Majorly triggering elements used as tropes

Just a little note before you start reading this lengthy rant:
This review is written for the purpose of explaining why I seem to rate it so low when other people have rated it so high. There are major spoilers as I explain plot points into detail and why exactly I hated them so much.
Do not read this if you haven't watched the drama yet, you should still make your own opinion of it beforehand. Then, if you want, you can read this.
Whether or not you agree with me, I will be happy to politely discuss and debate the series with you.
Thank you.

Trigger warning: cens*red mentions of g*ng/male r*pe.

I have debated writing this review for a while now but decided to just go for it in the end because it's just on my mind all the time and I just want to move on for good.

So, where do I even start with it? I'll explain my rating in a few points below. Some little bits addressed in those points can deduct 0.5pt while the major ones deducted up to 2pts.

1. Way too many characters.

If the drama was going to address the relationship of so many different characters, why make it only 14 episodes? Even better: if the show was only going to be 14 episodes long, then why telling the story of so many characters? Plus the final episode, though very lengthy compared to the previous 13, hardly gives any closure to any pairings at all.
Sure, Tin and Can have their own season (which, I've heard, is terrible), and TharnType have their own series (which I was enjoying until about episode 3 for the same reason as my third point), but the others just felt rushed to me. Even Pete and Ae who just... live happily ever after? I was honestly hoping to see more drama happening between those two, especially since they're presented as the 'main pairing' from the trailer and plot summary.
Also I kinda wanted to see more of Pond and Cha-Am. Just because it's BL doesn't mean straights don't exist anymore.

Which can bring me to my next point. The next two points, actually, as they are slightly linked together.

2. The triggers.
3. Using those as tropes.

— Incest. Saying they're half-brothers right at the end of the show doesn't suddenly make it okay. To all people without siblings, it's time to put it in the bin-cest please!

— G*ng r*pe. And using male r*pe as a trop in many, many BL drama (I see you, fanfics, in any fandom). Here's a quick disclaimer for you: it's NOT okay. Yes, it's a very traumatic experience, and it shapes the character and gives reason for his behaviour towards his older brother and his fear of falling in love, but the reason it was explained in the drama just made it feel like a trope, which I don't find okay. And again, with all the other characters to focus on, it didn't really make me empathise with him at all.
Sure, I cried when he finally confessed it to his brother, because, as I said, it is an extremely traumatic experience and no one ever should have to go through that. But the comforting period was just way too short in my opinion. They could have made it so much better. If you want to make your characters suffer to make the viewers cry in horror and shock, at least develop the aftermath a little more.
Instead he just went back to France after a little hug and that's it. What was even the point of making him come back to Thailand? It was okay just seeing the two brothers chat online.
Earth's performance was top notch though, as usual. (No, I am not biased...)

— Taking advantage of a drunk guy and then playing the victim card. Ah, yes, maybe my favourite of the lot. Raise your hand if you can't stand Kangkla! From the minute he was introduced to the show, he was just forgettable. I never bothered to remember his name (I had to look at the cast list to get it in my review) and his character in general is just... nope. I hated him just that much more whenever he was on-screen.
And Technic is just as bad, helping his friend make a move on his brother without seeming bothered. Then there's Techno. Sweet, uuhh, stupid? Yes, he's an airhead (so much better in TharnType) who agrees to be the boyfriend of the guy who practically assaulted him! Kangkla had the nerve to blame No afterwards to get what he wanted. That, everyone, is the definition of a toxic relationship.

4. The shippers. Also, Shampoo (sorry not sorry about that).
Why. Are. They. So. Hardcore! In nearly all Thai BL Drama I've watched, there will be fangirls who love shipping two good-looking guys together. And, coincidentally, those guys either end up together or are at least interested in other guys. I am generally uncomfortable when real people are shipped together (isn't enjoying the bromance enough?) so when Lay asked her brother for pictures of Tin and Pete together because they were her OTP, I got fed up with her. Pity, because I really enjoyed her character until then. And Can said nothing about that!
Chompoo refers to herself in 3rd person, and others might have found that cute. So did I the first few times. And then she was just there. Saying she loved Ae because he helped her get her bag. Kept being clueless about how little she meant to him. And then she just disappeared. We never heard of her again. Poof, gone as soon as Pete and Ae officially get together. Bye-bye, good riddance, you won't be missed. Wait, who were you again? Forgettable.

Speaking of disappearances, that brings me to my fifth and final point.

5. Trump. No, not the former president.
I thought he would be the bad guy throughout the series. Like, he wouldn't just go away after being punched a few times and then getting a little bit of money from his victim. Instead he was just there to create a little drama in the first two episodes before noping away. I get why he had to, as explained in the show, but he could have been showed more, especially in the last episode. What happened to him? Did he get caught and is in jail? Or did the people he owed money to get him first and beat him up or worse? He was just a bad character written very badly. Also he made it a point to bother only Pete while there are so many other rich kids in that school, as stated several times by Tin.

I guess I could mention a few minor points while I'm at it.

a) Stopping in front of the camera to show your sad or conflicted little face, only to say nothing and going away anyway. I get that it's done for cinematic and drama effect, but it's just unrealistic and annoying when done so many times for so long.

b) Saying all your thoughts out loud. Voice-overs are okay and used in other dramas. Why not do it there, too?

c) I've already mentioned the straights but let me do it again here: they are okay. We promise no one is going to hate them, we are a more open-minded society, heterophobes won't be too much of a problem.

I have mentioned TharnType a few times as well, but I don't think I actually like it, either. Not after episode 3, as said earlier. Let me briefly explain here. If you don't want to read about them you can just skip this section, since the review is not originally for this drama.

(Also note that this doesn't count towards the rating of LBC. This is just pure ranting about something I thought I would enjoy given how much people talk about it and how well they rate it.)

Triggers. Again. And done badly, too.

It is explained in the first episode that Type hates gays. It is also said in the first episode that Tharn is gay. Later on, you learn the reason for Type's way of thinking (he suffered abuse from a man when he was a child) and it makes sense. Then, of course, since the series is called TharnType, you kinda know they get together eventually.

But not this early, and not this way.

Wanting to overcome a trauma is one thing. Facing it by just going for it is another. Wanting to repay a debt is something else entirely. Look at Tar: he still has philophobia at the end of LBC, he doesn't suddenly overcome his trauma by hugging his brother twice.

Type, on the other hand, seems to completely forget that when he initiates the relationship (because yes, he's the one who said he wanted to have s*x with Tharn out of the blue). The first time, I let it slide, because he was still nervous, and the situation was obviously different than when he was a kid. But then they did it again? Like, Type said they'd only do it once and then he asks for it again? It doesn't make any sense at all.

The slow-burn was going well in the beginning, when Tharn got too close to Type and he freaked out when he was touched. That is an expected reaction from someone who suffered from a traumatic experience. I was expecting them to take things super slowly, and for Tharn to teach Type that it was okay to touch, that not all gays were the same and that he was supposed to be at ease and feel good from it.

Nope. Not at all. Not only do they go at it as early as episode 3, but they go at it again in the next episode and it's just completely unrealistic. Healing from a trauma takes years, and even though it must have been at least 10 years, Type was obviously not over it judging from his reaction towards Tharn's touch and his hatred towards gay men.

I might give it a second chance later, hoping it improves, but I have very little expectations for that. And I want to focus on other series I started a little while ago, as I'm really enjoying them so far.

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