Make It Right - Season 2
Rejoining the boys from Make It Right in their second season wasn't a hard decision to make. There was more than enough of value in the first season to make it the right choice. But was it really worthwhile in the end?
SPOILERS WARNING: there's a lot of detail about the plot of season two in this review. No secrets are revealed, but you should still reconsider reading it if you want no surprise reveals or if you haven't seen season 1 yet.
Summary: Fuse and Tee are still in a relationship limbo, with Fuse still unsure about what his relationship with Jean means to him. Frame and Book are closer than ever and virtually live together, but this season severely tests them with some horrifying trials. Fuse's best friend Lokmo meets effeminate and openly gay Yok and is instantly smitten. Yok's mother is still up to her devious tricks, with a view to turning Yok straight. She takes a different tack and enlists Lukmo's ex Praew to be Yok's faghag. For all intents and purposes a single man again, Tee is beset by a number of different male suitors, which sends Fuse into a panic. When Fuse asks his friends to help him settle his unworkable relationship with Jean one way or the other, Es and Wit set a trap for Jean that has huge consequences.
The first thing you notice about season two is that there's an clear reframing of a number of season one elements. The most obvious difference is the change in actors playing the secondary roles of Lokmo's ex Preaw, and senior student Nine. These changes create some disconcertingly odd moments, mainly because we don't see these two characters very often. For example, when Lokmo sees Praew again (for the first time since their season one breakup) when she visits Yok, his surprise rings hollows to an audience that only sees the new actress. Similarly, Rodtang and Nine's season one BL drama can't be rescued because of the new - and not so great - actor playing Nine and some diabolical writing, and it collapses in on itself. (Note that the actor playing Nine isn't even in the Chinese promotional poster for the series that I've attached below.) I felt so sorry for the actor playing Rodtang, he was left with nothing to do except play a narcissistic shadow of his far more interesting season one self. Some sub plots have been entirely written out of season two, such as Fuse's sister's lesbian storyline.
But the worst change is the increase in the number of sub plots. So little is made of the Fuse / Tee relationship (or lack of one) that the writers have come up with the desperate solution of creating some worthless storylines as filler instead. The absolute worst offender involves Yok's mother and Wit; there's an appalling half-hearted effort to create a pointless romance between them that is chronically ill-judged. (She is at least double his age, possibly even triple if I'm unkind.) Wit also gets a second romance with vapid moron Lily, who runs him over with her moped and then bullies him to give her his Line ID so that they can go out on a date. Fuse's sister has a hetero romantic sub plot that brings absolutely nothing to the show whatsoever. This generic BL boredom was not something I had anticipated at all after season one's much tighter control and great potential, and it was enormously disappointing.
What's even stranger is that all of these filler subplots disappear in the final few episodes. It's a cynical move and demonstrates exactly what the writers thought of them in the first place. And how little they respect their audience.
Once again, in the absence of a decent Fuse / Tee storyline, the audience is left to rely on the plotline involving Frame and Book. Fortunately, it more than compensates by setting up a cracking storyline with some seriously great dramatic shocks and twists. Book's ex boyfriend Tern inadvertently makes a mistake that has devastating consequences for Book, who withdraws into himself. Staunchly loyal and kind since day one, Frame loses his equanimity as Book pushes him away, and heads towards making a fatal error of judgement. This sequence of events takes place through several of the middle episodes of season two, and it's absolutely gripping in the way they are played out. There's a daring, confronting scene involving Tern, Tern's new boyfriend and Frame that's so completely unexpected it will take your breath away. I lost all interest in Fuse's prevarication and Tee's stoicism while this was going on. As far as BL goes, the Fuse / Tee dynamic is nothing we haven't seen before and plays it safe with a view to the inevitable happy ending. But the brutality of Frame and Book's high-stakes melodrama is very uncommon in BL, and the way in which the boys despair or cope with it is worth its own series. This is how you get your audience invested in your characters; once the boys are safely in a cocoon of romantic bliss, throw them into the worst sort of nightmare that life can concote, and make them battle hard for their lives. It's BL gold, precisely because it's so un-BL-like. How will they get out of this situation and still remain together? What difficult decisions will they need to make to survive? Who's ultimately responsible for creating such an awful problem? It's these sorts of unsettling questions that viewers will be asking themselves on behalf of Frame and Book, and they are about as far removed as possible from the questions that the BL formula usually presents to us. Complexity, personal growth and maturity are not primary concerns of BL, because they can get so tangled and messy in real life. Potboiler BL screenwriters must turn pale when faced with scripting such complex ideas and scenarios. Only the most self-assured writers of BL series & shows go anywhere near these themes, with Grey Rainbow, Sotus, Waterboyy and Red Balloon being the most notable and the most daring. The obvious predecessor to Make It Right, Love Sick, also gave it a shot but made a hash of it, while 2 Moons didn't even bother. So it's doubly impressive that such a run-of-the-mill series as Make It Right has opted for such a rich vein of drama and evolution for two of its top-tier characters, and then pulls it off so successfully.
And then, from out of nowhere, along comes revelatory episode 13.
You get an indication that something momentous is on the horizon when the opening credits for the episode flag that the original scriptwriter Na is on board. I know nothing about him / her and could only assume at the time that he / she is the writer of the original graphic novel upon which the series is based. The core group of schoolfriends - Frame, Book, Tee, Fuse, Es, Wit, Rodtang, Nine, Lukmo, Yok - all head to the seaside together for a relaxing short holiday. There are obvious couple formations but there's a distinct air of suspense and possibility hovering around everyone. Each couple has their own private time on the beach together during the day, speaking candidly about their happiness, fulfilment and - so beautifully - their feelings for each other. As soon as the boys regroup, the honesty falls away and the tension returns. This coyness irritates Lokmo, so he comes up with a devious plan during a drunken BBQ dinner that results in the most extraordinary scene of the entire series. Without giving anything away, I can guarantee you that you will be sobbing by the end of it. The screenplay takes a risk and pulls it off with an intense emotional power that I was totally unprepared for. I can only guess that we have Na to thank for it.
The final episode goes Full-Bodied Gooey Cheese but it's no less enjoyable for that. Even if it doesn't attempt to reach the dramatic heights of episode 13, it still benefits from its payoff and gives us our final look at a blissful, more mature set of characters. It's a sweet and genuine way to end a not-that-bad-after-all series, and it's the universally happy ending that everyone has been waiting for. It's also a huge relief after enduring its many inconsistencies, poor choices and disappointments.
Rating: 12 out of 20
Ending: Oh so happy!
Best scene: without question, the final 'cheat' round of Lokmo's Game K during the seaside BBQ. Get your tissues ready.
SPOILERS WARNING: there's a lot of detail about the plot of season two in this review. No secrets are revealed, but you should still reconsider reading it if you want no surprise reveals or if you haven't seen season 1 yet.
Summary: Fuse and Tee are still in a relationship limbo, with Fuse still unsure about what his relationship with Jean means to him. Frame and Book are closer than ever and virtually live together, but this season severely tests them with some horrifying trials. Fuse's best friend Lokmo meets effeminate and openly gay Yok and is instantly smitten. Yok's mother is still up to her devious tricks, with a view to turning Yok straight. She takes a different tack and enlists Lukmo's ex Praew to be Yok's faghag. For all intents and purposes a single man again, Tee is beset by a number of different male suitors, which sends Fuse into a panic. When Fuse asks his friends to help him settle his unworkable relationship with Jean one way or the other, Es and Wit set a trap for Jean that has huge consequences.
The first thing you notice about season two is that there's an clear reframing of a number of season one elements. The most obvious difference is the change in actors playing the secondary roles of Lokmo's ex Preaw, and senior student Nine. These changes create some disconcertingly odd moments, mainly because we don't see these two characters very often. For example, when Lokmo sees Praew again (for the first time since their season one breakup) when she visits Yok, his surprise rings hollows to an audience that only sees the new actress. Similarly, Rodtang and Nine's season one BL drama can't be rescued because of the new - and not so great - actor playing Nine and some diabolical writing, and it collapses in on itself. (Note that the actor playing Nine isn't even in the Chinese promotional poster for the series that I've attached below.) I felt so sorry for the actor playing Rodtang, he was left with nothing to do except play a narcissistic shadow of his far more interesting season one self. Some sub plots have been entirely written out of season two, such as Fuse's sister's lesbian storyline.
But the worst change is the increase in the number of sub plots. So little is made of the Fuse / Tee relationship (or lack of one) that the writers have come up with the desperate solution of creating some worthless storylines as filler instead. The absolute worst offender involves Yok's mother and Wit; there's an appalling half-hearted effort to create a pointless romance between them that is chronically ill-judged. (She is at least double his age, possibly even triple if I'm unkind.) Wit also gets a second romance with vapid moron Lily, who runs him over with her moped and then bullies him to give her his Line ID so that they can go out on a date. Fuse's sister has a hetero romantic sub plot that brings absolutely nothing to the show whatsoever. This generic BL boredom was not something I had anticipated at all after season one's much tighter control and great potential, and it was enormously disappointing.
What's even stranger is that all of these filler subplots disappear in the final few episodes. It's a cynical move and demonstrates exactly what the writers thought of them in the first place. And how little they respect their audience.
Once again, in the absence of a decent Fuse / Tee storyline, the audience is left to rely on the plotline involving Frame and Book. Fortunately, it more than compensates by setting up a cracking storyline with some seriously great dramatic shocks and twists. Book's ex boyfriend Tern inadvertently makes a mistake that has devastating consequences for Book, who withdraws into himself. Staunchly loyal and kind since day one, Frame loses his equanimity as Book pushes him away, and heads towards making a fatal error of judgement. This sequence of events takes place through several of the middle episodes of season two, and it's absolutely gripping in the way they are played out. There's a daring, confronting scene involving Tern, Tern's new boyfriend and Frame that's so completely unexpected it will take your breath away. I lost all interest in Fuse's prevarication and Tee's stoicism while this was going on. As far as BL goes, the Fuse / Tee dynamic is nothing we haven't seen before and plays it safe with a view to the inevitable happy ending. But the brutality of Frame and Book's high-stakes melodrama is very uncommon in BL, and the way in which the boys despair or cope with it is worth its own series. This is how you get your audience invested in your characters; once the boys are safely in a cocoon of romantic bliss, throw them into the worst sort of nightmare that life can concote, and make them battle hard for their lives. It's BL gold, precisely because it's so un-BL-like. How will they get out of this situation and still remain together? What difficult decisions will they need to make to survive? Who's ultimately responsible for creating such an awful problem? It's these sorts of unsettling questions that viewers will be asking themselves on behalf of Frame and Book, and they are about as far removed as possible from the questions that the BL formula usually presents to us. Complexity, personal growth and maturity are not primary concerns of BL, because they can get so tangled and messy in real life. Potboiler BL screenwriters must turn pale when faced with scripting such complex ideas and scenarios. Only the most self-assured writers of BL series & shows go anywhere near these themes, with Grey Rainbow, Sotus, Waterboyy and Red Balloon being the most notable and the most daring. The obvious predecessor to Make It Right, Love Sick, also gave it a shot but made a hash of it, while 2 Moons didn't even bother. So it's doubly impressive that such a run-of-the-mill series as Make It Right has opted for such a rich vein of drama and evolution for two of its top-tier characters, and then pulls it off so successfully.
And then, from out of nowhere, along comes revelatory episode 13.
You get an indication that something momentous is on the horizon when the opening credits for the episode flag that the original scriptwriter Na is on board. I know nothing about him / her and could only assume at the time that he / she is the writer of the original graphic novel upon which the series is based. The core group of schoolfriends - Frame, Book, Tee, Fuse, Es, Wit, Rodtang, Nine, Lukmo, Yok - all head to the seaside together for a relaxing short holiday. There are obvious couple formations but there's a distinct air of suspense and possibility hovering around everyone. Each couple has their own private time on the beach together during the day, speaking candidly about their happiness, fulfilment and - so beautifully - their feelings for each other. As soon as the boys regroup, the honesty falls away and the tension returns. This coyness irritates Lokmo, so he comes up with a devious plan during a drunken BBQ dinner that results in the most extraordinary scene of the entire series. Without giving anything away, I can guarantee you that you will be sobbing by the end of it. The screenplay takes a risk and pulls it off with an intense emotional power that I was totally unprepared for. I can only guess that we have Na to thank for it.
The final episode goes Full-Bodied Gooey Cheese but it's no less enjoyable for that. Even if it doesn't attempt to reach the dramatic heights of episode 13, it still benefits from its payoff and gives us our final look at a blissful, more mature set of characters. It's a sweet and genuine way to end a not-that-bad-after-all series, and it's the universally happy ending that everyone has been waiting for. It's also a huge relief after enduring its many inconsistencies, poor choices and disappointments.
Rating: 12 out of 20
Ending: Oh so happy!
Best scene: without question, the final 'cheat' round of Lokmo's Game K during the seaside BBQ. Get your tissues ready.
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