Our youth plays a significant role in shaping who we become as adults, and I find stories that explore how our decisions affect our future while also giving us a chance to revisit the past much more interesting than I expected.

And Thai BL Good Boy is already giving me plenty to think about.

Adapted from cyn.d.r.’s web novel Jiraphat Will Be a Good Boy, the series stars Mick Metas Opas-iamkajorn as Jiraphat (Ji) and Luke Peemsan Sotangkur as Ruth Atiwitch.

The story follows thirty-year-old Ji, a man who has reached a point in his life where regrets seem to outweigh everything else. When his life unexpectedly ends, he’s given the chance to return to the age of seventeen and start over.

Determined not to repeat the mistakes that shaped his first life, Ji begins navigating his teenage years again, only this time with the knowledge of everything he’s already lived through. Along the way, he reconnects with Ruth, his childhood friend and the school’s student president, whose place in Ji’s life may be much more important than he initially realizes. What begins as an opportunity to change the past gradually becomes a chance to rediscover the people and relationships he may have overlooked the first time.

I am normally not a fan of dramas and films where characters go back in time, mainly because it’s generally only one of the leads who returns, and the story then spends much of its time figuring out how that affects everyone else. But that’s not the case with Good Boy, which takes both main leads back in time. And I’m already totally engrossed in how interested Ji (Mick) and Ruth (Luke) are in each other, which suggests there was a previous connection neither has fully revealed yet.

I became a fan of Luke and Mick in their first drama, Boys in Love. Both are good actors, impressively good for rookies, and they have great chemistry when sharing the screen. And the fact that longtime friends and on-screen couple New Thitipoom and Tay Tawan play the older versions adds even more depth to the characters.

I love a good youth drama, especially when the friendships surrounding the leads are done well and the main characters are just complex enough to carry a coming-of-age story, and this definitely feels like a well done story, even two episodes in. It has a great supporting cast with diverse personalities, and the plot has a lot of emotional appeal.

In Good Boy, we get a glimpse into the burned-out and lonely life Ji has been living in the present and the lingering regrets he carries. We also know he has a past connection to the older Ruth while also revealing that he’s lost a deeper connection to his family. All of this sets up what’s coming without lingering too heavily on Ji’s inner monologue.

Ji’s death happens quickly at the beginning before we’re thrown back into the past, and it isn’t long before we realize Ruth, too, has been given another chance, though we don’t know the circumstances or reasons behind it.

The first two episodes set the stage without dragging. Friendships are introduced, relationships begin to take shape, and the first stirrings of romance are hinted at.

And all of it is done in a way that isn’t confusing despite its pace and captures the heart, making the ensemble storytelling both heartwarming and compelling.

I don’t know where this story or romance will take us, but I hope it heals Ji’s heart and helps him let go of the regrets that followed him into the past. If I had the chance to go back, I’d certainly want to do the same.

I’m looking forward to the new past Ji creates for himself and the future I hope it takes him to.

For a series that touches the heart while leaving room for some interesting twists and turns, check out Good Boy, now streaming on the GMMTV YouTube channel.

Rating- 4 out of 5