Looking back at Bad Buddy: Celebrates 1 year anniversary!

The whole Boys Love universe is like a poltergeist that haunts those who try to escape. But why would they? The world outside is violent and apathetic. Inside the BL world, it’s a safe haven, and watching these light, sweet, and fluffy series can be addictive.

One particular drug is called ‘Bad Buddy’.

Introduction

Bad Buddy is arguably not just a drug that keeps you high. It can be your conscience or a point of remembrance, of love lost and found, or friendship discovered. Bad Buddy is many things to different people. For me, Bad Buddy exemplifies a relationship and what someone can do and offer to another person. It becomes more than just a show. It becomes a personal and beloved memory.

It goes beyond a mere legitimate source of entertainment.

I mean, I love Ohm Pawat! He’s my epitome of what a Boys Love main character should look like, act like, and be like. While there are plenty of new, fresh Thai actors venturing into BL, there is only one Ohm Pawat. The second I learned that Nanon Korapat will be his co-star, I was ecstatic. Nanon, for the most part, has yet to venture into BL, and to act together with Ohm is delightful!

ADVERTISEMENT

Bad Buddy Celebrates 1 year!

Celebrating this BL masterpiece takes me to the discovery of friends. These photos make the celebration doubly special because South Korean fans are celebrating with Ohm and Nanon physically present. [Cover photo courtesy of Ohm Pawat’s Korean fanclub]

Trailer

After 2Together and He’s Coming to Me, I would say that Bad Buddy-แค่เพื่อนครับเพื่อน has become such a personal bias.

GMM artists are quite competitive and many are award-winning, so to have two of the most in-demand actors in one BL series is already a treat.

Synopsis

Like the age-old tale of Romeo and Juliet, Bad Buddy alters the narrative by changing the romantic leads. Pran (Nanon Korapat) and Pat (Ohm Pawat) are neighbors. Their parents hate each other’s guts and compete on both business and personal levels. Their animosity sprinkles down to the sons, thus Pran and Pat can’t be friends. At school, the rivalry extends towards both academic and sporty endeavors.

Yet, friendship has its way of moving unconsciously toward people who deserve it. While the parents continue to wrangle over petty issues, the sons are daring to become more than just friends. Is it worth it? [Synopsis © Psycho-Weird]

Review

My first impressions have been one of mixed emotions:

  • The production team took great efforts to present details that may not be too obvious at the first run. That’s why the series requires more than just a first view;
  • The acting is solid. BL fans keep on saying to almost all the BL actors working together that there is ‘chemistry’. The fact remains, there is little chemistry with most actors. It takes time, it takes practice. It takes magic. In the case, of Ohm-Nanon, the chemistry is quite obvious that it’s no longer a point of discussion, but a point of reference;
  • The cute, romantic scenes were above standard (which means OK in terms of GMMTV BL series);
  • The scenes that hit me hard are the intense, confrontational yet reconciliatory types;
  • Nanon Korapat is so good when he cries! I thought Ohm Pawat masters being the ‘tear-jerker’ king, yet Nanon proves he can do the same with much aplomb;
  • No one can beat a series with 12 or more episodes, fans can start interacting with fellow fans, invade YouTube chats, join FaceBook groups, go crazy on Twitter or just sneak around actors’ Instagram.

While Bright Vachirawit and Win Metawin commanded the TV-internet wave in their 2Gether The Series, what makes Ohm-Nanon quite competitive as well are (1) on-screen chemistry (2) intensity (3) dramatic prowess that both Bright and Win can’t match. Of course, many may disagree with me – but how Nanon and Ohm delivered their lines and how they dive into their characters are simply exceptional. No trace of ‘amateurism’ or tentativeness.

Bad Buddy Series is special precisely because the acting is so real, so cute and so intense that it left fans with such lasting impressions.

Bad Buddy: Favorite scenes

So many – the confession at the school stairs is exhilarating and romantic! The rooftop kissing scenes are intense and all the points were driven! Just having Nanon offer food while Ohm takes it in makes this series noteworthy.

  • Episode 1 may appear full of cliché, yet the story – the logic of it – is grounded as it is anticipated;
  • Episodes 4-5 offer Pat and Pran’s points of view, revealing to viewers their state of mind;
  • Episodes 8-9 are major highlights (getting caught on stage!) and are watchable again and again.
  • The final 2 episodes are also quite memorable and even unpredictable, yet there is genuine sadness and enviable excitement in their relationship – which can only be described as ‘electric’.

Episodic reviews can further my narrative. Currently we have Ep2 | Ep3 | Ep 4-5

Why Fans Can’t Move On

I think the right question is: Why would fans move on? When you love someone, you don’t stop loving them because they’re no longer beside you. The same goes for something as mundane as a Boys Love series – you know YouTube is just a click away!

I don’t want to write longer than necessary, yet I don’t want to stop watching the series just because it has already ended.

← Previous post

Next post →

2 Comments

  1. Perhaps the real life chemistry of OhmNanon found its way into the lives of Pat and Pran. Would anyone be talking about this series with words like “electric” and “masterpiece” if two others were in the lead roles? Some series have been rather lame because the leads could not act.
    While the Bad Buddy series lingers in our minds, we have the anticipation that Pat and Pran will be back, if only for one more episode.

  2. I have been watching again for an article to post in advance of Our Skyy 2. Yes, after watching so many times I have spotted all the little inconsistencies and plot issues. Upon further review I believe this work to be a masterpiece. Credit goes to the only two actors who could be Pat and Pran as well as the director and writers. Ohm Pawat and Nanon Korapat prove over and over why they are two of the best at GMM.

Let us know what you think!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.