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This review may contain spoilers
Either people loved it or hated it
It's funny how black and white the reviews of this show are... some claim this is the worst show in the history of civilization and have dropped it after watching some episodes. Others claim this the best freaking show on Earth.
I think this is right in the middle and here is why.
SOME GOOD
1. Support characters: I like some of the supporting cast, particularly the bar owner and some of the guys who work with Wayu. They give him decent advice during the show and provide some emotional moments as well mixing some fun (like the banter between them) and some sad (when they find out Sky was murdered and then have the funeral). We have Wayu's sister, who redeems herself (partially) by coming back after just abandoning her child and leaving. Speaking of child, I liked the kid playing Wayu's nephew as he does not speak much but he provides some relief from all the adults around doing bad or silly things.
2. Police investigation: The theme has been exploited recently in other shows and in most of them, this one is no exception, the police work gets lost along the way or is just so utterly implausible that any amateur police officer would not do such silly things. However, the topic of the investigation, human/organ trafficking and drugs, was an interested one, at least when the show began.
3. Chemistry: The lead actors have decent chemistry (at least more than some other actors we've seen recently in BLs).
A LOT OF BAD
1. Support characters: Just like my first point in the good section, some of the support characters were completely useless. Kit's parents are the usual cliché in Thai BLs of parents who are cheerleaders supporting their son being gay (not the case here) or the parents (in this case, the dad) who are vehemently against it and try to do whatever they can to stop his son from having a relationship with another man. Of course, in another cliché, the father is more worried about his image and reputation BUT THEN... SURPRISE! in another cliché, he changes his mind in 2 seconds in the last episode when he meets him at school and hears how good of an interior designer he is and how handsome he is.
By the way, as a side note... apparently Thailand has not a lot of supporting actors who can play the parents as the same actor who plays Kit's dad is also the parent of one of the lead characters in "Ticket to Heaven", "Don't Be Too Emotional", and "Flower Boy"... and all airing simultaneously for a few episodes.
Then, we had Wayu's mother solving her gambling addiction in one episode and Talay's character who came in as a potential love interest for Wayu but devolved into a useless whiny character trying to win Wayu despite the latter not being interested in him and telling him so several times.
2. Acting: I'm sorry... Up either had too much botox or he can't act... no matter what type of scene he had, sad, happy, serious, his facial expressions were all exactly the same. Just slightly curling the mouth to smile was the only sign he was doing a happy scene. The rest, no change no matter what it was. Poom has improved but he also doesn't convince me in his scenes, specially the more serious ones like the police investigation or the issues with Krit's father.
3. Writing/Directing: Part of the acting issues come from the writing... the police investigation began as the centerpiece in the first episodes and then faded away only to morph into a network of BDSM and drugs, people getting arrested and then poof! all ended just like that. The way Sky dies was not seen on-screen but that could have been a worthy theme to explore more as we never truly find out how involved he really was in all the trafficking scheme.
The issues with Wayu's mother and Krit's father are lazily solved in one episode and the learning problem Wayu's nephew has is somewhat explored but again, forgotten for a lot of episodes.
So, all-in-all, NO, this is not the worst series in Thai BL history, and NO, this is not the best BL series ever created. It is just a mediocre one that could have been evolved into something great, but sadly, it didn't.
I think this is right in the middle and here is why.
SOME GOOD
1. Support characters: I like some of the supporting cast, particularly the bar owner and some of the guys who work with Wayu. They give him decent advice during the show and provide some emotional moments as well mixing some fun (like the banter between them) and some sad (when they find out Sky was murdered and then have the funeral). We have Wayu's sister, who redeems herself (partially) by coming back after just abandoning her child and leaving. Speaking of child, I liked the kid playing Wayu's nephew as he does not speak much but he provides some relief from all the adults around doing bad or silly things.
2. Police investigation: The theme has been exploited recently in other shows and in most of them, this one is no exception, the police work gets lost along the way or is just so utterly implausible that any amateur police officer would not do such silly things. However, the topic of the investigation, human/organ trafficking and drugs, was an interested one, at least when the show began.
3. Chemistry: The lead actors have decent chemistry (at least more than some other actors we've seen recently in BLs).
A LOT OF BAD
1. Support characters: Just like my first point in the good section, some of the support characters were completely useless. Kit's parents are the usual cliché in Thai BLs of parents who are cheerleaders supporting their son being gay (not the case here) or the parents (in this case, the dad) who are vehemently against it and try to do whatever they can to stop his son from having a relationship with another man. Of course, in another cliché, the father is more worried about his image and reputation BUT THEN... SURPRISE! in another cliché, he changes his mind in 2 seconds in the last episode when he meets him at school and hears how good of an interior designer he is and how handsome he is.
By the way, as a side note... apparently Thailand has not a lot of supporting actors who can play the parents as the same actor who plays Kit's dad is also the parent of one of the lead characters in "Ticket to Heaven", "Don't Be Too Emotional", and "Flower Boy"... and all airing simultaneously for a few episodes.
Then, we had Wayu's mother solving her gambling addiction in one episode and Talay's character who came in as a potential love interest for Wayu but devolved into a useless whiny character trying to win Wayu despite the latter not being interested in him and telling him so several times.
2. Acting: I'm sorry... Up either had too much botox or he can't act... no matter what type of scene he had, sad, happy, serious, his facial expressions were all exactly the same. Just slightly curling the mouth to smile was the only sign he was doing a happy scene. The rest, no change no matter what it was. Poom has improved but he also doesn't convince me in his scenes, specially the more serious ones like the police investigation or the issues with Krit's father.
3. Writing/Directing: Part of the acting issues come from the writing... the police investigation began as the centerpiece in the first episodes and then faded away only to morph into a network of BDSM and drugs, people getting arrested and then poof! all ended just like that. The way Sky dies was not seen on-screen but that could have been a worthy theme to explore more as we never truly find out how involved he really was in all the trafficking scheme.
The issues with Wayu's mother and Krit's father are lazily solved in one episode and the learning problem Wayu's nephew has is somewhat explored but again, forgotten for a lot of episodes.
So, all-in-all, NO, this is not the worst series in Thai BL history, and NO, this is not the best BL series ever created. It is just a mediocre one that could have been evolved into something great, but sadly, it didn't.
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