BLISS RATING: ★★★★★
“People don’t change. They just take their masks off.” – Quote from Bad Buddy
Honestly, there is nothing I can state that undoubtedly has not already been noted about this exceptional BL series. My rather measly way of explaining my enjoyment of this series would feel insufficient even to me because this is one of the most astonishing series, I have had the pleasure of watching. At this time and in this space, Bad Buddy has moved the needle for BLs into a new direction. Very, very few series can say that. SOTUS is one and 2GETHER is another. This is the third in that triumvirate. Let me explain what this exceptional series has done.
1. It made a ‘gay relationship’ feel nice and normal! There is no pretending here. It is a sweet story of a love between two males. Sure, there are a few bumps along the road, but it does not pretend to be anything other than what it is. And they got it right! They introduced small perhaps quirky idiosyncrasies that individuals have in relationships that make it unique to them. Pat wanting something of Pran’s to remind him of his smell, for example. That was surprisingly endearing and not-so-uncommon of a seemingly peculiar behavior. (HINT: the use of cologne or perfume to attract others).
2. There are no villains here. By that I mean, there is no other love interest here trying to break them up or thwart the relationship. No female antagonist. No other male interest trying to steal or break up the relationship. Sure, there is Wai (Jimmy Jitaraphol), the best friend of Pan. But his actions are not one of jealousy but of loyalty and protection, misguided as it was, to defend his friend.
3. More importantly, there is no reference that this relationship is one of ‘love of the person not the gender’. Thank God. No reference of such nonsense either. They are GUYS and there is no agony over that. Sure, some confusion as to if each were gay, but it was not that they were ‘converted’ to gayism by being with the other. Genuinely they loved each other, and they knew that for a long time. They were continuously testing the strength of their commitment to each other and each and every time, it only grew stronger and more solid.
4. No nonsense about ‘husband-wifey’ roles. Hooray! In fact, in this series, they totally destroyed that notion and squashed it down with mockery. Kudos! You have advanced BLs into the 21stcentury. There is no need for anatomical lessons here. Both are men and they are going to do what each is comfortable and want to do.
5. This is the first series I can recall where there is some parity in feelings. Each grew towards acceptance of the other equally. No one tried to be dominant; no one tried to be a ‘top’ or a ‘bottom’. Labels were divested in this series. It was simply a journey of a beautiful love story that happened to be between two males. No artificial dramas. No contrived roadblocks. This was a pilgrimage to discovery of a love that was meant to be.
Based on these five innovative and ground-breaking milestones, the world of BL has evolved into an adult-oriented, more real, and way more relatable genre. This quest took us into a real odyssey for acceptance of a love between two males that felt so astonishingly good. They were not treated nor did they act like they were some easily breakable piece of pottery.
So let us look at the story. It is simple. Pran (Nanon Korapat) and Pat (Ohm Pawat) grow up as neighbors but are not supposed to be friends because of bad blood between their families. Even though they go through the motions of feigning dislike for each other, they never really did so. As they reconnect in college after an absence by Pran, no matter how hard they tried, they cannot be enemies. There is just something, perhaps, destiny, that continuously draws one to the other or both together. Again, there are attempts to thwart the feelings, mainly based upon the mistakes of the families, but the love between the two is unshakeable.
But even when the families find out that they are boyfriends, there is still something that overshadows these misguided families’ objections. It might be amended or even bent but never broken. That is their deep, deep connection to each other. They are meant to be, must be, and will be together. That is no better definition of soulmates.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. the series? This story works for only two reasons – Nanon and Ohm. They ARE Pran and Pat and Pran and Pat ARE them. The performances of these two astonishingly handsome young men are a thing of beauty to behold and a joy to watch. It is as if they knew the importance of their roles in portraying a love story between two males. They were not afraid, ashamed, intimated, or scared off by immersing themselves into these roles. Dear God, it was stunning to watch. They both had a natural ability to be their characters. They showed a deep connection to one another on so many levels that it was hard to believe they were only acting. It was so intense, real, genuine, and honest and I felt every moment of it with them. The looks into each other’s eyes, the smiles, the touches, the caring for each other, the softness in their voices when they shared – all so magical.
Frankly, I was astonished at the depth of feelings they displayed for one another. They carried it though and intensified it even to the end. It was so natural. It is as if they knew each other inside and out. The timing, the inflections, the mannerisms, the tenderness was so intrinsic and palpable. With astonishing authenticity. I thought these two guys were. Simply brilliant acting.
While the acting was near perfection in all of the performers, the story itself had some major weakness.
1. The backstory of why the families were at war with each other was seriously flawed and never really dealt with effectively. Therefore, leaving a gaping hole in the rationale of this story. While I understand bad blood, the fact that both families carried it to extremes to involve the children was excessive and just did not make any sense. It was way too excessive and had a feel that ‘something’ else was really the reason. This left a giant hole in logic that such bitterness would carry over for such a long time. Their reasoning seemed like a smokescreen.
2. They carried the feud and rivalry between Engineering and Architecture a bit too far and seem contrived and artificial at times. I get that there is a rival between departments but the extremeness on both sides seemed a bit too excessive and frankly unnecessary.
3. I know this will not make me popular, but I disliked the placement of the relationship between Pat’s sister Pa (Love Pattranite) and Ink (Milk Pansa). I loved the actual relationship between the two women AND the fact that they brother and sister were gay, but it seemed more out of place and a bit too neat and perfect in its execution. For me, its placement was used more to divert attention and to stick to a formulaic structure of having to have a secondary relationship in a series. It took away from a completely solid story of Pran and Pat. Why can we not see a complete story of one relationship? While cute, it was unnecessary and a bit distracting. Additionally, they need their own series.
4. The unevenness of Pat’s family seemingly accepting his sister’s relationship with Ink but being enraged at his relationship with Pan. That all seemed so heavy-handed. My own perception is that this is yet again another unevenness in gay story telling. The subtle yet obvious acceptance of women being able to foster a same-sex relationship in many societies (including here in the USA) seemingly more tolerant versus a relationship between two males. I found this unevenness disconcerting.
5. The pretending of not having a relationship between themselves for the sake of their families’ stabilities was a major misstep for me. I was saddened by this turn of events and this series, with its tremendous and significant breakthroughs with showing a healthy growing relationship between two men, would drop the ball on this one issue. His sister could be open, but he could not. I understand the significance of who his boyfriend was, but this could have been a stronger force for change if there was a greater push to bring their relationship out of the closet and more open to assist the families to coming to grips with their own deficiencies earlier. Their shortcoming were not the shortcomings of these two guys and strides could have been made to finally and unequivocally bring out into the light that their relationship was beautiful, happy, thriving, and completely committed. Instead, they had to cover it up and cower down to the families’ inabilities to deal with their own issues. For four years, these guys had to pretend. I found that profoundly sad. Yes, I saw at the end that the families were beginning to accept the two which was noble, but that having to pretend for four years could just as easily (if this was a real-life situation) taken a real toll on their relationship unnecessarily.
None of these negate from the stunning beauty of this story. A few extra steps could have made this series into a real masterpiece. Instead, for me, this was a good story, with some of the finest acting I have seen in any BL in a long time. In fact, perhaps too good. It will be difficult for me to see them doing other roles with other actors or actresses. They made Pan and Pat so real that it is challenging not to think of them as a couple as you would with Lucy and Ricky, Lois and Clark, and Romeo and Juliet.
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