A cute fantasy meets mystery meets drama wrapped in a BL with a sense of realism.
Ironic right? How a fantasy can have a degree of realism. I just have one thing to say, you need to watch for you to understand. * wink*
First of all, I would like to put it out here that this is a real lakorn. An hour and a half per episode. with 16 episodes! Slow-paced focusing in each character's emotion and facial expressoin. That's already a day if you have plans to binge watch this. But don't get turn off by that, for someone who has a short attention span like me, the very first episode doesn't feel that it is that long. But I have to admit, there is twice while I was watching it that I have to check how many minutes left in the episode. You know what? It is just too good to drop in the middle and pick it up on a different day. The very first episode is where you get the settings, the characters, and a feel where the story already with depth. This kind of approach is kinda rare for a Thai BL as it slowly builds up either the character or the story. This one, it is already served in one plate. Expect the succeeding episodes, the drama side weighs more than the sweeet, tender, cute moment as the myrtery, or mysteries, builds up more.
If you have the chance to watch the OG "Love of Siam", the same formula was used here. BL story endtangled with a family drama. This as a lakorn, a lot of family drama that is somehow seamlessly integrated with the BL side. And just you thought that everything starts and ends with the family drama, corporate greed is also on a head-on collision against the family and the BL story is smacked in the middle.
But WAIT! Just when you think that everything is going well, a splash of reality will be a rude awakening. This is very rare for BL-themed series as almost all are detached from reality. Don't get me wrong about that, it is good to have a feel good series to watch, but this series also shows how Thailand gone far when it comes to the LGBTQIA+ community being shunned, to telorated, and now accepted.
In the preview, it was shown that the Teddy Bear becomes a human, no spoiler about that, or what is written inthe synopsis. Right of the bat your question will be "WHY?". Before getting the answer to that, you will be entangled with a mystery upon another mystery. The first one is Nut's past, and the next is his mother. Being a blood-related, it is not hard to assume that it is all one the same, but could it be that they are independent and shared a part not intertwined?
The next next of mystery is that of Tofu's face and what is the history of the owner with the main lead. How is this connected to the "WHY?" of the miracle? Also, why Tofu's personality resemble someone in Nut's past, the protective, caring one. Or is it something more than resemblance?
If you are keen enough, you will notice that when a person suffers from emotion-pyschological trauma, it induces: anger, mental breakdown that needs medical attention, and revenge by pulling others down. Those 3 results are manifested each of the characters here.
A BL like no other when it comes into complexities of a story, or should I say stories that seemingly independent at first but later you will realize that those are indeed inter-dependent. Started with one family, then branches out to the next, and the third. Three family unit, well you can make it four if you are going to bring in Nut's friend however it is just for a support to one of the families involved, the drama between the three will be heart of the story. Smack right in the middle is Peeranut or Nut.
And this is riddled with mental health issues.
FOR THE ACTING, Tofu the actor behind is In Pintar. His character is pretty simple and straightforward, like a child getting to know the bigger world. Naive, innocent and these two attributes was well delivered by In.
The more complex character is Nut, played by JobThuchapon, he has layers upon layers that you need to peel as the series progress. Do not take his entire character if you just watch several of his scenes. He is more than those. And his temper plus other issue, try to walk in his shoes and if it hurts then you know what Peeranut is going through.
Na, mother of Nut, which role is given to Um Apasiri is the perfect mother image. If you will discount her role in "Bad Benius" becuase that is turn around to what you are used to watching her.
If you are watching BL for so long a common face is Song, played by Tee Thanapon that played Beam in the very first 2 Moon. And I must say, his acting had improve in so manly levels and areas.
To be honest, I know nothing about First Parada so I do not have is character Gen to compare with. However, the character is a great support for Gen that spank the lead into reality when needed.
Also as supports are the more adult actors like Jome that appeared in "Happy Birthday", "Lovely Writer" & recently "Something in My Room" & Kradum as Type's father in "TharnType", definitely proven in the industry you can be assured that they will play their respective roles wonderfully.
THE SONG, is perhaps like any other songs in a BL series. It is flexible enough for you to feel pain if the scene is heartbreaking, and giddy if the moment is sweet, cute and fluffy.
This series will surprise you on how good this is from production to acting to story. Unfortunately this is aired in Channel 3 which is a mainstream media of Thailand and on Netflix, if your account is geo-locked in Asia or South East Asia.
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Absolute Masterpiece
This is not really a BL. The secondary couple is more "typically" BL, but they serve as a contrast to the main story - more on that below.This is a very complex and layered story - it's not so convoluted that it's incomprehensible, but it will help a viewer to go into it understanding that how people act is not as simple as it first appears. The two leads are not hard to look at, and neither are most of the secondary characters. There is humor in this story, but it's not a comedy and it's certainly not fluff. Keep in mind that it's very consciously framed as a fairy tale - and fairy tales always have a positive message to give, but they also contain a lot of darkness.
As you've probably noticed, the reaction to this is either a "10" or a "1". I feel like it's impossible for this to be a 1, just based on the acting and quality of the production - but I think many people don't understand what they're watching, or were expecting a BL, in which case maybe I can understand, because this contains none of the standard BL formulas. If you're looking for something cute and fluffy, I would recommend against watching this. But it does have one of the most affirming messages you could find in a drama, and is clearly designed for family viewing.
A lot of people have absolutely no mercy for Nut, the main character, extremely well-acted by Job Thuchapon - "toxic, abusive, gaslighting (!) and selfish". It's clear early on that this is someone who as experienced very serious trauma, included sustained emotional and physical abuse - to the point of PTSD. This is a young man who has suffered all that, and has, completely alone, had to support a mentally ill mother since he was a teen. As the story progresses and you grow to understand the true depth of what he's suffered, it's hard for me to believe that so many people can't develop any compassion for him. He's not perfect, and so he's "canceled".
He's one of the first protagonists in a BL-ish story that's complex, realistic, and fully realized - he's not an archetype, and you don't even know if he's a seme or uke - because there's no such thing in real life, so there isn't in a realistic story, either. He's complicated, the product of his life, and flawed, like all of us. And also explicitly and unambiguously identifies as gay, which is rare in BL, but fortunately this is starting to improve.
The secondary couple has a lot of "typical" BL characteristics, including the enemies-to-lovers trope, but this is a conscious choice with a specific purpose. The key to this is their parents. Gen's are wholly and completely supportive, and Song's father is obviously loving, but absent and ambivalent about Song's sexuality - but ultimately this is worry, not lack of acceptance, and his reaction is quite a bit more typical in the experience of lgbtq+ youth than the more ideal parents Song has. (Regretably, Nut's experience is all too common as well.)
The reason for this is to show the contrast between getting love from a healthy family and the horror Nut faced from a monstrously abusive father and a weak and ill mother. Song's relationship with his father is not idyllic, but shows healthy resolution of trauma (the years-ago death of Song's brother) and bridging diffrences through love and understanding.
Nut only receives this through a miracle.
It should be fairly clear fairly early on that you are probably not going to get the ending you would want - but it's the only ending possible. A quick comment on that is below as a spoiler.
The production is first-rate - this must have had a serious budget and so much love was poured into this.
The ending is bittersweet but not sad. The message of this fairy tale is powerful and beautiful: there is no power greater than love, not even death, and there is nothing that it can't overcome.
Story: 10. There are a couple of flaws that I believe are the result of cuts to the length - I understand several hours had to be removed to get it down to 16 90-minute episodes. But the writing is easily the best I've ever seen if you count this as a BL, and among the best of any series of any kind I've ever seen.
Acting: 10. In Sarin is perfect as the innocent teddy bear - innocent but not stupid or weak. Job's role is challenging as the complex and damaged Nut, and he's wonderful. Um Apasiri is powerful in every one of her scenes as Nut's ill mother Na. Tee Thanapon, who was underwhelming in 2Moons, has improved enormously and holds his own with a strong cast. All the minor roles are well-acted, including the annoying female coworker (who will grow on you once she gives up on her hopeless love, and is the character who voices the underlying message of the story).
Music: 9: Just right and ably supports the story, and never drowns it out.
Rewatch: 3: It's rewatchable, and I think anyone would benefit from a second viewing to pick up a lot of the subtleties that might have been missed the first time. However, it's 24 hours long and very heavy, so it's hard to imagine watching it again.
Overall: 10. This is a beautiful and powerful series - it will stay with me, and will always be one of my favorites.
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Hard to watch, but more than worth it
I went into this hoping for a light, fun watch. It's about a teddy bear! Cute and fun times await, right? Little did I know I would be frustrated beyond belief for the first few episodes, only to be won over and eventually more attached to these characters than half of my real life peers.It's hard to watch to begin with, but not in the way a devastating true story might be. No, it's just genuinely difficult to get through the first few episodes when the characters seem to be such awful people, and when it's frustrating and weird. Talking furniture with horrifying CG eyes? I was very upset to look at them!
The central characters are one dimensional from first impressions, and then as the show progresses it has some of the best character development I've ever seen. The reasoning behind peoples actions, especially Nut's, is fleshed out in a way that completely blindsided me over and over. He seems like an unreasonable, selfish person but with time and context, he becomes incredibly sympathetic. But he's not painted to be a perfect person, and he has to work through his issues. But that's addressed! So many times, things that I see other shows gloss over and ignore are addressed and worked through. I didn't expect so much depth and heft to come from what I thought was to be a goofy show.
The issues that are touched upon are heavy, but they're done with a lot of care. I've not really seen another show call out the same things that this one does in such depth and precision, and I am a bit sad because I feel like some viewers might not be as resilient as I tend to be with watching unenjoyable things. The first episodes might turn a lot of people off, understandably, but oh my god to not watch it would be such a loss.
It's also long, essentially you're watching 16 movies, so there's a lot to unpack. It would be a disservice for me to unpack the plot here, even though every part of me wants to do so. I have thousands of things to say about this series, but I'll do that elsewhere.
I will be gushing about this show whilst condemning it for awhile to come. The ending, without spoiling too much, was very hard to bear but it still managed to be a happy one in its own way. Endings are very difficult, and I know some might not be happy with this one, but when watching how everything plays out it's what makes the most sense.
I doubt I'll ever rewatch the series in full, but I'll definitely go back and watch my favorite scenes, which there are a lot of.
I can't say I recommend this to everyone, even though it's probably one of my new favorites I can admit it took a lot of patience. But for the people who do watch it, I really hope it can touch them the way it did me.
Also, it feels so ridiculous to be talking so seriously about a show call The Miracle of Teddy Bear which features absurd sentient furniture, but it's one of the most serious and uniquely beautiful shows I've seen. Obviously it's got its moments, but at it's core it's a fantastic story that made me experience every conceivable human emotion to such extreme degrees that I'm going to need genuine recovery time.
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weird n wonderful
The premise and promo images are misleading - if fluffy BL is all you’re after, this isn’t really it.This show was a ride and I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it so much. It started off confusing me with it's strange combination of things. I watched the titles of the first episode wide-eyed, thinking – mother of god, this has to be a piss take. What followed was a mildly insane mixture of dated feeling melodrama (a lakhorn apparently - it educated me), BL (familiar with), mystery, 90’s kids’ show and sickly-sweet sentimentality. I have a terrible attention span so the fact it kept me engaged for 90 mins 3 times a week is quite an achievement. I kind of wanted to discuss it but a couple weeks in and the comment section was a hotbed of preachy angst so to preserve my enjoyment I stopped looking at it and kept to myself and my teddy bears. The main issue people were fighting over was Nut’s ‘tude, and treatment of Tofu and his mum. I’d advise to stop watching if it’s disturbing you. Otherwise be patient and stick with. He’s clearly being a dick but he has his reasons and - erm - it’s part of the story! The characters are all flawed but that’s the beauty and kind of the whole point of the show.
The fantasy elements wear off a lot after the first couple episodes and you're left with just the odd talking blanket. The low-techness of all that stuff I found v amusing. It also needed something to break up the heaviness and I was sorry to see those silly bits fade as it got a bit depressing without. Final ep though - it comes back with a f*cked up vengeance! I had been bothered by the missing slipper the whole time it was missing (several sad weeks) and refused to believe Tofu would forget his promise to reunite her with the other one. Thought I'd rest easy after the rescue but am still trying to process the cremation escape/dog chase. Surreal and disturbing in the extreme :'D Side note: I thought Tofu having sex on a bedspread that he converses with was pretty kinky. But he’s also a teddy, so that’s kind of kinkier? - or is it totally innocent? I can’t decide.
I’m so impressed (and patronising!) by Job - the actor playing Nut – thought he was great. I loved Tofu but some people won’t. He is self-sacrificing to the extreme which might be seen as irritating and possibly as an unhealthy example to set for “goodness”. He's more used as a symbol for goodness and love than he is a person. The feel of the acting from all the cast is on the melodramatic side, but that's the type of production it is. Tathan’s character was gorgeous, Kensit’s parents were like God-given, Song was a sweetheart, and despite her despicable actions I had a soft spot for Satjaree- she made a really good baddie. Saen/Sipmuem weren't characters you could really warm to, but he was a good actor and physically intimidating.
I’ve never seen anything like this show before – it’s silly, it’s deep, it’s encouraging, it’s tragic, it has Tofu’s beautiful face in it - and Nut’s when he’s not scowling. The healing of the relationship between Nut and his mum made me think about my own family and how important it is to express love to your loved ones while you can. I liked the theme song - Tofu/In’s voice is really distinctive and whenever it came on it felt like his character was there, smiling. I was pretty devastated by the final episode but it stitched me up again before it ended. I’m left a bit scarred - like tofu’s little paw! and vaguely uneasy around teddies and soft furnishings.
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Tofu exists to tell us that miracles (rarely) happen
A fantasy show that explicit real-life matters in the most accurate way. The kind of drama who uplifts, inform, educate, and enlighten the general public about the world of a person falling in love with the same sex. It was reported to be the first-ever Lakorn BL that aired on a national television channel in Thailand. Which took the chance to build a new bridge on bringing out the difficulties, barriers, and emotional distress that criticism works on gay people. Exhibiting that generation gap is one of the biggest factors why most older people are homophobic. They are against seeing two male individuals being in love simply because of how society told them to be. In contrast to the people who borned in the earlier generations, who are more introduced to the freedom of choices that allows them to identify their own gender by themselves. Yet, LGBTQ+ community is far away from living in a world without experiencing a brutal approach, discrimination, and hate-crime from these anti-gay people.A perfect portrayal of this is Nut’s unhealed wounds from the past that he carries all throughout his life, not until his miracle happens. Living in a dysfunctional family, he surely suffers a lot. His father is a prideful man with toxic masculinity who physically and verbally abuses him. However, it's also frustrating that the one he considers to be the closest to, his mother, pushes that his son is like any other normal boy out there. Disregarding the child’s much-needed acceptance and support. Leading Nut to hold grudges and distance himself from his mother.
Fortunately, the appearance of Tofu slowly calms down the chaos from the house and closes the gap between the sour history of the mother-and-son. All thanks to the fantasy that I never expected to be this great, with the rarity of showcasing fresh ideas that I never yet seen from others. The level of imagination in creating talking objects from the strong emotions coming from humans. A well-appreciated flow of mysteries that is both entertaining and sentimental.
Tofu being one of the most selfless characters and cutest human-teddy in the history. His willingness to be hurt and sacrifice himself for the sake of the happiness from the people he loves is annoyingly making me all tear up. When Tofu put up with any kind of pain, I wholeheartedly wish that he became selfish for once.
Phenomenal acting on every dramatic and confrontation scene coming from Mrs. Na and Nut. You can feel the tension of their emotions ranging in their hearts by only looking at their eyes. We witness the importance of conversing in one’s life. The exchange of words and being honest can help to release the uneasy emotion that keeps dwelling inside. There’s nothing more touching than to finally witness Nut and his Mom embracing a new start in life. Tears can’t stop from flowing, especially the scene where they took a family picture. The journey towards reconciliation took so long but all’s well that ends well.
Theories are all over your mind once you start watching this. The drama that makes you feel excited for more since it triggers your brain on the possible outcome that the story may end. However, during the last few episodes, plots are predictable but who cares as long as they consistently display a fine job executing the storyline.
It also delivers a variation of big emotions. A feeling of warmth and comfort from Gen’s family. An open-minded parents letting their son decide for his own path in life. Their entire family conversation is extra-sweet and loveable; a real gem. The feeling of happiness on seeing the appended hole between Song and his Dad. The eighteen year old boy comparing himself to his deceased brother is sadly unavoidable. Perceiving favoritism is what makes Song unhappy as for the reason that his dad remembers a lot more things from Neung more than his living son. The realization of the dad was a joyful conclusion of their character development. Song and Gen’s family picture at the finale, draws a curving smile on my face.
Kuenchai is hailed as the cutest, fluffiest, and most intelligent dog in Lakorn. He outshone real human actors with his excellent acting skills as a supporting character. A bright ray of sunshine and the couple’s number one third wheel. His whole existence contributes a lot from the show, most especially his relationship with Tofu. Even when Tofu came back to his original form, Kuenchai wanted to play with him and keep him company from time to time. Tarn on the other hand is the person who colors the gloomy world of Nut. The bittersweet high school love story is a good memory. Nut lives in a depressing world at his house before but Tarn makes him feel the exact opposite.
The actress playing as Jan deserves praise as well. She did well on being firm to her character as the obsessed love antagonist. Saen as the greatest pretender was somehow expected since they didn’t have enough characters to be suspected for the crimes he did. It just felt so weird that Sean and Jan blamed each other before for Tarn’s incident and they ended up being the suspect.
The show also emphasizes that marriage is a life-time choice; marrying someone you truly love. Along with it, the artistic writing technique and the uses of idioms in life is an effective and affectionate way of storytelling.
In Sarin duality from this show is insane. Him as Tofu is full of cuteness while Nueng is full of manliness. You can easily differentiate the two from having distinct vibes. Also, I’m living my best life by seeing a lot of skinships and skin exposure from the series. It may not contain heated bed scenes but it is more than enough to say that the main leads are bathing in sexiness.
And yes! The episodes prior to the last, tried to prepare the viewers for the tragedy. I anticipated this ending but it still hurts me a lot. Conveying the message that fairy tales don’t exist and we will eventually end up going back to reality. I break down when Nut and Tarn bring back the tragic romance they had before while Tofu is happy enough to see Nut in a good situation.
This drama inspires and pushes me to start writing my own novel and I’m currently having a fun time doing it. I love that the show doesn’t only center in a love story but talks about various topics surrounding societal problems that mostly revolve around the family.
Tofu, your whole existence to the show doesn't end in a tragedy. The best version of yourself remains in everyone’s memories. Thank you for allowing us to witness a miracle in life. You deserve the whole world. You deserve a Tofu in life too.
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Tragic but Beautfiul ending
I know a lot of you guys are pissed over the ending, but its the perfect ending for the show isn't the show titled is "The Miracle Of Teddy Bear", it was Tofu the MIRACLE that happened to Nut's life, so he was just temporary thing not a permanent, he was just a beautiful moment,Let's talk about the show, at first I was really disappointed with the whole physical abuse was going around Tofu, and it's my most awaited BL series of the previous year, and seeing this whole abuse made me angry, and the first few episodes made me pissed a lot, like he just letting his anger all out on Tofu, and not to mention he was a terrible son also like it was hard for me to watch, but they slowly revealed that how he has some tragic past issues, he had a homophobic father, his first love was straight, then he has to break up with his first boyfriend which he genuinely loved, due to his mother, he always felt that he was a mistake since her mother still loves her first love, so I started to sympathize over him but I try to put myself on Tofu's place. Would you ever date a person who slapped you, punched and insulted you, and destroys your entire self-esteem? Because I won't be going to date that person, I still remember that episode when Nut confessed to him and kissed him, and Tofu said some stuff like "Your lips taste like jelly" and he slaps him, kick him out of his house, and leave him in a middle of the night, like thank god it was Gen who found, and then Song keeps for few days, and he forgave Nut in less than a few second and he says some stuff like "If you are angry hit me" and I was so disappointed then it hit me, that Tofu is not a Human being, to begin with, he doesn't have any personality trait except to love Nut so after that I started to pray that please god its should not be their endgame, because it would be a toxic relationship in the end, and I am not gonna replace a Piece of cotton (Tofu) with nice Human being who is also a nature activist(Tarn) lol.
So I am glad in the end its NutTarn endgame, people are forgetting Tofu became a human being due to the love of Nut and Tarn in the end, the reason he looks like Neung is that Neung was the first love of both Nut and Tarn, his sole purpose was to solve the imperfect life of Nut, he helped Nut to communicate with his mother, he helped them to be a nice person again
So I am glad the ending is NutTarn instead of TofuNut,
Lets talk about the writing, this BL has one of the best dialogues, especially how they even talked about the current situation, like how the BL series is all popular but their still no laws regarding the LGBT, and thank god a BL series where the characters admit their sexuality, I loved how many time Nut openly said "I am gay" because many BL series avoids that, or barely talk about that, and I love how we get to see both the side the homophobic side and the open-minded side of the society,
And i loved the side couple Song and Gen, and people forget when we say Love is Love, which includes Love Sees No Age also,
and this series has more twists and turn than a murder mystery drama which i loved it too,
So overall i love the show
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Heartwarming, Riveting Story with Surprises
I was pleasantly surprised with this series and loved it. When I first saw the trailer, I admit that it wasn’t at the top of my list to watch in terms of upcoming BL series. But I am so happy that I decided to try it upon the recommendation of some friends because it enthralled me. I found myself binge-watching 6 episodes in one day and each episode is quite long at approximately 1.5 hours each. I just couldn’t stop watching as I needed to know what happened next immediately!Kuenchai the dog was super special and he stole my heart very early on. He made me smile on multiple occasions in the midst of the heavy topics that are covered throughout the series. The series was an emotional rollercoaster, toggling between anger, sadness, pain, and happiness. It covers real-life themes and isn’t your typical lovey-dovey BL series, but that’s precisely why I loved it and recommend it. It conveys the concepts of acceptance and forgiveness that are so vital, but often forgotten in our world that is filled with so much hate and judgment.
Regarding the ending, I feel like it did the characters justice and fulfilled their individual wishes for happiness. I know some strongly disagree and hated the ending, but I enjoyed it. Please watch this realistic, captivating and unique BL series for yourself and perhaps it will help you reflect on how to live your life to the fullest and never take anything for granted.
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Cute, suspenseful, touching series with social critique
Don’t be fooled by the title or the light-hearted music in the opening credits. The Miracle of Teddy Bear may at first seem to be BL fluff. But while it does give us all the BL fluff we want, it gives us so much more. There is a lot of cuteness, but there is suspense that is deftly sustained, there are touching subplots (beyond just the romance but quite seamlessly integrated with the BL story) and there is even a critique of the BL industry and the state of LGBTQ+ rights in Thailand. It ventures where most Thai BL series avoid–the fact that the LGBTQ+ community is not respected and its rights not formalized in what is arguably the BL capital of the world where drama series are concerned.To be sure, the series has its imperfections. It is so ambitious that it is bound to fall short in some aspects at some points. I could comment on how the social critique is a little lacking in subtlety in some scenes (such as one in which many of the characters are seated together, with one blatantly showing her homophobia). But I won't say there are serious flaws.
Despite the minor flaws here and there, the series is first and foremost seriously engaging. It starts with the fantastical – an already sentient teddy, Tofu, is suddenly transformed into a human being (and he himself doesn’t know how he gained sentience or transformed). He ends up being taken in by Nut, the owner of the teddy bear who knows nothing about the transformation. There is, however, a sense of mystery and suspense that is sustained — and it is not just about Tofu’s transformation. The plot is actually rather complex, with several different threads gradually and cleverly woven together.
We may notice quite early on that Tofu’s sentience and transformation is linked to Tatarn, who is in a coma after being viciously attacked. However, the connection between Tatarn and the other characters is unclear at first. What I find pretty amazing is that the multiple narrative threads do not feel out of place even before they become clearly intertwined. The story moves from one narrative thread to another (Tofu’s transformation, the assault on Tatarn, the college days of Nut, Nut’s scriptwriting work (he’s writing the script for a BL series based on his own experiences), and the past of Nut’s mother) naturally before weaving them together. Without a good production team, the different narrative threads would be a disaster even before they come together.
The characterization is also strikingly complex. Many viewers are appalled by Nut’s behavior towards Tofu and his mother, but this is not a weakness of the series as it does not make Nut’s behavior seem acceptable. It is just that Nut is ultimately a good person by nature and his past experiences have caused him to behave badly. His experience with homophobia and bullying have made him distrustful of Tofu and resentful towards his mother – we see the destructiveness of homophobia in the character, and he is not romanticized as a perfect boyfriend or son. (His best friend, Gen, services as a nice foil to him. Unlike Nut, who has a homophobic father, Gen’s parents accept him for who he is and they are eager to see him getting a boyfriend–Gen has turned out to be a pretty much well adjusted person.)
We do have to give the characters and the relationships between them time to be developed, however. Don’t assume or pass judgment too quickly. Initially, it may seem that the female characters are one-dimensional. Prib may seem to be no more than one of those typical BL female characters who are in love with the male leads, but there is more to her. The most impressively complex female character (maybe we can take out the word ‘female) is Nut’s mother. The nuances in the portrayal of Song’s (one half of the side couple) relationship with his father is also impressively done. The acting is generally excellent, with the actors and actresses playing different points in the characters’ lives impressively well.
(Personally, I really like the pairing of the actors for Tofu and Nut. It’s not often the case that I find both the actors playing a couple cute, and this is one of those instances.)
With many BL series nowadays, the ending is predictable–the leads end up together happily, we want them to, and we more or less know they will. But with The Miracle of Teddy Bear, we are kept wondering from the start–will Tofu turn back into a teddy bear or lose consciousness? This has kept me watching the series, and I hope the miracle includes a happy ending.
Update -- A note on the ending:
It's not a sad ending, it's not an open-ended ambiguous ending either, and yet I won't consider it a happy ending. I can accept an ending with Tofu dying/disappearing and Tatarn waking up with Tofu's death--this has been hinted at early in the series. But the ending, which is a bit of a compromised happy ending, ends up with quite depressing.
It seems for a while that Nut loves Tofu too much to get back with his ex, Tatarn, even after Tofu "dies". And perhaps this was intended at first except that perhaps there was pressure to make the ending a little happier. But it becomes more depressing because Nut ends up going back to Tatarn, admitting that he does miss his ex after all. And the "happy" side of the ending is that Tofu doesn't die but is transformed back into a sentient teddy bear. But this is actually seriously depressing. Everyone thinks that Tofu has died, but he is transformed into a teddy bear and is taken back to Nut's house. So we have this sentient teddy bear, who is still very much in love with Nut, but is unable to say anything to Nut ever again. And this poor teddy bear has to witness Nut going back to his ex. He is supposedly able to accept all of this, but it's a situation that is very depressing and disturbing too. It's a well written story, but I this is one of the times when I wish the ending had been a more conventionally sad one.
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It's a masterpiece!
------------ Spoiler-free part --------------First of all, let's all agree that the title of this series is terrible. There are many series to watch, and I skipped this one simply because of the feeling of "another way too cheesy drama" the title gave me. I was wrong.
The plot twists and turns until the very end, the acting is excellent, and the production is superb!
Most importantly, we've finally got a series that talks about many LGBTQ+ issues openly and explicitly. No more this "I don't like men, I just like him" BS! I couldn't bear to watch another series where being gay is something to be ashamed of and, therefore, protagonists are wiggling out of confirming their sexuality. Contrary to that, this series probably has the highest number of times the word "gay" is pronounced in the history of the Thai BL industry. And it definitely has the highest number of moments where "gay" is used as a self-description.
------------ MAJOR SPOILERS! ---------------
Here are some thoughts and my opinion about the ending. A lot of people didn't like it, and I get that. But what other options were there? Let's say Tarn gets out of the coma, and Nut remains human. Now what? Tarn, whose love literally gave life to Tofu and saved Nut and his dysfunctional family, remains alone, watching Nut and Tofu living happily ever after from a sideline??? Is that fair? And how would Tofu live knowing that about Tarn and not being able to talk about it to Nut ever? Do you think Tofu could possibly be happy??? I don't think so. Therefore, IMHO, the ending IS the best possible outcome.
Now, here's a message to those heterosexual ladies who love watching BL and are very disappointed in this one. I understand that this entire industry was created for you, but gays are not inflatable dolls that exist solely for your entertainment. Thailand is a pretty homophobic country, if you haven't noticed. And when you are "sinking" such a series, sending a message to the Thai BL industry to say that you are only interested in fluffy fairy tales, you are stealing voice from people who are suffering. This series was supposed to be an unrealistic fairy tale but somehow ended up portraying an actual real-life gay and his life in the most realistic way. If you don't like how the series ends, make sure that the described abuse and violence don't happen in your family and society.
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This review may contain spoilers
“But the eyes are blind. One must look with the heart.” (The Little Prince)
I must confess, my love for this series was not love at first sight. The first episode made me rather skeptical. Too slow, too overdramatic, the intro seemed to be taken directly from the 90s and then also the talking furniture.....Nevertheless, I gave this series a chance and experienced an unexpected masterpiece and a journey full of joy and tears because layer by layer the story as well as characters became deeper and more complex, showing this drama incredibly many facets and faces, be it a beautiful miracle, a deeply sad potrait about a dysfunctional family or a mystery story about an accident and deeply hidden secrets.
But most of all, it is the story of Nut, a struggling gay man in his late twenties. Punished with a homophobic and aggressive father, as well as a mentally ill mother who means well but doesn't have the strength in the past to support her son, it is his story that moves you deep inside like rarely before.
I have never been so close to a character, laughed with him, cried with him, been disgusted by him and then again wished him all the happiness in the world.
The story is not always nice and sweet and I can understand everyone who finds this drama too heavy and also the ending is more bitter sweet than happy.
But who finds the access to this story, will recognize behind all this suffering and pain true joy and beauty that makes you smile and believe in the good in humans.
All in all, Miracle of the Teddy bear is a milestone of an LGBT drama and shows without regret the heights and depths of a human life, with a power and an intimacy that I have never seen before and that will probably accompany me even longer
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This review may contain spoilers
A Teddy Bear’s Purpose
What is the purpose of a teddy bear? In many cases, a teddy bear is given as a toy to a child for companionship. What does a child who receives a teddy bear do with it? The child will play with the teddy bear, hug the teddy bear when happy or sad, and tell the teddy bear their innermost thoughts and feelings. If the child is angry, mad, or scared, the teddy bear may become the object to punch, hit or scream after. But no matter what happens, the teddy bear is always by the child’s side again as a source of comfort.While others may not agree with me, Tofu was exactly that for Nut – his source of comfort and stability when all else seemed doomed. Imagine living a life in sheer terror and disdain for a physically and verbally abusive father and a meek mother. Imagine not being able to be yourself and conform to the idea of what your father and society want. Imagine loving someone you are not supposed to because it is 'abnormal'. Imagine fighting all these outer and inner demons but with the one familiar thing constantly by your side – the teddy bear.
Tofu’s existence came at a time when Nut needed him the most. Even when Tofu became the object of Nut’s unhealthy actions and stood idly by when Nut was horrible to him, the only purpose he knew was to be Nut's source of comfort and understanding. Tofu became the physical and emotional warmth Nut needed even if Nut was terrible to him. Eventually, Tofu became the connection bringing communication, respect, and love to a strained mother-son relationship.
I will admit that I cried because it was painful to see Tofu sacrifice himself for Tarn. However, I also understand why he did it as well. He fulfilled his purpose and eventually returned to being a teddy bear. Although he is not with Nut in a human form, he is still there! He is still Nut's source of comfort and peace!
Tofu understood the assignment, and so did I!
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Tragic yet lovely story (idk what headline is more suitable for TMOTB :((
First of all, have to thank the whole cast and crew for expressing each and every emotion deeply. They did an amazing work.Tofu. He is one of the characters that I will never forget in their life, the character I love the most and will always love, it's true EVERYONE NEEDED THEIR OWN TOFU IN THEIR LIFE, EVERYONE SHOULD BE TOFU IN OTHER'S LIFE TOO!!
I do know how it will end expected the ending but still just can't accept it. when this series aired it was obvious that the ending of this series will be happy but still will be not happy just by the title of the drama THE MIRACLE OF TEDDY BEAR. ISN'T IT OBVIOUS but still I prepared to watch.. yes Miracle happens but it won't last forever as that Tofu is a miracle who came into Nut's life and made everything so better and left his place and again became a comfort bear of Nut. I swear I will never forget this series mainly Tofu, he will always be the best character I love and treasure forever :) I'm so happy that Nut's life changed and he started to live happy all thanks to Tofu, that guy suffered a lot, lost his childhood, I'm happy for him. as he said Tatarn made him see the world but Tofu made him see the beauty of the world.. I'm not sad because Tarn and Nut again started their journey because they both deserve happiness and all the side couples were really nice. I like the way they added the GL couple, at last, I could definitely recommend this series to be watched by everyone, the current social problems are boldly spoken. THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST BL I'VE SEEN. I will miss this series
I will miss Tofu a lot I really wanna a person like him in my life.
JUST HAPPY AND I'M HONEST I STILL CAN'T STOP CRYING, THIS SERIES REALLY MADE ME SO WEAK :((
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