BLISS RATING: ★+
“They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” – Carl W. Buechner
Cliché and trite. So sorry to say this, but this is not a good BL series. It could have and should have been but was not. It is a story about a guy named Ben (Teejay Marquez) who is gay and out. He is sort of marginally making it, living on his own, and unfortunately is stuck at home because of the pandemic. His entire family is living in the States and he is being pressured to join them there. He gets excited because his best friend from grade school and secondary school, Jim (Jerome Ponce), is coming to spend the quarantine at his family’s home which is next door to Ben’s house.
When Jim arrives, there is the usual trying to rekindle what they had when they were younger. But Jim is a very successful businessperson while Ben is selling items through live streaming. But things are now different. Ben works up the courage to tell Jim he is gay and then the ‘Dance of the Seven Veils” begins. It becomes predictable and boring. Let’s list the seven veils. One, things are said to one another that are blown out of portion or misunderstood. Two, Ben confesses his love to Jim but then recants with a ‘just kidding’ routine. Three, Jim has a girlfriend. Four, Ben has a very toxic (and I do mean toxic) ex-boyfriend. Five, the messenger (who delivers the packages of items that Ben sales), Olin (Ron Angeles), pursues Ben who seems a bit oblivious. Six, Ben does not explain the real reasons why he cannot develop a relationship with Jim and is doing so as a supreme sacrifice just like martyr’s are supposed to do. And, finally, there is sort of a happy ending. (I guess).
Both characters are flawed and are internally carrying around a bunch of personal baggage. That is all relatable, but the story is simply not plausible. There are feeble attempts to get them to talk and connect. There is no real connection with these characters at all and zero chemistry between the actors. Not for one second did I ever believe that they ‘liked’ each other let alone loved each other. You must make the audience want to believe in these characters!
The supporting actors played their roles with a bit more realism and depth than the main actors. Olin was so cute, absolutely adorable, and incredibly charming. (Ben, get a grip here! He is a totally hottie and he wanted you!) Actually, I would like to see a BL series based on his life. He was an interesting character.
Jim’s girlfriend, Yana (Sara Edwards). Usually, the girlfriends in these series are throwaways and not particularly sympathetic characters. But in this case, I TOTALLY understand why she was upset and angry. She did not deserve her treatment from Jim who is so callous in explaining the need for a separation. Flo (Kat Galang) is a good friend of Ben and is the understanding and sympathetic ear. Leo (Johannes Risler) is the ex of Ben who is physically abuse and has significant mental health issues.
While they do not treat this necessarily lightly, they do not treat it effectively either. It was recognized that he needs help but there is so much more to that which does need to be explored. (You simply cannot have these series whose characters have been sexual or physical abused so superficially or cavalierly dealt with. These are a serious issue and need serious attention.) These four carried this series.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. the series? But the real star of this series and an outstanding contributor for making this series relatable is Kat Galang playing Ben’s good friend, Flo. While she is the sidekick and apparent comic relief and confidant of Ben, she is also the compass that Ben needs to see his way. She is very good and very believable and gives Ben some excellent advice which of course he ignores until nearly it is too late. She says to Ben, “Truth is the only force as powerful as time. For time will heal you and so will truth.” Good dialogue and well delivered. Kudos.
It is not a badly acted series. And its premise could have been a very interesting story. But the director and screenplay explored more obvious and frankly stale aspects of gay relationships. Hence, ‘the dance of the seven veils’ analogy. This was an interesting premise with a million different ways to explore it but it drifted into clichés and triteness.
One last comment about this disaster of a series and one that does need some attention is the ending. Look, there does not have to be mad passionate kissing or love scenes for a story to flow. But for goodness sake, do NOT wait until the last scene for a kiss where their lips NEVER touch. These guys, remember, are supposed to be in love! Give us something. A tender kiss. A long passionate look. An evil looking smile. A tender touch. Something! And make it real. It looks like this was thrown together in front of a green screen with a fade to black.
And that is exactly what this series did — faded to black.
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