Premiering on May 26th, 2023, the time traveling romance “Be My Favorite” which is the story of a shy man named Kawi (Krist Perawat) who is in love with his ideal woman, Pear (Aye Sarunchana) seems at best a star crossed love story. But that is probably more due to his inability to think positive of himself. Next to them is Pisaeng (Fluke Gawin), a popular athlete who Pear secretly holds a torch for. When Kawi is chosen to be Pear’s secret buddy, he uses the role as a means to romance her. But due to circumstances out of his control, he misses his chance. An act of kindness grants him the ability to travel back and forth through time, to fix things, but can he, or is fate moving as its own pace?

Adapted from the novel “You Are My Favorite” (บทกวีของปีแสง) by JittiRain, Be My Favorite is a beautiful glimpse at being a college student as the series shows Kawi at two different timelines in his life. The decade long time difference does little for his social standing and sense of self. In the future, Pear and Piseang are getting married. In the past he’s in a self imposed isolation. In both timelines, I never got bored as Krist plays Kawi with such energy and enthusiasm that leaves you enthralled. As a lead actor, he felt as if he was made for this role. That role being one of laziness and self deprecation at first, but after spending a night with Piseang, he begins to thrive; enjoying life and taking chances, something he never thought himself capable of. What I enjoy about Kawi is his sense of innocence, even while being shady. He has this comical awe struck look that is delivered on time as reacts to the consequences that his actions cause.

I really enjoy the way the show is revolves around Kawi. Starting from the elderly man, he does an act of kindness for (who repairs and turns his clock magical); to Pear and Piseang, both of whose fate seems directly linked to the decisions made by Kawi. As the show moves, we see how immature he can be, like jumping back and forth through time just to see if he can. How pigheaded he can be and how under the disguise of an overgrown child lies a man who is truly afraid live.

It’s not perfect as the show demonstrates by giving Kawi his main moments of personal growth first and then allows to make some stupid choices later. Or that he doesn’t perceive how nice people are or why they are that way towards him;a lot if it felt new to me though as they weren’t sticking to the normal troupes, nuances as cliches. That felt like a double-edged sword as some parts of the show seemed like they were fast forwarded or scenes used text messages instead to replace the plotline. (Example Kawi’s father dies in future timeline but is alive in past timeline, where Kawi hugs him in the second episode and then he texts him in the next episode to ensure he takes care of his health by going to the doctor). The doubled-edged sword cuts deeper with the introduction of Max (Aoi Thanaboon). The sullen pretty man appears randomly to glare at Kawi but says nothing. Kawi confronts him to apologize for what we don’t know and the show doesn’t spill any information about the same by the end of the third episode. Ironically, later, Kawi goes to see Max in an attempt to fix their friendship. Max’s standoffishness is put aside as he says to come back to see him later in the evening.

A moment of emotional growth would have been nice, but the show forgets that reconciliation, as it focuses on Piseang and his loneliness. This is a GMMTV staple I wish they would do away with, establishing characters just to ignore the progression of their stories for the main lead’s issues. The third episode felt lopsided as Kawi spends his time avoiding Piseang. However, viewers are dealt more information on “the sweet in the closet gay basketball player” and are also forced to sit through Kawi being an absolute jerk to the man who was the best wingman for him with regard to Pear. Piseang clearly has a crush on Kawi, something Kawi either pretends he doesn’t know or exploits the way he likes, as he still asks for things from the man.

Things go awry, as Kawi tries to reunite Piseang and his older friend Not. He wants to do the nice thing for the wrong reasons, and thanks to being drunk, blurts those reasons out. Piseang, who by this point had spent over 20k in Baht, has had enough and leaves him the stuffed animal from a claw machine he had spent hours attempting to win for the man.

The series felt like a rushed time travel BL because that’s what it is. Pear having way less screen time than Piseang makes me wonder if the book is the same way. Beautiful sets, fantastic acting and that polished high definition setting make the drama worth watching but don’t spend too much reviewing the show or the plot holes become very obvious.

Rating- 3 out of 5

Streaming on- GMMTV YouTube Channel