Theory of Love (2019)

What is love, actually?

I struggled through ep1; Gun was a character wif such a low self esteem while Off was a total jerk. But as I continued into the series, their characters developed through highs and lows, providing more depth to their characters. Gun became so strong I wish he didn't and Off became so enduring that I felt sorry for him, especially
the scene at the train station.
Unlike other Thai BL series, this story was focused and had (well, almost-had) no strange twists like TharnType or question-filled endings like UWMG and 2gether. Everything was well edited and everything was explained clearly to the viewers.
TOL was an emothional ride of sadness and joy, frustration and relief, hope and helplessness, all relatable to real life yet one wishes will happen in real life. Has the potential for a part 2 or a spin-off for the other characters.

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Great Drama but Unrealistic Portrayal of Sexuality

This is an iconic drama in the BL world with Gun stealing the spotlight with his acting.

WHAT’S GOOD:
Gun Atthaphan can portray emotional roles with incredible subtlety, making Third a very believable & relatable character. He’s an amazing actor and should definitely be casted in bigger titles. BL has an enormous following so it was smart for him to be involved in it. Can’t wait to see what else he will do in the future.

WHAT SHOULD BE ACKNOWLEDGED:
A 4/10-stars review above was accurate to pinpoint the lack of and unrealistic portrayal of sexualities. BL tends to be romantic fantasies written by straight females for straight females. It’s a genre of its own and should be acknowledged as straight female interpretation of gay relationships. It’s not “Call Me By Your Name” or anything of that level for sure.

Overall a thoroughly enjoyable BL with great story and acting. Just don’t believe that’s how people’s sexuality really works :))

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This show is on many top BL drama lists that I have seen. I have been putting it off because Off (no pun intended) just doesn't do it for me, but you know the saying "oldie but a goodie"? Well this is that "trope-y but a goodie".

There is nothing new under the sun here, but as Third said "it's not cliche it's classic". Tropes and cliches exist for a reason and in this case it's well done. Some tropes are more frustrating than other's, but for me personally near the top of the list is the unrequited love trope (more so the secret crush/love), especially when the love interest is a trash person. You can't help but feel for Third in this show while simultaneously feeling like "wtf are you crying over a situation you have control over". You really can't help your feelings, but you can't be upset that someone disregards feelings that they didn't know were there (even though honestly Khai is a pretty crappy friend). That's pretty much par for the course for that particular trope. Two/Un's storyline was not well developed, but I wasn't upset about it. For a storyline revolving around film students the production and cinematography are great. I also really enjoy the music. I very much enjoy the style of this drama with the voice overs.

I think Off is a good actor despite his lack of physical appeal for me. Gun is just the cutest little thing and I enjoy their on and off screen chemistry. White's roles are usually hit or miss for me, but I like him in this role. I appreciated the slightly unexpected twist in Bone's storyline. I was happy to see Neen in another role outside of SOTUS, but I think in some aspects her performance fell short (especially during the Two/Phon showdown).

What can I say? It's a well done classic that I would recommend.

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Theory of love is an amazing series. There are a lot of reasons for someone to watch it. First of all its refreshing but it never takes you too out of your comfort zone. Most BL series revolve around the same setting, the same plot but there's a fine line that TOL touches. The refreshing thing about it is the introduction of the Film scene, it intrigues the viewers not only the romantic journey of the couple but also the setting they reside. Each episode is named by a certain romance film providing context to the episode beforehand which is pure genius (gives you a list to binge after to get the references). The story maybe typical but there are factors that elevates it. The acting! I cannot give less to what Gun Atthapan's exquisite acting skills, squeezing all emotion to one scene that you cannot expect another from him in another episode. BUT! He gives it to you again! The music is kinda weird. Sometimes it doesn't fit in the scene and you feel awkward but the acting just disregards that. The one thing I must say I despise here is the ongoing trend in Thai BL drama incorporating non-consent kissing. It's uncomfortable to the viewers. But other than that it's an amazing series featuring another amazing performance of the OffGun tandem.

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Brilliantly made, made me raise the bar for all dramas I may watch in the future!

This exceeded all my expectations for watching dramas. The storytelling, the character arcs, the soundtrack all really just were so well put together. It didn't seem cheesy or too unrealistic. Would watch again even though the first few episodes make me want to have a fistfight with Khai. This also brings me to the absolute depth each actor brings to the character, P'Off portrays Khai's character arc so believably I hesitantly began to root for Khai in the second half. And P'Gun's endless crying scenes genuinely stirred something in my heart! And those who have watched the series will definitely know what the train station scene felt like, heart-wrenchingly angsty.
I read one of the comments under a part of the episode that summed up why it was called the Theory Of Love in English. It shows four wonderfully written storylines for the Savage Gang: Bone - Unrequited Love; Two/Too - Love In Unexpected Places; Third - Love That Builds You and Makes You Stronger; Khai - Love That Changes You For The Better. And overall the true love of friendship and the platonic bonds we form in our years for the Savage Gang.
Especially with Two's storyline, we can see the confusion and turmoil he goes through when he realizes his feelings for Lyn are slowly turning towards P'Un/Aun. Two and Au's storyline is also so superbly done, it seems completely possible, and the twist that Un was chasing after Two after trying to "forget the past love by moving onto another" by staying close to Third.
"Forget the past love by moving onto another" is a very strong theme we see recurring throughout the drama, "If you love something/someone, let them go" - the best example I can use to illustrate this is Bone's unrequited love with Pan. He slowly lets her go after not only learning that she is his professor but also after learning that her fiancee had decided to mend his cheating ways to win her back. P'Mike truly delivers in all his performances! So far, all his characters have been lovable and well done. hats off to him!
Every story has depth, and each episode is named after a movie that inspired the story! Such a marvelous artistic touch! i don't know if I will be able to rewatch it since 1. It made me tear up the first time ( no other drama has done this till now) and I am afraid I will cry again if I notice any more details I will genuinely start crying and 2. The first few episodes make me want to fistfight Khai even though I now know of the change he goes and grows through.
But nonetheless, such a brilliant watch. Definitely, enters my top favorite SHOWS of all time! :)

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This show was an absolute delight to watch. The characters and the story took me on am emotional roller coaster and I just couldn't wait to see where it would lead. The story was well done. The first 6 episodes just left me devastated and emotionally exhausted, but I couldn't stop watching and I just wanted to know were the story would go. The characters and the actors were toe absolute standouts from this show. Off and Gun's chemistry is out of this world and just seeing there relationship dynamics change and evolve over the series was wonderful to watch. Gun especially had these crying scenes that just destroyed me. The side character were also a delight, I was as invested in their stories I was with the main leads. I especially liked the direction they took Bone's story line and how that resolved in the end, I thought it was a really good ending for that story arc. This show made me fall in love with Earth and I need to see him as the lead of a drama. The story is simple and sweet but sometimes those smaller scale stories can really tap into emotions and that's what this show did for me.

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Note: I will write my review in Taglish (combination of Tagalog and English languages).

First, I would like to commend the featured casts. Whether they play major or minor characters, they gave justice to their roles. I admire the two main casts. They have the chemistry, with a blend of happiness and melancholy along the story. It somehow shows a realistic image of coming-out narratives where the closeted gay friend confessed love to his best friend.

Though, I agreed with one commentator who noticed the unrealistic tendency of the genre highlighting the stereotypes among the homosexual male. Honestly, I criticize the genre as too heavily cliche and corny. I know that the story in itself is fiction, but to write a male-to-male romance, it has to be realistic with or without the involvement of explicit scenes. I am well acquainted with the definition of B.L. genre as I have done my research on it. Again, I learnt that commonly who writes BL-oriented are women for female fans. To the women authors, please make sure you have read scholarly books or published research about Gender and Sexuality or the LGBTQIA+ community. As writers, your duty is not exclusively within the realm of writing, but you need to broaden your knowledge on the matter. This is to avoid prejudice.

Second, the acting is superb. Gun has been in the showbiz industry since he was young. I was blown away when I learnt that on Google. After all, it is no surprising he is a great actor of his generation. I love his acting as well in other series such as The Gifted.

Third, trust me when I say it is a must-see drama. You can try, but I tell you can never go back, for it makes you want to watch or even finish the whole series in just one week straight! Highly recommended.

Fourth, sa mga Pilipino diyan na baguhan sa genre, ito na ang unahin niyong panuorin. Pramis, walang halong pagsisisi ang mararamdaman. Pasasalamatan mo pa ang series dahil maraming lessons that you can learn and apply to in (love) life.

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Like some others, I find myself giving this series a perfect score. Personally, I like the dramas that really develop the plot and don’t immediately throw fan service at your face, hence the reason why I rarely give them perfect scores. That being said, this show is great for those heartwrenching, I-want-to-go-through-the-screen-and-hit-this-character type moments. I will admit, it can be frustrating to watch characters continuously go back to their crush even though they keep getting hurt numerous times, I think this is one of those scenarios that uses that to the advantage of the plot. I wouldn’t exactly call this show fluff, (because nine times out of ten the characters cry more than they smile) it certainly doesn’t annoy you with multiple make out scenes in an episode (not that there’s anything wrong with that). This show was low on my watchlist for a while, (due to some of the reviews I read) however, it definitely surprised me. I highly recommend Theory of Love, and I can’t wait to rewatch it.

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