I love me a good go-back-in-time-to fix-your-mistake BL!!

Amongst my chaotic week between “Pit Babe Season 2” and “The Next Prince” came another BL into my life. Honestly I had seen the pilot and kept it in my ‘binge watch when the entire show is finished’ list but seeing all the clips of it all over the internet thought maybe starting it now wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

So, welcome to the First Impressions of ‘Reset- The Series’.

Story

Armin Thiwanon, played by Pond Ponlawit, is a famous actor. On the night of an important award ceremony he comes home after winning a prestigious award, only to find out his boyfriend is cheating on him. That too with a fellow actor he trusted. In a fit of anger he starts fighting with them and ‘accidentally’ gets pushed down from the above. He falls (in a very dramatic way with the chandelier breaking and everything). As he lies taking his last breath in his own pool of blood surrounded by paparazzi, his jealous colleagues (the only people who seem to be affected by this is his manager) he contemplates his life, his choices and his pathetic way of dying. He opens his eyes in the set of a movie in 1999, crashes out, steals a car and crashes it in a billboard (valid). As he stands confused in the middle of the road he is rescued by the second male lead Thada, played by Peterpan Tadsapon (in a very K-drama style). He realises he may have been given a chance to reset his life and faints in Thadas’ arms (again in K-drama style). Roll the intro!

BLs™ are not my forte. But I gave Top Form a chance and loved it. So I gave this one a chance too. And boy did it deliver.

The acting

This is not the first rodeo of the lead actors so going I had high expectations.

I had not taken a look at the full cast list and was surprised to see First Chalongrat and Shell Thakrit there too (considering I have a little crush on shell).

Was it 10/10? No. Maybe I have extremely high standards. Is it good? Absolutely. If you could handle the engineering dramas from the early days of Thai BL, you will have no problem with this cast. They are good. Do they deliver 100% of the time? No. But they are on the better side of the industry.

Note: Sometimes the acting is awkward in the first few episodes but it gradually gets better or even 10/10 for me towards the end, so I will definitely be on the lookout for that.

Direction and everything else

An important thing to look out for in timeskip shows is – is the setting staying true to the era?

Often times you may see a smartwatch in an ancient chinese setting or a plastic water bottle in a medieval fantasy show.

So is it? No. We see aspects of the 90s here and there, like a Nokia brick phone and a cassette tape but largely the settings doesn’t seem like the 90s. I know it takes an extensive amount of money to make a set look exactly like the 90s, so I understand. BLs do not get that kind of budget. They also did not put on the 90s filter on everything so THAT also made everything look more modern.

The direction is actually good and what it lacks in other aspects, the angles and lighting covers for it. The dialogues are also good, not ones that would make you cringe your toes and force you to pause and rethink life. The background score seems weak, it could have been better. One department that desperately lacked is the hair and clothing. Their hairstyles or clothing DID NOT look like it’s from 1999 at all. And I am low-key enraged by it because it wouldn’t have taken much for the hairstylists or costume department to make them look like they are from the 90s. I mean not a single person sporting a mullet? Those tiny sunglasses or that giant brown blazer??

The chemistry

What’s the use of a romance show if the pairing doesn’t give off any chemistry?

But Thada & Armin don’t have to worry about that. Ever since the first scene where Armin gives Thada a beer as a thank you and Thada pronounces his name softly, we can see the chemistry oozing out of this couple. Then we move to Armin falling into Thadas’ arms yet again in the rain. Then the pool scene🔥, the obvious lack of chemistry is not something we have to worry about this couple.

Final thoughts

Can good acting overcome a lack of thought into production?

Setting, hair and makeup, background score all of it contribute to a successful series. With the lacking of most of the other aspects can acting just make it a successful series? Or will people lose interest in it slowly as the episodes progress? Only time will tell. But unlike Armin this show will not get a chance to reset. It has only one chance to prove itself.

Acting- ☆☆☆☆

Story- ☆☆☆

Direction- ☆☆☆☆

Chemistry- ☆☆☆☆

Rating- 4 out of 5

Streaming on- IQIYI