We were anxiously (but also sadly) awaiting the end of Not Me to be able to do a full review and that day has arrived! Sunday aired the fourteenth and final episode of the very successful GMMTV series 'Not Me the Series'. The success was overwhelming, to the point that on IMBD it received a score of 9.9 in the Thai drama section and placed directly in first place, above all others.
In addition to the revolution, in which a series defined BL (boys love) but in reality of BL has nothing and can be easily cataloged in an LGBTQ + series, comes in first place surpassing all the others, there is also to consider the topics touched from this product.
But let's go in order!
PLOT
White and Black are twins with a powerful connection between them, but the two are as different as day and night. Separated from their parents for years, they are reunited when Black is sent into a coma and White decides to pretend to be his twin and infiltrate the gang in which Black was active. White is very dedicated to revealing the truth behind his brother's hospitalized state, but his personality is too different not to cause problems, suspicions and accidents.
White will then find himself catapulted into Black's gang, made up of Sean, You, Gram and Gumpa. Young people passionate and hungry for justice who fight against the injustices of the Thai judicial system, but also against the corruption of the entire political and military caste, as well as an odd treatment before the law, where everyone should be equal.
However, after spending time with them, White realizes that what the gang is actually trying to do is bring about social change for less fortunate and exploited communities in Thailand. They may be involved in illegal situations, but their cause is just. Gangs in this drama serves as a social exploration of the right and wrong politics of exploited Thai communities, such as the LGBTQ community, women and disabled people. Many of the social issues Thailand is currently addressing as a country are thoughtfully and artfully represented in the series.
THE ACTORS
We already knew the OffGun duo wouldn't let us down, we already knew them from Puppy Honey and Theory of Love as couple jobs, and their filmography is anything but meager, so we were already prepared for the fact that we would see quality acting. Off and Gun are two extraordinary actors who have very strong chemistry. Both when he plays White and when he plays Black, Gun has managed to empathize with both characters and the tension, both sentimental and in a sense, sexual, is always palpable when he plays with Gun.
They certainly made us immerse in a sea of strong emotions, although when it comes to them, the truth is that the secondary couple is the one that has been strongly imbued with emotions and intimacy portrayed. First (You) and Gawin (Dan) are the portrait of feelings, regrets and pain, but above all of a love that has flared up like a fire that shows no sign of going out. We see them always trying to walk side by side despite coming from two contexts strongly against each other. Dan is a policeman and You does not trust the police, but despite this, the love they feel will unite them, then divide them in a painful way and bring them together once again. A super special mention to the portrait of the artist Oat Montane, in reproducing Dan's pain and discomfort. (Here his Instagram profile: https://instagram.com/oatmontienstudio?utm_medium=copy_link)
Gram (Mond) and Gumpa (Papang) were superb, both Papang as the owner of the garage but in a sense also the leader and a little mother hen of all the guys in the gang. For Gran we are still angry because they made us believe that GramBlack happened like in the book, and instead we got GramGene. We can only love a character who is so faithful to his ideals and above all also to his friends.
Film (Eugene) and Lookjun (Namo) portrayed two incredible female characters in a series geared towards gay romance. They acted very naturally and it wasn't difficult to sympathize with them and empathize with what they were feeling. Especially Film was chosen well for her role as Eugene.
Sing played Todd, Black's traitorous friend who nevertheless fails to kill him because the good he feels for him, conflicts with his ideas of expansion and acquisition of power. What can I say, Sing has grown and so has his acting, which was nothing short of astounding.
NOT THE USUAL THAI BL
It's not set in that famous university where all of Thailand's gays become either engineers or musicians. The teen drama that usually stems from that plot is absent from the series. It's a mature show, with mature and adult themes.
While it's clear that Sean and White are definitely exploring their sexuality together, not much is revealed about their sexual orientation before they met, it doesn't have that young and slightly immature narrative quality that is present in so many other BL Thais.
These characters have grown up and have endured a lot. Maybe it was just the growth and maturity that exudes from the writing that kept us in touch. We sincerely hope to see more stories like this emerge from the Thai BL industry. It really is a welcome change.
SOCIAL BATTLES
Not Me is a series that talks about the social difficulties that Thailand has been facing in recent years. The protests continued for months, especially during the pandemic, and many young people took to the streets to demonstrate against the military dictatorship, the king, the rights trampled by the latter and greater social inclusion of minorities.
The egalitarian marriage: currently in Thailand there is still no law that allows a same-sex couple to marry. Although the country has a high number of transgender people and a strong LGBTQ + community, they are still not represented and have no right to access marriage. The series also touches on this aspect, staging a protest with real lgbtq + activists who have lent themselves to the shoot.
Minorities: in the series we see how Yok's mother, deaf and dumb, has difficulty finding a stable job and is often fired due to her disability.
Inequalities before the law: in Thailand there are major corruption problems, often the complaint, if made against prominent, wealthy exponents or simply against the police, is covered up. Just look at the problems between Sean and Dan, the cop who shot the father of the former.
Private Justice: in the last two episodes we see how Tawi's underlings kidnap our beloved gang who is freed from the population. This is a fact that really happened, we leave you here the video.
Not Me was a revolution both in the approach to the BL genre and in the contents of social denunciation that were included. Despite the censorship, the director Anucha Boonyawatana and her screenwriters were able to give the world public a real and high quality product.
10+ for all.
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