GENERAL
This was a good series, but flawed. I liked it more in the beginning and less and less as it progressed. Of the 20+ BL series I have watched thus far, this has to be the best-looking cast of all. The women are stunning, the secondary characters are handsome and the two leads are flawlessly beautiful. Those pecs, those abs! Korn’s smile!!

The story is straight out of every gay man’s diary. Who hasn’t fallen in love with a childhood friend, their best friend, a “straight” man in a relationship with a woman? Even though it starts with the two men in bed, we quickly get their back-story and how they wound up there. The series portrays that aspect best of all. I truly believed these guys were best friends. There was an ease and camaraderie that played out beyond their romance that I appreciated. That’s what makes the first half of this series so enjoyable, watching two friends who clearly enjoy hanging out together.

But in the second half, as the drama unfolds and all the back-stabbing, manipulation and waffling emotions come to the forefront, the scripting and acting flaws become more apparent. The same situations are repeated, and the same dialogue is often repeated. Once a revelation occurs, the writer needs to move on, but here we revisit the same things again and again. And whether the fault of the sub or the actual script, characters randomly forget information they have already learned, forcing us to hear the same details again for no reason.

I know that Knock is conflicted, confused and uncertain about accepting a MM relationship – but after he declares that he will love Korn for the rest of his life, there should be little doubt about who he wants to be with. He is thrilled one moment to be in love with his best friend, then seems to forget his declaration a moment later and wants time apart to be with his girlfriend. The writer could certainly come up with reasons for him to delay telling Pleng, but his waffling back and forth just felt contrived and only so the creators could extend the drama and fill up several more episodes.

This is a true soap opera, with back-stabbing, manipulation, lies, deceit, and real villains. Pleng is a reprehensible character and Aim plays her very well. I actually enjoyed a lot of these elements, though this is also where the script got repetitive and convenient. I also enjoyed the friends’ stories, especially the hetero romance. I like my BL to reflect real life, and hetero friends falling in love is always welcome.

Once again, BL does friendship right. A great group of supporting characters who feel like actual friends. Everyone who knows the BL universe must know about Siwha, already. She has to be a legendary character in this world. She is the best friend we all want, the actual glue for the entire group, and the “me” in the title (a sweet end note to the series).

ACTING/DIRECTING
Similar to my general comments, I think the acting is stronger in the first half of the series, when everything is lighter and friendlier. I was quite taken by and charmed by Tul/Korn and Max/Knock. Max is the stronger actor, which is a shame since Korn has more character depth to work with. But as their relationship became more complicated, their acting grew stiffer. Their faces remained blank. They are both very good at being natural and friendly, but I never felt “love” between them. The scripting did not allow them to go very deep into their characters. At times of high emotion, they would only be allowed to show an initial reaction and we never got to explore it deep enough to satisfy me.

All of the women were fantastic. Maegmum as Siwha is a stand-out. She deserves all the credit for carrying this series on her shoulders. She is charming, funny, resourceful, strong, loyal and gorgeous. Again, Aim as Pleng was a villain you love to hate. She was compelling to watch. Janis as Plae was remarkably charming, even in her shallow cattiness and relentless manipulation of every boy she met. Olive as Faii dimensionalized her limited character quite well. Kudos to all the ladies.

I would say that the direction succeeded overall, though struggled as well. The director was not able to elicit the emotions necessary from his main actors. I did not believe I was watching anguish or heartbreak, despite some (probably fake) tears. I did enjoy the lighter moments. The comedy was well played. Even the bizarre camera shakes and childish sound effects worked effectively.

KISSING/INTIMACY
While I would not say this has a LOT of skin, there is more than most and enough to tantalize anyone. And they do not shy away from intimating there is actual sex (including who is doing what). It’s steamier than most BL series – which I have to say, I am all for! And these boys know how to kiss on camera. These felt like real kisses, not the normal BL peck with a very tightly closed mouth. However, their faces often seemed to express pain, rather than passion, during these moments, even in the final episode when they are already together as a couple, they seem upset when they are being kissed.

THE DOWNSIDE
The biggest challenges for me were the two inappropriate relationships. Phubet’s interest in his teacher is not an uncommon plot and for the most part the series finds a way to make this relationship successful – but it was definitely inappropriate and her denial of it should have been stronger. She was told this could endanger her job, and indeed it should have. Luckily, they SAY that they have agreed to “wait” until he graduates, but their actions do not reflect that. A slight misstep for me. It’s fine to have a “hot for teacher” storyline, but the adult should be stronger, especially since her character was shown to be smart and savvy.

But the Farm/Bright relationship was ALL WRONG. A 40+ year old man aggressively pursuing a 20 year old is creepy. Given Farm’s naivete and MM virginity, it was even worse. Bright’s behavior is inappropriate from the start. He abuses his privilege as a doctor to put his hands on the young man. On top of that, they make Bright an indiscriminate “player”, pursuing several other boys, sometimes in front of Farm. Eww. In fact, the first time they kiss was only moments after Bright had tried to kiss Korn. What an a**. The 4-way he arranges, without Farm’s knowledge or consent, is unforgivable. Since the end of that tryst is not shown, I can only assume they all raped the young man. I’m not opposed to showing the darker side of a love story, but this felt wrong on so many levels. Farm’s subsequent “conversion” to a player, himself after underage boys, was unbelievable and did not make his “revenge” on Bright any more palatable.

SUMMARY
A decent series, worthy of viewing. I would just manage expectations and try to focus on the eye candy and the strong female actresses and not expect an entirely satisfying viewing experience. I will eventually check out the prequels and sequels, but given the lead actors’ limitations, I will wait until I have gone through my list of “must-sees”.