Pinoy BL Series
Thailand
Episode 2 didn't really improve on the pilot episode. The plot/storyline lacked complexity. The screenplay was underwhelming. Acting was poor. Joe was tentative with unnecessary hand movements while Daniela was too scripted and stiff. Graphics was dull and editing still needs a lot of improvement. I just hope Episode 3 is better than this episode.
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Episode 6 was better than last week's episode. While it might be confusing why Zag, who was running after Zig since day one, was not ready for Zig's confession, I do understand why Zag's scared not only for himself but for Zig. He raised real-life concerns that a lot of people (especially queer) can relate. And I love the last lines from Zig: "I know trusting someone is really hard... but... promise... leaving you is not... it's none of my choices... You're that place I would always want to go back to... even if the road is ZigZag... so... do you trust me?" The chemistry between Kelly and Kristoffer was good. I haven't said much about the series' background music and the OST but they really contribute to what I like about this series. In this episode, they're in sync with what the scenes called for. There are still four episodes left. I hope ZigZag end up together. They both deserve to be happy.
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I remain hopeful for this series. It has a clear idea of what it's all about which makes its plot/storyline promising. Episode 3: Oh My Daddy still exhibited the same technical and substantive problems as previous episodes. Audio and editing were still poor. Queer characters were still depicted as one-dimensional while female characters were portrayed not only as vain, but also whorish. Add Jimmy and his gang's hegemonic and toxic masculinity and we have an almost complete set of problematic gender representations in this episode. But the good thing about this series, with 30 episodes, we can still hope that its future episodes will give queer characters their own storyline and treat women more fairly. Hegemonic and toxic masculinity in this episode were also countered by the hybrid and inclusive masculinity of the other lead cast members particularly Joey and Nuan. I reiterate again why I'm Team JoNuan. Out of the four boys (Jimmy, Wil, Nuan, and Kenji), Nuan is the only one who hasn't done anything problematic or shady. He's also a working student representing a lot of students struggling financially. I just hope they don't do him bad on this series. While not super funny, screenplay in this episode was cute enough to make you smile from time to time. Acting and chemistry of the lead cast members were also good. My only other issue was casting Buknoy. Why was she even included in this series? Her acting in this episode was barely tolerable! Anyway, I'm hoping for continued improvements in the next episodes!
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Oh My Sexual Episode 2
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Oh My Sexual's narrative style got really old really fast. While it was interesting and intriguing during its pilot episode, such documentary-experimental narrative style easily became tiresome especially since the plot/storyline didn't seem to go anywhere in Episode 2: Oh My Neil! Yes, we got to know about one of the main characters, Neil, but the plot/storyline didn't really move much. Screenplay was not exciting enough. Being a black or dark comedy, dialogues were not funny. At some point exaggerations in acting also became exhausting. The technicals of production in terms of audio and visuals improved though. Overall, the cast and crew need to find ways to make this series interesting if they want the audience to stick around.
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Kumusta Bro? Episode 6
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It was a struggle getting through Episode 6: Xtruggle is Real. The story has become rather silly and the screenplay has become so circuitous. The lines were so long and repetitive. And some dialogues were really corny. Acting was cringy as well. Even with all the monotonous crying, none of the characters could command any empathy. There were apologies for the revelation last week but they all end up doing the same thing again this week! At this point, I don't even care who end up with who. I just want this series to say something more sensible and significant other than its current thoughtless storyline.
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Unexpected is yet another do-it-yourself (DIY) Filipino (Pinoy) boys' love (BL) series. With the current BL craze in the Philippines, there's a proliferation of low-budget Pinoy BL series such as Unexpected. Like the Pinoy BL series Safe Haven, Unexpected suffers from very weak plot, performance, and production. Basing from Episode 1, the plot/storyline seemed very shallow. The screenplay required refinement to make it more natural. The script lacked gender sensitivity as well. Even the series description referred to having a bisexual chat mate as unfortunate. I can only wish that the cast and crew have undergone a Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Expression (SOGIE) workshop before doing this Pinoy BL series. While Norman has his own charms and his acting was tolerable, the support cast needs to really improve their performance. They were generally unnatural with pointless hand movements and unnecessary vocal intonations. Editing also needs a lot of improvement. There were lengthy scenes that could have been shortened to make the scenes more compact. Even the English subtitles require editing. Indeed, the increase in the production of Pinoy BL series contributes to the normalization of same-sex relationships in Philippine society. While the efforts to produce more Pinoy BL series are laudable, producers should also strive for quality production. That's really the main challenge for a low-budget Pinoy BL series such as Unexpected. I hope Unexpected progress in succeeding episodes.
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While there were some improvements compared to the pilot episode, Episode 2: Quitters are Losers was still replete with weaknesses in plot, performance, and production. It's good that we got to know more about Dave and the difficulty of finding work was highlighted in this episode making this series a bit more realistic. But Terrence was still depicted as a one-dimensional character. The screenplay as well as the acting were still unnatural. Audio was clearer in this episode although there were still some distracting noises. Visuals were generally uneven. While editing was better, it needs to be smoother. Scene transitions were just too abrupt. All in all, this series still needs a lot of improvements.
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What a triumphant return for Gameboys! Episode 11: Stay Strong Forever was a really strong episode. In just under 30 minutes, this episode was able to generate the familiar emotions Gameboys is known for. It made me excited and happy but at the same time it also made me lonely and sad. I've always been a sucker for series that make me feel something that's why I love Gameboys. Aside from making me reflect on and think about societal issues, Gameboys makes me feel with the characters. Cai and Gav's first face-to-face date highlighted in the first half of this episode was super romantic. Rave Park, Pasig City was the perfect setting for their date. The new OST "Ako at Ikaw" (Me and You) by Emerzon Texon (feat. Joshua Ronett) was the perfect background music. They were even able to seamlessly insert a product placement (Gameboys official merchandise with Silverworks: Cai and Gav Engravable Necklace) during their date. But the best part of the date was Cai and Gav playing at the children's park. The picturesque scenes showcased a certain innocence and sort of purity of happiness and love that's difficult to explain. It was somewhat a respite before they go back to face the challenges of the real world tackled in the second half of this episode. The difficulties brought about by the pandemic are far from over as shown in social media posts and the need to buy health and safety-related supplies. Product placements (TM Tambayan and Bench) were not too subtle but because SB19 was featured in the TM Tambayan advertisement, I really can't complain. In the second half of this episode, they also had to face the fact that Cai and his family would have to leave for Bukidnon. There, Cai will have a new life with new and even old friends like Wesley. Kokoy should be commended for his acting performance in this episode. He was really cute especially when he acted like a reactor while viewing Wesley's social media posts. While Kokoy was perfect in showing off the jolly and sexy Gav, he was also great in communicating jealousy, loneliness, and pain behind those happy eyes and smiles. It's just so heart-wrenching to think that Gav will be abandoned for the nth time. I'm really happy for Pearl, she seemed to be coping well as a famous vlogger with a possible flame. She deserves to be happy. She deserves to have her own story (Pearl Next Door!). I'm actually sad for Terrence because I can relate to his feeling of loneliness. Episode 12, I'm dreading you! I know something bad is gonna happen in next week's episode. But overall, I just love that Gameboys is back!
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I'm thoroughly enjoying this series. I usually give a working rating after watching the first episode of a series and revise my rating as I watch the succeeding episodes then give a final rating by the end of the series. For this series, I kept increasing the rating per episode because it keeps getting better and better. After four episodes, it's now clear where Mark stands. Quoting from the funny, sexy, and witty screenplay of Episode 4: D.T.R. (Define The Relationship): "Let's get one thing straight..." "I'm not." "I think..." "I really think..." "I can consider myself as..." "Bisexual." No queerness denial, Mark self-identified as bisexual. Hooray for a bisexual character in a Filipino (Pinoy) boys' love (BL) series! But that's not even the best part of this episode. And no, it's not the digs against the national government either (which were also very good). The best part was when the title of the series, Hook Up, was finally actualized. Mark and Henry finally hooked up! Their kissing and love/sex scenes were daring, sexy, and steamy yet tastefully done. Both Marky and JC were able to convey the emotions and physicality needed for those scenes. I didn't mind that the scenes were a bit darker and grainier than usual -- we wouldn't want Youtube to take out the video for violating community standards, lol! Coming as runner-up for the best part of this episode was the discarding of "Mami" in favor of the more gender-neutral "Love." I love the fact that this series seemed to really listen to constructive criticisms. Also an important part of this episode was the realistic confusion in defining their relationship after the hook up. Happily, they're now "We" "Officially." This episode also provided details on what really happened between Mark and David (from Truly Very Yours). The sad part, there might be no hope for my Mark and Kevin ship (from Truly Very Yours as well) since Mark sees Kevin only as a friend (or not, given the last scene of this episode?). Kevin's sleeping over (maybe in next week's episode?), so we'll see what happens by then. I'm excited for next week's episode! If Mark and Kevin don't end up together, I hope the producers at least pair Kevin with another cute guy in the upcoming series Where We Were!
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Episode 7: Suyo was a sweet episode. This episode contrasted TauTep's relationship with that of Pangs' (Nin and Makisig's). TauTep were now living together while Pangs were still separated by distance. Yet, both pairs showed genuine love and affection. I'm still a bit uncomfortable with what appeared to be heteronormative roles in TauTep's relationship but at least the audience was treated to a lot of romantic moments in this episode. Nin's "puto" jokes were corny but still cute. The two love teams' chemistry were really solid. While TauTep's the sexy pair, Pangs' the cute pair. There were forewarnings of possible sad moments in the horizon but for now, everything's fine. This episode seemed like a breather before the arrival of new conflicts in succeeding episodes. Similar to last week, this series faced technical problems. The uploading of the second part of this episode was delayed and there were audio problems. I hope they fix these issues before they start becoming annoying. But all things considered, this was a good episode.
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Sorry but I didn't like this episode. Things felt a bit rushed and the lingering issues I have with this series were highlighted in this episode. While I wanted character development for Ace, what we got from Episode 3 was not character development but abrupt character change. There should have been some sort of build-up. He can't be unpleasant for the longest time then all of a sudden, he's nice to everyone. There were also a lot of unnecessary scenes and disjointed illogical dialogues (no smooth transitions). In terms of acting, Miko (who had a very sexy shirtless scene) was alright but Aki was bad. He was just delivering lines without the necessary emotions. He was better last week. The chef's acting was so cringy! This episode highlighted again the stereotypical depiction of the bitchy girlfriend and the comic relief effeminate gays. At the very least, provide some character background for Moira to explain her obnoxious behavior. Yes, there are flamboyant gays, that's not the issue, the issue is when they're limited to being the comic relief in a series without the necessary storylines. What we're left with are gay characters lacking depth: one whose only purpose is to promote whitening products; another one who senselessly danced for an entire segment; and another one whose treatment of an intern borders on sexual harassment! People, effeminate gays deserve better than these portrayals! I was generally satisfied with the first two episodes but this episode didn't really work for me. I hope the series improves in its succeeding episodes.
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Episode 5 was just ok. It wasn't as cute and funny as the previous episodes. But we did get to learn about Zag and Zirgo's back stories in this episode. And we also confirmed in this episode that Zig indeed has feelings for Zag. Moving forward, this series needs to develop its plot/storyline for its last 5 episodes. It can't just drag and stretch its simple plot/storyline. Acting performance of the cast was ok in this episode but hopefully it continuously improve in the next episodes. Production-wise, I don't see much change given the series' limited budget but at least tweak aspects of its production that can still be enhanced. In terms of quality, editing and music were still uneven in this episode. Overall, I expect this series to be better in its remaining 5 episodes.
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Hello Stranger Episode 8
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Hey, I was finally able to watch the Finale! Episode 8: Hello, Promise! was a satisfying conclusion to this series. Sure, I was expecting more than the very tamed pinky swear and hugs, but overall, they were alright. Although still outshined by JC in this episode, Tony was at least given some moments to shine. XavMi confessing each other's feelings by finishing each other's lines in a song and singing together was cheesy but really cute. KaiSeth's relationship also progressed in this episode which was great. Junjun was still as cute as always. And we got to see Miss Tina Moran again! Of course, I would have wanted a better conclusion to Crystal's storyline but we can't always get what we want. At least we get a movie sequel! Here's hoping there's no more lockdown and pandemic when Hello Stranger The Movie comes!
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Episode 2: Now We are One, Two, Three still suffered from most of the issues that plagued its pilot episode. Airing schedule and time slot still kept changing (hopefully, they found their final schedule and time slot -- 11:30AM, every Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays). Audio improved but still bad (too much background noise). And editing was still poor (unnecessary scenes and shots). Luckily, there were also improvements in this episode. The plot/storyline progressed with character backgrounds on the three boys linked to Joey -- Jimmy, Wil, and Nuan (for now, I think I'm Team JoNuan, lol!). Erwin, Drei, Jules, and Ivan's acting performance also improved in this episode. Acting performance of the support cast (especially the actresses) was still cringy though. And the portrayals of women and gays were still one-dimensional. For a series that prides itself in having gay and queer cast members (including Drei), Amore should do better in depicting gay and queer characters. I really hope they address all these issues to improve this series. It would be a pity if Amore is continuously bogged down by these issues. It's a really promising series after all.
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Oh My Sexual Episode 1
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The directors and producers weren't kidding when they said Oh My Sexual is different. It's not formula, it's not the usual Filipino (Pinoy) boys' love (BL) story. It's a black or dark comedy given a documentary-experimental narrative treatment. Episode 1: Oh My Pandemic! was interesting to say the least. It was set during the pandemic as represented by the news about the Philippine national government's chaotic response to the worsening virus outbreak. Individual anxieties and distresses were highlighted in this episode using black or dark humor. Was it palatable and relatable for the audience? I'm not sure yet. Staying true to the nature of dark comedy, who are the oppressed whose morale is strengthened and who are the oppressors whose morale is undermined in this series? I don't know yet. Acting was generally ok. There were some exaggerations but these are to be expected in dark humor. Audio and video weren't that good. This episode was shot entirely from the homes of the actors through Google Meet. Initially, video quality was at 360p but later on video quality of 1080p high definition (HD) was made available but it was still a bit grainy. And the English subtitles were often times not in sync with the audio. Given all of these, is this series worth my time? I'll give it a few more episodes before I give an answer.
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