I really had no expectations for this series after all the good-for-nothing BL series that Thailand has been churning out ever since Thai Bls became a global phenomenon. But fortunately, the series has been doing better than I expected, but unfortunately, the series is not great either. I thought this would just be another sex-driven drama, which to an extent, it is, but it has some plot points to it.
The series revolves around King and Uea, who did not see eye to eye initially, but circumstances lead them to become friends with benefits, though we know they both want to be more than that.
Bed Friend the series is a Thai Bl directed by Cheewin Thanamin Wongskulphat, scripted by Jungjing Wanna Kortunyavat, and starring James Supamongkon Wongwisut as Uea and Net Siraphop Manithikhun as King as the leads.
Recap of Episodes 1-4
The series begins with Uea introducing himself and others around him. He presents King as someone he doesn’t like because he is a player. The hate is mainly one-sided, as King clearly makes a move on Uea. But Uea is not interested because he already has a boyfriend, but we find out, along with Uea, that he is cheating on him in the first episode.
Soon after this, we are taken down memory lane, where we see Uae getting abused by his mother, causing him to fear the dark. When he has a mental breakdown, King comes in as a knight in shining armor. From the beginning, we will hate Uea’s mom, and rightfully so. Uea doesn’t have a great relationship with his family, except for his sister.
Skip to the fateful night when drunk Uea and King sleep together, and the next morning Uea wakes up mad at himself and King for what happened. They both have an exchange of words that end up hurting King. Uae’a mom gets hospitalized, and he ends up going to the hospital with King. From the hospital scene, we realize Uea’s mother is extremely fond of money. This also helps Uea and King to improve their relationship, and they end up being bed friends, aka friends with benefits.
They also set up rules for their situation ship:
- They only have sex three times a week
- Neither is allowed to sleep with other people; if they do an immediate break-up.
- Consent is important.
- The relationship ends if one of them falls in love with somebody
- No one should know about their relationship.
We also find out that the reason why Uea is not close to his family is that his uncle (i think stepdad) sexually harassed him in his childhood. Uea gets attacked by his ex-boyfriend, and Kings saves him right on time. He then makes Uea stay at his condo for his safety. We see that their relationship is improving beyond the friends-with-benefits scenario, but neither is acknowledging it.
Uea goes home for his birthday and meets his uncle/stepdad, and we realize that Sorn assaulted him when he was a teenager too, and his mother never believed him he opened up to her. Also, King’s and Uea’s relationship improves; they both, especially Uea, find some comfort in each other.
The office goes on a vacation, and this is where episode four ends.
Review and Recap of Episode 5
The episode starts with them in the bedroom, but it seems like Uea is moody, as evidenced by his behavior toward King. The image of uncle Sorn is often shown in the show, which, though disturbing, helps us understand how difficult it is for Uea.
After coming back from vacation, Jade asks King about his new relationship, to which King answers elusively while teasing Uea in the process. That was a cute scene, but I was really wondering if Uea would explode. And it truly is a wonder that nobody knows about the two when they’ve been acting differently around each other. In one episode, Jade even caught them almost embracing.
Also, the nail clipping incident when King rushes to help Uea when he hurts his finger while clipping his nail should have made it obvious. I felt the scene to be so dramatic; nobody reacts like that for a minor injury, or do they?
There is trouble in paradise in the form of King’s mom; she arranges a match for King. He does let Uea know of this and even asks for his opinion, but as we guess, Uea leaves it to King. Come to think of it, we don’t know much about Uea or his family.
As of now, we mainly know the story from Uea’s perspective and not King’s. So, I wonder if there will be the long-running cliche, which sometimes works in favor of the plot, of knowing each other in childhood is going to be used here. All I can do is assume that King is rich; I mean, he does live in a condo.
Then during an after-sex scene, we see Uea and King bonding more; they are opening up a bit more. But Uea has built a fort around him, which makes sense because of all he has been through.
When we thought everything would be fine, Mr. Kit was introduced to us. And Mr kit, to the dismay of both Uea and King, takes an interest in Uea and actively starts hitting on him, and King has to warn him off all the time subtly. King has made it clear that he likes Uea, but Uea is still hesitant because King is a player, and Uea has gotten hurt enough.
In the next scene, we see them indulging in a bet where King wins, and they end up having sex. After that, we see King comforting Uea when he panics as the light goes out. I absolutely hate when trauma and mental illness are used as plot devices just to bring the leads together. As much as they show how much a person cares for the other, Uea still needs therapy, and that is a fact.
The dialogues of this episode were also really bland, so even if it was silent series, it wouldn’t make a difference. The actors do their best to deliver the mediocre lines that the scriptwriter made up.
Our Verdict
The one positive thing about this series, which I appreciate, is that the top is not a textbook macho male, and the bottom is not an absolute feminine dude. That is not to say that tops and bottoms like that do not exist, but Thai BLs tend to overdo it.
The male leads are just very normal people with normal behavior, excluding unwanted jealousy, which apparently is characteristic of all dramas. There is also very less sexualization of characters during NC scenes compared to many other recently released Thai BLs.
I am not disappointed by the acting; can they do better? Yes. But it should be noted that these actors are portraying characters with zero personality, so they have their own limitations. The background characters are so badly written I feel bad for the actors who have to act them.
The story is going nowhere; from episode one to episode five, the only thing that had some improvement was the relationship between the main leads. The same plot line is reused again and again to the point that we get worn out. I hope this doesn’t become another drama I must drop midway.
After watching the preview for episode six, my expectation for redemption is very low. Up until now, the bed scenes have been an okay watch, and they did not make it as cringy as I thought it would be. But the preview is not at all promising.
Based on my personal opinion and observation, this series is not worth watching, even though it is better than what I had expected. We will give this series a very generous 2 out of 5, solely because of the main leads, especially Net, who I feel is the only one doing his best.
Our Rating: ⭐ (2/5).
Also read: Review: Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction
