Season 1 Burnt Hotter and Brighter
Season 1 burnt brighter and hotter but it was less consistent. Season 2 is the complete opposite.
Comparing S1 and S2 feels like finding equilibrium on a scale:
- In one arm, there is S1 with the hot scenes and bold decisions, but inconsistent and imbalanced story flow.
- In the other arm, there is S2 with less hot scenes, a boring and casual story, but a more consistent writing and characters.
The fewer bold decisions in the story/hot scenes made S2 feel like a totally average GmmTv BL.
It feels like the creators could not elevate and improve the series, but took away something in order to gain something else. Personally, I liked the bold way more, it was an interesting concept to make a series with "wilder" story and entangle the different ships in the Thai BL industry with each other, because that concept made it somewhat special. A breathe of fresh air and excitement.
I guess the "Only Friends" name should hold on to a concept or style and bring it along its seasons. This show could have been a standalone show and be called "Boys from the Disco/School/DramaClass" and it wouldn't make any difference.
I know and love every actor, having seen them in different shows already, but I feel like that most of them didn't really have a great chemistry in this show. It's highly subjective, but I liked them more in their other shows.
Conc.:
Well, S2 just went back to a more lovey-dovey, "You chase me & I chase you until the plot wants us to be together" concept that you can see in 90% of Thai BLs, which is a downgrade for me. It made the show feel much less unique. I would have loved to see a similar show as S1 but with improved story-telling and script. I guess it would have been great if I hadn't had any expectations. While I tend to rewatch some of the great BLs, or some strong episodes or hot scenes from others, at this moment, after finishing Only Friends - Dream On, I feel like I would never want to rewatch it, not even certain episodes or scenes.
I can't rate it higher than "Slightly better than average" 6/10.
Comparing S1 and S2 feels like finding equilibrium on a scale:
- In one arm, there is S1 with the hot scenes and bold decisions, but inconsistent and imbalanced story flow.
- In the other arm, there is S2 with less hot scenes, a boring and casual story, but a more consistent writing and characters.
The fewer bold decisions in the story/hot scenes made S2 feel like a totally average GmmTv BL.
It feels like the creators could not elevate and improve the series, but took away something in order to gain something else. Personally, I liked the bold way more, it was an interesting concept to make a series with "wilder" story and entangle the different ships in the Thai BL industry with each other, because that concept made it somewhat special. A breathe of fresh air and excitement.
I guess the "Only Friends" name should hold on to a concept or style and bring it along its seasons. This show could have been a standalone show and be called "Boys from the Disco/School/DramaClass" and it wouldn't make any difference.
I know and love every actor, having seen them in different shows already, but I feel like that most of them didn't really have a great chemistry in this show. It's highly subjective, but I liked them more in their other shows.
Conc.:
Well, S2 just went back to a more lovey-dovey, "You chase me & I chase you until the plot wants us to be together" concept that you can see in 90% of Thai BLs, which is a downgrade for me. It made the show feel much less unique. I would have loved to see a similar show as S1 but with improved story-telling and script. I guess it would have been great if I hadn't had any expectations. While I tend to rewatch some of the great BLs, or some strong episodes or hot scenes from others, at this moment, after finishing Only Friends - Dream On, I feel like I would never want to rewatch it, not even certain episodes or scenes.
I can't rate it higher than "Slightly better than average" 6/10.
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