Bad Buddy (2021)

my compliment sandwich of a very good and important show

good thing:
- both lead actors are so talented. literally i felt everything the characters felt
- the banter is pretty realistic, actually feels like conversations you would have w ur partner, which is only complimented by the amazing acting which made me feel mostly happy but also very lonely LMAO
- women are portrayed very very well for BL standards, i for sure thought that ink would be used as some sort of obstacle for pat and prans relationship and it would be a long and drawn out love triangle but no!! the love triangle bit only lasted like a day and ink was never led on by pat, plus she actually has her own personality and interests and isnt just “evil woman who’s stopping leads from getting together” also the lesbian side relationship???? omg i called it jokingly but then it actually happened!!! so good too because again i suspected pa and wai would end up together which didnt feel right to me at all
- this show feels like it was written for queer people. it somehow combines the comfort of queer escapism and with the catharsis of homophobic subtext. none of the characters are homophobic or even have a heteronormative mindset at all. the only reason pat and pran have to keep their relationship hidden is because of their families and friends respective rivalries, which could very easily be read as homophobia. and all of this combines into a show thats relatable to gay people, yet not too depressing or uncomfortable! im floored. i absolutely didn’t expect the story and writing to be as good as it was
- a lot of people hate the product placement but i thought it was funny and kinda looked forward to it sometimes. it’s definitely not natural by any means but its fun and the show wouldn’t be as charming without it tbh

bad thing:
- it is very confusing to me that pat is the engineer and pran is the architect because pran is like such an engineer i mean come on!!
- in all seriousness the one thing preventing my rating from being a 10 is that the show is pretty lacking stylistically speaking. i know i shouldn’t be expecting it to be an incredibly shot visual masterpiece, but i just appreciate good aesthetics what can i say

more good things:
- the character writing is just beautiful. i knew exactly who the main two were within the first 20 minutes of the show and they really did feel like real people. none of the characters choices or dialogue seems out of place, and in fact everything they did seemed incredibly in character.
- this show knows that it is a BL and it knows what it means to be a BL, it takes almost every BL trope i can think of and either pokes fun at it in a kinda metahumor way, or totally subverts it. i expected ink to be an obstacle, falling for pat the moment she’s introduced, being led on by him in a long and unwanted love triangle only to be immediately discarded once he gets together with pran. but pat is the one to ask her out, and immediately realizes that she isn’t for him because he’s actually in love with pran. and while we’re on pat, i totally expected him to be the whole “toxically masculine ‘straight’ guy in a gay relationship because he’s basically the guy and his boyfriend is basically the girl” but thats not him at all!! pat and pran’s relationship doesn’t have forced gender roles, and the writing makes this a point. pran points out the absurdity of heteronormative labels being applied to a gay relationship. pat denounces the “im only gay for you” trope, and says that he’s multisexual. there are many more moments i could write into this, but those were just some of my favorites. all that being said, it’s just so cool to me that a show would address the long running and blatant issues with the genre it’s a part of.
-that one scene when pat jumps onto his bed giggling and kicking his feet and strangling his pillow an shit. he is so me.

Leia Mais

Funny but also touching and mature series.

Look, because I want to be objective my rating 9 BUT subjectively this drama is 10 for me.

It nails all of my personal favourite tropes (rivals to lovers, secret relationship, forbidden love, two idiots in love) which is the reason why my subjective rating is that high. And in my opinion this drama deserves high ratings because it delivered and nailed almost everything it promised to be.

I see lot of people say that the story isn´t original but I have to disagree. Yes it has the common trope of rivals to lovers but the Romeo and Juliet type of trope isn´t really that overdone. Not to say that Bad Buddy does all of it in its own way. I think that saying that the plot isn´t original when talking about BL is a strange statement because there are only very few series that are "original".

But yes, what makes Bad Buddy unique isn´t the plot - its the execution, the characters, the emotions and the overall message. Its very mature and well realized series.

Best thing about this series is the couple themselves. Their natural chemistry is one of the best i have ever seen. Their relationship is healthy, they trust each other, treat each other with respect. Their rivalry doesn´t stop when they end up together, they still tease each other and are just two idiots head over heels for each other. All of this makes the fact that the circumstances are unfortunate for them that much more tragic. Look at them, they just want to be silly with each other, why do you have a problem with that?

Another thing to applaud this series for are the reasons why their parents hate each other and forced them to become rivals. It doesn´t feel far fetched, it makes sense and isn´t overly dramatic . It was one of the things that could go badly for the plot but didn´t. I think its mainly because it wasn´t this one big dramatic thing that would made them hate each other for infinity but mixture of things that grew bitter over time. And made it much harder to magically fix and established that some things take a lot of time to fix , if they even CAN be fixed in the first place.

The parents could have been a bad plot device but they were so well characterized. They aren´t big bad villains, they are caring parents. Yes, they were petty and controlling, they couldn´t leave their past behind and dragged their children into their mess. They hurt them but it was because they wanted the best for them. Even though they more thought about themselves than their children. Its scary thing that happens in real life. I wish we saw more of them!

ACTING

Oh Nannon, he is stellar. One of my favourite moments is the ending of Ep. 4 and his performance. It was so sad, touching and realistic. I could feel it. I love how he portrayed Pran, he became one of my favourite characters in BL. Ohm is great as well. The scene where Pat realized he had feelings for Pran was also so well done by him. In fact I cannot think of any instance when would the acting fall off. Everyone is great and Nannon is phenomenal.

BUT WHY NOT 10?

Well, objectively this series has it´s setbacks and they mainly come in the middle were the plot kinda stalls and has some unnecessary plot points (like the whole Wai x Pa thing). I cannot really think of a good reason why were we so occupied with the architecture play. I think there were more interesting ways of moving the plot forward. And it took away time that was needed ( for developing Pa and Inks relationship, we need more GL for the love of GOD). Because my biggest problem was that they established faculty rivalry but Pat friends moved on so quickly and easily. And they were the more agressive part of the conflict in the beginning. They sometimes even bullied Wai and then never apologized. Not even Pat.

So this drama has a storytelling problems, nothing big but noticeable. Like I think we should have known the reason why Pa wanted Pat to protect Pran sooner, otherwise Pat character doesn´t make sense in the beginning. ( I am nitpicking, I know. Just my thought)

And the finale.... it could have gone better considering how good was ep. 11. The parallel between Junior and his mother and Pran and Pran´s mother was weird. Pran´s mother slapped him, she was in the wrong, Junior mother wasn´t. Pran forgave her too quickly a once again some things felt unnecessary. BUT I like that not everything was sun and rainbows at the end.

Overall the finale was satisfying end to an amazing series and one of the best that came out in 2021. I re-watched it, it was even better and would recommend this series to anyone, even if you don´t usually watch BL.

Leia Mais

A feel-good LGBTQ+ friendly BL.

I deleted Bad Buddy from my Plan to watch list when I saw how many things I have on it and something just had to go. No idea why I picked Bad Buddy to be deleted too, but YouTube knew this was the right drama for me and recommended me some OST and Just friend? playing on repeat made me watch it right the next day.

N O T S P O I L E R F R E E / N O M A J O R S P O I L E R S

Ming and (if you know Pran's dad name, let me know)'s families been rivals since... Forever. Competing with each other in everything you can think of. Spending years arguing, the rivalry is being passed down to their sons, Pran and Pat. They start off as neighbours, trying to avoid each other, and end up being actually friends during high school, attending the same class and playing in the same band. Unfortunatelly Pran's mother is not happy with that and transfers Pran to different high school. Year later is Pran allowed to come back and start his studies at local university. Moving to dorm, he accidentally starts passing small gifts with his nextdoor neighbour, which turns out to be Pat. After whole semester of rilling each other and their friends up, Pat is tired of it and starts hitting on Pran instead...

We've seen so many variations of Romeo and Juliet already, ones following the story to the detail, ones alternated, some GL, some BL, the theme is nothing new. But none of them ever felt as feel-good, non toxic, non stereotypical or LGBTQ+ friendly until Bad Buddy came out and rised the bar high for everyone, not just the Thai BL dramas.

I applaud to the whole cast of Bad Buddy for making it fun experience with great soundtrack, ditching all those BL stereotypes about who's the wife and who's the husband in the BL relationship, avoiding the cliché line "I don't like guys, I only like him", smashing the misogyny many dramas use and excuse and sneakily turning sismance into GL. I was only sad about how Wai was painted as the victim after he outed Pran and Pat to everyone, which is in the LGBTQ+ community dangerous behavior and you do not need or want friends like that.

And with the ending we got, I don't think we need season 2. What we need more is another drama with Ohm and Nanon as leads. :)

Leia Mais

Excellent chemistry

This series is uniquely different with chemistry between the two main leads that comes off as real, simple & felt. Both of these actors are amazing, especially Pran's actor, Nanon, who's skills are really at the forefront as he conveys the wealth, depth and complexity of all the emotions, shuttered feelings Pran's character is dealing with every time he's around Pat/Phat, Ohm. I appreciate the lack of commonly over used or leading preconceptions/stresses such as "I am not gay," "I only like him not other men," "I am a man and have always dated girls all my life," and "The world will not accept us" haven't come up thus far. The central antagonist is the tangible rivalry between their two families and if that wasn't present, these two would've been something more than friends since high school. I always love it when you really get to know the main leads and you can tell they don't think they are weird to have feelings for the same gender and neither does it seem to be an issue with their friends. Just competition between different faculty and silly testosterone driven competition. I really love this series thank you

Leia Mais

U MUST WATCH THIS SERIES!

My ans is YES! This series is one of the best BL in the whole BL industry. The plot is something unfamiliar in the BL industry. It's something like enemies to friends to lovers and (maybe friends again.) It has an ending that not everyone expected. But I was actually very happy with the ending. This is a must watch series. The beginning of the series is something like Romeo and Juliet (sworn enemies) but the ending could be different. Watch the series to find out abt the ending 😁. Good luck! Get ready Ur tissues because u might needing it! For my case, I really loved this series as it had a lot of feelings. Even if they don't say it, you can just see it their eyes. It's a feelings that both hid it from each other but they can't like eachother . Enjoy ☺️

Leia Mais

Usually when I hear "healthy relationship" I think boring. But not this one.
This is one of the best BL dramas I've watched. It is a well done series all around. Not a single bad thing to say about it. It has great writing, an interesting plot, and good acting. Everything is done in such a healthy manner. No stupid not needed explanations. Every decision and conversation are on point. The ML not only have great love and understanding for each other, but also love and respect for their friends and families. It’s also not everyone is gay BL. It has some great side characters and great healthy MM bromance. And it has such HOT moments. It did have some angst in episode 11 - but it was done in such a good way! It worked for me!

Leia Mais

Enemies-to-lovers BL story! Very cute despite some nonsensical plotlines

A BL story providing a refreshing take on the well-known enemies-to-lovers trope. The drama manages to stay interesting during its 12 episodes but some storylines are less inspired than others. There are a few plot elements that are quite nonsensical in terms of conflicts making the show feel a bit too soapy for some of its narrative arcs. The show remains however highly entertaining to follow.

The pairing of the two leads is super cute with an exciting premise to their romance as both their families and their friends from university are at odds with each other. There are some thrilling moments (especially at the beginning) with some tension build up between the characters as the feelings become more prominent. Their relationship stays mostly platonic and focus more on cuteness than on spiciness but the alchemy is there between the actors for a winning recipe.

Except for the female characters (friend and sister) who are rather likeable, the secondary characters are frustrating (particularly the parents of both leads and some of their male friends) and behave at some points very immaturely. The acting job for those roles is acceptable but could have been better.

The overall directing of the show is quite generic, clearly the budget was not there and production value is rather low. What was overly present though is the product placement: I rarely saw so much of it within one series, it was all over the place and hyper obvious. It was totally "in your face" and I would have appreciated more subtlety.

I would recommend this to people looking for a fun and light BL romantic story with a nicely executed trope of enemies-to-lovers and who do not mind some childish plot elements.

Leia Mais

A healthy representation of love

Honestly what's not to love about this series? Although the enemies to lovers storyline has been overused in BL series, the portrayal of PatPran's love story is what sets it apart from the other BLs. OhmNanon's chemistry is second to none and you don't have to know much about acting to see how much time they both devoted to understanding their roles. The rest of the cast was great too and Pa and Ink's love story was cute as well. This series is such a positive and healthy representation of love. None of that toxicity and PatPran had great communication with each other which was very refreshing to see too.
The only criticism is maybe the excessive ads which were a little off-putting honestly. If I were to rewatch the series I would definitely skip those parts but other than that I loved it.

Leia Mais

Super cute!!!

My god Ohm is beautiful!!!!

Took a little break from BL series as I was watching them back to back all 2021. It was nice to come back with this being the first one I've watched in 2022. A little formulaic and cliche but still very cute. Nice relationship progression between Pran and Pat who have such good vibes together. You can tell they have that same chemistry off camera and are really good friends. They remind me of Tay and New in so many ways. I liked the fact that this series didn't revolve around homophobia and gay bashing, which is a great way to portray the normalcy of homosexual relationships. I will say that there were apsects of episode 12 that I think were not necessary and a little cheesy. I would've been fine with ep 11 ending the series but that's just me nitpicking. Overall really enjoyed Bad Buddy, I'll miss Pran and Pat's constant bickering and smiles.

Leia Mais

Slowburn rivals to lovers?? Count me in.

Bad Buddy is a show that I didn't expect to like as much as I did. While it looks like a classic, cheesy, Romeo-and-Juliet style romance, it's done exceptionally well.

The relationship between Pat and Pran starts off with what seems to be them hating each other - except that's what the character's want everyone to believe. Not only do their parents forbid them from being together, but (naturally) architecture and engineering students could never date due to their rivalry. This forbidden romance between childhood best friends that have finally been reunited is just an enjoyable and sweet watch. The conflicts throughout the show make you enjoy the characters' arcs, and watching them go through issues with their families, friends, and school.

Bonus points for including women as actual characters with personalities (let's go lesbians!!!)

Leia Mais

THE MOST ADORABLE COUPLE YOU WILL EVER SEE

PatPran have officially become one of my favorite couples ever. The way they actually communicated and were supportive and misunderstandings were not dragged out — even generally they were so adorable (one of the few couples that did not get boring after they got together) and it was so amazing how they were on the wavelength all the time because they talked to each other. The banter was super fun as well.

This is one of those dramas I wish was longer because there was actually so much here that I wanted to see, especially in regards to how the families and the main couple dealt with the familial conflict over time (instead of a time jump we got). Even it was more about the backstory, the flashbacks, or with the side characters, the content was so rich and I would've loved more of it.

Still, I think it's safe to say that in terms of the healthiness of the main couple — they did everything absolutely right. They perfectly embody my favorite part about the "one person fell first, the other fell harder" trope and have one of the most iconic rooftop scenes ever. MY LIFE IS FOREVER CHANGED BECAUSE OF THEM.

Leia Mais