My Stand-In: Uncut (2024)

When Characters Cannot Change

This story had an interesting premise... a character (Joe) who is a stunt double and suffers an accident while doing a job he was forced to take due to the selfishness, stubbornness, stupidity and inaction from other characters (Tong, Ming, P'Wut, Sol). He somehow switches bodies and re-appears as the same Joe in another guy's body who is/was also named Joe. This is where the interesting part ends and the rest becomes an ode to masochism, a show dedicated to one flawed character after another and a show that had almost no redemption for any of them. In the end, the characters were so unlikable and even unbearable at times that it made for some excruciating final episodes... and here are all my reasons as to why I think that.

1. As I said before, the premise of the show is what got many people interested. The idea of a "stand-in" in a relationship was seen as a something "out of the box" in Thai BL's that have focused (ad nauseam) on high school/university students (mainly engineers and doctors), ghost stories, mafia or gangs, or innocuous juvenile romances in silly stories (see all my other reviews for many examples of these storylines).

So, as a result, we had Joe as a stand-in for stunt actions of famous actor Tong who manages to catch the eye of Ming. Tong is in a relationship with Ming's sister but Ming is secretly in love with Tong... who only uses both siblings to his advantage and never really shows any type of affection (physical or otherwise) to Ming. Unfortunately, Joe begins to fall in love for Ming but is ignored or rejected at first, only settling in a sexual relationship. Ming begins to see Joe as his personal "stand-in" as he uses Joe as a buffer for his feelings towards Tong.

Slowly, Ming begins to show his true colors as an obsessive, manipulative and controlling person who is a spoiled brat who does what he wants outside of his home as his parents are a nightmare to be with. He pushes Joe to the edge many times like when he confuses his name for Tong during a drunken moment or when he monitors Joe's whereabouts many times during the day or when he gets jealous for any simple thing or when he helps Tong boycott Joe from getting a decent job by kidnapping him before a press conference.

Joe suffers an accident due to faulty equipment in a shady production and is lost for years. Fast forward, he wakes up in another guy's body (also named Joe) and the cycle repeats until the end of the show when Joe and Ming end up together.

2. The characters have to be the most flawed ensemble I've seen in a show. Normally, you get one maybe two in a BL series but this time we get ALL of them.
a. Joe is naïve and a masochist. He loves Ming and despite all the things he goes through because of him, he is so blinded by love that he always comes back. He even tells Ming's father in episode 12 that "without Ming, he wouldn't know what he'll be living for" (wtf?!). The character became annoying due to his dull responses to everything that Ming put him through. Is like Joe enjoys all the mental abuse due to his love of Ming.
b. Ming is garbage... plain and simple. He is immature, spoiled, obsessive, manipulative, stubborn, selfish, rude, insecure, overbearing, violent, and a long long etcetera. He has no redeeming quality and even his apology to Joe in episode 12 "for everything he did to him" sounded fake.
c. Sol is selfish and dumb. He confesses to Ming in episode 12 that he was shocked when Joe told him he was gay and he left for South Korea because he felt Joe was trying to take advantage of him (another wtf moment!). Considering Joe's personality, Sol was simply an idiot, especially when he realizes that actually misses Joe and likes him. He kept trying to make Joe understand that Ming was not good for him but to no avail.
d. P'Wut is dumber. He is Joe's manager but aside from a few weak attempts to protect Joe, he never really imposes himself as the adult and he just allows Ming, Joe, Tong and Sol to go right over him.
e. Mike (Ming's brother) is a bully. He has a weird mentality of wanting to help Ming but also trying to force Joe to leave him because they are not suitable for each other. He doesn't appear much in the show but he brought a weird aura to the scenes all the time he was there.
f. Tong is a leech. He marries Ming's sister and then gets her pregnant but he is only with her for the money. He has gambling debts and wants her and Ming to help. He knows Ming has a crush on him and exploits that crush to get him to do whatever he wants and only changes when he is threatened by Ming's father and brother. Even Joe ends up helping him in the final 2 episodes despite being one of the culprits of the original Joe's death.
g. Ming's parents are controlling and manipulative but we learn in episode 12 that Ming's father is just afraid of losing his son and Ming's mother is unable to communicate with him effectively. So, they seek and get minor redemption for their actions, but it's too little to late.
h. Secretary Jim just does whatever he is told to do and ends up in an apparent relationship with Mike in episode 12.
i. The other Joe is a mystery... we know he tried to commit suicide after he came out to his mother... she talks to Ming's mother about it in episode 12, but aside from that, his real image barely appears on the show and we know nothing about his background or life.

3. Some things never get a proper explanation
a. Why does the original Joe end up taking over the other Joe's body? There is no connection between the characters other than both are gay and have the same name.
b. What happened to the other Joe's soul? Original Joe takes over his body and original Joe's body is found and then cremated... so other Joe's soul is just gone?
c. What is the role of the blind master in all of this? He helps Ming in the process of finding Joe and also appears in Joe's mind in episodes 11 and 12 to help him decide whether to return or to die.
d. In that sequence, he reveals that because Joe decided on his own to stay with Ming and live, then the cycle of suffering as a "stand-in" has been broken. That seems a bit ridiculous.
e. Why the actor playing other Joe (Winner) barely appears in the show? If original Joe has taken over his body but everybody sees other Joe... why he has so little time on screen?

In the end, Poom's acting (as original Joe) is one of the best things of the show as he portrays his character's emotions effectively. So that is the only positive of this series, because as I said before, this show ended up being an ode to masochism with a lead character who just could not stay away from pain, abuse and suffering because of love.

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What A Satisfying Ride!

I have seen dozens of BL shows, but the experience of watching My Stand In was top-tier. Whether it was watching it or turning to social media, My Stand In kept me in a 12-week choke hold. The way I felt about the characters in episode 1 was not how I felt about them at the end of episode 12. There was so much drama, but also so much character growth. I hated Ming at the beginning of the series but loved and wanted the world for him by the end.

I've watched many toxic romances, but what set Joe and Ming's story apart is that the viewer watches events happen and those events change the character. Relationships that began like the Manson Family ended like The Brady Bunch. Every turn and twist was earned and felt. The chemistry between the main couple is electric. Even as you wish they would stay away from each other you understood why they couldn't.

Action, sex, messy emotions... it's got it all. I highly recommend My Stand In to everyone, it's that good.

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