Now that I’ve returned from a wedding weekend away where, among other things, I attempted to explain the plots of Cutie Pie and Jack & Joker to my unsuspecting friends. Aside from both being bananas, one thing both those shows have in common is that their main value is the chemistry between the leads.
I’ve been thinking about chemistry generally, because it’s such an ephemeral concept, though generally when chemistry is either really good or really bad people agree on it. To me chemistry is defined by a few things:
General comfort working together in a scene—some actors are just more relaxed or in the zone with others and it comes through in their performance. Earth Pirapat with Mix comes to mind.
What I refer to as “banter chemistry”—when their conversation sounds natural and flows well. Obviously part of this is just acting ability, but I feel like you can tell when the actors have spent a lot of time talking to each other outside of work.
The power of the fondgaze—some people are just built to gaze longingly and/or hornily, but sometimes an actor is just much better at doing it opposite a specific person. Or gender. Namtan Tipnaree I’m looking at you.
Physical comfort—related to the first bullet, this just is how at ease the actors seem in scenes that require them to be physically intimate. Obviously, if a production has intimacy workshops/coordinators, this is likely to be better! But you do also have to trust your partner.
Being able to convincingly kiss each other—this is another thing that can vary depending on production since some directors/companies prefer less than, say, Domundi, where everyone kisses tongue first. But even when kissing in a way that real people would, some people just aren’t convincing, and the vibe is very that they are not enjoying it. Contrast that with Boss and Noeul, for example, who always seem to be genuinely enjoying themselves when they make out.
The thing is that a lot of these bullet points can be conquered by just being a good enough actor or having enough charisma to get through any awkwardness. Pond Ponlawit could probably have chemistry with a brick wall. Yoon of YoonTon was actually dating that man when they filmed Unforgotten Night and when they touch each other it looks like they’re being held at gunpoint.
Currently Watching (on air)
Perfect 10 Liners: Speaking of chemistry, Perth and Santa have it. Perth is constantly looking at Santa like he wants to devour him, and it’s hard to blame him when he’s that cute and pretty. I really liked the way this episode played out—it’s a much better resolution to the relationship part of the arc than part 1, which is partially because of how much better the individual personal struggles are drawn out. I did almost scream when Newton pulled out a fucking GUN, like GIRL THE CARTEL??????
Your Sky: Episode 11 was the most genuine conflict this show has had, and while I think the father’s horrible reaction to finding out about Teerak’s relationship was not foreshadowed enough, I do think the whole scene leading up to it was really well done. It was so horrid and tense and real, in a show that is mostly just very heightened silly romcom nonsense (affectionate). He honestly came around too easily, but I guess we gotta wrap it up. Excited to finish up later tonight!
The Heart Killers: Really great acting from Joong this past week! Honestly, I don’t love this show, which is more of a taste thing (and imo it is not one of Jojo’s better paced shows), but the performances are stellar. I’m thrilled Pepper and JJ both get to date a boy, although they have not kissed on camera which is hysterical to me.
Us: Bonnie is literally the pleading eyes emoji come to life, and it thrills me. She’s so cute, and she and Emi have such a good vibe together. The gay-ass drama on this show is thrilling to me because there’s always something happening but it isn’t making me feel insane (derogatory) the way Pluto did.
My theory about Nene as of episode 2 is that she is the secret half sister of Rak and Kawi, and that their father abandoned her mother in some way, maybe didn’t help her out when she got sick or something.
Ossan’s Love Thailand: I did make fun of the whole “killing the boss’s wife” thing after episode 1, but honestly, the depth it’s given to that character has been a massive improvement. Especially in this last episode, which made it clear that liking Heng has been something that lifted him out of his fog of grief.
In general, I think the places this has expanded on what I know of the Japanese show have been great and excellent additions. And the humor so far has worked well for me, with almost no secondhand embarrassment despite all the Situations the characters get in.
The Boy Next World: I said I hoped there was a sci-fi thing going on, and I figured there was something up with Jin, but mindreading was not actually my initial guess. To be clear, I love it, and him, and I think it was a really smart idea to introduce that the episode before Cirrus confesses to the viewer that he lied (or at least believes he lied) about the parallel universe thing. I personally don’t think all of it is made up, but the idea that he believes that of himself, that he believes he is that lonely and sad and desperate, is harrowing.
Also hey what the fuck is going on with his mom? I guess we’ll find out more next week but we’ve been like HELLO??? WHAT IS YOUR JOB??? about her for the past two weeks!
I also should mention the uhhhh nc scene from this week which had me screaming because in many ways it is very similar to the first intimate scene in Love Sea and yet somehow it feels more explicit?? I think it’s how it’s filmed and blocked.
ThamePo: The Jun-Thame-Po love triangle has been one of the best executed love triangles I’ve seen in a long time, at least in my opinion—I also think the way it was resolved was so good. This show has been really good at telling us things about the characters that it follows through on—like Jun lying to force Thame into making a selfish decision, even when it’s at his own expense. It does kill me that Po absolutely does not know that Jun had a crush on him and yet every single member of MARS figured it out. In fairness, Jun was acting like a complete freak in their eyes, so it’s not surprising they picked up on it.
Something I was thinking about with this show is that waiting five years to make it paid off so well not just because they got LYKN and were able to train them in acting, though they also got insanely lucky with Nut and William, but also because the timing of the plot of Pemika wanting to push T-pop has ended up perfectly mimicking the real life T-pop surge.
I don’t know if the AAAs in Thailand helped push it, or if it’s just the general Thai wave, but my personal litmus test is “what are reaction channels talking about” and there has been a noticeable uptick in T-pop reactions over the last few months. Maybe it’s because there’s more actual idol types out there? Anyway, it’s been really fortuitous timing for ThamePo!
Currently Watching (completed)
4 Minutes: We got two episodes left, and these are the ones I remember possibly the least about so I’m looking forward to getting to see them again with a clearer idea of the wider arc of the story. There are some things I definitely noticed/worked out more on second viewing.
Bad Guy My Boss: This show is like, not good—I think I said it’s like what if A Boss and a Babe were Cutie Pie, by which I mean most of the characters are unpleasant towards each other and everyone is borderline insane—but it does tickle the part of my brain that stayed up until 6:30 a.m. last night reading a trashy rebirth danmei.
Love Sick 2024: Watching this has me curious to watch a bit of the original. I think it’s so interesting that this show exists at all—Love Sick was THEEEE OG Thai BL, and I’m sure the director had lots of ideas at the time that he wasn’t able to execute on because of when it was made. Being able to revisit your original baby a decade later with more money and reach has to be really gratifying.
One thing is this cast is so young. Every time I remember Progress is 15 I die a little inside. He’s very adorable and charming, but Almond is the one I’m really impressed with—his performance is remarkable for a rookie who was probably around 16 when they filmed most of this. I hope he stays in the industry—I’d love to see where he can go from here.
Finished
Fourever You Part 1: As I said on Twitter, this is not a perfect show—for one thing, the pacing is weird at times, and parts of it feel underdeveloped, but it thrilled me every single week. Pond Ponlawit is absolutely the standout to me—Hill is a completely deranged man and he portrays him so well. The yearning, the shyness, the sadness—he killed it, sometimes with only his eyes to work with.
I will say the finale just made me absolutely feral about part 2. I already was because of what little I knew about Arthit and Daotok, but every single crumb of Typhoon and Tonfah reaction has been so fucking rancid, culminating in this episode where Tonfah finally cracked and showed something other than a pleasant smile, that I am just chomping at the bit to know more. I’ve been avoiding spoilers, but Twitter said something about their dynamic being “sleepy cat” and “hungry wolf,” which confirms my suspicion that Tonfah is going to be the biggest freak of them all. Director New I need an airdate!!
Absolute Zero:
Speaking of Director New, about three-quarters of the way through this show there was a scene where both of the main characters were just sobbing and I was like, ah, vintage New Siwaj. This is why people are like, he makes sad shows!!!
Anyway, this was a weird show involving both time travel and rebirth and the time traveled adult being kissed by his teen boyfriend, which killed me. My main issue with it is that it should have been much shorter, maybe half as long, and that I have no idea what my takeaway from this show was supposed to be. Was it that specific day that was cursed? Did they defy fate?
BL News:
They apparently finished filming Boys in Love, which is the greatest news of all time for me. It’s funny how far I’ve circled around on high school romances; there was a long stretch of time where I really could not be bothered with it, especially in fanfiction, but I’ve come around to really enjoying high school romance shows, I think because of the innocent simplicity of them.
They released the second teaser for Top Form, which apparently is actually based on a manga I saw a few episodes of the anime adaptation of. Entertainment dramas are fun, and there haven’t been a ton of them in Thai BL to date, so that’ll be fun, and also Boom is the bottom to a younger top?? INSPIRED.
Right now I actually have GMMTV’s The Blacklist on as part of my Marc Natarit completionist journey, and let me tell you, it is jarring as hell to see First playing a stupid heterosexual and Khaotung playing a misogynist fuckboy. Damn, their range.
urs,
hk