Have you wondered if there are parallel universes in which Israel does not invade and colonize Palestine and its peoples were like brothers, each within their own borders, or the small, sovereign, rebellious and heroic Cuba is the one that imposes a genocidal blockade? economic, commercial and financial to the United States? Science is not willing to deny the possibility that there may be other realities parallel to ours in which things happen differently, but, for now, that only exists in film and television.
Our own universe is limited by the laws of physics, but when it comes to shows and movies, these rules can be bent and broken to create parallel universes and alternate realities where the possibilities are endless and the impossible is no longer impossible. Therefore, by managing to blur the boundaries between fiction and reality and, as a result, they leave us with great innovative stories, characters and incredible worlds that make us want to explore them, while testing the limits of our own mind.
The creators of 'Why R U' know this, who to curl the curl of their delirium of poetic science fiction and BL romance, decided to present a parallel reality in this 2020 Thai romantic series, to, through the multiverse, explore the possibility of getting to know a character in a million different ways, changing stories and destinies, correcting contexts, offering second chances or simply playing with our minds, with the aim of achieving an addictive and entertaining product.
Imagine waking up one day in a dramatic world written by your sister in which everything has become completely opposite to reality: your best friend is in love with his archenemy... and your lover is your nemesis.
In his personal vision and a distinctive style in his own cinematographic process, director Cheewin Thanamin Wongskulfat proposes the aforementioned synopsis to bring us a romantic comedy that revolves around two main couples, those made up of Tutor (Saint Suppapong Udomkaewkanjana) and Fighter ( Zee Pruk Panich), and Saifah (Jimmy Karn Kritsanaphan) and Zon (Tommy Sittichok Pueakpoolpol).
Intimacy, love, self-discovery, acceptance, sexual diversity, the search for happiness and coming of age, are some of the themes that the series explores through the dynamics of the characters, achieving hilarious scenes unique to the series. Thai drama, as well as intense, tender, romantic and dramatic moments, which are also inherent to the entertainment industry of that Southeast Asian nation.
The development of rivalry to friendship and from this to romance is one of the hooks to attract the public in Thai BL, and on this occasion it does not fail, despite the fact that the story of the alternative reality suffers some setbacks. along the way, or the poor development of events and secondary characters, especially Zon's friends, whose roles and performances, as comic relief, contribute little to the story.
With good, genuine performances and competent direction, the cinematography and scenery are surprisingly valuable. But the script falters at times. Perhaps I'm being too harsh, given all the Covid-19 production and post-production issues during the filming of the series, and the obvious hasty script rewrites.
The final episode is one of the great demonstrations of terrible writing. It rushes to the end of the series without anything interesting to say or show. And it's unfortunate, because the central story of the alternate reality has a lot of potential. It is right there, in those failures, when the creators try in their efforts to make the public understand when they are facing the real world and when they are facing the alternative reality, that all the cheesy clichés of the BL genre are incorporated, and the good work ends. , while satire and romantic comedy are left to their own devices.
The four main characters are introduced at the very beginning of the series through a dream sequence. In it, our main character, Zon, discovers that his best friend, Tutor, is in a relationship with his archenemy Fighter. But his astonishment increases when, suddenly, he discovers that his adversary Saifah approaches him and begins to show him affection, which obviously causes him to reject him and, scared, flee.
And at this point the series incorporates a component rarely used in Thai series: animation. Zon will continue his dream through the use of this film technique, allowing Cheewin to show a new facet as a director, since directing live action and animation films requires similar skills but results in very different experiences for the director, because although the task consists of direct the project in terms of its story, soundtrack, cast, costumes, special effects and editing, both types of productions have their determining characteristics.
But this will not be the only novelty, as the series has another big surprise in store for us, when Zon has hallucinations that involve several very popular BL characters. We are then fully introduced into a parallel universe.
Saifah is a very popular musician who frequently engages in pranks with his college friends. One of his most frequent pranks is playing pranks on Zon, so the two always end up involved in a fight every time they meet, in public or private.
For his part, Zon is a shy, but opinionated online science fiction writer. Much to his chagrin, his younger sister, Zol, maintains a vlog in which she writes and publishes successful BL novels whose characters are based on real people.
When Zon discovers that Zol is writing a BL story about his imaginary relationship with his nemesis Saifah, he insists that he delete them. She shamelessly asks him to swear that he has no feelings for Saifah, knowing beforehand about the two's accidental kiss during a fight. Zon hesitates to answer honestly, but swears anyway. And this is your mistake? His obvious lie throws him into an alternate BL universe, where Zol's boy romance story seems to come true.
Fighter and Tutor make up the other main couple. Tutor is an intelligent and wise engineering student who acts rationally. His family, once rich, now lives broke. To pay off his parents' debt and support himself financially, Tutor accepts several part-time jobs, including at a coffee shop near the university and his tutoring classes.
For his part, Fighter is an arrogant, emotional and aggressive final year student of the same major, who from the very first day he meets Tutor, when he goes to him to obtain his signature in that absurd process of welcoming students, New entrants to Thai universities, thanks to a misunderstanding, begin to treat each other with coldness and animosity.
Like Zon and Saifah, the relationship between Fighter and Tutor begins with contempt and eternal arguments, only to discover their true feelings for each other.
Their approach, both physical and emotional, begins to occur when Hwahwa, Tutor's childhood best friend, convinces Fighter to hire Tutor for private English classes that will help one to pass the subject and the other to improve. their economic position.
Between tutoring classes, Fighter discovers Tutor's personality and internal struggles. And what is expected happens, especially if we take into account that both look at each other with lust from the very first day they met.
Although everything seems to be going well for the couple and their relationship seems fluid and tender, both will face challenges and their love will be tested on more than one occasion. While the scene in which Tutor kisses Fighter's Adam's apple is considered one of the rawest, most beautiful scenes seen in a BL drama, Fighter's confrontation with his father when he discovers his son's romantic relationship with a boy, is without a doubt the most dramatic scene in the series. Tutor will be ordered to abandon the romance and leave Fighter alone.
Fortunately, both boys have friends, who will help them stay together and accept the challenges imposed by a society in which, despite homosexuality being legal, gay marriage and homosexual relationships are not recognized, and all those behaviors, Sexual preferences and identities that transgress the social regime and are outside of it - as is the case of lesbian women, gay men, transsexual and transgender people - occupy a marginal situation within the heteronormative system and are therefore discriminated against. , made invisible and persecuted through different mechanisms.
Both Tong and Hswahwa, Tutor's sister and best friend, respectively, will be among the people who encourage the couple. The first will be in charge of encouraging Fighter to follow his heart and love bravely. For their part, Zon and Saifah will also contribute to Fighter's father finally accepting the two young people's relationship.
Another moment to remember is the scene where Fighter and Tutor get into a fight that completely annihilates the former. Without going into more details so as not to give away too many spoilers, anyone who has seen the series will know exactly which scene I am referring to, but it would be correct to add that this is not the only occasion in which Zee and Saint show the talent of the two actors.
For Saifah and Zon, the innocence of their relationship is maintained so well throughout the series. To their surprise, Zon and Saifah have been chosen to perform at the university concert as a duo. Initially, they are unwilling to share the stage, but, forced by circumstances, both begin regular practices on campus and at Saifah's house. And this is how the romance between the two begins.
Of note are two moments of the couple: the torrential rain scene under which both boys begin to run holding hands, and the pajama party after which Saifah develops an interest in Zon.