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Romance of two mature adults done right!

Wow I did not expect this show to be such a hit for me, but it was. We don't see a lot of BLs with over twenty something couples in life phase that come after university, first big loves and first years in the career are over. This show truly did the romance of two mature adults so well!

I think for anyone over 30 and 40 the shows themes will resonate: what if I need to change my career direction bc what I am doing is not working, how do I deal with my parents becoming older and needing to look after and what forming a romantic relationship is when your relationship priorities are not as they were when you were younger. The show also describes the struggles of coming out at older age in society like Japan, where being gay is no longer exactly unheard of, but where ppl of the community still have to consider that their love could have adverse reactions from other people.

The best part of the show is Azuma's and Kuji's relationship development. At no point do we get big dramatic moments, but instead the show gives a steady relationship arch that has it's ups and downs, with two ppl slowly realizing their feelings. The moments of conflicts are not resolved with arguments of shouting or running away, but rather both of the men reflecting and adjusting to each other.

Having said all the positives this won't be for everyone: if you like your fast paced Thai BLs with dramatic flair, a lot of steamy action and the character types in typical Thai BLs this might not be for you. Also if the themes covered in the show hit too hard home, for some this isn't going to be the escapism they want from the real every day life.

If you have watched and liked other J BLs, you will like this one too! I loved this and the show will be updated to my favorite BL list.

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Fun to watch

I'd say this was quite fun to watch, even if the plot revolves around tracking a serial killer. I will give the show some bonus points for the fact that I couldn't figure out the killer until it was revealed, so the plot wasn't too predictable. I feel a little bit that the ending was rushed or alternatively they didn't have a budget for a special episode, so to the last episode they had to fill in the conclusion of the actual murder case and then content that you usually see in BL special eps.

In terms of characters we did get nice variety and there was genuinely a decent amount of plot points that did end up tying in with the final conclusion of the murder case. I was bit surprised how fast Karmin's and Jades's relationship progresses, based on the first few episodes I was maybe expecting a longer development arch. I think you are either going to like it or think they were bit fast with the relationship development. Joong and Dunk have now done quite many shows together, so the chemistry works. Most importantly unlike with some cases of BL actors working as pairs I didn't have dejavu that I have seen this exact same set up with them in another series before. So another set of bonus points for making this feel like were watching Joong and Dunk in a genuinely different castings compared to their previous shows.

Conclusion:

- If you like the particular main actor pairing you are going to probably like this.
- There is some amount of violence, bc of the main plot and some other very sensitive themes aside from violence so watcher beware.
- Main plot held together to the end.
- Rewatch value is bit meh, common issue with detective/police theme series in general: once you know how the case will end, it takes one of the main motivators to watch away.

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The perfect sequel

Just as with the original show, I was not expecting a lot, but was positively surprised how much I ended up liking this. And sequels rarely live up to their originals, but I dare to say I enjoyed this even more than the original show.

First and foremost, other studios should take notice. You can do a 4 EP series and make it work. This was just the perfect length where I felt the main story line fitted the amount of episodes and as a viewer you got to see more of things you liked in the original show. A big brownie point that there were also elements that added to the original show.

In terms of characters yes Thee was still very cheesy with Peach knocking him down a notch or two when needed, but it was wholesome to see them as parents for the kids and in a married relationship. What everyone was expecting probably most from this sequel was the Rome and Mok scenes and the show delivered. A more general aspect that I appreciated in the this one, was that we saw different sides from the characters compared to original show: Mok was showing his ruthless mafia side, Thee was showing that he could be a more serious sporting brother for Mok, Peach got bit jealous of Thee etc.

With all the positives there were also some negatives. The GL plot line with Plub and Mira got too little screen time. It felt like something plastered to the show, without depth. The whole Thee wanting to film the series about his and Peach's romance as an internal commentary and joke about the series did not need to be it's own plot line. It felt like it didn't connect to the main plot of the show.

Generally while overall I will give this a higher rating the original series, in order to enjoy this fully, you have to watch the original series. As with many sequels this doesn't work as a stand alone show. However this was truly a successful sequel and ended the series perfectly.

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This was just terrible

I am trying to think where to even begin with. I really wanted this to be a hit for all the actors involved, but this might be the worst BL so far that I have ever watched until the end. And that is saying a lot, considering the amount of shows aired these days.

What is the biggest shortcoming of the show is that the comedy which is the main aspect of the show, it does not work. I understand humor is a very subjective preference, but some of the jokes were literally for things that small kids would laugh at, and this certainly in other aspects is not a show for small children. There was maybe an attempt to have a more serious tone to the show once Fu and Moo did get together, but the transition fails, bc the horrible comedy is still present even in later episodes.

There were also just so many bad choices made in terms of plot progression. We had a jealousy plot line recycled three times in the show, which for one single BL is just too many. In the last two episodes we had a drug trafficking plot line with undercover police officers which was wild considering how juvenile the show in general had so far been. There was all together three side characters with romance plot lines that didn't lead to anywhere. Since Fu's and Moo's romance clearly had not enough material to carry the show trough all 10 episodes, the three side character romances could have really helped to at least bring some substance in to the hollow main plot line.

The shows main couple did generally suffer from credibility problem. Since Moo had obviously been so set against Fu courting him for years, the 360 that is made in just few episodes feels absurd. I do have some empathy towards Moo's reason rejecting Fu previously, cruel careless things heard as a teen can be very traumatizing, even if it was something they could have discussed earlier. The end of the show feels just as absurd for the main couple, considering the short time they have been romantically together and what generally was the relationship's starting point.

I really like Boss and Noeul's on screen chemistry, which makes me just hope this show will be quickly forgotten and they can move to better acting projects. I would not recommend watching this, even if some of the actors are your favorites. For me this was a clear fail.

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Keeps you interested to the end+ a banger soundtrack

This is one of the BL's I would definitely rank to my top ones, in terms of the plot, casting and surprisingly for it's soundtrack. A lot of BL's have either very poor or at best average music choices and I get it. Using stock music is an easy way to cut production costs. However with this one the unique soundtrack is tied together really well with the plot progression.

The plot was quite good too, though I maybe feel the last episode just felt like they ran out of ideas. It was cute, but considering how well the series kept me on the edge until the 11 episode, the ep 12 just felt bit meh. If you have watched a lot of BLs, I think you will guess quite early the big plot twist that happens in the end, but for me it didn't ruin the watching experience. There were still other elements in the plot that made me watch the show to the end.

I liked both of the couples and I'd say the couples got an equal screen time and a development arch. Since the episodes are on the longer side, they didn't have to rush the relationship development with either of the couples.

In conclusion:

- For action heavy BL fans a must series to watch. Keeps you watching to the end.
- Ticks a lot of boxes, even if the last episode didn't quite match the other ones in terms of keeping the suspension and interest.
- Worth watching just for the music alone.
- Has a good rewatch value.

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I have so many issues

Okayy sooo.... first the good things which there were two:

- The children and the actors playing them 10/10, would watch them in any other dram BL or non-BL any day.
- The second couple, what a chemistry! I don't think I have ever gotten so angry at a drama plot twist, than I got when I saw what the writes did to them in the EP 7 (I think).

On a more general themes what let this one down was the main plot. The whole misunderstanding who was Mawin's real father (which is the whole plot for the main couple) could have been solved by a phone call or a single short conversation. Aside from the very thin main plot and chemistry between Than and Akin, well it was good but not great. Which made what happened to the second couple even worse, considering that the show really needed them to pull trough all 10 episodes. Considering how little the main plot point gave to the show, this could have been a 8 episode series.

As a conclusion this goes to the category of series I would not watch again and will probably forget in a year. The second couple and children pull this one trough, but considering what happens to the second couple, well 10 episodes was too much. Hopefully the actors Year and Bee who played the second couple will get another series as a main couple, because I think they have a lot of potential.

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This was adorable

Surprisingly I liked this a lot more than I expected. I was initially planning to skip this, but I felt I needed something lighter to balance out some of the more gloomier BLs that I have been watching. I think this delivered in giving something soft and lighthearted and surprisingly there was good character building included into the plot. The plot while not being anything complex carried trough the whole show. I will always be a dog person, but this actually made me want to go to a cat cafe.

I feel in terms of individual characters the focus is a lot on Lynx's character and how he evolves trough out the show. I liked the element of sibling relationship that was included in the plot alongside with Lynx having to come to terms with his mother's death and their challenging relationship. It's always good when the main characters plot is just not about the build up of the romantic relationship.

I have not seen a lot of shows where First and Khaotung are paired, even if I do know they have been working as a pair for quite some time now. For that reason I can't compare them to their past performances as a couple, but in this one I do think the character dynamic worked well. This wasn't meant to be a particularly spicy series to begin with, and in a more romcom type of context it was fun to see their romance play out.

Now is the cat cafe/ debtor set up very believable as a starting point to the plot and to the main romance element of the show? Probably not, but as a romcom definitely works. The cats offer and deliver on the comedic aspect. I would maybe even say this show has some re-watch value, for days when you just want something easy, that will make you smile while watching.

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A show of revenge and learning to trust people again

First it should be said that this is definitely not a series for sensitive ppl: you really get to see gruesome effects of what a personal tragedy can do to a person not only in terms of providing for oneself financially, but how it can affect a person's ability to trust and faith in other ppl. The show additionally shows the very murky and cruel side of the entertainment industry.

That being said, the previous aspects combined with the personal revenge agenda of the main character Sun are what makes this a great show. Seeing Sun make his way trough all the crap that is thrown at his way, when he is trying to reach his goal of avenging his ex who is now a famous actor got me excited and nervous to what will happen next. Instead of the show just running with the revenge plot line alone, we got to see Sun beginning to slowly open up again and most importantly beginning to find ppl he can trust. The dynamic development between him, his manager Kajorn and stage actor Sky is one of the best parts of the show.

This could have been all the way 9/10 show, but unfortunately for me the show fell short with the romance aspect, that is still a big part of the plot. Now once Sun and Jay do finally get together yes they are very cute, and there is decent amount of chemistry. Unfortunately though most of the time all the way until the last few eps, Sun just looks straight out uncomfortable with Jay's advances. It made me question a lot of times, that is he just tolerating Jay's behavior, bc he witnesses how other men holding power in the industry act and goes along reluctantly with Jay knowing it's his best bet to progress his revenge agenda.

What would have improved the romance plot for me massively would have been Jay taking some other kind of approach to gain Sun's trust, being earlier transparent about the fact that they had met in the past and about his own motives in general. I don't think Jay was necessarily all the time better than some of his adversaries, even if his agenda of of taking back what his mother lost could be considered noble. Then again the series point is clearly to show that you cannot be a saint and be at the top of the entertainment industry, so I am not judging Jay too harshly.

Despite for me the show being 7,5 I do think a lot of ppl will enjoy this one. It's a bigger budget BL with quality actors and production. For someone who likes more "darker" themed BLs this a good watch and the suspension will keep you watching till the very end.

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It was good until ep 8

This show had so much potential. We have a main couple who come from two different worlds, crime plot and some personal drama on the side. Unfortunately this show lost it's excitement and tension after the first half.

The show on paper has a very interesting plot that progresses very well until episode 8. The suspension of Krit and Wayu trying to work together to solve the human trafficking case, while navigating their feelings keeps you watching and waiting for another episode. On the side the criminal case and falling in love, both of the main characters have issues in their family life they are navigating. Best part of the show for me was especially seeing Wayu's character development from somehow bit naive host, realizing that he needs to start making decisions for himself and his family that will be better in long-term future and setting up boundaries with Krit.

Unfortunately the shows suspension falls apart in episode 8 onward, and what I was not a fan of at the end, was the crime plot almost completely fading in the background and the show turning into a family drama. This would not be an issue if the show would have been promoted as such, but the catch that made me want to watch this was the crime aspect and the main couples relationship development as the case progresses. The end result of the family drama is also very unsurprising, if you have watched a lot of Thai BLs with this kind of a story ark.

What was also bothersome for me, as the show ended, was that what if Krit was not injured in a life threatening manner, would he still have had the guts to stand up against his father and choose Wayu? Considering how fast he was just willing to move on to marrying some random politician's daughter after his and Rose's fake relationship failed, just to appease his father, makes me question his readiness to defy him, if he had not almost lost his own life.

I think the show would have been better as 10 ep show. In terms of acting and production this was a high quality show and for those who are fans of Up and Poom this will probably still be enjoyable even if it's not perfect to the very end. In conclusion it was just okay for me, not the most memorable, but not a completely bad BL to watch either.

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Could have been the perfect Chinese BL but....

This had the elements for being one of my favorite Chinese BL's so far. We had very interesting set up for the couple, there was very much plot involved, with the story evolving trough the whole series, however unlike with some of the longer Chinese BLs, the plot was not complex to the point that it took away the entertainment value of the show. Unfortunately where this failed for me was the aspect of relationship development which is kind of the whole idea of a romance themed series.

As separate characters both He Chu San and Xia Liu Yi have complexity to them that ties together really well with the main plot. The characters actually evolve trough the show quite a bit, which we don't always see in the genre. Sadly it just feels like forever until things start developing the relationship part. I would understand the slow development arch, if this would have been another +10 ep Chinese BL. However, with nine episodes I expect to see a lot more than few kissing scenes and both of the characters just trying to avoid facing their feelings most of the series. Right when there is finally realizing of mutual feelings Xia Liu Yi gets dragged to prison and the show ends.... Considering that there has been some hints but not real confirmation on a sequel this type of ending as a viewer leaves more questions and then feeling of closure. With a fully confirmed season 2 I might have been able to be more lenient on the ending choice.

Aside from the first couple not delivering on the relationship side of things, the second couple desperately needed more on screen time. They should have brought them to the show earlier, bc right until the last episode it felt really unclear why they were even introduced to the plot and what the relationship between them was. Even after the very open ending to the show, still not 100% sure where they would go from the situation the show ended in.

Conclusion:
- Generally plot and length wise a perfect show, with great individual character performances.
- Unfortunately the romance part for both main and second couple leaves a lot to be desired.
- There is quite a bit of violence and other heavy themes covered in the show, so this is not for sensitive ppl.

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Like watching a car crash in the best possible way to the very end

First disclaimer: this series covers A LOT of sensitive topics. There are very dark themes present and most of the characters are flawed in one way or another. However if you can handles the themes covered in the series, this will keep you on your toes both excited and horrified just thinking what kind of twist is next in the plot line. This is full 10 eps packed with scheming and action, and I think I will be suffering from a void not having to anticipate the next episode weekly.

In terms of acting I think Peat and Fort do their best roles to this date. Neither Kelvin or Vier in this series are innocent, the more you watch the series the more you kind of realize that both of them are quite twisted in their own way. This is one of the series where I wouldn't have necessarily minded if the main couple had not ended up together at the end. So much just goes down between them, that a ending of them going separate ways would have been an equally acceptable conclusion compared to the canon ending we get. The GL pairing was cute, the series did give them enough screen time for the pair to be believable (which a lot of BL shows don't do). The combat scene given in the last ep to Nana was awesome!

The only thing that could have been executed better was the amount of flash back scenes in the first few episodes. You really had to pay careful attention, because otherwise it could be very confusing when the scene was in the current moment and when it was a flash back. On the second half of the series this is no longer was an issue, bc the story focuses to the main plot unfolding. Something else that maybe could have gotten more screen time was Kelvin's treatment and recovery. They probably had a budget only to cover 10 ep, so Kelvin getting a proper treatment to his very serious mental health issues is just referred to few times in the final ep. I think covering Kelvin's recovery and how he and Vier work out the craziness they went trough would have added even more depth to the plot and made ending not seem so glossed over.

In conclusion:
- If you like a mature BL with a plot that keeps twisting to the end, this is a gem.
- Always a pleasure seeing your favorite actors doing something very different and excelling while doing it.
- Don't watch this, if you are looking something easy and lighthearted.
- You will probably need a week or two to recover once you have finished the series, the impact is very lasting.

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Just like the first season it got better with the second couple

So this series seems to have a pattern where the second couple is more interesting than the first one. There is nothing wrong with Phoon and Fah, but Dao and Arthit had more of an interesting dynamic.

What I did like about the first pair was Phoon getting a close knit group of friends around him that will defend him to the very end (as we saw with North). Generally the story of him getting to stand up against his abusive father and finding his mother were also really nice to follow.

I do find the dynamic between him and Fah bit creepy, mainly bc of the aspect that Fah used to view him more as a brother type of figure which then shifts to a romantic interest. Sure this can happen in real life when ppl know each other from longer period. Just something about the dynamic feels bit unbalanced in a way, where I feel Phoon would be willing to do almost anything bc he admires Fah so much, even if he would not be personally comfortable with some of the things Fah wants to do. But they get their happy ending, Fah obviously yes is eager, but adores Phoon and Phoon got out of "little brother" zone into being a proper boyfriend with the guy he loves.

Now about Dao and Arthit. Did this dynamic have it's issues? Yes there were some very questionable line crossing. I get it, Arthit aside from Johan (who is a complete simp now that he has North) is meant to be the second edgier character and I'd say he is the most "imperfect" character of the series. Dao has his own past issues to deal with, and still somehow two of them make a really deep connection during the first episodes. What maybe bothered me, especially after they shared such a significant moment, trying to contact Tith's mother's spirit is the part when Arthit starts to court Dao. Despite the fact that Arthit knew the crap Dao's ex made him go trough, he still resulted into pressuring tactics in gaining Dao's affection. Dao does put him into his place at times, but still some of the stuff did leave me wondering that is Dao going along with it, bc he genuinely is catching feelings or bc of the pressure Arthit puts on him and emotionally he doesn't have the capacity to properly just put a stop to it. Despite the courting process being questionable, I do feel this was in one way the most rewarding couple to see getting to the end.

I am calling the trailers for Dao and Arthit false advertising unless we get a special EP later! The studio trailer made these two to be the most spiciest couple to be expected and we only got one scene in the last ep 16 for them. Yes the scene was definitely more than what we have seen from the other couples, but everything else was the same fluffy stuff we saw from other couples once they decided to become boyfriends. This would have been fine, unless I had the original trailer as a base material for the expectations.

For me this is still a 7/10 series, but if you like university romance with long character development archs this isn't a bad choice.

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Something in this just didn't click

Oh dear.... so on paper this should have had the components of an interesting bit edgier BL series. However something in this from the start didn't quite click.

The interludes talking about peaches were strange. The images used in the interludes felt AI generated, but I'm not stating here as a fact if they were. The main couple Sasom and Po felt like they were lacking chemistry trough out the whole series, and in a series that had heavy focus on spicy scenes this kind of is an issue. The dialogue scenes were also awkward at time, because it just didn't feel that two actors clikced. The second couple was purposefully casted as the awkward couple of the series and with them it kind of ended up working at the end.

There was also a substantial plot hole in the series. In the first half of the series aside from Po's father causing issues, Sasom's parents were supposed to be very strict PR/reputation oriented in terms of who their son could be seen with and spend time with. While the plot line with Po's father was taken to the end, what on earth happened with the plot line regarding Samson's parents? At the end Po was able to attend Sasom's brother's wedding celebration with no issues or concerns from his parents that their son was bringing a normal person as his plus one (the only big issue being Sasom's ex appearing). It just seemed that Sasom's parents kind of just disappeared from the whole show along with the plot line created for them. It is always possible that I missed the plot point where this part was resolved, but I genuinely don't remember the show at any point explaining what happened to the whole Samsom and his PR micromanaging parents.

In general the trailer and maybe first two episodes were projecting the plot to be a lot spicier than it ended up being. I already guessed on ep 3 that Po and Sasom would probably not end up filming together, which kind of was the whole premises of them ever meeting. Sure there were quite many spicy scenes in the show and the production quality overall was pretty high. We do get some character development, but it isn't enough to save the series as a whole.

In then end, this was not a show for me.
If you like spicy scenes with some plot on the side than this could be an okay show to watch.
There was not enough plot to carry this trough 10 episodes. The last one ep especially just felt like a random compilation of scenes, rather than a cohesive episode.
Actors individually are good, they just might need different pairings in the future.

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Not a horror fan, but this was great!

As someone who is not a fan of horror movies or series in general I was going to skip this, but after seeing a lot of positive feedback I decided to watch a couple of episodes, and yeah I had to watch it till the end.

First of all I'm always a fan when I can see actors develop. I wasn't a fan of PitBabe and mainly watched it for the second couple, because I felt Pavel and Pooh both needed bit more work with their acting (skipped season 2 all together). In this show, they just nailed their individual roles and the chemistry in general was soooo much better. Kudos also for the secondary pair, Micheal and TopTen did very well.

In terms of the story line, while I did have to skip around some of the very creepy scenes. the plot held together to the end and the length of 13 episodes was just perfect for the show. This was never going to be my favorite show bc of the horror elements, but as a crime/horror show it really kept me hooked until the end. If you are very sensitive horror and gore elements in general, this isn't it for you. However if you can tolerate those elements to some degree or even prefer them in a series I would watch this.

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It gets better at the end

I ended up watching this, because the squeal has been popping up in my social media feed a lot. I think the logic was that I'll first watch this and then move on to the next part. As a disclaimer I should probably say that I have not read the novel this and the sequel is based on, so my opinion is just based on the TV show.

I think in terms of overall plot this is a pretty average university themed Thai BL drama. I feel that I have seen what I saw in this series many times before, with all the student ceremonies, activities and clubs along with the side characters appearing during the show. A good set of main characters could have helped this a lot, but we got kind of half way there with that part.

I don't usually like to refer to other specific shows when discussing characters, but having watched the insane chemistry Pond's character had with the other lead in the show Reset, watching Hill's and Ter's romance was bit awkward. They are cute, but.... well just cute. It could be that with different kinds of character castings Pond's and Earth's romance on screen could have more chemistry to it, but with this show it feels very superficial even if they try to give the romance a proper background plot. I would like emphasize that for me good chemistry doesn't mean that the couple has to necessarily have a lot of spicy scenes, it can be built with other means.

The second pairing with Johan and North did get me to watch this in the end, even if with them it was initially bit slow. North as an individual character is so far my favorite, quite unique character in the genre all together. I would recommend watching the two special episodes they got if you like this specific pairing from the show.

Overall considering the contents of the show, this could have been condensed into less episodes and bringing in Johan's and North's storyline earlier would have helped the watching experience. Ter's and North's friendship is something fun to follow . As a side note it did make me laugh how quickly these couples go from just dating to moving in together, yes I know it's a fictional show, but still I found the speed comedic (even if otherwise the show was at times slow in progression).

Do you need to watch this to watch the Fourvever you part 2: No. If you find the main couple of the sequel more interesting you can watch it directly, you don't miss out.
Re-watch value: the Johan and North parts maybe sometime.
Overall vibe: It's okay, but not very memorable.

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