Vice Versa (2022)

Promising Beginnings Disappointing Ending

**Brief Synopsis**
B: Talay
T: Tun

Beginning: T and B are sent to an alternate universe after dying in their own. To return to their original universe, they have to find their key. As they search for that key, they live life to the fullest in their new universe and slowly fall in love. The series end with them returning to their original universe and meeting for real and starting a relationship.

**My Opinion**

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT IT
- Their relationship didn't come out of no where. They started as friends and fell for each other after spending a long time together. The pining stage was beautifully done.

WHAT I DIDNT LIKE ABOUT IT
- T is supposed to be some kind of extremely famous actor but they dont make the audience feel that(his interview only had 9k people watching and only a few fans were waiting at the airport for him which is very unusual). His fame doesn't seem to play much of a role in the aftermath of the revelation he might be involved with a guy (the picture of him kissing another guy was leaked but there doesn't seem to have a big effect which is weird considering his fame). And B suddenly dating T doesnt seem to surprise Bs friends at all. It cheapens the reveal and make it seem inconsequential.
- The lack of chemistry. The actors feel more like bros then lovers. It was okay in the initial parts of the show where it was mostly pining but after they got together, the lack of chemistry really shows. It just doesn't feel right seeing them together. It lacks a certain spark that makes you want to squeal at the sight of them.
- The acting in general can be lacking. Certain emotional scenes lack the emotional support and some scenes are filled with awkward silences. I know they are there for dramatic effect but it's just weird when it happens in real life.
- Use of the girl to introduce angst in to their relationship. Both T and B has to find their key and B thinks the girl is T's key because he told her she was special. B of course thought special means in a romantic way and emoed over it. But T only mean special because she was someone he knew. He says he doesn't know how to explain it to B but the explanation is so easy. He then says he know the girl isn't his key but spent time with her to make B happy. It's just a lazy way to introduce angst and fill the run time.
- Disappointing ending to their buildup: the show has a good buildup to their relationship. The flirting, the kisses, the looks the smiles all made us want to see them together. Except after they confess, nothing big seem to have changed. They just dont make convincing lovers which is a disappointment as that point was supposed to be reward for going through all that pining.
- The lack of plot is also an issue. The thing with this show is that it doesn't really have a plot because the focus is on the development of their relationship. It was going really well until they had to introduce cliches and overused tropes. Then it became boring. I watched the last few episodes in 4x speed because nothing was happening and it did not have the fluff I was waiting for. Sure there was some fluff but it was so not satisfactory.
- Predictable and cliche plot (I could guess where the plot was going) with no plot twists or memorable moments. I just feel extremely disappointed after finishing the show. I had hopes for that couple and at the end I didn't feel anything for them.

**Conclusion**
Interesting concept but mediocre execution

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Fun Imperfect Series

I'm actually very late to this series so I had the pleasure to binge this in one go. It's not perfect by any means and I can think of a couple of tweaks that could've been made to the script but it was a fun watch that got me kicking my feet a little bit.

Let's start with the good:
1. Fun premise and plot, especially in the beginning.
To my surprise, they really nailed the initial world building and set up in my eyes. It's not easy to create an accessible romance set up in a multiverse, but I really liked how they introduced the two characters and created a space where they could fall in love believably.

2. The chemistry really did it for me. This might be controversial but I really enjoyed the chemistry between Jimmy and Sea. I didn't expect this to be their debut series because of how comfortable they looked with each other on screen. They really nailed the casual intimacy with the casual hugs, hand holding, and cheek kisses.

3. P'Dol is hot.

4. The romance was romance-ing hard. I'm a sucker for good romantic stories and honestly I was a guaranteed audience for this series just based off the whole "I will find you in any universe" theme. There's also something intensely romantic about Jimmy's gaze and I think it's his lashes. I kinda fell in love.

5. Product placement was so obvious that it's kind of funny. It did make me crave KFC for a hot 5 minutes so mission accomplished I guess?

6. Friendship group + AouBoom's cute. I love found family so again, they really found an audience in me.

7. Music was gorgeous.

Now unto the bad:
1. Pacing is bad. This is a common problem with GMMTV series except for a select few, but this one annoyed me because how they put a pivotal plot point in the last ep which was really jarring. GMMTV needs to do better fr.

2. They kind of lost the plot in the middle of the series, then jumped back on the multiverse ship in the last quarter. It's a shame that they wasted half of the episodes not really touching on the interesting part of the plot which is the multiverse aspect of things. The whole movie making thing and rediscovering your passion should have been linked better with the multiverse theme because the flow of the series was seriously stalled in the middle.

3. There were a few plot holes such in the switching back part. I think the fiction part of the writing got a bit lazy and dependent on the romance.

4. Missed opportunity on having double main leads. This was literally the best series to have two main couples but they just didn't elaborate on the OhmNon story and honestly made Tess sounds like a horrible person. There were so many unanswered questions that it led me to think that maybe they were intending to make a sequel.

All in all, fun watch for me. Wouldn't recommend this for someone who can't turn off their logical side of the brain a little bit but if you can mindlessly watch things, you'll love this as much as I do.

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idc what y'all say lmao, this show just hit EVERY. FUCKNG. BOX. for me!

'vice versa' actually makes for a super interesting case study in how shows as simple and uncontroversial as this can become so polarising for audiences, & i'd argue it's mostly the fault of there being a huge disparity between people's expectations going into the show & the actual focal point & content of the show, but that's not what matters here.

what matters is that from big premises like universe-travelling & soulmates to little tropes & things like tiki-taka relationships, healthy jealousy, friends to lovers, & SO MUCH FUCKING FLIRTING IT'S A MIRACLE PEOPLE AROUND THEM CAN EVEN BREATHE THE SAME AIR AS THESE TWO FUCKERS ANYMORE BECAUSE THIS LOVEY DOVEY BULLSHIT MUST STINK REAL BAD, 'vice versa' just hits EVERY SINGLE FUCKING TROPE that i'm personally weak for.

i'm a huge sucker for some good-ass fluffy romance & found family-type friendships & chasing dreams & notions of how important love is & soulmates & shit, & so for me, this show just did it all, okay?!
if it seems like any of these things might be your cup of tea, too, i'd say: give it a watch for sure! but even if not, for something as surprsingly polarising as 'vice versa', i'd say you give it a go just for the sake of finding out what side of this fight YOU'RE on, lol :p

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Wait for it, it's worth it

I have to say by myself, the first half fell more like fillers. Not the first two episodes where it's actually explained everything but until ep 8 it is really slow and it drags the plot. The acting is also not so good until ep 8 but no offense to Jimmy and Sea. I really respect them both, it was their first project together and their first main lead roles. They are both still rookies to me but I can't wait for their new series that seem to have much better story. But I appreciate Ohm's and Nanon's appearance after seeing Bad Buddy. Nanon just never fails with his eyes and Ohm with his sassy side. The plot is not actually bad, two completely different guys travel to different dimension which saves their life as they were dying giving them new chance to live and to bodies they appear in are deeply connected by past. Then they are trying to find out if they are portkeys which takes six episodes and they are still not sure until they think about pink color that connects them which seemed a little silly to me but cute. But the confession was one of the best, we got to see many famous actors from GmmTV like Mix, Tay, Gun, Perth, Neo, Force, Book... and the best part started when one of them got finally back. It was interesting seeing Sea and Nanon and Jimmy and Ohm together. Actually Jimmy and Ohm made me smile remembering how jealous of Wai Pat was. The end was also very good how their different place in society almost made them break up but both followed their heart and stayed together while trying to create memories from the other verse. We also got to see it wasn't just fun and new challenge but also harsh experience as one man traveling back lost his wife and job, lost everything because the other one ruined his life in his body. Then we got to see how Joob died because the one in her body died first and she got a heart attack which was really heartbreaking. And then Puen could comfortably return to his life while Talay almost lost the dream he worked so hard on. It was really sad to see how badly Tess took care of his life and made a complete jerk from him like he is. This series can teach us a lot about hard work paying off, not giving up on our dreams and that true love is more important than career but it's still real life so we can't completely give up on it. I'm glad I made myself watching it all but I don't think I'd rewatch it.

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Friend Credits Forever

Slow, boring beginning...lovely, beautiful arch...cheesy, and weak ending yet...
Puen and Talay were so adorable, their natural chemistry was shining. The only thing that bothers me is not about their characters or acting but the writer's choice about making their kisses a big moment as it was just for showing to the audience. In reality, couples who are in love don't hesitate or sulk to kiss their partners. İ don't get these tropes or the typical way of writing in romantic comedies. Kissing is so natural and beautiful and you can not help but touch the one you love as you please. In the beginning, maybe you might be more shy or hesitant but not in the f'ing 11th episode c'moon.
And most importantly that was the most beautiful friend group ever. The side characters were so good and entertaining. Only bl that I enjoyed friend interactions and comedy. Other series that try to include comedy made me cringe most of the time. The side characters usually were pretty boring and useless. But vice versa made this friendship so genuine, loveable, and cute. This is why İ didn't enjoy the last two episodes that much. Because I missed their dynamics so badly. Oh man, I love Up so much. His character and Neo's portrait of it was 10/10. !!!!Friend Credits 4ever. !!!!

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How about we fall for each other?

So the whole multiverse thing seemed kind of intriguing, but I admit I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. The story is really interesting, I love how different all the characters that switch bodies are and how hard Talay and Puen are trying to live the best lives for Tess and Pakorn for when they return. The little detail that Puen and Talay met in their own universe before they travelled to the other was cute.

Puen & Talay: At first I felt kind of annoyed that Puen refused to tell Talay his real name, but as the story progressed, that became something I really loved. Puen is used to people using him, trying to get to him because of his fame, and while Talay might be the only person in the other universe that he really gets close to, he is held captive by his fear. I like that Talay doesn’t pressure him about it too much. Instead, the two fall for each other because of who they are on the inside, not because of their looks or status. The struggle between wanting and not wanting to go back, missing the universe they are not currently in… those were really played nicely into the whole story and they made a lot of sense.

I think Jimmy and Sea have an amazing chemistry. They show a lot through a single look or expression. Another thing I absolutely loved is the fact that whenever Puen was about to kiss Talay, Jimmy would put his whole arm around Sea’s neck. I don’t know why, but I found that really endearing.

The series is also full of nods to other iconic GMMTV series and actors. We got plenty cameos from other artists, e.g. Mix, Tay Tawan, Gun, Perth, Milk, Love, etc. And giving Nanon and Ohm the roles of Pakorn and Tess was brilliant, especially because there are certain scenes that really made us draw parallels with Bad Buddy.

Another thing that I cannot skip are the colors. Talay being a colorist played a major role in the whole series. Each episode is named by a color shade. And we can really see a lot of the said color in each episode, not only in their clothing, light and décor, but often the scenes had a tint of the said color. I think that was done brilliantly, not that I expected anything less. It really made me appreciate the role a colorist plays in making a series or a movie.

I do wish we could see more of what Tess and Pakorn did while they were living the lives of Talay and Puen, but at the same time I think that not knowing everything and just getting to hear / see small parts about it makes a lot of sense. We travelled to the other universe with Talay and Puen, the two had no knowledge about what went on in their own universe, and I think they wanted us to feel as lost and as confused as they did.

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I genuinely enjoyed this series, but..

Vice versa was a fun watch! It made me laugh and was entertaining, honestly to me the insane amount of product placement was never even annoying but just kind of silly. I personally really liked the mains, I think they had great chemistry. I loved the side couple too(they 100% needed more screen time).

The main thing that drove me crazy was the PLOT HOLES. The whole alternate universe plot idea has so much potential but it really, really needs to be executed PERFECTLY to be good while sadly, this series was not able to do this right. There were many things that just didn't make sense.

I was reading others reviews after watching this and never noticed anyone talking about one thing that was bugging me for the whole time I was watching the series. This thing is the fact that in the very early episodes when Talay first switches into Tess's body, a backstory is revealed about Tess and Tun. It was something about how they were friends but Tess had dated someone that Tun actually "liked" although it was also revealed that Tun was actually in love with Tess?? This causes Tun to ignore Tess(who is now Talay) and stuff happens with this plot but once Puen switches into Tun's body, this whole plot with Tess and Tun is COMPLETELY ignored and never spoken about again. What!? I got sorta interested in Tess and Tun's story from what was revealed about them, I was expecting that maybe they would even end up being a bigger part of the story so that their issues that had been shown in the early episodes could get resolved but I kept waiting and waiting and once the end of the series came around, I was watching it like, "What about the argument Tun and Tess were having in the early episodes?" "Are they friends again?" "..Are they more than friends now?" "Were they also eachothers portkeys?" "What did they do with eachother in Puen and Talay's bodies?" Idk, maybe nobody else cared about them since the people making vice versa obviously didn't but I feel like there was also so much wasted potential there.

Anywayssss, I'd definitely recommend vice versa, especially if you dont care tooo much about strange plot holes. Overall an enjoyable watch.

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Cotton Candy and Product Placement but I Loved It

Listen, I love this show. Yes, this show has plot holes and it's bad at explaining some of its lore, and yes it's heavy with product placement. But I still got such a boost of serotonin every week when a new episode came out. I have gone back to watch scenes multiple times. This show is not the end-all-be-all of BLs but it was cute and it tugged at the heart. It was just dramatic enough and it touched on several different types of drama, especially near the end. Tun is drunk in love from like day 1 (maybe day 3), and Talay is just a dumbass for not noticing it.
Basically, this show is cotton candy fluff and if you need something fun to binge on a day where everything else seems too heavy, pick this one. If nothing else, Jimmy's face will brighten your day.

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Cheesy, but I happen to love cheese

I'm not a fan of the body-swap trope, and although this time it was handled differently than usual, I still wasn't sure about watching, and was only encouraged by the presence of Ohm and Nanon at first (they were shown a lot more than Jimmy and Sea in the first trailer), and by the positive reviews later.

This series in incredibly good, in the sense that is full of many good things. It left me with a sense of fuzzy and happy feelings inside of me all around - I guess it might be the definition of "emotional support series". Here are some examples without spoilers:
- The acting is very good; not only in the sense that the actors were good ad going with the flow and working with what they had, but rather in the sense that they grabbed my full attention and amplified the strength of every scene, even the most simple ones. I felt like I was there with them.
- The characters are never villanized, which is VERY unusual for any story.
- The romance is great. The characters actually put effort into trying to understand each other and help each other, own up to their mistakes, communicate (!!!!!) in a straightforward and honest way, and most of the time aren't afraid of expressing their true feelings. Helathy dynamics like these are becoming more frequent lately, but they're still so rare, and I appreciate the fact that Vice Versa did it right.
- The main trope of the story wasn't just treated as a cute idea for a romantic story: the writers actually took into consideration the psychological consequences for someone who wakes up in a different dimension in a different body. The plot also doesn't just focus on the romance, but also on different aspects of life and different types of bonds.
- The heart-fluttering moments, if you're into it, are pure gold.

I don't consider this series a perfect masterpiece: there were multiple things that I couldn't fully understand (the main one being: how does a portkey even work and what's the point in having one at all?) and some others that I wish were explored a little more (like how did Tess and Tun live in the other universe and how did they settle when they came back), but I enjoyed myself with this series a lot in any case.

Look for something else if you're into action-packed series, but if you're into Romance and Feelings™, this might be for you!

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DECEPCIONANTE

Não consegui gostar de jeito nenhum.
O Talay é um personagem muito ruim, acha que está sempre certo e com uma expressão sempre morta no rosto (não sei se era a proposta do personagem ou simplesmente uma atuação ruim, mas definitivamente não funcionou).
O romance parece mais um bromance a maior parte do tempo e o desenvolvimento é extremamente lento, sem contar que o amor parece muito unilateral (o Tun é quem ama mais), cheio de vai e volta entre o quase casal (um quase casal ficar entre vai e volta parece até piada) e acontece tantas vezes que irrita.
Tun é um personagem muito melhor, ele é cheio de camadas e interpretado por um bom ator, mas suas camadas viram pó no segundo em que ele decide perdoar facilmente qualquer coisa que o Talay faça, porque outro defeito do Talay é ser extremamente imaturo a série inteira.
Enfim, outros fatores até me prenderam minimante (porque o casal mesmo não conseguiu) mas não foi o suficiente para suprir a constante irritação que eu estava sentindo episódio após episódio. Eu não via a hora de acabar.

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Just plain old boring

This is the first Thai BL that I've dropped (that's huge! considering I survived Fish Upon the sky!). The issue with this series is it's 'lost potential'. It's not necessarily bad (I would just hate-watch it in that case). It was just boring!!!

There's a concept of universe travelling, where a person's soul can travel to different universe and into another person's body. Right?! Such a great plot...except... the makers flushed it right down the drain.
There's bits and pieces of it just to remind us that 'oh these people have landed in different universe' but that's about it. No indication of any confusion within these travellers' minds, them missing their family, friends, nothing.

There are 2-3 time leaps - some in months, some years - I'm guessing time leaps were added to give this drama a lyrical feel. But these leaps just felt lazy!! Like makers didn't want to show what happened with Tun - time leap. How these people went from college friends to releasing a movie - time leap!

No complains on the acting - Jimmy & Sea did a great job - their chemistry was good. But you can only do so much with chemistry if the story is lacklustre. My biggest ick was there's absolutely no build up to Talay & Puen's relationship. They just meet and that's it - they are goofing around, pecking cheeks, having slow-mo movements (that snow in Thailand scene was cringe). Like it was obvious that they were being put in the spotlight deliberately. Like they were the MC's not only in the drama but even in their own universe. The scenes with Tun having shaving cream on face to depict ages gone by, I understand that the makers were trying to make it very poetic. It just felt unnecessary! It really was not that dramatic! Why did Tun even decide to not contact Talay?

Half the time I felt Puen is hiding something, that's why he's somewhat clingy and smiling and cheerful and so sure of himself. But it's been 6 EPISODES!!! I don't think I can bear to watch fillers after fillers even if someone assures me there's a big reveal at the end.

One redeeming quality of this show was the vibes + defined color tones for each episode but how much can you really indulge with just vibes when product placement are there to assassinate EVERY FREAKIN' SCENE!!! (I wouldn't bother about ranting on the product placements because many have added those points in review, but MY GOD THERE'S A LIMIT! That was also one BIG reason for me to drop the show).

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Everything

Vice versa is one of the most beautiful love stories I watched in 2022. Jimmysea I love you so much.
Story: Original and magnificent (Parallel world, body change). The story took on all aspects of life: loneliness, friendships, love, responsibility, the view of society.
Music: I really liked all the music: Have a found, The key, By my side, the credits (incredible).
Acting: All the characters were played well. The chemistry between Jimmy and Sea is very natural. That's why I went crazy for them.
I'm late in my review of Vice versa (Top series of 2022, in my opinion). But I got the information that there is Vice versa rerun at the moment so I took the opportunity to do my review.

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