180 Degrees Longitude Between Us (2022)

Stagey at Times, but a Wonderful Bittersweet Story

I need to get my one criticism out of the way. I felt this series was too stagey at times, including with over the top acting at times. It was distracting because in my opinion, I would have preferred a film style presentation, but I ended up being able to overcome my bias.

I had difficulty finishing this series, not because it was lame and cliche, but due to my feelings of not wanting the protagonist, Wang, to continue being in the middle of a love triangle that will never be resolved, because it cannot be resolved. Wang is one of my favorite fictional characters I've had the pleasure of meeting. Wang is such a delightful person, that it really hurt me to see the adults in the generation about him being so stuck in their own misery, mostly a misery they made and sustain. Initially, I was pretty judgmental about Wang's mother sending him to board school, but now I realize that it may have saved him from a s similar fate. Being away from his mother allowed him to not experience her over the top demands 24 hours a day.

The shallowness of Sasiwimol and In's existences are in sharp contrast to the liveliness and optimism of Wang. Even when offered a ray of light, neither of them could reach out for it. Since Siam was with Sasiwimol and In all of the time, he wasn't able to break out on his own, while Wang has the strength the adults never had. Sasiwimol won two prestigious awards and could not find one person to share her victory with, and In could not acknowledge his feelings and chooses to be alone.

I half jokingly said that Wang should take his father's ghost, and move out on his own. I stand by this. Wang will honor his father by living, while In and Sasiwimol will continue to be the walking dead.

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Reality check

Now this one was totally different than any other BL drama I've watched so far!

This drama definitely won't suit some people's taste, I'll take myself as an example. If this drama aired in 2019-2020, when I just started watching BL dramas, I know that I'd probably drop it/won't be interested in it :( when I started I just wanted to watch some fluff/nothing too serious, also we can say that compared to me from today, I was more immature back then 🤷‍♀️
If you expect just fluff or if you expect something 18+ happening, I don't think you'll like it. To like this drama I guess you have to understand it. I don't blame anyone who disliked this drama, maybe try watching it once again one day when you have a different mindset, maybe it'll hit you differently.

This drama is literally a life lesson, not everything goes the way we want it to go, but we can fight for what we want, but also we should know when to put the ball down and stop the game. The characters didn't just talk into the open so the wind can blow away their words, words they said/discussions they had, are actally deep. As for the ending, I'm not sad/disappointed abut it at all, because YES that's life 🤷‍♀️and yes, since life is hard to everyone in their own way, we prefer a light, funny, happy and "daydream" drama (I'm saying this because I also prefer those light cute dramas), but sometimes, it's good to watch a drama like this as well!

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More than BL, a true artistic piece

Edit for ep 8: NOTHING, and I cannot emphasis more on that, has ever moved me in a way this show has. This not romance, this is not bl, this is not drama, this is real life. This show is a direct, raw, almost cruel reflection of reality that so many of us live in. And just like real life, there is no happy ending. Just moments of happiness followed by grief and the cycle continues. This show is an experience, a thing to feel, to think, to ponder upon. Watch this only if you can handle the harsh truths of reality because this show is explicit in it's delivery of emotions and struggles.

Original review: Firstly I'm going to say, don't start this series if all you look for in a bl are s sex cenes, cliche troupes and hot dialogues. Go watch something else because to enjoy this series you need to forget what you have seen in bls till now.

I literally created this account to leave this review because people aren't understanding the depth this series has. It was created by Punnasak Sukee who is an artist of Thai Modern Theatre and you can see it in this series. Everything from the opening credit to even a blink carries meaning and weight. This series is about 4 people, and we see 3 of them. That's it, no third wheeling girl, no homophobic parents, no dramatic friends, this is about 3 people and them only. This is not a show, it's an analysis of human psyche, presented to you in the form of 3 characters.

And the reason why I saw it's more than bl is not because bl shows are shallow, I love them as well, but the topics this series focuses upon are much more than just 2 men falling in love. It's about their life, their experiences, their demons, and amidst trying to fight all that, they will find love.

If chemistry b/w leads is important for you, then don't worry, because this show has more sexual tension than any you might have seen. It's not explicit, it's not violent; it's subtle and soft but just as ever-present. It so slow burn, 100k word novels will look short in front of it. But it's worth it, its so worth it.

It's a true artistic piece, it needs patience. Don't start it if you don't have that.

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A masterpiece

The few characters and basically two settings (inside and outside the house, if we exclude their home in Bangkok in episode1) gave the perfect vibes of a theatrical piece.

The story is totally original for a BL (to be fair, this is not a BL in its pure essence): a son with a complex relationship with his mom and a strong love for the dead dad finds his way to the exact longitude and latitude of the one friend of his parents that knows the truth about their family secret.

The acting was pure masterclass. Even Pond (the actor playing Wang) is extremely stunning, despite the young age. The other two actors have great performances too. The feelings were so real you could touch them.

The music and the OST (sung by Pond) are pretty on point, and start at the exact time to fill the silence and accompany the feeling.

Despite the bitter finale (which I find realistic and maybe even the best one to conclude the show), I'd love to rewatch it because the performances were undeniably awesome and the topics were important and well-discussed.

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52 Blue

I enjoyed this drama series to the extent that it compelled me to write a review about it. I have rarely watched such a drama which made me feel this conflicted. There was no clear side to choose from and no clear character to root for. At the same time I felt completely involved in all three characters and indentified with them on many levels.
This is a story about three characters. How their past caught up with them and how all three reacted in different ways. It's a story about lost chances, deep scars, finding and acknowledging one's identiy, healing, moving on and much much more.
The setting of the drama is like a stage play. Only three characters, set in one house with long dialogues between characters. But in no point I felt bored. In fact it felt like a thriller at times where each character was revealing somehting that helped solved the puzzle that was this drama.
The story is a-typical. Where love is portrayed as a means of self-exploration and realization. Love is not treated as the remedy to all problems rather a way to face the reality. And the reality is different for each character. It is a love story but one where love alows the characters to face their darkest fears and come to terms with it.
each actor playing the three characters did brilliant. I could relate with all three. In many instances I found myself in all three of them.
The visuals and color palette of the drama is spectacular. Each character wore a specific color through out the series and it blended with the settling seamlessly. The camera angles and shots were manipulated as such that each frame felt like a painting.
Finally the direction, it is the director's debut venture (as far as I know). He is a veteran theater director. Hence the treatment of the drama was very fresh. I have become a fan and will look forward to his work in future.
I hope this drama gets wide spread acknowledgement both at home and globally. I will come back to it.

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That was actually beautiful

I’m going to be completely honest, I almost didn’t watch this series because of the age gap. And I almost stopped when the series started implying that Wang’s father had feelings for In and vise versa because I found it weird which I mean it is weird considering In also has feelings for Wang but that’s really the only negative thing I have to say about this bl

First off, the writing and acting was outstanding. I love how realistic the show was, which is hard to find in a lot of bls. I also really liked the pacing. The slow but not too slow pacing made the story feel so calm and peaceful, which made the tense moments even tenser. The acting was really good and believable too, especially for Wang.

I don’t really have much to say about the music since if I’m being honest I didn’t pay much attention to it, but I don’t remember it being super distracting or sounding like the same track that’s played in 10 other bls so I’d say it was good enough for me lol

Anyways, this show is really up to personal taste as most shows are. If you can overlook the big age gap between the 2 characters I’d definitely highly recommend this bl B)

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One of the most boring serieses ever...

It was nice that for once the emotional relationship was the focus and not the physical one! So I found it really good that the point was not to sleep together etc.
Also the acting and the cinematic and aesthetic things were nice!


BUT! for 8!!!!! EPISODES! they always talked about the same thing! there was almost zero development..... everything what happened im this 8 episode could have been easily summarised in 2-3 episodes....

It was a good idea and I think the ending was also kinda realistic, but everything else was really disappointing.....

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A masterpiece

This series is perfect in all ways. There are no flaws that I can point out. This is literally a work of art. The story is so mesmerizing and heavy. Even though the shooting only took place in one location and it only the characters talking, they did it so good. This is why you call a character driven story. The story of Wang and In was done so beautifully. Wang is a person that is doesn't have any ambitions and knows what he wants to do in life. But when he found the thing he wanted, he fights for it even it hurts him. It was beautiful seeing his growth. He looked like a cocky person that knows all but as you continue his story, he is actually a person that is lonely and yearning for love. In on the other hand, seems like a person who it intelligent, composed and rational but when hardship arrives he tend to run from it and avoid it. He is a coward and he stayed a coward till the end. It was nicely depicted that some people can't change no matter how much we try. In the end, In stayed in misery and choose to stay in misery. He never even said 'I love you' to wang. though his actions and gestures displayed it so obviously. It was sad to see this ending even thought it was highly predictable from the first episode. But I think it was a nice way to end thing. I am a person that doesn't like sad endings. I don't like reality to come with my fiction, but still I am alright that it ended this way. This series may not be for everyone, since it is a character driven story and only focuses on the characters. So some may not like, but if you're into things that are plot heavy and focus on the characters, with deep dialogs. You should definitely, no you MUST try this. The actors did such a splendid job. Pond is a terrific actor, when he cried, I cry, when he was happy I was happy. He displayed emotions of someone who is cocky but is lonely and yearning for love so well. As well as Nike. You may not notice it at the beginning but when it was an emotional scene, he did it so well. As well Mam, she made me annoyed of her and that was her character so she did a splendid job lol. The music also was spectacular. Like I said this series is a masterpiece so I am just repeating the words now lol. One of the best Bl, which I would say you can't even say it is a bl. More like a lgbt+ series. Beautiful, outstanding and a work of art.

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Es una historia increíble y realista que vale la pena mirar

Es una historia increíble y realista que vale la pena mirar, solo le puse 9.5 estrellas porque todavía tengo el nudo en mí garganta después de ver el final.

La línea de la historia es increíble, y como Wang va contando ciertos puntos en voz en off, como si en realidad estuviera leyendo un diario, recordando el pasado, o cintándole la historia a alguien más (cosa que nunca vamos a saber); el modo en que los actores llevan su papel a otro nivel, haciéndote creer todo lo que estás viendo y manteniéndote a la expectativa de qué es lo siguiente que va a pasar.

Cómo expectadores estamos acostumbrados a finales felices, o finales abiertos que llevan a una segunda temporada donde el final será feliz. Esta serie rompe ese esquema y te grita en la cara "la vida no es siempre linda, no siempre tenemos lo que queremos, y a veces el final feliz no es el que esperabas porque esta es la realidad de muchos".

Realmente quería que se quedarán juntos, pero acepto el final porque es uno que ambos se merecen. In no está listo, y nunca estará listo, para enfrentarse a sus sentimientos y el 'no herir a los demás', va a seguir en su cueva... Y Wang, como dijo, tiene el tiempo de su lado y pronto el dolor de un amor no correspondido será curado con el tiempo (que, por lo visto, así sucedió). Todos merecían un final feliz, pero no importa qué decisión se tomara, uno de ellos saldría herido al final.

Vale la pena verla, y lo volvería a hacer aún sabiendo el final que tienen.

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