Cupid's Last Wish (2022)

Wash Away Your Negative Body-Swap Ideations

I remember watching the trailer after the 2022 line-up and thinking, "this is how they're going to utilize this trending pair? In a god-damn body-swap BL??!" and this was right before I saw the masterpiece that was the Moonlight Chicken trailer. It was already so bizarre to me that Earth and Mix were getting two of their own series in just a year, and it also caused a little bit of fret since I, with no doubt, adored them in ATOTS and was concerned that them playing different characters would ultimately ruin their dynamic. They're so good in one thing that you hold up this high expectation for them in another, and while I won't say I loved this on the same terms as much as I love ATOTS, I for sure wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did.

Let's Dive In.

I went into this with very low expectations, since I was so ready to just be fundamentally let down, and I did that so that I wouldn't draw any lost hope. I'm happy that most of what I was expecting didn't happen, but then, of course, there were some other things I wasn't so fond of. Cupid's Last Wish is the story about Win and his family as they go through a great loss of losing their father and gaining his inheritance, including the family-owned farm. When Win founds out that his childhood friend has a part of his father's inheritance, he feels betrayed and like Korn was using his family. A year passed, Win finds out his sister was still in contact with Korn, and because of that, he storms off with her in tow, and sadly, they get into an accident, causing them to switch bodies. Win is given this task to find holy waters to return to his original body, causing this frenzied adventure, with Win being reminded how much he loves Korn, and by the time he gets back to his body, there's a little turmoil, but it's a happy ending. Genuinely, I think this was the best handle of a body switch in BL, and mind you, I was a die-hard fan of Great Men Academy (not a body switch, more like a body metamorphosis, but still). It didn't have any of the pathetic tropes that come with switching bodies, like the underlying, "I'm a guy but in a girl's body so it's okay for me to be in love with you." or, "I'm a girl in a guy's body which makes it technically okay for me to love you since I have the soul of a female". I worried that because this series had the same director as FUTS, it would be a total abomination, but I can say, this series is a knee-kicker compared to the disaster (excluding Meen and Duean (but not that kiss, ewe)) that was Fish Upon The Sky.

What could've been a lot better: The entirely of the conflict is just one big misunderstanding, and the problem with everything and everyone is not having decent communication skills. Of course, if communication were present, this series would only last maybe two episodes, but it's so daunting to watch everything spiral out of control when someone could've just spoken up and the situation would've been resolved. You could tell in the first episode that Korn wasn't doing anything that Win was accusing him of, and it's dragged on for too long, only to be made clear in the last freaking episode. I could've told you that! Also, I don't like how Lin just went along with getting engaged to Korn without even explaining the plan to Korn in the hopes that Win would speak up before they actually did get engaged. It's so mindless and stupid, what were the writers even thinking, and who thought this was a masterpiece of an idea??! Again, communication is so lacking, and I'm tired of watching BLs where their entire plot is ran off of human beings that don't know how to talk to one another.

This might've been a translation error, or maybe a culturally different custom, but in episode 9, Lin's mom asked Korn if he, "took advantage of her", in which he explains he did, but with his true feelings. Huh? Korn never, not even once, takes advantage of "Lin" (in my perspective of taking advantage of someone, it's taking their vulnerability or naiveness and using it to someone's advantage, physically, emotionally, mentally, and in most cases, sexually), nor did he ever do something for the likes of himself because of his "true feelings". Again, it threw me completely off my wagon, and I was hella confused. It made the conversation icky, and I know I felt icky thinking he would of course say no, but then says yes, and you just kind of want to vomit a bit in your mouth. I don't know if "taking advantage" has a different meaning in Thailand or culture-wise, but I know it through me for a loop.

Everyone knows that I love Mix, and I was so proud of him for being a rookie actor and giving us the performance he does in ATOTS, but here, his acting felt weak in a lot of spots. When he was goofy around with Korn, it's great, having heart-to-heart talks were great, the chemistry between them was off the charts, but in the scene where he was seemingly angry, I felt like it was severely weak, and it's really just him shouting with no desire behind it. Even in episode one, he's just shouting and yelling with such a monotone face. It's hard for you to play into his feelings, and you kind of just turn the volume down to save yourself from second-hand embarrassment. I wanted him to talk sternly and with emotion behind his voice when he was mad, not just yell in Earth's face.

Lastly, I wish that Korn was the only one that could actually see Win as himself, even in Lin's body. I wish that the Monk would've secretly told Korn that he was the only one that could see Win as his true form, and while Win is freaking out that Korn is only getting close to him cause he looked like Lin, it would be revealed that Korn never saw Lin and only saw Win, as he was before the accident. It would've made for a pretty good twist, and I was kind of waiting for it to happen, but then it never did, and again I had hope for something that went crashing. Because, sure, you're supposed to fall in love with somebody's soul and not care what they look like, but falling in love with someone also plays a part in falling in love with their appearance. So it's nice when Korn and "Win" kiss for the first time, but you can't help but think that's he's kissing "Lin", and while she might not be her actual self, it's still her body. I don't know, I wish they would've held off on the first kiss after Win returned to his body, but it was a really nice kiss, so who am I to complain?

What I liked: This kind of ties into why I like Great Men Academy so much, but I loved watching Win experience what it's like to be a woman. By far the funniest episode is the one where Win experiences a menstrual cycle and goes through the trials and tribulations of PMSing. Now, sure, most of it was exaggerated, but it was still fun to see. Even Korn trying to buy pads was just cracking me up. Because, if body-switching were a real thing, I believe it would be similar to what happens in tv series.

The chemistry between Mix and Earth is so much more poignant in CLW than it ever was in ATOTS. And I appreciate that we obviously see that they have feelings for one another before the switch happens, and it's even better after he switches back. They just give each other this look that is so vivid that you just gain butterflies at the sight of it. By episode 10, their chemistry is unmatched. The softness in their voices as they speak to one another, them kind of just being them for a moment and playing around in the bed, gosh I loved it all. It also didn't hurt that their make-out sessions were very intimate and sexy. Like literally I was shook watching them kiss, especially when you think back to their one and only kiss in ATOTS. Them boys got some mouths on them.

I loved seeing Jan again since FUTS (or at least that's the last time I remember her). She is such a versatile actor from playing a cute and shy girl to being tough once playing as Win. I really do hope to see her in more projects. It was also really nice to see Gun since the last time I saw him was Tonhon Chonlatee. Champ was so cute with his little curly hair, and It was nice to see him again, I'll always take my chances to see him again. White was adorable in those glasses, and while he and Lin end up together in the last episode, I would've liked to see them have that connection throughout the series. Na who plays the chef that has a crush on Korn is ridiculously handsome -- just throwing that out there.

The scenery was beautiful. the large oak tree that they sat under was mesmerizing, and I loved every second of it. I know some people were complaining about the color grading in the series on Disney+, and I can't make too much of a comment on that since I watched this through DC, but It does look fundamentally better on YouTube, so I'll give it that.

Rating:

Story: 8.5 - I liked watching "Win" and Korn go through their little adventure to get where they needed to be. The story was fun and a bit refreshing, but I'll take a star and half off for all the miscommunication errors that could've been easily avoided.

Acting: 9.0 - The acting was really good. Jan stood out to me the most, and Earth wasn't much far behind her. The mom was decent, but she struggled to cry. Mix was really good when he wasn't having to be mad. White and the rest of them were decent too. I'll take a star off for the struggle to show the emotional parts the characters went through.

Music: 5.5 - had a nice upbeat to it, but ATOTS is much more memorable. Cute songs though.

Rewatch Value: 2.5: I can see myself rewatching this series while it airs on Youtube, so that counts as a rewatch.

Overall, this might have been a body swap, but it's handled with much care. The director at least knew to switch between Lin and Win during their adventures, so it doesn't feel off (even though when Win gets back into his body, it's a little lackluster since we've pretty much seen him the entire time). I highly recommend this, it's super cute, super fun, and I can't wait to see Earth and Mix again.

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