Yoongi @ Amazon Music Interview 

can we talk about the casual intimacy of this episode? we don’t need to see kisses or bed scenes to know that sarawat and tine are two people who love and care deeply for each other. the cuddles, the grins, the excitement about moving in together, figuring out each other quirks and learning how to live with each other, opening cans of soda for each other, learning each other’s favourite dishes and ladling them out on the other’s plate, the quick cheek kisses, brushing their teeth together, sleeping in the same bed, the blushes, the fact that sarawat never pressures tine to tell his brother even when type prompts him to tell the truth multiple times… 

it shows, without doubt, that sarawat and tine are two people in their first serious relationship. that they enjoy each other’s company, that they want it to work and so they make it work. the domesticity of this episode illustrates their relationship perfectly. two toothbrushes in a cup by the sink. their posters all over the walls. the bracelets. one bed. a life shared.

honestly, hats off to bright and win and the production team for portraying sarawat and tine as two real people who love each other dearly, for keeping their private moments private, and for showing them as two very different people who want to make their relationship work. this episode showcased how real the both of them are, and it was absolutely heartwarming to see.

“Do you think your mom will ever forgive my dad? If you were her, would you? We can’t change what happened. We can just live with it. If you want to, go ahead. I will not live with it. What are you going to do then? Run away to a place where there’s only us. Do you think they will allow that? Our parents won’t. But some people might.”

“it’s like we were living a double life until graduation.”

High Quality BL Deep Dive 

Top 10 Highest Production Values in Thai BL 

I TOLD THE SUNSET ABUT YOU - say what you like about ITSAY (and I have) the production values are unreal for Thailand. It’s on par with Japanese cinema BL like Restart After Come Back Home or His (Japan knows what tf it’s doing, okay? You don’t come from a tradition that gave us Kurosawa and fail at broad scope cinematography). ITSAY uses soft lenses, diffuse lighting, and a nostalgic atmosphere, paying close attention to framing, and forgetting neither background nor close-focus expressive detail. It’s a remarkable piece of cinematography. I caught no mistakes in makeup, wardrobe, body positioning, reflection, or boom mic placement - so they clearly had continuity eyeballs during filming and on final product (which most Thai BLs don’t spring for). So yeah, the filming, directing, and acting is insane but what’s really sand out in ITSAY from a film perspective is their smooth as butter invisibly perfect editing. Post production on this series must have been a BEAST. 

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN - UWMA relies almost entirely on a killer story and pitch perfect acting to carry it. This puts production values squarely into workhorse mode. In other words: filming, cinematography, directing, editing, and everything else are designed to invisibly service the story. They are there to serve, not to distract or even enhance. It’s very different from ITSAY, UWMA does not draw on high cinema at all, it’s using small screen TV techniques - like a great suspense show, say 24 or The Wire. The editing is sharp and choppy as a result. UWMA is meant to move you with narrative first, acting second, and visuals third - like a play. 

OXYGEN the series - I crowed about it at the time but what Oxygen does, more than anything else, is be very very stylish. It has an atmospheric staged yet subtle filming style that makes it feel like a perfume advertisement or music video (in the best possible way). It’s precise and focused with soft lens, making everything just so pretty. it’s not particularly fantastic cinematography, but all its other production values are spot on (except wardrobe, what WERE they thinking?) and the editing is seamless. It reminds me a lot of the kind of filming style and techniques we get from Korea. For Western watchers we can think of this as utilizing the techniques of fashion-forward TV shows like Sex in the City. 

GREAT MEN ACADEMY - not strictly BL but I don’t wanna argue about that. It’s on this list because it’s got such high quality production values. Unfortunately for us, it’s hard to find an HD version of this series to truly appreciate how good those are. Sure some of the special effects are naff, but the filming, sound, and directing is spot on for what it is - a YA boarding- school coming of age narrative. It actually uses a lot of Japanese live action yaoi techniques. It has that early superhero movie use of a strong storyboard, pushing it into advanced focus on framing and staging. There is a lot in common (filming wise) between GMA and yaoi adaptations like Seven Days and Takumi-kun (or, more recently, Color Rush). I happen to really enjoy this style of BL because it reminds me so strongly of manga but there are some who find it stilted. 

SOTUS - lots of people have issues with SOTUS but you can’t knock its production values. GMMTV threw money at this baby in a way that they wouldn’t do again until 1000 Stars (and 1k* would spend their budget differently). What GMMTV built its brand on was sit com style dramas and gameshows. They took the lens and techniques of those products and applied them to SOTUS. What does that mean? There is a lot of bold direct lighting, very close focus, and central framing. Nothing is subtle, everything about SOTUS is very crisp, in your face, and forthright. All other aspects: cinematography, sound, wardrobe, and makeup are designed to be there, but not noticeable in either a positive or negative way. GMMTV is not trying to win awards, just produced a branded reliable product. It’s more tailored than it is edited - like high quality athleisure wear. SOTUS showcases GMMTV’s BL technique and GMMTV has stuck to the formula it gave them ever since. 

HE’S COMNG TO ME - GMMTV takes its patented SOTUS style but puts story front and center (they would do this again with 3 Will Be Free). It’s probably my favorite thing GMMTV does, but it only happens when they luck into a really good script. 

DARK BLUE KISS - is an established pair in an LTR both as characters and actors given a very relationship-heavy talky script, surrounded by support cast and crew who are all clearly comfortable with each other and their jobs, churning out another installment in GMMTV SOTUS-born formula for success. And it is successful, but no one is surprised by this. This should be the bar for GMMTV. 

THEORY OF LOVE - is basically the culmination of what SOTUS started. GMMTV took their most functional BL pairing, their best support actors, a good director, and a great post production team and gave them a solid little script with a happy ending that pushed emotional buttons in a precision formula. ToL is the natural result of everything GMMTV does best in BL (Water Boyy is the version of this were a bad script and poor directing failed the formula). 

2GETHER - what started with SOTUS got twisted in a new brighter more sugary direction with 2g. Everything SOTUS did well, 2g does too, only far more funny and saccharine. GMMTV lucked out with a pair of very charismatic leads who could carry the weight of a truly ridiculous script. Then they put a solid (if not ace) team on post production. Sure there are some continuity mistakes and we all caught a boom mic here and a crew reflection there (and they cut costs on wardrobe and makeup), but that signature candy-coated sitcom style of TV filming is tailor made for this series. 2g is pretty because they are pretty and absolutely no effort is put into doing anything more than serve up that prettiness in as palatable a way as possible - like any good romcom. If you’re okay eating all the delicious fluffy pink layer cake you can, then cake is what 2g will happily give you… over and over again. 

1000 STARS - is the best produced BL that GMMTV has ever given us and I think it’s owed entirely to the unprecedented autonomy they granted the director, the $$$ they threw at it, and the location shooting. Artistically it’s not as good as ITSAY but it’s the closest GMMTV has ever come to that level of cinema. All production values are extremely high, and perhaps the lens and post production are more in service to the narrative and less designed to dwell on cinematography, but that works beautifully for this particular story. In the end, 1k* is a stunning, simplified, grown up combination of ITSAY and UWMA. 

A recent conversation here in the DMs made me realize that some BL watchers are actually interested in the filming side of the equation. So that’s why I composed this list of Thai BLs that are on par with BL produced in countries that specialize in high production values (like Japan and Korea). 

Thailand has been the highest producer (by volume) of BL since 2017, but their quality control tends to be all over the place. It ranges widely. There are seriously flawed pulps with decent acting and story (like So Much in Love) but terrible directing, lighting, sound, cinematography, hair, makeup, wardrobe, and filming technique. Then there are shows with very high quality but that are hugely flawed in one particular arena (Lovely Writer’s sound department). While others fail on every possible level (Cupid Coach). That said most Thai BL fails on at least makeup and wardrobe, and a lot of it suffers from sound issues and with editing problems (which always ties to pacing).  

More? 

Here’s a few others out of Thailand that have good production values for Thai BL, but aren’t Top 10. 

Ingredients the series - it’s a  long form advertisement and its filmed like one. But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad style, just that it has a very specific point of view. From a filming technique approach its worth looking at just to see if you can identify how and why it does what it does. Ingredients should make you feel a little bit like Korea’s home-set stuff like To My Star which uses a lot of the same techniques. 

2 Moons 2 - not the highest production value out there but nothing to complain about with some manga style staging and framing techniques and no fatal flaws in production. 

3 Will Be Free - GMMTV does suspense, production-wise it’s not an unqualified work of brilliance, but it’s interesting to see GMMTV take their style and apply it to a different genre, and I love the story. Is it ultimately successful? You decide. 

Manner of Death - hard to judge since i never saw a clean version and the story is a mess, but it feels like romantic suspense. The filming style and production values were totally unobtrusive and entirely served the plot, which is exactly what they should do for a cozy mystery. This one owes it’s technique to British cozies, it’s using a lot of the style one might expect from something like Midsomer Murders. But Thailand isn’t used to this kind of show, so it did struggle in places with post production. 

Fish Upon the Sky - fits into the same category as a bunch of others like My Engineer, Tonhon Chonlatee, and My Gear and Your Gown in which production values are okay but only really because they aren’t noticeably egregious. They’re fine. It’s fine. it’s a perfectly serviceable show. 

Note that much as I adore Love By Chance it’s not on this list? Neither is TharnType, A Chance at Love, TharnType 2, or Why R U? 

I honestly think these all have the same post production team/company (or a variation on that team) and it’s not good. Sorry. It just isn’t. These shows are riddled with continuity errors (like a hand placed one way in one shot, but another way in the next shot even though time has not lapsed), lighting and sound issues, and wardrobe malfunctions. 

The cinematography and staging can be fine, but where they really suffer seems to be on the editing floor (or lack of editing) which has the most profound impact on pacing. Frankly, this may not be entirely the editor’s fault as these shows often feel like they’ve been rushed to production and have no solid storyboard guiding them or their editor. 

I should end on a positive, shouldn’t I? 

I think, over all, Thailand is getting better at post production at the very least (with the possible exception of sound). They still churn out loads of dross, but GMMTV is tight these days, and there are one or two solid smaller companies doing good work and even pushing for improved cinematography (which no one expects in a romcom, let alone a BL). 

I’m optimistic. 

EXPERIENCE THIS GLORIOUS SCENE WITH ME.

‘Don’t you want to be free?’

Pat knowing that Pran isn’t ready to tell anyone about them yet and RESPECTING THAT and Pran going home and cheering Pat up (balcony scene) and making him laugh and feel better.  -  And then them communicating when they’ve a disagreement and ALSO APOLOGIZING TO EACH OTHER and trying to solve it (Like we never see in dramas).

They have such a healthy relationship and they work so well together. 

Pran and Pat best boyfriends, i said what i said.

That’s nonsense. Do you use this trick to hit on people?

I never hit on anyone.

You’re hitting on me right now.

Close Friends the series (another Thai hope for new stories in BL) ideas

What is up with these mini series Y destiny, Close Friends where they have a short storyline for certain known pairings and leave me devastated that they didn’t make it into a full 12 episode or more series? Why are we stuck with the engineering, university repetitive motives when we’ve had outlines and ideas right in front of us for how to make new groundbreaking Thai stories in this genre??? Unique, Romantic, Fun and great potential to explore new dynamics and characters. Please Close friends choose a series to make into one full series. Anyway here’s how I’d do them starting from my most favorite and desperate want for a full tv series plot, to the ones I can’t be fussed about. 

1.   KimCop

Are you kidding me? We could have had a celebrity/fanboy trope this whole time from Thailand? Why haven’t we gotten yet this idea?  Man this needs to be a series, this needs to  be fleshed out and give me a full storyline. Like have a spoiled/ arrogant celebrity who wants to go undercover away from his label (feeling bored/frustrated with the environment he’s in and sneaking away when he finally gets out) and meets his number one fan boy who works as cafe barista (cafe shop au damn it)  who he knows because he’s been having secret conversations with him through a VR app that he monitors for research on how to create more. Let him pretend he doesn’t know said fanboy but find a way to spend more time with him, let said fan boy not be okay with his attitude and arrogance on the surface but be confused about the other version of himself he speaks to in VR, let us have this. It would be so good, between secret identities, contract living/cafe shop au tropes, we could have something that can be great, with longing, misunderstandings, having the fan boy pretend he’s not affected by the celebrity (due to annoyance by his spoiled persona) when we and the celebrity both know he’s different when he’s speaking to his VR version. Just so much to play with, with this.  We need this storyline as a narrative like this is closest to the kinda risks Korea BLS do with their plotlines for BLs and with Thai we know the episodes would be allowed to be longer and properly played out. Plus KimCop are fantastic; they’re made for this, they need the directing, the stellar budget and production but I want this now. Damn you Close friends for laying this  in front of me!!! 

2. Mii2

Please can I get a coming of age series for this perfection? A coming of age that ends happily and show cases these two’s journey to being together through their pen pal relationship. Can we get self discovery, exploration, acceptance and more. Can we get finding your purpose, your struggles in highschool to fit in, to have friends, to be socially accepted. Can we get that with these two who clearly live opposite lives and find solace in each other. I want my BL answer me 1997/1984 Kdrama!! Like you can have it all! Give it to me 😭 let me learn about Thai history during these times. Let me watch this soft friends to lovers premise  Please? I’m begging? From the aesthetic, the time period, the wholesome characters and the potential with this plot, we can have a great unique Thai Bl series that’s still about highschool but show cases a different era. With inside jokes about that time period, with references, and opportunities for nostalgia for certain Thai folks, it’s a win win to me and it’d be BL! 

3. JaaFirst

You heard it here I want them because of their chemistry. I couldn’t help feeling so teased and upset that this wasn’t a supernatural thing about a cat who turns human or something (we’ve had mangas based on this, lol even Mew Mew power has a play on this with the main het couple at a time, common) like I would have wanted this synopsis with these two a magical race of people who are able to turn into animals, one of them who loses his memory/ has to find something that will help his race in a certain time frame  and finds himself having to stay stuck with Ja’s character who he falls for because he watches and learns about him as a cat. Maybe he stays in his cat form to discover why he was found in Ja’s place with no memory, trying to discover about himself, But there’s times where his human form can roam around depending on certain world building rules. Meanwhile Ja is a cute cat owner who’s  unaware. But something is bothering him, it’s making him spiral, he is intrigued by a boy he keeps bumping into at odds times around his area but he can’t find the boy anywhere, and each time they meet he’s a bit standoffish and refusing to let Ja get to know him or help him, he can’t find the boy unless he appears at a certain time and place. And he spends time pining trying to find and get this person not knowing he’s living right next to him moping about his circumstance about not being able to stay human all the time, Like a play on Little mermaid or kdramas like My girlfriend is a gumiho you know these dramas with supernatural beings who have to stay in a contract situation with someone with a time limit (a month/100 days normally) to stay together and get to his goal.  Like weird animal supernatural trope but it could work 😭 One it’d be supernatural so unique to this genre, it’d explore a requited but they don’t know trope with a lot of barriers and misunderstandings :( Like damn it why can’t we be having all this Thailand.

4. MaxNat  😭

A Karate Kid reboot but with BL 😭 Yes you heard me, between watching Nat fall for the sport and prove to whoever he needs to that he can be a champion due to the help of his headstrong tutor who takes him in, like we’ve got another plot, we’ve got another theme to explore, a new world of learning about the world of Karate competitions, and training to be a champion. Character dynamics that can be fleshed out to have another sports based BL series but this time Thai like yess 😭 let’s stew and stay longer in this I don’t want to do this energy with Nat’s character probably being forced to do the sport because he has no choice, to impress someone, to get revenge on  a rival who hurt him but slowly realizing that karate is his talent and what he loves to do authentically. A fish out of water experience, as he falls for his strict gruff, cold, and robotic tutor who he learns more about as time goes about why Karate is his all😭 Like yes please…. Haters to lovers, going in with wrong intentions, learning about self worth and finding your purpose/self. Like a chosen one narrative let me have this!!! 

See what I mean when I say all these mini series just leave me sad, that Thai BL genre isn’t risky enough to do new things, all you have to do is branch out a bit, try and create stories without the need to get Bl adaptations all the time from novels with the same themes and tropes. Let’s get new themes we see in other countries, let’s have these actors be put to use more and given stories that aren’t just the same old same old. I dunno, watching Y destiny and Close friends, have made me sigh because if people actually put thought and effort into how to improve this genre, and make it more than just a money thing, we could have great stories for Thai BL that actually will shock us, and make us refall in love with the genre. Dunno if what I’m saying makes sense, I just want new stories from Thai BL (don’t get me wrong IPYTM and GMMTV are trying) but I sometimes get frustrated at this explosion of quantity of BL that never has quality, it’s either repetitive or just awful in terms of storytelling. Why? Please Thailand branch out a little, these two series have shown you new plots, and ideas you can play with and create something more interesting and better than the typical lazy plots. Let’s expand Thai BL more. That’s all. Do you guys have your own ideas on these storylines and how to make them into longer series. I didn’t mention the other two because I wasn’t as connected to their plot (Love TalayYoon though) but I really enjoyed Close friends, and I’m sad it’s over now. 

—  thank you, thank you, t h a n k   y o u BAD BUDDY (2021-2022), dir. b.n.c