Bad Buddy (2021)

Good or Not?

Bad Buddy gained massive popularity and an army of devoted fans, and honestly, I get it. It had a lot going for it that most BL dramas just don’t have:

Cinematography that didn’t look like it was shot on someone’s phone.
Actors who could actually, you know, act.
A budget that didn’t scream “we spent everything on this one shot.”
Characters who felt like actual humans with layers, rather than cardboard cutouts with tragic backstories.
If I’d been asked to rate the show based on episodes 1 through 6, I’d have happily given it a 10/10. Seriously, I was ready to hand it the gold medal in the BL Olympics. But, alas, I finished the show, and by the end, it felt like all that beautiful potential was thrown out of the window. Somewhere around episode 6, the story decided to go downhill like a boulder with no brakes. What started off strong became repetitive and messy, as if the screenwriter had to make so many last-minute changes that they ended up flinging spaghetti at the wall to see what stuck. Spoiler alert: not much did.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I loved that Bad Buddy addressed some common misconceptions and brought a fresh perspective to the BL genre. But the difference in quality between the first half and the latter half of the show is as stark as that infamous Game of Thrones "horse drawing" meme. You know the one: perfectly detailed in the front, absolute chaos in the back.

Apparently, the plot is based on a novel. I don’t read or speak Thai, but I’d bet good money that the main issue here—screenwriting—stems from whatever changes they made from the source material. You can almost feel the subtle shift in the characters’ personalities in the later episodes, like they wandered into the wrong storyline but were too polite to say anything.

Now, I can already hear some people saying, “You’re asking for too much. It was already really good for a BL!” And sure, it was good, but I have to ask—do you honestly believe episodes 7-12 were as good as episodes 1-6? Having actors with such great chemistry in the lead roles, they really dropped the ball by not giving them a script worthy of their talents.

In the end, Bad Buddy had all the ingredients for greatness, but somewhere along the way, it ended up with half-baked episodes.

Leia Mais

Out of the ballpark

Thailand has always been the home and mothership of BL but there wasn't much quality in their series and most of it relied on the same trope and cliches of the episode 11 curse, the 'i am not gay, you're the only guy I like', the 'breakup because we have to' and the cringefest romance/being cutesy sometimes, and my personal poison the husband and 'wife' trope. Urgh. In the last year or so it seemed that the Philippines and now even Korea seemed to be running ahead of Thailand and coming for their crown in terms of production value and acting. But this series, this series blew everything and more out of the park! It set a new standard for Thailand and for all upcoming Asian BLs and I am so happy Thailand snatched back that crown and said "your call, bitches!" I have yet to see chemistry, acting, and skills at this level. I have also never seen so many people on so many various forums and on social media reach the same consensus on how amazing this show was on all fronts and how it actually affected. This show was more than just two good-looking heteronormative guys being paired together (cough*cough) trying to sell us a love story. These were two actors who themselves had so much off-screen chemistry and who in their own words 'were soulmates' believed in their being that they were Pran and Pat. Having been best friends for years, Ohm and Nanon's solid friendship and love as buddies themselves shined through the entire 12 episodes, and we ourselves couldn't see where Pran and Pat ended and Ohm and Nanon begun. Ohm and Nanon - gosh. These two actors are simply awesome. As someone who is also in the media/performing arts line and has been in front of cameras, a few times, I have so much respect for these two actors. I have not seen the extent of acting talent in individuals so young. It's not easy to emote with only ones facial feature and make the audience believe you're feeling the emotion and not just acting it out. Nanon nailed that in every damn episode. Ohm brought that carefree spirit out of Pat so easily, that I forgot that he is a perfectionist and a little neat freak OCD in real life. I have never been bothered to write a review for any BL's I have watched but, this show affected me in ways I have not been in years. I was coming out of a bad place mentally when this show started and this show made me feel things, made me look forward to something, and help me heal from the numbness I have felt for so long. This show deserves everything I am sure it will win. This show deserves the 10 minutes of me sitting down and writing this. This show deserves a second season.

Leia Mais

I couldn’t asked for more of this series, I really satisfied how they put Ohm & Nanon together. Seeing them in one scene is like my (wet) dream since a looooong time ago.

Both of them are really great actors. I don’t want to discuss to anyone about their performance, for me Ohm & Nanon are beyod than any other Thai actor (at their age).

Honestly, I was ready to put this series as my top 2021 list but the last two episodes were the deal breaker. I didn’t say I dont like it, I just expected something bigger for the ending. Don’t get me wrong, I love the ending. I love everything about Ohm & Nanon. It just…. I don’t know what to say :))))

Leia Mais

THE Best BL so far

I have watched more than 30 odd BL dramas during the past year and Bad Buddy is THE BEST I've watched so far. Bad Buddy has increased the standard of BL dramas so high that i don't know if i could ever be satisfied with other BL dramas unless it reaches the same standard as Bad Buddy. I have never been so attached to a BL series before al though I had many favorites. But Bad Buddy was able to surpass all of those and come to the top of my list.

I should really talk about the concept of this story. It is what differentiated the story from all other stories. This didn't have useless drama and it was actually very realistic. Bad buddy is very unique from all other dramas.
And of course except for the story line, the awesome acting skills of Oh and Nanon, definitely helped the series to become the best so far. Their acting skill and the chemistry between the two actors is beyond explanation. You will understand what i mean if you have watched at least one episode of the series.
Starting from the first episode till the last episode, the drama kept on attaching us to the story, it felt like we were going through the journey along with Pat and Pran. Every episode had an emotional turmoil, positive or negative.

P' Aof has done a great job in directing this series which cannot be surpassed by any other BL series which exists so far.

Any one who is reading this, if you haven't watched Bad Buddy...go watch it. It is the best of the best.
It has touched my heart very deeply that I feel like some part of me is missing without watching Bad buddy on Fridays .

Leia Mais

The most wholesome story

Rivals to lovers trope has been done so many times already, but I gotta say this one takes all the awards. The main characters are really in tune with their own emotions and know how to express them. They also know how to communicate with each other, which is a BIG deal for romance stories. There's not even a gram of miscommunication. We don't have to go through the old "oh, I thought you did this, so I did that".
The family conflict was so well done, the architects vs engineers conflict not as much. The amount of violence those two factions inflicted upon each other was just a bit too much. That part felt so weird. Irl that type of behaviour would not only end up with serious consequences at the uni, but also some criminal charges. But I guess that's just for setting the scene with "oh, they really hate each other". To me it was too much.
Apart from the main couple, I really enjoyed all the side characters and their plots as well. Pat's sister is just the best, she's so lovely. I'm also glad we got Wai's character development.
Overall a very pleasant watch.

Leia Mais

Sweet, fun, lovable, the buddies may not all be good but the main couple is the sweetest

" We can´t change the world, but we can let the world not change us"
(Or something like that)

This drama is su cute, it may have a bunch of cliches but is fun, well paced, easy to binge with mostly lovable characters and just a lot of fun. though I did start this wondering if the guys where students or gangsters and well the testosterone levels seemed a bit high and yes I did want to send half of the cast to anger management or keep them a way from society... the low start for those characters did give way for some pretty good and well written character development. But it was pretty clear that the buddies where the bad ones,..


The main couple here is fun, bickering, competitive, playfull, supportive and is just a blast to watch making it hard not to fall for them as well as root for their love...

There is also a pretty sweet lesbian side couple that may have a bit to little screen time but would make a great spin off...

The cinematography is ok, some of the views are gorgeous and the songs will weele you in and set the mood pretty well.

All in all definitely one of the better romcoms out there...

Leia Mais

ONE OF THE BEST BL SERIES TO EVER BE MADE!!

Okay so ive never written a review which will probably be pretty obvious once you read this.... So,
THINGS I LOVE ABOUT THIS DRAMA
*Enemies to lovers plot done right:- This is probably one of the very few dramas that has the enemies to lovers trope but has been executed so well. Theres no kind of toxic relationships here and every kind of relationship is done right
*LOVE:- One of the things that I really like about this drama is that they potray a very healthy way of all kinds of love and relationship; whether it may be romantic, platonic, friendship or relationship with parents
*ACCURATE REPRESENTATION OF THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY:- This drama is definitely not made for the straight cis girls who fetishize on gay relationships. From the earlier episodes its very clear that is bl is not like other ones where there's almost no plot and a lot of unnecessary NC scenes. Neither pat not pran identify as straight but only like the other person kind of thing
I mean what else can you expect when a queer person directs a story about queer people ;) This is why you should never let straight people write/direct stories about gay people
*CLICHÉS DONE RIGHT:- This is one of the best parts,
No evil ex girlfriend trying to win her boyfriend back trope
No unnecessary angst where the instead of communicating, they break up
A very healthy and cute gl couple
No fujoshi girls who keep screaming their throats out each time either of the MLs are next to each other
A very realistic representation of 2 people in love
No hetronormative shit about calling each other husband and wife or 'I'll make you my wife'
No ' im straight but you are the only guy i like'
Infact they even acknowledge gay bisexual and pansexuality as a thing
Communication is the key; pat and pran are the most healthiest BL couple (or any couple for that matter) I've ever seen

*ACTING:- There's absolutely no doubt that ohm and nanon are one of the best actors in gmmtv but seriously they have st the bars way too high for the future bl series. They sync together so well and have out of the world kind of chemistry. Even though its Nanon's first BL he still mansges to outshine himself especially in the emotional scenes.i think for me one of the best scenes from the drama is the bed scene from ep4 where pran acknowledges his unrequited love for pat and how the tears flow out of him... that was exceptionally done and ofcourse the rooftop scene from ep5. No doubt that scene will forever be iconic. Both ohm and Nanon are amazing. And obviously the director p'Aof, he's my favourite director since bad buddy. The way he directed this series to become one of the best BLs to ever be made is fascinating

*One thing that i wish could've been a lil bit more better is INKPA, dont get me wrong, my sapphic heart loves them and im really happy to finally get a gl storyline in a BL series but I feel like they could have been explored more... Even then I'm absolutely living for them

*Another thing that i liked was waikorn. I like how in the they were not a couple(though many people might think otherwise) Because that could have been a not so healthy relation considering their dynamic during the earlier episodes, so its really nice to see them evolve as characters to a point that they become best friends and colleagues even and start a bar togther but not to a point that they become romantically involved and that even though they have their respective girlfriends they still love each other platonically. Personally i think it was beautifully done

*THE PARENTS: I agree that most of patpran's relationship issues were their parents and it was definitely not fair for the parents to make their kids suffer because of their mistakes. But i like how in the end even if their issues were not completely solved they still kind of came in terms with it. It wasnt like just because its the last episode, the parents were all happy suddenly and that all issues were resolved. I know that the was a 4 year gap but their issues have existed for more than a decade of two, its not something that can be resolved in the blink of an eye. But after four years both the parents have learned to chose love for their sons over hate for each other and thats beautiful. When pran's mother gave him the guitar at the last episode, it was her way of letting him know that she cant control him anymore and that she trying and learn to be happy with his choices and the person he chooses to be with. Similarly when pat's father kept those letters in their mailbox, he was taking a step towards easing their issues and understood that their sons have taken a decision; they can either choose to be angry and hateful and eventually lose them or be happy for them. Although either of them are not yet the happy go kind of parents yet, they're still trying to come in terms with it and thats betterthan nothing right? I thing thats beautiful and very realistic portrayal



Tl;dr ---> In a nutshel this drama is perfect and everything you'd want to expect from a BL series, its a fluffy and cute BL with lots of emotion, fun and chemistry
If youre still planning of whether or not to watch it, I'd say go for it, its definitely one hell of a ride!
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Leia Mais

We haven't watched the series , we have lived it.

My soul feels satisfied after watching this series. However it is always hard to say goodbye to our loved ones, but it is already so great that they gave us happy ending.
For me it is 10 out of 10. In this world we can't find 100% perfect story but it's the production, director and actors who made it perfect. Bad buddy Series is really a gem and will be unforgettable. Ohm and Nanon gave their 100% and it is shown in their work. Really this show deserve standing ovation from all over the world specially from LGBT community.
Director P'aof ,no words for this man . He know how to portrait two boys in two characters . this is really a great work after ATOTS.
As Ohm and Nanon both said it is their last BL project. Feels like for me it is also going to be last BL .

Leia Mais

The healthiest relationship I've ever seen in a BL

¡¡Disclaimer!!
This review is based on my personal opinion/experience while watching, it's not meant to discourage/encourage you to watch this series. You're free to agree/disagree with it.



I'm gonna be honest here, when I first read the synopsis for Bad Buddy, it didn't really stand out to me, but somehow I couldn't help but look forward to it so I went with my standards set somewhere in the middle, especially since it's a GMMTV series, and after watching it, I must admit that it was a very enjoyable ride. From reading the synopsis, you might gather that it's a very cliche BL, nothing special about the enemies to lovers plot, however, once you start watching, you'll realize that it's not that usual of a series, especially among BLs.


Plot/storyline :
The storyline isn't something unique or unheard of, yet the way they portrayed it without making it too cliche really makes the difference. We start off with the two main leads being enemies because they were told to be so by their parents (classic cliche) but we soon come to realize that the two didn't seem to want to be enemies, so the two start growing closer through a series of, in my opinion, typical events. The two eventually realize they like each other and after a while, they start dating in secret, until one of the main leads's best friend (I hate this guy, and I'll get to why later) decides to out them in front of the whole place, and they're left to face the judgement of their friends and family. I won't spoil how and where their relationship goes, but I will say I was pleasantly surprised with how they decided to go with it because I expected them to either:
A) have a crappy ending where they're left/forced to break up
Or
B) have an open ending where we, the viewers, get to decide if they stayed together or not.
Surprisingly, they went with a little bit of either options with a side of something else that I won't reveal and honestly, despite how cliche it turned out, it still was something kinda unexpected and unique and I'm very much amused with how it turned out. The way the relationship between them developed was really one of my, if not my very, favourite relationship development in any series. There was no unnecessary love rival, no uncalled for drama, no unwanted side couples AND we actually get some of the healthiest relationships imo. With that being said, the plot did have some plotholes/questions that could have been easily avoided/answered, e.g. why did Pran's mother hate guitars so much really? Why did they hint at Korn and Wai being a thing but not go through with that idea? WHY did Korn (whether platonicly or not) start liking him even? How come that even tho the two [Pran and Pat] hated each other since basically before birth, they still communicated through these tin-phones? What's so special about that watch that Pran has other than the fact that Pat returned it to him? How long did these two disappear for during the time they ran away? There were so many things left hanging that I started losing track of what's happening sometimes. Regardless, the plot was executed really well and I'm quite content with how it turned out.


Characters/cast:
This section in all honesty, was either a hit or miss. Some characters were absolutely phenomenal and some I just wanted to kick in the shin. The main couple were very cute, and the fact that they didn't have the typical assigned role of husband/wife, one of them came out as pan, they respected each other's boundaries and didn't push each other to come out, made me really like the writer. Also the plot hinted at them being a switch couple (which is unimportant really, but very much unheard of in this genre) and that honestly made me like them way more with the fact that there was no such stereotypical feminine delicate bottoms and strong masculine tops. With that outta the way let's talk about the cast. I'm very happy with Ohm and Nanon's acting and the rest of the cast did a very good job, no overacting, no underacting, no cringy moments (imo) and most importantly, no dramatic ugly crying on a beach/near water in the most laughable manner for weird reasons like in some other shows *cough* tharntype *cough* *cough* still 2gether *cough* so overall Pran and Pat were a good pair, HOWEVER, they did suffer of what I call the GMMTV syndrome at some point where the main couple's chemistry somehow dissipates into thin air and they start acting more like brothers than lovers and their pre-dating era starts to look way more romantic and interesting than their current relationship. Now that we've talked about our main couple let's move onto that ONE (or two if you count Pat's dad) character that I could not stand for the life of me and that character, is Wai. This character made the least sense and I honestly feel like he had the most potential to be an antagonist, hell the writer was already going with this plan, yet sowehow they just randomly decided to turn him into a good guy and what, expect me to forgive him easily? Idc if people like him or think he had a redemption arc or whatever (which he didn't have) this guy was the most manipulative, trashy, annoying sleezbag that I've ever seen and I'm not gonna forgive his actions just because he suddenly became a good person. This mf guilt tripped Pran into taking up his place on the soundteam for that theatrical act, tried getting closer to Pa while still publicly cursing her brother out, tried to beat up Pat multiple times for no real reason other than him being annoying, basically outed his friend and his boyfriend as lgbtq+ with no right to do so and even went as far as cutting Pran out and making their other friends treat him like trash because he was HuRt and BeTraYed by him not admitting to him that he's dating his "enemy" because somehow being best friends entitles you to know every little detail about his private life, right guys? So after all this I'm just left here wondering, why did Pran cling onto their friendship this much? Why were they friends to begin with? How come his parents didn't see how terrible a person he is? And most importantly, why ISN'T this guy an antagonist? He did a complete 180 only after Pat literally took a bullet for/because of him, so now I'm expected to what, forget everything he did? Yeah, no chance buddy, although I must say, the actor wasn't that bad considering how horrible his character was, albeit a bit expressionless. I'm not gonna go into why I dislike Pat's dad simply because it's a waste of space really, and the fact that my reason for hating him is somewhat of a personal pet peev so yeah, opinions on this guy vary considering how you view him, I will say tho, the actor was kinda hilarious, he seemed so out of place and so not into his character I couldn't help but laugh whenever I saw him. Out of all the couples, InkPa were my favorite, these two were really cute together, although I did find their relationship a bit weird since apparently Ink liked Pa since she was in highschool, meaning Pa was barely in middle school back then considering the age gap between her and her brother so yeah, definitely not my favorite setting for those two, they were still a cute couple. In all seriousness tho, GMMTV should cut Drake some slack, my guy has been appearing in almost every series recently I'm starting to feel bad for him and how overworked he is lol.

Soundtrack/Music:
The soundtrack was really good, it wasn't my favorite, but I did like most of the songs, especially Nanon's "just friends?" I don't have much to say here since music is subjective and some might like the music way more than I did so soundtrack, a solid 8.

Production/Product placement:
The production on this wasn't bad really, but there were some time skips and some occasional cases of sloppy camerawork that had me scratching my head but otherwise, the production was ok. The product placement is everywhere, as expected of a GMMTV series, they had to squeez in a couple of seconds in every episode for promoting these products, nothing new here, it wasn't as bothersome as some of their othere series, but it was still evident enough to point out.


So overall, this was an entertaining series, it had the right amount of fun for me personally and I enjoyed watching it. I finished it in one go yesterday and I was left with only today's episode so I can't really relate to the rest of the viewers here who waited for it every week, although I did wait for it to come out for a whole ass year so, I guess now I can say it was worth the wait. For those of you hesitating to give it a try, I say go for it, if you want a fun BL but don't want a really deep plot, here's your show, I definitely recommend it if you want to pass the time with something enjoyable and amusing.

Leia Mais

Easily the best BL I've watched

Even though the "Rivals to Lovers" trope is overused in the Drama industry, Bad Buddy manages to deliver it in a very refreshing manner.
The story balances character development well with plot, creating a smooth pacing, in which misunderstandings aren't dragged on for too long, and are in fact believable and add to the characters, makibg their relationship stronger.
The chemestry between the teo main leads is OFF THE CHARTS, and thr acting is ON POINT. The suporting cast is also very good, but i must bring attention to the amazing main lead cast. All tge interaxtions are believable and refreshing, besides, the LGBTQ+ representation being another key point to the BL, in a way their relationship isn't sexualized nor forced. The eriters run away from the annoying BL cliché without making use of damaging stereotypes, such as binary relationships (the woman or man if the relationship), romanticizing rape, or simply excluding characters sexual orientation ("I'm not gay, I only like you"). Although the sexual orientation themes are almost never brought up as a development point, such as characters finding their sexual orientations, the character development and their relationships are still well done.
In conclusion, I cannot reccomend this enough, I rewatched a total of 3 times, and plan in watching it again.

Leia Mais

Monumental.

This review was written in English and Portuguese, please read it well.

Essa critica foi escrita em Inglês e em Português, leia direito.

I feel like my fridays we'll be empty right now. This drama really fills me up every single week. I start to cry watching this last episode because this is one of the best series i ever watch in my life. This is so healthy, so realistic, so well thought out and written, and of course played. I feel so good watching these two together. As always Ohm and Nanon play these roles like they are real life, they are extremely good, they are great actors. The ost (soundtrack) was amazing, Nanon's voice is gold. The whole story was good, I feel like their parents in the end were good. Their friends and Pa shine so much, I can talk about them for hours, This series is balanced. Monumental.

A melhor serie de 2021 e 2022, e quem achar o contrario que m0rr4.

Leia Mais