spunkless
This review may contain spoilers
Starts off cute, but becomes disturbing -- romanticizes rape and abuse
Love by Chance, previously considered the reigning BL until 2gether joined the race, was quite a mess. Let me enumerate its main weaknesses and strengths below:
Weaknesses
1) Boring, uninteresting and disturbing subplots
There are four subplots running simultaneously in LBC - PETExAE, TINxCAN, KENGKLAxTECHNO, and TUMxTAR, of which the last two were so irrelevant to the story that they can just be completely omitted and it won't change a thing. Obviously they were just included in LBC to serve as a "cue" for a prequel or a sequel, but they had no connections whatsoever with the main story - that of Pete and AE. There was actually another subplot, that of Tharn and Type, but the other half of that story did not appear in the series at all; there were just fleeting mentions of his existence.
I can also describe these four ships as "disturbing." Let us start off with Pete and Ae. Ae starts off as that sweet, protective boyfriend, but midway into the series, he starts to show his abusive side: he gets mad at Pete for talking to other boys, he literally drags him around, and he dictates what Pete should and should not do.
Tin and Can's relationship is not based on love but rather an exchange of needs. Can is "poor," and he gives in to Tin's demands in exchange for material things. Can is a very impressionable, carefree character and is generally unfamiliar with the concept of "love" until Tin came along. He is the complete opposite of Tin, so it's a mystery how and why these guys were paired. It's like pairing a child to a fully grown man.
The story between Kengkla and Techno romanticizes rape. Kengkla obviously took advantage of Techno and even conspired with the latter's very own brother so that he can take him to bed. Kengkla even pinned the blame on Techno and basically blackmailed him into becoming his boyfriend. It was NASTY.
Tum and Tar are step brothers who have developed feelings for each other. I am not sure how it goes in Thailand, but in other countries, such relationship is generally frowned upon. These two characters do not interact with anyone else in the series (except for very few scenes each of them is talking to Type).
2) I am not a big fan of characters that are introduced in one episode and then completely disappear from the series afterward. LBC has three of such characters --- Trump, Money and Chompoo. Trump's conflict with Pete was left unresolved; I was actually waiting for him to appear somewhere in the end to bring closure to his subplot but there's nothing. Money appears around EP 4 to invite Pete to join the cheering squad. Pete accepts, but not a single cheering scene can be found throughout LBC. Why mention it then? It was so pointless.... Chompoo never knew that Ae was in love with someone else. She just literally disappeared, so her purpose of making Pete jealous was also pointless.
3) Underutilized characters: Good, Bow and Ping. These characters have so much potential and, along with Can and Pond (the latter of whom was thankfully given a bigger part!), they are the only source of laughs in the entire series. Sadly they have been pushed aside in favor of much less interesting characters such as those I have mentioned above.
4) BS sponsorship scenes: The first 8 or 9 episodes of LBC had no plugs from sponsors, which is an admirable feat that I have never seen in any of the Thai lakorns I have watched. So I was disappointed at the last few episodes when LBC started showing pointless scenes that are specifically built for its sponsors.
Strengths:
1) I want to single out Saint, Perth, and Yacht from the rest of the cast because they played their roles so well. Saint completely embodied Pete (him saying "krab" so many times was cute!), Perth played Ae without reservations (however I think there are scenes where he played him too well---remember that humping bed scene, anyone?), and Yacht was all around great. I can even say that without Yacht's portrayal of Pond, I would've rated this serie much lower because he brings the series to life without fail each time he appears. I think it is unfair that he was ranked as a "supporting character" even if technically he plays a big part in Pete and Ae's story.
2) There are so many "conservative" Thai BLs that can't show anything else beyond innocent pecks on cheeks or two lips merely touching each other, leaving straight and gay fans disappointed. The creators of LBC apparently understood this so they went all out: multiple scenes of boys making out, having foreplay, showing near nudity, and talking dirty, so in terms of fan service, LBC excels in all counts. However, not every member of the audience is interested in this kind of stuff...
3) Music --- a very trivial point, but I loved the sounds in Love by Chance.
LBC was a messy show all in all. There are two followups to this series (TharnType and A Chance to Love), but I think I'll just put them aside for now given the many cons I have observed from this show.
Weaknesses
1) Boring, uninteresting and disturbing subplots
There are four subplots running simultaneously in LBC - PETExAE, TINxCAN, KENGKLAxTECHNO, and TUMxTAR, of which the last two were so irrelevant to the story that they can just be completely omitted and it won't change a thing. Obviously they were just included in LBC to serve as a "cue" for a prequel or a sequel, but they had no connections whatsoever with the main story - that of Pete and AE. There was actually another subplot, that of Tharn and Type, but the other half of that story did not appear in the series at all; there were just fleeting mentions of his existence.
I can also describe these four ships as "disturbing." Let us start off with Pete and Ae. Ae starts off as that sweet, protective boyfriend, but midway into the series, he starts to show his abusive side: he gets mad at Pete for talking to other boys, he literally drags him around, and he dictates what Pete should and should not do.
Tin and Can's relationship is not based on love but rather an exchange of needs. Can is "poor," and he gives in to Tin's demands in exchange for material things. Can is a very impressionable, carefree character and is generally unfamiliar with the concept of "love" until Tin came along. He is the complete opposite of Tin, so it's a mystery how and why these guys were paired. It's like pairing a child to a fully grown man.
The story between Kengkla and Techno romanticizes rape. Kengkla obviously took advantage of Techno and even conspired with the latter's very own brother so that he can take him to bed. Kengkla even pinned the blame on Techno and basically blackmailed him into becoming his boyfriend. It was NASTY.
Tum and Tar are step brothers who have developed feelings for each other. I am not sure how it goes in Thailand, but in other countries, such relationship is generally frowned upon. These two characters do not interact with anyone else in the series (except for very few scenes each of them is talking to Type).
2) I am not a big fan of characters that are introduced in one episode and then completely disappear from the series afterward. LBC has three of such characters --- Trump, Money and Chompoo. Trump's conflict with Pete was left unresolved; I was actually waiting for him to appear somewhere in the end to bring closure to his subplot but there's nothing. Money appears around EP 4 to invite Pete to join the cheering squad. Pete accepts, but not a single cheering scene can be found throughout LBC. Why mention it then? It was so pointless.... Chompoo never knew that Ae was in love with someone else. She just literally disappeared, so her purpose of making Pete jealous was also pointless.
3) Underutilized characters: Good, Bow and Ping. These characters have so much potential and, along with Can and Pond (the latter of whom was thankfully given a bigger part!), they are the only source of laughs in the entire series. Sadly they have been pushed aside in favor of much less interesting characters such as those I have mentioned above.
4) BS sponsorship scenes: The first 8 or 9 episodes of LBC had no plugs from sponsors, which is an admirable feat that I have never seen in any of the Thai lakorns I have watched. So I was disappointed at the last few episodes when LBC started showing pointless scenes that are specifically built for its sponsors.
Strengths:
1) I want to single out Saint, Perth, and Yacht from the rest of the cast because they played their roles so well. Saint completely embodied Pete (him saying "krab" so many times was cute!), Perth played Ae without reservations (however I think there are scenes where he played him too well---remember that humping bed scene, anyone?), and Yacht was all around great. I can even say that without Yacht's portrayal of Pond, I would've rated this serie much lower because he brings the series to life without fail each time he appears. I think it is unfair that he was ranked as a "supporting character" even if technically he plays a big part in Pete and Ae's story.
2) There are so many "conservative" Thai BLs that can't show anything else beyond innocent pecks on cheeks or two lips merely touching each other, leaving straight and gay fans disappointed. The creators of LBC apparently understood this so they went all out: multiple scenes of boys making out, having foreplay, showing near nudity, and talking dirty, so in terms of fan service, LBC excels in all counts. However, not every member of the audience is interested in this kind of stuff...
3) Music --- a very trivial point, but I loved the sounds in Love by Chance.
LBC was a messy show all in all. There are two followups to this series (TharnType and A Chance to Love), but I think I'll just put them aside for now given the many cons I have observed from this show.
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