This review may contain spoilers
Continuing the Tradition of Sexually Ambiguous Bros
Here's a tip to aspiring BL writers: Men are rarely confused about their sexuality by the time they turn 18, although, they may not act on it, due to social prejudice and conditioning. So here we have another story of two sexually ambiguous bros, Oat and Pop. (There are many sub-plots with other characters, but I'm only going to talk about their storyline). We suffer through two seasons of "What the Duck" and our heroes barely have a bromance, never mind anything that gets sexual. There is a brief tease of male rape (a scene right out of "The Effect") but at least this one turns out to be a comical misunderstanding. The BL drama formula says that it's fun to watch two guys make out, but let's not let them actually be gay and have a happy ending together. So, this show concludes with Pop departing to become a flight attendant and Oat (after an incredible effort to befriend Pop) decides to ditch him to become ... are you ready for this? ... a Monk. Yes, really. That defies psychological physics. Pop has been pretty well established as straight (he has a girlfriend). It would be a stretch for him to switch teams at age 22. Oat has lots of sex with himself. He could be interested in Pop, but maybe he became a Monk because he knows Pop is a lost cause. (A gay man being attracted to a straight guy is a real life tragedy for many gay men). So there's really only one logical ending to this drama, in the presumed Season 3: Pop: "I really do love you, Oat, but I just can't get into the gay thing." Oat, putting his hand on Pop's shoulder: "Honestly, I don't care about that either, Pop. Just having you as a friend is enough for me." Oat starts to kiss Pop on the lips, but in the last second gives him a peck on the cheek. Amused at Oat's shyness, Pop smiles, stares into his eyes and gives him a bro kiss on the lips. Oat wipes his lips with the back of his hand, "Pop!" They laugh and walk off together. The End. Oreo Puwanai (Pop) and Strong Charoenchai (Oat) manage to create some chemistry together, despite the dysfunctional personalities their characters are given. It's fine to start out that way but by the end of the first season their character arcs should have evolved to be more friendly toward each other. Will there be a season 3? Will our boys get together? I'm not holding my breath. I'll leave them with my suggested ending.
Was this review helpful to you?