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My Gear and Your Gown thai drama review
Completed
My Gear and Your Gown
6 people found this review helpful
by labcat
Nov 23, 2020
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers

A little formulaic, but a nice BL with a dash of bromance

I've seen some people commenting that the flashback takes too many episodes and the story is too draggy, but I have on issues with the pacing or the flashback.

There is indeed a flashback that starts in the very first episode: we briefly first see the main characters in the university and then we have a flashback to their high school days. The story could very well have been told chronologically, but I find that starting with the characters' university days creates some suspense by letting us know that the main couple (Itt and Pai) are not (yet) a couple at the start of their university days. For me, the tension-with-a-hint-of-affection between Itt and Pai at the start of the series piques my curiosity enough. Furthermore, seeing Wan's friendship with Pai also gets something out of the way during the flashback episodes.

In some ways, the relationship between Itt and Pai is cliched. Pai, a reserved guy falls in love with the seemingly straight Itt (who has a girlfriend). They become friends, but the love seems like it could be one-sided until the point when both of them are locked up in a room in school overnight. Unfortunately, the moment when Itt seems to have fallen for Pai does not last as he discovers a secret and stops being friends with Pai.

Or so it seems--later it is revealed in a twist that Itt does not really mean to stop being friends with Pai but merely wants to turn him into a more confident person who is able to express himself. The twist is somewhat surprising, but it is also one of the series' weak points. Apart from seeming a little labored, the twist makes Itt seem rather presumptuous--who is Itt is try to make Pai the sort of person Itt thinks he should become? Also, it would be hard anyone who cares about Pai to ignore his desperation to mend the friendship? I get it that Pai has helped Itt a lot in putting Itt on the path of fulfilling his ambition and Itt wants to return the favor in some ways, but Pai hasn't asked for the favor to return in this manner.

Nevertheless, if one ignores the problematic nature of Itt's actions, one can appreciate the love they have for each other. Each of them really wants the best for the other. Pai tries to help Itt even when he knows that his love may not be requited while Itt tries to turn Pai into a more confident person even if Pai ends up loathing him. The moment when the misunderstanding is cleared is touching.

Besides the story of the main couple, I find that the series has brought in a side couple in an interesting way. Spoiler: The other couple is Pure and Folk. Pure is, to me, the most interesting character in the series, sensitively played by Fiat (who actually has quite an impressive acting range). I like the fact that we have an unabashedly bisexual character without much fanfare and effort to harp on the issue of bisexuality. Pure's most prominent trait is his promiscuity, but he is a character whom one can sympathize with. His mother does not really care about him and his first love, and the traumatic experience of seeing the guy he is in a relationship with stand by and do nothing while he is being beaten up by a gang of literal gay bashers makes him lose faith in love. From then on, it's just sex and no love--unprotected sex at first and then only protected sex after an HIV scare. However, after knowing Folk (who turns out to be a much more pure person than Pure), he falls in love again.

The Pure subplot is interesting as Pure's bromance with Wan (Pai's best friend) makes us wonder at first if they would end up being a couple. Interestingly, it is Folk, who is initially in love with Pai, that Pure ends up with. (Wan, on the other hand, ends up with a girl. Yeah, BLs can feature straight couples too.)

This is one of the surprisingly well madeThai BLs of 2020. I wasn't expecting much more 2gether and My Engineer, but both were surprisingly good. The 2gether, this may not be everyone's cup of tea. Unfortunately, unlike 2gether, there may not be enough cuteness and star popularity to make this a classic BL in the hearts of many. However, I think it is engaging and interesting enough, particularly in comparison with weaker productions like the En of Love trilogy. Win and Fiat turn in rather impressive performances as Pai and Pure, and I hope to see them in more series.
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