Stalker (2022)

Débile mais super choupinou

J'avais regardé 3 minutes de ce drama avant de laisser tomber il y a quelques mois. Et puis je ne sais pas ce qui m'a fait retourner sur la page de la série, en tout cas j'ai relu des commentaires et beaucoup disent la même chose : passé le premier épisode, on se surprend à apprécier l'histoire, et c'est vrai.

L'intrigue tourne autour d'une bande composée de 4 amis un peu cons et surtout stalkers qui ont pour habitude d'avoir des crush secrets sur des gens populaires. Leur club un peu creepy comporte des règles strictes mais surtout, ils se soutiennent sans faille et ne jugent pas leurs délires mutuels et leurs différences. Le héros, Toh, un binoclard avec une horrible coupe au bol, se fait remarquer par son crush Nuea après avoir pris une super photo de lui pendant un match de basket interuniversitaire. A partir de là, c'est le démarrage de leur romance, ainsi que celle de son pote Jao, un peu grassouillet mais mimi (enfin grassouillet, pas tant que ça, c'est juste le scénario qui le dit), avec Sky, l'ami play-boy de Nuea.

Alors on ne va pas se mentir, il y a beaucoup de scènes craignos au début, nos quatre mousquetaires se comportent de manière stupide et souvent gênante, les personnages surjouent à fond, le héros a l'air d'un gros débile chaque fois qu'il est en présence de Nuea et l'histoire dégouline de guimauve pratiquement à chaque scène. Mais malgré ça, on se surprend à apprécier les personnages et à les trouver attachants, leur amitié indéfectible est géniale, leurs manies sont bien analysées, les acteurs ont beau surjouer on comprend que c'est le scénario qui a prévu ça du coup j'ai trouvé qu'ils s'en sortaient bien, on a énormément de scènes de bisous à la fois très belles et très romantiques, et surtout, nos héros ont la chance de s'être dégottés des chéris aussi patients que tendres avec eux, et prêts à accepter leurs bizarreries. Alors bien sûr, l'intrigue en elle-même n'a rien d'exceptionnel et on nous ressort les mêmes ficelles que dans tout BL universitaire qui se respecte (les chambres étudiantes, le voyage de cohésion au bord de la plage, les beuveries avec le héros ivre pris en charge par son crush, le séjour humanitaire visant à rafraîchir une école de province, les présentations aux parents, etc.). Mais en même temps c'est plutôt bien fait, certains dialogues ne sont pas si cons, vers la fin le drama prend une tournure un peu plus grave et aborde la question de l'acceptation de soi et de ses différences. Finalement le gros point négatif pour moi, c'est surtout la frustration que j'ai ressentie de ne pas voir se développer en détail la relation entre Daisy, le personnage trans de leur club de neuneus, et Intouch. Mais au moins lui aussi a droit au bonheur et c'est cool.

Bref, il y avait tous les ingrédients pour classer ce drama dans la catégorie des crétineries à zapper d'office, sauf que c'est paradoxalement très chouette, très romantique et qu'on se retrouve prisonnier de l'histoire jusqu'au bout. Alors au diable les scrupules, tant pis si c'est débile, ce débordement de guimauve est quand même bien pensé et ça fait un bien fou au moral.

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Tout en exagération.

J'avais vraiment hâte de voir cette série mais j'ai abandonné avant la fin du premier épisode tellement c'est sur-joué, exagéré, ça hurle tout le temps et le personnage principal de Toh est insupportable.

Mais après avoir vu quelques critiques disant que ça se calme après quelques épisodes, j'ai décidé de prendre sur moi et de laisser une chance à cette série.

Verdict... C'est vrai, l'exagération générale est moindre et devient supportable.
Je revois donc ma note à la hausse car il y a de très bon moment, des Séquences intenses ou très bien mises en scène.
Malgré ça, cette série m'a profondément irritée jusqu'à la fin.

J'ai détesté le couple principal qui reste une énième version du mec hyper populaire qui aime (on se demande bien pourquoi) le débile attardé qui le suit partout.
Et vraiment, ici c'est poussé, j'ai eu l'impression de voir un gamin de 10ans dans le corps d'un adulte, qui ne comprend rien à rien, mais est "prêt" à jouer les amoureux sans comprendre ce que c'est. Alors impossible avec ça de trouver leur histoire mignonne.

Par contre, l'histoire du couple secondaire est incroyable. À première vue on pourrait croire que Khaojao est aussi le stéréotype du mec idiot mais on apprend vite qu'il cache un profond malaise, et la série va le faire évoluer très progressivement et de manière logique.
Sky étant très patient et persévérant, ça rend leur couple touchant à de nombreuses reprises.

Finalement, ce couple m'a permis d'apprécier la série, mais c'est peu face à tout ce qui ne va pas sur le reste de la série.

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Qui m'a envoyé ?!

J'ai pris beaucoup de mauvaises décisions dans ma vie, mais regarder cette série dans son INTEGRALITE était la pire. Je ne sais pas ce qui m'a envoyé visionner ça mais c'était une cata.

L'histoire est bien (si on prend énormément de recule), mais ils l'ont saboter avec ces acteurs, et ce jeu d'acteur. Je ne dis pas que les acteurs sont mauvais, loin de là, mais j'ai ressenti une gêne si intense que j'ai du faire des pauses entre chaque scènes.

Pourquoi j'ai continué ? au début pour Sky et Khaojao, je trouvais que ce couple était plus intéressant que le couple principal. Leur couple arbore certaines thématiques qui peuvent permettre au viewers de se sentir concernés (comme les complexes, le poids etc.), et puis j'ai eu un mini coup de cœur lors de leur toute première scène (le passage des toilettes) que j'ai trouvé cute. J'ai aussi trouvé mignon de voir que, grâce à Sky, Khao prenait un peu plus confiance en lui au fur et à mesure que Sky et lui se rapprochaient. Mais (parce que OUI il y a un mais) à un certain moment je n'en pouvais plus de Khao, je n'ai pas compris pourquoi il faisait autant galérer Sky alors que lui aussi avait des sentiments pour lui et que bien que Sky était un "playboy" il lui a prouvé par tous les moyens possibles que c'était lui qu'il voulait et personne d'autres. Mais bon, il semblerait que Khao aime souffrir et se faire du mal à cause de ces propres doutes. (Même si ce n'est pas un reproche, c'est juste que j'ai trouvé ça vraiment très long avant que les deux soient enfin ensemble).

Passons au couple principal composé de Toh et Nuea... je n'ai pas vraiment compris leur histoire. Enfaite, j'ai très vite décroché à cause de la malaisance de leurs interactions et je ne suivais quasi plus leur histoire. De ce que j'ai compris Toh est un photographe en devenir et il a nourri une forte obsession pour Nuea qui est "la star" de l'université de par son physique et ses performance au basket. Je ne sais pas quoi penser de ces personnages. D'un côté il y a Toh qui est fou amoureux de Nuea au point de récolter ABSOLUMENT TOUT ce que Nuea touche -quitte à fouiller dans ses poubelles ou voler sa nourriture- et les interpose soigneusement dans des boites qu'il range dans son appartement (devenu un autel à l'effigie de Nuea) et de l'autre Nuea qui -apparemment- aurait lui aussi un crush sur Toh mais qui préfère lui faire croire le contraire pour une raison inconnue, quitte à devenir extrêmement toxique. Mais de toutes les façons on peut dire que ces deux gagnent ( et de très loin) la palme d'or de la toxicité et du malaise dans cette série.

Et puis pour finir avec les couples, nous avons Daisy et Intouch qui sont de loin mes préférés. Cela n'a aucun rapport avec mon énorme crush sur Intouch et mon amour pour la personnalité de Daisy, non non; c'est juste que j'ai énormément apprécié que pour une fois une femme transgenre non transitionnée soit représentée et ait un love interest. Le fait que Intouch ai, dès le départ, eu un crush sur Daisy (bien que tout le monde pensait qu'il était après Toh) je trouve ça tellement mignon que j'en serai presque peu objective. J'ai beaucoup apprécié qu'il lui fasse comprendre que sa personnalité dite "extra" soit la chose qui lui a plu. Oui parce que quand Daisy décide de devenir Day après une réflexion d'un ami de Touch à son sujet m'a brisé le cœur en miette (même si elle n'a pas été incluse dans la série). Si il y a bien une chose qui m'énerve avec cette série c'est leur manque de temps d'écran ou on peut voir leur histoire se développer, Daisy et Intouch n'ont que très peu de scène ensemble (en tête à tête) donc c'était assez compliqué d'imaginer leur relation évoluer.

Je ne le recommande pas vraiment si votre tolérance au cringe est aussi faible que la mienne, mais pour passer le temps c'est plutôt pas mal.

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Is it worth watching? Yes.

As someone who watches BL often and tries to keep up with BL releases, I admit I didn't have much hopes for this series just based on the trailers. I'm the type to at least watch the first epsiode though, so I gave it a try. I have to say, the embrassment was way too much for me and I put it off for at least a month before trying again after multiple recommendations and good reviews from friends. After the first 3 epsiode though, it did get much better. So for those looking to see if the series is any good, you'll have to survive the first 3 epsiodes before you make any judgements. I would recommend watching at least until epsiode 5 before deciding whether or not to drop the series. Also a warning for those who are new to the series and has just started watching. Toh is the defination of second hand embrassment. If I got a dollar everytime I had to press pause, cover my face in embrassment and scream at my laptop, I'd be a millionarine right now. All in all, the series itself is very unique and weird (which I think is done on purpose) so going into it, keep in mind that it isn't like any other BL series you've seen so far and don't try to treat it as such.

Before anything, a big shoutout to the translators who diligently worked to put up subtitles for us international fans. They were one of the best I've seen on an offical channel. Thank you so much for all your hard work~

Story : There are multiple things I like about the story itself. One, it has a unusal main character. Almost all BL stories start with the main character being a normal good looking guy who somehow ends up in a werid situation with the main lead and then falls in love. Here we know, Toh is not normal at all. He has his issues, (extremely) embrassing moments and is in love with Nuea from the start. He goes too far sometimes and honestly really needs to see a doctor that specializes in mental illnesses. However, there's character development. We do see somewhat of an improvement. His friends advice him and go as far as restricting him by keeping someone nearby to watch over him. Although this isn't very helpful, they are trying their best and at the very least doesn't brush it off. They acknowledge that he has a problem which is the first step. As his relationship with Nuea gets better, we also see his friends helping him address and change his hoarding habits. They even thought about him having withdraws and instead of instantly insisting he change immediately, they restrict it to him collecting one item each date. They'll slowly start restricting him to one item a week, one item a month, one item a year and so on until he stops all together. This is not only helpful but also better for both Toh and his friends. Making him stop collecting items immediately would not only cause withdraw symptoms like they said but would also lower his confidence and self esteem when he sees that he's not able to follow the set of rules. It'll not only make him feel bad and less deserving of a happy relationship with Nuea but also disappoint his friends which can cause tension between them. I'm glad the show decided to use a realistic way to help with Toh's bad habits. I'm also glad that Toh's willing to follow his friends advice and not break the rules they've set for him despite all the grumbling he does. This not only shows how much he treasures their friendship but also that he understands his friends' worries for him. It shows how close-knit their friend group is.

Two, the story centers around feminie characters. Most BL shows have masculine or manly characters and use good looking (mostly straight) actors so they can attract females and get more views. They use actors with softer features as bottoms but be honest, they would totally look like straight guys if you saw them alone walking down the streets and didn't know they were in a BL series. They do sexy photoshoots and even in sex scenes where they're supposed to be getting railed, they're told to look sexy in order to avoid looking "feminie" or "weak". Yes, there's nothing wrong with a manly bottom but there's also nothing wrong with a feminie bottom. The only reason why most shows don't use feminie looking actors is because in Thailand and SouthEast Asia especially, females or being feminie is considered weak. A guy who acts feminie is considered not a man. Guys who act feminie are shunned from scoiety. Even in movies and TV shows, they're there to provide comedic relief, be a cannon folder, a confidant that the female lead shares her worries to, or a side character that'll never get his own happy ending. They're only given jobs like hair stylists and makeup artists because those are considered feminie. hey're always the butt of the joke. It's been this way for centuries in Asia. Toh's whole group of friends are very feminie compared to other male characters. They talk about guys, they sqeaul when there's someone hot, they tease each other about their crushes, they go into detail about their relationships, etc. Most of all, they act and dress feminie. They show their emotion, they cry, they blush and are openly (mostly) gay. Although these aren't exactly what we would call feminie traits, compared to other male characters, they are considered as such. I love this show because it shows us their perspective. It treats them like normal human beings.

Three, we're seeing many new LGBTQ+ representations in the series. I would say it is the most inclusive series I've watched. We have bisexual main characters (Nuea, Sky), openly gay group of friends (Toh, Jao), a trans person (Daisy), straight people who are fine with other people's sexualities (Intouch, Som, Tor) etc. The characters in the story are already gay, bi or pan. They don't get "turned" gay or play the "I'm straight but the person I like just so happens to be a guy" trope. By accepting the fact that there are other sexualities and that straight people don't just happen fall in love with the same sex, we are one step closer to the goal (portarying LGBTQ+ people correctly and as normal people). In addition to the male x male couples, we have two straight couples (no more, everyone in the world is gay trope), and a lesbian couple (the very first too). We see them give Daisy her happy ending with Intouch unlike other BLs where characters that are trans or as openly feminine as Daisy are used as comedy relief. This is a huge improvement for the BL industry and Thailand.

Four, although we get introduced the main characters with their groups of friends, unlike other BL series, they don't just disappear as the plot continue. This is honesly one of the best things I like about the series. Both Toh's group of friends and Nuea's group of friends are seen multiple times. This is unlike other BLs where you can count the amount of the main characters meeting with their whole gang in one hand. They encourage them, comfort them, help them and advice them. At the same time, they call each other out when they see them doing something bad. They don't just brush it off because Toh's the main character or they're all busy with their love lives. They help with Toh's bad habits, Jao's insecurities, Daisy's worries, etc. They are great friends for each other. They don't get ignored or forgotten as the couples get together. Yes, we see lots of scenes where each individual ship is alone but we also see lots of scenes where they're with their friends and are talking about their problems or listening to others' problems.

Five, the relationships develop very naturally. We can see their whole love story and can even tell accuate timelines about when they first meet, when their relationship start to change, when they started falling and when they finally agreed to date each other. It isn't a sudden interest or relationship because we see them gradually falling and changing both in the way they treat their love interest and the people around them. Because we can see how much their relationship change them for the better, we're able to root for them more. And because their love story happened so naturally, it doesn't feel unexpected or something done just to get the plot going when they get together. This is possible too because the crews are always together. We kinda see everyone's love stories at the same time and how it affects others. Props to the director for being able to not make it look overwhelming. Seeing them interact with all their friends together with their little movements, the way they are close to each other and the way they touch each other makes them look so much more natural. This can be seen in epsiode 10 (the basketball court) or epsiode 9 (at the bar). Plus, the other couples give a good contrast to Nuea and Toh's relationship. Their relationship is obviously very strange and weird but the writer's telling us that not all couples are like that and there are couples with healthy relationships in the show which is a good message to send espeically to the younger audience who would wish of a love story similar while watching these series. At the same time, just because these couples are in a healthy relationship and started out much more normally than NueaToh, doesn't mean that they don't have their own problems and worries. It shows that all the couples have their ups and downs too, not just the strange ones. Relationships aren't just all cute and butterflies. To have a real relationship, you have to put in the work.

Six, character development. There's so much character development in this series. Almost everyone has some level of character development which shows that the writer, producer and director really worked to give the characters depth and improvement. Considering how cartoonishly funny they acted in the first 3 epsiodes (also probably the reason why most of us cringed a lot), we see them have flaws, probelms we relate to, improve, and eventually makes us see them as real life people instead of just characters. Yes, they still have that cartoonish manner that reminds us these are just characters in a BL series but as we continue to watch the epsiodes, we connect with them. We see character development from everyone. We see Nuea changed from this cold, manipulative person to cute and clingy as he falls and confirms his feelings for Toh. We see his jealous and possessive side as well as his considerate and kind side. He reasures Toh when he has insecures about himself or the relationship. He's patient with him when Toh's throwing one of his tantrums. Heck, he even lets Toh try topping him once (though it didn't work out) because he didn't want Toh haven't any sort of regerts in their relationship. But, not only do we see their individual developments, we also see their relationships develop. NueaToh for example, started out more as Toh being head over heels for Nuea and worshipping him like a god. He even gave him "Red" as a nickname because red is considered holy and auspicious. It is also because of this that Toh can not bring himself to talk about his flaws with Nuea as he's afriad that'll cause them to break up. As the relationship goes on, Toh opens up to Nuea. The turning point is when Nuea discovers Toh's hoarding habits and breaks down realise that even though Toh loves him very much, he's just waiting for their relationship to end because he doesn't understand how someone like him can be with someone like Nuea who is a god to him. This made Toh realise that while Nuea's amazing, he's also a human being with emotions and feelings. It made Toh understand that even though Nuea has been the one to reasure him about the relationship this whole time, Nuea might also be feeling insecure about himself. He now knows he's not the only one that could get hurt by this relationship and Nuea is just as vulnerable as he is.

We also see Sky change from this teasing playboy to someone who's seriously in love. He's open with his feelings, considerate, kind, patient and tries his best to understand Jao. He cheers Jao up, give him more self esteem and confidence and listens to his concerns and insecurities. He went from a player to the best boyfriend anyone could've asked for. We also see Jao's journey as he goes from being insecure about his body and doubting whether anyone could actually love him to accepting his flaws and eventually Sky's love too. From trying to drown himself in the ocean to accepting people can love him despite his flaws is a huge improvement.

We see Daisy struggle with her gender identity as she gets feelings for Touch. This shows us that despite the happy, easy going image Daisy has, she also has her own struggles and worries. She worries about how her being transgender might affect the people around her. She's worried about how others might think of people she love because of her. She even tries to change herself and become "Day". We learn about the struggles that come with being trans and dating as a transgender person. I also really liked that all of her friends, especially Som, was extremely supportive of her. Som also made sure that Daisy changing herself into "Day" was something she wanted to do, not something she did for other people. And that if that was really what she wants, she is always ready to support Daisy. Som and Daisy are usually the ones that are always happy, so I'm glad the show showed a new side to them.

Seven, The series doesn't have any problems concerning sex or consent. There's almost no action when one of them is drunk, asleep or drugged. Even kisses are consented by both sides and done mostly sober. I think the only time they kissed when one of them was drunk was in epsiode 7. Toh asked Nuea to keep his promise and even admitting to drinking the alcohol just because Nuea had told him drunken kisses are better. He insisted but he was still a little bit drunk (he remember what he talked about with Nuea though) so I guess it doesn't really count as him giving Nuea consent. Even in epsiode 9, Nuea didn't do anything sexual to him other than giving him a bath until Toh was awake and sober enough to talk and understanding his surroundings (Toh was apperently pretending to be drunk but Nuea didn't know that so it was nice to see he didn't do anything despite them already being offical and Toh being a clingy "drunk"). They also talk about safe sex and seem to always use protection while doing it. So big props to the writer and the director.

However, the story does makes me cringe a lot and there have been times where I just couldn't take the secondhand embrassment. I also dislike that while they acknowledge that Toh has a problem, they haven't done anything to help with it like taking him to a professional. Even in epsiode 8 where Nuea tells Toh he knows about the photo collection and that he knows Toh has been following him around taking pictures, it is evenually seen as a romantic gesture made from a supposely one sided crush. In epsiode 13 where Toh's hoarding problem gets exposed, instead of Nuea talking about how problemic this is, the shows says that it only happened because Toh was so insecured in the relationship that he wanted to keep things as memories for when they eventually break up. But I do give it credit. Despite it not doing much about Toh's stalker and hoarding tendencies, we do see that the series does have realistic solutions for his hoarding problem. Toh is also willing to listen to his friends and change. However his stalker and hoarding tendencies do need to be addressed and shown very clearly as a bad habit.

I really like the series and there have been so many things to praise it on, but in the end Toh is the main character and I really dislike that they somewhat ended up brushing off his problems. What I had hoped for is that they either get Toh some help or show Toh's character development regarding that problem. 8.5/10

Acting/Cast : Billy did a great job as Nuea. He was able to express Nuea in his own way. The most memorable of course are the kissing scenes. We can all see how hard he and Seng worked at those. I'm glad we saw an realistic portayal of how actual kisses would be like (the panting and moaning from both members is just chef's kiss). Both parties where whimpering, moaning and panting which not only show us how pleasureable the kiss was, it is also an accuate portayal of how someone would react kissing their long time crush in a heated kiss. This was unlike other BLs series where these sounds are either edited out or covered by music. Thank you for showing how a heated kiss is like in real life. Seng also did an amazing job as Toh. He was exactly like how I imagine Toh would be like. He had me convinced he was Toh. I don't think anyone else could have replaced him. The rest of the cast was also very good but I think personally, I liked Opp and Nut's chemistry the best. They worked really well together and I was rooting for them hard. I hope to see them in more scenes and BLs. 10/10

Music : The music was amazing. I really liked the opening music and I played it so much while waiting for the next epsiodes to drop. It was the perfect music for the series. The moment that song played, I knew exactly what it was for. Which in my book is high marks considering how bad my memory normally is. Other than the OST, the other music pieces used were also good. The timings were right and the editor did a great job puting them in. It was nice. 10/10

Rewatch Value : Honestly, I would not rewatch it. At least not everything from the start to end. I might rewatch certain parts I really like but the embrassment and cringe is too much for me to want to watch the whole thing again. 8.5/10

Overall : 9.5/10

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THE WORST MOST CRINGY AND EMBARRASSING SHOW EVER

Ok I can’t take it anymore. I usually only write reviews about shows that are incredible. I’ve never taken the time or the energy to write a review for a show that I didn’t like. But this show was just SOOOO INFURIATING that I needed to rant about it somewhere. But there are some good parts about this show I like and I will name those at the end>>

THIS SHOW IS UNBEARABLE. UNBELIEVABLY CRINGY AND CHOCKED FULL OF EMBARRASSING SCENES EVERY DAMN MINUTE OF EVERY DAMN EPISODE. TOH IS SINGLE-HANDEDLY THE WORST CHARACTER I HAVE EVER WATCHED IN ANY TV SHOW IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. HE IS SOOOO INFURIATING IN EVERY SCENE HE IS IN. I. CANNOT. STRESS. THIS. ENOUGH. THE AMOUNT OF TIMES I ALMOST THREW MY PHONE AT THE WALL BECAUSE OF HIM ALONE, WAS A VERY HIGH AMOUNT OF TIMES. it’s just that NOBODY acts like that in real life. AND HE HAS THE MOST ANNOYING THAI VOICE I HAVE EVER HEARD. Never wanted to slap someone THIS BAD. They made him sooo annoying that it got to the point where even when he does act normal, I STILL AM FILLED WITH RAGE EVERY TIME I SEE HIM. EVEN HIS SMILE ANNOYS ME THE MOST. Yes sure it’s probably not the actor himself. But It’s JUST THE WAY THE WRITERS AND DIRECTORS MADE HIS CHARACTER AND ITS SIMPLY THE WORST. There were SO MANY SCENES I WISHED I COULD FAST FORWARD. I honestly wished I could have stopped watching it. But for some reason I had to keep watching for Nuea and Sky.

Now. Onto everyone else. NUEA IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PERFECT MAN EVER. After watching him he's definitely one of my FAVORITE BL actors. He’s stunningly gorgeous. He has a BEAUTIFUL personality. THE WAY HE TAKES CONTROL OF ALL THE ROMANCE SCENES. SOOOOO HOT. exactly what I want in a main BL lead. My only complaint abt him ofc is, THERE. IS. NO. WAY. HE WOULD FALL FOR TOH. THERES NO DAMN WAY ANYONE IN THE WORLD COULD FALL FOR THAT. Im not saying nobody could love someone that is shy, weird, insecure, or overly obsessed with their crush. That can all be fine. ITS JUST THEY MADE HIM SO UNREALISTIC CUZ NOBODY IS ACTUALLY THAT BAD OK?! TOH DOES NOTTT DESERVE NUEA. FOR THIS REASON THEY DO NOT GO WELL TOGETHER. I CANT STAND SEEING A BEAUTIFUL PERFECT MAN LIKE THAT WITH THE MOST INFURIATING PERSON I HAVE EVER SEEN. FOR THIS REASON THE WHOLE POTENTIAL OF THE SHOW IS RUINED. IT HAD SUCH GOOD POTENTIAL FOR CHEMISTRY. THE QUALITY. THE ACTORS. BUT THEY RUINED IT ALL. it could have been SUCH A BEAUTIFUL SHOW. THE ROMANCE SCENES COULD HAVE BEEN SOOOOOO GOOD. SUCH POTENTIAL GONE TO WASTE. I. WILL. NOT. STRESS. THIS. ENOUGH.

Onto another character. I LOVEEEEEE SKY. HES PERFECT IN EVERY WAY. He’s an ANGEL. That man has not done ONE wrong thing in this entire show. And Jao is super adorable. I LOVE them two together. Sky never gave up. Kept chasing him. Who doesn’t love that? The side couples are 100000 times better than the main couple. I have NO complaints about those two.

Now about Intouch. That MAN IS FINE OK? He is STUNNING. wish he got more screen time. Also. No issues at all with him or Daisy. I need a spin off series of just them two… withOUT Toh. Please.

Alright I doubt anyone actually read all of that^ but I just needed to get all that anger off my chest. I’ve watched a hundred Thai shows, and yes they ALL have so many cringy scenes. That’s undeniable. But this one was multiplied by A MILLION. Every damn minute Toh was there.

Anyhow. Ya. I think that’s most of it. I have never used caps lock so much before. BUT HE DESERVES IT.

The moral of this is: SAVE YOURSELF. DONT WATCH IT. ITS NOT WORTH IT. YES NUEA AND SKY ARE BEAUTIFUL BL CHARACTERS. BUT. ITS NOT WORTH THE PAIN.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk~ Dani.

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Insanely Good

ATTENTION: There are so many people watching CUT versions on other platforms. If you want to watch the UNCUT version with amazing subs, Please check out Idol Factory Youtube Channel.

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Not sure when I fell for this show, but it was early on the series. It has become a series I literally stop everything for to watch the CH3 version without subs; the Youtube Uncut and subbed version, then watch it again twice on Youtube because every scene is So freaking amazing! The actors, plot, director, Producer and all the staff involved did a wonderful job. If you dropped this series, thenYou're missing out on amazing series that has never been done before. Looking forward to upcoming episodes XD

Update: This series is literally a series that was created for LGBTQ+ that have not been represented in BL in the past. The actors are portraying the characters perfectly and with each cringe or 2nd hand embarrassment, there is a beautiful thing happening. I hope people give it a chance by watching episodes after Ep. 1. It has become my guilty pleasure and I can not wait for Friday to come quickly! I’m so proud of Saint for producing this series and for recruiting all these talented actors to his agency ???

UPDATE: Just watched Ep. 9 today... and I have to say... it was amazing! For those who dropped the show... you're honestly missing out on such a heart warming, Funny, Spicy, cringy, 2nd hand embarrassment giving show that has never bene seen before!

May 14th UPDATE: I finished the episode and I will say this again... 10/10 for EVERYTHING! There are some parts I would've liked to have been added from the novel but even without that, I still Love this series soooooo much! We definitely Need another series for TouchDaisy and SomTor/TorSom XD.

Thank you for producing this series IDF/Saint and to all the actors and actresses/ director/Staff and just everyone involved in this series.

Lire davantage

Unique! Rewatch!

This series is why I still believe there is love for everyone. this might seem over the top to some but if you have not felt left out or an outcast in your life in one way or another, then It might be difficult to relate but I did and it was just beautiful.

I'm amazed at how many people have lost the main storyline, point of this series but I'm also glad there are people who appreciate the diversity and representation that we've never had in any other BL series.

I'm so thankful for Saint and everyone involved in this series for brining this series come to life!

Lire davantage

stalking, obsession, hottest guy on campus, multiple couples, queer affirming

Previously known as Stalker the series, and you can TELL. Co-produced by and featuring (but NOT staring) Saint and directed by Cheewin (sigh) with mostly fresh faces it was pure pulp and... I hated the plot.

In fact I was ALL OVER THE PLACE with this show.

I ADORED both queer friendship groups, and the language use that resulted, and the main character reads as out gay and a bit femme, which is lovely to see. As @heretherebedork​ pointed out this show is basically giving the characters that usually get punch downed on, mocked, side-lined, and pillorized, their own love stories and happy endings - and I LOVE THAT for them. And for Thailand.

But (and you knew there was a big ol’but coming) the stalker aspect was far too much for me. Toh, the lead, was so cringey I dropped it at ep 3 because it had become my personal hellscape of second hand embarrassment. Like Bridesmaids or The Hangover this is NOT a style of humor or romcom that I enjoy at all.

As is often the case with stories of this type, Toh came off as desperate, needy, and awkward while Nuea had no personality. This meant that I could find no reason for Nuea to fall f\in love with Toh (although sexual attraction seemed to play a BIG role and that, by episode 6 started to save the show for me). Self consciously the narrative seems to recognize its own flaw in this matter and sought to address it by hanging yet another lamplight (or two) on it in the final episode but, I was over it by then.

And while Nuea did grow a bit out of his blandness, Toh never stopped being a complete nightmare (for me). Certainly as we got to know Toh better his disposition was better understood (Austen) BUT I never grew to like him, or entirely understand why Nuea liked him, either.

I DID like how very first love and gay sexual journey of discovery Toh & Nuea’s relationship was.

This was one of those rare (and much coveted) BLs where the characters actually do seem to want to bone. In fact SCOY’s Nuea & Toh are the pinnacle of that awkward first-time super-sexualized relationship in university. Like, I REMEMBER what this was like. Knowing how cool you want to be, but also just craving another human THAT BADLY you totally forget your cool.

And frankly, I like that in a YA drama. Really good, adolescent first love, shown in a positive light with a pro-sex message as well a themes of communication and safe sex? We NEVER get that from Thailand. In fact, we rarely get it in any gay shows, anywhere, BL or not BL. Just ANYWHERE. The fact that this show featured a drunk kiss that was NEGOTIATED ahead of time blew my mind. How clever. What a subtle way to address dub con. In this aspect the actors did a GREAT job, especially Billy (who played Nuea).

There was an awkward raw visceral connection going on that really worked and that previously only Taiwan and Japan have ever really bothered with. The other show that got this DOWN was HIStory 3 the BL that shall not be named.

But otherwise, I spent more time cringing than enjoying the mains. The side couples, however.

THE SIDE COUPLES!

I lost my mind first over Sky & Jao.

A confident king who falls head over heals for the sweet scared boy with self worth issues and makes know bones about his interest. Actually we have seen this trope before, but it was so perfectly done with this show.

But then at the very end they gave us Intouch & Daisy. Daisy & Intouch did not have enough screen time and I could watch a full series all about them. Their language alone was a real pleasure to listen to. I think the show didn’t have quite enough faith in standard Thai BL watchers' willingness to invest in them as a couple, over which I am quite sad. Because i get it. But in this matter, at least, I wish the show had been even more brave and boundary pushing.

In the end, for me, this show was a real doozy. It was a mix of Thai cheer meets creepy, Taiwanese in-your-face queer, and Japanese chaos muffin slapstick (like Kieta Hatsukoi). Was it successful mixing these things? Not for me.

It had a ton of things I really did not like (e.g. the humor was crass and awkward, and the whole thing was extremely CRINGE). It also had things that really worked: (e.g. representation of multiple different kinds of queerness, about which it very Taiwanese - in that there was no doubt that the characters really did want to bone). It was the opposite of sanitized gay. Honestly, if you can make it through the first half, and survive the never ending cringe-factor that IS this show, the second half is entirely unique - content we’ve never seen before in BL.

SCOY must be applauded for giving us, without question, the queerest, most honest, most truly gay Thai BL campfest that I’ve ever seen. It has to be praised for everything that it does accomplish:

beautiful peer groups;
all powerful and encompassing friendship support;
those friend’s giving equally bad advice & gossiping;
discussions of topping versus bottoming and safe sex;
examinations of wife/husband language;
concerns around body image and self-worth;
AND the gross, weird, ugly, hilarious side of all of the above.

Did I love this show?

Absolutely not.

Did I want to love it?

Yes.

Do I admire what it was trying to do and, to a certain extent, did do?

Absolutely.

SCOY drove me nuts and made me bush but had flashes of unparalleled genius.

SCOY was many things (a lot of them annoying af) but it what it was, primarily, was actually quite special.

So, I remain conflicted.

SCOY made me feel whiplash and I hate that sensation. But I love what it was attempting. I loved when it was suddenly very sexy but then I hated SO MUCH when it was suddenly not sexy at all. I certainly fast forwarded more than I watched. But when I paused to take it in, it did get fun and enjoyable.

If you like slapstick and you don’t mind cheese and cringe then you might enjoy this BL quite a bit. In the end, this one really came down to a matter of taste. It’s not to my personal taste, the narrative was hit or miss, but its intention was pure gold. This one waffled from 5-9, so I ended up just going with 7/10.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS, just not the usual ones

Final note, the sub team on this one was AWESOME, gotta give them a shout out.

They did mad good work.

Lire davantage

I felt seen...

I felt like I could belong. This series not only help me realize what kind of F*d up world we live in, It also helped see understand myself and Love myself.

I just read a comment saying how the male lead is effeminate and creepy and they just dropped the series because of it. I'd like to say to that person, good riddance. Because how people react watching this series is literally shows how society also treats these characters that are based on real people that exist.

This world makes us think that we need to fit in somewhere and do things how they want us to do. But in reality, this world is made for the entitled, elite that made all these society rules and those of us who recognize it and never succumb to fitting in know how difficult it is to be ones self but at the same time, how empowering it is to say "This is Me, I was born this way and if no-one comes into my life loving me for myself, then I dont want it". This series was exactly that.

Lire davantage