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My Stand-In thai drama review
Completed
My Stand-In
9 people found this review helpful
by Gren
Jul 13, 2024
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 8.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10.0
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers

A Show That Proves Not Every Relationship is Perfect

To start this off I have to say that this show was a pleasant surprise and I loved a lot of different aspects of the show. I loved that they were able to show a couple that doesn't necessarily fit into the normal BL couple dynamic box and shows what I would say is a realistic portrayal and is the type of relationship that some people experience in real life.

I loved the different character dynamics that were shown throughout the show and how Joe had to navigate his relationships with each of these characters, both before and after the body swap. I also found it incredibly interesting with his relationship with Sol in particular and Joe knowing that he had a better option in Sol, who had very deep feelings for him but he just could not help how much he loved Meen, for better or for worse. It really just goes to show that you cannot choose who you love even after everything that happened between them in the show. And trust me if Meen and done to me what he did to Joe, there would be a lot more punching than talking.

The acting in this show was also absolutely amazing and the show would not be what it is without it. Everyone in the cast did an amazing job, especially Poom and Up as Joe and Meen. I have seen both of them in their prior BL work and well they did a good job here, their work here just blows their other projects out of the water. Their chemistry is absolutely undeniable and I think the direction their relationship took would not hit nearly the same if not for the chemistry that the actors had.

Among the many things that I did like in the show though, one thing that I could not stand was Tong as a character and I do really have to thank Mek for doing such a good job making sure that I did not like him in this show. Tong as a character just made me very frustrated and while I understand that was the point, it felt to me that his presence in the last episode in particular wasn't really needed. I do not understand why May would stay with that man even after everything that he did and especially after he basically confirmed that he would have never been with her if she weren't rich. And I get that it could be because of the child but that just doesn't seem like a reason to stay with someone who's seemingly done nothing but hurt you and the people around you. But it could be that there's some deep cultural contexts that I don't quite get and if so then that's fair enough.

I also didn't really like the parents in like any way. Especially the mom though because while I get that she said she did it for the betterment of her son, I feel threatening him to the extent that she did wasn't really necessary and could have handled a lot better than how it was. And I'm also just kind of tired of the constant "parents not being accepting of their relationship until the very end and then everything's happy in the last episode" because it happens far too often in these BLs. And it also usually seems that the children are way too forgiving of the actions committed by their parents but that's nothing new with this show in particular.

Regardless, all this jumbled mess to say, I did rather enjoy this series and it was obviously not without its faults, but you could say that about literally any show. And I do hope to see some series that are similar in changing up the typical BL relationship dynamic because it can make the show so much more interesting and engaging even if you're not rooting for the main couple to say together. And I also wish Up, Poom and the rest of the cast the best of luck on their future work, whether in a new project together or otherwise. (But I would enjoy seeing Up and Poom as a couple in a show again, preferably with a healthier relationship dynamic this time.)
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