War Wanarat and Yin Anan are back as Vee and Mark in Thailand’s full version of the BL series Love Mechanics, and they are just as intense as ever.

If anything, they are more intense, as the series follows the book in a way the three-episode drama released in 2020 didn’t. And I, for one, am grateful for it.

What makes the Love Mechanics novel so fascinating is how one young man’s unrequited love for a senior named Bar becomes the vessel that first makes him an enemy to another senior Vee and then later into Vee’s lover. Many bad decisions are made; complicated choices, feelings, and confessions that lead Vee (Yin Anan) and Mark (War Wanarat) down a rocky road of emotions.

This version of Love Mechanics is precisely what I hoped for with actors Yin and War. It was evident in their first Love Mechanics appearance that they had the potential to be great, that each of them had a natural acting skill far above many I’d seen in the industry, and their chemistry was undeniable. Fast forward through another short series (The Best Story) and years of promoting together, and their rapport has only grown.

In this Love Mechanics, the story is fuller, the supporting actors are stronger, the emotions are more visceral, and the production has a much higher quality.

And War Wanarat and Yin Anan shine.

Love Mechanics became the vehicle that brought them attention, and this new version will be the vehicle that helps them fly even higher. In this version, it’s easy to sympathize with all the characters, even those who weren’t easy to empathize with in the first. It’s also easy to question each character’s motives, especially Vee’s. Still, no matter how you look at it, there’s no denying that what has made Love Mechanics as popular as it has become is the thread of desperation within the story and the intense love that grows out of it.

This brings me to the mature rating for the series. At the beginning of the episode, there is a stark warning that this drama is for audiences aged 18 and older and may contain trigger warnings. As a victim of sexual assault in the past and as someone who has read the book, I went into this series expecting everything it entails. As a viewer, I went into it knowing this is a love story that grows out of hate.

I am a fan of the enemies-to-lovers genre, and Love Mechanics is a perfect example.

The start of Vee and Mark’s relationship is volatile, and I make no apologies for either one of them, but I think what makes them so beautiful is how much they push and pull at each other. There comes the point when you fight with someone enough that loving seems so much easier than the emotional war.

It helps when the chemistry is there. Enemies-to-lovers stories don’t work if the lead actors don’t have the right kind of dynamic to pull it off. War and Yin most certainly do.

In the first two episodes, we get a peek at the problematic way Vee and Mark begin and the odd healing but toxic way they develop. Vee falls for Mark’s determination to love someone even as he grows frustrated with it. Mark falls for the way Vee protects and supports his friends.

Oddly, Vee also falls for the way Mark breaks. I use the word “odd” because I realize many will be like, “How does someone fall in love with the way a person breaks?” But it’s when a person is breaking that they are at their rawest, when they’re showing the most vulnerable versions of themselves. It’s when they are breaking that they have no protective walls put in place.

Vee got a glimpse into that raw version of Mark before his walls went up, and Vee can’t unsee that. He misjudged Mark, and he’s feeling the guilt and confusion over that misjudgment and his own growing feelings. He’s battling newfound feelings with old ones; his increasing attraction to Mark and his loyalty to his current girlfriend.

On the other hand, Mark jumps from a tormented unrequited love into another tormented love, one that isn’t unrequited but also isn’t simple.

I’ve always felt the title for Love Mechanics was incredibly appropriate because mechanics fix things that are broken. And there’s a lot of brokenness in this series.

Nowhere are the emotions more evident than in the staring contest between Mark and Vee in episode two. Nowhere is Vee’s weakness for Mark more apparent than at that moment. A thousand unspoken words were said. A multitude of unspoken feelings was shared. And it was heartbreakingly beautiful. It takes talent to pull that off.

I am excited to see War and Yin on screen together again. The first two episodes of Love Mechanics far exceeded my expectations, especially the emotional aspect. Vee and Mark are headed into dangerous territory, into a forbidden romance that will challenge them both.

For a mature-rated series that will take you through as many complex feelings as the characters dealing with them, check out Love Mechanics on WeTV/Tencent Video.

Rating- 4.5 out of 5