Sotus S (Season 2): Thai Drama Review

The Gist: Kongpob (Singto) is now in his third year at college, and is reforming the SOTUS system as the head hazer. His long-term boyfriend, Arthit (Krist), is beginning his post-college career at the company of his choice, but in the procurement department instead of his preferred production department. Kongpob and Arthit navigate how to maintain this next phase of their relationship while dealing with new friendships and interactions in their separate environments.

Additionally, M finally pursues a relationship with May and Tew grapples with a new freshman to try to get him involved.

My thoughts:

So, I have lots of feelings about this show. The first season was almost perfect in my opinion. Many of the same things I enjoyed about that season, I also really liked about this one. The representation is great and the romance is sweet (if not extremely slow burning - like extremely, get to episode 9 my darlings).

With that said, I think the central relationship loses some of relatable situations with its time jump. Arthit is clearly grappling still with announcing that he is dating a man to those who aren’t close friends. Even Kongpob has been keeping this a secret from his family over this time. With that said, Arthit still seems so uncomfortable in his relationship with Kongpob. If this had picked up right after Kong’s freshman year, I would have bought it. But how many people are dating for two years and don’t kiss each other good-bye in the morning? I love that they casually stay over at each others’ places, that is very college life to me, but at 7 episodes into the show, I was still waiting for a kiss ( again, get to ep 9!). For this relationship to be this longstanding, Kong shouldn’t be begging for a kiss here and there. I understand with the stigma that Arthit wants to keep it low key, but when they’re alone, we should see them closer. As Arthit was the one who took more time to adjust being in a homosexual relationship, it makes sense that he’s the one lagging, but after two years, to me, it just doesn’t seem believable that he’s still like this.

Speaking of slow going, dear lord my little M and May. How have you both not figured it out yet. May is clearly long over Kong and they’ve gotten so close, it just defies all logic that they aren’t dating at the beginning of this show. It seems that the writers slowed their relationship down a lot so that the viewers could see the confession scene. Yet, the buildup for that wasn’t intense, so it’s harder still for me to think that they’d gone two full years without having that conversation.

Jumping back to Kong, my sweet angel of a confused boy, he really messes up in the middle of this season. It is one thing to want to be close to your boyfriend, it is another to intern at his job and move next door in the same day without asking him how he feels about it. What really grinds me about this is that there’s not really a believable reason for him not to talk to Arthit about it. Once he explains it, Arthit understands, so there’s no point in having that conversation afterwards rather than before. It seemed uncharacteristic for Kong and somewhat like manufactured drama. I will at least concede that this is a really new situation for all of them and with Kong not getting the closeness of the relationship he’s looking for, it kind of makes sense that he overcompensates. With that said, I’m glad Arthit gets mad about it because that is not a healthy way to interact with your significant other and is somewhat manipulative by backing them into a corner. Since we know Kong’s intentions aren’t so sour, I’m willing to forgive it, but I would be extraordinarily unhappy in Arthit’s shoes.

In short, the central theme of this season is Arthit becoming comfortable in being who he is. This is such an important story to tell because anyone in a non-traditional (aka straight) relationship has to keep coming out to everyone they meet ever. Coming out is not a one-and-done. There will always be more people to tell, more reactions to anticipate. So, even after two years, Arthit is facing the same crisis he did in the first season: is he confident enough in his feelings for Kong to tell everyone about it. As in the first season, the answer was always going to be yes, but it was important for them to get to this point. In one of my favorite Japanese dramas, Mischievous Kiss, there is this one scene I adore where the wife has to finally break down and say that she's the only one who is chasing after her husband, he never comes after her. This unbalanced love is what's been happening to poor, sweet Kong and he finally has to give Arthit the ultimatum. Kong can't always just be the one chasing and by the end of this series, their relationship is more balanced.

I am going to talk about the side characters for a bit. Earth is my favorite. She comes off cold at first but is a great ally for Arthit. I was so worried about a love triangle between her and Arthit, but she catches onto his feelings for Kong immediately and that's what makes her a great friend. She supports them, but lets him come out to her in his own time. I also love her relationship with Tod, which builds slow, but is very cute.

Yong and Nai are probably my favorite side couple. Yong has that same great longing that Kong is always able to portray. You can just tell how happy he is being near Nai and how preoccupied he is with Nai when they're apart. I think these two had fabulous chemistry and I really wished for slightly more concrete resolution between them.

Tew really gets a chance to shine in this in his relationship with Day. The progression is a bit odd, Day really flips from super not interested to totally sweet, but they work hard to get to know one another. Again, I was waiting for a blunt confession, but it goes a little under the radar.

Also, my favorite Prae gets a hot girlfriend. It's a quick scene, but I appreciate the world letting me know she is loved because she deserves everything!

So... I think this show had a less clear trajectory than season 1, but the great chemistry between Kong and Arthit continues to carry this show. Kong is so bold its like he is a lion hunting down a wounded Arthit. Arthit doesn't stand a chance. Arthit continues to be shy and adorable.

I will also say the flashbacks to their intervening school years are a true delight. It's great to see how they got comfortable in their relationship. I love it when Kong can't concentrate on his studies because he is so obsessed with Arthit and when Arthit carries Kong on his back.

My biggest gripe about this season is that the show takes the time to get Kong's father to like Arthit, but they never come out to his family. Kong is so close to his family and this is such an important step for queer youth, but they never tackle that hurdle together. By the end of this, they are still lying. This is totally understandable and again, very relatable for these types of experiences, but I would have liked to see that resolved before the end of the show.

So...

So, I felt a little like the show ended too quickly and then I discovered Episode 5 of Our Skyy. Our Skyy is a BL (Boy's Love) anthology that does a special episode for many BL couples. This is truly where I feel like we get the closure. Spoilers and please do yourself a favor and find this episode for yourself to finish up watching this. Kong gets accepted to his study abroad program in China. The two are finally living the way you'd expect, lovingly and in sync. This is clearly a huge hurdle for them to tackle and while Arthit wants Kong to follow his dream, it makes sense that this is a painful time for them both. I love that the show finally gets Arthit to deal with being shy and kiss Kong in public when it matters. When Kong pulls out those rings I nearly died. More importantly, I don't have to worry about my boys because they get through the separation and are together again. I truly feel at the end of this episode that my boys can conquer anything.

Speaking of my boys, I didn't watch the special episode at the end of season 1, so I went back to watch it at the end. Oh boy, what a delight! Singto and Krist are clearly very close, even in real life. You can tell that they took the time to get comfortable with each other and now like working together. All of the cast members talk about how there is no space between them and that is a real treat for the fans. I read lots of reviews saying that the chemistry between these two is one of the best. I haven't watched too many BL dramas (although now that I know it is a thing, I definitely will!), but I believe it. They worked really hard to bring this romance to life and I feel a little empty now that it is over.

Final Grade: A-

SOTUS the Series: Thai Drama Review

The Gist: When Kongpob (Prachaya Ruangroj) enters college in the faculty of engineering, he also has to undergo the hazing system at the school: SOTUS. The system is run by a group of third year students, lead by head-hazer Arthit (Perawat Sangpotirat). Kongpob immediately clashes with Arthit in defense of fellow freshman and the two start a longterm stand-off during their hazing session. Yet, Kongpob becomes attached to and concerned for Arthit, despite Arthit’s constant berating, as he begins to see that Arthit does have a good heart and has good intentions towards his cohort. Yet, does Kongpob have any hope that Arthit will return his feelings?

Love:

1. Kongpob

I am in awe of Kongpob as a character and of Prachaya Ruangroj as an actor. I was so excited to watch a drama with a queer romance. When every drama heroine is the same (poor, plucky, you know), Kongpob was a constant surprise and delight for me. He looked at Arthit with persistent longing that it was actually almost painful to watch, which is important for a show with rather low levels of skinship. The piece that really set him apart for me was the way he would come out and say the most outrageous things to Arthit with so much confidence, while clearly being so unsure of his relationship with him. The whole thing had me thinking, Kongpob is smooth as freaking silk!

Scene - Arthit gets a haircut
Arthit: How does it look?
Kong: You look perfect.
Arthit: You don't have to sweet talk me. This is serious.
Kong: It's so bad.
Arthit: What? Really?
Kong: Me. I'm so badly stunned.

Me: O.O I am also badly stunned.

I want to talk about the confession scenes because I think that Prachaya Ruangroj really shone in all of them with small but extremely effective choices.

Spoilers from this point on…

The first, when Arthit is staying in Kongpob’s room, Kongpob waits until he thinks Arthit is asleep and just pours his heart out to him. Prachaya Ruangroj does a great job of imbuing all of the pain, confusion, and hope when Kongpob is trying to explain this. This scene felt exactly like every first love confession, with just the raw emotion of fear but not being able to hide it all inside.

The second, when he’s on the balcony and Arthit finally calls him, Kongpob is squeezing his fist so tight, that you can tell it is actually physically paining him to get the words out. It was expertly done and when Arthit panics and hangs up the call, and all Kongpob’s worst fears come true, I was just broken inside.

Finally, when we get that long awaited kiss, Kongpob smiles so hard mid-kiss. The chemistry between these two just pops. Arthit does this little pleased, pensive v-shaped smile when he gets embarrassed around Kongpob. It’s all a great treat, but very relatable.

2. The Side Characters

I'm going to take a moment to love on Prae (Ployshompoo Supasap). She's a gorgeous, strong woman and as Kongpob is going through his whole love situation, she has the great courage to come out to her friends. I really think the nuance of this show's treatment of Prae allows this to normalize queer people for Kongpob. Not every girl within eyesight of Kong wants him. Prae has her own goals and is confident in herself and who she is. I have mad love for Prae.

M (Thitipoom Techaapaikhun) and May's (Neen Suwanamas) romance is also skillfully portrayed. May pining after Kong and M pining after May is just a circle of pain waiting to happen. Still Kong gives her a respectful if but firm no and M handles it perfectly. He is there to comfort her, let her know he's interested, but gives her the space to make her own decisions. It's all very healthy and still sweet. My only complaint about this pairing is that we don't really get to see them together. In fact, most of the girls are written off the end of the show. Still, it was great to see M overcome his shy side to make an effort for May.

Waad(Teerapat Lohanan)/Prem(Chanagun Arpornsutinan). After getting off on the wrong foot, Prem comes to Waad's rescue. They are so sweet to each other afterwords. I love the way their interactions change, however, it seemed to me a bit like they were flirting and the show never fully explores that. That really is the great thing about watching a queer romance: anything is possible. This is another thing that never gets explored much beyond surface-level, but was still a delight.

Knot (Ittikorn Kraicharoen) is the mature one of the group. He is a little underwritten early on, but is just a rock for Arthit while he figures out his romance. Knot doesn't let Arthit stew and in multiple scenes lets him know that he can talk to him about anything. And he means it! When Arthit finally takes him up on it, he is supportive and serious. He takes Arthit's problem sincerely and gives him excellent advice, the same way he would about a girl problem. Representation is so important in media and as it is in important for the gay teens specifically to see themselves represented, it is also so important to have representation on how to be an ally. People can't sort through life alone and it was great to see Arthit have someone he can lean on while he sorts out what loving Kongpob truly means for him.

3. Healthy Handling of Rejection

I will continue to sing Konpob's praises. As an avid drama watcher (obviously), I am used to the characters undergoing rejection to stop eating, fainting, making themselves sick, not taking no for an answer, and a whole other lineup of very unhealthy behaviors. When Arthit pulls back from Kong, he takes some time to cry it out and be depressed, before deciding that he needs to find a way to move on and respect Arthit's decision. But he also takes the time to respect himself. When Arthit comes back to him, Kong sets the boundary that they can't just be casual friends without giving Kong too much hope. I was so proud of him because handling heartache at that age is almost impossible (or you know, any age) and he was able to be respectful of his needs and Arthit's.

So...

I only have on real complaint about this show. It's that in the ending episodes when M tells Kong he didn't know that Kong liked men, he says he doesn't, he only likes Arthit. I feel a little like this is doing the characters a disservice. Bi characters don't really get the visibility they should and it seems that both Kong and Arthit are likely bi and I would have liked to see that more fully embraced. With that said, I bet this is a very real experience for some bisexual people, when they have their first realization that they are interested in someone in particular.

In short, I simply adored this show. It was somehow short and also a bit of a slow-burn romance. This is the type of show you can easily watch in one sitting. The chemistry between Arthit and Kongpob was beautiful, sweet, and relatable and Kongpob was the best kind of protagonist. Looking forward to re-watching this and diving into the second season soon!

Final Grade: A++