Perfect 10 Liners 1×04 Review: Episode 4

The problem with a show like Perfect 10 Liners, which is very entertaining but also very surface, is that it’s hard to come up with something to talk about every week. But I committed myself to reviewing this show, and it’s not like I’m bogged down with other reviews at the moment. So I carry on.

Episode 4 serves to further prove the Thai BL trope that gay engineering boys are oblivious disasters. Arm has pretty much every student on campus telling him that Arc is hitting on him, and he still asks his friends with a straight face, “Is Arc acting weird?” Boy. Please. This dude has been in a towel in your presence TWICE already. He’s flat-out said that he’s flirting with you. You’re killing me, Smalls.

He also doesn’t seem to see the way he’s treating Arc. His friends even say to him, “How do you feel about him?” And he basically blue screens like three times during this episode.

Since we seem to have permanently abandoned the Engineering Hot Boy plot that was the entire basis of their initial antagonism, I like that their dynamic is still kind of argumentative. But now it’s like, I’m going to aggressively care about you but act like it’s a pain, and you’re going to like it. It’s Arm leaving Arc painkillers for his knee with a cute little note. It’s Arc letting Arm sleep in class and covering him with his shirt. (And it’s Arm not realizing he was wearing it until he walked in front of everyone and their grandmother.)

But there are also the big things. Arc’s hotheadedness has gotten him into trouble before. But I think a lot of us were fanning ourselves when Arc went after the guy who hurt Arm. I especially appreciated that he did this and then didn’t tell Arm – he found out from his friends. He was just like, “Oh, yeah, I must have hurt my hand at soccer the other day, what do you know.”

Also, can I just say that for once I felt like the injuries were actually worth the fuss? This happens a lot in BLs, where one of the characters has a minor injury and the other characters overreact. (Like Phum’s super small cut in We Are and everyone acting like he’d smashed his hand full on with the hammer.) Knee injuries are no joke, and that was a decent amount of blood. And thank you, Perfect 10 Liners, for treating head injuries like they’re a big deal – because they are. Arm getting a bottle smashed over his head and then immediately going down was maybe the most realistic injury we’ve seen in a while. (There was even a concussion mention!)

The bracelet thing seems to have come out of nowhere. Were they even wearing the bracelets before? And why isn’t Arc wearing his at all? Are you not allowed to wear it until you have a partner? Getting two and giving one to your partner seems weird as well; so it’s a group thing but people not in the group can get one? (On the other hand, it does seem like this is going to give each couple the excuse for a beach trip, if that’s where the guy’s shop is. Arc and Arm go there next week, and in the trailer we saw that Yotha and Gun have a beach scene as well. I do love a good beach trip.)

And we have our first kiss! I mean, props to Book for at least moving his lips, and I guess it makes sense that Arm was just stunned by this development (because, again, oblivious disaster). This early in their relationship, it is more realistic that there’s some hesitance on Arm’s part, especially because he still doesn’t get that Arc is hitting on him. Of course, it’s going to be awkward. But man, would I love for more first kisses to be like Jack and Joke from Jack & Joker. 

As the perfect counterpoint to Arc and Arm, Pond and Sand continue to be adorable. These two are so sweet together, and clearly smitten with each other. I love how every week Pond is super obvious about making up lies to spend more time with Sand, and Sand just gamely goes along with them. (Him tossing his sandwich over his shoulder in response to Pond saying that he’s hungry was sheer perfection.) 

Did anyone not love the scene where Pond took Sand to his place (I’m assuming) for dinner? (Also, loved the Heartstopper nod with the poster!) Pond being so happy that Sand was praising him for something, as someone who does a lot of stuff but doesn’t excel at anything, was too sweet. And Sand admitting that he couldn’t even do any of the things Pond could, so that just made him awesome… Ugh, my heart.

However, Sand needs to join Arm in the “gay engineering oblivious disaster” club, because despite their mutual flirting, he still doesn’t seem to understand that Pond is interested in him. They smile at each other like they’re the answer to each other’s problems, and yet Sand still doubts. In the opening scene, I’m pretty sure Pond was just, like, lurking in the bushes, waiting for the perfect opportunity to come up and talk to Sand. Get some confidence!

Something Perfect 10 Liners continues to do well is the dynamic between the friend groups. I wish we got to see more of Arc with his friends, but I love them teasing him about his crush on Arm. And the Single Brain Cell Trio that is Arm, Sand, and Po I think gets funnier every week. The montage of Po playing soccer with Copp and Warm while his friends got their flirt on was the highlight of the episode for sure. And you have to love bros who are down to get in a fight for their friends. (Mad respect for Po immediately clocking that there was trouble about to happen.)

Oh, look at that. I actually found a lot to talk about. While this show isn’t going to really change anyone’s thinking or make big statements, it is fun and enjoyable, and I’ll be honest, that’s primarily what I’m looking for in my media lately. So I’m excited for next week’s beach trip.

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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