Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
The first few episodes of ‘Be My Player Two’ are entertainingly hilarious, so even though the show gets a little hysterical in tone in the second half, it remains a fun romantic comedy about a popular competitive gamer trying to rope a shy rookie onto his team for a big tournament.
Directed by Natthanon Kheeddee, ‘Be My Player Two’ follows Thi (Maxky Ratchata Pichetshote), a handsome gaming influencer who gets defeated during a livestream by an unknown player called “DeryaMK12” (Bas Hatsanat Piniwat), who doesn’t even come on camera. Sour over his loss, Thi challenges the rookie to a rematch, and Zo, the shy college student behind the username, complies, too scared to invite the wrath of Thi or his fans. But in a twist, Thi soon goes from online rival to wanting Zo on his e-sports team ‘BS Brothers’, kick-starting their romance.
While Thi becomes busy bringing the shy and under-confident Zo out of his shell, there’s also the small matter of actually winning a gaming tournament. Much of ‘Be My Player Two’ follows Thi and his teammates Jack (Gunner Natsakan Chairote), Cher (Jeng Chotipat Suthadsanasoung), and Praew (Mean Wichayaporn Jiravechsoontornkul) desperately trying to break their losing streak in an annual championship. Standing in their way is a rival team that includes Thi’s former friend Ten (Newton Waiyakorn Wongkhakaew), who betrayed them in the past. To add to some drama, there also seems to be a little something brewing between the arrogant Ten and Jack.
Be My Player Two’s Episode one has an over-the-top funny sequence of Thi and Zo meeting inside a virtual game, where Thi chases Derya and his friends around like a maniacal serial killer. The show doesn’t even bother giving them virtual avatars, instead dropping the actors themselves into the gaming world, a creative choice that only makes the madness more entertaining. The special effects aren’t exactly going to win any awards, but they’re perfectly serviceable. And in one of the cutest moments of the show, Thi creates a game exclusively for him and Zo to interact and flirt in, a romantic gesture perfectly on brand for their personalities.
Maxky Ratchata Pichetshote was the biggest surprise as gaming influencer Thi in ‘Be My Player Two’, since the character is a huge departure from the cold, aloof, rich playboy he portrayed in ‘Fourever You’, although even there he goes soft for Bas Hatsanat Piniwat’s character and the two made an adorable onscreen pair. Maxky as Thi, on the other hand, is comically loud and expressive, and laughs like a maniac while playing games, almost like a cartoon villain in a horror movie. Maxky displays great comedic timing, facial expressions. Most of the funny moments in ‘Be My Player Two’ come from his silly gaming antics, tantrums and his massive crush on the cute Zo.
Bas Hatsanat Piniwat is absolutely adorable as Zo, who loves gaming for the fun of it and wants absolutely nothing to do with the fame and recognition that comes with it. When he loses a challenge that requires him to come on camera, the poor guy simply turns up wearing a giant bear mascot head… problem solved. His calm, under-confident, friendly energy also makes him a great match for Thi’s loud, ambitious and short-fused personality.
One of the cutest running gags is how Thi can be completely unhinged with everyone else and then immediately turn into a different person around his boyfriend. Zo keeps him in check without even trying too hard, and Thi is happy being wrapped around his boyfriend’s little finger. If you’re tired of romances where the leads spend 10 episodes chasing each other and finally get together just in time for the credits to roll, ‘Be My Player Two’ has you covered. Thi and Zo start dating early, so we actually get to spend a good chunk of the show watching them be boyfriends and deal with new challenges together.
The last few episodes do become a bit of a slog, with Thi and his team facing one tournament hurdle after another while their rivalry with the opposing team gets increasingly ugly. Thi and his ex-friend Ten, in particular, spend far too much time having angry face-offs and shouting their heads off at each other, leaving little of the light-hearted, comical gaming energy that made the first half so much fun. The Jack-Ten romantic subplot doesn’t play out smoothly either, the romance isn’t particularly convincing, and the actors don’t have enough onscreen chemistry to sell it.
But well, for a romantic-comedy about competitive gaming, ‘Be My Player Two’ serves plenty of laughs and romance. And Maxky Ratchata Pichetshote and Bas Hatsanat Piniwat make the show worth a watch.
Rating: 7.5 on 10. Watch ‘Be My Player Two’ on WeTV or IFlix.
Read Next: Dang! Review: Crazy Mid Asians (Or listen to an audio version below)
