• This is a rollicking coming of age BL romantic-comedy that offers laughs and lots of romantic moments.
• It tells the story of a girl-crazy college freshman who’s finds himself being chased by a persistent admirer and thus he plans to convince campus heartthrob to pretend to be his boyfriend. A not very well though out plan that inevitably leads to love.

Rating: 4/5 stars

If you have been present anywhere on social media lately, you would have assuredly come across a photo, a video edit or social media posts on what is currently Thailand’s biggest television show.

2gether: the series is the most recent release by Thailand’s GMMTV and follows a succession of very well received boys love (BL) centered television dramas.

The drama itself is a fairly benign story about two first year university students, Sarawat played by Vachirawit Chivaaree, also known as Bright and Tine played by rookie Metawin Opasiamkajor who find themselves in “faux” relationship which is intended to ward away Tine’s very enthusiastic suitor, Green.

If you have ever watched a Thai BL drama you would be quick to realize that this plot is not a new one. However, 2gether: the series revitalizes this well used script by employing an adorably awkward and oblivious Tine who hunts after campus celebrity and fellow freshman Sarawat in his attempt to use him as something of a lucky charm.

The hi-jinks that ensue as a result of Tine’s pursuit, the notoriously bad advice offered by Tine’s group of friends, the excruciatingly cheesy yet pleasant one-liners dropped by Sarawat who’s love for Tine is obvious to everyone but Tine, ensures that this drama is a fun time. With well scripted comedic points and enough pink bubble moments to have your inner fangirl squealing 2gether: the series offers a great way to spend an hour on Fridays. 

Well aware of its capabilities, 2gether: the series does not out-rightly seek to push the envelope on the conversation on LGBTQ+ rights and experiences in Thailand but nevertheless provides a way to tell a lighthearted coming-of-age story and an LGBTQ+ college romance in a manner that heterosexual rom-coms take for granted. As an additional bonus the story has largely stayed away from the problematic portrayals of gay characters which have been seen in similar past BL productions such as TharnType and Together with me that spectacularly fail to explore the nuances of homo-erotic love.

The reception to Bright and Win’s portrayal of Sarawat and Tine has been enormous across Asia and even internationally. The first episode of 2gether: the series has achieved over 5 million views on GMMTV’s YouTube channel and the stars, who have the usual good looks that have become the hallmark of Thai BL shows, have been catapulted into idol status.

Nevertheless, the broadcast of this drama has not been without its problems. Last week, Bright was compelled to apologize on Twitter for a liking a tweet that listed Hong Kong as a country contradicting china’s political stance on the issue. The matter was further exacerbated when Bright’s alleged significant other retweeted a post containing inaccurate comments about Wuhan and the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a result, Chinese netizens have led a boycott of the drama with related hashtags on the matter acquiring more than 4.64 billion views and over 1.44 million posts on China’s Weibo.

Source: [1], [2]

Episode 9 of 2gether: the series will be broadcast on GMMTV and on YouTube this Friday.

Let us know in the comments what you think about the series and if you will be watching.  

Review: 4/5 stars

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