Oxygen: The Series (2020)

One of the Best of 2020

If you have looked through the reviews, this show is very polarizing. Some like it a lot and some don't like it at all. I liked it a lot. I liked that the story provided me with likable characters who each had back stories that informed their actions. Guitar's background explains why he is so mature and goal-oriented - an old soul with sore spots. Solo's background helps you understand why he is an injured boy looking for someone to love him completely. Even Phu's background can help explain why he is so robotic in his expressions (it's a pretty extreme story). Those stories are also explained in the show to one another, like people do when they're trying to get to know each other. I also liked that the story had enough details that weren't in the stereotypical mold. They were college students, but were barely in class, Guitar was an engineering student, but you couldn't tell. There are work scenarios, but none of them take over the show. Some might hate that it can't seem to decide what it is, but I enjoyed its obsessed focus on the love of the couple at the center. Whether school, work, internships, family, friends, it all comes second to the love of Solo and his Guitar.

There are some drawbacks to this show. Some of the music, especially the harp music, is pretty bad, but cheap. The secondary storylines are not as good, especially the bizarre love square featuring the doctors. There might be at least a ten-year age difference between some members of that love game. The saddest part is that the second couple of Phu and Kao doesn't develop as much as it should. For me, Kao is a wonderful character and he deserved more. He stole the show for me, which isn't hard to do when everyone else is acting in such an understated way. That may also put people off, but there was enough sincere crying to go around at the right moments, and importantly, there is a lot of physical touch, like hugs and head leaning (love it!), that go a long way to making the connections between characters clear even when their actions are lowkey.

So, it isn't a perfect show, but it is a lot better than most of the recent BL shows coming out of Thailand. It's better than Tonhon Chonlatee, it's better than My Gear & Your Gown, and it's better than 2gether, so that's saying something. And the show gave me what I needed during this depressing COVID-19 pandemic - a beautiful, happy ending where all is resolved. I can't really ask for more from a 13 episode series.

Leia Mais

We Support Healthy Relationships in BL

I loved this from the beginning. The relationships between the main two gay couples were some of the healthiest I've seen in BL. This is something I want to see more of. I could have absolutely done without the Doctor and Khim plot, though. We did not need it honestly. Would have loved to see something more for Khem's character, though. Loved Phu and Kao. Their scenes got better with each episode. really fell in love with the characters and the actors playing them do such an amazing job. I also loved Solo and Gui and the way their relationship worked. They really take advantage of the nonverbal attraction that is there in those first couple episodes and that was such a nice way to go while having Kao being the verbal flirter when it came to Phu. The couples were so different and it brought a nice balance to the sow. Like I said before it didn't rely heavily on toxic elements like some Bl I have seen or try to romanticize problematic relationship behavior. The emotional stakes are raised through external things. The family aspects particularly and working through past traumas together. The ending did leave a little to be desired in that I wish the conflicts were solved differently but not to an extent that it dampened my love for the series right now.

Trigger Warning: One issue I did have is there is drugging and attempted sexual assault scene that sort of gets brushed over. I wanted repercussions for that to happen.

Leia Mais

Oxygen

First of I will talk about the acting

Yes they didn't do a 100% what people are looking forward to have seen but hey this are new people we see on screen.

I will not lie I almost given up on the 2nd episode but I kept going around episode 5 I got used to the why they act and it became real then the first time I have seen the drama

What a drama ful of handsome people lol. Solo and Gui my favourite couple and they are both so adorable and cute together.

The story was good I wish they was more but I enjoyed watching it and following them in this journey till the end. They where some parts I wish they revealed more of the story but it is what it is.

You need an open mind to enjoy this drama fully, they are some parts where solo's father is so rude and heartless but in the end we find out he was a good man who loved and took care of his son and his feelings, yet the test he had given to solo and Gui was painful.

I liked the ending even I wish I had seen moreof Solo and Gui.

The music was nice.. You are my Oxygen by Solo my favourite.

I wish they make a season 2 so we see what happens to the 2nd couple. And Mybe will see Solo and Gui being more romantic with each other.

I did see much of Solo and Gui being romantic this my thoughts don't mean they did do good.

Good luck to you who is are about to watch this, again patience and open mind will help you enjoy fully. And yes it has the Happy ending. I love happy endings after a fight for true love. Don't you agree :)

Leia Mais

Give it a try

Ok so where do we start? I have seen many people having many different opinions about this serie. A lot of people say it's boring and I clearly see why but I have to disagree a little bit. I myself wasn’t very into it at first because nothing really happened? The characters didn't have much personality and it felt overall pretty boring and dragged out. However I personally came to realize that this serie takes some time to kick off, maybe a little too long though. The characters as well, they all grew a little stronger later on and I started to see more colors in their personalities.
Sadly this took way too long and most people got bored before getting to the better parts. I can't exactly blame anyone because I was very disappointed as well but with a bit of understanding and lots of time I eventually got very attached to the characters somehow.
I did not get into the straight couple though (not because they were straight ofc) but their story just felt confusing, toxic and I just did not feel any development or emotion watching them. It was mostly uncomfortable.
At the end of the day, Oxygen actually had very loveable characters if you're willing to give them some time. I did not like how long it took for that to happen though, it was way too slow and dragged out in scenes where nothing really happened. But after finishing the show I really came to adore Sologui and even more, Phukao.

ACTING:
I am not sure how to judge the acting. I'm gonna be honest and say the acting could be a bit too stiff. Especially from Petch who acted as Gui, but considering it was his first acting job it seems understandable. I also believe his character were supposed to lack a strong or colorful personality. Okay but on to my favorite, Boss. Boss acted as Kao and I personally really enjoyed both the character and his way of giving life to it. Kao was a very kind, music loving guy with a confident but very understanding personality. The tone in his voice and face expressions suited his character well enough at least.

OST:
Here we have something I loved. The OST of this serie was amazing. Never skipped the intro even once. It was catchy and fitting to the serie. A nice melody with nice lyrics. Yes this is a song I will remember for sure.

Leia Mais

Soft & Fluffy

This show have been one of my most anticipated shows in 2020. When I first read the book, I was amazed at how lowkey and unproblematic it was. I got curious and excited for the show. And I wasn't disappointed. I first held off from watching until we were two episodes from ending and now that I'm here, I'm glad I did held off from watching. It was a good, soft and fluffy show to binge-watch. I'll try my best to keep them spoiler-free but if a few slips out, I apologise in advance!

/May Contain Spoilers/

Story
The story is practically what I expected it to be except for the doctors and Linda. First of what I liked, the unproblematic relationship between Solo and Gui. They were soft and fluffy and there was no real fuss. I can definitely see how it would be boring to those who love drama, but to me, Oxygen was a show I'd watch when I want to relax my mind and experience the idea of a soft love. They were childish and young and it was a nice change of pace. And the secondary couple was amazing. Their storyline was beautifully written and it was really cute to see how they both came close together. I think if anything, I disliked the doctor's storyline. I didn't know what they were trying to do there but every time they appeared on screen, I didn't hesitate to skip them. Their storyline was just--weird.

Acting/Cast
I think the acting was alright. Solo and Gui were portrayed just like I imagined them to be and the softness between them is as expected. I think overall, given what the characters were, the actors did a great job. The same goes for Phu and Kao. I didn't read Nitrogen but I liked them acting the characters the way they did. There was some awkwardness here and there but that was to be expected. I also did raise my eyebrows at casting of the parent figures but I didn't really minded them much. Overall, it was a great acting performance to me.

Music
I loved it. I don't have much to say but I loved the OST of this series. I'll never get tired of it. It captures the sweetness of the show.

Rewatch Value
I would watch this again sometime in the future. I generally don't rewatch shows but this might be one that I'll come back to again someday.

Overall
A good show if you like fluffy, soft romances without too much drama and angst. And hoping for season 2!

Leia Mais

So like... nothing really happened.

Or rather, a lot happened, but no one truly reacted to it in any way. It's not like this show has been free of the usual over the top tropes. It's just the characters had little to no reaction to them compared to other series.

When I started watching, I was ready for the cute, sweet, unproblematic slower romance, and at the beginning it was more or less just that. Then, they added so many random plot lines to make it more "entertaining/dramatic", but everyone just reacted to them in such an unnatural way, I could not connect to it at all.

That said, Solo is my baby boy. I truly love this kid. He was adorable and, as far as I know, Nut did the best job acting wise. The rest of the cast was meh. I skipped all the doctor and Kim’s scenes. That whole plot line was a true mess. I know many people loved Kao and Phuri, but again... I didn't care that much. They just felt awkward most of the time.

I don't even want to talk about that Disney ending, that made the whole second half of the show a joke. All the characters did 180 as if they were different people, because resolving conflicts in a well written manner apparently is not the writer's thing.

The music was nice though. But this ain't Spotify, I need me some good plot behind that soundtrack.

Overall... the show was so meh and boring I have barely any thoughts about it. The last episode was tragically bad, and even though it gave us a cute ending, logically speaking it made no sense. Solo and Gui were cute and I truly suffered throughout this just for them.

Leia Mais

Stereotypical BL Series

While I did give this series a good rating, I won't lie that it's pretty generic, and a stereotypical BL. It wasn't bad or anything, I did enjoy myself, but noting stood out either. I had to rewatch a few episodes just to remember what had happened.

Let's Dive In.

Solo and Gui were a pretty forgettable couple. Nothing to major stood out with them that made me want more of them. Their pairing was okay, I did really like how tall Nut is and how he just towered of Petch, although, Nut's acting was questionable. He held this gaze that was super annoying and I just wanted him to change expressions at least once. Gui was fine I guess, he wasn't bad but he didn't stand out either. Like I said, I can barely even remember what went on with this couple.

The reason I gave this drama the rating it got was because of Phu and Kao. Absolutely adored them. Characters that come to meet that have completely opposite personalities is the best to me. Kao helped Phu get out of his comfort zone, and helped him to be more spontanteus. I wished we could've gotten to see them get together, so if there is a season 2, then I hope most of the focus is on them.

The third couple is confusing. Khem and Dr. Perth feel too odd for me to count them as a couple. I didn't ship them not one bit, and wish that Dr. Petch would've been the one to reciprocate perth's feelings. This leads me into Khim. Her character was annoying, dreadful, a stalker, and we could've done without her in the series. For the majority of the series she is trying to convince Dr. Petch that he's gay and in love with Dr. Perth. It wasn't entertaining at all, and made me highly uncomfortable. Also, her following Solo and Gui around like they were her property or something. Nothing good came form her. With her character being apart of the show, you can kind of tell this was made for female fans before it was made for males. Upsetting, but the simple truth with most Thai BLs.

Some other problematic stuff happened in this series that I can't really remember, but all I know is that this isn't the worse series ever, did have its cute moments. Wouldn't be the first series I recommend, but it wouldn't be the last either, so that a good sign.

Leia Mais

Very sweet

I can’t say that I did t enjoy this series because I did. The story was a good one - albeit following a well worn path. The two main leads have good chemistry and are both nice boys. I guess I like a bit more passion in my BL. Give me MaxTul or Tutor/Fighter and I am happy. Do I recommend you watch this? Yes, but don’t expect any passionate kisses. It’s a sweet, clean living, hard working king of series, with lots of feel good factor about it. It moves along at a good pace and 13 episodes is just about right. Maybe I am too old to appreciate the naivety and wholesomeness of it all? Good actors, good characters. Solo’s Dad is a very good character and very easy on the eye! 😉

Leia Mais

Intriguing main characters and original side stories

The story did not have anything extraordinary, but the acting made it live. The drama is the type with a calm intrigue, which I usually avoid, but I felt like this one was different from the usual excitement of Thai BLs.

Like I said, the story is about a guy who meets a guy, very basic. But the characters themselves were really original, which did not tire me (over clichés). And something they REALLY well are the side stories. Original characters AND stories, in the first and second couple. You haven't figured out what is going on until you have. Of course, sometimes I felt bored and I skipped whenever I was not interested (I'm a skipper), but I liked the majority of the drama, main couple or not.

Leia Mais

In love with the story, but plot gets a little messy? I ALSO NEED A SEQUEL!

Phu and Kao ended up being my favourite side ship, they were such a beautifully worked-on pair, i always got excited when it came to their side story. "Bunny" Kao pressing his head against Phu as a sign of trust and love was so damn soft, many times I nearly cried from an overwhelming sense of adoration for the both of them. Please let there be a sequel, there's so many things I need to see wrapped up even more!
I need to see Kao and Phu meet up, need to see Kao and Pham interact. I need to see where Perth and Khem go as well as Khim and Petch and their new relationship. The finale did wrap up a lot of things so I wasn't disappointed, but there's this clear feeling that there's more to add in the storyline.
I adored all the characters and how they were built, their backgrounds, and how the actors and actresses played them.
Towards the end, the business storyline between Solo and Gui did feel messy (but still enjoyable), and there was a strange cut in the woods with Petch and Khem with his twisted ankle. Regardless, I'm in love with the whole storyline and would love a sequel in the future.

Leia Mais