[Review] 2gether: The Series

Here’s my review of 2gether: The Series. This was recommended by Netflix. Since the guys in the thumbnail were cute, I clicked to see what’s it about. I accidentally watched all thirteen episodes in one sitting.

TOC

• Summary
• Plot Review
• Characters
• Final Thoughts

Summary

Tine was a handsome guy in school. He’s dated many women before but none of them worked out. Sarawat was cold, anti-social and popular. Being handsome and good at guitar and football was his selling point. Green knew Tine was straight yet, he still pursued Tine relentlessly. Despite numerous shenanigans and rejections, Green still won’t leave Tine alone. Tine knew Sarawat’s personality could scare Green away. Since he’s straight, he’s sure he won’t develop feelings for Sarawat. Tine successfully made Sarawat his pretend boyfriend. That’s only until they weren’t pretending anymore.

Plot Review

What I liked

• It’s a feel-good show. If you’re here for a complex plot, honey, look elsewhere. Wrong show. Although on multiple occasions it’s questionable, it’s mostly simple and enjoyable.
• Least amount of homophobia in the show. I know people’s sexuality are openly expressed and accepted in Thailand compared to its conservative Asian neighbors. Since my BL consumption history was mainly Chinese BL in forms of manhuas, dramas and donghuas, I was used to repressed gay dramas. The transition from Chinese BL to Thai BL was very refreshing. It makes me happy when people can say they’re openly dating instead of calling each other “soulmates” on TV.
• Visuals. Bright and Win were handsome guys. Yeah, it’s that simple to lure me into dramas. LOL.
• Gay panic moments. Tine sort of struggled to accept he’s gay. He was straight until Sarawat came into his life. His struggle wasn’t on himself but on his friends’ and brother’s acceptance.
• Tine & Sarawat’s Chemistry. Sure, there were moments where I thought the actors could improve their acting skills in crying or being sad. However, the tension, gay yearning, gay panic and other gay and non-gay emotions were on point.
• OST. It’s going to be on repeat for a week to get it out of my system. Bright & Scrubb could release more songs, I don’t mind. Thailand, please make this happen. Thank you!
• The unrealistic part of having 2 extra clubs on top of your studies and social life and sleep.

What I didn’t like

• Man Being the Creepy. Man met Type in a seminar. He didn’t know his name but he attended seminars just so he could see him again. Kinda creepy but I can forgive that. But when he went to that meditation retreat, created a Line account to chat and pretend to be Earn, gave Earn an Ed Sheeran concert ticket just so Earn would meet Type, that’s just creepy af. He followed Type just so he could return that pen that looked like an Apple Pencil. I honestly skipped some scenes whenever these two showed up on screen except on the dinner part. Type’s colleagues were mean.
• Men who couldn’t take “No” for an answer. Let’s start with Green. If you’re gay and the guy you like told you he’s straight, move on. Then, Mil. He pursued Tine aggressively and disrespectfully though he knew Tine was dating Sarawat.
• Mil being a free man. Mil was a bully. Sure, people can change but I still couldn’t forgive the fact that he got away from beating up Sarawat. It wasn’t even a one-on-one fist fight at school. That would’ve been acceptable. Those were 4 people or more against 1 with metal pipes and what not. No, he did not deserve that happy ending. I want him in jail.
• Phukong ending up with Mil. Phukong deserved so much better. He’s always been the second choice, the epitome of gay yearning. Also, I couldn’t believe that he still liked Mil despite knowing that asshole beat up his big bro. Sure, he got his revenge but it’s still not OK.
• Dim hurting Green. Green was annoyingly clingy. However, when he ran to Tine’s flat and complained about his boyfriend beating him up, after they talked it out, he was immediately forgiven. Like ??? Violence is never ok. IDK why the that was acceptable.
• Ending. Jesus Christ! It could’ve ended at episode 10 or 11. The show would’ve been good even without the Pam arc. It could’ve been better.

Characters

Sarawat

Ugh! Oh my heart. He’s handsome af.

His character was the cool guy. I like his badass & straightforward attitude towards anyone he didn’t have any personal relationship with. How does Sarawat have time for soccer, music club and getting beat up? Do they have 36 hours a day in Thailand?

Right off the bat, Sarawat was obviously trying to suppress his romantic feelings for Tine. I do understand why he initially avoided Tine like plague and refused to be his pretend boyfriend. Tine explicitly said he was straight. Meaning, if Sarawat gets too close, any possibility of having a romantic relationship was off the table. At most, he could be just a friend. Strong gay yearning energy right here! Just saying… He’s on the losing side or so he thought. There were two things that didn’t add up.

1. He liked Tine for like a year already and it didn’t make sense that he avoided Tine without even knowing his intention. If he wanted to be the cool guy, he could just be nonchalant while talking to Tine. Sarawat being chased hard by Tine hard before knowing his intention wasn’t necessary. I think we only got this plot twist because that’s a trend these days.
2. That Pam story arc. The mini break-up was unnecessary. I didn’t need to suffer through that! The fact that he hid the truth about Pam was out of character. Sarawat was very observant and sensitive of Tine and his feelings. It’s a potential cause of problem. He knew Tine tends to get jealous when fans swarm around Sarawat. Hiding a best friend back from who knows where would double or triple that jealousy. Sarawat being sketchy was just not in his character profile.

Those two things that didn’t add up was forgivable. Nevertheless, I like Sarawat and how he grew as a character. He initially kept everything to himself but he opened up and gradually became expressive towards Tine.

Tine

I love Tine and his adorable confused bi energy. He was the damsel-in-distress who needed saving and he chased his knight for it. It’s funny how he kinda turned into Green while chasing Sarawat but in a cute way. I like his relationship with his friends. How does Tine have time for cheerleading, music club and vlogging with his friends? Again, do they have 36 hours a day in Thailand?

I enjoyed his journey from being oblivious to Sarawat’s feelings to denial of his own feelings to acceptance. He genuinely tried to be a friend to Sarawat. Gave advice on how to flirt, clean up Wat’s place and helped Sarawat fight the metal pipe gang when he could’ve just ran away. I love how Tine processed his feelings for Sarawat because it didn’t come from his struggle on his sexual preference. It’s more about the person itself that he’s confused about. If it was a girl, he’d probably have the same problem. Second-hand struggle was real! I like how he struggled more on his friends’ and brother’s acceptance.

I like how Sarawat’s personality balanced his. He had lots of potential to grow as a character but it didn’t happen. I would’ve loved for him to have a character development.

Final Thoughts

It’s a good show.

As you can see from the plot summary, the entire premise was a cliche. There were awkward moments. It’s both the strength and the weakness of the show. Since it’s a romcom, it’s the type of show you watch when you don’t want to care for the details. Sometimes, even if the plot is just good, the make or break part of a show would be the main characters’ chemistry. Bright and Win did great in that department. There were lots of squealing. I’m surprised my neighbors didn’t call the police on me.

Nevertheless, creators already achieved their goal. They made me sit in front of the screen for 13 episodes and lost a night of sleep over it. I’m listening to the OST on repeat since yesterday. It’s gonna take a week to get over the OST.

I’m not exactly rushing to watch season 2 just yet. I need a break.