As it’s the end of the year, people have been posting about their BL superlatives, which is something I might have to devote a whole newsletter to. In general, I think it’s been a strong year, which is partially because there are more shows in general, especially from Thailand, but also there’s been a lot of investment of money and talent into what’s being produced. Now we just gotta get the GL industry on the same level. I have so many ideas. HMU.
Currently Watching (on air)
Fourever You: This show continues to thrill me. This week’s episode finally gave us the backstory for Hill and Ter, which, while a little goofy with how the two Very Bad Things happen literally on the same night, was obviously wildly well-acted by Pond and Ter. I know people find these two boring, and I get it because they have the most stock-standard kind of romance of the bunch, but for me it works because of the performances.
Perfect 10 Liners: This week taunted me with the Perth and Santa scene at the beginning…I’m very ready for their story to start. I’m really glad that the show has kept the frame narrative going! It’s fun, and it’s a great showcase for Book especially. Book is, in my opinion, underrated specifically for his ability to hold his face in ways that make him look younger/older/different. It’s partially styling, sure, but he also holds himself with a naivety that comes through in his facial expressions. The contrast between “present day” Arm and the flashback was so good.
The other great showcase this week was Sea, who I do think is good! I just think him and Jimmy get bad material, and material that isn’t suited to them. I also think that their dynamic is wrong, it should be SeaJimmy, because when they allow Sea to play charming and charismatic, I think it works. I think a show where Sea plays the active pursuer would work so much better.
Caged Again: This show is the biggest pleasant surprise of the year. It’s so engaging while also being a little silly in the best way and the leads are so talented. Ben is so good at subtle expressions, and Jai’s physicality as a penguin-turned-human is just pitch perfect. They have fabulous chemistry too—this week gave us their first kiss, and they’re better at it than a lot of seasoned BL couples tbh.
Pluto: Every week this show does something that makes me go “what the fuck” but in the best possible way. I’m behind as usually, since I typically catch up during the week while I’m working, but episode 7 had so much going on. I truly have no idea where this show is going at any point. A little :/ at the possibility of May getting her eyesight back—if GMMTV has two shows in one year where someone miraculously regains their eyesight, that’s uh. A bad look.
Your Sky: An episode behind on this one as well, but Thomas is truly killing it on this one. His facial expressions are so good and convey so much about his internal journey. I love that he’s such a loser around Teerak—I actually burst out laughing when he yeeted his phone because he was so flustered by taking a picture together. This unfortunately IS my favorite kind of school dynamic, of the very popular mysterious guy and the seemingly average love interest. I am the problem.
Spare Me Your Mercy: Dr. Sammon, you’ve done it again. I only read the first few chapters of the book, but it’s interesting already where it’s diverged in terms of tone. They turned this into a real cat-and-mouse game, which I absolutely love, especially since Kan probably isn’t the mouse to be concerned about in this situation. I’m also so impressed with how beautifully it’s filmed—I have not particularly liked the visuals of this director’s previous works that I’ve seen, but maybe that was tonal since the other ones looked very classic lakorn.
The Heart Killers: Saved this for last because there’s been so much discourse. It seems people weren’t prepared for just how toxic both relationships were going to be, which is funny since the mere premise guarantees a lot of lying and manipulation.
I’m particularly fascinated by Kant’s story—First was such a good choice for this role, because he has the acting chops to convey how uncomfortable Kant is while convincingly putting on a facade that you can believe Bison would buy. It’s been devastating to see how he went from having this genuine interest and pleasure in Bison’s company in episode 1 to being pressured into manipulating him more and more. Obviously he didn’t have to go to the route of hitting on Bison, but it is the most obvious way for him to get an in after they’ve already hooked up, and it’s also a way to shortcut trust, which makes sense. I read a fic where Kant used to turn tricks in addition to stealing cars, and I would believe that.
The BDSM aspect of their relationship adds so much, both because a good BDSM relationship is built on trust and because of how it complicates both of their characters. Bison being the sweeter of the two brothers who wants out of the hitman life and also the sexual sadist who nevertheless deeply does not want to actually hurt Kant while Kant is pretending to be into the dynamic (and I think to some degree is into parts of it, but not nearly to the same extent, especially since he knows Bison is actually a killer)…I was saying that when the reveal about Kant happens, I think Bison might be more upset by the fact that Kant forced Bison to hurt him when that isn’t Kant’s kink. It’s so loaded.
And obviously, everything we’re learning about Fadel—Fluke (dimples Fluke, not Fluke Gawin or twink Fluke) playing the ex-boyfriend is a really good choice visually, because while he and Dunk don’t look alike, they are a similar type and build, and have a similar profile thanks to their noses. It adds this additional implied layer of sadness and frustration in how Fadel reacts to Style.
At this point, we’ve seen like 90% of the scenes from the trailer, which has me absolutely terrified—what is lurking that we don’t know? We’ve already seen the sexy dancing! And the blindfold! What other stuff are they going to do??? Dear Jeffrey, I am afraid!
Currently Watching (completed)
Manner of Death: We did a very funny thing where we accidentally skipped Episode 4, which is a pretty crucial episode for understanding character dynamics. I was watching it going, huh, I thought they’d had a conversation about Tan’s family by now. And it turns out they did! We just, uh. Didn’t see it. We caught up, though, and made it through episode 7 with the deranged makeout scene, which is still so batshit horny even on rewatch.
Finished
Jack & Joker: I truly can’t describe how mad this finale made me. There was a point watching it where I checked how long was left and the three of us in the room went THERE’S THIRTY MINUTES LEFT?? Which should give you an idea of how it was paced.
My disappointment with this show is probably largely because of how the trailer pitched the plot, and maybe I shouldn’t have had high expectations, but I don’t think it was even particularly well-executed trash. If you want to know my full thoughts, I wrote up an MDL review.
Chains of Heart: Speaking of well-executed trash, this show is the peak of that. Much like Jack & Joker, it looks very good, the acting is solid, the chemistry works, and the action scenes had real effort put into them. The key difference is that I think one rewrite to cut a few characters, provide more initial exposition, and tighten up the pacing by cutting two episodes would have massively improved it. I don’t even know where to start fixing Jack & Joker.
Anyway, this show is extremely not good! The plot is insane, it is very hard to figure out things as simple as how old people are in relationship to each other, there are far too many characters, and yet it compels me. It was really fun to show this to someone else who has the same love of deranged action/thrillers. It’s deeply not a show I actually recommend, but also I do, because it thrills me.
Other BL News
WeTV announced a few additional upcoming titles, including one with the leads from Monster Next Door that is both an isekai and an arranged marriage and also Big has the power to read minds for some reason. The other one stars the male lead from Chains of Heart, which I’m excited about since I enjoyed him in that.
Thamepo starts this week, which as my subject line indicates, is all I’ve been thinking about. Part of this is that I know LYKN recorded a ton of music for it, and I am so ready for the OST. I’ve been listening to William sing things on repeat in preparation.
BOC also announced an upcoming vampire project with Jjay and Fuaiz. It looks like Jjay’s character might be a doctor in it, so I’m hoping Fuaiz is the vampire, both because it’s very funny to make him the immortal and because the concept of doctor/vampire is tasty.
urs,
hk