1
1
RXinw
Imagination
This review may contain spoilers
Season 1 & 2 Review
It is the first time I have ever watched a series that is so lopsided. One half of the plot was shallow and without any substance while the other was delivered so well. I will discuss the shallow half first.
The romance between the lead couple (James & Ait) was without depth and proper writing. Their entire story just seemed arbitrary. In season 1 how their story started off seemed off. I had given season 1 an 8/10 because I had attributed the poor qualities to the fact it was obvious that they had a very limited budget as production was not the best. However the message was delivered in a very solid way (the good half of the plot). The romance for the second couple (Marco & Bas) that took place in season 2 seemed poorly constructed but there were some good scenes especially in episode 5. The poor writing for one half of the plot and the poor production eventually could not be ignored and blamed on just a limited budget hence why I rated it 5/10 for season 2. This was the bad half now lets talk about how well the message was delivered and it was all thanks to one actor who carried the whole series on his back from beginning to ending; Michael Kiettisak Vatanavitsakul who played Bas. I will be using the spoiler feature from here on because topics such as rape, sexual harassment, sexual abuse, suicidal thoughts, suicidal attempt, depression, manipulation, emotional abuse and abuse of an actor will be discussed, so if you are triggered by any of these you may want to stop reading now.
Do you want to be the bird in the cage or in the sky? - Marco
In season 1 we learn that Bas is forced to drink protein milkshakes and is banned from eating anything else by the production company owner; P'Tee. This is done for him to keep his muscular appearance that fits the stereotypical image of a BL top. Bas and Ait are also forced as actors to sign abusive contracts that holds them hostage and takes away some of their basic human rights such as a right to privacy, a right to freedom, a right to movement, a right against inhumane treatment, etc. The protein milkshakes Bas is forced to consume makes him sick and causes him to perpetually vomit and feel weak. Even though Ait was not abused to the same extent as Bas he was too forced to conform to a certain image by Tee. Ait was made to do plastic surgery because he was told some of his facial features (nose) was a facial defect. The more serious abuse took place between Bas and Tee.
It is revealed that Tee has been raping and sexually abusing and harassing Bas, and he gave himself ample opportunity to do so by restricting the actors to only living with him and setting a curfew. He forced Bas into submission by emotionally manipulating him and holding him hostage emotionally. Bas is from a humble family and he sees himself as the failure in the family as his brother is going to university and is the star brother while he goes in chase of his dream of acting. His father does not waste any opportunity to belittle him and compare him with his brother. Tee uses this against Bas; trapping him as he craves his father's acceptance and approval. When this was revealed I realised that his vomiting was not just because of the milkshakes but because he was suffering from anxiety attacks. There is a scene in season 1 where they go to the beach and Bas just spontaneously runs towards the sea wall and stands on it. That scene struck me because the sea and horizon is often associated with freedom, hope and possibility. Seeing him just stand there staring blankly out at the sea is like watching his freedom before him but like the horizon he can never reach out and touch it.
In season two the writers double down on his torture. He becomes suicidal and attempts to hang himself but luckily he is stopped by Marco just as he jumps off the bed. Now Marco was in love with James (Ait's boyfriend and his best friend) but he eventually falls for Bas; again the love story-lines are not great so that is not my focus here. My focus is how Marco showed Bas that someone cared for him and that his life was worth living and his happiness matters so he should not let his father or Tee withhold his happiness. Furthermore we see how Bas' upbringing is also toxic. There is a scene where his brother tells him that men do not cry, so we see how trapped Bas truly his psychologically; he is being raped, cannot cry out due to intimidation and manipulation; he was dying in silence.
I did not like how they handle his situation by Marco standing by and hiding while filming Tee sexual assault Bas for the purpose of evidence. This irked me. I also hated how James threatened Tee to only take action against him if he continues to rape Bas; that is wrong on many levels.
Another issue was the one of actors' privacy. James and Ait are forced to hide their relationship because of what BL fans will think and fear of their negative reactions.
The message and purpose of this series is to highlight and expose the atrocities of the BL industry that cause the suffering and abuse of actors. It is to protest against the stereotypes that actors must force their bodies to conform to in order to please audiences. It is to call out production companies that have employees taking advantage of actors sexually. It is a rallying cry to all actors who were abused and forced into suicidal tendencies that there is hope, there is a reason to live, their happiness is paramount. It points a heavy finger at fans who lambaste actors for having a private life in which they have a romantic relationship outside of their ship. This series was an ultimate protest against these disgusting realities, and the effects were vividly displayed to cause empathy, sympathy , shame, and anger among fans.
The actor who played Bas did an excellent job. His acting was awesome as you could feel and see every emotion associated with abuse and trauma through his performance. I hope that he gets to act in a proper series with a good production company that has resources because he is too good for a low budget series, but he seems to already be getting this as he stared in PitBabe (North) and This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans (Nubnueng). He deserves a lead role.
The romance between the lead couple (James & Ait) was without depth and proper writing. Their entire story just seemed arbitrary. In season 1 how their story started off seemed off. I had given season 1 an 8/10 because I had attributed the poor qualities to the fact it was obvious that they had a very limited budget as production was not the best. However the message was delivered in a very solid way (the good half of the plot). The romance for the second couple (Marco & Bas) that took place in season 2 seemed poorly constructed but there were some good scenes especially in episode 5. The poor writing for one half of the plot and the poor production eventually could not be ignored and blamed on just a limited budget hence why I rated it 5/10 for season 2. This was the bad half now lets talk about how well the message was delivered and it was all thanks to one actor who carried the whole series on his back from beginning to ending; Michael Kiettisak Vatanavitsakul who played Bas. I will be using the spoiler feature from here on because topics such as rape, sexual harassment, sexual abuse, suicidal thoughts, suicidal attempt, depression, manipulation, emotional abuse and abuse of an actor will be discussed, so if you are triggered by any of these you may want to stop reading now.
Do you want to be the bird in the cage or in the sky? - Marco
In season 1 we learn that Bas is forced to drink protein milkshakes and is banned from eating anything else by the production company owner; P'Tee. This is done for him to keep his muscular appearance that fits the stereotypical image of a BL top. Bas and Ait are also forced as actors to sign abusive contracts that holds them hostage and takes away some of their basic human rights such as a right to privacy, a right to freedom, a right to movement, a right against inhumane treatment, etc. The protein milkshakes Bas is forced to consume makes him sick and causes him to perpetually vomit and feel weak. Even though Ait was not abused to the same extent as Bas he was too forced to conform to a certain image by Tee. Ait was made to do plastic surgery because he was told some of his facial features (nose) was a facial defect. The more serious abuse took place between Bas and Tee.
It is revealed that Tee has been raping and sexually abusing and harassing Bas, and he gave himself ample opportunity to do so by restricting the actors to only living with him and setting a curfew. He forced Bas into submission by emotionally manipulating him and holding him hostage emotionally. Bas is from a humble family and he sees himself as the failure in the family as his brother is going to university and is the star brother while he goes in chase of his dream of acting. His father does not waste any opportunity to belittle him and compare him with his brother. Tee uses this against Bas; trapping him as he craves his father's acceptance and approval. When this was revealed I realised that his vomiting was not just because of the milkshakes but because he was suffering from anxiety attacks. There is a scene in season 1 where they go to the beach and Bas just spontaneously runs towards the sea wall and stands on it. That scene struck me because the sea and horizon is often associated with freedom, hope and possibility. Seeing him just stand there staring blankly out at the sea is like watching his freedom before him but like the horizon he can never reach out and touch it.
In season two the writers double down on his torture. He becomes suicidal and attempts to hang himself but luckily he is stopped by Marco just as he jumps off the bed. Now Marco was in love with James (Ait's boyfriend and his best friend) but he eventually falls for Bas; again the love story-lines are not great so that is not my focus here. My focus is how Marco showed Bas that someone cared for him and that his life was worth living and his happiness matters so he should not let his father or Tee withhold his happiness. Furthermore we see how Bas' upbringing is also toxic. There is a scene where his brother tells him that men do not cry, so we see how trapped Bas truly his psychologically; he is being raped, cannot cry out due to intimidation and manipulation; he was dying in silence.
I did not like how they handle his situation by Marco standing by and hiding while filming Tee sexual assault Bas for the purpose of evidence. This irked me. I also hated how James threatened Tee to only take action against him if he continues to rape Bas; that is wrong on many levels.
Another issue was the one of actors' privacy. James and Ait are forced to hide their relationship because of what BL fans will think and fear of their negative reactions.
The message and purpose of this series is to highlight and expose the atrocities of the BL industry that cause the suffering and abuse of actors. It is to protest against the stereotypes that actors must force their bodies to conform to in order to please audiences. It is to call out production companies that have employees taking advantage of actors sexually. It is a rallying cry to all actors who were abused and forced into suicidal tendencies that there is hope, there is a reason to live, their happiness is paramount. It points a heavy finger at fans who lambaste actors for having a private life in which they have a romantic relationship outside of their ship. This series was an ultimate protest against these disgusting realities, and the effects were vividly displayed to cause empathy, sympathy , shame, and anger among fans.
The actor who played Bas did an excellent job. His acting was awesome as you could feel and see every emotion associated with abuse and trauma through his performance. I hope that he gets to act in a proper series with a good production company that has resources because he is too good for a low budget series, but he seems to already be getting this as he stared in PitBabe (North) and This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans (Nubnueng). He deserves a lead role.
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