Unforgotten Night (2022)

Not sure if I liked this or hated it.

My reactions on this show are so confusing. First, let's start with the plot. Oh, wait, no plot. Yep, again with the story built around the sex scenes and not much else. Next, acting. Well, the actor who played Kamol had no expression pretty much the whole series. Not once. Angry, sad, in love, all one expression ... blank. The actor who played Kim was slightly better, but his reactions varied from sulking to sad to clueless with little in between. He was adorable though, so that saved him from total idiocy. [UPDATE: Since I've written this review I've seen several interviews with Yoon and Ton (the main actors) and found that they both have normal expressions and can smile and behave like other people. This leads me to believe that the director asked for the specific expressions (or lack thereof) that were made during this series. So this appears to be the fault of the director and not the actors themselves.] The music was nothing. Like the only thing I remember about it was that they played creepy music during the sex scenes. Is that supposed to be sexy? I have doubts about the competency of this director. Rewatch value: if you like the sex scenes, you can skim back and watch those again, but I wasn't that impressed. Overall, I gave this show a higher value than it deserved because I was impressed with Kamol's absolute dedication and adoration for Kim. Since it was based on a one night stand and somehow he was able to maintain that intensity of love over the course of learning about Kim's personality, I actually felt like the actors deserved props for that. Like Kamol's strangely blank expression was somehow able to at least show an intensity and his actions spoke volumes. So while I wouldn't say this show was good, I wouldn't say it was worthless.

Now about the relationships: this will contain some spoilers. For the first relationship, that is technically over when the series starts: Day and Kim! Wow, that's disgusting. Day is a prick and his love for Itt doesn't make him less of a selfish jerk. I would use other words if I didn't think there were some cursing rules on this website. Anyway, Day and Kim apparently close since high school and dating. But Day never cared about Kim and over time, trying to stay in a relationship with someone he didn't love lead him to treat Kim badly and feel resentment. Then when Day finally met someone else, he dumped Kim like trash. I mean, why not end the relationship as soon as Day realised he didn't love Kim, which was obviously before he met someone he did love? There is no reasoning there except for pure selfishness. Day couldn't let Kim go to find his own happiness until Day found someone else, so he kept Kim hanging on even though he treated him badly and resented him. So you hope for better with Kim's next relationship, but honestly, I don't think Day deserved better. Though he ended up with someone who loved him and treated him well, you could tell that even Itt felt jealous and unsure about Day at the beginning of the series. That's what happens when you string people along, neither your old lover nor your new lover can fully trust you.

Now for the main relationship between Kim and Kamol. Despite the fact that I said Kamol's intensity of love for Kim was cool to watch, this relationship started out as nothing but toxic. After a one night stand, Kamol was possessive, assuming, stalking, and demanding. Like he thought Kim was his property. Why Kim ultimately went with him still leaves me scratching my head in confusion. I can only assume that was Kim's low self-esteem was making that decision, which was what his toxic relationship with Day did to him. Also, though Kamol says he loves Kim and he's trying to protect him, his selfishness is also in evidence because the safest thing for Kim would actually be not having a relationship with a mafia boss whose job puts them in danger. If Kamol really loved Kim more than he loved himself, he would have let Kim go free in the beginning. So intensity doesn't dictate levels of actual love. Their relationship remains pretty toxic throughout the season, with Kim continuing to treat Kamol as though he doesn't care about him (very passive aggressive) and Kamol continuing to treat Kim like property until nearly the end. Then for some reason that escapes me, they both confess their strong love for each other. It was a little confusing why Kim kept making the choices that led him back to Kamol and why Kamol kept loving Kim with no logic or reason, but okay. There was an annoyance over the past relationship between Kim and Day. When Kamol found out, rather than talking to his lover, he did this whole ignore and hurt scenario that only caused confusion and heartbreak. It made no sense, but I guess they had to throw in some reason for Kim and Danil to get kidnapped together. Then when they come out of that situation, Kamol doesn't apologize to Kim for hurting him or even mention his mistake. In fact, Day explains that Kamol just wanted to make sure that Day never hurt Kim again. So why treat Kim like a piece of trash and why did that take so long? Again, plot device that they threw in to make a reason for the kidnapping situation and then never addressed. That really left a bad taste in my mouth. At the end, they did seem to love each other and there was a nearly invisible amount of character development that made it almost believable. So the relationships aren't totally toxic, or at least don't end up that way. Which is probably why the Kamol/Kim relationship makes me think it wasn't a waste of run time. Still not something I loved or would watch again, but not a complete waste of time.

Final note: With regard to the BDSM relationship between Kamol and Kim. I find the handling of this subject to be irresponsible and reprehensible. BDSM does not mean that one partner gets consent to do whatever he wants to the other partner without regard to that person's comfort or well being. While they took the time to show that Kamol got consent, the whole idea that Kamol was like "you're not allowed to run away no matter how much it hurts" is just absurd. Both partners would actually discuss and set boundaries, they might even have a safe word so that each partner can have an enjoyable and safe experience. It isn't just a no-holds barred, I'm going to beat you until you cry and try to run away scenario. They do what they both want to do and feel comfortable with, it's not that one sided. The way the writer casually spreads misinformation through books and the production company then glorifies it in their TV series just shows how little they know and how low they are willing to sink in the pursuit of money. They have absolutely no respect for the work they do. In that regard, they should all be ashamed of themselves.

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