Deep Night (2024)

Is the storyline worth watching..

At first as soon as I saw the the noisy irritating actors being loud and acting ridiculously stupid which shows up in a lot of BLs. If a series is full of drama its very off putting. The bl series was watchable and I did enjoy some of the scenes. The 4 male Leads played their parts very well and were very easy on the eye. I find Thai males are extremely good looking. There were a few hiccups like the delay between verbal conversations which gave the idea they had forgot their lines. I think they need to drop the scene where one falls and lands on top of the other nearly kissing and then mortified it actually happened. It's been done that many times its
boring. I enjoy the drunk scenes because I enjoy men kissing. Don't ask me why but I do. I've shocked myself.
It is I think Asian men (Korean.. Chinese.. Thai...) they look after themselves.. Dress stylish and have so many talents to their name. I did enjoy the series. The male leads were charismatic.. They jelled.. and l just love BLS.
I haven't watched anything western for at least 2years.
Sending love from the UK... ❤️

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So, about that throuple...

I'm not going to dive into the show as a whole, plenty of people have already done that. Instead, I want to talk about the throuple in particular, in case anyone is debating to watch the show because of it.

First of all, I want to say that I applaud the show for actually including something that isn't your standard monogamous relationship. Throuples are a real thing, and they are in desperate need of representation. This show is a first step in a long journey, and I'm very glad of it. I've seen my fair share of Thai BLs at this point, and I've never seen this done before, so props to Deep Night for trying (No, I'm not counting Unforgotten Night because that was basically just a threesome without any build up or follow up, so let's not talk about that trash fire of a show).

That being said, I don't think the throuple in this show was done very well. There were interesting ideas, but the execution just wasn't it. Granted, they were the side characters of an 8 episode show, so it's not like there really was much room to explore this relationship to begin with. I think that was the first mistake. If they were going to tackle this right, the show needed to be longer with more room for development of this romance.

Let's dive into the different dynamics of these three guys, shall we?

So, first you have Seiji, who is basically the focal point. He's been best friends with Ken since they were kids and Ken has a major crush on Seiji. I think Seiji is also supposed to have feelings for Ken, but I honestly couldn't tell until he agreed to the whole throuple idea - but I think that's just because the actor was doing a poor job at depicting any semblance of chemistry. Which was part of the downfall, but anyway... So, Seiji and Ken are best friends and everything's great until Japan shows up. Seiji and Japan have a strong case of insta-love - meaning that they like each other for no discernible reason at all right from the get-go. However, Seiji plays hard to get (Assumably because he has feelings for Ken too, but I only know that now in hindsight. While watching the show, I was confused why he didn't just go for Japan, but again, bad acting paired with unclear writing). With Japan coming into the picture, Ken suddenly decides that it's now or never, and the two of them begin to compete for Seiji's love. Which ultimately results in Seiji kissing Japan, thusly making his choice, and them beginning to date. Ken is heartbroken and walking around all sad and dejected. Japan is feeling guilty over the whole thing and Seiji feels bad about it all too. Again, I assumed Seiji was feeling bad because he hurt his best friend, not because he actually likes Ken, but I digress. Japan talks about feeling guilty, leading to his friend joking about how they could always have a threesome. Japan then fantasies about said threesome which came completely out of the blue. And funnily enough, in his imagination, both other guys are basically focused entirely on him, rather than Japan and Ken focusing on Seiji, who's the one they both have feelings for. This left me confused once again, because I assume this was the writers' attempt at showing that Japan kinda has the hots for Ken or likes him or something, but it was done so poorly that it just left me feeling very wtf-ish. Anyway, after his little fantasy, Japan proposes to Seiji and Ken that Seiji could date them both. Which he definitely should've discussed with Seiji first, before mentioning anything to Ken but oh well... Japan says that Seiji having two boyfriends means double the care and double the happiness (It would also mean double the issues, but I won't ruin their fun). Ken agrees to this, and Seiji - with all the enthusiasm and emotion of a depressed piece of toast - does too. Alas, the throuple is formed. They have a group hug, and a few cute montage scenes. The end. No kissing, not actual threesome, nada. Just a lot of unanswered questions and frustrations.

Basically, during that scene of Japan proposing the throuple idea, we were led to believe that it's going to be both him and Ken dating Seiji. There is no talking about Japan and Ken also being romantically involved. Which was the biggest point of confusion for me, because of his threesome fantasy and because in one of the final scenes, Japan and Seiji both offer Ken some food - a nudge to a past scene where it was Ken and Japan fighting over whose food Seiji picks, a very unsubtle allegory for having him choose one of the two. So, maybe over time Japan and Ken developed a romantic bond too? Or maybe they didn't. I guess we'll never know. We'll never know at what point Seiji started to like Ken either. They had some moments, but it always seemed like Ken was the only one interested out of the two. Again, a mix of bad acting and bad writing I assume...

None of this is great, but it's not the worst thing I've ever seen. The biggest problem is how frustrating it all is, because this could've been SO good. They had all the ingredients, but somehow managed to bake it into something that is confusing at best and nonsensical at worst. Now, allow me to tell you how I think the entire thing should've gone.

Have Seiji and Ken be childhood friends. That was all well and good. So was Ken being secretly in love with Seiji. None of that needs to change (other than swapping the actor of Seiji because that guy had no chemistry with either of his romantic partners and no emotional range). Then, Japan comes into the picture. But instead of him being completely new to Seiji's life, have them know each other from the start. Maybe they've been friends for a while, but Japan went to study abroad and now he's back and they reunite. That way, it won't feel as insta-lovey, because they already have a bond. So, Japan comes back into Seiji's life after a while. They both have changed, grown, and matured. They catch up, notice how the other has changed, and they begin to fall for those new sides of each other. Ken realises that Seiji is spending more time with Japan and starts worrying. Things get tense when Seiji brings Japan home for dinner and the three of them have a meal. Seiji goes to the bathroom and Japan and Ken basically tell each other they're in love with him. Thus, the competition for Seiji's heart begins. Seiji is kinda enjoying this, because he obviously likes Japan and seeing him fight for him is something he finds cute But also, seeing Ken be this serious about winning him over is kinda stirring something within Seiji. Something that wasn't there before.
While competing for Seiji's love, Ken and Japan somehow get forced to spend more time together. Maybe when they go on their little getaway trip with their friends, they fight over who gets to share a room with Seiji. Eventually, their friends get fed up and put them in a room together while Seiji rooms with someone else. During that time, Ken and Japan get to know each other better, and would you believe, they somehow start realising the other isn't so bad. In fact, they start finding each other kind of cute and suddenly... What is that?... Oh, they start falling for each other too! Of course, they don't know that about the other person, so it's angsty and a lot of silent pining. Ken realises that now, he wants both Japan and Seiji to be happy, so he backs out willingly and gives them his blessing to be together. So, they kiss and are now dating.
But something feels off. They get all weird as soon as Ken is around which leads the two to have a talk. Seiji admits that despite being head over heels for Japan, he also has feelings for Ken. In what is the plot twist of the century for Seiji, Japan admits to also having feelings for Ken. Suddenly, things start clicking in Seiji's head and we get a slide show of moments between Japan and Ken that Seiji hadn't really noticed before, and he blurts out "I think he likes you too!" And thus, they decide why all the heavy hearts if there's a simple solution to the issue. They sit down Ken and Seiji is basically like "I like you. Japan likes you. I know you like me. And I know you well enough to know you like Japan too. So... What are we doing? We should all just be together." They have their little group hug and then they make things awkward when they want to kiss but aren't sure who should go first and all that jazz. It's cute and embarrassing and eventually, they get the hang of it. Throw in that threesome scene if you must. Have a cute montage of them bonding and being all happy together. Then add a special episode where they figure out their different dynamics and boundaries and all. And so, they live happily ever after. (It would be even greater if they explored the difficulties a throuple brings as well, but I don't trust these writers to handle that well, so I think it's best not to go there at all...)

If they would've done it this way, I would've easily rated this an 8 or a 9. However, with the clunky writing and the poor acting/chemistry, this storyline is only a 6. And even that is kind of generous, but I gotta praise the attempt at least. I think out of everyone, the guys playing Japan and Ken had better chemistry than either of them did with Seiji's actor, which wasn't really helping the narrative... Maybe if Seiji had better chemistry with Ken, things would've been a little less confusing, but I guess casting attractive people over actors with actual skills is a growing issue...

Despite its flaws, would I still suggest you watch this? Absolutely. Not because it's great, but because if people are rooting for this throuple, there's a greater likelihood of us seeing more throuple storylines in the future. Hopefully ones with better writing and chemistry. And one day, we'll get an actually great one. I'll be here, waiting.

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**My Review (Episode 8/8)**

My opinion is unlikely to change.

This is a drama made to pass the time, meaning it lacks great depth. It's pleasant, but that's all.

**Characters:**

**K:** Honestly... aside from being apparently "handsome" and having his teeth redone like three-quarters of the actors in the country, he doesn't really have a personality. In fact, I would say none of the characters have well-developed personalities. He's there to look good... he doesn't contribute anything to the story... well, I wouldn't even call it a plot because there isn't one.

**W:** It's the same... he has no personality, but again, I don't think this drama was made with the goal of character development but just to pass the time, so that's fine with me. Number 1, even though he's 1.70m tall and 19 years old... I doubt it... he's cute, but that's it.

**S:** He's the most interesting character... but again, he's not very deep... he has a bit of a personality that shows when he's with Ken...

**K:** He's one of the more complex characters, which isn't saying much... I don't understand how he doesn't have more importance.

**J:** Did you ask for a useless and truly uninteresting character? Here he is... honestly, he annoyed me. At what point do you dare to come between two men when you know that one of them has been in love with the other since childhood... it's not like he's been madly in love with S for months... he doesn't even know him. He should have stayed in his place and made sure that K's feelings weren't reciprocated before trying anything with S.

The two women are cute together...

I lament the fact that this is a typical drama. By that, I mean a drama where none of the characters are not gay even though there are about ten of them... and we have to endure seeing people dressed as women, degrading the image of drag and other forms of expression...

Well, I gave it a 6 for the acting, which isn't bad, and for the originality of the host theme.

In short, a drama to pass the time but one that won't be remembered, and I would add that including NC scenes every 5 minutes doesn't make it a mature drama.

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The bare bones of a good show

There's the foundation of a genuinely good story in here somewhere, but unfortunately you have to dig through a lot of meaningless-at-best, annoying-at-worst filler to get to it.
But let's focus on the positives first. This show genuinely has a lot going for it, the cinematography is good, the pole and aerial silk performances are surprisingly great, and most of the characters are genuinely likeable, realistically flawed human beings.
My personal favourite being Wela, who honestly could have been milestone for the genre on top of being incredibly charming, if only the script had been, well... better.
There are also middle aged lesbians in a thriving relationship as well as polyamory representation which we love to see. Yes, the latter could have been handled a bit more smoothly and I think that plot line would have benefited from more of a romantic buildup between Pan and Ken as well, rather than just between Seji and the other two individually, but all in all it still works surprisingly well and I am hopeful that this casual inclusion will open the door for more series and films to showcase healthy, loving polyamorous relationships.
Finally, and arguably most importantly, the show focuses on sex work and sex worker's daily lives which is an incredibly mis- and under-represented group of people, so I was understandably excited for this story.

Unfortunately, however, this is where the series really crashes and burns.
It does treat its characters with the respect they deserve and even tries to address certain topics like social and systemic discrimination of sex workers, or the fact that sex work is a paying job like any other which pays the bills and puts food on the table (which is quite an important point to highlight seeing as, statistically speaking, quite a high percentage of Thai sex workers actively use their income to support family in their home towns). But any deeper exploration of these topics is hindered by bad writing, a meandering, unfocused plot, and So. Much. Product. Placement.
There is a certain point in the series at which I thought the story was going to address the vicious cycle of repeat criminalization which allows corrupt government forces to profit off the sex work industry endlessly while publicly condemning it, but no. To my great disappointment it's just another opportunity for the almost offensively cartoonish female villain to do her thing.
The series also spends way too much time on people making out with one another and while yes, the portrayals of physical intimacy are very good and yes, I understand this can be a draw for some viewers, these scenes take up vital screen time that could have been much better spent on more important things like fleshing out the plot and weaving more cohesive storylines.
Personally I also really dislike the ending of Wela's character arc, it feels completely contrary to his previous actions and kind of devalues most of the show's core messages.

All in all, this show tries, in its own convoluted way, to offer a nuanced and respectful portrayal of sex work and shine a light on the serious issues facing people working in that industry, and for that it is to be commended.
It does, however, mostly fail to achieve what it sets out to do, making it quite difficult for me to wholeheartedly recommend watching it.
Instead I would recommend doing your own research on the issues of sex work in Thailand and around the world before watching the show and forming your own opinion :)


P.S.:
If you don't know where to start you could, for example, read some articles published by EMPOWER, a Thai sex workers' advocacy group and non-profit, or by the NSWP, a global network of human rights organisations advocating for sex workers worldwide, which offer some highly educational material.
Hell, even just reading through the wikipedia entry on sex work in Thailand can offer some reasonably nuanced insights on the topic.
For any visual learners I recommend watching John Oliver's segment on sex work (it's available on youtube for free) - it does strike a fairly satirical tone and focuses mostly on America and other western countries but a lot of the points made are universally applicable and it covers a lot of ground in a relatively short time span, so I feel it could work well as an introduction to the topic.

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It was okay

There’s some good and bad qualities about the show but honestly I’m not even bothered. The main couple got me giggling and feeling all cheesy so I’m hooked *insert blush emoji*.
Genuinely, this show could have the trashiest plot, and I wouldn’t even care because of Wela and Khemthis *blushing emoji*.
I love Seji and Japan but I hate a love triangle (nothing personal for the character Ken).
Honestly I got bored often and felt like some storylines were unnecessary and lack luster.
Overall the drama was okay. It wasn’t terrible but not the best also.

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Is that all?

It's actually a fun ride, I quite like the journey following this series, I really enjoy the chemistry between the characters (especially the main couple who have been together from the start so there are lots of moments to enjoy, I'm a bit tired of the "confused phase" in BL lol) , the plot is also light and easy to follow, it's not long-winded (like some Thai BL where I dropped, usually because the long-windedness to lengthens the duration), but in my opinion overall it's just ordinary. There's no after taste. Not bad, but nothing special either.

In my opinion, the conclusion about the side couple, Japan-Seiji-Ken, is too late. I like it, but it's too late. And it's like, okay, that's it?

But overall I recommend it for people who are looking for something to watch while filling their time. ?

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surprisingly enjoyable with loveable characters :)

this series was surprisingly good but ofc it had its pros and cons.

for the cons, I wish there were fewer nc scenes and more scenes with kenseijijapan and freyameiji cause they could've been shown a lot more. like we could've explored the way older lesbians are in a relationship as well as how a polyamorous couple are together. great and james felt very last minute and rushed as well, could've added more scenes about their relationship and dynamic.

as for the pros, the music and cinematography in the show are so good! especially scenes in the nightclub while they're performing and whatnot. khem and wela have my entire heart, I love them so much which was surprising to me as at first, I had doubts about khem but he had so much character development which was amazing. I wanted to see more of their relationship without the nc scenes though. I love wela's character, so hardworking, passionate, and lovely (and adorable ofc). I also love seijijapan's dynamic, japan is such an adorable character. love the poly representation cause I'll take whatever rep we can get and also love older queer rep that shows how different older queers think compared to younger queers. love p'dai, she had an iconic personality matched with iconic outfits. I wish they didn't just use her as a comic relief character to give us more proper trans rep.

overall, it's not exactly a masterpiece, I would say there is something that feels missing from it. Nevertheless, it's a cute show to watch just for fun with cute and complex characters. the chemistry between the actors, especially between the two male leads, was amazing. definitely worth watching if you wanna just binge a cute lil gay show.

IM SUPER EXCITED FOR DEEP LOVE THOUGH HOPEFULLY IT COMES OUT SOON CANT WAIT!

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Man on pole? Bring it on!

It was really good and it fell flat towards the end.

I love all the couples here. I wish there are more screentime for the supporting couples.

I'm not a fan of the nightclub business per se but I do really enjoy the performance by the hosts. I also love how there's BL shipping in the club, that part is really so funny

There are decent number of NCs, some are pretty good- I can feel that they want to eat each other up

The ending is pretty cool, I didn't expect they'd really go ahead with polygamy. I love how this show is pushing boundary in this sense. It's also giving us a different perspective of the host business

Although, I've a mixed feeling about this. While I'm supportive about showcasing their talent, I'm not sure if it's "right" to promote "accompanying clients" as a profession. After all, the clients do get touchy, it's not like they are having heart-to-heart talk. This is the only piece of the show that I'm not sure how to feel. But, at same time, this is just depiction of real life, and it's up to the viewers to make our own discretion

Overall, I enjoy the show- it's pretty wild and fun.

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Faltou profundidade...

a história tinha bom potencial e um plot que fugia ao padrão, mas toda narrativa foi tratada superficialmente, o desenvolvimento foi acelerado e os relacionamentos secundários mal explorados, o casal principal apesar do grande tempo de tela, não foi tão bem trabalhado, o tempo foi mal dividido o que resultou em relacionamentos corridos ou com pouco ou nenhum plano de fundo. Sobre o trisal, Japan que parecia o menos maduro e mais inocente, de repente tomou uma grande decisão, Seiji fez suas escolhas e o Ken realmente me tieou do serio com a atitude ruim em relacao ao xasal principal, mas foi entendivel. Fostaria mto de um maior desenvolvimento do James e Great

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I need a spin-off with KeJaSe ASAP!!

The series is available for free on Youtube, however, Youtube's version is cut (smut scenes are missing, even though you don't see more than their naked upper body, otherwise a few naughty sounds). An important scene from episode 7 is completely missing, which makes more sense for episode 8's conclusion. (You'll still understand ep8 without the scene, but it gives more character depth, and the scene is generally worth it.)

– Main couple: 
Nothing new, a bit shallow, and quite the stereotypical (sweet) couple you'll find in almost every BL series. 
The difference: communication skills. While they do have their jealous drama scenes and misunderstandings, it never stretched for more than one episode. They have a pretty quick character development when it came to the little (but important) things, and also show they've learned from that. 
As (Thai) BL series are known for having two men that absolutely cannot communicate other than with their body, this verbal change was quite refreshing. 
My personal issue was that each of their sweet scenes was always concluded with a kiss. Their kisses are good, yes, but not every emotional/sweet scene needs kissing, so after some time it felt a bit too forced. 
There was a hint in the first two episodes that they might be switches, but sadly never brought up later on again. I'd loved to have another switches couple, but it's at least safe to say that Wela is a switch. 
(Side note: They did low-key gave me YaiKorn vibes sometimes. But more as in, what YaiKorn wanted to be (at the end of their series, where they've been more sweet.) Maybe cause of the short/slight BDSM scene?)

– Everyone is gay/queer: 
We've all seen that trope at least once. If there's one BL couple, there's likely a second one, maybe a third and a fourth, and at the end it's like the whole cast is gay. Sometimes that will feel very unrealistic, however, as this is a night club setting with male hosts, it's not surprising and it works. 
I found it actually quite funny that they were very direct about it in the first episode already. There was only one character I was more or less surprised to find he's gay too, but it's also nothing new for his character role. 
The sexualities aren't actually said anywhere, so you can assume that some characters are bi or pan as well, especially considering that the club is a mixed one (where they serve every gender). Wela for example was seen serving both women and men, but as it never went past stroking and cheek kissing, you won't know for sure what his orientation is. (Not that it really mattered for me, but in case you prefer bi rep.)

– World-building: 
When so many characters are queer and openly queer as well, you'll wonder in what society they live in. And that was another fresh aspect. Queernormaticism. None of the characters were heteronormative, no one was queerphobic and no one batted an eye when seeing same-sex couples make out. There was only a bit of a slight drama with a lesbian couple, but overall very relaxing. 
None of the couples had a "oh shit I'm crushing on the same gender, wtf should I do about that"-moment. No one questioned their crush, no one had to "find themselves" and no one was afraid of telling it to people.  
These kinda settings are my favorite, and I'd give it a 10 just for that. 
Not only sexualities, but self expression was great too. Dai for example was slaying with their wardrobe, and there was one guy that Wela served who was slaying their make-up as well. No fear of femininity whatsoever. I think all of the main guys wore make-up at least once (especially lipstick) and it looks so good. Can the west please adapt this? 

– Side BL couple: 
One of the 2 BL side couples was very bold in the first episode, so i was a bit surprised they didn't continue with that maturity, until the last episode. But it was hinted at why they're distant, so that's fine. Great (the character (yes that's his name)) made for some good laughs. 
The actor of James (Nathan?) is really good. He made the scenes so natural. And mature. I'd love to see him in more BL Dramas.

– Throuple: 
My favorite BL pairing is the lovely polycule, and I cannot tell you how happy I am to finally see a BL polycule in a (Thai) TV Drama! 'Only Friends' kind of had a threesome but it was more of a "fooling around" (still loved it). Very happy to finally get the real thing. 
It was just way too short. They were hinted to be an item very early on, but the majority of time was focused on pining and the love triangle, until they finally realized: "why choose?" (And that's why you need to see the uncut version of episode 7.) 
Please please please give them their own series!! They had a few new ones in the special episode, but it was too few yet.  

– GL couple: 
Gotta love that lesbian couples are becoming more and more popular, especially in BL Dramas. 
'Only Friends' made a big breakthrough with their 2 lesbian couples, and I guess that served as an inspiration to not only have an old couple (characters in their 40s) but also give them kissing scenes. Whatever the inspiration was or not, I'm just glad to finally see real kisses between women, and not the awkward cheek smooches like in 'Big Dragon' for example. 
They were cute and badass as well. A power woman with a power woman by her side. I'm really glad they got their own series. 
In that regards, it was also nice to see women not being whiny characters only, but actually with personality and a non-annoying role. (Well, there was one woman that was very annoying and the antagonist of the non-romantic plotline, but that wasn't because of her gender.) Glad to see women being respected more and more in BL Dramas. It's been a long way. 

– Setting: 
I haven't seen a trapeze male dancer in a tv drama yet, so that was nice as well. The cinematography in those scenes were amazing and the actors got skills. 
The characters do also go to university, but there aren't many scenes there. (Luckily, because who isn't lowkey done with the school setting?)

– Overall: 
There were scenes that were a bit shallow and could've been better, but all in all quite refreshing. If this is where the BL industry is steering to, then yes please. And also please more polygamy.  

-02.09.24

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