Love In The Air (2022)

I’ve enjoyed watching Peat and Fort in Love Sea, so I decided to watch this BL. Love In The Air is a 2022 MeMindY production based on two books by Mame, Love Story and Love Sky. There are 13 episodes, with an additional special episode in which the cast talks about the series and a side story. Watch Love In The Air on Viki or IQIYI. The side story is cute.

Two couples in the story are Rain and Payu, played by Boss and Noel, and Sky and Prapai, played by Peat and Fort. Love in The Air has two distinct stories with two different tones. The first half of the series focused on Rain, a student at the College of Architecture, and the second half focused on his best friend, Sky. Rain and Payu’s story is lighthearted, whereas Sky and Prapai’s love tackles some trauma.  I’m splitting the review into each couple.  I’m also including Tonnam in the cast, as he is always a comic relief in every show he’s in. His role as Sig, the bumbling fool of the architecture class, provides some good chuckles.

Cast:

Boss Chaikamon Sermsongwittaya is Payu

Noeul Nuttarat Tangwai is Rain

Fort Thitipong Sangngey is Prapai

Peat Wasuthorn Chaijindar is Sky

Tonnam Piamchon Damrongsunthornchai is Sig [Rain’s classmate]

Rain and Payu’s Story:

Rain is a cute, pouty kid who is always with his friend group. He’s cheerful and happy most of the time. Rain’s smile radiates mischief.  He’s the kind who rushes in before thinking about the possible consequences. People are drawn to Rain, befriending him.  He has a crush on his fellow student, Ple.  Unfortunately for him, Ple already has a crush on Payu, a recent graduate who is the darling of the department.

Rain is a magnet for bad weather, clumsy, and prone to accidents. One night, his car breaks down in the pouring rain, and a kind passerby on a motorcycle fixes his spare tire. Rain gets out to hold the umbrella for the man working on his car.  The man takes off his helmet to reveal a stunning beauty.  Rain is grateful and a little transfixed by how cool and sexy the stranger is. The gorgeous man is kind to him. A chance encounter gets stuck in his mind. Honestly, Boss is a beautiful man, so I don’t blame anyone for being starstruck when they see him. 

At a party/after-school social between the juniors and their seniors, Rain hears that the infamous Payu will be there. Payu is the heartthrob whom everyone is crushing on, including the girl Rain likes.  As a recent graduate, Payu has won awards and achieved accolades. He landed a job at a prestigious architecture firm. He’s successful, confident, kind, and sexy as hell, and he’s the whole package.

When Payu shows up, it’s the man who rescued him. Rain tries to thank Payu, but Payu pretends not to remember Rain. Rain can’t take his eyes off Payu at the dinner and gathering.  When Rain’s car doesn’t start after the meetup, it is raining, and Payu comes to Rain’s rescue for the second time.  Rain acts clingy and tries to sweet-talk Payu into helping him find a mechanic. We will get back to this point later.

Payu’s family owns a high-end garage for luxury vehicles, so Payu takes Rain’s car to their place, gives Rain some dry clothes, and lets him shower there. Then Payu towel dries Rain’s hair.  Rain seems to enjoy being taken care of and is a natural flirt who doesn’t seem to know his own appeal.  You can tell he’s spoiled by those around him and is used to using cute tones, big eyes, and dimples to get his way. He makes you smile. 

The Good: Rain and Payu (means rain and storm)

Thus begins Payu and Rain’s journey to love. It’s a fluffy story about Rain deciding to chase Payu and making Payu fall in love with him. The pair has great chemistry, and the plot isn’t overly complicated. I like the representation, as three of the four characters in the BL are bisexual, and one is gay. 

The power dynamics are apparent. The show uses the trope of daddy vs. hubby in the special episode…Payu treats Rain as his baby and wants to ensure that Rain can handle the responsibilities and commitment of the demanding major. Payu issues a challenge to Rain. I like the take away of Payu’s message to Rain before entering into a relationship.  He tells Rain that he must balance studying and work over diving headfirst into a relationship. Only then will Payu agree to give Rain a chance.

The actors are adorable together; their chemistry is excellent.  You can tell they put effort into understanding their characters, flaws, and good traits. Boss is good at making the audience overlook Payu. And Noeul plays Rain as a man who can be childish but is also passionate about his studies and has a good heart.

The trope of Pa and Mia (husband and wife in Thai) is used but not credited a few times in the subtitles. They translate it to darling. That’s one way of avoiding the protest of Western media fans who take issue with the terminology in same-sex relationships.  To me, it’s a cultural detail, as some same-sex couples in Thailand call themselves those terms, so it doesn’t bother me. 

Their NC scenes are well done and believable. Their kisses and passion are fiery. And it’s not just passion; it’s love, tenderness, vulnerability, and sweetness all rolled into one. It’s steamy and sexy, especially the second NC scene. Wow. It showcases a pair of lovers letting their desires and emotions have free reign. 

Extra special, sexy, fun times happen in the special side story. You’re welcome. 😉

 Romantic moments between Payu and Rain make you melt.  The most romantic moment in the whole damn show made me swoon…

Spoiler:

In Episode 5, Payu stands between Rain’s legs as he’s perched on the counter. He asks Rain to look him in the eyes and not turn away. As they gaze into each other’s eyes, Payu sings Rain a beautiful love song about how lucky he is to have found his true love. Sigh. It’s the scene I could watch on repeat. So romantic. (My husband sang to me in college when we dated and made me fall harder in love with him) I’m a sucker for sappiness.  

That’s the good part of Rain and Payu’s journey.

The Bad:

There were elements in here that annoyed the hell out of me. A power imbalance in the relationship rubs me the wrong way.  I understand that not every character in a fictional BL will have the same power dynamics, but it seems the gap in maturity between a childish 19-year-old and a 23-year-old independent working adult is too great.  It gives off the sugar daddy vibes, but try not to make the age difference too big not to creep out the audience. If that’s your kink, you do you, I say. Not my cup of tea, though. 

Spoiler:

I found the episode in which Payu spanked Rain offensive and demeaning, as if Rain were a child who needed to be disciplined with physical punishment. It wasn’t playful or part of sex. For those reasons, I would be okay if both parties consented. It was a no-go for me since Payu was strong enough to hold down Rain. Spanking is done to “discipline” Rain and is used by Payu to keep Rain in check. Payu is in charge, and Rain needs to please him. It’s annoying as hell.

Another pissed-me-off moment came when Rain ran home after their first time and ended up sick with a fever.  Payu comes to Rain’s house to see him. Payu gives Rain rectal suppositories for his fever, even holding him down to insert them when Rain struggles against Payu. Payu reminds Rain not to make too much noise because it might bring Rain’s mom to his room.  Are you telling me there are no oral paracetamol and cooling patches to bring his fever down? This is another example of a power dynamics imbalance I don’t like.

I won’t spoil this moment, but when you get to a specific scene toward the end of their story, you will like Payu a little less. He did some creepy shit about their second meeting. It’s definitely a problem behavior.

Sky and Prapai (Sky and Prapai is another name for Vayu, a Hindu God of Wind. So Sky is being chased by the God of Wind.)

I enjoy this secondary couple as much as, if not more than, the main couple. Sky is a witty and sarcastic guy who is best friends with Rain. He has a shell around his heart but loves Rain and their friends.  He is from a modest family that only has his dad and himself.  His opposite is Prapai, a wealthy young heir who races motorcycles and cares for his two younger siblings. He’s the typical playboy but without the cruelty.  He’s best friends with Payu and is also openly bisexual. 

The Setup:

Sky accompanies Rain to sneak in to see the illegal street race for which Payu is the mechanic.  Rain darts off, leaving Sky to decide whether to stay put and wait or find him.  Sky, the good wingman, and bestie, goes off to find him. The security guards see him, and Prapai “rescues” him. I put “rescued” in quotes because he expects to be rewarded for his rescue.  It’s non-consensual, but he wants sex in exchange for the rescue, and Sky reluctantly agrees. I wouldn’t call it rape since both parties had a fun night but, alas, used coercion (Typical “Mame). I talked to my 20-year-old about this scenario. They helped me understand its ick factor. They said imagine this was a heterosexual couple and this is a woman; wouldn’t it be wrong and non-consensual? They said to flip it on its head if you find yourself trying to justify the situation.

I also think sex can be transactional and doesn’t have to be for love only. There is a grey area here. But, back to the story.

Prapai can’t get Sky out of his head, so he strong-arms Rain to give him Sky’s telephone number.  He begins to pursue Sky, trying to get to know and date him. His motives aren’t purely sexual, though there is a component of that in there.

The Good:

Peat and Fort do a great job portraying their characters. Peat’s Sky is a guarded gay man who has been deeply scarred and builds walls to keep himself safe.  At the same time Sky is a great friend to Rain, always there to talk to or cheer him on when he needs encouragement.  I want to learn more about Sky’s past as their story progresses.

Fort shows us Prapai’s tender and caring side. His Prapai is an excellent big brother who cares for his siblings and fulfills his father’s wishes to take over the company. He makes time for stress relief and fun but doesn’t allow it to change his inner core of wanting to care for others who matter to him.

The pair have great onscreen chemistry together. The banter back and forth of the roguish playboy trying to win the heart of the aloof and sarcastic man in front of him works well.  I smiled at the sarcastic Sky and melted a little at Prapai’s sweetness.

The Bad:

I have to mention consent again. I know that others can view it as transactional, but if this were a heterosexual couple, we would be outraged at the idea of blackmail to force someone to have sex with you.  I think the double standard is an issue that’s very troubling.  We should hold people accountable for their vile actions. I don’t know that Prapai ever apologized to Sky.

Also, the behavior of trying to win him over, like waiting with flowers outside of his dorm, is akin to stalking someone. Again, if this were a heterosexual couple, we would consider the inability to accept boundaries and to take no as an answer a very creepy trait.  I’m not sure how I feel about it because often, in fiction, we see traits we wouldn’t want to have or participate in real life. There is an escape element to it, with the handsome prince trying to win over his crush, which resonates with us about finding our white knight.

One of the biggest problems in the show is Sky’s trauma. There will be spoilers next, but I had to address it because it affects the rating I give this series.

Spoiler:

Sky was abused by his ex-boyfriend, both physically and mentally. In addition, Sky’s ex-lover had him blindfolded and gang raped. Then, Mame has him open up and feel secure with Prapai. And randomly, Sky spots his ex-lover, who says hey, remember the good times with his friends and they show up to gang rape him again. Prapai, Rain, and others show up in time to rescue him.

Here’s my issue with that plot point used in the story: It makes Sky a victim who has no autonomy or ability to rescue himself. He has to go through the trauma again and be “saved” by Prapai, his ‘White Knight.’ This is not an effective way to show the character’s growth, as he is once again reduced to a helpless victim. Mame does like to put her characters through it; it almost feels like torture porn, and I hate that watching it makes me go through trauma too.

Final Thoughts:

 Both pairs get their happy endings, but the film is not without its share of drama and hardships. The acting is the main reason I give it this rating.  Fort and Peat, along with Boss and Noeul, turned a mediocre, at best, story full of tropes into a tolerable one. Also, the sound quality is spotty, with moments that echo and scenes with a muffled sound.  But if you can bear with all that, the onscreen chemistry between the pairs helps distract from the problematic elements. If you have seen it, I would love to hear your thoughts.

If you like either couple, you can see them again getting a proposal and a wedding in the show Wedding Plan.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 stars. [See our Review Guide]