BLISS RATING: ★★★
“We are all born sexual creatures, thank God, but it’s a pity so many people despise and crush this natural gift.” – Marilyn Monroe
Overall, this was one of the worst BL series I have seen this year. It had no serious plot. A lot of the characters are cartoonish if not caricatures. Most came across as wooden, stiff, dull, and lifeless. The story meander pointlessly. And every cliché and trope imaginable was used to try and create links between storylines to keep this silly mess of a story going. There is ONLY one reason to watch this fiasco.
Everything, and I do mean everything, is centered, linked, and focused on the bond between Jun (Oak Pasakorn) and Sorn (Boat Yongyut). Nothing else matters. I honestly did not care about anything that did not pertain to Jun and Sorn. All I cared about was watching them. They have a screen chemistry and a magic that is simply off the charts. Acting like they despise each other in the beginning, then Sorn convincing Jun that he is only a kid and needs to learn how to make love, and he is the perfect teacher to do so, and thus will become a better lover, and he is the only one that could do that, had me on the floor laughing along with Jun pretending to believe all of this. We all knew otherwise, of course. I glued myself to the screen because their scenes together were just short of pornographic. They are hot! They made learning about sex look hedonistic, feel erotic and made us feel as if they were truly engaging in it and frankly enjoying it. All the while, pretending to dislike each other or putting on an act that they could not stand each other. They put the fun in sex. A rare commodity in Thai BLs as of late. They made it look authentic. Yet all along the one thing all of us could tell was that they were falling deeply in love with one another. And it was a love that, we, along with them, knew was heading into territory that was deep and lasting.
Their relationship was not cute. It was messy, sometimes hurtful, but always growing. They explored each other. Took risks. Found out what each other’s likes and dislikes were. We got to see all of it. Not intimately of course but enough to get the picture that each began to know what the other liked and how to please the other and happily was willing to do so.
It was wonderfully charming, original, funny, and so very different. This was honestly a very adult BL that was not ashamed to show us that these two LOVED sex. Thank you! That is such an integral part of any gay relationship, and we got to see it flourish and grow, messy, not in a straight line (no pun intended), but expand, nonetheless.
Use your fast forward button to get through the rest of this dribble. The other couples were presented like fake displays. The GL couple had about as much impact and interest as watching paint dry. The other BL couple even less so. These two guys looked and acted like wooden dolls.
For some silly and idiotic reason, new characters were introduced throughout the series, drifting in and out, trying to mess with Jun and/or Sorn. None of that worked and it was all a distraction. Fast forward again.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. this series? I normally do not name the protagonists for this distinction since it is really their job to make us believe in them. But Oak Pasakorn as Jun and Boat Yongyut as Sorn are rare exceptions in this business. I already mentioned their screen chemistry together, but it goes so much deeper than that. It is as they UNDERSTOOD their characters’ intimacy needs. They had the air of unexpectedly being close to whom I think Sorn and Jun would be. So, their reactions seem real, genuine, and totally honest. They knew they were pretending, and we also knew, as the audience, they were pretending this was all a ‘game’. They were falling in love and did not know how to deal with that and that portion did seem veracious. Their love-making scenes were simply out-of-this-world hot, erotic, steamy, and did I say hot?! This is the first real representation of what gay sex looks like in a young just-getting-started gay relationship that is frank, intrinsic, and comes close to veracity. These guys did it without hesitation or uncertainty. That was and is so refreshing in a BL and more so for a Thai BL as they tend to be so tentative as of late.
There is only one reason to watch this series and that is for the outstanding and quite literally ground-breaking performances by Boat Yongyut as Sorn and Oak Pasakorn as Jun. There is no hesitation in how they presented their characters. They were adults in an adult relationship. No guilt. No shame. No prepubescent nonsense. The rest of the story is silly, banal, with the other BL and GL relationships stiff, awkward, undeveloped. You will be better entertained by watching grass grow. The fast-forward button will be your new friend in this otherwise silly story.
Oak and Boat took their characters to higher levels in both their personalities and relationships. This is one of the few Thai BLs that we actually begin to see ‘growing pains’ in a young couple’s relationship, recognizing that there are going to be issues as a couple. We see boiling over jealousy, mistrust, misinformation, and lots of insecurities. We see both trying to flex their wings as to what each will find tolerable and acceptable in a relationship when it comes to being alone with others. All these issues are handled sometimes well, sometime awkwardly, but always together. We see Jun and Sorn begin to see each other as a ‘couple’ not just two people living together. In other words, there is a lot of growth shown in the development of their relationship that is based on a reality curve and not some Pollyanna approach to what writers think gay couples ought to be like.
But make way. We have a new sexual power couple in town. Not only are Oak Pasakorn and Boat Yongyut both dropped-dead gorgeous, Boat has a head of hair that I would kill to have, with Oak having a smile that could melt an iceberg. Guys, do not ever lose your inner strengths to play the roles you have been given with the same gusto that you have shown with Jun and Sorn. You made them feel genuine. You made them come alive. You normalized them to experience sex as fun and enjoyable, just as Marily Monroe stated above, we should cherish. You made love – human. Thank you.
It is too bad that I could not separate out only the segments where Jun and Oak are in. I would give that story a rating of 5 stars!
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