I Promised You the Moon (2021)

How I currently feel about this story before the final episode

Okay, where should I begin...I've been so excited to watch "I Promised You the Moon" for months ever since I found out it was being made and I recently finished, "I Told Sunset About You" so that I could catch up in time for the final episode of IPYTM.

I'll start with a few things that I have noticed and liked about IPYTM so far, in contrast to ITSAY Oh Aew has changed so much and it has been so nice to see him growing into his own person. When he was at home, he always struggled to find passion in the things that he thought he loved but after coming to university and exploring different things he found his true passion. Also, in episode one Oh expressed that he was felt nervous and lonely from being away from home but we quickly see him go out of his way to make some great friends and learns to enjoy the environment he is in.

For Teh, I like that he is able to continue his pursuit of becoming an actor and meeting people who have the same interests as him.

For both Teh and Oh, I really loved seeing how much their relationship blossomed from the innocent, shy crushes in ITSY to the comfortable, easy-going relationship we see immediately like when Teh and Oh are choosing who will go inside the store to buy the condom and then end up laying in each other's arms on the beach. Another time is when they go to an aquarium and Teh openly kisses Oh on the cheek and holds his hand without worrying about others around them, this made me really happy especially when remembering how cautious and worried Teh was in ITSAY about people thinking that he and Oh were together.

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Now for my dislikes...

While IPYTM has many of the beautiful aesthetics that ITSAY had, there were many times where I feel like their development in ITSAY was just forgotten. For example, in ITSAY Teh says "Don't give my time to others" and always finds ways to spend as much time with Oh as possible but in IPYTM he easily gives his time to others when it is meant for Oh, there are many times where he cancels plans with Oh or lies about what he is doing like rehearsal being late when really he is at a play. Also, it was frustrating how selfish and hypocritical Teh was being towards Oh, he argues that he hates how much Oh is changing just because he has new friends, transferring to a different major, and drinking occasionally. Teh also made many new friends and the only reason Oh spends so much time with others is because Teh doesn't make much effort to spend time with him.

I just feel that IPYTM has stepped really far away from ITSAY and at some point, you can't come back from certain conflicts.



((SPOILER)) SKIP IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENS ALREADY



Before I watched the episodes I already knew what Teh did with Jai but I hoped that I would feel differently about it if I watched it myself and unfortunately I still hope that Oh doesn't come back to Teh. I think that Teh doesn't care about Oh as much as Oh cares for Teh and it's very evident, Teh thinks that Oh doesn't care about what he enjoys like going to plays but then we see Oh staying up late at night just to make the poster for Teh's first acting role which Teh barely compliments. After Oh confronts Teh about kissing Jai, Teh tells him that he won't get close to Jai anymore but then a week later Teh follows Jai outside while they are at a dinner and tries to confess his feelings for Jai WITH OH RIGHT INSIDE. If Jai had true feelings for Teh then I am sure Teh would have chosen Jai over Oh and it makes me angry for Oh and I cried. I truly want Oh to be happy and I don't think Teh deserves to be his happiness.

Tomorrow will be the final episode of I Promised You the Moon so we will say goodbye to Oh Aew and Teh. Whether they end up together or not it will be painful but I hope they both get their happy ending even if it is not with each other.

Thank you to Billkin and PP for conveying such a beautiful story in I Told Sunset About You and thank you for giving us a goodbye with I Promised You the Moon.

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A rare sequel that's better than the original

I really enjoyed I Told Sunset About You, but I feel like I didn't connect to the show as much as other people. I think it’s because I’m a bit over the school dramas, since it’s been more than 10 years from my high school years. So, knowing that I Promised You the Moon would take me on a journey with the characters I liked from ITSAY, but this time in university, I was very interested.

I didn’t read much about IPYTM on purpose, to avoid spoilers. So, I was very surprised to see how the timeline was structured, each episode representing 1 year of their university journey. With 5 episodes of around just over 1h, the show didn’t have time to filler and to drag out stories. By episode two we already have Teh and Oh being together for over 1 year, Oh has already realized that he doesn’t wanna be an actor. From the first episode it was cleat to me that they’d break up at some point, so I was surprised that it took until episode 4 for that to happen. There’s not much screen time for the side characters, but they all had a reason to exist in this particular story.

I personally think it would have been nice to see more of Oh’s life. We see most of the academic and overall life with Teh, and just see small glimpses of Oh with his friends. Besides, we hear a lot about how Oh has changed since moving to Bangkok, and specially after changing his major, but I only see physical changes. Yeah, he dyed his hair red, started to buy designer pieces and got a car. But it’s not like he became a different person or started to treat anyone differently.

Just like many shows that have a second season, this show fall’s into the cliche of turning one of the protagonists into sort of the “bad guy”, in this case Teh. We hear about how Oh is a different person after meeting his friends, but, as the show proves in by the end of episode 4, Oh actually was able to create new friendships, while Teh did not. Oh kept the same friend group for all 5 years of the show, while Teh lost his “friends” along the way. The way he treated Khim after finding out that she was gonna start working as a flight crew member was insane. In that single moment he lost 2 out of his 3 new friends.

The situation with Jai is bittersweet because he obviously used the knowledge from the diary to exploit Teh’s weakness and use that in his favor. But in a twisted way, Jai was just following Teh’s own mindset: You have to follow your dream at all costs. The same way Oh could not give up being an actor after coming to terms with not liking it, or how Khim should keep going to auditions even after not landing any roles.Jai used Teh’s feelings to make his play better.

I think the ending was nice. We get to see that Teh realizes that achieving his dream does take him to the unicorns and rainbow life he expected. Oh is happy working in the advertising firm. We see that both have matured. Thankfully they spent a good while split up, because I think it was important for things to work out in the end. I also like how got a call back to Tarn in the end, with the instagram post reaction. I also find it interesting that the friend group from ITSAY didn’t stay together after going to university. They say at the wedding that it has been years since being together, even though a few of them went to study in Bangkok.

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This story is about the personal growth and not just love.

What can I say? I Promised You the Moon is over. I have waited so long for the continuation of I Told Sunset About You. And while I was looking for the continuation of the love story of Oh-aew and Teh, what I got was characters that needed to have a break in thier relationship so that they can have a personal growth to give thier love a second chance. And that was what was delivered in this series.

Story-8.5/10
The storyline, while was beautiful, I felt that there were some flaws that I can't look over. I did get mad when Teh didn't tell Oh-aew about his feelings for Jai when it was brought up the first time. I also personally feel that Teh and Oh-aew should have started over as friends first before going back as boyfriends. But otherwise than that, it was a good storyline.

Acting/Cast-10/10
I will say this- the actors were PHENOMENAL in this series. From the main actors to the supporting actors. Heck! Even the guest roles all of them was soooo good. The acting carried me on emotions like the characters- happy, sad, angry and more. They did a wonderful job!

Music-10/10
The music, just like in ITSAY, was beautiful! I always listened to it at the beginning of each episodes. They truly did an incredible job with the music.

Rewatch Valu-8/10
Because of all of the heartache and heartbreak that occurred in this series, I don't see myself watching this series again anytime soon like how I did with ITSAY. I will watch it, just not as much as I would with ITSAY.

Overall-9/10
Overall, I personally took from this series that the main characters needed personal growth before they were able to come back together as a couple. I do see myself recommending this series to others. But I will tell them this is not just a love story but a story about finding and bettering yourself so that you can give love a second chance.

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Best in the Business

I can not scream enough how amazing (and that's just an understatement) that IPYTM is. Usually I don't like sequels cause they always go in and mess up a perfectly good plot, but this knocked my socks off. Dare I say, I loved it more that ITSAY.

let's Dive In.

I think one of the reason I loved it way more than ITSAY is because that part of their story was more of them trying to understand their feelings towards each other and themselves, so most of it was gloomy and sad and heartbreaking. Yes, this series had some heartbreak, but it wasn't about one's identity, which personally for me I feel is sadder than anything else. IPYTM was about change and how to deal with it. It was about the impact of choices made and their consequences, it was about learning who you wanted to be instead of who you were, and I loved it.

Production gets a 10 for itself. If I could give production a higher rating I WOULD. I forget that this is a Thai BL every time I watch it. It is so out-of-the-ordinary that it gives that statement a whole new meaning. The cinematography was perfect, and I mean that to the T. It was the symbolism behind the specific color pallet they went with, it was about the subtleness of these underlying meaning behind their clothes, setting, props, daytime, subjects, etc. Everything mixed so perfectly that it was scary. This series will always remain the best cinematography that I have ever seen in any BL. A huge round of applauds to the crew and specifically the cinematographers.. (has this show been nominated for any awards? Please let me know if so, I'm really curious about it!).

Onto the plot. Another thing done so beautifully. I see IPYTM getting a lot of hate for how the plot was handled and executed, but for me it was just so authentic and so true to life that that's what made it right on point. People grow, people change, people discover new friends, hobbies, activities, interests; the list goes on. So that disconnect that we see and feel between Teh and Oh-Aew is real, it's something that can and will happen quite often. The situation that happen between the two of them, their growing change in interests, the contrast of their lives and what they do is all apart of a realistic relationship. The plot is what drove me to the edge of my seat and had me clinging on to the edge for dear life.

Onto the characters. There's no need to even comment on our main actors' performances, cause they were top-notch, enough said. I felt for Oh-Aew, especially in the first two episodes. I was more mad at Teh than anything, not taking his time to spend with Oh, not understanding his new desire in doing advertising, just so many different aspects that Teh pissed me off about. But then you start to feel for him when you see that he didn't want to be pursuing his dream alone, or that he didn't like the change, or that he was played by Jai. Let's talk about that for a second. Jai used Teh's emotions so that he could get what he wanted out of his final project. It hurt so bad to hear him even speaking to Teh like that, and the hurt and realization in his eyes BROKE me. You want to console him, but you also what to hit him upside the head and tell him, "well, this wouldn't have happened had you just not cheated." It was a very conflicted feeling that actually aggravated me quite a bit. Another thing that went so nicely with their story were the time jumps. Without them, I don't think this story would've been made justice. It would've seemed too rushed and jumbled for just a short few months or year, but instead it spans from 4-5 years, and it makes you feel for them even more. The ending was BEAUTIFUL. I have never wanted to have created a dialogue so bad in my life like I did this one. Their conversation is beautiful. The way Oh-Aew talks about how he wants their future relationship to be, how he wants for their to be a change, but a good one. It brought me to tears, it was so magical.

I was so happy to see Bas again! I wasn't always sold on Teh and Oh-Aew's relationship, especially in the first part, and I wanted Bas to be an actual option and of course he wasn't, but in IPYTM I see Teh and Oh-Aew's relationship better. I loved their individual friend groups, Oh-Aew's specifically. I feel for Q, cause you can tell that he was developing feelings for Oh, so seeing his post with Teh was rough. They were a nice touch, they added comfort and stability for Oh and it made me happy to see him happy without Teh for once. The wedding was handled nicely, the ending shots with everyone seeing Teh's post was beautifully directed, and the very end when they walked away was brilliant.

Overall, This series was a masterpiece. I'm not sure if they're going to have a season 3 or not, but in my honest opinion, I say they don't do one. Another one might add too much conflict onto their relationship that will make it feel repetitive and irrelevant. Let this be their ending! I'm crossing my fingers! I'll continue to say this and continue to be mad about it, but this series does not have enough recognition AT ALL. Yes, it has a platform, yes, it has gained popularity, but not enough. If this series could switch with 2gether, I think I would cry. Just look at how much popularity that cheesy and simplistic story got, how come this one can't? Not to bring another series down or anything, but that's just my personal thoughts. Anyways, A highly recommended series!!!!!

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Relationships are hard and complex

This is one of those hard to watch but beautifully made dramas. every picture frame is a work of art every emotion feels real and every person is complex.

What I love a bout this drama is that it is realistic, much like season one every action had realistic consequences and thought behind it. Showing the difficulties in both maintaining a long term relationship as well as finding ones place in college and well life.

The friendships portrayed her here are also a big + and we get to see allot of character growth in both of the leads, and if there is something I do love in a drama it is definitely character growth,

This is however not a happy, sweet fluff lovey dovey kind of drama though it does have its fluffy moments a big part of this is dark lonely and filled with conflicting emotions and mistakes. There is also a very upfront hoest side to this drama saying that some couples who overcome hardship will love each other more while others may become toxic. unlike the otherwise drama truth: as long as you love each other all will be well...

So if you are looking for something rugh, beautiful and real this may just be it.

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Not for those who cant handle XL emotional scenes! [its nice tho]

So, about this show....its a rollercoaster of emotions. It made me cry after each episode. This show depicts the struggles of the 'changing phase', where we move from university students, to the working class. All the emotional obstacles are perfectly portrayed by the actors! The characters are struggling so much and confused by the sudden changes in people around them, including their 'plus one'. They cant seem to grasp the situation and deal with it, and are filled with impulse actions carried out by lust. But, as the saying goes, 'all is well that ends well'. And if you are one for happy endings, go for it! [means it has a happy ending, lol]. REWATCH VALUE : 9/10

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For me its beautiful.

Most people dont like the part 2, im one of the people who likes it

Its realistic like i told sunset about you, it also happens in real life.

I loved the way the cast did the characters, AMAZINGGGGG!!!

I cried so muchhhh im gonna miss themmm!

Story : 8/10
The story was not the best it has a few flaws but i still like it.

Acting/cast : 10/10
They were so good with the emotions!

Music: 10/10
I loved the music, i even have it on my playlist of spotify.

Rewatch : 8/10
Its good to rewatch

Overall : 9/10
Thanks to all these cast to make this series happen.

To all my lgbtq+ members WATCH THIS SHOWWWW!!

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Mixed Feelings, But Still Good

How do I talk about this? This is a tough one. I'm sure I'm not going to make sense when I try to talk about this.

First off, the aspects that were fantastic as ever and generally we all agree on: The shots, colors, lighting, acting, and music is great. And the OST is pure gold!

Now, onto my own personal take:

On the one hand, IPYTM did make me very emotional and I was able to relate to some of the struggles the characters were going through. I loved and hated how this drama made me feel at the same time. It was purposefully soul-crushing at many points. I knew this wasn't going to be an upbeat and easy sequel though.

From the first episode and on they really hit you with how it feels to feel and/or be alone and out of your element in a new place far from home.

On the other hand, I think my biggest criticism happens to be everyone else's: They should have shown this drama more from Oh-aews's point of view, or at least half of it.

ITSAY was Oh-aew and Teh's story. But, at the end of the day, it was mostly from Teh's point of view. And that was fine. It was meant to be that way and it worked. Unlike others, I wasn't fuming mad about this being from Teh's perspective, however, I felt like we missed out on something by not showing more from Oh-aew.

I distinctly remember thinking at the end of episode 1 that the story was going to continue on showing Oh-aew's life/struggles for a while. And I was really excited about that. The camera angles and tone certainly seemed to suggest it. But, that's not what happened.

I Promised You the Moon was never going to surpass I Told Sunset About You. It was either going to continue the story in a meaningful or somewhat meaningful way, or not measure up to it's predecessor at all.

For me, I found this meaningful but not on par with ITSAY. I didn't feel angry. I just felt something lacking, but, it wasn't enough to leave me completely unsatisfied.

I think I'll give this an 8/10.

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Not sure what to think yet...

I finished watching IPYTM and I'm torn on what to write right now... I've read some of the comments and the reviews and this second season seems to have polarized the opinions of everyone who watched it because feelings go from the series being a masterpiece to the series being a complete disaster.

I think I'll try to find a sensible middle in between those who want to put a statue in honor of the show and those who want Nadao to burn the tape to never be seen again.

First and foremost, it is not fair to compare IPYTM with ITSAY... it's just impossible. Different directors, different supporting cast and of course, different settings (in terms of storyline, timeline, etc.) makes both seasons two separate beings. That said, I know we can't stop ourselves from comparing both seasons because ITSAY left such a high bar in Thai BL and BL in general that I guess anything that came afterwards (like season 2) was going to be analyzed and inevitably compared to season 1.

IPYTM had beautiful cinematography with the background of Bangkok that showed the city in a different light with the tall buildings and the river. Acting was again a strong point because Billkin and PP once again portrayed their characters in a convincing way and the support of Goy and Oab brought a different feeling to this season as the characters were supposed to move on from high school in charming Phuket to university in always-busy Bangkok.

Now, I'm torn because I liked the aspects that I mentioned before but I felt the show had ups and downs nearly at every corner. I don't think condensing 4 years of university life in 5 episodes was the best idea, because we were deprived of better interactions between some of the characters and more detailed scenes. Goy and Na left after episode 3 only to briefly reappear in episode 5 and Oab graduates in episode 4, so Teh felt somewhat deprived of the interactions Oh-Aew had with the gang in high school and also with his friends in university.
Some of the plot was dubious at best with Teh practicing method acting with the director instead of doing that with his co-star... imagine if James Cameron had to practice kissing scenes with Leonardo DiCaprio or Kate Winslet in Titanic or Quentin Tarantino had to practice shooting a gun with John Travolta in Pulp Fiction... that simply doesn't happen. But the director and writers felt that it was the only "chance" for a big conflict in the story so they went with it. Oh-Aew matures at some points (like in ep. 5 during Teh's thesis play) but basically becomes a crybaby the next minute. Now, I don't know if being in love would cause someone to act that way, but it was so predictable that I saw myself skipping those parts because I knew tears were coming, again...

Then, I understand the love Oh-Aew has for Teh, which I can argue is bigger than the love Teh has for Oh-Aew, but the conversation with Bas really came out of nowhere... it was good to hear Bas say the things Oh-Aew needed to hear but Bas was Oh-Aew's friend and in the 4 years of university or 5 episodes for us, they don't seem to be that much in touch with each other and Oh-Aew even says "I had no one to talk to" when Bas asks "what am I doing here?", really?!, you had nobody to talk to despite having all your high school gang and your uni friends always available like when Oh-Aew became a blabbering mess in episode 4?! That part makes no sense... Oh-Aew always had a support group compared to Teh who had basically no one, and yet, he says he has no one to talk to... oh boy!
At the same time, I wanted to hate Oh-Aew at some points because in season 1 Bas was crazy for him and in season 2 there are clear glimpses in episode 5 that Q also has feelings for Oh-Aew (see the scene in the pool and then when the gang sees the picture of Oh-Aew and Teh with the wedding bouquet, Q clearly looks sad/disappointed that Oh-Aew made his choice but as a good friend says nothing about it and only smiles). And yet, with 2 guys clearly showing feelings for him and despite him "moving on" as he claimed several times in episode 5, cannot resist Teh when he sees the thesis play and reads the text messages. If love works that way, then I'm afraid of being in love.

While I understand the storyline had to change to accommodate more mature characters as they moved from high school to uni life, I don't know what to fully make of this season. It had very nice moments and then it had others that had me screaming at my screen wanting to smack Oh-Aew or Teh or both... if there is any consistency in Thai BLs is that we got the usual ending with both main characters ending together. At some point I wished for Oh-Aew to end up with Q or Bas or simply alone, but as usual, that was not going to happen. So, in the end, not sure what to think yet... I liked IPYTM but I felt it had a lot of room for improvement. Or maybe ITSAY just spoiled me so much that now I want every series to be like it.

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Much more enjoyable than season 1

I was very frustrated after finishing ITSAY (especially due to episode 4 of ITSAY and the general toxicity of Teh and Oh-aew's relationship), so I was very hesitant starting this, but my expectations were actually blown away. The second season introduced really amazing side characters and the time skips were so wonderfully done, so it didn't feel like draggy like ITSAY did. Yes, there is cheating, but it's very realistic and understandable. This is probably the only BL where I didn't mind it at all. People deserve to experience love and need to learn to treasure it when they have it. I hope we get to see some of the characters again, I would love to see a spin-off! There are so many possibilities and so many characters to choose from.

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It Is Their Destiny

This is a continuation story of Teh and Oh-aew. While the other two previous stories were phenomenal and profound story, this one just did not hit the mark for me. But I must quality that statement. It is NOT because of poor acting. Quite the contrary. This is one of the finest acted BL series from Thailand in a long time. The story itself is also superb. What left me empty and profoundly sad was the realization that these two loved each other with every fiber of their beings but it just is not enough to sustain a solid relationship. For me, their love is toxic. Their own inner demons stop them from actually becoming real true individuals. Their love is more what is supposed to be than what it really is. For me, that was sad.

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It awakens all emotions in us!

If you reached till here, it probably because you know the hype about this series and i think it's justified. As a viewer, not only i got drawn towards the plot but as well as the emotions that each of the characters had.
I'm gonna comment as the ratings of this review.

STORY:
The story is great but to be honest it's like the typical drama where the second season is about the obstacles that the couples are gonna face. However, once you watch ITSAY, it feels like you're watching something new and IPYTM is just gonna make it even better.

Now concentrating mainly on this serie (IPYTM), it is more heavy than the prequel one. You will see that teh and oh-aew was starting their relationship in the first one, however, this one is about maintaining it. You'll probably see a change at the second episode where both teh and oh-aew feel a bit lost but the major impact is going to be on last 3 episodes and this is where you'll find yourself dealing with different emotions. This is due to the great acting of all the characters of the drama.

ACTING:
To be honest, i didn't watch 'My ambulance' so i didn't know how was the acting of both actors.

My main focus when watching this drama was not really the plot but the acting and the delivery of the emotions. So i have to applaud for their acting. The way, teh was confused about his feelings when oh-aew confessed to him. It felt real to a point where it felt that this wasn't a drama.

And in this sequel, oh-aew and teh was dealing with a lot. A lot of people are blaming teh for cheating oh-aew but in a way i can understand him.
He felt a wall appearing in between them, one of the reason was because oh-aew chose a different field than acting. He felt like he could no longer relate to him and he wouldn't be able to share his interest with oh-aew. This is the reason he was pulled towards Jai. However, it was wrong of him to confine about this emotions to Jai and even worse kissing him. He should have talked to his lover instead.

On the other side, oh-aew was torn apart. Seeing him kiss jai was heartbreaking yet he convinced himself that there was an explanation to it.

The best scene for me that was heartbreaking was where oh-aew and teh was invited on stage to sing. The way oh-aew was crying because teh kept looking at jai while singing was a bit hard for me to handle. You will also see teh realise what he did was wrong. In this Billkin and PP was great, it felt so real!

You'll find yourself like me, being so invested in the drama.

MUSIC:
Most of the songs from this drama is amazing. My favorite is 'Skyline' and 'Hold me tight'. If you haven't listened to it, please do. You may get addicted.

REWATCH VALUE:
My rewatch value is high. I will definitely watch it again.

If you were confused on whether you watch it or not, do it. You will not regret it.

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