Pinoy BL Series
Thailand
What happened!?! Episode 7 was such a disappointing episode! Yes, the plot/storyline progressed on this episode. The international cake competition finally came into fruition, and they lost, which in turn allowed the return of the daddy issue/Freudian excuse trope. But because this episode was filled with gaps, not to mention, packed with rushed and unrealistic scenes, it was so frustrating to watch. Case in point, the affection between Sky and Ace was so contrived and fast tracked, it needed proper build-up. Also, the change of heart of Sky's bully classmates (because of a dream, seriously?!?) was so sudden and unbelievable, it didn't make much sense. In terms of screenplay, it was extra cringy on this episode. Acting was also bad on this episode. Miko and especially Aki were very weak in their delivery of lines and their timing was generally off. Yul Servo was horrendous! Even the production design and computer graphics couldn't save this episode. For a supposedly prestigious international cake competition, everything about it appeared cheap. The inclusion of actual reactors who portrayed the competitors from different countries was a nice touch though. Overall, My Day needs to improve on a lot of areas for next week's episode.
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Episode 9 neatly set-up the ZigZag meet up for next week's finale. Before this, friends reiterated their support for Zag and Zag already clarified things with Zirgo. At least the Zirgo issue was resolved. The ZigZag meet up next week will hopefully resolve if the ZigZag relationship is going somewhere or nowhere. Aside from some minor improvements in computer graphics, not much else improved in terms of plot/storyline, performance, and production. Given the face-to-face nature of next week's meet up, I expect a much better episode on all the artistic aspects.
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Quaranthings Episode 3
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Episode 3: Instant Noodles was sexy, sweet, and sensitive. I'm just amazed how a small production company like Ride or Die can create a very good episode like this. The plot/storyline moved along pretty well on this episode. If the previous episode was more about Judah, this episode was more about Rocky -- his family background and his continuing search for work amidst the pandemic. The latter one is important for me because I always want my series to have clear contextualizations. But more significantly, the contrast between the character backgrounds of Judah (has a mother, studying in a university) and Rocky (mother died, stopped studying to work in order to support his family) was perfect. Also, with Rocky getting a hardon in one of the scenes, we're sure that we won't have a problematic character who suddenly woke up liking a man. There's appropriate build-up. Screenplay was well-balanced with enough cute, funny, and naughty lines and dramatic and sensitive dialogues. There were timely political lines here and there as well. And man, Royce is such a very good actor! No wonder he was nominated for Best Actor for the film Fuccbois at the URIAN Awards. And Judah was right, Rocky is gwapo (handsome)! Kyo was endearing on this episode. I'm really warming up to his portrayal of Judah. Thank God, there's no drunk kiss! Judah and Rocky's heartwarming scenes were enough. They had good chemistry together. And the last scene, with Judah telling Rocky he'll pursue him was awesome. Production design, camera work, and editing were done using simple techniques but were done cleanly. And I love how the OST was perfectly incorporated all throughout the episode. I can't wait for Episode 4!
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I enjoyed Episode 11: Lihim. It didn't really resolve Otep's reasonable jealousy of Tau and Orion but at least there was development on the Pangs ship front. I like the Pangs ship and it seemed to be going somewhere on this episode. Both Renshi and Lance are adorable and I would love to watch their spin-off series. But for now, for In Between, at least the Boom Harot gang, as per the cliffhanger, will soon find out about Nin's secret (lihim). I like the Boom Harot gang. They remind me of the Young Padawans of Hello Stranger. Having supportive friends is really important especially if you're gay living in conservative Philippines. I'm also looking forward to Nin's conversation with Tau and Otep about their readiness to face judgements and unfair treatments from society as teased on the trailer for next week's episode. All in all, Episode 11 was a satisfying episode.
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With 30 episodes (3 parts each episode), we expected that this series will be dragging. Episode 6: First Kiss clearly exemplified this. It's not that nothing much happened on this episode, there were plenty of things that did, it's just that all these things didn't really move the plot/storyline forward. The only thing new on this episode was the confirmation that Kenji's a creep. And like what other commenters have pointed out, the problem with this series' handling of sexual abuse/grooming (Gilbert) and sexual harassment (Kenji), the perpetuators will probably get away with these crimes. Sure, we got those lengthy preachy dialogues about sexual harassment being wrong but at the end of the day, these characters got off scot-free. With 24 episodes left, will they remedy this problematic handling of sexual abuse/grooming and sexual harassment? I'm not optimistic. As for Jimmy, Nuan, and Wil, they just stretched the characterizations already established in the previous episode. Even if you've skipped this episode, you wouldn't miss out on anything about them. Acting performance was just so-so because the actors were held back by the long lines. No improvements on production as well. For the next episode, I just want the plot/storyline to progress.
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Oh My Sexual Episode 5
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The good thing about Episode 5: Oh My DJ!, we got a clearer idea of the interconnectedness of the main characters. At least the plot/storyline progressed on this episode. Generally, I don't like silly and thoughtless tangled web of love and relationship trope but we'll see on the next episodes if the use of such trope in this series makes sense. This episode seemed more akin to Episode 3. Like Episode 3, exaggerations were lessened on this episode that allowed more comprehensible script and relatable acting. Even the audio-visuals were not as distracting as the previous episodes. All in all, this episode was watchable.
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After 4 episodes, nothing much has happened on this series. The conflicts laid out during the pilot episode (sexist Twitter commenter, unemployment, etc.) were the same issues depicted on Episode 4: Lean on Me. The plot/storyline has dragged on. It needs to progress somehow. While script and acting were better compared to previous episodes, they still need improvement. Audio was clearer on this episode (less background noise) but some issues with visuals remained. For example, the computer graphics for the Twitter handle of Terrence still showed @ReuvenEj which is actually the name of the Lead Actor/Director. This should be changed to a Twitter handle closer to Terrence's name. This may be a minor concern but similar issues like this should be cleaned up.
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And that folks is how you do a finale! In Episode 10: Crossing the Line, the plot/storyline had come full circle. All the major issues were resolved with the overall tone of the series maintained. Screenplay was as impeccable as ever. Ash gave us all the happy things we want from this series: strong women in Pearl and Leila saving the day, Terrence and Wes (maybe) finding each other, and of course, Cai and Gav loving and kissing each other and even living together. We even got to see Cai, Gav, and Pearl together in one scene! Acting was topnotch. Production design, cinematography, computer graphics, sound engineering, musical scoring, and editing were all great. I also love the fact that a number of the OSTs were integrated in this episode. And finally, there's no better way to end this episode than by teasing "Gameboys 2. Soon."
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With this episode shooting down the idea of Mark hooking up with Lucas, Hook Up seemed to be back on track. The plot/storyline progressed in Episode 7: Stop Luke & Listen to set-up next week's finale. Mark showed his vulnerable side in this episode. While Lucas was still annoying, we at least learned some things about him that could explain why he is the way he is. Screenplay was realistic enough. Even the serious lines with Tita Cassie were measured enough not to be preachy. Acting performance, especially from Niko and Marky, was good. Special mention goes to Marky who has gone a long way since his Truly Very Yours days. His acting performance on this episode was certainly admirable. If there's one issue I had with this episode, it's with the camera shots. I don't get it why they had to cut off Tita Cassie's head on parts of her scenes. Anyway, another nice thing about this episode, it's not immune from what's happening in the real world. When this episode started and ended with a socially relevant message, it was sincere, it wasn't tokenistic at all. Hook Up's cast and crew have always been consistent about their views on societal issues. So to end, let's reiterate their message for this episode: #TransLivesMatter #JusticeForJenniferLaude #NoToGenderRelatedViolence
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Episode 6 is My Day's best episode yet. The plot/storyline progressed in this episode and most of the scenes were a lot more purposive. Screenplay was generally ok. There were unnecessarily long lines (e.g. between Ace and Kim) that lessened the impact of the scenes but they were tolerable. There were still some objectionable dialogues (e.g. Jelai castigating Marianne for wearing short skirt; queers going super gaga over Ace) but they didn't really surprised me anymore given the weak gender consciousness of this series. The naughty lines (e.g. between Ace and Sky; between Ace and the gym trainer) were nice though, not because they were naughty but because they revealed that Ace didn't just wake up suddenly liking men; the feeling's been there all along. With Sky, this still needs to be established. Acting was generally ok. Aki's acting was underwhelming but he was watchable on this episode. Both Leilani Kate and Miko were good; same can be said for the actors playing Sky's father, mother, and brother. Production design and cinematography were generally ok. Overall, Episode 6 was a good episode.
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Jealousy as a plot/storyline device in a lot of drama series is a staple and Episode 10: Selos showed that In Between isn't an exemption. Being so cliché, I don't know if Otep's reasonable jealousy of Tau and Orion did the plot/storyline any favors. Will this contribute to the overall theme of the series (in between hello and goodbye)? We'll have to see in the next episodes which I hope will have a much faster pace. In Between has been quite dragging the last couple of episodes. Screenplay and acting were generally ok. There were cheesy yet cute lines especially between Nin and Makisig. Nin's song number was adorable, lol! Honestly, I'm enjoying this Pangs ship even though it isn't really going anywhere, lol! I hope their narrative progresses soon before it gets boring. Production technicals were also generally ok. For the last four episodes, I look forward to seeing the complexities of the series' relationships (TauTep, Pangs, BianxJet) in line with the theme of the series.
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Episode 8 tried to resolve some lingering issues from previous episodes. In particular, Zag clarified with Zirgo, hopefully once and for all, that he only sees him as a brother. Zig's mother, Cassandra, chatted with Zag about helping her talk to her son which in turn gave Zig the impression that Zag is taking his mother's side in their strife. This looked like the final conflict setting up the final two episodes of this series. Even though Even After has a simple plot/storyline, I've long appreciated that it's relatable enough. The screenplay was cheesy but it's generally ok. Sure, acting needed improvements, but it wasn't really bad. I also noticed some improvements on audio, musical scoring, and split screen editing. For the last two episodes, my hope is for the series to produce its best episodes yet and for ZigZag to get a well-deserved happy ending.
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Quaranthings Episode 2
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I like the pace of Quaranthings: The Series. It's not too fast and it's not too slow. It seemed fit for an 8-episode series. The plot/storyline progressed smoothly on Episode 2: Alcohol. Character backgrounds for both Judah and Rocky were established. Contexts were clear with real-life issues like family disagreements, competitive school environment, employment, and navigating through the pandemic. Yes, we don't condone stealing but we can understand where the recently fired Rocky was coming from. The way the rich were treated as the other in this episode, somehow, I feel there's some class consciousness in this series. Screenplay was relatable. There were socially sensible lines about being poor (It's hard to be poor in this country), internalized homophobia (Do you have some type of internalized homophobia?), sexual harassment (I hate people who sexually harass others), etc. Although not as funny as last week's script, there were still some humorous dialogues. Acting was generally on point. Kyo was good in the comedic scenes but he still needs to improve in the more dramatic parts. His scenes with Royce were cute and endearing. And the last scene was heartwarming. Audio-visuals were ok but editing needs to be smoother. Overall, Episode 2 was a very good episode.
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While Episode 5: Momi, Dadi & Me might have pertained more to Princess, Jimmy, and Joey, this episode's actually Nuan's episode. The plot/storyline progressed in this episode with the pregnant Princess moving in with Jimmy. There's character development for Jimmy with him worried about his mother and with him taking responsibility for Princess' pregnancy (by the way, I just have to say it, the prop for the baby bump was terrible!). But probably the most impressive about this episode was the character background for Nuan. Gilbert is a disgusting character. While I understand the importance of representing such repulsive characters because they do exist in society and I recognize the value of demonstrating rejection of such characters (which Nuan's brother manifested), I fear that this could further engrain the conservative, regressive, and stereotypical notion that queer people are not fit to adopt children. Let's be clear, Gilbert is a sexual abuser/groomer because he's a sick person, not because he's queer. Anyway, I've always been biased for Nuan so I'm happy there's depth in his character background. As for Wil, nothing much happened. Well, he talked to the plant and had ensaymada (cheesy, soft, and sweet dough pastry) with Joey. I don't know how other viewers felt about these scenes but I was quite bored with the long and repetitive monologue (with the plant) and dialogue (with Joey). Both scenes started cute but got dragged too much they became dull. In general, screenplay for this episode was tiresome but compared to the lines with Will, the script for the other scenes was tolerable. With regards to acting, Jules shined in this episode. He was really good. I only wished the Director didn't prolonged his scenes because in doing so, he lessened the scenes' impact. Among the lead cast members, Jules has shown the most range in acting. Drei is the most natural while Erwin is the most trained. While Ivan has always been interesting because of the mysterious vibes he exude, his acting has become monotonous as of late. He needs to be given more challenging scenes. Gabo was fine but the rest of the support cast members had lackluster acting. Production technicals still need improvement. Audio was still bad with all those distracting background sounds. Camera shots were too simple and straightforward which contributed to this episode's unimaginative visuals. Editing was still generally uneven. I'm still hopeful the production crew can address these production issues on the next episodes! Twenty-five episodes more to go!
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Oh My Sexual Episode 4
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While I appreciate innovation and promotion of social change in Filipino (Pinoy) boys' love (BL) series, these characteristics should be synchronized with the ability to generate audience comprehension and engagement. I've never really appreciated series that are high brow art for art's sake. Unfortunately, Oh My Sexual is slowly turning into one. It seemed to be living in its own world without much regard for viewer reception. Episode 4: Oh My Kim! reverted back to being highly incoherent with too much exaggerations. Kim's story was quite tiresome. And the technicals of production in terms of audio-visual didn't improve much. Frankly, for the next episodes, I don't expect much from this series anymore. I just want it to at least make some sense for the audience.
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