Kiss Me Again
I was drawn to watch new Thai series Kiss Me Again solely on the basis of the actor Newwiee, one of my BL favourites and a fun charismatic performer. He didn't disappoint, although that's about the limit of the interest to be found in this series. It's a prequel to 2016 drama Kiss The Series.
Summary: A disparate group of five university students unite together as friends. Two of the boys in the group, bad boy Pete and intelligent sensitive Kao, don't tell the others that they know each other better than they are letting on. They hate each other, after a series of violent incidents that has set them at odds. One of these incidents ended up with them accidentally kissing. While it's clear that Kao wants to talk about his confused feelings for Pete after the kiss, Pete pushes him away angrily, leading to more violence. Their friends eventually realise that something is wrong between Pete and Kao, leading Pete to lash out at Kao even more violently and destroy the group of friends. When Sun, the brother of one of Kao's friends Rain, starts showing interest in Kao, Pete begins to understand his true feelings hidden under his jealousy.
The Pete/Kao BL story is one element of a larger set of subplots in Kiss Me Again (which I mostly skipped over), so it's not a shock to find that there's very little substance in their narrative. The trajectory of their plot follows a pretty typical BL pathway: low-key attraction hidden under layers of hatred, disdain and violence; the 'spark of love' moment; instinctive resistance to the truth; eventual acceptance of the truth; mutual understanding and confessions of love; vengeful ex girlfriend; risk of exposure; increasing confidence to 'come out'. That's why it's still so surprising to be able to recommend this series on the basis of the two lead actors, Newwiee in particular. Sure, the drama itself is a light forgettable piece of fluff, but the chemistry between the two actors is totally credible and the show's best asset. Newwiee does some fantastic acting work in the role of Kao, running the full gamut of emotions over the course of the series. He's especially good at portraying his pain whenever Pete rejects him angrily or takes his love for granted, but he's also really charming to watch when he's flirting or teasing. (He's less convincing when dealing with high drama and anger though.)
There's not much that's negative about the program, it's relatively inoffensive. However the violence in the majority of the episodes is off-putting and excessive, and at times it makes Pete (the main instigator) really difficult to like and sympathise with. This is the first BL drama I've seen that's really gone overboard with violence - not in a bloody way, just in a pointlessly overblown way. Considering it's a young adult show, Pete and Kao's fistfights can be downright disturbing. One of the worst scenes involves a fight at Sun and Rain's cafe where a customer pulls a knife. This is way too much for a youth-oriented BL drama in my opinion, and it should have been toned down. I get that it's a trope of romantic dramas that violence is meant to indicate hidden attraction - which in itself is a complete furphy - but it's hard to justify this sort of representation in a youth TV drama, especially when it contributes so little to the story overall.
There are already loads of BL edits out there that have removed all the other subplots, which I'd recommend you search for. From what I saw of the other subplots, there's no real need to watch them - though it was interesting to note that a lot of the cast from Waterboyy The Series has come over to Kiss Me Again, including the beautiful and enigmatic Earth Pirapet. It's great to see wonderful Gun Smile from SOTUS and Love Sick in a new and meatier role as well.
Rating: 10 out of 20
Ending: Happy
Best scene: I loved the class presentation scene where Kao manages the entire presentation, and Pete just stands there looking ashamed with nothing to say. Perfect summation for both of their characters.
UPDATE: you can find my review of KMA's far superior sequel Dark Blue Kiss here.
Summary: A disparate group of five university students unite together as friends. Two of the boys in the group, bad boy Pete and intelligent sensitive Kao, don't tell the others that they know each other better than they are letting on. They hate each other, after a series of violent incidents that has set them at odds. One of these incidents ended up with them accidentally kissing. While it's clear that Kao wants to talk about his confused feelings for Pete after the kiss, Pete pushes him away angrily, leading to more violence. Their friends eventually realise that something is wrong between Pete and Kao, leading Pete to lash out at Kao even more violently and destroy the group of friends. When Sun, the brother of one of Kao's friends Rain, starts showing interest in Kao, Pete begins to understand his true feelings hidden under his jealousy.
The Pete/Kao BL story is one element of a larger set of subplots in Kiss Me Again (which I mostly skipped over), so it's not a shock to find that there's very little substance in their narrative. The trajectory of their plot follows a pretty typical BL pathway: low-key attraction hidden under layers of hatred, disdain and violence; the 'spark of love' moment; instinctive resistance to the truth; eventual acceptance of the truth; mutual understanding and confessions of love; vengeful ex girlfriend; risk of exposure; increasing confidence to 'come out'. That's why it's still so surprising to be able to recommend this series on the basis of the two lead actors, Newwiee in particular. Sure, the drama itself is a light forgettable piece of fluff, but the chemistry between the two actors is totally credible and the show's best asset. Newwiee does some fantastic acting work in the role of Kao, running the full gamut of emotions over the course of the series. He's especially good at portraying his pain whenever Pete rejects him angrily or takes his love for granted, but he's also really charming to watch when he's flirting or teasing. (He's less convincing when dealing with high drama and anger though.)
There's not much that's negative about the program, it's relatively inoffensive. However the violence in the majority of the episodes is off-putting and excessive, and at times it makes Pete (the main instigator) really difficult to like and sympathise with. This is the first BL drama I've seen that's really gone overboard with violence - not in a bloody way, just in a pointlessly overblown way. Considering it's a young adult show, Pete and Kao's fistfights can be downright disturbing. One of the worst scenes involves a fight at Sun and Rain's cafe where a customer pulls a knife. This is way too much for a youth-oriented BL drama in my opinion, and it should have been toned down. I get that it's a trope of romantic dramas that violence is meant to indicate hidden attraction - which in itself is a complete furphy - but it's hard to justify this sort of representation in a youth TV drama, especially when it contributes so little to the story overall.
There are already loads of BL edits out there that have removed all the other subplots, which I'd recommend you search for. From what I saw of the other subplots, there's no real need to watch them - though it was interesting to note that a lot of the cast from Waterboyy The Series has come over to Kiss Me Again, including the beautiful and enigmatic Earth Pirapet. It's great to see wonderful Gun Smile from SOTUS and Love Sick in a new and meatier role as well.
Rating: 10 out of 20
Ending: Happy
Best scene: I loved the class presentation scene where Kao manages the entire presentation, and Pete just stands there looking ashamed with nothing to say. Perfect summation for both of their characters.
UPDATE: you can find my review of KMA's far superior sequel Dark Blue Kiss here.
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https://youtu.be/XswYOFay5GE