2gether The Series (2020)

it started out great - i was certain it could climb up to be one of my favourites this year but god this drama really ruined itself.

BIG BAD:
- who decided on these last scripts?? so much unnecessary, undeveloped and unreasonable angst between the main couple in the later episodes. honestly it just took out the enjoyment for me. the ending, the whole plot line for the main couple turned out to be surprisingly shallow and lazy.
- putting in female characters just for what exactly? certainly not to be their own developed, interesting characters.
SMALL BAD:
- in the beginning the chemistry between the main couple was... awesome! later i just didn't feel it. ironic since i imagine getting together should bring more fluff or something...
- this drama went from me being excited over every new episode and rewatching the previous episodes to me not being able to tolerate it sober bc it's such a shitshow. i'm sorry for being crude - i just don't know how to express my disappointment otherwise.

SMALL GOOD:
- the relationship between man and type. look at this direct communication and conversations about feelings to avoid stupid misunderstandings - beautiful. they got a few episodes but their development was so much more rational than that of the main couple.
- i did like the friendships of this show. thank god they did not throw that in the trash like they did with the main couple.
BIG GOOD:
- the soundtrack. quite nice. :)

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Well, no one died-so there's that

I don't even know what is going on with GMM. They find these amazing dramas and between them, the directors and the writers they use, they mess everything up. I was so excited for this drama. The first couple of episodes were good and then it went down hill.

I love Bright and Win, but I'm going to say I don't love them together. There was very little chemistry between them. We know in real life they have chemistry, the get along. We've seen the behind the scenes footage and the photoshoots. What I wanted was for some of that to make its way into the show.

Each time I decided to drop the show, they hit me with small, moments to give me hope, then back to the sadness of a drama going off the trails. Like that sweet moment they had after the fight where Tine took care of Wat after the ambush-- 2 seconds later, Tine leaves his friend, who is hurt, to walk home alone. I mean, who does that?

They wasted the whole Mike/Type storyline. There was so much potential there. We know Mike can act...he is one of the actors who basically saved Theory of love for me so what the hell was this?

Lets not even get started with Frank and Drake because nobody got time for that mess.

I was so disappointed. Its like GMM isn't even trying anymore and that's frustrates the hell out of me. I feel like they don't want to do BL anymore and is trying irritate the fans into not watching.

Ugh... Just ugh

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This series is a first for me in the sense that I have never been moved to review any series( bl, adventure, mystery etc) but my word something has to be said about this.
First of all how is it possible for relatively good acting to be so completely overshadowed by the plot. What constantly went through my mind is that parts of this story was missing. That could be the only explanation I could think of for the sharp turns and twists this story took. At no point was there a seamless flow of ideas. I usually dislike critisim but at the same time I believe it sometimes necessary.
I literally began cringing when many of the main story scenes took place. I think that both the main characters had just enough chemistry to pull off their fictional romance. However having said that, when Sarawat's character was paired alongside Pam's charater; I began rooting for them thinking they looked more natural together. That late plot twist destroyed for me any sense of make believe romantic chemistry between the main characters. Ultimately, removing my ability to suspend belief and believe that these two were romatically involved in any way.
Without intending to, whatever beauty of the story that was supposed to be portaryed was lost. I walked away from this series disturbed by how it turned out. Whatever good ( for me it was Man and Mil's character and their respective side stories) was detracted by too many cliches, a lack of a clear idea and a jagged progression of storyline.
All in all, it was meant for entertainment, to share an idea/experience and to bring us into another world (an escape). I will always be thankful to everyone in the world wide entertaintment industry. In the end it is still a series to appreciate but definitely a first for me in terms of how put off I am left feeling.

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Hits all the right spots for me

Despite not having a strikingly original story, 2gether manages to hit all the right spots for me as a wonderful BL.

The premise of the story probably does not sound like something that would immediately draw one into watching the series: Tine asks Sarawat to pretend to be his boyfriend so that he (Tine) can shake off a guy (Green) who is chasing him relentlessly. Of course they fall in love for real--what else do you expect? Never mind that Tine is straight; anyone who knows even just a little about BL knows that in the world of BL, any cute straight guy can fall in love with another guy and be totally devoted to him.

The series is surprisingly good though. Apart from the BL element, the story can be rather hilarious as a lighthearted comedy. Very often, scenes that are otherwise possibly quite dull turn out to be rather engaging. In the scene where Tine tries to learn how to play the guitar using an app, for instance, his friends promise to be with him and not fall asleep only (of course) to end up falling asleep--one of them is even apparently using another friend's butt as a pillow.

The character, Green, appears to be one of those exaggerated effeminate characters brought in just for comic effect. But I'm glad that, given his pivotal role in bringing Tine and Sarawat together, there is actually more to him. Yes, his mannerisms seem over the top, but who is to say that such people don't exist? The important thing is that he is not brought in merely for comic effect but is given more attention and sensitive treatment that countless other such characters I have seen in Thai BLs.

The dynamics between the main characters are interestingly portrayed. Although there are viewers who joke that Tine must be really dumb not to realize that Sarawat is totally in love with him, I think he senses something quite early on but simply isn't sure. It's also obvious that his attraction to Sarawat starts quite early on although the character may not realize it. I think the first time it becomes rather obvious for us is when he watches Sarawat sing a song in the latter's room, but even the scene in which Sarawat agrees to be his fake boyfriend is rather telling. The sheer happiness in both their faces suggests something much more than just an agreement to pretend to be a couple, and Tine totally looks like someone he likes has agreed to be his boyfriend for real.

The scriptwriters have done a rather good job in showing Sarawat's love for Tine even before it's directly revealed. It is confirmed only later in the series that Sarawat has already fallen in love with Tine when he saw Tine for the first time at a concert, even before they meet in the university. This means that when Tine keeps bugging Sarawat to pretend to be his boyfriend, Sarawat is already in love with him. Some find it strange that Sarawat would appear hostile to Tine and keep calling Tine a nuisance since he is in love with Tine. But we see what Sarawat is thinking in one scene where Tine asks him to pretend to be his boyfriend,explaining that Green has been pestering him, To Tine's dismay, Sarawat retorts that maybe he (Tine) would enjoy being pestered one day. And that's basically what Sarawat is going through: despite appearing cold towards Tine, he is secretly enjoying being pestered by Tine.

The director has also hinted at Sarawat's love for Tine early on, such as in the music club's welcome games for new members: Sarawat is characteristically uninterested in all the activities, and the only time he seems to be interested in the games is when he is paired with Tine.

He remembers the first chord he teaches Tine, he secretly keeps the guitar pick that Tine stupidly breaks into two, he pretends to lend Tine a guitar he hardly uses when he has intended to give it to Tine from the start, and he refurnishes his room because Tine says that it looks haunted, he immediately turns up with snacks for the cheerleaders when Tine complains that he is hungry. (Ok, Tine actually jokes that he would like Sarawat grab his boobs (what boobs?) if Sarawat brings him snacks, but I'm sure he would do it simply because his Tine is hungry.)

<>

Episode 12 of the series got a lot of flak for the way it introduced Pam, supposedly Sarawat's first love but more like the first person Sarawat fell in love with (for a short time) before he sees Tine. Some people were not happy with how Pam turns out to be in love with Sarawat and tries to get him to leave Tine. (In the novel, Pam is just a friend although she is the first person Sarawat is in love with.) I have not read the novel, but I find myself preferring the way the series brought the tension to a high point with a more complicated misunderstanding. (But of course, both the novel and the series may be good in their own ways. It depends on how the medium is used.)

The series is not without its flaws, to be sure. The episodes after Tine admits to his brother that Sarawat is his boyfriend do suffer from some transition problems. I may have to rewatch the episodes to be sure that this is a fair statement, but I find Tine's sense of insecurity about his relationship with Sarawat a little too suddenly. I know that the more he cherishes the relationship, the more he fears losing Sarawat, but Tine's inner world could have been explored further (without really needed many lines, really).

The last episode also had some weaknesses in editing, with cuts to the side characters being rather sudden. The editing of the flashbacks is also not always well-executed and even potentially disorienting. But these are not so severe as to affect our understanding of the story.

What is possibly more serious is how the final episode is not made to be particularly touching. It is overall still good, but the flashbacks actually have unfulfilled potential. They are not fully utilized to show how much Tine misses Sarawat after leaving him due to the misunderstanding about Pam. I'm still rather satisfied with the ending. It's just that the most memorable scenes take place from Episodes 1 - 11, and there isn't anything particularly memorable when the couple make up or after that. Tine's voiceover speaks of a relationship that stands the test of time, and I wish this had been shown more, kind of like the way Season 1 of SOTUS ends.

Although some viewers have commented that the actors seem awkward or lack chemistry and others have complained about the lack of kissing and sex scenes, I have a different opinion. I don't find the acting awkward. Win is very good as Tine, conveying Tine's latent attraction to Sarawat and confusion about his relationship with Sarawat well. The happiness he exudes when Tine is with Sarawat and the affection he has for Sarawat are remarkably conveyed without resorting to kissing to show intimacy. In Episode 11, Tine asks Sarawat if he thinks their relationship would last ten years and Sarawat says it will be more than ten years, the cautious delight on his face was naturally shown, and I can see that Tine really wants it to be true yet doesn't dare to be too happy about it because he's still feeling insecure. I think choosing an actor who looks the role may be one reason for the success, but I saw a trailer (made before the series) and Win gives markedly different vibes in the trailer.

When I wrote the first part of the review before the end of the series, I mentioned that there are two bad things I can get out of watching this series. The first is that it would leave a void when it ends (though I have to say that Episodes 1-11 contribute the most to this). The second bad thing is that it's one of the series that will remind me of a kind of relationship I can only wish for but never have.

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This drama was very promising. But I honestly felt like the writers and directors, did such a horrible job selecting the main characters development with each other. It was entertaining in the beginning when they were “fake coupling” but then once they actually started dating it really just went downhill. I still manage to finish it just for the sake of it really, cos I was still hoping for a decent turn out but I was wrong. Ending really just made it even worse. I also saw one review here how the actors (Bright & Win) just seemed like they weren’t really into being a BL couple and I 1000x agree. Don’t get me wrong both actors seem like they really have bright future but they do need to consider if they want to be known as a BL actor as they did seem uncomfortable doing it. And no I wasn’t disappointed cos they didn’t really show much affection like having a bed scenes or more intimate kiss. I don’t even remember if kiss or not? So weird. But the chemistry between them just lack so badly. Don’t get me started with Brights acting skills, I understand it’s his first time acting, but how I wish they did more workshop and practice. With Win though, he surprised with his acting. He really did good. Overall, this drama is only good to watch if you are bored during quarantine and you just need something to watch to get by.

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The story in general was nice and there were some funny and some sweet moments I really loved. I liked the first half of the series, which to me felt less rushed and much more romantic than the other half. The actors were nice to look at and believable, and I especially liked the character of Man (except for the stalking part). I appreciate the music that was used throughout the series, because it featured more songs than just the theme one as is usual in other series. Now I know a little more about Thai music, which is great. I am afraid I am out of the positives now.

As for the negatives, I don't think each scene was really thought through, especially in the second half of the season. So we had an episode with Type playing an evil brother (and I don't really believe his character was like this), then we have the field trip, then Pam - in the first half, everything's happening at the university, there aren't really new characters, there are no trips, and the development of the relationship between Sarawat and Tine works really nice. You can clearly see Sarawat fell head over heals for Tine and is only shyly trying to show him that, while Tine is slowly falling in love as well, first without noticing... it's slow, it's believable, and it is really sweet. Than this happens, that happens, Type arrives, Pam arrives... and while Tine knows perfectly well that he loves Sarawat and that Sarawat loves him and didn't really get any reasons to doubt it, he throws everything away at the first sign of a girl on the scene? Well, perhaps it is because they weren't really boyfriends in the first place, were they? No kisses, sleeping on one bed as friends would do. Real holding hands when together? No. They are what, nineteen years old boys? Somehow I really doubt two guys of that age in love with each other would act like that.
I get that the series was aimed on younger audience than, for example, TharnType, so I might not even mind the practically non-existent PDAs (although it really was more of a bromance than a love story). There's one thing I don't get, though: Younger audience, huh? So as I understand based on this series...
Things that cannot be shown to younger audience:
- sober loving kisses,
- saying each other "I love you",
- spooning each other in normal bed (and not just on a couch behind your brother's back).
Things that are perfectly fine for younger audience to see:
- getting so drunk you forgot what you've been doing last night (and regularly drinking hard in general)
- kissing the person you love only while drunk as hell
- beating someone because your girlfriend liked his photo
- getting your boyfriend drunk so you can ask him questions he wouldn't feel comfortable answering
- stalking (I loved the ManType couple, they were really cute together, but omg if anyone followed me like this, I'd be furious)
- beating your boyfriend so he's scared of you, than saying sorry and everything's just fine. You can even slap him in public from time to time, no big deal (Dim & Green - what the f?)
- taking a cellphone of the other person without permission, posting on their profile, searching through their media (Sarawat and Tine both)

It's not a problem that these things are shown - they happen in real life, and youngsters might just as well know about them in advance. The problem is that they have zero bad consequences. The person you stalked? Not only he never really says it's inappropriate. He starts to miss you. You are regularly drunk to the point of being unable to walk - no problem. Someone just puts you to bed, no big deal. You beat your boyfriend? He loves you anyway and everyone around you is ok with it. In TharnType, lots of fans were criticizing the lack of consent in several scenes between Tharn and Type - but there were at least some consequences. In here? Zero. So the young audience can learn that you can stalk someone just because you like him, but kissing your boyfriend, that's the real tabu here. IDK whether it's a western thing, but I do not like this a bit.

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Very overrated drama for what it delivered.

I have no idea where their chemistry went from the moment they became official. They look more awkward as the show progresses and felt like they are uncomfortable being around each other. They gave the impression that they are happier with their friends, but weird and awkward at the same time when they are alone. TF?? For a new couple there was no intimacy, no tension, no love. There is also NO communication nor trust. This was a big let down since the first episodes were good, but as the show progressed Tine seemed to be more dumb, Sarawat was changing his character a lot and we are going in circles.
Nothing against the actors, I mean, they are amazing but they seemed like they were forced to be together. It was just off.
I've read other reviews about this and I can agree with them all. Sometimes they were lacking warmth, love ,TRUST and much more between Tine and Sarawat, and sometimes they both felt distant. Weird
Giving us the same "I'm not gay, But I only love you" was kind of a turn off.
Very overrated drama for what it delivered. The music was alright, the other characters were fine.
Nothing special and no re-watch value.

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Going into 2gether, I had little to no expectations. Despite growing up in an Asian household I was unfamiliar to asian dramas as a whole with the exception of The Untamed. After seeing a few friends rave about this show though I decided to give it a try and it’s safe to say, I was stunned. The story follows Tine, “straight” Mr. Chic who is pretty popular for his good looks. After a boy by the name of Green confesses to Tine and tries to get him to date him, Tine is forced to get the help of ultra-popular and ultra-attractive Sarawat. The “fake-dating” trope is very common but it was brilliantly executed in this show. Sarawat’s wavering from cold to clingy was humorous meanwhile Tine and Sarawat’s overall dynamic was refreshing and adorable. The plot twist was interesting and made you want to explore the love between these two even more. The soundtrack was subpar but the running theme of Scrubb songs was very refreshing as the songs demonstrated how their love escalated. While the acting was slightly awkward in the first two or three episodes, Bright ad Win won me over in portraying these characters and the chemistry between them was undeniable by the end of the story and GMMT could not have picked better actors. The only shortcoming I felt about this show did not lie in the story or main characters but rather the side ones. Tine and Sarawat’s friend groups kept the story well-paced and added humor and I absolutely loved their involvement but side love-stories such as the one between Phukong and Mil felt underdeveloped and fast-paced. Overall, I would recommend this to everyone, whether a bl fan or not if you are looking for an adorable romance and characters that stay in your heart a long time after you have finished watching.

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!!SPOILER ALERT!!

Well, I gotta admit that I had HUGE expectations for this series, I mean... since I'm used to BL Thai series (and I love them so much) I was already aware of the possibility of "trash" or even "cringe" content, but honestly I don't really mind that: it became part of the entertainment for me!

So, let's get into what actually made me consider this series a disappointment and why I did like it at first.

PLOT
The plot is nothing too complicated and contains the classic cliché of the "fake dating", but you know what? I'm a sucker for clichés and I LOVE this concept! That's why I was looking forward to watching 2gether.
Over the episodes, the initial plot develops and you find out things that had happened in the past, to help you understand better the different characters' perspectives; well it mostly happens with Sarawat and I appreciated that we got to see his point of view.
The story itself actually made sense, if only the main couple would have behaved in a realistic way...

COUPLES
o Sarawat x Tine
Their story started off SO WELL, everyone immediately fell in love with this couple, me too tbh!!
Since the very first episodes, there were plenty of moments where the two characters showed a great chemistry through shy glances or by teasing each other. There were also many scenes with high sexual tension (for example the pocky game) which COMPLETELY disappeared in the last episodes.
See, this doesn't make sense to me at all: why did the characters seem more whipped for each other before getting together for real?
After finally becoming a thing, they didn't even kiss once. I'm not saying that you need kiss scenes to make a relationship look credible, but... why did they kiss before and not after? Not even in the last episode! Why only the high five, WHY? (omg I sound so dramatic)
I mean, if they would have compensated the missing kiss scenes with other intimate moments I wouldn't be complaining, because at least they would have given us something to add credibility to the couple. What I'm saying is that these two seemed like they had totally lost the chemistry they used to have and that's really a shame, since this ship had gained a lot of popularity from the beginning of the show. I think that's also the main reason why everyone kept supporting the series... we were all already attached to Tine and Sarawat (and to Win and Bright too), so we "pretended not to see" when everything fell apart...

o Man x Type
What can I say? I freaking love Man, he was truly adorable and I found it so cute that he kept trying to get close to Type since the very first moment, it truly was love at first sight !! Type was kind of an asshole sometimes (I didn't like the scene where he took that girl's hand to see what was written on it at all), but I'm happy their story had a happy ending.

o Mil x Phukong
WELL, if I gotta be honest, I had higher expectations for this couple. Their chemistry was good, but why did it seem like Phukong was Mil's second choice till the very last moment? I guess they could have got together a little sooner, or at least not make it look like Mil got with Phukong because he couldn't have Tine. This is just my opinion and maybe it's something that I won't notice again rewatching the show, but this was my first impression after watching it.
Also, Phukong is adorable ㅠㅠ

o Dim x Green
Honestly, this relationship looked so toxic. They didn't tell us much about it, so I don't really know what to think about it neither. I like Green btw!

CONCLUSION
So, final thoughts... did I like 2gether? Yes I did, but I didn't like how they lost the opportunity to make a really good series out of it. They had a good plot, cute couples, charming actors, and plenty of fans since the very beginning... however, the last episodes were kinda boring and it's a shame considering the great possibilities this series seemed to have.

HONORABLE MENTION
Let's talk about Fong! He is my favorite character, he's always been the dearest friend for Tine: he was teasing him when he started to get along with Sarawat, but actually supported him when he understood that Tine's infatuation was genuine. Fong has always given away the best advice and helped Tine recognizing his own feelings.
He spoke nothing but facts! A true icon.

I also loved the music!! I will certainly miss this OST, I keep whistling it all day long.

Ok, that's it, thanks for reading my review and remember it's only my opinion, I hope no one got offended by it!
(Sorry if there are any spelling/grammar mistakes, English it's not my first language)
❤️

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I like Bright and Win as actors individually and I don't think it's necessarily their fault if the drama fell flat, but it did. Probably the result of directing missteps/neglects, one of them maybe even being the casting. In 2020, if you're gonna make a gay drama, you gotta commit to it 100%. You can't say "love is love, gender doesn't matter" and make it seem like showing intimacy between two males is taboo. There's a disconnect there and, personally, it kind of ruined it for me. It didn't seem credible enough. I would recommend you stop at ep 11 and go, the rest is unnecessary mess.

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If you're bored, go ahead and watch this series.

Let me say this. If you have nothing else to watch and feel bored, then I would recommend this. I wouldn't note that this series is a MUST watch but hey! If you have nothing to watch, go ahead and give it a try. The main problem with this series is that AFTER they get into a relationship, they cut down the chemistry between the characters. There is a lack of intimacy between the characters. I don't mean sex or kissing scenes (note: you don't need these aspects to showcase intimate moments between characters), but they act more like brothers than lovers.
Moreover, the side stories are okay but I did end up skipping a lot of the side stories since I was simply uninterested. Since this series is top-rated, I would like to tell the watchers to lower their expectations. Don't expect too much! Honestly, this series is just a chill watch. Nothing too extraordinary and nothing too blunt can be expected. It's ok, not bad.

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