Gaycation is a mix of a travel show and a deep-dive documentary that feels incredibly personal. It follows Elliot Page and best friend Ian Daniel as they head out to explore what life is actually like for LGBTQ+ people in different corners of the globe. Instead of just hitting the tourist spots, they really get into the nitty-gritty of the local cultures in Japan, Brazil, and Jamaica. The first season is made up of four main episodes, each about 45 minutes long, and it wraps up with a heavy special episode about the tragic Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando. In Japan, the pair hangs out in Tokyo , looking at the weird mix of high-tech living and old-school traditions. They check out a place where you can actually rent a friend, party in the tiny bars of Ni-chōme, and even see a "friendship marriage" at a temple. The most intense part is when a young guy uses their cameras to finally tell his mom he's gay, which shows how much pressure there is to just "fit in"...
The story is about Doha, a huge k-pop idol who has a bit of a bad reputation for being difficult and getting into fights with his bandmates. Because he has to film some action scenes for a new project, his agency signs him up for martial arts training. When the main coach gets hurt, a stunt actor named Jaeyeon has to step in and take over. Jaeyeon is a very serious, no-nonsense guy who doesn't care at all that Doha is a famous star; he treats him just like anyone else and makes the training really tough. At first, they totally clash because Doha is used to being coddled and Jaeyeon refuses to go easy on him. However, after their training clips go viral and Jaeyeon becomes a bit of a mini-celebrity himself, the two start to see different sides of each other. Doha turns out to be way more hardworking than the media says, and Jaeyeon shows a softer, more caring side as they start hanging out outside of the gym. Doha starts to fall for him hard and asks him to date. The usually serious and shy Jaeyeon doesn't know what do and he takes his time to give an answer but the younger Doha is persistent and eventually they do decide to go on a date together.
I was honestly surprised by how simple and nice this story was. The story flows really well and avoids a lot of the annoying drama you usually see in BLs. The actors were the best part for me—Doha’s actor is great at being bratty but still lovable, and Jaeyeon’s actor has this cool, relaxed confidence that makes their "yin and yang" dynamic work perfectly. I loved that the show focused on them just being together and having meaningful conversations rather than throwing in a bunch of random subplots. One thing that was a bit of a letdown was the editing, which could feel a little choppy because of how it was originally filmed. Also, the background music was sometimes so loud that it was hard to hear what they were saying! A few parts of the story, like Doha’s issues with his group, felt a bit rushed and didn't get a great explanation, but the ending was so happy and sweet that I didn't mind too much. While the romance is sweet, I felt like the script left a lot of holes. For instance, they kept talking about Doha’s massive fights with his idol group members, but they never really showed us what happened or gave us a good reason for why they were fighting. In the end, they just sort of made up off-camera, which felt lazy. Plus, while Doha’s feelings for Jaeyeon were very clear, Jaeyeon felt a little too "friend-coded" for most of the show. I struggled to believe he was actually falling for Doha until the very end. It needed more of that romantic tension and longing to really make the payoff land.
It's a cute and easy watch overall if you wanna watch something no frills, just do not expect too deep of character development. (6/10)
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