Theory of Love (2019)

This series is probably most notable for having popular actors Gun, Off, White and Earth. It wasn't one of my favorites, hence my low rating. I'll give my pro and con lists here:

THE PROS:

ACTING. Gun is always exceptional (I don't know of any BL actor who can cry on cue like he can!), Off was also very good... based on the way the characters were written, I have no complaints about any of the actors.

CINEMATOGRAPHY. Everything looked very professionally done.

CLOSURE TO PLOT LINES. Unlike some BLs, which often begin a plot line which mysteriously disappears (cough*Cause You're My Boy*cough), or build up a plot line and then kill it with no real explanation (cough*Love By Chance*cough), Theory of Love did follow story lines through to conclusion.

THE CONS:

THE LENGTH: For me, this should have been a 2-3 hour movie, not a 12 part series. One could easily skip from Episode 1 to Episode 7 without having missed a thing. Between Episodes 8-10, at least one of them could have been omitted. There simply wasn't enough story content to merit 12 episodes.

WHO'S GAY/BI/STRAIGHT? Okay, I guess we can assume that Third and An are gay because, while they don't come out and say so (why not?), they also don't ever discuss having an attraction to women. I suppose we can assume that Bone is straight, because he has the crush on the female teacher and ends up with a different girl at the end. But what about Khai and Two? Are we SERIOUSLY supposed to believe that Khai, who has had sex with more women than anyone can count--and with no mention of ever having slept with a guy, nor ever having a physical attraction to a guy--is suddenly horny for Third, never to sleep with a woman again, as they fall in love forever? Sorry, that never, ever happens! It would have made more sense if Khai was openly bisexual to begin with, but not this way. Same with Two... he spends much of the series salivating over women's "big boobs," and suddenly he's in love, physically, with An?

Come on... making a sudden change in sexual orientation is a HUGE moment in someone's life, and a step not taken lightly. At least give us some explanation of the transformation! All I can say is that this story must have been written by a delusional woman who enjoys nothing more than fetishizing men together.

THIRD: I know we're all supposed to feel sorry for and root for him but, for me, Third was the least likable character. At the beginning, he is obviously in a major depression over his secret love for Khai, but he's hardly blameless. Sure, Khai takes advantage of Third all the time, but consider three things: 1) Khai has no idea Third loves him, 2) Khai's other friends (Bone, Two) would have either said no or not cared that much one way or another and, 3) Third allowed himself to be taken advantage of.

When Third started standing up for himself, he claimed to want to remain friends with Khai but, instead, Third treated Khai with utter contempt and disdain, until the end of the series. Khai may have been an assho!e, but much of it was unintentional and/or out of naivete. Third was an assho!e on purpose.

PAAN: For me, she was very cold and unlikable. If Bone had just a physical attraction for her, then okay, but he apparently fell deeply in love with the teacher. Why?

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One of the rare dramas that I give perfect scores on. I originally did not want to watch Theory of Love since Off-Gun was a couple I had never seen before and did not get the hype. I gave in because the english subs for the first ep were up very fast and I needed to kill time. I am so glad I did.
Pros: The cast was very important to me in this drama. Again, it is a lot of familiar GMMTV faces. I really like Earth and I enjoy seeing him in BL's as he has a certain vulnerability that he portrays that is so in contrast to his tough guy exterior. Off-Gun won me over with their performances and I am definitely a fan now. Particularly Gun, who was so good at portraying a heartbroken victim of unrequited love. As a film lover myself, the theme of film making was so interesting.
The subplots were GREAT. I liked that we had a surprise second BL couple as the trailers did not tease it at all and although their conclusion was very light and subdued (no kiss), the way it unfolded was so refreshing in the BL drama world. The unexpected ones are the best.
Cons: While I liked Bone and Pan's actors and their performance the whole subplot was .......pointless? I didn't hate it but I felt like it could have been without.
Overall: The story never had a moment that made me want to fastforward and that is almost impossible with me. The OST is amazing and has an English version everyone should check out.

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I finished Theory of love weeks ago and I am now trying my best to refresh other details. Anyway TOL is a god tier BL!!! It is by far the most well put together BL I have seen. Also, since it was a GMMTV BL, I expected a great production and it did not disappoint.

First off, the concept was brilliant. The integration of popular romantic movies into the storytelling and episode titles was so well done. Everything made sense. Movies were used as metaphors to their relationship.

Next, the acting of the whole cast was topnotch especially Gun. You know that boy will always deliver. The dynamic of their friendship was really nice. Personally, it's kind of rare for me to focus on all side stories especially when they are too many but in this case, all of the storylines were interesting. KhaiThird's friends were all given depth. They weren't just used as decorations or shallow characters who were just there to advise the MC.

The first episodes felt repetitive to me but I did understand it was for us to really get deep into the emotions of Third. Along with that, I can't really blame Khai. During the first half, Khai was portrayed to be an asshole who always hurt Third but I actually think he was a nice friend. He was a jerk, yes, but he was a good friend. The only thing I hated with Khai as a friend to Third was his bossiness and constant bailing. But when you look at it, he was unaware of Third's feelings! How he acted was normal for platonic friends. Whenever he did something wrong, he did make up for it. He apologized when he felt like he hurt Third's feelings. Even with Third's POV shown to us, I still felt how Khai treasured their friendship---it was just that he overlooked it sometimes. Khai as a man who dated girls was a different story though.
The build up to the finale was well phased. The final episode was the best one out of all the Thai BLs I had seen. Everything---nothing in the progression of events was off or I felt was rushed. Things fitted so well in the last episode.

One of my main problems though was the negative representation of female characters. It has been done so many times in BL shows to emphasize even more the male to male relationship. But then it brought me back to the narrator of the story. We saw them from Khai and Third's perspective---Third who always had to face the aftermaths of Khai's breakups and Khai who moves on so easily.

Also I think I didn't really catch why Third likes Khai so much aside from their close friendship? They could have given us an insight or like a short montage of the reason/s why. Another thing that I felt was lacking was how Khai came to terms with his sexual orientation. I get that the episodes before 'Flipped', Khai was already developing his feelings but we were still on Third's perspective. The shift was abrupt but maybe it was just a matter of POVs.

Nevertheless most of the negative things I noticed in the series were not really about the scriptwriting or directing, but more on the nature of the characters themselves. They were flawed and raw. For example when Khai pretended to be drunk when he kissed Third and again when Khai was about to kiss Third while he was asleep. It was in his flawed character. Still, nonconsensual kiss isn’t the way lol.

And can we talk about that intro? Classy, I say. Also Getsunova's OST really hits you in the feels. They lyrics and tune are literally Third's perspective. Also, the kissing scenes, chef’s kiss. They are literally the most natural and best kissing scenes I have seen in BL ISTG. They were a lot of unforgettable moments too (the train station scene that for sure made everyone cry, Khai’s final confession to Third, Third’s shower scenes).

It is so rare for me to not want a second season but TOL is good as it is. It is THAT good. But I mean, more OffGun content so why not lol. If they ever make a second season, I just hope it is as quality as the first one.

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The only flaw in this show is there is no story pace value.

You get what you get, just as the description of this series mentions. In the first half of the show, they explore Third's point of view and then in the second half of the series, and you get to explore Khai. Since this is the aspect of the show, you can tell when the story pace was suddenly quickened to move the plot. The character development was almost SO quick that it's sometimes questionable how fast the "tables have turned"; (which you would understand when watching the show). However, this series did an INCREDIBLE job exploring the side character's story. The side stories revolve around the leading friend group, contributing to the plot development. Many BLs make the side stories boring or irrelevant, but in this series, they explored the side stories almost at the same pace as the main characters. This series made me tear up so much as it is severely about a story of unrequited love. Third's acting touches the viewer's heart that you grow extremely frustrated with Khai (the exact execution expected). Overall, I recommend this drama if you are really into tropes that make you frustrated with characters and make you feel empathic towards a character that you almost cry. Great show!

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Third (time) is the charm...

The first (Khai) is a total player and insensitive jerk but Second (Two) and Third are just sweet and adorable right down to Bones who is also such a sweet soul.. this drama has a lot of my favourite tropes, and hits lot of good spot.

The drama is entertaining, painful at times but easy to watch, easy to binge and has very few annoying disturbances and mostly lovable characters.

I was truly impressed by guns acting in this drama, he really conveyed all the emotions (mostly pain) of falling for your best friend. A performance that definitely stood out and made me want to see more of him. Most of the rest of the cast did a pretty decent job too, with the exception of one or two side characters most the shortest roles were well written and well preformed.

What I loved about this drama was how all bad behaviour was called out for what it was, but also the show of conflicting emotions and knowing that person is bad for you but you can not help but love them a reality that I unfortunately think many can relate to. And though those who are jerks in real life really change it is nice to dream of a better world...

The next thing I loved about this drama was the bromance, crew friendship though they where sexist jerks a times they were pretty decent friends and I just loved how they supported each other (especially Two and Third).

Definitely a drama I recommend all GMMTvs lovers out there, I also think this could be a good starter drama for those who are curious about GMMTVs dramas.

Also, for those of you who remember Earth from A Tale of a 1000 stars, he does a good job here too, but it took a while for me to recognise him, his styling here is not nearly as good as in ATOTS...

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Give me the 12 hours I wasted watching this BACK!!

I honestly can only laugh at the comments stating this as the best bl ever and how they want another season.

This has to be the WORST bl I have ever watched... well not the worst worst but definitely top 5. It starts off really great with an interesting premise but half way through it's like the writers didn't fully plan out how this drama should end and it CLEARLY shows. It ends in a rushed way that is purely for the sake of the watchers and to make them happy. That's fine, whatever, but at least make it make sense.
The acting was contrived and wooden from most of the cast which made it hard to watch with only Mike, Off, and Gun being the only exception. But as I think about it, it's probably more the production team and the writing than the actual actors. The relationship with he leads is toxic and with no real character development and that's why, to me at least, the ending just makes no sense. Also there was no chemistry with the leads in a romantic way although when they were in a group as friends it came off more natural. I honestly want the time I wasted watching this back, I could have spent it on a better drama for sure.
If you read this far then it should come as no surprise that I do NOT recommend this drama.

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Okay my honest opinion.

I liked it, a LOT all of the men were freaking gorgeous and total eye candy!

And you know I really like Gun, and Off, White, Mike, and Earth, he's so hot. But when I kept watching I found something was off. And I couldn't put my finger on it and then during a scene it dawned on me why I'm not able to like Off and Gun's chemistry as much as I should. And ok, there's a few reasons for this.

Gun's character pissed me off for a number of reasons.

First, I got the SAME feeling I got watching Tin Can! I know Third keeps SAYING he loves Khai but the thing that used to ruin my viewing pleasure of Love by Chance was that Can seemed borderline homophobic! And Third was THE SAME.

I don't know what it is but there was no conviction in Can's eyes that he was actually enjoying being in close proximity with Tin, and Gun was the same. Like none of their kisses felt REAL. And it definitely wasn't Khai's fault just as it wasn't Tin's fault and their characters actually end up being better people than they were, there's growth and the love feels SINCERE.

This is why I love Shao Fei and Tang Yi, Knock and Korn, Jack and Zhao Li. And even not my favorite but you gotta give it to Ae Pete, Kris and Singto, because both sides CONVINCE you that they freaking are obsessed with each other, every gesture shows it.

And the reason even though I absolutely adore Addicted, I think the character of Gu Hai gives me the same uncomfortable feeling when Tommy Huang seems so sincere and heart felt.

I don't know if this is the fault of the director entirely but yes, they do have to be responsible for not choosing the right person or not making their actors comfortable or whatever it is.

Anyway, I'm still rating it high because despite this fault, this is a good story that I think you should absolutely watch because the script was really good and kind of honest.

But I also feel that Gun's character was again, supposed to be SINCERE, you keep hearing about it, but the only sincerity he does is toward some guy who is super hot and who he doesn't even like as much, but Khai was sincere with him from the beginning, and it's not cheating on Third because they're not in an actual relationship!

Another thing that MAJORLY bugged me was that they kept calling Khai a whore and the insinuation was that he's a bad person because he sleeps around and Third is a good person because he doesn't!

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK

This is such bs.

So, yes. Entertaining but also problematic like Sotus with their 'bullying is actually good for you' narrative. You have to give it to Love by Chance, Tin and Pete both slept around in their pasts but were never judged for it. Honestly, even bromances have better chemistry than these characters, Hello Monster, Seo in guk makes you feel he'll die without Park Bo Gum and Bo gum is the same. The Guardian bromances, just freaking awesome to watch, The Lost Tomb is full of bromances that will make you feel and love and cry and care about them.. Seondal, Xiumin and Yoo Seung ho. In Family We Trust. The list is endless.

So, it's not impossible.


Oh, and by the way I absolutely adore Two and Aun! Freaking gorgeous and great chemistry! And actual good people. As for Bone, he's gorgeous, but his story line was fine but that ending, just made the entire relationship with the teacher pointless.

Anyway, so that was my honest opinion.

I still liked a lot of it and like I said some of the parts were really sincere and the writing is good.

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Absolutely loved it! Recommend :)

Let me start with the story. The script was very heartbreaking and made me angry in every turn and way, especially angry with the character Khai. His character was a very shameless and typical fuck boy who likes to date girl after girl unable to stay away and loves the attention he receives whilst being blind to the three-year love of his best friend Third. The actors completely stole my heart by storm especially Gun who played Third. Every time he cried he broke my heart and I could feel his pain of being in an unrequited love afraid to confess in fear of losing the friendship.

My favorite scene was when Third starts throwing things at Khai in anger of being cheated on whilst being drunk. He portrayed the real anger, disgust, and pain a lover would possess if it happened. I couldn't bear to see the scene as it struck deep painfully. However, I liked the growth between the characters as the plot was not rushed and slow-paced.

Personally I wished I could see more romance between protagonists as well as the other couple. It would have been nice to see where they would have gone through the relationships. The music was super nice, it had a very soft melody and it made my heart jump every time it was played in the drama. Perhaps this is a cliche love story but hey it was amazing to watch. I really enjoyed it and 100% recommend it.

Trust me. Give it a go if you like a splash of drama and friendship to lovers romance.

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‼️ONE OF THE BEST BL OUT THERE‼️

This is a BL like no other. From the way how it presented as a full circle concept where every episode has its own movie references from the acting ensemble who portrayed the different characters in the series, THIS IS A MUST WATCH!

First of all, my opinions are only based on my own preferences and standards and this review is just based on my own perspective and what I have felt watching the show.

Okay.

First of all, the story. It was all centered on films. They were film students, they incorporate certain movie scenes in some of the conversations and every episode title is also a reference from a film. Building upon this concept makes the story have its own flavor, where you might know where the story might take you but it is sure that you’ll always end up with the FILM CONCEPT which is nice because you’ll be able to witness some consistency and the series will not be easily to take turns and confuse you on what would be the major context of the whole series.

This is the 6th BL I have watched since I started watching more than 2 weeks ago and this is the first BL where I encountered “opposite” characters based on their physical appearances and the personality of their characters. The first BLs I have watched was casted by 2 manly men which is okay for me, but to see a complete opposite with Off and Gun, I kinda digged for it and well, it paid off because they really complemented each other and their chemistry is something you’ll be able to keep at your heart.

With the story, I can see a somewhat division between the first stage, which consists of Third, being the one who’s doing it all, to the second stage, which consists of Khai doing it all. The story progresses slowly but surely and really gave justifiable time for the characters to really earn their anger, to feel their feelings, to really give them enough time to realize the mistakes they have made. Both Khai and Third’s character development are well-done from start to finish, the pacing of everything was really smooth and it gives you that satisfaction and justification of the actions done by the characters.

With the cast, happily, all of them really did a great job but I do think that there are characters that felt like they’re just a filler, so that the plot could grow more and expand more from its range. The time given for Bone-Paan and Two-Aun was also enough to prove the existence of their relationships and how it started, there are some little flaws but even though one of these stories ended up not-so-well, it is still justifiable and makes the story believable.

Addition to the cast including Fahsai, Lynn and Som really add some flair and flavor to the plot, even though some of their appearances pop out of nowhere, it still makes sense why they are there, well, to mostly create some complications and to slow down the pacing of everything.

Their intro and soundtrack is one of my favorites, well, it is also film-like which I super appreciate because they sticked with the FILM CONCEPT and whenever I see that intro, it just gives me chills and really gives you a feel of this like coming-of-age romance between the protagonists. Just wow!

If I would have the time, I would definitely rewatch it but at that time, I’ll first watch most of the films included in the series specially Flipped, Perks of A Wallflower and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Overall, this is just one of the best BLs out there. It came to my observation that some BLs have similar structures where they’ll take you on a rollercoaster ride from conflicts to quick resolutions then in the last few episodes, they’ll be throwing out this new existing conflict that is treated as a big deal and when it comes to the finale episode, the conflict will be easily solved, not giving enough time for the characters to undergo the process of anger, calmness and acceptance. I liked this BL a lot cause the characters showed patience and they won’t just fix a thing easily just because of some cheesy apologies or what, it really does take time to be able to take someone back or to be able to forgive someone who broke our hearts.

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Addictive

*outline*
I'd been putting this drama off for a long time because it just didn't seem that interesting... but woah- I wanted to watch the whole thing in one go just by watching Ep 1 Part 1/5. I think I got a little addictive. By the way, this drama isn't for those who can't handle: multiple heartbreaks, 'best friend can't confess his love', a lottt of crying, etc. Yes, there's more to come. (also read 'rewatch value' for more outline)


*thorough*
STORY : It was a very cliche story line, and honestly everything was expected. But I won't hold that against them because even though I sort of knew what was coming, I couldn't help but continuing to watch. In the end I really did get hooked on it even though I expected the worst possible reaction from me. The whole story was a climax, and even the screenwriter even gave us a cruel resolution but I loved it. My feelings hadn't been thrown around like a basketball for a while so I actually loved the recurrent heartbreaks. The pacing was amazing too. It didn't move too fast like I expected it to, and I think this is the only twist I got that I really didn't see coming. I do wish there was a better ending though... it felt a little empty.

ACTING/CAST : Hats off to OffGun for portraying the character's roles so well. Gun made me repeatedly cry for his stupid feelings and I don't regret it. I do wish I could have seen more of the other ships, though. One of the things I liked the most about this drama was that I ended up shipping everyone with each other. The reason for this is because usually I feel sort of gutted about the fact my ship never comes true even though I knew it'd never happen. However, Off made up for himself as he attempted to reform. Basically, everything about this drama surprised me.

MUSIC : I love it. That's all I have to say, really. I couldn't get over Fake Protagonist by Getsunova. I'm sure if you're trying to find a song from Theory of Love that you don't know the name of it's this one. It's very catchy and I really can't get over it. I could listen to it 20 times over. Even the intro wasn't boring to listen to, although it being just a theme. The music didn't disappoint me at all in this drama.

REWATCH VALUE : Despite finding this drama so good, I doubt I'd rewatch it for the pure fact there's not much from the story you actually remember after watching the drama. I've forgotten some of the things that happened before OffGun got together. All I remember is Gun's pain that I really empathized with. Literally, I cried so much. It didn't disappoint me but I don't think this is a good drama to watch if you're emotionally sensitive or if you don't like over dramatic and overly cliche stories.


*p.s.*
I would definitely recommend this to a friend, whether they're a beginner Thai BL enthusiast or an old one. Although this is your average cliche story line for fanfictions, maybe, that isn't the case for Thai BL's. So it's definitely something new and different to watch. You don't see this sort of story everyday.


*recommendations*
'Until We Meet Again' for heartbreak
'My Dear Loser' for playing with your emotions

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Immature and Illogical

If you want a flare for drama you will most definitely like the first couple of episodes.
With the main lead crying in the shower, and there being no water left, he holds a bottle of water above his head to make it feel like he is crying in the shower.
The story overall is completely illogical where characters showing their feelings change every episode.
I believe if the same plot was used to showcase in a less dramatic way it would have been far better.

After the leads get together, there was hardly any instance where third(main lead) actually seemed happy. It seemed that their relationship was forced. Making it look like he himself has turned into a new leaf and was actually over Khai

The story was too immature and illogical with bits not piecing together.

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Theory Of Love Will Make You Feel Nostalgic And Warm On The Inside

I actually quite loved this one! I knew very little about this show going in and ended up thoroughly enjoying it. I've never identified with a main character more in a series than I do with Third. His entire situation with loving his best friend and not wanting to admit it at risk of losing him, I've been through that exact same situation. It's heartbreaking to see him cry over and over again. Literally Third be third-wheeling on a regular basis, its upsetting! So I think his arch was really really well done. Even when he becomes much more closed off and reserved, we as viewers totally get it because we've seen what he's gone through.

Since the series is basically divided into 2 POV's (which I adore that concept btw) we also get to see Khai's side of the situation. Which is much needed since his character is so frustrating during Third's first half. He's such a hoe literally, but he has his moments that make it make sense why Third puts up with it for soooo long. Also Khai clearly doesn't really like any of the girls he's "dating". It's kind of just clout in a way. He's never been in love and admits that upfront. Everything changes once he watched Third's private confession video. Though it did take me time as a viewer to get over the reveal of Khai actually knowing that Third likes him. That was so messed up, really well done but messed up. I actually gasped out loud and gaped when him and Bone were talking about it like he would just undress Third and bang him if he was "actually into him". Ugh, the hell Khai! But eventually he got there for me as a character.

Two is actually one of my faves in this series. He's a true friend, especially when he finds out so quickly about Third's feelings. He's supportive immediately and tries to help by playing matchmaker. Also his film t shirts are great in this. Though his relationship love triangle with Un (whom I've called discount Type for some time because of the actor playing in LBC lol) and Lyn. At first I was like oh yeah Un likes Two duh, but then they set it up like Un likes Third for a bit and then Two gets with Lyn. So I was like, okay? I was find with it because Lyn is super cute and sweet. But then jealousy started happening and its revealed I was right the first time! The bisexuality is strong with this one. It sucked for Lyn because she's so sweet, but I guess it worked out.

Moving past the characters individually. I love that they're all film students because I'm a film student! Also finally not engineering in a series like this lmao. Seeing all the movies and discussions made me so nostalgic! Like when Third wanted to recreate a film love confession scene, so freaking cute. Random side note, I noticed these college students had Michael Kors, Balenciaga bags, givenchy, etc designer brand merch and I'm sitting here like where is this money coming from!? I'm a student and sure as hell don't have that kind of money. Okay back on track, I also really loved the background music/ambiance in this show. Very nicely done.

So as a couple, Third and Khai needed time to develop because of the buildup of crap we had to go through (in the best way). Once that first (real) kiss happens though its really really good. Not the bs in the bathroom, that was not okay. I'm talking about in the room when Khai went for it, the chemistry was there and it was strong my dude. I know the actors are quite close and have worked together before, so keep it up guys! You play a couple well. Like that entire "500 Days of Summer" sequence/reference they did was super cute in the furniture store. I die for that! Or when Khai said something along the lines of using his body with those girls, but his heart with Third. Damn.

All of that makes Third and Khai's fighting hit hard. The bar scene, followed up by the throwing of the bottle, getting cut by glass and the sex insinuation from Third. Oof, it was hard to watch. Third's actor (Gun) is very good and it was well done, however I wish it would've happened after more time of the two being officially together. Either way though, we get great dialogue and solid gut punches. Like Khai explaining why he didn't just tell Third the girl kissed him forcefully because he knew he wouldn't be believed due to his past. Then we think we'll get some levity, but nope we get Third hitting us with "but the Khai I know loves no one but himself" f****** ouch dude! This is followed by the train station scene...which is all I really have to say but...he waited dude! Serious character development in Khai. At the end too when he watched so many romance movies to find out what love is. "But instead of finding the answer, I found you in every one of them." UGH! I died!

Some of the things I didn't particularly care for in the series were the motorcycle crash. It was a little cliche and looked really dumb lol. Like the shots were weird of Khai just flying through the air and then bloody on the ground. Though him walking to find Third was pretty powerful. I also didn't care about Bone's plotline at all with the teacher. First of all, eww girl don't mess around with a student. I get you didn't know but still. It's also kind of out of place feeling in the story, he could've just been the side friend and coffee guy.

The ending was great. Cute couple montage, graduation and successful film career and the ending Third always wanted. Looking into his loves eyes for a final kiss, or set of kisses in their case. Would definitely recommend this one!

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