2gether (2020)

There's always room for improvement

I just recently finished 2gether: The Series. I began this not knowing I was diving head first into a rabbit hole that I would never get out of. It's my first ever BL series and I can confidently say that I love it. I love it to the core despite it's lacking qualities. Despite the lack of intimacy between the two main characters, the cringey lines, the somewhat lacking plot, I love it.

I want to begin by saying that I love the casting for this series. Although I can see that it took some time for Bright and Win to fully get comfortable with their characters, I think they all did a very good job portraying the characters. Especially, Gun and Gunsmile as Green and Boss. I love those two to the core. They had me rolling on the floor from laughter and cooing at their cuteness and sometimes cluelessness as well. The touch of comedy that each character brings to the show is just chef's kiss.

If anyone reading this review has watched the Untamed, then you would probably know how explosive the chemistry between Wang Yibo (Lan Zhan) and Xiao Zhan (Wei Wuxian) was. The drama was not explicitly named BL but the original version is a BL story and through the stories and scenes, they were able to keep traces of romance between the two male characters despite there being no kiss scene, no hug scene, nothing. Just words and longing gazes full of emotions. Bright and Win's chemistry was not as explosive as Yibo's and Xiao Zhan's but it was there. It was present between them. It just took some warming up to each other for it to really come out.

I have seen a lot of people commenting all over the place, expressing their disappointment about the lack of intimate scenes between the two main leads. Yes, I have to agree that I am disappointed by that as well but not to the point where I would hate the show for it. The longing gazes, cheesy lines (mostly courtesy of Khun Sarawat), and chaste cheek kisses that had a whole swarm of butterflies flying around in my stomach, made up for most of it. I love kissing scenes but I am also a sucker for subtle affection. Bright never fail to make me squirm with those sharp gazes of his that seem to see right through my soul accompanied with the many sweet lines. ("Marry me?" had been screaming until my throat was sore and I could go on and on about the boob grabbing line. Why is it always always the introverts that are the perverts, someone explain to me. Although I do have to applaud Sarawat for the dedication he has in squeezing Tine's boobs. I can't blame him.) I also love the recurring lines and moments that come up like, yes, boobs, "marry me?", "keeping looking at me like that...and I'll kiss you till you drop" (I'm still waiting, Wat.)

Finally, the cliché jealousy that inevitably led to a breakup. God, we started out so strong. Tossing Pam into the mess that was the last few episodes was just not a good idea. The part where Wat left for practice when Tine told him he felt unwell made me want to smack him but he redeemed himself by ditching rehearsal and we got a cute hug scene initiated by Tine so we're all good now. And Khun Sarawat, what the hell were you thinking letting Tine run off crying like that? How hard is it just to tell a girl outright that you have a partner? A gorgeous, dedicated, loving partner? How hard is it to let those few words pass through your lips? Few words that would've solved everything in a snap of a finger? Their making up after the fight was rather rushed but still sweet. I would've loved it if Sarawat explained himself and the two took things more slowly. And the ending. Oh god, the ending had me crying. The story started out so strong and you gave me that as an ending? Where's my "kiss till you drop" scene?

The soundtracks are amazing. They just bring out even more feeling to the show especially Bright's It's All In My Head All This Time? I love that song. I also learned to love Scrubb. Every time their song comes on, Wat and Tine always comes to my mind.

Despite everything, I just love this series to the core. I've rewatched it so many times already I lost count. It never fails to make me laugh. Never fails to bring butterflies to my stomach. I love it. Yes, I would've loved it if they had left Pam out of the series (I would like to slap her first then you can let her go), a few more kiss scenes, and a bit more firmer chemistry but overall, I love it.

This review has turned into an essay and I would like to applaud anyone who came all the way to the bottom. I hope you're not frowning in confusion. This review looks like a mess. Anyway, this review is not meant to waver anyone's decision to watch this series. I personally loved it, I recommend you give it a try as well.

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Its so bad that its kinda good

2gether is an interesting show and i feel like it targets a very specific audience. Overall the story is good and the actors are somewhat good at portraying their characters. Brights range of emotion varies from "I don't care" to "I care but you cant tell because the only change was me slightly raising my eyebrows or smirking" the music was good but if your looking for quality music sung by people from the cast i recommend 2gether the movie since at the end there is a song i love alot. Overall i'm gonna rate this like a 7.5 or 8 just because it lacks in so much and the actors sometimes just dont do their job that well. Music is the saving grace of this show. if your big on music you should deff watch.

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Romance or Bromance? That is the question!

Where do I even begin?
The start of the drama was really strong, with Tine and Sarawat's interactions being the highlight of every episode. The premise of the story (faking dating trope) from the plot synopsis sounded so interesting and I found myself getting excited to see how the relationship between Tine and Sarawat would develop overtime however, like many other people, I found that the execution fell horribly flat.

Now I don't know about you guys but I have read and watched countless stuff involving the fake-dating trope and I would have to say that 2gether incorporated the trope in their show in the worst way. A huge part of the fake-dating trope is the actual fake-DATING but they didn't even seem like they were even trying with the dating part. The only times they would pretend to be a couple (which they didn't even try to make believable) was when Green would appear which were only like 4 times. I don't even know how Green fell for it at all.
There were cute moments here and there but overall, I found myself questioning what direction the show is taking with the couple. It seemed like the show were just half-arsing everything and weren't actually putting any effort in the relationship especially from Tine's side of things. In the first half of the show, Sarawat seemed to be putting all the effort with all the flirting and banter which I'm not even going to deny, was the only thing keeping me watching the show. Overall, the first half of the show was solid, a little lackluster in certain areas, but that is why I was getting so excited for the second half because that would be when Tine and Sarawat become an established couple..........oh how naïve I was!

The second half of the show was so disappointing. Although before I go deep into the criticisms, I should say that there some scenes that I really did enjoy watching. The scene where Sarawat and Tine are in that abandoned bus, waiting for the rain to stop and Sarawat shows him the video of his past self singing a song he wrote about Tine from their first Scrubb concert. I thought that scene was so cute and it was one of the only times where I thought to myself "wow, them liking eachother actually seems believable here".
My fave moments (the scenes that actually made me believe that Tine and Sarawat were in a relationship:
(In no particular order)
1. The bus scene I just mentioned above
2. The 2 scenes where they are sleeping on the coach together (1. when Tine refuses to sleep in the bed with Sarawat so Sarawat joins him on the coach and 2. when Type is sleeping over and Tine joins Sarawat over at the coach so they can sleep together)
3. After they moved in together and Sarawat pulled Tine in from his waist (a small moment but sweet moment)
This show lacked so many small moments like the one I mentioned in bullet point three above and its usually the small moments between couples that honestly MAKE the romance. And yes the big moments like singing to your boyfriend or saying I like you are great but the small moments like shy smiles, physical touches, stolen glances, holding hands or soft embraces (just intimate moments that make you think that the only people that exist in this world are you two) are things that were either missing or so rare to see in this show. The most that this couple did to show affection was patting on the head -_-

Now onto the second half criticisms! Like many others have stated in their own reviews, the second half of the show literally seemed to give up on the couple and where in the first half I stated that the highlight of the show was Sarawat's flirty banter, even that was compromised in the second half. There were moments in the second half where I thought to myself "that character would've never reacted that way/ done that thing". It was kinda shocking how different the first and second half of the show felt but what was more shocking was when I remembered that the show was supposed to be a BL drama. I honestly wouldn't have minded all the flaws with show if the one thing that was great was Tine and Sarawat's relationship, but that was not the case unfortunately.
In the title of the review, I named it 'Romance or Bromance? That is the question!' and for good reason. Sarawat and Tine from the very beginning felt so off for some reason but in the beginning of the show I gave the show the benefit of the doubt, hoping for better relationship development as the show went on. As I stated earlier on in the review, I was quite naïve. As the episodes went on I was trying to figure out what could be the cause of this: was it the writing, the chemistry between Sarawat and Tine, the direction of the show? but I think it could have been a mix of all of these things. I don't know what direction the actors were told to go with for their characters but whatever it was ruined the romance of the show (which is 100% the reason for people watching the show at all). I felt like the characters were more like close friends than an actual couple and a lot of the time we were being told by both the main and supporting characters that Tine and Sarawat liked each other but we weren't shown that at all. The writing of the show was so weak in the romance aspect which makes no sense because this is literally a BL drama!

The show relied heavily on showing that the couple liked each other by using the jealousy trope constantly. Now don't get me wrong, I like when shows use jealousy because it can be fun....but to use it as the only thing showing the viewers that the couple care for each other than theres a problem here. There are so many ways this could've been done, like having the couple go on dates or just anything else (As I'm writing this I'm questioning whether they even held hands at all!). From the completely unnecessary Mil liking Tine plot line that made literal ZERO sense, I was thinking that the jealousy plot line has been overdone and the show would stop but oh my did they milk this trope even worse than they did before in the last 2 episodes of the season.
In the last 2 episodes of the show, the writers decided to throw in the "ex-girlfriend wants to get back together" trope. Now I like angst in relationships when it makes sense and isn't just thrown in as a last minute thought but this?? was not it. The whole thing stemmed from misunderstanding and had to be resolved by the ex-girlfriend (technically never dated Sarawat but still) telling Tine that Sarawat only likes him not her.
The finale of the show was the worst part of the entire show which makes me really upset because this show had so much potential to be so much more than it turned out to be.
I will be watching 'Still 2gether' though because I've seen people say that it seemed like writers took into consideration all the criticisms fans had with this season and fixed a lot of it in Still 2gether.

Would I rewatch this season? probably not but I would rewatch the clips that I did really like.

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superestimado

assisti 2gether a quase um ano então não vou me aprofundar em muitas questões secundárias pois não me lembro direito.

vou falar sobre o que mais me incomodou e que vejo poucas pessoas falarem .

- desde que eu comecei a assistir bl sempre vi muita gente hypando esse em questão, e sinceramente sempre tive um interesse enorme pra assistir e fui com muitas expectativas.
logo quando comecei a ver tinha achado até que legal, o plot era interessante e os personagens ate tinham uma "química" mas com o passar dps episódios (especificamente depois que eles começam a namorar) sinto que isso se perde muito !
além dessa falta de química, eles não pareciam realmente namorar, pareciam mais como irmãos ou amigos, senti falta de interações de casais mesmo, e não me refiro a beijo ou outras coisas e sim a simples ações como: abraços, eles fazendo algo juntos, saindo pra encontros ou ate tendo uma conversa mais profunda, se consolando, enfim, coisas normais que casais fazem.
queria entender o motivo dessa falta de afeto, já vi dizerem que o intuito era ser um bl mais leve mas sinceramente tem muitos outros que são extremamente leves e fofinhos que dão de mil a zero nesse mesmo tendo muito menos reconhecimento.
também já vi dizerem ser por conta da cultura mas isso já não faz mais sentido nos dias atuais, com a quantidade de bl's que se desafiam muito mais do que esse fez.


sinto que se não fosse por essas questões poderia ser um bl consideravelmente bom !

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Beauty in Simplicity

Let me start by saying that there is nothing extra-ordinarily great about this series. The story is simple with 2 students fake dating each other which turns into true love over a period of time. What I in fact enjoyed the most was the acting of the 2 leads. Their chemistry was top notch and you could feel the love between them.

The story progresses slowly which is a plus in my book as we get enough time to see how the feelings are developing, a bit of their back stories, their passions and their faults. The story is well paced, except for the mandatory 3rd act breakup that comes and goes too soon in my opinion and just seems rushed. Do not show angst for the sake of showing one.

Yet again as with many other Thai BLs I found myself rooting for the supporing characters more than the main leads. The friends of each of the leads also performed exceptionally well and their individual love stories although started mid-series but had a satisfactory conclusion.

Since both the leads are in the music group there are bound to be songs and it did not disappoint. Not something I would listen to daily but did not turn me away from the scenes.

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I really do love this series!

I just finished this series! I really did love it! It was so fun and sweet! I love Wat and Tines relationship soo much! I was hooked I couldn't stop watching! I dunno why your reviews are so low... the show is great! Yes the ending was not great or what I wanted but other than that It was such a good show. <3 I am currently watching Still 2gether I am so glad they made it as it was needed! :) I didn’t love all the characters.. but its okay as the others are great! I would watch any other series where they would give us more of satawat and Tine! I love them together!
I will gladly watch 2gether again! <3

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It's pretty cute, to be honest

I review it based on how I enjoy it, I'm not really professional after all. And this is my first time so please be kind with me.

So, I decided to watch this series because I saw a LOT of people proudly attached "BrightWin" on their twitter bios. I'm curious about what charm do they have that makes people so love them. So I guess "why not?" and watched them.

Things I like from this drama:
- Sarawat & Tine's chemistry at the first half of the drama, or before they were officially boyfriends. It could be a biased thought since I love enemies to lovers and some variation of that. But the disagreement? The slight resentment? The denials? Tine's determination to make Sarawat agreed to his offer? I like them! This is the part I enjoy the most.
- How they incorporated music into the story. I love story that has close ties with music so it's a good point for me!
- How they didn't just make Sarawat accepts Tine's proposal to be his fake boyfriend. It makes the story pretty dynamic (?) since I get to know how Tine's personality more. And see how Sarawat slowly changed during the course.

Things I don't really like:
- The chemistry after they became boyfriends. Another reviewer had pointed this out, but I also expect more intimate skinship after they became official. Hugs and holding hands would be kind of nice, instead of just patting head (which in some scenes were a bit awkward).
- When Pam came. I don't hate her. But the "Guess what? His first love came!" kinda trope (especially the execution in this drama) is not for me. And it made me wonder if they just thrown that into the drama to fill in the quota of 13 episodes, or that they want to show us that in the end Sarawat and Tine would be back together because they love each other so much. I'm not a fan of these episodes, that's for sure.

Overall, I enjoy this drama. But then, it's not really for me. Probably their targeted market is not someone like me, probably a younger audience, cause I could see my high school self liking this drama. So 8/10 for the fun scenes, the disagreed strangers to lovers, and Sarawat making music for his boyfriend! <3

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HAD SO MUCH POTENTIAL!!!!

Alrighty guys let me get it started, first the show started off good, the story was good, the connection was good and the chemistry was there, the acting was good, but after a few episodes in everything started going down hill. When they started dating the chemistry was lost like no tomorrow, it literally felt like they were friends, they had more chemistry when they were friends than when they were together. They were literally living together, and we did not even get to see a proper kiss or any chemistry at all. The only times they tried being "spicy", they wouldn't even show it, we were being teased. Lowkey a lot of the story was all over the place, and they kept extending it by adding unnecessary scenes, AND the side couples had more chemistry than the main couple, which says a lot, and also some of the couples formed way too fast and also out of nowhere, like Mil and Phukong, Mil kept saying how he likes him as a a brother and then at the end they're acting all lovey-dovey like what the heck??? Overall this show was not worth it, it was a hard watch, it had so much potential, but it was executed so badly, I'm honestly contemplating watching the 2nd season, but I heard it has better scenes so I'm gonna give it a try, but if you ask me, its not worth even starting this series, so unless you're into very vanilla BL with barely any chemistry then this is for you, otherwise don't recommend watching.

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Such a waste

2 BEAUTIFUL main actors (and I do mean absolutely stunning), a great storyline (even if I don't appreciate the character of green being so pushy...how many times does he need to be told NO to understand? but I get the fact that it serves the plot),
yet this series is so so soooo dull. I nearly managed to finish the first series. not sure I`m going to watch the sequels.

For the story itself: not charter development (maybe Tine understanding of his love for Sarawat can be considered somewhat of a growth).
Actually, there's a regression in Sarawat character. It is clearly told throughout the story he never had a girlfriend, his family is very much aware of it so there's no doubt about him yet at the very end they just HAD to bring a girl out of nowhere and make a stupid fake scene of first love. It makes no sense whatsoever.
The actors have some chemistry but for the series being a BL shot in 2020 it feels very childish, some of the scenes look forced... they're supposed to be adults, and they talk about contraceptive but the only 1 kissing scene look like a kiss you give to your parent when you're a 5 year old.

Secondary "couple" is ok...started sweet and then just faded.
the main antagonist (Mil) is probably one of the least attractive actors I have ever seen in my entire life... but obviously, it's a personal opinion.

Friends are cute, they give some story background but that's it.

So to sum things up, such a waste....absolutely waste.

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a show that made me bawl my eyes out like a baby

Watching this show and many other BL shows really has made my heart swell in one corner but at the same time its broken my heart because I wish that boys were like Sarawat... When I first heard about this show, I didn't know that Bright was in it, I just assumed it was a random BL show that everyone was talking about and before I didn't know Bright or Win because I wasn't watching BL as much but 2gether is a beautiful comedy romance which I was forever cherish in my heart because it helped me laugh, cry and sometimes even forget.
I just hope that all of us out there find the person we are destined to be with

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second rewatching made me smile & yell at the screen

You're going to watch it anyway. Nothing i saw will stop that...we can all agree the casting of supermodels works for any series.
But, my review is going to focus on the key things future BL producers can learn from. And key things future BL producers can avoid from someone who watched it twice.

The reason this gets nine out of ten starts with some of the obvious key things future BL producers can learn from this BL;
casting will get you to the table, having the two main leads almost smash or get romantic in the first episode will keep you coming back to follow the progress.

The NINE of Ten is when a show TELLS me in ALL CAPS that love is in the air and we will see the flow of it and smile each time they get closer to it. We root and we yell at the screen when small obstacles are put in the way. That is why this is a NINE here.

That is a delicate dance that most BL producers don't get, which starts off - future thing BL producers can avoid. We don't need car crashes, or a rush to the hospital scenes, or an ex-girlfriend a new character showing up to mess up the romance. The day-to-day figuring out how two people make space for a new love, open their hearts to love and the daily scenes of two people enjoying learning about each other is enough.

Leave the drama for your momma...love and dating and creating intimacy between two characters has a whole list of complications. Here we get some of that with a few doses of humor. We can always have more intimacy here and and future BLs. But I digress.

In summary,
* the story is totally unrealistic,
* the script is taped together from swisscheese,
* the chemistry between the couples is inconsistent.
* One of the main leads is just dumb and will make you yell at the screen. The dumb lead character has what I call "unnecessary drama" meltdowns that could be solved with clear communication instead of storming off into the night.

The beginning and ending are good enough to make you smile, the humor between the couples sets the right tone but it lacks intimacy.

But, hey I watched it twice...

and it is still a nine out of ten.

GO watch for yourself

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