gela
This review may contain spoilers
Absolute queer goodness
This series along with Diary of Tootsies will be my absolute favourite piece of queer media that has come out of Thailand. Knock Knock Boys is a hugely feel-good story of found family, self-discovery, and queerplatonic friendship at its best. It manages to be sex-positive without needing to have explicit NC scenes and manages to have an amazing across-the-spectrum lgbtq rep without being preachy.
I'm not going to delve too deep into the bad with this series, because I just can't be objective with this. To me, everything questionable in this series is justifiable which is not what I would usually say for any other series ever. I will, however, outline my favourite things in this series:
1. Found family trope done excellently. The progression from housemates to friends to found family in this series will always be beautiful to watch. I loved every scene the four of them had together, even more than any scene between the romantic coupling. The four of them have such an amazing dynamic where they are so comfortable with each other but also have the utmost respect for one another is just beautiful. The breakfast scenes in this series were so wonderfully done and the way you can see the change in their dynamics from the breakfast scenes alone is masterful.
2. Characters are so well written. I am so fiercely protective of the four boys and I haven't felt this much love for a group of characters since the Chinchillaz gang in MSP. These boys are not perfect, not by a long stretch. However, they are just fundamentally good people, which is why this story works.
Yes, Peak appears selfish at first and can appear inconsiderate especially towards Thanhwa, but he was never intentionally hurtful and has always been quick to apologize. I loved the scene where Thanhwa geeked out about food in front of him and went into a self-deprecating mode because he thought he appeared nerdy, but Peak's immediate reaction was just extreme awe. He was not even doing it out of pity, he genuinely just has huge respect for people who have different talents and interests, even though it is not necessarily conventional or something that society deems as "useful".
Latte is kind of a horrible housemate at first, but the way he tried to make it up to Thanhwa by buying him congee is adorable. Latte was also initially portrayed to be a playboy but he takes non-verbal cues and any sign of reluctance as a hard no, which is groundbreaking in the BL consent world (even though this should be the standard).
Almond, my precious darling, does a lot of questionable things out of curiosity but he is so willing to learn. I love how non-judgmental he is towards his roommates from the beginning even though it is clear he was initially very sheltered. His willingness to learn more about sexuality spectrum, consent, and life through the other three is adorable.
Last but not least: Thanhwa. My darling, my love, my universe. He is just the kindest soul who is in a crossroads in his life where he has to deal with the transition between school life and working life AND has to deal with a breakup on top of it. He then moves into a house where he is faced with a huge messy boy and his first instinct is to take care of him. I personally wouldn't have been so kind if my new roommate have 3 other people lying drunk in my bed when I move in - I would have run for the hills. But this guy chose to clean up after him and then cooked him breakfast. How Latte did not immediately fall in love is beyond my comprehension. He is also incredibly patient while Peak sorts out his life - he offered so much kindness and understanding even though it is not an easy situation for him to be in either. Words cannot describe just how much I love this man.
3. Amazing cast filled with people who NAILS both physical comedy and subtle comedy. I don't think anyone can deny the absolute comedic powerhouse these 4 boys make. I usually hate gross comedy or overuse of secondhand embarassment, but somehow these boys still managed to make me laugh even when toilet comedy is in the script. There is a scene where a guy literally puked and shat and that would usually make me gag in the worst way possible but they made it work somehow.
Honestly, if I go on about the things I like about this series, I would hit 100k words so I will stop at these three. I wish for more series that features queerplatonic friendships as well as this one, and I hope this series gets more hype so we can have more series like this.
I'm not going to delve too deep into the bad with this series, because I just can't be objective with this. To me, everything questionable in this series is justifiable which is not what I would usually say for any other series ever. I will, however, outline my favourite things in this series:
1. Found family trope done excellently. The progression from housemates to friends to found family in this series will always be beautiful to watch. I loved every scene the four of them had together, even more than any scene between the romantic coupling. The four of them have such an amazing dynamic where they are so comfortable with each other but also have the utmost respect for one another is just beautiful. The breakfast scenes in this series were so wonderfully done and the way you can see the change in their dynamics from the breakfast scenes alone is masterful.
2. Characters are so well written. I am so fiercely protective of the four boys and I haven't felt this much love for a group of characters since the Chinchillaz gang in MSP. These boys are not perfect, not by a long stretch. However, they are just fundamentally good people, which is why this story works.
Yes, Peak appears selfish at first and can appear inconsiderate especially towards Thanhwa, but he was never intentionally hurtful and has always been quick to apologize. I loved the scene where Thanhwa geeked out about food in front of him and went into a self-deprecating mode because he thought he appeared nerdy, but Peak's immediate reaction was just extreme awe. He was not even doing it out of pity, he genuinely just has huge respect for people who have different talents and interests, even though it is not necessarily conventional or something that society deems as "useful".
Latte is kind of a horrible housemate at first, but the way he tried to make it up to Thanhwa by buying him congee is adorable. Latte was also initially portrayed to be a playboy but he takes non-verbal cues and any sign of reluctance as a hard no, which is groundbreaking in the BL consent world (even though this should be the standard).
Almond, my precious darling, does a lot of questionable things out of curiosity but he is so willing to learn. I love how non-judgmental he is towards his roommates from the beginning even though it is clear he was initially very sheltered. His willingness to learn more about sexuality spectrum, consent, and life through the other three is adorable.
Last but not least: Thanhwa. My darling, my love, my universe. He is just the kindest soul who is in a crossroads in his life where he has to deal with the transition between school life and working life AND has to deal with a breakup on top of it. He then moves into a house where he is faced with a huge messy boy and his first instinct is to take care of him. I personally wouldn't have been so kind if my new roommate have 3 other people lying drunk in my bed when I move in - I would have run for the hills. But this guy chose to clean up after him and then cooked him breakfast. How Latte did not immediately fall in love is beyond my comprehension. He is also incredibly patient while Peak sorts out his life - he offered so much kindness and understanding even though it is not an easy situation for him to be in either. Words cannot describe just how much I love this man.
3. Amazing cast filled with people who NAILS both physical comedy and subtle comedy. I don't think anyone can deny the absolute comedic powerhouse these 4 boys make. I usually hate gross comedy or overuse of secondhand embarassment, but somehow these boys still managed to make me laugh even when toilet comedy is in the script. There is a scene where a guy literally puked and shat and that would usually make me gag in the worst way possible but they made it work somehow.
Honestly, if I go on about the things I like about this series, I would hit 100k words so I will stop at these three. I wish for more series that features queerplatonic friendships as well as this one, and I hope this series gets more hype so we can have more series like this.
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