The Eclipse (2022)

A curse? What curse?

The story in itself is promising but the execution is a bit messy.
Three episodes in and there are pieces of the plot I wished were more installed and others I wished we'd discover later in the story to keep things fresh and make us feel like everything is planned out.
I'd have enjoyed the idea of a very present threat, of a curse every student believes in, to create a real tense and heavy atmosphere. As for Dika, I'd have liked it better if he was introduced a bit later, thus making Ayan look even more mysterious since we don't know his true motives.

A lot of things are put out there and it creates a bit of a messy development: the curse is mentioned but it's hard to know if students strongly believe in it or only think of it as a kind of joke or unrealistic threat, Ayan's uncle has come into the picture thus revealing Ayan's presence in Suppalo, Khan and Thua's relationship is unclear too since they both give each other the cold shoulder but at the same time, they seem to care about each other... and how can a powerful and elite school like Suppalo feel threatened by three students who aren't even that rebellious (they're only shown once or twice with casual clothes in school and end up complying with the rules even though they dislike it!)?
I think the further we go in the story, the more everything comes into place but it's a bit of a shame that the title of the series and its premise feel like it's just a mere detail of the story.

Of course, I do enjoy the "cat and mouse game" between Akk and Ayan. One teases the other, consequently, the other gets flustered... it's cute and quite well-executed (though it drags on for a long time). Akk and Ayan's actors have nice facial expressions and lively eyes.
I think Khan and Thua's relationship evolves nicely too (that scene when they're sleeping next to each other and Khan's owning up to his feelings...absolutely adorable!). It's a good thing that they've changed the dynamics they had in Fish upon the Sky, this way, it doesn't bring a sense of deja-vu.
Dika's story is, in my opinion, what is the most interesting aspect of the plot, and I found myself looking forward to knowing more about it while the curse is just a plot device that is not well used (at least at the beginning of the drama, the "mystery" behind the curse unfolds later and gets clearer).

Some dialogues and some scenes feel a bit stiff, nothing too cringy but there are silences that drag on weirdly between two sentences or the way the dialogues are delivered is not very natural with some actors.

No matter my criticisms, I've not dropped this series and it was a rather pleasant drama to watch!

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Masterpiece... if the story was fleshed more

I really loved this show. It was so fantastic. The cast chemistry was so good and the characterisations were absolutely brilliant probably some of the best characters in a BL.

The characters were probably the best part of the show. I was amazed with the detail put into each character's personality and background and how that directly carried through into their actions. For example, Akk comes from a humble upbringing and every action he does goes to trying to make his parents proud. We see it from Ayan who begins to conform to the system because his boyfriend and we slowly begin to see him lose his steadfast values. The characters also beautifully develop as the show progresses and we see the effect each one has on the other.

The one thing I am impressed in the show is that the queer identity was really well told. I feel that a lot of BLs are written from the perspective of two straight guys who turn gay for each other, so it was nice to follow Akk's storyline. We saw him struggling with his sexual identity and and how difficult it was for him and the work that was required. It felt massively realistic and authentic.

If I'm going to be completely honest, the show did fall a bit flat in the story department. I thought the way the major conflicts - Dika's death and mysteries of the trouble makers was neglected throughout a significant part of the show where some of the romance and character storylines stretched out too much. The story resolutions were also a bit weak. The Dika's death and Eclipse storylines were somewhat surprising but didn't give the full satisfaction it should have given especially with how I felt like there was too many easy resolutions in this show. Firstly the short film decoy felt very weak to me and after the way Thua going to all this trouble to keep the curse up and vented his frustrations would agree to do the short film felt unusual. The resolutions felt very easy and minimised the seriousness of the conflicts that had depicted.

Overall it's a really good watch with a bit of a few weak storylines. I definitely recommend this to everyone watch it though and I hope to see more BLs like this.

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Oh to have a love like theirs<3

This might as well be the best series GMMTV has produced in 2022. I just simply LOVE IT!

The acting was MWUA (especially First's and Khaotung's), the chemistry between characters was MWUA, the plot twist (you know which one, I don't wanna spoil) wasn't a plot twist for me because I already suspected it but gah dayum I loved it, the betrayal and how fast they all forgave him made me SO mad, etc

Altogether, I loved it!
I finished it some time ago so I can't be sure, but I think I never had anything bad to say about the show? It was all just my cup of tea and just how I like it!
If you like: romance, couple whose love is indescribable, a story of young teens discovering themselves and accepting who they are, amazing acting, a new comfort series... THE ECLIPSE is the right series for you

All I have to say is, sit or lay down and ENJOY!

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Wonderful from start to finish!

I loved this story (and I do mean actual STORY not just a basic romance with no plot to back it up)! The acting was incredible and the relationships showed development so the actors had chemistry and a believable love. The emotions were spot on. The families, the school, the friendships were all well done. Good acting and dialogue and plot with twists and turns that made it enjoyable, interesting, and lovable. I don't pay as much attention to the music unless I found it amazing or distracting. The songs were good, and one in particular stood out to me as really good, but overall the songs weren't the strength of the show. Honestly the incredible story and acting was just so wonderful that I would recommend this to anyone. It's got some heart-wrenching moments, some truly romantic moments, a little comedy, and even a mystery to be solved. The main couple weren't the only amazing parts, each supporting character was so believable. As far as relationships go, another wow. Not only were the relationships portrayed well, but they showed real partnerships, experiencing hardships and overcoming them together in a very practical and realistic way. This is what all BLs should aspire to be.

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Always be surrounded by positive people

What a good representation of a society full of lies, judgment, "perfection", secrets, hate, sacrifice, and LOVE. I put a 10/10 because I felt connected with the main character sharing all their emotion from pain to joy. no one I repeat got the capacity to judge you because nobody is perfect .what others got the courage to expose that you are hiding because you are frustrated don't put that frustration on others is not fair. we are talking about human rights but who are we to criticize people? each of us should learn to love and appreciate ourselves and not wait for someone to tell us what we want. look yourself at the mirror and love your reflection. love is love gender has nothing to do with it. your personality, your effort, your courage, and many other things should define you. stop caring about how others think about you. like someone said "leave the table when respect is not longer served" know your worth stop pleasing others and start pleasing yourself. be focused to love yourself, treating yourself first, and healing every wound before thinking about the people that love you for who you are, keep those who are putting the same amount of effort as you do, and finally keep close sincere people even if the truth hurt.

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Another missable series from the GMMTV stable

How do half-baked screenplays even reach the production floor? With limited queer content (ones not behind a paywall) available for viewing I still shouldn't have to lower my expectations to enjoy a show. Massive gaps in the storytelling, extremely poor editing, unaddressed inappropriate relationship depictions and awful pacing. The music is sub-par as is the colour grading, cinematography. The last three episodes were cloying.
The few pluses to this car-crash of a show would be some of the actors who played the students and professors.
If you haven't watched this series yet, I would recommend giving it a miss.

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I might've experienced purgatory and its this show

When I was deciding whether to not I wanted to watch this show, I wish somebody had written this exact review to tell me these things before I hit play.

First of all, without spoilers, this show is basically school uniforms and no cell phone use = protests = depression and suicide. That is it. Do not look for any real emotional depth or any real discussions on mental health because this is not the show for it. 

The entire time you watch this it feels like a fever dream. I feel like I’m in the twilight zone. I felt like I was gaslighting myself the more I watched. It was exhausting.

They throw so much at you for the entirety of the show, which is really all just discombobulated bad script writing, that you think the storyline is very complex and its not. Its a school with a prestigious reputation getting backlash for two trivial things which causes people to rebel like they’re fighting for a real cause. It tells you that when you’re in the middle of these “controversial” and “harmful” living conditions you will be driven to killing yourself. 

Not to mention that the relationship between the two leads started out with a promising enemies to lovers arc, but ended up as a repetitive case of stalker syndrome where the two ended up in ridiculous confrontations until we’re suppose to believe that they have so much chemistry that they transcended the shackles of their hatred and oppression to end up as soulmates. Please spare me. It didn’t even start to feel authentic until they stopped pretending like they were on a metaphorical battlefield and admitted they’re better suited just dating. The second lead couple was by far the best thing about this show and had normal progression.

As for the actual protestors, if it was that serious they would have been suspended or even expelled from the beginning and half of the show wouldn’t have even happened. Another case of saying something will be done but it really just being empty threats.

Finally, the elephant in the room that is episode 11. I will say that I called the plot twist about half way through the show as they made it quite obvious. Many people thought it was out of character but that has become the normal for these kinds of things so it was quite predictable. I mean the rest of the show was unbelievable so why shouldn’t the villain be too? I will agree with him though on the reason why he did it. They were really going to let the whole situation go away even though the conversation was originally about accountability. There’s no justice in that. The lengths were extreme but the truth had to be known one away or another.

What I can’t wrap my head around is how he got exposed for being the villain and everybody was angry, but then they went right back to their normal relationships with him and it was like it never even happened???? Are we serious? That doesn’t even make sense!!! I guess the whole “I’m sacrificing myself for the greater good” rah rah shit actually worked.

Overall I’m so glad to finally be done with this dumpster fire of a show. No I didn’t watch the last episode because even that was too much more to bare. Let this be your deciding factor of whether or not you wanna experience this mess for yourself. (Ignore people comparing this show to Not Me because that’s just an atrocious comparison.)

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Prometeu nada, mas entregou tudo e mais um pouco

Não iniciei esse BL com muita empolgação... Os atores principais já eram conhecidos, o casal secundário também atuou junto em Fish upon the sky, e a novidade era ver Khaotung e First juntos, ambos vinham de outros ships, mas provaram que tem química até com uma porta hehehe.

Sobre o roteiro: me prendeu do início ao fim! Eu percebia a crítica ao sistema educacional (que parecia tão exagerada...), até que me toquei que o buraco era mais embaixo, e a crítica na verdade era ao governo como um todo, numa época em que a Tailândia estava passando por uma luta absurda para que os direitos LGBTQIAP+ fossem respeitados, não poderiam ser por acaso essas críticas, isso me agradou muito.
Outro ponto que me deixou bem encantada foi a construção dos dois casais. Ayan chegou com péssimas intenções, ele queria destruir a escola e vingar seu tio morto, baseado apenas em suas suposições, mas não foi possível não amar o jeito debochado e cpnfiante dele. Ao encontrar Akk, seu mundo entrou em parafuso, pois eles eram totalmente opostos, e Akk estava numa posição de superioridade como monitor. Foi aí que o diretor fez a mágica. Akk era um menino do interior, de uma família humilde, e tudo o que queria era deixar seus pais orgulhosos dele. Ao perceber os próprios sentimentos, ele se magoou consigo mesmo, pois imaginou ser o motivo da tristeza de seus pais, se aceitar foi a coisa mais difícil que ele já fez, o mundo inteiro dele entrou em parafuso, o olhar dele transmitia uma dor profunda por não ter ajuda, não poder pedir ajuda, e a única pessoa a quem ele poderia se voltar, era o rebelde que pretendia desencaminhá-lo, em quem ele não confiava. Ayan, apesar das motivações erradas para ir à escola, ele foi um gentlerman com Akk. Ele acolheu, ouviu, abraçou, não forçou, foi o apoio que Akk precisava. Ele também soube reconhecer seu erro quando houve o plow twist do professor, foi magnânimo.
O casal secundário também teve um lindo desenvolvimento. Thuapu entendia sua sexualidade, mas tinha medo da incompreensão do mundo, e preferia esconder seu amor por Khanlong para protegê-lo de tudo, do preconceito, da maldade dos outros, Khanlong por sua vez, também demorou a aceitar seus sentimentos, mas quando o fez foi da forma mais bela possível. A química entre esses casais foi surreal. Aliás, cada ator e atriz se encaixou tão bem no personagem, que a química entre todo o elenco foi perfeita, mas entre Ayan e Akk foi demais, eles não precisavam de palavras, as expressões deles, os olhares, era muito surreal de perfeito.

Também fui surpreendida por duas coisas: inicialmente pensei que a Professora Sani fosse uma vilã, e ela me surpreendeu da melhor maneira, mesmo sendo errado shipei ela com Wat hehehe. Também achei que Namo podia ser o vilão, e os vilões na verdade eram os mocinhos, fiquei passada. O outro plow twist foi o do relacionamento do Prof. Dika com o tio de Ayan, eu jamais desconfiaria disso, tendo em vista que ele corroborava com a história contada pela escola de que ele traiu a escola e foi para a concorrência. Os pais de Ayan e Akk merecem todo o amor do mundo.

A atuação pra mim foi uma das melhores que já vi em séries BL, a cinematografia, a fotografia eram surreais de lindas. A ost é encantadora, o a ambiente escolar, mas não o clichê de sempre, foi a cereja do bolo.

Com certeza verei essa série mais vezes, pra mim foi uma das melhores de 2022 e eu panfletarei ela até sempre.

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Comfort.

I love this. First and Khaotung are such an amazing pair and the whole Suppalo situation is really good. I love the OST too, it's so good and relaxing to hear. There's not much to say, I just really love this, and I love the way they wrote Akk's character so you can really feel like he's trying to find comfot and acceptance in his sexuality and the fact that Aye realizes it and doesn't rush things is just comforting to watch.

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It’s not perfect but

I gave it a 10. I support and want to see more plot-heavy BLs where the romance is not the main theme but rather an additional sub-plot. The Eclipse took definitely that turn even if the actual plot was chaotic, a little confusing and not tight enough.

Having said that, ironically, the main reason I gave it a 10 is bc of the romance. I loved the characters dynamic, the way they flirted with each other and their overall relationship development. This is the second BL that imo managed to portray a so called „tsundere“ character realistically. A lot of the time BLs tend to portray a dynamic where one boy relentlessly pursues another boy and the other boy usually reacts in an irritated, cold and annoyed manner which heavily implies romantic disinterest. In contrast, First portrayed Akk as flustered and defensive instead of annoyed and uncomfortable - huge props to him for that! That way it never felt like Ayan was harassing him. They became pretty quickly aware of their mutual attraction and they kept pushing and testing each other and it felt more like Ayan was playfully trying to gauge Akks comfort/discomfort level regarding his attraction.
The dynamic was great, the acting was great. I’m honestly surprised that GMM was sleeping on First for so long, he is one of their best actors. Khaotung too is surprisingly versatile.
Neo and Louise did pretty well too and I’m glad they allowed Neo to explore non-comedic roles.
Also, thank god none of the characters were BL-straight!

I have a lot of questions regarding the story though, too many really. I understand and like the idea they were promoting about equality and the criticism of overly stiff rules that are still very prevalent in a lot of collectivist cultures/societies, even if the way they did in the story is rather simplistic.
There were a couple of twists that seemed very strange to me. I thought maybe they needed backflashes to properly build-up and explain them. I didn’t quite understand what happened between Dika and Chadok. Did Chadok transfer Dika without his consent? What exactly prompted him to comment suicide? There seemed to be a couple of people suffering from depression or other mental conditions and I wish they showed the progress of these mental issues better. I also didn’t understand why it took everyone so long to deal with 3 students. I’m not knowledgeable in Thai legal and human rights so I’m not going to complain further. Overall I thought the build-up could’ve been done a lot better.
Maybe I’ll have a revelation while rewatching it a second or a third time, who knows. All around I really liked it and hope to see more of similar projects, hopefully with better/tighter written plot next time.

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