Because of the title, I thought at first that this would be a BL about vampires with some low-brow references to kinky sex. But because I had forgotten everything I had seen in a trailer I watched long before stumbling on the series, perhaps I started watching with different or no expectations than others who have found it a total disappointment.

Unlike many who complain about the slow pacing, I only started disliking the pacing in the last two episodes. The series takes its time to show the character of Aek, letting us know of his interests, background and personality. We may see that he has a certain complex about his humble background, and does not want people to do things for him out of pity--he really wants to be appreciated for his talent. We also see how close he is to his mother and his unwillingness to cause her to feel disappointed in him, even if it comes at the expense of casting aside his own interests and studying accountancy. So when he realizes that Aue is in love with him, he finds himself having to handle many issues like whether Aue has been grooming him as a chef because of a romantic interest in him rather than a true admiration of his talents and how his mother would feel seeing him caught in such a situation. This is despite his own feeling towards Aue, which he himself hasn't become conscious of.

The characterization of Aek is rather interesting, and I think Mark Siwat has done a fine job in this role. Rudklao Amratisha, the actress acting as Aek's mother helped a lot by being very good with her role in the scenes she appears with Mark Siwat. I've seen him in a number of shows, and he seems to be able to take on a good range of roles. It's not an easy role for him in Bite Me, for he has to bring out the character's personality (sweet and innocent but also somewhat headstrong and assertive) without much dialogue to help show it. His growing affection for Aue can be seen, but in ways that don't make it clear whether he is aware of it. Some of the scenes of mutual gazing between Aue and Aek are overdone (they don't even do that so much when they are finally together), but there's little the actor can do about it.

On the other hand, the characterization of Aue isn't half as good. We can tell that he likes Aek quite early on, but the back story about his apparent feuds/tensions with Eve, Moo and Chef Viphob suffer from an utter lack of elaboration. I suspect there is a lot more going on in the book that the series is based on, but somehow the scenes are deleted or not filmed for the series. (Given that the series is 11 instead of the more common 12 episodes, I wonder if there are scenes that have been sacrificed due to budget constrains or some other reason). In a flashback, he is shown clearly telling Eve that he only regards her as a friend, but since he has made it clear to her and not dumped her or anything, it doesn't explain her animosity towards him. Chef Moo is another character whom Aue has worked with in the past, but it is not clear why Moo would suddenly appear to taunt Aue. Viphob is yet another character who seems to have a huge back story that has largely been left out: when Aue tells Aek what Viphon's character is like, I was surprised that he even knows this guy. I do like the way Aue is established as the boss and chef of a restaurant where the workers seem to be working quite happily, especially with Aue's support for Nuna when she faces relationship problems. (I was really glad that the toxic-but-somehow-charming CEO trope wasn't used.) Unfortunately, this ability of bring out aspects of the character and his past is largely lost when it comes to the Aue's relationship with those who seem hostile towards him.

In short, I loved how the story took its time to develop the aspects of the story related to Aek and his background and didn't mind the slow pacing at all. But if the same development had been done for Aue, the story would have made a lot more sense. Even Aue's longstanding friendship with Prem, the chef who makes desserts in his restaurant, leaves one wondering what is going on between them because Aue is obviously closer to him than to other colleagues. The fact that they are old friends is eventually revealed in Episode 11, when it doesn't quite matter anymore.

What weakens the series is also the strangeness of the pacing in the last two episodes. I wish it had some of the maligned (IMO) slowness of the earlier episodes. The part of the story about the chefs' competition, which is like the climax that the earlier episodes have been building up to, is confusing and rushed. (Why is Aue suddenly able to take part in the competition? Are there two different competitions? Huh? Aek has recovered from his injury to take part in the competition when he earlier on seemed to be saying that he could no longer go on with the competition because of his injury? What affected his performance?) Aek realizes that he likes Aue and comes out to his mother, but before we know it he is hugging Aue in the kitchen (huh?). And yet, after rushing through things in Episode 10, someone decided to make Episode 11 one consisting almost entirely of filler scenes. The part of the story about Aek's talent for cooking, so integral to the story, could have been followed up on but wasn't.

My complaints about the series may differ from those who dislike it from the start. I liked it quite a lot and was hoping that Episode 10 and 11 would help to reveal the right back stories and end the story well. It was possible but somehow not done. (And can you believe that the only kiss between Aue and Aek is a forced kiss, with Aue acting very much out of character after Aek has just said that they cannot be lovers? I don't need them to even kiss at all throughout the series, but tis is rather awkward.)