I re-watched Episodes 1-2 of Love in the Air to get me into ‘high gear’ for the much-awaited Episode 3. Did Love in the Air already fly into the skies or has it crashed land on your monitor?

Imagine adrenaline-rushy motorcycle racers in Thailand pursuing young boys. With this premise, we have Love in the Air, the latest BL endeavor from the wildly imaginative and fierce writer MAME (Yup! She who created Lovesick and TharnType).

Synopsis

The live-action adaptation of MAME’s Love in the Air (from Love Sky and Love Storm) is a boys’ love battleground with plenty of teasing, aggressive behaviors, and unpredictable mindsets. Conflict and sexual tension go hand in hand with our main couple (and presumably with the side couple too!) and here we have a pretentious underling and a sympathetic master/benefactor.

Two pairs of friends, two love affairs. Rain (Noeul Nuttarat) and Sky (Peat Wasuthorn) find themselves in trouble and end up meeting Phayu (Boss Chaikamon) and Prapai (Fort Thitipong), who proposed to keep them safe, but at what cost?

Considered the main couple. Features Boss Chaikamon (23) as the attractive-aggressive but emphatic and generous Phayu, and Noeul Nuttarat as Rain, an opportunist-innocent-pretender kid (described elsewhere as a simple-minded person) with a conflicting mindset.

Absolute BL says both are Architecture students – Phayu, being the senior.

Side couple CEO jock/nerd pairing. Peat Wasuthorn (25 but looks 18) is Sky, the nerdy boy and Rain’s friend. Obviously, the jean-jacket guy is the CEO, named Prapai, a character played by Fort Thitipong (21).

Review [Spoiler Free]

Viewers – in watching Love in the Air – must forego certain logic and delve into the minds of either Rain/Sky or Phayu/Prapai. Unless you do so, you won’t enjoy the show.

After Episode 3, here’s the thing:

As the kitten continues to get into his high-stake game of pretend, the actor playing Rain (Noeul Nuttarat), unfortunately, has not had enough gravitas to be convincing. While our tiger (Boss Chaikamon) continues to roar (like a tiger yup!) and exudes a certain level of macho and bravado. Yet, the handsome tiger has such a mild-looking face to exert the look of power.

  • Using mind-fuck, MAME appears to confuse viewers and render them trigger-conscious of certain emotions like fear, insecurity, letdown, frustration, inspiration, pretense, and even love and a whole bunch of others. The mind-fuck mode could have been better if the actors were properly motivated. I’m not impressed, yet I gravitate towards Boss Chaikamon (the best performer among the cast). While he does appear gentle for a roaring tiger (who employs a light touch of blackmail) he can look fierce;
  • The kitten – failing at school to submit within the deadline – goes overboard as he drenches himself in the rain (pun intended) waiting for the tiger, and wants to go home just as the tiger returns from work. That’s classic mind-fuck for you! Did I like it, you bet! I’m after the love play, silly;
  • Stupid means cute, and that in itself is mind-fuck for you;
  • Some comparisons were made with Kinn-Porsche from a certain clique, yet it’s a bit premature for now. I still want the characters to grow on me;
  • But I do expect a better dramatic flow and character development. Right now, they don’t.
Boss Chaikamon plays Phayu, while Noeul Nuttarat is Rain in a pivotal scene in Love in the Air | Me Mind Y

Episodes 1-2 center on the Rain-Phayu dynamics. And boy, what do we have here? After the initial air-view of Bangkok’s modern infrastructure, and a Fast-and-Furious inspired racing arena (complete with racing enthusiasts), we go directly to the heart of the series.

  • Rain and Sky – race track crashers, get into trouble. Phayu and Prapai, to their rescue. On-screen chemistry is set on high gear;
  • Rain tends to encounter Phayu (as if by chance) and stares at him;
  • Rain asked for help (his car broke down in the rain!), and Phayu obliges – even allowing the rain-soaked lad to dry himself, take a shower, and sleep – courtesy of Phayu’s hospitality;
  • Rain’s car – the key to entering Phayu’s private space – gets repaired;
  • Phayu lets Rain drive his car away (without asking for payment);
  • Phayu went to school and begins his ‘quest’ for collection.

All of these are done with plenty of sexual tension and teasing. Apparently, Phayu is aware of Rain’s conscious effort to get noticed. While pretending to be an innocent bystander, Rain assumes he can get away with anything – such arrogance!

Rain – while feigning innocence – is guilty of pursuing Phayu, just as Phayu begins to fall for Rain. While inviting his guest to rest for the night, Rain (in all candor) refuses to sleep beside his benefactor. Hours later, he lay beside him and sneaked in. Are you with me so far?

So, it’s all about who’ll give in first – will the kitten (Rain) have his way or will the tiger (Phayu) devour the kitten?

This is a continuous coverage of the Thai BL series Love in the Air. News and updates will be posted when it becomes available.