Lhong Ngao Jun (2019)

--- Warning: SPOILERS---

There’s a genre in Thai lakorn called slap & kiss. Like the name suggests, it is highly problematic and full of slapping, screaming, fighting and all kinds of violent and toxic behavior. I think the reason why people watch it is because it’s like watching a car wreck. It’s not something you see everyday. The characters are so over the top that they make cartoon characters realistic. They can make the viewer angry and yes, in some cases, they can also make the viewer laugh. I do not recommend this genre unless one already likes ‘makjang’ to begin with. In fact, slap & kiss is like a crack genre that is even more extreme than makjang. Only watch this if you can’t take it seriously.

I do not usually watch slap kiss but I was actually introduced to watching asian dramas though it, when someone made recommendations in the romance novel board I used to visit.

When done well (ex: Kluen Cheewit) though, they remind me of the romance novels I used to read. I think Long Ngao Jan 2019 is one of the ‘better ones.' I don’t recommend the older version but this later version is able to do something which I rarely see in this genre.

It’s able to point out that all the characters are dysfunctional and that it is problematic.

This is one of those rare lakorns where I did not hate the antagonist. Khem was horrible but the plot did a good job of explaining why she turned out that way. From the very beginning when she was young, she was already brainwashed by her mother to believe that her older sister would take everything from her. Her upbringing lead her to become a resentful person. I felt that every time she did something bad, she was also hurting. When she finally turned into a total mess I felt sorry for her because she was both an antagonist and a victim.

The FL (the older sister) was the main victim of the drama. She was a doormat who was abused since childhood by her stepmother and stepsister and was used to always giving in. She had a father and grandparents who loved her but they couldn’t protect her enough. This is the type of weak FL that many would despise but I could’t help but admire her love for her sister. Also, the actress playing this role usually plays bitchy, antagonistic roles, so her being able to play this pitiful character was actually impressive for me.

The lead hero is what I call ‘a jerk with a heart of gold.’ Acts like an ass but can actually be nice if he weren’t so deluded about the FL. He straightens out later and I don’t know if it’s a little too late or too much; it depends on one’s personal level of tolerance. I think he’s written to be much nicer here than in the older version (psycho) who I can hardly watch. In here, all the characters in the family were so messed up that the ML just gets swallowed up by them, even if he was the one who started causing trouble in the first place.


I like how, instead of focusing on his revenge scheme, the story focuses on how the dysfunctional family caused mental issues and destroyed the relationship between the sisters. I don’t know if it showed an accurate representation- especially of the antagonist’s condition but at the very least, it points out that yes, this character is problematic and yes, this is what happens if things aren’t sorted out.

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