RiSeol
Story:
Woah… it’s really difficult to judge this. I like most parts of the past storyline. Accept for the two villains and their sidekicks, the people are actually quite nice. Well yeah, it’s annoying when those nice people get played by the villains but it’s always like this right? For the couples I liked the main couple for what they were. It was not really difficult to ship Prae and Laoperng. They were basically a thing right after meeting and you knew that there was tension. (It was helpful that her husband in modern times was a cheating coward.) I also liked the second leading couple with Thongriew and her decision to choose love over the expectations for her. What I liked about Prae (in the beginning) was the way she was so cautious, experimental and curious about everything once she was back in times of WWII. I liked that she was not acting recklessly or dumb but rather used her brain to explore the secrets around her. This is why I was even more surprised that the tough and curious Prae was sometimes such an easy prey for her enemies. She was sometimes so easily fooled that I found it ridiculous.
The story of the modern timeline was a mess to me. I despised almost all of them which is quite surprising. I just couldn’t get over the fact that people were pushing Prae to stay with a husband who cheated on her several times! It was ridiculous how they argued that “their own partner had affairs too, but you get used to it with time” and “he really loves you so much! The other 5 women were nothing to him”. Her husband acting all pitiful while still sleeping with his secretary was also a total let-down. I probably would have given the plot more points if not for all people around Prae. It was utterly ridiculous to be honest. The only light in the tunnel was cute little Laem who was the only one really caring for Praes thoughts and feelings.
That being said, the last episode ruined a lot for me. Not because of the ending (which I found refreshing because the viewer get to decide what to believe) but because of all the chaos and messy editing. I don’t know what exactly went wrong that it suddenly escalated so quickly. This is where both timelines mess up. If you’re a fan of fight scenes this lakorn is definitely not your cup of tea since it actually looked a little bit funny to me. People get shot in the lungs and still manage to run around! Episode 10 seemed to me like the producers were starting to get greedy and put in every possible plot twist they could think of. Some things were managed off-screen and viewers were told what happened while being super confused about the sudden change of scenes (e. g. the bad guy was surrounded by soldiers and in the next scene he suddenly escapes with hostages in a car). Because they jumped from scene to scene without telling the whole story, it got messy and confusing. Yeah, they explained later but there was actually no real need to disfigure the story in such a way.
In modern times people were so busy pushing Prae around that it annoyed me. I mean yeah she is talking about weird things but come on! She is still their friend and their family member; shouldn’t they at least talk about what they are concerned about? It was basically them judging her for everything (discussing things in her absence) and because they were judging her she was more desperate to explain herself which made her seem crazier and crazier. It was plainly unfair what they did to her.
The story premise it quite interesting so you get curious about it, but as in every TV show there are plot holes. It was going well for me until Episode 10, though.
Acting/Cast:
I know some lakorns where Mai or Mario starred in. I never really loved them or hated them. They were ok most of the time. So I watched it without much expectations and that was okay. The leads were doing a good job and it was believable that Laoperng was head over heels for his leading lady right from the start. Some parts of the script were super cheesy but well it’s a lakorn right? Mai was also doing good in both timelines. I actually wished that she would stand up more for herself – in both times. She was doing good in the past timeline but got weaker – but that’s the script. Innocent Thongriew and her lover were likeable, and I actually felt bad for them, when they fell in the trap of the evil people.
I don’t think I watched something with Sara Legge before. She was definitely a hateable villain as Ruengrayub but I wasn’t really impressed by her acting. It seemed stoic to me. The acting overall was okay – not amazing though. Especially the main villain Ausor overacted to me way too much. His facial expressions caused me to not take him seriously most of the time. And those fight scenes… oh those fight scenes. I really want to forget them.
Music:
You know how music directors in TV Shows use music to prepare/help viewers to get into the mood of what is happening or how the character is feeling right now? This music director overdid it at some parts. In the first episodes there was a change of music from dramatic to sad to funny to sad again – in one scene. I don’t know if I got used to it but the more I watched the less it bothered me. The sound effects were also funny to me – yes those already mentioned fight scenes! The OST was fine though.
Rewatch value:
I don’t know. I don’t think I would rewatch the whole lakorn. I don’t even think I would rewatch some scenes. It was okay to watch it once. I mean I liked watching it – sometimes more sometimes less – but the story is over for me so I don’t think I’ll go back to this one.
Overall:
This lakorn has its ups and downs. It’s a mixture of a fated love story and the message that you should love yourself in order to find true love and happiness – at least that’s what I want it to be. It’s neither a horrible lakorn nor is it the best lakorn ever but it gets you hooked at some points. You actually feel for a lot of characters – and obviously you curse at some of them too. Some scenes were unintentionally funny to me. I wish I could rewrite the last episode though because without Episode 10 this would have scored a little bit higher for me. Anyways, if you decide to watch it I hope you enjoy it :)
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Story:
“Sai Tarn Hua Jai” is barely something new. That doesn’t mean it’s bad, actually I enjoyed myself a lot watching this.
I liked the main couple. Not always but they had good moments. Ganya was especially charming because she is a female lead that is pretty direct. She asks questions if she is curious about something (e. g. Are you still not over your crazy ex?). This makes it even more amazing to me that Natt managed to answer those direct questions in a manner that was rather confusing. I wasn’t even surprised that Ganya misunderstood him because I would have probably too. Natt on the other hand is an honest and really nice guy but because of his filial duty he is always torn between what he wants and what the people who raised him expect from him. While trying to earn the approval of the people in his house he often seems to be at the losing end. Which is why I really wanted him to have at least one person that is unconditionally on his side. I wanted him to have a family member that is not in love with him or trying to force him to do things he doesn’t want to do. I wanted someone who stands up for him when everyone was dragging him in their direction. After all it was pretty frustrating to see how people forced him around to match their needs and greed.
I never really understood what Khun Chais deal was. He was preaching how important the honour of Jongsawat is and no one should destroy it – but he was actually the one drinking, gambling and ordering prostitutes in his hotel room. In my opinion he was the biggest embarrassment of the family. So it was not really surprising to me that Khun Ying was a broken kid with a lot of issues. In the beginning I cursed her out for being so bratty, violent and horrible. I was really annoyed. But the further I got the more I saw that she was actually a girl that lacked love. Do I think she loved Natt? Yes. Do I think she loved him as a man? Well, I’m not sure. But I think she saw Natt as a rescue boat in the middle of the ocean. She felt like she’ll drown without him, so she went crazy and did stupid and horrible things. That does not justify what she did, but I think more than a lover Khun Ying needed a family or at least a friend who is sincere to her. She never received proper love, so she never knew how to give other people sincere feelings. The one who could understand her the best was Kiattsuk – probably because he was in the same situation. He never received proper love, so he doesn’t know how to love. If those two had at least one person beside them that would have showed them what is right and what is wrong, maybe they would have been able to tend their emotional scars. But those two ended up hurting each other more and more which is why I never really rooted for a happy ending for those two. At least as long as their relationship was in the state it has always been. I’m not going to spoil so you probably understand better when you watch it.
Lastly, we have Lamoon and her mom Prakong. Prakong confused me a lot to a point where I was not sure who the real Prakong was: the loving mom that took care of Natt like he was her own son or the manipulative mistress that does bad things behind the scenes. Nevertheless, similar to Khun Yings case Prakong was emotionally not stable. She was looked down and trampled on and at one point she just snapped. It doesn’t make her sins less horrible, but her feelings are a little bit more relatable. Lamoon on the other hand turned from a loving little sister character to my personal most disliked character in this lakorn. The reason is rather simple: while she is naïve and innocent she tends to hurt the people around her without realising it. Instead of re-thinking her behaviour she usually throws a tantrum or blames other people. I know that Lamoon is not a bad girl. I know she doesn’t mean to hurt the people around her but most of the time I felt like she was choosing to believe in a fantasy while totally ignoring facts and reality. She chose to believe things that were totally irrational given the facts she was aware of. In fact, she was putting herself in the role of a victim most of the time and it was really late when she realised that she was not the only one hurting. I really admired art teacher Sawat that he was so patient with her.
Honourable mentions are the bad-ass grandma of Ganya, Natts best friend Ong and his mom. I really liked their characters!
Acting/Cast:
All in all I was okay with the cast. In the beginning I was a little bit annoyed with Khun Ying but after a while I got used to her and especially in the last few episodes she did really good. There was barely a character that was badly portrayed, at least I didn’t mind too much or can’t remember!
Music:
Nothing to complain :)
Rewatch value:
I’m going to pass on this craziness for a while. It’s enjoyable to watch once but I’m not sure if it’s worth a rewatch.
Overall:
I liked it. I mean the story is not really special in terms of uniqueness. Everything happens pretty much as you expect it. Like every lakorn the last episode is basically giving you a moral lesson which wraps up everything that went wrong in the previous episodes. Obviously, the story is a little over the top and I had a lot of “What???” moments but I enjoyed it because I was able to get emotionally involved. You can get angry and frustrated, but you also smile and laugh a lot. It kept me want to watch more even though I passionately hated what was happening. The thing is if you’re looking for a romance lakorn with a lot of physical interaction between the main leads (like kisses etc.) this is not really applying for this lakorn. In fact, the couple took a long time to admit that they like each other. But this lakorn gives you a lot of other stuff – like jealousy, pity, angst, lessons about love. So if you don’t mind the lack of kisses and hugs and you enjoy raging about what is happening then give this a try ;)
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What I liked in the Thai version was the way Kotoko (here Taliw) was portrayed. The main issue I had in all the former versions – including the manga – was that Kotoko always felt like her only propose is to support Naoki. Yes, I know that’s the story and I know that’s why Naoki falls for her. But for me it always left me dissatisfied. I always wanted Kotoko to at least have one thing on her own. I wanted her to be caring and sacrificing for her love without losing her self-respect; and for me the Thai version did a great job with that. Just like in the former versions Taliw was not the smartest but out of all the Kotokos I saw she was the one I liked the most for her innocence and cluelessness. It was probably because she wasn’t over the top like most other versions.
I also liked TenTen (Naoki) a lot, though I thought considering the original character he was indeed a little bit too soft. Nevertheless, I was feeling “Naoki” the first time while in the other versions I almost every time wanted him to be hit by a bus for what he was doing to Kotoko. I liked it that it was not seemingly a one-sided thing from the very beginning and I especially liked the background story of their childhood. TenTen is definitely a really different Naoki but he was also the only Naoki up to now that could make me feel sympathy for him and make my heart flutter in almost every episode.
Hands up for the writer who decided to tone down Kin-chan, because King was likable right from the start! He didn’t go overboard, and he was a loyal and adorable best friend to Taliw.
Acting/Cast: The acting was throughout good. Especially the main couple and King did a good job. But also all the other characters like Namkang, Dan, TenTens and Taliws Family and Friends, Nana – they did great. It’s rare that I don’t have one character that gets on my nerves. I was expecting it with Nana, but she was surprisingly nice!
Music: Loved the OST – especially the one the main couple sang together – but the editing was messy at some parts and that influenced the music. Generally, it was fine!
Rewatch value: Well, I’m writing this after rewatching so definitely yes :)
Overall I think it’s really difficult to compare this version to the former version – and honestly speaking I don’t even want to do that. After watching Kiss Me I felt really good. I liked that Taliw and TenTen were somehow equal to each other and that TenTen was so open about his feelings for her. In contrast to other opinions I still do think that Taliw and TenTen are completing each other and that their propose to each other’s life was portrayed well here. But again I don’t judge from the original scenario since – as I stated – I don’t think this would be fair. Kiss Me is a nice version of the original plot maybe a little bit modernized (let’s not forget that the Manga was created in 1991) with likable characters – hell I even liked Namkang and Nana the ex-girlfriend – and a cute, yet complicated love story. If you don’t mind a version of INK that is different from others but just as enjoyable, I recommend Kiss Me :)
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Story:
I liked the idea of the story. It’s not particularly new since I watched a few movies and dramas with a similar idea, but “While You Were Sleeping” told the story in a really nice way. I liked the fact, that Hong Ju gave up on saving people after all those horrifying years just to learn how to use her ability in order to save people. With help of people around her obviously. However, in the middle of the drama it was less about that dreaming of the future part which I found a little bit sad. Even though Lawyer Lee was the villain here, he never really strikes me as one and I was desperately waiting for some villain I can passionately hate. Not that Lawyer Lee was not hateable, but he was rather dull as the main villain. And there were some plot holes that got me confused but then again there is no drama with no plot holes, right? – of course opinions differ so please don’t feel offended :)
Acting/Cast:
I was pleasantly surprised by Suzys improvements and though I wouldn’t call her an awesome actress yet, she did definitely better than in Uncontrollably Fond. The cast overall was well picked with my favourites Jung Hae In (as the adorable and charming Woo Tak who won my heart in a matter of minutes) and Kim Won Hae who did an superb job as Detective Choi! I loved the people in the prosecutor office – how they bicker and fight and stand with each other when it’s needed! Hong Joo’s mom war likable and also Jae Chans brother and his girlfriend – those two seriously need their own drama apart from Page Turner – are enjoyable characters. What I always liked about Lee Jong Suk – and I’m not even a fan – is that he is really good at delivering comical moments! You just laugh about him or feel second-hand embarrassment! Lee Sang Yeob was also convincing (and I like this actor in general) but I wished the script gave us more of him. Maybe a little bit more background story.
Music:
Was good. I like the soundtrack. Funny enough I never realised that Suzy was a decent singer – although I knew she was an idol. I liked almost all the songs. The arrangement of music and scenes was also well made. The music helped a lot in getting the viewer in the right emotion.
Rewatch value:
I’d probably watch a few scenes again. But I don’t think I would watch the whole drama again. Not because it was not good but for me it was an enjoyable ride but it’s okay that it’s over. Maybe it’s only because I just finished it a days ago. But as of now I’m good with what I saw and focus on other stories to see :)
Overall:
It’s a well-made drama with a lot of romance. But funny enough at some point the romance was not even what I was mainly interested in. I mean I liked Hong Ju and Jae Chan together and I had never a doubt that those two were meant to be – but maybe that’s exactly why I enjoyed their scenes, but I was even more happy to see all of our side characters having their moments. The chemistry of all those people in their own circle – Woo Tak & his adorable Sunbae / the prosecutors and their teams! Detective Choi just with everyone!! – was so amazing that I was basically smiling as soon as they appeared on my screen in all their adorableness. I think rather than the main romance and all those cases in that drama the chemistry of the cast did the most to me! I fondly remember them and those were probably the moments I would rewatch. I just loved how much they cared for each other, how they joked with each other and fought for what they thought was right. There were also some episodes that addressed social issues in Korea which was also really nice. So, I can say, if you want to watch an adorable cast with great chemistry, a story that maybe could give you more but did still a decent job and a lot of hilarious as well as some heart-wrenching moments, I’d recommend “While You Were Sleeping”.
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