A warm hug of a show

I had few expectations going into this show, really just that it would probably be cute since the characters and actors are quite young. But I was blown away by just how delightful the show is and how instantly attached to the characters I was. None of them are a stereotype or stock character, and while some could use a little more development (like Jian) they all still feel like real kids falling love for the first time. Yeguang is popular and confident, but he turns out to not really like all the attention he gets and has extremely demanding parents who make him feel quite insecure. Qizhang is quiet and shy at school, having crushed on Yeguang from afar for a long time, but around his bandmates and on stage he's funny and confident, and that confidence comes out when he's with Yeguang as well.

Their dynamic is so sweet and honest, probably owed to the actors also being kids getting to know each other (they're literally only 5 days apart in age, a refreshing change from finding out that high schooler is actually 30). There's no seme/uke roles, they each have moments of vulnerability and strength and support each other along the way. The 2nd couple as well is very sweet but in a different way, their path is a little more bumpy but their end point is becoming the clingy cheesy couple with matching tshirts and lots of gentle teasing. Ray is fascinating, as we're introduced to him when he's dressing as a girl to meet up with his asshat secret boyfriend. They never really explain why he's cross dressing, he doesn't do it again after they break up so it's likely that he was doing it bc the boyfriend didn't want to be seen with another boy. But Ray does seem to enjoy it, though there's no statement of gender queerness or anything, which at first felt like a plot hole but after a rewatch I think accurately reflects the life of a young queer person experimenting with their gender without wanting to choose a particular label yet. And I love that Jian takes Ray as he is no matter how he chooses to present himself.

Beyond the actors and characters, everything else about the show works so well together to create such a warm, comforting vibe even when there's conflict. Lighting, cinematography, editing, and of course the music. Seriously, I haven't vibed with an OST so much possibly ever. Both main songs will be on repeat along with this show for a very long time for me. Give this show a chance, I promise you'll feel like you've had a warm hug when it's done.

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A seriously underrated gem

I accidently stumbled upon this show early in my BL introduction as I looked for ones that I could easily access on youtube, and I really didn't expect much from it but I'm a sucker for a friends to lovers story so I gave it a shot. And man am I so glad I did.

The story itself is nothing special. Boy loses his father, best friend helps him get through it and their friendship develops into something more. For side couples you have the bullied introvert wooed by the charismatic extravert and shy cafe manager who gets close to the coworker he's crushing on through online gaming. We've seen these before, and likely will again. But what sets this apart is the way the story unfolds, the acting, and visual style.

There's this almost hazy, nostalgic quality to the show. If it weren't for the presence of cell phones and flash drives, you'd think this was set in the early 2000s from the lighting and music. The resulting effect isn't cheap or out-dated, it's actually quite beautiful (especially the pool scenes) and naturalistic in a way that you don't see in BL very often.

Then there are the performances. Tong and Fluke as Paper and Sky are absolutely magical on screen. You don't really know that Sky is grieving until a ways into the show, but from the jump you know that he and Paper have a very unique bond. Considering we don't get any background on their early friendship, this is really impressive. Tong has this way of looking at Fluke as if Paper is monitoring Sky to see whether he needs to be caught before falling down from grief, it's not hovering but more like he's being a bracket to hold up Sky. It toes the line up to codependent, but doesn't cross it because they are actually quite different personalities and each have other friends and classmates that they can confide in. For such new actors, especially Fluke, I was totally blown away and I really really hope we get to see them together again.

Their physical interactions and kisses are so real and honest, I have to tangent about them. The casual way they lean on each other at the start, sticking to one another during basketball and crossing legs in class, reflects how much they rely on each other emotionally. There are moments when you can see each of them start to try to lean in for more but pull away, building the tension without it turning into tortured pining a la Theory of Love. Then after some birthday beer and dancing, they finally give in to what they're really feeling. I'm not a fan of drunken first kisses, but in this case they're both more tipsy than drunk and the buildup makes the payoff worth it, you really feel that they're so invested in their friendship that if there wasn't alcohol to drop their inhibitions they might never have taken the next step despite them both being so clearly in love. And the subtlety of it blew me away, from the initial hesitancy to the hitches in their breathing as it progresses, it feels so real but not voyeuristic or gratuitous. Sky initiates and Paper seems surprised but returns the kiss with that slightly clumsy passion of a first kiss that you've been looking forward to for so long, but then Sky takes that as his queue to start to deepen the kiss and you can practically see the gears turning in Paper's head as he panics about the reality of his most important relationship potentially changing and stops kissing back, as soon as he senses Paper freezing up Sky immediately pulls away, which is such a nice change from the BL trope of pushing until the other person gives in. Their final kiss also captures that clumsy fumbling of first love while ending with really beautiful connection. Can't confirm this but I saw a comment on the final episode saying their final scene was mostly improvised, which actually doesn't surprise me bc their chemistry and dialog is so natural.

I don't have a lot to say about the other 2 couples, though both have their merits. Chris and Jeno are a slower burn and a bit frustrating at first, but once you get more context for why Jeno is so shut down it makes the payoff of him finally opening up in the end really worth it. TBH I really didn't care for Near and M, the chemistry and acting just weren't there for me and with the short time they had I don't think they needed a 3rd couple at all. Also, I could not for the life of me tell Near apart from Jeno until like episode 5, apparently the actors are brothers, it was kind of a poor casting and style choice to make them look and behave so similarly imo.

Alas this was yet another covid casualty, it was originally supposed to be a full 12-14 episodes but they only had time to shoot enough footage for 6. Thankfully, that didn't really hurt the story all that much. I was surprised at first, bc it's a pretty well-paced and complete story that seems to fit well into the 6 episodes we got. But upon a rewatch you can kind of tell how they had to condense what was intended to be a longer story; like we don't really know what happened to Sky to land him in the hospital even though we can guess he was hit by a car or wrecked his scooter while going to meet Paper, or what Jeno's relationship with Arthur was like before it fell apart. However, at least for me, it wasn't too jarring and didn't take me out of the story at all. Though if they got a chance to redo it with more episodes, like they've done with Love Mechanics, I think they could really do the characters more justice.

Other things to love here are the total lack of toxic female characters, no slapstick sound effects or replay of important moments from 7 different angles, no egregious product placement, all the main boys being just gay from the start so there's no melodramatic identity crisis or internalized homophobia to overcome, adults and authority figures actually acting with authority and protecting the kids, a bully facing real consequences both from the school and his victim, and a wonderfully supportive friend group at the core of the story.

Give this one a chance, and if it doesn't click at first give it a second chance.

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A sweet bit of fluff with some powerful messages

Listen, there's a lot of shit being spewed in these reviews, and honestly I kind of get it. The way this show was being hyped, I think expectations were way too high and people were bound to be disappointed when it mostly turned out to be a stock-standard BL.

I even agree with some of the issues people had with the show. It's not the most action-packed or thrilling series, sometimes they seem to throw in a misunderstanding or have a character wring their hands about a decision for a little too long just to fill in the plot where needed. It's definitely problematic that the main couple's first kiss falls prey to one of my least favorite BL tropes: one partner is very drunk but the other is sober and the drunk one doesn't remember clearly what happened the next day. Now, I will say that the situation is played as consensually as you can under the circumstances in the scene itself, and it does play a significant role in the character development later on as Lian eventually acknowledges what a dick move it was to hide that he was the one Kuea kissed, but there were plenty of other ways they could have made their first kiss cause drama without one of them being unable to properly consent. There's also the whole issues of Lian basically forcing Kuea to live with him even though Kuea clearly doens't want to. There's an element of control there that's pretty icky, though again to be fair to the show once Kuea's secrets are all no longer secret Lian makes it very clear that Kuea can live whatever life he wants and that he actually values Kuea's ability to look after himself in his own way. Also Yi and Diao's whole thing is just a mess and feels really off to me, their dynamic never really shifts much from dominant to subordinate and while there's definitely affection between them by the end there's also still some control from Yi.

Now, all that being said, this show is a friggin delight to watch despite all the problems. The production value is super high, it's beautifully shot and lit throughout. There's a good balance of drama and romance and comedy. The supporting characters are all hilarious and fun and actually supportive of the main couples (Perth makes a damn sexy club owner, lemme tell ya). I actually think the writing is pretty good, it's just not that exciting and a lot of it relies on characters learning to communicate with each other.

Most obviously for high points, the performances are just stellar. Zee and NuNew are absolutely electric together. Even when they're standing still a foot apart, you can practically see the sparks crackling between them. NuNew's inexperience does come through in a few places, but overall I was blown away by him. The comedy bits he does I think are particularly underrated and brilliant; he plays a frickin hilarious drunk, and I giggled so hard when he was blackmailing/charming the housekeeper at his family home to not tell his parents that he was out all night.

And everyone's talking about the bed and kissing scenes for a reason, trust me. They're often a bit slow and drawn out, but man does the heat never die despite the slow progress. I think shipping the real actors together is pretty invasive and gross for the most part, I just want them to be professionals and friends, but even I have to admit that there's really something special between these two and it certainly translates to screen. Aside from the drunken first kiss, every other intimate scene has clear and enthusiastic consent. Lian even stops everything when he and Kuea are about to have sex for the first time to ask Kuea if he's drunk and if he knows/wants what they're about to do, and as things heat up he stops again to tell Kuea that if at any point he's not ok and wants to stop he can say so immediately, which is just so damn refreshing for a BL. And the bed scenes themselves aren't actually all that graphic; we don't actually see pants go down, no grunting or thrusting or anything, once shirts come off we pretty much just get closeups of their faces and hands, it's kept mostly to the realm of heavy pettting and eluding to more (the episodes are on youtube and I don't think they're even age restricted). I think what really took people by surprise was how intensely the actors seemed to commit to the scenes and how believable the emotional connection feels between the characters as they're about to get down.

In the end, this show is a sugar coated ball of sugar, packaged up with catchy original songs and a healthy dose of social commentary that I think really took people by surprise. From the very first episode, they make a statement against colorism and trans stereotypes in the entertainment industry, which is something I don't think any other BL has even attempted to tackle. Now, it should also be pointed out that they're in a board room discussing advertising when this scene comes up, in the actual show there are no openly trans characters and the cast is all very fair skinned, so they fall a little short on walking the walk along with talking the talk, but in the context of that scene the still made some pretty dang progressive statements. And as Lian and Kuea start to become a proper couple they repeatedly discuss how their future marriage won't be legally recognized and whether even a ceremonial marriage is important to them if they already feel committed to each other. Their eventual conclusion is that it does matter, that they don't need to a legal document for their love to be valid but they want the world to validate their love as just as worthy of protection as any other love. The series even ends on them looking at billboards declaring their relationship and support for marriage equality. It's bold as hell, and I hope it paves the way for future shows to take such a firm stance for justice.

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A warm blanket of a show

You might look at this show and think that having been basically an advertisement for a grocery store chain and produced by a cooking focused youtube channel, it would be shallow on character development and short on story. Fortunately, at least in this particular case, you'd be pretty damn wrong. Ingredients oozes charm in every scene, and the slow burn flirting of the characters leads to a bittersweet ending made more bearable with chocolate. It's possibly the most engaging, rewatchable little show where almost nothing actually happens and I love it so much.

Brief premise: Win and Tops are roommates during lockdown, just trying to survive and get to know each other. Win is a student and aspiring musician whose gigs keep getting cancelled due to covid, Tops is a dedicated culinary student who always knows the right meal for any occasion (and the actor is also a Cordon Blue trained chef irl so he actually did all the cooking for real). Each episode is a new recipe for the audience, and a life lesson for the characters. From overcoming vanity and jealousy, to realizing that success means nothing if you have no one to share it with, to taking responsibility for your mistakes, they always (well, usually just Win tbh) come out the other end of the meal just a little better for having known each other. At the climax, Win gets an audition for an international music program, but it comes just as he is finally starting to realize his true feelings for Tops and is conflicted about whether he should risk losing this new love to pursue his dreams.

Production-wise, it's pretty stark and simple but effective. The cooking scenes are well-shot without feeling out of place, and the music is cutesy and charming almost to a fault sometimes (with the exception of Jeff's dulcet tones). You're not really there for the decor, which leaves your focus on the acting and food.

Of course, the biggest selling point is Jeff and Gameplay, who are ridiculously cute and have this very sweet, playful chemistry. When Gameplay's Tops breaks out of his usually reserved frankness to flirt back with Win, it's just magic. And Win claiming to hate everything from vegetables to babies to cats, but then learning to love them by seeing them through Tops' eyes melts my frozen heart every time. Their climactic fist kiss is so wonderfully executed and well-earned, but I think my only quibble with the storytelling/pacing is that I wish it had come sooner so that we had more time to develop their romantic relationship as an actual couple. JeffGame are great but there's only so much they can do with the 2ish episodes they get after the kiss to be together, and I think more time to see them actually be romantic together would have lent more weight to Win's decision on the music program. But that's honestly a pretty small nitpick, and possibly just motivated by my desire to see they make out and cuddle more.

Ingredients is a comfort show, pure and simple, where you can escape to a world where everything can by solved with a homecooked meal and acoustic guitar serenade. Go for a visit, and return any time you need some mealtime inspiration or a warm hug.

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A delightfully dark surprise

Word of advice: go into this show as blind as possible. If death and light horror aren't your thing, then just take this as your queue to pass on this one. But if those are your jam, DO NOT watch any trailers or read any reviews, including the rest of this one.

Ok, did you watch it? Good. Have you still not watched it but are ignoring my above advice bc you're a masochist for spoiler-induced trauma? Well, you're a monster, don't say I didn't warn you and proceed if you must.

Basic premise of the series for context: Mike and Peem are students in an acting class, they're also secretly hooking up despite Mike also having a girlfriend. Another person in their friend group, Mean, finds out about the secret affair and then tells the girlfriend about their hookups, causing her to break up with Mike on their anniversary. Mike is much more devastated and angry than anticipated, but he doesn't know who told her and jumps to the conclusion that Peem did it in order to break them up. This misunderstanding leads to violent and tragic consequences that both Mike and Mean have to live with.

First thing you'll notice about this is of course the performances, and performing is somewhat of a theme in the story so the actors' choices are always intertwining with the writing in such a unique way. Obviously, Gameplay and Jeff have absolutely pitch-perfect chemistry in everything they do and this is no exception. Though, if you're looking for the same dynamic they had in Ingredients unfortunately this is not the show to you. A brilliant combo of writing and performance from Jeff makes you really unsure throughout the first episode and a half whether Mike is a good or bad guy. It's clear that he cares for Peem, but he's also still not willing to break up with Pear and even treats her so sweetly at their anniversary despite having very recently had his tongue down Peem's throat (and from the spicier shots we get who knows where else). Is he being manipulative and leading Peem on bc he selfishly wants both, or is he genuinely just confused or not ready to openly date a man? You really don't know, and with Peem's almost demonic appearance/disappearance at the end of episode 1 it almost leads you to believe that maybe he's the villain.

But then in episode 2 Mike is writing a song for him and Peem is confessing his love and they're sweetly making out and you're back to thinking they're both just dumb kids in love who are bad at relationships. Until Mike blows up after Pear breaks up with him. Not only does he blame Peem without evidence and refuse to listen when Peem denies it. Not only does he tell Peem he only loves Pear and never loved him. Not only does he push Peem into the pool after it was already established that he can't swim. He watches Peem drown. No panicked run for help or confusion about whether he's faking it. He knows Peem will drown without intervention and he watches it happen. It's horrifying in a way you just don't expect.

Finally we get Ghost Gameplay and holy shit is he scary. I'd only ever seen him play pretty sweet-natured characters before, so it was truly wild to see him be so imposing and terrifying. But another surprise was Pom Runn as Mean, his complete terror at being haunted by Peem is so visceral without feeling over-the-top. His confrontation with Mike is a gem of a performance too; after Mike finally figures out that he was the one who actually told Pear, Mean is so damn smug in response. He punches right to the point and says exactly what we're all thinking: Mike doesn't really have a right to be angry bc he was the shithead who cheated and fucked his friend, all he did was reveal to Pear what a shit person Mike really is. Jeff gets across Mike's storm of fury and guilt so damn convincingly, you can see him ripping himself to pieces inside. And then after terrorizing Mean for a bit, Ghost Peem has to go and cry on Mike's shoulder while Mike sings their song in a voice that breaks with pain and tears. Goddamn you Jeff Satur and your emotionally manipulative voice, and damn you Peem for still loving Mike even after he fucking murdered you.

After you're done trying to decide which character is going straight to hell, go back and rewatch to appreciate the cinematography. This was obviously a very, very small production but they 1000% made the best out of what they had. The lighting in particular is so emotive, soft when we need to believe the romance and haunting when we need to piss our pants in terror. There's a scene in an empty school building that's particularly good, with almost total darkness punctuated by bright strips of fluorescent lights, as well as that really sudden fade to black that ends the final scene.

And with that fade to black, don't expect to have everything wrapped up in a neat little bow, or get answers to even some of your questions. It's not that kind of story. Think of it more as a narrative experience than a linear tale. What happened to Peem's body? What did Mike tell his friends and the police about how he drowned? Is Ghost Peem really trying to kill Mike and Mean as revenge or just scare them? What the hell was that deal with that acting coach? Was that acting class in the first episode before or after Peem's death? You can argue and hypothesize about these questions for hours after finishing the show, and that's the real beauty of it for me. It's a little 45 minute long bubble of intense relationships and jump scares and haunting visuals and Ghost Gameplay, which is as close to perfection as almost any show I've watched.

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