Middleman's love is exactly like a lot of people described it. A typical office romance with a predictable storyline, obnoxious Thai humour, ridiculous characters and circumstances and a main character so extra it borders on annoying.

Or at least that's what I thought for the first 4 episodes but, DAMN.

Jade starts out as a very outgoing, meddling and to some maybe even annoying character. He's high energy and his face and voice are all over the place. He very much feels like Thai humour was just poured into a character. That is what it seemed like and that's how I expected it to stay. I didn’t think this show would ever turn into anything more than just something I could laugh at. So colour me surprised when episode 5 rolls around and they actually get into Jade's backstory.

Without spoiling anything, this show spends 4 episodes focussing on humour and the crush Mai has on Jade. But when episode 5 rolls around it actually gives all of the characters much more depth than I initially expected.

Jade isn't just obnoxious and annoying, he's hurt, self conscious and afraid of getting hurt again. Mai isn't just an emotionless man that's endlessly chasing after his crush but a guy who's trying to stay determined and both do the right thing while still honouring his own feelings.

This show doesn't deal with the endless layers of trauma that Bed Friend does, but that's not the point. It's a show about Jade, the middleman, finally getting noticed by someone and how his past and own mind desperately try to deal with the attention.

So if you're a TutorYim fan, like (or don't get angered by) Thai humour and you're looking for an easy to watch bl that still has some depth but doesn't deal with the endless layers of angst that every bl seems to have nowadays. Than Middleman's love might be for you.