When your heart goes against what you’ve been taught to believe, it’s more than a matter of faith. It’s a struggle to understand why the faith you’ve found comfort in is now the faith that torments you.

In Ticket to Heaven, Fourth Nattawat Jirochtikul takes on the role of Tanrak, a young seminarian whose faith has shaped every aspect of his life, while Gemini Norawit Titicharoenrak stars as Barth, a troubled new student placed under Tanrak’s guidance. What begins as an effort to help Barth find the right path soon becomes something far more complicated, as Tanrak finds himself wrestling with feelings that challenge everything he has been taught to believe about himself, his future, and his faith.

We’re only two episodes into Ticket to Heaven, and it already hurts.

I’d like to preface this review by saying that I in no way have an issue with people who find comfort in religion. As someone who has lost both my parents and a large portion of my family, I understand where Tanrak’s faith comes from. I understand his desperation to be reunited with his parents in a better place and his dedication to getting there. I, like Tanrak, also grew up in a very religious home.

That said, the struggle Tanrak begins having in these opening episodes with his feelings and the faith that condemns them is something many in the community face. Love happens unexpectedly. It’s not something we plan. It’s not something we choose. It’s something that happens. And it often begins with attraction.

Ticket to Heaven isn’t the first cinematic portrayal of religion versus homosexual love, and it certainly won’t be the last. It’s a universal struggle faced by many in the community who are condemned simply because our love is misunderstood. And, in my opinion, condemned by a love that has been mistranslated through religious text. Because of this, it makes Tanrak’s first stirrings of attraction painful to watch. What should be a moment to cherish instead becomes a moment of self-condemnation.

For two episodes, we’ve watched Barth and Tanrak grow closer and closer, even as that growing connection tests everything they have come to represent. Barth is presented as the sinner, the rebel, while Tanrak is the obedient saint. It’s a clash of conflicting personalities who have a tremendous effect on each other.

It’s interesting to me that Barth shares his name with a saint who was martyred for his faith, while Tanrak represents the embodiment of love. I don’t know if that’s intentional or how it will ultimately play into what they become to each other. Maybe Barth sacrifices himself by leaving to preserve the love he finds in Tanrak. Or maybe Tanrak does the same.

It’s too soon to tell whether this series will have a happy ending, an open one, or a tragic one. But it’s not too soon to see the struggle each of them will soon face, especially Tanrak, as he walks the figurative stairs toward heaven while being pulled away by the desires of his heart.

I don’t expect to leave this drama without shedding tears, especially considering the years of deconstruction I’ve gone through with my own faith and the desires of my heart. While I know this drama isn’t attempting to change how people feel about their faith, and shouldn’t, I do think it will go a long way toward showing that, regardless of faith, love isn’t something to condemn.

I hope love wins in this series, but even if it doesn’t, I hope it shows that same-sex love isn’t something to be ashamed of or judged for.

To me, religion celebrates love. It doesn’t tear it down.

For a series that promises to touch the heart, check out Ticket to Heaven now on Viki.

Rating- 4 out of 5