HEHE&HE: Season 2 (2020)

A Hidden Gem

This is such a great series. Funny, poignant, and so real. It is filled with people who are like us. It portrays so true to form what a long-term relationship looks like and how perhaps it does finally need to be re-assessed. Maybe a new course of direction is warranted.
This is such an entertaining and fun series to watch along with its sister series, Season 1. It is obvious a shoe-string production but do not let that deter you from its thorough entertainment. I just loved this series and the first one.

You can read my full review of this and the first series at BLBliss.com

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Trust and love

The plot of the second season follows closely the events in the special episodes.

After a fight with Steven, Zik goes away on an assignement abroad. When he comes back, he finds that his flat had been burned down by their ditzy neighbour, FatFat. Now Zik has to find a new place to live. One evening, while drowning his sorrows, he meets Sammi, a dorky, childish and straight 30 yr old looking for a gay roommate. It is a match made in heaven so Zik moves in with Sammi. At the same time Steven comes back, relentlessly trying to win Zik back who eventually cedes and starts dating him again.

And that is just first two episodes! I actually started writing the synopsis down but the number of events in this sitcom are too many to count. The series can be split in two halves: the first one is the pure mockumentary sitcom I actually loved and laughed a lot. The second half is a drama and both the sitcom and the mockumentary are abandoned for serious issues.

The sitcom part is hilarious: the relationship between the roommates, the silly Sammi and his dreams, overbearing friends and family etc. all capped by mock interviews where the interviewees are presented on the side of the screen. I suggest you pause and take the google lens out to translate those: it is so worth it!

The drama part is very serious, dealing with relationships and growing up and taking your responsibilities. The relationship between Steven and Zik is back on line but can the broken trust be repaired? Well, not really! They get back out of the habit since they did date for 10 years but it does not work anymore: Zik finally realizes that Steven has always been the substitute for Tat, his childhood friend. Moreover, Zik finds himself using the services of a "part time boyfriend" which helps him come to terms with the failure of his relationship with Steven as well as realize what he wants from a relationship. The other relationship moving forward unwittingly due to trust (safe sex) issues is Sammi and his girlfriend Kelly. Sammi is a naive trusting young man and when his girlfriend tells him protection is not necessary, he believes her. And of course, she gets pregnant which, for Sammi, is a blessing in disguise since it forces him, like nothing before, to grow up.

The drama is excellent, and I wish more people knew about it and watched it. The production values are up from the first season: the image quality is better, the sets are bigger and cleaner, the actors look smarter. What has consistently remained of high quality is the writing and the acting.

But I have a bone to pick with the production: can we know more about actors not just their first names? Or are they not really professional actors but family and friends? Even so, they are all brilliant, though the top spot goes to the actor playing Zik: his facial microexpressions are a perfection and say more than any dialogue ever can! So i am looking forward to the third season!

The first, sitcom part, is much better than the first season but the drastic change of tone in the second part (which is understandable due to issues covered) is unsettling and even disappointing: they should have made the change a bit smoother. I would have rated this much higher but this change of pace ruined the sitcom!

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