BLISS RATING: ★★★★+
“From now on, I want you to be…I want you to be my last.” – Quote from Tharntype
This is an astounding series filled with a lot of angst, passion, rawness, and grit. I quite literally, binged watched this series as I was genuinely interested in what happened to them. Without giving too much away, it is a story of a homophobic roommate, Type (Gulf Kanawut) who is assigned a room in which his roommate, Tharn (Mew Suppasit), is gay.
It is simply NOT a story about them falling intensely in love (which of course they do) but it is a journey of emotions that is the real story. Their back stories, as well as the back stories of several minor characters, are intense, real, and haunting. At times, it is very difficult to watch as the story lines are dealing with some awful abuse. You can feel the pain.
There is so much here to unpack that it is difficult to write without giving away the story. I do not want to do that as I want you to not just watch it but to feel it. I can tell you that you are going to need tissues to get through this one. This is not to say there are not funny moments too, as there are are. However, this is one of the most realistic BL series I have watched. ALL these actors are so good. Really!
But I must single out one that, in my opinion, is the star of the series. It is Lhong (Kaownah Kittipat), the best friend of Tharn. His role, while seemingly unassuming, is played with subtle sinisterism and changes drastically. His acting, frankly, is superb. Believable. Vulnerable. Profoundly sad. Two other character performances are noteworthy as well. Techno (Mild Jinna) and Tar (Kokliang Parinya). These roles are subdued but are played with such intensity, passion, and believability. I will not get into their roles too much as I do not want to spoil your experiences with them.
Gulf and Mew have an intensive chemistry between themselves, making it feel so real and genuine. I must also admit their kissing scenes (especially with the ice cubes) are intense, erotic, and very, very sensuous. (If I were not gay already, I would turn gay based on their kissing). While their stares are perhaps not intense, they do bring a magical ferocity to their relationship not only through their dialogue but also their passionate (and I do mean erotic) body touching (nothing pornographic). (Again, if I were not already gay, I might want to dabble just to experience what they did).
However, there are two criticisms of this series. While they are major to me, they do take away some from the quality of this series. One is the just too cavalier attitude of sexual abuse. While we do see the struggles, this requires way more intensity than what was given. The sexual abuse was profoundly awful and quite literally brought me to tears. The series did not handle it with the gravitas that it deserved. I know this is a series and the time is limited, but honestly if you are going to bring up sexual abuse, then deal with it with more than a superficial attitude.
The second criticism I have of this series, and it is a big one, is its overuse of physical abuse. Maybe it did not want to call it that, but it certainly is evident in this series (especially towards Than). Physical slapping or hitting on impulse is NOT acceptable. Sorry. I know about anger and hurt but to use physical abuse so cavalierly and in some sense so casually, took away from the otherwise positive messages of this series. This was hard for me to accept. Yes, there is redemption at the end, but I have a hard time with attitudes that in a fit of anger, jealousy, or frustration you can just hit someone to express yourself. And not pay any consequences for it.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. the series? This is one of those rare times that both main leads deserve this distinction. Their acting is so intense and so realistic that I began to believe they are a real couple and am following them as if this was a documentary. That is some superb acting. You can feel all the characters’ emotions come to life with these two. This is some first rate acting.
Overall, this series is superb. It has its flaws, but it is one of the most realistic and sensitive series out there. It also does not take forever to develop a relationship. You can grasp it almost immediately and wonder why it does not happen sooner. (You will see why when you watch). There are 12 episodes with 2 extras. Watch the extras as they do fill in the gaps in the story line. I wish they had been part of the story and made it into 14 episodes.
I would have given this series higher, but simply cannot get past the physical abuse cavalierly used in this series as well as the sexual abuse that is not dealt with effectively. It is the storyline and direction; certainly not acting. This is one of the best acted series.
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