180 Degrees Longitude Between Us (2022)

una serie que logra que las emociones traspasen la pantalla

la verdad es que no le tenía mucha fé cuando la empecé, pero después del primer episodio supe que se iba a convertir en una de mis series favoritas - y eso que nunca me terminan de convencer al 100% la mayoría.

si bien la historia a mí me resultó bastante predecible, me encantó como no dejaron ningún punto de la trama sin desarrollar. el desenvolvimiento de de todas las inquietudes que wang le iba planteando a in fue un 10/10 sin dudas — si bien sabía, lo sabía perfectamente, que no iban a tener un final feliz, me encantó también que no decidieran cambiar toda la personalidad de in por arte de magia y hacerlo decir algo "no, wang! te amo, sigamos juntos", porque eso no sería para nada realista.

la historia de un adolescente que se enamora de quien por primera vez lo entiende, protege, aconseja, enseña sobre la vida y por sobre todo, llena el vacío que dejó la muerte de su papá — y también, la historia de arrepentimiento, dolor y cobardía de un hombre cuyos actos desencadenaron más dolor del que él planeaba evitar.

quizás no tanto wang, pero in es una persona que está completamente rota por dentro. era imposible para él, por su trauma, darse la oportunidad de amar, y menos que menos al hijo de quien fue también el amor de su vida. por eso digo que el final fue súper realista y adecuado para la serie. te rompe el alma, si, pero es genial.

apartado especial para criticar a la mamá de wang, por dios, que mujer insoportable, ni siquiera podía dejarlo llorar en paz en el auto porque ella no cerraba la boca dos segundos. manipuladora y controladora. no sos amiga de wang y tampoco su hermana, sos su mamá.. media pila te pido. sin embargo, me gustó que su personaje tampoco evolucionara mágicamente como suele pasar en otros bls, cosas como, "wang, está bien, mamá te va a apoyar en todo lo que hagas, quédate con in" me hubiesen hecho dejar de ver la serie, la verdad. creo que su personaje, así como está, fue perfecto para ser el que nos genera rechazo.

por último, me gustaría decir que AMÉ la cinematografía, los colores elegidos para todos los episodios y la manera en la que representan tan bien las vibras de cada situación. las metáforas, como la del puente o la ballena, hicieron que la historia sea más profunda, sin embargo, no más difícil de entender.

no le doy un 10 porque creo que el personaje de in debería haber actuado más con respecto a algunas situaciones. la manera en la que seguía intentando aferrarse a mol, la mamá de wang, ya me parecía ilógica — en varias ocasiones fue tibio. pero nada más que eso. le doy un 9,50 en total.

si buscan una serie que les deje el corazón roto por unos días y las emociones a flor de piel, entonces te la recomiendo al 100%.
ah, y una cosa importante, si estás buscando escenas +18 entonces ni te molestes porque no hay ninguna — simplemente la serie no se enfoca en eso y está perfecto. el desarrollo en las emociones y sentimientos de los personajes es lo que importa. sin embargo, la tensión está presente en TODOS los episodios!

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Im glad I put aside my initial bias to give this drama a chance

I felt very uneasy watching this drama, but I know its supposed to be that way and part of me is glad that I set aside my hesitation to watch this drama. There is daddy and mommy issues all up on this thing. On the surface you see attraction between the male leads with a significant age gap among other taboos that is pretty messed up. Its hard to swallow. Its disturbing. But I put that aside in this case because this drama isnt about romance at all. If we were to follow the metaphor layed out, there is no doubt here. The leads would never be together. But underneath that it goes beyond the individual but the ideologies that Wang and In represents. You have these two very different people of differing generations sharing the same trauma. You watch as Wang and In get entangled in philosophical questioning. They lay out their statements and pick apart each other's arguments challenging each other's words. For Wang, he wholeheartedly fights without hesitation. He has conviction and passion and stands by his beliefs. He gets frustrated and angry and doesnt understand why loving a man is an issue. He wants to travel beyond his resting coordinates. Above all, he holds his truth and embodies it and lets the world see it. There is a beautiful scene that stuck out to me in the drama where Wang reaches out his hand over In's heart trying to will that belief into him. He so badly wants In to adopt his worldview, to accept his feelings and his identity . To me, I see this as Wang represented by his generation trying so hard to convince the prior generation to change. Wang gives the world he inhereted from his father to In. The globe now in his care, its up to In to decide on how to proceed forward. He responds to Wang by encouraging him to stick with his beliefs, follow his instincts, and use his talents for good.

In's perspective is filled with trauma. His sees the world differently and explaining this here would be a big spoiler, so to put it simply you learn to understand why each character make their choices. In cant move on from the past and Wang accepts this. If In adopted this worldview earlier on. If society wasnt so messed up back then. If he felt safe enough to express his love for another man in the past, he wouldve led a happy life with the love of his life. If that happened, Wang probably wouldnt have been born. His existence came out of his In's heartbreak and his parent's broken relationships. The age gap has a purpose here. I dont think the messaging here is to accept the age gap which is why in this case Im putting that aside. It never comes to fruition. Its in the name of the title. They discuss parallel lines never meeting. The messaging is to examine the victims of this messed up society. That if we hold onto the past and if we dont let go of those ideologies, it hurts people. Therefore if we follow this metaphor... Wang accepts the failure. He is unable to convince the prior generation to adopt his worldview but it isnt defeat. After all given his age, time is on his side. His generation and the following will craft the future in the hopes that they can show them all what a better world could look like. An optimistic perspective for a very pessimistic outlook in that things might not change but at least its worth trying.

The acting in this is phenomenal. Im really looking forward to watching more from these actors. The drama is slow moving and introspective which might not be for everyone. But, overall I liked what i saw. The cinematography is gorgeous. Considering that In is an architect, the set design is very intentional. His house is very refelective of him to the smallest detail. Wide open windows to the isolated woods he lives in. Even the Rectangular and square geometric shapes in the background including glassware and lampshades. He is living in the safety of his own box scared to wander outside of it. The drama makes use of his room divider that mimics bars of a cell. The muted gray earthtone colors for his cave...the list goes on. Very well done but I would probably not rewatch it. Lol. Its very uncomfortable to watch the first time around and quite sad at the end. Anyway a solid drama for me that is unlike any other BL I have ever watched.

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Mature and Precise

The plot hit me big time. It's well written. Heavy yet meaningfull dialogs.

The talents gave justice to their characters. You can really feel their emotions through their actions and eye contact.

There's no "intimate" explicit scene but you'll get it. I cant remember any unnecessary scene just to prolong the series.

Excellent cinematography. Simple but striking.

Different people, different perspective.
It's true that there's someone who always get what he/she want; and there's someone who always give way for what "should" be done.

Parents always want the best for their children but sometimes they should check if their children really like it. The more you control the person, the higher the probability that he/she will go against you. Disorder to more disorder- entropy... that's how nature works.

Highly recommended series, but not for those who prefer lovey-dovey type. 😊

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Heartbreakingly beautiful or beautifully heartbreaking

The series is a masterpiece. Considering the fact that it so extremely focused on conversations between the characters, one would expect to be bored easily. But the reality is different. I was kept on the edge of my seat through most of the conversations, especially when Wang finally let out everything he was feeling.

The pace seems both slow and fast at the same time, but it is not something that bothered me. I actually think it fits the storyline very nicely. I really loved how nicely different metaphors were put into the dialogue. And even into the scenes themselves. The lines, the bridge, the divider in In’s room. They all made so much sense in relation to the story, the emotions and relations between the characters.

Death of a parent, or another loved one, is always hard. What we have in the series is three people who loved the same man (in different was) and are still mourning his loss. Each in their own way, but they are all still hurting, and there is so much left unsaid between them.

Sasiwimol, Wang’s mom, is a character I really wanted to hate. She comes across as someone who is very prejudiced towards LGBTQ+ community, who abandoned her child when he needed her most, and as someone who doesn’t really know how to be a mom but prefers to be a friend. But towards the end, we get to see just how much she really cares for Wang. She might not be the best mother out there and is quite manipulative, she still cares for Wang deep inside. She wants him to live a life of no pain, of happiness, something she didn’t necessarily have.

Inthawut, the 52-hertz whale, still feels incredible amounts of guilt for what has happened in the past. While there are certain parts of the story between In, Mol and Siam (Wang’s father) that are still unclear, his pain is. He hid himself away from his friends and most society, hoping to fix things that he didn’t even cause. He, I think, sees his loneliness as something he deserves for what has happened in the past.

Wang is lost. Not geographically, but definitely philosophically. He is unsure about who he is as he feels a big part of him was lost with his father’s death. His mom is not someone he can always have an honest conversation with as the two end up arguing. But he finds someone willing to talk in In. I don’t know if Wang’s love is actually real or if he is just interpreting it as such, but that is not really the main aspect of the series. It’s actually Wang’s journey of self-discovery. He learns a lot about his father, about his mother and about In, which in turn helps him learn a lot more about himself as well.

I expected the ending we got, and I think it was the right one. It doesn’t mean it wasn’t heartbreakingly beautiful. Wang had to completely break himself down before he was able to build himself up again. The same is true for In and even Mol. The three of them really went through a roller coaster of emotions.

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Facing your dark truths and secrets

WARNING
This series is extremely heavy, it's emotionally taxing and draining for you. if you are not in the right frame of mind mentally and emotionally, I would suggest you skip this one entirely. There is triggering topics in this series (death of a loved one, grief, bullying, homophobia, alcoholism).
Overall Thoughts: This series was excellently produced; the acting was phenomenal. I felt every emotion and tension the actors was conveying. At episode 6, I considered dropping it because I felt my mood plummeting and I'm still not over the roller coaster ride of emotions this series took me through. This series is depressing and taxing on the viewer.
(Dislikes)
- How the series had cut breaks every 15 - 20 minutes to show you a preview of exactly what's going to happen in the next sense was annoying for me.
- I think it was unfair for Wang to blame In for his father's death in episode 8. Wang's dad got rejected by In when he expressed his love for him and because he could not handle the rejection, he killed himself. I think In has /had love for Wang's dad but just in a brotherly way nothing more, because he is not GAY, nor is he interested in being with a man in that way. I do think it was unfair to In. In has love for both Wang and his dad but not to be with them in a relationship.

I do agree with Mol when she and In was having a conversation in her room that Wang mistook the obsession and admiration he has for In into love. (I don't remember which episode that happened I think it was episode 8.)
(My Takeaways)
From episode 4-8. We have to deal with our deep-rooted problems, secrets and trauma. Pain is part of living this life, so we have to learn to accept, heal, let go and forgive ourselves. For if we don't, we will be forever having a heavy dark cloud on our shoulders. We will forever be stuck in the time we experience such pain. We have to integrate our dark side because it's a part of us, it's what makes us humans.

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so beautiful, so painfully raw and honest. every line said made me think.
i suppose this was the mom's, the son's, the uncle's and dad's "symposium" where they had to come together and discuss love from their point of view, "we all live in the same world, yet we all see it differently" not seeing eye to eye with your loved ones, I am well aware of how agonizing that is. i truly loved the discussions about love, philosophy, and politics and how they're all braided and intertwined. i felt so much for waeng, surrounded by these immature adults that he had to grow and show so much maturity that they overlooked his void and loneliness. god I wanted to give him a hug so bad.

such masterful work deserves so much praise. the scrip, cinematography and acting were truly splendid. i might need to recover but I will indeed go back to it.

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is this just a bl?

Answer: No, I would not call this series a BL. Don't get me wrong, it is about love between men, but it's also something more and I feel like it's more about love between friends and family. It's a story about unspoken stories, it's a story about people who have been through a lot but they fought to get over it. It's not "just about 2 men in love".
The story is very beautiful and you can definitely feel the emotions.
It's not an easy story that you could binge wath in one sitting. I wouldn't be able to watch it just like that in my free time to chill. Not at all. It's complicated, painful but beautiful story. It didn't even feel like a series to me sometimes.
Very interesting and painful to watch.
I cannot say only good words about it though...
Everything was perfect, the chemistry, the cinematography, actors, vibe, emotions,...exept the mother. I don't know if it's only my issue, but I couldn't stand her. She was ruining that serious and beautiful vibe. Don't get me wrong, fun is great and people smiling and laughing too, but I feel like it would be even better for this series to just be serious. In last 2 episodes she was okey but in the previous ones, she was annoying. Maybe it's just me, maybe you agree. You can let me know in the comments under this review.
Anyways, I really recommend to watch this. It's something I've never seen in the BL world. I really wish something like that could air on TV, worldvide.

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I can't come up with a good title so this will do

Wow where do I even begin. I mean if you're looking for a sweet romance you're at the wrong address here. This isn't your typical BL to squee about handsome guys smooching where they get together in the end. This is an intense story about heartache and loss, about growing up, the folly of youth and motherhood, coming to terms with who you are as a person and trying to change someone who doesn't want to be changed. It's tender yet harsh, funny yet sad. There is a bittersweet aftertaste to it all and it leaves you thinking about yourself, your relationship with others and in general your place in the world. It took me ages to finish this series because you gotta be in the right frame of mind to watch it. You don't just go in all willy nilly. With the slow burn and quiet pacing this show is certainly one hell of a commitment, but a good one. Also the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous and I could just look at shots from the show and be happy. I recommend it but only if you're prepared to take this journey.

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Astoundingly Beautiful

A lustrously gorgeous story, quiet and told in glances and body language and silences as much as it is told in words.

The realities upon which this series shines light are all too real, raw and heartbreaking. Each character tells their own part of the story and how decisions of one person weaves into the lives of those around them. We have a story about how the force of one person can impact another and how the mores of society can be a detriment for some.

Mol is someone whose personality is almost like a force of nature. She is loud to cover her loneliness. She is bright and personable so no one notices the cracks leaking her sadness everywhere she goes. However, she is also the epitome of the parent who wants the best for their child without listening to their child. This is the parent who loves you without actually loving you because to love a person is to accept and embrace who they truly are. This is a parent who “does everything for” their child, yet makes everything about themselves.

She is selfish and self-centered. She wanted a man and made him hers, only to refuse to see the truth: that he was closeted and in love with his best friend. She wants to be the center of her son’s world. She will not give him up because she needs him to fill a void in her that a child should not be asked to fill for their parent. She will not listen to what her child actually wants, too busy wanting the happiness she has decided will make him happy. Even at the end of the last episode, she is talking all about herself while he cries quietly in the passenger seat beside her.

Mol is an abusive parent and a narcissist (and I mean this in the clinical sense not the colloquial sense). While there are times she evokes sympathy, she is ultimately the detriment to the happiness of three people. All to center herself and her wants.

In is the heartbreaking illustration of what internalized homophobia does to a person. He avoids, as long as possible, to admit the truth. In fact, even by the end of the last episode he had never voiced his love for either of the men he has loved. He won’t even bring himself to voice the fact that Siam loved him. He skirts around it, speaking of it only to Wang without stating it outright. It is ultimately up to Wang to put words to what In wants to leave in the silence.

We also see the effect others have on someone who has internalized the deep shame of loving someone of the same gender of themselves. He lives with regret, blaming himself indirectly for Siam’s death (though I’d argue he probably should blame himself more directly, as should Mol), but we never hear him state a wish to have done things differently. He clings so hard to the idea that he did what he thought was right, what would make everyone (except himself) happy. Not only could he not accept the love of a man he loved in return, not only could he not give that man the love he had for him, but he cannot admit to himself that their own happiness could have saved Siam’s life.

Watching In open up to Wang as he relays stories of the man he loved is breathtakingly beautiful. You watch his walls thin and lower, though they never disappear. He’s filled with an agonizing, all-consuming fear. But you watch that fear get quieter when it’s just the two men. When the only thing in his world is himself and Wang, who gently but fearlessly moves forward. And you watch it all crumble because of the guilt and shame he carries regarding Siam and Mol when she asserts her will and manipulates his emotions to give her what she wants. It’s clear, to me, that while he was not prepared to declare his love prior to that conversation, he WAS prepared to accept Wang into his life and build something with him as Wang desired.

Wang…beautiful, brave Wang. It’s impossible to not adore this character. He is caught between grief for his father and exhaustion from his mother when we meet him. It is clear he is the emotional caretaker of his mother who has a codependent relationship to him. However it’s also clear he wishes to escape her, to not be responsible for her happiness and be allowed to find his own.

He is relentless in pursuit of answers. You can tell early on what he suspects and knows but isn’t saying. He isn’t pushing people to give him the information he craves but rather gently leads them to disclosing it bit by bit. He’s headstrong and passionate but I don’t think he’s idealistic. He knows the darkness that lurks in the world for someone like him (queer folks). He isn’t ignorant to it but he learns, as he falls in love, to be undaunted by it, to refuse to allow it to steer his life.

We see Wang falling in love before he even realizes himself that’s what is happening. The magnetic draw In has on him is captivating to watch just as much as In captivates him. He is admirable in his willingness to stand and fight for the love he has for In even when In isn’t willing to fight beside him. He is thoughtful and careful in ways he doesn’t even notice.

What is more heartbreaking than In deciding he should leave is Wang seeming to fall back into role of Mol’s protector, caretaker and babysitter. When he tells In that she’s done nothing wrong for wanting him to be happy and it isn’t fair for her to lose (if he decided to refuse to leave so he could win) it feels like the abuse cycle is starting over, the victim of the abuse giving into the path of least resistance. Watching him cry silently as they drive home while his mother centers herself in her one-sided conversation once more was more heartbreaking than the scene with In the night before.

While one could nitpick little things that are not spelled out but generally assumed (i.e. the “coincidence of them ending up there, for example), those things do not make this story any less to me. The soundtrack and cinematography complement the emotions of the story so well. (I’m in love with the color palette.)

I think Mol could be genuinely triggering for people who have suffered from a narcissistic parent or similar types of emotional abuse from a parent. Her reaction to Wang disclosing he’s in love with In could also be triggering. But I think the series is more than worth watching even so.

The typed out messages on the screen at the nd just made me cry more.

I wouldn’t change anything about this series. Not a single thing.

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A story just for me, but not for me

This show seem to have been made just for me..

The acting is everything I have ever wanted, when you put three people in a house and just scream action and they manage to pull through then you know that's perfection...

Character driven plots is why I watch jdramas, people sitting standing, screaming crying out long dialogues as the go through life and all you can do is sit there and watch them go through these emotions because that's all you can do for them...

The way this drama was directed the music this drama used is why I go hunting for dramas like this it gives you a nostalgic longing feeling of something you can't remember something you can't have but yet you still want... That slice of life sombre feeling that you get knowing that this story could be happening next door to you...

You see this drama was made in perfection, my lecture lr use to say everyone starts off with 10 out of 10 and then from there we minus, so let's go into something I feel played an even bigger role in how I rated this show...

That child is barely out of his teenage years, and that man is his uncle, as a mother when I introduce an uncle to you, he remains an uncle to you THAT IS A NIN NEGOTIABLE.... there is a +-20 Yr gap that will never sit well with me and made this show impossible for me to watch I had this sinking unsettling feeling as the show went on and even more so when no-one else seem to feel the same... Fiction or not I stand by a fact 5 yrs age gap max as long as we are both above 20 and from the age of 30 we can argue the numbers... I would never let my girl child in such a relationship, not to talk of my boy child (even the casting department had to cast actors with 9 yrs difference in real life to sell this story, how about trying the actual 20??) this I give a - 5... I wonder if the gender played a role in this acceptance??

My next big no is the relationship In shared with his parents... I know the universal message is love conquers all, I know "love is patient, love is kind, it does not boast, it does not envy and it most definitely does not happen to father and son who share some similarities"

Me being wangs' mother or wangs' father and the type of past I shared with In as a lover (s*x or no s*x) ?? Or a best friend I could never comprehend this relationship, if I put you in my child's life early in or later on its not for you to screw them, the role I expect you to play has nothing to do with you screwing them... I could have looked past the age gap in the name of fiction if this man was a stranger, but the messiness that is the parents and In's relationship makes it impossible for me to lol past this relationship for what it was ... So - 5 (I have more to say on this topic but am trying to make this short)

So my three points go as follows
Wang, In, mol +1

The story and how some issues where looked into to the pint that despite my dropping skills and reservations I watched to the end... +2

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A MASTERPIECE! JUST BRILLIANT!

Let me call this series what it is. A complete and total masterpiece. It is brilliant from beginning to end. Riveting, soul-searching, and a classical intellectual metaphorical representation of life. It displays truth, obsession, pain, illusion, weakness, strength, and heaps of sadness.

It is the best BL drama certainly this year and perhaps ever. Brilliantly acted with a sharp, crisp screenplay. Outstanding.
Thailand's version of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"

This is not your formulaic BL series at all. It is, in all honestly, one of the finest acting series I have EVER watched. I was riveted, absorbed, and found it so utterly unique and one of a kind.

This is worth your time. I would rate this higher than 10 if I could.

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

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