After airing the 17 episodes of 'In a Relationship', between June 10 and July 24, 2022, its 17 episodes (the first fifteen of approximately three to five minutes each, and the last two, lasting between twelve and fourteen minutes), are taken, with the same title, to a film version in an 87-minute format.
This is the result.
Review:
With the speed of survival we have insisted on forgetting the pandemic, focused on the new challenges that life imposes, day by day.
And there is the art to bear witness to how Covid-19 changed the world as we knew it until then, and among these changes stands out the way in which human beings manage to communicate and establish diverse relationships, including romantic ones, amid limitations of not being able to interact face to face with others.
'In a Relationship', the romantic series with an LGBTIQ+ theme, directed and produced by Napat Worakitpunya, allows us to appreciate the emergence of a love relationship between two teenagers, against the backdrop of social networks and the period of incidence of the pandemic in our lives.
This is one of the BL series produced by Jinloe Media Work, the studio that has also made 'Hit Bite Love' (2023), 'What the Duck' (2018) and its sequel 'What the Duck 2: Final Call' (2019 ).
Starring Nine Trin Summasub, as Tono, and Pea Pearanut Athicomnanta, in the role of Boss, the 2022 Thai drama takes us into characters whose existences are affected by the circumstances of a pandemic that disrupts everything in its path. However, in an indistinct manner, but at the same time in close union, each of them manages to recognize in the sad event the possibility of loving each other, growing as people, the power of forgiveness and second chances.
With a script by Chim Sedthawut Inboon, Tono, a teenager with a growing reputation among online video game players, is presented as the central axis of the plot. One day, while he is live streaming and recording one of his videos, a user he later identifies as Boss criticizes his gaming skills in a chat room. Annoyed, Tono confronts him and they both agree to participate in a video game competition to see who is the best.
After losing the game, Tono must fulfill the winner's three demands: The last request is that Tono become her boyfriend! Reluctant to comply with this demand, Tono will be forced to listen to the constant flirting of the person who claims to have been in love with him for some time.
Will Boss manage to change his social media status to "in a relationship"? Will love arise between these two teenagers? Will they manage to nurture a loving bond beyond any screen? Will they be aware that the true essence of a relationship lies in the mutual understanding, support and love that is built day by day, surpassing virtual scenarios?
The truth is that this is how Boss and Tono begin a relationship, friendly first, romantic later, thanks to cultivating meaningful conversations every day, like those of any teenager of our days, building memories and strengthening emotional bonds.
Boss is a well-defined character. For some time now he has been aware of his sexual identity, and he finds himself caught between the desire to be honest with himself and with the boy he loves, as he fears suffering a new love rejection for having his face marked by youthful acne. That is why he has communicated through a filter and hides his true identity from Tono.
But despite this dark side, the character created by Pea Pearanut Athicomnanta turns out to be more than the simple playboy he can seem every time he flirts. He understands when Tono needs space and backs away, but he still shows his love and sends constant signals of support to the teenager in difficult times, such as during Tono's illness, or when he is upset because his friend Jade has decided not to play with him.
Knowing and loving Tono will make him grow as a person and trust in himself.
For his part, Tono is a boy without major conflicts in his life. Busy with video games and virtual classes due to the pandemic, he has only suffered from his parents' divorce. His character goes through several very different moments throughout the series. She experiences intense feelings when Boss confesses his love for her, and emotional stress when she suspects that the young man she loves has been playing with her feelings.
Tono shows maturity when he forgives Boss and by encouraging him to be himself and grow as a person. Through her relationship with Boss, Tono will discover not only her sexual identity, but also her true feelings and first love.
At first, I find his performance a little uncomfortable, but as the episodes progress, we can see an actor who takes on the role of a typical teenager of our days, giving it his own interpretation and meaning, as he focuses on his goal and fight for what he wants.
Isolated from everything and everyone, even his family members, who are never shown on screen nor are there any references to them, Tono navigates between doubts and insecurities, while trying to understand his own feelings. Can a boy fall in love with another boy?
Although sometimes a certain lack of rhythm is felt in the progression, the best moments of 'In a Relationship' are reserved for the final episodes, when the story gains in maturity and complexity by deepening the plot in the themes addressed, managing to enrich the dynamics of the love relationship and add a fascinating growing tension between the characters.
Intimately and emotionally, 'In a Relationship' addresses universal themes such as the search for authenticity, discovery, personal acceptance, second chances, identity, friendship and love, with a refreshing and sensitive narrative. Along the way, both young people discover much more about themselves and what love and friendship really mean.
The two boys will begin a journey that will change their lives forever. During it, Boss and Tono develop an unexpected and deep connection as they share their personal stories, fears, preferences and dreams.
The music of TheMoonwillalwaysbewithme, Foam and Boxx Music Team helps capture the beauty of first love and self-discovery in adolescence, with totally recognizable boys, but at the same time with the pain of lying.
With evocative cinematography limited by the pandemic scenario, the series immerses us in a crucial moment in the lives of its protagonists where emotions are on the surface.
The series explores many of the challenges that we can encounter every day on social networks and messaging applications, such as the possibility of someone lying or hiding their true identity because they feel ashamed of their own life or body, the prospect of closing distances with people who are far from us; the way to understand, approach and expose our personal life and our relationships, or suffer from the FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) syndrome caused by dependence on social networks.
Likewise, 'In a Relationship' portrays other of the daily challenges faced by people on social networks, who may feel that they are constantly in contact, but the quality and depth of their conversations may decrease. Or what is related to the emotional tone, which is often misinterpreted in texts and messages, which can generate unnecessary conflicts, due to the lack of eye contact and body language, essential for effective communication.
That is the reason why Tono frequently demands the need to complement digital communication through real, in-person connection. That is, being able to see yourself outside of virtual spaces, to be able to openly communicate your feelings, concerns, doubts and insecurities... in short, give free rein to love.
For this reason, I applaud that final scene in which the empty chairs that have always been occupied by our two protagonists prevail, because finally both, after the dangers of the pandemic have disappeared, have met outside the screens of their digital devices.
The review of the series published in MDL can be found at: https://mydramalist.com/731171-in-a-relationship/reviews