Cutie Pie (2022)

It Wasn't Entirebly Terrible..?

I've already written this entire thing, but my laptop decided it had other ideas, so now I don't feel like repeating what I've said (and I also don't remember all of it), so I'll just reiterate some of the things I wrote. For one, I definitely remember saying that I wished I would've watched this series while it aired since it just felt so hard to keep up with in the beginning. This series had beautiful actors, half-a-million-dollar sets, and some perfectly sculpted heat scenes, but it still wasn't enough for me to leave feeling satisfied.

Let's Dive In,

Cutie Pie is a nontraditional Thai style setup (at least that's how it felt to me) about Kuea, an undercover rebel who acts as an angel around his arranged finance since childhood, Hia Lian. Hia Lian is a workaholic whose primary focus in life is his business and keeping the promise he made to Kuea's Grandfather. Through some misunderstands, poor communication, and a couple of heated kisses, it's happily ever after, with two other couples following the same problems. My initial feelings on why I think it would've been better to watch while it aired is so that I could have time to really understand what was going on. Instead, I just went on to the next episode, hella confused and just going with the flow.

In some cases, it felt like things were happening too late, like how I went through half of the series thinking that Hia Yi and Diao were also in an arranged marriage. Instead, Hi Yi just wanted to take care of him after some childhood accident made him forget his memory (even though Hia Yi bosses Diao around. shouldn't it be vice-versa?). Same with Nuea who has an apparent crush or maybe is weirdly overprotective of Kuea at the beginning, but then it's never explained why. He's then in la-la land with Syn and you just, again, have to go with the flow.

Now let's talk about Hia Lian and Kuea who I still don't know if I loved or hated. For one, I think the actors did a phenomenal job or at least did as well as they could with the material they were given. I also liked that Kuea needed to learn how to be his whole self around Hia Lian, and that Hia Lian needed to learn how to show his emotions and love and embrace his feelings for Kuea. But what I didn't like was the constant back and forth, Lian would have to reassure Kuea every other episode that he did love him, but by the time we get to the end and Lian proposes and Kuea shuts him down, it's frustrating, especially since his reason is the same shit that Lian had reassured him about on multiple occasions. And it's yell-worthy just for them to go back to the house and everything be okay. By this point, 2x speed was used. That also goes for the misunderstanding (or bad communication) with Lian's plan to help Kuea's family, something that was added at the last minute, and left me annoyed. And sure, their heated scenes were done very nicely, and the consent was perfectly sculpted, but it's still not enough for me. They tried to explain the whole marriage thing since it's pointless to be engaged in a country that doesn't support same-sex marriage, but it's so filler that I just roll my eyes. I think this show started to rely on the heated scenes and just gave up on telling a comprehensible story. I'm still indecisive about these two, but I think I've come to the conclusion that I'm satisfied enough, but if the showrunners had focused more on their story then they really could've been the 'IT' couple. Instead, they told Zee and New to do some kissy kissy time to get away with their poor writing.

I'm also indecisive about Hia Yi and Diao who I loved, but their story is rather a dumb one. The lost childhood memory is fine, but what specifically did he forget? and did I miss it? How come Hia Yi is bossy and mean and then all of the sudden he's just super nice? I won't even get into the whole fiasco of the weird dog-eating storyline. Anyways, the same goes for them, they had great heated scenes, but something crucial is missing. I can't pinpoint it with my finger, but it's something big, and it aggravates me to the fullest. It was probably the lack of character development out of Diao who is seemingly the same person he was at the beginning to the end, or how he's just written to be pretty much perfect with none of his own problems other than getting caught in lies and not keeping things to himself. Hia Yi has a crack of character development, maybe being a bit more lenient and not so harsh to Diao, but it's nothing much, or rather to-your-face-noticeable. My critique stays the same for these two, a better story, a better build-up to their relationship, and they could've also done well with some more screentime.

Syn and Nuea are cute, but nothing more. They had great build-up, but I didn't really feel the chemistry between the actors. Again, nothing wrong in the kissing department, but it comes out of the blue that it feels more comical than realistic. Also, Nuea is not my favorite character, just because the writers didn't give him much of a story, if one at all, and we know next to nothing about him. They barely have any screentime after the public display of affection in which they start to fall off the wagon for me. I think this could've been a fun couple, but with little screentime and poor development, it just feels like they were thrown in at the last minute, and instead of telling their story, the writers could've focused more on the other two that could've used more work.

I'll leave this off on a good note and talk about some things I did really enjoy: I loved Foei, and he might've been my favorite character. I'm kind of upset the writers didn't utilize him more, and I would've rather seen his story than the third couple. Jay was also a good supporting role, but more so just because I love Perth and there's no way I couldn't love any character Perth plays.

The friendship between Diao and Kuea is nicely done, with them being there for one another no matter what, and it's good to show a healthy male-male friendship like this that is still intimate and meaningful without crossing into romantic.

I want to see this company's receipts because the houses they used are MASSIVE. And yes, BLs tend to use huge houses, but Yi's house? with the multiple expensive cars in the back? They did not disappoint in this department, and I am pleasantly surprised.

Ratings:

Story: 7.5 - There's a story, but it feels rather vague, and with the hype around this show only being because of the love scenes, it's hard to focus on this aspect when nobody else is. However, I won't knock it all down, there were a few things that I liked and it was enough to keep me watching so, I guess it wasn't all that bad.

Acting: 8.5 - I think most of the actors were good, but Nat was probably not the strongest performer, and you're only as strong as your weakest link. I've never been a huge fan of Nat's acting, but he did rather well in Y-Destiny, but here, I just feel that disconnect again. He's kind of awkward (in a good way) and it shows in his acting.

Music: 6.5 - Fine I guess, didn't really pay all that much attention.

Rewatch Value: 1.5: eh, very less likely.

I don't think this series is bad, but I do grade more harshly on things that are widely popular or hyped because I feel the need to see what others see, and 6 times out of 10, I don't. But if you are looking for some decent NC scenes, then you've got it here. If that's not really you're mojo, then this can be a series you watch later or as slow as you want. No need to rush.

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