taeshain

they are losing everything. Just a remake of Cutie Pie but royalty themed, with all the same nonsense. I just wish we could get real Zee back, let him play different characters please, enough with this fake mysterious, emotionless, insufferable whitewashed charaters. The issue is that Nunew most probably cannot play any other character, so here we are.

Once again, despite the long wait and supposed budget, it is falling flat, extremely flat.1. Looks like, in a way, a remake of Cutie Pie, but just royalty themed. And the Cutie Pie nonsense is still there, all of it.2. Zee and Nunew have chemistry, however I'm getting very tired of their roles, once again they seem to be caged in the same roles over and over again, and I don't particularly enjoy Zee's acting when it comes to these supposedly "dark", emotionless characters, he doesn't even have clear facial features anymore, too whitewashed for who knows what freaking reason.3. Once again the plot does not make much sense, and the characterization of the main leads is NOT consistent at all. Khanin went from a free spirited London boy to a spoiled princess. He was at first passionate about fencing, about finding his dad's supposed killer, but then he mysteriously forgets all about it in a split second. He does not seem affected in any way, shape or form by the death of the man who raised him and that he called father, apart from the first episode and a half. There is not even a small plot line on how he would supposedly get closer to his biological dad, who he had never met, they spoke once and that's it, happy family. Even Charan, it's unclear why and how he is supposedly falling in love with Khanin, showing us two seconds of him smiling when thinking about Khanin is not nearly enough. 4. Everything appears very unrealistic. Starting from how the 4 kingdoms' princes or whatever they are called decide things. In one minute, everything is discussed and decided 😂 "let's allow the princess to participate in the competition too, do you guys agree? Perfect, it's decided". Yes, of course, very very realistic. 5. Action/fight scenes are beyond ridiculous. Literally, they made me laugh and gasp out loud. No budget nor proper training went into that, that's for sure. Same with fencing, ridiculous, like for real, beyond ridiculous.6. The main issue with this type of series is that they are presented as serious, high-budget series. If they weren't, one would maybe still enjoy them as they are, as it happens with other BLs, without nitpicking too much on the clear and blatant issues and problems. HOWEVER, once you present your series as a high-budget and high quality production series, and then you deliver something like this, at that point nitpicking and critiques are inevitable. The high budget was spent on locations and clothing, nothing else. The random plots and the issues that characterise Thai BLs are ALL THERE. 7. Last but not least, I've already mentioned how extremely TIRED I am of Zee having to play these emotionless, flat. insufferable characters. Most newer BL fans might not know it, but in Why R U Zee was WAY better, playing as Fighter. BRING BACK MESSY, WITTY, FUNNY FIGHTER, I beg of you.Related to this, I also feel like Zee and Saint were something else. Why? I don't care if Zee and Nunew are a couple in real life, that should NOT matter when it comes to acting and portraying fictional characters. In my humble opinion, Saint was a way better actor than Nunew, and that is what made Zee and Saint a great on-screen couple. Fighter and Tutor were something else, and people won't admit it either because they are newer BL fans and haven't watched Why R U at the time, or because they let themselves be blinded by Zee and Nunew in real life. Again, it does not matter if they are a real couple, I wish them the utmost happiness, but Nunew is not a good actor and the two characters that he played, which are very similar if not the same, and also similar to him as a real person, prove it. They have chemistry and they are comfortable with each other, of course they are, but when it comes to the characters and the delivery, it is not enough. Even the second leads, the f*** is that? That kiss was questionable, were they sucking life out of each other? Also, their relationship is just... weird. Once again, if the plot is THAT poor, nothing makes sense, and what could have been an interesting and different dynamic just appears weird, and almost uncomfortable.Please y'all lets group up and go find pince Kalvin, he was drunk at the club and at some point we didn't see him anymore, they left him there 😂 amazing amazing plot lines 🤦🏽‍♀️

I absolutely agree on the "amateurish but complicated plots", absolutely. Personally I overall enjoyed TF only because of the two leads' acting abilities and chemistry (since even that is not something easy to come across), but the plot itself was quite laughable, as it happens many times. I also agree on the spy/murder/gang plots, so many times (in that case even in Taiwanese BLs) the plots are not only ridicolous but also incredibly hard to follow, cause they do not make any sense whatsoever. I would keep seeing people praising precisely the plot of those shows, while I was struggling to even follow it decently.
Another thing Thai series are guilty of, in my opinion, is portraying Thailand in such an unrealistic way, especially in the last 5 years. Everyone is super rich, everyone lives in gigantic mansions, its just so unreal. That is why I absolutely adored series like ITSAY and 1000 stars, they feel real, perfect in the imperfection of what Thailand has to offer, good and bad, and everything in between.
I also agree on the "film fans being portrayed as psycho fangirls and boys" in TP, which can be true in Thailand, but it can "only" be applied to BL and also some non BL couples, which are sold exactly like that, like a two-for-one sale, like a product. It would have been interesting in case the two protagonists were an on-screen couple, doing fan service and "concerts/meet ups" (which are absolutely ridicolous to me), as it happens in Thailand. But since those two were actually portrayed as just regular movie stars, the whole thing felt too farfetched, and indeed it ended up portraying actually film fans as crazy lunatics.

Hello there! Checked your list out, not bad! I adore Blueming and I still rewatch it, at times, definitely among my top 5 too. I personally don't enjoy JP BLs (which you seem to really enjoy), most of them are quite creepy and just weird for me, what can I do. I can see that your an old fan (which means, you have been watching BLs for quite a long time), and since I am too, I do understand your take when it comes to old Thai series. Together with me will always hold a special place in my heart, as well as ITSAY, Tale of 1000 stars, and a few others. However, I feel like your take on Top Form is a bit too harsh. Like, you cannot have TharnType on your list, and then rate Top Form this badly 😅 personally, I really enjoyed the actors, for once good actors, especially Boom, but Smart did a great job too. Their chemistry was very very special, and they were able to portray a way more realistic couple, a normal couple were the two touch each other, play with each other, hug each other, feel each other. Not just NC scenes that need to be well executed, they really felt like a real couple. And that is not something easy to witness, not just in Thai BLs. Anyways, I think I read somewhere that you rated The Eight Sense very low. May I ask why is that? Just out of curiosity 😊 coming from someone who put Blueming at the top of their top 30 list, it's kinda hard to understand. Not that The Eight Sense did not have flaws, I really wish the budget was higher for that one. But to me it stood out for other reasons, which we can definitely discuss. :)

I'm very torn, I don't know whether to start this or not. Most people seem to love it, however..... I've read of people talking about a messy plot, too crammed in just 8 episodes, stiff acting.... usually, I would notice those things too, in a split second. Plus, I speak Korean, I get whether they are decent actors in a split second too.
Since I watch some BLs as I would watch any other show, I don't know whether to start this. Good kissing means nothing if the plot does not make much sense, if the acting is exaggerated and not natural, if they just focus on giving girls some pretty boys to gush over. There have been some Taiwanese BLs, for example, that people praise infinitely, and for the life of me I CANNOT understand why. Nonsense plots, literally oftentimes it's hard to even understand what the hell is happening. If you want to produce complicated plots, learn how to make them first.
I'm torn, any OBJECTIVE criticism/opinions on this? Don't wanna waste my time. I swear I prefer a simple plot, but still quite entertaining and relatable, rather than nonsense action plots, like some Taiwanese and Thai BLs. At least usually the Korean ones tend to be more on the simple side, more grounded, decent, not over the top acting. ALSO, Korea is a deeply homophobic country, still haven't understood why they never made a series that is TRUE TO THE SOCIETY THEY LIVE IN, and that can be of help/comfort to actual Korean queer people.

I agree with you when it comes to J&J, people were losing their s*** over it whilst I had found it barely decent. But this one is WAY better. So it's kinda hard to understand the comparison here. This drama is way more than decent, if you like the genre of course.

Binged-watched all 8 episodes available in like... 2 days. This one is TOO good. We talk a lot about "chemistry" between two actors, but these two literally killed it. First, they are good actors individually. Or, at least, they have been perfectly casted for this series. Second, here we do not talk about chemistry only, but a high sense of realness. There are other pairs that do have good chemistry, but this series manages to make you feel like these characters actually exist. I oftentimes feel like even other couples that technically have good chemistry, they portray the 1 or 2 spicier scenes, even well maybe, but then.... in other normal interactions, everything kinda falls apart. These two portrayed a REAL couple, where each and every interaction, not just the spicy ones, feels real, natural. They kiss, hug, feel each other, touch each other, sniff each other, have sex with each other, in such a natural way that left me speechless. Every little gaze, touch, word, everything is there to portray a difficult yet amazing love story, in the realest way possible, every detail is important as contribution to the big picture. I don't even know if I expressed this concept well enough, but that is how I felt. Can't wait for the last two episodes, I'm not too sad it is ending soon cause I will be probably rewatching this in a loop for a while (and I usually definitely do not do that). ❤️

hello everybody! thanks for your replies 🫶🏼 I have been moving countries in the meantime and haven't had time to start it, but I am starting it today finally!! Will keep you updated 🩷

should I start this?? haven't watched a BL in a while

OMG same. He's so trash. He basically killed someone and almost beat to death another just because Su-oh was a loving person who would give attention to other people too. He had so much internalised homophobia that he wanted Su oh basically dead for absolutely NO REASON whatsoever, since in his mind Su Oh had already rejected him in a way. he's sick, trash and I am SO mad he did not went to jail thanks to daddy.

OMG you guys we all know the kiss in the end was absolutely fantastic, but what about Shun apologising to Dai? Favourite moment ever, I was admiring his courage so much. And Dai's instant and just natural reaction/smile, he left everything there to go hug Shun and thank him. Just perfection. I am so impressed by how relatively well Shun handled the situation overall, he realised more of his shortcomings but also realised he does not want to lose Dai. Loved how Dai gave him space but kept being present, how he was patient and found it even cute how Shun sent him a random picture of a frog a few hours after avoiding the coffe truck date thing. But Dai managed, at the same time, to make Shun understand that he will not allow Shun to take his love and affection for granted. That was also a pivotal moment in my opinion, which allowed Shun to really come to terms with the fact that he has to step up his game if he wants to keep Dai close. And that build up to the kiss was just..... very real 😂 you can see that these are real people. The sexual tension was quite evident hahahah how am I supposed now to wait for another long week? 🫠

P.s. While they were talking about their coming out stories, I really could not stop noticing Shun, how he was trying to participate and react to the people telling their stories. And it was definitely genuine, but at the same time I kept thinking he must be suffering inside so much. After all, he never had a family to come out to, in the first place. I hope he found, in Dai, a love that will allow him to finally have a family. ❤️ we love you, Shun. You are so very brave.

I am so SURE that Dai would treat Shun as a prince if they ever got together. People are misjudging Dai a lot in my opinion, he really seems like a likeable, funny, light person who also is loyal and committed. He was spending time with Ikuo because he's an extrovert and also because I do not expect him to just cry in a corner because of Shaun's rejection. But it's clear that he's still pretty much focused on Shun only, he checks on him, his eyes look for him, he says "he cannot understand him" because he still very much cares about everything that has to do with Shun.Shun will hopefully realise that he can trust him. If not, it's alright, they both deserve love and happiness in life so if they feel like they are not a good match then I would wish them the brightest future with other people that can make them happy 💗 and I mean, they both don't even need our wishes in the first place, they are both so handsome hahahah I mean Shun is just wow, I don't think he fully realises how attractive and just plain handsome and soft spoken he is...? He cracks a little smile and the world suddenly gets brighter 🥹 Dai has been looking at him only from the very beginning, indeed.

Not a dating shows lover here, but everyone was talking about this so I at last gave it a chance yesterday and.... yeah, I finished all 6 episodes already 😅I really enjoyed them, a lot. All the participants are interesting, natural, they feel real.
Shun and Dai stole my heart at first, but gradually I came to like all of them, they are all unique, interesting, human. I like the meaningful connections they are making, be it as lovers or friends. Why did I have to start watching it now?! Waiting a whole week will be torture 🥲

Ps. Shun, babe, you saying "I'm not jealous" was the icing on the cake. Iconic. And especially far from the truth ❤️ we support you, take your time, but please please try explaining a bit more how you feel, communication is key. And remember that you do deserve Dai's love. He actually only saw you, from the very beginning. Try letting him love you ❤️

same, I would be up for it 100%, and I am anticipating this series, but of course for my FirstKhao ✨ then if the second couple miracolously manages to get a bit more decent at acting, then amazing, even better hahahah

Am I the only one who THOROUGHLY enjoyed episode 7 and 8? hahahahhahaI am usually not someone who likes drama, or dating shows in general. But these last two episodes in particular have had me glued to my screen, with all the drama that has been going on.At first I felt rather bad for SM, when everybody was trying to guess who changed the rooms. When he started crying I wanted to give him a bear hug. However, Seongmin also kinda irritates me a bit cause I mean, Hwi is so in love with him, it's so crystal clear to everybody 🥲 but at the same time it's a dating show, maybe SM simply does not feel IN LOVE with Hwi, he likes Hwi but he also wants to know other people, it's understandable. It's easy to forget that for them it's been 4/5 days only.However, drama queen title of this season unexpectedly goes to 🥁🥁🥁🥁 YEONGJUN! Wtf....? I won't meddle too much into the "past" controversy, as we were not there, and we ultimately do not really know what happened, they both seem to have a point regarding that. But the whole passive and definitely also active aggressiveness that YJ showed.....? Like I was so taken aback 😅😅 why would you be so rude and so insisting? I could understand his initial standpoint of "I wanted to clear things up with you right away and come up with a coherent story to tell the others" since that looks like YJ's personality, he looks like someone who needs to "put things in their place", to know how to handle things. But the whole aggressiveness that he showed, jumping from an argument to another, was just a bit too much. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the drama, but still, I feel very bad for Minson in all of this. Cause at the end of the day MG is also weird, and I still don't understand him. Despite YeongJun's aggression and tones, which I already "condemned", I still kinda understand a few things that he points out about MG. Why is MG so fixated on YJ, why is he always picking on him or insinuating that he's hiding something or his "real self"? Wtf hahah I definitely see some tension there, especially from MG (poor MS, I'm sorry babe). I have always thought, from the very beginning, that MG still has an interest for YJ, and at first I really thought it was not the case for YJ. Now though I am not really sure anymore. Why is YJ so FIXIATED on screaming at him, demanding answers when they both said multiple times that they were not even dating in the first place at the time? Just both of them, weird. Last but not least, I feel so sorry for Seungjin that I don't even know where to start :( I'm so sorry he had to go through that. 🫂

I am trying to trust P'Jojo with this one too, because just the thought of JoonDunk being paired up with FirstKhao is giving me some anxiety. People can say whatever they want and can prefer whatever pairing they want, but TALENT remains something that is rather objective. FirstKhao are, first of all, good actors by themselves, and then when put together they managed to develop really good chemistry. But you gotta be able to portray your character individually, first of all. You cannot say the same about YoonDunk (which have more chemistry in real life that on screen) exactly because they CANNOT act for the life of me, Dunk especially. Either FirstKhao is somehow miracolously able to make those two decent actors, or hopefully p'Jojo is.

I'm 26 years old (actually almost 27), but despite what people might think, I had absolutely ADORED (like many people) MSP, and as a consequence Gem and Fot. I became a fan of them and I also really really enjoyed MLC (also because the other couples definitely made it amazing). I was SO exited about this one, even though I personally don't like JP BLs at all (don't come at me please, but yeah I find most JP BLs just straight up weird and a bit disturbing at times, the vibe is not it for me), but I remember I had kinda enjoyed this one, so I thought "if I even liked the original JP version, then I'll definitely love the Thai adaptation with my Gem and Fot". Well.... things turned out to be quite different to be honest.This is no working, personally. I just do not get excited about the story, it's super boring and just full of product placement that really makes it look super cheap, unfortunately. I even struggle to feel any real chemistry among FotGem, like at times I did but to be honest nothing in comparison to their previous works. which means that the people who worked with them in this one didn't really make a good job at directing. I love Mudmee and Half though, will probably keep watching (maybe... idk, I still haven't watched the last episode that came out) for them mostly. I know this is not what Gem and Fot (and especially Fot who has SO much talent) are capable of, hopefully they will be given a better script and a better series next time, they deserve it.

I do agree with you in a way, for example I personally have always been the type of girl who hangs out with older people, always! So I definitely do not think age is that big of a deal breaker usually. However, I think 22 and 33 is a huge gap exactly for the different stages of life the two people are in. Hwi is in university, hanging out with friends, studying for midterms and finals, and then you have Jaeseung managing his business and looking for a life partner. And this would be my "westerner only" point of view, cause if we then analyse the situation from a more Korean point of view, then it gets even more impossible. I am not sure but I think Hwi has not served in the military yet, that alone is a huge thing in Korea. Apart from the military issue, age in Korea plays a totally different role compared to the West. While living there I really got to understand better how they really address eachother based on the age, and on other factors. On the show it is even a bit "mild" compared to real life, since it's a short reality show, they for example decided to use 반말 with eachother (casual speech), which otherwise would be unheard of. But in Korea in general people are drown to be closer and more comfortable with people their age, or of a similar age. As you mentioned, SJ only opened up to Hwi and Minseon because they are the closest to his age. And I definitely agree on the SJ thing, he's a gem but the show is not for him, and again the age gap with most of them is huge considering it's Korea we are talking about. He's gonna do nothing in a week..... :(

Am I the only one who thinks Hwi and Jaeseung look the best together? Omg that work out session is probably the ONLY scene that actually gave me real vibes of attraction and mild sexual tension, cause most of the other "couples" seem more friendly than anything else to me. However, it is Korea we are talking about, I do not think JS will ever really go out with a 22 yo (which by any means is very understandable, I personally wouldn't either). That is why he then focused a bit more on SM, who is older. Personally I would never feel attraction towards Seongmin, he's not my type at all, and tbh I am struggling to understand why so many people are so drown to him. And I am kinda hoping Hwi will also try to go out with others, apart from Jaeseung (JS and Hwi are the best potential "couple" in my opinion, but again because of the age gap I do not think it will happen).
I adore Yeongjun but I see no sparkle with Hanmin whatsoever. I was hoping for YJ to have more potential partners but at this point it looks like Hanmin only wants to explore a bit more (and he will, after Seongmin's secret mission hahah). MG and MS.... I feel sorry towards MS who is really attracted to him but.... MG is just hard to understand, and he looks very much still focused on our Yeongjunie, for whatever reason. I feel very sorry for Seungjinie, but we also have to understand that 1. he's super young, I feel like no one being interested in him is mostly due to that 2. he looks like an introvert, therefore a week in this kind of environment is not nearly enough for someone like him, not enough time to present himself and let people know him more.
Overall, I am enjoying this season for the drama and the contestants, but in terms of chemistry I do not see much. MG and MS have no chemistry whatsoever, YJ and HM have even less in my opinion, especially because YJ is one of those people that are super bright and smiley with mostly everyone, therefore his behaviour towards and with Hanmin cannot really be interpreted as "unique". To me they give besties vibe. Hwi and Seongmin have a bit of chemistry but again, Hwi and Jaeseung have more in my opinion. But I guess it's because Jaeseung is so freaking handsome and attractive that he has chemistry even with a wall. 😅😍

I was not sure I was going to watch this, lately I have not been enjoying the shows that have been coming out, most of them were trash in my humble opinion. But oh well in the end I felt like I kinda needed a good old GMM show with sounds effect and fireworks so I started this and now I AM REGRETTING IT big time since I will need to wait a whole entire week to see a new episode 😭😭😭😭 And I had apparently forgotten how much of a FINE man P'Great is in Manner of Death, seeing him again here made me fall in love with him in every scene, like a freaking teenager. Really really love the show up until now ❤️ it's fun, light-hearted but still serving chemistry, intensity and.... the two most fake fake boyfriends on the planet 😅😻