My Stand-In (2024)

The gong/seme strives to recover his shou/uke by repenting of his mistakes

What is reincarnation? According to its definition, reincarnation is the belief that the individual essence of people begins a new life in a different body or physical form after biological death. That is, it is the belief that, after dying, each of us will begin a new life in a new body.
Of course, in both film and television, this idea, this belief, has been explored from all angles: horror, comedy, suspense and also romance.
When we talk about reincarnation, this possibility of living a new life in a new body after death, is presented to the stuntman named Joe (Poom Phuripan Sapsangsawat - 'Bake Me Please', 2023; 'Saneha Stories Season 4: Saiyai Saneha', 2022), who, after a fatal accident, in a trick of fate, suddenly comes back to life but in the body of another person of the same name who had suffered an accident on the same day.
The LGBT+ themed romantic drama 'My Stand-In' (ตัวนาย ตัวแทน/Tua Nai Tua Thaen) revolves around Joe's new life after his reincarnation. When he wakes up, Joe finds himself immersed in what seems to be the same world he has just left, with the same people around him and the same destiny as before, since both his professional career and personal life remain identical: he is the substitute by the young and famous actor Tong (Mek Jirakit Thawornwong - 'Star and Sky: Sky in Your Heart', 'Star and Sky: Star in My Mind', both 2022; 'Kiss Me Again, 2018').
With the possibility of accessing the memories and knowledge of his past life, Joe meets Ming again (Up Poompat Iam-samang - 'Lovely Writer', 2021; 'Club Sapan Fine Season 2', 2022), with whom he had a relationship. deep relationship in the afterlife. Joe will remember that his death is the result of an accident during filming that took place after discovering that Ming has always considered him as his second choice. After learning this painful truth, Joe is forced to work on a film set abroad where tragedy occurs.
However, in this life, Ming wants Joe to return to his side like before and Joe doesn't know why, because the relationship they both had was always toxic and suffocating. Ming, who has retained all his memories of old Joe, tries to find the truth about his new life to finally offer him the explanation he was never able to give him.
Now, in a new existence full of uncertainties, Joe will have the opportunity to reflect on himself and his place in the world, which has never been free of the shadow of being a stuntman.
Will Joe escape his tragic destiny as a substitute? Will Ming manage to rekindle the love between the two through a plan as crazy as it is imaginative? Can Ming redeem himself for the suffering caused to Joe in the afterlife through repentance and rectification? Will the relationship between the two have, like Joe with his reincarnation, a second chance?
From directors Khom Kongkiat Khomsiri ('KinnPorsche', 2022, 'The Promise', 2023) and Pepzi Banchorn Vorasataree ('Dark Blue Kiss', 2019, 'KinnPorsche'), the series 'My Stand-In' is the Thai adaptation from the popular novel "Professional Body Double" (职业替身), by Chinese writer Shui Qian Cheng.
If someone asked me: what is so special about the series?, I would answer:
- The captivating story of romance, fantasy, mystery and the power of love throughout lives.
- The idea of twists of fate and the possibility of second chances.
- Revitalizing the theme of reincarnation not only in the concept that the protagonist reincarnates, but also that he can access the memories and knowledge of his past lives. This helps in character and story development.
- Reincarnation as a concept or idea that, after death, we can return and get a second chance, takes the vertigo away from the finitude of human life.
- Addressing an attractive and complex topic such as reincarnation, which oscillates between the fun suggestions of the fantastic imagination and the sacredness of Eastern religions.
- Be adapted from a novel of the danmei genre which in turn is based on the "scum gong/crematorium" dynamic, in which gong is a term used to identify the seme, and crematorium means "crying for the lover who is gone ". In this perspective, when the gong/seme realizes his mistakes too late and has to make an effort to recover the person he loves, that is, his shou/uke, at any cost.
The series is just beginning. We will have to closely follow Joe, Ming and Tong, characters who have captured all our attention.

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had me until episode 4

Overall: with a few tweaks this could have been a 9.5 series but I actively do not want the main leads together especially when there is a really nice love rival in the picture. Very similar aesthetics to KinnPorsche which makes sense because it shares a director and screenwriter. It was adapted from the novel "Professional Body Double" by Shui Qiang Cheng which I haven't read and I'll base the series on its own merits. 12 episodes about an hour each. Airing uncut on iQIYI. First episode link: https://www.iq.com/play/my-stand-in-uncut-episode-1-1iwuiu9rlww?lang=en_us The production company also produced I Feel You Linger In The Air.

Content Warnings: a major one that is complicated but I'm keeping this spoiler free, non con kissing, punch/violence, intimate partner abuse, held against will, gaslighting, manipulation

What I Liked
- the premise
- showed a condom and discussed sexual position preferences
- had a good conversation at the beginning of episode 2
- wanting/ongoing physical affection
- sweet moments
- supportive sister
- production value (some really nice camera shots, use of mirrors, switching focus on foreground to background etc.)

Room For Improvement
- I can't root for their relationship as explained below
- voice overs with exposition dumps
- felt choppy at times, a lot of time jumps in episode 1 though they were clear
- some of the music didn't seem to fit the tone (that fight in episode 4 was made comical instead of dramatic)
- wish a character hadn't been shown as extremely drunk at the end of episode 1
- love triangle
- extended flashback (episodes 1-4) with ominous voice overs
- nonsense stuff, that Ming didn't realize who he was looking at in the movie poster, he would know that that actor didn't do his own stunt scenes (including fencing), he just happened to have something at his house in episode 4??? Joe didn't have any bruises/blood on his face/head in episode 4?

Thoughts on Grey Characters/Their Romantic Relationships
Sometimes these characters and their dynamic work for me and other times they don't. Here are the factors that I think about:
1. was there a realistic reason why the character/s acted the way they did in the past (sort of, but not to the level that Ming was at)
2. how bad was/is the treatment (extremely abusive and violent, Ming could have accidentally killed Joe in episode 4)
3. were both characters grey or was one squeaky clean (Joe was squeaky clean and Ming was a football field of red flags)
4. was there some kind of apology/amend making (TBD)
5. was there character growth (TBD)
6. do I believe that the characters will stay together in a happy romantic relationship (right now no, TBD)
verdict after episode 4: I don't want them in a relationship together

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A High End Adaptation You Definitely Need to Watch

Love isn’t always beautiful or happy. In truth, love isn’t really about beauty at all but the depths to which we can fall, good or bad. The beautiful is in the good. The pain is in the bad.

The new Thai BL series My Stand-In cleverly captures these nuanced emotions, highlighting both the good and painful. It follows Joe, a stuntman doubling for the famous actor Tong, who develops feelings for Ming, a complex figure who sees him only as a stand-in for Tong. Tragedy strikes when Joe dies in an accident, but fate intervenes, and he awakens in another man’s body, also named Joe. When he reencounters Ming, the truth behind their love story begins to unfold.

And that’s where Ming and Joe’s painful reality truly sets in. Their story starkly highlights the brutal yet touching nature of love and how it has the power to both lift someone up and shatter them.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/05/09/my-stand-in-first-impressions-ep-1-2/

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