Second Chance (2021)

Petite douceur trop courte pour s'en satisfaire pleinement

Six épisodes pour trois couples... Cela suffit à savoir qu'il ne faudra pas s'attendre à grand chose au niveau du développement - tant sur l'intrigue que sur le portrait des personnages.
Les trois couples sont mignons, mais seul celui de Tong Fah et Paper a retenu mon attention. D'une certaine façon, je n'avais pas envie de donner trop d'effort pour les deux autres. Pourquoi ? Peut-être parce que Tong Fah et Paper était le couple principal et qu'avec seulement six épisodes à la carte, le temps d'écran allait être difficillement équitable pour chacun d'eux. Tout comme leur intrigue était, à mes yeux, la plus intéressante.

Second Chance est un court BL qui reste plutôt sobre et mignon. Il délivre de belles émotions, mais manque de matière pour me donner le sentiment d'être pleinement satisfaite. C'est un énième BL thaï avec des acteurs convaincants pour la plupart. Cependant, il délivre un joli message. Celui de croire en la vie malgré les peines et les tristesses.

Je termine avec cette ligne : « Une personnage qui regarde le ciel la nuit est une personne qui se sent seule. »

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Sweet and Understated

STORY:
Though this drama doesn't really bring anything new to the table in terms of story, it has a sweet, understated vibe to it that made for an enjoyable watch. And while it premiered in 2021, I felt like I was watching something from five or six years ago, but the warm feelings of nostalgia were nice and comforting. Second Chance brings not the annoying ex-girlfriends, obnoxious fujoshis, and slapstick sound effects that seem to inundate more recent Thai BLs and instead takes us back to that feeling of discovering one's self and one's first love in the midst of emerging adulthood.

There are three main stories here: Paper and Tong Fah, Chris and Jeno, and Near and M, with the main focus being on the first two. I do think the writers were ambitious in attempting to deliver so many plots given the number of episodes, and, as much as I adore Near and the actor who plays him, I agree with others who said that his and M's storyline could have been left out due to the miniscule amount of screen time and development, in favor of advancing the other couples' plot lines. But that said, although some parts of this drama felt rushed and/or underdeveloped (and at times I felt like I had missed something), there wasn't a lot of filler fluff, and I do think the writers tried to devote every minute they could to advancing something, for which I'm appreciative.

I also just need to point out that the scene in episode three where Tong Fah and Paper are dancing in one of their bedrooms is one the best I've seen in a BL. So raw and vulnerable—got me all in the feels—and I applaud the actors in evoking those emotions.

ACTING/CAST:
The cast overall did a nice job portraying their characters, some better than others, but none were terrible. Each character was charming in his or her own way. Even the antagonist was devilishly alluring and made me really intrigued to know his (and Jeno's) backstory. The actors had good chemistry with one another, both as friends and love interests, and there was a natural ease about their interactions with one another.

OVERALL:
Do I recommend? Yes, totally. It's short and sweet and hearkens back to the BL days of old which was (perhaps surprisingly) a nice break from the more loud and chaotic Thai BLs we've been seeing lately. This gives me vibes of Love Sick and I Told Sunset About You (note, for the latter, I said vibes, not production quality, so don't compare it on that end lol), and if you're a fan of those and the feelings they give you, I think you might like Second Chance.

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