O Smoking (2022)

A nice, quick watch

Idk why there are so many negative reviews. It's not an amazing, revolutionary series, but it's watchable and you can have a good time with it, especially considering how short it is. I only started being interested in the plot and characters around ep 3 or 4, as the first few episodes are more from the perspective of a secondary character who kinda functions as a matchmaker but for the viewers' sake. Still, considering the later focus on the romance, I didn't mind too much.
The acting is good, the chemistry feels very natural and the progression of the relationship was sweet and interesting, albeit not without genre-typical drama, especially near the end. The cinematography is nice, especially certain shots with reflections.
There's no problematic content, which usually makes or breaks a drama for me. The female character is sympathetic, even though she functions as an obstacle, we feel for her. There's no dubious consent, even though it's becoming more of a standard nowadays, enthusiastic consent still isn't a given. I especially liked the lack of a clear seme/uke dynamic which I find pointless and, more often than not, demeaning. I'd love to see these actors together in a longer drama, they were the best part of this one and made it watchable.

Leia Mais

4/10 stars

I was waiting for this series for months only to be disappointed. There are too much loose ends in the storyline. It's rushed and sometimes it just doesn't make sense. There's not enough material for us as audience to get convinced that they are falling for each other. At the blink of an eye they were already in love with each other. The accidental kissing scenes were a choice. The actor who played thr father of Nawee is a total robot. There are also awkward pauses in between dialogues at many instances.
The only positive thing is the chemistry between the actors. I can feel it and it shows. It's such a shame the story and direction let them down.

Leia Mais

The Tuxedo is beautiful

Many people seem to hate the series but not me! I like it and I see nothing wrong in it except for a poor budget and the short 20 minutes for each episode. Anyway I love 💕 Namwee and Aouin their chemistry is 💯✅ and I love the side characters too! I love the last two episodes dearly and they explain why Namwee is so brutal and insecure. The series would have been better if it was given a bigger budget and had longer episodes. I believe that like love mechanics that the Tuxedo will be re-acted with a bigger budget and more spaced time and that many who criticized this Bl series will come to love it 💓 dearly! You may also like to know that an improved Version of the Tuxedo is now airing on We TV. Thanks 😊.

Leia Mais

Worth the Watch in My Opinion

I’ve watched this BL a few times now and I still love it. I’ve looked at other reviews and understand a little bit from where they come from but feel like many miss a lot of the important marks. So I’m going to lay it out with Pros, Cons, and Issues with other reviews.i hope it helps people look at the series in a new light but also maybe give more appreciation to the show. I know that I’ll most likely watch the series again sometime in the next few months because I think it’s a cute story that’s different from a lot of BL shows out there. I still want a second season where they flesh out more of the concepts.

Cons:
So the first con is that that the episodes are way too short and definitely could’ve been longer. Next, we have to look at the issues portrayed in the series in which some are too complex to fully flesh out in the short time frame they did. Lastly, since the series as of right now is not doing a second season they can’t really go back and flesh those complex issues out more which is really sad. Especially, when Aiaoon confronts Nawee’s father I would’ve loved to see how he was going to make him regret his actions from not just the past but also what he’s done to his own son.

Pros:
I love the chemistry between the actors and how each has their own unique quirks. Aiaoon is a nice, sweet, and caring character. However, you learn that he clearly has trust issues which are fully warranted because of how Nawee’s father previously screwed over Aiaoon’s father. It’s obviously clear that Nawee does not know about this incident as neither his father or Aiaoon tell him. Oab only learns about it because he’s curious about his brother’s reluctance to make a suit for Nawee. Regardless of how his father was treated he puts those feelings aside to make the suit which shows one of the few growths he has in overcoming his own trauma from the past. In Nawees case the actor clearly gives the audience a visceral reaction for wanting to dislike him which is what is intended. As he opens up more about his trauma and you learn about his family dynamics you can see the range of emotions he goes through. Regardless of that you see him slowly begin to change and grow when he’s apologizing, and even willing to begin stepping foot outside again. The series ends happily on a cute note.

Issues with other reviews:
There are many issues I have with other reviews that seem to miss important marks and concepts. First, let’s start with Aiaoon’s “girlfriend” who randomly appears. It makes sense she randomly appears because when she does its talk about him going to London making it clear she probably lives there and not close by. It’s also clear that not just her but also her father have pressured Aiaoon into the relationship to begin with. Many people feel he’s wishy washy with communication about their relationship, but that actually not true. If you actually pay attention to their conversation she clearly states are you ever going to be ready for marriage I know you keep saying you’re not ready. If someone doesn’t want to be in a relationship and they’ve made it clear but it’s still being forced upon them ofcourse they will seem to have awkward or poor communication in regard's to the relationship. Imagine how exhausting it would be to constantly saying you don’t want to be in a relationship with someone and not just them but their family is pressuring you to be together. At some point you won’t have the energy to keep arguing the matter and even if you do it’s clearly been a waste of time more often than not. The fact that she says my dad set up an appointment for us to look at engagement rings and his response is do I have a choice the appointment has already been made shows that the is nots the first time this kind of incident has occurred in which he’s being forced into the situation. Many people fail to look at or attempt to understand how that makes him feel and blame the writing and he being an unnecessary character. Her character serves a purpose without her Aiaoon might have taken longer to really know he wants to be with Nawee and without her offer of going to London Nawee wouldn’t have to courage to begin to really fully overcome his trauma. When Sichol forcibly takes Nawee out of the house he doesn’t really understand how bad Nawees trauma affects him and does so not out of malice but rather he thinks he’s just being difficult as his character appears to be. Sure it’s not a good idea to not believe someone’s trauma, but sometimes people need a small does forcible immersion therapy because they need help getting out of their own way. Think of it like this is someone is severely afraid of the dark and the lights have to be on at all times that not only is costly for electricity but also that limits how long someone can work or even be outside. If they refuse to learn and a friend forces them to face their fear it’s the first step in helping them be willing to do it themselves. Not everyone has the ability to do it on their own. Even bird push their young out of the nest to teach them to fly. Also by him doing that he gets his first taste of being outside the house and finds someone who ends up wanting to be there for him and help him when he’s ready to go outside. Nawee states that’s he’s seen specialists and none of them could cure him and that makes sense because they are looking at it from a clinical standpoint and can only help with a minor part of the problem. The larger problem being his father, step mother, and step brother. You learn from his flashbacks that he used to go outside no problems it’s only when children (being the monsters they can be sometimes) start bullying my him calling him a b**tard child. Children don’t grasp certain concepts like adults so young Nawee doesn’t understand why they are essentially saying he’s an illegitimate child. The immense amount of bullying sends him into essentially a severe panic attack causing him to develop the symptoms that turn into more permanent symptoms every time he goes out alone. It’s clear his trauma can be treated and over come when he discusses how his mom wouldn’t let him go out by himself that way if it happened she would be right there as a safety net. Which is really what he needed had she not died he would’ve most likely overcome his trauma more. However, because she passed and how his family treated him he regressed instead which is not uncommon. He takes steps to over come his trauma first by going to Aiaoon’s birthday, and then a second time when he goes to the cafe (even if it had a disastrous moment). It isn’t until he finds out Aiaoon is going to move to London that he realizes if he doesn’t want to lose someone important to him he has to be willing to do the thing he fears the most and leave the house. Not only does he leave the house confronting his stepbrother along the way when he does get to Aiaoon’s shop he refuses to have help when he’s staggering while walking over to him. He also doesn’t pass out or get a nosebleed this time showing that he’s found a reason to become stronger and better in the form of a person who cares about him and wants him to succeed which is vastly different than how his family treats him. A lot of review take issue with the way he portrays the mental health issues and feel like that these mental health issues are being mocked. There is no one size fits all for mental health issues. How one person expresses a phobia is going to be different than someone else. For example I have two friends with arachnophobia (fear of spiders) one freaks out every time they see a spider regardless of where it is, while the other only freaks out when they are in a building or car and see a spider because they have gotten to the point of realizing when outside spiders exist and they might see one and logically understand. Do I think Nawees portrayal was perfect textbook agoraphobia no, but I do think that it was a good portrayal of how that character expresses it.

Leia Mais

What was the point of this series?

I wish I could tell you what the plot of this show was, but I watched all eight episodes and I still don't understand the show or what it was trying to do. Nothing made sense right down to the final minute and I feel like I just wasted a bunch of time watching this. I think I know what the show tried to tell, but it was executed terribly that it fell flat.

The acting was mostly not good, the chemistry between the leads was ehhhh, the story was non-existent, the side characters were unnecessary and added nothing to the story, and overall it was just a mess.

What was the plot with Nawee's dad and his brother? and why was that introduced last minuted and did not get resolved? it added nothing to the plot because it went absolutely nowhere. I get it was for angst, but again it felt plopped in there and did not make sense.

I seriously don't understand the main romance and how it went from them actively disliking another to an episode later they are in love?? i know BL plots move fast, but this one moved a little too quick without any explanation as to why. I understand the two had been in a show together before, but i wasn't feeling the chemistry. It felt stilted and weird. I didn't buy that they fell for each other.

I would not waste my time watching this or even recommending it. There is far better LGBT+ content out there that is much more enjoyable to watch.

Leia Mais

Short nice but kinda felt like I needed more

I really enjoyed this series I’m following groups on Instagram that have bl in their name but theirs so much going on it’s hard to know what to watch so let’s jump into this

Nawee is one of the most toxic bl characters I’ve come across his attitude and disrespect was atrocious to his love interest Aiaoon this was a typical enemies to lovers story line even when they finally were ready to let their feelings fly Nawee hurt Aiaoon knowing how they both felt he made it right in the end but I just thought that wasn’t okay . Granted I understand his past trauma but I can’t give him a free pass for that

On one hand I felt at times they got too close too fast when your only given 8 episodes at 20 mintues I can understand why this moved along so fast

The brothers storyline I thought was pointless if only to show what a caring brother Aiaoon is on the other hand let’s talk about his girlfriend??? were they together or were they not because that kind made little to no sense but girls are always used as the Catalyst in BL’s to have main leads speak out what they feel, spark jealously or shake up the relationship I have no sympathy for them it’s Boys Love ❤️ after all

Lastly the father was probably the worst parent In BL history I can’t imagine the last time I disliked the parent probably types father in tharntype


I understand the confusion but this was good and definitely worth a watch

Leia Mais

This is more like a venting session than a review so has round about spoilers?

I just finished the show and read a few reviews as i was interested in how others felt and there opinions. It seems that im not the only one to feel short changed about the show and its brutal ending. I was hoping that the idea of revenge would have taken place with Aioun and Nawee destroying his father company after the step brother took over(that would be priceless). The chemistry between them was undeniable and romantically hot one of top 10 bedroom scenes. I was so heartbroken for Nawee (i cried) as he keep doing things to earn his father praise & approvals especially after his mom died. He was proud that he was throwing his fathers birthday party and made sure everything was perfect including his suit. Instead his dick headed father if you could him that and evil step mother & brother both major assholes all treated him like a peasant. I was sadly hoping the dinner would go well (haha) NOT instead they came with a mission to destroy him and again i cried. After boasting happily about all the hard work he did getting them international known and being the heir. His father instead makes his brother the heir and disowned him stating he not on the register as legal son so he can keep the house and $2.5 million baht. He SNAPs and has every right to and they jump in fear as his nose bleeds from anxiety instead of caring his father tell him to stop and proceed to leave. Wow wow wow just wished that they made the wine and food go on everyone now that would have been funny.
So many of the rants i went on i wished the script would have explored more and give better closure like the ending to me was a waste as it was 4-5 min of flash backs. They could have definitely made this a higher rating, but storyline/script failed. Again actors, music and set were all great.

Leia Mais

don't put hopes in it.

i guess it must be a low budget series.. story is okay, but i think there should be more, more clarity to the plot, more interesting facts, more useful screens.

the story selection was quite beautiful, only needed to add up the twists.

you can watch it, try it out. it isn't utterly bad.

plus one more thing i felt disturbing was, putting the ost in irrelevant places, (is it only for me or not) ost was beautiful but theres few scenes when we finally get absorbed in it but suddenly the loud ost ruins everything. other than that it's pretty much a "OKAY" series to me.

Leia Mais

SIZZZLING CHEMISTRY

First, the writing. It was uneven and most of the time problematic. It was sometimes messy. There are scenes that are repeated (girlfriend-Oun talk after the party and the following day). It’s as if the writers didn’t have a story outline/timeline and checklist.

Anyway, the main message of overcoming challenges and finding love along the way was very clearly stated.

Acting: Overall, there’s improvement in the two MLs, though Chap (as Nawee) still has awkward moments, despite all the assignments he has recently. The chemistry between the two is sizzling hot. And sizzling hot, too, are the kissing/love scenes despite not showing much (of THAT part, you know. Haha).

We must thank Tape (as Sichol). His character and performance helped a lot to lighten the mood when things were going downhill. Actually, his character/acting is one of the more memorable pluses of this series/ .

On the technical side, it’s okay overall, but no “wow” factor really. Above average though.

THE FINALE: You get the feeling that it was rushed. Again, there are many support characters (very typical of Thai BLs) so you get the feeling that many were underdeveloped.

But the overall pacing of this series is just okay for me. There were no forward moments because the episodes are short – unlike in other BLs where there are lots of unnecessary or dragging scenes..

The director is obviously old school. So many stereotype characters, acting and scenes. Fit for a telenovela. Too many unrealistic moments (slipped that’s why they kissed – not once but twice! Haha!).

Hope to see the two MLs handled by more competent directors in better written series in the future.

8 / 10

Leia Mais

Too Ambitious for Its Length

This is a short drama, eight episodes, each about twenty minutes in length. With the intro song, recap, preview of the next episode, and ending song, you get maybe fifteen minutes of actual material. The biggest issue, I feel, with this drama is that it tried to pack far too much into a very short time frame. I think it had potential, but there was a lot that was rushed, there was a lack of character development, and there were aspects that felt unfinished.

The concept of the drama is interesting, a tailor and agoraphobe fall in love. The actual execution, however, leaves a lot to be desired. All things considered, there's not much of a story, or plot. Its a fairly typical enemies to lovers story with a very slight twist. I know its an overused trope, but, again, the concept made me hope it would be worth the watch. Part of the problem was the overinflated cast which is nearly always an issue for me in Thai dramas. Precious minutes were spent dealing with an apparent years old disagreement between two of the brothers that would have been better spent getting to know our two leads and building up their relationship more gradually. Frankly, they could have cut the youngest brother out completely and not lost anything. There's also a number of questions that are left unanswered, like why he was allowed to help run the company at all if Thawin was just going to take his place. I'm going to assume that Thawin is younger and was finishing his studies or something along those lines, but it would have been nice to have that spelled out a little more. There was also a lot left unanswered with his father. I feel like he would have been an interesting character to delve into more with why he showed such disdain for Nawee, his relationship with Aioun's father, what drove him, etc. But again, there was just far too little time to be able to get into any of that and the story suffered as a result.

Another issue was the characters. There was very little character growth overall and the growth there was, mostly with Nawee, was far too rapid and without real reason. And neither of the leads is particularly likeable, in my opinion. The side characters are all a bit nondescript. They don't add much to the story and aren't memorable, other than Oab's haircut.
- Nawee had the most character growth but it was poorly done. He starts out as this arrogant, manipulative jerk and then once he leaves his house and is at the tailor shop, its like a switch is flipped and he suddenly starts to become much nicer. I wanted to see that developed over time. And there were just too many discrepancies with his character. At Aioun's birthday dinner, it seems like he's all ready to face down Chanjao for Aioun's love, but then almost immediately after, he just gives up and then he seems to want to make things work and then he gives up again. There just didn't seem to be much of a rhyme or reason behind why he acted the way he did. The fact that he never apologizes to Sichol or anyone for his past behaviour, takes away from some of that growth. I mean, he literally physically abused Sichol and it is never mentioned again.
- Aioun initially came off as a bit superior. That aspect lessens as he starts to fall for Nawee thankfully. I actually overall liked his character, until the birthday dinner. The fact that he was stringing along both Chanjao and Nawee really pissed me off. He knew he was falling for Nawee, he flirted with him, and he led him to believe that he was available and interested in him, which he was, but he should have come clean that he was already in a relationship. And then poor Chanjao has been strung along for who knows how many years by him when he apparently wasn't that serious about her. On the one hand, I understand that he didn't want to hurt her, but on the other hand, he was holding her back and stopping her from finding someone who would actually love and care for her. However, the fact that he was still hesitant to break up with her after having an affair makes me think he was also trying to protect himself from the fallout. Not okay, sir! On another note, his falling for Nawee happened far too fast. He hates the guy one minute, and then he sees him in a vulnerable state and he sucks his finger and suddenly he's in love? Not even remotely believable.
- I honestly don't have much to say about the other characters. They were just kind of there. Again, I felt Art was a superfluous character who should have been eliminated to give more time to the leads. Oab was basically there to act as a sounding board for Aioun and as a way to explain some past events. Sichol had a few minorly humorous moments, but overall I found him a bit annoying. Chanjao wasn't in there enough to get to know her, but the one thing I will say is that I loved the grace with which she took her and Aioun's break up. I'm so used to women in Thai BL's being petty and scheming and manipulative, and it was so refreshing how she took it. I felt bad for her because of how Aioun treated her, and I appreciated her forthrightness in making him finally admit that he didn't see a future with her. The fact that even after their breakup she still helped him with his business says a lot about her character.

The acting was okay, nothing special but also not the worst I've seen. It certainly could have been better though.

The costuming was disappointing. For a drama that had a tailor as a main character and had such a focus on Nawee finding the perfect suit, I expected a lot more focus on making sure the costumes looked and fit correctly. Apparently they figured their audience wouldn't notice if that wasn't the case. The suits are overall ill-fitting, not to mention impractical considering the climate. The tux in particular that Aioun wears to Nawee's father's birthday is awful in every way.

Aside from that, there are a few other things. Aioun makes Nawee's suit in less than a day. A custom made suit can take up to forty hours to make, if not more, and yet we're expected to believe he completed it in less than twenty-four hours. Not likely. The whole accidental kiss trope is stupid and annoying, in my opinion. It always looks forced and fake. Its used twice here and its bad both times. Aioun's whole approach to Nawee's agoraphobia is ridiculous. Just you being there is not going to cure a deep psychological trauma. The fact that he forced Nawee into going out and really didn't listen to him was so frustrating to watch. With that, the scene at the pool made no sense. Nawee falls in, the girls are screaming, Aioun rescues him and then its like they're all alone. There's literally no one else around as Aioun is performing CPR, no one called for emergency services or anything. Its just a very weird scene that makes little sense.

The music was overall good. Frankly Jeff Satur can make anything sound good so I did enjoy his contribution. The cinematography was decent, nothing spectacular though there is one shot at the end of Nawee with a mirror that I really liked.

This is not what I would consider a good drama, its tolerable, but not good. What makes it watchable is the fact that even if you're really not feeling it, you've only wasted a couple of hours. There are some sweet moments, its not all terrible, its just when you look at it as a whole, there's more bad then good. If you like decent kissing scenes, this one does deliver on that front and may be worth watching from that perspective. Its entertaining enough to get through once, in my opinion, but no more than that.

Leia Mais

Short and sweet..

As much as I can understand where all the discontented reviews are coming from, I think this series was fine overall. Was it the best? No. Was it the worst? No. It was just enough to make me want to watch another episode "just to see what happens."

It made me think that if a BL series mated with a Hallmark/Lifetime movie, this would be the offspring. Recycled plots/tropes and predictable while still managing to not resolve any major issues. There's tension from the get-go, a situation that forces them to see each other, growing closer, some minor issue and a half-assed attempt to push each other away, then a make-up and everyone apparently lives happily ever after.

Meanwhile, nothing actually gets fixed in the real issues. (The main one being Nawee's family and especially the history with the fathers.) (Also, it was a bad-ass move for Aiaoon to threaten Nawee's father and I had hoped it would turn into an interesting storyline with an aggressive Aiaoon, but then he just never followed through with it. In fact, the father is never seen again for the rest of the series and that entire issue that made Aiaoon pissed at the family from the very beginning has somehow vanished.)

There were certainly cringeworthy moments.. looking at you, Accidental-Kisses. However! When they finally mean to lock lips, they do so with full-on intent and purpose, which was enough to make me forget about the 2 ridiculous ones. If you're like me and the awkward kissing in BL grates on your nerves, then you'll like this change of pace. Especially when the acters are older than university age, I like seeing Man-love rather than Boy-love, if you know what I mean.

Bottom line, if you go into it knowing the story will be a stretch and the tropes are going to be ever-present, you can still enjoy the show for what it is. Short series with short episodes. Cute AF. Sharp-dressed men.

And Sichol needs his own story.

Leia Mais