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First off, I loved it. I am right now a Mickda (Mick/Mookda shipper tagteam actors. It's right up there with Aomike [Aom/Mike D'Angelo]. Oh, and PookWeir [PookLook and Weir]. )----------------------------------------------------------------
Second point, I was watching this and then became distracted with Andrew Gregson's 1999's version --- which I loved....At this end of this review---I will make a short comparison reference between them. I didn't see the 1985 version.
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Third point, I give long reviews without any spoilers. I will bold important sections you might want to skip too.
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This story is great.
The story on the surface is banal. You have a tyrannical, matriarchal figure with a classist mentality which feeds various veins of destruction. She doesn't learn from her behaviour and it's circular; her actions rewrites itself in history until it comes to a head full circle.
Grandmama Queen had three children. Two of which are blood and an adopted son, and this is where everything begins. All three children have children of their own---she managed to control the lives of all two of the three---adoptee escaped; but it seems to purgatory. The sins of the father are the sins of the child in this case and hence we have a circular story.
However, this is where it becomes fascinating if you pay attention to the story without distractions. You have nothing to bother for 34 for hours (2 hours per ep). I see why the story was pushed back to the 1950s rather than keep it to present day. It's far more fitting. Children are far more willing to rebel today than in the past.
The fear, guilt, and power an elder can wield on a child (even if they are an adult) is magnificent in the cruelest way. The social classism is frightening in its significance. I know it's real past and present; however it's perpetuated within a family dynamic. Resulting in a cyclical perverse of Luk's love for Massaya. He's made to feel his love is either dirty, destructive, or unattainable. Then he has it, tries to fight for fight for it...then someone is so severely affected by it he thinks it is one of those things. He's in a catch-22. Massaya is an innocent who doesn't really understand is continuously hurt by his actions are inexplicable.
There is also an implicit religious discrimination that is fascinating. I was impressed by not only that they included this discrimination; but they added a historical and cultural aspect of Thailand I never knew existed. If you are knew to Massaya...then you will learn something. It was surprising to me.
The setting; it has that awkward century/decade dating. The summary says it should be the 1950s in Thailand however sometimes the clothing is not fitting the time period, the housing and decor, etc. At times, I'm waiting for a cell phone to pop out. The cars are hot.
There is something to see here and there is something that it offers.
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I'll break down what the actors bring to the lead characters that make them impressionable.
Mookda as Massaya - Her first debut role. OMG. This girls scenes. She had me at her eyes. Her eyes. This is not really a spoiler, but she has this way of closing her eyes when Lak (Mick) says something into her ear. It's like what he's saying is hitting her heart. She can hold a scene and she can carry it. Therefore, I see Massaya and I understand her.
Mookda is a very petite woman. Tiny actually; so next to Mick she looks like a child. Mick looks like he's 30 and she looks 15. In reality they're around the same age.
Mick as Luk - Not his first debut. He's great as usual. I just worry about this boy being typecast. I like seeing him goofy at times. I like seeing him cry, I like seeing him hug her, I like seeing him dancing with Mookda. I like his moments of being drunk. He had a lot of diversity. I really liked him becoming angry. He was almost a bit two-dimensional in earlier episodes until he starts romantically seeing Massaya.
Mookda and Mick were delivering some serious love through their characters. Mookda was one of the first female Thai actresses I've seen where her character takes the initiative to show her man some love---where HE was surprised.
The actors had serious chemistry on and off screen. During my holiday break I saw this drama twice. I love it that much. Then I watched the 2000 version.
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2000 vs. 2017 comparison
It's a strong toss up. As a note if we're looking for leads. Both are good for both time periods. I do feel that the 2000 story was great in the early episodes because it gave a better look at what Thailand had to offer as a country that I never knew. Therefore, not only was there a story, there was a history. Yeah, I became a tourist and it was fun. I felt the lead actress, Ford, was given a chance to give us better access into Massaya's Thai-Malay background (which I believe the lead actually does have).
While, unfortunately, I felt in the 2017 version the writers really lost a great opportunity build that into the story some more. I felt we lost a lot of the story on her mother which would have been great. We actually did get more on Massaya's mother's culture in the 2000 story than in the 2017. I would have loved to hear and see the full solo version of the Hitam Manis Malay song sung by Massaya in the 2000 that was lost in 2017---it was so beautifully done in 2000.
Even if Mookda couldn't sing she should have done it, just like in the 2000 version. It was so beautifully executed in the earlier version. Ford Buachompoo (2000's Massaya) obviously sung the original version of the song and it wasn't great but it was captivating and sweet. I loved Andrew's acting. Andrew was the best. He is a very natural actor. I felt he's a stronger and better actor than Mick.
I think I would have actually preferred his version of Luk in the 2017 during the 1950s time period with the 2000 time period mentality he executed. That would have made for some interesting storyline. Mick would have been FIRE! I felt that Mick...despite being great...I think I wanted this sort of cocky, flirty, but also protective and kind and very three-dimensional character/persona from the get-go that Andrew provided in the 2007 story. As I said, Mick was very two-dimensional early on, he didn't expand until later.
Luk ~ Andrew 2000 vs. Mick 2017---I'm giving it to Andrew 2000.
Massaya ~ Ford 2000 vs. Mookda 2017 ---- I'm giving it to Mookda 2017.
As you can see I raved about Mookda's acting and what she delivered. I raved about what Andrew delivered. I liked Ford, but she was whatever for me. Andrew owned the scenes each and every time, everywhere. Mookda and Mick had more chem than Andrew & Ford. So Mickda owned the screen. As I said, After watching 2000 I wanted Mick's Luk to be less the great self-righteous hero they made him out to be and a flirty guy added to his wishy-washy behaviour (the behaviour was because of his situation between love and duty).
I recommend both dramas. Andrew is so good. He's a great actor. He is on my fave list. I was never into him or Weir, until this winter break. He's brilliant.
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The characters were all on point, and none of them were painted in a 1 dimensional light. They all had their good and bad points and there were situations that brought out both sides of people. Even the good aunt had bad points, and the bad aunt had good points - and they are all quite acknowledging about their faults when it is pointed out to them. Everyone were fully fleshed out characters here and got enough screen time. The writers for this must have been exceptional.
Controversially, my favourite characters would be Luk, Massaya, the bad aunt, and Pong. The main leads are my fav because they are so cute together and this story focuses mainly on the changing relationship between Massaya and Luk. Much more so than any other version. I watched precious versions in previous years and was always left dissatisfied because there wasn't enough romance. This one had the perfect balance of romance and family for me. (But maybe it has too much romance for other people? The main story is Luk and Massaya.)
I like the bad aunt over the good aunt because the bad aunt embraces her faults and goes along with it. Yet, deep inside, she loves deeply to a select few. She also sees others' faults and calls them out on it. She is a strong woman, and ans always, strong women are vilified by people around them. Granted, she didn't go about being 'strong' and truthful the correct way, but she was not afraid to call people out on their double standards no matter who they were. She also praised where praise was due.
Pong - I just understood him. He lived by his mom"s teaching, but knew when it was wrong, and he always did the right thing. His grandmother was his problem, as she was a problem for every single person in her family. Sometimes she reminded me of my own grandma, but my grandma gave up long ago on trying to control people - she knows she can't make young people do anything because we're too modern and wayward lol.
I like that this show was set in the past (maybe 1950s to 1970s) Characters like this would go about the situations in this story a totally different way in modern times. That is what makes this story so charming and sweet. I'd like to see a modern version, but I also know this story can"t really fly without being bratty and abrasive in modern times.
For Massaya, the character, some say she is immature and bratty. I don't see that. I see a young girl struggling at falling in love and fitting into the city life. She was also much more than the Ram... family thought she was, better educated etc. She did not expose herself because she was upset at their self- superiority, and unwillingness to learn about her. She struggled with being herself in a place that told her every way of life she knew before, was wrong. Even her grandma - maybe Massaya came to love her grandma, but she only stayed for Luk.
What I hated this show for - grandma tried to keep marrying everyone off. And the music was inappropriate at times.
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Here, we have Mick Thongraya, playing alongside two actresses, one of which is former beauty queen and looks like thai Pryianka Chopra, the other is former teen-beauty queen and looks particularly awkward with him as she reaches about his waist with her head LOL
Seriously, what is the main problem is the lack of chemistry or believable story, as the main girl leaves her home where she lived whole life and was perfectly happy, only to stay in some huge mansion where everybody pesters her. She just has a perfect brother-sister like relationship which suddenly changes into love in a way that seems forced for the script purposes only. You don't believe in this couple even when she does such believable things as stealing military vehicle and going to save him single-handedly in the jungle.
I didn't care how it will end... Enough said.
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Overall, I liked this drama because of the plotline and their chemistry together, but I felt like Massaya cries way too much, she was fine earlier in the drama but she just cried every episode which made me a little triggered as to how many times she has cried. She’s known to be a little bit of a tomboy but throughout the drama, she shows her sensitive side.
Lak and Massaya went through many different struggles as they had to find themselves and to hide their relationship as they both developed feelings for each other. Their chemistry was not spicy overall so if you’re looking for something with that, then this is the wrong place for that. I didn’t like the spontaneous change of feelings to add a huge suspense towards the end, but the ending was cute.
This is my first time watching Mookda act, so I think she’s a good actress so far and am looking forward to see what else she’s gonna act. Mik overall is such a great actor, I’ve watched him for many years before making this tumblr so if I do some rewatches then I’ll definitely post them. I had a month-ish break because I rewatched Hwayugi and it’s still SOO GOOOD AND I DEFINITELY RECOMMEND IT STILL. I’m currently watching a chinese drama, so expect a post on it next week!
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I watched this after having withdrawal symptoms from Mookda's latest drama, and while it wasn't as epic, it was certainly addicting and entertaining. The story revolves around Massaya, a young girl whose father was chased away by his mom after she disapproved of his marriage. The kicker is that the woman is not his real mom; she adopted him after he lost his parents and raised him as her own. This should chase away the worries that the main leads are related; they are certainly not biologically related, although the faux relations added to how addicting their relationship was. After the father was kicked out, years pass by and the woman (a grandma at this point) regrets what she did. She enlists her eldest grandson, Lak, to bring back Massaya and raise her under their house name (the father passed away at this point, so now she's doubly guilty) although not without troubles from the other members of the family.I admit I was worried about how the show was going to bring Lak and Massaya together; in the beginning we see Lak and his gf, Chom, as a strong couple but grandma doesn't like Chom bc she thinks Chom is not good enough for her (and at this point Chom is not a bad person). I felt like they'd be the leads of the lakorn with what they were going through and didn't see how Lak would fall for Mass (I almost didn't want him to). Likewise, while I could def see why Mass liked Lak, I shipped her with Nop who is the sweetest guy ever and who I had serious 2nd ML syndrome for. Each couple were well suited for each other, and I wouldn't have minded if they ended up together. But ohhhhh boy did the show prove me wrong, and had them come together in the best guilty pleasure way possible.
Like Tan Chai said (a fav character of mine btw), love does not equal suitability. We see how Lak progressively falls deeper and deeper for Mass and gets increasingly possessive of her. You get the sense where you know the stuff he's doing is crossing boundaries but it's honestly too good not to watch. I felt bad for Chom bc she's just watching Lak fall out of love for her, but it unfortunately turns her into a villain set out to get Lak back (tho honestly I didn't think he treated her well when they were together anyway).
Now onto some weak points. Definitely what bothered me was how unreliable Lak was; one moment he tells Mass that nothing will break them apart but when things get too real then he backs off and tells her everything he did was a lie. He does this about two or three times which is too many and even Mass gets tired of his flip-flopping and runs from him (made great tv ngl but def not a good relationship lol). He does make up for what he's done in a satisfactory manner, so it doesn't feel completely messed up. I also didn't like how the grandma was repeating her mistakes in forcing Lak to be with someone he didn't love (this was when he was with Chom + Mass; tho with Mass I could understand cuz relations. But still.). Another thing that bothered me was the family drama; it's obvious that the grandma is biased towards Mass' dad and Lak, which causes Lak's aunt to be super jealous and hateful. It doesn't excuse the crappy stuff her and her daughter do to Mass but grandma is def at the heart of it. I wish this part of the drama was more fleshed out as not all the members of the aunt's family are bad and I felt like they had more to tell then what we were given.
I want to shout out two gems in this lakorn: Nop and Pong. Nop is just the sweetest; you could argue that he's being pushy but he never forces Mass to do anything and just wants her to give him a chance. He even helps her get together with Lak even though he's in love with her and I honestly felt cheated that I didn't get to see how he ended up in the finale. Pong was surprising; initially he was super annoying and was trying to steal Chom from Lak, but we see later he's actually a good person and brother. Also he persists in courting Chom despite her history with Lak, by waiting for her after work, being good to her parents and overall just following his heart (Lak should takes notes lol).
Overall this was a great watch and I'd definitely recommend. I really like the music in this lakorn, there were great songs and it was played appropriately. Am definitely re-watching for the OTP and Nop + Mass scenes.
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Not going to lie, I really lost interest towards the end but i still finished it to see the fate of the main couple.
PROS:
- main couple has good chemistry... Mas and Lak make a believable couple but i liked their scenes in the beginning when he was playing the possessive older brother role as opposed to when they became a couple
- decent side characters... I hated most at first but some of them really grow on you such as Pongthep (tbh I kind of shipped Pong and Mas but they sadly weren't linked as more than cousins)
CONS:
- sad kissing scenes... i've literally just given up hope for kissing scenes in thai lakorns
- too many people are against them being together at first... seriously Mas and Lak have no blood relationship but everyone has to make this complicated
- unnecessary obstacles leading to the reunion
Overall its worth a watch!
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Lakorn romantique cultissime avec MIK.
Lakorn rom. culte avec MIK (acteur qui est beau en toutes circonstances) et Mookda (excellente elle aussi), qui retrace la romance entre 1 aristo militaire de grande famille et sa "cousine adoptive" issue d'une région rurale.Pour une fois, la série est relativement courte (17 ép de 1h30).
De la même façon, ce drama évite les pièges classiques des lakorn :
- quelques longueurs mais ça reste acceptable,
- ensemble pas trop mélo,
On reste dans certains clichés :
- il y a bien sûr de multiples Love ▲ et un bon nombre de conflits familiaux (la difficulté de vivre
- quelques evil characteres (l'ex qui refuse d'abandonner, tante jalouse,...)
- et l'opposition de la famille (respect et obéissance absolus aux ainés)
Mais l'ensemble est plutôt bien fait, raconté intelligemment et surtout porté par d'excellents acteurs.
Un chef d’œuvre du genre, à ne pas rater.
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Bad story/Good Romance
I have watched 3 of Mik's dramas in total and this is the only one where I see some acting and expressions from him whereas in others he is so still and no acting, only looks. The story could have been written better. The romance part was the best I have seen so far in a Thai drama. Mik did a good job with the expressions in the romance scenes. Tbh this drama had so much potential but it was wasted bcuz of the story line. First thing the FL's mother is royalty which the grandma accepts after finding out at the beginning but still calls the FL's mother as commoner and low life later on. Second the ML already had a gf whom he loved but bcuz of no reason he starts loving someone else. He told his gf the same thing as he says to the FL later which is he will only marry and love her. This makes the ML a person with weak character and unfaithful. This destroyed the ML's character. Third how a lady like the Grandma accept a mistress of her husband & let her live in the house. The grandma is a dictator & I don't understand why everyone love her and obey her. There are alot of plot holes in the story line. The only thing I liked is the romance between the leads. Mik's emotional voice during emotional scenes was a plus for him.Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
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This is beyond my own expectation. I started watching Massaya with a mixed feelings, because I have other dramas waiting in list but somehow I felt attracted with the couple combination. So I went to watch the first episode, and I'm hooked. I'm the kind of person who'd skip the scenes which are unnecessary for me, but in this drama, I barely skipped any (only on the last two episodes because it was a bit draggy for me), but overall, I managed to watch it all completely.
I love how the time setting was. And as I don't usually like these kind of time setting, the 1950s kind of setting, I ended up loving it. It could've been because of the story line, which suited best with this time setting.
However, I'd have to say that there are some unnecessary characters which made me wonder why are they even there? They're insignificant, I'd say. There are too many couples, and honestly, when I was watching there was a scene where Nop handed his hankerchief to Pan, I had the slightest hope there's going to be another love line between two of them (which I'm glad there's none)
The main characters, both Massaya and Lak are just too adorable, but I wished he'd man up even more. There are some parts when I felt like Massaya was the guy in the relationship where she was a strong and fierce girl, and managed to handle the problems alone. Lak on the other hand, only managed to run away from the problem, and it was all because of the grandma.
Don't even make me start with the grandma, and Lak's mother. The grandma should really learnt from her past mistake, how Massaya's parents had to struggle when she go against their marriage. But she still have the feeling that she's so highly and mighty that she could order EVERYONE to do as what she wants. Even her own granddaughter. Pfft. Lak's mother... Sometimes I wish she'd just stand up for her son, instead of trying to separate the couple. But instead, she keeps on following Grandma's order, while sacrificing her own son's happiness.
Overall it was a fun ride. I almost cried along with Massaya, especially when she started quivering her lips as she tried to hold her tears *feels* And I'm so happy in the end they managed to stay together, despite everything they had to endure.
I might not want to rewatch this so much, but I'd love to see this couple in another drama. The combo is so great, but I want something more intense between them, more of a slap and kiss? (LOL)
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I am not a great fan of Thai Lakorn. Only finished a few of them. I watched this one out of curiosity.STORY:
Very simple story: a girl goes to live with her family and falls in Love with her guardian who is her older brother. They find each other and fight plenty of hardships to be together. I thought the story was cute. I am not used to this kind of plots. I regret there is such a big age gap between the two in the biginning. Something like 18 or 19 years. 17 eps is too much for the story. The pace was draggy at times. I think the story would have been more entertaining with a faster pace and characters a bit more complex. Most of them were very one dimentional with a precise role.
CHARACTER / CAST:
- The main lead is a liability in this drama. He is handsome and well built but he is weak and fickle and his decision making is no good like when he choses to escape or step back multiple times and makes the girl cry. He always go to ask counsel or help from his Royal Friend. He receives plenty of help from his sister, his cousin Pongthep, his rival Nop, his friends, even the maids of the house... but he doesn't plan and execute what is needed to chase his girl and defend their Love. When things turn difficult he looks like a cry baby. It is weird to see him cry just because it is complicated. I found he was a very weak character. The guy is supposed to be 35 and a lieutenant in the military. The actor was pretty good though.
- The main girl for me was just a cute kid who met her first Love (likely). I did not like her crying too much. She was silly and wild but had a good character evolution. I liked the fact that she was abused and scolded by the grandmother and she had respect but also was able to talk back. She was good at fighting barehands but did not used it to kick asses in the house. The actress did well but I liked her acting better in Maturot Lohgan. She was more funny.
- The main vilain the crazy bipolar psycho grandmother was unbearable. Could not stand her. I was so glad she kicked the bucket in the end. Or else she would have found ways to torture everyone and specially our main couple. I found she was the cause of everything wrong in the house.
- Pongthep looked evil at first but surprisingly his character became good. I did not understand his infatuation for his cousin's gf and then ex. They don't look an assorted couple.
- I like the supporting characters, the good ones : The little sister, Nop, the maids, the royal friend, the grand father...even the guy from the newspaper. The evil cousin and her mother : too grotesque.
MUSIC: I found it was a bit repetitive. But the songs were ok: Massaya, Slipping away and Hitam manis
REWATCH : No, sometime too draggy and painful to watch
OVERALL : OK drama to pass the time.
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One of the best thai lakorns you'll get to see...
Oh my god...there are so many emotions running through my brain I can't even begin to explain but I'll still try.First of all the story of this lakorn is pretty good but a total mind f*ck because initially all the different characters are introduced and there are a lot of characters with 50 shades of personalities. After awhile I understood who was who and their inter-relationships (cause that's hella messy). It's got some elements of the lakorns like kidnapping the FL, plotting love rivals and evil family members but also lacks some aspects (for a period drama this does not have as much manhandling of the FL by the ML as usually happens which I appreciate).
So the basic storyline is the Rattanamahasaan house (I'm gonna refer it to as the Ratt house/family) is like this wealthy and prestigious household. The Madam Ratt adopted this kid Saan who was an orphan of their close family friend and raises him with her own 2 kids. Now when he grows up he falls in love with a girl not accepted by Madam Ratt and gets kicked out. Now years later she has 8 grandkids- 2 from her deceased son named Lak and Nit and 6 from her daughter Sajee named Pong, Pin, Pan and 3 other little kids who are not really relevant to the story. Madam Ratt send all 5 of her grown up grandkids and her daughter-in-law Ying (Lak & Nit's mom) to bring home Massaya, her adopted son Saan's daughter. The rest of the story revolves around Massaya and Lak as they get familiar and later fall in love.
I mainly watched this drama because I love both Mik and Mookda. Most of the other actors were relatively new to me but they all nailed their performances.
Massaya was well portrayed as the innocent, sometimes naive but kinda headstrong girl. Some of her decisions were very frustrating like her rebelling everytime she was asked to do something or even when she was being abused by her grandmother she wouldn't leave instead of endure it (even when she left it was because of Lak).
Lak's character was okay. I don't think I would have had a problem if he actually ended up with Chom (since she was a good person at the start) but as the episodes went by it became obvious that the main reason he was dating her was more because he was initially attracted to her good personality, unlike with Mas for whom he had fallen for at first sight.
Chom's character was going steadily nice until people started poising her and she literally devolved. You can see her nosedive into a cliff despite various other people trying to save her. She misplaced her anger (like half of the other characters in the show) and instead of going after Lak she tried harming Mas. I liked that she went back to how she was before during the end of the series.
Pong and Pan were similar characters. Both of the siblings got incited by their mother to behave badly. In Pan's case as soon as she distanced herself from her sister and mother she improved whereas with Pong he gradually realized that the hate had made his family go as far as committing crimes and he kinda sobered up. The final point in his redemption was when he got acknowledged by Madam Ratt. I didn't really like him pairing up with Chom because while he wasn't the best person at first and Chom was pretty good initially, Chom treated him like sh*t (she literally told him that him and her was impossible so he might as well help her destroy Lak & Mas's relationship to get Lak back). I feel he could have done better but whatever.
Pin was also a conflicting character but among all her siblings she was the most like her mother and also the most influenced by her.
Khun Ying's character was basically Madam Ratt's puppet. Whatever she was told to do she simply did it even if it conflicted with what she wanted.
Tan Chai is probably the best wingman in Thai lakorn history ever. Whatever problem Lak had Tan Chai's immediate response was "I think I can help you". Seriously the best character in the series.
Nop was basically collateral damage. I mean I agree that he and Mas were not a good fit (they both seemed very childlike to be together) but they didn't have to play him like a fiddle.
Madam Ratt was the worst character followed by her own daughter Sajee. I wondered as to how Sajee turned out to be so b*tchy and entitled but later realised she was just like her mother. The only difference between the two was that Madam Ratt had the power and money. Other then that they were both classist, selfish and highly manipulative. Sajee was definitely better because she told her enemies that she hated them and then attacked whereas Madam Ratt maintained a sweet facade and then manipulated others to do her bidding.
I was a bit unsatisfied with the ending cause they offed the grandma (which seemed unnecessary), put Pong and Chom together (as stated I didn't like that), did not put Nop with anybody (I felt like he Pan gelled together) and showed 5 years of separation between Lak and Mas which ended with just a lousy reunion instead of like a wedding or something.
Anyway it's still a good drama so I would definitely recommend it.
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