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| Image (c) GMMTV - Enchante' the series This review contains spoilers for "ENCHANTE' " -- do not read if you do not want spoilers -- You have been warned. |
Title: Enchanté (based on the manga of the same name by Best Kittisak Kongka)
Country: Thailand
Episodes: 10
Aired: Jan 28, 2022 - Apr 1, 2022
Original Network: GMM 25
Duration: 44 min.
Content Rating: 13+ - Teens 13 or older
Screenwriter & Director: Pawis Sowsrion
Screenwriters: Golf Sakon Wongsinwiset, Pong Pattarawalai Wongsinwises, Noolek Sureechay Kaewses, M Rittikrai Kanjanawiphu
Main Roles:
Book Kasidet Plookphol as Theo
Force Jiratchapong Srisang as Akk
Support Roles:
Fluke Gawin Caskey as Saifa
Fluke Pusit Dittapisit as Natee
Boom Tharatorn Jantharaworakarn as Wayo
Aou Thanaboon Kiatniran as Phupha
JJ Chayakorn Jutamas as Ton
Aun Napat Patcharachavalit as Tan
Fon Nalinthip Phoemphattharasakun as Im [Akk's sister]
Pleng Keetapat Pongruea as Egg [Akk's sister]
Koy Narumon Phongsupan as Amphawa [Theo's mother]
An Oliver Poupart as Dr. Thamrong [Theo's father]
Jimmy Jitaraphol Potiwihok as Sun (Ep. 1, 4, 9-10)
Fah Yongwaree Anilbol as Fon (Ep. 7-8, 10)
I watched all of Enchante' in two sittings. I don't think I have ever eaten up an entire season of a BL series like that before, except possibly some of the Korean and Taiwanese web-series BLs that are 8-12 ten minute web episodes. I wanted to sit down and start writing the review while the credits were still rolling on Episode 10, but I allowed myself to sleep on it. And, it is with little or no surprise that I woke up the next day still completely... enchanted.
I won't pull any punches and pretend I thought it was anything other than fantastic. When I was still only 5 episodes in, I was gushing about it on one of the social media groups I follow about BL series and a couple people commented things such as, "just wait," or, "there's a twist at the end, watch that then judge," and other similar, ominous-seeming opinions. My main question to the twist-warning is this: which twist? There are a lot of surprising twists and turns in the story and it kept me on my feet -- or, more accurately, in my chair, glued to the screen.
There are three main things that make Enchante' as good as it is: the brilliant chemistry between the main leads, the fact that it seems like an adult wrote the script instead of a 13-year-old girl, and the overall genuine feel to the story -- there was very little reliance on weak plot foils or unrealistic premises.
Before getting into my review, here is the basic plot summary from MyDramaList:
After living in France, Theo comes back to Thailand to study at his father's school. Living in Thailand once again makes his surroundings new, but he does make one friend, Ak. Theo finds a book in the library that welcomes him, and the writer signs Enchanté, which means "nice to meet you" in French. Theo becomes curious about who this Enchanté guy is and tells Ak about it. Ak quickly exposes the situation, and four guys come forward claiming that they are Enchanté. Will Theo successfully guess who is the legit Enchanté among the 4 guys claiming to be him?
Let's begin by talking about the chemistry of the main leads, Book Kasidet (Theo) and Force Jiratchapong (Akk.) In my first gushing post about the series on social media I said, "... I think ForceBook is my new favorite ship," and it might be true. The two have an instant chemistry that flows naturally between them. They seem more than comfortable being physically close and playful, and while there are no steamy sex scenes, or anything even close, the kissing scenes feel natural and they seem to be enjoying kissing each other. There is no time their intimacy seems forced, no need for ridiculous camera angles to hide the fact they are kissing each other's upper lip (they are definitely kissing each other's full lips) and even the almost-kissed scenes are electrifying because you definitely get the sense they were both picturing it with anticipation.
The natural gravity toward one another that Force and Book show on-screen is on level with other famous ships that are beloved precisely because of how natural they seem -- MaxTul, JaFirst, etc. For such relative newcomers to the BL industry, it's a breath of fresh air to see such a strong, compelling ship -- Enchante' is the first major starring role for both of them -- the two were first introduced to fans by GMMTV's reality / variety show Safe House Season 2.
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| image (c) GMMTV - ForceBook have natural chemistry |
In terms of the ship itself: the actors are real-life friends, having known each other off-screen since grade school. Watching the behind-the-scenes footage from Enchante' as well as their appearances throughout Safe House Season 2, Force and Book display the same level of closeness with each other as their characters in the series. Their real life friendship shows through in their acting, as their characters are also lifelong friends. It is hard to say if there is anything romantically real between them, although some of the comments made on Safe House toward them, in particular by Krist Perawat, Ohm Pawat and Off Jumpol, contained some very suggestive implications about what they might be doing in private. Not to mention how often Book calls Force, "Daddy," while Force is either slapping his ass or spanking him with something... If you're curious, watch for yourself. This is a review of a BL series, not my thoughts on the realness, or not, of a ship. I did think it was pertinent to point out the real life friendship of the actors as part of why their on-screen chemistry seems so effortless. And, then the further you look into that relationship... well, as I said, this is not an essay on the realness of ForceBook.
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| Image (c) GMMTV - Theo & Akk first kiss |
Theo and Akk are in love with each other from the very start, even though they take an infuriatingly long time admitting it to each other. This brings me to my second point from above: it feels like an adult actually wrote the script. The BL industry is fast gaining exponential popularity internationally, which also means more demanding audiences, and more viewership to support the budgets needed for better production quality, and so too are scripts gaining in coherence, believability, and maturity. I don't mean maturity in the sense of more skin, or more sex, I mean more nuanced and sophisticated plots, stories you can believe actual adults experienced. I think there are some BLs (some that are wildly popular) that have tried to use sex and steamy scenes to paper over their lack of believable or realistic plots. Enchante', while it has it's moments where suspension of disbelief is an exercise, is pretty believable, and the inner lives of the characters show through. Oddly enough, they do use a half dozen of some of the most overused tropes in the whole BL world, but they use them very well, or, use them so briefly that you end up just forgiving them. Force and Book make such a powerful pair that they can carry off the old school tropes and make them seem fresh.
"Next Gen" BLs are the new mainstream, and series like Enchante' are going to be in the forefront. There are a few things older BLs have used as foils that make my skin crawl, and thankfully, every one of them was absent in this series. No clueless (about the leads sexuality) meddling females, or for that matter, male best friends who supposedly have no clue their best friend is gay. No stupid gags like broken phones, or sudden, convenient, family emergencies that separate the main leads. Also lacking, and all for the best: no date rape, not even an accidental drunken tryst, no consent issues whatsoever, and no reliance on "gay panic" to propel the conflict in the story, and the main leads coming out as gay was not the main conflict. I am almost ready to declare that BLs in general are entirely done with those toxic elements that were rife throughout the first wave of BLs, but then once in a while some series comes along and throws that horrible crap down again. Not so with Enchante'. There is almost no mention of Theo and Akk's sexuality -- no more than there would be with a straight couple in a romantic drama, and that is exactly the right road. Cheers to GMMTV in fact, as I think they were in a little bit of a rut in terms of those old formats, but they seem to have thrown a fresh coat of paint on, which is nice. GMMTV is one of the pioneering networks for BLs and for LGBTQ+ representation in Asian entertainment, and it seems like they have successfully moved past a difficult time in their history.
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| image (c) GMMTV |
About the setting... yes, it is another Thai BL that takes places largely on a university campus. This is a much-maligned stereotype in the BL industry, and yet producers keep producing them, and we keep watching them. I am going to disagree with the critics of this setting. Have you ever watched an American teen romance-comedy? They all take place at high schools, with actors who are in their 30s, who smoke and drink and have bitter backstories, but we're supposed to believe they're 16? At least Thai series have the courtesy to use 20-something actors who are going to college -- schools they are actually the right age for. I also think this is partly a cultural difference -- Thai people place a huge value on education, and this is more true of Asian countries in general than it is of the USA, and thus, we see university years as having a much bigger place in their lives. Many working BL actors are also still in college in real life.
About the plot twists... another thing many BLs have done poorly, but which Enchante' did with ease. The thing about plot twists is that they are supposed to elevate the tension of the plot by throwing the audience a curve ball, something unexpected and often unpleasant that draws them in deeper. I find a lot of BLs miss the mark with their plots twists -- they use them to explain the ending, or they feel forced or just added to liven up a stale plot, or to create a hook for a follow-up season. (Of all the bad reasons to use plot twists, the next season hook is a fairly decent one, but I would also say Enchante' doesn't need a Season 2, the story is complete as it was told.)
The plot twists they used while getting to the end of the tale were creative and a couple of them literally had me on the edge of my seat. I will not say which ones. I will say it was not the identity of Enchante', although that is in fact also a plot twist, albeit the obvious one. I actually guessed who Enchante' was from about Episode 2 forward, but it didn't bother me that I was right.
This brings me to my final point: it doesn't matter who Enchante' actually is, and that is the beauty of the series. Theo and Akk are the only main leads, so you know they are going to end up together, that isn't the surprise (although there might be a couple plot twists surrounding that, too...) As I said already, Theo and Akk are in love with each other from the beginning, it is obvious to the audience and fairly quickly becomes obvious to the characters, too. Enchante' is not a story about two people falling in love. It is the story of Theo and Akk realizing that because they love each other they can get through any problem together. Theo has the biggest growth arc in the story -- he has to overcome a lot of things from his past, and let go of some unrealistic ideals about love, but in the end, he also realizes that Akk -- the person always by his side -- represents all those ideals -- fidelity, care, sacrifice, and unconditional love, and that what he needs to let go of is looking for what is already right there. It is a story about trust.
Enchante' was not without some shortcomings. This would not be a review if I didn't mention some things I found less than great, it would be an endorsement. Let's start with the big one: (and a HUGE SPOILER -- you have been warned!!)
How does Theo not know his parents have been divorced for years? It's preposterous. It is a thrown-in twist that served the plot very well, but it could have been done better. First, the audience should have known sooner that there was something amiss with Theo's parents, and let it be a mystery exactly what. It felt so contrived how it was introduced so late in the story and was such a convenient foil. It set up the main conflict between Theo and Akk -- the audience should have known that Akk knew all along, and why he felt he couldn't tell Theo.
And again -- how do you not know your parents have been divorced for years? Sure, Theo was in France, but it's 2022 and there's cell phones. The divorce should have been much more recent, maybe not even finalized until the series events were underway. That is what I thought the envelope full of paperwork was that Theo's mom gives to his dad -- I was like, "OMG, divorce papers," but, instead it was another bad part: she was selling her beloved music company to him and leaving. Again, dumb. If they have been divorced for as long as they imply, why would she be divesting from the business just now? The idea that they orchestrated this huge cover-up just to protect Theo's feelings for years and years is ridiculous. Boo.
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| image (c) GMMTV - "But I didn't get to taste the sausage..." |
Lastly, some of the reviews I have read harshly criticize this series for how trope-heavy it is, and it is. They use some of the oldest ones in the book: Long-term pining / childhood crush -- pioneered by MaxTul and recently horribly butchered by OhmNanon -- ForceBook rocked it; Floppy Drunk tropes all over the place, but they somehow don't turn it toxic, instead they manage to show Theo and Akk truly caring for one another; Jealousy and Wrist Dragging, but again they manage to make it look natural; And, probably the absolutely campiest, over-the-top Feed Your Boy trope I have ever seen, in Episode 7, when Theo and Akk are bickering / play-fighting over some snack and Theo says, "I didn't get to taste the sausage," to Akk, who then literally puts a sausage in his teeth and makes Theo "come and get it," which they do with the camera up-close, and super full of innuendo. It's not the only direct sexual reference in the story, but it's the most obvious one. The other one you hopefully did not miss, and is also pretty trope-y, but still well done because it was so cute, was another time they are talking about getting food and Akk gives Theo a little ear brush with his lips and says, "Wanna go get something to eat in my room?" Yes, Akk, he does.
I give 2 ratings for this series, as it is also the debut series for a brand new, out-of-this-world great ship, ForceBook. Overall, I give Enchante' 4 Stars.⭐⭐⭐⭐ In terms of the plot, it is standard BL fair, and middle of the road for GMMTV. That does not make it bad. It's comfort food for BL lovers. The settings and the production are high enough quality that you can forgive some of the shallower moments. The main leads are the highlight of the show, and the painfully slow progress toward a full romance between them was delectable to experience. I give the debut ship Forcebook 5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. I will confess, I immediately fell in love with both Theo and Akk, and with ForceBook as a ship, and they propel the series forward with their easy friendship and a chemistry that will certainly lead them to future roles together. For all of its typical benchmarks, it is the fact that Force Jiratchapong and Book Kasidet are rookies and threw down such a phenomenal performance that really makes Enchante' a worthwhile watch.
