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labcat
This review may contain spoilers
Lacklustre despite the sparks here and there
I will probably remember this as the BL series that somehow managed to find and squeeze in a whole lot of good looking guys (many look even better than the two main characters) while paying many of them scant attention. The theme song and the music in the series are also rather nice.
But what about the story? This is where it gets hard to comment. It's not all-out bad at all. In fact, the "legal brothers-not-related-by-blood fall in love" concept, which My Bromance made popular years ago, gets a more satisfying treatment here than in this year's sequel to My Bromance.
Unfortunately, the main plot is not developed very well. At first, I was ok with the somewhat confusing feelings of the characters and the rather slow pacing since I could appreciate the uncertainty and insecurities of the characters. Prab's mother and Chol's father get married, making them brothers legally. Chol also has a crush on Khun, so I can see how he is confused about his own feelings as they change and he realizes that he isn't really in love with Khun. On the other hand, Prab slowly realizes that he is attracted to Chol and gets jealous of Khun.
About halfway through the series, I think both Prab and Chol clearly realize how they feel for each other. This is where I thought that the story would be worked into something more interesting. Instead, the plot goes haywire. If the story thus far already has been on the draggy side, it now becomes erratic. Despite knowing that he is not really in love with Khun but likes Prab, Chol somehow still manages to feel jealous when Khun is with another guy. Prab also seems to vacillate between being honest with himself about his feelings and being in denial. So the story goes on with a lot of unnecessarily trivial and when there seems to be development, it gets undone haphazardly.
The most forgiving thing I can say is that the portrayal of Prab and Chol quite accurately portrays the uncertainties and insecurities of teenagers (late teens) coming to terms with their own romantic feelings, and their lack of experience accounts for their behavior. However, when I think about how the series, Love Sick, manages to portray teenagers' uncertainties without sacrificing plot development. I find that things ultimately don't add up in Brothers.
This is a shame, given that the people behind the series are actually good at creating the right atmosphere and making the characters' relationships sweet and cute. When the material is good, the series is much more satisfying. This is the case with the side couple, Khun and Kaow, who I think should have been the main couple instead. They are really adorable in the series. Their story would have been even better with more on their character backgrounds and emotional struggles. If Prab and Chol had been the side couple with way fewer scenes instead, the lack of development in the relationship would have been more acceptable.
There are other side couples or potential couples, which can be rather pointless except that they perhaps satisfy viewers by putting good looking guys into potentially romantic relationships. But this is rather meaningless, especially when it pushes the series towards the portrayal of taboos like the romance between a teacher and a student, something which the series is clearly unwilling to address with any depth.
It's 2021, and BL dramas have gone beyond stories about high school boys in uniform. Such stories will always have a place in BL, but the bar is now much higher and this series barely touches it.
But what about the story? This is where it gets hard to comment. It's not all-out bad at all. In fact, the "legal brothers-not-related-by-blood fall in love" concept, which My Bromance made popular years ago, gets a more satisfying treatment here than in this year's sequel to My Bromance.
Unfortunately, the main plot is not developed very well. At first, I was ok with the somewhat confusing feelings of the characters and the rather slow pacing since I could appreciate the uncertainty and insecurities of the characters. Prab's mother and Chol's father get married, making them brothers legally. Chol also has a crush on Khun, so I can see how he is confused about his own feelings as they change and he realizes that he isn't really in love with Khun. On the other hand, Prab slowly realizes that he is attracted to Chol and gets jealous of Khun.
About halfway through the series, I think both Prab and Chol clearly realize how they feel for each other. This is where I thought that the story would be worked into something more interesting. Instead, the plot goes haywire. If the story thus far already has been on the draggy side, it now becomes erratic. Despite knowing that he is not really in love with Khun but likes Prab, Chol somehow still manages to feel jealous when Khun is with another guy. Prab also seems to vacillate between being honest with himself about his feelings and being in denial. So the story goes on with a lot of unnecessarily trivial and when there seems to be development, it gets undone haphazardly.
The most forgiving thing I can say is that the portrayal of Prab and Chol quite accurately portrays the uncertainties and insecurities of teenagers (late teens) coming to terms with their own romantic feelings, and their lack of experience accounts for their behavior. However, when I think about how the series, Love Sick, manages to portray teenagers' uncertainties without sacrificing plot development. I find that things ultimately don't add up in Brothers.
This is a shame, given that the people behind the series are actually good at creating the right atmosphere and making the characters' relationships sweet and cute. When the material is good, the series is much more satisfying. This is the case with the side couple, Khun and Kaow, who I think should have been the main couple instead. They are really adorable in the series. Their story would have been even better with more on their character backgrounds and emotional struggles. If Prab and Chol had been the side couple with way fewer scenes instead, the lack of development in the relationship would have been more acceptable.
There are other side couples or potential couples, which can be rather pointless except that they perhaps satisfy viewers by putting good looking guys into potentially romantic relationships. But this is rather meaningless, especially when it pushes the series towards the portrayal of taboos like the romance between a teacher and a student, something which the series is clearly unwilling to address with any depth.
It's 2021, and BL dramas have gone beyond stories about high school boys in uniform. Such stories will always have a place in BL, but the bar is now much higher and this series barely touches it.
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