It is exceptionally rare for me to begin a review with who I think literally steals this series from everyone. There is only one reason to watch this series. And that is because this story has Style. Style gave this series distinction. He IS the series and the only reason I finished this rather mundane and pedestrian story. Dunk Natachai as the character of Style brought such uniqueness to his persona from the beginning. Layered with arrogance, shallowness, pomposity and yet underlying it all was still a sense of sincerity. I could observe that he began his pursuit of Fadel (Joong Archen) simply as a challenge in the beginning. But once he undertook to know who Fadel was, he fell for him, hard and began to peel away at his exterior gruff layers, much like you peel an onion. As he did so with Fadel, he also peeled away at his own layers of shallowness surrounding himself. As he got Fadel to open his soul to him, he too did the same. With Dunk’s characterization however, I could sense and feel it deeply. His facial features and the way he looked at Fadel were not just about acting. It felt real. And oh, his love scenes with Fadel were not just fervently romantic; they were simply hot, erotic, and alluring. It has been ages, especially for a Thail BL, for me to actually feel a sensuousness emanating from an individual. He exuded it. Not only in words but in his expressions and his actions. It has also been a long time since I have been able to use the outdated term ‘it factor’ but he has it. He is the whole package. I never once felt as if he was faking it or ‘acting’ it out. He was genuine, sincere, even when he was being perhaps impish and immature in his approach to winning Fadel over. Deep-down, he projected such passion and intensity that he is the only Thai BL actor in an inordinate length of time that felt authentic. When he kissed, it looked sensual, seductive, and steamy. Excuse my vernacular, but his actions were hedonic, and his scenes made him tantalizingly erotic. Not afraid or ashamed to show it or be it. Something that has been missing in Thai BLs. He is an exceptional actor as he made it look so nature and unguarded. What a performance and kudos for making it feel so damn genuine.

However, my lovefest for this series ends with Style. The remainder of the cast and certainly the story generally are at best passable but slipped mostly into awkwardness. The ‘acting’ is not bad but I did not believe nor was there any sincerity to the connection between Kant (First Kanaphan) and Bison (Khaotung Thanawat). Of course, they are the main protagonists and are certainly breathtakingly handsome. Although their acting is certainly enjoyable, honestly it is overall forgettable. Except in a few scenes, there just is no real depth to their relationship. Sure, more than one scene is quite intense but there is not enough of that maintained throughout. Cuteness, galore; depth as a couple, nope.

Principally, the story is ridiculously silly. I could not buy the premise in any way that Bison and Fadel were killers. The whole premise that they were ‘hit men’ was, well, simply ludicrous and laughable. Supposedly, they were raised by ‘Mother’[Lilly] (Parn Thanaporn), who looked and acted like such a stereotypical female mob character. For them to have not figured that out long before they did as to what kind of character she was, pretty much puts them in the category of being as dumb as a box of rocks. None of what they were doing was even close to being original and I fast-forwarded through so much of the story. The ‘fight scenes’ honestly were comical and how they went about killing people were so amateurish that it was amusing. I could not figure out if they were trying to make this funny or serious or a combo of both, like one of Fadel’s hamburger specials.

The whole story was so superficial and unoriginal. The ending was completely inane. No reputable (or even disreputable) prison system would allow two uncleared individuals, with no credentials, unfettered access to prisoners in a prison system like that. Just not going to happen, no matter the country. And 5 years in prison coming out looking like GQ models simply made no sense. No wear and tear and no one aged – at all. And for ‘Mother’ to be able to do what she did was beyond the pale. Of course, their solution to dealing with Lilly, no matter how you sugar-coat it, was murder, regardless of how justifiable it appeared. All of that was grotesque and brainless.

There are some interesting minor characters that stand out significantly. A round of applause should go to Style’s father, Jay (Jaeb Chaiwat), who was such an accepting and understanding father. He completely and with an open- heart and outstretched arms accepted Style’s lifestyle and his choice for a partner. A refreshing change from the usual picture of a parent’s reaction to a son’s gayness. The same is also true for Babe (Ken Kanthee), Kant’s younger brother. He too accepted his brother’s lifestyle and his partner with unflinching acceptance. A nice change of pace for a story to go into.

What I also detested about this series was the trickery of the plot into making it look like these guys were saints when fundamentally, they were sinners. You had murderers fall in love with two guys, who were scam artists and fast talkers and ‘sold them out’ as the expression poetically goes. They betrayed their trust. We tend to not want to see that as part of the story, but it is. Frankly it is all of that and more, which makes the story ugly and twisted. Hence, this plot and theme became so disconcerting. While I know nothing about the laws in Thailand and acknowledge that they did try to reform, it should not be that straightforward to serve only 5 years for murder. And for Kant and to some degree Style, to display nefarious clandestine behaviors towards the two individuals that they supposedly ‘love’ is such a bitter pill for me to swallow. I detest two-faced characters with a passion as you simply cannot trust or believe them, no matter how much it may seem to be justified. They lacked principle, integrity, and character. I could ‘forgive’ (or at least understand) Style because he was not part of the original concept and once he knew what was happening, devoted the rest of his energy to making it up to Fadel.

I have stated this over and over. Not everything can or should be a sweet BL plot. This is a prime example of a plot line that should not have been used.

Still, I slogged through this series for one reason and that was Dunk. He made Style come to life (flaws and all) and gave him a refreshing personality and a purpose. And he made Style a sexual being who was not afraid to be one either. He loved Fadel unconditionally, and he proved it time and time again through his actions and in his behaviors. While the remainder of them ‘acted’ their parts out, sometimes well, he lived it. I was completely and totally mesmerized by him and his shenanigans. He constantly surprised me whereas the rest of them followed the script.

Here again, I shall probably be in the minority. The story is lifeless, trite, cliché, unrealistic, and a version or a form of a storyline that has been done in the past. Only exaggerated to an unbelievable level. Dunk as Style gave this series just the push it needed to keep my interest. Otherwise, I would have dropped this series.

For me, this is one of the most disappointing BL series of this year except for Dunk. Nothing more needs to be said.

Rating- 3 out of 5

Streaming on- GMMTV YouTube Channel/ Gagaoolala