This review may contain spoilers
Has GMMTV’s GL Series Entered Its Dark Age?
Good Points:
Jan and JingJing’s acting was absolutely wonderful.
Jan delivered a stable yet consistently high-level performance, and JingJing’s explosive acting power was genuinely impressive.
Bad Points:
(Structure)
First of all, the structure was just terrible.
Why did they bring in Wine’s past trauma, which should have been one of the most important parts of the story, in the latter half of the series?
That kind of thing should normally be shown early in the story — in the case of Enemies With Benefits, around Episodes 1 to 4. From there, the story should have shown Wine overcoming that trauma through her relationship with Lal, and then, in the final arc, brought back the source of that trauma as the ultimate test she had to confront.
But in reality, every bit of character depth came too late. By the time they finally started digging into Lal and Wine, I had already lost interest in them, and I was bored with the story itself.
That is what makes it so frustrating. Lal and Wine had enough potential for me to like them, so it feels like such a waste.
(Too Many Unnecessary Elements)
First of all, the side-couple storyline was completely unnecessary.
Lal and Wine were already underwritten, and yet the show threw in even more romantic elements for the side characters in the second half. At that point, it was nothing but noise.
Tangkwa should have been a character who represented the beliefs that Wine could not directly express to Lal. She should have been used to give Wine more depth, showing why she respects Wine and what Wine means to the people around her.
Proud, meanwhile, could have been a tricky character who enters the story midway through, but is also serious and sincere about her work — someone who occasionally shakes up Lal and Wine’s relationship as a counterbalance.
In the early stage of GMMTV’s GL series, there have been successful side couples in works like 23.5, Us, and Whale Store xoxo. But in Enemies With Benefits, whether because GMMTV’s GL series has entered a mass-production phase or not, the side-couple elements ended up feeling extremely sloppy and unnecessary.
(The Setting Is Too Weak)
This series sometimes tries too hard to create tension around the idea that “it would be bad if people at work found out about them.”
But honestly, all I could think was: “Would it really be that bad if they found out?”
The reason is simple: the story never properly shows the threat or background behind what would happen if they were exposed.
If they really wanted to make the idea of being found out feel dangerous, they should have shown something in Episode 1, like Lal witnessing two employees in a relationship being forced out of the company. That would have made her think, “This company is dangerous. We absolutely cannot get caught.”
But the atmosphere in the workplace is actually pretty light. It feels like everyone would probably accept them anyway, so there is no real sense of tension.
Far from feeling like a threat, the employees in Sales and Accounting actually seem to want Lal and Wine to get along.
It is also a waste that the employees in Sales and Accounting mostly become background characters or comic relief. They should have been important supporting characters who helped explain why Lal and Wine are respected, and why their different versions of “being right” clash with each other.
Instead, they simply ended up as comedy devices.
As for Lal and Wine themselves, they were extremely hostile toward each other from the beginning to the middle of Episode 1. But after sleeping together under the influence of alcohol, the very next day, the distance between them suddenly shrinks as if all that hostility had never existed. Then one of them suddenly asks the other to become friends with benefits.
That was way too abrupt.
The show should have carefully portrayed the process of them gradually getting closer. If it had done that, it could have created the kind of painful, frustrating tension where they have physically crossed the line, but they are not lovers, and their emotional distance is still nowhere near as close as their bodies have become.
That is what the story should have shown.
(Conclusion)
Lately, I have been nothing but disappointed in GMMTV’s GL series.
From 23.5 to Whale Store xoxo, they were releasing one god-tier work after another. But from Girl Rules onward, everything suddenly turned to crap.
They do not need to make multiple series at once. I want them to carefully create one high-quality drama at a time.
Laying down a production line and mass-producing GL series like a factory is not the answer.
Jan and JingJing’s acting was absolutely wonderful.
Jan delivered a stable yet consistently high-level performance, and JingJing’s explosive acting power was genuinely impressive.
Bad Points:
(Structure)
First of all, the structure was just terrible.
Why did they bring in Wine’s past trauma, which should have been one of the most important parts of the story, in the latter half of the series?
That kind of thing should normally be shown early in the story — in the case of Enemies With Benefits, around Episodes 1 to 4. From there, the story should have shown Wine overcoming that trauma through her relationship with Lal, and then, in the final arc, brought back the source of that trauma as the ultimate test she had to confront.
But in reality, every bit of character depth came too late. By the time they finally started digging into Lal and Wine, I had already lost interest in them, and I was bored with the story itself.
That is what makes it so frustrating. Lal and Wine had enough potential for me to like them, so it feels like such a waste.
(Too Many Unnecessary Elements)
First of all, the side-couple storyline was completely unnecessary.
Lal and Wine were already underwritten, and yet the show threw in even more romantic elements for the side characters in the second half. At that point, it was nothing but noise.
Tangkwa should have been a character who represented the beliefs that Wine could not directly express to Lal. She should have been used to give Wine more depth, showing why she respects Wine and what Wine means to the people around her.
Proud, meanwhile, could have been a tricky character who enters the story midway through, but is also serious and sincere about her work — someone who occasionally shakes up Lal and Wine’s relationship as a counterbalance.
In the early stage of GMMTV’s GL series, there have been successful side couples in works like 23.5, Us, and Whale Store xoxo. But in Enemies With Benefits, whether because GMMTV’s GL series has entered a mass-production phase or not, the side-couple elements ended up feeling extremely sloppy and unnecessary.
(The Setting Is Too Weak)
This series sometimes tries too hard to create tension around the idea that “it would be bad if people at work found out about them.”
But honestly, all I could think was: “Would it really be that bad if they found out?”
The reason is simple: the story never properly shows the threat or background behind what would happen if they were exposed.
If they really wanted to make the idea of being found out feel dangerous, they should have shown something in Episode 1, like Lal witnessing two employees in a relationship being forced out of the company. That would have made her think, “This company is dangerous. We absolutely cannot get caught.”
But the atmosphere in the workplace is actually pretty light. It feels like everyone would probably accept them anyway, so there is no real sense of tension.
Far from feeling like a threat, the employees in Sales and Accounting actually seem to want Lal and Wine to get along.
It is also a waste that the employees in Sales and Accounting mostly become background characters or comic relief. They should have been important supporting characters who helped explain why Lal and Wine are respected, and why their different versions of “being right” clash with each other.
Instead, they simply ended up as comedy devices.
As for Lal and Wine themselves, they were extremely hostile toward each other from the beginning to the middle of Episode 1. But after sleeping together under the influence of alcohol, the very next day, the distance between them suddenly shrinks as if all that hostility had never existed. Then one of them suddenly asks the other to become friends with benefits.
That was way too abrupt.
The show should have carefully portrayed the process of them gradually getting closer. If it had done that, it could have created the kind of painful, frustrating tension where they have physically crossed the line, but they are not lovers, and their emotional distance is still nowhere near as close as their bodies have become.
That is what the story should have shown.
(Conclusion)
Lately, I have been nothing but disappointed in GMMTV’s GL series.
From 23.5 to Whale Store xoxo, they were releasing one god-tier work after another. But from Girl Rules onward, everything suddenly turned to crap.
They do not need to make multiple series at once. I want them to carefully create one high-quality drama at a time.
Laying down a production line and mass-producing GL series like a factory is not the answer.
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