La Señal (2023)

Le faltó desarrollar trama

Me gustó, pero el final ais... es como que le faltan unos cuantos capítulos para terminar de desarrollar la trama antes del final final.

La serie cuenta con una historia interesante que atrapa desde el principio. Los efectos especiales son decentes y las actuaciones son notablemente sólidas. Desde su inicio, la serie va en aumento, sumergiéndote cada vez más en la trama y en la intriga, tanto en el desarrollo del caso policial como en la exploración del pasado mitológico.

La lástima ha sido que en los últimos capítulos la cosa se ha venido a bajo. Sin desarrollar los temas del todo y repitiéndose en algunas cosas. Además, en el último capítulo en vez de aprovechar para contar cosas, a mi parecer, han puesto bastante relleno con imágenes de capítulos anteriores. Que no digo yo que no quede bonito hacer eso a modo de recordatorio, pero creo que se pasan de usarlo a lo dramático y un poco cursi para lo que son los personajes.

Aún así, interesante y diferente.

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Soy Phaya y no me siento orgullosa de ello

Phaya es tan intenso por momentos en cuanto a su amor por Tharn que definitivamente soy ese y claramente no estoy orgullosa de eso por que puede verse medio feo pero equis.

Teniendo en cuenta que es una serie hecha para televisión y basada en un libro (por lo cual no se pueden hacer cambios muy bruscos) es una muy buena serie, ósea cumple muy bien su función de entretenerte y mal hecha no esta que diría es la mejor de Idol Factory o al menos se pelea el top 1 por el momento con GAP (porque quien sabe, por ahí mas adelante sale una muchísimo mejor).

Para ser una BL (que si has estado en este mundillo lo suficiente en cuanto a Bls tailandeses te das una idea del panorama) tiene una trama muy original y creo es la primera que no solo me pone cosas de fantasía sino que igual me pone gente grande y no nenes cosa que se nota algo esa madurez que esperarías en un adulto no solo al tomar decisiones sino al COMUNICARTE CON QUIEN ES TU PAREJA, es excelente aunque, hablando de la trama yo sinceramente espero que haya una especie de segunda temporada porque sentí que falto tiempo para explicar muchísimas cosas y una de ellas es TODO lo relacionado a la especie que es Phaya ya que en toda la serie te explicas todo lo relacionado con las Nagas pero de la especie de el no y la verdad que el final después de los créditos e incluso el mismo final da para una continuación donde se explique ahora todo sobre eso y en especial el porque Phaya no tiene ningún tipo de poder y el porque pareciera que incluso en su forma original le faltaba como que fuerza lo cual contrasta un poco eso de que su especie es fuerte y poderosa igual que las Nagas.

No se si es porque en el libro asi tal cual estaba narrado, pero honestamente el equipo de DIF (? al que pertenecen dejaba mucho que desear y eso que se supone eran los mejores, pero como que no sabían primeros auxilios, no sabían apuntar bien, no sabia hacer estrategias (lo cual es la principal razón por la que muere gente aquí por ejemplo Ning, como vas detrás del criminal sin siquiera tener la confesión y evidencia del testigo primero? y sobre todo, como dejas al testigo SOLO y con el cuidado de policías cuando sabes que los policías estaban comprados?) y como que el único fuerte era el combate cuerpo a cuerpo que por cierto, las secuencias de pelea estaban muy bien hechas a mi opinión aunque si lo pensamos aun asi un solo tipo pudo contras dos lo cual anula su única especialidad.

La actuación no esta mal pero tampoco es excelente, no quiero tirar nombres porque honestamente le tengo cariño a los artistas de Idol Factory pero como que unos les falta mejorar lo que es su actuación y en especial el como transmitir emociones claves para darle el impacto que se quería a la escena, que hablando de actuaciones, ¿Cómo es posible que Billy se vea tierno y lindo MIENTRAS ESTA DEPRIMIDO? Cada que salía el deprimido por x cosa se veía tan tierno y encima si le creía que estaba triste que me parece increíble, creo que un nivel de actuación asi se necesitaba con otros actores aunque igual le falta mejorar en cuento a como mostrar otras emociones que eso ya quede a criterio de cada quien qué emociones le faltan mejorar.

Tengo quejas con el "villano" asi es, hablo de Chalathorn, no se si es que en el libro sea asi pero es muy mediocre y parece que actúa por pura obsesión y celos eso sumado a que no se siente como un villano en si, mas villano se sintió a Montree que él, no se si es que ese es un problema que viene desde el libro o es solo de la serie por motivos de tiempo.

No me voy a extender mas porque la verdad me da pereza y que les digo, a pesar de que tengo como 50 quejas mas realmente disfrute este programa, es tan telenovela que te mantiene enganchado en todos los caps de una u otra manera (a no ser que seas del publico que le gusta que la historia vaya por un solo hilo, en ese caso siento que no es tú serie ya que tiene varias subtramas las cuales no ayudan a la trama principal directamente o nada en si pero a ver entretenidas son, como cuando te cuentan la historia de Khem y Thongthai, no sirve de nada de nada para la trama principal pero entretenida es), ya casi el final no se que paso ahí, como que se durmieron los guionistas o se les perdió el guion que hay muchas cosas que no se entienden, ¿Cómo Phaya se salvo de morir cayendo del acantilado? ¿Tharn lo salvo? esto ultimo me da sentido porque cuando Phaya cae se ve a la izquierda una luz amarilla cayendo hacia Phaya lo cual tendria algo de sentido teniendo en cuenta todo lo que vimos en la serie pero, cuando vez el final después de los créditos puedes llegar a pensar que en realidad no fue Tran quien lo salvo sino el personaje que interpresa Saint en ese final cosa que si es asi, ¿Entonces como Tharn llego donde Phaya en la cueva? ¿Cuánto tiempo paso desde que Tharn se "murió" hasta que vuelve a aparecer? ¿Qué significa eso de que "lo dejaron ir a verlo"? ¿Qué significa el final después de los créditos? ¿Acaso estoy desvariando? ¿Harán segunda parte? Porque si no hay segunda parte de esto ¿Cuál fue el objetivo del final después de los créditos?

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THE SIGN of Better BLs to Come

If anything, I am happy that Thai companies are expanding beyond the typical BL storylines. its A SIGN that the genre is evolving and has a lot of potential.

Quick recap. Phaya and Tharn are reincarnations of Garudas and Nagas - mythical deities in the Buddhist/Hindu culture. Their connection was so strong that even at childhood, they were drawn to each other and Tharn became an unofficial protector of sort to Phaya. The end. Okay, Im kidding so many things has happened in this show that its so hard to make a quick recap.

What i like about the series:
1. I really love the first episode because it hooks you in to want to see more.
2. Great production value, you can see that they have really thought hard about the story and execution to deliver us a unique story. Even the action sequnces, which may often feel too rehearsed, is commendable. The CGi somewhat feels subpar but it is very acceptable considering that this is from a somewhat new production outfit. Hands off to them.
3. Maybe one of the best looking cast in a BL ever. Do i need to say more? Billy's scenes in those black boxers are BL gold. Babe is undeniably a gorgeous boy. I love all the support cast. The first episode with all the fake nude scenes is like a rain blessing to water the dryest dessert. And yes, the almost obligatory NSFW scenes in almost all episodes (but more on this later).
4. Im really happy that this is not just another university/high school story.

What i dislike:
1. I thought Tharn as a Naga is in female form, that were the dream sequences, werent it? They made such a big deal about it in the beginning but the later episodes Tharn Naga became just Tharn with long hair.
2. While a lot of the viewers like the weekly crime solving cases and the overall human baddie, i hated it. The truth is they weren't used to advance the story of Phaya and Tharn and their love story. In fact the big case turned out to be not important in the scheme of things.
2, Chalathorn turned out to be nothing but a dud instead of being the menacing villain.
3. There were too many subplots. The show wanted to be so many things. This show is worth at least 2 good BLs rolled together in one - the result is a mishmash, 2 half-baked pies and confused if its an action or a fantasy series.
4. One blatant proof of the show's identity crisis is with Tharn - one second he was this strong guy solving cases next second he is this soft crybaby blaming himself for whatever accident Phaya has gotten himself into. He is a police officer who will suddenly leave his post just to save the damsel Phaya. His character, lost consistency and could have been handled better.
5. While the male cast is the focus of the show, the young female support and the GL is acted so poorly. Even the grandmas who were suppossed to be lovable just werent. Their lines were so cringy and could have been edited out of the story to make it leaner.
6. The show got so convulated in the second half that i was watching the episodes in 2x speed. From being a must-see show it became a tedious watch, a show i just needed to finish because i want to see the ending of the fantasy story.
7. The almost obligatory NSFW scenes. For crying out loud, Phaya escaped the hospital in episode 9 just to answer a booty call.
8. The cashgrab finale. I get it, i get it, the producers wanted to capitalize and earn a little extra and god knows they deserve it for all their hard work, but it left a lot of sour taste in the mouth . Once i saw that ad showing the last episode will be shown in a streaming event, i almost decided to drop this show. What made it worse, the 3 week break between sepisode 11 and the free -to-air episode 12 turned out to be non-climatic after all, with so many plotholes and unexplainable things happening. Action scenes and that forest chase scenes became laughable, and that mythical love that is supposed to be epic in size just werent.
9. Please also explain to me how did Tharn saved Phaya from falling off that cliff from mid-air because that defied time and logic. That must have been a very very high thousand kilometer cliff because so many things have happened during that fall (the criminal was even able to get back to the base and shoot Chart) and yet Tharn still managed to save Phaya mid-air. and I watched it a few times to get a sense of it but just cant. Boy they didnt wrap this show properly.

Will i rewatch this series. No. It is tedious and there are tons of other contents right now. Im just giving it a 7.5 for all the effort and what it could have been. Will i reccommend? Sure, even with all the inconsistencies it is still a good watch, the boys alone is worth it.

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IT'S A CANNONBALL

Firstly, there are tropes you'll agree with me are made for some countries and just incase another country adopts it even if by chance and executes it well enough, that's going a bit higher and matching up to a standard. Originally Thai BL'S from being as scanty as 15 shows annually between 2018-2021, every trope was good enough because for the first time it felt new since we were having BL couples instead of heterosexual ones but after that 2022-2023 was a massive wave of close to 80+ BLS in each. The exposure was good but it seemed that some plots either felt too bland, some actors aren't the right choices for the shows or simply, BL fans are getting bored and we are looking for something unique.

Here is THE SIGN. First and foremost, the fact that this is the first Thai BL original that deals with Special forces was enough to intrigue me and just as I had mentioned that I felt this kind of plot had become more of a western monopoly a part of me was rather eager. The trailer delivered it well to have me quite expectant but after watching the first episodes I say the long uneasy wait was worth it. Of course the Special Investigation Forces part of it might feel unreal and rather having it too easy if you're to compare with Western Series like FBI and GANG RELATED. No offense, for Thailand I do respect that they could take this gr8 shot and it doesn't bother me that much since it was never the gist of the story so it didn't occupy space unnecessarily.

Also considering the fact that we are moving out of the bedrooms and condos and getting more into the real adult world. I felt that highschoolers and campusers had overdone it and for some reason high school and university settings were making the BL STORYLINES lose an aroma. We have seen from Until We Meet Again back in 2019 the notion of lost lovers but never a profound and rather intensely chaotic couple like Celestial lovers who were never meant to be which makes the sign yet another one of those BL series that is exceptional.

I equally came to admire the fact that the character design here is quite mature and we are moving away from some stupid couple fights which were starting to get annoying to some point. We have seen love that challenges gender and social norms in my perspective but never one which challenges religious ones like the Sign which I had always anticipated at some point. The Lovestory of Billy and Babe unlike many challenges what you would considered some of the most powerful cosmic forces in existence.

Thirdly, finally beating an office romance, you’ll find out from this show how it is very cute when a special agent is playing hard to get and another is practically a naive big baby that's struggling at expressing themselves. Of course even if there is a progression of feelings, the top knotch of this chemistry is that two people with different personalities start to create a common ground for intimacy

New faces and ships to the genre who have gotten their jobs right is also the real deal, I don't believe that being a rookie actor justifies one to be a bad actor and in any case The Sign proves it right. Everyone seems to comprehend, fit in their role and even grow in it with literally every scene that it starts to feel more like a sincere portrayal than a very flat pretense. I have seen series that have gone South when they could have been better because of this annoying excuse.

Besides, the Supernatural fantasy in a cop drama hits different and right, Billy literally flirts the scene well and quite unobviously which keeps the show interesting, these guys are so past the point of stereotyping gay couples as sweet people with nothing to do, for once I feel a gay couple has real work to do in line with promoting law and order now you get to see them in action and in a way even offering a civil service apart from struggling with anger issues, overkissing and I think I literally LMAO at the fact that these guys each had way many sex dreams or thoughts.

All in all the pacing of the series seems quite right and after all this I can certainly say, coming from Thailand, they have found a way to end the year and begin a new one in style by giving us a show that is quite unique and hints on personal and spiritual diversities which have been confined to perfection and give us an unspoken warmth, sweetness despite the cruel designs of the world, fate and karma which make you see how every character lives every day as if it were their last.

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You might have to roll your eyes a bit, but it's no doubt worth it

Past lives, reincarnation, fate, comrades and a love to die and live for.

The overall concept is unique and interesting. Even the chemistry between the actors is so electric. But here's the deal: as the series rolls on, the drama cranks up, and at times, it's like they're pushing the limits of over-the-top. Still, it’s a fun ride, and you might have to roll your eyes a bit, but hey, it's still got that something that makes it so worth it.

"The Sign" is a mesmerizing blend of fantasy, mystery, and romance that gripped me right from the opening scenes and towards the later half it gets dramatic and more intense but it keeps you hooked. To add up, there's a mystery surrounding the leads, and when I say mystery, I don't just mean the supernatural mystery but also murder mystery. Also, the chemistry between the leads, Phaya and Tharn, is the beating heart of the series. Their chemistry is seriously electric. I can see the sparks and concerns so clearly. They are absolutely adorable, and the tension between them is seriously intense.

Now, let’s talk about the crew. Yai, Thongthai, Khem, and Singh – these guys are the real MVPs. They bring the laughs and the serious vibes, fitting into the story. Whether they are playing the role of doting or teasing friends or serious comrades, they ate up their role. And may I add I am in love with the chemistry of Khem and Thongthai. Khem is seriously so whipped for Thongthai and they are so adorable together. I want more of them. Yai, Tharn's brother, I absolutely love him, his humor and the way he dots on his little brother.

Also, Freen, portraying Wansarat, deserves special mention; she looked incredibly pretty and radiated in every scene, from her appearance to her expressions. Also, Doc Chalothon I don't really like his character. Oh my godd!! he gets on my nerves. Heng really did a good job portraying Doc's character. Talking about Mayris, I think she is kind of cool. And the bond that Phaya shares with his grandma and sister is just so heartwarming to witness. The whole cast really did an amazing job portraying their character.

Definitely recommending it.

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Very ambitious production

I gave this a relatively high rating because the scale of ambition here is so high, and the execution is fairly impressive for such a low-budget production - not low in BL terms, but for the CGI and effects, and all the fight scenes, they got good bang for the buck.

The cast is beautiful - every frame is full of eye-candy (for me, it was all about Gap as Yai and Nat as Art, but they're all hot and gorgeous), it's well-filmed, the acting is overall very good, the music is a step above the norm - but the writing is a mess.

How would you summarize Phaya and Tharn's characters? How did they develop over the course of a long series? Their personalities are similar and there's no journey at all. Even Chalothon (played with wonderful malicious glee by Heng), who has the largest character development, does it with a light-switch off-screen in the #1 enemy of good writing, the lazy time-jump. The side characters were all better drawn than the mains - for example, I could describe Yai in detail, but to be fair, he and Nat were the two best actors in the series, and infused their characters with layers.

Instead of Tharn sulking in flashbacks for the entire final episode, wouldn't it have been nice to see Tharn & Chalothon's interaction? What was the point of the artist character (named "Art")? I appreciated having Nat Sakdatorn wearing very little on my screen for an episode, but it, like most of the plot threads, went nowhere.

The main day-to-day villain is stolen from a Scooby Doo cartoon - I almost expected the "and I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for those pesky kids!" His sidekick has no personality whatsoever, so he should consider himself lucky. I think we know who the mentioned but never seen Big Boss is, but I'm really not sure given the way the series ended.

Billy & Babe get high scores for their lack of inhibition in the love scenes - that was real kissing, and their bodies even touched - but they're so hyper-romanticized and formulaic that they lack any heat, and I just didn't feel it. There is chemistry between the characters, but it's more best-friend chemistry than lover chemistry, at least from Babe, who didn't show much emotional range and I just didn't feel the love from him like I did from Billy. It was strange that they had Tharn in drag in all the past life scenes - that really served no purpose. Even if that role in the mythology it's derived from is female, then either have a woman play the role in those scenes, or just make his character male.

The series had a lot of good stuff in it, some great visuals, some intense scenes, but it seemed a bit like a collection of ideas someone had for great scenes with no coherent plan behind it. There are many plot threads that go nowhere and just take up time (although again, I'm not going to complain about getting my naked Nat, useless or not). His storyline seemed like it belonged to a totally different series (which I would have much rather watched), and I can't help but wonder if this was written as an episodic serial rather than a coherent novel.

And in the end, I was bored. I think perhaps the biggest problem is the lack of stakes. Shot 15 times? No worries, pshaw, he'll be fine! Impaled with a magical ice spear? Just a flesh wound. Fall off a cliff and plunge 1000 meters onto rocks? A nasty bumb, for sure, but nothing to worry about. It even got to the point where when people made comments that are usually the kiss of death, like "when this is all over, I'll have your favorite meal waiting for you at home", I still wasn't worried. There are a few characters for whom there's an explanation for why they aren't bruised and battered after fights, but that shouldn't apply to their hair still being pefect, although I suppose being supernatural could include magically-arranging hair. (Speaking of which, Billy's hair in Ep 12. Yikes.)

I was hoping for a spectacular final confrontation, but nope, nothing of the sort, other than a drug raid which resolved nothing. There was too much that I had to fast-forward through - so many flashbacks and pointless scenes - and because there were no stakes and no real purpose to them, the fight scenes were just filler for me.

I would recommend this for the visuals and actors, but I don't understand the incredibly high score. It's worth watching, and I hope it emboldens more sci-fi & fantasy-themed BLs, and I applaud the effort that went into this, but with better writing it could have been a 10/10.

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Should have stuck to one plotline...

I saw so many people hyping this show up and I wanted so badly to like it but I just found that it felt like two different plots/worlds smashed together into one with no real link between them. I'm not trying to be a hater - the fight scenes were great, the effects were good, and the storyline was interesting, but I just could not like it as much as I wanted to.

Tharn and Phaya are training to become part of the special forces detective team, and the training is intense, to say the least. It seems as though Tharn has some kind of innate sense if Phaya is in danger, and this sense is rooted in visions that allow him to see the danger that Phaya is in. The two of them become closer throughout their training, and even closer after it's completed and they're initiated into the force. However, there is an evil lurking. While trying to catch a rich and powerful drug cartel, secrets of the Naga sea monster threaten their safety more than the cartel does.

My main issue here is that we have this drug smuggling investigation going on with a team of detectives we've grown to love, and also the plot of the Naga, which seems to be totally unrelated except for the fact that Tharn is involved. If this was a fantasy/supernatural story, where Phaya and Tharn are dealing with the issue of the Naga, I'd have no problems with it. Or, if this was a story about becoming detectives and investigating this elaborate case, I would love it. However, combining these two things took away from the show, in my opinion. It felt like the Naga was added on too late in the show to be really important, and also it felt like it took away from the detective aspect of it and didn't give us a chance to see the investigation fully play out. I found myself getting distracted while watching it, waiting for the (well done) action scenes and case developments.

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A mix of everything

It had some amazing points, but there were also some that could have been better. But good things first – the acting in general was pretty solid, the action and training scenes were jaw-dropping and incredibly well executed, the dreams and visions were nicely set apart from the reality, which made the story a bit easier to follow. They also did a really good job incorporating different genres and themes into a pretty logical plot line.

However, I did feel like a lot of time was wasted on all those crimes that the team investigated, many of which were kind of related to one of the main plots, but not enough to really make them worth our time. I would prefer there to be one really big case that would have connected to the other main plot. It would have made more sense, and it would have allowed a more solid connection between everything that has happened.

Phaya & Tharn: I loved them in the first episode – the rivalry, the tension, the connection. The two are quite similar. They are both stubborn, tend to act without thinking, hate having others worry about them while being very protective of their loved ones, have a very solid moral compass… I did Phaya to be a bit more hot-headed, but Tharn was not far behind him either. I do think there are certain things about their story that I wish wouldn’t have happened. There were a few slaps, which have no place in a relationship nor between friends or colleagues. Another thing that bothered me was the lack of trust between the two. It made me confused why Tharn has so little trust in Phaya, even knowing the two are connected, while blindly trusting others. Well, Phaya didn’t really trust him either, he kept a lot of secrets. Maybe that goes hand in hand, you get what you give. Billy and Babe had great chemistry though, and they did amazingly in their roles.

I really liked their team and the dynamics between them. Khem and Thongthai were kind of cute together, even if I wasn’t always sure if the two were actually a thing or not. Yai is a lot of fun too, and he is a good friend. Even with his occasionally slightly crazy ideas. The inspector was interesting, but I didn’t really understand his thought process most of the time.

Doc Chalothon was there, I guess. I just wish his character was a bit more involved with the investigation part of the plot. He did pop up here and there, but he wasn’t nearly as present as I hoped he would be. I did find him creepy from the moment he appeared, so Heng did a great job with this role.

Now, as for a few other not so great things. I did find their way of investigating things a little like playing pretend. There were just a lot of things that didn’t make much sense, especially in relation to keeping the details of the investigations private from the general public.

But the major setback was the ending. I found it extremely anticlimactic. I think they should have concluded the investigation in one episode and the naga in another. They concluded them in the same episode, which made one of the conclusions feel very rushed and lazy, and maybe illogical as well. I feel like we were robbed of a scene we were all waiting for.

All in all, it was a good watch but it could use a few tweaks.

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L'année du dragon serait-elle propice à l'inspiration et au fantastique ?

The Sign est une grande porte ouverte pour Idol Factory. Bien qu'imparfait, c'est un drama qui change de nos habitudes et apporte un vent de fraîcheur. Il offre de bonnes scènes d'action avec un folklore entraînant dans un univers légèrement fantastique, mais qui ne le devient jamais trop. Ce dosage est intéressant, car il permet aux amateurs de fantastique d'être satisfaits et aux non amateurs de ne pas en être dégoûtés. Le fantastique est distillé de façon a ne jamais donner l'impression d'être trop.

Mais en plus d'une porte ouverte pour Idol Factory, j'espère que ce sera également une avenue entière pour le BL. Depuis l'année dernière, plusieurs productions n'hésitent pas sur les nouveautés ou des contextes amenés différemment (Step by Step, Chains of Heart, I Feel You Linger in the Air...). Et il semblerait que 2024 soit propice au fantastique. Après tout, c'est l'année du dragon.

Et justement, revenons à nos dragons... Le casting qui était superbe. J'ai adoré les personnages, notamment les cinq mousquetaires : Tharn, Phaya, Yai, Khem et Thongthai. Bien que l'histoire s'axe principalement autour de Tharn et Phaya, chaque membre de l'équipe est actif et participe à l'enquête.
Le couple Tharn/Phaya était vraiment agréable à suivre. Si au début on pouvait penser que Phaya était le personnage froid et distant, il devient rapidement le coureur derrière Tharn. Les vies antérieures étaient intéressantes et le folklore rajoute une plus-value à l'ensemble. Ce n'était ni trop ni pas assez, mais le juste-milieu. Mon seul reproche sur ce couple est les scènes intimes qui ne remplissent qu'un but : satisfaire une partie de l'audience. En revanche, les baisers étaient ravissants.
Le couple Khem/Thongthai était amusant par la façon dont leur relation n'a jamais été soumise à des regards en coin ou des remarques indésirées. Deux gars ensemble, et alors ? C'était si agréable de juste voir des personnages s'aimer et ne pas y penser davantage. Exactement comme Tharn et Phaya qui connaissent un destin plus lié, mais tout aussi franc.

Le folklore était entraînant et amené de la bonne manière. J'ai adoré le fait que la série n'exploite pas jusqu'à l'usure les visions de Tharn. Tout comme le concept de vies antérieures ne devient pas absurde. En fait, le seul défaut sur ce point est Chalathon que je n'ai pas trouvé si mauvais qu'on aurait voulu nous le faire croire.

Malgré le plaisir que j'ai eu lors de mon visionnage, il est difficile d'ignorer l'épisode final qui est fortement discutable, surtout après deux semaines d'attente. Personnellement, j'en attendais tout un spectacle, mais en fin de compte, les situations s'enchaînent et... Et c'est tout. Il faut conclure, donc concluons ! Peut-être que le budget est devenu un problème. Peut-être même qu'au dernier moment, le scénario a changé pour la scène post-générique actuelle qui laisse supposer une suite. C'est tellement dommage de finir sur un épisode comme celui-ci.

L'esthétique de la série était incroyable. Je vais cependant revenir sur un point en particulier. Quelqu'un a mentionné qu'il faudrait « prendre des notes sur GoT » concernant les CGI. Le budget d'un seul épisode de GoT (~ 15 millions de dollars pour le plus « raisonnable » (soit ~ 539 millions de baht)). Pour être honnête, je n'ai aucune idée du coût de production en Thaïlande et trouver des chiffres sourçables n'est pas si simple. Cependant, je ne pense pas que le budget par épisode de The Sign soit égal à GoT.
Les CGI coûtent une blinde, tout le monde ne peut pas en assumer le coût. J'adorerai que ce soit le cas parce que même si les deux dernières saisons sont des purges, la DA de GoT est exceptionnelle. Mais non, tout le monde ne peut pas s'asseoir à la même table que les CGI de GoT. Et honnêtement, elles ne sont pas mauvaises. Allez donc voir un film de monstres chinois, vous allez vite faire la différence (et j'aime les films de monstres).

Bref, The Sign est une proposition exceptionnelle et audacieuse, un petit bijoux unique qui marque les esprits (le mien en tout cas). C'est un drama imparfait, oui, mais qui parvient à passer au-delà grâce à la dynamique de ses personnages, sa pointe de fantastique, son folklore qui amène un vent nouveau, sa romance portée par un joli duo tout en mettant en lumière des genres qui étaient, jusqu'ici, ignorés dans les BL thaïlandais.

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Great story, poor execution

I like the overarching story and theme of this romance, the lore was really cool and new to me.

Main gripes were:

1. Character writing - Specifically Tharn, was written terribly. For someone who's been living with visions for the past how many years and grew up with an Abott that has been guiding him and giving him info on how to protect himself in the future, he never connects the dots about who he is and what he needs to do. Tharn was honestly extremely frustrating to watch.

2. Plot is hella choppy - After knowing the story of Tharn and Phaya's past, I don't understand why the Abott keeps telling Tharn that he needs to right the wrongs of his past life...like Pharn didn't do anyone wrong, whytf is he the one receiving bad karma now??? We all know the one that should have bad karma is 'Slowmotion', so I don't understand why Phaya was the one getting the short end of the stick. Also, I know the side characters are just side characters but towards the ending they just stopped trying with some of the characters and it was unfortunate.

3. Music - The psychedelic type beat that kept playing at every intimate scene was atrocious. Omg, Ep 12 almost redeemed it but then the sound came back and I did something unimaginable during an intimate scene in BL...I skipped! ??.

I did enjoy some things: like the lore was interesting, I liked the relationships between the 5 friends, family dynamics between Phaya and his grandma and sister and Tharn and his grandma, I appreciated that there were no jealous ex tropes, and the comedic moments were funny.

As for the romance, I don't think I got to see enough of it so it felt very underwhelming to me. There was just way too much happening with the police cases and Tharn trying to save Phaya everytime and them not being on the same page most of the time. While we did have sex scenes and such, the romance aspect didn't feel fleshed out so I wasn't really gagging at the chemistry between the leads too.

The ending being extremely anticlimactic also did not help matters. Overall, I'm a bit dissapointed with the series, it was frustrating for the most part because I felt Tharn was not utilizing the information he had to his and Phaya's advantage and that affected how connected I felt with their relationship, however the lore is interesting, chemistry between the leads is good and it's a funny show so there's definitely still something to enjoy and like if you want to give the series a watch.

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Such an ambitious project; I can't wait to see what Idol Factory does next!

First off, this was such a cool project for Idol Factory to take on. The thai mythology aspect was interesting and very unique as that's yet to be done in a BL production to my knowledge. It seems that I may have an unpopular opinion about this series as I'm not rating this a 9.5 or 10 stars but I've gotta say that I'm so glad that IDF decided to create this. Hopefully it's another step forward so that we'll get more dark and complex BLs in the future!

I loved the opening action, the fight scenes were really well done and the shots are pretty aesthetically pleasing. I had no issue with the acting. The character are likeable enough and both couplings had good chemistry as well. This series has so much to include, there's the crime, the police investigations, the fight scenes, the mystery, the mythology, the romance and the lore to be established about Tharn's abilities, as well as the past lives aspect. Nevermind the human relationships part with this big cast of characters. That's a lot to juggle in one show especially considering that this is only IDF's third production, so big props to them!

That being said, beneath the novelties and all of the aspects mentioned above- the flashiness of it all, if you will- it's decent but is falling flat for me. The show doesn't seem to know what genre or tone it wants to be/hold and shifts it every episode or so. At multiple points, it was boring and kinda draggy and then sometimes, it's just really really CAMPY out of nowhere?? Sure, that could be chalked up to the contrast and sum of all of the different aspects that The Sign has set out to include and while it could surely be smoother, that's not the issue at play here. At first, it keeps it interesting but it's not consistent enough and didn't necessarily feel the most cohesive to me; it was weird. It feels like there's different directors alternating between the episodes.
The writing and storytelling isn't great, it's the same issue that I had with GAP; it's trying to do way too much without the quality writing aspect that's needed to bring it all together for what the production really deserves. The characters are likable but not memorable. They don't have that much depth and I find them to be underdeveloped which in turn means I'm not that invested in their stories. I'm definitely someone who enjoys character driven stories so I need the characters to be compelling enough so that I can connect with them and care more about their storylines.

The CGI was great especially for the budget of the production but the costumed mythological flashbacks felt like an odd 'stage play' (as someone else had mentioned in the comments while airing). It really took me out of the scenes and distracted from their importance; it was also frankly a little painful to watch. But I've gotta say that The Sign has really mastered the art of strategically blocking NC scenes which some of the bigger BL production companies have yet to master *shade intended*.

My favourite characters were probably KhemThongthai, Nee and Nee's cat, Namami. Namami is my favourite. But as of right now, I've currently lost interest in The Sign after episode 8. This series is just really missing something and I can't quite put my finger on it but I'm fairly certain that it has to so with the writing. I do like this series so I'll probably pick it back up when I'm more in the mood to watch it. I am happy to hear though that so many people here are enjoying this show because it does have a lot to offer and will keep you visually entertained, if that's what you're looking for!
This show has a handful of really good concepts, so much potential and I could see the artistic intentions behind some of the storylines and production choices, but unfortunately, it just wasn't all that to me.

My rating would be about a 7-7.5 out of 10 stars.
(If I do pick this title back up again, I'll make sure to edit this review :))

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Interesting story

The series looks to be fun and the storyline got my attention as I love mythology, but this series is overrated. Sadly the characters feel like something is missing. Not a fan of Babe at all. The acting looks like acting. Billy is a great actor, but for this pairing just did not work. The side cast was great and the costumes were lovely. It a fun series, but felt lacking in story and slo at some parts then felt rushed. I hope Babe grows more. I know this is his first role but I just did not feel the chemistry and I am sure lots are going to say the opposite but then they are reading into the fandom that people love.

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