Bad Buddy – BL Drama (TV) Review

A BL Drama for the Queers and such a fresh breath! Sets the bar high for the industry.

Remember my review of KinnPorsche and where I said that that series introduced some good changes for the BL fandom? Jokes on that. Bad Buddy came out half a year earlier than KP and managed to triple the bar. It’s not only good changes, it’s everything what we, the Queers, needed.

Story

Pat and Pran are neighbors, but because their parents have always hated each other, they were raised to be rivals. They had to compete in literally everything, however, an incident in 10th grade made them go separate ways. 
3 years later, now both in university – one is studying engineering, while the other is in architecture – they meet again, as, coincidentally, their faculties are right next to each other. 
At first they try to avoid one another, but their friend groups constantly get into fights, leaving Pat & Pran to clean up the mess. But maybe that will make them realize their feelings for each other? 

Bad Buddy was really good actually. I was surprised by how good – I had not expected such a fresh breath in many aspects!

While most BL Dramas are made for straight women, this series feels like it’s been made for us, the Queer community. 

PatPran’s relationship is so healthy, so natural and just happy vibes. They’re not together because the “kisses are hot”, but because they’re each other’s safe space. All the physical stuff that comes with most romances is more like a side bonus for them, but not the main reason why they are together.

They communicate and respect each other’s boundaries. They fight for happiness and don’t let jealousy get the better of them. (Thus resulting in plot points being cleared quickly, without unnecessary dragging.)

Not only that, it also calls the toxicity of other BL Dramas out, especially those that are very heteronormative & stereotypical.

Plus, it shows how to do it better. Some quotes as an example:

“I can’t say exactly when. I don’t even know for sure when I changed. Maybe I’ve liked men for so long, but I just realized it.” – Pat
“I thought you’d be like: ‘I’m straight but Pran is the only guy I like.’” – Pat’s sister

“Does calling me a wife make you feel superior?” – Pran to Pat

“He did. But I liked you too.” … “As a friend.” – Pran to a girl

“I’m your boyfriend. If I can’t handle this one little thing, how are we gonna make this relationship work?” – Pran to Pat

And finally: SWITCHES!!!

Only Friends has implied Switches, but this time it is very clear. While the label may have not been used, they verbally confirm they switch positions (as there’s no explicit scene shown, only before & after). And as you can see with the quote above, the top-bottom or husband-wife thing has been completely abolished in this series.
Which is pretty much all I wanted for the (Thai) BL genre!

Not only is it not heteronormative, it also has no homophobia.

Just like in OF, a world where queerness is simply normal and not very special anymore. That was for example shown when a guy had a crush on a girl, but that girl was on a date with another girl and he realized he was totally third-wheeling, so he stopped pursuing her and accepted his “heartbreak”.

Generally, female characters were treated well.

I’ve mentioned it in my review of OF already, but even though BL Dramas have women as its target audience, they are usually treated the worst, for some reason.
Not here.
Except for Pat’s attitude towards his sister, there was no misogyny present at all and females are actually respected. As you can see in the example above, GL isn’t seen as “girls being girls” either. 

Parents actually seem like parents.

Writing a realistic & natural family dynamic is apparently difficult everywhere in the world. But Gmmtv managed to write the parents as people, not just characters, who have a certain role in the MCs’ lives. Conversations feel natural, not scripted, and their dynamics feel real. 
Sweet moments between them also underline that. (As it often seems like parents (in movies/shows) are just 2 random people trying to raise a kid, but here it actually feels like they were and are in a romantic relationship.)

The “rivals to lovers” trope is also really well done.

Even though they were more like frenemies, their rivalry didn’t magically stop once they started dating. Their bickering totally continues and they use that to their advantage in the relationship (e.g., by pushing each other through competing).
And even better was the “enemies to friends” trope with Korn & Wai’s development. 

I love the comedy.

Just like in OF, no one serves as the comedic relief, everyone has funny scenes. Scenes that go along with the story and aren’t forced in. Scenes that feel natural, not written. Scenes that will still make you laugh even after re-watching it for the 10th time.  
As mentioned above, the whole series is happy vibes. I was grinning and smiling so much, my face muscles began to hurt at some point. XD

The actors’ chemistry

Just as wonderful as in OF. Maybe even better, since PatPran’s relationship is much more explored on the romantic level, than any of the couples in OF.

Mixed Feelings

Upon first watching, I wasn’t much a fan of Pat’s personality.

Although that‘s just my own taste. Mostly because of his attitude and the way he was treating his sister at the beginning (Pat’s family dynamic generally is rather toxic, compared to Pran’s). But he warmed up to me in the 2nd half and especially when he was using that “charm” of his to help Pran out.
Plus, Pran doesn’t let Pat win as easily, so there’s also that. They balance each other out and you can see why the universe paired them up.

The reason for the feud seemed pretty anti-climatic.

The way it was built up and given it’s a drama, you’d expect something more “extreme”, more devastating. 
But after re-watching and imagining myself in the person’s situation, who was the most hurt by the reason, it is actually pretty dramatic. I guess the problem was just how they revealed it, that made it seem like it’s not really worth being so upset about it, but if you really think about it and put yourself in the shoes of the person (plus think back 30-40 years, times were different), it gets more understandable. And totally valid. 

Their trip to the zero waste village…

… was rather contradicting.
As an environmentalist, I do like the idea and am glad that Gmmtv uses their popularity to talk about these things. However, on the other hand, the amount of plastic they’ve used and continued to use, as well as promote brands that are just plastic… rather ironic.

It often it reminded me of SOTUS & SOTUS S… Not only do the actors look kind of alike (Nanon like Singto and Ohm like Krist), the characters also often had an akin vibe, especially when they used similar plots to make them get closer or resolve their issues (particularly the beach episodes in each series). But it’s more of an “updated”, more modern version of SOTUS. It’s like what SOTUS (a mix of both seasons) could’ve been, if homophobia hadn’t been such an issue back then.

Which is nice. SOTUS had been (and maybe still is) a classic in the (Thai) BL fandom, but essentially is very outdated already. Bad Buddy shows how much the world/genre has changed – for good. How much we’ve grown. A new, better generation started.

Don’t misunderstand that, though – SOTUS and Bad Buddy have very different plots. It’s just little things that are similar and the overall vibe. Not a direct copy or anything.  (Though there are some “easter eggs” in BB, that may or may not be a reference to S. ;))
The beginning was actually more similar to PeteKao in Kiss Me Again.

Watched & finished the series: 12th March 2024
~Arden Skye

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