oddsare

earworm solidarity 🐛🎵

jìip jìip khun gang, rise up 🙌

This show planted two earworms in my brain:

1) the theme song (…jìip jìip khun), and
2) that one line — “Moo Moo khǎawng Hia.”

If you haven’t started My Grandfather Is a BL Writer, don’t wait. It’s a rare Thai series: refined, patient, and surprisingly grown-up in its storytelling.

This isn’t your standard BL. It uses the framework as a doorway into something broader, the messier human stuff most shows in the genre skirt around. I watched episode three with a knot in my chest, worried Guy was about to get hurt, and that fragility is a big part of what makes it land. It also seems to be building toward something the industry rarely touches head-on: the “straight guys performing queerness” phenomenon in Thai BL, and the ethical thicket that comes with it.

What really sets it apart, though, is how seriously it takes gender and sexuality. At its center is a teenage boy who believes he’s straight, slowly registering shifts in what he wants and who he might be. Watching that unfold feels genuinely liberating in a way most shows don’t even attempt.

Layered, symbolically rich, and well worth your time.

Okay the almost-kiss beach scene in Ep 5 gave me serious From Here to Eternity vibes! You know, that iconic Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr scene with the waves crashing over them? This one’s like a softer take on it. Gaysorn and his guy just sitting in the shallow water, foreheads touching. So tender.

And that giant butterfly?? The way it led him right to his parents’ old photos in the drawer… I’m fully convinced that was his mom’s spirit watching over him.

This drama really knows how to hit you with the romance AND the feels.

Fair point that pre-modern Siam was way more open about gender and sexuality than Europe at the same time, and the kathoey tradition definitely predates any Western contact. A few small things though. The big Western influence on Thai gender norms wasn't really French. Siam actually stayed independent while France colonized Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia next door. The cultural template that got imported was more Victorian British middle-class morality, and it was Thai kings themselves who pushed it. King Rama V in the late 1800s, and then Field Marshal Phibunsongkhram's government in the 1930s and 40s, deliberately adopted those European norms to make Siam look 'civilized' enough to avoid getting colonized. By the time US soldiers showed up for the Vietnam War, the heteronormative shift was already decades old. The GIs fueled the sex tourism scene but didn't really cause the cultural change.

Also, acceptance during Ayutthaya wasn't quite total. Kathoey couldn't be ordained as monks under the Tipitaka, and there were some legal restrictions on record. So a bit of quiet awareness from servants in the show isn't really ahistorical, just handled thoughtfully. Anyway, cool that you brought up the historical side, it's a really interesting period to dig into.

THE PEEKABOO CLOSET SCENE LIVES IN MY HEAD RENT FREE 😭 Wayo’s outfit was a whole crime, the stylists understood the assignment and then some. Forehead tattoo is valid, I’ll get the matching one.

Jelly Krist supremacy!! 🥹 A pfp glow-up is in order, you owe it to the people. Cannot wait to see which unhinged screencap makes the cut 😭

Two whole YEARS bestie?? You’ve been through war 😭 And honestly Krist living up to the little pillow princess legacy is the crossover episode I didn’t know I needed. Protect him at all costs.

The servants in Love Upon a Time Episode 9 stood out in a quiet, meaningful way. They notice the tension in a glance or the public display of affection, absorbing it without comment. It feels natural and lived-in, as if they have long understood the unspoken dynamics of the household.

What stood out was their quiet acceptance. Rather than the judgment one might expect in a historical setting, there is an understated discretion and loyalty that makes the environment feel real and warm.

These small, perceptive details contribute to the episode’s lasting resonance. This thoughtful approach, rather than anything showy, is what makes them particularly effective.

Officer?? I’m the WHOLE precinct at this point 😭 booking myself in voluntarily

GIRL the Mingie trauma is REAL, yet he just keeps being a soft jelly bean. The audacity to be cute!!! And don’t even get me started on the choker with the bow, I gasped, I clutched my pearls, I rewound. Tai and Rose are carrying this entire ship on their backs and deserve a raise AND a spinoff as a ship themselves.

Right?? That whole scene had me bracing for impact. Praying the writers spare us and let everyone make it back to shore 🙏

Krit, sorry, Krist, is honestly ridiculous in the most entertaining way. He keeps insisting they have to stay low key because his parents would never accept it, and then he turns around and kisses Wayo in the middle of a bar like he is announcing it to the entire city. I do not even think he realizes how fast he contradicts himself.

At this point, I am not invested in the crime plot at all. It is just background noise to all the jealousy and flirting. I am here to watch people make questionable emotional decisions, not solve cases.

Also, I genuinely feel like Krist and Wayo would struggle without Rose and Tai. They keep things balanced. And Tai having a girlfriend of five years still throws me off a bit. I get it, but part of me was definitely imagining other possibilities there.

What I really like about Krist is that he is not just a typical rich, controlling type. He has that same old money, all in kind of love you see with Tada in Reset. Once he cares, there is no holding back, just full commitment in the most excessive way possible. Him jumping straight to “I’ll get you an apartment so you can collect rent” is wild behavior, but it fits him perfectly. It is excessive, but you can see the genuine intention behind it.

The flowers are another good example. He tries, but his taste is questionable. It is very Thee from Me and Thee energy, just grabbing every flower and hoping for the best. It feels less like he is trying to impress and more like he genuinely does not know how to do it properly, which somehow makes it more endearing.

And then there is his more calculating side. He can act agreeable, but he is always thinking a few steps ahead. The way he handled Pete shows that he is not as straightforward as he looks.

But the funniest part is still how little self control he has around Wayo. All it takes is a bit of teasing and he completely forgets everything else, including basic things like closing the door. That contrast between how composed he acts in other situations and how easily he falls apart with Wayo is what makes him fun to watch.

Wayo, on the other hand, is just very open with his feelings. He does not try to hide it or play games, and that is exactly why he works so well with Krist. He brings out that impulsive, emotional side of him. It could easily be too much, but it stays likable because it feels honest. Honestly, I will fully patronize Wayo. I will show up, support him, defend him, and fund his entire lifestyle if I have to.

Zen making a beeline for Osaka to see Ryo had me on edge the entire sequence. And then Ryo confessing in episode five? I genuinely didn’t see it coming this early, but honestly, I love that the show isn’t dragging things out. The pacing has real conviction.

And Zen, true to form, leans straight into his tsundere instincts. When he says “you made me fall for you, so you’d better take responsibility,” I genuinely had to set my phone down for a second. The fujoshi in me is thriving.

I’m not sure whether Tiger actually killed someone, or whether he was simply following orders to pull a trigger or wield a knife, but that final scene left me genuinely speechless. He’s still a teenager, after all.

That closing moment played like a sinner’s confession, with Nao stepping into the role of the priest who receives his absolution. There’s something quietly devastating about the framing, and I can’t wait to see where their love story goes from here. God, I’m hooked.

Right now, the series has a tenderness to it that I genuinely hope it preserves. I’d hate to see it pivot into something darker just for the sake of dramatic weight. Watching Ko Neung head out to sea with his father, I felt an unease I couldn’t quite shake. It’s just a gut feeling, but I found myself quietly dreading that something might befall his dad before the story ends. If I’m being honest, I’d rather this show resist the temptation of tragedy altogether. Not every emotional story needs a death to earn its meaning.

This drama keeps getting more moving, and this episode especially hit me hard. I feel like it’s speaking directly to people who have family members with dementia.

Even as the brain’s memories gradually fade, the imprint of emotions remains. Just like what the doctor mentioned about “body memory” and “cellular memory,” something always stays behind.

I still don’t know how this story will end, but Li Wan-Zhe’s confession to Hama-chan in this episode wrapped up the secondary couple’s emotional arc. Now it’s time to see how the main couple’s story unfolds.

P’Wave Koo being a translator at fanmeets explains EVERYTHING. His Mandarin was way too polished to be coincidence. And him being close to Krist irl?? Cute. Also chrysanthemum tea?? I was fully convinced they were tipsy, those boys can ACT.

YES the “Cow Bar” one killed me lmao. And the pronoun stuff is such a big deal too. Honestly if they’re using AI they could at least have ONE Thai speaker skim it before it goes live. The bar is on the floor 😭