I know, I might be one of the only people in this universe who don’t really like Love By Chance.
Yes, it’s an unpopular opinion these days and I get it. People are passionate about this show and the more I heard them going on about this, the more I thought that maybe I made a mistake by dismissing it so early on.
I mean, yes, I watched the whole show when it came out, but maybe, just maybe, I might have missed something… So what does a good BL lover do? Yes, you go and watch the whole damn thing AGAIN… (Well, having the flu currently is also another factor. I have soo much time on my hands right now, it’s ridiculous)…
And what can I say? It changed my mind slightly. I still think that the side couples were just really irrelevant. Yes, I love Mark to bits (he looks so edgy with his new hair and… Well, anyway… *Tries to concentrate again*), but this whole Techno and Kengkla disaster was absolutely garbage.
The storyline with the brothers again made me want to pull my hair out. If you want to tackle such a sensitive topic allow more time for it. I mean, how can you get a storyline so complicated that it should really have its own show (falling in love with your STEPbrother, rape, the whole thing about best friends, ex-boyfriends, LDR and whatever) and make it like a tiny side story? I don’t get it. Yes, it’s in the novel, but as a director you have a choice if you still put it in or leave it. I would have left it, as there was no chance in hell they could have given it enough time to give justice to it.
Let’s move over to Tin/Can, everyone’s favourite at the moment, it seems. I am not mad about their storyline. Again it could have had more time, but that’s fine with me. They were a proper good side couple and I felt for Tin. I think in the beginning his acting was a bit stiff, but once you know the reason for the character’s behaviour you can even understand the stiffness and see that it’s not lacking acting abilities, but rather the opposite.
But let’s move on to the whole reason, why I am writing this long ass thing here: Ae and Pete.
When I watched it the first time, I really loved Ae (Perth is a cute as a button and I am biased, I know), but found him almost a bit too pushy. And don’t get me started on Pete. I found him annoying as hell. Letting everyone push him around and this voice… Don’t get me started on this whiny voice. I almost felt like he was some form of a retard.
So for everyone who is right now ready to lift their pitchforks and torches up and want to go for the kill, please stay with me. Because there might have been a bit of a love at second sight going on here…. And because I am a grown ass woman I can admit when I was wrong. And I was wrong!
Watching it the second time around I made some discoveries that really changed my perspective. The first time around watching LBC it felt like Ae was the driving force and Pete was the innocent little lamb going along for the ride. But I guess, I got this really wrong.
Because for me this show is really about a boy (Ae) who falls in love for the first time and tries to navigate this new situation to the best of his abilities. He is not getting it always right, but that’s expectable. He is young, he is in love for the first time. We all got this shit wrong the first time around.
And I was wrong about Pete as well. I am not sure if having watched more Thai shows now then I had, when I watched LBC the first time around helped, but I could actually understand his tone of voice and his whole demeanor a lot better. And he is not an innocent little lamb. Yes, he might come across like that due to his cute face and him being in general quiet a gentle character.
But he is actually the one who has the experience. He was in love before (Trump and god knows who else), he is sure about his sexuality and has been for a while. He knows what he wants (Ae) and he goes for it. Yes, again, he makes mistakes and he has his own insecurities (the whole Chompoo disaster comes to mind, but he just wanted to protect Ae. Again he is actually playing the active part here).
But even when it comes to sex he is actually the driving force. Not Ae. He knows what he is doing and he is really not this innocent lamb people see in him. And I have to comment Saint for his acting abilities here.
I mean he plays a shy, rather submissive character, who falls in love with someone who has no clue about love and relationships in general. Yes, Ae has the potential to be the more dominant part of the relationship. But for that Pete actually needs to push him in the right direction, even though he is the more submissive one. (Gosh, I really hope that this makes sense to anyone) And to play this struggle so brilliantly, really blew my mind….
To end this whole little blog, let me just say one more thing: I am still not madly in love with LBC. I don’t think I ever will, as it just didn’t click the first time around. But I have to acknowledge the greatness that is this show. The main couple is an extremely good storyline with a lot of fine nuances that we rarely get to see in BL.
And I guess for that I have to say it has been love at second sight for me. Especially when it comes to the acting. I am sure I am going to follow whatever Perth and Saint are going to do from here out.
And maybe, just maybe I might watch LBC again… Just for fun and the fluffy feeling it gives you…
Your Heart's Content 