2gether The Series (2020)

Warning BL CLICKBAIT, played more like a Bromance

I was in total disbelief when i saw Tine crying before the end of the penultimate episode. WHY WOULD HE cry like that? Way to go from being Mr Chic to becoming a confused little sissy.

The problem is I see this a lot in Thai dramas - the one main lead gets jealous of the other main lead when he sees him kissing or hugging another guy (or girl). There will be no talking, just the couple breaking up. It is just lazy writing, cant they think of other ways to create drama for their series?

I blame the show's weakness on the story, the script and the directing. This one started out strong - 2 alpha males fake dating and falling inlove. Although Tine was a typical Thai BL character of a 'straight boy' loving a guy, I liked the fact that Sarawat was always a guy who likes a guy and never pretended to like a girl.

What happened in the later episodes were somewhat of a mess - after they became 2gether and lived in the same flat, the editing and jumping from one scene to next just happened way too fast in an attempt to give us more story from the source material. There was also lack of real conflict to further develop and create a mature story. There was also obviously a conscious effort not show a lot of couple emotions and activities. Its like watching 2 bros living together. What i think the series needed is 2 to 3 more episodes to better tell the story.

However, despite all the flaws, cliches and shortcomings, I still immensely enjoyed it.

First, the cast. Win and Bright - definite eye candies however may need a bit of acting workshop. I love Frank and Drake and i think they have relegated them to a very minor supporting role- i keep wishing they used them more, Mike and Toptap, Gun, and even the friends did a good job. Without The 4 main lead i would have dropped this series midway.

Second, the music - this is probably the Thai series with the best choice for music, i loved the opening and end songs, and i loved the songs they used within the show.

Would i rewatch it, i would initially say yes, but after careful considerations i think ill just move on to the extension series. If you are new to the BL genre, this may be a fun watch, just keep in mind that it is definitely not the best drama.

Lire davantage

How to Ruin Something in 3 episodes

I wrote this as a way to empty myself rather than anything else. Everyone’s taste and perspective is different so I have never made an effort to convince someone to like or not like anything. And I also debated a lot on whether to post it or not. But since I already wrote it, what the heck… This is a description of how a perfect 9.5 rating peddled itself into a 7.
Now I’m going to be honest, I feel some unexplainable attachment to N’Bright. Sort of maternal. I don’t know why, maybe because he’s the same age as my baby sister and my protectiveness for her is transferred, maybe because I can sense some vulnerability behind his aloofness? I don’t know, let’s leave that to the therapists to untangle that web. But the point I wanted to make before I went down the path of self-analysis and discovery is, my biased feelings also flowed down to the character which meant I tend to gloss over some issues either with the show or the actor. Don’t say I wasn't upfront about it.

Where to start; the actors?
N'Bright - Besides his good looks they say he brings all he's got to the set. I do like his acting. Although admittedly when I first saw the cast interview before the series aired, my first impression was, this is not going to be challenging for this guy. Character and his own personality seem to be too similar.
I found his strength to be when he is playing the seemingly cold, detached, flirty, cute, shameless parts of his character. His biggest weakness would be sad scenes. He squints. Basically, that’s it. I found that in scenes where I should have been more inclined to empathize with his character instead I felt disconnected. These are the scenes specially where Win has outshined him.
N'Win – I don’t even know where to start about our breakout star. It is hard to imagine that this is his first role. I guess some things just come natural to some people. When he is playing the mash up of legally blonde and clueless, I kept thinking, “this guy would make a damn good villain”. That is a testament to his ability in convincing me that he is a talent that should not be underestimated. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t have areas to work on but for a first run, he hit it out of the park.

The Plot

If you’re looking for a series to tackle serious issues, with intricate plots and multi-faceted characters you won’t find it here. This was a very straightforward simple unoriginal plot. What I like about the series was that particular fact. It never tried to be more than what it was; which is the equivalent of a chick-flick. It is a simple story of two people falling in love. It wasn’t a question of will-they-won’t-they but rather WHEN will-they. The trill was watching the chase and the fluff unfold until the expected happy ending arrives.
Whatever minor faults could be forgiven as long as it delivered what I needed; which was an uncomplicated entertaining love story.
Tine’s oblivion to his fake boyfriends real flirting, and Sarawat’s one step advance one step retreat was what excited me, asking will Tine realize in this episode or the next episode that his fake boyfriend is actually in love with him.
The choppy editing and some of the directing mishaps can quickly be dismissed. Why spend over analyzing something simple that wasn’t trying to be more than what it is, I told myself.
When people pointed out the scene with Sarawat getting beat up was unnecessary, I said no they are trying to show Tine who only saw Sarawat’s popularity, that there was another side to his life. A not so pretty side that Tine was oblivious to. For some who don’t believe boys would punch someone because their girlfriend liked their IG, I’d like to counter with my own experience with stupid, where in college I had a close friend who’s boyfriend regularly gets into a fist fight with any man who made eye contact with his girlfriend (no I’m not exaggerating, going to clubs or bars was definitely a stressful situation when my friend and her boyfriend joined us) But I digressed again, I was trying to say that I can come up with any explanation or excuse for a scene that may come off less than perfect.

The Problem

Then episode 10 happened. The first couple of minutes showed us what we have been waiting for. Finally! Tine realized his feelings and accepted Sarawat and they are now a couple. So, what comes next? Of course, the honeymoon phase! Where we are going to witness firsthand these two people we have been cheering on for 9 episodes, go on a date. We are going to see Sarawat who shamelessly flirted his way into Tine heart, is as a boyfriend. We are going to see how awkward, shy Tine is with his first boyfriend and watch him fall deeply in love ugh so romantic hu… NO! That’s not what happened. What we got was a fast transition from “we’re boyfriends” to “we are cohabitating” in a matter of 15 minutes. If it was just the cohabitation, I wouldn’t be so bitter. What they went into is from flirting and making eyes at each other to bromance territory. I mean they were one chest bump away from turning into two white frat boys “dude”! In a matter of 15 minutes the spark that had carried us for 9 episodes started fizzling out in front of my eyes. Man and Boss should ask for refund on that bouquet of condoms. But I moved on, I declared it the weakest episode, which was bound to come along in any series.
Episode 11 busted in with the Halloween special. I mean to this day I still can’t tell you what the thought process was that went into writing and approving that episode. The only saving grace was the last 6 minutes where we finally got to see from Sarawat’s perspective on what it was like for him when he met Tine again in ep 1. That part was cute and in perfect theme to the beginning of the series. I feel like N’Bright did his best work there. Now another milestone for this episode was Tine said “I like you too” out loud for us to hear. Now I’m no director or writer but shouldn’t this be an opportune moment to get in a kiss? Mind you, I’m not asking for tongue or exchange of saliva (I feel like I have to keep pointing out this part for some to understand) but a simple peck. Would it have killed them if Sarawat and Tine had leaned on each other or gave a back hug while they were stargazing?
But hey, let’s not get hung up on the missed opportunity here when episode 12 brought on a new bucket of mess. Ep 12 was a cast call for all clichés. You name it, it had it. Here, because of this series, I had to eat my words once again. Around ep 5/6, here on MDL I praised this series for not having negative female portrayals. One commenter pointed out that it still had “Sarawat’s fans”. I said I don’t consider them as normal females, at least we don’t have an ex or something trying to raise havoc. I guess this is why they say you shouldn’t put something out into the universe?

Why what was supposed to be a simple Hallmark drama has devolved into c-drama world with its melodrama is beyond me. Well as you’d expect, the last ep could not save the descend into the bottom with the regurgitated plots, cliched love triangle, last minute drama.
In our very last episode we got a strong montage and a character I barely recognized. I have theories, hear me out… when Sarawat broke his leg and they took him for his x-ray follow up, by any chance do you think the hospital messed up and gave him a lobotomy? Or, in the Halloween ep, did he maybe get body swapped? Guys I have over a decade worth of knowledge in this area from watching Supernatural. It could happen. And this is the only explanation that I can come up with to explain the unexplainable character personality shift. People expect you to accept that Mr. Sarawat expo, Mr. cop-a-feel even when beaten to a pulp, now gives strong shoulder hugs and high fives. Mr. I'll kiss you till you drop now gives head pats. The Sarawat, who crawled to Tine with a broken leg and wouldn’t leave his side just because Tine fainted now sees his boyfriend puking and being taken to a hospital but instead goes home for a good night sleep and a change of fresh cloth before going to see him? I mean WT actual F! To top it off, Sarwat 2.0 didn’t even say “I’m sorry” or make any effort to win Tine back or anything remotely sane but instead sang a song that he barely even finished. Man and Type showed more warmth with that hug than our main couple, who technically had just made up. To be fair, Man and Type showed more warmth than our duo in the last 3 episodes.

I have a lot more to say but I fear the only thing to be gained would be carpal tunnel. I will forever treasure you, Gunsmile and Toptap. Episodes 1-9 will be remembered fondly, especially since as far as I'm concerned this series ended after the first 15 minutes of episode 10. I loved, loved everything about the music. Thank you for that.

And at last, I will dedicate a verse from one of my favorite song to it:

“it could have been love, but it’s over now;
It could have been good, but we lost it somehow”

Lire davantage

"stomp my heart
lather it with peri peri powder
make me choke
but god let me be damned
don't make a shitty ending"
- yoonthethicc at 3:38 am

the way this started off so well... us being thrilled about this fake dating deal the main leads had going on, how the pre-dating part where we were actually feeling the chemistry ohmygoD the chemiSTRY SHE WAS EXISTENT BREATHING SHE HAD A LIFE Y'ALL

*pause* okay before i combust let me tell you guys how i love sarawatine's friend groups
-oh to be tine and have fong as my friend (plus points for good advices like tF i want that shit)
-oh to be sarawat and have man and boss (nothing feels as good as having supportive chaotic idiots running about and giving you and your partner smug faces)

*resume* tHE FREAKIBG FLASHBACKS GOD FORBID I GET THAG I'M NOT THE BRIGHTEST TOOL IN THE SHED BUT I'M PRETTY SURE I RRMEMBER THESE SCENES PRETTY WELL

WHY DIDN'T SARAWAT JUST TELL PAM THA- what i'm trying to say is that sarawat didn't make any sense in episode 12 y'Know what episode 12 and 13 didn't make sense but i can't make myself to get mad that it's a cliche bc gosh damn it i'M frustrated okay?

how episode 12 could've been resolved:
-sarawat introduces tine as his boyfriend to Pam
-sarawatine sit both their asses down to talk about their insecurities in their relationship
-sarawat makes it clear to pam that there's absolutely no way of them getting back together
-a kiss in part 4 at the beginning when sarawat says smth about tine being his and his only (we're robbed and that's the truth)
-type sitting his ass down in that scooter thing (wtf are vehicles) with man and we get a clip of them smiling and shit
-mil going to the bleachers to talk to phukong

my problem with the ending is that it just there was no proper resolution to the conflict that happened?? we just got flashbacks of sarawatine and boom tine is there cheering for sarawat like dude.... you cried buckets for this... you could've cleared a drought dang it

it almost felt like i watched an ending to those bad romcom movies..... awesome ost tho ahaha

Lire davantage

First half of this series? Fantastic. Fun. Hilarious. Solid.
Second half of this series? Lazy. Cookie-cutter. Overloaded with tropes.

I've had a few days to think about my feelings in regards to 2gether and I have a lot, but I'm going to quickly summarize some of my main thoughts here.

#1: Tine's sexuality
This was the biggest let down for me in this series. Throughout the series there's definitely a few hints that Tine could be bisexual. He clearly finds women attractive, but he doesn't seem all that turned off at the thought of dating a man or being in love with one. I felt that this series could've really delved into bisexuality instead of keeping with the Straight Or Gay tropes that often exist in BL.

Furthermore - I think exploring Tine's sexuality more would've really given a basis to the severe lack of couple-like affection between him and Sarawat. And I'm not talking NSFW scenes or make outs or even just soft kisses - I'm talking the fact that they high-fived at the end of the series when a hug would've been nice. Or just SOMETHING to show us that they're more than just Bros. Because even after episode 13, I'm not convinced that they "love" one another or even like each other that way; it just feels like good friends that live together.

But had the show explored Tine grappling with his sexuality (as a bisexual or if they wanted, a gay man) - it would've made a lot of sense why he wasn't too affectionate with Sarawat or was unsure of showing that affection. It's hard to grapple with your own sexuality much less be openly affectionate with that person. But Tine didn't seem at all bothered by people knowing they were together and that he loves Sarawat (and vise versa). So why so little affection? Why take that element away?

Which brings me to letdown #2: Affection.
Like I said earlier -- I don't need NSFW scenes or even kisses in a romance to feel that there's a connection. I also think Bright and Win are great actors that conveyed a lot of their emotions through expressions and their eyes. However, the only "slice of life" element we got was the montage of scenes after they moved in together. After that, it was mostly shoulder hugging and staring at one another. I really don't remember a time when they held hands, and I don't remember them kissing after they started dating (and the kisses before that were all Sarawat - Tine didn't react).

I just think that there didn't seem to be a point to them moving in together because it didn't really bring any growth to their relationship. They didn't have slice of life moments or sweet talks in bed or breakfast chats - it was more or less the same, but now the writers could bring Type into the picture. It all just felt a little unnecessary and rushed.

#3: Use of women and Mil
Literally -- the use of them. Throughout the series they're used to place wedges between Sarawat and Tine. This just felt lazy to me, and Pam was the most lazy plot line they could've come up with. It didn't even last more than a full episode and it had no real result other than Sarawat and Tine getting back together. If they're going to go with this trope, I would've liked to see more growth and a longer time apart for them both. Also - Mil just get over Tine. Stop. The whole addition of Mil to it felt unnecessary. There was no chemistry there and I still have no idea why Mil liked Tine. Someone please explain what I missed there lol.

Overall - I'm just underwhelmed. I really enjoyed this in the beginning. I thought Bright and Win had good chemistry, and I was binge-watching all of the episodes up until 9. But after watching the last few episodes as they've released, I've found myself less and less excited and more disappointed. Maybe my expectations were too high. Idk. If there's a season 2 I'll watch it, but I can't say that I'm particularly looking forward to more of the same.

Lire davantage

The best example of how something that has a great start ends up being a disappointment.

The first part of the drama (episodes 1-7) is one of the best examples of how a BL must be done. Tine is an extrovert, funny and naive guy that charms everyone with his charisma. Sarawat is mysterious and silent guy who seems to have interest of Tine. Characters plan to fake-dating to make Tine's stalker stay away from him. The chemistry between them is obvious here, thay have tender and funny moments. If the drama had ended here they would have a sound 10 and it would be considered the best BL ever made (along with Sotus)

Then the second part (episodes 8-13) happens.
It's a new stage of the drama.,Tine and Sarawat decide to make the relationship official so the pace of the series should be different, and it is... in a very disappointing way.
Tine who was always smiling and telling jokes turnssuddenly into a insecure man and a crying mess, he was happier when he was single. They turned him in a strereotyped damless in distress (or worse, an uke) who needs to be saved. And Sarawat who was completely sure about his love for Tine doesn't ease his partner insecurities. He lets misunderstandings happen around him without moving a finger until it's too late.

Even the actors (Win and Bright) seem to have lost their spark and their awesome chemistry. I can't believe they kiss more when they were not dating than when they were. And no, i'm not saying I need a make out session but at least i would like to see love between them.
I thought I was seeing two flatmates instead of two lovers.

On the whole I would say that if you're gonna watch this, do it... until episode 7, then drop it and pretend that everything that comes next doesn't exist at all. I bet your imagination can do much better than the lazy writing of the second part.

Lire davantage

This started strong then ended in huge disappointment. After all, the series is way too overrated.

First is the stage of editing, editing, transiting things. I don't know how good the director is, but it seems that his style of film making doesn't suit me. He made Puppy Honey and Kiss Me Again before and I don't like his vibe either, so here I am confirming that. His method of filming made me really uncomfortable. I didn't rate the music higher because I feel extremely annoyed by some background music in the series. It is not reasonable according to the storyline.

Secondly, the screenwriting team ruined the whole movie. With such chemistry, storyline and characters from the novel like that, the movie would be better if they kept the original spirit. Yet no, the writer's team acted as if they didn't want it. The scene was chaotic, unreasonable, messy. Characters are still serious OOC. In episodes 12-13, the character of Sarawat is even distorted, I couldn't realize he was Sarawat in the previous eps of the film. Even in the last episode, I only feel like 50% of Sarawat returned.

Thirdly, it is the acting. I'm not saying the acting of this movie is bad overall, just a few actors that made me surprised. The scene could have been acted like this and that but the way they acted made me feel like oh what they are doing. Perhaps this is also due to the director's direction, yet it is still kinda in poor quality.

Fourthly, I know that kissing doesn't matter, yet for such a film like this and the drama created in ep12, they should have kissed each other when reconciling, or at least a sentimental hug, but hell no, they did nothing. After they moved in together in ep10, they almost lost their spark, everything afterward seems forced and the characters are seriously out of context.

I was a huge fan at first, but my love for this decreases day by day. In general, although the novel is great and funny, cute. Although I like the character of Sarawat terrifically, although I like Tine portrayed by Win and like Win himself (his quality, his effort, his acting, his cuteness), I still had better be honest with my emotion and feeling. This series is only 4.0 to me overall.

Lire davantage

The story in general was nice and there were some funny and some sweet moments I really loved. I liked the first half of the series, which to me felt less rushed and much more romantic than the other half. The actors were nice to look at and believable, and I especially liked the character of Man (except for the stalking part). I appreciate the music that was used throughout the series, because it featured more songs than just the theme one as is usual in other series. Now I know a little more about Thai music, which is great. I am afraid I am out of the positives now.

As for the negatives, I don't think each scene was really thought through, especially in the second half of the season. So we had an episode with Type playing an evil brother (and I don't really believe his character was like this), then we have the field trip, then Pam - in the first half, everything's happening at the university, there aren't really new characters, there are no trips, and the development of the relationship between Sarawat and Tine works really nice. You can clearly see Sarawat fell head over heals for Tine and is only shyly trying to show him that, while Tine is slowly falling in love as well, first without noticing... it's slow, it's believable, and it is really sweet. Than this happens, that happens, Type arrives, Pam arrives... and while Tine knows perfectly well that he loves Sarawat and that Sarawat loves him and didn't really get any reasons to doubt it, he throws everything away at the first sign of a girl on the scene? Well, perhaps it is because they weren't really boyfriends in the first place, were they? No kisses, sleeping on one bed as friends would do. Real holding hands when together? No. They are what, nineteen years old boys? Somehow I really doubt two guys of that age in love with each other would act like that.
I get that the series was aimed on younger audience than, for example, TharnType, so I might not even mind the practically non-existent PDAs (although it really was more of a bromance than a love story). There's one thing I don't get, though: Younger audience, huh? So as I understand based on this series...
Things that cannot be shown to younger audience:
- sober loving kisses,
- saying each other "I love you",
- spooning each other in normal bed (and not just on a couch behind your brother's back).
Things that are perfectly fine for younger audience to see:
- getting so drunk you forgot what you've been doing last night (and regularly drinking hard in general)
- kissing the person you love only while drunk as hell
- beating someone because your girlfriend liked his photo
- getting your boyfriend drunk so you can ask him questions he wouldn't feel comfortable answering
- stalking (I loved the ManType couple, they were really cute together, but omg if anyone followed me like this, I'd be furious)
- beating your boyfriend so he's scared of you, than saying sorry and everything's just fine. You can even slap him in public from time to time, no big deal (Dim & Green - what the f?)
- taking a cellphone of the other person without permission, posting on their profile, searching through their media (Sarawat and Tine both)

It's not a problem that these things are shown - they happen in real life, and youngsters might just as well know about them in advance. The problem is that they have zero bad consequences. The person you stalked? Not only he never really says it's inappropriate. He starts to miss you. You are regularly drunk to the point of being unable to walk - no problem. Someone just puts you to bed, no big deal. You beat your boyfriend? He loves you anyway and everyone around you is ok with it. In TharnType, lots of fans were criticizing the lack of consent in several scenes between Tharn and Type - but there were at least some consequences. In here? Zero. So the young audience can learn that you can stalk someone just because you like him, but kissing your boyfriend, that's the real tabu here. IDK whether it's a western thing, but I do not like this a bit.

Lire davantage

it started out great - i was certain it could climb up to be one of my favourites this year but god this drama really ruined itself.

BIG BAD:
- who decided on these last scripts?? so much unnecessary, undeveloped and unreasonable angst between the main couple in the later episodes. honestly it just took out the enjoyment for me. the ending, the whole plot line for the main couple turned out to be surprisingly shallow and lazy.
- putting in female characters just for what exactly? certainly not to be their own developed, interesting characters.
SMALL BAD:
- in the beginning the chemistry between the main couple was... awesome! later i just didn't feel it. ironic since i imagine getting together should bring more fluff or something...
- this drama went from me being excited over every new episode and rewatching the previous episodes to me not being able to tolerate it sober bc it's such a shitshow. i'm sorry for being crude - i just don't know how to express my disappointment otherwise.

SMALL GOOD:
- the relationship between man and type. look at this direct communication and conversations about feelings to avoid stupid misunderstandings - beautiful. they got a few episodes but their development was so much more rational than that of the main couple.
- i did like the friendships of this show. thank god they did not throw that in the trash like they did with the main couple.
BIG GOOD:
- the soundtrack. quite nice. :)

Lire davantage

Well, no one died-so there's that

I don't even know what is going on with GMM. They find these amazing dramas and between them, the directors and the writers they use, they mess everything up. I was so excited for this drama. The first couple of episodes were good and then it went down hill.

I love Bright and Win, but I'm going to say I don't love them together. There was very little chemistry between them. We know in real life they have chemistry, the get along. We've seen the behind the scenes footage and the photoshoots. What I wanted was for some of that to make its way into the show.

Each time I decided to drop the show, they hit me with small, moments to give me hope, then back to the sadness of a drama going off the trails. Like that sweet moment they had after the fight where Tine took care of Wat after the ambush-- 2 seconds later, Tine leaves his friend, who is hurt, to walk home alone. I mean, who does that?

They wasted the whole Mike/Type storyline. There was so much potential there. We know Mike can act...he is one of the actors who basically saved Theory of love for me so what the hell was this?

Lets not even get started with Frank and Drake because nobody got time for that mess.

I was so disappointed. Its like GMM isn't even trying anymore and that's frustrates the hell out of me. I feel like they don't want to do BL anymore and is trying irritate the fans into not watching.

Ugh... Just ugh

Lire davantage

Hits all the right spots for me

Despite not having a strikingly original story, 2gether manages to hit all the right spots for me as a wonderful BL.

The premise of the story probably does not sound like something that would immediately draw one into watching the series: Tine asks Sarawat to pretend to be his boyfriend so that he (Tine) can shake off a guy (Green) who is chasing him relentlessly. Of course they fall in love for real--what else do you expect? Never mind that Tine is straight; anyone who knows even just a little about BL knows that in the world of BL, any cute straight guy can fall in love with another guy and be totally devoted to him.

The series is surprisingly good though. Apart from the BL element, the story can be rather hilarious as a lighthearted comedy. Very often, scenes that are otherwise possibly quite dull turn out to be rather engaging. In the scene where Tine tries to learn how to play the guitar using an app, for instance, his friends promise to be with him and not fall asleep only (of course) to end up falling asleep--one of them is even apparently using another friend's butt as a pillow.

The character, Green, appears to be one of those exaggerated effeminate characters brought in just for comic effect. But I'm glad that, given his pivotal role in bringing Tine and Sarawat together, there is actually more to him. Yes, his mannerisms seem over the top, but who is to say that such people don't exist? The important thing is that he is not brought in merely for comic effect but is given more attention and sensitive treatment that countless other such characters I have seen in Thai BLs.

The dynamics between the main characters are interestingly portrayed. Although there are viewers who joke that Tine must be really dumb not to realize that Sarawat is totally in love with him, I think he senses something quite early on but simply isn't sure. It's also obvious that his attraction to Sarawat starts quite early on although the character may not realize it. I think the first time it becomes rather obvious for us is when he watches Sarawat sing a song in the latter's room, but even the scene in which Sarawat agrees to be his fake boyfriend is rather telling. The sheer happiness in both their faces suggests something much more than just an agreement to pretend to be a couple, and Tine totally looks like someone he likes has agreed to be his boyfriend for real.

The scriptwriters have done a rather good job in showing Sarawat's love for Tine even before it's directly revealed. It is confirmed only later in the series that Sarawat has already fallen in love with Tine when he saw Tine for the first time at a concert, even before they meet in the university. This means that when Tine keeps bugging Sarawat to pretend to be his boyfriend, Sarawat is already in love with him. Some find it strange that Sarawat would appear hostile to Tine and keep calling Tine a nuisance since he is in love with Tine. But we see what Sarawat is thinking in one scene where Tine asks him to pretend to be his boyfriend,explaining that Green has been pestering him, To Tine's dismay, Sarawat retorts that maybe he (Tine) would enjoy being pestered one day. And that's basically what Sarawat is going through: despite appearing cold towards Tine, he is secretly enjoying being pestered by Tine.

The director has also hinted at Sarawat's love for Tine early on, such as in the music club's welcome games for new members: Sarawat is characteristically uninterested in all the activities, and the only time he seems to be interested in the games is when he is paired with Tine.

He remembers the first chord he teaches Tine, he secretly keeps the guitar pick that Tine stupidly breaks into two, he pretends to lend Tine a guitar he hardly uses when he has intended to give it to Tine from the start, and he refurnishes his room because Tine says that it looks haunted, he immediately turns up with snacks for the cheerleaders when Tine complains that he is hungry. (Ok, Tine actually jokes that he would like Sarawat grab his boobs (what boobs?) if Sarawat brings him snacks, but I'm sure he would do it simply because his Tine is hungry.)

<>

Episode 12 of the series got a lot of flak for the way it introduced Pam, supposedly Sarawat's first love but more like the first person Sarawat fell in love with (for a short time) before he sees Tine. Some people were not happy with how Pam turns out to be in love with Sarawat and tries to get him to leave Tine. (In the novel, Pam is just a friend although she is the first person Sarawat is in love with.) I have not read the novel, but I find myself preferring the way the series brought the tension to a high point with a more complicated misunderstanding. (But of course, both the novel and the series may be good in their own ways. It depends on how the medium is used.)

The series is not without its flaws, to be sure. The episodes after Tine admits to his brother that Sarawat is his boyfriend do suffer from some transition problems. I may have to rewatch the episodes to be sure that this is a fair statement, but I find Tine's sense of insecurity about his relationship with Sarawat a little too suddenly. I know that the more he cherishes the relationship, the more he fears losing Sarawat, but Tine's inner world could have been explored further (without really needed many lines, really).

The last episode also had some weaknesses in editing, with cuts to the side characters being rather sudden. The editing of the flashbacks is also not always well-executed and even potentially disorienting. But these are not so severe as to affect our understanding of the story.

What is possibly more serious is how the final episode is not made to be particularly touching. It is overall still good, but the flashbacks actually have unfulfilled potential. They are not fully utilized to show how much Tine misses Sarawat after leaving him due to the misunderstanding about Pam. I'm still rather satisfied with the ending. It's just that the most memorable scenes take place from Episodes 1 - 11, and there isn't anything particularly memorable when the couple make up or after that. Tine's voiceover speaks of a relationship that stands the test of time, and I wish this had been shown more, kind of like the way Season 1 of SOTUS ends.

Although some viewers have commented that the actors seem awkward or lack chemistry and others have complained about the lack of kissing and sex scenes, I have a different opinion. I don't find the acting awkward. Win is very good as Tine, conveying Tine's latent attraction to Sarawat and confusion about his relationship with Sarawat well. The happiness he exudes when Tine is with Sarawat and the affection he has for Sarawat are remarkably conveyed without resorting to kissing to show intimacy. In Episode 11, Tine asks Sarawat if he thinks their relationship would last ten years and Sarawat says it will be more than ten years, the cautious delight on his face was naturally shown, and I can see that Tine really wants it to be true yet doesn't dare to be too happy about it because he's still feeling insecure. I think choosing an actor who looks the role may be one reason for the success, but I saw a trailer (made before the series) and Win gives markedly different vibes in the trailer.

When I wrote the first part of the review before the end of the series, I mentioned that there are two bad things I can get out of watching this series. The first is that it would leave a void when it ends (though I have to say that Episodes 1-11 contribute the most to this). The second bad thing is that it's one of the series that will remind me of a kind of relationship I can only wish for but never have.

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