I knew there was something planned for BillkinPP after the fans begged for a project where they would be - finally - the main couple... but oh boy... Was I not ready for this...
At first, I didn't even notice I Told Sunset About You was the much awaited BKPP the series! When the third episode aired I finally went to take a look at the plot and the cast... and I was surprised it was BKPP! After reading the plot, I decided to start watching it...
I must say I don't even know from where to begin with, but let's start with BKPP!
Billkin and PP have always been great actors and I've followed them in their social medias even before the release of My Ambulance. I've always liked them and appreciated their efforts. But what they showed in this series is prime acting!!
It surprised me how well they interpreted their characters. They absorbed the plot in a way that even after reading the plot I was shocked to notice how immersed I was in the story thanks to their acting. After watching the behind the scenes, I was even more sure of their amazing talent! They improvised in some scenes and that went so well P'Boss let these scenes in. They're very comfortable with each other and it shows!
The plot of the series is so simple and at the same time so complex... I didn't think they would treat the topic the way they did. I've been into Asian BL since 2015 and I've watched too many series and movies of this genre to count... After discovering Thai BL, it gradually became my favorite... I've watched tons of them so I think what I'm going to say is reasonable.
The topic they chose to explore in this series is not unprecedented. There's been many with this very same topic but what makes ITSAY so different from the others? and why do I think it's the best thai BL I've ever watched?
First things first,,,,​ I like the way the topic is treated.. how the characters deal with it... not only Oh-Aew and Teh but also Bas and Tan and Teh's mother and brother.
I like that it's not simple and I like the fact that it's not perfect.
Teh and Oh's relationship going from friends to enemies to friends again to best friends but then something more. The fear Teh feels, the way he subconsciously starts thinking more about Oh than his old crush Tan that he have been hitting on for at least 2 years,,, it's so natural. It usually is not portrayed like that in BL series in general. They do try to make it seem natural and gradual but I've never seen a series that succeeded so well at it like ITSAY.
I love the scenes where nothing is being said or if it is, what's being said it's not that important and the actions speak louder.
Like the scene where Teh is prompted by Tan to paint a flower in her drawing, and he should've chosen the purple color pencil if he was paying attention to her... but he chose red. The way she gets mad and he can't understand what's happening! This is natural, people! He doesn't even realize! Even if he does, he doesn't acknowledge it! and his actions speaks for his mind/heart....
And the scene where Bas is confessing his feelings for Oh in front of everyone, and we see Oh taking a quick look at Teh... then Teh can't get his attention elsewhere as he's watching the guy he knows Oh is interested in, doing the one thing he should've done but didn't have the guts for... the one thing that brought them apart yet again... And now he's crying, he can't help but cry... He was afraid, afraid of what other people would think but also about what HE himself would think about it... We also have Oh crying, probably overwhelmed by the confession of his long time crush but also because he wished it was someone else... someone could probably argue with me about that but... that scene on the restaurant, when he's holding Bas' hands but the song makes him think of Teh and he can't help but wish it wasn't Bas's hand there, but Teh's... and this is not said out loud... but it doesn't need to be. It's clear as day. And for me, it proves how bad Oh wishes the one beside him was Teh instead... We also have a crying Teh who can't dare to join his group of friends in the restaurant, because he doesn't want to see what he did to himself and Oh. His fear and confused thoughts made him lose the one thing he didn't want to. There's no talking here but we can still see and feel what's happening, why it's happening.
And that's why I love this series so much. There's so many subtle things... and that makes it more real! It definitely looks like a real story.
A story of two boys who live in a small city, that met trough their fear of fireworks, became best friends, shared a dream together, a dream that brought them apart at some point, to the point of seeing each other as rivals/enemies, that occasionally realized they're better together, became friends again, this time promising to never be apart again... but now, they're not kids anymore... not adults yet though... they're still young... and they feel scared, they feel the pressure the adults put on them, they feel insecure and they feel human. They're human. Love doesn't need to come all of a sudden or like in a magical way... it can be on a friendship you lost once and don't wanna lose again... it can happen when you never could've imagined, but you did imagine it... you just didn't realize you did...
Humans suffer. They hurt. Themselves and others. Intentionally or not.
At the end... Oh and Teh just didn't want to lose what they had, it's way too precious for them. Teh is afraid. Had been afraid for a long time, he realized. But what he also realized was that he couldn't allow himself to hurt so much, himself and others!
He knew what he wanted since the beginning... his realization was beautiful and painful to watch... he didn't know what to do. He wanted that but he knew he couldn't have that. But why would he not be able to have it? Hoon made him realize that he damn could if he wanted, it was his own choice. And I love that Teh was still unsure. It's not magic! It doesn't work right away. Hoon comforting and supporting him is an relief indeed but it still didn't change Teh's thoughts on what he himself would think about that.
And that's human. That is being human. Being young. He's wishing he didn't feel that way towards Oh, because it complicates everything. It changes everything Teh has ever thought and goddamn if it wouldn't make anyone afraid!
He then realizes he has his brother's support and that his thoughts won't change his heart. He feels something for Oh, and although that makes him terrified, it makes him feel alive. It makes him feel himself in a way he never did before. And we don't know if he's ready to accept this side of himself yet but he definitely wanna try.
For Oh, the boy he fell in love with suddenly but also gradually.
But also for himself. For once, he wants to feel like he's doing that because he's allowed to and not because he's being pressured to do it, to make it happen. He wants to make it happen because it's him and Oh, and seeing that Oh is willing to try, it makes him want to try as well. And that's what they've always been to each other.
A inspiration, a push, a influence.
Even when they were apart, they subconsciously - and sometimes not - had each other as the thing that kept them going forward.
I basically talked just about Teh, but Oh also has a really amazing story. Maybe he doesn't feel scared like Teh, but he fears other things. He's scared of himself sometimes. Even when we thought he would be more accepting of himself... he isn't quite like that. Just because he's less scared than Teh it doesn't make him not feel scared at all. We can see how he realizes he cares more about Teh than Bas.. Bas, the guy he liked for a while but never had the courage to confess to, did confess to him! It should've been a dream coming true. The guy he likes, likes him back and is clearly not afraid of showing how he feels towards him to anybody else. Oh is feeling terrible, because he realizes he feels more for Teh, but Teh is the one who's afraid of what they could be.
Oh tries with Bas, but he realizes it's too late. Bas does as well.
Oh is so damn afraid of loosing Teh again he even desperately asks for Teh to never disappear from him again. He wants to be with Teh. Hell! He never wanted something so bad, and yet he tries to conceal it! He wishes he would just stop thinking about Teh in that way, because Teh doesn't seem to reciprocate his feelings and he can't afford losing Teh again.
At last, we have relieved tears coming after the sadness one. The hopeful smile. The relieved/fond stare. The promising smile. And finally the relaxing bodies. The pure relief. The freedom. And of course, the blossoming love.
What makes this series be the best thai BL I've ever watched is of course, the amazing script, magnificent acting, the beautiful production and the hard working staff that made it possible for us to watch it.
But also, the main thing that makes ITSAY so perfect in my opinion is the way it portrays its story so humanly. There's no magic, no perfect road and no easy way to love. And this story knows it.
Absolutely perfect.
I Told Sunset About You deserves all the damn awards it can get.
Even if they don't. It'll never change my mind. This is the best thai BL yet to exist!

Thank you if you took the time to read this review. It's actually my first one. Even if I love many other series, this is the one that I couldn't help but review. I have to scream out loud my love for this series hahaha :)
Stay healthy, everyone. Take care. ♡

P.S: I'm posting this so long after the airing of the last episode, because I couldn't dare finishing it right away... I spent nearly two months preparing myself for that last episode... If only I knew.... I cried so many times. I think I've never cried so much watching a series... but I loved every single bit of it!
P.S 2: I'm so so so excited for season 2! 11th March! I'm gonna die! I'll prepare my tissues. Don't forget to prepare yours. ;)