Gameboys (2020)

A story of love and acceptance even in the worst of times.

Story: I’m writing this as a lesbian who experienced the same events as Cairo within this drama as I can understand and appreciate the plot in a different way because of this. I also struggled with my sexuality the same as Cairo, and was outed when I was still not ready. I (like Cairo) was outed by my now ex best friend who I thought would accept me, but turned completely against me. Being outed by the person you thought was your best friend completely breaks your trust which explains why Cairo is so closed off. Dealing with the burden of such a huge secret weighs you down and having friends by your side is the most important thing you can have when you’re struggling with your own identity. The way Cai also handled it, when she apologised he accepted her apology but did not forgive her yet, made me happy. When someone hurts you that much, especially a close friend, it’s almost impossible for your friendship to go back to the way things were before, so I love that they didn’t make what his best friend did as a minor issue and showed the consequences of her actions both for him and her. The slow but quick progression of their relationship was fast but also felt quite natural in some ways. When they finally met you could see so much love in their eyes I actually teared up when I saw them crying. This was not just a story about a simple internet romance during the Covid-19 pandemic, this is a story of love and acceptance even in the worst of times.

Cast: Elijah Canlas as Cairo- At first I did think Elijah’s acting was a little awkward but as the series progressed we saw an actor who took on a role giving it his own interpretation and completely taking on the role of Cairo. It wasn’t even the big things, but the most subtle actions made his role so believable. When I first realised I was interested in woman the term ‘gay’ or ‘lesbian’ felt so foreign, so when I finally confronted my sexual preference I remember getting choked up and it took me a few seconds to even say the word ‘gay’. When Cairo did the same when talking to his mum I had to pause the episode and breathe because of how emotional I felt. I can officially say that Elijah as Cairo is the best actor to have played such a role in order to represent the fear those of the LGBT community still face even to this day. When he portrayed his father dying, it wasn’t the case of quickly moving on, but it also wasn’t portrayed as him being constantly depressed, it was more he was sad but wanted to continue living his life and carrying on his father’s memory which I loved.
—Kokoy de Santos as Gavreel- Kokoy created a character for Gavreel that was more than just the simple playboy he may seem on the outside. He created a confident but secretly insecure character who always wanted the people around him to be happy. He was a character that was pushy in some ways, but also understood when Cairo needed space and would back off but still show and send his love and support throughout all the tough times he faced. Gavreel was also just as prone to jealousy as anyone would be, and although he clearly struggles to communicate he does try and we watch him grow through the series.I really loved the character of Gavreel and I think describing him as “boyfriend goals” would be especially fitting.
—Adrianna So as Pearl- Wow, Pearl was literally my favourite female character not just in this series, but possibly ever. She was the shipper female friend that was there for the couple, defended them, but also knew when not to interfere with their love lives. She had a strong sense of right and wrong and would even argue with her best friend on Cairo’s behalf if she thought he did something wrong. My favourite quote of hers is “if you did something stupid don’t use mental health as an excuse, own up to your mistakes make up for it and don’t do it again”. She even drove all the way out to help Gav and Cai meet for the first time, and left as soon as they were together so they had chance to be alone as if she knew how important this meeting was. She’s someone that seems like she would be easy to make friends with and talk to when you go through tough times. I can’t wait to watch her own series when it comes out.

Music: It was pretty enjoyable with some good backtracks and sound effects, but nothing I thought was incredibly memorable.

Rewatch value: I can definitely say as soon as this series ends I’ll straight away be rewatching it, and I can imagine that I’ll go back to this series many times.

Overall: I’m so grateful for this series and I believe this series alone will help so many people in Cairo’s position. This is more than just a simple BL series and I can’t thank The IdeaFirst company enough for creating this. This will definitely be a game changer, not only for Filipino BL’s, but the representation of gay characters as a whole. I’m so glad I was able to watch this series when it first began.

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Best BL of 2020 so far? I think so

This review is a personal opinion. It is not meant to sway or discourage anyone from watching this series.

What an amazing little Gem of BL that came out of the Philippines. Truly a great series to watch.

On to my review

Aptly named Gameboys the series, this new “BL” drama changed the game (no pun intended) in the way stories can be told with characters having little to no physical interactions. I put BL in quotation marks because I wouldn’t consider this a Boys Love Drama, but rather a true representation of LGBTQ+. The drama breaks a lot of ridiculous cliches while at the same time using other cliches properly.

The backdrop of the drama is centered around the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect world wide, particularly in the Philippines. The main characters find themselves on mandatory lockdown by the government and must spent majority of their times indoors. Cairo, a self-proclaimed gamer and a nerd, spends his day doing live broadcast, amassing a following that include the cheeky and always smiling Gavreel —who we later learned has been following Cairo’s live streams after the death of his grandmother and went into depression-and develops a crush on the gamer.

Through a series of “video meets” the two being to grow closer, despite Cairo’s reluctance to Gavreel’s advances. We later learned that Cairo has been struggling with his sexual orientation-and the consequences of that which centered around his father’s health.

This drama touched on a lot of things, but for me the most amazing part was the way that Mental health, guilt/blame, and forgiveness took center stage.

Acting: Elijah (Cairo) really stole a lot of the scenes for me. There were so many instances where I felt his pain. Though he masked that pain through “grouchiness/shade” the boy was aching for someone to listen to him. Which is why Gavreel’s existence in Cairo’s life came at the right time (maybe some would call it Fate)

It was refreshing to see a confident gay man in Gavreel—his confidence, cheekiness, fun loving nature truly made the drama memorable, but at the same time, the layers that kept being pulled away bit by bit revealed a young man who had gone through great loss and grief. He was depressed and found solace in Cairo’s live streams.

I loved Pearl! What a great friend who was in a way the “voice of reason” for these boys exploring their relationship. Supportive female characters like Pearl always make the series much better.

Ah the villain ex-boyfriend ended up being such a good character in the end. He acknowledged the mistakes his made and realized that he needed to FIX himself before he could love anyone else.

Overall, this was a very good drama series and I highly recommend it.

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