Welcome to my weekly blog post where I give thoughts on dramas I’m watching, whether I’m at the beginning, middle, or end. Whatever I want, because I’m petty that way.
This week I recapped episodes 3-4 of Thailand’s My Love Mix-Up!, and I’m picking up stuff I missed watching the Japanese version. I also recapped episodes 3-4 of Knock Knock, Boys!, and even though they’re absolutely terrible at times, I find them so charming.
What did I watch this week? Well, MeenPing have a new show so…
The Rebound – เกมนี้เพื่อนาย – 2024
Currently airing Thai high school basketball BL, I’ve watched 4 of 12 episodes.
A high school basketball team in trouble acquires a new player with a complicated history, both in general and with the team’s captain.
First, a warning
I have a strange bias for our leads, Meen and Ping. To be clear, and I’m really sorry MeanPing, it’s not because of their visuals (though they aren’t bad) or acting (which is sometimes bad). I adored the first show I saw them in, Ai Long Nhai, and it’s meandering plot of nonsense. I did not adore My Dear Gangster Oppa, but I finished it because it was them.
My best explanation is that I really like seeing Meen play baddish-boy characters who fall hopelessly in love with the derps that Ping plays. And Meen pulls it off despite Ping’s weakness as an actor. For some reason, this works for me.
So basically, there’s no way I wasn’t going to watch this show and at least somewhat enjoy it.
I’ve warned you. Now onto the show
Nothing new here for the characters. We’ve got Ryu, who cuts school and participates in street basketball matches for money. Something happened in the past and he disappeared from the life of our other guy, Zen. Zen is a responsible, good guy who dreams of winning at basketball despite his team being a disaster. He’s also, thankfully, a bit of a derp.
Despite not having watched many sports dramas, there’s a familiar feel to the basketball stuff. We’ve got a new coach with bleached hair struggling with demons and a team that doesn’t trust him. We’ve got a bunch of new team members with various quirks, temperaments, and interpersonal conflicts. There’s also a spunky journalist-turned-team-manager who is also the coach’s daughter.
Unlike any other sports shows I’ve watched though, there are a lot of naked butt’s in the shower rooms. This show puts The Sign to shame.
But wait there’s more!
Ryu has a savior-turned-bad-influence tugging him into a life of crime. This life of crime involves an evil dude who sits and drinks wine while watching his street games. Zen has his own problems too, with a new friend who quickly becomes over-involved in his life.
It’s a lot, but so far in a good way. I’m looking forward to seeing our team of misfits learn to get along and win games. I’m curious what will happen with Ryu’s dangerous friend and Zen’s probably-stalker. I want to know why Ryu disappeared from Zen’s life and for Zen to help him get out of trouble.
It’s worth noting that the director of this show, Golf Tanwarin Sukkhapisit, also directed The Eclipse and Wandee Goodday. Neither are masterpieces, but they aren’t disasters like Ai Long Nhai or My Dear Gangster Oppa and you can see that off-camera talent on screen here. It helps when a show has a script that’s had more than one draft, sets that aren’t entirely white, and competent camera work and editing. Meen is too old to play a high schooler and Ping’s acting is still uneven, but you can’t have everything.
It’s also nice that there are two episodes a week, which I’ve never encountered with a Thai show.
So what’s my initial verdict?
If you like basketball/sports dramas, MeenPing, or a responsible/rebel pairing, there’s some good potential here. I say give it a try!