It’s the first Thai series I watch and my attention was drawn by it because it is the first Thai GL (girl love) series, a 12 episode show centered around the love between two women: Sam and Mon.
GAP The Series is based on Chao Planoy’s novel GAP Yuri (also called Pink Theory/Thritseedee See Chompoo) and revolves around the whirlwind office romance between Sam – Samanan Anantrakul (played by Freen Sarocha Chakimha) and Mon – Kornkamon (Becky Armstrong), with more than just workplace ethics drawing a line between them. There are many differences between them—including their being boss-employee, royalty-civilian, their ages, and their characters.
I have noticed that in the Asian culture things are seen very differently than in the Western or American cultures: the interaction between rich people and poor people, the manner bosses treat their employees and all the rules set which apply to employees, the way the employees think when the boss has made a mistake but comes to their house and apologize, seems like a very special boss and a rarity and there is a huge discrepancy in characters, between harshness and emotion (especially in Sam’s “ice queenish” demeanor) and all the drama that comes with it.
Mon & Sam have met when they were younger, but only Mon remembers the meeting and sees Sam as her idol. Mon’s mother was Sam’s teacher, they were learning at the same school and Sam wasn’t allowed by her family to keep a dog (Sua) and Mon and her family took Sua in.
Mon learned hard to join the same college as Sam. And then the differences are more eloquent.
Sam is from a wealthy family and she seems obliged to listen to all her granmother’s wishes, including her professional and her private life: she is the CEO of an IT start-up, but if it isn’t successful until the end of the year, Sam must close it and marry Kirk (played by Heng Asavarid Pinitkanjanapon), the man chosen by her grandmother to be her husband and her business partner.
The generational trauma, with rules binding Sam to “honour the family and its reputation,” takes the form of her grandmother and her whip-like control over her granddaughters’ lives. The first two siblings break free, albeit in excruciatingly painful ways (with one losing her life to the restrictive rules prevalent in society).
Sam is closeted, cold and standoff-ish, because of the big responsibility her grandmother set on her shoulders. She is an ice queen, and she behaves as one, but as we know, ice queens also melt when they met a warm soul and a kind human being, in this case, Mon.
Mon is a young girl, who met Sam when she was a small girl and liked her ever since. Her father is British and her mother is Thai, she now has a very kind stepfather and they live in a poor neighbourhood. Sam is her idol and Mon learned really hard to achieve to learn to the same college as Sam and, afterwards, to work at Sam’s company.
Sam doesn’t recognize her and her behavior is not really kind to Mon, but with the time passing she can’t deny her attraction to Mon.
The chemistry between them is amazing, I really liked it, it’s erotic and steamy and sexy, but not very explicit. They both are un-experienced in a lesbian relationship, but lead by their attraction and their emotions, their intimacy is truly sweet and sensual.
They play with words, with scenarios and misunderstandings
I enjoyed Sam’s friends: Jim, Tee and Kade, and how supportive they were to their relationship and, also, the other characters: Mon’s work employees and friends: Yuki, Nop, On, Phon, Mhee and Chin.
I totally recommend Gap the series as a truly beautiful lesbian show where you can also learn very much about the Thai culture.
You can watch Gap the series on youtube:
(each episode has 4 parts and you can watch each part with English subtitles)
Watch the trailer:
Sources:
Inkmarksonemptydreams 