Only Friends (2023)

Not an episode went by without me screaming in front of my screen

'Only friends' is a messy yet intriguing series and no the plot isn't the mess in fact the plot execution is really good, however the characters are absolutely messy and the whole plot revolves around these very messy characters. Red flags here, red flags there and I am honestly not a fan of red flags but this series had me ever since the trailer. One of the most striking elements of this series is the undeniable chemistry among the actors. The emotions, the tension they convey through the screen are palpable, tugging at my heartstrings and making the characters connections and conflicts feel all too real. I am so invested.

Not an episode went by without me screaming in front of my screen, be it in excitement or frustration. I had to pause from time to time to take deep breath and to calm down because honestly this riled me up, made me swear and scream and I was still enjoying it.

WARNING: Major spoilers ahead!!

Starting with Sand because he is my favorite. He is sassy and has his own ways- both good and bad. He is confident, charming, mess with him and be ready for a payback. And he has my heart. I really can't see him getting hurt. He is so freaking precious and honestly I just want to throw some punches on Ray but then again I can't do that. One glimpse of Ray crying and my anger is all melted but then he does some shitty things again and my anger, my frustration is back. Ray, he is alcoholic, kind of lonely, one hell of a selfish prick, and I am so freaking mad at him or I am not. Honestly I don't know anymore. Also, he is such a tease. He says Sand isn't my type but then he is flirting with Sand every single second of every single minute Sand is around him. And yeah they were 'ONLY' friends even after all the smoke kiss and the nights and what nots and he liked Mew and he messed up a big time but call me color blind I still wanted to see Sand and Ray happily together. However, that doesn't change the fact that Sand deserves so much better.

Moving on to Nick, he is such a cute baby but a big no he ain't innocent. He is so certain about what and who he wants which is a good trait but he is suffering and I just wanna go and punch Boston but then again I can't do this either. I am a softie for them all. Sorry not sorry!! Honestly, Boston is a hot manipulative mess and a major major red flag. He's using Nick and I hate him when Nick is hurting, more so when he screws things up but guess what I still can't hate him completely. I don't even know if I hate him at all, he just gets me screaming in front my screen in frustration. Also, he and Nick were friends.. 'ONLY' friends after all the nights and sweet talks and what nots and Boston was playing around but call me crazy I seriously wanted them to be the endgame even after all of that. And trust me what Boston wants he gets it by hook or by crook.

Then we have Mew, the said nerd in the friend circle and the innocent yet not so innocent guy. He is into Top but he plays hard to get. Talking about Top, he radiates the vibe of a red flag but trust me he isn't the first one on the list. However, it's clear he does want Mew at the moment and I think he really does have feelings for Mew or am I just being clowned? I still don't know honestly. Okay so they had a thing going on and they too were 'ONLY' friends and then boyfriends for a tiny while and then they- aaaahahjahdahsjd- watch it yourself to know.

See, mess! mess! the head throbbing, heart wrenching mess they created!!

The most sorted relationship in the friends circle is of Namchueam and April and they don't really have enough screen time. It might look like I am complaining. Yeah I am because I was losing my mind and I was on the edge every single second while watching this. But damnnn the chemistry they have. I can't unsee it and I am so invested. Also, none of the characters are bland. There's Dan, who is hitting on Nick and his chemistry with Nick is no joke. Then we have Boeing, my god, this guy is the real deal. He made his entry like a tornado, shaking up the already messed up relationship equations and damn his charm is irresistible. Also, Yo and Plug they had minimum screen time but they ate up their scenes.

To add up the osts, the sound tracks, I love it mahn and even the lyrics of the osts. Honestly this series is a mess and it triggered my trust issues. I couldn't and I still can't trust anyone of them not even my favorites and still this is so worth it. Highly Highly recommended!!

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Good :)

What a ride!
I must admit I had high expectations for this, and at the end I was a bit disappointed.
The story flows well and the acting is good, but I guess there are some parts that are a bit lacking.
I enjoyed most of the show, but didn't really get attached to TopMew's couple, even though I liked how they ended the story.

Story is obviously filled with toxic characters, but there is a lot of development.
In this sense, I think Khaotung (Ray) has done a tremendous job. If I have to make a note, I think that they skipped a little the mother's complex, in favor of Ray's choice to make everything better for Sand.
I want to be totally honest: I watched the series for Khaotung and First, and for Mark, and I couldn't stop because I wanted to see more of them.
That said, I think that some parts are just not necessary (the whole Boeing's plan and its liaisons with Sand and Top - I just got annoyed although I wanted to watch more of Mond's) and the overall story got a bit slowed down from episode 9 onwards.

I liked a lot the fact that they didn't force BostonNick, and that Nick finally chose to be by himself. It was great to see a happy ending. Nick was my favourite character overall, because he was always so pure and honest, yet caring. He was not trying to change Boston, but realized he was just faking the whole boyfriend thing and "I've changed, now I only see you" thing.
That was my favourite part.

I screamed when I saw Mix at the end, but it was unnecessary to the story xD
At first I thought they would've proposed a new version of Boston, but I'm glad they didn't.

Overall, it's an enjoyable story, "spicier" than usual for GMMTV and I guess a little bit more realistic than the average GMM series.
It's not a masterpiece, but you can watch it without thinking "oh gawd, I wasted a lot of time".

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Hook ups, throw ups, fuck ups, hiccups...

Only friends does not really have much of a story at least not the first few episodes as there will be people touching each others genitals in pretty much every single scene making me wonder 1. did they use protection and 2. how durable are the skin and muscles of youth down below...

Pretty much every single one of the men in this is despicable at one point or another with the exception of the bartender who just had to little screen time to be so...

Only friends can apparently do a whole lot of shit making me wonder if these people really are friends forget the only, I would settle for acquaintances at some point, s this is probably the loneliest bunch of friends I have seen in all of Dramalad.

The main characters;
Sand- Smile to die for is shown to be this kind of saint but deep down we kind of know this guy is disloyal and can easiely throw his friend under a buss... He is however a good influence on some and has the best t-shirts.

Ray- Boy is crying for help so loudly... he does give up some psychopath vibes and I keep on going between wanna hug the guy and wanting to put him behind bars...

Top- Man is good looking, the ultimate bad boy you want to tame and make go good... but for the life of me I do not get what he sees in Mew... badboy desrservs better

Mew- I really do not get the guy, selfish annoying, fake... Psychopath... yes he has a nice smile but that is where the guys character ends. Why can't this actor get better parts?

Boston- Dude is crying for help... I hate him I love him I hate him again... I have had issues with Neos acting but honestly this time he nailed his character and did a great job.

Nick- One pretty huge mistake but after that I think Mark finally made my crush-list the most charming of the bunch...

Bowing- I have no words... dude needs to get some help...

Actually the whole bunch could use some help....

That said it was an entertaining watch, it completely lacked substance (unless you count saliva as substance), but it was indeed entertaining and filled a whole yers quota of watching people hook up!

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It is bad, not the worst, but it is bad

If you're looking for a show that will change your life, this isn't it. If you're looking for a good story that will give you a message, this isn't it. But if you have free time, want to watch something with your meal, and are looking for something that won't strain your mind too much, this is it. In the story, all characters are in the gray zone except 3 of them.(two of them are black, one of them white, white is the only girl btw:) Some of them are very light gray, some are close to black. This may be the most admirable aspect of the story. You can empathize with almost all the characters or get angry and hate them at the end of the story. This choice is completely It is left to you.

The first episodes of the series are very fluent and different. But the cliché of bringing an ex-lover to open a new path has turned everything upside down. With such a clumsy move and the continuation of the lazy writing technique, the story jumped out of the window. Even though you understand the motivations of many characters until that hour, everything becomes a confusion after that hour. Characters exhibit self-contradictory behavior. Which is the failure of the scenario. The scenario also has inconsistencies within itself. While the kissing scene of one of the characters who has a boyfriend with someone else may cause major events, another character's not taken into consideration at all and is even applauded. In the series, everyone cheats on each other or everyone kisses everyone else, but these do not serve anything. The characters act as if nothing happened. They made everyone kiss to eache other for just get more interaction on social media and these scenes serve nothing. In short, it is another series where the weak and bad scenario is tried to be saved with popular actors and Nc scenes. It is bad but not the worst, but it is still bad.

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Unexpectedly Underwhelming :)

Great cast, veterans from other BL shows, a premise with a hint of lots of interaction and sex. What could go wrong?

PLOT: Let’s say the basic concept is pretty interesting, the different members having connections or history with each other, seeing different ships mixing together, this idea would make the show not boring. Well, the execution is quite different. The different plotlines are not detailed enough and also pretty boring, that even the actors can’t make it better. I thought it would get interesting at some point but I noticed that in later episodes I just started skipping some parts because I was so bored with some side plotlines. By the trailer it seemed like a 18+ show, however, let alone some strong and truly hot scenes in early episodes, it gets so soft and boring later that it feels like a Turkish soap opera.

DIRECTION/PRODUCTION: The casual GmmTv issues are present regarding the production: weird sounds/voices, poor sound quality in outdoor takes. The setting sometimes feels a bit contracted.

ACTING/CHARACTERS: This is the heaviest issue for me. The cast is pretty good, well-known faces, good actors. However, it generally feels like poor acting, but I think it’s because of the bad direction and writing. I think the only exception is Khaotung (Ray) who seems to be the most complex character and also the actor is putting all effort into showing us. His performance was outstandingly good compared to others, despite this actor really not being my favourite in the BL world.
Outstandingly bad performance was associated with Force (Top). His plain expressions make it feel like it’s a production from a highschool afternoon acting club. This kinda worked in A Boss and a Babe, but doesn’t work at all in Only Friends. Let alone some good emotional moments in later episodes when his character cries, which is some decent acting.
-After watching the last episode, and the post-credit funny scenes, I realized these actors have so much energy and personality inside them, half of it wasn’t shown throughout the show. These last funny BTS scenes really show a contrast between what could have been and what was.

CHEMISTRY: Chemistry between Top and Mew didn’t really work for me, the other couples and mix-ups had some really intense moments, even some believable drama between each other.
So... Steamy scenes: 9/10 ; Drama: 6/10

MUSIC: The opening is kinda cringy in my honest opinion, but the title song is SO COOL, I never get bored of it, I really recommend you find the whole song on YT and give it a try, it’s pretty catchy. The other musics during the episodes were alright, they didn’t really bother me but also nothing special, however sometimes I felt like I’m listening to a “Teamfight_3” music from Dota2 Music Pack 2018. :D Actually there are some free stock musics from YT, but they are not disturbing at all.

ENDING: Underwhelming. Rushed. Empty. Could have been some real drama. The only exception is Boston’s ending which I found sad but realistic and well-deserved.

VERDICT: I find this show such a wasted potential, with such a great cast and promising premise/concept. Underused cast, lame writing, average, boring plot. A slightly better than average show for me, but maybe I expected too much, therefore I'm giving it a 6.5/10.

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The best hot mess - worth a try!

Spoilers in the form of general mood and topic spoilers: I try keep them general and vague! Check the spoiler tags - they can help you see what might be triggering!

No matter what you think of Only Friends, it has no doubt cemented its place in history - chaotic adults who also happen to be gay in what's certainly one of the better and more polished GMM productions that I've seen! It's messy and a fun take on the university dramas I've seen all too often from Thailand: here, them being final year uni students feels almost secondary to the story minus the fact their final project is what this revolves around. What I'm trying to say is that their primary personalities aren't uni students - they're adults who get up to a lot of stuff outside uni. Also, THERE'S A SAPPHIC SIDE COUPLE (with little screentime since it's not GL, but they're still there!!!)

STORY:
This is what makes or breaks a series honestly - no matter how good the actors are or the cinematography is, the story has to be there. I think it was there, although it felt vaguely rushed at the end due to the introduction of conflict in the penultimate and final episodes. However, I feel like that's the charm of Only Friends - the chaotic nature. Indeed, coming to the comments, people wanted everyone to kiss, and A LOT of people kissed outside of the rigid couples I expected.
This is a very messy series and if you're here for established couples, understand that the story has angst and chaos and your favourite couples will kiss other characters. I love that the series explores addictions (implied to be genetic), suicide and promotes rehab. It shows the consequences of characters' actions, and even if most of the couples are endgame, I love that not all the couples get together.

ACTING/CAST:
A star-studded cast, with many faces I was familiar with:
Neo and Mark particularly shined here because I'd only seen them as the comic supporting characters - they did incredibly well here with more serious roles!
First and Khaotung put me through so many emotions that I understand why people love them - some of my favourite and most memorable emotional scenes were theirs.
Unfortunately, Force and Book didn't get me as invested as I should have in Top and Mew's story. I think it might be that the other actors were so surprisingly good that they didn't shine as much. I didn't feel much about or for them, except I thought I'd like Mew more early on, but loved his later self. I only cared about them when something was wrong or there was conflict, but I was invested in the others even when there was no conflict.
Lookjun and Nonnie were nice but had little screentime, so if you want to watch for the sapphic couple, I'd recommend you get used to them being very secondary to the plot, more Nonnie because she's not part of the main friendship group.
Jennie is iconic as usual, and Tee was impressive - their story had me irrationally invested for such minor roles.

MUSIC:
The music was amazing: they took a range of genres and used them as background music or as references in the series! I put the OST "Let's Try" sung by Khaotung (Ray's actor) on repeat before watching this every time, and I have it on loop now while writing this! Rock, hip hop and pop(?) all made appearances in the series too!

REWATCH:
I loved it, but I tend to rewatch things for comfort and only my favourites then. However, this might be one to rewatch if you like to rewatch chaotic and angsty things - if I'm ever in the mood to see everyone kiss everyone I'll watch this!

FINAL THOUGHTS:
It felt vaguely starved of CheumApril content plot wise but there's still a while to go before we have more sapphic side couples who are notable in the story. The fact that they're listed as support roles despite Lookjun being part of the main friendship group explains it though. I also couldn't be completely satisfied with the speedy redemptions for the sake of a happy ending for some couples. However, I understand that there are people who are all too willing to take back their partners who've done wrong, and I want to believe that the characters in question are truly improving since that's what I feel I saw. In that, this was realistic.

If you're on the fence about watching this - I was too for a bit, until I saw the chaos and angst promised. The OST is called "Let's Try" so why not take up Khao's invitation? I feel like this is worth a try!

(sincerest apologies for any mess or confusion - I tried to structure my first review as much as possible!)

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WATCH IT IF YOU WANNA HAVE FUN ?

La historia empieza a desarrollarse muy bien para ser el primero capitulo, igualmente se puede ver hacía dónde se dirigirá y lo que se puede esperar.
Dentro de las actuaciones la de Neo y Mark es algo que definitivamente tenemos que destacar, es decir, se podía sentir la tensión sexual entre los personajes en sus escenas, me sentí comp si estuviera de mal tercio jajaja
En cuánto al soundtrack, la canción de Khao es increíblemente perfecta para la serie ! La necesito en Spotify YA!
No se cuántas veces voy a repetir el capítulo hasta que salga el siguiente, esta ganas de querer saber que va a pasar que te deja la serie es un buen indicio.

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Only for the Fans

Did not understand the hype. It looked like the main goal was to get every main character to kiss each other before the end of the series. While some characters were interesting (e.g. Sand, Ray, Boston), others were rather one-dimensional, bland and just didn't work for me (e.g. Mew, Top, Nick) aka there was nothing likeable or interesting. I truly do not understand what Mew's appeal is and the character Nick was annoyingly frustrating throughout the entire series (yes even until the end!).

The only thing that kept it going for me was the development between Sand and Ray, with the exception of some parts towards the end where the story-line did not gel with the characters. If the idea was to make homosexual relationships seem toxic, promiscuous and hedonistic (selfish to a certain extent), then this drama has certainly achieved that.

The lack of good character design and a compelling story-line aside the choice of music was rather refreshing and the acting was actually pretty decent, which helped in getting through the series. I did feel that there was too much emphasis on the intimate/love scenes, and at some point it felt like a whole lot of fan service.

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Well… It was something…

now that this is over, I think I can say it was just average to me. I didn’t like any of the characters, and I found myself barely connecting to any of them. I’m not sure where the Mew storyline went because he was the least complex, least interesting, and overall most flat character.

I think everyone hyping it up, trying to analyze the characters, and general noise from the fans was making this seem more than it was. it was nice to see them push a bit against the norm for Thai bls, especially in the exclusive pairings factor, but I can’t say it made up for the lack of attention in fleshing out stories/backgrounds.

it was an interesting watch, but not something I found too enjoyable. the slut shaming of Boston was also a huge annoyance to me and I think he deserved to be seen as a person, not just a drama factor. he was the main reason the series could even keep going, so it was disappointing not seeing him get to say his piece.

this almost pushed the “open relationship” mentality, as I don’t see this as poly. it just fell short. I don’t really know what else I can praise this for… khaotung’s song? forcefirst being a thing? overall I just watched this to watch it. after the mew dramatics, knowing damn well it was just for show, it lost a lot of wind for me.

anyway, not a bad show, but it didn’t work for me personally.

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Something sweet... Something spicy

When I first started this series, I did not expect much. Granted that it had a lot of "spicy" scenes, but I had hoped to some degree that it will provide a semblance of depth among its character.

Which they did-- to a degree.

But, reading other reviews that had tackled on those topics, I will simply list Pros and Cons of this show. Warning on spoilers.
Pros:
-OST and the Intro video. It just matches well with the overall show aesthetic.
- First and Khaotungs characters Sand and Ray. These two could have a series all on their own and it wouldn't be much different, to be honest. A lot of the characters in this show are quite human -- meaning they are both good and terrible. Sand is not perfect but compared to Ray he is a saint. An absolute wonderful person that from start to finish I only wished he got the best ending. Ray's complexity is spot on, and for someone like me who had been in close contact with someone extremely alcoholic, their portrayal is eerily familiar. That and the chemistry of the two actors is just beautiful.
-Boston. Don't get me wrong, he is terrible. Like the walking red flag. His lack of remorse and his selfish nature is not an uncommon trait. It's seen in the real world, and I have to praise Neo's acting because people did dislike Boston a ton.
-Mew. I like Mew, and I like his transformation era but his character sometimes came off as trying too hard.
-Nick. I love Nick, despite him bugging the car and falling deeply in love with Boston, he still ended up with the best version of himself. And that's someone who will love themselves and choose themselves. It's always hard to waste away when in love, and it's beautiful that Nick recognized that and decided to step away.
-Nick and Sand. Friendship is top tier despite the hiccup here and there.
-The way they ended one friendship as well, which shows that sometimes we outgrow people and we can't expect that same level of closeness there when it had crumbled to dust.
-Therapy session as important to get over addiction is a plus.
-Recognizing that growth is not linear.
-Mond the actor.
-I know people say that this show is very queer-- which I agree, it is. But it feels more like the show showcases strongly just how much a person's sexuality can evolve and how much that can reflect in how they interact with people around them.
-Mixx~

Cons:
-Debating if this is a pro or a con, or it should be it's own genre but these people - Mew, Ray, Cheum and Boston had never felt like a friendship group to me. Even at the beginning. Which supposedly is the thing. There was lack of anything to prove they all had gone through things together, unless you can see them drinking and starting a hostel which really doesn't show much. Apart from Ray and Mew that had a scene that showed how or why they are close-- the other two seemed like props to me.
And don't get me started on Cheum, that character was a bad friend no matter what anyone says and quite oblivious to things that matte
-Mew and Top. I do not understand why they still ended up together. I felt Top is such a boring character. He is like Boston but not, and the whole fire trauma wasn't nicely done enough to make him more human. I get second chances and whatnot, that he was tricked or whatever-- but he sometimes just come off creepy and nosy and people like to say that's because of love. After people commenting that Mew is his type, how come Mew was the one that converted him to being monogamous? There' s just so many things about this couple that could have been executed better to have that satisfying end-- all I got out of them was they should not have been endgame.
-Top and Sand past resolution was a bit rushed and strange. Hating them, then exposing Top and then by the end they are both buddy buddy. Meh. Did not expect a fight but a better situation that would have connected them better despite the past, would have been better.
-Atom and in extension Cheum again, just you'll get it when you watch it. Before this, Cheum was a meh character to me, then that scene happened and she was just-- deplorable. Her only redeeming quality was her when she was with her girlfriend.
- Mond the character Boeing. I get that his past with Sand and Top can be a moving force in their respective relationships, but the execution only made it feel that his existence to the story was so unnecessary.


Other creative decision you can ignore or accept but those listed above is really what stuck with me. However, overall, I still did enjoy the show. It's quite a journey, especially when you had to wait for the next week. I slightly envy those who would be coming in now and can binge watch it until the end. And I praise the actors for giving life and personality to the characters they portrayed. A different kind of series from the usual GMMTV produced ones, that's for sure.

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Raunchy and spicy!

Defining the line between friendship and romance is frustrating. Through a series of hijinks, three pairs of youngsters each had tryst and left some yearning for more, while others simply want to have fun. What happen when different expectation and jealousy arise? Will they have their happy endings?

“Only Friends” is not the first Thai drama I started, but this is the first one completed and now it’s hard to find another one that is just as engaging. Watch this if you're looking for a raunchy and spicy BL! It hits the spot right from the get-go.

There was no boring moment and a lot happened in each episode. I'm impressed by how the plot is cohesive enough to keep me invested in all six leads. Beyond the excitement of watching BL relationships, I enjoyed the conflicts. Since everyone has flaws and complex feelings, it makes the angst feels so goooooood! Some twists and turns are soapy, messy and predictable, especially by the last few episodes when they introduced more supporting characters, but I am satisfied with how it concluded by the end.

Among the performances, Mark Pakin Kunaanuwit (Nick) stands-out from the start! He can ignite chemistry out of nothing, even without a partner he is hot. Also, Khaotung Thanawat Ratanakitpaisan's (Ray) showed a great acting nuance. What could've been better is the production value in some scenes the music is too loud, shaky cams and bad lightning, but it's acceptable and did not detract me from binging it!

-Jan 2024, Yovita
Find me on Instagram: @kdramajudge

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