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Completed
Hotel Stars
0 people found this review helpful
by labcat
Feb 9, 2020
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 6.5
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 5.0
This review may contain spoilers
The most common response I've seen for this series is that it is a disappointment. This is probably because many fans who watched 2Moons (Season 1) were expecting something better as many members of the same cast are in this production.

It may be a little better for me. Although I have watched 2Moons, I merely stumbled upon this series. However, it is still a rather weak production.

The story isn't very interesting, and, to make matters worse, it is full of holes. It also suffers from having too many characters, none of whom is developed sufficiently. There are characters with potentially interesting back stories (e.g. Tone, Toey and Pong), but they do not get enough attention. For example, it remains unclear what Toey's father expects from him. Tone's story involves a sick mother who needs mother for medical treatment, but little so little is shown about their relationship ship from the start that when the mother is on the verge of dying, the emotional peak is compromised.

To be fair, there is at least a fairly discernible story in this series (compared to say, I am Your King, Season 2). It isn't altogether that hard to watch from one episode to another, especially if you have managed to get past the learning curve of recognizing all the different characters.

Unfortunately, the baiting of BL fans is rather annoying in this series. There is a real BL couple, though there is not much about their romance. The consolation is that that the BL couple is the only instance where hints of romantic interest get anywhere, and the couple does have a happy ending. On the other hand, there are obvious moments planted to bait BL fans, e.g. there are moments between Kin and Pong (played by the actors for Ming and Kit in 2Moons I) that seem to have been added in solely to lure viewers to watch the next segment or episode. Toey's behaviour towards Tone towards the end of the series, too, may have hints of BL, but they seem rather pointless.

One positive thing I would like to mention is the casting and acting of Bas as Toey. Although the character got a lot of hate from viewers at the start, I felt that he was quite early on suggested to be a spoiled and bad-tempered person who has moments of soft-heartedness. Despite his anger when he thinks that Tone has got him into trouble, he seems sympathetic when he overhears Tone talking to his aunt about his financial problems. True enough, Toey does prove to be more good-natured towards the end of the series and also does overcome some of his character flaws. Unfortunately, the change in the character suffers from a lack of development and is likely to come across as being rather sudden, even to those who have paid attention to how he isn't a horrible person to begin with.

If you don't set your hopes too high, the series can still be at least ok in terms of entertainment value. But if you are a BL fan who only wants to watch BL, perhaps you can pray that someone makes a BL cut. I'm guessing that cut of the BL couple's key scenes may even be an episode long.

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Completed
TharnType Season 2: 7 Years of Love
0 people found this review helpful
by labcat
Feb 2, 2021
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
This review may contain spoilers

Relatively weak story for Tharntype, too little of Champ and Khumpol

The story of Tharntype 2 is no doubt weaker than that in the first Season. This can probably only be expected. There are only a few ways to continue the love story: (1) introduce a third party, (2) show how the realities of life after their graduation could cause a bit of a rift between our main characters, (3) a bit of each of the above.

So Season 2 ends u, where Tharn and Type are concerned, largely being the two of them fighting (for no apparent reason at times) and then making up (+ out), fighting and then making up (+ out), fighting and then making up (+out). It isn't that bad for hardcore fans of Tharntype. The production is rather slick, and there is no lack of kissing scenes. The introduction of Fiat into the story is somewhat lame--it seems too obviously calculated to create a crisis in Tharn and Type's relationship, but it is unconvincing and even self-contradictory. Fiat appears to really like Type at some point though we know from the start whom he will be shipped with.

One good thing about this series is the side couple, Champ and Khunpol. They are really lovable (especially Khunpol and that smile of his), but we don't get enough of them. I wonder why. They are so cute as a couple that I wish there had been more screen time for them to delve into their respective inner worlds and back stories. The first five episodes would have been better with some development of Champ and Khunpol. The already weak story of Tharntype only really gets going from around Episode 6, and I would have appreciate some Champ and Khunpol moments, possibly some flashbacks into their university days when they shared a room and Khunpol had a crush on Champ.

Part of the charm of Season 1 (despite some rather toxic behavior on both Tharn's and Type's parts) is the real sense of crisis in their relationship. The story of Lhong, the villain, and what he has done to Tar (Tharn' ex) is much more compelling than the non-threat that Fiat obviously is in Season 2. Season 2 pales in comparison. Otherwise it might be more well-liked.

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Completed
Make It Live: On the Beach
0 people found this review helpful
by labcat
Mar 21, 2020
6 of 6 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 6.5
This review may contain spoilers
There is undeniably hardly any plot here, but it's possible to get what is going on and feel for the characters even if you have not watched the Make It Right series.

It seems to be a misstep to reveal that Tee's parents want him to break up with Fuse only in Episode 3, the main source of tension in Make It Live. However, the mood is nicely built from the start: as the couple spend tender moments together, there is a clear hint and sense of sadness that something may happen to break them up.

Some may find that there is simply too little plot and much of the episodes consist of dialogues between Fuse and Tee. Nevertheless, it is actually watchable enough as time is spend showing how much the characters care for each other. Intertitles revealing their thoughts are frequently inserted as a contrast to what the characters are saying, but I find that they are used a little too often and are sometimes unnecessarily.

The story does have a happy if somewhat abrupt ending, with Tee calling his mother and telling her that he will not break up with Fuse. There's no indication of whether he will gain his parents' acceptance, but the point is that he won't give in to his parents even if they don't accept his relationship.

With the characters now older and and having been through more in life, their relationship can actually be taken more seriously than in the two Make It Right series. If there ever is a Make It Right 3 that continues from Make It Live, it might actually be the best series of the lot.

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Completed
Tonhon Chonlatee
0 people found this review helpful
by labcat
Jan 22, 2021
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 6.0
This review may contain spoilers

Somewhat likable, but not a strong BL offering

To be really honest, this BL series isn't great. But it is still a couple of notches above some of the most uninteresting series in the same genre.

The story isn't at all original: gay man falls for a straight man who will somehow reciprocate. But even generic stuff, if properly executed, can still be rather good. Unfortunately the writing in this series is rather weak. The climax and denouement are rather disappointing and illogical. Chonlatee's reaction to Tonhon being provoked into kissing his ex-girlfriend seems like an overreaction that is out of character. The twists in the final episode, like the revelation of when Tonhon starts falling in love with Chonlatee, are also rather unconvincing. The theme song is actually rather nice, but the use of sound effects and music during the episodes is a tad repetitive. The same music is played when the scene is supposed to be tense regardless of the level of tension. This doesn't help with the story-telling.

The characters also often change according to the requirements of the plot or exist simply to advance the plot in a somewhat clumsy way. The best example is Tonhon's father who suddenly switches from a rather bigoted homophobe to someone who can actually accept that his son is in a gay relationship as long as he has an heir. (The solution to the heir problem isn't ingenious and could have been offered years ago.) Another character, Amp, exists solely to be the typical awful woman in BLs whereas Miriam is the complimentary fujoshi. Na changes from an annoying narcissist to a rather sweet guy when the story requires it.

On the other hand, there are some likable aspects of the series. Chonlatee's mother is a delight to watch throughout, and I wish there were more of her besides Ton and Chon. Ai and Ni totally outshine the main couple--their characterization lacks depth, but the actors pull of their roles in a really endearing way.

One controversial thing in this series is the portrayal of Tonhon's father (and Tonhon himself to some extent). Yet, it could also turn out to be the series' (possibly unintended) redeeming quality. Tonhon and his father are guilty of quite a bit of bigoted behavior, but they are basically not blamed much for it. I have seen comments on YouTube pointing out how the terrible behavior gets glossed over. On the other hand, I find that there is something realistic about the whole thing. It is unfortunate, but gay people do struggle with their identity because some homophobes are actually people they care about.

Often enough, a gay person may discover that his friend or family member is homophobic. Does this discovery decisively end the friendship or family ties? A gay person may love his parents for so many reasons, but this love won't simply be erased just because they are homophobic. I think this is what Ai and Ni go through as they hide their sexual orientation from Tonhon, their best friend. They do not like his homophobia one bit, but, as they point out, they value him as a friend for his other qualities.

This series is by no means a must-watch for BL fans. But if you want something fairly light-hearted and easy to follow, it isn't as terrible as some have made it out to be.

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