Second Chance (2021)

Boring but Cute

This series was really cute and just unbelievably slow. I watched the entire show in 2x because I just could not sit through each of those scenes.

MUISC—

Not memorable in the slightest but wasn’t horrible so 👍🏾


STORY—

I mean let’s be real there’s no actual plot other than these 3? Couples trying to find their way. The first Main couple Paper and Sky had the best chemistry of the three couples of course. I’ve seen Tong is a few series before this one so I’m familiar with his work, but I have not seen anything from Fluke until this show and lord may I say GOOD JOB TO THAT MAN. He gave everything that was meant to be given.

The second couple Jeno and Chris were also pretty cute I guess. They focused more on the bully plot line if the show with this couple and like it wasn’t horrible. I see a lot of the comments saying “ATTENTION TO BULLYING” and tbh I felt like they skimmed over and brushed of a lot of the reality that comes with bullying and abusive relationships just to try and give the show some drama (but that’s just my opinion) . The actor that played Chris was a delight through the entire show I love him unconditionally and forever though I felt that he I could have been portrayed better he kinda just seemed like an ass up until the last 2 eps.

Couple number 3 I low key forgot about them until they popped up again. And I know they aren’t like a main couple but honestly the show could have done without them and gave us a little more screen some for Paper and Sky since we didn’t get much fluff outta them once they got together.

ACTING—

Like I said 10/10 for Fluke and The actor that played Chris ( I can’t remember his name) there wasn’t a since moment from either one of them I have to complain about. Thong was great too so kudos to him.

Episode 3 when they are Sky’s room dancing was 100/10 the best scene in the whole show. It was the little things that Fluke did that added so much more intimacy and emotion to their scenes together. The lingering hand touches and stares, the shaky breather filled with anxiety yet relief we he kisses Paper for the first time. The way Sky clenches at his shirt I’m heartache when his feelings aren’t reciprocated. That same breath of relief when Paper kisses him in the last episode but this time is feels different.

I was just really impressed with Flukes performance. He made a fan out of me immediately
I will say they did make me feel a little bad for the bully and the very last second.

Long story short if you’re into slow burn romance and don’t really care for an actual plot this is the show for you.

Lire davantage

not bad not great

ngl i was so confused in the first eps about Jeno and Near but things cleared up in ep 2 thats when i realised they are different guys lol
this serie isnt bad but i enjoyed the first half more than the second one, acting is not bad, kissing scenes are good, i think the only thing that i didnt enjoy much is the pacing, in the first few eps it was good but later on it felt a bit too slow and some drama scenes there didnt look necessary its like it was there just to make it longer thats why i wished the drama issues were a bit different or get solved faster, maybe something more convincing,it felt a bit plain, it miss a spark, it miss something that keep it interesting, it doesnt necessary mean that its bad i know some people who love simple cute shows so i understand that.
the characters that looked attractive to me are Chris, M and Arthur. because Arthur even if he is a villain he at least gave some tension in this serie

Lire davantage

Meh

Chances are (pardon the pun), if you've seen one BL from Thailand, you have seen Second Chance as well.

Second Chance was a six-episodes short series filled with all imaginable clichés you can find in lakorns, BL or non-BL. It revolves around the theme of forgiveness, begging for a second shot at a relationship that never came into fruition (hence the title, "Second Chance").

We start off with our two leads, Paper and Sky, fighting over a misunderstanding in a scene that is very reminiscent of Dark Blue Kiss, with the latter being pushed into a pool in reckless abandon. While I have to admit that the pool scene was filmed very well, I can't help but wonder: Thais love filming underwater, don't they? Seems like the creator of this series tore several pages off Dark Blue Kiss's book.

And then we get that big ol' flashback: we see Paper and Sky being the best of friends, both ranked top of the class, both with great ambitions for their future. They have grown up together as best friends but, in the Thai BL universe, no two seemingly straight guys can remain best friends forever.

We now get to see that basketball scene --- a game that elevated Paper and Sky's relationship into a new level after falling on each other's faces when one of them lost his footing. Sigh. This kind of scene again? I could swear these lakorn creators have run out of ideas. We get the usual 5 seconds of silence as the two boys stare at each other's eyes, and as they picked themselves up from the floor, they just knew from that moment that their friendship will never be the same.

Then enters the third guy in their circle: the overzealous yet directionless Chris. Apparently he's been a long friend of Paper and Sky yet he totally has no clue that either of his friends could be gay. Hmmm, where have I heard that concept before? Ah yes, in about 95% of the Thai BLs I've watched. If Paper and Sky borrows plenty of elements from Dark Blue Kiss, the story of Chris is a watered-down ripoff of another beloved yet questionable Thai BL, Love by Chance. You see, on the outset, there's no reason for us to suspect that Chris is also gay. He's ready to rumble, goes to a Muay Thai studio every week, being the joker in his circle of friends, etc. But for some reason, he is charmed head over heels by Jeno, a shy gay schoolmate who is being chased non-stop by bullies. Do you see now the resemblance with Love by Chance?

Chris is basically a carbon copy of Ae yet is light years behind him when it comes to being physically, emotionally and (possibly) sexually abusive to his partner. Disgusting little creep. Anyway with that being said, I could describe Chris as a much improved version of Ae as I have never seen him harm nobody. He truly loves Jeno, but for reasons that have never been made clear to the audience.

Similarly, Jeno is an improved version of Love by Chance's Pete in the sense that he actually does something to defend himself from his bullies. Funny enough, Jeno's bully is also a carbon copy of Pete's bully as they both literally disappear mid-season, leaving no proper conclusion to their plotline. One thing that confuses me about Jeno is that his personality makes a complete 180-degree turn literally the day after signing up for Muay Thai classes. From weak and bashful, he suddenly became brash and snobbish. I wonder what happened during his first session?

We also have this weird plotline involving a third pair. M and Near are working in a boardgame cafe being frequented by the Paper/Sky/Chris gang. I have to say that this subplot is the one truly original contribution of Second Chance to the BL universe as it introduces a concept we've never heard of (so far) --- about two guys catfish-ing each other. While keeping their identities hidden, M and Near falls for each other through an online game. Yet their story suffers from one of the lousiest writing I have seen. Similar to Paper/Sky and Chris/Jeno, there was zero development in these characters' arcs.

Outside of these three subplots, there's also this annoying supporting female character that is just so fucking corny.

I wonder why the comments and reviews are praising this little "gem" when there is little to be praised about it. Acting is subpar (though I'd admit that Mawin and Run, who played Chris and Jeno, were quite good), writing is lazy, and there literally is only one score in its entire soundtrack (that guitar strum is repetitive/annoying AF). But surely there is something to see here, right? Well yes, if you are a hardcore fujoshi who gets off at seeing guys making out, Fluke and Tong (playing Paper and Sky) had an intense makeout sesh at the middle of the series. Right off the bat I would say it was one of the hottest kisses I have seen in Thai BLs, where most leads would simply press their lips with each other and sell that off as a "kiss." But Fluke and Tong put their hearts into their big reveal apparently, showing boys (and girls) how it's done!

Overall: 2.5/10

Lire davantage

A sweet cute series to pass your time.

I have watched this series, this short series!??!? I was really in a haze of the plot. I think it's kinda digestible but there's something can be done to make it better. I love the cast especially Tong and Mawin, as well as Fluke. As you can remember three of them (Tong, Mawin and Run) came from TharnType. Their acting skills, for me, improved. Mawin's sense of humor were toned down and Tong's demeanor in TharnType is more mild than here. In this series his character clings to a somewhat dramatic spectrum of the series. Honestly, I really like Mawin here among others. He really pulled me in. Mawin and Run have a good chemistry. Although they are a chaotic couple in TharnType, in this series their togetherness is more calm and not irritating. And that's what I like. It just felt like it is where it should be. Fluke, on the other hand, is very charismatic. The way he stare at Tong it feels like he will eat him like yess tf!!

The downside of this series is that the plot is mediocre in a sense, two students being together as the show goes. I also hate the violence where a gang of three beats a student because of unreasonable shits. Yeah those are the defects of this series but after all it's good to watch and rewatch.

Lire davantage

Slow and predictable, but safe

I'm not going to lie, I really had to force myself to finish this series. The first episode throws a lot of information and plot at you and then it just really slows down after that.

So I'll just go through each category individually.

Story:

Pretty bland, milquetoast if you will. Pretty standard use of tried and true BL stereotypes and tropes. Doesn't really do much expanding on them. Nothing too out of the box, but it's fine if that's what you're wanting.

Acting/Cast:

The main male leads were all pretty good. Some of the female side characters were pretty cringe, and not really in an endearing way like I think they wanted us to see them as. My biggest gripe is who thought it was a good idea to cast two brothers (who look nearly identical) and then never explicitly state the difference in their characters (who aren't related in the show btw) and then wait until the very last episode to even put them in the same room together? I saw so many comments stating that people thought they were the same person for basically the whole show. (I could only tell them apart from their different colored book bags). Whoever decided to do this was foul.

Music:

Eh. It was fine. The main theme wasn't really anything spectacular. I don't remember any other music so it must not have been that memorable lol.

Production Value:

I swear every single Thai BL show that I have watched thus far has had bad audio mixing for at least a few scenes (if not the entire show). I'm pretty sure in the good year of our Lord 2022 that production companies should be able to afford decent microphones (or better yet quality sound engineers) There was a scene in an early episode where a teacher was addressing a group of students at the front of the classroom and whenever it switched between the two scenes, there was a very noticeable change in audio quality. For me that just completely takes me out of the story and makes me question just who directed this and listened to this scene and thought "Yeah, that's good." and then just kept it in?? Maybe I'm just nit-picking, but I digress...

There were so many plotlines (and potential plotlines) that were touched upon or mentioned, but never explored deeper. Just to name a few:

-Arthur?? My guy?? Like I get he's there to move the plot along but that sudden 180 he did at the end really threw me for a loop. Then he just dumps all his feelings out and complains that nobody loves him? Where was the character development? Where was the exploration of how/why he felt genuinely bad for how he treated Jeno and truly wanted to repent? He plays a main role in the first two episodes, then gets expelled (we are led to believe) and then just shows up at the prom and airs it all out? They could have done so much for with him as a character but I guess it is what it is.
-Chris and his studies. It's brought up multiple times throughout the show and we are made to believe it's a very important part of Chris' story: What exactly does he want to study at University? The answer is...We don't know! He never decides, or at least he never states it out loud. Guess it wasn't that important, but then why dedicate multiple scenes to him lamenting on it? Wild.
-What actually happened to Tong Fah in his accident? They didn't want to dedicate any screen time to it, so did it get mentioned, even in passing, what happened to him? Absolutely not. I guess it's up to our imagination.
-Literally what is the point of the pool scene in the first episode? It's never explored or even shown again in the series later on, until the very end of the last episode, and I guess it's then that we learn it didn't really ever happen? Maybe it was just a metaphor for Tong Fah's feelings. Still, it felt a little out of place.

Overall:

Pretty standard, safe BL trope. It didn't quite give me the warm fuzzies and I ended up having to try and convince myself to even finish it. Maybe it was a bit boring for me? Either way, it was fine for what it is. I probably won't end up re-watching it though.

Lire davantage

Likeable Series but Should Have Aged up the Characters

This was a surprising good little project. The acting was very good, and even the villains were redeemable. The elephant in the room is, the actors are way too old to be playing high school students. This would have been better in a university setting, since the plot was mainly about falling in love right before graduation. Unless I missed it, I still have no idea what Chris and Tong Fah will be doing at university, just one of the loose ends that was left unresolved.

Run from TharnType and his real life brother play unrelated characters in this series. Their characters do not interact that often, otherwise their obvious resemblance would have been a distraction.

It would be nice to have a special episode to tie up loose ends. For example, Near's co-workers complained about his work performance, but besides being late, he seemed to provide good customer service. Does he get rehired after quitting? Will Jeno win a Muay Thai match? Hope to see more of this series in the future.

Lire davantage

I don’t think I’ll give this a second chance

This drama was cute and nice, but it wasn’t one of my favorite and I’m not gonna lie if I had to rank the couples it would be hard. Jeno and Chris’s storyline was so cute, even when Chris literally came in a bear costume in the university just to confess to Jeno. It literally showed how much Jeno loved Chris that he would go in a bear costume and go to the university and I know many people would be very scared to do it. I genuinely felt bad for Jeno’s character because his ex really made him have to second guess in love and have trust issues. I also love Near and M’s couple I always waited for them to appear in the episodes, because they were so cute and one of my favs, even when M confessed at the prom it was just so cute! Also I’m so dumb because I literally didn’t know that Jeno and near were brothers and I even knew they looked alike, but didn’t think they were brothers. For Tong Fah and Paper’s couple in my opinion it wasn’t the best because once Tong Fah ended up hospitalized Paper finally found his feelings for him. But I love Paper in real life, but this character was not for him. Anyways I have mixed feeling about it, but it depends if you want to watch it so I would recommend this drama.

Lire davantage

Not for me, I'm sad to say

God, I feel really mean giving this show the lowest rating out of all the shows I've reviewed, but this just missed the mark so thoroughly for me.

I usually love slow-paced, character-focused stories with an emphasis on human connection and the varied queer experience, but personally I got none of that from this show.
I couldn't really connect with any of the characters, as sweet and harmless as they are.
The visuals and music were alright but nothing specifically stood out to me.
I didn't really like the pacing or any of the character arcs, they all just left me feeling indifferent at best and dissatisfied at worst.

But it's not like the show particularly does anything wrong either. Almost all of my gripes with it come down to taste and what didn't work for me might just be perfect to someone else.
And I'm really glad that this show seems to have a small but dedicated audience that clearly got a lot out of the story and really seem to love it with all their heart. It genuinely makes me happy to know this show is making someone's life a little better even if it did nothing for me personally

So if you like sweet, low-drama high school romances or Thai dramas that don't feel like an endless parade of product placements (not to rag on those types of shows too much, they've got their perks too) then I'd suggest giving this a shot.
There's clearly something worthwhile hidden in this show if some people adore it this much - who knows, maybe you'll find it even if I couldn't.

Lire davantage

Really good story, acting good, casting is hard to believe

I really really liked this show. It has a good plot, nice cinematography, good acting, and nice little details like all of the gay movie posters in the gay dudes' rooms. The only thing I wish was different is that some of the actors do not pass as high schoolers which I can overlook but they would have been better off with making this a university story like just aging up the characters. I also wish they had a discussion of sexuality a little bit because they do not mention it at all which is a little hard to believe. I also wish we could have gotten a little bit more in the way of cute scenes between the couples. I also would like to have seen a little bit more of near/em their storyline was cute and it could have been stretched out . Overall a really cute and mostly fluffy show. Recommend you watch!

Lire davantage

my source of comfort

For the past 6 months I have tried to put into words the way this series made me feel.

I'm not going to lie, I started to watch it with little no expectations. I even thought it was one of the bunch, but as the episodes went by, I grew fond of both the characters and the story.

Maybe it was because I find out about it at the right time. It gave me the calm and comfort that I needed so much back then. It made me laugh, cry, but above all, it reminded me how nostalgic hightschool love can be.

The characters are (for the most part) endearing and the relationship between them is probably one of the healthiest I've seen on bl series in a long time. The dynamic between couples is one of the strengths of the series, imo. The chemistry between the main leads was off the charts!

I don't have much to say about the other pairings, especially M and Near. I feel like they would have worked better as an established couple or with the occasional hint to make the viewer understand that there was some mutual interest between them. Their story was too confusing for me, and the way their conflict was resolved felt forced. Although it may just be me, since I could not connect with them as characters or a couple.

Considering it was a short series, they could have used their screen time to focus on the main couple and give the characters a bit more background. Especially Paper. I feel like a lot of people couldn't empathize with him as a character because not much of his story was shown, aside from the fact that he was just as lonely as Tongfah.

The script is nothing extraordinary and some things could have been handled better, but despite its ups and downs, it's a pretty solid series. I always find myself going back to the moments that made my heart skip a beat.

Definitely, one of the series that I could watch over and over again without getting tired of it.

Lire davantage

Very sweet! So much nostalgia!

This series was so so so and sweet, yes its very short but it still made me feel nostalgic.Glad I found this series by chance, all the couples are sooo cute and their acting was really good, its a simple romance story that explores how 3 different couples approach and deal with love, but has a different feel from other GMMTV BL. The OST is also as sweet as cotton candy, whenever the background music played I was like awwwww. Love it love it!

Wish love irl was as sweet as this, too bad I fall in disgust at first sight irl, no wonder I indulge in so many romance as an escape from reality lmao jkdvkshskskn

Lire davantage

Just skip the cringe stuff and you’ll discover something sweet

I don't know why, but through the whole series, I felt like I was watching something similar to Dream Night.Although, I am not the biggest fan of the plot that works with best friends turn lovers' kind of thing, I have to admit it was delivered well here. It had great potential and could have been even better. Still, I understand that some factors possibly worked against it. Like budget etc. I just wish that they would stop putting this kind of cringy, comical stuff like the girls and the screaming and the unhinged laughing, if you know what I mean, but I enjoy watching it in the end.

I love the tension between the main couple. They worked well together, and it was one of the best kisses I have seen.

Lire davantage