Did you have a good Valentine’s? I spent a lot of it in various vehicles, so mixed bag, but I did get to watch the new ThamePo. Relatedly, I’ve been thinking about the idea of conflict in narrative and the way people seem to be resistant to it. Specifically, I keep seeing these tweets on my FYP that are like, if they separate Thame and Po I’ll kill everyone and myself/breakup is coming (in the tone you’d use to talk about dire political news)/idk you get it, it’s all very parasocial but towards a work of fiction. And I just keep thinking that if any single BL has earned its episode 11 (or episode 12 since this is a 13 episode show) breakup, it might be this one, since the possibility, circumstances, and reasons for one have been telegraphed since the literal first episode.
I don’t know, I do know why the episode 11 curse is a joke and why it’s frequently annoying to people, because sometimes the conflict isn’t earned, but there’s this weird reactionary take of, there can’t be conflict, really, that’s bad writing (or something). Which is related to how people seem to think that a character making a bad decision is bad writing. Sometimes it can be! But often times it is in service to the character. We should let our characters make bad decisions and do shitty things. We should let our couples encounter speedbumps along the way to their HEA. Because that’s a) better narrative and b) reflective of reality. Idk, man, it’s just a vibe I’ve gotten lately.
Because I’ve been traveling (again), I’m very behind on shows rip.
Currently Watching (on air)
Perfect 10 Liners: Just as I thought, the running theme connecting the members of P10 is heartbreak. Arm had his ex who told him he didn’t deserve to be in a relationship, Yotha had his first love (and imo Warich absolutely was his first love, no matter what he says) break up with him while invalidating his feelings, and Wine apparently is heartbroken. OVER WHOMST!! I yelled at the screen. Is it LOUIS (who is in the opening credits)???
Anyway, this was a great start to the new storyline imo. It recontextualized the bits we’d seen previously of Wine and Faifa in a really nice way while also expanding on the characters. Mark and Junior have such an interesting chemistry, there’s something perpetually yearning about it that really speaks to me.
I’m also eyeing Tee and Franc in this since they’re getting paired together in the JimmySea show—are they just going to be friends or are they going to kiss (please kiss)????
The Boy Next World: I was genuinely moved at several points this episode by Noeul’s acting, which is not something I ever expected—I don’t think of him as an amazing actor, although he’s very charismatic and charming on screen, but the way he portrayed the subdued grief of someone who’s been forced to grieve alone for, what, eight years? really got to me.
And then whoa, what a whiplash the final few scenes are. First, an NC scene that had me frantically turning down the volume on my phone, then the last bit with the REVEAL of WEIRD SCI FI PLOT STUFF MAYBE? I can’t believe we’re getting most of that in the last 3 episodes, it’s lowkey reminding me of how 4 Minutes is structured.
I really hope Wim and Jin’s actors get something after this—they were so fucking cute in this episode while the main plot was very sad for the most part. I’m just delighted by them together, especially after seeing some behind the scenes stuff from them.
ThamePo: This was the episode that was like, here is why we got Fah to play Gam, because damn, she absolutely killed it. In some ways, this episode was hard to watch mostly because of how unfortunately realistic the depiction of idol fans was. I was watching the scene with all the tweets/posts/etc from fans talking about Pepper’s dating scandal getting mad because of the insane parasocialisms, but the thing is, it’s exactly how people behave.
And something I thought was interesting, which my friend brought up, is how we get to see that manifested in one specific character—Baifern. She’s probably gotten a lot of hate from people because her initial reaction was so kneejerk and bad and, honestly, childish. But she is given a chance, in-narrative, to explain her point of view and why it upsets her. She is, of course, one of the more reasonable fans and not one of the ones sending death threats or whatever, but I thought it was interesting to give a moment of grace to that part of being a fan, even if it’s one I don’t personally agree with.
Currently Watching (completed)
Never Let Me Go: We got to episode 5 and all I can say is that first kiss scene remains unhinged. Unbelievable. Both in narrative context and in how it was performed (and how Pond was being very competitive about it being better than Chimon’s kiss with Phuwin). WHAT A SHOW!! They make me insane.
Our Youth: Only had the chance to watch the first two episodes, but truly, the school Good Boy + school Delinquent trope is unfortunately very good for me, and I particularly like that the delinquent in this case has been watching the good boy for a while. It’s just good food.
Finished
The Heart Killers: I talked about this a bit on Twitter, but I came away from this show feeling like I had to give it two separate ratings. I felt like the first half was a solid 9.5, good tension, some weird pacing, but the vibes were right; then the second half shifted focus a little too much for me and resolved the hitman/Lilly stuff in a messy and not very satisfying way IMO.
Jojo talked at some point about having to rewrite the show because of some events in Thailand, and honestly it shows in how the show becomes more relationship-dominated toward the second half. Obviously the romantic relationships were always key, but something about the amount of time and dedication that went into those scenes versus, say, the later scenes with the captain or Lilly, made it pretty obvious that there was an intentional focus-shift.
Maybe it’s watching it in conjunction with NLMG that has me thinking this way, because I think NLMG has similar arcs within its larger narrative that work better, structurally, and an inciting narrative set-up that pays off better for the characters. Overall, I just see all these things that THK could have done to be a more cohesive show and it makes me yearn for the writers’ room.
That being said, I overall enjoyed it, even if I thought the last couple episodes were both like 20 minutes too long. Something I’ve said about Jojo before is that I appreciate his willingness to take risks, which this show does, but also his ability to get great performances out of his actors. First, Khaotung, and Joong have all proven themselves before, but they were very good in this, especially Joong and First, and this is definitely Dunk’s most interesting role to date. I still think Dunk has some things to learn, but he really impressed me in this—he made Style so charming and delightful when that character could have been very irritating.
BL News:
William and Est have a mascot character now, Wesley, who is unfortunately horrible, but I do appreciate that it breaks the trend of the assigned top being the devouring character. It’s possible this is only because they want them (and specifically William) in the Love Out Loud fest, but my fingers are crossed for William in Thee & Me.
Both and Newyear, famous BL celebrity couple who were together for twelve years and engaged (possibly married to some degree) broke up, with Newyear posting about how he violated an important agreement (he cheated) with two photos of them looking happy together (wild choice), and then it turns out he posted this while out at dinner with his new guy. Gay people—we can be just as messy as the straights.
Domundi is going to do their own upfronts/trailer release, which is very funny because only one of their previously announced shows has actually made it to air so far. Although they are at least filming some of them now. I can’t recall if I’ve mentioned it here, but my theory has been that they had some sort of funding hold-up that made them stop production for like a year or so, but it seems like things are back on now.
urs,
hk