John Master

Under the Oak Tree (Vietnam, 2024) exudes a queer authenticity that We Are lacks. Yes, I will stand behind that statement. But that perk will not motivate everyone reading this review. So, fair to note also...

--it is also a low-budget production, with low-budget production values. (Personally, I give such series a lot of rope. How well do they do with their limited resources?)
--its troupe of actors is as unpolished as one might expect from the budget. (Wooden acting by young professionals is endemic among BL series. No more egregious here than elsewhere.)
--its story skips along rather easily and conveniently at times. (Budget is no excuse for a sloppily told story.)
--its plot includes many of those overworn tropes that irritate BL viewers, including a classic jealous female character. (Angst-free, the middle episodes of this series are not.)

If those traits do not appeal, skip Under the Oak Tree. Nevertheless,....

--the characters are very earnest and sincere. (+ +)
--the romance works sweetly. (+ +)
--it depicts a high school friendship circle, but one far more dysfunctional than the circle of friends in We Are. (+ for drama; - for angst).
--it is a proper musical. Not simply a series with a lot of music. As in, characters sing songs to express their inner turmoil, to advance the plot, or to communicate with one another. (+ + + +)
--they sing well. and often. (+ +)

In short, Lynn will watch. For the music alone.

💄 This series works for me! Why?

Ironically, this particular review was born of asking myself a similar question almost from the first episode. "Why is such an empty-headed story making me feel so happy?" The review is my answer to that odd question. For someone like me, who prizes story above all other considerations, the absence of any meaningful attempt to tell one should have left me disillusioned. Instead, well, that's an indication cast and crew got everything else pitch perfect.

Bonus commentary:

--on queer "authenticity": in the finale episode's beach scene, a character emerges from the sea and plunks himself down on the beach next to three friends. Landing heavily on his derriere, he comments, "Oh, my butt hurts." He said what now?! In every gay circle I have ever belonged to, anyone uttering those words would be subject to immediate and ceaseless razzing and teasing. We, his friends, would be merciless in our ridicule. Even (perhaps, especially) when the context was other than sexual. If the boyfriend were near by, we'd razz him, too. Here, another character (Chain) shoots the speaker "a look," but otherwise lets the expression pass without remark. Eschewing the obvious jokes might represent deference to the limits of taste on television, but it absolutely makes those characters seem less gay. For a series that routinely portrays these friends getting in one another's grills, mocking when warranted, the failure of that phrase to elicit a sustained rise from his peers stands as a fumbling of how real gay men would react in that situation. Sure, it's a small detail to quibble over. But, often, it is the tiny details that carry the greatest weight in establishing authenticity.

I don't mind at all. If "your mistake" was intended by me as a rhetorical device (softening the blow to GMMTV fans becuse the real "mistake" is the studio's), then it was perhaps not the best-chosen phrase for purpose (appears to leave you hanging out to dry). And in my personal past track record of commentary, there are plenty of examples of my using someone else's well-intended reply to a criticism to further vent whatever spleen a particular episode incited to boil over. So, I totally get how my comment set off another round of critique. In fact, I actually enjoyed your reply to my comment more than the original comment.

And, for the record, I actually am enjoying Wandee a great deal. That enjoyment, however, does not stop me seeing the validity of your criticism, even if the shortcomings of Doc and Boxer don't bother me to the same degree. Now, "Only Boo," on the other hand...."pointless 'hurdle[s]'," "unearned" resolutions, inauthenticity, stringing together sweet moments on skeletal outlines, "squander[ed] opportunities," failure to "pick a lane," competing voices struggling for control of the narrative....All the things we've cited above as flaws for this series did drive me batty on that show. More so than here. Why one more than the other? Can't say, really.

However it came across to you, the phrase "your mistake" was not me disagreeing with you or underestimating your ability to unpack the fluff GMMTV manufactures. It was my way of indirectly leaning into my own critique of the GMMTV business model. But since your defensive retort accomplished that goal more tartly, with deeper sophistication, I'll just encourage anyone else reading this to re-read your reply. And, if anyone doesn't grasp the significance of "heteronormative fantsasies" or "stifle feminine agency," then please google those phrases!

I agree with all you wrote. But your mistake was thinking GMMTV is interested in story. Any GMMTV series exists only to package cute moments between characters that will make 75% of the audience squeal in delight. Because "the moment" fits their preconceived notion of sweetness. The company just strings together a bunch of "sweet moments" wrapped around a skeletal story outline and based off skeletal characters. Get enough of those and call it a series. Story development, character development, or realistic depictions of difficult subject matter ever exist only to speed us along to the next cute moment--and never are allowed to overshadow cute moments. Not for long, anyway. From that perspective, GMMTV is excellent at understanding what its core audience wants/expects. And Wandee Goodday is delivering some high quality "moments."

Put another way, I think you could apply this critique to any GMMTV series. Just swap out the character names. More or less applies to all of them. Some do it better than others.

I don’t much care for Theory of Love. But the climactic scene of episode 11, set on the platform of Hua Lamphong Railway Station, has earned its legendary status. In My Stand In, the climactic scene of episode 9, set on the sidewalk outside Hua Lamphong Station, bids for similar status. Coincidence? Two series, produced five years apart, using the same Bangkok landmark? For purely cinematic reasons? (It's plausible. The grandeur of the building—inside or outside—definitely enhances each scene.) But is there also a substantive connection beteen these two scenes? Not in plot, of course, but in feel? Did the makers of the later series intend the location as an indirect callback to the earlier famous scene?

Episode 11 is the penultimate episode of Theory of Love, and this scene clears the decks for "all to be put right" in the finale. At time of writing, MSI has three episodes left to run, but the entirety of Episode 9 seems to be doing the same. The funeral itself began the process by forcing Joe and Ming to let go of the first Joe. Here, at the end, they confront each other. One suspects some kind of fresh start will ensue over the final three episodes. MSI has left itself more space for the story to play out, but in both episodes, the scene at Hua Lamphong appears to be setting up the endgame for the lead characters.

Let’s compare how each plays out. Then you decide if it is a coincidence:

Theory of Love (2019, episode 11 4/4)
Khai waits all day on the platform for his friends to join him for a trip to the sea. No one comes. But still he waits. His friends are not coming, though. When Third realizes where Khai is, he rushes to face him. At some level, Khai must understand he has alienated everyone who cared about him due to his own toxic behavior. He wants to repair the rift, to start anew. But he carries on as if nothing is wrong, refusing to see reality. Confused, Third asks, “Why, Khai? Why are you still waiting?” (9:50) It’s a gut wrenching moment. Arguably, the most emotionally charged scene of the entire series. In the next episode, it is revealed that the rift owes in part to a misunderstanding. The scene in ep 11 ends with Third embracing Khai--Out of pity. Final shot: the camera pulls back from the pair, embracing on the platform, for a wide shot of the whole train hall.

To replay: Third arrives at the station starting at 7:34

My Stand In (2024, ep 9)
Ming has waited years to meet Joe again. He wishes to resume a broken relationship with Joe, but Joe wants nothing to do with him anymore due to his past toxic behavior. He even bails out of a moving vehicle…right in front of Hua Lamphong Station. Ming rushes after him. He believes a misunderstanding drove a wedge between himself and Joe, and he wants to clear that up. Ming promises the future will be better. He wants to start anew. Joe stands firm. It is too late, Ming has squandered his chance. Arguably, the most cathartic moment in the series to date. Ming refuses to see reality. The scene ends when Ming grabs Joe from behind (naturally!). To keep Joe from leaving, he sustains the embrace--Out of desperation. Final shot: the camera pulls back from the pair, embracing on the sidewalk, for a final shot of the whole train station.

To replay: Ming chases Joe down at 54:57, exactly as the train station enters the frame.

The reply below this post will contain spoilers for Theory of Love (which, reasonably, should affect no one here) but also for My Stand In (ep 9). The point of connection is Hua Lamphong Railway Station, which features prominently in the climactic scene of episodes from both series. In both cases, the pertinent scene depicts an emotionally powerful "moment of reckoning" style confrontation between the lead characters.

[This is the only message board I consulted. No idea if this comparison has occurred elsewhere If it occurred to me, others must have spotted it, too.]

Ming has kept that space as if it were a shrine to Joe. I wager there's a hairbrush in there, exactly where Joe left it on his final morning.

Well, that would be a solid reason to title it that way. In fact, I am drafting a review just now, and I literally just wrote that the drama-within-the-drama was exceptionally well handled in this series. That'd be another way to give the faux-BL prominence. But Japan must use some version of military time I am unfamiliar with, because I'd have thought after 24:00 (midnight) comes 00:01 (12:01 am). 25:00 is, for me, a head scratcher.

Thank you! The geographic reference is much appreciated. I had noted the recurring significance of that hill (and its view) but had failed to pick up on the name of the hill in the episode when Yuki first mentioned it. I already thought the post-credits tag on the finale was the perfect choice for our last sighting of these characters. Knowing the correlation to the title only emphasizes that subtle brilliance.

What does the title reference?

This review sums up why a person should look past the superficial judgment ("it's a cheater-husband storyline") and comprehend that the world is full of people whose lives are different than their own. People who make choices differently than they would make. These characters lack the conceptual vocabulary to explore polyamory, but that is exactly what they are groping for. Anyone who wants to "widen [their] understanding of the world past [their] own nose" ought to heed Mademoiselle Noir's advice and watch this series with an open mind.

Not only do I think you make a fair criticism, but the fact upon first watching each of us perceived it so differently confirms that how a person reacts to the series may hinge on whether that "ending" gets seen as an ending or as a midway point.

As you said, that's an error in marketing--in sports lingo, an own goal or an unforced error.

It was definitely confusing. But I concur with the flashback judgment. Right before that, one of them mentioned something about "this time, let's recognize each other right away." So, I think that moment was supposed to depict the first time they ever truly noticed each other. The step step step glance backwards is definitely a classic trope for "noticing' someone.

Excellent. I should have mentioned the key factor that for me defines "noteworthy" would be extra bits that alter the story/plot/character building. Doesn't sound like extra long kisses change much of the story, given the mind already fills in those blanks....

By the time I watched this (late May), the free You Tube video (all four episodes in one) was clearly labeled Part 1. For that reason, I saw the "finale" as more of a "To Be Continued" than an ending. I also watched aware that a "sequel" arrives within a month. Many reviews and many commenters in this chat have blasted the ending for being disappointing. I can certainly understand that reaction for anyone who believed that marked the end of the story. But if instead, "ep 4" is regarded as the midpoint of a single story--worth noting: if Part 2 also clocks in at 40 minutes, then essentially Blue Boys is more feature length film than series--then the tepid conclusion reads quite differently. I would encourage the disappointed to wait to see what Part 2 delivers and give Part 1 an incomplete.

Hopefully, patience will replay my optimism.

You mentioned seeing both the free and uncut versions. Any noteworthy differences between the two?

I see five key phrases in VBN's brief comment:

Sad. [Twice.]
Unable to recreate.
Over the top.
Were attempting to do [but failed].
Overboard.

Even without the context of full sentences, I feel like these bullet points could stand as a review for the entire series.

Those non-Thai high school uniforms are an interesting touch. I have pondered the question myself. In fact, this insignificant detail may represent the only point of jntrigue in this whole series that seems creative and clever enough to warrant a bit of fun speculation. So, here are two theories.

Theory 1: by using foreign dress styles, the episode establishes those scenes as representations of a character's imagination as distinguished from flashback scenes where the Thai blue shorts and shirts appear as expected. As noted, the naval-looking, Japanese uniforms indicate a fantasy sequence.

Theory 2: the fantasy where Jade projects his acquaintances into high school romances may be a subtle indication that Jade has a taste for Japanese BL series, from which the wardrobe is copied. Thus, his daydreams/fantasy life mimic the kinds of fiction he enjoys.