This is my first time writing a review, so bear with me, but I absolutely had to in order to give Bad Buddy the praise it deserves.

STORY

Bad Buddy's bare bones plot isn't necessarily anything we haven't seen Thai BL do before; GMMTV loves engineering and architecture university students and an enemies to lovers plotline (not only is it enemies to lovers, but it's Romeo and Juliet inspired). While this plot structure tends to be a drag for me (this is the only BL in my top five to take place at a university), the execution is so well done it feels like you're watching something completely different from other university-centered BLs.

To me, this is because of two reasons:

First, the simplicity of the plot allows them to lean into the characters and their development, and they really take advantage of that. From each lead's first scene—Pat and his gang chasing after Wai and Pran taking his time to put his art supplies away before going to save Wai—they feel like real people and we care what happens to them. And by the time they get together, we know them each as individuals rather than some kind of ship dynamic. I've also never seen a BL manage to carry on this same development with its side characters; Wai, Korn, Paa, and Ink all stood out in their own ways, and I never felt the urge to skip their scenes so I could get to the main plot quicker.

Second, it's more self-aware than most BLs of its era are. We're seeing a bit more of a shift toward that now, but Bad Buddy is one of the first I've seen this from. They poke fun at some of the tropes often used by BLs, especially the "wifey" thing. I think we as an audience can get more enjoyment from a show that's willing to lean into some clichés while subverting others.

One last thing I'll say about the plot because I think it's important to my love of this show, and just how well the plot was executed: I hate, with every fiber of my being, the trope where we find out they knew each other in the past, whether it was a secret or they forgot about it. I always find it incredibly annoying and it never adds anything to the plot. But, you guessed it folks, it just works here. I think it's partially because it's never really kept a secret. We learn more about Pat and Pran's past friendship as the series continues, but it's never poised as some kind of big reveal. Second, it DOES contribute to the plot in this show. Without spoiling, it gives us further insight into the characters' lives and families, as well as helps us understand their present motivations.

ACTING/CAST

I mean... come on. This entire cast is just fantastic. I could spend paragraphs praising all of the side actors before we even get to Ohm and Nanon, but I'll spare you. Let me just say this: all of the actors are great on their own, but it's like they managed to put together the most complementary group of all time. No matter the combination of characters put together on screen, there was so much chemistry and it felt like watching real (if a bit exaggerated, of course, but I digress) interactions between people with histories with each other.

Ohm and Nanon are some of the best I've ever seen, and for guys so young, it's incredible. I think they particularly shined in Bad Buddy because the roles of Pat and Pran played to their strengths. Ohm seems to have the same kind of ball-of-energy athlete vibe that Pat has, while Nanon's got the chill musician thing that Pran has. It's also quite obvious that they're close in real life, because their chemistry is just off the charts. I've watched so many BLs where characters get together because it's "supposed" to happen. But throughout Bad Buddy, I could just feel the love they shared for each other, even when they didn't even know it.

Last thing I have to note about the acting is THAT scene. I'm really avoiding spoilers in this review, so if you know, you know. If you still haven't watched, when you get to the scene with Pat, Pran, and Wai... you'll know. Literal chills.

CRITICISMS

Can I just say this show is perfect and move on? No? Okay, well, while this show is nearly flawless, in my opinion, I do think the storyline had a few hiccups.

For me, the major one is that there wasn't enough discussion about the outing of Pat and Pran. I was very happy to see a show where everyone was very accepting of the characters' sexualities, so the outing had more to do with certain "alliances," for lack of a better word, but I wish the show would've touched on the effects a bit more. We also forgive the character who's at fault a bit more quickly than I would've liked.

CONCLUSION

Overall, this is a must watch on the BL scene. I laughed and cried several times, and would sell my soul for a season 2 (or even just a Between-Us-Special-esque series where we get to watch Pat and Pran being domestic and cute with no actual plot).

Everyone say thank you, P'Aof.