My Engineer (2020)

I admit I may be biased, that doesn't mean it's a bad show

So this is the show that got me interested in Thai series and the first BL I've ever watched. I may be biased because of this, but I got seriously obsessed with this, so much so that I rewatched it a second time (I normally never watch anything more than once, because I lose interest in it and that would be a shame if I actually ended up liking it).

The story doesn't offer anything original or new, but the way things are told and shown creates a very special atmosphere. Everything develops naturally without anything coming across as forced or strained. The actors are both good-looking and talented, which helps keeping the viewer's interest high. There are some things that were maybe a little bit exaggerated or that should have been developed further, but nothing that ruins the show. Actually some scenes are hilarious in their craziness.
The kisses were quite disappointing, but the chemistry of the actors was enough to portray the love the characters felt for each other. I really enjoyed Bohn and Duen's relationship, because it really shows how relationships aren't easy: in the beginning both have big expectations, but they soon have to face reality, which creates misunderstandings and fights (some of which exaggerated, but still not enough to ruin things).
I really appreciated the balance of screentime between the couples. Every character was necessary to the story's development and this helps keeping the storyline interesting.

The production value is not bad, but could be improved. I guess this comes down to the budget, though. The dubbing of Mek didn't bother me too much. I noticed his voice was weird, but had to read the comments to realise he was actually dubbed. Still, I don't think this ruined things for me, I've actually felt touched by his subplot, which was a good thing because the sadness of MekBoss's subplot counterbalanced the sappiness of BohnDuen's main plot, together with the storyline of the other couples.
The music really helps keeping the atmosphere alive, although I was not a fun of those Youtube-like little sounds.

Looking forward to season 2.

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Decent

I think this series started with very little expectations for most of us and I can say I was pleasantly surprised when it ended. Sure, there are many things that could have been improved:
1) Poy (playing Duen) was sure cute but he is making his debut as an actor (and only 21) and it showed... he needs a bit more acting workshops to deliver some lines more efficiently and also to cry without looking like he is laughing.
2) Cooper (playing Bohn) was fine but the plot of him getting jealous every episode was a bit annoying. Yes, it showed that even the main couple was not picture perfect but how much lack of communication do you need?!
3) I read in some blog that Ryan (playing Mek) dubbed his own lines (he is Chinese studying in Thailand) because he was not confident enough to say them during shooting. If that's the case, then kudos to him for trying but it sounded a bit odd. And if he wasn't dubbing his own lines, then it was not a very good choice of dubbing actor.
4) We saw Duen's family but then the little sister disappears after she almost drowns while visiting a market and the mother and father barely appeared in the beginning and then just don't appear anymore. Sure, we got to see a lot of development between all couples, but aside from Ram and the drama of his father cheating on his mother and his funny interactions with his younger brother, a bit more family interaction could have improved the flow of the show and the background of the characters.

The series had so many good things as well:
1) Talay (playing King) and Perth (playing Ram) were a revelation, especially Talay. Both were able to portray their characters very convincingly and showed their chemistry. Talay showed us how much future of an actor he has as this is his third show (all BL characters) but playing very different roles in all 3.
2) This show actually gave all 4 couples almost equal amount of time on-screen instead of having the main couple and the others just sprinkled every now and then (like "2gether the Series" and really most GMMTV BLs).
3) I'm glad this show didn't have the typical bitchy/screaming female trying to sabotage the couple (see Pam in "2gether the Series" or the girl from "I am Your King SS2" for some examples).
4) The story had some ups and downs but it had more believable situations (compared to becoming my fake boyfriend because you made me break up with my girlfriend like Frank and Drake in the terrible "My Tee").
5) The cast had so many changes (except for MD playing Thara) but despite that, they had great chemistry and the story was not that rushed so we could actually see good progress instead of solving everything in the last few episodes.
6) This might be unpopular among some of you but I was happy with the kiss scenes we got and glad the director didn't try to force more intimate scenes. The development of the couples was just right for what we got and more just for the sake of showing some handsome actors shirtless and kissing (like most episodes of "WhyRU" for example) would have been unnecessary. And at least we got actual kiss and not pecks or high-fives, right?

Hopefully season 2 doesn't disappoint as right now our expectations are high and we get to see some more development in all the relationships, including the "bros" Thara and Frong and maybe some drama introduced by the families. Oh and where is Cupcake (Thara's pet lizard)?!

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Really good watch

Since I'm patiently (or rather the opposite) waiting for season 2 to be released, I thought I'd get my thoughts out and write a review on this series. Although it isn't the best bl in the world, out of the many I've watched, it is one of my personal favourites and here's why:

Firstly the series does an amazing job of balancing its four couples. I commend it a lot for this because many of the shows I've seen are barely able to handle two couples, let alone four. Developing multiple storylines that seamlessly run alongside each other and are each well thought out is hard, but My Engineer was able to do this quite well. The only couple I would say they left out a bit in terms of screentime was TharaFrong, but I guess due to the pacing of their relationships it makes sense.

Now getting into the actual couples:

- We should probably start with BohnDuen since they're the main cp. Without saying too much, they are frustratingly adorable... that's the only way I can describe them. When they first started out I just found them the cutest. The whole premise of Bohn using the flowers as an excuse to get to see Duen each morning was so sweet (also I was really surprised and happy about how quickly he accepted his feelings for a guy). However when they got together, naturally that's when the issues started. Actually, they started when they first became closer, but when they got together I guess that's when it became more ridiculous. Between Bohn's anger/jealousy issues, and Duen's adversity to affection and even words of affirmation; their relationship kind of declined for me. Of course, it's not surprising that they would disagree as they did, but after a while their actions became repetitive and against other storylines they became stagnant. Despite this. I liked their progress at the end and still find them annoyingly cute together.

- Onto MekBoss; I really liked their relationship development. I did see spoilers about them though so I knew what to expect, but it was still pleasantly surprising. Mek kind of reminded me of Third from TOL with the whole unrequited love situation, so obviously I was rooting for him and feeling his pain every time he was on screen. But in a twist his love wasn't unrequited (I still wish we'd got to see more about that because it was brushed over way too quickly after the time we spent watching Mek pine for Boss. Anyways, I loved how the series set them out, and that we go to see through Boss' actions as well as his words, that his feelings were true.

- TharaFrong. I'm conflicted. First of all I love Thara and his pet lizard cupcake; his character is so adorable. Im not going to pretend I didn't spend a lot of the season annoyed at Frong though. I just kept thinking he wasn't 'good enough' for Thara (mostly I didn't like that he was always being rude to Thara, particularly at the flower shop and the hospital), obviously though his character developed, and I sympathised with him a lot. Their ending, although unsatisfying was I think justifiable, because we didn't see enough of them for it to be as impactful if they got together. Hopefully next season their plot is developed more.

- Now onto my favourites RAMKING!! Out of all the cp's, their storyline was the best structured and written. From the time they first saw each other to the end, it all felt natural; even considering how weird it is that they hardly knew each other and ended up living together. Even when I was annoyed by them, I didn't want to miss a second of their scenes because they were all so meaningful. And just like TharaFrong, I love how their relationship extended past simply liking each other. It was touching to see King helping Ram out in his time of need, and constantly comforting him. And the way in which this care, that he thought was purely friendly, transformed into a plot for him to realise his feelings was really clever. Also can we talk about how cute that flower scene was!!! And the kiss!!! Anyways, I really enjoyed how the series set up these two characters as opposites but at the same time one in the same; they complemented each other so well.


Other than the couples, I appreciate how the series addressed some issues. For one, I was really surprised to see the whole top and bottom debate and its conclusion. I was scared it would be handled badly and then brushed away (especially with the scene where Bohn was drunk), but they addressed it well. Also, the fujoshi satire was funny in a way where I wasn't uncomfortable with the presence of those character types. And the representations of the struggles with sexuality were done better than other bl's. The actors also did an amazing job. All the emotions were portrayed well and I really felt each scene. The whole production was good as well.

The only faults I would say are that some plots, ie BohnDuen jealousy, were drawn out and got annoying at some points. Also the dubbing for Mek... the budget looked really good so I don't know why the dubbing was so distractingly bad; his acting still managed to shine through though.

Overall, I really liked My Engineer. I postponed watching it for a while because I read the title and thought it would be another engineering bl with the same plotlines and phrases; but it was a fresh series. Of course it isn't the best bl, and if you're looking for a life-changing one this isn't it. But its worthy of a 9 imo because it was well constructed, nearly completely unproblematic, greatly acted, cute and funny. Definitely a comfort show.

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The lead pairing struggles to find its place but the side couples carry this great series

NO-SPOILER REVIEW

This is a really hard review to write because I would have given very different ratings for just the main couple versus all the other side couples. The lead couple starts out strong and unfortunately struggles to find its way, but thankfully this series gives plenty of time to the development of the side couples, and they make for an amazing series.

Pros
- Three of the main side couples have amazing character and story development as well as great acting and chemistry. Any of them could have carried this entire series and could have their own dedicated spin offs.
- A good blend of funny, dramatic, and feel-good moments.
- The OSTs are great and really add to the mood.

Cons
- Some tropes feel a bit stale and some relationship elements aren't very healthy.
- As this series doesn't appear to have the same budgets as some other Thai BL series, there are some aspects that feel a bit rougher in terms of overall production and distribution. In addition, this series seemed to have some difficulty with multiple rounds of casting and issues with a Chinese investor company and cast member.

Overall
- This series seems to have had some issues getting the attention and acknowledgement it deserves as it's not coming from GMMTV or other big studios, but it's definitely worth watching. While the plot for the main leads isn't very strong, this series survives on the amazing side couples, which are more than worth it.

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i started watching this show thinking it was gonna be similar to all the other BLs that I've watched, but man was i wrong. This show had an interesting story, and i enjoyed all the couples. Each couple got a lot of screen time, and all the couple's stories were significantly different./ I would have to sya my favorite is RamKing, because i love both the actors, and how well they both were able to fit into their character. Also this show is great because the main couple is actually on the same level as the side couples, rather than most dramas where you end up liking the side couple more than the main couple. I also share this drama with my friend who just started to watch thai Bl dramas and she's just as invested in this as I am. If you have time while in quarantine you should give this show a watch, it's worth the time.

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Not Your Average Engineering BL

Let’s just start by saying that I originally had no intention on watching this BL. The college Engineering storyline has been way overused, the trailer didn’t really sell me, and more than two couples tend to get super messy.
That being said, I decided to give this a chance after hearing some positive reviews about this.
They pulled off some things that I really thought would totally flop, so kudos for that.
For example, there are four couples in this. Usually this would raise immediate red flags. Four couples usually means either the plot will be all over the place or a few of the couples get put on the back burner and never fully develop.
That didn’t happen here, every couple got a chance to shine and develop in a satisfying way. I’m especially excited to see how RamKing will progress in the next season.
Acting was a little awkward at times, but certainly not the worst. I think many of the actors are new to the industry, so it’ll be cool to see how they improve.
Weirdest thing was the fact that the actor who played Mek is Chinese and doesn’t know any Thai, so they dubbed him over. I think it would have been better to just come up with some excuse for why he needed to speak Chinese. It was super distracting and I never quite got over it.
That aside, this is a fun drama and a quick watch. They managed to keep the plot together, despite the fact that there are technically four individual couples with different storylines. There’s not too much focus on the Engineering department (despite the title) and more focus on their lives outside of school.
Is this the best BL in the entire world? No, but it was a fun watch and I’m excited for season two. Would recommend to anyone looking for a good time with a drama/comedy.

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okay, i actually came across a ram x king edit and that's when i discovered this series. i did not regret watching this though.
as a person who is a BL fan i was really excited to see this one. just as i hoped, it was really good. i will be sharing my opinions on the couples in this series.

bohn x duen
- this was a cute ship. although bohn is seen as just a popular kid and a playboy according to duen's friends, he did really have feelings for duen. whenever they were happy, i was just smiling because they were seriously really cute. i kind of did want more than just fooling around, like more romantic moments but i'm sure that will come in the next season.
- their relationship needs more trust and both of them need to be honest with each other. when bohn refused to listen to duen whenever he was suspicious that duen was meeting up/dating someone else, i felt kind of unhappy that he was acting like this. (like i know you love him, bohn, but you need to listen to him and not cause another problem because you didn't.) duen is less possessive of bohn, because he's never been in a relationship before (especially with a male.) he doesn't really understand relationships well, and when he caught bohn accidentally with that other guy who tried to kiss him, i think that really hurt duen. but when bohn wanted something like a kiss for duen, he just wouldn't give it to him. (i was like you better kiss him omg). i don't think duen was ready for a relationship at all though.
- overall i think that in the next season they need to be more open with each other and try to build more trust with each other, or else it's not going to work out. if i were ever in a relationship the first thing i would probably look for is how trustworthy my partner would be. besides that, i really love them.

ram x king
- oh my god. the amount of love i have for this couple is infinite. ram and king are my favorite couple in this series, and i mean it. although ram is usually quiet, king understands ram and is able to communicate with him, but their relationship slowly gets deeper. i think they go with the flow more, they don't rush anything. unlike bohn and duen who have many misunderstandings and things to solve, ram and king's relationship is almost perfect. that's why they're my favorite couple in the series. once again, i'd LOVE to see more romantic moments because their kiss was truly amazing. (not a spoiler, i think you guys should know they were going to kiss anyway). i cannot get over how they look at each other..their chemistry is awesome.
- the only thing that i thought was sad about their relationship was that when king literally went for ram for like 11 episodes and both understood their feelings near the end, king just pushes ram away in the 13th. king was slowly becoming aware of his own feelings for ram and is scared that ram will feel the same way towards him. so, he clearly avoided him. (don't avoid a person when they start developing feelings for you.) lmao but king was on gay panic mode right then and there, i'd probably feel the same if i were him.
- but this is seriously the best ship existing in this series.

boss x mek
- they are a good couple, but mek was clearly afraid to tell boss at the beginning that he had feelings for him or it could ruin their whole relationship. mek is just like several people out there; he's afraid he could lose a friend if he ever confessed his true feelings.
- i don't know why they had a chinese actor for a thai series? the voiceover sounded pretty awkward, because his words did not match up with whoever was doing the talking because the voice sounded so distant and not in the actual scene. also, boss was always going after girls who he never had any luck with, and he did like mek as well. BUT i did enjoy their kiss scene.

thara x frong
- this is a very sweet couple, i think they are just pretty nice overall. it's all smooth, and they both seem to trust each other. they seem more mature, actually. i am really looking forward to seeing more interactions and moments between them because i know they can trust each other and really care for their partner.

acting/cast
- can i just say that all the actors are good-looking, especially ram and king..every time i look at one of them they are literally breathtaking, especially the actor who plays king. he looks like stray kids' seungmin sometimes. as for ram, i heard the actor was half australian, explaining his english in one of the episodes. (ok but his voice when speaking english is amazing.) they can really play their roles well and i love the series a lot.

i'll always be waiting for season 2.

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I have really no plan to watch this because I thought this is not as good as the production of GMM. I even don't have that feel everytime I saw their posters or something because I thought the actors are not good.

BUT DAMN! I WAS WRONG! Since after 2gether, I have no bl series to watch so I decided to watch this one. In the very first few episode, I was just feel like okay its not bad. But when I that flower thing of bohn and duen, that cuteness of mek and boss, that quite one and talkative one of Ram and King and ESP. those of gang of duen makes everything complete in this series. OKAY I must say "DON'T JUDGE THE BOOK BY ITS COVER". Now I must say this is one or maybe the BEST BL SERIES of 2020.

What I like most is that boyfriend material of BOHN. I really like his attitude here. Damn, those seriousness and sweetness when he is with duen and those jealousy he feels (well sometimes his actions are not valid) but you feel how much duen is important to him. At first he is not that type of actors like those known in BL. He is not that okay for me, but when the episode goes, he becomes more handsome for me, the way he talk, the way he tries to be cute to duen makes everyone wanted him to be their bohn.

In terms of Duen, I actually find him a bit annoying when he tries to ignore bohn and to be that very girly attitude or childish-like person. But it clicks to the attitude of Bohn who are trying to win Duen everytime and even they are already together. I knew everyone annoys when their is romantic excitement between them but duen suddenly diverge the feeling like wtf. Haha

As for mek and boss, they are the cutest thing but I always felt like Mek voice is just a record on a tape. Why he has that kind of voice?

King and Boss also a big thing here. No wonder why others are fell in love with them.

Those gang of duen are REALLY FUNNY. THEY MAKE THIS SERIES ALIVE. I actually always laughing with them. LoL.

The OST IS REALLY GOOD also.

And what I like is how the production manage their scene to be equally divided in every episode.

For ME this must a really watch BL series in 2020. You will have no regrets. Promise!

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Nothing mind blowing

Well , I'll try to keep this short. I've watched this when it aired but never wanted to give an opinion so here I am now. After re-watching it again I thought I should write something down.

Honestly the story isn't something wow or mind blowing, I mean if
you ever watched another series with engineers, you are there with the story 50% from the beginning.

The main couple BohnDuen were interesting the first 3-4 episodes then they started to get annoying. Maybe it's just me but oh my god, their trust factor is no where to be found. Hopefully
they'll be better in season 2.
The next couple RamKing- they were one of the reasons why I continued to watch this show. Lovely character development and they deserved more screen time.
The same goes to TharaFrong - they were the second reason why I kept watching this series. I just love them together and they have an amazing chemistry.
And the last couple MekBoss they were amazing too. I just love their development as a couple.

The cast was cute, the OST was fine and the story was alright, I guess.

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So much missed potential

I've not much to say other than I only forced myself to watch this show due to RamKing couple, and perhaps TharaLizard too.
The idea of falling in love by bringing a flower a day is very cute and the main couple had potential but unoriginal writing/characters really let this couple down. I just felt that they were stereotypes without any added personality. And also highkey abusive with the jealousy issues. Usually i root for the main couple, but I REALLY wanted them to break up. I don't see how, realistically, that couple could ever work.
However, if there is an upload of this show somewhere showing only RamKing scenes then I would highly recommend it. Both characters are unique and fleshed out really well. The actors had chemistry and even if they weren't an official 'couple' of the series, just the development of their friendship would make the show worth watching.
If i could give a 0 for the music i would. It's corny and perhaps I'm biased but jazz just really never feels good in an OST.
I will watch season 2, however, I will probably skip all scenes with the main couple in them.

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Well, this was interesting.
I am new here and I caught my first series just about 3 weeks ago, quite by accident actually.
I won't mention it here since I am not sure of it is appropriate to do so.

But needless to say, I thought the first series I watched was cute and had me blushing and giggling like a schoolgirl?/schoolboy? even though the show was apparently not that great.... then I read up and there was My Engineer under the recommendations list and needless to say, I am beyond hooked. I watched all 14 episodes of this in just two days. I am exhausted but SO happy.

Go Team RamKing.

So sad about the whole thing with Ryan though I have only discovered the whole business now... Mek and Ram are the cutest guys on the show.

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Story:
It isn't something mindblowing. Just some university folks falling in love, but I'd say it's enjoyable. It's worth giving it a try, although it might get a little boring/annoying over time. There's lots of drama (mainly because of BohnDuen) that I found tiring after a while, but it's still an adorable and sweet series. If you're looking for something to binge, then I think this is perfect.

Acting/Cast:
The acting is really good. There are some awkward moments, but honestly - they are in almost every drama. All of the actors gave the best of them and did an amazing job. The cast - i think it's well chosen. I haven't read the novel, but from what I've seen on Twitter, everyone thought the actors really matched the characters. Personally, I find the boys really cute and handsome, especially King, Boss and Bohn :). I'd like to describe every pairing separately, so here we go:

BohnDuen - I liked them more at the beginning than later. I don't know, I just felt more excited to see them on the screen. I adored the concept of Duen bringing Bohn flowers and I still do, it's just that... there was TOO MUCH drama going on between them. I'm glad they got a happy ending, they ended up together again and even kissed 2! hecking times in a single episode (and they barely hugged through the whole series!), but Bohn being jealous over silly things and Duen kinda provoking him wasn't really nice to watch. They lacked communication. And the reason of their break up? A guy kissing Bohn on the cheek? Really? I get it, Duen was sad that Bohn kept it to himself, but that's not something that should be the cause of them parting ways. It wasn't even Bohn's fault and I really can't understand why he didn't try to explain it?? Instead, they showed it like he was the culprit, while he was literally the victim! I hope that in a second season there won't be THIS much drama, or imma cry;-;

MekBoss - They are such cuties! To be honest, at first I skipped almost every of their scenes, and you can literally bash me for this, all tea all shade. But I was fed up and downhearted by the way Boss was treating Mek and how all the women were treating Boss! I was ready to throw fists, I just didn't want my babies to get hurt over and over. You have no idea how I SCREAMED when Boss confessed to Mek. I'm also happy that Boss had the guts to announce their relationship to the whole camp. And I appreciate that the girl (I forgot the name, sorry) didn't make any problems and didn't try to meddle in their happiness.

TharaFrong - They started poorly, but it got a lot better. I loved that they were basically the only couple that didn't face any problems at the end. Well, not really a couple though, because Frong got... brother-zoned XD I didn't expect that and I could see the disappointment on Frong's face - same man! Anyway, I don't really have much to say, they are basically a "fresh" pairing. I love the lizard and the bus vomit scene tho! haha

RamKing - SKJSJKSJGKLSKJLS. That's it. Jk, I have to say something more about this great duo! Unlike BohnDuen, these guys can communicate! Maybe Ram isn't the most talkative person out there, but King knew that. And he took time, gave his best and slowly slid into Ram's "shell". He didn't break it, he understood it and just sneaked in to cuddle (idk guys, idk). The feeling was just like a plant. He had to nurture it. And it grew beautiful. Ram opened for him and trusted him. I knew why King was acting so weird and cold at the camp, but it still hurt to see Ram so confused. I squeaked when they kissed and I squeaked even louder at the message Ram sent to King the day after. I absolutely adore this pairing and I hope things will get sorted out in the future.

Music:
It was nice. Tbh, it's in lots of series, but I can't stop myself from laughting when something cute or romantic is going on and the slowmotion and this one particular song kick in, haha. And the opening is iconic too!

Rewatch Value:
Really, don't have much to say. I'll probably just rewatch it before the second season. But it's worthwhile and it can really keep a person entertained, so maybe I'll come back to it after some time.

Overall:
"You nice, keep going" - as would Jimin say, haha. I hope that there will be more character development in the second season. And BohnDuen, I'm begging yall, TALK TO EACH OTHER!

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