Reviews of Asian BL Series

23 Till The World Ends - How beautiful the moon is!

This is the second time that a BL series revolves around the reactions of people facing the end of the world. The first one, "Love at the End of the World", directed by the late Shandii Bacolod, was reviewed extremely controversially – some commentators called it a masterpiece while others criticised the non-linear storytelling and allegedly unnecessary NC-scenes, to name just a few complaints.

"Till The World Ends" has been discussed controversially, too, and this time the main point of criticism was the false scientific aspects. If the moon were approaching the Earth as closely as shown in the series, commentators claimed, there would be natural disasters, e.g. flooding Bangkok etc. This criticism doesn't take into account that this isn't a scientific documentary, but a work of fiction, and the threat of the moon crashing into Earth is a metaphor for people, or rather a complete civilisation, facing a life-threatening situation.

The series follows two groups of young people. Golf (Best Anavil), his brother Gus (Michael Kiettisak) and Art (Art Pakpoom) are the good ones (with some flaws, though), whereas a gang including Long (Knight Pichayut), Joke (Songklod Kunlachat) and a very evil girl, who resembles the young Britney Spears, aim at killing as many people as possible before the world ends.

Gus, who has been in jail as a leader of anti-government protests, joins Golf and Art at Golf's condo. Art and Golf have fallen in love, but their love is based on Golf's lie about how they met. He tells Art, who has lost his memory, that Art fell down the stairs, but it was actually Golf who hit him a guitar on the head, because he was jealous after Art had been talking to Golf's girlfriend.

The two groups meet several times, and Golf defends Art by killing one of the evil guys. Golf is injured in this fight, and Art stitches his wound which probably hurts the viewer more than the actor. Art, Golf, and Gus meet a lovely lady called Sis Mam (Pong Kusuma) who lives in the same building as Golf with her dog, but the bad guys use the dog, which had run away and been cuaght by them, to make Mam open the door for them. They kill lovely Mam, which again is a hurtful scene for the viewers, and in the ensuing fight, Golf kills the evil girl.

Golf, Gus, and Art decide to leave Bangkok and drive North, hoping to reach a bunker near the border to Laos. On their way they meet another lovely person, a sick, old man who tells them about a bunker, where he spent a short time, but only rich people have a pleasant life there, whereas poor people live in miserable conditions so that he decides to go back to his house to spend his last days there.

He gives the young men his car, and they drive to Art's house, where the bad guys are already waiting for them. Long and Joke overwhelm Golf, Gus and Art and tie them up, and when the bad guys have just decided to stop killing people, the good guys can free themselves, so there is another fierce fight.

The final episode is a rollercoaster like the series as a whole – the ugliest bloodbath is contrasted with the most beautiful, quiet and loving scenes. And when everybody has accepted that Golf and Art die together hugging as the moon crashes into the Earth, writer and director Aam gives us a glimpse of hope. So after the sad ending there is a very short moment of a happy one, what a relief.

Let me repeat that this is not a scientific documentary, so there is no use asking how realistic the plot is. The question is rather, how realistic the thoughts and actions of the characters are, given the life-threatening situation of the end of the world. Aam Anusorn succeeds in showing that people act radically in such a situation – bad people will act more evil than normal, whereas good people will show fear, love, but also the will to survive as long as possible. The latter may mean that they have to use violence to defend themselves.

Aam Anusorn also succeeds in criticising the current state of Thailand, where even murderers are allowed to find shelter in bunkers, but "enemies of the state", elderly people, and drug dealers aren't. The conditions in the bunkers mirrors the social conditions in Thailand where rich and well educated people live a pleasant life, while the poor and badly educated masses lead a miserable life.

The script has drama, comedy, tragedy, violence, deceit, jealousy, and love, so there is everything a good series should have. The cinematography is good – dark scenes are contrasted with beautiful shots of the Thai landscape and a huge moon, even with aurora borrealis.

Director Aam Anusorn has gathered experienced actors who are able to play their characters very much like real human beings, who aren't one-dimensional, but have their good as well as their bad sides. Best is able to display Golf's contradictory character traits convincingly, Art is not only extremely handsome, but also allows his character to be shy, fearful, but in some situation also courageous, and Michael Kiettisak, one of my favourite Thai actors, has one of the most heartbreaking scenes when he tells the story of his and Golf's childhood in front of a breathtaking vista. I've already mentioned Pong Kusuma, who makes everybody love her character, Sis Mam.

To sum up, the plot and the characters of "Till The World Ends" are very different from your usual high school or college BL series, which often ends with the main couple's shy kiss. Here, the guys who like guys have gay sex, and there are some good reasons why some of the episodes are age-restricted. I already said before that this series has been reviewed quite controversially. I am one of the many viewers who like it, because it brings some fresh air to a genre that is all too often stuck in the same old tropes, none of which will bore you in this series. So I would like to thank Aam Anusorn and his cast and crew for putting their energy, hearts, minds and skills into this project. Among many other things, some of the most beautiful pictures in this series have reminded me of how beautiful the moon is.

Country: Thailand

Episodes: 10 (à 45 mins.)

Director: Aam Anusorn Soisa-ngim

Cast: Art Pakpoom, Best Anavil, Michael Kiettisak, Pong Kusuma et al.