Reviews

Ulasan dari persepsi orang yang enggak nonton Bed Friend

Series ini dirilis tahun 2023, tahun segitu mah aku lagi hiatus dari dunia per BL an. Akhirnya baru nonton beberapa minggu yang lalu. Alasan nonton? demi TutorYim!. Pertama tahu tentang mereka dari Love Upon a Time, mereka jadi cameo yang memerankan pangeran dan babu yang jatuh cinta tapi dikekang oleh the so-called "norma" sosial di abad 17 Ayutthaya, deymnn sedih wokk. Acting mereka bagus banget di LUAT, meski cuma muncul sepenggal doang tapi aku jadi kepo sama series-series mereka terdahulu. Maka dengan bantuan mydramalist, akhirnya ku bulatkan tekadku untuk menonton The Middleman's Love, walau dengan ribuan kritik negatif yang udah kubaca.

Ternyata ini series masih satu universe sama Bed Friend yah?. HMM.... GIMANA YAA ngomongnya..
Aku benci banget sama fans toxic CP NetJames yang masih berkeliaran in this big 2026 yang bahkan sampe ngehate JJ tanpa berdasar. Maka gw muak banget liat NetJames di series ini. Bukan berarti gue ngehate James ya, tapi kek ga sreg aja ngeliat orang yang punya fanbase toxic pro max. Salah satu alesan kenapa aku dulu keluar dari fandom nya BTS juga karena Army semakin toxic (era pandemi tuh buset puncak ketoxic-an army tuh), apa apa dihate udah kek pengangguran betul bah. Maka dari itu aku benci banget orang toxic dan salahkan-lah orang-orang toxic tersebut hingga sampe bikin orang se-innocence James, bisa jelek citra nya dimata gue.

Ini series sebenernya sangat menghibur, cuman banyak aspek yang kesannya kayak dipaksa gitu loh. Maksa masukin 3 Couple (atau lebih ya?? ngga inget sumpah ada berapa total CP nya) tapi development dari kisah cinta dari banyak CP itu kurang ter-manage dengan baik (kecuali NetJames ya, mereka udah ada pondasi dasar dari Bed Friend). Ini kisah klasik BL Thai deh, mau masukin banyak CP tapi yang dapet screen time maksimalnya cuman CP utama. Maksudku, bukan berarti CP sampingannya juga harus sama persis screen time nya dengan CP utama, tapi at least porsi nya yang adil gitu lah wokkk!. Ini udah ibarat langit dan lava, ketimpangannya. Udah gitu CP second di series Middleman's Love kayak cuman mentok di series ini aja gitu, mereka gaada kelanjutan series baru lainnya. Jadi.. kayak serba salah deh. Mereka kan ikut casting juga buat cari duit yak, tapi ternyata ngga adil banget screen time mereka. Yah, namanya dunia entertainment emang ngga ada enaknya.

Terus mereka maksa masukin Domundi Sports Day ke-dalam series ini seakan-akan mereka memberi pesan tersirat kalau series ini tuh,- apa ya.. kayak nyata... kayak cerminan reality, padahal mah enggak. Sports Day yang ada didalem seriesnya juga cringe bgt, aku ga sanggup nonton kecuali sambil cuci piring atau multitasking dengan hal lainnya. Terus apaan dehh pake acara misunderstood kayak scene didalam kamar mandi tuh, padahal mereka ngga ngelakuin hal2 yg ngaco tapi bisa bikin pasangan dari masing-masing CP jealous. Udah mah jealous, ditambah gamau komunikasi yang benar. duhhh ini miskom udah kayak trope klasik BL thai, sebel gw.

Udah ah intinya gw demen banget sama keimutan Yim diseries ini. narak makkk. Selain dari itu udahlah diemin aja. Peran nya Tutor disini juga, sebatas gitu aja gitu.. kek.. karakternya dia kurang bebas eksplorasi tentang diri dia sendiri. Kurang unik jadinya, terkesan terlalu berpatokan ke scriptnya. Kayaknya ini dipaksa directornya ya?? padahal Tutor di series ChermChey loh actingnya natural banget, bener bener berasa ngga acting. Salah directornya sih ini..

Udahlah intinya gitu, intinya ini series kurang jati diri. Harusnya bisa dibikin jauh dari konsep yang mengharuskan mereka exist di universe yang sama dengan Bed Friend.

Sekian, peace and kiss muwaahhhh

Leer más

The Next Prince: Beautiful to Look At, but Empty Where It Matters

*The Next Prince* had everything needed to become a strong series: a large budget, beautiful costumes, impressive locations, a popular main couple, and a political royal setting with plenty of potential. Unfortunately, the writing never lived up to the production.

My biggest issue was the treatment of the supporting characters. Some fans of the leads seemed to want the entire series to focus only on Khanin and Charan, but if that was the intention, the writers should not have introduced so many side stories in the first place. You cannot create several potentially interesting characters and relationships, then give them almost no development simply because the main couple has the largest fandom.

This was especially frustrating because Khanin and Charan’s story was not strong enough to carry the entire series alone. Their romance felt bland, predictable, and underdeveloped. They had visual chemistry, but the writing gave them very little emotional complexity. Khanin gradually became a lovesick character whose life revolved around Charan, while Charan remained emotionally distant and difficult to understand.

In contrast, Ramil and Paytai had one of the most compelling dynamics in the series. Their relationship involved guilt, trauma, emotional dependence, and unresolved feelings. There was much more depth and tension between them, yet they were given only fragments of a story. Every time their plot became interesting, the series moved away from them.

The same problem affected Ava, Calvin, Jay, and several other characters. They were introduced as if they would have meaningful roles, but most of their stories were either rushed, weakened, or abandoned. They existed in the script without being properly written.

The problem is not that the series had supporting couples. The problem is that it used them as decoration instead of treating them as real parts of the story. If the writers wanted a series focused exclusively on Zee and NuNew, they should have created a smaller and more intimate plot. But once they chose a political royal story with multiple heirs, families, and relationships, every major character needed enough screen time and development.

In the end, the series looked expensive but felt emotionally empty. The costumes, palaces, and cinematography were beautiful, but the most interesting characters were pushed aside while the weakest storyline received most of the attention.

Leer más

To say that this movie was a mess was an understatement. Which was truly unfortunate, since the movie's plot of surrounding the aftermath of Beijing's fall and the clash with the pirates could've been a good one, but no, we had to be sidelined with the plot of the supposed love triangle between Feihung, Siu Kwan and Siu Kwan's younger sister.

After fleeing from Beijing and returning to Foshan, Feihung and his family returned towards an almost ghost town. Apparently, in the span of time of them being away (being involved with the first Lion King competition and the second one, as well as the fall of the Qing Dynasty), pirate activity started to become rampant. So despite the initial plan for them to head to Hong Kong after reuniting with the rest of the Poh Chi Lam people, Feihung and the others also had to deal with the pirates so as to return peace and safety to the people of Foshan.

I still disliked the whole plot involving the 14th Aunt (not calling her May because that wasn't her name, as it was derived from Siu Kwan calling her Mui which basically means 'younger sister'). Like, I get the appeal of trying to insert another girl in the plot to add some kind of tension that necessitates bringing back Rosamund Kwan as Siu Kwan, but honestly, the way they did it in this movie was not even amusing. But really, the comedic effect doesn't hit quite as well as when we had Jet Li and Kwan do the same shadow play in the previous movies. All because this time the movie relied too much on having Leung Foon create the source of conflict by creating a misunderstanding that Feihung kept chasing after every woman in sight - to which could've worked better had Zhou's Feihung never been shown to have any interest in 14th Aunt from movie 4 and this one. And I also can't really buy the sister's excuse of saying 'she tried not to fall for him' because in the last movie, she did do everything to look and behave exactly like Siu Kwan as if she did intend to get Feihung to like her. And really, the whole fight between the sisters was so unnecessary and very annoying.

That said, this movie brought back Ah Wing and Ah So, and I love the fact that as much as Ah So was shown to still not be good in Kung Fu... he turned out to be quite skilled with guns. Zhang Tielin returned to the franchise again... but this time playing a different character, and honestly, I wished the movie had focused more on the plight of the remaining constables instead of the stupid romance plot. Also, I had to question the fact that this movie seemed to forget that Feihung had been in charge of the local militia, which was the men that had been entrusted to him back in the first movie, which made the scene about them trying to restart the local militia from scratch a tad unbelievable, as if forgetting that the men that had joined PCL in the past were former soldiers, so why were those men missing? And where's the rest of PCL's students in Foshan?

The plot was so choppy, messy and badly compiled, which made this movie hard to bear. The sequence of them going to the pirate's hideout was cool, but due to the bad editing... felt very out of place. Despite how we're being told that the pirates were supposed to consist of multiple groups with different coloured flags, we end up just seeing one. That felt a bit underwhelming, especially when at the beginning they made it seem like the pirates were part of a very huge group... but personally, the Taiping gang had been a lot more convincing at being baddies than this. And seriously, who was it that thought having Vincent Zhou act like Feihung could flirt with girls without effort was a good idea? Like this might work with Jet Li, but Vincent really didn't have that much charisma to really pull that effect.

But hey, after so many years... I finally did actually watch this shitshow for real.

Leer más

It’s fine

The original film with Katherine Heigl is one of my favourite that-era romantic comedies so I was excited to watch this. It also had Seoham, an actor from one of my favourite BL shows as the 2ML. In my opinion, it could have been a shorter show, making everything a bit punchier…maybe 8 episodes? Life as we know it (the original film) was 1h55 so dragging out the story to
12 hours without any solid additions to the storyline was stretching it thin. The acting was fine, I didn’t really feel chemistry between anyone. Seoham seemed to have more chemistry with FL when he was daydreaming about her than actually in person 💀. I liked the ML, I’d probably watch him again.


EDIT: Just looked at FL’s credits and she has been in SO many dramas and graduated a theatre school? Goodness! Did she get blackmailed into this job? Why is her performance so lacklustre?

Leer más

Love You Teacher: An Interesting Idea Handled Too Superficially

*Love You Teacher* had an interesting and unusual premise, but its handling of Solar’s condition felt far too shallow and unrealistic.

Solar’s brain injury and age regression are serious medical and psychological issues, yet the series often treats them as a source of comedy or emotional drama rather than a condition requiring long-term neurological care, therapy, and rehabilitation. The idea that years of trauma could be addressed through one session and a song played on a guitar felt especially simplistic.

His situation at the school was completely illogical. One day he was treated as a teacher, and the next as a student sitting in class with seven-year-old children. Even if his mental state temporarily regressed, he was still an adult who needed treatment and rehabilitation, not a school uniform and elementary lessons. The whole situation felt like a joke and was completely unacceptable.


Pobmek’s employment raises another issue. He teaches elementary school despite not having a full professional teaching license and initially not even liking children. Knowing mathematics does not automatically qualify someone to teach young students. Teaching requires educational training, classroom-management skills, and an understanding of child development. The series may have intended this as part of his personal growth, but it mostly makes the school administration appear irresponsible.

Overall, the series had emotional potential, and the performances may help make some scenes touching. However, the writing repeatedly sacrifices medical, professional, and ethical realism for convenient drama. A complex condition cannot realistically be solved through love, one emotional breakthrough, and a guitar.

Leer más

Duang with You: Enjoyable, but Overrated

I generally liked Duang with You. It was light, easy to watch, and occasionally charming, but it was far from a masterpiece.

The story itself is very ordinary. Most of it revolves around Duang chasing Qinn, with repetitive conversations and scenes that do not add much to the plot. Qinn was one of the better-written characters because he communicated openly and did not create unnecessary misunderstandings. The friendships were also enjoyable, and both lead actors performed well, especially in the more serious scenes.

However, Duang’s exaggerated “golden retriever” behavior was often too childish and embarrassing for me. The constant whining, clinginess, forced cuteness, and unnecessary sound effects was annoying

Qinn’s trauma could have added real emotional depth, but it was introduced too late and resolved far too quickly. Years of emotional pain were fixed through one short conversation, which felt rushed and unconvincing.

The supporting couples were also underdeveloped. Marvis and Jimmy were especially confusing because the series never clearly explained whether they were lovers, friends, or friends with benefits. If the writers were not willing to develop their relationship properly, they should have simply kept them as friends.

I also think the extremely high ratings are exaggerated and are probably influenced by fans of the actors. The leads are very attractive and clearly carried much of the show’s appeal. The series also relied on intimate scenes and sexual tension, which were undeniably part of the reason it attracted so much attention. That is not a criticism of intimacy itself, but it is difficult to ignore its role in the show’s popularity.

Overall, Duang with You is a watchable and entertaining university BL, especially for viewers who enjoy light romance and attractive leads. However, the writing is repetitive, the emotional storylines are weak, and the praise it receives is much greater than the actual quality of the series.

Rating: 6/10

Leer más

2gether: A Cultural Phenomenon, but Not a Great BL—or a Great Series in General

After finally watching *2gether* and reading the criticism surrounding it, I honestly think most of that criticism is valid.

There is nothing particularly impressive about the series itself. The story is very basic, predictable, and at times genuinely boring. Bright and Win are both very handsome, and I believe their looks were one of the biggest reasons the series attracted such a huge audience, especially casual viewers and young female fans. However, I personally felt almost no romantic chemistry between them. At times, they looked as though they did not even want to kiss or touch each other, almost as if they were uncomfortable or simply going through the motions.

This does not mean that a BL series needs kissing or intimate scenes to make the relationship believable. Many series have very little physical intimacy but still communicate love, longing, and emotional connection extremely well. The problem with *2gether* is that I did not feel those emotions strongly enough between the main characters.

The series was also extremely lucky because several factors worked in its favour the timing of its release, the pandemic, the growing international BL wave, and, of course, the appearance and popularity of its leads. Personally, I believe BL was already moving toward global popularity, with or without this particular series. *2gether* benefited from that momentum and became its biggest symbol, but that does not automatically make it one of the best BL series ever made.

I also think nostalgia plays a huge role in the way people judge it today. It is similar to songs we loved when we were younger: we may no longer listen to them or consider them musically exceptional, but they still feel special because they remind us of a particular period in our lives. For many fans, *2gether* represents that kind of memory rather than exceptional storytelling.

That is why I would not necessarily recommend it as a first BL to someone entering the genre today. If a new viewer has already seen the quality, chemistry, writing, and emotional depth found in many newer BL productions, they may watch *2gether* afterward and feel extremely disappointed because its reputation creates expectations that the actual series cannot meet.

Another sign, at least to me, is that neither lead continued doing BL afterward—not even through a supporting role in another BL production. They benefited enormously from the series and then moved on, which makes it difficult for me to believe that they were truly comfortable with or interested in this genre.

I understand why *2gether* became a phenomenon, and its historical importance to the international growth of BL cannot be denied. However, being influential, popular, and nostalgic is not the same as being an outstanding series. In my opinion, people give it far more credit than its actual quality deserves.

Leer más

An Average Mystery That Never Quite Clicks

I went into watching it hoping for a solid mystery with a memorable bromance, but unfortunately, it ended up being just... okay.

Let's start with the mystery, since that's the drama's main focus. Honestly, I wasn't impressed. The investigation felt fairly predictable, and many of the plot twists relied on clichés that I've seen countless times in other crime dramas. Instead of keeping me on the edge of my seat, the story often felt repetitive, and there were moments where I struggled to stay invested.

The cast and acting were decent but nothing particularly memorable. No one gave a bad performance, but no one really stood out either. Everything felt average, which pretty much sums up the drama as a whole.

Now for the bromance, which was one of the reasons I picked this up. It wasn't bad, but it definitely wasn't the highlight I was hoping for. The leads had a couple of genuinely good scenes together (I'd say two moments really stood out), but the drama never fully developed their partnership into something emotionally compelling. If you're watching this purely for the bromance, I think there are much better options out there.

That said, I don't regret watching it. It's an easy binge, and if you have a free evening with nothing else on your watchlist, you can finish it in one sitting without feeling like you've completely wasted your time.

Overall, The Murder Puzzle is a decent one-time watch, but it doesn't really stand out in either the mystery or bromance department.

Final Rating: 7/10.

Leer más

Enjoyable Thai Lakorn

I was hooked within the first 20 minutes of episode 1. I like suspenseful openings that draws the attention of the viewers. Chemistry between the actors are great. Made waching the show fun. The producershad also selected very scenic locations for the shoot. After having watched enough lakorns, it is not surprising to be able to identity the same sets or locations. Here, I found the producers actually made an effort to find beautiful spots and showcase Thailand to the non-Thai audience like me. I was pleasantly surprised to see capitving reservoirs and windmills.

Leer más

Politics first, Romance later

To be honest, 23 episodes in and I was sure I was giving this an 8. But this one has a satisfying happy ending I don't see in most of the dramas with this kind of genre so I added half a point.

Romance:
Like many other watchers, I started this hoping to see romance but it's mainly more on politics.
- Was I rooting for them? Yes obviously because they're the main CP that I started getting annoyed when they have so little screen time together than apart from each other and that I see FL have more tension with the other leads than the main ML.
- Is the romance good? Not the best but it's not bad. For someone who watched this for the romance, it's good enough but falls below my expectations.

Female Lead:
People got to understand that the FL went back 3 years before she died. She wasn't that scheming in the original timeline and she's full of hatred in the current one. She was sheltered and was kept in the dark most of the time in the last life so expecting her to know everything and have control over all the situation in the current life is not in line with her character. Getting a second chance doesn't mean you immediately get the higher ground to challenge those who have schemed all their lives. She can handle the situation but what she can't control is the people, especially when they're smarter than her and more experienced. So people getting annoyed and dropping this because FL is always losing after she got another chance is not thinking about the character at all.

Male Lead:
I haven't read the novel so I don't know what the ML is supposed to be like. But in the drama version, they put a mystery on the ML's background that got resolved without the watchers knowing. I mean thay made a big deal out of it but the conclusion we get is just meh. Anyways, ML has too little presence but that presence is what makes the FL feel more in control. She found out too late that she can trust him during the last life and the current one, she trusts him fully that the betrayal she felt when she found out his connection with her father's health is understandable and when she thought he died which made us see her character lose control.

Former Husband:
Stunning performance 👏🏼 and a very satisfying end for him too.
Grand Tutor:
Still confused here. Still don't know what the child companion is for.
Emperor's Uncle:
I love him but why does he always have to be so good playing the villain 😅
Other characters:
Mostly non-existing and the few that was introduced was discarded with their ending only described in words. (chu tang😅 has a great potential and have a great purpose in the novel)

Anyways, not a favorite of mine but I still think this deserves an 8.

Leer más

The Wait Was Worth It

This has got to be one of the most splendidly executed emotional payoffs I've seen in a historical romance C-drama.

Okay, hear me out.

I dropped this drama at episode 16 because the romance felt too much of a slow burn. Two episodes later (and after many dramas), it completely won me back and ended up earning a seat at my banquet rating system. (づ๑•ᴗ•๑)づ♡ I was completely hooked. Well... mostly by the romantic journey of the two leads.

The first part of the story focuses heavily on Gu Jinzhao's family background and personal life. Then the drama introduces several men who, in one way or another, become connected to her heart. What I found interesting was that most of them weren't really competing against each other, they were competing against their own responsibilities, ambitions, and priorities. Meanwhile, Chen Yanyun quietly stood on the sidelines, carefully strategizing not only his next move in court politics but also how to win Jinzhao's heart. By the time the male lead confessed, I was already rooting for him with my whole heart.

What truly made this drama compelling for me was the acting. The cast didn't simply perform their roles to move the story forward, they breathed life into every scene and made the characters feel genuinely human. I found myself watching the actors' faces almost as much as the subtitles. The antagonist would smile, yet the moment things slipped beyond his control, that smile would subtly falter. Chen Yanyun's usually calm and composed expression would soften almost imperceptibly whenever Gu Jinzhao was involved or needed his help. Even a romantic rival's glare carried enough emotion to make me feel tiny pricks under my skin.

I spent half my time analyzing the meaning behind those subtle emotional shifts... and the other half forgetting who was betraying whom or committing treason. ٩(^ᗜ^)و

The cinematography deserves praise as well. The drama knows exactly when to slow down. During tense moments, the camera lingers on a character's expression while the music quietly builds in the background. Some of my favorite shots were the slow-motion scenes focused on the male lead. They weren't overused, but when they appeared, they perfectly heightened the suspense and political tension.

My biggest issue was the finale. It felt slightly undercooked compared to how high the stakes had become. The conflict kept escalating, and then it seemed to resolve a little too quickly. However, after watching the special episode, I appreciated the ending much more. It reminded me of something Chen Yanyun had said earlier in the story. This was a man who spent years climbing the imperial court, manipulating powerful people, exposing corruption, and getting blood on his hands in pursuit of justice. Yet after everything settled, what he wanted most wasn't power anymore, it was simply to spend an ordinary life with the woman he loved.

Despite my frustration with the finale, the romance more than made up for it. I especially loved how their married life felt surprisingly grounded. Their misunderstandings weren't exaggerated just for the sake of drama. They argued, communicated, made up... and then kissed. Honestly, that's the kind of emotional payoff I was waiting for.

Overall, A Splendid Match completely surprised me. I came back expecting nothing after dropping it the first time, yet somehow finished it feeling incredibly satisfied. More than the palace intrigue, what stayed with me was watching two people slowly choose each other over everything else. For me, that's where this drama truly shines.

⭐ Rating: 4.25/5
Story: ★★★☆☆½ (3.5/5)
+0.75: Ci Sha's micro-reactions, dramatic coat flipping, and effortlessly kicking everyone's ass. 👩‍🍳🤌

Leer más