Ticket to Heaven

If I could, I would give this series a 100/10.

If I could, I would give this series a 100/10.

This series is absolutely incredible and truly one of a kind. What makes it so special is the way it conveys such powerful messages about love, acceptance, and faith. Its exploration of belief, love for God, self-acceptance, and learning to truly embrace who you are is handled with so much sensitivity, warmth, and tenderness.

The performances are outstanding across the entire cast. Every actor brings so much depth to their character, with even the smallest nuances feeling incredibly intentional and authentic. The direction and cinematography are equally exceptional, with beautiful choices that add so much to the emotional impact of the story.

And then there’s the soundtrack, which is simply perfect. Beautiful, emotional, and perfectly suited to the atmosphere of the series.

This is the kind of series that stays with you long after you’ve finished watching it. It settles somewhere in your heart and continues to echo in your thoughts. A truly beautiful and unforgettable experience.

Read More

Ticket to Heaven: Unconditional Grace

For decades the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops lobbied for regressive legislation, endorsed far-right politicians, promoted bigotry in public life, and generally strove to make the United States less open, less tolerant, less kind. That is the background with which I approached the news that the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Thailand (CBCT) objected to the original Ticket to Heaven trailer.

The trailer was released on November 26, 2024. Based on the series’ original screenplay, the trailer took an adversarial position, evoking a dark, melancholic atmosphere and depicting the Church as standing in the way of happiness. Three days later, the CBCT formally expressed written concerns about the upcoming series to Mr. Chaipol Suk-iam, Director-General of the Department of Religious Affairs at the Ministry of Culture. [1]

The CBCT struck a diplomatic tone, stating that they respected individual dignity and artistic expression. They therefore claimed they were limiting their comments to mostly theological accuracy and the protection of a minority community's sacred spaces (Catholics comprise roughly 0.5% of the Thai population).

And then they asked the Department of Religious Affairs to mediate.

Section 206 of the Thai Penal Code explicitly criminalizes actions that defame or insult objects or places of religious worship. Any review by the Department of Religious Affairs therefore not only carries weight, it is an implicit threat.

On May 30, 2026, 550 days after the trailer was released, Ticket to Heaven premiered. The year and a half from trailer to telecast gave Director Aof Noppharnach space for genuine creative reflection that produced an inspired artistic shift. Gone was the dark, brooding, accusatory tone, replaced with internal struggle, compassion, and self-discovery. By jettisoning a simple adversarial indictment of the Church, Aof created a work that was more subtle, nuanced, and subversive.

St. Magdalene College is an elite, prestigious institution for the wealthy. Catholic schools are the ultimate symbol of upper-class education in Thailand. Even the Thai Royal Family attends them.

Tanrak and Barth, however, were "scholarship students" whose expenses were covered by the Church because they came from impoverished backgrounds. Perhaps because they both were from outside the school's typical upper-class constituency, Father Arnon assigned Tanrak the task of mentoring Barth in order to ease him into the life of Magdalene College.

Soon after Barth's arrival, a student bullies him, sneering that he is “a scholarship student who doesn’t belong here," meaning he isn’t of their social class. That evening he locks Barth and Tanrak (Barth intentionally, Tanrak accidentally) in an abandoned natatorium. Traditionally a place of pure, pristine waters, vitality, and shared joy, the concrete structure stands in ruin and neglect. It further becomes a space of judgment and doom when, the next morning, Father Arnon and a group of students discover Barth and Tanrak, looking down on them from ten feet above with undisguised suspicion.

From the beginning of their friendship, therefore, Barth and Tanrak are united by the judgment of others. While we don't witness active bullying of Tanrak, he too was a scholarship student separated by the class divide. Thus, in their world, they are alone in the eyes of God, alone in the eyes of the Church, and alone in the eyes of their fellow students. With neither Tanrak nor Barth having family support, Magdalene was not merely their school but their entire world—there was nowhere else to run.

One night, Barth asks Tanrak to break the rules and go with him off-campus to buy roti. Tanrak declines, and Barth asks "have you never skipped school?"—leaving unspoken "Have you never disobeyed, have you never experienced life beyond these walls?"

Although staying behind, Tanrak agrees to help boost Barth over the wall. In what was almost certainly Tanrak's first body-on-body contact with another man, he grasps Barth's thighs, presses his body into him, shoves upward, and recognizes an undeniable sexual pull. On his return, Barth hands Tanrak a roti—tubular, floppy, cream dripping from the end. Tanrak hesitates, then takes it, puts it in his mouth, and recognition becomes acceptance.

One meaning of “Communion" (community) within the Church is something shared in common, and by accepting the roti (derived from the Sanskrit word for "bread"), Tanrak accepts something shared in common with Barth, in a sacrament of mutual understanding and desire.

Communion is then followed by confession. Magdalene students are usually in a strict uniform and under the watchful eyes of the priest and teachers. The communal washroom is the only place where they can strip away their outer layer of conformity and be free from authority figures.

In this space, both essentially naked, through the wire mesh, almost as if speaking through a barrier to a prisoner (echoed in their visit to Barth’s mother), Barth confesses to Tanrak that he’s Gay and attracted to him: Barth as penitent, Tanrak as priest, hearing Barth’s confession of raw sexuality without shame. Barth knows who he is but Tanrak, both priest and prisoner on the other side of the mesh, is entrapped by more than a decade of church teaching leading to confused self-loathing.

Leaving his prison behind, Tanrak opens his door and crosses to Barth’s side, where, looking directly up at Barth, he confesses mutual feelings. Most importantly, for the first time, Tanrak clearly states out loud that he is Gay. The roles have reversed; now Barth is the priest, and Tanrak the penitent, no longer imprisoned by his fears, seeking absolution and acceptance in Barth’s eyes.

The dualism of each being equally penitent and priest shatters the Catholic top-down hierarchical order. Instead, Tanrak and Barth give each other unconditional grace. Authority, hierarchy, and judgment are not the only path to salvation; equality, empathy, and honesty are as well.

Barth leads Tanrak to communion, he leads him to confession, and he leads him to baptism. Like everything in Ticket to Heaven, the waterfall scene serves more than one purpose. By taking Tanrak to a favorite place of his mother’s, Barth initiates Tanrak into his family and its struggles.

The waterfall is also an area where, for the first time, they are completely free of the oppressive surveillance of the Church. Baptism washes away guilt while at the same time initiating a person into the Church. Guiltless, they make love, initiating Barth into the world of sexual identity and personal freedom.

There’s so much more in the series, including other scenes that could be interpreted as reflecting church sacraments, but these three scenes in particular demonstrate different stages in Tanrak’s growth: understanding who he is, acknowledging who he is, freeing himself from shame over who he is. Despite Barth’s own journey, the series is largely Tanrak’s story.

Barth, played by Gemini, knows who he is and has long accepted it. Whatever troubles he carries—and there are plenty, given his father's abuse, his father's death, and his mother's imprisonment—his sexuality is not among them. There, at least, he is certain, and that certainty suits Gemini’s acting style.

The character of Tanrak, however, experiences a full emotional arc, from a denial of self-awareness to admitting it to embracing it, from repression to acceptance to joy. That requires an actor with not only great range but great depth, which is another way of saying “Fourth.”

To say Fourth is one of GMMTV’s finest actors understates his talent. He is one of our finest actors, period. In Moonlight Chicken (his acting debut, another Aof project, and where Aof discovered him and made him a star) he portrayed a young man on society’s margins trying to find himself while showing empathy and understanding toward a friend who needed help. In My School President he ostensibly played the traditional “bouncy Golden Retriever” BL trope while imbuing it with subtlety and depth. When meeting his boyfriend’s parents, for example, Fourth’s character Tinn was shy, polite, deferential, uncertain, but straightforward and glad to be there, all at once. And in Ticket to Heaven, Tanrak begins as shy, quiet, but slightly disinterested in the new boy, moves toward vague confusion and suspicion regarding Barth’s interest in him, struggles to accept feelings he had previously kept in check, and, through various stages of growth, ends by finding happiness in who he really is.

Several viewers on Reddit and elsewhere have called Ticket to Heaven Aof’s greatest masterpiece. While it is certainly a masterpiece, it is neither his most subtle nor complex series. The roti scene, for example, is outrageously phallic, and in contrast to Ticket to Heaven’s two-person story arc, Moonlight Chicken braids multiple interlocking stories across an ensemble.

Moonlight Chicken also explored fundamental truths, whereas core elements of Ticket to Heaven are more wishful thinking than fact. 1996 was a terrible time for the Gay community in Thailand, with the government actively promoting Gay tourism while its own Gay citizens faced vicious discrimination. The Church was still reeling from the Magdalene Laundry scandals, and investigative journalist Jason Berry published his groundbreaking book about pedophile priests and the bishops who protected them in 1992. Meanwhile, at the Vatican, Cardinal Ratzinger was strictly enforcing orthodoxy as the head of the Church's doctrinal office, where he was leading the Church’s crackdown on LGBTQ-affirming priests and their ministries to the Gay community. A mentoring priest would likely have been disciplined and reassigned.

But Aof created something greater than fact. He created a fairytale, because Gay people deserve fairytales too. As much as anyone, we deserve stories that show how hope can exist after hardship. We deserve stories that show what society could become if it evolved into a more fair and just world.

Reimagining past traumas with a vision of a better world does not erase history, it makes history healing. Trauma therapy relies on this very principle to help people reimagine their worst memories. By taking the dark realities of the 1990s and reframing them with decency and warmth, Aof offers the gift of collective healing—and that’s what fairytales are for.

And in giving us that fairytale, Aof offers the Church a vision of what it could become were it to prioritize people over prejudice. By showing that equality, empathy, and honesty can not only lead to a form of grace, but are, in fact, necessary for grace, Aof has shown the Church a way forward. May we all hope that someday, it chooses to take it.


[1] Chainarong Monthienvichienchai, "Thai Bishops Raise Concerns Over Upcoming TV Series," LiCAS News, November 29, 2024; see also "Thai Bishops Raise Concerns Over Upcoming TV Series," Herald Malaysia, November 29, 2024. Chainarong is the past world president of SIGNIS (The World Catholic Association for Communication) and former Chancellor of St. John's University in Bangkok.

Read More

A Story of Faith, Love, and Self-Acceptance

If you are looking for:
- a love story shaped by faith, guilt, and healing
- strong acting with layered emotional performances
- beautiful cinematography and a grounded emotional tone
- thoughtful themes of devotion, identity, and self-acceptance

then this series is perfect for you!

=============
Things I like
=============
(1) The acting
The performances in this series are superb. The growth that Fourth Nattawat and Gemini Norawit have shown since My Love Mix-Up TH is very apparent here. With a strong script and solid direction behind them, both actors are able to carry the story with much more emotional depth and complexity, especially in a series like this where so much depends on conveying inner conflict that may not be easy for every viewer to personally relate to.

Fourth Nattawat is impressive in the more introspective scenes, where little or no dialogue is needed. His body language and facial expressions carry complex emotional moments with remarkable control, and he makes Tanrak’s inner world feel believable even in silence. I can easily see him doing very well in theatre or films in the future. That said, Gemini Norawit still takes the cake for me when it comes to the single best acting moment, in the scene with his mother in prison. That scene had so much emotional force, and he handled it beautifully.

(2) Barth and Tanrak feel like gifts sent to each other
What I find beautiful about this story is how Barth and Tanrak feel almost like gifts sent to each other at the right time.

For Tanrak, Barth feels like a gift from God. Having grown up without much loving care from his parents, Barth becomes a source of love that is steady, sincere, and unyielding. He gives Tanrak the kind of warmth and acceptance that he has been missing for so long.

At the same time, Tanrak feels like a gift from God to Barth. After losing faith because of the abuse caused by his father and the pain surrounding his family situation, Barth meets someone who is deeply devoted yet gentle, and through Tanrak, he is reminded that God can still be kind and loving.

That is what makes their relationship feel poetic to me. They are not just lovers who happened to meet, but two people who arrive in each other’s lives carrying exactly what the other has lost, reminding us that the right person can still find their way to us.

(3) The cinematography
This is another strong point of the series. The framing consistently knows where the viewer’s attention should go, so the emotional focus of each scene comes through clearly without unnecessary distractions. The scenery and backgrounds are also used well, and the color palette adds a lot to the mood without ever feeling too heavy-handed.

I also appreciate that the series shows restraint with product placement. There are a couple of moments where it appears, but they never pull me out of the story too much. For a series with this kind of emotional tone, that restraint makes a difference.

============================
Things I wish were different
============================
(1) Tanrak’s inner struggle needed more weight
What I found interesting about Tanrak is that his conflict never really felt like a simple choice between God and Barth. If anything, the series shows that he wants both. He continues to carry his faith with sincerity, while also loving Barth fully and naturally. The way he keeps their notes in the Bible and shares sacred objects with Barth makes it feel less like he sees love as a betrayal of faith, and more like he is trying to hold both parts of himself together.

The final episode does make it clear that this burden never fully leaves him, and I appreciate that the series acknowledges he has not completely forgiven himself. That said, I still wish the emotional and spiritual weight of that struggle had been felt more strongly throughout the journey. Since Christianity shaped so much of Tanrak’s life into adulthood, I expected more sustained pressure, guilt, and inner turmoil around what it means to choose love while stepping away from the path that once defined him.

(2) More time for the story to breathe
This is less a complaint and more a personal wish, but I think this story could have benefited from two or three more episodes. The series already has strong emotional material, and a little more time would have helped flesh out the character arcs in a fuller way, especially for moments and details that were omitted from the novel. I would have liked more space for the “getting to know each other” phase, because at times both of them seem almost starstruck from the moment they meet. A slower build there would have made the emotional progression feel even richer.

The time skip also leaves some important parts of Tanrak’s journey more implied than shown. While some of it is addressed through later conversations, the audience is still left guessing about the depth and shape of his devotion to God during those missing years. That feels important, because his life in Magdalene House shaped him deeply, yet the life he eventually builds with Barth spans an even longer stretch of time. Without seeing more of that transition, it becomes harder to fully grasp how faith, guilt, love, and identity continued to live together inside him across the years.

===========
Best scenes
===========
(1) Barth visiting his mother in prison
One of the best scenes in the series for me is Barth visiting his mother in prison. On the surface, it is already emotionally powerful, but what makes it stay with me is how much it reveals about Barth’s heart. This is the moment where we can really feel how battered both Barth and his mother have been by life, and yet neither of them has fully let go of the other. There is still love, tenderness, and hope between them, even after everything they have suffered.

What makes the scene even more meaningful is that it also becomes part of Barth’s spiritual journey. Through that moment, we see him slowly begin to trust God again and open himself back up to prayer. That shift is handled in a very moving way, because it does not feel sudden or exaggerated. It feels like the beginning of healing. For me, this scene is one of the clearest examples of how Ticket to Heaven ties love, pain, and faith together so beautifully.

(2) The line that says it all
Auntie Lek (the MVP) delivers the line that feels like the main takeaway of the entire series: that you can love God and yourself without having to sacrifice one for the other. That single moment captures the heart of Ticket to Heaven so clearly that it hardly needs any further explanation.

=========
Takeaways
=========
When this project was first announced, I was a little skeptical about whether it could strike a good balance between the core lessons of Christianity and a story centered on homosexuality. In the end, I think the series handled that balance with a great deal of grace and care.

Director Aof Noppharnach already has a strong track record when it comes to delivering thoughtful BL stories, and this series is another solid example of that. It is sincere, emotionally grounded, and careful with the themes it chooses to carry. Fourth Nattawat and Gemini Norawit have also grown a lot as actors, and this series makes that growth very clear. I look forward to seeing what both of them do next, and hopefully one day on the big screen as well.

Read More

BL of the decade – that is, "Biggest Let down"!!!

I had been looking forward to Ticket to Heaven for 18 MONTHS (November 2024) before it aired. The couple, the topic, the DIRECTOR? Everything about the setup SCREAMED that TtH was gonna be the BL of the decade – and I guess it still was, if "BL" stands for "Biggest Let down". Not even GemFot's INCREDIBLE chemistry could save this show from being a complete disaster.

The way TtH portrays Tanrak's struggle between his love for Barth and his love for God DOES NOT MAKE SENSE. Stick with me as I give you three examples: the transitions between episodes 2-3, 3-4, and 5-6.

SPOILERS BELOW!

At the end of episode 2, we see Tanrak tempted by Barth's eating of the rati, and eventually giving into that temptation by relieving himself in the bathroom. There's nothing wrong with that, but given Tanrak's upbringing, his character DOES think it's wrong. Logically, Tanrak would have HATED HIMSELF for giving into that desire, and he would have expressed that feeling of disgust by REPRESSING HIS FEELINGS and PUSHING BARTH AWAY. So then why does Episode 3 start with Tanrak and Barth joking around by playing Tic-Tac-Toe on Tanrak's leg, and then flirting with each other after the soccer game? TANRAK SHOULD STILL BE GOING THROUGH HIS GAY PANIC AT THIS POINT BY PUSHING BARTH AWAY. Where is the inner conflict?

At the end of episode 3, we see Tanrak explicitly confirming to Barth that he's gay by saying "I'm not God's favorite son, either" (best scene in the show, btw). But again, this is Tanrak giving into his LUST. This is not Tanrak making an EXPLICIT decision to be with Barth instead of God (because at this point, he still thinks it's a binary choice). Logically, after giving into that lust, Tanrak would have THROWN HIMSELF EVEN DEEPER INTO HIS FAITH to try to wash away the sin of kissing Barth. SO THEN WHY DOES EPISODE 4 START WITH TANRAK AND BARTH ESSENTIALLY BEING A COUPLE? THAT MAKES ZERO SENSE. Tanrak should be going through an even BIGGER gay panic at this point, and instead, he's not-so-subtly flirting with a guy! HUH? Why did the breakdown only happen when KONGDECH caught onto the situation? Given Tanrak's upbringing, he should have had that breakdown IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE KISS IN EPISODE 3! You know why? BECAUSE GOD WAS WATCHING, and Tanrak has been CONDITIONED to think that those feelings are sinful. He literally says to Father Arnon during the confession scene in Episode 5 that "I'm angry at myself for not being able to control it", referring to his love for Barth. IT MAKES NO SENSE HE WOULD HAPPILY FLIRT WITH BARTH AFTER THEY KISSED IF HE WAS MAD AT HIMSELF FOR LOSING CONTROL!

If that wasn't enough. IF THAT WASN'T ENOUGH. At the end of episode 5, Tanrak CONFESSES his love for Barth to Father Arnon, who basically tells Tanrak that "love isn't wrong, but your love is not leading you toward God, so actually yeah, your love is wrong" (obviously paraphrasing, but that's the takeaway). Then how, in the very next scene, can Tanrak so easily reject God when Barth proposes running away together? THE FATHER HAD LITERALLY JUST TOLD TANRAK THAT CONTINUING TO LOVE BARTH WOULD BE REJECTING GOD. Tanrak's WHOLE LIFE has revolved around God. There's NO WAY that Tanrak would agree with Barth (that is, to reject God) so easily IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE CONFESSION SCENE. THAT MAKES NO SENSE!

And don't get me started about the finale. Really, P'Aof? Everyone and their mother knows the golden rule of storytelling: "show, not tell". Then why, P'Aof, WHY were there minutes of monologues about how you can "love yourself and love God" at the same time, from a trans character who was thrown into the plot at the last minute? Why were there minutes of recaps from Barth about their relationship after high school, when we should have SEEN those scenes instead? Why did Tanrak have to say out loud that "I used to think after meeting you, I had to choose. But actually, I never had to choose at all"? It was like P'Aof knew that the previous 5 episodes failed to convey the moral of the story properly, and instead of scrapping the script and writing a better one, he just decided to dump all of the morals into the dialogue of Episode 6. Like come on.

Some dishonorable mentions of why this show was an incredible let down:
• THE TERRIBLE AGE-UP MAKEUP IN EPISODE 1 AND EPISODE 6
• The lack of a clear timeline between high school and the present day (why did Kongdech take 30 years to get ordained?)
• Side characters who seemed important but ultimately weren't (Master Phak? Joe? Ryu?)
• Massive time skips in the first two episodes when we were still establishing Tanrak/Barth
• Tanrak's sudden change of character when he was hating on Kongdech
• The suddent jump from Barth's rejection of God to his acceptance (I understand it was because of his visit with his mom in jail, but it was still way too quick of a change for our second protagonist).
• Vague and conflicting messages from Father Arnon
• WHY TANRAK WAS STILL CONFESSING IN 2025 WHEN HE WAS MARRIED? LIKE WHAT?

Anyway. I could go on, but you get the point. Ticket to Heaven was the Biggest Let down of the DECADE, and don't let these overwhelmingly positive reviews fool you otherwise.

Read More

Propaganda, fantasy or an attempt to face a problem?

Spoilers: contrary to the initial trailer (released 26.11.2024, roughly 1,5 years before the show aired) "Ticket to Heaven" is not about a priest standing in the way of "forbidden" gay love nor is it about any kind of conflict or drama involving faith and sexuality. Instead TTH attempts to present an internal struggle of a young gay man – Tanrak (Fourth). The way it is written and portrayed the struggle is not (as you might think) about trying to reconcile being gay and catholic, but about Tanrak having to choose between continuing on a path to become a priest or going away with his newfound love – Barth (Gemini). One might think that this is the same struggle, but not really. Although he is presented as a firm believer, Tanrak is first and foremost a kid raised by a catholic institution and filled with genuine gratitude for everything he received from his caretakers over the years. Orphaned at an early age, Tanrak longed – and still does during the events of the show – to reunite with his parents "in heaven". With a background like that becoming a priest seems the right thing to do; it is not a matter of faith (or not just a matter of faith), but of repaying a debt, returning the good Tanrak received. Abandoning that path to be with Barth seems more like a choice between being selfless and selfish/ungrateful, rather than between his faith and his identity – that is the entire struggle Tanrak is going through. As for Barth’s side of the story: he is intended to be a "rebel" character, a gay teen who suffered a lot because of his sexuality and, as a reaction, rejected faith – only to find out he cannot abandon god. With other words: Barth only thinks he is rebelling, acting like a child, not understanding how great and wise god is – and coming to his senses later, at a moment of need. That is my main complaint regarding TTH’s story: it evades what could be interesting, feigns being about deep and serious personal issues of both main characters and turns out to be uninteresting (Tanrak) and disappointing (Barth).

My other issue is that TTH was written like a puff piece for catholicism. In TTH there is no confronting catholicism on its homophobia and hypocrisy nor confronting the church on its corruption and moral bankruptcy – those issues are not even mentioned. Father Arnon ("An" Oliver Poupart) – main stand-in for organized religion as well as main figure of authority – is benevolent, patient, understanding, supportive, forgiving and certainly not homophobic. Basically he is the opposite of an actual catholic clergyman and a made-up, fairytale version of one. The only one who somewhat connects faith and homophobia is Barth’s father – and although the show does not hesitate to present him as evil, it is clear that he is that way despite of his religion and not because of it. TTH goes deeper into fantasy territory by condemning homophobia (even punishing it on screen), but separating it from catholicism and presenting the latter as a force for good. For me – a gay male from a predominantly catholic country which till this day is homophobic, to a large degree because of catholicism and its influence on culture, society, politics and law – that is offensive and awful. I understand the local context – Thailand is a predominantly Buddhist country where less than 0,5% of the population is catholic – but it does not change how I feel about it.

TTH’s pacing is problematic: on one hand most episodes feel slow, with hardly any story progression, on the other hand instead of actual scenes we got several montages of Tanrak and Barth spending time together – as if the show wanted to make up for lost time or had less episodes than it should to present everything properly. This also makes it hard to tell how much time passed from Barth’s arrival to him and Tanrak running away – no idea whether it was a few weeks, months or more than that.

Performances of both Fourth and Gemini are alright, but I did not feel any of the magic they brought to the screen in "Moonlight Chicken" and "My School President"; the once strong chemistry is mostly gone. Fourth manages to properly convey Tanrak’s uncertainty, hesitation and undecidedness, but his subdued performance makes his character even less relatable and even more uninteresting. To be clear: that is almost exclusively on the writing and direction, not the actor – but I did miss the old Fourth spark. As for Gemini, what I liked in particular was him in the ep. 6 prison visit scene – by far his best performance. After his lackluster role in "The Dark Dice" I was worried Gemini forgot how to act, but TTH proves the contrary. Shame he could not save his character.

All in all TTH was a long awaited chance to see Fourth and Gemini again – a chance squandered by poor writing, bad pacing, very low number of episodes and a horrible, pro-catholic message of the show. Not planning on watching any of that ever again.

Read More

ITS TIMEEEE!!! FOR ANOTHER MASTERPIECE!!!

JUST WATCHED THE FIRST EPISODE AND I CAN ALREADY TELL THIS IS GOING TO BE AN ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE.

After waiting nearly 2 YEARS for Ticket to Heaven we're finally here. And honestly? Just watching the trailer was enough to make me emotional. The way every scene is filled with so much feeling, the cinematography, the acting, the emotions everything looks breathtaking.Of course I'm still heartbroken that there are only 6 episodes after such a long wait because this already feels like the kind of story that deserves so much more but no matter how many episodes it has I already know it's going to leave a huge impact on everyone who watches it.

This isn't just another series. It feels like one of those rare stories that stays with you long after it ends. The kind that makes you laugh, cry, scream, and then stare at your ceiling at 3 a.m. thinking about it and judging by the first episode I already know we're all going to be crying our eyes out.

The wait was long but I truly believe it's going to be worth every second. I'm so excited and soo so nervous to finish this journey with yall!! and our lovely GeminiFourth🩷

PLEASE GO WATCH TICKET TO HEAVEN. Because I have a feeling we're about to witness something unforgettable..

Read More

A lovingly crafted tale, like a gentle, soothing balm for hearts going through 'me vs my faith'

This show turned out quite different from what I expected it to be, but I loved it anyway....it is crafted as a gentle, soothing, balm for all hearts that are in pain and intense guilt with the inner conflict of me vs my faith...it steers clear of all the difficult questions around homosexuality vs faith, but one - can I love god and me at the same time, even if I am not 'perfect' and am a sinner, as per the scriptures...it comes back with a resounding YES....and does that very beautifully, avoiding most of the underlying power struggles, dogma, and murk that one probably goes through to arrive at this conclusion, usually on their own. This journey, I believe, is going to help a lot of people who go through similar inner conflicts, guilt and hopelessness

But the best part about this show is Fourth as Tanrak - he just embodies the very spirit of this story, with every glance, every gesture, all that he spoke and all his silence - the inner conflict, desire, guilt and finally finding peace with his love, himself and everyone around him. He is plain STUNNING 💓

BL-Needle Score: 7.5 Reasonably high BL-ness

I have been waiting forever for this one. This is a subject very close to my heart because the theme of this show deals with an extremely important and relevant subject - that of homophobia from one's closest people, loved ones and family. The pain of rejection from one's own family and loved ones is THE most damaging thing to ever go through for young queer people. It has been pretty common, and unfortunately still is, in many parts of the world, to see parents sending off their queer children to be 'converted', 'cured of the sin' of homosexuality. And more often than not, religion plays a big role in perpetuating such harm, violence and damage. I have seen catholic gay men up close, going around in a loop of self-loathing, suffering and struggle, just to reconcile their selves to their faith, and in turn, fail miserably at any form of meaningful human connection. More importantly, their parents and immediate support systems, the people who should have loved and protected them, have pushed them towards a life of guilt, shame, and misery, all in the name of God. We need to have more conversations around this and we need parents and families of queer people to be a part of these conversations. Stories like these need to be told, seen, heard, and repeated, so that no one is ever made to go through shit just because of who they are, and who they love...God, if he exists, is not sitting with a magnifying glass to judge your 'sins', its just us humans playing the power games using God's name ...

This show, however, steered clear of most of the contentious questions and focused more on the characters personal journey with their faith and actually shows faith-based people who are kind, if not supportive. Even though I did find the characters to be a tad unrealistic given my experiences of knowing Christian queer people and their lived realities, it is also a welcome change from the stereotypes.

I also must mention that some of the specific moments seem so real that I am almost sure that it is taken from real life incidents - like the one where Aof plays the ticket guy and directs Tanrak and Barth to a love-motel, or where Tanrak hides his face with his own t-shirt, or when Tanrak leaves Barth and his mother at the prison so that they can talk one-to-one....or some of the scenes of how the bully at the school operates...maybe also the thing about flowers that Tanrak keeps getting from Barth and preserving them, only to burn them later....so many poignant moments. I hard that people are saying that it is based on Aof's own experiences, whether or not that is true, these moments were so beautiful and I am so grateful that the person shared those with all of us.

I am hoping this show will help people become at least a little more aware and kinder.....and that this absolutely stellar combination of actors, director, and storytellers will help this show be a narrative changing act.

Verdict: DO NOT MISS IT

Read More

They can act, when the script lets them...

This is hard to judge, because I'm not into religion at all and not into christian religion especially. The premise to be gay is bad in Gods eyes is an interpretation and translation errors due to the history of this incredible book. For me the bible is nothing more than like "Lord of the Rings" - an epic story madeup by many people and rewritten so often to fit the narrative of the people of the then religious power. Don't forget that the pope, cardinals and arch bishops had more power than any king or emperor. And to break that power we had for example the breaking off the Anglicans in England because the power of the papacy was too much for King Henry VIII. And soon after the christians fought themselves with the protestant movement and the excess corruption of the catholic church.

When I see people demonstrating against gay rights because they are christians, then I ask myself what's wrong with them. It can't be God is love for all or just for heterosexuals. That does not work out. This series never questions the stance of the christian religion at all and make it too smooth especially in the 90ties when gay rights are not as developed as they are now.

Edit: GMMTV did something different, but it felt like propaganda for the cathlic church. I know some where not even alive when all the sexual abuse scandals broke, gay priests f*cking innocent boys marking them with a trauma for a lifetime. Besides burning woman alive it was the most disgusting thing the catholic church ever did and they also kept it under the rug for a long time. Some will say but the church did not do it, and I say, of course they they did, because they knew. And not telling is the same as doing it. End of Edit.

GMMTV only did something different in the scope of the MLs. The struggle about the imho "false teachings" and his sexuality was perfectly done by Forth and I believe him, when he said this series was mentally draining. Other than that, the pacing was a bit off, the first two episodes were too slow for my taste, abruptly picking up the pace. For me the portrayal of the catholic faith was way too positive and unrealistic. I especially missed the struggle of Father Arnon. He was just too perfect for his times. He already knew what was going on, but he decides to let it go?

The finale also was a bit off. First I was confused in which timeline we are in the beginning after the emotional end scene in ep 5. So did they run away or what happened? And because it's GMMTV we get a happy end. Could not have been that Tanrak broke and went to be a priest as he always has envisioned - which would the more realistic and plausible scenario in that time.. Of course that can never ever happen with any GMMTV show.

So, is this a bad show? No. Considering all the other medicore to crap shows GMMTV mass produces, this series did at least attempt to show the struggle of being of faith and being gay. We see that ships can act, when the script lets them. I don't think especially Forth did improve, I think he always had the capability but with 08/15 BL scripts there was no chance he could shine. Production quality was very good as expected but for me this show is not a master piece because it does not question the catholic church and their teachings. On the other hand it's also not the standard BL which makes you to switch off your brain which is an improvement generally speaking.

Overall it's a good show with many flaws, but you need your brain switched on to process the content.

Read More