No chemistry
A lot of people have mixed feelings about this BL, to me the only thing this BL had was a attractive cast and a decent side story (Man and Type deserve a spin off) the way the storyline evolved was absurd and made no sense a Straight man pretending with another straight man to be in a fake gay relationship to escape a gay man from hitting on him, why not just date a woman? Or make it abundantly clear that you have no interest in him? If that wasn’t enough the chemistry between Sarawat and Tine or the lack of I should say, was very clear both were distant and showed very little affection for each other, I don’t know if it was the actors that weren’t comfortable with being affectionate or it was supposed to be more PG (as gmmtv usually is) but it was very noticeable something was off.As their story evolved the writers and directors could have and should have fixed the flaws especially in the second season (don’t let me get started on that mess) the only reason it didn’t get 1 star is because the soundtrack was decent and so was the side story, the actors portraying Man and Type had amazing chemistry and I felt a better connection with them then I did with the main cast unfortunately they did not get very much screen time but I looked forward to every scene they were in their storyline was much better then the main storyline (I still think they should have their own show)
Overall: The only way I would rewatch this is as a background show while a sleep, if you’re into more of a bromance kind of story you will enjoy this for the lack of chemistry between the mains, Is a okish BL for first time BL watchers it could either put you on to BLs or heavily put you off of them
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Pales in comparison with other BL dramas
I've seen several BL dramas, so it was rather shocking to hear people claiming "2gether" as the best BL there is. I respectfully disagree.2gether owes much of its success to the fact that it was released during a pandemic, a time when people had no choice but to stay in and look for a distraction, and 2gether perfectly fits the bill --- you watch it to waste time but there really isn't much to expect from it. I'll admit the first five episodes or so got me hooked, but the series just kind of disintegrated from that point. The main weakness of this series is that there really isn't much to tell, so the creators just kept on stretching it until the story became tiresome.
I'll be enumerating below the three main strong and weak points of 2gether:
Weaknesses:
1) ZERO interesting sidecouples
Mike and Gus, who played Man and Green, respectively, were so hilarious and continued breathing some life to the series at times when things fell flat. However, I don't see the point of pairing them up with Type and Dim because they can do well on their own. Their pairings were so uninteresting, especially Dim and Green. Although Toptap and Mike had a lot of funny scenes together, they don't have any chemistry at all. As much as I love the Frank and Drake ship, Mil and Phukong were probably the most uninteresting characters in the series. Drake, who showed so much talent and energy in My Tee, was cast as the cold and bitter Mil, a role that does not suit him at all! Frank on the other hand was not given much time to shine as Phukong here; he was mostly left in the background throughout the series so I cannot comment much on him and his character.
2) Shameless plugs
2gether had so much shameless plugs from its sponsors that scenes were specifically built for them. The other series I've watched managed to circumvent this "problem" in creative ways (i.e. they make the sponsored product a "part" of the story instead of just plugging it in out of nowhere).
3) There's nothing much to tell, really
Tine hired Sarawat to pretend to be his BF to ward off a gay admirer. When it was revealed that Sarawat had genuine feelings for Tine, they entered a relationship and moved in together, but after that, the series had nothing else to show. It could've ended after Tine accepted Sarawat as his BF. Like I've said before, the creators just extended the story as far as they could until it became boring.
Strengths:
1) Metawin
In every series, there is at least one actor or actress who proves himself/herself to be a cut above the rest. In 2gether, that actor was Metawin, who played Tine. The entire series revolved around his character, and Win completely understood that the project would sink if he screws up in his delivery. Despite this being his first series (I think Win is the only actor in 2gether who has zero acting experience), he showed admirable acting chops, and it somewhat saved the entire show from sinking into oblivion. Bright, on the other hand, is a sure eye candy and can deliver excellent fan service along with Win. However, he does not do well on his own; his character Sarawat only becomes interesting when Tine is around, and that pretty much justifies Tine /Win's importance in the whole show.
2) Supporting players: Green, Fong, Man
Like I've said before, Man and Green give so much life to their scenes, they can easily steal the show. Khaotung as always plays the wise, supportive friend. Small parts such as theirs can definitely make a change.
3) Soundtrack
Music plays a big part in 2gether, so having a great soundtrack was a big achievement for the show's creators.
In sum, there are tens of other dramas that are better than 2gether. The series is just so-so. As much as I hate using the word, 2gether is extremely "overrated." People should stop treating it as the holy grail of Thai lakorns.
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This review may contain spoilers
Basically, in an objective way contains the story of Tine and Sarawat, that start a fake relationship to prevent Green's character from forcing a romance in Tine. The beginning of the series is very good, as simple as that. Win and Bright's performance is very good, especially Win. This review has spoilers by the way. A LOT OF SPOILERS!!! English is not my first language.However, even at the beginning we started to see problematic situations. Starting with Green trying to win over Tine at all cost, even though Tine had specific said he didn't feel the same. After that, the asshole ends up becoming Tine himself who tries to drug Green at a party. I was seeing this thinking, “Wait what? Really? Nobody will talk about that? "
I ended up watching it because I was enjoying it, even though these two facts are still in my head throughout the whole series. Then we saw the relationship of the two main ones that grow in a friendship, than into a romance and an ending up in weird friendship that was neither.
The part of the fake dating was by far the best part, as we saw a Sarawat in love and Tine confused and starting to fall in love. And we came back with other unnecessary scenes like Sarawat and his friends trying to get Tine drunk.
The moment the two start dating, everything ends up getting worse. A relationship of the two never feels like a real relationship, but neither does it feel like a friendship, or leave a strange relationship without definition.
The romance scenes that had a good frequency during the fake dating stage, are almost all gone in the real dating stage, the only one I remember is the bus during a trip, the others are basically cliché jealousy tropes, very forced ones.
The lack of kiss and intimacy are also a problem in the series, I'm not asking for a softporn like Why R U? is. However, a total lack of them leads to the problem of sanitization of gay characters who are often portrayed as almost asexual characters. They could have done like Sotus with a basic kiss in the final episode and to avoid the problem.
Another situation was with Pam, or Sarawat's first love. Pam is a typical character who exists only as a plot device. This type of character is always bad independent of the gender, but nevertheless, being girl ends up worsening what was already bad, since in BLs women are horribly represented with few exceptions.
The last two episodes are the worse in the show, also brought with them a lack of characterization of the two main characters. Win, who was normally an easygoing guy, became paranoid and Sarawat who kept declaring that love all the time was quite aloof. The secondary couple formed by Man and Type was very cute, but lacked development. The couple formed by Mil and Sarawat's brother (who appears so little I didn’t remember his name) was quite forgettable. And I really wanted a show with Green and Dim.
Let's go to what I liked about the series:
- The beginning (despite the problems mentioned at beginning).
- The fake relationship.
- Sarawat obsession with Tine’s boobs.
- The acting.
- Secondary couples (with the exception of Mil and Sarawat's brother).
- The ost. (Best OST ever !!!!)
Well that's it, thanks for reading, bye!
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Anyhow, a very sweet teen bl drama. My only complaint is that as the series progresses, the two leads aren’t kissing at all. The kissing would show that they are truly in love. They mostly talk for most of the episodes and a few hugs. Will be interesting to see if they share any kiss as the series comes to an end.
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This review may contain spoilers
"WE'RE IN LOVE!" *high fives*
This is a very popular series, and for honestly, good reasons. I get it, Both Bright and Win are very attractive men. Their looks alone had to rack up at least half of the views they got because, in my opinion, this show doesn't scream, "best series out of all BLs" to me.I was actually quite shocked that this was the BL that everyone kept raving about. After finishing it, I still couldn't understand what the hype was. I don't want to come off as rude or a "typical hater" because I genuinely liked 2gether. It was funny, it was lighthearted; it was an honest fun watch. This was one of those series in which you watched for pleasure and simply just that, nothing more and nothing less. The only argument I make to people is that if this was their favorite series, then they haven't seen literally anything else. I wouldn't blame someone for having this at number 4 on their top 10 list, but if it's number one, then you have NOT seen any other BL ever. While this is a fun and happy-go-lucky series, it still doesn't compare to some of the other series that deserved just as many views, and fans, and love.
Ahh yes, have the feminine gay guy go chasing after the "straight" dude on campus. The use of BLs making feminine gay guys the punch of the joke or the perverted, annoying freak is getting annoying. At least by the end, Green is given a partner, but still, it was just aggravating to watch Green act like a fool over Tine. I'm not much of a fan of fake dating, but quite honestly I liked it a lot better when Sarawat and Tine were fake dating rather than actually dating. In some parts, especially when they were dating, it felt stiff and off. I heard people call them the "straightest gay couple ever" and while I wouldn't go that far, I will say that their chemistry felt very "bros" sometimes. But, they were also some really cute moments between them that felt right. I think it took Bright and Win a minute to get close to one another, and it becomes apparent when you see the shift in confidence with the choices they make. While I don't really believe in the whole, "I loved you this entire time" bull, it was still cute, and I enjoyed watching them on screen.
By far, Man and Type were the best thing about this series. While I won't applaud the stalkerish behavior of Man, I really did love his humor and how comedic he was. The search for Type was cute (until it became a bit much), but for the most part, it was fun and a happy ending. Also, Toptap is the cutest human being ever and Mike is one of the funniest BL actors I've ever watched. I much rather preferred Frank and Drake's character's in My Tee than in here. Mii was a straight-up player and a bad guy. I just wanted Phukong to move on to someone else so many times. Also, we didn't get to see enough of them for me to even really like them. Most of what we saw of them was Mii breaking Phukong's heart. Gunsmile added a literal cherry on top. He was perfect, and I loved him so much. We got to see AJ and Khaotung again, and what looked like a hint of something going on between them. Not anything too spectacular or noticeable, but I still enjoyed them either way.
As I said, 2gether is a cute series and I would definitely recommend it to any first-time watchers. Like I've also already stated, you haven't seen any amazing BLs yet if this one is still your number one pick. I recommend I Told Sunset About You, A Tale of A Thousand Stars, or Gameboys. Those were just a few mentions, but there are plenty that were beautiful and depict real gay relationships with earnestness and love.
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This review may contain spoilers
GMMTV did a great job with marketing 2gether. I was hooked since they dropped the first trailer. I was always excited for Fridays. At least the first 8 weeks or something.Story
And the first few episodes did not disappoint me: I really liked the characters and thought that they were likable.
But when the fake dating ended -as mentioned by other users- the real relationship seemed less real than the fake one. It has nothing to do with that they did not kiss or had a sex scene. This is definitely due to the lack of character development, filling the plot with unnecessary drama and then rushing everything in the end. There was no spark between Tine and Sarawat. It just felt weird, because they did not act like a couple, they acted like best friends (that high five).
They really didn't fix anything between them during that concert scene and then they gave us a music club scene instead of them talking alone in the apartment or whatever. It just felt so weird.
Characters
For me it seemed like Tine always stayed the same, it maybe actually seemed like his insecurities got worse. Sarawat turned from being a funny, interesting, likable character into an asshole. The last two episodes he was so out of character. I still can't understand how that happened.
I really liked Man and Type and I wish they would've taken more time to develop them. They really saved the last episode for me.
I don't want to talk about the mess that is Mil and Phukong. What even is that? Phukong deserves better.
If you can't handle your main couple, don't start developing another one.
Production
I don't know who planned this whole thing, but it was definitely a mistake to film the concert scenes so early. Im quite sure that they filmed the Scrubb scenes in one day or maybe two. That's why the chemistry feels so off in the final episode because Bright and Win probably weren't that comfortable around each other yet.
Also what is up with Bright's hair? Like who approved that? It changes from scene to scene. GMMTV should work on their production coordination. I know that it is not easy, but these are mistakes that can easily be fixed by more accurate planning and not trimming your actor's hair midway or stopping to trim it after starting filming.
Editing & Music
The Editing sometimes was sloppy and I felt like I missed something when I didn't. Also what is up with them using the clip-on-microphone sound, when the actors are grabbing their shirt (Tine crying in Ep 12) or are laying on a sofa? The boom operator is there for a reason. The sound-design is disappointing in most Thai-dramas, so I won't complain too much.
I really liked the original songs and listen to them occasionally, but the "score" just sounded like library music.
Overall
I think I will rewatch it when I'm bored and I would still recommend it if you're searching for something cute, where you don't have to think so much.
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This review may contain spoilers
I was promised the "fake relationship" trope, but I just got "jealousy" as the main plot device.
Let's talk about the first half of the series:Sarawat is supposed to act as Tine's fake boyfriend, which btw is dropped in favour of "flirting" ("wooing" would be a better translation) -- but where are the sweet gestures of love?
Until the second half of episode six, Sarawat only looks either bored or annoyed. He never looks as if he's interested in Tine, faked or not. If I were Green I wouldn't buy it either.
I only knew he would be the main love interest because the synopsis told me so. Where are the feelings? Where's the pining? Sarawat's side of the story is only told in episode 10 or 11, which is too little, too late.
Tine, the self-proclaimed "Mr Chic-Chic" is (almost aggressively) heterosexual -- his only interests are girls and songs from one band. Even when he tried to dissuade Green from pursuing him, he starts to flirt with girls in front of him and Sarawat. If he's so certain of his sexuality, there should have been more of a struggle or at least emotional imbalance until he accepts his own feelings toward Sarawat.
I had hoped the "gay for you" trope had died a silent death some twenty years ago but it seems it's still alive and kicking.
Also: Even though he's supposed to be a good cheerleader, we only see him standing around in one pose (and even that plot point is dropped in the latter half otf the series).
Jealousy is not only the main catalyst for Tine to discover his own feelings, but also the main plot device for conflict in the following episodes, which gets old very fast.
Even when Sarawat and Tine are "together", the only strong emotion they show towards each other is jealousy. No besotted smiles, no casual touches, no hugs, nothing. Where's the giddiness of new love?
They touch each other less then they touch their friends. I'm not talking about anything above a PG level of intimacy, several other BL dramas I love have only one kiss or not even that.
Tine's continued denial of Sarawat's advances make it seem as if he's not actually in love -- except if it's supposed romantic but asexual. (Which would actually be a novel and exciting concept for a romance drama, if done right!) But as the series has established Tine as somone strongly interested in (het) relationships, that can't be it.
I feel that conflicts during the series were never satisfyingly resolved, but just ended with some kind of deus ex machina device. Best examples: How Green stopped pursuing Tine; and the question if Tine's brother would accept their relationship.
Another thing that made me really frustrated with this drama is that boundaries are often disregarded. It starts with Green who gets told repeatedly his advances are not welcome -- and continues anyways. It goes on with Tine, who doesn't stop bothering Sawrawat (doesn't matter if Sarawat actually likes it or not -- what counts is what Tine knows, and Sarawat clearly tells him to go away). It doesn't stop with the side couples -- neither Sarawat's brother nor Man stop their pursuit, even after being told to leave. I can't enjoy a relationship if it feels as if one pertner just gave in to harrassment.
I'm not sure if it's just the plot or also the acting, but directing has definitely a large part in why I could not get into the series. I disliked all of the characters, there was never a moment when I rooted for any of the couples to get together. Small changes in how lovers-to-be interacted with each other would have made it a bit better, at least.
There are other points, I would have liked to talk about the female characters for example or to wonder how they manage to establish top/bottom-dynamics in all four couples without even a bit of handholding, but this review is already long enough.
All in all, I had to stop and do something else every few minutes, since the plot and the acting had me so frustrated. I just finished it because I knew I'd never pick it up again if I stopped. I'm glad it's over.
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This review may contain spoilers
2gether is a great bromance disguised as drama bl, and the lack of a kiss factor is his least problem, to the point that people prefer the couple while they were fake boyfriends than when they were really boyfriends (or aspired to it). It is clear that the direction got lost and started to pose beastly conflicts, like a girl appearing in the last episodes to render some content unnecessarily.The soundtrack is an extremely positive point here, since the story took place inside a music club, so in many moments it was extremely important to guarantee the best scenes.
I really did not understand the sencudarios couples, if you are not going to make a conclusion to them just leave them out.
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It was fine
This drama, although a fun premise, does fall flat in some areas. My strongest complaint is that Tine and Wat's relationship plateaus very quickly and doesn't evolve much when it really did have more room to grow. I think a problem here was a lack of chemistry between the two actors and this couple felt more like friends or siblings than boyfriends. This was still a fun drama and was very funny. I enjoyed watching it despite the lack luster romance.The side characters are also enjoyable, but I didn't find myself rooting for any of the side ships. Some of the best interactions in this drama were between friends than romantic couples. Something I didn't really have a problem with was the thrown in romantic rivals. I think it's fair that there would be other love interests, but throwing in a romantic rival with two or three more episodes to go was poorly planned. It felt like all the romantic rivals that were female just kind of disappeared with no real conclusions from them.
In the end, its a fun watch but I wouldn't recommend it as a great BL series.
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This review may contain spoilers
I have a lot of feelings about this drama. The first 6 episodes were solid. I felt engaged with the story and characters. I went from not liking Sarawat the first few episodes to him being my favorite character. But after episode 6 it just went down hill from there. I’d say episodes 7-10 were okay-ish. I was still pretty interested in where the characters were going and seeing the relationship progress, but I could start to see some major issues with character progression and stableness. There were so many out of character moments! Tine would go from trusting Sarawat to going through his phone. Sarawat would go from the loving caring boyfriend, who’s not afraid to tell people Tine is his boyfriend, to dummy that doesn’t understand how Tine feels and acts clueless even though he previously was observant. And episodes 11-12 were pretty bad. That whole “plot line” with Pam that just came out of nowhere was ridiculous and unnecessary. And than she was basically the one that patched things up between Tine and Sarawat after they broke up for 30 minutes.Another huge issue I had was the relationship affection. There’s two surprise kisses that look like they smashed their faces together. And to be fair, it was a surprise to Tine both times so he didn’t really kiss back. But when there’s NO OTHER KISSES IN THE REST OF THE SHOW AND THEY’RE BOYFRIENDS it gets me quite frustrated. There were SO MANY TIMES when I was watching where I would be like “oh they’re gonna kiss” and it would never happen. I constantly would see moments and wonder “why aren’t they holding hands, or cuddling, or acting like a couple at all” it really started getting to me. They acted more like a couple when they weren’t actually together! But I thought I would get a good payoff in the end, but unfortunately that ending was... not very good. Just filled with unnecessary drama, and this is coming from someone who loves plenty of drama.
Music was pretty good. I found myself noticing it and liking it. I really like the fake dating idea but again it didn’t pay off. Acting was meh, chemistry between Tine and Sarawat could have been better and Bright’s acting especially towards the end felt stiff.
In conclusion, I do not recommend this. I personally think that even if a show starts off good, if the end of it is bad it’s not worth it. Started off strong and ended very weak.
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This review may contain spoilers
There was no chemistry and they didn't look like a couple
There is nothing much to say that hasn’t been previously said. In general, the plot idea is good, but I think it wasn’t well developed, the couple had little to no chemistry, they didn’t give off the vibe of being in love, their interaction was awkward, they looked more like friends than anything else. isn’t it weird for a couple to not like holding hands or showing affection to each other? I am not talking about physical affection but with looks, smiles and words, caring when the other is in a problem, accompanying them when they are not feeling good, I think even that friends are more comfortable and care more for each another than these two guys had.When I saw this series, I was a little bit infatuated with Bright so I started watching more videos about him and he has the same personality as Sarawat, I don’t know if it is coincidence that the actor and the character have the same personality but I made think that the acting wasn’t so good, so I rewatched some chapters and I started noticing the lacking in the acting, as for Bright he has always the same expressions, is rare when he doesn’t. I’m not critiquing him because when I first saw it I hadn’t noticed anything, I just want to show that we aren’t always paying attention to everything when a pretty face is distracting us.
*spoiler
Now, talking about the things in the series that I didn’t like other that the main couple, I think it was a bit too much to make everyone gay, the focused on introducing other relationships but didn’t really deepen any of them or making you ship them, we just know that everyone brothers are gays and that they were in some kind of relationship.
I also don’t like how green’s character was handled just because of being feminine, like he was the comic relief, but I don’t he should have been. I don’t get why the cast heterosexual actors to portray gay characters and it is worse when they are all awkward with each other.
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Fun start, disappointing ending
I'll keep it real short and direct as I'm lazy to write a long review right now. And my brain is kinda exhausted.First episode got me really hooked, the next few episodes were entertaining. However, at some point, it got bland, meh, don't know really. The acting? It was good, I guess, as I'm not an expert to criticizing that area. Although, from the beginning I was really wondering if Sarawat's character was really supposed to be, y'know, a bit bored with everything, or it's just Bright's acting.
Overall, it's not that terrible but nowhere near great either. Good to watch if you're just looking for something to pass the time. Not really something on my re-watch list.
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