Not Me (2021)

Not your typical romance

Starting this series, I wasn't expecting to call it my number one after finishing but god, does it deserve this place. Seeing Off and Gun again as main roles made my expectations high from the start, since Theory of Love proved how good their chemistry is but i dare to say that here it was even better.
Not Me story is not your typical thai bl and you have to watch it being aware of it from the start. The tone is much more serious, topics sometimes heavier and there's not as much humor (no funny sounds which you might know from some titles lol). The story doesn't rely on the romance as much, at least not in the first five-ish episodes. Of course, there are some close proximity moments but you can tell that the plot is more important.
What i loved the most about this series was its pace. Usually, shows like that rely on certain checkpoints which keep the viewer engaged, but also can leave us feeling empty after said checkpoint is complete. Here, before getting to one awaited moment, let's say, first kiss, a thing usually awaited in romance series, there is another goal already in the viewer's mind which doesn't let you have a second of boredom or a filler moment. Every scene feels needed and it leads to something (maybe except for some advertisement moments but hey, they have to make money somehow and even this didn't bother me that much).
To sum everything up, I believe Not Me is a must watch for anyone looking for a good, engaging story and I'll surely come back to it.

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Incredible acting, great chemistry and an important storyline

This series is remarkable. The chemistry between Off and Gun feels very real, and the story is both interesting and has something important to say beyond its fictional plotline. It's extremely slow-burn with the relationship aspects, but that makes the payoff that much sweeter.

Gun in particular did incredible here. His ability to play off the features of his face and expression switching between White and Black is, to be honest, a little terrifying. There's a polarizing aura between the two of them; White is hesitant and gentle, intelligent and introspective. Black is explosive, passionate and intimidating. You can tell which one you're looking at within seconds of looking at his face. When the same actor looks at Sean, even during casual conversation, you can tell when one has love behind his eyes and the other does not. It's one of the coolest things I've seen in acting ever. The side couple is also quite good, but did not click with me personally to the same degree.

This is one of those shows where you can watch the leads fall in love as the episodes drift by. It's satisfying and heartwarming and, at times, heart-wrenching. It's good enough to be enjoyed by someone who doesn't necessarily watch BL on a regular basis, and isn't weighed down by the usual tropes you might find in similar shows.

If I were to nitpick, some editing choices are weird (especially the music, the first half of the series has some baffling music choices) and I do wish there were a few more romantic scenes between Sean and White. Aside from those very small points, incredible series that should not be missed.

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YOK THE ONLY CHARACTER EVER!

This is my all time favourite BL. I don’t think anything could ever top it.

Everything about this show is literal perfection… the characters… the romances… the plot. I love stories that deal with political and social problems so I of course loved it. I have never been more emotionally invested in something in my life. THE FUCKING PRIDE FLAG SCENE… DANYOK EP 13… THE VAN SCENE… UGH JUST SO GOOD! Gun ate as always! Get that man an Oscar. And I love Yok so much? This show did more for me than therapy could ever.

But besties… why no ToddBlack? We were robbed! Robbed I’m telling you!!!

I don’t think I will ever recover from this series, but anyway, be gay, do crimes?

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Dark Political Romance

I should first say that I have see OffGun in Theory of Love prior to watching this so perhaps I have a bias, but wow their chemsitry in this show is amazing. So beautiful. I could feel their emotions through the screen. I honestly cannot believe that this show isn't rated higher than 8.5. There are many great aspects to this show, including the story. The political unrest is so powerful and I felt really moved to get involved more into politics because of it. Also, if you are thinking about watching this show but maybe thinking you shouldn't because its too poltical, trust me when I say I normally don't watch this theme, but it was so emotional and fantastic the way they protrayed it. I won't spoil what happens but lets just say that Gun has some serious duality in his acting abilities. I truly believed when he was playing Black, he was Black and when he was playing White, he was White. Amazing to see the twins on screen together too. Of course Off and the rest of the cast were great as well, but Gun had a good challenge. I enjoyed all the secrecy and fighting too! Lastly, the music in this show also takes it to another level! I love listening to the OST and I am transported into each scene based on what song I'm listening to. I love it. I gave it a 10 for myself, but a 9.5 to other people who may say something is wrong but i honeslty don't know what people wouldn't like about this show :)

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Must watch bl series

I would recommend everyone, new and old bl lovers to watch this series. This one hooked me from the first minutes not only because of our lovely familiar faces but also the storyline.

This series is not only about developing love relationship between lead actors, rather it touches social problems like LGBTQA+ community, how power is around people who have the most connections and money, family relationships and most importantly gap between generations. I feel like 14 episode wasn't enough to give a full representation of Thailands social life and changes, but it's also understandable, because all that aside we must remember that this is a bl series and most of the youngsters doesn't really care about these topics and they rather watch cute, awkward kissing scenes.

Next thing I want to talk about is Guns acting in this series (seriously can't wait to see his next project), I can't say he has improved because obviously he was an amazing actor from the beginning, rather he did a great job switching characters between Black and White and he did it so well, sometimes I had to pause because I couldn't believe that it was really him doing both characters. I went back a lot and watched the scene where Black is back to his house and he beats up 2 men, I think that scene was amazing.

Overall these kind of series are changing bl scene a lot in my opinion and standards for the future will be harsher and lot improved. I think most of you would agree that these changes are absolutely necessary and good, because I personally don't want to watch cute concepts anymore.

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How I feel about it…Spoiler alert

Spoiler alert?
Spoiler alert?
Spoiler alert?
I wrote this as I got towards the end of the 11th episode. The series is good no doubt, however I was so pissed with white’s communication. I could feel Sean’s pain. Loving someone and willing to do anything for them but they don’t trust you enough to open up and know that you’d still be by their side. (The OST didn’t even help with the pain, it was so good it made it worse ? Then Tod and blacks relationship. The anger and pain I felt when he was drowning black can’t be explained. I liked his character at the beginning but towards the end of 11th episode not so much.
Let’s not even talk about Dan and Rok, I’ll just wait till I’m done to say what’s on my mind.
Just finished 12 episode and I must say I feel better, still anxious but better. I’ve paused it and will continue later. I need a break from the roller coaster lol.
I will edit this when it’s completed.

Continuation…Ep 13 got really got me saying “this is some bullshit” every minute. Cause what was that? I really don’t think I can sympathize with Dan like white did. That’s just another level of betrayal. If he knew he couldn’t risk anything, he should have stayed away from that group. Sorry not sorry

Ep 14…Am I supposed to believe that black took down able police man but couldn’t fight Tod properly?
So all it took was just an apology and a blow, next minute Rok forgave Dan? Am I the only one pissed?

Some of these characters drove me crazy. My chest still hurts from the pain I felt as I put myself in the shoes of some characters. All in all the series was good.
Btw did I mention I love how cute White and Sean’s relationship was in the last episodes? ?❤️

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What a beautiful story.

Now I will start by talking about the music and go from there. The music in this series was beautiful and fit the situation perfectly.

One thing I will say that I disliked about this is in the end that the brothers were different and when I say different I mean. That not many people noticed that Black wasn't himself. I also didn't like that no one knew what happened to Black. It was like it didn't matter.
Black handled stuff with an iron fist while White was gentle and wanted to get along and make sure no one got hurt. While it shows that Black will leave people behind if necessary.
I also didn't like that Gram got with Black's ex-girlfriend but not because of the story but because it felt kind of out of nowhere and forced if you ask me.
I was sad about the situation with Todd but then he did get what he deserved in the end.
Now I will get onto how I felt about Sean. I feel many emotions about Sean I feel sympathy, pity, irritation, and happiness in the end because he evoked so many emotions out of me. I think what Sean needed most was to know someone was there in it with him. That's what White gave him. Sean was also an amazing leader when needed but also had the majority of the dumb ideas.

Now I want to get to my main point which is about White and Black I swear you wouldn't even think they were acted by the same person considering how well they differentiate from each other. Black is cold, dismissive, and unattached a lot of the time. You can tell he cares but doesn't know how to show it. He pushed people away and keeps them at arm's distance because you can tell he doesn't want to be hurt. He is also a lot more aggressive than his brother. He doesn't value many in his life but his brother means the world to him.
As for White, he is gentle even the way he talks is softer. The way he approaches people makes them put their guard down around him. He is very loyal and caring. He often is the one getting hurt by his brother because of their link to each other but he always wants to be with his brother. If you ask me he sacrificed everything in his own life to be with his brother. He is not very sneaky compared to his brother which is funny. He also likes to stir up Sean which is funny.
But these two are like night and day. You could tell the two apart just simply by staring at the way they stand all the way to their personalities and how they treat people.

OVERALL: I would watch the show again simply because I love the characters and how they all treat each other.

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Not your average BL. Ideas are bulletproof!

The plot is really cool, such a punk vibe.
Love how this works, it's not just BL, honestly let's not put this in bl category, this is a show about fighting for your ideas, your beliefs, your voice. Fighting against the system and the government. Not your average bl. The romance here's it's kinda a bonus, yes it's important to the plot but it's NOT the plot, and that's what I loved the most!
You know, mostly bl is just pure fetishism to fujoshis, that thing really makes me pissed. In this story they don't force a fan service and to me particularly, goes in a good and natural flow (the romance, main couple)

On the other hand, the others couples feels kinda awkward to me.
Yok and Dan don't gives me a cool chemistry. The acting of Yok was amazing, he's was the character! But, to me, Dan wasn't that good, he acting skills was lacking. Also they don't give us enough to really feel the love that they supposedly feels (?) You can see Yoks love but can't see the Dans love...
But HEY I REALLY LOVED YOK'S MOM! Representation of deaf people is always appreciated!! Wish she had more scenes tho

Gram and Eugene, I get it, cute, they are cute, just that. But Gram was annoying lot of times. I don't know, the show don't give much about his character, not enough to makes me care about him, in the beginning I really liked him but later he was just boring, in the beginning he seemed really good friend of Black but wasn't, he never really thought "Black" was weird. Eugene acting skills also, don't was that bad but not good though... I didn't like nothing about her, and they lack on the chemistry WORSE than YokDan.

Honestly I am kinda impressed with the acting of Black/White, I was expecting the worse since the first show that I watched of this guy was Love Theory (?) and oh gosh I HATED everything there. It's not easy make two roles in the same show at the same time, he was really good on that.
Since I didn't watched many Thai dramas yet, I definitely wasn't expecting good on here. It's cool, really cool, to this moment the best of GMMTV that I watched. It was worth all the almost 14 hours I spent here, I watched everything in two or three days . Not perfect but definitely GREAT!


Now things that REALLY ANNOYED ME:
1- White change to Black really fast, that tattoo would never be okay in just a day, also the earrings tho. He just become Black and his dad never noticed shit! That's how you have a present father who is absent at the same time. His dad never asked when did you pierced your ears? Where you've been? Nothing.
2- They give us a feeling that Sean knows that White wasn't Black and they're twins. I think was in the episode 9 or 10 that Black comes back, they showed us a flashback of Sean asking to White (that was pretending to be black yet) "Are you nearsighted?" "Do you have a brother?" And also back them Sean saw the glasses and the eye contacts while turned Black's entire room upside down AND supposedly he got Black drunk precisely because he was suspicious. Then when the real Black appears smoking and being rude, Sean didn't notice that this guy wasn't that "Black" he loves. And then he really got angry and crazy insane. This part I HATED SO MUCH because seems really bad written...
3- What happened after Todd tried to drown Black? They talked some shit then cut the scene then Black is okay appears doing something. That's bad.
4- The kisses... Ugly... Really ugly. White x Sean kisses... Just ugh ugly. Don't know how explain but was really ugly lol I prefer zero kiss scenes than that shit.
5- They didn't showed us why Black hates his mom, I mean, kinda, but what the hell made them break the contact? After all, she's a mother, but don't seems like one.

That's it.
Writing this review in English to practice.

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One of the best ones yet

This is truly a great series, from the plot to the characters, everything was executed beautifully.

I love the main couple, although I was a bit confused when they started falling in love, but sometimes love is just a mystery, I thought it was beautiful and very cute. I like how ML wasn't actually hidden in the dark, that he has his own guesses about MC's character. Second cpl is so cute too, though a bit more angsty in my opinion.

The plot twist was interesting, although my gut instinct actually told me this would happen from miles away. I was a bit confused about the motive of this character, and I wish they would've expanded on it a bit more.

Overall, i think the setting of the plot is very interesting, i haven't come across any plotlines like this, especially in bls dramas. And i especially appreciate how they perfectly executed their relationship, without it being purely explicit, sometimes just a glance and a hug can show a lot more than being super intimate.

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A disappearing snapshot ...of that unyielding force...to shape the world to one's own conviction

Before we get serious, am I falling hardcore for First? I think so. Someone save me because I need to study.

...

You will find many issues and topics to latch onto beyond bl and romance:
- The enemy being the one who knowing better than a friend.
- A group protecting your life because your life is an ideological statement.
- Doing something (art, protest, attack) to express the anger with the state world is in.
- Forgiveness and change come in no order. And lastly... the one I will latch onto...

Existing in a world by working for more than yourself:

While I wish the world worked out in this manner the ROT and their mob, humans are rather more complicated, their interests conflicting and therefore less united.

When I tell you I got the chills when the mob united to save the group.

This is many things. Idealistic. Non-sensical. Pessimistic about the world. Hopeful for a change. Angry. Rebellious. Everything what youth is and represents. I kind of love this cloud of delusion that gives one the sense of being alive. But of course in a 14 episode time frame. And then back to reality.

I mean, I will go on a rant but adults like Gumpa who continue fighting in such manner can do so if they have their own garage, resources and no family of their own who financially depend on. Throw in a child and Gumpa would've acted like the policeman. A lot of adults need to either shut down the fire or find other ways to do channel it. Even White abandons his identity to join the gang eventually. but why White? Didn't you like diplomacy? What do you do like? Until when you will act like Black? I mean, the difference between two is larger than outfits and composure. (But the drama did take a large bite, so I do not expect it to deal with every unclosed circle.)

But this also tells us why many do not...Many do not care about social issues, not because of ignorance necessarily but other priorities, like Yok's mother. And honestly, I do not blame them. This, full-on-100% deliberation is only reserved for the kind of privileged ones we forget - the youth.

But I did feel a sting of becoming an adult and wondering am I going to lose it? Am I losing the sensitivity for social issues because life gets in the way?

We need an uprising in our hearts. A continued reminder. To not allow ourselves not to be mistreated as individuals in our lives by anyone. Ignite the spark, and wake up.

This drama reminded me of it. Which makes it a necessary watch for anyone.

...

Also Dan, you bi***, I ain't forgiving you... so it seems I have some adulting left to do.

Eh, life.

10/10.


Thanks for reading.

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I feel a bit unsatisfied?

*happy ending for two couples*

Dont get me wrong. The acting was superb. Especially Gun my gosh. I think this series showcased his acting really well. It made me even think that Black is really another actor. I completed watching this just because I really loved Gun's acting in this one.

The ost? The best. I thought I will never find a more better ost than never let me go, but my boy. This got the best. They also incorporated some songs I also heard in never let me go. Save the spotify playlist. Def recommend.

The story is 10 out of 10 as well. The conflict the suspense, the cinematography, everything is the best.

However down to the last episodes, I had to skip some scenes? I dont know why it became boring in the latter episodes even though the romance and the action is in the last parts.

I think OffGun's off screen chemistry is not much shown in the series unlike TOL. Maybe because this series focuses more on the plot of fighting for what is right. Rather than the romance part. It became so not focused that I dont mind leaving the romance between OffGun. Heck, I felt more on screen chemistry with YokDan.

Another reason I think that I am unsatisfied with is becauseI didnt see or realized when Sean fell in love with White. I felt how conscious White is to Sean but not the other way around. There are some moments but I didnt feel that it was tense in a romantic way. Next thing I know he already kissed White.

I just felt overall that the romance and the plot is unbalanced in a way. I just hoped the build up is introduced all throughout the series and not just the almost last part.

Overall, this is one of the best series out there in terms of plot and execution. Must watch but know that the romance is not much the focus of this series.

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