#zeesaint

A large part of that comes from the performances. I *air quotes* accidentally watched the Jimmy section of the bts episode. Aof described being most worried about Jimmy but finding he had his “own special charm” that the camera loved. His own special charm is right. You certainly wouldn’t mistake him for a skilled or experienced actor. Plenty of lead actors have survived without disappearing into character, though. First and foremost lead actors must appear charming. Jimmy radiates something quirky and joyful in the role. He’s having a blast. When his character walks down the street with his love interest for the first time, he exudes a happiness beyond this specific attraction. It read to me like queer joy—walking down the street with a boy for the first time surprised at how wonderful it feels to be so bold. His character is constantly amused by his crush’s antics, and the sweet teasing is so endearing. I fell hard.

Tommy, who plays his love interest, reads as the most experienced in the cast. He’s so effortless in front of the camera playing the kind of cartoonish befuddlement I love. And it’s a perfect fit for a character trapped somewhere between fiction and reality (yet another example of how Thais adore the juxtaposition of BL fiction and queer realities). Perth Veerinsara, who I adored as Pim in Love in the Moonlight, is just as refreshing here, bringing so much more texture to the sao-Y fujoshi than we often get.

Now, I dropped both The Next Prince and Cutie Pie cuz ZeeNunew gave me little to be enthusiastic about, specifically Zee and his unmovable seme face. I’m so sorry, sir. I was unaware of your game. The gravity of the series shifts every time Zee enters the frame. He infuses the whole series with the sadness and anxiety of the closet. Never has an Adam’s apple conveyed so much nervous desire. And those aching eyes! He captures a queer experience in a show that really isn’t laid out to address that. Saint, who’s not bad but depends on a little too heavily as always on his partner showing the desire in the relationship, ends up crafting an almost cruel character with his flippancy towards Zee’s obvious emotional struggle (no I did not learn the characters’ names lol).

as nostalgia