Hello again everyone! Today is the second to the last day of November and we are nearing the Christmas holidays once again. Hopefully you are staying healthy, safe, and sane while trying to keep up with all the holiday rush around you.
As you can tell with the title of this post, I will be talking about the recently concluded Thai Boys Love (BL) drama Love in the Air starring some of the best newbie actors I have ever come across with as yet. So without further ado, let’s get on with my review.
The Plot
Love in the Air (or LITA) is a Thai BL drama by Me Mind Y which aired from August to November 2022. It starred Boss Chaikamon Sermsongwittaya, Noeul Nuttarat Tangwai, Fort Thitipong Sengngai, and Peat Wasuthorn Chaijinda. It was adapted from the novels “Love Storm” and “Love Sky” by MAME thus the drama was divided into two parts to present the romance of the two couples separately.
Boss plays the gorgeous, bad-boy biker, and architect Payu who crossed paths with the innocent and cute university student Rain played by Noeul one rainy evening (no pun intended). Soon after, Rain found out that the girl he has a crush on had her eyes set on Payu who was actually an alumnus of their school and basically every girl’s dream boyfriend. Hoping to ruin Payu’s reputation among the girls at school, Rain decides to make Payu fall madly in love with him.
Sky played by Peat is Rain’s best friend and while he’s a constant source of support for Rain during the latter’s attempt to take down Payu, he also has been silently struggling with trauma from a past relationship. Sky has vowed never to fall in love again however after crossing paths with Prapai, played by Fort, he seems unable to escape the fate that seems to inexplicably bind them.
Basically, the drama revolves around the story of the two couples Rain-Payu and Sky-Prapai as they navigate their way through life and unexpected romance.
The General Review
LITA is a mixture of light-hearted romance, comedy, and heavy drama. The first part, specifically Rain and Payu’s story is the fluffy, adorable, light-hearted romance that would make every viewers’ hearts flutter. It was admittedly not plot-heavy instead it was something that should be enjoyed as it is. The constant bickering of Rain and Payu was cute and endearing and their directness and ability to communicate what’s on their minds made their relationship among the healthiest out there. There were certainly some moments that will make you cringe, as with all other BL shows, but it’s honestly not as bad. Personally, I like the pacing of their story as it does not seem rushed. Their relationship developed in a believable pace hence I did not feel lost while watching their story.
Sky and Prapai’s story, on the other hand, is heavier and darker. I am not familiar with MAME but after watching LITA and reading stuff related to it on Reddit, I learned that MAME has a penchant for including sexual assaults in her works. For this drama, it landed on Sky. I have read quite a few thoughts from other fans of LITA about this topic and how it was tackled in the drama and the general consensus is that unfortunately it was not handled properly during the show. I would not be talking about that here though as I am not in the position to give out my opinion having minimal understanding of the subject. But just in case you are thinking of watching this drama, let me warn you to be prepared for Sky and Prapai’s story as it would be dealing with that subject. As expected, their story has more depth and emotions as it also has to deal with trauma aside from the romance.
The Chemistry
Boss and Noeul have the most amazing chemistry in this show! It was always present in every scene they were in and the audience can definitely feel it especially during their steamy love scenes or what people call as NC (no children) scenes. There was not any moment where I felt their awkwardness while playing their respective characters. Each time I see them on screen I fall in love with them even more. Boss is so damn good-looking in every angle like I cannot even get enough of him. He isn’t trying too hard to act cool or anything but that is just how he is. He is just mesmerizing.
Noeul is a cutie. To be honest, at first I wasn’t sure what to feel about him when I started watching LITA. He isn’t the typical pretty boy face nor the masculine, bad-boy looking dude. But as the show progressed, I began to warm up to him and now I am so smitten by his cuteness. He’s Thai-Korean so I guess that is why I am not accustomed to seeing his features. Plus I think it also has something to do with the way he was styled as Rain on the show. It was slightly comedic especially his hair. Ugh. Let’s move on because I don’t want to start nit-picking.
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| aren't they just the cutest couple? |
Guys, their NC scenes are a contender for the steamiest love scene in Thai BL this year – probably next to KinnPorsche LOL. There were times when I felt like I am invading their privacy so I had to look away during the love scenes. I realized how good of an actor these two are with the way they acted together during their love scenes. They were full-on transformed into their characters Rain and Payu which made everything so believable. I love how they were able to portray the progression of their relationship from the early stage when Rain was a bit clumsy and lets Payu take control since he’s more experienced to the more developed and established stage where Rain is reciprocating Payu’s eagerness and passion equally. It was extremely satisfying to get past that blushing-maiden-always-shocked-always-awkward-with-his-lover trope and move to the more realistic sense of two people in a loving relationship together. And the tongue kiss. Honestly, I skipped most of their NC scenes during my first watch so when I kept seeing an inside joke about LITA and tongues on Reddit, I had to re-watch that episode and this time I did not look away. Seriously, I was not prepared for that. This couple is just oozing chemistry! Just go check out episodes 4 and 6 (watch it alone!) and thank me later.
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| these two had the potential, I mean look at Prapai's hotness |
Now on to Peat and Fort. As you can probably already tell, I am more into Rain and Payu than Sky and Prapai. To be honest, Peat was the weakest link for me. To be fair, Peat started strong during the first few episodes of the series when he was mostly appearing as Rain’s best friend. I liked his sassy nature and how honest and supportive he is of Rain. Some of his lines were even iconic for me. But towards the next half of the show, when it was his turn on the spotlight, he just did not deliver for me. His facial expressions were weird and annoying and it just takes me away from the scene almost every time. The scenes requiring heavy drama were a challenge to get through because his acting was not working at all. It was just a mix of contorted facial expressions and awkward body poses. I read something on Reddit that it was as if the production team ultimately gave up on coaching Peat and just let him do his own thing which is such a disappointment.
That being said, Peat’s underperformance has expectedly affected Fort. Fort started out weak for me as he has this constant smile on his face that is most of the time unnecessary for the scene. I find it weird when he smiles or shakes his head on the most inopportune times. But as the episodes progressed, he became a better actor and was even a revelation during the final 2 episodes of the show. I watched several behind-the-scene videos of LITA and noticed that Fort seems very fond of skinship especially with Peat but even then I find their on-screen chemistry lacking.
Final Thoughts
Love in the Air is one of those BL dramas that you just have to watch if you are a fan of the genre. While the storyline is not the most intricately-written out there, the chemistry of the actors, especially Boss and Noeul, more than make up for it, and add to that the steamy NC scenes that took BL love scenes to a whole new level. It’s the perfect combination of romance, comedy, drama, and sensuality that will leave a lasting impression on your mind and heart.
So there you have it. My honest take on the recently-concluded Thai BL drama Love in the Air. I came across this show just as it was about to end and was I very happy I did. I have been re-watching this whenever I get the chance because it is such a feel-good show, particularly Rain and Payu’s story.
If you haven’t seen it yet, do yourself a favour and watch Love in the Air either in Youtube (free) or iQIYI (paid subscription). I promise you won’t regret it. 💛
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