Great performances

There are a number of interesting themes in this BL drama. The evils of social media and the domino effect of bad actions that cause a whole series of undesirable outcomes. Keng (Oat) is a gay University Senior who falls in love at first sight with shy, introverted Junior Shin (James). Keng endures the common themes of overbearing parents and social conditioning that rejects same sex relationships. Unfortunately, he isn't able to contain the rage this kind of repression creates and ends up raping the object of his love. We're never quite sure of Shin's sexual orientation. Shin's best friends Bright (Yacht) and Promote (Top) really are the stars of this piece -- showing what real friendship is about. They form their own bromance along the way. Some reviewers have asked for a longer series, but I'm happy this one was only 3 episodes. Most of these BL dramas are heavily padded to run for 30 hours and have many sub-plots that lead nowhere. The writing of the first two episodes is very strong and the plot follows a logical path. But there are some serious flaws in the last episode. Keng's brief little blackmail moment doesn't ring true to his character and only puts the final nail in his coffin for being a person unworthy of anyone's friendship, never mind love. Shin apparently recovers from the trauma of rape and even finishes university, two years late. But five years have passed and he has no new friends or girlfriend or boyfriend? In five years? Some have explained the ending as both boys, Shin and Keng, stepped off the curb to end their lives at the same time, finally brining them together in the afterlife. Well, that makes as much sense any other conclusion, but there was plenty of time in the third episode to make that more clear. While the script is above average, writers have to be vigilant about falling into stereotypes. And it's a long and weary Hollywood cliche that gay characters (including those implied to be gay) must suffer violently for their orientation. Or they must be evil. (see almost any Alfred Hitchcock movie for proof of this). So here we've got two evil gays: Man and Keng and presumably gay Shin who attempts suicide and dies at the end. We've seen this formula too often. Male rape is an interesting dramatic platform, but rather than gay Keng as the rapist, why not the straight boys in the photo club? Male rape is common in straight fraternities. Or how about a woman raping Shin? Perhaps an older female employer at a part time job? You see, there are lots of easy fixes to avoid stereotypes and these would have made the story far more interesting.

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Above Average BL Drama

I really loved this drama, mostly for the strong performances by the two leads played by Oreo and Strong. Their chemistry is terrific. I don't want to give away the plot but the second season ends on a tragic note, but sets the stage for another sequel where, I hope, the outcome we've been waiting for through nearly 30 episodes will be resolved. Like most of these dramas, this episodes seem heavily padded just for the sake of filling time. The plot is a refreshing departure from the formula of two guys in Engineering school. Oreo's character Pop is drawn as a bit of a gay cliche, being a little too interested in skin care and plush toys but thankfully Oreo plays him straight. Strong's character Oat is true to the BL formula in being mostly obnoxious to Pop. This is supposed to be his clumsy way of saying he likes Pop. Also to formula, there are endless scenes of our heroes crying and saying they're sorry to each other. The most interesting element in this drama is Pop and Oat really have more of a bromance going on and it raises some interesting questions about what it means for two guys to love each other in a platonic way. That's a very contemporary topic among men who identify as straight. There are obligatory gay stereotypes in the supporting cast. I guess those are suppose to provide the audience with almost cartoon comic relief to contrast the main characters. Happily, there isn't too much time wasted on those characters as the drama go on. I do hope there is a third sequel to resolve these stories as the audience hopes they'll end up. We have a lot invested in these characters.

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