Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Remember how Bella Swan in Twilight basically fell for Edward because he was sparkling gorgeous? If not, no problem. The twist was that Edward was a vampire. College student Jennalee in ‘Don’t Be Too Emotional’ also falls hook, line and sinker for senior Jane Patrick for pretty much the same reason: the guy is handsome as hell.
But rumors around campus paint him as some sort of devil in disguise, known to sign deals and grant people wishes for a hefty price. The trailer for ‘Don’t Be Too Emotional’ even showed him with wings, making fans wonder if this was going to be a dark fantasy. Spoiler alert: he is human. No superpowers, just insanely rich, and he hands out favors to people through blood pacts for dramatic effect.
Directed by Tee Bundit Sintanaparadee (“I Feel You Linger In The Air”/“Step by Step”), the 12-episode Thai series is adapted from the novel ‘Rule No. 1: Don’t Be Too Emotional’ by Hwang Seol. Heng Thatpong Rojsangruang plays Jennalee, AKA “Little Jane,” while Tee Boonyakait Wongsajaem is the big bad Jane of this campus romance. Jane Patrick pursues Jennalee earnestly because he is the only person who doesn’t approach him asking for some favor. Meanwhile, Little Jane starts investigating whether his new boyfriend really is the evil guy everybody accuses him of being.
Right from episode one, it feels like the creators don’t want us to take ‘Don’t Be Too Emotional’ seriously. The two underwhelmingly meet on a football ground, with dramatic background music playing as if Big Jane is about to kill someone for throwing a ball his way. Everybody freaks out, the players, the spectators, and then… nothing happens. He simply gives the ball back. And why is the guy wearing a blazer in the Bangkok heat? Nobody knows.
The next time they meet, they partner up for a dance class, and there’s palpable romantic tension between the two. Everybody warns Jennalee against dating Jane, but in vain. The catchphrase of the show’s song is “you’re a red flag, but I’m colorblind” (good music, btw), although Big Jane is actually mostly very nice to his cute boyfriend. Yes, he is involved in shady dealings, but he doesn’t lie about them to his partner. Most importantly, he doesn’t keep Jennalee guessing about their relationship status. They basically go from “Hey, I just met you and this is crazy, but here’s my number and my flat key, be my baby.” Red flag who?
Okay, to be fair, Big Jane does turn out to be a bit of a weirdo. For instance, he has a whole creepy-ass room dedicated to his little boyfriend, much like Hira’s secret cupboard-sized shrine to Kiyoi in My Beautiful Man. But since Mr. Patrick is rich, he gets an entire room full of artefacts. Depending on your mentality, this could either come across as “this person needs to be in an asylum” or “awwww, this man loves me so much.”
Jennalee’s best friend Put (Korn Palat Chayutnitiroj) is passionately against the two being together, mostly because he himself is in love with his buddy. Put puts Little Jane in touch with a smart, handsome senior called Dan (Donut Phattharapon Dejpongwaranon), a photographer who supposedly knows some of Big Jane’s dark secrets. Predictably, Dan starts falling for Little Jane too. Surprisingly though, there’s some great chemistry between the actors, and they look just as good together as Little Jane and Big Jane.
Don’t Be Too Emotional should’ve been titled Don’t Be Too Serious, and that would’ve doubled as a nice warning for viewers. This show is basically fan service for BL fans, with a great-looking lead pair carrying a story that’s mostly nonsensical chaos. Like how… apparently, Jane studied psychology at Harvard, so why is he now in his late 20s and still studying at some random Thai university when he clearly has no need for it? Actually, yes, Don’t Be Too Emotional does give us some lame explanation, but I forgot what it was over the course of watching this show weekly.
While Tee Boonyakait Wongsajaem is smouldering hot as Big Jane, he also gets that “cold, calculated rich guy” vibe down well. In the more emotional scenes, his eyes do much of the talking, and he manages to convey Jane’s turmoil without becoming hysterical. Meanwhile, Heng Thatpong Rojsangruang is the good-looking diva of Don’t Be Too Emotional. He is adorable when he’s mooning over his boyfriend, but struggles to emote in vulnerable moments. In episode 5, Big Jane gets seriously injured and Little Jane starts crying profusely. I was laughing my head off while watching, thinking, “This guy is so adorable, but he cannot cry to save his life!”
The first eight episodes of Don’t Be Too Emotional were entertaining enough as a chaotic campus romance, the last few episodes are an absolute train wreck. There’s a time jump, all the same characters are still conveniently good friends years after college, and one particular character who had a decent arc is forced into becoming the bad guy just to give Big Jane a heroic ‘save the day’ climactic sequence. And let’s not even get started on the multiple unnecessary twists, including the sudden appearance of Jane’s stepbrother, who is a kid, by the way. It’s painfully clear that the writers just don’t know how to write children. The entire kid subplot is cringe as hell.
By the end of Don’t Be Too Emotional, I was frustrated with the show and didn’t really care what happened to the two leads anymore. But yeah, if you’re up for a messy BL about two good-looking people carrying on a romance and being very emotional about it, go ahead and watch this. The title ‘Don’t Be Too Emotional’ becomes something of a running joke throughout the series, because both Big Jane and Little Jane have a very hard time keeping their feelings in check.
Don’t Be Too Emotional is on IQiyi.
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