This review may contain spoilers
It was one of my most anticipated BL for this year because the trailer truly captivated me. Maybe because I had high expectations that's why I ended up disappointed.Good things first, Solo and Gui are both non-toxic. I like how they slowly fell in love with each other. I believe love should not really be dramatic and cinematic all the time. Sometimes love comes in the most boring way but that's still valid. Phu and Khao are also cute together. They are not toxic to each other too. We didn't consent issues with this series. The OST might be one of the best things that happened in this show.
Now as to why I rated it low is based on my enjoyment in this one. I was bored to death halfway through this series. The acting was stiff. I understand that this is a first acting gig for the actors but more workshop could've been a better option. Solo and Gui are both too robotic. I saw some silver lining near the finale because Solo improved his acting in there. A great director could've made these characters shine even if the actors are rookies. The directing and editing are a mess.
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PURE CRINGE
PLOTI cant begin to explain how much filler there was?! It was so boring and it only has a plot at the 10th EPISODE OUT OF 13???? Its so bad. The girl is so annoying, as a bisexual female, if i saw a male taking pictures of another girl and me and starts fetishizing us, i would’ve flipped. Its so disgusting, and it seems to be consistent in thai bl dramas. Honestly she would’ve been fine without that trait, and i know it is like that so that the audience can relate, but i have serious issues if they do relate. Its disgusting behaviour, gay/bi/pan people do not like when you make up narratives about them and their friends just cuz they like the same gender, let alone go on and record or broadcast it. The main couple is boring, as i saw comments on the episodes, i understood everyone thought they were boring, plain, and honestly shouldn’t even be there. The other couples are also uninteresting, but less than the main. I also question the sudden plot points made in last 3 episodes, given you just get a whiplash, and its executed so badly. In each episode something happens and then it resolves. Where is the build up? Where is the development? It seemed so rushed. The only people i saw that like this, are straight females that will eat up anything gay to feed their little fantasies about handsome boys kissing.
ACTING
It was bad, i dont know if its the bad writing or bad acting, or both but i just laughed. The character cried? The most funniest thing. You cant sit there watching 13 episodes, 50 minutes long, and tell me they are good actors. Tell me you felt it when they cried, were sad, or were broken apart. And casting is even bad. Half of them look like high schoolers, half like they’re in their 40s and half like middle schoolers. Its disturbing. They dont look in love, they look like they’re acting, and that is not good.
OST
Basic and bland, but what did i expect.
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Unique Title of the Series
Oxygen!Wow! it really caught my attention because of the title.
I want to know why the author of the novel named it after that scientific tern. Very light series/novel.
Plus after searching the novel I also found out that it has a 2nd novel which is Nitrogen, which is also connected to the second couple of the series. Very interesting indeed.
That's why I've been watching it since episode 1.
The story was really interesting.
I want to know why and how does the oxygen may involve to the story, and I figuratively needed oxygen whenever i watch the series not just because the story itself but you will expecting more for the upcoming episodes and the production never fails to amaze me.
The cast was really great in their roles.
They play it perfectly. I've been reading the novel (english translation) and because of that I was be able to feel their characters. Supanut and Petch (Solo and Gui) was really on to their roles as well as the second couple - the Nitrogen Couple - Phuri and Boss (Phu and Kao). Yes they new in terms of acting but you can feel the emotions that they portrait.
The music is lively.
Especially the ost itself. I cannot understand thai language but you can feel the liveliness that the singer - Supanut - would want to express. I was be able to look for the english translation of the song and the music video and I was right, it was indeed very good and lively, the message of the song reflects to the series itself. looking forward for the upcoming ost of the series.
Still Rewatching...
After each episode has been played on youtube by the given day, I am still rewatching it the following day, because really, the story is cute, not that typical bl stories, it is really very light story, and even if the story was finished on air I will still going to rewatch it.
Overall...
Yes! the story/series is very lovable. For me they deserve a highest point, even though it is still ongoing because the series never fails to amaze me.
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This review may contain spoilers
It has its moments
I placed a spoiler at the end of this review.It had a good story concept. I did like the series because it had some refreshing story elements. However, the script also had many weak elements too. The side story involving Khim and Dr. Petch was very annoying. See spoiler alert at the end of this review if you want more info. Another problem is the series had way too many random conflict scenarios thrown into it. I lost track of how many were introduced. The actors were great with what they were given. Unfortunately, the character development was a little off with Solo and Gui. It’s as if Nut Supanut received director notes on how to play Gui instead and vice versa. There were points that I got confused in the beginning on who was play which character. Additionally, the casting for some of the characters seemed a little off.
Random Note: If you do decide to watch this, I recommend skipping all the scenes involving Khim, Dr. Petch, and Dr. Perth. This improved my enjoyment of watching the series. I think the actors are good but this story line was unnecessary and very annoying.
******Spoiler Alert******
The side story involves Khim constantly trying to convince Dr. Petch that he and his friend, Dr. Perth, is gay. This was very annoying. It’s the equivalent of someone trying to convince me (a gay man) that I’m straight and that I just have to admit it. She also indirectly caused Dr. Petch hurting Dr. Perth and Khem (her brother) through her annoying actions.
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SWEET BUT NOTHING NEW
I honestly watched it bcz of the handsome ML. The main couple's love story was nothing interesting or different. They fell in love almost instantly and things worked out fast and smoothly. Only during the last part there's the obstacle set by his parent. But that too was easy to overcome. So nothing special.I liked the 2nd couple more. This too was nothing new but still I liked their chemistry. The playfulness of Kao and how Phu melted over time was sweet.
So basically this was a SWEET BUT KINDA BORING drama. Towards the end, last few episodes I skipped most of the parts and only watched to know how the story ends. It's watchable but won't re-watch.
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This review may contain spoilers
Cute and Light, then ruined at the end
I’ll start with the obvious that most people will bring up, this is not groundbreaking storytelling. It’s not particularly deep even though the themes in it should be treated with depth. This is mostly passable writing and inoffensive acting by much of the cast (some are much better).Despte all this, I really enjoyed the series up through episode ten.
- Solo is a very awkward, reserved character. You see glimpses of him open up but then he shuts back down. that makes sense to me. However sometimes he’s downright wooden with how inexpressive he is. (note: Nut who plays Solo is a much better actor currently in Pit Babe so I’m not sure how much was him being inexperienced as an actor versus writing & direction).
- Gui is kind to a fault, to the point where it’s difficult to know when he’s genuinely giving someone attention or just being kind like he is to everyone. From the synopsis I expected this to be much more of a sunshine character than he turned out to be. This is NOT a sunshine x closed off pairing. I liked the actor’s portrayal, but I had the same issue I had with Solo of him coming off too rigid and awkward.
- Solo & Gui as a pair are cute. I really did like them and that’s not entirely my high key fanboying of Nut as an adorable human. However I have complaints below.
- Kao is easily my favorite (and likely objectively best) character in the serious. He manages to be persistent and doggedly chase the guy he wants without the constant boundary violating that you usually see in these types of characters. He is sweet and expressive, continually testing the limits to see how much Phu will let him get away with without ever pushing it to territory that makes Phu genuinely uncomfortable or unhappy.
- Phu is cold. He’s distant. He’s got Fort Knox levels of security on his emotions. This is the guy you study to learn what stoic is. But you get these little glimpses (not just when he smiles, which Kao excitedly points out every time) of affectionate reactions to things Kao does or says. He says Kao is annoying but it’s like he’s using “annoying” as a stand in for what he really means because he’s clearly never annoyed with him. Given what an unrmotive, quiet character this is, you never wonder how he really feels.
- Phu & Kao … let’s face it, they kind of steal the spotlight. Their relationship moves much more slowly but feels more solid and intimate than Solo and Gui’s, if I’m being honest. It’s almost impossible to not root for them.
- Kao, Jedi and Beer: the best wingmen and friends ever! This show has some High Level friending going on with these three!
Beer often tells Gui what he needs to hear, not what he wants to hear. and When Gui doesn’t really listen and Beer thinks he needs to he is not afraid of, uh, making a more illustrative point.
Kao & Jedi are always backup and support. Hello, locking the rival in the bathroom so your friend can sneak around to get time with his crush? A+ effort and execution! I wish we saw more of Jedi in the series, honestly. The trio of Solo, Kao and Jedi is great and I adore this friendship dynamic.
- The Fujoshi mess. This was basically, what, like a love rhombus? We start with Perth liking Petch but he clearly gets fed up and hurt enough that he gets over that crush during the series. Petch winds up liking Khim (while Perth likes him and he’s oblivious). Khim’s little brother Khem winds up liking Petch while he sneaks around using Perth and Khem as photos for a fake crush so he can fuel his real crush, Khim’s, fujoshi dreams.
This whole situation was right on track to be a complete mess. It wound up as a blip of a mess and then sort of just got swept up and set off to the side. Khim forgave Petch way too easily for lying to get and using her brother, who she is fiercely protective of. Khem got over being indirectly led on super quickly. Petch wasn’t very likable once he got into using people. I would have preferred this whole storyline not exist, honestly. I also wish we could have followed Perth, an actual gay character in a BL series, rather than Petch, a fake gay character.
And then we get to the train wreck of the last three episodes. (the fujoshi rhombus also came to its messy and anticlimactic conclusion during these episodes)
- Did we really need Linda, the bitchy fake fiancé who was determined to land herself a man who clearly didn’t want her? I’m so over this trope.
- We NEVER get any explanation why the head of the admin dept, Pat, took it upon himself to transfer an ENGINEERING major to his department. Who does this? To our knowledge he didn’t know Gui was dating Solo when this switch was made but maybe he supposedly did. Even if he did know, the guy isn’t majoring in any related field. Why would you set him up for failure like that? He wanted to train Gui himself? What training?!
- Gui’s lack of backbone infuriated me. You don’t wanna tell Solo someone fucked with you and transferred your dept for your internship when you are there for your future CAREER not because of stupid family politics with your boyfriend? Okay, fine, but stand up for yourself. Don’t just constantly say sorry and take shitth criticism when no one is showing you how to do a job you have zero training for. Grow a fucking pair!
The things I marked my raising down for:
- Solo’s literally, and very obviously abusive father. The abusive father in and of itself wouldn’t get points docked, it’s the sweep it under the rug treatment that did. He locked his adult son in his apartment without food for WEEKS? How did Solo not pass out and need medical attention?
His son was pissed that his father (he assumed) was fucking with the only person he felt loved him and his answer wasn’t to point out he hadn’t done it or state that Gui would be transferred if he requested it but hadn’t (I like to assume this would be the case since they are literally messing with the guy’s career). No, he told his son to suck it up bc Gui was. Then he locked him up.
I think Solo’s reaction both to finding out what was done to Gui and to being locked up was pretty in line with his character. He specifically told Gui neither of his parents ever loved him (which makes me wonder what his attachment to his deceased mother is). He was being kept from the only person that seemed to love him beyond friendship and that person was being set up to fail which could have cascading negative effects on Gui’s future. Solo was isolated, treated with a callousness that only served to emphasize how much his father didn’t love him or care about him. Solo being a complete wreck and reaching such a state of despondency made sense.
But in the end Solo bows to his father’s desires, goes back to work as his father wants and even says he will be a better son?!
- Gui being a complete fucking dick to Solo when he is an emotional wreck after Kao sneaks him out of his apartment and they subsequently run away together. I get the sense of what Gui was going for when he said Solo was not behaving like the person he knew and was sacrificing things for, but the delivery was tactless, insensitive and callous enough to have come from daddy rather than the boyfriend who had been caring and concerned about Solo throughout the series.
This made me so angry I thought it was going to be a hallucination but it wasn’t. Gui saw the stage Solo was in, KNOWING how love starved he was before meeting Gui, KNOWING how deep the emotional wounds he carries are and told him to suck it up because he was being a little bitch? Are you kidding me? He was IN TEARS telling you he didn’t want to be under his father’s control/manipulation anymore and you ultimately told him to go back and do what daddy says.
This is NOT the Gui I knew or that Solo loved. There were so many other ways to go about that which would have been more compassionate. I also cannot reconcile Gui simply being okay with the blatant abuse being served upon Solo for ANY reason.
- Moon’s adoption. WHAT?! You gave that horrible man another child to raise? I don’t care if it was on the basis that Moon would eventually become Solo and Gui’s son. After what we watched his father do to Solo in thr last few episodes, never mind what he likely did the rest of Solo’s life, and Solo was just happy and content to let the kid that his bf cared so much about (and that he cared about) be brought under his control?
- Jay justifying the abuse form Solo’s father by chalking it all up to how he loved Solo but is bad at expressing himself. Not to mention him dismissing all the horrible treatment as “if he really wanted to keep you two apart he would have been WAY WORSE and you’d never see Gui again.” What? I get that love makes you blind and Jay is clearly drawn to red flags, but as someone who claimed to care about Solo that was unforgivable. Justifying the abuse was just another layer of abuse.
In conclusion: Watch through episode ten and then make your own ending in your mind. It’s cute and fun until then.
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It was fluffy and cute...not that memorable though
I just wanted to write a short review on this. It was a really nice fluffy little bl, but one that you should watch if you're bored and have loads of extra time on hand. I almost dropped it a few times because a lot of scenes were kinda bland, but dedication kept me on it.I liked SoloGui. Solo's dedication to Gui was endearing, and so was Gui's. They were even willing to run away for their relationship. The OST was, idk how to explain it, annoying but rly catchy. I finished watching this weeks ago and I still hum to myself, "You're my oxygeeeeeennn..."
PhuKao were so adorable. The bunny thing had me kinda weirded out, but it was lovely in the end. They were the only couple that didn't have any drama. Their relationship was pure fluff (pun intended.)
Dr. Petch was just a headache. Like I can't tell you how many times I wanted to reach through the screen and smack him. Like he was just SO oblivious to everything. He hurt like, everyone. Perth, Khim, and Khem. Whenever he came on screen I got annoyed. I'd like to know if PerthKhem ended up together, like it was hinted at in the end. The whole PetchKhimPerthKhem storyline was so disappointing.
In case my review is confusing, it's cute and fluffy overall, but some episodes were really boring. The most memorable thing was the OST.
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Instead of praise, I will underline a few of my observations, which did not noticeably affect my evaluation. University environment again. One of the main characters of Solo (played by the twenty-seven-year-old Thai singer and actor Supanut) rides in a lighthouse that is just a dream of the creators themselves. Solo-Gui duo act for a long time as if they were sleepwalking, I understand that it was supposed to be like that and not that it is a flaw in their acting. But I was bothered by the overall tightness. The second duo Kao-Phuri didn't even have a kiss after hours of watching, but only forehead to forehead, there was neither sight nor hearing of any intimacies of students who are already in their twenties. I don't need to see it, but that's what it sounded like overall.
Delší thajský seriál o strastech s láskou mezi mladíky z několika fakult univerzity v Bangkoku je dle mě víceméně povedený, pokud mám na paměti, že se tvůrci drželi knižní, poněkud pohádkové předlohy a že vyjadřuje nekrásnější cit na světě bez ohledu na sexuální orientaci. Proto ode mě hodnocení takové, jaké je.
Místo pochval zde podtrhnu pár mých postřehů, které ale znatelně neovlivnily mé hodnocení. Zase vyskoškolské prostředí. Jedna z hlavních postav Solo (hraje ji dvacetisedmiletý thajský zpěvák a herec Supanut) jezdí ve fáru, které je pouhým snem i tvůrců samotných. Duo Solo-Gui dlouhou dobu hrají, jako kdyby byli náměsíční, chápu, že to tak mělo být a ne, že je to vada jejich herectví. Vadila mi ale celková upjatost. Druhé duo Kao-Phuri si vlastně nedalo po hodinách sledování ani pusinku, ale jen čelíčko na čelíčko, o nějakých intimnostech studentů, kterým už je dávno přes dvacet, nebylo ani vidu, ani slechu. Nepotřebuji to vidět, ale celkově to tak vyznělo.
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C'è amore a fuoco lento e poi c'è la noia
Alla fine ho dovuto arrendermi. Non è perché non ci sono baci bollenti o scene di letto a titillare la mia fantasia. Il fatto è che purtroppo la storia del dottorino indeciso fra maschi e femmine e di tutte le fandonie che racconta mi irrita profondamente. La coppia dell'Orso Yoghi e del coniglietto non mi dice assolutamente nulla. la coppia principale alla fine si vede troppo poco e il suo sviluppo è veramente molto, molto lento. Insomma, ditemi quello che volete, ma una coppia di sani adolescenti che dorme nello stesso letto e a malapena si bacia una volta al mese eh beh insomma non è credibile.Immagino che fra poco interverrà il papà cattivo del ragazzino ricco a cercare di dividere i due piccioncini, ma sinceramente mi sono veramente rotta le scatole perché mi sto annoiando e quando non sono annoiata sono irritata. Non mi interessa più vedere come andrà a finire, tanto so che andrà a finire bene e tutti i santi finiranno in gloria ma l'idea di guardare ancora quattro episodi di questo drama mi è insopportabile, per cui taglio le perdite e parto per altri lidi. Immagino che molti non saranno d'accordo con me, ma me ne farò una ragione.
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Second couple MUCH cuter than main couple
This was an ok watch, and what I mean by that is I did the ol’ skiparoo through episodes 3-13. What chemistry built up through the first couple of episodes with the main couple, was completely lost after that. Like, it was nice to see them get to be together and Gui take his place beside Solo at the end but I wasn’t squealing into my pillow about it. The second couple, LOVED THEM! When I searched for Phu on MDL I almost collapsed when it didn’t say he was 30 but aside from that, he played cold for everyone but ‘him’ incredibly well and it’s one of my favourite tropes. Kao was cute as heck and I’m sure could play most type of roles with his look. He needed big built Phu next to him to be considered feeble, put it that way. I won’t rewatch this show, but I will follow Phu and Boss on insta to keep an eye out for other dramas.Was this review helpful to you?
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So much going on without anything actually happening.
While I wouldn't say this was bad, it really lacked in a lot of ways for me.This was all over the place as far as storyline, as if the writer or director or someone just couldn't decide on what story did they want to tell. Was it a university drama? Was it a countryside drama? Was it a rich boy/poor boy drama? Was it a workplace drama? Was it a winning-over-an-opposing-parent drama? No one knows because this series had ALL of that at some point.
And that's all just withing the main couple. Then there are secondary couples that tackle secret crushes, questioning sexual identity, using someone to get closer to someone else, violence rumors, school bullying and the list goes on and on and on..
Yet, with all of this going on, there seemed to be a serious lack of development between the couples / characters. It played almost more like a sit com where every episode was a standalone thing and there MAY be a hint or undertone of slight progression of relationships. But the constant change of story direction made it hard to get invested in which is unfortunate because they could have had a solid series if they just focused on one thing and did it well.
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