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Unique Premise But Execution Could Have Been Better...
I was really excited to watch this BL as several people mentioned that it was their favourite BL. My first Studio Wabi Sabi production! Beautiful premise, but the execution could have been better. Not a fan of the Korn and In storyline to be honest. I find In to be kinda annoying and the love between In and Korn to be random, superficial, and rushed. Their relationship felt more like just an infatuation from In and Korn reluctantly giving in to In's advances rather than love, especially one that will transcend time and be worthy of suicide. Their story should have been fleshed out more. You don't believe that Korn and In are soulmates who are meant to be with one another. And to have their weak 'love' be the basis of the love between Dean and Pham kinda takes some semblance of truth away from the story. Their circumstance didn't warrant a suicide at all. The stakes weren't there. The double suicide came across like a cheap plot device used to create drama. Kinda disgusting of the writer to be honest. Couldn't Korn and In run away instead of commit suicide? They do have their own condo and were planning on eloping anyways. And like why didn't In's father stop In from committing suicide? Like he only shouted, "Don't" right when In already had the gun to his head. Like what?
However, in regards to Pharm and Dean's story, I really liked it in the first few episodes. Those moments when Pham and Dean came across one another made my heart so full! However, the story got aimless quickly as there was like no real destination; no end goal for the story to go towards, no momentum. In other BL series, usually, the protagonist and his love interest will get together after one of them gives chase and the other resists initially but finally relents. That's the end goal. But for this series, Pham and Dean are technically like together just 3 episodes in, so there's nothing to build towards, nothing to resolve (uncovering the past lives of Pharm and Dean as an end goal only came about like episode 9). They both love each other and there are no obstacles to their 'perfect' relationship. Even Alex (who is absolutely beautiful) who flirts with Pham, Pham doesn't give him a second glance because he only has eyes for Dean. They encounter their first moment of friction (when Dean forced himself on Pham) in episode 10 but it gets resolved a minute later. Not sure what the purpose of Dean forcing himself on Pham served but it was never addressed.
Without the reincarnation angle, Pham and Dean's story would be quite simple to be honest. They found each other quickly and it was love at first sight. That's it. And even with the reincarnation angle, they weren't actively searching for answers to their 'visions.' They just have flashback memories once in awhile and that’s it. The search is a subplot as the story focuses on their relationship, which is already rock-solid. And the search was so quick like literally two episodes because Dean luckily had a friend whose father is a police officer.
The last few episodes were pretty engaging though. That grandma confession moment in episode 10 was powerful! I literally held my breath throughout that entire scene. And there were some other powerful, touching moments sprinkled here and there. That finale was kinda messy. Pham finds out that Korn is his uncle and he decides to attempt to commit suicide? That makes absolutely no sense since he already knew he was related to Dean; that he (Intouch) is Dean's granduncle. What difference does knowing that Korn is his uncle make that makes him want to the condo with a gun to commit suicide. Nothing! Yes, Pham could have gotten a psychotic break where In 'took' over Pham's body, but why then? Why not earlier? The attempted suicide seemed like just a cheap plot device to amp up the tension. The last episode was touching though and it was nice to see the effects that suicide can have on a family, especially over something trivial like sexuality. I was pleasantly surprised to see them acknowledge the issue that I had in the back of my mind throughout the series, whether Dean and Pham love each other due to the 'red thread' (their past selves loving each other) or in spite of it.
It is interesting that the reason why Korn's father didn't want Korn to date a guy is because he fears what others would say, not that he is homophobic himself. And the reason why In's father didn't want In to date Korn is because Korn's father is a criminal.
There are a lot of tender moments between Dean and Pham, which pulls at your heartstrings and makes you wish that you had someone like that in your life. Their portrayal of intimate moments is probably the best when compared to other BL's that I've seen. Better than Tharntype, which I find tacky. Better than GMMTV, which are too PG. Better than History 3: Trapped and Addicted, which are more sexual.
The performances were good all around. I must say that Fluke, the actor who plays Pham, is very good at crying though it can be a bit much at times. The amount of crying in the series is way too much! It kinda takes away from the story in a sense. Because there is so much crying, you get numb and annoyed whenever someone cries due to a past memory. Like chill, fam! And though I found Pham to be so cute in the beginning, he began to irritate me. He literally doesn’t have any personality traits, other than cooking for his friends (his friends are using him but he’s clueless), being cute and crying a lot. And always getting embarrassed when his friends or Dean's friends brings up his relationship with Dean or when he sees a photo or video of him with Dean posted on social media. And being squeamish with Dean even though Dean is his boyfriend.
On a side note, the flourishing musical score that backgrounds scenes of Dean and Pharm is beautiful but it doesn't fit the story. It sounds more like the backdrop for an epic adventure film like Mulan to be honest.
On another side note, it was pretty nice seeing a fat person in a Thai BL series in the role of Manaow. I have watched a ton of BL's over the past several weeks and have yet to see an actual fat person, so the representation was nice. It sucks that everywhere you go, fat people don't get representation, even in American media. Manaow is the comic relief though. The crazy, hyper, obsessed, fujoshi fangirl. Hopefully, we will see her relationship with Pruek more in the sequel, Hemp Rope (weird title). And apparently, the actor who plays Pham, Fluke, is gay (according to a Reddit reply), so that's pretty cool also! He's so lucky to be able to get intimate with Ohm Thitiwat, who is the hottest BL actor in my opinion.
On a different note, I absolutely love the theme of reincarnation! The idea of soulmates finding one another again in a different lifetime makes my heart stir and those were the most powerful moments in the series; whenever reincarnation was at play. One of my favourite films, Cloud Atlas, also deals with it. We need more high concepts for BL like this and He's Coming To Me instead of the standard school setting.
On a final note, It would be nice to be able to meet your soulmate, feeling incomplete and having an vague idea of loving someone growing up until you actually see them and your heart swells. You feel overwhelmed, warm and longing. I wonder if there are people who felt this in this world...
P.S. I realized how much I wrote for this review. Damn! I had a lot of thoughts! Anyways, I enjoyed the series. Yes, it had a number of flaws, but its premise was unique. I am looking forward to and will be watching its sequel, Hemp Rope.
However, in regards to Pharm and Dean's story, I really liked it in the first few episodes. Those moments when Pham and Dean came across one another made my heart so full! However, the story got aimless quickly as there was like no real destination; no end goal for the story to go towards, no momentum. In other BL series, usually, the protagonist and his love interest will get together after one of them gives chase and the other resists initially but finally relents. That's the end goal. But for this series, Pham and Dean are technically like together just 3 episodes in, so there's nothing to build towards, nothing to resolve (uncovering the past lives of Pharm and Dean as an end goal only came about like episode 9). They both love each other and there are no obstacles to their 'perfect' relationship. Even Alex (who is absolutely beautiful) who flirts with Pham, Pham doesn't give him a second glance because he only has eyes for Dean. They encounter their first moment of friction (when Dean forced himself on Pham) in episode 10 but it gets resolved a minute later. Not sure what the purpose of Dean forcing himself on Pham served but it was never addressed.
Without the reincarnation angle, Pham and Dean's story would be quite simple to be honest. They found each other quickly and it was love at first sight. That's it. And even with the reincarnation angle, they weren't actively searching for answers to their 'visions.' They just have flashback memories once in awhile and that’s it. The search is a subplot as the story focuses on their relationship, which is already rock-solid. And the search was so quick like literally two episodes because Dean luckily had a friend whose father is a police officer.
The last few episodes were pretty engaging though. That grandma confession moment in episode 10 was powerful! I literally held my breath throughout that entire scene. And there were some other powerful, touching moments sprinkled here and there. That finale was kinda messy. Pham finds out that Korn is his uncle and he decides to attempt to commit suicide? That makes absolutely no sense since he already knew he was related to Dean; that he (Intouch) is Dean's granduncle. What difference does knowing that Korn is his uncle make that makes him want to the condo with a gun to commit suicide. Nothing! Yes, Pham could have gotten a psychotic break where In 'took' over Pham's body, but why then? Why not earlier? The attempted suicide seemed like just a cheap plot device to amp up the tension. The last episode was touching though and it was nice to see the effects that suicide can have on a family, especially over something trivial like sexuality. I was pleasantly surprised to see them acknowledge the issue that I had in the back of my mind throughout the series, whether Dean and Pham love each other due to the 'red thread' (their past selves loving each other) or in spite of it.
It is interesting that the reason why Korn's father didn't want Korn to date a guy is because he fears what others would say, not that he is homophobic himself. And the reason why In's father didn't want In to date Korn is because Korn's father is a criminal.
There are a lot of tender moments between Dean and Pham, which pulls at your heartstrings and makes you wish that you had someone like that in your life. Their portrayal of intimate moments is probably the best when compared to other BL's that I've seen. Better than Tharntype, which I find tacky. Better than GMMTV, which are too PG. Better than History 3: Trapped and Addicted, which are more sexual.
The performances were good all around. I must say that Fluke, the actor who plays Pham, is very good at crying though it can be a bit much at times. The amount of crying in the series is way too much! It kinda takes away from the story in a sense. Because there is so much crying, you get numb and annoyed whenever someone cries due to a past memory. Like chill, fam! And though I found Pham to be so cute in the beginning, he began to irritate me. He literally doesn’t have any personality traits, other than cooking for his friends (his friends are using him but he’s clueless), being cute and crying a lot. And always getting embarrassed when his friends or Dean's friends brings up his relationship with Dean or when he sees a photo or video of him with Dean posted on social media. And being squeamish with Dean even though Dean is his boyfriend.
On a side note, the flourishing musical score that backgrounds scenes of Dean and Pharm is beautiful but it doesn't fit the story. It sounds more like the backdrop for an epic adventure film like Mulan to be honest.
On another side note, it was pretty nice seeing a fat person in a Thai BL series in the role of Manaow. I have watched a ton of BL's over the past several weeks and have yet to see an actual fat person, so the representation was nice. It sucks that everywhere you go, fat people don't get representation, even in American media. Manaow is the comic relief though. The crazy, hyper, obsessed, fujoshi fangirl. Hopefully, we will see her relationship with Pruek more in the sequel, Hemp Rope (weird title). And apparently, the actor who plays Pham, Fluke, is gay (according to a Reddit reply), so that's pretty cool also! He's so lucky to be able to get intimate with Ohm Thitiwat, who is the hottest BL actor in my opinion.
On a different note, I absolutely love the theme of reincarnation! The idea of soulmates finding one another again in a different lifetime makes my heart stir and those were the most powerful moments in the series; whenever reincarnation was at play. One of my favourite films, Cloud Atlas, also deals with it. We need more high concepts for BL like this and He's Coming To Me instead of the standard school setting.
On a final note, It would be nice to be able to meet your soulmate, feeling incomplete and having an vague idea of loving someone growing up until you actually see them and your heart swells. You feel overwhelmed, warm and longing. I wonder if there are people who felt this in this world...
P.S. I realized how much I wrote for this review. Damn! I had a lot of thoughts! Anyways, I enjoyed the series. Yes, it had a number of flaws, but its premise was unique. I am looking forward to and will be watching its sequel, Hemp Rope.
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