Oxygen (2020)

The series is a fun story.

I liked the series a lot, it has so many levels of emotion and character development. The leads are great together. I adore both couples. Sol and Guitar have great chemistry and make you smile at the tender moments. Kao and Phu are so cute and funny together especially calling him bunny. The cast takes you on a roller coaster of emotions, showing great depth of character growth. Going from college life to adulthood. Could have done without the jerk Dad making trouble. The last storyline was not needed and should have ending at episode 10, but I get it, I was not a fan of the ending drama. The friends were a nice added bonus to help things flow. I adore Jay the secretary, he helped a lot. A good fun series to enjoy with a overall sweet ending.

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They delivered what has been promised.

I've read both novels (Oxygen and Nitrogen) way before the series so I was pretty excited to watch it. I hate to wait for an episode, so I deliberately waited until it was over. But meanwhile I've been reading some comments and reviews that worried me... stupid thing to do. There is absolutely nothing to worry about.
Taking into account that they merged both novels in one drama, all the staff did a good job. Obviously you can't have all and every scene from the novel, but they gave us more than enough.
Long review but I wanted it to be detailed so people who haven't read the novel can decide whether to give it a try or not.


STORY:
All what needed to be shown, has been shown. Some scene suffered minor changes, I believe due to the fact that it includes part of Nitrogen as well, but it was well delivered.
This drama tells the story of two people with their own baggage that find a supportive shoulder in each other. The romance is fast and there are no roller-coasters in their relationship. I will be more specific with the leads Solo and Gui, since it seems to be what people complain the most and I don't understand the reasons to be honest.

Solo and Gui are as inexpressive and calm as in the novel. Their relationship develops fast and doesn't have big changes. They added more drama in the series but that was something that I've expected already. Anyway the "new drama" is nothing big, so makes no difference for me.
The Solo in the drama also has his poker face, his need of attention, his possessiveness, and his hatred towards Jay and his father.
The Gui in the drama also has a kind-hearted soul, a will to help everyone, a need to take care of others, and a tendency to keep it all for himself.
People complained about how boring, dull, and inexpressive are the leads but you have to understand that SoloGui are exactly like that in the novel. That's why I recommend people to read the story before watching the drama to avoid their expectations being ruined. This is not your typical "Together With Me" or "TharnType" kind of plot. Forget about the girls causing trouble for the couple, the misunderstandings, the fights, and yada, yada, yada. I must admit that their relationship is somehow toxic too (since Solo is super possessive and Gui says yes to whatever Solo asks), but the character development that happens in the end (in both the series and the novel) makes it less worrisome. It's a calm, almost boring, romance. Expect tenderness, sweetness, and understanding (and some jealousy from Solo here and there, but that's how he is). Don't expect break ups and fights, that's nowhere to be seen.

Phu and Kao have the same owner-rabbit relationship as in the novel, and I loved every second of it. I honestly prefer Nitrogen over Oxygen, and it happened the same with the series. I like SoloGui, but PhuKao definitely stole the show for me (some "My Engineer" feelings. I liked the leads but RamKing was the best of it).
I expect a second season, this time with Nitrogen as the title and PhuKao as the leads. They clearly left their story with no closure, and the important things from Nitrogen weren't added in Oxygen. So it's quite obvious that they are planning to do a second season if everything goes well with the first one. Hopefully we will have it soon!

I don't have much to add about the third couple. The doctors, Khim, and Khem's story ISN'T part of the novel. Not sure why they added that, maybe to fill the drama with some scenes in order to not show all PhuKao's story, but you can skip their parts if you want to. The third couple has NO effect to the real story.

Then they added a couple other things that aren't part of the novel. There is a scene where Solo is drugged and almost raped. As always, thai dramas seem to forget that this type of things are a crime and the perpetrator should be punished. In the novel the problem is way less serious, but a drama needs drama.
In the series Solo has a fiancee while in the novel is introduced as the fiancee of Solo's father. Once again they needed to add some drama since SoloGui's story is basically drama-free in the novel. I would have preferred the original plot of Linda but it didn't bother me that much anyway.


ACTING:
Good job from all the cast that played a character from the novel. For some of them, Oxygen is their first official work but they did good. I'm happy with both the cast election and the execution. I felt it was a copy-paste. There were obviously some things that could have been better, but still they were able to bring to life their novel characters. I remember Houzini (the girl who translated the novels with Chesshire's permission) leaving her cute comments at the end of the chapters about how fit the actors were for the roles. They all are new faces to me so I didn't know if she was right or not back then, but now I have to agree with her. Solo, Gui, Kao and Phu were portrayed in a loyal way by the actors and that just makes the drama better.

I also loved how they didn't change the appearance of Solo's fahter. Solo was born when his father was 16/18, so he isn't even 40 yet. He is a young actor that looks young, but his father is indeed young. He also did a good job portraying his character. I'm a little disappointed with Jay. Not for the actor's job, but the fact that his appearance is completely different. Where is the blonde foreigner? The actor was clearly thai and brunette hahaha! But once again that doesn't affect the story so who cares.


MUSIC:
I liked how they added the musical parts of the novel in the drama. The chorus of the main theme gets stuck in my head every episode, and the background music that they use for the different scenes convey the vibe of it.


OVERALL & REWATCH:
If you have read the novels, then I believe you will like it. It's exactly as it's written. Some scenes missing, some details that aren't fully explained, but in a general way everything is covered. The cast did a good job something that always helps.
I would definitely rewatch it before the release of Nitrogen. Hoping for the announcement of the second season to be as soon as possible!

Lire davantage

It was one of my most anticipated BL for this year because the trailer truly captivated me. Maybe because I had high expectations that's why I ended up disappointed.

Good things first, Solo and Gui are both non-toxic. I like how they slowly fell in love with each other. I believe love should not really be dramatic and cinematic all the time. Sometimes love comes in the most boring way but that's still valid. Phu and Khao are also cute together. They are not toxic to each other too. We didn't consent issues with this series. The OST might be one of the best things that happened in this show.

Now as to why I rated it low is based on my enjoyment in this one. I was bored to death halfway through this series. The acting was stiff. I understand that this is a first acting gig for the actors but more workshop could've been a better option. Solo and Gui are both too robotic. I saw some silver lining near the finale because Solo improved his acting in there. A great director could've made these characters shine even if the actors are rookies. The directing and editing are a mess.

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PURE CRINGE

PLOT

I cant begin to explain how much filler there was?! It was so boring and it only has a plot at the 10th EPISODE OUT OF 13???? Its so bad. The girl is so annoying, as a bisexual female, if i saw a male taking pictures of another girl and me and starts fetishizing us, i would’ve flipped. Its so disgusting, and it seems to be consistent in thai bl dramas. Honestly she would’ve been fine without that trait, and i know it is like that so that the audience can relate, but i have serious issues if they do relate. Its disgusting behaviour, gay/bi/pan people do not like when you make up narratives about them and their friends just cuz they like the same gender, let alone go on and record or broadcast it. The main couple is boring, as i saw comments on the episodes, i understood everyone thought they were boring, plain, and honestly shouldn’t even be there. The other couples are also uninteresting, but less than the main. I also question the sudden plot points made in last 3 episodes, given you just get a whiplash, and its executed so badly. In each episode something happens and then it resolves. Where is the build up? Where is the development? It seemed so rushed. The only people i saw that like this, are straight females that will eat up anything gay to feed their little fantasies about handsome boys kissing.


ACTING

It was bad, i dont know if its the bad writing or bad acting, or both but i just laughed. The character cried? The most funniest thing. You cant sit there watching 13 episodes, 50 minutes long, and tell me they are good actors. Tell me you felt it when they cried, were sad, or were broken apart. And casting is even bad. Half of them look like high schoolers, half like they’re in their 40s and half like middle schoolers. Its disturbing. They dont look in love, they look like they’re acting, and that is not good.

OST

Basic and bland, but what did i expect.

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Really disappointed because the first half I was feeling it but then just became tedious and lost its touch. Even the ending didn't make me feel a thing. The writers fell short on everything. Just a bunch of cute scenes and meandering that bored me. The literal only bit i still felt for was Phu's brother and the actor who played Kao was basically the only I felt mildly interested in, otherwise though the actor was not bad, even the character of Gui started to bore me with his vanilla ass. I guess not terrible but makes the mostly plotless My Gear And Your Gown seem so much better jn comparison XD cause at least theres one couple I still want more of. And jn fact BOTH Gear Gown couples are memorable at least even if the plot is 2moons level flimsy the couples are memorable in both 2moons and gear gown. This show failed to do tht.

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Unique Title of the Series

Oxygen!
Wow! it really caught my attention because of the title.
I want to know why the author of the novel named it after that scientific tern. Very light series/novel.
Plus after searching the novel I also found out that it has a 2nd novel which is Nitrogen, which is also connected to the second couple of the series. Very interesting indeed.
That's why I've been watching it since episode 1.

The story was really interesting.
I want to know why and how does the oxygen may involve to the story, and I figuratively needed oxygen whenever i watch the series not just because the story itself but you will expecting more for the upcoming episodes and the production never fails to amaze me.

The cast was really great in their roles.
They play it perfectly. I've been reading the novel (english translation) and because of that I was be able to feel their characters. Supanut and Petch (Solo and Gui) was really on to their roles as well as the second couple - the Nitrogen Couple - Phuri and Boss (Phu and Kao). Yes they new in terms of acting but you can feel the emotions that they portrait.

The music is lively.
Especially the ost itself. I cannot understand thai language but you can feel the liveliness that the singer - Supanut - would want to express. I was be able to look for the english translation of the song and the music video and I was right, it was indeed very good and lively, the message of the song reflects to the series itself. looking forward for the upcoming ost of the series.

Still Rewatching...
After each episode has been played on youtube by the given day, I am still rewatching it the following day, because really, the story is cute, not that typical bl stories, it is really very light story, and even if the story was finished on air I will still going to rewatch it.

Overall...
Yes! the story/series is very lovable. For me they deserve a highest point, even though it is still ongoing because the series never fails to amaze me.

Lire davantage

It has its moments

I placed a spoiler at the end of this review.

It had a good story concept. I did like the series because it had some refreshing story elements. However, the script also had many weak elements too. The side story involving Khim and Dr. Petch was very annoying. See spoiler alert at the end of this review if you want more info. Another problem is the series had way too many random conflict scenarios thrown into it. I lost track of how many were introduced. The actors were great with what they were given. Unfortunately, the character development was a little off with Solo and Gui. It’s as if Nut Supanut received director notes on how to play Gui instead and vice versa. There were points that I got confused in the beginning on who was play which character. Additionally, the casting for some of the characters seemed a little off.

Random Note: If you do decide to watch this, I recommend skipping all the scenes involving Khim, Dr. Petch, and Dr. Perth. This improved my enjoyment of watching the series. I think the actors are good but this story line was unnecessary and very annoying.



******Spoiler Alert******



The side story involves Khim constantly trying to convince Dr. Petch that he and his friend, Dr. Perth, is gay. This was very annoying. It’s the equivalent of someone trying to convince me (a gay man) that I’m straight and that I just have to admit it. She also indirectly caused Dr. Petch hurting Dr. Perth and Khem (her brother) through her annoying actions.

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SWEET BUT NOTHING NEW

I honestly watched it bcz of the handsome ML. The main couple's love story was nothing interesting or different. They fell in love almost instantly and things worked out fast and smoothly. Only during the last part there's the obstacle set by his parent. But that too was easy to overcome. So nothing special.
I liked the 2nd couple more. This too was nothing new but still I liked their chemistry. The playfulness of Kao and how Phu melted over time was sweet.
So basically this was a SWEET BUT KINDA BORING drama. Towards the end, last few episodes I skipped most of the parts and only watched to know how the story ends. It's watchable but won't re-watch.

Lire davantage

Cute and Light, then ruined at the end

I’ll start with the obvious that most people will bring up, this is not groundbreaking storytelling. It’s not particularly deep even though the themes in it should be treated with depth. This is mostly passable writing and inoffensive acting by much of the cast (some are much better).

Despte all this, I really enjoyed the series up through episode ten.

- Solo is a very awkward, reserved character. You see glimpses of him open up but then he shuts back down. that makes sense to me. However sometimes he’s downright wooden with how inexpressive he is. (note: Nut who plays Solo is a much better actor currently in Pit Babe so I’m not sure how much was him being inexperienced as an actor versus writing & direction).

- Gui is kind to a fault, to the point where it’s difficult to know when he’s genuinely giving someone attention or just being kind like he is to everyone. From the synopsis I expected this to be much more of a sunshine character than he turned out to be. This is NOT a sunshine x closed off pairing. I liked the actor’s portrayal, but I had the same issue I had with Solo of him coming off too rigid and awkward.

- Solo & Gui as a pair are cute. I really did like them and that’s not entirely my high key fanboying of Nut as an adorable human. However I have complaints below.

- Kao is easily my favorite (and likely objectively best) character in the serious. He manages to be persistent and doggedly chase the guy he wants without the constant boundary violating that you usually see in these types of characters. He is sweet and expressive, continually testing the limits to see how much Phu will let him get away with without ever pushing it to territory that makes Phu genuinely uncomfortable or unhappy.

- Phu is cold. He’s distant. He’s got Fort Knox levels of security on his emotions. This is the guy you study to learn what stoic is. But you get these little glimpses (not just when he smiles, which Kao excitedly points out every time) of affectionate reactions to things Kao does or says. He says Kao is annoying but it’s like he’s using “annoying” as a stand in for what he really means because he’s clearly never annoyed with him. Given what an unrmotive, quiet character this is, you never wonder how he really feels.

- Phu & Kao … let’s face it, they kind of steal the spotlight. Their relationship moves much more slowly but feels more solid and intimate than Solo and Gui’s, if I’m being honest. It’s almost impossible to not root for them.

- Kao, Jedi and Beer: the best wingmen and friends ever! This show has some High Level friending going on with these three!

Beer often tells Gui what he needs to hear, not what he wants to hear. and When Gui doesn’t really listen and Beer thinks he needs to he is not afraid of, uh, making a more illustrative point.

Kao & Jedi are always backup and support. Hello, locking the rival in the bathroom so your friend can sneak around to get time with his crush? A+ effort and execution! I wish we saw more of Jedi in the series, honestly. The trio of Solo, Kao and Jedi is great and I adore this friendship dynamic.

- The Fujoshi mess. This was basically, what, like a love rhombus? We start with Perth liking Petch but he clearly gets fed up and hurt enough that he gets over that crush during the series. Petch winds up liking Khim (while Perth likes him and he’s oblivious). Khim’s little brother Khem winds up liking Petch while he sneaks around using Perth and Khem as photos for a fake crush so he can fuel his real crush, Khim’s, fujoshi dreams.

This whole situation was right on track to be a complete mess. It wound up as a blip of a mess and then sort of just got swept up and set off to the side. Khim forgave Petch way too easily for lying to get and using her brother, who she is fiercely protective of. Khem got over being indirectly led on super quickly. Petch wasn’t very likable once he got into using people. I would have preferred this whole storyline not exist, honestly. I also wish we could have followed Perth, an actual gay character in a BL series, rather than Petch, a fake gay character.

And then we get to the train wreck of the last three episodes. (the fujoshi rhombus also came to its messy and anticlimactic conclusion during these episodes)

- Did we really need Linda, the bitchy fake fiancé who was determined to land herself a man who clearly didn’t want her? I’m so over this trope.

- We NEVER get any explanation why the head of the admin dept, Pat, took it upon himself to transfer an ENGINEERING major to his department. Who does this? To our knowledge he didn’t know Gui was dating Solo when this switch was made but maybe he supposedly did. Even if he did know, the guy isn’t majoring in any related field. Why would you set him up for failure like that? He wanted to train Gui himself? What training?!

- Gui’s lack of backbone infuriated me. You don’t wanna tell Solo someone fucked with you and transferred your dept for your internship when you are there for your future CAREER not because of stupid family politics with your boyfriend? Okay, fine, but stand up for yourself. Don’t just constantly say sorry and take shitth criticism when no one is showing you how to do a job you have zero training for. Grow a fucking pair!

The things I marked my raising down for:

- Solo’s literally, and very obviously abusive father. The abusive father in and of itself wouldn’t get points docked, it’s the sweep it under the rug treatment that did. He locked his adult son in his apartment without food for WEEKS? How did Solo not pass out and need medical attention?

His son was pissed that his father (he assumed) was fucking with the only person he felt loved him and his answer wasn’t to point out he hadn’t done it or state that Gui would be transferred if he requested it but hadn’t (I like to assume this would be the case since they are literally messing with the guy’s career). No, he told his son to suck it up bc Gui was. Then he locked him up.

I think Solo’s reaction both to finding out what was done to Gui and to being locked up was pretty in line with his character. He specifically told Gui neither of his parents ever loved him (which makes me wonder what his attachment to his deceased mother is). He was being kept from the only person that seemed to love him beyond friendship and that person was being set up to fail which could have cascading negative effects on Gui’s future. Solo was isolated, treated with a callousness that only served to emphasize how much his father didn’t love him or care about him. Solo being a complete wreck and reaching such a state of despondency made sense.

But in the end Solo bows to his father’s desires, goes back to work as his father wants and even says he will be a better son?!

- Gui being a complete fucking dick to Solo when he is an emotional wreck after Kao sneaks him out of his apartment and they subsequently run away together. I get the sense of what Gui was going for when he said Solo was not behaving like the person he knew and was sacrificing things for, but the delivery was tactless, insensitive and callous enough to have come from daddy rather than the boyfriend who had been caring and concerned about Solo throughout the series.

This made me so angry I thought it was going to be a hallucination but it wasn’t. Gui saw the stage Solo was in, KNOWING how love starved he was before meeting Gui, KNOWING how deep the emotional wounds he carries are and told him to suck it up because he was being a little bitch? Are you kidding me? He was IN TEARS telling you he didn’t want to be under his father’s control/manipulation anymore and you ultimately told him to go back and do what daddy says.

This is NOT the Gui I knew or that Solo loved. There were so many other ways to go about that which would have been more compassionate. I also cannot reconcile Gui simply being okay with the blatant abuse being served upon Solo for ANY reason.

- Moon’s adoption. WHAT?! You gave that horrible man another child to raise? I don’t care if it was on the basis that Moon would eventually become Solo and Gui’s son. After what we watched his father do to Solo in thr last few episodes, never mind what he likely did the rest of Solo’s life, and Solo was just happy and content to let the kid that his bf cared so much about (and that he cared about) be brought under his control?

- Jay justifying the abuse form Solo’s father by chalking it all up to how he loved Solo but is bad at expressing himself. Not to mention him dismissing all the horrible treatment as “if he really wanted to keep you two apart he would have been WAY WORSE and you’d never see Gui again.” What? I get that love makes you blind and Jay is clearly drawn to red flags, but as someone who claimed to care about Solo that was unforgivable. Justifying the abuse was just another layer of abuse.

In conclusion: Watch through episode ten and then make your own ending in your mind. It’s cute and fun until then.

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Oxygen

Sobre a história, sinceramente eu gostei muito do roteiro, mais precisamente das histórias de vida de Gui e Solo, e que apesar de ainda existir a universidade dentro da trama, ela não foi o cenário principal. Tem uma coisa que me chamou atenção no amor deles dois, foi que mesmo se tratando de um muito rico e o outro muito humilde, em nenhum momento e sob nenhum pretexto desistiram de seu amor. A parte da história entre os irmãos da cafeteria e os médicos também me deixou satisfeita (apesar de não entender como um homem pensa em conquistar uma mulher convencendo-a de que ele é gay). A única coisa que não curti foi o final entre Phu e o coelhinho, acho que eles mereciam mais, pelo menos um beijo, mas o final deles ficou em aberto pois sua história é contada na novel subsequente, "Nytrogen", que infelizmente não sei se será adaptada para a TV numa possível segunda temporada, espero que sim.
Com relação à atuação, eu não conhecia a maioria dos atores e não dou nota 10, mas posso dar um 9,0.
A ost me encantou, e eu passei a gostar ainda mais do Solo quando vi que ele é o cantor, e sim, recomendo essa série, eu já vi duas vezes e veria de novo.

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Belle le canzoni, ma la storia e i personaggi propio non funzionano

Ho deciso di guardare questa serie poiché lo sceneggiatore era lo stesso di altri drama che ho apprezzato tantissimo. Purtroppo anche i migliori sbagliano, e questo ne è un esempio perfetto. La storia - quale storia? - è noiosa, prevedibile e poco coinvolgente. Il cast solo in parte azzeccato, l'attore che interpreta Guy non è stata una scelta brillante a mio avviso. La caratterizzazione del pairing principale lascia molto a desiderare: Guy è una sorta di orsacchiotto di peluche perennemente sorridente e pronto a dispensare buoni consigli di una banalità allucinante, Solo più che starsene impalato e fissare (sguardi che non trasmettono nulla), altro non fa. Se parliamo di un personaggio volutamente taciturno, deve essere in grado di esprimere tutto il non detto in altro modo, ma non è questo il suo caso. Tra le poche cose che meritano sicuramente la coppia secondaria formata da Kao e Phu: buone le premesse, buona la chimica tra i due, ma poi la scintilla iniziale si spegne e il rapporto evolve senza trasmettere più emozioni allo spettatore, ho avuto la sensazione di seguire con attenzione una bella bolla di sapone che, ahimè, a un certo punto è inspiegabilmente scoppiata. L'unica nota davvero davvero positiva riguarda la musica: le canzoni sono indubbiamente molto belle.

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It was fluffy and cute...not that memorable though

I just wanted to write a short review on this. It was a really nice fluffy little bl, but one that you should watch if you're bored and have loads of extra time on hand. I almost dropped it a few times because a lot of scenes were kinda bland, but dedication kept me on it.

I liked SoloGui. Solo's dedication to Gui was endearing, and so was Gui's. They were even willing to run away for their relationship. The OST was, idk how to explain it, annoying but rly catchy. I finished watching this weeks ago and I still hum to myself, "You're my oxygeeeeeennn..."

PhuKao were so adorable. The bunny thing had me kinda weirded out, but it was lovely in the end. They were the only couple that didn't have any drama. Their relationship was pure fluff (pun intended.)

Dr. Petch was just a headache. Like I can't tell you how many times I wanted to reach through the screen and smack him. Like he was just SO oblivious to everything. He hurt like, everyone. Perth, Khim, and Khem. Whenever he came on screen I got annoyed. I'd like to know if PerthKhem ended up together, like it was hinted at in the end. The whole PetchKhimPerthKhem storyline was so disappointing.

In case my review is confusing, it's cute and fluffy overall, but some episodes were really boring. The most memorable thing was the OST.

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