A Lesser Sequel

This is a sequel to Love by Chance, but it doesn't have the main Bl couple from that season. I read up to see what happened to Saint, and it looks like some drama between Perth and Saint's managers led to a weird fallout. Not having Pete's character was a problem. This made Ae into a sad sack for almost the entire season. Perth does a good job with a nothing role. We also never get a clear reason why Pete and Ae break up, though they give you some information you can infer the reason, but you really have to google what happened in the book to actually get a clear picture.

All the relationships seem to assume the first season happened, except Tin and Can get a complete reboot for some reason. They reenact various scenes from the first Love by Chance season for what feels like the word-for-word but under different narrative reasons or locations. It isn't until the start of episode 7 that something new happens between Tin and Can.

I actually really like Can. He is a naive simpleton with a good heart. When he and Tin finally do get together, it is kinda adorable.

The subplot of Kla and No is still bothersome. Kla takes advantage of No when he is drunk one night, and the first season ends with them heading into a relationship because Kla gaslighted No. However, in this season, No realizes what actually happened but becomes fixated on Kla as a love interest. However, he is angry at what happened but also doesn't want to fall for his brother's best friend who is still in high school. There are so many problems with this relationship. Kla's love letters and defense of himself are deeply deeply problematic and reflect an immaturity when it comes to understanding love or romance. This subplot should have been removed or significantly altered.

The plot around Tin's brother, I think, works fine. However, the resolution between Tin and his older brother is too simple and easy.

A lot about this sequel series just doesn't work well for me. The Tin/Can relationship is enjoyable, but I don't like the fact half of the season is just retreading the same ground from the first season.

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An Adorable Comfort Watch

This was such a comfort watch. This is the BL series that launched the popularity of this sub-genre on the international stage. This series isn't highly innovative. The leads are attractive, but their chemistry on screen is solid.

The initial premise of the show is a bit problematic. It starts with an aggressive, flamboyant queer character chasing a straight man to be his boyfriend. The rather stubborn, flamboyant character named Green can't take a hint or a no. Tine then looks for someone to be his significant other to deter Green. Initially, Tine thinks of finding a girl as his fake girlfriend, but to no avail. Tine, with the brain trust of his close friends, comes up with the popular Sarawat as a fake boyfriend.

It is obvious Sarawat likes Tine fairly early on. I thought that was initially a little weird. However, as the series progresses, we learn that Sarawat has had a long-time crush on Tine. These flashbacks, which give greater context to Sarawat's and Tine's earlier interactions, are fantastic.

Tine eventually falls for Sarawat, and the relationship becomes sweet. There are a handful of kisses, and sex is only implied. It is not the best BL series I have seen yet. However, it is highly enjoyable and seems like a great comfort watch.

The side BL couples could use a little more development.

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An Unexpected Delight

I went into this expecting a slasher TV show with a BL element. DFF is precisely that in the first four episodes. However, the show is weakest when it sticks to that expected premise. I usually binge BL shows, but this one took me until the 5th episode to get into. This show has a BL element but is not the central focus. It is similar to the popular BL show Not Me in that way. If you are looking for a romance like many other BLs, this is not the show for you. You also must endure through the first four episodes to get to the really good stuff in the middle of the series.

Once you hit episode 5, it becomes a high school bullying story. It then evolves into a high school queer love story, a crime drama, a problematic relationship with an older man, and the various ways people are culpable in driving someone to the edge. The character who suffers from all this is Non.

This is not a happy series. There is no happy ending, no redemption, only pain, sadness, death, and tragedy.

I enjoyed this show because it did something VERY different within the BL context. Barcode did an incredible job as Non.

A major drawback to the series, aside from waiting until almost halfway to build up the story, is the way it tells its story. It feels like it borrows from the Rashomon formulation of going over events from different points of view. Still, it fills in the gaps of missing information with each character we focus on rather than seeing the same scene from another perspective.

The ending scene is ambiguous, a mixed bag. I am just glad this series broke out of the box of BL tropes and formulas. However, it did fall into a lot of slasher tropes and formulations. You can see influences of Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and even your standard Friday the 13th or Halloween movie. I would be surprised if none of those movies influenced the people behind this show.

Definitely worth a see. I would have rated this higher if not for the first 4 episodes being rather subpar.

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A Fun but Muddled Mess of a BL

I am a little surprised to how popular this BL series is. The popularity could be the result of how sexual this show is and how different it is from your typical BL. I really enjoyed the first half of this series. However, halfway through, the series seems to lose its steam and the plot. When Kinn and Porsche became a couple and had BL couple-like moments that were cute, it felt completely out of place. Moreover, the main couple became less interesting than the character of Vegas.

A major problem with this show is that the characters are not consistent with who they are throughout the series. I don't mean characters have moments of growth. Porsche changes throughout the series, as does his little brother Porchay. On the other hand, characters like Vegas and Kinn are sociopathic earlier but then become broken teddy bears after a couple of episodes. It just makes sense and feels like a fan-fiction kind of logic.

Vegas, in particular, is a character who makes little sense. He is shown as a soulless, violent manipulator. Yet, after torturing Pete, he becomes a vulnerable, broken little boy with him. Vegas's father is cruel as well, but then he meets his sister and becomes a crying sack of shit.

By the end, we have twist after twist after twist, adding unnecessary complexity to the story to create a clean ending.

I was interested in the relationship between Porchay and Kim. I found Kim to be interesting, but an underdeveloped character.

Vegas and Pete became an irrational but interesting couple that I wanted more time with.

Tankhun was a load of fun in every scene.

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TayNew Are Amazing in this, better than Dark Blue Kiss by a Mile

I laughed A LOT throughout this series. The main couple is great, but it is the return of TayNew (or Pete and Kao from Dark Blue Kiss & Kiss Me Again) on screen. Their chemistry is fantastic. I recently watched Dark Blue Kiss for the first time, so some scenes and moments remind me of the two of them in that series. However, I liked this series's more adult environment and approach to relationships.

This series addresses issues of being in a rut in one's life, chasing one's goals, finding love later than is culturally expected, and being willing to learn and embrace new things. While younger people may enjoy this BL series, this one really hits home for the middle-aged crowd (or at least those of us in our 30s who don't want to be called middle-aged or uncles quite yet).

Our main couple has so much depth and emotional weight. The side BL couple also has a fair amount of cuteness and emotional heft. I kind of wish we had more time with Rock and Pai. They were utterly adorable, but that would have detracted from the main couple.

The romance between Achi and Karan is amazing and brings out the green-eyed monster in me. Karan is so caring and understanding. Achi I could connect with his shyness and uncertainty about himself. There is very little spice to this series. Honestly, Dark Blue Kiss had more spice to it than this series. Yet, this is the best project I have seen TayNew do together. I would love to see them in more of these kinds of stories.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I laughed A LOT, got teary-eyed in a couple of scenes, loved the chemistry, and felt sad when I watched the last episode because I wanted to follow more of their story.

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