Paint with Love (2021)

Underestimated series

The series has some flaws - yes... But I liked it a lot, it was beautiful. The chemistry between the mainleads are full of tenderness and underlying love, despite the naggy Maze. I particularly liked the psychological aspect of the series. The scars behind their behavior, the insecurity that causes so much misunderstanding and jealousy. The actors did a very good job. Unfortunately the editing wasn't good, the story of the second couple was a bit out of place and there are some flaws in the arrangement and some plotholes. I rewatched it because the emotions and feelings are so good shown by the actors.

I'd like to share my opinion about the injury of Phab after the incident with Nueng. A lot of people mentioned it in the comment section and review. They complain why was it even shown when nothing happened with it. This is how I see it:
Phab didn't say anything about it. That's his personality! He is not a show-off. He gives unconditionally (like the bananas, cotton candy or his love to Maze). His parents are dead, he doesn't have friends. He is an amazing painter, but he doesn't really show it. He only wants to be seen!He only wants to be seen. Especially from the one he is in love (there are a lot of scenes were you can feel his yearning to be seen). He couldn't tell anyone that he is injured. He wanted Maze to ask him how he was doing. But instead he found Maze with Nueng staying the whole night in the hospital and he was forgotten. Maybe it's because I can relate with his personality very well. To me this scence is there to explain the personality of Phab. His inner struggle, uncertainty and pain. But his love is clear as a lake and he is always true to his feelings.

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Not Singto's best

PWL is at best a trashy guilty pleasure, and at worst, a trope-filled series with somewhat cringey acting.

Singto is great when portraying nuanced emotions, as usual – sadness, disappointment, frustration and hurt, but I can’t help but feel that he was just not the best person for the role. As for Phab, played by Tae, he unfortunately does not have the same acting talents as Singto – his face is often frozen in strange, awkward expressions with his mouth slightly ajar. This really messes with the vibe during emotional or intimate scenes.

Story-wise, much of the writing didn't make sense to me, especially the central conflict of the show being Maze’s relationship with his step-brother and how it affected other relationships.

If anything, perhaps PWL is a cautionary tale on how workplace romances can get messy and infuriating. Every little petty squabble, unfortunately, gets amplified in work settings. Especially when you have two childish (and rather petty) people who tend to leap to conclusions at the slightest suggestion and let misunderstandings drag on without proper resolution.

But hey, if you go in with no expectations looking for something to kill time, why not? I certainly was entertained enough to finish the series.

Read my full review here: https://asianblreviews.wordpress.com/2022/02/15/paint-with-love-2021-review/

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This was amazing! So much more then I could have hoped for

I’ve heard about this series and decided to give it a chance after episode 4 aired I honestly like the pace of it’s not slow things move right along it’s hilarious and beautiful I will say maze is horrible to Phap in the beginning before realizing what he really means to him. Tae’s character was written beautifully and he’s an amazing actor this is the first project that I’ve seen him in. The only thing about this I didn’t like was how horrible Nueng was about the misunderstanding that he and maze are brothers not lovers they kinda dragged that out a little 2 far. The story between him and Tharn was so cute I wasn’t sure if that ship
Would sail but it did. This series really touched my heart

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Nueng - Why? Just Why?

After watching this drama trailer, I wasn't too much interested in watching this drama but since it was pretty much the only title that I and my friend who is still in HS and is 10 years younger (an important point for the later part of the review) than me hasn't watched we decided to give it a chance during the weekend.

The drama cinematography, script and acting really surprised me in a positive way, it was only in episode 8 I realized that the actor acting as Maze was Singhto - Kongpob from Sotus. Both male leads are very good actors but the chemistry between them is not the highest. Making Phap overshadow Maze in more than one scene.
In terms of story I always judge script and storytelling because even the greatest script without good storytelling will feel only so-so. In Paint With Love we have a script that momentarily doesn't make sense ( lack of follow up for some events) but good storytelling still makes this show enjoyable to watch.

But what surprised me the most was the vastly different reaction I and my friend had to this series. She didn't like the main couple - especially Maze and pretty much thought that plot sacked. Due to my vastly different experience, we discusses it for a bit and i finally realized the reason.
Life experience and reading between the lines.
She is younger than me so she like things to be black or white while the characters of this series are very much grey. They have their strength and weakness. The storyline portrays it pretty good, Phab jealousy over Nueng that made him feel like he was just stand in for him and fuelling his desire for competition when he overall felt he was not good enough for Maze. Maze need for money and control, him like many other humans judge other people life by their own values thinking they knew better what is better for another person.
With leads to a flashback of Maze fight with Nueng, Maze fought against Nueng decision because he thought he knew better (As we can see he probably did) which caused them to lost contact for several years. Even though he pretty much begged while crying asking him to stay with him. Maze and Nueang storyline don't make a lot of sense in a lot of places so bear with it...
This situation also shed a nice light why Maze was suddenly set of making Phab go to Japan. Realizing you are wasting another person's potential with yours even good intentions - can be painful. (Think of it as Stephan King, for example, being forced to work in office writing Ads for others) It also nicely showcase Maze trauma, maybe if he push person to go this time he will not lose him for years to come. Maybe the person would decide to stay.

"If You Love Someone, Set Them Free. If They Come Back They’re Yours"

In this whole series what Maze and Phab did was very in line with their characterization, but the perception of them can wary because we are forced to read between the lines, Depending on our understanding of them our score of the plot can differ.

What I disliked the most in this show was the useless person - Nueng, he is just bland...
Later he also becomes a character who hides his selfishness with a mask of kindness. If screenwriters scraped his storyline and let us have a better view in main couple minds and motivation it would really improve the show quality and clear viewer perception of them. Nueng relationship with Maze is just bizarre at best, him not contacting Maze or his manager hitting Tharn manager while all trouble landed on Tharn was also super fu*ked up.
It was like Nueng storyline was added/rewritten in the last minute, that's why it doesn't really add anything to the plot except viewers' confusion.

Overall its good show with strong and weak points where i think rewatching will clear some doubts of the viewers and put character action in perspective.

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Funny & sweet show with realistic romance and without the stereotypes and tired tropes!

This is one of the best Thai rom-com shows I've seen with a gay romance story line (I've watched dozens of shows and never review any before!). Fresh-feeling plot that manages to include some absurd comedy/situations, without resorting to a lot of tropes and stereotypical plot twists. The characters are fairly well-developed, extremely well-acted, and experience a lot of personal growth. The production value is pretty high, with well-mixed audio for the most part and diverse shots.

If you are coming from the BL fan world, this show might not be cute/shippable enough for you, but if you are looking for a light romcom show with a more realistic view of relationships, this is a great pick.

More reasons to watch:
- Characters are adult-age, with is refreshing if you're coming from watching typical BL
- Subverts one trope (inappropriate romantic feelings) by having no actual shady behavior but allowing it to cause a lot of misunderstandings and drama nonetheless!
- Minimal use of gay or trans-femme stereotypes (there is one exaggerated character and sadly they are a bad person, but they aren't used for comedic relief just because of their femme-ness)
- None of those annoying sound effects that indicate something "hilarious" or bizarre has happened
- Really sweet opposites-attract that seems realistic

While there are of course things that could be improved, and there are some slowly paced parts that I skipped through, this far outshines many of the other dramas I've binged. If you're tired of shows with 10 side couples, plots full of holes, same-old gags and plot twists, then watch this show to remind yourself why you like romcom shows, especially BL/gay/Thai ones.

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It does a good job of being simple

A series with an interesting beginning, nothing too innovative, but fun added to a very interesting development, however the ending leaves something to be desired.
Plot: simple, is the word that summarizes this plot. Two people who don't like each other, but in the end are already in love with each other. There are secondary plots that for me were not well developed throughout the series, although they do not compromise the central plot.
Acting: good, but some stand out. Sing is still as perfect as ever I don't think there is any series that he delivers a half-assed job, sometimes, like the Baker Boys series he is on automatic, however here it is not the case I feel that he, Sing, has managed to deliver everything from the character. Tae is very good, even though I don't know his other works I feel he delivers a lot here. The "supporting roles" or the secondary ones, some are fine, others not so much, but I will mention the ones that caught my attention. The actors in Together with Me are perfect, especially Maen who as always delivers everything and a little more, but the others are good even with little screen time. Now the other couple of the series didn't appeal to me much, even though they are good actors, I wasn't convinced that they liked each other, they lacked chemistry and more screen time for them to develop. The rest is average.
Music: melodious pop music that I don't like, but that is always found in series with this theme, I don't know why. It's not bad, but it's not outstanding and sometimes it's even repetitive in several situations.
Setting: urban, there is nothing for me to talk about.
Overall it was a good series, but with problems, the lack of a "stronger" story/plot makes the series, for me, weak, because the series itself forgets its main premise for a few good episodes and added with the second couple without chemistry makes it weak in a whole, for me the main characters hold this series, but this is just a personal opinion. And with a rushed ending in which everything is solved very easily it leaves the viewer a little confused. I recommend watching it, but I don't think it's a Sotus that will make you want to watch it again and again in the future.

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Had high expectations but unfortunately the series did not live up to them

When I first heard about this series- I was super excited because of the main couple. I love Singto and Tae's avting in some of thier previous series so I know the potential that they have when it comes to their acting. But this season...I really wanted to love it. But I can't.

Story-6/10
There were some good parts, I will say that. However, it kinda got repetitive with the jealousy. Also I actually wasn't that invested in the secondary MM couple ( I was actually more invested in a MF couple who had a small part). There were times when I wasn't able to keep my attention to the series and that's unfortunate.

Acting/Cast-7/10
I love the cast. And they actually did do a good job, given with what they had to work with. So for that I give a 7.

Music-8.5/10
I love the music so much! I know that I am going to miss it on my Fridays.

Rewatch Valu-4/10
I don't see myself coming back to this anytime soon, unfortunately.

Overall-6.5/10
Overall I give this series a 6.5. I felt that it had potential to be an awesome series but it was unable to reach it.

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Its Good.

This is my opinion as a common viewer, i am not an expert.

I have watched 30 BL series (i know there are people who has watched more).
This series is not perfect, not the best/orginal story and music. But at least is watchable.
There are a lot of BL series out that are just so bad, and feel like you are watching a filler with cliche and predictable roles. This serie is at least more than 50% different of what i described.

So while you wait for your new series starts airing or if you run out of things to watch, this is worth to give a chance.

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