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Chained To My Bully Stepbrother (AI Vertical BL Drama)

By Golu
This is the second vertical AI BL drama I've sat through, and honestly I went in knowing better. I had it on while I was doing cardio at the gym, and what struck me was just how much the plot echoed the last one I watched. Same step brother romance angle, same mystery girlfriend showing up near the end, same extra guy pining after one of the leads. Genuinely the only thing going for it was the runtime, the whole thing wrapped up in forty five minutes flat.  The setup kicks off with Finn moving schools because his mom just married into money. He finds out his new step brother Aiden goes to the same place, and he's warned to keep his distance from him. Their first run in at school is rocky, just like you'd expect, but there's this odd pull between them neither can shake off. Finn keeps telling himself not to read into it because Aiden's straight and openly homophobic. Things shift when some kids start bullying Finn and the student council president, Ryan, steps in to ...
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Everything's Gonna Be Okay (Web Series)

By Golu
OMG! When I found that Josh Thomas is coming up with his next show, I was crazy excited. Afterall, 'Please Like Me' is one of the best shows that is out there. His quirky sense of humor, the sharp and witty dialogues and how every scenes feels real and human and not acting is his distinct charm and I could not wait to watch the 10 episodes of this series that are available of 'Freeform', a platform that, to be honest, I had not heard of till now.

Nicholas, a 20-something Australian, is visiting his father in America and his 2 half-sisters. The night before he is supposed to go back, he meets a boy named Alex and sparks fly. The next day he is told by his father that he is cancer and is about to die and so he will need to take care of his sisters. The series, essentially then, follows the siblings on how all of them deal with the grief and learn to be there for each other, care for each other, be there for each other and most importantly for Nicholas on how to balance being a cool brother and being a parent. The elder sister 17ish Matilda is autistic and wants to experiment with sex. She has her own sets of issues and then we have the younger Genevieve, who is dealing with all her insecurities. And in between we see the budding romance and relationship between Nicholas and Alex and how they both navigate through the entire situation. The y love, they fight, they drive each other crazy but the end they both the kind of moments we all want in our life.

As the previous show, this series is not dramatic at all. The show is more interested in the weirder, funnier, more real moments that can happen in between life’s seemingly biggest events than drawing out unnecessary drama. The series is not solely gay focussed. Equal importance is given to all the three characters. Matilda and Genevieve are each navigating teen girlhood in vastly different ways; Matilda’s extremely confident and itching to experience life whereas Genevieve is far more tentative than her sister. And in between these two, we have Nicholas trying to learn to be a parent while making sure he doesn't lose sight of who he really is and make sure his relationship with Alex works out. I have to say that Alex was my most favorite character in the show. Its hard for any other actor to stand in front of Josh Thomas (Nicholas) but Alex is so damn charming. They have one of the most beautiful chemistries I have seen on TV. They are funny, they have an easy rhythm, with very slice of life kinda events that give us a glimpse of what kind of relationship they share. This is the kind where you tell each other honestly what you are feeling and communicate. The two sisters form a very strong aspect of the show and the show also deals with issues of suicide, rape etc through some segments. I feel bad to say that I wish there was lot more of Nicholas and Alex and less of the sisters but thats purely me being selfish being gay. Matilda and Genevieve's stories add warmth and soul to the whole show. I am not sure of I like the ending of the show where Matilda is not very sure to continue her dreams of studying and living in New York and they decide to come back. I wish there was something more concrete and a better closure.

The show is a bit shy of being awesome like 'Please Like Me' but it is still a pretty good show. The short 20 minute episodes keep it light, easy and breezy to watch. Thankfully the show ditches sadness and tragedy and instead uses humor to show how we all eventually learn to navigate through life figuring it out while making sure that family stays the most important thing for us. (7/10)
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