BradBluddy16

Joe’s deep sadness was palpable; that these boys have to give up a lifetime of romantic love just seems so inhumane. I know it breaks all the laws of BL shipping, but can Phak and Joe please end up together?

Thanks for sharing that reference. I wonder if “Love of Siam” will come up again. The timing of it’s release roughly lines up with Barth’s (and hopefully Tan’s) almost-20-years-back from present day break from the church; and P’Aof always mentions that that movie was seminal for him and Thai queer possibility.

P’Aof’s “catholic” heart has always been in the right place. He has stretched the BL genre to shine a compassionate light on the disabled (Heart in Moonlight Chicken; Day in Last Twilight) and the downtrodden (Jim, Li Ming, and Mhok in those same dramas). But after wildly miscalculating what a happy ending might look like for “those” people (the disappointing finale to the otherwise masterful, Last Twilight), he has retreated here to something more personal and close to home. Paradoxically, by turning his lens around to examine his own demons, he may be able to help and comfort a lot more people; the incalculable masses of us who have been downtrodden by our own religious upbringings, or the church inflamed homophobia in the cultures around us 🏳️‍🌈

Without openly convicting his chosen religion, P’Aof is telling us a compelling story from within, albeit from a careful, historical perspective, where we get to experience firsthand the devastating effects of institutionalized homophobia. The Last Twilight finale fiasco may have wounded the director enough to send him deeper into his faith, and compelled him to resolve for himself, and us, the contradictions and failings of the religious system buoying up that faith. We all get to be the beneficiaries of P’Aof’s fight with his inner demons, his personal Ticket To Heaven, as it were, and we have been gifted with a masterpiece.

is it too much to say that Fourth should be considered as the eighth wonder of the world?

Another insightful take from our poet laureate. I was excited to see how you would rise to the occasion, and you have done so with grace and aplomb. Bravo!

Another perspective is that New Siwaj rarely steps out of his successful Thai-style teen romcom formula (tropey and sound effect heavy; quickly shot and edited; favouring heart over technique) which tends to get the international snoots all upitty. When Oranges Fall feels a bit like a concession to western tastes; let’s hope it will still be a domestic hit. Style-wise it most resembles his under-appreciated gem, “My Only 12%”, (with Progress channeling Santa’s manic joy). But this time having the GMMTV machine behind it should give When Oranges Fall a wider audience.

P10L was great, too. If not for those pesky vampires taking him way outside his comfort zone, you could say that New is on an actual roll. Revamp reminded me of what happens when a pop star tries to make a “rock” album (Reputation, anyone?); the substance can get lost in the posing (Swifties please don’t come for me). When Oranges Fall is all sweet-spot Siwaj. 🍊

No mothers were harmed in the making of this series. Don’t miss out!

I do not understand how one idol can become my favourite actor, singer and dancer, all at the same time. True, Keen’s acting and singing had me from day one; from the way he animated the Moo character, from “Only Boo”, with such effortless charisma and surprising depth; and then there are playlist OST staples, “Louder” and “Only Boo” which have never really left my personal top ten. Keen’s dancing has been the last piece to click into place. The growth between the first, tentative Project Alpha, “Kon Mun Ruk” and the Thailand fan meeting version, has been astronomical. Between his fan-friendly crotch grabs and hip gyrations, and his stylish pirouettes, it’s clear that Keen has been busy absorbing Michael Jackson. Even in Clo’ver, between fan bias Barcode and his smouldering good looks, and Ashi’s precision dancing brilliance, it is hard to pull my eyes away from Keen. Something about his sunny demeanour, impish charm, and confident strut lock me in every time. I guess that is the very definition of a bias.

Full Disclosure:
I could watch Keen do almost anything; act, sing, dance, improv, even navigate through a scene with bird poop on his shirt. Also, I must disclose that I fell in love with director New, again, during the 2nd and 3rd acts of Perfect 10 Liners. He found his old groove, with a good script that let him set some top tier romances inside his sunny, collegiate-friends sweet spot. With those biases, it is no surprise that Head 2 Head has become my current favourite comfort show.
But objectively, I think there is something else going on here. With another compelling story, and the SeaKeen chemistry firing on all cylinders (with SurfJava rising to their level), New is able to, once again, set the romances in his sweet spot, while weaving in the supernatural tension he hasn’t really been able to access since Until We Meet Again. Despite some initial, unfounded gnashing of teeth in the fandom, I believe that New and his team have created another one for the ages. To echo J’s take on his limitations in expressing his love for Jinn, if there was a number rating higher than 10, I would give it to Head 2 Head.

You do you 😊. But I was truly curious what flaws you found or is your rating scale just inherently tougher.

C’mon hard marker! I honestly can’t find anything to dock points about; the acting, direction, cinematography, writing, music, chemistry, cuteness factor - all on point. 10/10 for me until you can convince me otherwise.

Please feel free to check back in after My Romance Scammer to see if your “broken clock” can be right twice in a row.
Personally, I’m looking forward to a series centred around Junior. I thought he was integral to a previous time the “clock” was right (P10L), and would like to see him reap the rewards.

Absolutely. If you enjoyed any of: Perfect 10 Liners, Bad Buddy, Until We Meet Again, or Only Boo, and don’t have a bias against director New Siwaj, you will likely find a new favourite comfort series.

Me too. And as a fellow, stupid Canadian wolf bird 🇨🇦, I think it’s also important to point out that Heated Rivalry stars grown adult, career actors; not full-time students, recruited into the idol system while still in their teens. I would hope that we can respect and protect our BL (and GL) idols enough to use our imaginations to fill in the blanks. I believe that OhmNanon is a cautionary tale; you can “choose” to push the boundaries, but that doesn’t necessarily promote a sustainable working relationship.

The rewatch value is off the charts. Keen’s performance alone is enough to keep it in high rotation, but everyone brought their A game, including the BL fandom’s favourite punching bag, New Siwaj. I’m still looking for those editing fumbles, plot holes, and slow-developing latter episodes that have all the armchair directors up in arms. To each their own, but coming from someone who holds Only Boo, P10L, UWMA, and Bad Buddy in high regard, seeing those peak romances lovingly forged together creates true alchemy 🔥

Once again, this frequently fluffy college romance is really going deep in some of its themes. That message did affect me profoundly. I think my partner may be getting a little tired of me telling him that I love him, but I blame J, and will keep on doing it anyways; and if there was a word that meant more, I would use it😊

To the unfortunate cougher, I can relate to being “choked up by their love”😆

I thought Ep 12 wrapped up the series gracefully. It was simultaneously powerful, fluffy, emotional, feel good, super sweet, and ultra romantic.
The coming out scene cleverly turned the angsty Lovely Writer setup on its ass.
It was touching to see Jinn disarming Jet by nonchalantly calling him dad.
Van giving Farm the option to start his own family with him, was everything; for these two kids, orphaned literally and metaphorically, it was especially poignant.
And the pure, unabashed love apex, which J and Jinn had, layer by layer, gracefully built up to, is one for the ages.
Forgive me a quote from BL canon that feels apres pos:
“Unknowingly, from two people who couldn’t be friends, we became two people who were more than friends...”