BL RATING: Only Friends: Dream On
I think this a great second season, even if I never watched the first. The story and the characters are well done. The main cast are fully fleshed out. The story is very character driven. I like that everyone is a little unlikable (even Tua the sweetheart.)
I never expected myself to like JossGawin ,and I still really donāt, but I like their portrayal in this series. I was initially upset that OhmLeng wouldnāt be here, but I am more than satisfied with AouBoomās performance. I do think those two deserve their flowers and a main series that highlights them in more serious roles rather than another tropey romcom. Even if Aou can be a comedic genius.
EarthMix hit it out of the ballpark with their performance as Jack and Dean. And if youāve ever been around theatre people or theatre gays, you already know theyād do this exact bullshit.
And keep in mind, all of this is for a university play. And Iāve seen my fair share of those, and I do not understand why there is this much PR for a university play.
Jack - An egomaniac director who has extreme tunnel vision. He is as stubborn as his boyfriend, which causes conflict. He is a raging alcoholic, which I donāt know if the show really knows the reality of relapsing as one. He uses Raffy (knowing Raffy has feelings for him) to make Dean jealous. And he is too prideful to see the reality of his boyfriendās financial situation. He and Tua donāt really seem to see that not everyone is as affluent or privileged as them.
Iām so stunned by Jackās audacity to use Raffy in the way that he does. Because it is just mean and vindictive. He is controlled by his emotions. Most of which just center around Dean. Jackās responses are always 10x worse than the thing done. (Kudos to Earth bc I despise Jack.)
Dean - He is just as prideful and stubborn as Jack. He is a brilliant actor (supposedly). To be fair, every year he has been chosen by Jack to be the lead in his plays. Both of them make for an incredibly great team, but also so toxic to each other. Jack just shuts down and Dean hides things. Dean shouldnāt lie to his boyfriend, but his boyfriend needs to understand his financial situation. Yeah, I mean he could hustle like Arnold, but he doesnāt want to I guess. But Dean sucks for not telling Tua that he got drunk in the woods and nearly kissed Arnold. And heās also just so mean to Raffy, unprovoked half the time. What a bitch.
Raffy - A bitch with a backstory. Heās always in the shadow of everyone else. Whether itās his mom or Dean, heās never been allowed to be his own person. Jack will never look at Raffy, and Raffy learned that the hard way. Which is why heās so good with Rome because Rome understands him. And Raffy rejected Rome because he thought Rome was too good for him, and perhaps he is but thatās not up to Raffy. Raffy tries to be the mean bitch but he isnāt. He only thinks he should be to get what he wants, but he doesnāt really know what he wants until he finally looks at Rome. And I love that Raffy choses himself in the end and to be happy to be himself. Not an actor like his mother wants him to be. Not a pawn to make soemone else jealous. He wants to be with Rome because Rome makes him happy and seen. I do think Raffy had a right to be angry that Rome lied to him, but he should have also let bygones be bygones at that point.
Rome - the step brother of Jack and he hates it. Heās always compared to Jack and somehow seen as lesser because heās the sound guy. But Rome has a job as a DJ and gets regular bookings. Jack is a student director who has only directed university plays starring his boyfriend. I donāt quite get how Rome is lesser but sure. Anyway, I donāt think itās fair for Rome to have stolen Raffyās phone but let bygones be bygones. Rome became Raffyās support and Raffy learned the hard way when Rome told Raffy he wouldnāt be his backup plan (especially reflected in that shirt Raffy borrowed.) I do want to note that Rome and Raffy have only ever had sex in public places, as to symbolize their relationship as something dirty open secret since no one ever noticed.
Tua - A sweetheart whose only mistake is really just lying to Arnold about the play. Even if it came from good intentions. Also he doesnāt deserve to be lied to by his best friend and boyfriend. Tua is very okay with Dean making content with Arnold because he knows why Dean is doing it. He trusted both of them to do nothing and they hurt him. Should he have listened? Maybe, but heās human.
Arnold - Dude he was trying to help you. And he likes you. And you lied to him. Overall, heās a good person with that working class charm, but idk. I donāt have a lot of opinions about Arnold. He shouldnāt have lied. He should have sorted out his feelings in a better way. Donāt take your anger out on Tua.
Pete - A little lack luster of a character but I get the limitations of a show. He is trying to copy Raffy because he likes Rome. So his plan is to embezzle funds from the play to emulate Raffyās lifestyle. But this backfires since Raffy was filled with self hate he couldnāt be what other people wanted. So Pete essentially became that. And Raffy grew into his own person.
Itās complicated and messy and character driven. K think everyone is both good and bad in their own way (except for that little shit Pete. Fuck you.)
If you like messy drama but not assault, then watch Only Friends. This is how not to write yourself into a corner and not need to escalate things with violent crime between the characters.
