Some GMMTV pairings don’t work, while others are a match made out of heaven. My Love Mix-Up! proves that Fourth (Nattawat Jirochtikul) and Gemini (Norawit Titicharoenrak) are a perfect pairing.
Given the right material — and they’ve been lucky so far to get the right material — they knock it out of the park, allowing them to shine individually and together.
Gemini plays the clueless lead perfectly. His stoic nature can make him appear mean and scary, but he also seems soft.
Fourth plays the radiant lead, whose charisma is easy to gravitate towards. His knack for physical comedy is unmatched, and he comes second to none when it comes to playing the lovelorn.
My Love Mix-Up! plays to their strengths beautifully, and by the end of Episode 1, who’s not ready to click next?
The Premise
The episode introduces the show’s premise where there is a love mix-up between three characters.
Atom likes Mudmee, Mudmee likes Kongthap, and Kongthap doesn’t like anyone, but he is intrigued by Atom.
There were some reservations about this storyline in My Love Mix-Up! because of the BL trope of the “straight guy” who only likes one man, but thankfully, we’ve moved away from that.
Another concern was that the female character would be used as a tool to advance the plot between the main couple, forgetting that they also have feelings and can be easily abused.
In setting up the premise, the show balances exploring their feelings well, never sidelining one character and respecting their feelings.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the boys will become canon (otherwise, why are we here?), but there is a test ahead for the show that one hopes they don’t fail.
With Mudmee, she might be disappointed that Kongthap doesn’t share her feelings. One course of action is they play into the crazy girl who doesn’t let the gays live happily ever after, or she’ll become their biggest champion.
The Mix-Up
The biggest test for the episode is developing the triangle and the arising mix-up. If they had failed, they’d have lost us before the show went further.
Having a male-female romance interest in a BL is a risk, but it offers the show the opportunity to be gender diverse.
It is also an opportunity to introduce a queer male character who is not necessarily gay. But even if they decide that both Atom and Kongthap are gay, there is nothing wrong with that.
GMMTV can get tunnel-visioned into formulaic narratives, and anything that breaks the mold deserves to be applauded — like two boys who like each other without the heteronormativity baggage. Hi, Only Boo!
The show surely earns its title because, at some point, it is confusing how the feelings were supposed to be. That’s truly a mix-up!
The Performances
With a script that plays to their strengths, My Love Mix-Up propels Gemini and Fourth. Anyone who has followed their work can attest to feeling like we’re in the My School President days.
It is easy to believe that Kongthap has never had feelings for anyone because he missed Mudmee’s crush on him.
He mistakes Atom’s behavior for him having feelings and talks about missing the mark! Or did he?
It is unclear if Atom has always had feelings for Kongthap, but if he didn’t before, he now does. He experiences Kongthap’s kindness first hand and who doesn’t love kind people?
Atom, that’s who. Someone who’s that nice might unknowingly make you develop feelings for him. The pain is real when he tells Kongthap to stop being nice because Atom doesn’t like it.
The Vibe
My Love Mix-Up is not exactly something different for GMMTV. It is not Only Friends or Friendzone (by the way, there is no bias towards shows with “friend” in their name).
It is something familiar, and that’s the beauty of it. It’s not too familiar, but you can anticipate how everything will play out. The fun is in watching it play out.
The show’s premise and acting are not too out there. It is entertaining and worth following — at least for now.
Stray Observations
- Time is running out for Gemini and Fourth to play high schoolers. They looked the part in My School President, but the boyish features are no longer present. A university series would do them good.
- Is Gemini Bilkin’s (Putthipong Assaratanakul) younger brother? They are beginning to resemble each other as if one could swear they are related.
- At this point, accepting that GMMTV will never not add jokes to their shows is the best course of action. While physical comedy or the sound effects can be a hit or miss, the lines are just top-tier. So, here are the top 3
Half: Gosh! I wish I weren’t this hot.
We can’t relate.
Kongthap: Gosh, he’s so smitten with me.
No, he isn’t!
Kongthap: Don’t go suicidal over something so little.
Oh, that’s not —
Episode 1 succeeds in luring us into the story, and that’s really all it needs to do.
Rating: 8/10