Till the World Ends Review: It’s a Slow Burn

Review of Episode 1

Till the World Ends probably has the most unique plot in a BL series. It is a film series by  Aam Anusorn Soisa-ngim. As the title suggests it is about the events that lead up to doomsday or the end of the world, in the life of the main characters. You can say this is a science fiction, set in a pre-apocalyptic, dystopian world. This is my review and thoughts on the first episode of Till the World Ends.

We are watching a narrative here, which is set during the twelve days leading up to doomsday. Everything is gloomy and silent in the beginning. The pacing is extremely slow. It seems like there are not many people in that world. But, this sort of slow, silent execution is intentional and it works really well when the protagonist bursts towards the end of the episode. The pacing is intentionally slow in the beginning, as it gradually increases to explode at the end. As the unique plot itself, the series is executed very uniquely.

It seems very dystopian too because everything seems to be under the control of the state. But people are going on with their daily lives, with an obvious fear of the doomsday. Some people believe it to be a hoax. There is a sense of impending danger, but everything looks normal.

The title is very interesting because it may not be just the literal end of the world. The death of a person can mean that the world has come to an end for him/her. Or may be it is about the end of a relationship. Or it could be a total change in someone’s character. It is also interesting that the main character here is a medical student who chooses that profession to help people. How far does the protagonist value life here? Will the flaws in his character lead him to take a life or save a life? Till the World Ends is undoubtedly well-written.

The first episode is titled, “Bad Guy” which could be representing the protagonist (or may be the whole mankind, because in a space of danger we do not know who would be good or bad). But, he is not our conventional, classic, glorified bad guy. He is just as complicated and flawed as a character can be, internally. He is not likeable and we would want to punch him in some scenes. This is a very interesting characterization for a protagonist, especially in a BL series.

It does not look like the character here is thinking through his actions. He is very impulsive and probably has some mental health issues. He is broken and yearns for love and approval. Best Anavil Chartton is impeccable as Golf. He brings in a varied range of emotions to the character and has given a very nuanced performance. Art Pakpoom Juanchainat does not appear in many scenes in the first episode, but he shows some spunk.

Till the World Ends rests mainly on the writing and direction by Aam Anusorn. This series is unlike watching any other BL series and definitely has some artistic and creative potential.