BLISS RATING: ★★★★★
“Assumptions are the termites of relationships” – Henry Winkler
Perfervid. Incandescent. Captivating. Mesmerizing. These are just some of the adjectives I would use to describe this astonishing and exceptional Bl series that uses the standard formulaic idea for most Thai BL series. So why did this one so capture my attention and frankly my heart deeply? Unquestionably because of the connection and chemistry between its two main stars. I believed their story from the beginning to the end.
The relationship between Vee (Yin Anan Wong) and Mark (War Ratsameerat) starts out troubling from the beginning and it simply gets worse from there. This is truly a story of a Love-Hate relationship that turns into a story of destiny. Mark is an angry aggressive individual who wants what he wants now. He has been unlucky with love and lashes out because of heaping amounts of insecurities. Vee, perhaps not from design but certainly by default, finds himself drawn to Mark and becomes deeply and passionately in love with him. Yet always underlying their budding relationship are circumstances that neither can control, and neither can fully explain. The harder the obstacles in their paths, the more resolute their being together seemed inevitable.
Early on Vee dislikes Mark. Mark (supposedly) mistakes Vee for someone he likes and in a drunken stupor they have passionate sex. Although not gay, Vee succumbed to this temptation and discovered and realized that his feeling for Mark is now way more complex.
Complicating this is the fact that Vee has a girlfriend, Ploy (Perth Tangkitsuvanich). Vee is a somewhat naïve individual who does not see the signs that Ploy is playing him. Finally, the two of them decide to ‘take a break’, thus freeing Vee to develop his relationship with Mark. Yet over and over again, something always happens to thwart their budding relationship. When it finally seems to be coming to fruition, Mark sees Vee kissing Play after he said he was going to talk to her about making the separation permanent so they could be together.
Unfortunately, Mark does not allow his Vee to explain what really happened. So, there is more drama and more heartache and pain.
This saga goes on and on like this in a typical fashion for a Thai BL. Yet somehow, I was enthralled and engrossed with them. Every one of their painful encounters seems plausible and so well executed that I wanted each of them to be the last. Yet, it goes on even until the end. But as if fate intervenes, the two manage to work through the tribulations and intensify their love for each other.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. this series? Unquestionably and without doubt, War and Yin Anan MADE this work. Their chemistry together is so magical that they mesmerized me into believing they were an actual couple. War as Mark, when he got angry and hurt, had a look about him that was cold and distant as if he were indeed a Jekyll and Hyde. Yin Anan as Vee, forever looking forlorn and perplexed, was so consistently good at playing a good guy but at the wrong time. This was a difficult role as he had to show his innocence without having to use words. He carried Vee with integrity and character even when all seemed lost. These two are phenomenal actors and had such screen chemistry that you rarely see in Thai BLs. They threw themselves into these roles which were not easy characters to play. They were complex with a lot of different emotions needing to be shown with deep intensities. The timing between them was so spot on. War maintained an exterior veneer to Mark that continuously shielded him from truly expressing himself, yet we felt what was really going on with him underneath. But when it was soft, the love scenes between them were so downright intense and oh so sensual.
There are many support roles and side stories that while interesting never really affected the outcome. Mark was a magnet for others as he seemed to draw in many. And yet, he never wavered from loving Vee. Vee’s emotions got the better of him at times as did Mark’s. Their relationship ebbed and flowed, bended but never broke, and in the end survived all the obstacles and roadblocks.
I thoroughly enjoyed this series for its depthness of its main characters. Sure, the tribulations were a bit over the top at times, but the story became one that, as trite as it may sound, love can conquer all. And in this case, it did. This is an extraordinarily ordinary story all on the strength of the great acting of the two main characters and a phenomenal ensemble cast of supporting roles.
This no doubt will be on my top 10 list for best BLs for 2022. It is that good.
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