I enjoyed this series, but I did find it a bit slow-paced for my tastes. Especially the first couple of episodes (it starts to pick up after that). But I just feel like some scenes drag on way too long with not much actually happening. (I.e. watching characters walk around here and there and back again in an extended shot without much dialogue or the extended & sometimes cringy crying scenes). However by ep 3 it does pick up the pace a bit. I just loved episode 3! (The end scene was just perfect and so aptly conveyed the conflicting emotions and fear of the characters. That was my fave ep!).

I almost dropped this after the first episode as I wasn't that into the theatre stuff and thought that would be the focus of the show (IE. their rivalry). But this took a more mature direction I didn't expect. By Ep 4 you are well and truly into a more mature but very angsty, melodramatic story. (Although admittedly the story started to lose me a little there and I considered dropping it again. I feel like ep 4 was such a jarring change of pace from the previous episodes. E.g. the scene where Teh is in his room with his brother in the frame the whole time had me like wut...only for the fact that I don't believe anyone would do that in the same room as their bro, it was unnecessary af and did nothing to help convey the meaning of that scene imo).

The actors here are the real stand out for the most part. There's subtlety, warmth and sincerity in their acting, which I find is often not the case with a lot of BL actors. They were so believable in their roles- they embodied those characters. I especially liked the actor for Oh-aew for the vulnerability he was able to convey with his nuanced expressions. Although I was a little less impressed by the actor for Teh as I felt like he was a bit OTT at times, especially in the crying scenes.

The OST is beautiful. I also hope in future there's more Thai BL stories like this that branch out to more locations than the same tired old high school/college campus settings. (Let BL actors out of the college campus cage more often plz!).
Now for one critique based on my personal preference. I do get a bit tired of scenes where the characters are on their phones and texting, looking at Instagram stories etc. I get that it is pretty representative of this day and age- but I guess I still prefer more organic scenes where the characters actually meet up. I don’t like when a show relies on too many of these scenes. I wouldn’t say those scenes ruined my watching experience of ITSAY, but I did get a bit sick of looking at the characters checking whether the other person had watched their IG story or not over and OVER.
For the most part I didn’t mind it too much, but for example at the end of ep 4 it was really grinding my gears. I just wanted the characters to actually talk rather than communicate by IG stories during an extended crying scene (it starts to get a bit too gruelling and tedious imo).

Overall, this is a story about fully dimensional people- not pretty boy caricatures or cliché meet-cute scenarios. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy those kind of dramas as much as the average BL fan. But I'd most recommend this for people who are looking for a more mature story with a slowly developed, flawed and complicated romance. While I did enjoy this, I feel like it was a slog to get through at times. It’s emotionally heavy, long-winded and slow-paced. I much preferred the start and middle of the series than the ending episodes (which I found pretty hard to get through).
There is so much sweetness and such a soft, romantic energy to the first half of this series. I wish it kept that through to the end. I kind of hated how melodramatic it got in the last two episodes. I especially hated the whole arc with Teh overcompensating by giving up his dream college position to Oh-aew rather than just apologizing.... and then losing that position permanently. OMG- HATED. Such stupid melodrama. Love is not giving up your dreams for the other person. That action was actually more manipulative than anything imo, so I thought Teh got what he deserved in losing the position.

I see why this show gets so much hype and I agree that it’s one of the better written, visually produced and acted BL series out there... But I don’t see myself wanting to re-watch this at any point in future because the second half was just too overwrought with little reprieve (and I'd have to skip through a lot of scenes to save myself some boredom lol).
Also, my last note and comment- Teh’s dog was the best side character in my opinion lmao. (Oh and Bas deserved hella better than what he got having been the most honest and kind character in the entire show).