TharnType (2019)

Overrated and VERY unethical!

TW THIS SHOWS HAS: rape, sexual abuse, harassment, incest

Don't get me wrong, I love the relationship between the actors in real life, but oh no, this is entirely different. I think I know why this series is extremely popular; it feeds people who fetishize gay relationships and enjoy watching commercialized fan service (the overuse of sex scenes). There were so many borderline rapes and non-consensual sex scenes that I almost felt highly disturbed. In this series, the main character had childhood trauma where he was raped as a child by a man and therefore grew hatred towards gay men. This is a character justification, but the way the Thran kept forcing himself on Type (evident as Type is always uncomfortable); made it so disrespectful to the people who might've had such experience in real life. For a "good guy" like Tharn, he molested Type during his sleep? Lord! At first, you can see that Type was scared. Then, the next day, Type had no issue with getting a blow job from his hated gay roommate (Tharn) (?); later, TYPE comes out and asks Tharn for anal sex (with Type as receiver), and said "get it over with, once and for all." We are talking about a childhood rape victim? is this not disrespectful? Additionally, Tharn going along with this was almost as unbelieving!! It was so unethical and plain right horrible.
I skipped so many parts of this series. Relationship wise? Fights. Fights. and more fights! Their entire relationship revolves around yelling and lack of communication, which became highly toxic over time. They almost make up for their arguments by having sexual interactions. You can not tell me this series is NOT for a specific target audience because it is. There is almost NO character development between characters. The reason why I am voting for this series as a 1/10 is that I do not support the unethical and inhumane ideology in this series. I can't believe this series is voted as an 8/10. Compared to "Bad buddy,"? Such a disgrace.

Citeste mai mult

Understandable, but Not Excusable

I didn't intend on writing a review for this show seeing as there are plenty of reviews to read (this one will most likely be caught in the web of not being seen), but after leaving comments on a few reviews, I decided to go ahead and write one for my own benefit.

before diving in, I do want to but a disclaimer that I put this show on my WNF list (Will Not Finish) and stopped watching after episode 6 because I was a little bored and also fed up with the bullsh*t that were the plot holes.

Now let's dive in.

Production: 5/10 - Nothing bad, but nothing spectacular either. Tharntype was the very first BL that I have ever seen, as well as the first tv series from Asia that I'd ever watched, so there are very noticeable differences in the use of sound, lighting, effects, and ads.

Story: 4/10 - The plot was generic and basic, nothing special once again. Your average university students plot, except this one hates the gays more than the average uni student.

Acting: 8/10 - As much as I didn't like most any of the plots, the acting was superb in this series. The chemistry between the leads were good, and all other characters played their roles exactly right that adding to the world-building.

Others - If Tharntype is the best BL that you have ever seen in the history of BLs then there is one thing that you haven't done:

1. Seen literally any other BL

If this was your first BL ever like it was mine, then fine, I get it. And I even get it if you had seen Hotel Stars or WaterBoyy next, but you HAVEN'T seen anything good if you still consider this the best BL ever. There are so many other series that literally take the cake and eat all of it and then go back and get more cake, like seriously. The ones on my top five are - 1000 Stars, Gameboys, HIStory 3: MODC, I Told Sunset About You and Mr. Heart. I promise Tharntype will become the least of your worries once you have seen these series, I swear to GOD. Okay, moving on,

I'm going to skip the part in which I talk about each individual couple since I only really saw Tharn and Type. Their chemistry didn't really reach a good point until after they had sex, anything before that felt angsty, gross, perverted, and boring. Gulf and Mew are amazing actors and I hope to see them in future projects that aren't as problematic as Tharntype was. I could give a lengthy review on why Tharntype is so toxic and not good, but there are plenty of reviews that do so, so I'll keep it brief. I think it's perfectly okay to like this series, as there are good parts, but some reviews try to excuse their behavior to fit their narrative and that is not okay. We all have our guilty pleasures, there are shows we probably shouldn't like, but we do. And that's completely fine, but don't ignore the bad just to only highlight the good.

Type:

Although Type was very ignorant and rude, his behavior is somewhat acceptable seeing as he has gone through past trauma, and the worst he did was just throw around Tharns things, and be annoying on purpose to have Tharn move out. I don't think it's an excuse for his anger issues, but rather an understanding.

Tharn:

Tharn sexually assaulted Type by groping and kissing him while Type was under the influence. Type literally wakes up the next morning covered in hickeys. That was one out of the many problems with Tharn. I personally liked Tharn more than Type, just because Type was pretty arrogant, and arrogant characters are not my forte. If we look past the disgust that was his behavior, he was sweet and did genuinely build up feelings for Type (that could've been executed more consensually, but oh well).

RECOMMEND? No, it would be the LAST series I recommend to someone new to BL. Maybe someone that has seen a umteenth number of BLs, but by then they probably have already seen TT.

Citeste mai mult

*lots of spoilers*

I am pleasantly surprised. Judging from the reviews and comment and my own judgement of the first three episodes (after which I dropped it), I came to the conclusion that it would be bad and horrible. But guess who was lucky enough to get three-point-five stars?

I had expected lots of toxicity but surprisingly it wasn't nearly what my convoluted imagination had made up. I mean sure I zoned out every ten minutes and wondered what I was going to eat for dinner but 'boring' is actually a good adjective for tharntype in comparison to some other words I have for it.

Ps. Please excuse incorrect grammar. I just rewatched a few scenes of Tharntype to refresh my memory and singed my gray cells in the process.

1. Dialogue
Tharntype has some of the most impassionate dialogues I have ever seen.

“Hey, do you want to eat breakfast."
"Why? Are you worried about me?"
"Do you want a piece of me?"

The dialogues were just pathetic and 80% of this was dialogue. This *should* tell you more about tharntype than anything else.

When 90% of the dialogue which forms 80% of a drama is the main characters’ confabulating about what breakfast they are going to have and what birds they saw today then (do the math people) it makes 72% of the series a shitty elocution. Tharntype's dialogue basically comprises of a. Boring dialogue that has nothing to do with the story b. Boring dialogue tht has everything to do with the story c. Cheesy dialogue that made me want to scratch my eyes out d. Confrontations.

And what's funny is that despite the dialogue snoozefest, there wasn't much "communication" happening here. Two parts particularly stand out to me:
Firstly, Type talking about his rape and childhood trauma. The dialogue delivery was so feeble my left eye was twitching. And get this, I don't want Type to be over drmatic or traumatised about his rape. I just don't want him to talk like he's angry about the ice cream he ate yesterday.
“The chocolate was so bad. There were no choco chips at all. I was suffocating.”

Secondly were the parts where Tharn kept reassuring Type that he wasn't treating him like a woman. That he loved him like a man. And then cue the melodrama:
“I want you to be mine.”
“It's you who are mine.”
OR!
“I'm already yours.”

The parts where they talked about the goodness of people regardless of sexual orientation were particularly enlightening.
“All gay men aren't bad you know.”
I mean that's some good woke shit right there.

And then there were the parts where I was wondering whether the Thai had been lost in translation.
“You are my bitch.”

Lastly those monologues where the characters started talking to themselves out loud...

0/10 for dialogue and –10/10 for effort (there must have been lots of effort going into writing pages upon pages of that shit)

2. Acting
You know what's the main reason why many users who acknowledge that Tharntype has a shitty plot (more on this in a bit <3) justify giving Tharntype a 7/10 or 8/10 rating ?

Acting.

And you know what? They weren't totally wrong. I could not get enough of Gulf acting constipated, as if he had eaten too many durians for lunch. Same goes for Mew's bed eyes.

The side characters didn't have to do much acting anyway. Tar was going around being morose and acting like he had a bad stomach ache while Tum kept rushing into his room in a mad frenzy simple because he didn't answer his call. At least he made me laugh because every time he did thay, I thought of Jack Torrance from The Shining (splendid performance from Jack Nicholson btw).

Then there was Techno. His only job was to inquire into Type's romantic debacles at every new stage in Tharntype's relationship through on-the-nose dialogues. Oh and he's a shitty football captain.

Point is, that Type's constipated acting was on point, sadly this wasn't a Doc McStuffins series about stomachache or I would have given him 10 stars. Mew carried it well, I don't have many complaints about him.

3. Plot
Tharntype is the story of Type, a 19 year old college student who had been raped as a child and had to subsequently face lots of stigma for it and had to run from media who were oh so interested in the story of the boy who got raped. He gets assigned to a room with Type who is openly gay and has had multiple boyfriends (and exes) in the past. Also 19. Also an engineering student.

Their relationship begins when Type discovers that Tharn is gay from his friend Techno and starts a war against Tharn to drive him out of the room. Tharn being the god of patience that he is (but actually just a masochist), bears all of Type’s idiosyncrasies which include Type littering his bed, destroying his books and disrupting his affairs. Tharn however continues to be caring and takes it in stride.

In fact, Tharn may already be in love with Type because guess what he does? He rapes Type by leaving hickeys on his body.

Their relationship continues to grow. Type and Tharn go from casual roommates to haters, to friends with benefits but that's a far stretch because they still hate each other. When Type wants to get into a relationship with a girl, he is quick to set rules for this fuckbuddies relationship, that they are allowed to date whoever they want without interrupting in each other's affairs.

Tharn just accepts it with the patience of a mute dog and Type never asks him if he is okay with it. Hurray! Power to Type for being an asshole.

Once Type realises that his libido is only set off by Tharn, he is quick to dump the girl and get back to Tharn. More power to man who knows what he wants and gets it too, regardless of who is hurt in the process!

There are lots more problems of course but I'm afraid I won't be able to stop once I start. So lets skip to the main part of the story.

One of the major reasons I was intrigued about Tharntype was the plot twist. Everybody kept talking about a huge mysterious plot twist. Around episode 9, Tharn and Type mutually decide that they have had enough of this boyfriends bullcrap and they go back to square one. Type starts hitting on women, Tharn starts talking to his exes.

Tar, one of Tharn’s exes, makes an appearance and starts pursuing Tharn actively. This causes a rift in the relationship. On the other hand, Lhong, a side character you probably NEVER noticed because he totally hasn’t been hanging around Tharn with that crazy look AT ALL, starts whispering into Type’s ear. He makes Type feel insecure and Type breaks up with Tharn as is expected.

In the last episode it is revealed that Lhong was the villain all along. That Lhong was the one who had got Tar gang raped. That Tar had started pursuing Tharn because Lhong had forced him to do so. That Lhong got them to break up.

Totally did not see that plot twist coming from a mile away.

And then we get a glimpse of Tharn and Type three years later where they are happy.

Why Techno is the real MVP:
The plot is literally moving ahead because of Techno.
He was the one who told Type that Tharn was gay. He was the one who asks Type to make up with Tharn. He keeps asking Type about Tharn. He comes in at the key moments right after their breakups to keep the dialogue going. More love for this dude who can't play ball to save his life but is a good friend and the one behind Tharntype. An unappreciated character.

4. Characterisation
Another reason I was intrigued about TharnType was how people were blown away by the realistic portrayals.

And to be fair, Type’s progression from being a hater of gay people to a gay man is great. Sure he was an asshole once in a while, sure he used derogatory language. And so what? Nobody is perfect. We must also give some leeway to him because he is a rape survivor and has a good reason to denigrate gay people and does so even after he and Tharn start dating.

Very realistic and wonderful portrayal from the showmakers.

And Tharn. He was just badly written. So basically we are lead to believe that he is a good guy. The epitome of patience. And he really is, the amount of patience he showed even after Lhong all but confessed to getting Tar gang raped is awespiring. We must all learn how to maintain a calm and cool facade from Tharn. The only point I was majorly irked was when he kept telling Type to be open about their relationship.

Even though they could have had a perfectly happy relationship, Tharn wants Type to openly accept being Type’s boyfriend. I found this was conflicting with Tharn’s reputation as a patient boyfriend because lowkey coercing someone to come out is not what understanding lgbt people do to other lgbt people, let alone their partners, let alone partners with a traumatic past.

The other side characters didn’t have much progression. Techno is still a shitty player three years later. Tar is still traumatised by his rape and goes abroad to deal with his breakup with Tharn (not his rape mind you, the breakup with Tharn is obviously the greater problem here).

As for their relationship, it started with hatred, was built on attraction, fuelled by hate sex and fraught with misunderstanding, lack of communication and causing mutual pain. Goals.

5. Rape as a plot device
It bothers me. It bothers me a lot that when I talk about rape in fiction being romanticised or as a mere plot device and no, it is not "just fiction after all."

Tharntype shows two characters who have been shown as rape survivors. Type who was assaulted as a child and Tar who was assaulted as a minor in 10th grade by a group of men. In Type’s case, nobody thought it was his fault but the media hounded hum for a long time. In case of Tar, the incident is later revealed to have been arranged by Lhong to blackmail Tar and breakup his relationship with Tharn.

I don’t want to say much about Type. We are talking about the dude who even after getting raped once, doesn’t confront Tharn for leaving hickeys on him.

Let's talk about Tar for a bit. Tar who is clearly still messed up about his past. Tar who doesn’t have anybody to go to except Tharn and even that doorway is shut because Tar is scared that the rape looks like real consensual sex (it was recorded by Lhong. Messed up right? I know.) Tar is again coerced by Lhong to break up Tharn and Type and he does so unwillingly because Lhong threatens to expose his tape.

Lets talk about what happens after Type physically attacks Tar for getting between him and Tharn. Tar breaks down. He breaksdown so bad that he shows Type (and Techno) the video of his assault (Lhong must have sent it to him and Tar has kept it). A video that he hasn’t shown anybody. Now he shows it to two strangers.

When all this is exposed to Tharn, guess what he does? he punches Lhong. He gets together with Type, he professes that he never wants to see Lhong again and then asks Type to apologise to Tar because he believes that Tar's assult is his fault. And guess what Type does?

He texts him.

Get this. Type texts Tar that Tharn is sorry for his past rape.

Also, Type asks Tharn for sex as a favor to get over his fear of gayness.

Let that sink in.

I wonder how much people think is okay. Whether people think it is actually okay for them to turn a blind eye to somebody who got raped and to not offer support. You can’t (shouldn’t) force anybody to report but yes, you are required to show support.

The story writers’ efforts to make Tharn look like a saint pretty much failed. If he truly felt that it was his fault, why didn’t he do more about it? Just an apology maybe?

As for Lhong, he gets a redemption arc too. He loved Tharn too much. He also has negligence issues at his house. Boo hoo. 19 yo rick kid with family problems and lack of attention gets a kid gang raped and it's all justified. They even brought in Lhong’s sister to reassure him.

Lastly, if Tharn was so much in love with Tar and id Tum, Tar's brother, truly loves Tar so much, why didn’t he have people to go too? How did this show deal with rape in any way, except write it off once it's purpose had been served. So yes, I dock a lot off points from Tharntype for bad usage of rape as a plot device; once to justify Type’s hatred for Tharn and once to provide conflict.

And lets not throw just Tharn under the bus for this one, Type has physically hit Tharn on multiple occassions. And somehow it was okay when he did it, which brings me to my next point:

6. Playing into Bl tropes
Tharntype isn't playing into bl tropes. It probably established those Bl tropes.

The biggest trope which sets me off is how one is marked as the 'seme' or top and the other is the 'uke'. The idea is that the seme takes the position of the 'man' in the relationship and the uke takes the role of the 'girl' in the relationship.

Despite the number of times Type protests to Tharn that he is "not a girl" and won't accept being treated as one, I could not overlook how Tharntype were cast into the same roles. Tharn has claimed the seme role for himself, saying that he is "always the top." These dialogues would make me cringe out of existence if I wasn't otherwise engaged in adding it to my list of unhealthy bl tropes in Tharntype.

By the way, Type's blatant sexism where he tells Tharn that he won't let Tharn pay for him because "he isn't a girl," did not improve my perception of his character at all.

Apart from all these points which I absolutely hated about Tharntype, I also hated the music tracks. The OST itself was upbeat but the sound placement was triggering my audio proc disorder a lot (had to put it on mute). I think I would have enjoyed the show more if the subtitles had been in Spanish. I can't read Spanish.


Right after the 'Did the egg come first or the chicken' question is the second biggest question about our existence. Why does Tharntype have a 8.1 rating on MDL. This show gets a wholesome, well earned 3.5 from me. Would not recommend to anybody.

(Also, they legit couldn't think of a different title? Just glue the main characters’ names together and voila! It does not get less creative than that).

The only good thing was Pete's cameo in the end. Saint's smile can still brighten up my day but even that was sort of ruined by Tin's comment.

Citeste mai mult

As a someone who has watched so many BL series the only thing I can say tonight is: Bravo!!! I guess there will be people who won't like the series, plot or music but I don't think anyone can dispute the brilliant acting of the two main characters. What Mew Suppasit and Gulf Kanawut displayed in the TharnType series is real talent. It is evident that they have done their best and that they have invested weeks and weeks of work. Whoever writes the opposite, I will only say that the person is lying or that he has some evil intention when he writes falsehoods. As for the scenario of this series I will say - it can always be better. As for the music - it fits perfectly and Mew's voice is a cure for the soul. The director and other technical things- I just repeat that they can always do better. But this is not a Hollywood production, here they worked with what they had and how they knew best. In terms of acting, they were simply perfect. Both the lead actors and the supporting cast. I'm not going to recap the series and look for the hair in the egg. My recommendation is to look at the series, without prejudice, without reading the comments and comparing it to other series ... Be open minded and give this wonderful team a chance.
Mulffins forever!

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Mame please stop

Absolute horse shit, i will never understand ANYONE who says they love this series. I went into this excited and thinking i would love it because it was popular but It romanticizes abuse from both ends (type hitting tharn/tharn sexually assaulting type) and its just so lazy and gross. What type needs is THERAPY for his childhood sexual abuse, not a guy who rapes him until he starts to like it. Not worth the hype, dont watch. The acting was decent, dont have much to say about it. Ost is catchy. I just dont understand why people keep enabling mame and her stuff, her stories always include sexual assault that is seen as hot and an endearing trait. Its a shame that big studios are wasting talent and high quality production to make subpar shows.

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I will this review short, sweet, and to the point. As far as the quality of the BL series, I thought it was pretty good. The acting was good, the flow of the series was good, and the use of stereotypical tropes was kept to a minimum (which was especially good). I kind of wished they had used the actor from LBC to play Type, instead of recasting that position with a new person, especially when they had cross-over actors from LBC to do cameo appearances in TharnType the Series. But, there may be a legitimate reason for that.

The only problem I have with this series is that the relationship started between Tharn and Type based on an old stereotypic trope (a person who is the victim of a sexual assault falling in love with their attacker). I realize that some of the young BL fans may think that there is somehow romance associated with being assaulted! BUT, IT IS NOT! Remember, Tharn assaulted Type while he was sleep, even after finding out that he had issues with gay people! His actions were planned and intenioned! Now, we're not sure that Tharn actually had sex with Type (although we're led to believe that possibly not). However, what he did to him WAS NOT COOL! And, anyone wishing a person who does that to another person who's vulnerable (asleep) is not a good person. I hope that one day the BL fans, BL novel writers, and series' directors can get get passed using this AWFUL trope to start the beginning of an LGBT+ relationship.

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I’ve never in my life wanted to be a guy until I heard Mew (as Tharn) say “I don’t sleep with women.” This series is just about the greatest thing I’ve ever watched in the BL world. Season 1 and 2 and the specials had me staying up late and going into work the next day tired. The chemistry between MewGulf is incredible and this is the first BL I watched that had such passionate scenes. The actors portrayed their roles perfectly, including the ones you are meant to love to hate. Watching love grow from hatred is always a fun plot, but the story behind this hatred drew you in and gave you a heart for Type and his struggle. I love this screenwriter and the director. I have re-watched both seasons and the specials more than once.

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romanticize sexual assault?

I dropped this series after only two episodes. That’s the case because it was pretty clear this show didn’t have the right values.
In the first episode Type gets sexually assaulted in his drunken sleep.
In the second episode Tharp once again tries to sexually molest him. Only when Type has a breakdown Tharn stops.
I’ve googles this series to see if it gets better but apparently there are just more times where Tharn tries to force sexual situations on Type.
The series doesn’t even address this though and rather covers it up as a prank or a cute little moment.
This stuff just aggravates me because there are many people out there that had to deal with rape or sexual assault and it’s everything but cute or funny!

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ONE OF THE BEST ASIAN DRAMAS EVER MADE AND A MASTERPIECE

TharnType The Series is not only THE BEST BL DRAMA I've ever seen but also one of the best and unforgettable stories ever, be it a TV series, a movie or a book.

I've been watching Asian dramas for 14 years now and lately, each year, it has become increasingly difficult for me to find something which would make me addicted and engage me emotionally. And then TharnType came out of nowhere and it has become my favourite TV series/movie of all time.

The writing, acting, chemistry, directing, editing and music are out of this world. But most importanly, the story and the characters are complex, relatable, realistic and authentic. Something you rarely encounter in Asian dramas. There is so much nuance to be found.

What sets TharnType The Series apart from other Thai BL dramas is it’s willingness to address uncomfortable and negative aspects of relationships, be it Tharn kissing Type without his permission or Type’s hateful harrassment of him. Portraying them doesn’t diminish the quality of the drama, on the contrary, it elevates it above the rest of the genre.

Tharn and Type are hurting each other and there is a huge conflict between them, with a misunderstanding and emotional baggage at the center of it. They are not perfect, they both make mistakes and that's what makes them human because real people and their relationships are flawed, imperfect, messy and problematic with many misunderstandings. However, they can also admit to their mistakes, learn from them, apologize and forgive each other. You can imagine a person reacting in real life like Type did and you can also see another person react like Tharn if treated the same way because even the most patient and tolerant people have their limits. Yet, neither of them did something truly unforgivable, moreover forgiveness is not an equal exchange or something you receive only when you deserve it.

Some people are judging the characters by some impossible standards of human perfection that don’t even exist in the real world. The characters and relationships in TharnType The Series are not picture-perfect, just like they are not picture-perfect in the real world.

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Toxic characters

It's way too overrated just because the leads have great chemistry off screen (no they are not dating in real life) there is no whatsoever character development of type . How can a rape victim and a homophobic suddenly want a blowjob from a gay .
Tharn also molested him in sleep . Doesn't potray the good guy . Why did Tharn fall in love with Type . There is no explanation or any cute moment of them to show him falling in love. Type also just suddenly falls in love after sex . The antagonist is annoying. Their relationship is almost unbelievable. I would not recommend this drama to anyone who can easily get triggered.

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This is, hands down, one of the best BL dramas I’ve ever seen. It’s not a coffee shop fanfic. It deals with ugly stuff. Type’s PTSD is not at all pretty and it takes a lot of time and care for him to change and start making amends. Tharn himself is more than a little affected, personality-wise, by what happened to him, both at 14 and then by what one of the people he trusted most kept doing behind his back, again and again, ruining his life like that in the name of “love”. But all that makes the story and the relationship between Tharn and Type so interesting and worth following from start to finish.

Also, the cinematography is excellent. And the music, wow, the music, they sure knew how to use it to hype up the tension of the more suspenseful scenes - that deep bassy thu-thu-thu-thu just hit me really deep. Just amazing.

For me, the characters of Tharn and Type, their chemistry both in dramatic and in love scenes, really stood out. Their kisses, their lovemaking was hot but also very sweet and tender. I believed that these two were in love. Another character that clicked with me was Techno. Gosh, the actor just hit all the right notes!

Overall, I think the drama is really worth the hype and I’m so glad that it turned Mew & Gulf into big stars and that it made all that Mame had to do to make the series happen worth it. Kudos to everyone involved!

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