As I write this, I am being threatened by an incoming winter storm and a week of freezing weather, which sucks but does also mean I will have more time stuck at home for the important things: watching yaoi. Which is good, because it has once again hit a stretch of time where multiple shows I like are airing, and it’s only going to get worse in a week when My Romance Scammer starts. At least Burnout Syndrome will be ending then, but I suspect it’s going to get replaced with Only Friends, so that reprieve will be brief. Let’s get into it.

Currently Watching (On Air)

Dare You to Death: I’m an episode behind on this, but so far I’m enjoying it even if I feel like they aren’t quite balancing the romance and mystery storylines. The thing about a mystery romance is that almost always you need to have one of the main characters be tied into the case being solved if they don’t have a preexisting relationship because otherwise you’re having to establish the relationship separately from the murder or whatever. And while they kind of tried to do that by having Jade’s brother be involved, they aren’t using that conflict enough to push the way they interact into more fraught areas. Instead it’s just raw sexual chemistry, which only works because it’s Joong and Dunk. I do think the show looks great, even if I think they need to make the editing a little snappier to suit the genre better. (I don’t know enough about editing to speak more on this, but it’s something I’ve been meditating on a lot recently.)

Goddess Bless You from Death: Conversely, this show does do the thing I mentioned above; Thup is very involved in the case as first a suspect and then as a witness, and their closeness outside of work is justified by the narrative. It is still jarring to go from horrible ghost murder to Singha and Thup being aggressively horny at each other, but at least the plot lines feel like they help develop each other. I’m only five episodes into this one, so plenty more to go, but I’m definitely enjoying more than I thought I would, and more once I got past the initial two episodes. The b couple is completely crazy, this coworkers/exes/friends with benefit situationship they got going on would give any therapist weeks and weeks of material.

Cat for Cash: Literally just finished the first episode, and it’s already such a trip. They really front-loaded the trauma and tragedy, but despite First saying it’s a funny show, I fully expect more of that. The set up was better than it seemed from the trailer—Tiger having an existing friendship with Meow and genuine investment in the cafe prior to Lynx inheriting it makes a lot more sense than him suddenly having a change of heart because he hears the cats talking. Speaking of, the cats are very cute, and though they haven’t confirmed who’s voicing them, I’m pretty sure that a couple members of LYKN are in the mix, which is very cute.

Burnout Syndrome: God, how do you even begin to talk about this show? It’s one of the most viscerally uncomfortable shows I’ve watched in a while, and it’s truly remarkable to me how many bad interpretations there are of what this show is trying to do. I’ve been thinking a lot about what I think this show is about, and there are a few ideas it keeps circling back to. One is integrity: to yourself and your ideals, to those you have relationships with. It pushes the characters into corners where they’re forced to confront what parts of themselves they’re willing to give up or sell to survive, and what rules or morals they’re willing to break to get what they want. Another is obsession, whether it’s Jira’s artistic and sexual obsession with Koh or Peem’s obsession with beating Koh and how that extends to his obsession with Jira. There’s other things in there, like the tension between what you think you should want and what you actually want, and the demands of a capitalist society and its effects on people. There’s the recurring tension of art for its own sake and art that sells, and Jira’s desire to see people’s true selves.

The most common misinterpretations I’ve seen center around Peem, often giving him far more credit than he deserves. He’s not a good guy; he’s jealous and possessive and proud, and tells himself that he’s the good guy (compared to Koh) to the point that he clearly actually believes it. He habitually likes to pick up guys at the bar and has a very obvious set of choreographed moves he does to people into bed. His true interest in Jira starts because he’s not used to being rejected, and becomes a full-blown obsession when he realizes Jira’s connection to Koh. He continues pursuing Jira even though he has to see that Jira’s mostly interested in him platonically, and sure, Jira is also being a bitch and kind of leading him on, but his actual physical behavior of discomfort when anything sexual begins to happen between them should be obvious to Peem. I hope, sincerely, that the rage room scene in episode 7 has helped people get that he isn’t the nice one in this dynamic; him violently destroying things around Jira while ranting at him about how he’s better, how Jira should pick him, was not subtle.

I also see people complaining that Jira is written inconsistently, that he says one thing and does another, which is just like, yeah, people do that, and he’s consistent in the things he’s inconsistent about, so maybe that’s the point. And I’ve also seen people claim that Koh is too sympathetic, or that he’s portrayed too well? There was a post early on that said he was “thriving” which we keep referencing every time Koh’s ribs show or he’s shown drinking alcohol for breakfast. Yes. Thriving.

I think what people are struggling with is that none of these people on this show are “good.” Most of them are assholes in some way or another, and are using the people around them. Even Ben seems to enjoy encouraging the messy behavior at the very least. And people want there to be a “good” guy so bad these days, when really all you have are just guys.

I’m watching the newest episode as I write this, and it’s crazy how much chemistry Off and Gun have in this. I tend to find them and their chemistry kind of hit or miss, but Nuchy for sure knows how to bring it out in them, and it’s really good in this show in particular.

Fourever You: Beside the Sky: This is another show where the online discourse was driving me absolutely bonkers, especially in the first two episodes. Usually, a lot of the annoying complaints come from international fans, but this time it was largely Thai fans of the books complaining that this season wasn’t as funny and that the color grading was more gray and sad…when this arc is about the saddest boy in the world who is so wracked with grief and guilt that he’s suicidal in the first two episodes. Hello??? Since then, as you’d think, it’s become more cute and funny, and it looks brighter because it’s almost like the color grading is an intentional artistic choice to set the mood or something. Crazy, I know.

The most annoying complaints have been from the Johan & North fans, who clearly want their blorbos to have even more screen time, and are claiming that they’ve radically changed North’s character to be less sweet and cute, when he’s exactly the same as he was part 1. And using quotes from later in the series to prove that it’s a bad adaptation. I feel crazy.

And all of this makes me mad, because it distracts from the fact that Tonliew is absolutely killing it. He’s so good at being sad, and his portrayal of Typhoon’s slow hesitant opening up to joy again is really lovely. Bever is so funny tome as Tonfah because he correctly plays him as gentle and kind but also very clearly a freak. I can’t remember if I mentioned this before, but it’s especially funny to me that Tonfah wasn’t supposed to be into Typhoon in the early episodes, but Bever cannot make his face look casual and friendly so it does seem like he’s loved Typhoon forever. Even Bever was surprised by how in love he looked.

Anyway, I’m really enjoying this arc, as I thought I would, because it’s got some goofy tropes layered on top of Typhoon’s horrible family backstory, and Tonfah is so visibly insane about Typhoon that I am pounding my fists on my knees like TYPHOON YOU’RE IN DANGER GIRL!!! Congrats to him.

Currently Watching (Completed)

Thundercloud Rainstorm: I made it exactly halfway through this show before having to take a break. It’s biblically accurate KBL, meaning that it’s exactly as toxic and insane as most of the webtoons, and it’s definitely the horniest Korean BL I’ve seen, both in energy and what they show. The actors have really tasty chemistry! It’s funny, because I was willing to go along with how horrible Jeonghan is to Iljoo without further backstory, but genuinely the tiny bit of flashback they gave in episode 4 gave so much context to their interactions that it made me clap my hands like a seal. I will finish it soon, but I think I need to be in the right mood to weather (ha) the drama I know must be coming.

Finished

Petrichor: I’m counting this as finished even if I only skim-skipped through the last few episodes. As soon as the show revealed who the serial killer was, I kind of knew how the rest of the show was going to play out, and I was right. I think maybe this show should have been paced out differently, maybe two episodes shorter? An eight episode arc would have forced it to be tighter and faster paced. I mentioned this earlier, but I think the show could have used more red herrings/suspects, and it feels at points like it’s getting sidetracked from the mystery to focus on the romance.

As for the reveal of the killer—it doesn’t not work, but I also don’t think it’s a great reveal, and the murderer’s motivations are so basic and cliche that even if it’s realistic, it’s just not interesting storytelling. Maybe if I didn’t know Dr. Sam was the writer, I’d have lower expectations, but I just know she can do better! I guess though this wasn’t based on a novel she wrote/her baby, she’s just a contributing writer.

School Trip: Joined a Group I’m Not Close To: I saw people talking about this show and decided to check it out, and was really pleasantly charmed by it! I know I say that JBLs have about three plots they cycle through, and this one does the common one of popular kid/shy and awkward kid, but it’s done very well. Watarai is so visibly vibrating with the need to kiss Hioki the entire time, and the group of friends are so funny and supportive.

Head 2 Head: This is another show that had a lot of people complaining for no good reason, but in this case it was mostly international fans who think Director New is evil for some reason. You don’t have to like his shows but damn, people act like he killed their dog in the street and holds his actors at gunpoint. He likes romcoms! He likes coming of age stories! God forbid.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this show, both because Sea and Keen are very cute and their story was fun, but also because Surf and Java are completely deranged good as Farm and Van. Their storyline is simply so bonkers, the friends to roommates with one bed to situationship to dating to exes to situationship (?) again thing they’ve got going on had me clawing at my face. I thought their plot was an interesting counterpoint to J and Jinn because, as my friend pointed out, a big factor in both is the fear of the future, and both J and Van also hide their uncertainties from their partners until it hits a a breaking point.

Some viewers were annoyed that J’s visions weren’t better explained, but I thought it was fine as it is—this isn’t Interstellar, we don’t need more than the implication of a parallel universe and a wish. It’s also not totally the point; the visions are just a springboard for J rethinking their relationship and encouraging both of them to grow up in different ways.

Me and Thee: It’s absolutely incredible to me what a phenomenon this show became at the end—like, it’s more successful than 2gether in terms of online engagement, which I thought might never happen again because 2gether came out in 2020 and what did anyone have to do but watch TV and talk about it online. But Khun Thee really spoke to the people of Thailand; the satire of lakorns and romance tropes really went over well, I think because even though it was funny and clearly poking fun at a specific character archetype, it was very earnest and genuine in the relationship between Thee and Peach.

This was simply such a fun show; very funny, very charming, didn’t take itself too seriously but also cared deeply about its characters. The one flaw, if I had to call it that, was the Tawan and Aran storyline, which isn’t as built out as most b couples might be, largely because they had to rewrite a bunch when Santa broke his arm. Even so, I think it works better than people were saying; it’s obvious for a long time that Aran cares about Tawan even though he doesn’t want to, and the impetus for him talking to Tawan again is Tawan being faced with a real genuine crisis, which I think is realistic for people who have been in long-term fraught relationships! He cares about Tawan, and wants to help him, and earnestly believes Tawan can be better, and it’s this crisis that makes him go no, I’m not actually ready to never see him again. And the show makes a point of saying, they aren’t back together yet, Tawan has to earn that.

Aside from all that, they simply aren’t the focus of the show. We kind of needed to see their arc resolved since them and their relationship have been affecting Peach and Thee from episode one, but they aren’t as involved in their everyday lives as Mok or even Rome, so we don’t need to see everything they’re getting up to. They’re living through their own toxic yaoi off camera!

I do think this show maybe could have benefited from one more episode, but it did well with ten, and it had a lovely, satisfying ending, that also put a button on the Mok and Rome relationship that at least promised a future. My fingers are crossed that the insane popularity of the show plus the insane popularity of William and Est means that we get something more. P’X hasn’t said no!!

BL News:

• First Babe and then Billy have said with their whole chests that they’re gay—used the word and everything—and said that they’re “real” which, like, we all knew, but people still doubt because everything is kayfabe unless it’s the couple you personally like I guess. I don’t like that they felt like they had to say it outright for people to accept it, but they seem happy enough, so good for them.

• It was announced that Leng is going to be in a remake of lakorn Love Destiny, which I did have to look up again because I was like isn’t that a hetero lakorn? Did I get it mixed up with something? But no, they’re doing a BL remake of a classic isekai into the past lakorn. Which people have doubts about, as do I, but you know what, I think it’s great. We should do more gay remakes of classic hetero shows. I’ve got a list of suggestions

urs,

hk