[Revised review as of ep. 7]
KP is an action-comedy-BL drama. But above all else, it is an unexpectedly compelling train-wreck of a romance, with some grey-area dubcon scenes thrown in to boot. Porsche is a college student who works as a bartender to make ends meet. After rescuing repressed mafia scion Kinn in a chance encounter, extenuating circumstances force Porsche to seek employment as Kinn’s personal bodyguard. What lies ahead for Porsche? (Bodily injury. Severe workplace bullying and harassment that obviously violates multiple labour laws. And a lot of sex.) Much of the praise for this show has focussed on the production values and performances from Mile and Apo in the lead roles, which I think are very good-to-fantastic compared to most TV shows in any genre or language. Bible, Build, and Jeff have also put in excellent supporting role performances as Vegas, Pete and Kim respectively. So I can ignore the fact that virtually every other aspect of the script is terrible, and watch KP religiously every Sunday morning.

I’ll start with the bad stuff.

Plot: An actual plot is almost non-existent, even 7 episodes in. What we know so far is that Kinn’s immediate and extended family, the Theerapayakuls, are involved in “underworld activity”.** We also know Korn’s (Kinn’s dad) motivations for hiring Porsche— who only becomes a competent employee in ep 7— are unclear and are being investigated sub rosa by Kinn’s estranged youngest brother Kim. Lastly, Kinn’s uncle and his sons (the so-called “secondary family” in the English translation) are the “bad guys” trying to weaken Korn’s grip on the family business. All that would be fine if viewers were given some idea of the plot’s trajectory by ep 7. Sadly, there is almost none. As of ep 7, which has the Theerapanyakuls finishing off an old enemy, we still don’t have a clear idea of what the overarching plot is, much less where it is heading. Like okay, Italian dude died... what now? That doesn’t bode well for the remaining 7 episodes— we’re either going to get an anemic main plot where the gangsters are really just there for show, or left with a giant cliffhanger for a S2 which may or may not happen. Also, while it is plausible that there are no women in the show except cafeteria and spa aunties (since hey, mafia organisation) and Yok, nearly everyone plot-relevant is gay or bi. I know that’s in the novel too, but it’s just not realistic.

** Save for what is probably unlicensed moneylending/loansharking, I am still not sure what business Kinn & Co engage in that is illegal. Their revenue streams in the PowerPoint presentation appear to be from legitimate businesses. Though in ep 7, we do see some drugs turning up in a truck and generic "dealings with other gangs"…

Script: If you have 14 episodes, you have no time to waste. In The Long Night (C-drama), the scriptwriter managed to cram in a slow build-up, fairly complex plot, and multiple narrative perspectives into a measly 12 episodes. You won’t find anything like that in KP, which is paced as if it’s 40 episodes long. What is clear is that the script is structured around the romance (more on that later), even though it also tries (unsuccessfully) to focus on other things, like having a credible storyline and being funny. Problem is, it’s not funny. At all. Other MDL reviewers have griped about the show’s miserable attempts at humour; I’ll just say that I completely agree with those comments. Because the romance is the focal point of the first half of the show, everything else is done in a half-baked way. The stuff about the family conflict and Porsche’s mysterious childhood lingers in the background like dull scenery. The humour, which mostly involves Tankhun (Kinn’s oddball and fabulous older brother) has no punchline and goes on for way too long. You could probably cut out 75% of the scenes with Tankhun and the show would not be missing anything. The role of Tankhun doesn’t do justice to Tong, who is a good actor doing his level best with a silly script. Also, I thought ep 6 was too long. There were important emotional high points in that episode, but there was no need to devote a large block of time to showing our bros in love stumbling about, playing rock-paper-scissors, and spear-fishing in the woods.

Key relationship: There’s actually a lot to be said about the main relationship, but I’ll try to keep this short. The Kinn/Porsche relationship is interesting for BL, which seldom depicts romantic relationships between guys who also have a conventional and overtly masculine friendship. It reminds me a bit of Brokeback Mountain. Here, we have a romance between needy bros who love and hurt each other in equal measure. They get along swimmingly, yet don’t get along, when all they both need is a heart-to-heart talk with a hug and fist-bump to end it off. I love it. Kinn and Porsche need each other because they are many different things to each other - bros, employer/employee, and lovers - but this is a problem when they’re completely different people. Kinn is shackled by his “professional” responsibilities and the trauma from an old relationship. However, his stiff upper lip prevents him from talking things over with Porsche until shit hits the fan. On the other hand, Porsche is uninhibited, effusive and more than happy to give and receive the affection he craves to just about anyone. He loves Kinn, but also chafes against his authoritarian streak. Worse still, Kinn’s reticence hurts Porsche and makes him susceptible to creepy stalker Vegas (Kinn’s cousin), who promises to fulfill Porsche's unmet need for attention and freedom. After making it out of the forest alive in ep 6, Kinn and Porsche (re)start their relationship in the “real world” in ep 7 being very apart even when they are together. The closing scene is very explicit, but also a total gut-wrencher in the context of the episode— there’s an understandable breakdown of trust (both ways), another heartfelt apology, followed by the need to make up for things with… more sex. Sweet? Yes. Tragic? Definitely. While I don’t have much faith that the main plot will go anywhere, I'm quite sure there’s plenty of realistic and nuanced relationship development lying ahead, because that seems to be the one thing this show is good at. As a final note, it’s also impressive how the scriptwriters “reformed” Kinn from the novel (where I understand he is unapologetically rapey) in a way that feels natural. In a rare moment of emotional candour in ep 6, Kinn acknowledges and apologises for having sex with Porsche when his consent was impaired. It was in-character and authentic, as opposed to a token politically-correct whitewashing that was thrown in so that the viewership wouldn’t brick the scriptwriters.

Acting: I can’t say enough good things about Apo’s incredible performance in KP. Because of him and Mile, the show's most emotionally tortured scenes are also the show's best. However, there's no doubt in my mind that Apo is the linchpin of this show. Apo said in an interview that he had shed blood and tears doing the show, and that shows in the seeming effortlessness with which he captures the nuances of Porsche’s character through sidelong glances, head tilts and other small gestures. He has an uncanny sense of how to present himself before the camera, and it’s almost as if he rehearsed in front of a mirror to make sure he got the gestures and angles just right. In one scene in ep 3, Porsche says he’s started taking his job seriously because he wanted to make Kinn regret sending him to work for Tankhun. At that point, there is no sign that Porsche has any romantic feelings for Kinn. But Apo does the scene with a coy head tilt and almost-but-not-quite batting of eyelashes that adds a whole layer of suggestiveness to that exchange. The episode 4 bathroom scene was even more impressive. Porsche is drugged and nearly raped by Vegas; Kinn rescues in him the nick of time while he’s high as a kite. After Porsche teases Kinn about his sexuality and throws himself at Kinn while in a questionable mental state, they have sex. This is one of the most intense, ambiguous and emotionally challenging moments in any show I’ve watched. It’s also my favourite sequence by far. How aware was Porsche? Did he make a pass at Kinn to get the attempted assault out of his mind? How does he really feel about Kinn? It’s obviously meant to be problematic, and the actors did a fantastic job of fleshing out the grey areas of this scene without giving the audience an easy answer in both eps 4 and 5. Serious props to Mile for his pitch-perfect depiction of Kinn’s inner turmoil as the pendulum swings between being a good bro to his drugged-out friend and making Something happen (never a good idea, and which it turns out, he regretted! And apologised for!).

Not being a watcher of BL shows in general, I came for what seemed like decent gunfights and action. That part didn’t work out, but the bro-romance makes it worthwhile.