BradBluddy16

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 matinee idol 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...”

No matter how they land the plane, I have loved every minute of this ride. It’s like New Siwaj distilled the best parts of P10L into 12 eps, inserted the undeniable SeaKeen, sprinkled in a little Bad Buddy, and tied it all together with red thread; some UWMA style, death defying, hyper-romance. This has truly been Keen’s star turn - the kid is a marvel; and Sea has given a breakthrough performance, as well. The third star has to go to Java, for the breakdown scene alone. The only thing missing, for me, is any irrepressible Keen ballads to haunt my playlist for years to come, although “Not A Crush” is trying. Truly, Head 2 Head will remain one of my all time favourites BLs.

Famous last words😁

“If you are reading this now I have probably already left this world…” I’m not ready and have no tears left after last episode.

What a brilliant analysis🏆
While the rest of us are too busy yoyo-ing from laughing to crying to swooning, you are also clocking the 3D chess going on. Who knew that a fluffy little college rom-com could artfully tie together such weighty themes and still keep its lightness of touch.

It seems funny now, but I was so taken with the Moo character from Only Boo, and the way he was played with such effortless charisma and comic timing, that I was initially apprehensive about Keen taking on a more serious role. MuteLuv helped ease the fear, as Er was a much more muted character, but still dynamic in his own way. But nothing could prepare me for the full range of talents on display, by Keen, in Head 2 Head; from primal screaming to tearful emotional breakdowns to disarming love confessions to playful antagonism and everything in between, all the while keeping the chemistry with Sea top tier.
There were early signs, though. Songs like “Louder” and “Station 0” were sung with an emotional range clearly beyond the reach of a merely goofy teenager. Moo’s train breakdown caught us all by surprise, and the blank letter discovery tears were just as devastating.
And even though Head 2 Head may not play to some of Keen’s other idol strengths, thankfully we have CLO’VER to keep them in the foreground.
I hate to gush, but there is really nothing this kid can’t do.

Good catch. They’ve used the visions as a misdirection device many times, thus far. Why stop now?

I’m a little concerned that the preview leaned so heavily on the happy ending beach trip trope, quickly skipping over Jinn’s “farewell” letter. Did J break a supernatural law with his Ep 11 revelations? Was his future/“parallel world” self consoling him because he wasn’t able to save Jinn in the end? Could we be getting an Episode 12 curse?

At least, there is enough of a fandom to bring in the toxic fans. Back in the early Only Boo days it was looking pretty grim. I would hope that the less vocal, majority of the fandom understands that P’New is the best bet to get the SeaKeen magic out to the masses. They can win their Maya award another year.