Boy meets boy, engineering faculty meets medical students, good boy meets bad boy- these are all tropes that Thai BL series have used countless times over the years. In 2023, the trend seems to be “Sexy boss meets an adorable Subordinate” as is the case in “A Boss and a Babe” and “Step by Step”. The difference between both lies in the main characters of the two shows. While “A Boss and a Babe” has Laem, a headstrong, over confident intern, “Step by Step” has Pat, a very shy and very timid subordinate. The two bosses seem different as well. While “A Boss and a Babe” has Gun, a headstrong, gay Boss, “Step by Step” has Jeng, a very domineering but headstrong manager who has to learn how to care about his employees.

It is this uniqueness that gives “Step by Step” its charm. The series is more serious in tone; we see more of the behind the scenes of being a middleman through Pat (Ben Bunyapol), though he isn’t in that role. But throughout the first episode, it’s clear that is what people think of him. Piling many additional responsibilities onto him that he is too timid to say no. It felt too dramatic seeing the older employees literally pile things on his desk that they were “too busy” for. The way they talked to him in passive- aggressive, negative tones minimize his role in the company as well as his own workload.

I was entertained throughout it by the clever writing and camera angles from close ups to the over the top views, that added a very comical way to perceive those self absorbed seniors (none of whom looked a day over 30). Pat airs out his frustrations at a restaurant with his closest friends. One of the things that I enjoy about this series is that it just drops you into Pat’s life without a need for introductions and the script is written in a way where you know as much as you need.

Ae (Zorzo Nathanan) of 2021’s “Lovely Writer” plays Pat’s bestie, who gives the most horrible advice unintentionally with comical results. Khanun (Poppy Ratchapong) of “Lovely Writer” and “Chains of Heart” is Ae’s boyfriend. He’s very supportive and charmingly submissive to Ae. The last of their small social circle is Jaab (Saint Paramee), the man who coasts through life eating off people’s plates and working as a photographer. Their friendship with Pat felt very organic as they listen to his insecure diatribes on what he thinks is happening around him. Bear in mind in the three episodes, his opinion on many situations is shaped by Ae’s perspective (she isn’t there to see and hear the way people talk to Pat) so it’s realistic that she doesn’t always give the best advice.

She relays the information to Khanun and they give the best advice they can to Pat, and the episodes really are more or less him acting out the suggestions given by his friends. In the first episode, after being pushed by his oppressive coworker, Ying (Tul Puttachat) (who treats him like her employee), he goes to fetch the drinks for their team. He gathers them alone and tries to get through the turnstile to get back to his office, but he can’t swing his lanyard’s key card over the scanner. A man suddenly appears to help him by using his key card. In a well-choreographed moment of pure awkwardness, Pat whirls in place and knocks a tea loose that drops on to the stranger’s shoe.

It’s the first meeting of the main couple, so it’s well shot, has the right music, we are given the perfect shot of both actors in slow motion. As the episode moves from that moment, the viewer is given a view of Pat’s coworkers and how they have a very self serving view of themselves. Led by Ying, they cultivate a negative opinion of the new manager sent to lead them. It’s clear she is feeling slighted by the fact the position isn’t going to her, which is ironically comical as she immaturely preaches about the value of seniority in the workplace. The script here was cleverly written with a tongue in cheek flair so the viewer isn’t bored, as there is a roundtable type situation. Various nameless coworkers chime in their opinions on the situation.

The scene works to display the toxic workplace Pat works in and, as the show moves between episodes, that is the one constant. Whether in Episode One, with the plethora of vile backhanded statements Pat’s coworkers make, at the going away party for their beloved manager; to the second episode where Ying does the presentation on which Pat had worked on; the reactions to his outburst aren’t healthy at all. The introduction of a team trainer Nan (Praew Hassaya), who is sent by Jeng (Man Trisanu) to passively micromanage Pat causes even more chaos.

If the point of this cloud of negativity is to ensure viewers feel empathy for Pat, well, mission accomplished. Pat is an underdog with an air of mystery around him. It’s not often we are given a out and proud Uke. But as Pat sat with his friends somewhere between excitement and fear over Jeng’s existence, they displayed verbally that Pat is in no way a virgin. The fact that they know that was a real positive. It gave his character a sense of uniqueness I adored. Now it’s a two-sided coin though.

In the form of an influencer, Put (Up Poompat) who seems to have a history with Pat, this show plays its cards close to the chest so we have few scenes where it is shown that he knows Pat clearly and Pat is shaken by his presence. Add to that Pat has a male coworker who crosses the line into sexual harassment over figuring out Pat’s sexuality (due to Nan’s attention to his job performance being misconstrued as flirting). The reaction to this and Put’s presence compounded with Jeng’s dressing him down for his rude treatment of Ying causes his emotional outburst where he screams into a pillow.

This made me very interested in who Pat is. The same could be said for Jeng: handsome, rich, and cold as ice. In inconsistent random scenes scattered over the first two episodes, we see that Jeng’s father owns the company that everyone works for. A lot of pressure on Jeng to make the worth of the department is evident. Something he doesn’t explain to anyone as he piles more pressure on them as he restructures the team. All these situations come to a headstart in the form of Pat writing a peer review on Jeng while drinking. Ironically, all of his negatives towards his boss are false, but thanks to his self deprivation and Ae, he can’t see that. Speaking of inconsistencies, episode two seemed to lose the flow of episode one, feeling like a bunch of random scenes.

Episode three continues to be inconsistency personified, where we spend the least amount of time in the workplace. Surprisingly, Jaab (who up to this point had small scenes) is Jeng’s little brother. I discovered this when Jaab appears in Jeng’s condo and the pair gets drunk together. Jeng, smarting from Pat’s review of him, asks Jaab (Saint Paramee) if Pat is right, and Jaab says he is. The brothers drinking together would hit differently if there were any previous scenes of the two of them like this before. I honestly had no idea what they were to each other. Jaab is mooning over his crush on Jane (Wind Theersmeth), who has a boyfriend. Again, I personally felt nothing for the situation and found the moments well acted, but entirely random.

Pat and friends go to the official launch of a new restaurant that Jeng is co-managing (one more random thing to count) with Tae (AA Patturabut). It gives the viewer a bit of insight into the fact that Jeng finds Pat fascinating and I think he has a crush. By the end of the third episode, Pat finds himself curious about his new boss and Jeng is learning how to act as a person, and that his fascination with Pat is messing up his record for being the best at work. Where Jane and Jaab will go (IDC). We don’t know whether Pat and Jeng get over themselves and have an honest conversation(I hope so), but I will be watching the future episodes.

Rating- 3 out of 4

Streaming on- Dee Hup YouTube Channel, WeTV & Gagaoolala

Krishna’s Sidenote-

☆ Step by Step main leads Man Trisanu & Ben Bunyapol were featured on the cover of Elle Thailand Official

☆ Step by Step main leads Man Trisanu & Ben Bunyapol were also featured on the cover of Pish Magazine Thailand

☆ The entire cast of Step by Step were featured on the cover of Mangu Magazine