Ai Long Nhai (2022)

standard university Thai BL

Overall: this is a classic Thai university BL, it's not going to win awards but I was entertained. 12 episodes about 40 minutes each (I watched on double speed) on YouTube, Viki and iQIYI (dependent upon country).

Content Warnings: non con picture taking, manipulation, non con touching (asleep), see the comments with a spoiler about potentially something else, stalking, kick, dub/non con kiss (asleep), vomiting, domestic abuse/slap

What I Liked
- that Ai actually had a conversation about his love at first sight
- happy to see two queer actors Arm and Porsch (who are a real life couple) are in a BL
- several cute moments
- funny moments (but some were likely unintentionally funny)
- Nhai's dad
- I dislike the circumstances of that scene in episode 2 but this was the best handled out of all that I've seen with clear check ins, aftercare, etc.
- they communicate with one another/poor communication doesn't drag on (also they avoided the ep 11 curse)

Room For Improvement
- I liked the initial set up and thought we'd see Ai struggling with Nhai's flaws but instead Nhai became reluctant and petty with Ai head over heels in love for unknown reasons
- multiple side couples were tossed in but not developed
- cartoonish villain
- that finale was...a choice, open plot threads, kind of jumped from scene to scene (still had cute moments though)
- how the dads acted in that flashback was terrible (also not a clear flashback)
- nonsense things (Nhai is in aerospace engineering?, how they packed all that stuff camping, etc)
- subtitles on iQIYI had quite a few errors but I didn't take off points for it although I think it hurt the audience's understanding of the plot
- in ep 2 I wish they didn't have Nhai directly crying afterwards because it seemed like he didn't want to, however I actually don't think that's the case. It was a combo of reasons including Nhai worrying 1. he forced Ai, 2. he ruined their friendship and 3. he got in between Ai and Ai's crush (because Nhai hadn't figured it out yet lol)

Title Information - a wonderful person explained in the comments what Long in the title means: "Fall/drown in love in thai means "ttok long rak" , "long" is the short form of this so yea the title means the story of how Ai fall/drown in love with Nhai"

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I lost braincells watching this

I think my main issue with this series is that Nhai is so unrealistically brainless. His childishness has been an issue for me since EP1 and I feel like no character development occurred. The dialogue was ridiculous (though this could have been a subtitle issue because I felt that they got progressively worse).

Ai and Nhai are cute, don't get me wrong, and I like their little gang but really what was the point of this series? 12 episodes and barely anything happened. If I was more invested in the characters maybe I would have appreciated the constant fluff but they had no depth despite several plot points being presented yet not explored.

This would have been better as a short series with maybe half the amount of episodes... Don't waste your time.

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OK, so hear me out...

... but I kind of liked it. It's certainly not going on my Top Ten BL list, but it was a pleasant watch, and it probably didn't hurt that it was the only BL on Mondays.

The "plot" is rather thin. Ai has a big crush on his straight friend, who is less straight than he thought, but is also a high-maintenance nightmare.

They "get busy" at a party, and in the aftermath, Nhai doesn't believe it's possible for anyone to put up with him in a relationship (which appears to be an excellent assumption), so he agrees to a one-month trial relationship so that Ai can prove he can tolerate him as he is (useless and whiny). It's a good thing he's cute.

Anyway, they have a few scrapes with jealousy, because Nhai is insecure about his suitability as a partner, and because Ai is very possessive, and have many other minor conflicts and arguments.

This is a spin-off of Tonhon Chonlatee, and it's much better, although that's saying almost nothing, and it retcons a lot of the offensive elements of that series.

I'll start with the negatives:

- There's no plot outside of the above. They just spend the whole series doing normal things - shopping, camping, eating at home, talking, going to school, getting sick, etc. It would have been nice to see a theme or something to overcome - maybe Ai is NOT sure he can put up with Nhai, and maybe Nhai is acting up because he's pre-supposing Ai will leave him, and gradually they develop the confidence in each other to make it work. As it is, they seem compatible almost immediately, which is a bit dull.
- The dialog is dull and delivered with too many pauses, although that's a pan-Thai-drama problem.
- The acting is a bit wooden in the main pair. If Nhai is supposed to be difficult, it would have been nice to see some energy put into it. He's basically just lazy. But it's not bad acting.

Positives:

- They are respectful to each other and it's pleasant to watch them interact.
- It's cool that Ai has two gay dads.
- Meen (Ai) is hot. To be honest, that's a big factor in why I stuck with this. In their first love scene, I'm fairly sure you won't be ready for what's under Ai's loose university shirt. All his normal clothes are form-fitting and very flattering to all his assets.
- Speaking of their first love scene, it's early, and aggressively initiated by the uke (Nhai), who is the "straight" one, which is unusual. Afterwards, he feels overwhelmed and cries, but tells Ai he's not made at him but wants to be alone to process everything, which was also unusual and quite nice. And even better, it isn't drawn out. He finds really bad advice on the internet, wonders if he's trans, then sensibly goes to talk to a gay friend about it.
- It's unusual for a pair to enter a relationship in the second episode, and it's nice to see them interact as a couple.

I can recommend this if you like fluff. If you don't like fluff, it probably won't work for you. I found it pleasant to watch, sometimes dull, but sometimes you want some brainless eye candy.

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Im glad I don’t pay attention…

To negative comments, I watch for myself and decide. Many of you want to nitpick and tear a series apart just because you did not get material to fantasize about. This series did not have all the angst and negative behaviors that most of you feed off of, no abuse, no rape? How dare they! Rate a series on the music, really? Its cute light hearted and enjoyable series, I have already watched it twice. I for one, skipping many series because they are focusing on extreme behaviors with couples and we are suppose to ship them as a loving couple, yea, no!! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen in comments watchers are trying to rationalize all the negative behaviors. “It happens in real life” is one of my favorites. Come on! Im glad to see some writers/directors steer away from all the negative BS because they are realizing they are losing viewers. Ive a small circle of friends that got me into BLs and not one of us are regular viewers since KP. The average age of a viewer watching BLs are 14-early 20’s and they want us to fantasize about falling in love with an abuser? Smh. Give this series a try and have no worries that someone is going to get hurt in a menacing way. The only thing I have to mention is there were a lot of loose threads, but my gut tells me there is a reason. Maybe S2? I also wanted to see more of Porsche and Arm!! Next time? My last comment.. with all the haters this series still rates a close 8 out 10. Not bad, uh? Enjoy and have a few giggles.

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Complete garbage

This one had NO plot whatsoever but STILL managed to have massive plot holes.
You'd think certain characters show up to cause problems and create some kind of storyline but they end up disappearing without explanation. I had expectations and saying that they were not met is an understatement. Ai Long Nai was like a sleeping pill from beginning to end, I'm surprised I made it through the entire thing.

The acting was not good either. This is something that's noticable right off the bat. I'm I decided not to let that be a dealbreaker this time and kept watching in hopes of a good drama and sadly, as previously stated, I was disappointed.

When it comes to the music, I can't even remember it, which usually means it wasn't good but also not atrocious.

This is probably my worst watch of the year. Would not recommend, obviously.

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Bravo for making a spinoff worse than its predecessor

Kudos goes to those who decided to make this spinoff. You guys have achieved something that I never had expected- you made this series worse than it's predecessor 'Tonhon Chonlatee ' - and that's saying something!

Story-1/10
I don't know how I did it, but I sat down for 3 months and watched this series. And...the only thing that I got from this series was that Ai liked Nhai. They dated and ended up together in the end. That's it. Thier story could have bewn told in four episodes instead of twelve. Up to now I am still wandering what was the purpose of twelve episodes. I mean, all the 'baddies' that didn't want them together quickly fizzled out and really added nothing to the story.

The girls who showed interest in both Ai and Nhai were pointless. Ai's mom and sister was pointless. EVERYTHING was pointless. Also, it made no sense if you watched the sequel 'Tonhon Chonlatee ', because thier small storyline here does not in any form or fashion follow or is close to the storyline in there.

All this series had were make out scenes and NC scenes of the MC. Two of Nhai's friends were given 'love interest ', besides Tonhon. I put these in brackets becuase one ended before it began and the next one was a blink before you miss it situation. And the ending really didn't do anything for the story, leaving me dissapointed but not surprised due to watching this series.

Acting/Cast-1.5/10
I do try my best to give new actors a chance in series. But as of late, I feel like I just can't. The roles that they are taking, they are not able to portray these characters well. This is what I personally believe as some of the actors here this is thier very first role. And as such, I was initially going to give them 1. However, just beacuse poor Porsch and Arm starred in this monstrosity, I am giving them an extra .5. So my rating is 1.5.

Music-3/10
Some of the music was a bit passable, but not really that memorable. So, I will be giving a 3.

Rewatch Valu-1/10
No. Just no. Absolutely not. This series at time just became background noise, as I did not pay any slight attention to it. And since the lowest I can give is a 1, then I am giving it a 1.

Overall-1.5/10
Overall, I give this series a 1.5 out of 10. And I must say that my lesson has officially been learned. I told myself not to expect much as this director was the same one who did 'Hotel Stars', 'Gen Y ' seasons 1 and 2 and 'LA Cuisine '. All of which I may have issues with (I only gave 'Hotel Stars' a7.5 due to an actor who carried out his character well and I gave 'Gen Y ' a 7 due to my then desire for a season 2- which totally dissapointed me).

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Don’t worry, nothing happened.

I just finished watching episode 11 and so far I have found no plot and no point to this series. Basically, Ai meets Nhai and falls in love. Ai is a handsome, smart, rich boy. Nhai is an adorable boy with very little brain power. Honestly, I think they said he’s going to school for Aerospace Engineering, but I have doubts about this guy’s ability to tie his own shoes. Anyway, they get together. That’s pretty much the story, all told. There are other people introduced, other possible couples left hanging, a possible plot with Ai’s mother that seems lacking and isn’t driving the characters or the story. But nothing else.

It could be a cute, sweet little love story except for one fatal flaw: the dialogue is ridiculous. Either the person who did the English Subtitles is having a good laugh while he writes complete nonsense or the writers of the series couldn’t manage an entire conversation without asking their 3 year old nephew to help. Possibly both. The dialogue is that bad.

I made it to episode 11 and nothing has happened. I keep waiting for something, some vague reason behind the story, but no. Nothing. Nada. Zip. If the actors had a story, they might have been good but between the lack of actual story, no reasonable dialogue, and lackluster direction, it’s pretty much a no all around. If you don’t get around to watching it, don’t worry — nothing happened.

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It could use some tweaking

So I’ve kept up with this drama and I’m not disappointed. However, it’s not as sweet as I think it could be. Ai seems to be quite a sweet boy whose actually sensitive. While Nhai is this goofy but adorable character. There are countless moment where I think it could be sweeter. However Ai takes very good care of Nhai which is sweet. But like for example Nhai gets upset over small issues and it’s like played off as a joke? I’m not sure how to describe it. But for me it lacks in seriousness in some moments.

This drama is incredibly steamy. Like it’s really fckin hot. There are many scenes where Nhai and Ai like really get into it with their kissing. The chemistry is way off the charts. It feels natural and not forced at all. Which is good considering irl the actors have a 5 year age gap. It’s good that they are able to be comfortable with each other. The actors of the cast are all very handsome and portray their characters amazingly. It’s very believable.

Now for the story. The story is a bit…weird. Like Ai saw Nhai and went ‘hot damn son now that’s a catch’ It just seems a bit to unrealistic for someone to just instantaneously look at another person and fall in so much love in that moment. In a bl there is typically a problem trying to tear apart the couple but where is it exactly? People are going to say the mom but like she kinda isn’t though. All she did was demand Nhai to break up with Ai and that’s kinda it. Nothing really else happened. Then others will say the mom sent her daughter. Like yes but also no. The mom didn’t send her daughter to break up the relationship. Just to hand Ai some food and to request that Ai visit the mom. So yep. Where’s the problem? And then there’s the whole JaoNan and Ai’s dad. I’m still watching it as the last ep has yet to air but JaoNan to me seems a bit suspicious. Like he has this deep rooted hate for the mom. Like I don’t like her either but JaoNan’s hate for her seems way to deep to just be the fact the mom messed with the family. Also there seems to be quite a bit of side stories which makes me think there’s going to be a season 2 unless they can explain it all in the last ep. There are some scenes that I though could be improved. Like when Ai’s mom digs her nails into Nhai’s wrist so hard I thought she might break the skin and have him bleed. Ai was just like totally chill when he came down to get Nhai with medicine. He didn’t freak out or get super mad or anything. I know Nhai was just like complaining and whatnot but Ai didn’t seem very concerned.

I do like however that this bl in particular does a very good job of showing the process of Nhai trying to figure out if he’s gay or not. Nhai goes and visits a family friend who’s gay and asks him how to know if he’s gay or not. This bl in particular does a very nice job of portraying homosexuality. The friends don’t care that Nhai is dating a guy. Nhai’s family doesn’t care either. No one really seems to give a crap that they’re gay except the mom. Even the daughter doesn’t care. I was actually surprised to learn in the drama that Ai has two dads that live together as husbands as that was a first for me. Because most bls do not have gay parents raising a kid. But it was so perfect in every way. Also this drama is not bad with consent. I know there was that whole drunk ordeal but Ai did say stop three times and asked Nhai if he wanted him to stop. But after that Ai takes it nice and slow and doesn’t force himself on Nhai in any particular way.

Overall I really like this drama. Even thought it’s not done airing I keep rewatching some certain scenes that I like or particularly enjoyed. I would definitely recommend giving this drama a try if you’re looking for something very simple and not too hard on pulling the heart strings. This drama has nice comedic undertones where I found myself laughing during the drama. I’m actually very excited for the last episode. When it’s done airing I will come back and update this review for a better, more thought out response. This was just my take on it so far.

Update:

Alright now I have finished watching this. I’m going to miss them a lot. So let me finish my review. I’m honestly a little confused about the mom. She kind of just disappears? Like in the last ep I kept expecting something bad but it never really came. So I think the mom could have used a bit more work as the way it ended was just really like boring. Ai and Nhai are just too cute. They are so cute and adorable. They’re fun and there’s just something about the way Ai looks at Nhai that I love. The side stories however are just way too brief. Literally Ton and Chon somehow magically end up together and there’s no real explanation or anything. Nai is just like there with a broken heart and the other guy is somehow getting pursued yet nothing happens. The side characters just had so much potential and their stories are just way too brief. JaoNan and Sib are just amazing. Their chemistry, their acting, their everything. It’s just too perfect. I love them as a couple so much.

For me the last ep was kind of disappointing. I think if it was just a regular ep it would’ve been fine but for a last ep it was underwhelming. Although we did see something happen in that shoe store that I though could’ve been done a bit better. When Nhai brought Ai to the roof I thought they were going to maybe redo it but no. That definitely did not happen. But yeah. For a last ep it was eh. Nothing too exciting.

I really hope this gets a season two because there is still a lot of things that have happened that need more explanation or more things done. This drama I feel could use more work on explaining things as it kind of jumps around a lot. This drama focuses a lot on Ai and Nhai’s relationship and their character development is insane but the side characters and Nhai’s friends don’t experience a lot of character development. It’s not like disappointing but it’s something that could’ve been worked on.

I recommend this if you want a nice and light bl. There’s not a lot of heart pulling or quarreling. The mains are just so perfect with each other and this drama is actually pretty funny. Definitely give this drama a try. It’s something I particularly enjoy rewatching because it’s just very enjoyable.

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yeah, idk what that was either

Listen, guys, it's not terrible, but not the most interesting thing either.

There is zero plot, like at all, but maybe that's a strong suit here. In some ways, you feel like you know what will happen each episode, but there was still a few scenes that were a tad surprising. For better or for worse, it's an unpredictable mess with cute characters and strange dialogue (at least if watched on iQiYi). The main couple (and only, but I'll get into that in a minute) were cute when they needed to be despite their insanely fast-paced beginning and mediocre story, and Nhai is adorable sometimes. They have an overall healthy relationship in my opinion, and that might be why some people stuck around all the way through. I'm with those who don't really know why we kept watching, but always tuned in every single week. The episodes went by fast and I wasn't bored at all, even when I had no idea what was happening.

To give criticism, I would say the biggest error was introducing like four side couples and then proceeding to develop none of them. There was no context for bringing them up, either, unless it was solely for the purpose of reflecting what is in the novel. Ai's parents are cute, but I still don't think that entire episode about their backstory as it relates to Ai's childhood was entirely necessary. That's another thing, did the mom and Jom just disappear? Where did they go? Why was silly Nhai saying no to their demands enough for them to back off? Not that I'm complaining per-say, I hate stupid family conflict, but I feel that that was so out of character for the antagonist of a show.

Overall, the same thing happens in every episode, the finale was underwhelming, and the plot is severely underdeveloped. However, the characters are cute enough, and you find yourself oddly hooked for unknown reasons. Again, not the best by any means, but also not the worst whatsoever. Just fine. A nice break from life, if you will.

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underdeveloped plot, underdeveloped characters.

There's three things you should know before you watch this:
1. The producers of this series are also the people who made "Second Chance", "Coffee Melody" and "Tin Jem Jai".
If you liked those, you might like "Ai long Nhai".
2. There are a lot of scenes, where it's clear that they intended to have a product placement. There are no product placements in the whole series. Either the production company is very bad at finding a sponsor or all potential sponsors did have no interest.
3. Ai long Nhai -- อัยย์หลงไน๋ -- Ai is infatuated with Nhai. That's it. That's the story.
[As an aside, the dictionary I use also gives two other meanings for หลง, which are a) [is] lost; confused; forgotten; neglected; mentally weak; b) to lose one's way, to go astray, to get lost, to be mistaken or forget; to be absorbed; to be absent-minded -- which is Nhai's personality in a nutshell]


The series -- I hesitate to call it a drama -- suffers from these points:
1. Interesting plot ideas, which never go anywhere and unconnected scenes, with plot holes and inconsistencies.
2. Side characters who can't even be called "one-dimensional".
3. Old BL clichés, and not the good ones.
4. Low funds, static scenes.

Let's elaborate:
-- 1. The series had a really strong start. I especially loved the banter between Ai and his father. When Ai first met Nhai, I expected this story: Ai falling in love at first sight, and subsequently pursuing a clueless Nhai, in more and more ridiculous situations; to the great amusemant of ai's father and friends -- I would have loved this comedy.
I liked that it was Nhai who made the first move, and his subsequent self-exploration. He was a classic case of a gay man deep in the closet (pining after a girl he will never get, getting physical with men when drunk, insisting that another man is just a friend and some internalized homophobia -- vocally claiming that touching another man is "eew"). That also would have made a really good story, maybe finally something more LGBTQ+ than BL. And they could have made this story light-hearted and funny, if they wanted. But that was quickly discarded.
Nhai's characterization as dirty and generally being a slob could also have been something new and interesting, people could have asked Ai "Why that guy?". It was kind of important but didn't translate into his appearance. He always looked styled perfectly, and I couldn't even see that his shirt was not ironed.
Scenes were often not connected, side stories discarded. I never could tell how much time had passed. Between a scene and the next, there were inconsistencies several times. Example 1: The friend group talk about Ai and Nhai several times, whether those two are together -- but there's no continuity, the discussions are always as if the friends haven't talked about it before. Example 2: In episode seven, a hickey appears and disappears, and reappears.

There's more, but this is getting long, so on to the second point:
-- 2. The side characters. I'd complain that the female characters are there just to advance the plot for the main characters -- but the friend group is more or less the same. They stay remarkably bland, considering they have quite a bit of screentime. At the end of episode two Nhai tells us about his friends in a voiceover, but this information is never important for any of the plot.

-- 3. Clichèd BL tropes that I hate.
Top/bottom dynamics, including the use of "hubby" and "wife" -- The top is manly, sucessful, knows how to get through life, perpetually horny, while the bottom is whiny, fragile, needs help constantly, reluctant when it comes to sex. There's a review here by RemmiKay, who says "This is a CLASSIC exchange of power relationship." There's actually some textual clues for that, so it works. While I don't think this interpretation is in any way intended by the writer or the producers, it made watching the series bearable. Still, even from an exchange of power relationship I'd expect that both are shown as into the sex -- Nhai continues to look like a nervous virgin whenever things turn sexual, and it gets worse the longer the series goes on. (Even if Nhai would only be playing at being reluctant, as part of their relationship dynamic, the audience should get to see that he wants it.)
There's the stereotypical gay (maybe transgender?) friend; there must be a gay friend in a romence, right? Of course, they are flamboyant, have pink hair, but they are definitely not beautiful or attractive. And it's disheartening that Nhai goes to this friend when he's unsure about his attraction to Ai and gets "Yes, of course you are the wife" as an answer. That's not helpful and also sexist.
Too many side couples. While other Thai BL productions in 2022 seem to have learned from past mistakes, this one tries to give a male love interest to everyone in the friend group. Not only do most of them not go anywhere (the one that does, just ... does, behind the scenes), the three friends also had explicitely stated that they are straight in previous episodes. (see above, inconsistent plot)

and, finally,
-- 4. low funds. The sets, few as they are, look empty. Ai's condo is supposedly "like a labyrinth" (Nhai, somewhere in the second of third episode), but it's not, and you can see that -- the living room and the kitchen are in the same room, for example. The props in the shelves etc. are obviously placeholder props; had they filmed in one of the example rooms in an IKEA, there would have been more personality to this living space. There are no knick-knacks or anything that makes a home a home. Ai's car seems to have cost most of the money they had.
That everything, the sets, the clothes and so on is mostly in white and black, really does not help.
Scenes often just were two or more people standing and talking, which made the already slow pace wven more static. Some actors need more acting classes.


Overall, I feel that the writer had some good ideas, but shied away from anything that would have made the series more interesting, either writing a good conflict (inner or external) or more comedy. Was it too daring for him?
But even if they intended to make a slice-of-life series, they would have needed something more plotty and consistent.
It's like a teenager's first fanfiction -- they love their characters, they don't want to hurt them, they write things they wish for in their relationship. But for a product that is supposed to bring in an audience, who'll remember the story, this is just not enough.



That being said, there have been two small things that need to get an honourable mention:
* I think this is the first Thai BL in which lubrication for anal sex is mentioned, and hopefully used.
* Ai explicitely states that he is bisexual. In most BLs they don't even use the word "gay".

(P.S: A shorter version has been cross-posted to Viki.)

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