Pearl Next Door (2020)

Team Alex

So like most of us, I'm here cause I fell in love with Pearl's spunky personality and beauty from the prequel Gameboys. She brings all the spice here as well and I loved it! I had an issue with the run around the story created but that's legit due to my own personal beliefs and feelings on relationships. Visuals all around and I think even straight people could learn something/enjoy this series lol I think the acting was better than the story itself but I'm glad the story wasn't anywhere near as basic as I had prepared myself for. This is definitely worth the watch and the ending was so much better than I expected. Enjoy...

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Disappointingly terrible

I was so excited that we were finally going to see a real GL series! And with Pearl, the beloved character from Gameboys. Unfortunately, it was a failure. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS:

CAST. They really did assemble a terrific cast. Everyone played their roles well, despite a problematic script. A shout out to the guy who played Linus in the last episode: he really portrayed a sexy creep about as well as anyone could!

"TABOO" SUBJECTS. They did tackle polyamory and, to an extent, biphobia. Not to mention Pearl's essay on the female orgasm. Good on them for that.

UNCONVENTIONAL CHARACTER. I loved that Jill -- an overweight and not conventionally attractive woman -- was the ex of Karleen, who herself looked like a supermodel. It's rare, but opposites really can attract in real life.

FONZY/ACHILLES. It was at the very end of the final episode, but they were adorable, a couple we can actually root for.

BEAUTIFUL SCENERY. The views of the resort were really stunning. I'd go there!

CONS:

CHARACTERS. The Pearl I loved from Gameboys was turned into a weak, whiny, sniveling, entitled crybaby. She played her two pursuers as if she was the hottest thing since sliced bread, a total turnoff and embarrassing. After Karleen left her to attend to her own best friend's trauma (which Pearl admitted she would do for Gav in a second), she then mopes to Karleen that, because Karleen did go to her friend, that would mean that Karleen would always put others before her (Pearl). Huh??? Karleen was unlikeable, insecure, jealous and indecisive, Alex had a backbone but the writers made her seem like someone who could never commit, and Pearl was just an unappealing personality throughout the entire series. She is not ready for any kind of committed relationship until she grows a set. I honestly didn't care about any of them.

STORY. Episode 1 was promising. Then, Episodes 2 - 5 were a total snooze. Episode 6 made a comeback with some actual interest, and then Episodes 7-8 were just bad. The ending was unsatisfying.

INAPPROPRIATE SILLINESS. I'm all for lighthearted, cute moments. But this series went from the extreme drama of Alex's anger/leaving the scene, to Pearl's crying after Karleen left her at the resort to... a silly, ridiculous video call between Pearl and Fonzy (with cemetery background) which, after a couple of minutes, had the two of them laughing like little children. And in the last episode, during Pearl's "week off," she went from expressions of "pained anguish" to acting like a perky gym bunny. Sorry, it was just... bad writing and directing, totally superficial.

KARLEEN'S HARASSER. Don't get me wrong, I have no tolerance for anyone sexually harassing anyone. But I had to chuckle: the guy coming on to Karleen hardly seemed like a threat. Karleen looked like she could kick his ass with her little finger. If the directors wanted this to appear real, they could have at least hired an actor who looked like he could do some potential real damage.

ALEX'S ADMISSION. If someone on a first date asked me to "say bad things" about myself, I'd tell them to go first. That's ridiculous during the first stage of dating. But to Alex's credit, she was honest. TOO honest. Pearl (and viewers) seemed horrified that Alex said she hadn't had a relationship that lasted more than a year. People: Alex is 24. How many long-term relationships would you expect her to have had? Even if her first was when she was 18? Many people haven't had even one committed relationship by the age of 24. And how many committed relationships has Pearl ever had? Gav is the only one we know about, he was gay and, from what Pearl says, sex was pretty much off the table. If Alex was 35, I might have doubts about her confession. At 24? Please, get real.

I can't blame the actors, they worked with what they were given. But this was a very disappointing series.

I'm giving it 4.0 out of 10, and I believe I'm being generous.

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A great step in the right direction.

Pearl Next Door gave me anguish, happiness and sadness in the short amount of time that it aired. The acting was great, the intro always brought a smile to my face; The vlog style of it was cute and the production was just as great as it's parent drama (GameBoys). The story was a bit frustrating at times tho with Pearl being in love with someone who could devalue her sexuality because of their past trauma; I honestly was so annoyed with Kathleen's Biphobia, definitely team Alex.

I fell in love with the way Alex handled herself against Kathleen and knowing what and who she wanted from the start, so I was surprised when she revealed her red flags, didn't stop me from liking her though cause she was only showing that she's human too regardless of being amazingly understanding. Pearl's friendship with Fonzy was also another one of favorite things about the series; The side story with Fonzy and the polygamous guy had me cracking up. It's nice to see all types of lifestyles being represented in a GL, hope future GL/BL scriptwriters, novel writers take note.

The ending was satifying and I would rewatch it again. I look forward to a possible second season? To see where they take these characters next.

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Finally!!!

I needed this show. BL/ML drama seems to be sexy, cute, romantic, and relevant while the GL dramas never really hit the same like women can be cute, vulnerable, sexy, romantic, and honest. Just give me the same human elements. This does it in a lot of ways. The complaint is I needed kisses. GL/WL dramas are also so dry. Like they are trying to make pretty. Pearl brings up a lot of relevant issues like biphobia. It sucks. It really does. I am nervous to say I am bi. I always feel like I have to choose and I really love women, but I also feel like men have their charms. The other is .....let's talk sex because we all reserve the right to enjoy if we choose to have it. We all should stay in tune with our bodies and safe. The queen brings all these things up.

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Could Have Been Beter...

Even though I liked it, I was expecting more.

I'd like to know more about the main character's life than they showed us.
We know a bit of Karleen's backstory, some might know Pearl (I heard she was on Gameboys but haven't watched it yet) but we don't get to know that much about Alex. Sure, we get an idea of them with their hobbies and the way they speak and some little extra stuff but I wish we'd get to know them deeply because it would make the audience more attached to them.

While I know the show could have been better in terms of story and acting, at least I was glad with Pearl's final choice.

The whole staff did well with what and how much time for each episode they had

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Best GL series

Best GL series ever! So informative and entertaining. World class acting, directing and screen play. All artists have shown such a great talent. Script is 100% excellent with full of substance.

The girls are so gorgeous and absolutely beautiful. 😍 They have definitely put justice to their characters presenting. Supporting roles are represented best with great scripts and characters. It's about love, friendship, big decisions or choices made in life. Such an educational and wholesome show.

You can learn and understand more about the lgbt relationships and common issues tackled. It's your loss if you haven't watched it yet. Very much worth it! A must watch!

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A personalidade das personagens é o maior defeito

Vamos lá... assisti essa série na época em que foi lançada e recentemente revi todos os eps, e decidi vir dar minha opinião. Antes de tudo, vale lembrar que é uma série filipina gravada no auge da pandemia, e que essa série faz parte do universo de "Gameboys", série na qual Adriana So (Pearl) foi muito elogiada e acabou ganhando a sua própria, bem como seu próprio filme (Pa Thirst- 2022), além das participações no filme Gameboys the movie e na segunda temporada da série.

Nesse filme, podemos ver Pearl sob uma perspectiva diferente. Não sei por que motivo inseriram ela em um GL, talvez pelo fato da personagem ser muito mente aberta, e também para surfar no hype de Gameboys, sem sair do tema LGBTQIAP+. São os únicos motivos plausíveis pra mim.

Sobre o roteiro: vejo defeitos que posso atribuir à pandemia. Obviamente não seria possível um elenco maior, acho que já conseguiram muito em levar as personagens ao hotel (claramente vazio). Adriana So segue sendo umas das personagens mais carismáticas que vi em séries filipinas, tanto as personagens Karleen como Alex atuaram bem, assim como o amigo da Pearl e seus pretendentes. Acho bem incrível a forma como Pearl estava interpretando um vlog e eu sentia como se ela realmente estivesse conversando comigo, como se os conselhos fossem diretamente pra mim, não tenho dúvidas do talento dessa atriz. Apesar de ser tudo muito moderninho, a série conseguiu inserir alguns assuntos polêmicos e a proeza de expor mais de um ponto de vista sobre eles, por exemplo, o poli amor, onde um dos personagens se sentia feliz e realizado com a prática, enquanto o outro, mesmo tentando se encaixar acabou percebendo que era algo que ele não aceitava, não o deixava confortável, e ambas as opiniões foram respeitadas. O próprio fato de Pearl optar por ficar solteira, que fala sobre como não necessariamente precisamos de alguém para estarmos completos, inclusive existem falas importantes, como não querer ser responsável pela felicidade de ninguém, o incentivo à masturbação como forma de conhecer o próprio corpo (durante o vlog sobre orgasmo). O fato de pessoas fora do padrão se relacionando com pessoas muito bonitas, como Karleen e sua ex e Fonzy e Gino. E por falar em Gino, que coisa interessante mostrarem, mesmo que de forma cômica, que algumas pessoas tem sim uma mente que se auto sabota e por último o rapaz que tentou assediar Karleen,
A única pessoa que merecia um final feliz na minha opinião era Alex. Alex foi sincera desde o princípio, não teve medo dos sentimentos e se jogou de cabeça, acho inclusive que ela demorou muito para explodir e quando ela fez isso eu bati palmas. Karleen é alguém que eu não gostaria de ter... como uma criança que rejeita um brinquedo e quer de volta quando vê outra criança brincando com ele, sendo incapaz de conter seus impulsos e magoando as pessoas de forma egoísta. Pra mim, a única atitude decente dela foi colocar sua melhor amiga em primeiro lugar e correr em seu socorro. Pearl com certeza é uma personagem egocêntrica, o que ela fez com Alex foi ridículo e a personagem mostrou que não tem maturidade para um relacionamento.
o alívio cômico ficou por conta da amizade entre Pearl e Fonzy, e meus bb's Cairo e Graveel também deram o ar da graça.

Apesar de boa parte da série se passar nas telas de vídeo chamadas, conseguiram imagens lindas do resort, mas realmente senti falta de uma ost marcante.
Provavelmente não voltarei a ver, mas não deixo de indicar a série.

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