moonsdior

A breeze of fresh air, a fresh plate of pancakes

If three years ago you would have told me that Domundi was going to produce a heartfelt, university romance where two autistic boys fell in love, while also discussing parental neglect and abuse, the risks of love bombing, and showcasing what is nothing short of a trauma response; all the while drizzling the corniest and most delightful humour on top of it – I would have probably laughed out loud.
Now, I am happy to be proven wrong.
Duang With You is, if I may continue with my syrup metaphor, a stack of pancakes. Complete with blueberry jam, whipped cream and syrup. Mistakenly, at first, I thought I was going to eat it the same way I ate 2gether: happily guzzling the sweetness of what is presented, while the tanginess of the blueberries would be an after taste a couple of episodes would give us after some sloppy pacing.
Once again, I love to be proven wrong, for Duang With You needs to be savoured pancake by pancake, episode by episode. Some pancakes you will enjoy with the funny whipped cream of Duang and his friend’s shenanigans to get Qin to fall for him. Some others you will also sponge in some of that delicious syrup when Qin starts to sweeten up for Duang. And then, you will get to the pancakes that have been soaking in the tanginess of the blueberry jam. And then, full already, you will realise that this show has been preparing you for one of the most graphic and well-acted scenes of child abuse. And the result of that on an untreated, traumatized young boy. You will look for a scoop of whipped cream, for a drizzle of syrup, but this show is going to tell you to wait, to understand that life comes with its horrors and its blessings, and that sometimes having the right person by your side is what you needed all along. Not someone to save you, or solve it for you: but someone who hugs you through it. Someone who just wants validation, an OK, the green light from you to be let in.
And then, it’s whipped cream and syrup again. You can still taste the lingering tanginess, but you know it’ll fade out eventually. It too shall pass.
I don’t think I can describe this any better, I don’t think I want to. This show is a genuinely beautiful experience, perfectly crafted and paced, and even more so acted by two debutant actors who committed to their roles with professional care and responsibility. The environment and setting of this show are constructed so meticulously, every detail helps you piece the character’s inside world like a fun little jigsaw puzzle. A small hint from Duang to help you fall in love with him. Domundi hasn’t come out to play, they are coming to clean out some tropes, and refresh the stale air of the Thail BL world.

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Age gaps and power imbalances done right

Loved it. Exactly what I wanted from this drama: sweet, soft and shot. sometimes dragging angst or arcs out for the sake of reaching X number of episodes just isn't worth it.
A fear I had going in, was that the age gap and power dynamic would be overbearing and badly represented, thus showcasing a rather toxic relationship. I was happily proven wrong: by them hanging out after working hours, and having sincere talks about age, growing up and fears, a bond strong enough is created. Their interactions feel natural and yet intimate. Ultimately, the destruction of their last remaining power imbalance is destroyed when Nozue leaves, and thus also culminates his development as a character.The age talk is still prevalent but it is not seen as a handicap.
Masterfully done.

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New Siwaj, slow down.

MY ROMANCE SCAMMER
In any normal context, while consuming any normal media that is an adaptation, I’d make the effort of at least consulting the bare minimum facts of the original source material, before considering giving my review. With Thai BLs, this does not change. What, just because the quality of these works is subpar at best, I will give them no such respect? You must have me confused. As much as I can, I like to do my due diligence in being interested in the source material. Unless the edits made in the adaptation are well needed for this to work on screen, or to be any good. So, imagine my surprise when a well deconstructed couple like U and North get nothing but crumbs of attention, and our main couple, Tim and Pai, get caricatures of their struggles instead of the fleshed out, introspective moments of pure dilemma given in the novel.
My Romance Scammer was set off to be a well, as it says in the title a ROMANCE comedy. That’s what the first pilot promised. And that was my first mistake: never trust the first pilots. Bonus mistake, never trust a New Siwaj promise. For, in the middle of the filming, starring actor Junior comes out of the woodwork to let us now that this is going to be a drama. As in, this show will dive deep into the characters, which should have also been a red flag: New Siwaj, as we known, can’t do character-driven stories even if he had a step-by-step guide for it. It happened with Faifah in Perfect 10 Liners, and it happened here with U and North. Which, I could concede on as we had 12 episodes, and a whole mess to resolve, some comedy relief was needed.
Still, here are my points: U and North weren’t a comedy relief. They were a weird mix of goofy, voice of reason, background noise. Their characters too dilute to have a true purpose on the show. Sure, a character can contain multitudes, but North’s and U’s were never fully defined, because there was no actual interest in diving into their background. North’s ex who broke his heart, U’s dilemma of resorting to do what his mother does, although he knows how everyone suffers from it at the end. The redeeming, the rekindling. It was too rushed. I’d say too out of character if we knew what kind of characters they are besides: goofy, airhead, naïve rich boy (literally all of Poon’s characters under Siwaj), and sincere, kind, genuine poor boy. That’s it.
Not like I expected any grey areas or complexity, but I wanted some cohesive narrative that could show me their shadows.
Because shadows we get with Tim and Pai, so that’s not my issue. My issue is that someone must have lost some pages of the script, because we were told that Tim’s parents abandoned him; yet he is the one asking for forgiveness. For resorting to scamming after being practically destitute, unable to finish his career and find a job to sustain himself, and also, being forced to help his parents pay THEIR debt. So, that was not only bewildering, it was bad all around. Nobody noticed? After the many times of reading the script? During filming? Editing? Or was this scene filmed first and the backstory later?
If that’s the case, that shows another problem I have with New Siwaj: he thinks he can handle all of that. Sadly, he can’t. You can’t possibly pretend to release 5 projects in the same year, and have them all be a hit. Even less any good. You can’t possibly focus on 5 projects at once, one of them being the mammoth called Fourever You with 5 couples, and have them all score any higher than a 5/10. The only saving grace for Siwaj is the acting. Because boy, were they acting. Junior has the range (graduated from the Nadao School) and here we revert back to his debut in Midnight Museum, where we saw a yearning, grieving boy. Here we have Tim, a smart, calculating yet sweet man, who in face of adversity strategizes, manipulates with surgeon-like precision. Yet, he is too soft-hearted to commit.
Now that’s a character description. We can do something with that. Junior did. And Mark, because he is also incredibly talented, and I can’t wait to see more of his acting range in 21 Twenty-One; bounces off Junior’s acting like a dream. I can’t sing enough praises about Mark’s acting in the wedding crash scene. I felt that in my gut. So, as I said, New Siwaj works with great talent yet he gives them absolutely nothing to work with. Feeds champions a strict diet of ice soup and boiled chicken with plain rice.
Because yes, U and North were lacklustre, but Ohm and Poon’s chemistry was pure gold. They felt comfortable, there was that invisible magnetic pull of attraction, undeniable and almost tangible between them. They just fit together, and it was absolutely beautiful to see Ohm on his goofier side. But, if I may have my last complain: where is the bed scene, New Siwaj?
So, to conclude: great premise, awfully executed yet brilliantly acted.

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How to destroy a fan favourite IP in 10 episodes or less.

I've given this enough time to marinate. Here's my review, and I'll try to be succinct. This was a mess of a show from the get-go, in the worst way possible. Notice how I use the word "mess", it is intentional: when the public thinks of the Only Friends IP, we immediately associate it with intersecting storylines about romance, betrayal, misunderstanding, broken trust, and difficult relationships involving morally colorful characters that are so raw and humanly imperfect, one can't help but adore them.
This show had none of that; in fact, this show made the effort to destroy all the interesting parts of the characters from this season and the previous one. Case in point: TopMew. Two very headstrong characters, now turned influencers, that are lovey-dovey sweet as candy off-camera. No banter, which not only ForceBook are great at but was also an identifying trait of their characters' relationship, and their ambitions completely tossed aside to become a narrative tool for Dean and Jack. Speaking of narrative tools: SandRay. Oh, dear SandRay what have they done to you? After struggling with addiction to the point where rehabilitation was FORCED onto Ray and Sand feeling the guilt of being part of the problem with his illicit alcohol business, you are telling me the couple are now fully committed to selling alcohol? Thank God they seem to forget all about it in the last episode, where we see SandRay doing what they actually wanted to do at the end of S1: dedicate themselves to music.
Enough reminiscing, let's talk about this season, and let's start with the best couple: RomeRaffy. I am not putting this up for debate; AouBoom did a phenomenal job, even though they were the result of the recast (which we all loved) way later and their characters barely had 20 minutes of screen time (I'm being hyperbolic). This storyline worked because it followed the SandRay formula: a lovesick boy, who is also proud and stubborn, falls for an emotionally unavailable boy, who hides his insecurities under a stone-cold facade. I loved Raffy. Defying expectations set by his mother, only to end up exploiting what he hated most about her: the managing. I thought it was paradoxical but also a way of breaking the cycle, as he is now a manager as well, but he knows what a GOOD manager has to do and be. Especially while managing someone he loves. Also, how does he step into the pampering role of the relationship after Rome's ultimatum, turning Rome into a Tan variant? Their relationship was what Only Friends is about, if only we weren't missing a key part. A key part that was missing from this show entirely.
Why weren't they kissing eachother?
I don't care about the "but the fans want the fixed couples" or "the fans are going to go CRAZY (/neg) if you don't give them the cps" excuses, because they are not true: if there is anything GMMTV is good at, it is giving us happy endings by all means necessary. Your cp will be fine by the end, I promise. We know this. Give us Dean and Raffy getting it on nasty style.There was no excuse to not do so; their reconciliation would have been more cathartic if they had just fucked their rivalry away: putting themselves in a battle for power, only to realize how the moment is truly vulnerable and intimate, and then laying their heart out for each other. They wouldn't fall in love, but it would have been, again, cathartic.
Sorry, I had better points to make, but let me just scream to the void: HOW ARE YOU CASTING DEAN AND ARNOLD AS MAIN LEADS TO A ROMANTIC PLAY, AND WE DON'T EVEN SEE THEM KISS??? That took me fully out of it. Joss and Mix are actors who are playing actors. Kissing your co-worker IS PART OF THE JOB; their whole arc is about this!! Completely unacceptable and disappointing. Think about it: Tua sees Dean kissing Arnold and goes ballistic, finds Jack in the crowd, and shoves his tongue down his throat. Chaos ensues. AND THIS IS WHAT ONLY FRIENDS IS ABOUT, GODDAMN IT.
I won't even go into Arnold and Tua's storyline because the lazy writing did these two talented boys no justice. Their slow burn was wasted; they should have been the friends-with-benefits couple of the season, and if I'm honest, I wanted Tua to be A FULL BITCH. I wanted him to be sarcastic and snappy, Boston-style one-liners and comebacks. Not his ex. Which. Again, fucking wasted. These writers hate Boston with PASSION. What do you mean, "I don't do hookups anymore"? What do you mean, "I want to commit"? WHAT DO YOU MEAN "I DON'T FUCK DRUNK PEOPLE"? Where is my Boston, and what have you done to him? A narrative point for ArnoldTua but with no clear objective, as he was a passive bystander, not even playing Cupid properly.
Speaking of happy endings, I was so happy when I thought Dean and Jack weren't going to end up together. The ending was rushed and badly written (which could be applied to a lot of arcs of this show, but this is getting too long), Jack's character's redemption was appallingly done, and his character lacked the depth they wanted so desperately to give him. Why, in the first season, do we make Ray's rehab moment the most poignant point of his character arc, but for Jack it is a passing comment that barely has any effect on his relationship with Dean? Sure, it is mentioned; sure, it gives Dean pause, but there's no follow-up. The most interesting part of Jack's character, and we aren't given any more explanation than a few lines and the understanding that he can drink safely now. Just such bad writing. We deserved better; they deserved better.
I'll stop here for now; this was so not worth the hype.

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