense feeling heartbroken. This series presented characters that are flawed, victims of others AND themselves, but also willing to sacrifice. Getting to love and giving love is not always straightforward or a series of rom-com events. The way this series presented love was imaginative, real, and profoundly moving. If you want to read my full review of this brilliant series, please go to my free blog site at ppbongi.medium.com.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Honestly this was a very childish drama. The characters seem to live in a fantasy world where being gay does not cause them or their neighbors any conflict, and therefore they can accept their feelings for someone of the same sex without any internal conflict, and without wanting to deny it in front of others. A world like that is really too beautiful to be real! One of the reasons why this drama does not convince me is that the character of Thrid could be perfectly changed by a not very graceful girl and the story could be exactly the same, and we would have a story like the ones we have seen a thousand times, grace here is that Thrid is a boy, but the writer does not take advantage of that subject well. To begin with, we also don't understand why Thrid likes Khai, loving a idiot is something I don't like, and believing that person will change with love is a typical that dramas want to make us believe, and I don't believe in that. People do not change, if you love them you have to accept them as they are or later you will be disappointed again. But I admit that it is fun to see that idiot crawl for love, surely that is the reason I stayed watching this drama!The one in this drama is also a world where there is no sex, and the sex there is is practically mentioned as something bad, something to satisfy a selfish need. And I don't agree that sex is just that. Sex is linked to love. But here they try to sell us an innocent romance and it lacks a spark. It also didn't help that the kisses between them felt really uncomfortable.
The use of cinema in the drama also didn't convince me ... at first I liked Thrid talking about himself and the movies in the vlog, but the movies were so damn commercial. I would pull my hair if I was in film school talking about those movies! Some movies like "Les amours imaginaires" or "L’estate addosso" or some other interesting movie could have been cited, but no, the films they talk about are as banal as drama. I don't hate her, but it was necessary to repeat the “Love actually” scene twice? when is it so worn out?
In summary, I only recommend that you see this if you are under 18 or still maintain innocence. You will find beautiful and cheesy scenes if it is what you are looking for, but also a great lack of depth and real world. But if you have passed the age and want to see a real gay story among the best friends, I recommend you watch: Merlí (series of Catalonia).
Was this review helpful to you?
