Give me more... Please. I'll send you a fruit basket
This series began so strong with the main couple.... but Mostly unnecessary mellow drama that really could be better. The main couple didn't carry this series, they actually became annoying rather quickly. Their lacklustre acting didn't help in making me like them either. Also, when serious things happen and people are worried, they don't flip off that switch so easily.Bhon Duen (only listing them first because)
Swore this was one of the most unhealty relationships I have seen in a BL, maybe in my top 5. The unnecessary drama wasn't even entertaining. I have seen tug boats drag less things than Bhon dragged Duen in this series. If you have to be jealous of everyone, you really should find a rock to be your potential BF. There is a line between teasing and just being a muccumflow, it was crossed toooo many times. If anyone I had to be interested in had to say sorry so many times for the same thing, I'd be looking for a new interest.
Ram... King... Ram King... King Ram... Honestly was the only reason I kept watching, they were the saving grace of this series. Their characters were so interesting and their relation to each other was magic. This had mostly to do with their acting skills, because Ram's character spoke volumes without actually saying much. The fact that King was able to understand all that was going on with him, but respect him enough to actually just support him without trying to change him. It was literally a breath of fresh air every-time they were on screen. Their commitment to helping each other without looking for anything in returned, just kept me wanting more, not just from them but for them, but that text at the end between them have me waiting....
I would love for season two to focus on them. Also their relationships with their respective siblings are goals, especially Ram and his little brother. Truly warmed my heart to see them interact.
Another breath of fresh air within this series, simply because of the romantic tension I see in my head between these two. Thara is super sweet and caring like a Dr. should be, but he is a lil obsessed with his pet lizzard, which makes him even more adorable every-time he tells someone about it. Frong is a little high strung because of the situations that exist, but I am glad he met Dr. Thara, may be a few injections will make him happy, as oppose to the paracetamol. There relationship was simple and not aggressive at all. It made me want to see where they will end up. The times their paths crossed were filled with other factors that made me wonder what was really being felt for each other. I hope I find out for sure in season 3. because I know they love each other. I said it, make it so wirters. MAKE IT SO.
(The besties)
They were a lovely to watch and wonder about. I felt Mek's struggle though, because that closet door, spoke volumes about his love. Anything else I say would be a spoiler.
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BACKGROUND:At the onset, let me first say that I discovered this series unexpectedly. About late March 2020, while I was waiting for the airing of the next episode of the much hyped BL series 2gether, I chanced upon other series like 2 Moons, 2 Moons 2, Theory of Love, Love by Chance, TharnType, Sotus, including My Engineer which just recently started and still airing at that time.
I have to be honest, after watching those other BL series I found the start of My Engineer to be quite silly and I even found the acting to be lacking. But I have to admit also that as the series progressed, the plot more interesting and the acting got better. I loved the fact also that apart from the main leads, the side characters also got their own story development which was quite good also.
STORY:
The plot really is not that complicated and the premise might appear quite silly. To put it simply, in exchange for saving Duen's ass from the (not so scary) giant lizard, Bon demands that Duen give him a flower daily for one month. Sounds like an anime or manga teen fantasy right? Well, that started the ball rolling. But after the first episode or so, things actually pickup and the story and its relationships become more interesting.
ACTING:
BonDuehn - At first, I found their interactions kinda cute but somehow later on I think it is already grating on the nerves. I mean, their attitude later on appears childish and bratty already with the constant bickering, miscommunication, misunderstanding, unreasonable jealousy, etc. Why do I say this? Because their constant fights would appear to be petty compared to the issues in the other ships of the series. I understand that the characters are from a certain age group and that they've known each other only for a month or so. But I hope they tone down these antics in Season 2 where I hope they would be more mature already (fingers crossed). Although I like the last episode, I thought that the resolution of their last fight was somehow fast-tracked. I love the fact that they were able to reconcile but I think they made up too easily considering that their issue is supposed to be "infidelity" with the kiss between Mai and Bon in the forest. More than the acting, I think this issue is more on the writing/directing side. I think Cooper is a good actor. He does perform well especially in expressing the teasing, angry and sad emotions. Poy however needs more improvement. While he is great in acting the childish part of his character, I found his facial expressions when he was crying and happy to be the same (small eyes and showing of teeth). I think the voice was the only difference between those two different emotions. I hope he shows more depth in Season 2. In any case, I am still happy because when the series ended, they posted their relationship status already. Awww. :-D
MekBoss - What's to say about this couple? Uhm. While the issue about their feelings for each other has already been resolved in the previous episode, here coming back in the last episode is the selfish user celebrity wannabe bitch in the name of Fon. haha. I am just glad that Boss finally owned up his feelings for Mek and turned down this girl. :-D In terms of acting, one could really empathize with Mek when he secretly loved his bestfriend. Boss was also a funny character. Good job to this two. However, while Mek was played well by Ryan, I found his dubbed voice to be disturbing. It did not fit well with his character. It sounded more mature to be frank and they should look for a better voice character next time. I also hope that those issues surrounding Ryan and the production company would be resolved eventually so he will come back for Season 2.
RamKing - BEST KISS EVER in My Engineer. haha. I really loved the development of their relationship (more than BonDuehn to be honest). We have the strong silent type animal-lover in the name of Ram and the confident and supposedly wise guy (read: advice giver) who's into plants in the name of King. Although their story seemed like a slowburn but I am glad it eventually blossomed into something quite romantic. Strangely enough, while King was teasing the silent Ram in previous episodes he somehow got cold feet when Ram was already starting to have feelings for him. I especially loved the scene with the "flower crown" which Ram made for King. That was so sweet. And who could forget that tent scene, where King expressed his emotions (albeit under the influence of alcohol) to Ram which ended up in a rather passionate kiss. It made the main couple BonDuehn's kiss pale in comparison. haha. While the status of the two was not yet finally resolved by the last episode, it made us further eager for Season 2.
TharaFrong - Although this couple had less exposure compared to the other ships, their development somehow progressed especially in the last few episodes. Frong started off as this standoffish character and was even rude to Doc Thara. But eventually, Frong softened up and I think already starts to develop feelings for the good doctor (more thanks to the missing necklace which was found by Doc Thara after much search - and admission of taking pictures of Frong unkowingly. haha). Doc Thara is a bit weird but thoughtful and adorable at the same time - who could resist this cutie? Despite the blooming relationship between the two however, the last episode for them ended quite unsure since Frong was friendzoned by Doc Thara. Ugh! Seriously doc? You and Frong are just a 'senior' and 'junior'? That kinda hurts. So you treat all your 'juniors' like that? Yeah right! I don't believe you. I think you're just in denial. haha. But I think, these two will get more development in their relationship come Season 2.
Aside from the ships, the other side characters were also interesting especially Tinting who was quite funny. Speaking of support roles, I hope Tang and Phu would also have their own ship come second season. haha
MUSIC:
I did not really like the opening song of the series. I think it was forgettable. But the songs and background music played in the scenes were better. Nothing really stood out for me unlike in other BL series where I had LSS. haha
REWATCH VALUE:
If you want to have a fun watch of young love, then this show is quite good. I think a second watch is already enough for this series. After all, I still have many other dramas to watch and finish. haha. I will try to rewatch it again this coming weekend. :-D
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Props to the director and production company which made this series. I think they did not only make something that they want, regardless of what the audience feel. They really listened (I think social meda played a good part?) and made a good BL series (thanks or no thanks to what happened to 2gether). My Engineer started off a bit shaky but eventually I already grew fond of the series and its characters which made me excited for Saturdays. This series is a MUST WATCH and honestly much BETTER than 2gether. Can't wait for Season 2! haha
P.S. I still can't believe the audience rating here in MDL is the same between 2gether and My Engineer. Really!? Do you have eyes? No person in a right mind, would equate the two as being of the same quality. NO ONE! Ugh! ;-)
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RAM KING AND MEK BOSS THATS ALL I CAN SAY
April 24, 2021Holy, I can't believe that RYAN PENG WON'T BE SEASON 2 PLAYING MEK. I AM LITERALLY SO SAD THAT HE WON'T BE THERE. I LIVE FOR MEK AND BOSS. I know so many people are for other couples but Mek and Boss stole my heart. I know people are saying that they were not convinced by Ryan's acting since it is dub but I must say it was pretty good. Sure the dub itself was bad but Ryan is a pretty good fit for playing the role of Mek.
Ram King is Ram King, I understand the hype since their arc is so well written and has a pretty healthy relationship. I hope they have more scenes for season 2 but they delivered!!
Bohn and Duen, I have a love and hate relationship with them. I can pretty much say that they have the generic line where one gets jealous way too easily and the lack of trust in their relationship was really frustrating. At certain points, I did skip their scenes as I felt bored and draggy on their plot.
Dr. Thara and Frong are interesting like I have an okay opinion of them. They were like I don't mind them yet I never skipped their scenes either. Well in fact I found them very chill and laid back. So for starters, I wanna see more. As they do have fewer scenes in this season,
Overall, this series shows "crackhead" energy and I laughed my ass off the whole time that I barely cared for the plot holes. !!
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Cringefest
I wanted to like My Engineer. It was marketed very well, and the dynamic among the actors (well, if you exclude Raff/Ryan) feels so good to watch. It has been in development hell for years, with parts being casted and re-casted after several rounds. The story runs in four different streams, so I am going to split this review into four parts:Bohn x Duen (1/5):
The main problem with My Engineer lies in the main couple, BohnDuen. They are just so ridiculously incompatible, and the actors who play them, Cooper and Poy, only have that brother-like chemistry going on. I liked Poy as Duen as his bubbly, happy-go-lucky personality in real life fits his character very well. However, Poy comes up short in the acting department in a lot of scenes. The one where he cries for example - that was quite honestly one of the worst I have seen. I also have a major problem with the Duen character. In the beginning he was cute and fun to watch, but as the series progressed, he became so childish and immature to the point that he turned into one of the most unlikeable leads I've seen in a BL.
I wish I could say positive things about Bohn, but there is not one positive bone (pardon the pun) in his body! He was the absolute worst: he basically bullied Duen into becoming his boyfriend and he is just too unbelievably nasty to everyone (who isn't Duen) around him. Throughout the entire series, he carried this mentality where he feels that he is superior to everyone. He was an incredibly bad character, and if the creators would want to redeem themselves in My Engineer SS2, they'd better give BohnDuen a much smaller part. Acting wise, I haven't seen any of Cooper's past projects, but his acting here was very boring. I guess the character of Bohn never gave him much material to work with.
Mek x Boss (3.5/5):
MekBoss revolved around the theme of keeping your feelings to yourself. It was a story of two long-time friends who unwittingly hurt each other with their actions. The story was undoubtedly filled with BL clichés, but MekBoss was still a nice escape from that terrible BohDuen plotline. Raff/Ryan and Inntouch, despite having obvious difficulties in communicating with each other, developed an undeniable chemistry between their characters.
Raff/Ryan was Chinese and despite trying to learn Thai for his role, he never gained much proficiency in the language on time, hence forcing the creators to dub nearly all his lines in the show. The creators of My Engineer were basically forced to include him in the cast to get the much-needed funding from their Chinese investors, and when the show proved to be a success and they no longer needed the Chinese backing, they cruelly disposed of Ryan/Raff as well, citing that he has been "unprofessional" throughout the filming. But Raff/Ryan wasn't that bad; he actually played the part pretty well despite the poor dubbing. I especially liked how he conveys his emotions through his eyes. This silent-type acting is not easy to do, so this was an admirable feat. Inntouch on the other hand did not have the showy-type of acting yet still maintained a loveable presence all throughout. But the "jokes" that he made throughout the series fell flat and even sounded cringe-y.
Thara x Frong (4.5/5):
Thara and Frong have been in the series since the first episode but they weren't matched together until the last few episodes (I think things only started happening between them in Ep. 12). And when that happened, things went ELECTRIC! I don't understand the other reviews who thought that these two were boring, but these two guys were basically eye-fucking each other in their scenes! MD and Shane showed such explosive chemistry for the limited time they had, and I really loved how they kept that going on even when they are behind the camera. If SS2 actually happens, these two needs to be given more time to shine.
Ram x King (5/5):
Ask anyone who watched My Engineer who their favorite couple is, and most likely they will answer RamKing. I agree wholeheartedly with that sentiment. RamKing had the best development in the entire series and were the only ones to completely avoid the usual tropes we see in Thai BLs. It started with King feigning interest (with no romantic implications whatsoever) in Ram, a quiet freshman of foreign descent who rarely speaks to anybody inside or outside his circle. Throughout those 14 episodes, we watch King try to break the shell where Ram was hiding himself only to realize in the end that he was actually falling for him and that Ram was willing to reciprocate his affections. I would definitely rank RamKing as one of the best-written couples in all of the boys love series I have seen. I would die to watch them further develop this strange yet very charming relationship in SS2. In real life, Talay and Perth basically had the same interests in life and were not far off each other in terms of age (I think Talay was only a year younger than Perth) , which made them the perfect choice to play the show's most-celebrated couple. Talay basically acted as himself throughout the show, and Perth, who is quite the funny child-like type in real life, was incredible in playing the cold, stone-faced Ram.
Outside its plot, My Engineer had lots of problems:
1) What is up with the OST? I could swear the same song will play about 5 to 7 times in a single episode, it is so tiresome and ridiculous. They could have invested in expanding the selection of music they will be playing in this show considering its length (BLs with more than 12 eps. is quite rare for Thailand).
2) My Engineer excessively relied on flashbacks interspersed with dramatic background music, which is pure cringe!!! I was watching the cast reactions on YouTube and I can tell that these guys were so bored watching these flashback scenes and were just trying really hard to hide it from the camera.
3) Bad acting from supporting players: the woman who was playing Ram's mom had such a laughable performance, and her English was horrendous. Again, it was pure cringe. I could say the same for the guy who played Ram's brother and basically every single kid who appeared in this series (look very closely and you'll see that they even stare directly at the camera)
4) Sloppy editing all throughout. I don't notice this aspect of filmmaking usually but it was very evident in My Engineer.
Two extra good things:
1) Ting Ting and her two friends were a riot, but I wish they could've given them more material to work with instead of creating them merely as the "funny friends" of the lead.
2) I loved how non-existent ad placements were in this series. That's quite a feat.
Despite the relatively low rating I have given for this series, I am still looking forward to season 2. The cast was so fun to watch, but things would be much, much better if they have been given a more solid storyline (with the exception of TharaFrong and RamKing, which were already perfect).
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Selected wrong leads
Even acting bit off with lot of memebers inthis cast I gave 7.5 stars for cast mainly beacoze of boss n next ramking cpl n teng ting they did great with thire roll.. Actually i dont know why duen n bhon are main cpl.. they dont even have sweet touching kiss, always unnecessary teasing and boring.. if writer want them to be so boring why bother to made them main lead.. actually not only main lead couple boring duen cat act too.. he tring to be cute but itz not for him.. he is not for wife roleI think kimram couple, and bossmek couple steel whole show.. even mek's acting is not best boss handle it well.. i must say boss is cutes and talented actor and he is the best in whole show not only his character in the show i think he him self is best actor.. He can make us laugh even with little things.. he need main actor roll ❤️❤️
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I truly fell in love for KingRam and their odd yet so fitting relationship: King, who was used to plants as his companions, fell hard for Ram who rarely talked; and Ram, who preferred the company of his dogs, found someone who truly got him without him needing to say anything at all in King. Also, King sure got his share of whump, so there was that, hah!
But the main couple, BohnDuen, I didn’t like how their issues were resolved. It felt too little, too late. Maybe it’ll be addressed in S2 - one can always hope - but I doubt it. It’s strange that the writers did such a great job with KingRam yet they - at least in my opinion - fumbled the main couple so much. Huh.
I’m definitely looking forward to S2 and to more KingRam and also FrongThara. Because Frong is in for an uphill battle with Thara who is very kind and sweet - but also the biggest oddball of them all. Also, I hope to see Ting Ting finally get herself a boyfriend - Tang, if there’s any justice at all in the world! Can’t wait!
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I binge watched this over a four days so obviously I enjoyed it enough to keep going despite some of my misgivings as it progressed.I loved the early nod to SOTUS (and it gave me hope) and later realised that it’s the same director. Unfortunately this series was no SOTUS.
Let’s start with Bohn and Duen. I liked them both as separate entities but together they were flat. Bohn goes from a womaniser to being madly in love with Duen based on a couple of conversations and zero chemistry. I could ship Bohn with literally any other cast member and it would work better... Bohn/Frong, Bohn/First, Bohn/King, Bohn/Ram, Bohn/Duen’s father - see what I mean? The actor is very nice to look at though so that did help ;-)
As for Duen, well he was a sweet character but totally wet. What was all the fuss about his little sister getting a kiss off the little boy? Seriously? My 7 year old ‘lost’ his first kiss aged about one, I’m totally over it!
Maybe the relationship would’ve been more believable if they’d kissed AT ALL. Sleeping in the same bed, Bohn asking Duen to move in with him and they hadn’t even kissed? So unrealistic and really annoying and frustrating to watch. Again, I could ship Duen with others quite easily... Duen/Frong, Duen/First, Duen/the gear statue...
Next up is Ram and King. These two stole the show. They are the reason I’m anticipating at second series. Great chemistry, a real build up of UST and friendship between the two.
Let’s not forget Mek and Boss. These two were quite sweet but I don’t feel they added anything to the show. Boring and a bit annoying in parts, particularly Boss.
Then there is Frong and Thara. This is obviously leading into the second series. I just hope the give Thara a personality this time. I like Frong, I hope he gets a happy ending.
The story was nothing new. This is why I liked King and Ram so much, their story was a bright spot amongst all of Bohn and Duen’s non-kisses, jealous moments and tenuous misunderstandings.
A couple of things amused me in the casting though. Bohn’s ‘blond’ nephew. Yeah, if that kid is blond and has spent any time living in the UK then I’m famous Korean actress. Then Ram’s mother - first of all they keep calling him mixed race and fine, the actor clearly is (Australian apparently) then they point out his foreign mother... then when we see the mother she is clearly NOT a native English speaker, the way she pronounced ‘clothes’ makes that especially apparent - then when Ram talks to her in English his accent is Australian but where did the character get that accent when his mother talks like that?!
Another thing - what the hell was going on with Mek? I watch with English subtitles so it took me a little while to notice that Mek was dubbed as I was reading text not looking at his lips. Once I noticed I thought I was losing my mind! If they needed to dub the actor (apparently he was Chinese who spoke poor Thai-why did they even cast him?) they could at least make the voice sound like it came from that person. Sounded like a 40-year old man coming out of a pretty 18-year old kid. So weird!
Lastly - how much of a let down was the waterfall - I was expecting something grand not a teeny trickle like that. Obviously the location budget was tiny!
Overall this was good enough but if I was to rewatch it will be a YouTube compilation of Ram/King. I will watch a second series no question.
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Why?
STORY:The story is a pretty cute concept. However, it wasn't well executed. The drama used every single cliche in the book. It also has way too many misunderstandings between characters. And, out of the pure necessity of more pretty boys/ships, they made almost tons of side couples. The whole drama was created so that there could be as much fan service as possible squeezed out of it.
Putting that aside, the side couple and main couples each had their own unique storylines which were interesting. And I rooted for every couple! The comedy in the drama is pretty funny. The female character was super fun.
From Ep 2-13 (there are 14 episodes) the main couple didn't seem to be the main couple at all. They weren't the main focus of the plot and the only times the story decided to emphasize "By the way, these are the main couple!" was in episodes 1 and 14.
ACTING/CAST:
I gotta admit, the whole cast is aesthetic af. However, besides Lay (King) and Cooper (Bohn), the rest of the cast doesn't seem to have many roles before this drama. It shows. Poy (Duen) has a few awkward scenes, especially the emotional ones. The others do a pretty good job, but you can tell that they're still learning.
This is perfectly understandable for a webseries! And since it's a BL and was obviously created for fanservice rather than the actual story, I'll say that they all did very well. Poy's scenes would've been hard for anyone, they were super emotional and I'm sure that he did his best.
MUSIC:
It's just... music. Not something I would memorize and hum at random times, but it's catchy when you're listening to it and recognizable!
REWATCH VALUE:
I've rewatched it a few times. Its a fun rewatch! Each time you can focus on a different couple.
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I love this show so much
The headline says it but I will say it again, I love this show. The couples were cute and the side characters were funny. (this has been edited)Story:
Any Bl watcher, avid or casual, is familiar with the engineer trope. It is so common that it's kind of suffocating. However, I can look past it because the couples are great. Speaking of the couples, the main one was my least favourite. The amount of jealousy and communication issues in this relationship is a big red flag and also, trigger warning, they had one of the guys be assaulted but didn't call it that instead they called it cheating and used it as the ep 11/12 conflict. It was not ok. It's brief and only a kiss but it was still SA. Do better next season please. Onto to the normal, non problematic couples. My second least favourite couple was MekBoss. That isn't an insult to them, I love them a lot but I have a soft spot for TharaFrong so MekBoss is below them. I enjoyed their story and I think the actors were good but omg the Thai dub for Mek was terrible. I know why they hired a Chinese actor but couldn't they have found one who could speak Thai? Or was willing to learn? Idk but it bugged me a lot. Next is TharaFrong. I think their story is really cute and I was sad when Frong was brozoned. Like, come on Thara. I'm sad MD won't be back for season 2 but I hope they find someone good to replace him. Now for my, and almost every person I've heard talk about this show, favourite ship. RamKing is the shining star of this series and if season 2 was just them and TharaFrong, I'd be happy. Talay and Perth had good chemistry and they were so cute together. They were perfect. Sorry that was so long.
Acting:
The acting was good. Nothing majorly outstanding but I got into the story and it was believable so that's all that matters to me.
Music:
Kinda lack luster. I don't speak Thai so I don't know what the main song means but it didn't make enough of an impression on me for me to really care.
Rewatch value:
I'd watch it again but only for TharaFrong and RamKing. Seeing the other two couples once was enough to satisfy me until Season 2.
Overall:
I highly recommend this if you enjoy bl's and I am eagerly awaiting the announcement of the release of season 2 episode 1, whenever that may be. Please go watch it if you haven't and let's hope season 2 comes soon??
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I’m going to make this simple
Ugh I can’t wait for season 2 if there even is one.My Engineer, i think, has a strange name but I couldn’t care less. It’s very sweet, romantic if I dare, but all the couple were better than the main one.
Mel and Boss’s relationship was everywhere but still nice, Bohn and Duen was the classic “I fell hard for the bottom” but it was fun to watch (a smidge toxic), but Ram and King was so sweet and I LOVED their relationship <3
The sound effects made it funny, the sibling interactions was too good not to enjoy, and everything kissy happens at the end of the series-just to let you know not to get your hopes up
Very chaotic and a must watch :p
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