#and without a super ooc moment like tine sarawat breaking up in 2gether for dumb reasons)

[mejomonster]

I still need to watch the very last ep of bad buddy but from the spoilers ive seen, my opinion on the show pretty much remains the same: it's a Romeo x Romeo thai bl romcom overall, with a grounded plot when it comes to the main two characters relationship and personal struggles especially with their family. In the grounded regard? I personally loved that, because I prefer a bit more realistic arcs I relate to and can feel the weight of (but it means not all sunshine roses if u prefer Just romcom). In the romcom regard? It has enough to maintain an overall optimistic tone that makes it comforting to watch, funny, makes some setups over the top unrealistic like their toxic families and friends being Ridiculously Fantastically Rivals (so expect the side stuff to move plot/themes/comedy rather than be grounded and fleshed out on its own right), and means there's still thai bl romcom tropes galore (which I found worked for me better because a grounded long term secret-friends to teen crushes to lovers story was being told With those tropes, and that emotional arc felt realistic as someone who went thru something similar and can relate to parents expectations hurting you growing up). So like. For me it was a mix of typical romcom bl meets something with a bit more weight in the romance/growing up with expectations part.

For tropes it didn't do anything like groundbreaking, it did do a LOT of tropes that felt right with the chemistry and played with expectations a bit. Whats mainly cool about its tropes usage is just it was mainly executed in a way where the couple felt equal, the individuals didnt feel boxed into a mold, and the way queer identity was handled was respectful, which are all nice things to see and I hope it's a trend. The show also went a nice direction with no real 3rd party situation even tho a similar trope shows up, no real breakup out of character, and side ship being a gl couple.

So like? Does it offer any plot I haven't seen other shows do. No. I've seen my gear and your gown do teen crushes/friends to lovers, theory of love also does a version of friends to lovers (WAY more seriously and angst with internal conflicts, whereas bad buddy's conflicts are mainly external toxic pressures on them so it's lighter hearted in some ways), I've seen enemies to lovers of a similar style in Why R U and Dark Blue Kiss. What makes Bad Buddys plot stand out to me is it starts years into the relationship (unlike many which start from the beginning of meeting), is acted phenomenally (could not have gotten better chemistry leads that add so much depth to the relationship so it feels like it really has been Their Whole Lives together), has a ton of the fun tropes you look for in a Thai bl romcom in a lighthearted way (think 2gether but more character depth/serious family expectation and character themes, theory of love but way less angst/heavy tone), executes those tropes in a generally forward way.

Pat and prans personal arcs felt very relatable to my own experiences and I appreciated that part of the story being mundane and grounded and handled with weight. This show fit my niche of the rare romcom I can click with.

#bad buddy #bad buddy lb #like? to me it does nothing new byt it Offers multiple good things in one package #like for me? i love theory of love but i appreciate bad buddy for an external conflict instead #pat and pran dont need to grow much. they need to learn how to make their lives accept them #and sometimes u want a story about tyat specific struggle instead of a struggle Between the friends #or i liked 2gether. but its all fluff. all romcom. i prefer grounded weighty character stuff in my shows #so bad buddy fits a particular niche (then also like. its wrlll made #its tight so not draggy like my gear and your gown #and without a super ooc moment like tine sarawat breaking up in 2gether for dumb reasons) #i dont think bad buddy was Somrthing revolutionary or new #but i can also say im happy it succeeds in multiole areas decently well #for my personal tastes #i also really appreciate the actors efforts put in