The writers don't ever bother developing the parts that need to go between A and B, they just suddenly change things with zero development to earn them and even those moments are rare because they just keep the troubling status quo throughout the whole series. They never deal with the ramifications of the protagonists being groomed by their families, where Kuea is so controlled that he partitioned his self from neurotic man child when he's with Hia Lian and their family to being a relaxed functioning adult with interests when he's away from them. Hia Lian who has been conditioned to dedicate his life to the child of this rich family since he himself was a child, is emotionally abusive, controlling, manipulative, and he can't deal with Kuea having his own agency when actually confronted with that side of him which is something that should have been something the characters had dealt with, to see Kuea reconciling the two sides of himself and changing up their dynamic earlier in the series to bring them to heal individually and develop a healthier relationship, but this is never addressed either. The second couple is a mirror to this suffocating dynamic where the younger men are kept both dependent and in fear of their older partners. The only breath of fresh air is Syn and Nuea who develops their relationship organically through bits of screen time here and there. The show has a nice budget, decent music, a mix of actors of varying capabilities, and characters that could have been interestingly complex, but aside from couple three, there is no potential the show doesn't squander or fizzle to nowhere.