'Hook' Episode 1: Man and Saifah, students with boxing connection, bring us new Thai BL. But is it worth it?
Despite making homophobic comments during an interview about how he would return to doing BL (Boy Love) shows only when he is desperate for money, Thai actor Mean Phiravich Attachitsataporn is back in 'Hook'. The show that streams weekly new episodes on Netflix is a BL show about two men who start a boxing club in their university and the first episode sets the main characters up at a very slow pace. Fans are unhappy that Mean is back in a show that could potentially be BL, hinted strongly with the scene where Man (Peak) washes Saifah's (Mean) shirt after a coffee spill. But is the show any good?
For now, the first episode is not all too great. Saifah is the son of a popular boxer and if we were to go by the references that his friend Dao makes at the university, Saifah also has some kind of connection to boxing. However, it doesn't look like he could be a fighter considering how scared he was when faced by his college bullies. Then there is Man, the son of another famous boxer who has given up on the sport. From the looks of it, Man's father gave up on the sport after rumors of match-fixing. His last match was reportedly one such match and when Man, on the first day of college, has a showdown with a teacher who believes his father did wrong puts his foot down and says no such thing happened, it is clear that there is a strong father-son conflict that would be unraveled in the show.
Man and Saifah used to be friends in the past and they meet again after enrolling in the same college. Man is on the run from a few bullies after interfering with their affairs and it is then that he bumps into Saifah. At this time, Saifah ends up spilling coffee on himself while Man bumps into him. It is Saifah who recognizes Man and after knocking out the bullies, the two of them end up reconnecting in a washroom as Man washes the stained shirt for Saifah.
After the two end up going their own ways, Saifah is attacked by the same bullies after class. He never got Man's contact information and so has nothing to give the hoodlums so he gets beaten up. His friend Dao is harassed by the men as well. Saifah is helpless. While he was with Man, he was able to unintentionally hurt the thugs, but now, he has no way of defending himself. This ends up frustrating Saifah more than anything.
This is when he decides to officially take up boxing lessons and approaches Man's father for lessons. However, he is unaware that Man's father has quit teaching and so ends up signing up for lessons from Man's sister. Man, on the other hand, ends up attempting to defend Saifah's honor by picking the fight with the guys who beat him up and the episode ends after he throws a few punches.
With a very slow start, all that the show has going for it is the minuscule level of interest in the plot. Where are Man and Saifah headed after this?
A new episode of 'Hook' will drop on July 12 on Netflix.