Not Me

Less Rhetoric and More Stories

I was excited about this series. It looked dark, and dingy with A+ actors such as Gun and Off, but I walked away very disappointed. I have been to Thailand and I know about the political protests, but in my opinion, there was way too much moral grandstanding and preaching. I felt like the writers took 1960's American talking points and wrote a story around it. To me, this is an example of the elites, grooming other elites to be "revolutionaries," but who will probably be authoritarians themselves when they take power in the future (e.g. look at the leaders who imposed pandemic lockdowns, travel restrictions, freezing bank accounts of protestors, throwing protestors in jail without bond, etc). They missed opportunities to present problems that poor Thais face (except for Yok's mom), and chose to use rhetoric instead. In social science classes, we are always reminded that by sitting in a chair at university, we are by definition elite, regardless of where we start in life. Yok is the only member where you see a person living in poverty with a disabled single parent. Since this is fiction, of course, he is probably on his way to becoming a famous artist, and he saves himself (successful artists become rich) at the end by describing proletariats as a state of mind, not SES, or class. Instead of white savior syndrome, it's university educated syndrome, reinforcing that a formal education is the only pathway to a meaningful future. This is just my amateur opinion.

The acting was top notch, and I could see a difference between Black and White, that's how good Gun's acting was. I think that Gun deserves many acting awards for this role. I enjoyed seeing him paired with women partners too. Off has really grown as an actor as well, and he has gotten over his awkwardness when he has to do intimate scenes with Gun. I especially liked that they didn't use the normal filters, so we could see the actors' pores, blemishes and lines on their faces. The sets they used were just as gritty and grimy, fitting with the tone of the story. I felt that Black and White disowning their family was another 1960's cliche, and it made it seem like, all people working in government and the legal system are morally corrupt people.

I'll only rewatch if I fast forward through all of the rhetoric. Had they spent less time on rhetoric, and more time focusing on the characters (Yok's mom could have used more screen time) and people who are really struggling, I think that I would have enjoyed it more.

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Satisfying In All Aspects!

(No spoiler until the bottom of the review)
This is the most fulfilling series! The acting, script, cinematography, music, production value, everything! The show is not 100% perfect, but it still FEELS like a 10/10. The mood it set, the tension that was built, the deep bonding between characters... it hooked me immediately and kept me enthralled throughout. I didn't fast-forward through anything, it was all worth watching.

Everyone is perfectly cast! Gun especially did a fantastic job as the two twins White and Black. His energy, the way he carried himself, and the look in his eyes were so distinct between them. Phenomenal acting. All the characters, even the secondary ones, felt like fully-fleshed people. The script, acting, and directing all supported this. I became invested in almost all of the characters! And I loved the different group dynamics.

I loved how this was done: It's hard to describe but it felt like the focus was on the slowly built bond and trust between White and Sean, NOT on the romance of it. Yet when it did become romantic, it was immensely powerful because of how carefully their connection had been built up. It felt so real/realistic and filled me with warmth, happiness, and satisfaction.

The politics of the story was interwoven very well with the plot. I appreciated that it often gave arguments from opposing viewpoints and mostly didn't feel too heavy-handed or preach-y. Instead it was easy to invest in the group's goals and root for their cause, even if they had disagreements amongst themselves (or with others) on the best way to go about it.

Most of the time I wasn't conscious of what the background music was doing. I like that because it means it was an effective support and not a distraction. Whenever I did notice it, it fit perfectly to enhance the emotions I was already feeling.

I already know this is a show I will watch again and again, at least once a year. It has filled my heart full of feelings and prompted some thoughtful thinking.

GENERAL SPOILER on the ending:
I liked the ending. It felt like a natural lull in a story that would continue. A time when our beloved characters are in a good spot even though their fight is not over. They still have goals they want to accomplish but we are able to be hopeful with them. It felt like a satisfying end to the show but didn't feel like an end to their story. Beautifully done.

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Not perfect, but a very promising path for GMMTV BL shows

I’ll try to be straight to the point, because with a show like this you can end up extending yourself too much cuz there’s so many things to talk about. But I think this one was pretty much almost impeccable in a few aspects, especially regarding its production quality. Well, if we ignore a few special effects here and there, where it felt a bit too amateurish. But it’s easy to ignore that when the rest is so on point. Art direction, music, acting by pretty much all the cast. The fact that we could finally see skin that looks like skin!!! That’s important too.

The social commentary theme is also a breath of fresh air in BL shows (and it’s brave too considering the political context in Thailand!!). It’s often too on the nose, but I think as a show that’s targeted at younger audiences they have to uncomplicate things for better and broader understanding. There’s also the writing conveniences which are mostly done by making the boys’ gang act clueless. Their plans are a mess! But I also think that it’s important to show those characters as far-from-mastermind individuals. They’re super young, after all, and they’re mostly moved by their emotions. Especially Sean. But honestly, all of them with the exception of maybe White, who seems to be the most rational character.

As far as the actual BL parts go, I must admit I was never that into SeanWhite as a couple, despite me thinking that the OffGun chemistry is perfect. What I was invested in, though, was the side couple DanYok, which kinda pulled me in even before I started watching the show (just from seeing Twitter/IG clips). There was something that felt magical in how the storyline began and proceeded to develop for majority of the episodes. Chemistry was fire. But then I don’t understand why the writers/director decided to make them so chaste? Like, Yok looked like he wanted to eat Dan with his eyes. And Dan looked like he was willing to be eaten. And then those two guys end the series with a hug? I’m not saying they should be having wild sex on screen (but I wouldn’t complain if they had)!! Not at all! But they barely kiss. And kissing is not a problem in this show, clearly. See, in the one scene they had in episode 13 they are there having a moment, a heartfelt conversation. The intimacy is visible just by the way they talked and looked at each other. Then Yok looks into Dan’s eyes and gently touches his face. His eyes move to Dan’s lips and that alone was sexy as hell. And then Yok proceeds to touch his lips on Dan’s for about half a second. And then sexy time is over. I don’t know whose decision it was to “nerf” this pairing like this, but it was very tasteless.

Anyways, despite the underwhelming finale (not just because of the DanYok hug, but as a whole), this show was a pleasure to watch and follow weekly. I hope other thai BL directors feel inspired by the work done here because after this the standards are gonna be high.

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Not me has it´s own unique charm but also lots of lost potential

It's really refreshing to have a series that is not set in the regular setting of a high school and is actually trying something different and new. That's really the reason why I'm giving it a much higher rating than it objectively deserves. And with that said, Not me is a series that bit a little bit more than it could chew.

This show has very heavy premise about injustice in Thai society. It's a heavy topic to cover and this drama has a very childlike view of it, at least in the first half of the series. Like it's trying to tell you that society isn't black and white but in the show it kind of looks like there is good and bad and nothing in between.

But I'll admit I was being a little bit too hard on this show at the start because it's a Thai BL drama I can't really expect it to cover social issues in a believable way. Instead, Not me does it in its own, somehow charming way.

There's something very charming about this drama overall. I would say it is similar to the charm of Manner of death.

With that said, this series gets better and better with each episode. I wasn't sold on it the first few episodes, but then I got invested even through some setbacks in episode 7 and 8. Like when this show nails the scene, it nails it almost perfectly and for the last few episodes, this show has some really interesting moments that actually hooked me.

Story.

The story is good. It's interesting enough to make you interested but this show is very unfocused on what it wants to do. Like it's an mystery drama but at the same time it's a social critique drama and at the same time it's a romance drama. It tried to do so many different things and for that reason failed to execute them properly. The main plot point with the undercover twin and investigation of who hurt his brother, gets lost and almost doesn´t matter for the majority of the series.

I also feel like we are so preoccupied with the actual plot, that we can´t make much of the characters and environment and it all leaves us with so many questions. We see with White´s eyes, yet he never wonders why did Black do all those dangerous things or why his friends have no idea that he was almost killed even though he suspects them for hurting him in the first place. Where did Gumpa came from? Why does he do the things he does?

Characters

I had a lot of issues with the characters. Sometimes they do things that are unforgivable and the show likes to act like you have to forget them and move on. That was probably my biggest problem.

Sean is the worst example of this. I hated him but not for the type of character he is, but because his character doesn't make sense. He is a douchebag for the first half of the series. He is violent, reckless and just overall a bad person. But there is a turning point that comes out of nowhere when we learn about his past and yeah, while it's sad, it doesn't justify how he treats others but the show likes to act like it does. And all of a sudden, for the second half of the drama, Sean is caring, very sensitive, emotional and sometimes outright pathetic and dependent on White. He is a completely different character and we are supposed to just accept that.

I guess the show is trying to tell us that his love for White changed him but I don't think that's a really good message to give and it made their relationship not believable for me.

White is somewhat a boring character. I feel like they could do so much with his development but he felt underwhelming. They were trying to set him up as smart , but he did things that were not thought through and just dumb. His character flaws aren´t really flaws and they get fixed at the end of the series, like him not knowing how to parkour. At best, he was sweet and caring and little naive.

His twin though was something different. I actually enjoyed his character a lot even though he was a douchebag. This time around it was well portrayed. Black is not a good person, he's violent, selfish and reckless and he solves problems in a way that actually causes more problems to happen. His environment made him that way and it makes sense.

I have to just say that Gun is one of the most talented actors in BL because he managed to be two completely different characters and he did such a stellar performance with Black.

Yok and Dan, I actually really enjoyed their characters and romance more than the main couple. Their chemistry was just better and their story was somehow better executed even though it was sad. At first I hated the plot twist they made with them, but it wasn´t so bad I came to realize. They both were too nice for the series so I guess something just had to go wrong.

Sean and White

The second-worst thing about the show besides Sean, was the main couple. And I am really sad to say this because I feel like for the majority of people the fact that they are played by OffGun is enough, but it just isn't enough for me.

Just like Sean's character the relationship between White and Sean changed overnight and they went from hating each other to loving each other unconditionally in the span of one episode. I just kept on thinking what made Sean change his mind. It's a shame because you had one of the best chemistries between Off and Gun and it didn't do it for me. It just wasn't enough .I didn't enjoy their romance at all, it felt rushed and unnatural, which is a shame because it had so much potential. Like they are actually so sweet at the end but the way they got there doesn´t make sense.

Overall thoughts

But not to just criticize this show, it actually has some really good things going for it, first is the soundtrack. It's just really good, the music plays just at the right moment at the right time. It's 10 out of 10.

Another thing - the show doesn't look cheap. The locations are interesting, the camera work is actually sometimes really creative, costumes are great. You can see that it tries and yes, sometimes it tries TOO hard, but that's better than not trying at all. Some characters have their setbacks, but you can't really say that they are bland. I think you will be at least intrigued by their motivations and you have an interesting story backing it all up.

The main premise gets kinda lost in the noise of the show, there is lots of things going on, there are some logical errors BUT the finale is very satisfying and things end in a realistic way that was actually very mature. Which I wasn´t expecting starting this show. 8.5 = worth watching.

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A story that goes beyond BL

Wow just wow!!!!
Not me was a new bl everyone was excited for since its announcement and especially since offgun was leading. The show itself did such a good job of balancing the bl aspect and non bl storyline to the point were u couldn't pick which you enjoyed more.

Beautiful performance from all the cast especially Gun like that boy definitely showed how great of an actor he is under gmm and even in the thai acting industry. The switch up between black and white is so insane u just cant picture gun being like that, but he pulls it off effortlessly.

DanYok the bl side couple that did something most bl side couples lack and that was pure PASSION. Fluke my husband did a splendid job and im really proud this show gave us a different side of him especially since gmm doesn't seem to respect hes worth.

Overall acting 10, storyline 10 also the pacing for this show is amazing definitely respected them for not dragging the stories out. Definitely gmms top bl id recommend everyone tap in and u won't be disappointed

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WOW, what a show.

This review will be brief. Not Me is a series that stands out for approaching social issues with a sensitivity that is not common in BL series. Cast, direction, script, cinematography and soundtrack: all on point. Gun knew how to interpret the twins naturally and moved between them in a sublime way. Off was also excellent as Sean. First and Fluke were wonderful as Yok and Dan.

The only caveats would be in relation to the character Gram and his arc, whose development was not satisfactory. The second point was that the penultimate episode had such a dramatic load (and it was excellent) that it seems that there was nothing left for the finale. The final scene, however, is beautiful.

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enemies to lovers, secret identity, identical twins, good boy/bad boy

(Thailand, Jan-March 2022 on YouTube)

Starring very established holy trinity pair, OffGun in possibly their final BL. Also Mond (Water Boyy), First (The Shipper), Gawin (Dark Blue Kiss), Puimek (SOTUS S), Gigie (2gether)

Another one that is joining the growing cornucopia of shows that I’m not sure I should really review as a BL fan, because I’n not not sure they’re really BL. (For me, Manner of Death really started this trend and dialogue with myself. I see Not Me as its successor.) GMMTV gave us a dark disestablishment narrative (in a time of civil unrest) with established queer award-winning director Anucha and starring OffGun.

Let Me Be Perfectly Clear

THIS IS AN AMAZING THING to get to experience in the BL world - nerve racking but remarkable. The politics of it rather overshadowed the art (just like for Dan’s character) and certainly overshadowed the romances. But the dialogue it generated was cool. This is the dark, gritty gang-set BL series we all expected from Motorcycle (before it disappeared from the radar) with some supped up soap opera tropes (twins, secret identity) and some crazy talent behind the wheel.

But was it ACTUALLY BL?

Not Me had a lot of BL elements, but in the end that’s not what the show was about, or even what it was genuinely trying to be as a show. (A BL series MUST use the main relationship arc as the plot driver.)

In fact that’s an issue I have with it. What was this show ultimately about? What did it want us to take away? Because as a piece of queer cinema and activism it was fine, but VERY heavy handed and clumsy. I can’t rec it to my cray queer artist or film industry friends they’d find it laughable, but I can’t really rec it to my BL friends either, it’s a lot for the sweetness-and-light crowd to swallow. Who was this for? What market? A few of us in this one corner of Tumblr? But who else? Netflix isn’t going to pick this one up, that’s for darn sure. And does that ultimately matter critically? (I think yes actually, because it won’t be profitable without an audience. But that’s an issue arthouse cinema has struggled with for a very long time.)

I DO think Not Me will have impact on BL as a genre going forward. Whether it technically belongs to it or not.

This is a lot of waffling from me, already a champion waffler.

Oddly, some of this is because I feel a lot about this show as I did about Bad Buddy. (Let me be clear: Bad Buddy was definitely a BL.) I appreciate both for the same reasons. And I will not be re-watching them often, if at all, for the same reasons. And that’s why I am not able to give either show a 10/10. Rewatch value is a huge deal for me.

So I’m going to say, 9/10. Just as a rating. Let’s move on from numbers and just talk more about this show.

Production Values Assessment

If I have one major critique of Not Me it’s that far too many scenes were filmed too dark. I get that we are meant to take this show super seriously, but when will filmmakers learn that serious doesn’t have to be executed by forcing us to squint? Metonymy has a lot to answer for.

Otherwise the staging, music, and all production values were high, if not pristine. It was closest to 3 Will Be Free or A Tale of Thousand Stars (which also had the darkness issue) than anything else from GMMTV.

Style and filming it matched to the best that Taiwan can do, so not as high quality as Korea or Japan, but then neither of those cinematic styles would have suited this narrative. But for Thailand, we can consider this top tear.

Story, Characters & Pairs

If you go in expecting this to be BL then the pacing is off on the romance arcs (but not the rest of the narrative). They’re rushed and uneven (like a Korean BL). For example Dan crying suddenly was... odd and jarring. The first SeanWhite kiss came outta nowhere. However, this was definitely OffGun’s best kissing ever. It only took them 6 years the get here.

Like Bad Buddy, Not Me seems to be pretty explicitly and intentionally going against problematic narrative choices that prior GMMTV series made/highlighted - from consent, gay-for-you, husband/wife language, heterosexual dysmorphia and more. They made certain to have explicitly queer characters positively represented (not for comedy).

I loved Not Me’s queerness and grit. I liked that it dealt with things that other BLs (let alone Thai BLs) haven’t. And I was prepared to forgive it a lot because of this stance.

DanYok

For me the DanYok couple, despite limited screen time, outshone SeanWhite (as a PAIR). Their chemistry is superior in almost every regard. They were so well acted and I appreciated their story as a true representation of enemies-to-lovers. It delivered on ideology, class, and social position conflict in a much more humane way that ToddBlack. They had an excellent arc and ending, if, at times, their romance felt a bit rushed - the intensity and suddenness of it suited the narrative and the characters.

SeanWhite
OffGun did a fab job on a romance story that, to be fair, wasn’t much of one. But that’s because it also wasn’t the point or driver of the narrative. Them being comfortable boyfriends was great and this was very much a queer relationship.

But to have truly ended this show narratively full circle, it actually should have concluded with the White & Black scene.

But instead it ended on a BL moment, or, to be more precise, on an OffGun goodbye moment.

Do I think that ending was for us… for the fans? Yes, I really do.

Am I grateful? Yes, I really am.

It’s been a wild ride.

Do I think you should watch Not Me? Yeah. Yeah I really do.

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Legendary. You can't change society, but at least, you can start somewhere.

This series is so well-written, I won't be able to wrap my head around it. It is unique and finally, a series that is trying to show struggles in a real more honest way. There is a lot of issues that are brought up in the series, in fact, l would consider this series a protest from all of the actors towards everything that Thailand has been going through. But, I won't get political. This series is very transparent and it was not afraid to go places. I really like how they are fighting for a cause, but at the same time, they support the other causes. You know? like let's fight the corrupt system, but also, let's fight for LGBTQ+ rights. We stan. Alright, let's get to the gay part (lol). The writing of the characters is amazing. And yes, Off and Gun characters were amazing, but Gawin and Fluke? they ate. There is a lot of struggles in these characters that I really liked. And the fact that is well fleshed out. It is not a cookiecutter series, dealing with the struggles was a highlight. Most bls would give you a big struggle and then just give you two seconds of problem-solving. This series did not do that and for that, I am loving it. A lot of scenes that could have gone wrong but didn't. Such as the opening scene of one of the episodes that had Sean and White having sex, and Yok drawing Dan, these scenes could have gone the wrong way, but it didn't and I am so happy about it.

Visit my blog to read the full review of the series!

https://souvenirmyshyyange.wixsite.com/website/post/not-me-review

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10/10 A STAND OUT lgbt drama with solid social commentary

(spoiler free untill u see the warning at the end) this is my first thai drama and first lgbt asian drama (or bl). i speak as someone who is lgbt and has now watched other lgbt, bl, and thai dramas.
REVIEW 10/10:
i loved this show so much. i really appreciated the social commentary, the activism, and the values of anti capitalism. as well as recognizing corruption in the system. the queer and political portrayals here are braver and more sincere than most western (and non bl) media i’ve experienced. from my understanding this is not very high budget but that’s mostly unnoticeable imo.
STORY 9.5: genuinely just love it,,, this is very unique in its genere imo because it feels like the story is first and the romance is just a natural part of it. the plot is not just there to serve the ships. not much to critique story wise. i would absolutely die for a season 2 to see the aftermath (see end of review). but i think the pacing was pretty solid, and the character and relationship development is pretty perfect.
ACTING/CAST 9.5: starting this out by saying Gun was the stand out performance here. absolutely served playing these two roles. offgun delivered a sweet and compelling chemistry to this project. everyones acting was quite strong in this. even the smaller roles like Eugene and Namo.
MUSIC 8: solid but not something i remember much of
REWATCH VALUE 10: i will 100% be rewatching
end of my spoiler free review !!! <3

ENDING SPOILERS SPOILERS!!:
ok so i did like the ending but i do feel it could have used an extra episode or 2. danyok got back together WAY too fast imo. i know why dan did what he did but he never even explains his reasoning before yok takes him back. i also wish we could’ve learend a big more about tod and blacks relationship? i think a season 2 focusing on the repercussions and court process would be amazing. this show has so much potential left and i hope gmmtv takes advantage of it.

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I'm obsessed!!!

I really love OffGun's chemistry and was excited to see their new project together. I was pleasantly surprised when I was coming back every week to watch it for the excitement of the story and not just for their chemistry (which was still absolutely amazing btw defo the cherry on top). The second couple DanYok, which I haven't seen these actors together before (don't know if they were in another drama together) their chemistry was off the roof. I really loved how their story was real, mistakes were made, feelings were hurt but isn't that with all relationships? I loved their development.
Anyways onto SeanWhite (OffGun). The story of White going undercover in his identical twins life, Black to discover who put him in a coma really kept me on my toes. To me it was quite obvious who beat Black up but it was still portrayed in a really good way. This was definitely a slow burn/ enemies to lovers (I LOVE THAT) as Sean and Black do not get along, so White acting as Black made both of them butt heads at the start but alas they get their happy ending.
This covered some really heavy topics as well, not just your fluff action you get in other BL's, this portrayed fighting for rights of those who get discriminated against and holding those high in power accountable for breaking the rules. Sean, Gram, Yok, Tod and Black (well White) are apart of a 'rebel' group which try to expose these people by doing various stunts to gain social awareness and to put a stop to their illegal businesses. All the people in the group have good story for why they are doing this so it really brings the watcher more joy when they succeed in their little adventures.
Overall, amazing show, really eye-opening and the romance was absolutely amazing, not too much where is dilutes the action of the story but enough to be screaming internally when watching the cute moments (and trust me there is a lot)

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Almost a masterpiece

Not me has so much positive things, omg. First, the direction of the scenes, the OST, the development of the main characters, everything is well done. The topics addressed are important for today's society and they deal very well with the topics. There are also symbologies in some scenes that makes everything so poetic.

The couples are also good. First OffGun, as always, had an amazing chemistry together and their acting were on point. I've known them since Theory of Love and for me they just outdo themselves. I also loved both characters, Sean and White/Black. Their scenes were beautiful. But for me, YokDan were scene stealers in a lot of moments. FIRST WAS JUST AMAZING!! He threw himself completely into the character and it didn't even feel like he was playing a character. Everything felt so true. And oh my god, YokDan scenes were perfect! The relationship of an activist and a policeman, the morals of both characters and how they handled things was perfect. The scene when Yok draws Dan, it was a symbology and a clear reference to the painting of Lucifer being expelled from heaven, and it blowed my mind how they even thought about doing this because if fit so well with the characters, it was just amazing. I also loved how this couple revolved around art, it made all their scenes look extremely poetic to me. And honestly, if OffGun weren't the main leads, First and Gawin would have stolen the scene completely and would have outshined the main leads from the series.

Now talking about the things I didn't liked that much, its a few things but yeah. The relationship of Gram and Eugene seemed so forced. I didn't feel chemistry between them at all and they were just flat. Its funny because I shipped Gram with EVERYONE but Eugene lol. Todd`s ending was so cringe to me lol I actually thought it was a little strange that nobody died in this series because they were dealing with heavy topics and strong people so the ending it was kind of...too light I think.

Also, 14 episodes felt short...episode 13 and 14 seemed SO RUSHED. YokDan`s scene was beautiful but like...a little abrupt. Dan just said sorry, Yok punched him and thats it? lol We should have seen Dan's perspective about things, him leaving the police and a little more of a conversation about everything that happened. I know this couple doesn't need necessarily to speak because both of them have THAT CHEMISTRY but come on, Dan betrayed them and Yok almost died. So yeah, I wish we had more scenes to give a perfect ending for them, as they deserved. But I have to say..even with this unsatisfactory ending, they stole the show in the last episode. A lot of people were disappointed about the politic thing but for me it was fine and even realistic. They will have to fight for a long time because the problem is in the system so the open ending seemed right. But I do agree that maybe we could have seen more things about Tawi and stuff.

So yeah, for me Not me it was.a big and satisfying surprise and unfortunately a little underrated. But I do hope people will give a chance and watch because its really deserving!

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