Crash landing 2gether

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‘It is amusing to be sure. The pranks of some of the characters together with appropriate sound effects raise a chuckle or two. Actually, more. And during these times I’d welcome anything that would elicit a chuckle out of me other than hearing the name ‘Duque.’’

THIS pandemic has turned a lot of us into “addicts” of foreign television shows. I have to admit that I am a late comer to these but have joined the bandwagon. On my list, there was the Korean Crash Landing on You (aka CLOY), which swept the country earlier this year. There was the Thai movie “Friend Zone,” perfect for romantics who believe that love triumphs in the end. Project S, about a high school volleyball team, was also cute. And just recently another friend introduced me to another Thai series, 2gether.

This was the series that had some folks in social media raving about “BrightWin,” the joint nickname given to the two lead stars known by their Anglicized nicknames Bright (Vachirawit Chivaree ) and Win (Metawin Opas -iamkajorn).

Without wishing to be a spoiler, Win (who plays the character Tine in the series) was a “chick boy” who was being pursued by Green, a gay schoolmate. In his desire to repel the latter’s advances, Tine (pronounced as Tie) agrees with the plan cooked up by his barkada (Fong, Ohm and Phuak) to ask a famous guitar player and band member named Sarawat or Wat (played by Bright) to pretend to be his boyfriend, since Green wouldn’t feel threatened by a girlfriend.

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You can already imagine the mix of laughter, shock and yes, even “kilig,” with a storyline like that. No wonder there was such a craze (that I barely noticed myself until someone explained to me what BrigthWin was). And that’s why I decided, just like I did with CLOY, to see for myself what the whole fuss was all about.

Oh — I also induced my officemates Lira and Lester to watch the series. Lira, after seeing the first episode, remarked “pambata naman!” making me realize why I liked it. But she continues to follow the series and now seems to have a crush on Tine.

Lester has seen the 13 episodes for the second time and is on to Season 2. “Addict na ako,” he says — putting himself at risk for EJK.

What can I say about the series?

It is amusing to be sure. The pranks of some of the characters together with appropriate sound effects raise a chuckle or two. Actually, more. And during these times I’d welcome anything that would elicit a chuckle out of me other than hearing the name “Duque.”

The storyline is very Thai in the sense that it deals with a topic the CBCP will frown upon — what’s called BL, or Boy’s Love. Sarawat plays his role to the hilt to the extent that Tine starts to feel uneasy and worried that rumors that they are “together” might impact his being a “chick boy.” Remembering how the CBCP almost excommunicated the producers of “My Husband’s Lover” (TomDen, remember?) I wonder if someone from the mainstream would again dare produce a TV series or even a movie with a storyline like this.
Maybe have a good bishop as a central character for good measure?

But it’s also an eye opener of sorts in the sense that it is just another foreign show in a long list of foreign shows that are expanding our understanding of the world beyond our 7,100 islands (how many are left anyway?). CLOY gave me a glimpse (fictional as it was) of life in North Korea; 2gether gives me a glimpse of Thai high school life which, admittedly, has some parallels to some parts of the pranks-filled life I had at UP High.

I’m also amused at the numerous product placements — from glutathione (taken by Tine who is already, naturally, so fair skinned!), to soft drinks and milk and even Line the social media app.

But am I addicted like Lester? Depends on how you define that. No, I haven’t seen the series a second time. I’m back to Dynasty and the Carringtons and it’s exciting now because Alexis Carrington has resurfaced to complicate the already complicated lives of Blake and Cristal and Fallon and Steven.

Oh. But I now sing three songs of Scrubb, the band that sings the OST of 2gether.
And sing them (murder them, actually) in Thai.

Chun ruk ter, Chang MawMaw. Chai chai!

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