[Love By Chance] Episode 1 Recap

So I started a new series, Yay!

Thai dramas were the first foreign dramas I have ever watched of any kind and I have quickly fallen in love. This new series is called ‘Love By Chance’.

In this post I will give a recap of the series and tell you how I felt about everything so there will be spoilers. I also found a blog that I like that does series reviews and ranks the episodes with points. I really like that idea so I will be giving points to things throughout this little recap for no other reason than to just give points, lol. Okay, let’s get to it.

This series has a multitude of characters but the main story line is about two boys named Ae and Pete. Pete is a super timid and shy freshman studying in the International College who is secretly gay. Only, it’s not much of a secret. He also happens to be extremely rich and is used to people using him for his money the moment he starts to trust them. He’s young, he’s naïve, and he’s a precious little snowflake that has been sheltered from the world for far too long.

Ae is pretty much the exact opposite of Pete. He’s not rich but he’s strong, confident, and completely sure of himself. He’s literally the down to earth guy that everyone wants as a friend and he takes no mess from anyone. He’s real, he’s honest, he’s loyal, and he will do anything for the people he cares about.

Pete and Ae are introduced to each other when Ae nearly runs him over on his bike. They share the common “Hey watch out!” “Sorry I didn’t see you” lines that take place when something like this happens in TV shows. It’s cringe worthy right from the beginning but I’m living for it. So far it’s a promising start. The lead couple are both good looking and the guy that plays Ae is a really good actor. I’ve never heard of him in the Thai acting world but he comes off very experienced already. So the first point of this recap is given to Ae for being so committed to his character. +1

Two minutes into the series and we are now already experiencing the slow-motion-stare-into-my-eyes-I-think-I-like-you scene with the slow, romantic music playing in the background. Seriously. It’s only been two minutes. Boo to the writers who fooled me into thinking that this relationship wasn’t going be instant love. -1

But after all that, Ae asks for Pete’s name and takes him to the campus clinic to get all cleaned up from falling and scratching up his elbow. After Pete gets called back to see the doctor, Ae has to leave so that he can get to freshman cheering practice on time. But not before he leaves Pete a cute little note. +2

One thing I want to mention is that Pete is tall and actually looks stronger than Ae so it’s weird to see him all weak, shy, and timid with a soft, high-pitched voice. By the time he thanks Ae for helping him after nearly crushing his skull with his bike, I’m already sick of his baby voice. -2

Then we move on to meet some of the other characters in the series such as the handful of guys that are on the school’s football team. We are introduced to a fast talking guy named Can who won’t shut up. Like seriously, you showed up to practice late. Get in line and shut up.

Shortly after that we are introduced to the antagonist of the series and he is literally the over-the-top villain you see in cartoons who freakin need some help. He’s the epitome of the word crazy. And rightfully so, his name is “Trump”. Lord, help us all. (If you are aware of the situation in the U.S. then you already know what I mean by that).

Then Pete and the villain have words. Long story short, the villain is blackmailing Pete for money since he’s rich, threatening to ‘out’ him to his mother if he doesn’t cough up the cash. Typical. They have more words and next thing I know, Pete is getting punched in the face. He doesn’t even try to protect himself even though he can see it coming. Like, what even. Man up and protect yourself! -5

And how can you be a villain and have a terrible evil laugh? -1

As expected though, Ae comes to the rescue and the villain runs away. I like Ae. Like I said, he’s confident and completely sure of himself. +2

But now Pete is crying and telling Ae why homie is trying to blackmail him, so insert flashback here. Pete and said villain were boyfriends. At least that’s what Pete thought. They are in a room sharing a special intimate moment when Pete sees a camera. He asks said villain what it is, and villain spouts off on his villainy spiel about how he never loved Pete, he finds gays disgusting, and that he was only using him for his money. If he doesn’t hand over the *insert large sum of money here* then he’s going to show the clip to Pete’s mother (Pete didn’t want his mom to know he’s gay).

But what I don’t understand is how he can show a clip of him blackmailing someone doing an action that he finds disgusting when HE is in the clip too doing the “disgusting” action with said “disgusting” person. -5 points for stupidity.

So the flashback ends and Ae consoles Pete, telling him that being gay is not a disease and that his mother should hear that he’s gay from him and no one else.

Then he drops him back off to class. We already know that they are feeling each other after this. Is that heart eyes I see? +10

So Pete does tell his mom. There’s a buildup of dramatic tension but mom accepts him and they share a special moment. Yay for supportive mothers. +50

So now Pete is feeling better and is all happy. And thank you to the people behind the scenes for finally giving Pete some chapstick. Look at that sheen! +10

Then we mosey on over to a night lounge type place to get to know some of the other characters (football captains No, Type, and new guy named Tum) but we still don’t know what their story is, only that there might be some intense drama between Type and Tum. There is a guy singing on stage in the background and I see its little homie from the Love Sick series from back in the day all grown up now. He was the super cute one that Ohm was in love with if you’ve watched that series. It was nice to see his face again. +1

Then we meet two more characters, Nic and Kengkla. The only thing we know is that they are in high school (can tell by the uniforms) and Nic is the younger brother of No, the captain of the university’s football team. Kengkla has a crush on No and is pestering Nic for pictures and ways he can talk to his older brother. They are clearly up to no good but at the moment it all just seems like kid shenanigans (I’ll send you this picture if you let me use your car, type stuff) so we’ll see where their story line goes.

Another character we meet in this first episode is Ae’s annoying roommate. He’s cocky and conceited but he has no right to be because he’s an annoying pervert that’s addicted to watching sleazy sex videos in his free time. He tries to hit on anything female that’s alive and breathing and it’s gross. -5

He even tries to hit on the barista girl when trying to order drinks. We see she is the same girl from the Secret Love Puppy Honey series. I hated her in season two so, -2.

But she could hold her own against Ae’s stupid friend so +2.

At the coffee shop, Ae ends up seeing Pete and they leave together to go get lunch. They are so wrapped up in each other and Ae’s annoying roommate is so engrossed in his phone that they end up leaving him on the curb while they get on the bus and go to lunch. I was actually kinda happy they ditched annoying roommate for some together time. +10

On the bus, the cutesy, tropey, cringey stuff ensues that I absolutely live for, such as Ae trying to block the sun for Pete since he sees that he is sweating so much. Like, what even.

“I’ll block the sun for you”. Freakin Ae. I love him already. +10

And Pete clearly shares my sentiments. +20

So, after lunch, Ae drops Pete off at the International College building even though his building is way across on the opposite side of campus. Ae, being the protector that he is, thought that Pete would get lost if he took the bus by himself so he went to his building with him and he proudly admits this. In case I haven’t made myself clear, I freakin love Ae already. +10

Then they part ways and do the cliché look back over the shoulder and I’m liiiiiivvinnnggg for it!! +100

Overall, it’s a promising start to the series. It’s actually one of the best first episodes of a Thai drama I have ever watched so kudos to the director and the actors. The imagery is great, the filming is good, and despite having more characters than I would like, this first episode has hooked me and I am excited to see what’s coming next!

Random Point Counter Total

• Ae being super committed to his character. +1
• The writers fooling me into thinking that this relationship wasn’t going be instant love. -1
• Ae leaving Pete a cute goodbye note. +2
• Pete’s baby voice. -2
• Pete allowing himself to get punched in the face. -5
• The villian’s lack of an evil laugh. -1
• Ae being confident and completely sure of himself. +2
• The villain using a blackmailing clip with HIM in it. -5 for his stupidity.
• Ae’s heart eyes when looking at Pete. +10
• Pete’s mom accepting him despite him being gay. +50
• Finally giving Pete some chapstick. +10
• The appearance of the cute boy from Love Sick the Series. +1
• Ae’s roommate being obsessed with sex and hitting on anything female that walks. -5
• Annoying girl from Puppy Honey season two. -2.
• Annoying girl from Puppy Honey 2 holding her own against Ae’s stupid friend. +2.
• Ditching Ae’s annoying roommate. +10
• “I’ll block the sun for you” +10
• Pete sharing my sentiments that Ae is freakin awesome. +20
• Ae dropping Pete off at school even though his building is super far. +10
• The cliché look back over the shoulder. +100

Total points: 207

Hopefully that total is correct. Math was never my strong suit. But I’ll be posting again soon for my recap of episode 2. Stay tuned!

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