Another Typical BL Series: Love in the Air Thai Series Review

Love in the Air is your typical BL series which is created to entertain the BL fandom. The first episode is cute but is not without problems. There are some problematic elements which cannot be overlooked. The series is adapted from two novels by Mame (the writer of Tharn Type) Love Storm and Love Sky. I was not really a fan of Tharn Type because the series was so problematic. So, this is a review of Love in the Air where I try to decode the positives and negatives of the series (based on the first episode) and you can decide whether to watch it or not.

The Positives

1. The Cast

From what I have seen from the first episode casting is on point for the series. All the actors are good especially, Noeul Nuttarat Tangwai who plays the role of Rain. He adds innocence and cuteness to the character of Rain and it is a pleasure watching him on screen. His minute expressions are really charming.

2. The Cinematography

The series is visually spectacular and there is an undeniably brilliant camera work. Especially the scenes in the dark involving rain (the actual rain not the character) are breathtakingly good. The opening shot would not have been this good if not for the cinematographic brilliance.

3. The Music

The music is surprisingly good. It is not great but it’s still good. It is very rare to find good music in a BL series. The music, especially the background score is really good here.

The Negatives

1. Love and Consent

This is the main problem with lots of BL series. Tharn Type also had such issues (not minor issues; it was basically toxicity glorified as love). Even with verbal and non-verbal cues, the main character here cannot take no for an answer and he insists on saying that he was seduced.

2. Characterization and Writing

The problems lies mainly in Rain’s character. He is this naive, cute guy but his cuteness is often synonymous with dumbness. It is pathetic that be it a woman or man, writers are still resorting to making them dumb so that they will be ‘cute.’ Then obviously, Payu who is the stereotype of a BL hero, the handsome smart guy bad guy. It is such a dated concept. And Payu is the epitome of toxicity.

There is a lack of clarity in writing which seems to have lots of gaps. Rain’s naivety sometimes becomes homophobic; even though he says he is not, we cannot truly believe him. The innocence is a bit messed up here. And we do not know for sure what Rain is thinking most of the time. Sometimes, we feel like if he is actually dumb or pretending to be dumb.

Read the synopsis here:https://mydramalist.com/56933-love-storm

As I said in the beginning of the review, this is a series created for the BL fandom. It is still too soon to give a verdict on this one because only one episode is aired. I hope to see some kind of character development in the upcoming episodes. If it continues to be like the first episode then, it is basically like Tharn Type. All I can say is that it is packed up as a complete entertainer (It could be outright toxic or it could at least start a conversation).

Love In The Air teaser
byu/manicnimrod inboyslove