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Tema problemático
Eu sei que essa série é aclamada por conta do tema sério e polêmico, diferente do que normalmente é tratado em dramas BL, mas eu ainda sinto que o roteiro é um pouco problemático demais, justamente por se enquadrar no gênero Boys Love. Vamos em partes.Shin é um calouro que admira o estudante modelo de sua universidade, P'Keng. Eles acabam por se aproximar e P'Keng desenvolve sentimentos pelo Shin. Certo, até aí temos um plot comum em séries tailandesas de BL. O que torna The Effect diferente dos outros dramas é o que vem a seguir.
As pessoas começam a falar do Shin na internet, porque não gostam da ideia dele estar próximo do Keng. E o Shin, como bom protagonista samaritano, daqueles que se importa mais com os amigos do que consigo mesmo, não demonstra em momento nenhum que ele próprio está sofrendo com o cyberbullying, tudo que ele demonstra é preocupação com a imagem do P'Keng, já que as pessoas estão insinuando que eles são um casal. Até esse ponto eu estava gostando do rumo da série, meu cérebro criativo formava teorias de como os protagonistas iam passar por aquelas dificuldades, eu imaginava o P'Keng olhando no fundo dos olhos do Shin e dizendo que não se importava com seus status, que estar ao lado do Shin era o mais importante pra ele, que ele assumiria seu amor pelo Shin pra escola inteira. Eu também imaginava o Shin percebendo que gostava de verdade do P'Keng, ele percebendo que toda admiração que ele sentia não era apenas por ele ser um estudante modelo, que ele gostava do P'Keng mais do que apenas aquele relacionamento p/nong que eles estavam cultivando. Eu queria ver o Shin perceber que ele tinha sentimentos românticos pelo Keng. Mas aí tudo desmoronou.
Quando o Keng confeçou seu amor, o Shin explicou pra ele que era assexual (ou pelo menos alguma das opções dentro do guardachuva da assexualidade, convenhamos) e o P'Keng não aceitou a rejeição de forma muito boa. Toda aquela coisa do estupro, tudo que o P'Keng faz depois que o Shin consegue fugir dele, a chantagem com o vídeo e o comportamento doentil do Keng. Eu sei que é super interessante ver um tema desses apresentado num gênero tão "pão com ovo" que é o cenário do BL tailandês, mas eu continuo não gostando de associar a mente doente de alguém que abusa sexualmente a pessoa pela qual é apaixonada com o mundo LGBTQ+. Essa pode ser uma opinião um tanto que extrema, mas eu sinto que contando esse tipo de história, as pessoas só vão continuar associando ainda mais os LGBTQ+ com pessoas que tem disturbios mentais relacionados ao sexo. Quer dizer, The Effect podia ter contado uma história incrível, ainda apostando no conceito "o efeito que as palavras das pessoas na internet tem na vida real" sem precisar transformar um dos protagonistas num estuprador doente. As coisas podiam ter sido saudáveis e ainda assim tratar de um assunto sério e problemático da sociedade.
Num geral, é uma boa série para aqueles que procuram algo fora do padrão de BLs tailandeses. Como comumente dito aqui no site, eu não recomendaria para quem começou a descobrir o cenário BL agora, o tema é meio pesado e seria bom que você explorasse os clássicos primeiro.
A produção da série num geral é excelente, os atores são incríveis (P'James <3) e num geral é uma ótima produção, apesar da problematização.
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Por favor, só assista se não tiver problemas com gatilhos!!!
Demorei praticamente 5 anos para conseguir rever essa série e vir falar sobre ela. Foram apenas 3 episódios que me machucaram de uma forma indescritível, por diversos motivos pessoais, e só agora consegui enfrentar esse fantasma.Meu título tem muito a ver com o que aconteceu comigo, eu assisti à essa série sem ter conhecimento dos gatilhos, e por causa disso tive crises de pânico. Hoje, depois de muita terapia já consigo falar sobre ela (claro que a terapia não foi por causa da série, mas os gatilhos que ela ativou pioraram minha situação emocional).
Apesar de ter aspectos técnicos muito bons, essa série trata temas muito sérios de forma irresponsável, e eu diria até que é um desserviço ao mundo BL. Posso estar sendo radical? Sim! Mas não consigo opinar de outra forma sobre uma série que romantiza um estupro e ainda termina com um final aberto.
Tem muitas problemáticas sendo desenvolvidas, mas primeiro vamos falar de Keng. Keng é o representante da universidade, um garoto belo, rico, tem tudo o que quer, mas que sofre uma grande pressão por parte de seus pais para ser sempre o melhor em tudo, para não decepcionar e tudo o mais. Ele tem certeza de sua sexualidade, ele sabe que é gay, mas não tem coragem de mostrar esse seu lado e se reprime por causa da família e da imagem social. Keng tem alguns amigos, e um deles já se declarou pra ele. Óbvio que Keng o rejeitou, mas ele fez questão de deixar sempre claro que tinha certeza que Keng era gay e não tinha coragem de se assumir. (In)felizmente, a paixão chega para todos, e para ele chegou quando conheceu Shin. Talvez todos os anos de repressão sejam responsáveis pelo estrago mental feito nele, sim, estrago mental, pois ninguém age como ele agiu estando são, mas NADA justifica o que ele fez!!! Absolutamente nada!
Agora, vamos falar de Shim, Um garoto introvertido, sem amigos, que chega na faculdade e se aproxima de dois jovens que se mostram amigos de verdade, e acaba sendo atraído pela amizade de Keng. Talvez ele se sinta especial, pois pela primeira vez na vida faz amigos, e justamente o cara mais popular da escola, até mesmo seus pais vibram por ele entrar em uma nova fase. A vida de Shim começa a virar de cabeça pra baixo quando começam a surgir boatos sobre ele e Keng, sempre acompanhados de fotos sugestivas (tirada pelo tal amigo apaixonado de Keng às escondidas), e isso gera uma onda de hate contra ele, afinal, quem era ele para manchar a imagem do mais popular, do mais rico e mais bonito? Sim, pq o adjetivo "gay" era uma mancha. E até mesmo os que não se importavam com a sexualidade, se importavam que Shim fosse o escolhido, pois achavam que não combinavam. Shim sofria além de todo o ódio jogado contra ele, com medo de ver Keng com a imagem prejudicada, em nenhum momento ele se coloca em primeiro lugar, mas que é fã de BL até aqui entende e espera que tudo se resolva. Quando a bomba explodiu, Keng assumiu a homossexualidade para seus pais, e também seu amor por Shim, que o rejeitou pois nunca o viu dessa forma, pelo que eu entendi ele não sente atração por ninguém, e Keng, o garoto rico que sempre teve tudo, menos um não, não aceita esse fato. A Partir daí tudo vai descer ladeira abaixo.
Keng a partir daqui se torna um homem assustador, como se não estivesse mais em seu juízo perfeito, com atitudes nojentas e doentias. Começando a partir do espancamento e estupro que ele comete contra Shim, do fato dele ter gravado tudo (MDS que horror) para ouvir e se satisfazer depois, ou chantagear Shim, não sei, ambas as opções são terríveis. A abordagem desses temas até aqui é bem importante e interessante, falamos da explosão de Keng depois de anos sendo reprimido, falamos de bullying e cyberbullying, mas nada me preparou para ver a forma como foi tratado o caso do estupro... a família de Keng, sem nenhum escrúpulo, pagando com dinheiro pela sua imagem, Shim aceitando, Keng não sendo punido e ainda perseguindo a vítima, que agora está em depressão, a tentativa de suicídio, a vida da vítima ser destruída e a do abusador seguir em frente... qual o intuito de mostrar isso? Com certeza existiam vários outros caminhos que esse BL poderia ter seguido para ter um final adequado, mas até o final de superação não veio, com a aparente morte de Shim depois de tudo que sofreu.
No aspecto técnico, tudo excelente! Conseguiram encaixar toda essa densidade em 3 eps, mas sinceramente, nunca mais quero ver esse BL de novo, e com essa resenha eu o enterro. Só assista se não tiver problemas com os diversos gatilhos que ele mostra.
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Se você tá procurando um BL fofo e clichê passe longe de The Effect
Eu realmente gostei de assistir. O único defeito foi ter sido cancelada, sinto que esse dorama tinha tudo pra ir longe.A história é pesada e os atores conseguiram entregar muito bem os sentimentos dos personagens, além de ter sido o primeiro dorama que assisti que não romantiza estupro. Por ter somente 3 episódios eu pensei que não fosse conseguir me apegar aos personagens e à história, mas não foi isso que aconteceu.
Gostaria que The Effect pudesse ter tido espaço pra se desenvolver da forma que deveria.
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The Effect (2019)
Esse série é muito maravilhosa justamente por fugir dos roteiros tradicionais das séries tailandesas. Apenas faço uma ressalva, o roteiro deveria ter abordado que um dos caminhos saudáveis e positivos para os protagonistas, Shin e Keng, que é o atendimento clínico psicológico - um psicólogo, por exemplo, pois isso daria ao público geral, inclusive fora da Tailândia, de que há esperanças oferecidas pela ciência, ainda resta uma possibilidade de curar as feridas. O final aberto é muito, mas muito interessante, dramático ou nem tanto assim. Eu amo finais abertos. [Hiran Pinel, Brasil. 2021]Esta resenha foi útil para você?
From the start it should have given you an idea on what you should be looking for, the every possible EFFECTs of the things we say or do. As for Newton's Third Law of motion states: "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction". For every EFFECT there is a CAUSE. One does not do an action without a reason behind it. The reason may be obvious, deliberate; but it could be also hidden or unaware to the person doing the action.
When the world you know suddenly was turned upside-down, will you able to handle it even as if the problems of the world rest on your shoulders? How can you recover when your world is seemingly shattered into pieces? Will you be able to rebuild it the way it used to be, or even better?
STORY
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This is a 10 for me.
The show unabashedly and in an unadulterated way features topics that seemingly people just sweep under the rug. (1) rape, (2) rumor mongering on social media, (3) suicide and (4) implied mental issue. Yes, number 1 and 3 have already mentioned in other BL series, but the way this series presented those is raw, graphic and it did not sugar-coat it. For the forth topic which is "mental health" is not that obvious, you need to analyze every detail from the start down to the very last scene. One needs to be very objective and it will be hard to do it with this very emotional show to see things through. It is presented in a way to raise awareness. The kind of EFFECTs any of the mentioned above could have is what the series wants to focus on.
This shows the rape also occurs in the same-gender world and not only exclusive to the male-female relationship. It is traumatizing when a person is subjected to rape, let alone to relive it when you are opening it up to another person. That is why victims of rape tend not to tell anyone or report it to the authorities.
The power of social media. This is what consuming the society nowadays. With the information age at hand, it can bring out the bests in people as well as the worsts. It can be a tool to create a beauty or destroy. The problem with social media, specially with pictures, it does not show the whole story. It just capture the millisecond. Even shared videos aren't 100% accurate if it doesn't show what happened before and after. Social media can rally for a cause, or spread rumors like a wildfire. The question is, will you share right away something that is not validated? This reminds us to be more responsible in what we do and say on social media because we might not know, someone is hurting and dying inside.
They say the people that commit suicide does not want really to die, but just want the pain to end. Often times, they think that ending one's life is the easy way to end the suffering. We should not judge people that commit this kind of act as we never walked in their shoes, lived the life and fight the everyday battles. Rape does not necessarily result to death, it is the depression the one goes through that would make someone to take his/her life.
Episode 1 is the very typical love story, the beginning, the progression of the feelings and finally, saying the three magical words, "I love you". But is life really all rainbows and sunshine? After all, that is the vibe you will get from the premier episode. Or is there a storm brewing in the horizon?
Yes Episode 2 ended very dark, darker than the night. But if you bother to stop for a while and analyze things, things that happened before the despicable action, you will see that it is not just one event that led to commit such horror. From the home, where you should be the safest, to your school, where you spend most of your time, in the hope of finding your happiness in the person you love. Tragically, when jealousy, gossips/rumors and rejection come become a factor, no one can tell what a person affect by it will do next. Especially if that person have not experience that situation before one tends to ease the pain the best and easiest way he/she thinks can.
Episode 3. Just when you thought things couldn't get any darker or painful as Episode just felt some did a gut punch to you. As you progress the episode, you will realize that is it not only the bruises or swelling of the punch, but a bleeding cut that you didn't notice at first. You tried to put a bandage on it, only to be ripped away and pour alcohol on it. It is that painful. It will be a long time for me to get over the series of events happened in this show.
On the implied issue of "mental health", one can say that the both leads suffered a mental condition in one way or the other. As one expressed this condition outwards by inflicting harm to others, while the other is to himself. And without the right intervention, it clearly shows the very ugly side of it.
This show struck very near to my heart as I had a cousin who was raped that eventually bear a child, my nephew. And now, that nephew of mine is suffering from a mental condition that at a tender age of 11 is already taking medicines to control his behavior.
(Addendum, after watching Grey's Anatomy Season 16 Episode 5, when Dr. Jo Karev is in session with a therapist)
I found this written on the board:
CORE FEELINGS
1. Fear
2. Anger
3. Shame
4. Sadness
5. Guilt
6. Pain/Hurt
7. Safe
8. Happiness
9. Love
10. Pride
11. Willing
12. Hopeful
13. Peaceful
You can see it the feelings that you can consider bad, affect someone negatively, destructive. On the other hand, you can identify the feeling that can build someone up. What if you are feeling more of the negative ones that the positive ones are seemingly drowned? Can you still live? When fear, anger, sadness, guilt, pain, pride, coupled with the lose of being safe, love, hope intensifies all at the same time, surely one will be broken down beyond repair.
ACTING
================
Unlike novels or something you read, where every action, reaction, expression can be told, when watching you are limited on how the actors convey certain emotion and image.
That is why I applaud OAT as KENG. His features will sway you to think that he is incapable of any such evil thing with his charming, innocent looks and unassuming behavior. As they say "Don't judge a book by its cover", could be more appropriate for him here. Is he really capable of a dispicable actions? Or events triggered the inner demon in him that he for eternity tried to keep it at bay or prisoned? HOWEVER, Oat could have shown more emotions when he is annoyed. When a character is the antagonist, and you feel disgusted with the character, this mean that the actor who played the role did a great job.
JAMES as SHIN - you can really see in his face the admiration to Keng without saying anything. And the time he felt betrayed, the pain resonates in his eyes. Opposite of a antagonist, when you feel the pain and happiness, then you know that the actor was able to deliver what is needed of him.
MUSIC
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I like the piano accompaniment on the key scenes. It heightens the emotion. But it could have been better if a voice is heard as it can further the emotion of the listener.
REWATCH VALUE
================
This is way too traumatic that even myself would not dare to watch this again. Perhaps after a year or so, I will revisit this.
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Don't watch if you suffer certain PTSD, rape etc
"THE EFFECT"I cried severally in the space of 3 episodes, I think that says a lot of this series. When I started watching I would have never expected such depth from it but then they will wowed me with the way they handled everything. The most important thing portrayed is that there is a consequence for every action, essentially THE EFFECT of each action.
Keng’s parents expecting him to be protect their reputation which was why he only accepted himself being gay late, his bit of denial and ultimately insulting man led to Man’s jealousy (although man’s jealousy was absolutely stupid, you are not entitled to someone liking you, they say they don’t like you, the move on). Man’s jealousy led to him posting about Shin and Keng, people ignorantly talking and posting more on the Shin and Keng issue, which led to Shin to spiral and pull away from Keng, which led to Keng to spiral and do the most abominable thing to Shin, which just had the worse effects afterwards.
This series touches on so many things which I would address when I am talk about in the story aspect for me but I think the most important thing I got out of this are some basic questions we never ask ourselves because we think it can never be our reality, but this showed everything can be turned upside down in the matter of seconds. How would we react if the world turned against us? When everything you know to be true is destroyed to its very core, how do we build back up? But mostly importantly, blaming ourselves for what happens to people especially with low self-esteem.
STORY
================
I wish I could give the story more than a 10, but 10 is the highest I can give it on a scale of 10.
The show held absolutely nothing back and the topics it touched are the ones we all wish to brush under the cap, but they took it head on and handled it so beautifully as well.
1. Rape (especially the fact that people who perpetrate rape are never too far from home), and calling Rape, rape. Not the gate way to love or whatever
2. Bullying on social media (especially with the cancel culture tendencies of our generation) and the way people just move on from it as though they have not ruined several people’s lives with their words)
3. Depression and Suicide, which is becoming more and more of a reality amongst LGBT youth. But most especially the pain that we need to stop when we attempt suicide and I speak from past experience of when I attempted suicide, when you want everything to stop.
4. Mental Health, I separated mental health from suicide because I feel this is an entire discussion after the fact of shin, that is the ending itself.
Minor themes touched on briefly.
1. Society actual reaction to the LGBT community, where people could still lose everything for coming out
2. Parents that care more about reputation than the actual happiness of their child (which is probably what led to the increase in depression in our generation probably)
3. The show also was a little forward on HIV
Now you might think that rape is touched on by other BL series but one thing that this had that the others was that they did not try to sugarcoat it, they showed depth to rape victims other than falling deeper in love with the rapists, they displayed the agony and PTSD that comes with rape. They were very raw with it and I loved that about their series. I felt Shin’s pain when he was raped, I felt his pain afterwards on not seeing any light in the world, I felt his pain when he took the money because he wanted it to end and I felt his pain at the point of the suicide because yes, he was tired of all the pain. This right here is the proper way to portray rape, not the disgusting attitude I have seen from Thai media, where Rape is treated like love, I understand that Keng was in love with Shin and that made it all the more painful but I am happy they did not shy away from calling out the disgusting thing that is called rape and making Shin mystically forgive him and just move on. I absolutely loved it.
It is traumatizing when a person is subjected to rape, let alone to relive it when you are opening it up to another person. That is why victims of rape tend not to tell anyone or report it to the authorities.
Social Media in our day and age has become such a power tool that has been misused and this show went to show that, social media is a tool of good but also of absolute harm when intended. Whether intentionally or unintentionally you could make someone’s life absolute hell with the “innocent” words that you post online. Another thing I took away from this, SOCIAL MEDIA doesn’t always tell the whole story but only what is decided to be shown (CHECK UP THE TAYLOR SWIFT AND KANYE WEST STORY OF RECENT OR THE JAMES CHARLES AND TATI WESTBROOK story), when all you are using is a picture to jump to conclusions, then it is to the detriment of someone else. The Taylor Swift and Kanye West story goes to show that even a video can be used to mislead people and bullet holes can’t be fixed by band aids, the damage done by social media is a lot of the times irreversible. Basically guys, please learn to be more careful about what you say or share across social media please. Social media is powerful and when manipulated, an example what Tati Westbrook did to James Charles, it does not matter your intentions, the damage you have done to a person is done. This reminds us to be more responsible in what we do and say on social media because we might not know, someone is hurting and dying inside.
The suicide and depression story hit closer to home for me than I expected to, as someone who has attempted suicide and been depressed, I can understand Shin. Sometimes we think doing some things will ease the pain from us, all we want is for that pain to end (I am not saying it is this way for every single person that attempts or commits suicide but a lot of us feel this), sometimes we just need everything to stop and suicide is the best way to escape it. (Side note for someone like me I found that engaging in nonstop work is a little helpful, it does not stop the anguish and all, but it is a good distraction). Honestly, I tell people not to judge people whom have attempted or committed suicide, you don’t know what it means to be on that edge and the feeling of hopeless that comes with it, it is a battle people fight every day and I love that it was captured in this honestly. But people should understand it is not necessarily the rape that leads to death but the agony, depression and sometimes PTSD that comes with it.
Episode 1: This was the basic average love story, crushing on that person from afar, meeting them, developing more feelings for the person until we arrive at the love stage. But this episode just went on to prove the narrative of after the calm comes the storm because honestly, I do not think people were ready for episodes 2 and 3.
Episode 2 where majority of the events that shaped the narrative happened. This episode was honestly quite painful to watch especially the last 20 minutes, I took several breaks to watch it. But the most important thing that I want people to note is that fact that the major events of the episode were a slow build up and didn’t all happen at once, one thing led to another, another lead to another until we had the rape. If you are someone who has some form of PTSD, especially from rape or anything of the sorts, please watch this episode with a trusted friend or something
Episode 3: This was the climax, like things went deeper and darker. I tell you, you definitely are not ready for episode 3, even if you believe you are, you are not. I don’t think I can write on this episode properly, it was just so much like I am still trying to wrap my head around the episode, I mean I am still crying at this very moment about episode 3, so that should tell you a whole lot about what to expect from episode 3. The ending was so perfect but yet so painful at the same time, because when you thought of all that could have been when they said “only if I had explained better” and “only if I had listened better”, then the sharp ending after that , I was honestly not prepared for this, that is all I have to say.
On the implied issue of "mental health", one can say that the both leads suffered a mental condition in one way or the other. As one expressed this condition outwards by inflicting harm to others, while the other is to himself. And without the right intervention, it clearly shows the very ugly side of it.
This show struck a chord because as someone who has battled mental health issues (bipolar disorder), which includes massive depression and suicidal tendencies, it felt almost like my story was told at some points. And I have friends who have been raped, so I was quite emotional about that too.
CORE FEELINGS
1. Fear
2. Anger
3. Shame
4. Sadness
5. Guilt
6. Pain/Hurt
7. Safe
8. Happiness
9. Love
10. Pride
11. Willing
12. Hopeful
13. Peaceful
You can see it the feelings that you can consider bad, affect someone negatively, destructive. On the other hand, you can identify the feeling that can build someone up. What if you are feeling more of the negative ones that the positive ones are seemingly drowned? Can you still live? When fear, anger, sadness, guilt, pain, pride, coupled with the lose of being safe, love, hope intensifies all at the same time, surely one will be broken down beyond repair.
ACTING
================
I first of all have to start by saying all the actors were phenomenal, because a lot of the times I prefer reading novels because of the descriptive nature of the emotions contained or that they wish to portray but I must say that these actors really sold me on their acting, off course there were parts that could have been better but I am still going to giving them a 10 on the acting. I mean they were simply beautfiul
Yangyi as Shin’s Mother, now she did not have a lot of speaking parts but honestly, she went a long way in selling the story, I genuinely felt her felicitating with her son’s pain at so many parts as many mothers would do. Her watchful eyeful over him sold the darker stories more.
Yacht and Top as Bright and Pramote, alright, compared to the rest of the cast, Bright and Pramote didn’t convey the anguish and pain emotions as well, I mean asides when Bright was punching Keng, I definitely felt those. But I did like one part where they told him friends are there for each other in episode 3, I actually believed them in that moment, and I felt a little warm.
Oat as Keng, honestly his looks helped to sell his part more I wouldn’t lie, he looks so innocent and charming and like he could never do what he did to Shin, which goes to tell you, people are not always what they appear to be like in reality. He really sold me on the lost and regret parts after the rape I almost felt sorry for him but nah, rape is rape and is not to be condoned ever. He had a little torn between feeling sorry for him and hating him.
James as Shin was everything I wouldn’t lie, like I said, I went through every single emotion with him, like I believe this story more because of him, the shift from his innocent self to the depressed and want to die person. He made me cry which speaks volumes about his acting skills as an actor, people can have such roles and absolutely fail at executing the acting well but James delivered so much.
MUSIC
================
I loved one particular song from the series, they used different parts of it and I was quite surprised to find out it was all one song. Honestly I love that song, I am currently listening to it on repeat as we speak, asides that, they tried with some piano parts of the music
REWATCH VALUE
================
This is so traumatic it is almost unwatchable for a second. I definitely would watch this again but honestly after a while because I do not think that I have it in me to watch this anytime soon. Like I love it, but it is so intense, I do not think I have it in me to watch it again just yet.
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Acting/Cast:
James (Shin)- He was lovable and sweet. He played a perfect Shin and had the audience loving his character and personality. This meant that when he got hurt, the audience was just as upset, wanting to comfort him, and hated Keng for hurting him. It takes a really good actor to play to the audiences emotions like that.
—Oat (Keng)- Again, it takes a really good actor to play to the audiences emotions like that. He made us like him in the first episode, but as we saw a change in his character, the audiences attitudes towards him changed with it. Then when he did what he did at the end of episode 2, we hated him deeply for hurting Shin. He’s such a powerful and believable actor. I hope to see him again in other dramas.
—Yacht (Bright)- The cool, fun and quirky side of him made the show much better. It’s even better when you know the personality of Bright and Yacht, are the same, which made him perfect for the role.
—Topicorn (Pramote)- Like Oat, I really do hope to see Topicorn in future dramas. He was really sweet, but loyal to his friends. Although he often seemed quite serious, you could tell he cared for Bright and Shin a lot.
Music: Good effects, and background sounds, but nothing that memorable.
Rewatch value: I think this is a show you only need to watch once or twice. I can’t see myself rewatching this for a while.
Overall: I gave it a 9, because although the casts were perfect, the show could have been longer, and I wish it had better opening music. Also, while I’m happy it stuck to the novel, I really wish the ending had been different. Other than that I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a short, but hard hitting drama to watch.
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This was heavy to watch....
Story: This is about the friendship between a senior and junior that turned sour. So this series is not for weak-hearted. There is no scope for romance in it. Shin is a first-year student, calm and introverted kind of guy. Keng is a senior, very handsome, famous in his university but feels pressurized by his parents.Acting: First two episodes acting was awesome. Keng and Shin did their job perfectly. Side characters like pramote and bright were a perfect and supportive friend of Shin. The last episode acting was little out of place. The scene where Keng and shin were crying, I couldn't see any tears. Keng's friend Man did a spectacular job of expressing unrequited love. He brought creepiness in his style and nailed that character.
Music: Music was sad and slow adding more meaning to this genre. I don't understand lyrics yet it enhanced emotions every time it played on screen.
Rewatch: Its painful rewatch this series in my point of view. But that doesn't mean that it was bad.
Overall: Its definitely not a sweet sugary BL. This series is more like a reality that shows some mistakes can never be rectified. Its a must-watch if you are fine with the genre.
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Absolute Perfection in its Depictions
Wow, This was not an easy watch AT ALL. That might have been why I waited almost a year now to watch it. But more than anything, this series was beautiful and disturbing, the exact mix that the audience should've felt when watching this. I will warn that it touches on heavy subjects, such as rape, PTSD, self-harm, and other things, so this really is not the series for everybody. However, for the people that are willing and able to watch this: YOU MUST. The actors James and Oat put on a marvelous performance in playing these very impactful characters in a drama that I will continue to appreciate for its truthfulness and accurate depictions of these heavy subjects.Let's Dive in.
I wasn't too sure where we were headed at the beginning of the first episode, but it really was just a start-up of us meeting the characters and the situations that are bound to happen. The episodes to follow were where the heavier subjects are brought up, and that's when it starts to get real.
Production was something on the same level as other BL series, but it did feel different and in a good way. Some of the camera angles that were shot added so much realness to the situation happening, and the added-on effects were really nice too. the OST was beautiful, and one that I haven't really enjoyed in a while. A huge applaud goes out to the production team.
let's move onto the plot. While it's super heavy and a lot to try and soak in, it was the most accurate portrayal I've ever seen. But the subject that I want to really highlight and applaud on is the way they handled sexual assault and the aftermath.
Let's first analyze the following series that have also depicted this subject: Book and Frame from Make It Right, Techno and Kengkla from Love By Chance, and the step-brothers in HIStory 4 (there are plenty of others, but these are the ones I want to touch on). The thing that these series have in common is how they swept under the rug the importance and the impact that rape has on the victim. Especially from MIR and LBC that end up romanticizing it and turning it into something happy and comedic when it shouldn't have been taken lightly. I applaud this series for how they showed it happening (because watching it go down helps the audience to understand its severity, and leave them disturbed which is what needed to happen), and how they also dealt with the aftermath. Shin was taken to the hospital, he missed school for weeks, he was on medication, and his family was dealing with the legal side of it all. Beautiful, Perfect, and honest. This wasn't a love story. Shin and Keng don't end up falling in love and living happily ever after. Instead, Keng is put in his place, and they never end up together. Thank you, god!
The aftermath was excellent too. something as real and as vulgar as this comes with terrible side effects, such as PTSD, depression, self-harm, and etcetera. I absolutely loved the way they depicted Shin afterward. Yes, it was hard to watch, especially his self-harming and him wanting to die, but it needed to be seen and it was done in the best way it could've been.
Moving onto Bright and Pramote, who were the best friends ever. I loved the way they stuck to Shin's side, and I loved the way they explained to him how he will get better and that they will continue to be with him through this and after this. There was not a single moment that I wasn't excited to see them on screen, and I'm glad that we get a hint of something between them and the last moments when it's revealed that they end up together. Yacht and Top did an excellent job.
The acting of James and Oat is what I want to give a bigger applaud on, It's not easy playing a victim, nor is it easy playing the predator. That very tough scene to shoot between them couldn't have been easy, and I'm proud that they were able to execute it in its realness.
The only real negative thing I can say about this series is the open ending that I wasn't too mad about, but still, I questioned the reasoning behind it. This show aired two years ago, so I'm not crossing my fingers for a second season, seeing as it would've been out by now, but it would've been nice to see who was hit by the car and if they even actually died or not. In my opinion, I do believe that Shin was the one hit, only because him being hit would cause more of an emotional impact than if Keng got hit, and creators are all about getting emotions out of people. Also, I believe that Shin only thinks that Keng is there, and he's not actually. Deep down, Shin is still dealing with the hardships of his situation, and I believe that his being alone like that brought back some of that turmoil. Part of me wishes that we would've seen who was hit, but honestly, at the end of the day, I'm glad we didn't. Now it's just up to the audience and what they thought.
Overall, I guess I wouldn't really label this a BL series, just because it feels wrong to say that this was boys-love when it was something totally of the opposite. However, I do believe that any person mentally and emotionally able to watch this series should.
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When I started watching these series, I knew that they won't be all lovey-dovey and that's what really pushed me to watch it. I'm a fan of series that aren't so fake to real life and let me think more about what actually does happen in the world. And these series shortly but surely did show a dark side of it.Overall I would say that this is a good series to watch since a lot of people don't like the "real" stuff in BL world and that understandable cause it's a fantasy world where people come to run away from real-life problems, but this way it's easier to understand and see the real-life problems when you mix them with fantasy and make them visible. Also, the series is short so you don't have to "waste" a lot of time on it. One more thing that is shown that I liked a lot, is that this story doesn't have a 100% happy ending. We don't even know what really is the ending. It doesn't end with "oh let's forget everything that happened, I love you, you probably love me, let's just be together" and I stan. It would be a bit sick if it ended like that. It was realistic.
What I also liked, is that we weren't told if Shin actually did have romantic feelings for P'Keng (or if he was even gay) and we only knew about P'Keng's. Shin is this typical shy character who at the end has developed and it's visible. About P'Keng though...I could understand his part too. He's a broken person from the start and the blame lies heavily on parents. At first, you want to love him and then hate him with passion but you have to think about everything before judging him. He really did do an awful thing, that's true, but those were all the repressed feeling that had piled up in him that came out in one moment and they mixed and their effect wasn't the best. So, judge me all you want, but I do feel sorry for him that his situation made him the way he is. Also, he confuses love with obsession a lot.
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So this is not a typical BL series which we watch. No lovey dovey stuffs. But what we see in this series is close to the reality.As the title suggests, the series definitely potrays the effects of one's action. This series deal with major issues which exists in real life.
1. Kheng potrays the reality of life that nothing is perfect. Even though he is smart handsome and perfect on the inside he deals with issues like his family who wants him to study something he doesn't like and over expectations. Also a family who doesn't love their child but only care about their reputation
2. Shin a close, shy introverted guy who is uncomfortable to make new friends something all introverts face. We all want friends but just the shyness stops us. I'm introvert so I relate.
3. Bright even though not much coverage to him but I like him a lot. Also we see how he pays for people just to please them. A issue maybe people face I'm not rich so I don't know. But its shows how people use you only when they hav a profit. N people like these are better cut out of life.
Other than this you learn all the harmful effects one's action has on another. Like social media. How people can just type something on comments and hurt someone. It shows the dark side of the social media and people who just make assumptions start rumors without caring for others feelings. Also rape. They show the after effects one has after this both physically and mentally. At one point you decide that committing suicide is the best way to end the pain. Also how important it is to have support from your friends and family . How it could help you in hard times
Finally would I call it a BL drama ? nope. But its a must watch. Coz not everything is rainbows and unicorns and this shows the reality of life. Also next time you hate comment remember what effects it can cause on someone's life. Thats all don't watch it if you can't handle the reality or if u r expecting BL cos its not
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“The Effect” definitely had a strong effect on me. It’s really impressive how they turned the cliche-situation of the beginning (very similar to average BL dramas like 2 Moons) upside down. Sadly, the production value was a bit underwhelming, I feel like they could have put a little more effort into that, especially when there’s only three episodes. But the storyline was very well-done and so true to the title!Shin as a character seemed so real, it really hurt badly. They also did a good job in depicting the aggressor (Keng) as a victim in his own right, without downplaying his actions and thus leaving no space for the audience to sympathise up to the point of forgiving him. Maybe adding another episode to the series would have helped to make Keng’s development more realistic though, him cracking up in ep. 2 seemed rushed to me. The supporting cast was okay (didn’t see the sweet Pramote/Bright thing coming), Keng’s parents felt out of place though. I liked how in the course of ep. 3 one could see how little the people around understood how much of an effect their seemingly small actions and talks could have. Boy Sompob’s song was heartbreaking as always, the overall use of music was just meh. I honestly don’t know what exactly the ending is supposed to mean, but it doesn’t really matter imo.
I’m impressed.
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