BLISS RATING: ★★★★
“The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is know how to get along with people.” – Theodore Roosevelt
This is such an interesting BL series, but it honestly left me feeling satisfied, yet bewildered and very sad. I just did not know what its intent was. It is not exactly a love story; or is it? It started out great but then got lost or overwhelmed by its own story. It was also obvious that there was a lag between the first half and the second half of the series. Whether it was due to the pandemic or not, there is a noticeable difference in the production and even the acting. The first half was charming, cute, and sort of drew you into their lives and I liked it. The second half felt ‘different’ and it had a sense of sadness to it that almost engulfed it.
The story is about two roommates, one is a musician named Win (Jeff Satur) and a would-be-chef named Tops (Gameplay Tossapol). During this series, we do get to know these two characters and find that they are complex individuals who are really focused on their future much more than they realize. Win tends to be a bit more self-centered yet immersed on what he wants and is single-minded in his accomplishment of his goal, even at some expense including the loss of his family. Tops, on the other hand, is one of those beings who only comes into your life once in a lifetime if you are lucky. Yes, he is focused, singlehandedly, on his cooking but also never ever strays from other things in his life that are as important. Everything from babysitting, to taking care of stray cats, to his total and complete commitment to Win. He is completely devoted to Win sometimes at the expense of who he really is. Even when another person sees Tops as more than just a friend, Tops ‘sees’ nothing, senses nothing, and only sees Win as in his life.
The overall story here is both captivating yet mundane. The highlight is when Win’s mother and brother come to visit Win but Win rejects their overture to connect with them until Tops, in his usual soft-spoken manner, convinces him of the beauty of family and having them around him. What is so interesting about this series is the detail that Tops goes through to make his food profoundly become a work of art. And Win to do the same with is music. By the way, Jeff is an incredibly good singer and guitarist, and his singing and songs are enjoyable to listen to. (I am sorry but so many of these series have ‘singers’ in them but they honestly cannot sing). Jeff can sing and his voice is quite beautiful and melodic.
After episode 10 or so, the series goes into a tailspin of unrelated snippets, some of which worked while others did not. The production went from being acceptable to gaps in camera work and angles as well as very poor sound quality. The acting never got intense until the end of the series, which is so unfortunate. You could see the connection these two had with one another in the beginning. However, it droned on and on into looks and glances but no real connection with each other in a corporeal sense until the end. But it was obvious that they loved each other.
So much time was wasted in story development that what was lost is the intimacy these two needed to have to truly deepen their love for one another. The two actors when they were separate from each other seemed off or even lost. But as soon as they were together, they acted as if they were parts of a puzzle that now fit together. Honestly, these two have the most intriguing, natural, honest, unpretentious, and REAL sense of each other when they are together. There was a closeness between them that they could almost sense each other’s thoughts. Their timing is absolutely impeccable. Yet as beautiful as I saw these two being together, I just never quite bought they were a couple. There was total commitment to each other, and they ‘loved’ each other, deeply and profoundly but I just could not bring myself to see them as a real couple. It was as if they were in a ‘bromance’ and loved living the life of being a family. In a sense, they were a family. When they finally kissed (which was NOT until the end), I just did not see or feel any passion.
At the end, when Win takes off to pursue his career in music, they connect with each other on such a deep and profound level that is one of the better BL connections I have ever seen. They talked about what each other meant to one another and how deeply each has affected the other. Win said that he would invite Tops to his concert, and he would have a place to stay. Win also encourages Tops to open up the restaurant that he has always wanted to have, and he would come to visit. Yet, it felt that they realized they would never be a couple. Instead, each knew there existed and always will an ardent relationship and a kind of love for one another that would transcend them ever being together.
Both realized that they would never be together. If that were to be so, it would have been done sooner when they could have developed a more passionate love for each other. That time had passed, and they would have to be content with a deep connection for each other that would never come to commitment. I found this to be so profoundly sad but realized that they shared with each other an intensity that each touched the soul of the other by music and food and maybe that it was all that it was meant to be. I cried at the end over their missed opportunities to have nurtured and cultured their relationship. I cried that they were so single-minded in their directions that they really did not ‘see’ each other. I cried for Win not seeing how he used Tops and how in essence that never allowed Tops to fully show Win how he felt about him and to only show his love for Tops through his music. I cried for Tops and his timidity and lack of courage to break out of his shell and be himself and open up to really loving and simply not displaying his love for Win through food.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. the series? This series is a worthy series because of the superb and I do mean superb acting of Jeff and Gameplay. The bantering between these two, the laughing, the touching, the glancing and yes even the eating all seemed so naturally real and unrehearsed. I do not know if in real life they are friends, but they sure acted as two people would act if they are alone and are friends. It was just so unbelievably organic for me. This indeed is a rare beauty. Speaking of beauty, these guys are so handsome and charming (I wanted to run my finger through Jeff’s magnificently beautiful mane) and so are the other supporting characters. Jeff’s musical skill are very pleasant, and I so enjoyed his singing. Kudos to both actors.
Some of the dishes that are prepared are true works of art and looked very good. The story is slow and the production in places is underwhelming, but to watch these two together makes up for any negativity in this series.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
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