Pit Babe (2023)

Too Much and Not Enough: The Goldilocks Syndrome of Pit Babe

I really wanted to like this series. I watched Boys Journey leading into it and absolutely fell in love with the cast.

And for the record, that is the one thing that has not changed. The cast is the only thing that makes this series work. Pavel is fantastic. Nut as well is a stand out performer for me. But all of the others are solid, well rounded performers as well.

This series dies by its writing. The problems start within the main couple- who somehow have no palpable chemistry, despite the fact that the actors who play them have chemistry in spades. They are written into an insta-love corner that the show never bothers to write its way out of. Eight episodes in, and the main couple is as hollow and vapid as they were in episode two.

There are too many characters. Many of whom serve no purpose to the plot, and ultimately serve as a pointless distraction away from the main story. There are too many ideas shoved into one show. Is this a racing show, is this an action show or is this a romance? Some series can pull together multiple genres to make a compelling series. The Sign, for example is a show that manages to balance several genres at once and still be coherent. But these writers are not up for that challenge. As they get completely lost up their own plotholes, it becomes increasingly clear over the course of this series that these writers don't have a clear direction for this show. And worse, it's become blatantly clear that they have no interest in writing a BL.

The one positive I will give the writers, is that they did manage to make compelling tension. I would always leave each episode feeling a desperate need to see the next one and find out what will happen next. Unfortunately, they are never able to pay off any of the tension they successfully build. Arguments are forgotten from one scene to the next, characters are constantly behaving in ways bizarrely devoid of emotion. These aren't characters. They're walking plot devices used to push the story around. And I do mean push the story around, because the story never seems to actually push forward in any kind of believable way.

So we're stuck with this Goldie Locks syndrome. Too many characters, too many ideas, too many pointless scenes where characters only exist to lob exposition at each other. Not enough character development, not enough time given to side couples, not enough emotional believability built up between the two main leads.

There's a good story buried somewhere in this. Unfortunately, it seems that these writers were unable to find that plot.

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Pit Babe (2023) Review! My thoughts on this drama

Overall I really enjoyed this series. Yes, the plot was a bit messy at times, however the cast overcame that and helped bring the series back on track.
The cast was the thing that brought the series to life, the acting was, at least in my opinion, really good. The actor that played Babe (Pavel) had a few emotional scenes and nailed them. He did a great job showing the emotions.
The chemistry was really good between the main cast both platonic relationship wise and romantic relationship wise.
This drama was a bit slow at times so I did skip some parts, but it balanced the slow scenes with faster scenes and I had to go back and rewatch some scenes to understand what was going on.

This is my first review, so if I missed any good points or could improve my reviews somehow or someway kindly let me know. Hope you learned a little from this review and hope you have a great day!

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A poorly “parked” relationship on the race track

Cinema and television, like all art that reflects the society in which they develop, have shown the trafficking of children through notable films, documentaries and television series. Numerous films and television programs expose this illegal practice and many of them are based and inspired by real-life cases.
Asian dramas are committed to bringing all genres to the public, including those in which their protagonists have a romantic bond combined with supernatural powers.
Has the fact that Thailand is a point of origin, destination and transit of human trafficking aroused the interest of Nopachai Jayanama (Peter), as director, and Kanokphan Ornrattanasakul and Issaraporn Kuntisuk, as scriptwriters, to tell us in 'Pit Babe' a story that mixes homosexual romance, sport, intrigue, action, human trafficking, fantasy and supernatural powers?
This drama, an adaptation of the web novel by _alittlebitch, winks at Thai reality: the value of child victims of human trafficking does not lie in using them as sexual slaves, in forced labor or to extract their organs for commercialization, but in possessing special powers.
Are we facing a social drama of denunciation of human commerce? I would like this to be its purpose, but consistent with its BL condition, 'Pit Babe' will enhance the romance. This arises between Babe (Naret Promphaophan-Pavel), the king of the racetrack, and Charlie (Krittin Kitjaruwannakul-Pooh), his supporter.
Will the series have a hidden message? How many of Tony's “sons” among the superpowered children are gay men today? Babe, Charlie, Jeff, Kenta, Pete, Way...? That is, the main characters with powers who were raised-educated by the person dedicated to human trafficking ended up being homosexuals. Is there a hidden message in this, simple coincidence or something of “destiny”?
Babe is a very popular racing driver and admired by everyone. His achievements in the sport have led him to be considered number one. Among his followers is Charlie, a young man who wants to be a racing driver like him. However, he does not have the money or the contacts necessary to achieve it. Therefore, he looks for an opportunity to get closer to the leader of X Hunter. When he succeeds, he asks for your help and to lend him a car so he can materialize his aspirations. The only solution he can think of is to reach a strange agreement with Babe. Against logic, he agrees to help Charlie realize his dream.
On this journey, will Babe be able to win Charlie's heart? Will he lose the race he most wants to win this time? Will Charlie be the one interested in captivating the racing driver? Will the relationship that began as a game triumphantly cross the finish line to become a real romance?
The most notable thing about the series is its exciting scenes and the attractiveness of the actors.
There is a secondary couple, made up of Alan and Jeff.
The cast also includes Supanut Lourhaphanich (Nut), as Way; Obrnithi Leelavetchabutr (Ping), as Pete; Natthapong Pathong (Benz), as Kim; Asre Wattanayakul (Lee), as Dean; Hemmawich Khwanamphaiphan (Sailub), as Alan; Thanapon Aiemkumchai (Pon), as Jeff; Michael Kiettisak (Michael), as North; Pataraphol Wanlopsiri (Pop), as Winner; Pantach Kankham (Garfield), as Kenta; Supakorn Saokhor (TopTen), as Sonic; and Vorarit Vaijairanai (S), as Tony
The chemistry between the protagonists and the bed scenes fail to lift a series whose characters are unrealistic and undeveloped. Pavel and Pooh have charisma and are attractive, but the script does not help their relationship connect with the viewer.
I must clarify that it is not that I find being 'passive' degrading. It's not that I assume that, in a relationship between two men, there is a "superiority" on the part of the one who is 'active' compared to the other who is 'passive', but the abrupt change in Babe's personality seems inconceivable to me. . This transformation comes at the same time as the loss of his powers, at the hands of Charlie.
Babe abandons his well-crafted playboy image for years. In all his previous relationships he played the role of seme or asset. In the words of the BL series themselves, he was, of the two, “the one on top.” He began his relationship with Charle by assuming this role in bed. Suddenly, without a convincing explanation, Babe becomes Charlie's uke. Babe swaps to play the role of the “bottom.” So, you would have to ask yourself: Did the loss of his precious powers lead him to be the passive one in their relationship? Didn't this move cause a loss in his character's potential?
Despite being in front of the cameras practically all the time, the actor who plays Charlie fails to connect with me emotionally. They are not facilitating emotions, but hindering emotions that are transmitted to me by a character who fails to sensitize me. By not feeling or understanding Charlie's emotions and feelings, I cannot essentially grasp whether it is love or just sex that drives him. Only his acting stands out in the sex scenes. Note that I do not say “when making love.”
The transformation of the character played by Nut, already in the final moments, is not logical either. About an obvious thing, the incurable remorse that must have accompanied Way throughout much of his life for betraying Babe for years, causing the rift between him and the man he loves, as well as many, if not all, of the problems that have hit to the positive characters by being infiltrated into their ranks, Way's evolution from evil to purity, from darkness to light is narratively constructed, sustained by the effort to achieve the viewer's identification with the traitor. It is necessary to save it, the creators thought.
Way drinks with Pete because “he wants to make the situation better.” He doesn't know “what to do next.” He does not know if “what I have always believed is the right thing.” He asks Pete why he decided to leave Dad, and Pete tells him, “Because the truth is not what I thought… I decided to leave to end the vicious cycle that Dad had created.” And he tells her that she still has the chance to choose what she wants to do. Way has been asked to show the despondency caused by guilt. Way has had the option all his life to choose the right path, but he has decided to be by Tony's side, even knowing what this means. But suddenly, some words from Pete whispered in his ear between sips of liquor and a few pats on the back invite him to “do the right thing.” And this would not be a problem if they had gotten rid of the rampant schematism in the character design and the all-too-evident desire to redeem him.
A story that fails to convince, clumsily designed characters, characters lacking development and therefore generating empathy, limitations in the explanation of the characters' decision making, poverty in the development of events and irregularities regarding changes of personality, are several of the main characteristics of the drama.
Peter throws together a few tropes and too many clichés. With fewer ambitions and fewer plot holes, perhaps the series would have become a full-throttle, full-speed car swallowing up the race track.

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A pit chain of romance

Babe, as the main character, is a trash. The drama has a unique flow of story with its composition of humans gaining an extraordinary ability among average individuals. This is a nice foundation of the story and I love the fantasy incorporated in it. However, it is so hard for me to enjoy the drama to the fullest all because of how hateable Babe is.

Firstly, they did extremely badly during the pilot episode, take note that the touch of fantasy is not yet revealed here. But the way that Babe treated Charlie like a slave or worse was just cruel. I like Charlie’s character but only without linking him to Babe. The main character should lift the whole show but all I just remembered about him is being addicted to sex and toying with people with a character development that isn’t enough to change my view on him.

A cast with a visually stunning appearance but sometimes they just lack charms to hook me up. Uncle was indeed the best character here and the most loveable one. Throughout the show, there’s only one time that I was amazed by a certain scene. It was on EP11 of the confrontation scene of Uncle Alan and Dean. The acting is on point which even made me put in tears. I love the build of tension from rage to worriness. This specific scene emphasizes the importance of the storyline and building the relationship of everyone included in the drama.

It’s a real pity that I haven’t enjoyed the romance of any couple featured in this. Uncle Alan and Jeff got me at first but eventually vanished after a few episodes. Nevertheless, it wasn’t as bad as compared to some of the Thai BLs I watched yet still Pit Babe is a below-average kind of BL for me. Everyone is obsessed with Babe but I don’t see any distinct features from Babe that are too good for everyone to get obsessed with his personality and always have the attitude. Sometimes, I feel like the story is so focused on executing great sex scenes but loses the more important part of the show which is decency and rationality of how and why these things happened in their story.

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loses itself too much

although I love the cast, it’s the same issue again as far as writing goes: the story sucked.

chemistry is everywhere with everyone, but when the story just never really connects, it turns into a jumbled mess of bits and parts that never really give you the full picture.

the racing ends up being a background detail in general, which I was a little saddened about. we also never really get the full story on any of the characters, not even the main ones, so that was also just incredibly disorienting when trying to come up with theories (you can read the novel, I personally have zero interest in it). most of the characters were as complex as a cotton ball, so I wish the series would’ve changed that at the very least (north and sonic genuinely deserved better). there were a lot of unnecessary parts, but with the ending this series had, I don’t think im interested in a second season here. there’s not really anything left for them to do now, but I am still really impressed with a lot of the cast. Lee in specific I am really excited to see act in more series, he has one of the best scenes in the entire series and it left a huge impression on me.

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OVERHYPED?

I subscribe IQIYI for this bro cause of the uncut version is steamy ( that's what people been saying ) and I admit, that is indeed true. Steamy and keep making me ask myself if this is allowed? LOL. Okay first, you know the series is meh when the series ended, you just be like "Eh. Okay.". The plot itself have potential to grow but I wish they explain in much detailed version of Alpha x Enigma and the fact that some of the Alpha and Enigma have powers. I feel so lost when suddenly Babe have sense/power, I was like "Eh? Is this fantasy genre?". The explanation is lacking however the conflict is really well execute. No delayed part except sometimes there is unnecessary love scene which got me questioning "You did this for what?".

Okay. The acting. I'm sorry but Pooh need to improve his gaze and the way he is talking to his co-star. It felt weak. It felt like he is still stiff and not ready. But I dont know why when it comes to sex scene, his gaze changed and almost makes my heart skips a beat. LMAO. Charlie's character seems to lack of passion, lack of love and he doesn't even care about maintaining relationship with Way nor other X Hunter's members. I feel like he could care less about them as long as he can be with Babe. Pavel, on the other hand, MISS GURL- I LOVE HIM! I mean how can I not remember he were in 2MOONS 2. Like um WHERE??? Anyway, Pavel's acting is alright but Babe's character is 80% RED FLAG. Like THERE IS NO WAY that he doesn't know Way likes him. Like please-. COME ON. And I think that Babe knows about Way's feelings but he chose to ignore it because back then he was young and all he wants to do is to fight Tony. But still, RED FLAG!

NUT. NUT. NUT. He is my new husband now. HAHAHAHAH I mean- I did watch his first series as main role - TSIMR and I love his acting but it's been a while so I WAS LIKE "YO! WHY IS NUT HERE???". HAHAHAHA but to be honest, I like Way's character and I wish the screenwriter could have include like emotional lines as Way's final lines like, "I am sorry, babe. That day where we back to become friends, will never happen." or "You love him because he would die for you but I love you because I died for you.". YOU KNORRRR???? Such a waste. Way is the only BL character that makes me cry. IM NOT EVEN KIDDING.

Anyway, plot could be better, good cast but lack of good lines.

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Not at all what I thought it would be..

.. which actually turned out to be a good thing. There was a lot of hype around this series being geared toward a more mature audience and having adult themes, not just in the NC sense. There was a lot of talk about it incorporating aspects of Omegaverse so I was interested to see what they did with that... whether it was going to be a major plot point or just a passing mention like "Oh, by the way, I'm an Alpha, just so you know."

What I thought it would be, based on the trailer:
-sports drama based on racing
-"playboy denying he's falling for a guy" type of romance
-rivalry between racers as main source of conflict
-father trying to cash in on son's success

While the first few episodes make it seem like it is setting up for some of the above.... Spoiler alert.. it's actually about none of the above and only mildly focused on the racing aspect. The story we actually got was much more involved and, quite honestly, more interesting to me, personally, than if it were simply about car racing. The "omegaverse" aspect was actually the main focus of the overall plot although it's not quite the omegaverse that is commonly portrayed in novels/webcomics/etc which typically includes the secondary sexes, mPreg, going into heat, amongst other things. In this series, they do have Alphas and Enigmas where both can have supernatural abilities and strengths. Scenting plays a small part as well though that is more because of the fact Babe's specific special ability is heightened senses, which obviously include his sense of smell.

But in this series, the big focus is on the Alphas being rare "super human" beings that all have different abilities which manifest as they get older. It was very X-Men to me, quite honestly, as every Alpha had different "powers" and I found myself keeping them straight by comparing them to their X-Men counterpart.

The overall plot was very involved and nerve-wracking while at face value it just looks like the good guys are going after a super villain and his cronies. However, as agendas are revealed and the entirety of the situation unfolds, it actually turned out to be some of the most interesting story writing I've seen in a BL to date. It's very rare this happens, but I would dare say that the story was what kept me more invested rather than the acting. A lot of times, an actor's performance will save a series for me and keep me from either dropping it or giving it a bad review because of bad or uninteresting plot. But here, it was the opposite.

I wouldn't say the acting was "bad" per say, but there were definitely some better than others, which became evident when they all had scenes together. Pavel was really good, especially when it came to the emotional scenes in the later episodes. He wasn't afraid to "ugly cry" which made it that much more believable. Pooh wasn't bad but he certainly wasn't outstanding. I feel like he either got better over time or he just grew on me throughout the course of the show. (most likely the latter since these things don't typically shoot in chronological order.)

Nut's performance was very good and, honestly, I think he pulled off the complexity of his character very well. We don't find out much about him as an individual until about halfway through but there's always this underlying question of "what is his deal?" from the very beginning because something just seems "off." Nut portrayed this extremely well with little nuances sprinkled throughout and it's almost like a "blink and you miss it" kind of thing.

There's actually quite a bit of that going on throughout the series with multiple characters and I found the guessing game to be very captivating. I think the only characters I never questioned their motives or true feelings were Babe, Mr. Tony and Alan. They were pretty much "what you see is what you get" all the way through.

This was also one of the few times I've seen a series where everything is explained, tied together and resolved by the end. There's nothing introduced for the drama aspect only to be forgotten about or given a half-assed resolution. Everything that happens is important and it all gets wrapped up by the finale. It was a breath of fresh air not leaving the series with questions or feeling like something is missing. All of it is very satisfying in that regard.

That being said, I can see this not being for everyone as it is very heartbreaking and frustrating every time the "heroes" are thwarted and they have to start over. People looking for a more mature love story may also find it somewhat lacking as the romance part takes a back seat to everything else going on. It's certainly NOT a light a fluffy watch. But I assure you, it truly is engaging and it had me on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next pretty much from start to finish. I definitely liked it a lot more than I thought I might and I would gladly watch it again in the future.

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It was good, there were some details, but I enjoyed it.

When I first saw that it was omegaverse I was taken aback, but after seeing the chemistry and friendship of this 12 boys I decided to give it a try and I don't regret it.

I really loved the series but they rushed too many subplots, everything was a little over the place, the acting and chemistry saved that, even if it was resolve in some way, I wish they accounted those plots more detailed.

I wish we could've seen more of Kenta and Kim, Pete and Way, etc, they were left out.

I won't complain about CharlieBabe and AlanJeff, they ATE and did an amazing job making me love their relationships.

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Watched it for Pavel, ended up falling in love with Nut; overall entertaining watch

I will start with what I didn't liked :

1. My first complaint I'd why promote the other couples when we are going to have basically nothing of them in the series. I was soo invested to see the developement of other couples.. but not only there was barely anything, but we also didn't get the backstory of the characters. That Would have made the series really interesting.
2. The plot in the mid felt a bit boring; I was really uninterested in Babe and Charlie. I was really bored of Babe being disappointed in Charlie, them immediately making up and a love scene and the same thing repeating again and again.... Some of the love scenes between them could just had been edited out and gave room for the other aspects of the story.
3. Charlie's acting felt a bit weaker than the other cast, or maybe the other cast's acting was better so they just outshined him.
4. Sponsorships of toothpaste etc in the story , took most of the time and made me feel a bit disconnected somehow. (I know they are important, but there were just too many of them taking too much time)
5. The storytelling was also not the best( the Omegaverse concept was not properly introduced, it was hard to follow for someone as me who has no idea of that multiverse)
6. Shitty, ending!!! They had one chance to wrap the story up with a fantastic ending but damn !! They ruined it. They could have ended it up in a way that promotes the series for potential spin-off with other couples, but no!!! They really ended it.

What I liked:
1. Offcourse the acting, all the cast did a good job. The ones that stood out the most were Pavel and Nut. I just can't praise enough of how good their acting was. Specially, the the emotional moments. I was crying my heart out.
2. Good production value.
3. Engaging characters and new concept
4. The songs are also good.

Overall, i wouldn't say it's an excellent series. But definitely is an entertaining watch. I enjoyed the series.

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