This is an unexpected one. Despite the timeline being confusing at times and choppy in places, some plot holes/continuity issues and slight sound issues; the story is quite heartfelt. I fell in love with the character portrayals and the homely (I don’t know if that is the right word - maybe nostalgic) feel of the cinematography.

The acting capabilities were a bit of everything but each character portrayal felt genuine. So much so that the less polished acting was never an issue. It even had a slight charm to it.

I especially liked the sister character, Name’s mother, Em’s mother and Champ’s grandfather. Additionally, each of the main leads had moments throughout the series where they shone. I was taken with Gun’s character especially when he started interacting with Golf at university. His acting seemed to step up in those scenes. The actor who played Name did some powerful acting with just his face and nothing else in the first half of the series but they under-utilised him in the second half imo. I’m surprised I haven’t seen him around much in other BLs.

All the child actors did well but I particularly liked Nan’s child version. The turmoil his older self had when he found out the girl he liked was in a wheelchair, was his character’s shining moment for me. He showed a lot of sensitivity, and seeing him grapple with that stigma vs his genuine feelings for her was portrayed quite well.

I’m not sure if I liked or disliked that they only revealed what Champ’s issue was towards the end of the series, in regards to why he always pressured himself to succeed when no one else was pressuring him. I did have a few guesses as to why he was that way but since it could have been any one of those reasons, I was waiting for them to shed some light on it.

The way they portrayed the two queer relationships was also one of the series' strengths. When Golf asked Gun to marry him as he was getting the last of his stuff post break-up and Gun immediately said yes, I was getting ready to curse at how quickly they glossed over the reason they broke up but thankfully; they had the much needed conversation straight after and it made my heart so happy. I also found Em and Name’s romantic dynamic so refreshing. As we neared the last couple of episodes, I was getting worried they wouldn’t give us a satisfying enough conclusion for their love story but I was worried for nothing. The conclusion suited their dynamic and the kiss was very satisfying for me.

This is one of those odd dramas where even though it had as much things that needed improvement as things that were good; the good still carried it ahead as opposed to the bad dragging it down. Any other drama and this would be squarely a 6/10 or a 7/10 drama, but with such a good story with a slice of life/coming of age feel; it’s easily an 8/10 drama. It’s got heart (you’ll tear up at the emotional and heartwarming bits), you’ll fall hook line and sinker for the characters' lives and you’ll actually be taken in by the charming cinematography - even with the low budget feel and the slight sound and editing issues. It has the makings of a Thai classic and if not for the mentioned issues, this would be a 9/10 or a 10/10 drama.