If you spend more than a nanosecond of time analyzing this series, you will find it so logically implausible with the story so full of holes that literally makes no sense, it will make your head spin. But if you watch it merely for pure entertainment value and put yourself on the couch with ‘Grandma’ and watch it as a Soap Opera, you will love it. I loved it, so I guess I sat next to Grandma. (You will get the reference if you watch the series. I do wish she had a bigger role. She was so entertaining). In general, there are two main characters, two more or less minor characters, and a slew of supporting characters, one of whom really steals the series, while others should have been written out of the series or actually never written in.

The two main characters are Punn (Ja Phachara), who runs hot and cold: childlike one minute and then a full-fledged sexual sensualist the next. He starts out being an intern on a drama set where his idol, more like a complete obsession, Ashi (First Chalongrat), is doing a Lakorn. It is not long before Punn manages to ingratiate himself into the life of Ashi. Initially, he simply sees himself as his servant, willing to do his bidding, remaining madly in love with him from afar. Inexorably, he and Ashi manage to discover that their relationship is more than that of a servant and his idol. Ashi is a strange individual. Incredibly handsome and by sheer good looks, one can easily fall in love with him. Yet he seems to remain aloof, almost refusing to get closer to others, especially in a romantic sense. However, for some reason, which honestly is not really made clear in the series (which is unnecessary), he falls hard and deep for Punn. Logically, they would not seem like a compatible match. They are not equals in any sense of the word – economically, socially, level of maturity, or status in life. Ashi remains always the adult in the relationship with Punn, fluctuating between being his servant in public and his passionate, sensuous, and sensual dominate lover, while alone. It was rather intense and seemed so incongruous, yet somehow fulfilling and, for lack of a better term, right for both. It is one of the few times in a BL that the relationship was not cookies and cream but filled with raw, passionate, erotic scenes of a ‘top’ and a ‘bottom’. In other words, it was unexpectedly mature, hot, and very steamy. Kudos for making this be shown more like an intense and fervent adult relationship.

The secondary couple are Mueang (Bosston Suphadach), another actor in the same series that Achi is in, and a doctor named Nam (Jo Kavinpat), with whom Mueang had a ‘one-night stand’. Although Dr. Nam has a rule that he does not develop relationships with ‘one-night stands, he succumbs to Mueang’s persuasions. Both these men are astonishingly handsome and quite honestly, their relationship should have proven to be smooth sailing based merely on their astounding beauty. While I liked the pursuing of each other in the beginning, once established, the relationship seemed just a bit strained to me and I lost interest in them. I never felt a deep connection between the two. Sure, they acted ‘close’ and they looked so adorable together, but I never got a sense that they connected emotionally and on screen that was obvious.

There are a lot of other supporting performers that were completely unnecessary. The third member of the acting trio for this Lakorn was Title (Wayo Peerwat). While not taking away anything from his acting, he really did a good job. His role although is completely unnecessary and incredibly annoying; he ended up getting the ‘poetic justice’ that he deserved. I just felt that character was thrown in to create a wedge between Punn and Achi and it became obvious what was going to happen to him. He became a trope. I disliked the characterization and thought it was irrelevant. I also thought the roles of the managers, particularly Somphra (Nathi Thiraseriwong), were over-the-top, superfluous, and needless to say nothing of being condescending and one giant cliché.

Although I really, really liked this series, some of it made me cringe. Perhaps I have gotten too much into the weeds here, but I listed what I think brought this series down:

1. All the silliness of what Title did almost from the beginning. All that was necessary was to establish that he was jealous, and let it go at that. Not every jealousy needs to be so traumatizing for a story to flow. You do not always need a jealous antagonist.

2. The mousey behavior of Punn when he is with Achi. That strange shuffling as he walked and his continuous devotion to him like he was a master. I just did not get it. Why, when Punn becomes more than merely a servant, does his status not change as well? Why must he act in deference to Achi? Merely for an image? What does that do to the feelings/worth of the person who has to pretend like that?

3. Achi’s continued aloofness bothered me. His affect always seemed so flat until close to the end of the series. I wish he had developed more throughout the series.

4. The illogic of the storyline, especially on how Punn met Achi 9 years earlier. Time frame made no sense, as Punn and Achi are not much different in age. Why create a backstory that logically makes no sense in the scheme of their time frames? One example of many mind twists in the plot where you need to suspend your beliefs.

5. The shocking change of Punn when he was groomed to be a ‘star’. It was jaw-dropping. He went from this nerdy character to an almost unrecognizably sublime, handsome young man, with a completely different public persona change. I almost did not recognize him as his transformation was so extraordinary, and admittedly striking. Without ever mentioning the transition to Achi (for a good reason). Yet Achi understood why once he was given the reason. It is too bad that Punn could not put this understanding into perspective when it was his turn to do so.

6. Again, this could be my own not understanding the culture, customs, and language of Thailand, but I did not ‘get’ why Pun was so upset with Achi over labeling him a ‘jujiro’. I looked the word up, and I still did not grasp Punn’s reaction to its meaning. However, I accept it at face value and realize that for him, it deeply wounded him. What I did not understand, however, was why the abrupt personality change. Why did he not give Achi an opportunity to explain its meaning to him even after he profoundly stated he was sorry and said emphatically that he loved him? The question for me was not if Achi loved Punn, but did Punn really love Achi?

7. The last episode left me wanting more. It felt too contrived and neatly arranged and very weak. Even if spontaneous, why did Punn not let his presence be known sooner? I did not understand that since he was literally feet away from him. In general, the ending seemed so awkward. This was not worthy of what otherwise was an exceptional series.

So, who really starred in this series and remained consistently true to his character; was someone I fell in love with almost from the moment he came onto the screen? Surprisingly,that was Yo Korkuer Deewattananukul, who played Pai, the younger brother of Punn. Perhaps a bit unorthodox, yet he is so pivotal to Punn. He is Punn’s sounding board, his confidante, his go-to for advice, and his protector. Pai is the one who will stand up to anyone who would deliberately try to hurt his brother,and that includes Achi. Being cynical, overly cautious, and distrustful by nature, he tries to counsel Punn to be careful and not take everything at face value. He also reminds Punn of his place; he is not equal in status to Achi, no matter how much he thinks he is in love with him. Yo plays this part with such a deep connection to what a ‘brother’ is to someone like Punn. Teasing him, torturing him, bantering with him with some of the funniest scenes in this series coming from the discourses between Punn and Pai. I just loved his performance because it seemed so natural, real, and genuine. I do hope this is a jumping off point for his career. This role seemed so effortless for him. Kudos!

Each of you must decide the merits of this series on your own. Versions of this story of course have been done before, but this one had more of an adult feel about it. I just wish Punn would have matured more, and Achi would have seasoned into a person with a more animated personality; the writers would have had more of a backbone to center on the real issue with this series: creating more meaningful communication between couples that gets to who they were as characters clearly and precisely with no hidden meanings or artificial and/or contrived barriers to connections. That is the crux of this series. They behaved like adults in bed, but like children in public. Punn and Achi were a beautiful couple physically and indeed sexually; I just wish we had seen a more intensely fervent yet esoteric couple as well.

For once, make it a more solid story just about them. It almost got there for me.

Rating- 4 out of 5

Streaming- Viki/ IQIYI