Yin & War will steal your heart

The best way to sum up this show is to say it's a breath of fresh air. I know we've gotten quite a few action based BLs ever since the Kinn Porsche hype, but none of them really held my attention for long. This show, on the other hand, has me squealing, crying, and more invested in the lives of fictional characters than I probably should be.

It's not a perfect show, but it doesn't really matter because it has one major thing going for it: the acting. Honestly, everyone is great in their roles, but the stars of the show are undoubtedly Yin and War. I knew they were solid actors with decent chemistry, but in this they're phenomenal. They both embody their characters so well, portray emotion in realistic ways, have so much charisma, and fantastic comedic timing. But what's even more impressive is their chemistry. It's been quite a while since I've witnessed that much chemistry between two actors. There aren't just sparks, no. These two could burn a house down. And the best thing is that they don't even need scenes that rely on physical intimacy to portray that. All they need is talking to each other (or well, fighting with each other because damn, they were just flirting), and sparks are flying left, right, and centre. It was obvious from the first scene they had together (their conversation at the bar), persisted through the scenes where one hated the other (without the chemistry diminishing the conflicting emotions), and is still going strong now that we're halfway done.
Another special mention goes to Pee as Hope. I assume they'll give Hope some redemption arc, but so far, he's been horrible. And I want to hate him, I really do. It's just that Pee makes him so charming and charismatic that I can't. I call this the Vegas dilemma, because Bible made it impossible to hate that guy, too.

I will say, if you're looking for a BL with a lot of romantic scenes, you won't find it here. At least not at the start. Because they go through a journey from instant infatuation to hatred to trust and love, there aren't many "fluffy" scenes in the first few episodes. Episode 6 then makes up for all that by giving you all the domestic wholesomeness, and I was eating it up. I do hope that in the remaining episodes, the show will maintain a balance between romance and action because I generally don't care about action all that much. But even if there won't be as many cute scenes as in a campus BL for example, it doesn't really matter, because Yin and War make every scene they share together electric. So I'd rather have a few really solid romantic scenes than drawn out, washed out, lacklustre scenes with zero chemistry like so many other BLs tend to deliver these days.

Another thing to love about the show is its characters. Specifically them feeling like actual people with actual feelings and lives, not just walking stereotypes. Jack and Joker are obviously the most fleshed out, but most of the side characters also get more than just one defining trait. It's also refreshing that most of them are morally gray. This makes the whole show more emotionally complex, and makes the viewer think about some moral dilemmas. It's not the height of complex characters, but if you compare it to the standard most BLs have, it feels like these people are deep as the Atlantic Ocean, honestly.
But not just the characters, also their dynamics are interesting. Of course there's the whole forgiveness arc between Jack and Joker, but there are also interesting parent-child and friendship dynamics. I also really liked the dynamic between Jack and his coach.

If you're a lover of action in shows, I'm not sure whether you'll like this. The heists they pull are fun to watch for me, aka someone who doesn't really care about the ins and outs of robbery etc. But even I realise that a lot of things don't really make all that much sense. There's a severe lack of security cameras and guards, for example. The show also uses Hannah Montana logic, because apparently if someone is wearing a wig and sunglasses, you won't recognise them anymore. For me, it's easy to look past that because it's entertaining, but for some it might be really bothersome, so I figured I'd mention it. There's also the problem that severe injuries are treated as minor ones. Characters who get beaten black and blue move with ease the next scene. That sort of robs you from a bit of suspense, because you know when someone gets smashed up, they'll be fine the next day.

I've seen many people discuss whether the humour of the show is a good or bad thing. Personally, I enjoy some of it but it does get a little too cringe at times (like manic, evil cackling). Personally, I like when an otherwise heavy/dark show throws in enough humour to lighten the whole thing up a bit. I appreciated it about Kinn Porsche, and I appreciate it here. However, some of it does clash a little bit too harshly with the otherwise grittier vibe. For example, I think that Arun is a bit too over the top, kind of like Tankhun from Kinn Porsche. It does seem like they're giving him a more serious storyline now, though, so hopefully that'll get better. Speaking of Kinn Porsche, Vegas' dad would definitely get along swimmingly with Arun's dad. Maybe Arun and Vegas could start a support group for children of abusive mafia fathers.
When I talk about the "grittier" vibes, I mean the show not shying away from depicting the reality of poverty and other social issues. Obviously, it's a bit extreme and sometimes very unsubtle, but it feels nice to get a more realistic depiction of the world than all the perfect utopias many other BLs create for their characters to live in. Seriously, the worst thing that can happen to most BL leads is a bit of rain that leads to a cold. Which would lead to a homoerotic sponge bath, and who would want that, right? Speaking of sponge baths, this series doesn't rely on old, tired BL cliches and tropes which also makes it feel unique and fresh.

Another positive is the beautiful styling and cinematography. The series is shot beautifully, and the editing is on point, too. No needless flashbacks for once, which I appreciate. They started the story where it needed to start, then flashed forward to where they needed to be, instead of filling the whole damn thing with flashback after flashback (I'm looking at you, First Note Of Love). There are some fun twists in there, and the show moves at a pretty decent pace, though sometimes it is a bit fast for me, and I would like some more downtime for the characters to just build their bonds.

That's all I have to say thus far. I'm thoroughly entertained, and each episode, I fall more and more in love with Yin and War. They were always on my radar, but this show has catapulted them to be my second favorite BL ship currently (only second to FirstKhaotung, because they are my one true loves). All in all, I'm having a great time with this series, and I hope it keeps the same energy up until the end, maybe with a bit more time for the romance to fully shine. It's not a perfect show, but in the sea of the same stories being told over and over again in Thai BL, this feels different enough to stand out in a positive light. And since I'm a very chemistry driven BL watcher, this one is a massive treat. Bravo!

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On today's episode of office BLs: Is it romance or is it workplace harassment?

I've watched about one and a half episodes of this train-wreck, and while I'm not usually one to judge and review shows based on so little run-time, I just have to with this one. Usually, I persevere through bad shows, hoping they'll get better, but in 9 out of 10 cases, I end up regretting to have wasted my time. So, in the spirit of self-care, I will not make myself suffer through another minute of this mess.

I normally don't review shows I've only seen so little of since I don't really think it's fair. So take my review with a grain of salt. But what I have seen of it has been so painful, I just have to rant about it.

The most glaring issue by far is the acting, specifically James as Mr. Elis. I really don't like to shit on actors because it is a difficult job. But boy oh boy, this guy cannot act at all. Okay, that might be a bit harsh. Maybe he could pull off another role, but definitely not this one. Mr. Elis is supposed to be this stern, fierce, confident company boss. Instead of looking fierce or strict, though, he just ends up looking either constipated or like he's a moustache-twirling villain, practicing for his villain monologue at the end of a terrible movie. This role would've demanded for a ton of charisma and charm, which the actor has absolutely none of. Thus, he comes across like a walking plank of wood with angry eyes attached to it. When Elis is supposed to look happy, James somehow makes him looks evil. In one flashback where Elis was supposed to be portrayed as kind by buying food for Pat, he had this evil smirk on his face like he poisoned the meal or something. I was literally waiting for Pat to get up and drop dead to the floor. Elis looks angry in scenes that are (what I assume to be a poor attempt at being) romantic, and when he's supposed to actually act like a tough boss, he's unconvincing. It really looks like he's a robot who's got a wrong program installed, thusly mixing up all kinds of human emotions. It's borderline unwatchable, but it is kind of funny.
The acting performances of everyone else involved don't stand out as either bad or great, so I'll leave that judgment to people who choose to watch more of the show. But if one of your main leads stands out so badly, I just cannot rank this higher than a 5 in terms of acting.

On top of the poor acting, there is zero chemistry between the main leads. As established, Elis just looks like he wants to kill Pat whenever he gets close, and Pat looks uncomfortable more than anything. Which I cannot fault him for because this feels like a bad case of workplace harassment. Mr. Elis tried to kiss Pat, Pat told him he's not comfortable with it, and then in the next episode, Elis keeps getting close to him in several almost-kisses. It's not cute or hot, it's scary. Maybe if there was actual sexual tension and Elis didn't look like he's planning to commit murder every time he steps close to Pat, this would've worked better. But it's all just painfully uncomfortable. There's no vibe, no sparks, just an immense sense of threat.

All that put me off the show entirely. But here are some other random grievances I have with the first episode and a half:
- If you centre your story around a boss, you should dedicate some time to establish what company he's the boss of. The first episode did nothing to inform viewers, so he's just some vague CEO.
- The characters don't seem to have personalities outside of their work persona. Pat is a dedicated assistant, Elis is a strict boss. That's all I could tell you about them. There's no appeal, no personality, no nothing to get attached to, or root for them.
- The editing and overall premise is confusing. At the start of the first episode, when they graze arms, we get a brief scene of Elis and Pat getting down and dirty. I still don't know what that was about. At first, I thought they were currently having an affair, which isn't the case as it seems. So what was that about? Was that just a dream sequence? Pat's imagination? Did they sleep with each other in the past and now they're not? You should make sure your first episode establishes these things clearly.
- We've reached a new low of flashbacks. You know how I complain about shows flashing back to scenes that happened two minutes ago? Well, this show flashes back to a FLASHBACK that we got two minutes ago. It is also filled with flashbacks in general which is something I just don't generally vibe with. If you have that much to tell about the past, maybe you should've started your story at another point in time.
- The dialogue often feels clunky and unnatural, especially among Pat and his two friends. They also give off big cringe energy which I assume will only get worse.
- Pat needs to get his glasses adjusted. If you have to push them up so many times, you need to get them fixed. This is not supposed to happen.

That's as much as I can say. I've promised myself not to suffer through any more BLs when my gut tells me they're just going to end up making me frustrated. Besides, I'm just not one for office romances if the two people involved are in different power positions. It just makes me feel uncomfortable, especially when one of them is as pushy as Mr. Elis here. Therefore, I will now distance myself from this series, and devote my time to better shows. If this does turn out to become a masterpiece of cinema, my words shall be damned, but I really doubt that.

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