Let me start off by saying that the vibe of the second season of Safe House was vastly different from the first in some ways, and exactly the same in others.

Before we start with that, though, the cast. Since GMM’s talents were mostly in the midst of year-end cramming to get as many of their 2021 series on air as soon as possible, not the mention the filming of teasers for the then upcoming GMMTV 2022 lineup, it was hard to get a cast that could spend the whole week in the house. So the original cast on day one was Off, First, Krist, Nanon, the twins AJ and JJ, Mike, Force and Book. Off and First left two days in and were replaced by (golden retrievers in human form) Ohm Pawat and Drake. Krist left the day after that to be replaced by Safe House Season One survivor Tay Tawan.

So let me kick off this little trip into GMMTV Safe House Season Two with –

What’s Different

For one thing, the setting is obviously different. GMMTV was going for a camping, outdoorsy, winter theme this season, and so they have a bigger house somewhere outside the city with a big lawn to run around in – which is necessary because this season of Safe House is probably about a hundred percent more energetic than the last one.

Last season, poor Luke was the only one who kept waking up in the wee hours of the morning to get some exercise in while everyone else was cuddling in bed. This season saw many of the residents up even before cameras turned on for the day.

This actually connects to the biggest difference from Season One: the cast is basically made up of a bunch of puppies. Last season, there times when they’d all gather together and just chill and watch something on the TV, or nap, or cuddle with each other or the giant lactasoy pillows. This Safe House came with a PS4, which the residents often took turns playing, but they also spent a lot time playing other games. Also since the house included musicians like Krist, Nanon and Ohm, they also spent a lot of their downtime in impromptu jam sessions, which were a delight.

I was exceptionally disappointed that there were no dance games like last season, although we did get some little jigs from the members at times

The Ghost… Ships?

Unlike last season, there were significantly fewer ghost ships this time, but that is not to say there weren’t any. We learned that Force is Ohm’s senior from high school and that Ohm had admired him from back then, and their interactions on the show really showed their fondness for each other.

The other significant ghost ship was Mike and Krist, which GMMTV 2022 revealed to be not so ghostly after all, since they’re going to be leading their own BL series next year. Mike and Krist had really cute interactions on the house, and almost everyone noticed. Mike, absolutely the resident cuddle expert, is extremely tactile with everyone, and especially with Krist, often checking up on him and taking care of him and really, people were already noticing their chemistry enough that I have high hopes for their series next year.

https://twitter.com/for_dreamfairy/status/1461546935437824002?s=20

There’s also ascended fanboy Force, who took every opportunity to get close to his idol Off, launching the JumForce ship.

The Actual Ships

Okay so technically MikeKrist belong here too, but when watching this season the two ships I was watching for were ForceBook and OhmNanon, so I’ll stick with them here.

I loved being introduced to ForceBook, leads of the upcoming BL series Enchante. They’ve known each other since they were in Kindergarten, and their dynamic really does have a chill childhood friends vibe. Like everyone else in GMMTV, of course, they’re far from normal, but that’s pretty much accepted now, isn’t it?

And of course, OhmNanon who are now household names thanks to Bad Buddy the Series, got off to an amazing start the moment Ohm entered SafeHouse and decided to princess carry his mostly-still-asleep friend to the nearest camera.

OhmNanon’s very close friendship was also very visible and very cute indeed, and it was fun watching the two of them interact in a playful, flirty way. Ohm talked about often checking up on Nanon on Safe House, and in retrospect, that makes a lot of their interactions a lot more special.

Sing with me now: “ma ham mai hai chan rak gor mai tong na rak~”

Mike Chinnarat came into Safe House with an agenda, and that is presumably to promote Off-Gun’s song Too Cute to Handle. Every single day of the week saw someone bursting into this particular song and ninety percent of the time it was Mike. If last season’s anthem as Joss Way-ar’s Lonely Mode, this season was definitely Too Cute to Handle.

The Insanity and the Love

I think what I love about Safe House in general is the fact that we get to just hang out with GMMTV’s actors, get to know them better as individuals, and watch them be their fun, crazy selves. I didn’t find a relationship as deep as Pond and the duck floatie this time around, but there was this very hilarious moment where Mike got stuck in a stack of pool rings during a game.

I loved watching AJ and JJ slowly adopt Nanon as one of them, often seeking him out and including him (and later Ohm) in their cuddles.

Another of my favourite moments was when they all sat down to watch the new episode of Bad Buddy together, giving us a live reaction to probably the most emotionally impactful episode so far. Drake quietly feeding Nanon ice cream is one of the highlights of the whole season.

I also really enjoyed learning more about Mike’s personality this season: he is adorable, very cuddly, and really takes care of all his juniors. His fondness for them and theirs for him was very visible and so, so wholesome to watch.

I should also point out that Tay Tawan did not break anything on his stint, which is shocking but also makes sense. Last season, Tay melded into the chaos and became an agent of it himself, but this season he was much more of an older brother to the members. He was definitely part of the insanity, but if the house was full of puppies, he was probably the one taking care of them.

GMMTV boys in cuddle piles is my favourite thing ever and I will watch another 700 hours of Safe House if I get to see more of this heartwarming content.

Like last season, Season Two also ended with a ‘fancy dress’ of sorts, but somehow even without someone dressed as an onigiri or a grilled chicken, the costumes ended up weirder than last time, with AJ and JJ coming as… foliage…? Nanon as a ‘rishi’ (a religious hermit) riding on elephant Ohm’s back, Tay in the most extra costume I have ever seen and Drake completely method acting as a caveman, to name the highlights.

Maybe the Real SafeHouse was the Friends We Made Along the Way

Personally, SS2 was special because I got to meet all these actors that I rarely pay a lot of attention to. Mike, Drake and the twins have been acting in supporting roles for so long it’s easy to forget about them but the whole week was such a great chance to get to know them and their personalities. I can now successfully differentiate between AJ and JJ, which I consider an accomplishment.

At the end of the day, I continue to love GMMTV Safe House for what it is, a candid look into the lives of their talent, and a precious chance to see their very real relationships as they are. And at the end of the day, what fills you with warmth is that feeling of love that they have for each other, no holds barred. Watching the excited way they greeted each new member after tearfully bidding farewell to the ones who left, the high energy levels all the way to the last day when Off, First and surprise guest Krist (who joined after straight after shooting the Star Idol) returned… it’s these things that kept me watching all 80+ hours and it will be what makes me watch Season Three, if (and, let’s face it, when) it happens.