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Whelp this is gonna be long, but I like to express my thoughts and I have a lot to say about this. I think this is the first lakorn I've watched mainly for the story and curiosity of how it all ends. That doesn’t mean the romance is not a big factor here, and there were lots of cute OTP moments that kept me going on and accumulating into their well deserved HEA, though not without some bumps along the way.This lakorn is divided into three timelines, with the second being the main storyline. I'd like to review each timeline as a means for better organizing my thoughts.
Timeline 1: This was a weird one for me because it felt kind of rushed, with the love story between Tan Chai and Maan Kaew not developed properly. I felt like I missed out on the development of their relationship (mainly on Maan Kaew's part) and was caught off guard by the sudden devotion both had for each other. This was a love at first sight thing for Tan Chai, which I suppose explains his passion but also feels like a cop-out (tho I admired him for fighting for his love, breaking off his engagement and never yielding to his mom's demands). Maan Kaew was kinda boring and I felt she didn't really offer anything in the relationship. What I liked about this timeline was how the hate/misinformation you give people creates this negative domino effect (think Tupac's THUG LIFE). This is apparent in the mom engaging her son to some girl he never met; because of her selfish actions, she lost everything and unwittingly unleashed two lifetimes worth of misery. I'd say all the terrible things that occur in this lakorn started because of her, tho she couldn't have imagined that the girl she thought was ideal for her son would turn out to be a total monster.
Timeline 2: Tan Chai is still here tho he is a ghost, while Maan Kaew is reborn as Rachawadee (R). Honestly I love R's character so much; she is assertive but still sweet, and for the most part is smart about what's going on around her (don't even talk about the part where she got sick, I was really disappointed there). I especially love that she stood up for herself in front of Tan Ying and told her off for being such a b****. Ghost/human love stories tend to be doomed from the start, but here that added to how precious and sweet the two lead's relationship was. Every moment between them was lovely and were the breadcrumbs that kept me watching. However, him being a ghost meant that he couldn’t do much so it was mainly R that was carrying this timeline.
What surprised me about this timeline was how the characters were straightforward with their thoughts and actions eg Tan Chai commenting on Chai Yuths indecisiveness, R not immediately going to serve Tan Ying because she knew she hated her, and Tan Ying telling Ying Wan to be patient in getting Chai Yuth or she’ll lose everything (in front of Chai Yuth). Like I’m surprised the characters aren’t too dumb? This made the episodes easier to zip through and engaging, the story not losing its momentum or being boring (for the most part). Having said that tho, there was way too much time spent in this timeline; I felt like everything could’ve been resolved in less episodes and more should have been spent on developing the third timeline instead of the draggy “who dunnit” parts. I felt like it would've been more interesting to see how the leads find each other and their past in the third timeline since the male lead is a ghost and not much can be done. Also Tan Chai wasn’t as great here as he was in the first timeline; granted he’s a ghost but seriously, he asked for forgiveness way too much for someone who doesn’t deserve it.
I also have to talk about Tan Ying. Honestly, I felt sorry for her at first since her honor and rep was basically destroyed because of Tan Chai’s mom and no one would want to marry her because of that. But instead of moving on with her life, she obsessively tried to make everyone around her miserable and is driven to crazy revenge. She’s incredibly short-sighted and self-absorbed and it boggles my mind that Tan Chai, his descendant and R’s descendant all beg her for forgiveness. I mean she killed you all! Granted she didn’t live a good life and didn’t reincarnate when she died, but even till the end, she only saw her suffering couldn’t look past it to see how it was making others suffer.
Timeline 3: I really wish more time was spent here, and tbh I wasn’t into these reincarnations as I was with Tan Chai and R. What pissed me off the most was that they still begged for forgiveness from Tan Ying’s ghost, saying they’ll do merit and all but she killed your previous life forms!!! I don’t think they owe her anything, but I guess it all had to come full circle here. I do like that the Tan Chai and R of this timeline were finally able to be together and certainly didn’t disappoint with the chemistry and affection. Like dang, I really want another lakorn with these two leads.
Overall I liked the story and the two leads. The music was pretty good here and although there wasn’t much OTP moments as I would’ve liked, I felt like the story made up for it. I don’t think I’d rewatch this except for some moments. Would recommend to watch.
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Suparburoot Jorm Jon: Maturot Lohgan
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I'm worried my review below won't encompass everything I love about this lakorn, so I'll just let you know right now that I'd definitely recommend you watch this and I'm currently re-watching it right now, even though I finished it not too long ago.The story is really good. You start with the ML, Seua Pha, and how he became a bandit. There is a magic element to this lakorn that confused me at first, but luckily it's not the main focus and it's not some OP power. Pha was forced to become a bandit due to the hatred the bandit leader, Phan, had against his father and we see how Pha tries his best to do good despite his upbringing (eg. robbing the rich to give to poor, killing only the bad, protecting women). This is in contrast to his adopted brother, Pajong, who is a truly wicked bandit at heart (robs and kills whoever, r*pes women) but is also insecure because he knows that Pha is better than him. It's really interesting to watch both the external (bandits vs police) and internal conflicts (Pha vs Pajong, Pha vs Phan, Phan vs other bandit leaders) which keeps the lakorn engaging and entertaining. One thing that did bother me was in the finale when Phan was dying; I felt like Phan won even though he died, because he was able to see Pha's father hurt Pha and he was able to be buried with all his treasure. I felt that that could've been avoided and that whole scene in general was weak and not thought out well.
I love all the characters here. I didn't see a single character that I thought was useless or served no purpose. Pha is just a dreamboat on shoes; he's charismatic, confident, unbelievably strong and someone with a heart of gold. He's also incredibly clever and it boggles me how he was able to outsmart his enemies. Nampeung is also great in that she's headstrong, brave (although sometimes too brave for her own good) and takes matters into her own hands instead of waiting on others. She's also confident and clever, although Pha is just a bit more clever than her (which makes for some fun scenes where she thinks she's outsmarting him but he's one step ahead of her lol).
Some fav 2ndry characters were Mae'Lamjiak, Reung and surprisingly Grachao. I love how Mae'Lamjiak was someone with a tough exterior but actually cared a lot, and saw value in our FL despite her initial prejudice. Reung was just hilarious. Grachao was someone I ended up feeling sorry for, because despite her arrogance, she was heavily manipulated and used like a pawn by Pajong. I'm glad that Pajong died by her hands and she ended up redeeming herself in the end.
The best thing about this lakorn is hands down the romance. The chemistry between them was insane. And so many kisses LOL! I lost count after the 5th kiss (not that I'm complaining hehe). I love that our leads were awesome people on their own, but together they were even better. Pha purposefully does not comfort NP when she's upset, so she can be stronger and survive; likewise NP believes in Pha's goodness which propels him to be able to trust the police in taking down the bandit village. Both make each other a better person, and I love the devotion they both have for each other. I love how Pha is willing to do anything for NP and how NP unconditionally loves him even though he's a bandit. Their bickering is also super cute. I wish we'd been able to see their wedding but they got their HEA and I'm here for it.
The one weak thing here was the music; in a lot of instances, it was played inappropriately. Some scenes had music when it didn't need it. It was also weird how they would play a sad song but then suddenly play some comedic sounds to try and make the scene funny. It was jarring and made me confused on what I was supposed to be feeling. The music itself is not terrible, but it was definitely overplayed and I wish they had more songs.
If this hasn't convinced you to watch this I don't know what will. This was honestly an amazing watch for me and will stay in my heart for years to come.
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I came across this gem on YouTube while watching fan videos. I'm pretty much a sucker for intense romances and major angst, so when I saw some of it in the video, I went on to watch the lakorn. It not only had the aforementioned aspects I enjoyed, but also a great plot and awesome side characters to go along with it.The central theme of this lakorn is the idea of a red string of destiny that binds two people together; when it's the right time, no matter how far they are, this string will inevitably bring the two people together. We see this throughout the lakorn where Min and Day are constantly pulled apart by various obstacles, but are invariably put back together because of their strong connection.
Min is a great female lead; at first she comes off bratty but she realizes her mistakes early on and does her best to rectify them. I really like how she shows her gratitude and affections through actions, and not just words. She really had an endless love for Day, and you really gotta commend her for continuing to love him even when he's mean to her. Day just breaks my heart as well. He grows up with his dad who's mentally unstable and forgets Day is his son (before that he blames Day for the death of his mom, which is pretty sad) and has to work hard to support himself and his dad. Later on he falls for Min but then finds out her dad killed his mom; he chooses to forgive him but fate has its way of being crappy when he loses his dad. This makes him believe its karma for forgiving his mother's killer and causes him to leave. But his love for Min still remains.
One thing I can really appreciate is how fast-paced this lakorn is. It zips through the major plot points which keeps it engaging, but also allows time to digest the events that went on. I kinda wish more lakorns were as straight-forward as this, as sometimes I'm sitting through pointless filler. I also liked all the characters; they were flawed, but you could understand why (except I think the dad got off way too easy with the sh*t he pulled). A surprising favorite was the 2nd FL; I was prepared to hate her but I didn't expect that she had her own issues that made me pity her and understand why she was so attached to Day.
What honestly touched me was the sincere love they both had for each other. It sucked to see Day treat Min badly, and her having no idea why (hurting her hurt him too tho T.T). There was so much going against them (his mom's killer is her dad, his dad turned out to be alive, but was threatened by the 2nd ML to marry someone he didn't love or else, etc) that it seemed almost impossible that they could get together. He never forgot her though; he still kept the painting she made all those years and held on to the red string that caused them to meet initially. She also kept holding on and didn't change, believing in Day and their love. Ultimately they were able to get their HEA, though their ending was a bit rushed; I was there was more time allotted to seeing them being happy after all the tears haha.
Music here was great; I love the theme song for this show, it really brings out all the angsty feels. If you don't mind tragedy and anger-inducing moments from our ML, then I'd totally recommend you give this a watch. I'll definitely rewatch this for the angst and Min + Day.
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This lakorn is about a boy who gets revenge on his stepmother who abused him and killed his mom. The story is actually pretty good and I liked the overall message the lakorn was saying. It was clearly seen how revenge just ebbed on more revenge until someone dies. It also hurts everyone in the process. We see how Tor successfully gets his revenge on Sida, who is a terrible person, and it's quite satisfying to watch. We also get to see how he outwits Sida's dumbass son who is also just a garbage person. The drama actually does a good job setting up these characters, especially the 2ndry ones, in a way where we may not disagree with their actions, but we understand why. I'd actually like to give a mini character review on some of them:Sida: She has an extreme superiority complex and it's easy to see why she did the terrible things she did. Her husband had a mistress of low origins and had a child with her, effectively slapping Sida in the face. She's honestly the cruelest character I've ever watched and a smart villain. However I feel like with how resourceful she is, she should've been able to find out who Sila was a lot sooner. I was surprised they left it to near the end and honestly it would've been more interesting and less one-sided.
Sawit: A good for nothing son. I would've thought with how often he gambled that he would've noticed how Sila rigged the games. But I guess it's just showing how dumb he is. I kinda get why he is the way he is; his father never loved him and he's constantly talked down by Sida, who doesn't trust or have any confidence in him. I wasn't sad to see him go but I did pity him when he died.
Mam: I really liked her character a lot. She had Tor's best interests at heart and is overall a good person. However if she had been smarter then she wouldn't have died so pointlessly. Her first mistake was giving the cuff links to her lover when his wife had already seen them with her. Her second mistake, which was the biggest, was going to meet Sida without any backup. She underestimated her and it costed her life in the end.
Now let's talk about Tor and Min. I didn't have any problems with Tor (he's a great character, complex and fleshed out). but boy did I have a lot of problems with Min. She is the epitome of a character who's only purpose is to retain humanity in the male lead. Min was quite annoying in the beginning when she was nosing into her sister and Tor's business and it was frustrating to watch her get beaten down by her step-mom and sister. I can at least admit that she was consistent in her character and was aware of her low origins but chose to be strong and move on. Her character does get better in the end. But I always felt like she wasn't her own person; instead she was just this character that was there to remind us that Tor has a soft side and isn't a revenge crazed monster.
I'm sorry to say the romance left little to be desired. I felt like I was watching two teens act out what their idea of romance was. Sure they're childhood friends but nothing in their childhood suggested anything romantic. Also I didn't really see why Tor would need to be with Min; there was a point where he was like "Forget about me, I came too far to be your man" then in the next episode he can't live without her and gets possessive. Like...wtf? At least build it up and show why he needs her. It wasn't very nuanced and I really wasn't invested into their relationship.
I think a lot of people will disagree with my opinions and that's fine. This is just what I felt while watching the lakorn. I would say to give watching this a shot and see how you'd like it. The music is not bad either. Would not rewatch this though.
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I'm gonna preface this by saying that I'm biased towards this pairing, and may or may not have scored it higher than what I would've if it were a different pair. I was at first disappointed in the beginning, but overtime the lakorn did get better and there was a twist in the later episodes that made everything that happened in the earlier episodes make more sense. The chemistry between these two were just as amazing as their last lakorn, and certainly made this a fun watch. However, I recognize that the storytelling overall had some bumps and this is just one of the lakorns where you can't think too hard, or it'll ruin the drama for you (I'm usually not a fan of these typess but Mike/Mookda make it worth it for me haha).I would say that the biggest issue I had with this lakorn was the storyline and characters in the first half (up to ep 7-8). Things quickly got repetitive with Dao fighting with Kran's family and her revenge plot not really moving forward. I was also turned off by how easy Songkran seemed to be; he easily accepted Dao into his life despite being a Casanova who never gets close to women and had this insta-love for her, which made no sense. I also didn't like how over the top Kran's family was. There was also a lot of forced comedy moments that felt cringey and moments of Kran's dad and brother-in-law being womanizers that was supposed to be passed of as humor but felt uber creepy to me instead (especially towards Dao; I was really turned off here and didn't understand why Kran, who knew about this, was ok with it).
However, Kran's behavior was explained by a twist I didn't expect at all, in which he'd actually known who Dao was all along and wanted to play along for her game, but ended up falling for her instead.
Even before this reveal happened, I found myself surprisingly falling for Kran because he's a total mushy romantic with cheesy dialogue, supplemented by silly facial expressions and shameless actions that made me laugh. I really didn't expect this from him and it was endearing to watch him try to win Dao's love. Even more lovable was how he accepted Dao even though he knew she was deceiving him, and kept his distance even though he wanted nothing more than to beg her to take him back (gotta love when a ML is not clingy to the FL y'all). I loved how he was able to pick up the pieces when things fell apart with his family and how he's smarter than I gave credit for. His relationship with his son was super adorable, and they made a great father son tag team haha, especially against Dao. Overall, I grew to love him and was rooting for him to get with Dao.
I liked Dao a lot too, although in the beginning I was a little turned off by how she was implementing her revenge (especially flirting with her in-laws, that was gross to me). But later on, you could really see that the poor girl did not have the heart for revenge and was confused on whether the things she was doing was for revenge or out of love. I also related a lot to her as the middle-man between her dad and sister; it's similar to my own situation and it was great watching her be a great sister and filial daughter. I wish she was more affirmative in her love for Kran near the end, but I understand she was thinking of her dad first and that's totally something I can get behind.
The best thing about this show was hands down Kran's son Pika and Dao's father. I usually don't like how kids are portrayed in lakorns but this kid was super super cute; I loved how he's just as cunning as his dad and how he was the cupid for getting Dao and Kran back together. Him calling for his P'Dao just melted my heart. As for the dad, I really didn't expect him to go from a heartless, scary bandit leader (in another lakorn) to a gruff, overdramatic teddy bear that made me giggle with his antics. A golden line that got me laughing was when Dao was telling him that sleeping with Kran was part of the plan; he goes "What crazy plan is this? You wanted to get revenge but instead he got you naked???" LOL. Again these were characters I didn't expect to like as much as I did.
The direction of the story also surprised me; I really didn't expect for Kran's family to go from riches to rags. Karma really did hit them hard and I was honestly here for it.
Beyond that, there's not much that stands out for me; the side characters served their purpose and I guess if I did have a gripe with one of them, it'd be Jan. I wish they had Jan move on already from Kran, and they made her look so dumb for not being able to do so when she didn't even know him for that long. I was kinda shipping her with Uncle Nu tbh. Her actions in the last episode was very weird to me, and in general the story in the last episode was kinda wonky.
As for the music, I enjoyed the main theme song even before the lakorn aired and in general, I really appreciated the use of a second song and appropriately placed bgm. Not much complaints here.
Overall, the bumps and holes in this story are things you'd only notice if you focus on the nitty gritty (so I'd advise you don't put your critical lens on), but I think this never really presented itself as anything more than a silly rom-com. I do think this was better than your average rom-com lakorn because there was a cohesive story throughout with lovable characters to root for, and fire chemistry between our leads. If you like rom-coms, I'd say to go ahead and watch this or if you're like me and watch multiple dramas at once, this is a pretty good one to watch when you don't want to think too hard and want a breather.
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TL;DR - A solid and very well produced time travel lakorn. The plot, characters, production and music are great. Romance is top notch. The kind of drama where I wish I could forget what happened so I can watch it again. There are hiccups here and there but overall I'm happy, and it's worth it to see the magic of Mike/Mook again.Obligatory disclaimer that I love this couple although even if I didn't, I would still give this lakorn a high score. Not only is the romance superb, the story, secondary characters, music, production are also amazing, and in my eyes, done very very well. I didn't have much expectation going into this, and I had doubts that Mike could pull off a classic boran character, but I'm happy to say that I was wrong on all counts. I'll start with the story first.
The story is about a modern girl (Mae Orn) who travels back 200 years in the past due to a spell the male lead (Khun Luang) chants to find his soulmate. Time travel plots can be tricky, because you have to make sure it all makes sense, and that there's no loopholes the audience can see. This aspect was done well because every character was held accountable for their part in making sure Mae Orn was sent to and stayed in the past. There was purpose and logic to the things characters did in the past that made the events in the future timeline make sense. It really comes full circle in the end. The pacing of the drama was good and although the rest of the story was simple, there was a good mix of comedy and fluff to make me happy, but enough tragedy so that it didn't feel stale and out of touch.
Of course, I have to gush over our leads, Khun Luang and Mae Orn. I wasn't sure Mike could pull off a gentlemanly character since I'd only seen him in ML and KKSR but boy was I wrong. He was sweet and sensitive, but not a doormat. A total gentleman who could think for himself, has strong morals, is an advocate for women, has a super nice body (:P), and much more. I loved that he could see through Bua's scheming (mostly) and his devotion towards Mae Orn. Mookda was great as Mae Orn; someone who was spunky and not afraid to be herself, but knew when to draw the line and be conscious of her surroundings. Her teaching her modern ideals and mannerisms to the servants and Khun Luang was super endearing and I replay those moments a lot. She could be a bit too self-righteous at times (esp concerning Mae Bua) but it wasn't too in my face, so I could ignore it.
Since I love our leads as individuals, I'm obviously gonna support them being together and my goodness, I swooned and fangirled hard every time these two interacted. Khun Luang's gazes of love to Mae Orn gave me the same feelings of when Por Date would gaze at Mae Karakade (Love Destiny). The magical Mike/Mookda chemistry struck again, and it was a beautiful slow burn romance that gave me all the feels. I liked how the drama didn't make them fall for each other just because of the soulmate spell, but made them spend time together and go through events that tested their relationship. Whenever one got mad, the other would come over and talk to them to figure out why and try to resolve it. They both openly communicated with each other, and both wanted to protect the other at their own expense. I honestly could go on and on about their love story but for now I'm just gonna say I'm very happy with it and it's a well deserved HEA.
The secondary cast were all great and added to the plot. I especially love the servant gang, who added colour to the story and this drama wouldn't have been such a great watch without them. MVP is of course Por Yong, who was the reason Khun Luang could meet Mae Orn. Kaew surprised me; Chorkaew (Kaew's future self) was pretty flat but Kaew herself was sassy, bubbly and her facial expressions were always on point. I love how the servants (wanna shout out Chun and Mun too!) shipped Khun Luang and Mae Orn together and all had great comedic timing. My most replayable moments besides the romance is the servants being silly and interacting with the leads. Khun Luang's mom was awesome as well because despite her initial prejudice, she was able to see Mae Orn as a good person and the one who her son loves. Mom Tos was also an awesome 2nd ML. I actually also liked the villains Maggie was killed it as Mae Bua), although I have an issue with them that I'll discuss next.
I had some issues with this lakorn that came up repeatedly that I couldn't ignore. The biggest one are the villains; to start, I liked how terrible and cruel Mae Bua and Mom Thep were because although they made my blood boil, you can't deny they added excitement and propelled the story forward. What I disliked was how one dimensional they were and how they would repeat the same mistakes over and over with very little consequence until the very end. It got tiring to see the same cycle of either Mae Bua scheming to kill Mae Orn, or Mom Thep scheming to get with Mae Orn. After their failures, they would get told off but that did absolutely nothing and they would repeat the same shenanigans. Honestly, I wanted to see some growth from them or them having other goals other than to harm Mae Orn. Some of the editing also felt a little choppy and abrupt; we'd be in one scene feeling sad then cut to another scene that's happy, but before you could feel happy, you get cut back to the sad scene. I also wish Mae Orn had a bit more backbone when dealing with Mae Bua. I'm also salty about P'Jun; the actress who plays her tends to play the villain roles, so I was happy to see her in a good role. But then her character got stupid (I know it's following the novel but ugh) and I was very disappointed that she got with and stayed with Mom Thep despite all the shit he put her through. It was somewhat cathartic for her to end him, but I felt like her character was tragic when it didn't have to be.
The music was absolutely stunning and I love both OSTs a lot. It was played appropriately and guided the mood of the drama very well. I also loved the boran sound effects and background music. Overall, if you couldn't already tell, I love this drama a lot and had a great time watching. I was pretty much obsessed from the beginning and it got to the point where I knew I had to spare at least 2-3 hours for each episode, because of how much I would pause to take it in or to replay certain moments. I highly recommend this if you love time travel love stories and will certainly re-watch this on my own time.
As a side note; I've been a Mike/Mook fan since 2020, ever since I saw them in Maturot Lohgan. That drama has a special place in my heart as well as this pairing. Somehow, the chemistry of these two hits me differently than other pairings, and I always go back to them when I need a serotonin boost. I'm quite thankful that I was able to watch three different types of quality lakorns with these two as the leads, and if this is the last, then I'm beyond satisfied that this was the one to end it off. Of course I wouldn't complain if they were paired up again...but maybe after some time passes haha
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TL;DR - If you can get past the first 6 eps of this, then the rest of the lakorn won't disappoint. If not, then you're not really missing out on much. It's your standard modern slap/kiss with everything you'd expect. FL at least can fight and talk back when needed. I started watching this series because it was readily available on YouTube and was easier to access than other lakorns I was watching at the time. The premise was promising and the promotional posters looked pretty good, so I set myself to have a good time and expected a mature, deliciously angsty romance to hook on to. What I got instead was a slap/kiss that was masquerading as a thriller/mystery lakorn and a romance that didn't meet my expectations. This is not to say the lakorn was a lost cause, but rather it did have potential that was bogged down by editing, directing/casting choices and script.
I will mention some things below that made the lakorn not work out for me (I'm gonna get ranty) and more or less lead me to FF more than I wanted to:
1. The first 6 episodes were very unwatchable (at least to me). What really killed it for me and made me almost drop the lakorn here was the editing; you had bad transitions between scenes, unnatural pauses where you could see the actors wait for others to make the next move and inappropriately played music. The music was the biggest offender for me, as it was not only played at inappropriate times, but it was also used to make the audience feel what the director wanted them to feel. I'll give an example. Sine and Nares were being chased by a gunman with action music playing, then Sine accidentally drops the gun she's carrying; comedic music then comes on with Sine and Nares looking at eo and then the comedic music quickly goes away with the action music coming back and resuming the chase. Why the hell was comedic music played when Sine dropped the gun? Isn't it supposed to be bad that she dropped it cause it'll slow them down and they could die? Why does the director want us to think this is funny? There are many instances where music is used as an indicator of what we're supposed to feel that really insulted my intelligence. This misuse of music was on the same level as Game Rai Game Rak and I really didn't expect to see this in a 2021 lakorn. Luckily this bad editing didn't last the entire lakorn, and editing styles like this should just stay in the early 2000s.
2. I didn't like who they casted for Narin's mom, nor did I like her character. I have nothing against the actress, but previous roles I've seen her in were usually that of the nice, cool mom or a classy lady. That view of her is part of why I didn't think she suited this role. I also think her voice is too soft to make sounding angry convincing, and when she got all bitchy, it just made me imagine a tiny angry chihuahua and not an angry mom. I think Ann Siriam would've suited this role better (step-mom from Hua Jai Sila). Even then, the way this character was written was awful, more so than the usual evil mom character; a complete bitch spewing hateful stuff, hurting people physically and emotionally and even breaking the law all because she feels entitled to do so. Then after she finds out her son is alive, she suddenly gets a character lobotomy and realizes her wrongs. Everyone forgives her in the name of filial piety, which is complete bullshit. Is filial piety gonna make me forget watching 12 x 1hr30min of her being a selfish bitch? Thais may do so, but my Western-minded ass is not. They show no indication of her realizing she's wrong or feeling sorry for hurting others until after she gets the son back and I overall couldn't sympathize nor care less about her.
3. No subtlety and bad villains. Everything is shoved in your face. You can figure out by the 2nd episode who the villain is. Instead of making it so that the audience can figure out what's going on by context clues or dropping hints, the lakorn presents everything to you so you don't have to think too much. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but not what I was expecting from this lakorn. I would've liked to be more interactive as I watch. I can at least admit they did a good job of making me wonder if Narin was still alive or not. As for the villains, they were kind of a joke. All the main villain did was order people around and make evil faces. I wish they could've shown more of his cunning nature, which was showcased once when he was defending himself in front of the police. Otherwise all he did was scheme and make stupid, illogical mistakes. The 2ndry villainess was also one note and just made the same mistakes over and over with a quick, anti-climatic death at the end.
With all these grievances I had with the lakorn, you may be surprised that I didn't score this lower. That's because everything else, from the story, main leads, and secondary cast, I didn't have a problem with. They were all pretty standard and watchable, especially after getting through the first 6 eps. While I wasn't very invested in this lakorn and did find things to be predictable, the rest of the lakorn played out nicely and on a surface level, I enjoyed watching it.
Now to discuss the romance; I thought the trope of former lovers reuniting after a long time was interesting and I hadn't seen it before in lakorns I've watched. Unfortunately, I didn't think it was done well here; Sine and Nares were eo's first loves separated by 7 years, and when they reunite they go right into slapping and kissing eo with not much discussion about what they were up to in the past or why they hadn't talked in so long (esp on Sine's part). What really nailed the romance in the coffin for me though, was Nares calling Sine a prostitute after believing the older man she was in a photo with was her lover (and not her father..which would make more logical sense). The truth is revealed, he apologizes and she forgives him. This interaction just completely rubbed me the wrong way. They don't really have stakes in their relationship, and even if one has misgivings about the other, it gets glossed over for the sake of romance. While the romance does get better later, I wasn't invested enough to enjoy it. It's funny because even though I wasn't really into the romance, I did think the leads had good chemistry with eo and played off each other very well. I wish Esther and Film were given a better script to exploit this chemistry more, and can only hope they can work together again to do so.
Overall, the lakorn wasn't terrible per se, but it also didn't offer anything new or refreshing and didn't meet my expectations. I certainly would not rewatch this. I think if you like slap/kiss lakorns like this where you don't have to think too much and you like romance, then this could be for you. If not, then I don't think you're really missing much and you could probably play this in the background while doing something else.
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I think if I had made this review right after I finished watching, I would've given this a higher score. As such, there are some flaws in this lakorn that I was able to overlook when I watched, it but are now one of the biggest things that bother me about it. Here are some:1. The way the ML manhandles the FL and proceeds to R her. I might as well call myself out for how I actually enjoyed this scene the first time around. But now it's a difficult scene for me to watch because I just find that he could've dealt with the situation in a better way e.g. talking it out. There is no way that being a caveman and kidnapping people will solve anything. I can't really drag on this too much since this is the typical formula for a slap/kiss lakorn (esp at the time it was released) so if that's something that bothers you, then I don't recommend you watch.
2. I'm not really convinced of the ML's devoted love to the FL. I mean, what is the basis for it? I do feel he genuinely liked her, but I also felt that he felt shitty for how he deceived the FL, and wanted to makeup for it by actually staying in the marriage. So really, did he love her for who she is or because of the guilt? I'm inclined to believe he did love her for her because of the crazy stuff he did for her, but the basis for it doesn't sit well with me.
All that aside, this was hella entertaining and dramatic. Tik is really handsome in this lakorn, and is one those bad boys you that you shouldn't love, but do anyway. What I love about his character is that when he puts his mind to something, he goes all out to achieve it no matter the obstacles or how bad it will make him look. I also appreciate how he put his aunt in her place and actually defended the FL when the situation called for it. He's very charismatic and manipulative, and the poor FL had no chance to not fall for him. I also liked the FL in that she made the ML work for her to trust him again and took things into her own hands when things fell apart (except the last part of the lakorn). It also helps that both leads have amazing chemistry with each other.
I think all the characters in the lakorn served their purpose. I didn't think there were any waste characters, except for maybe the club girls (they served their purpose in the end, tho in the beginning they were super annoying). Music is alright, as I actually remember most of it and liked one of the songs. Overall I found this entertaining, and if the aforementioned problems I had don't bother you, I say to give this a watch.
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This is a slap-kiss lakorn, so if you were wondering if there's:-An arrogant, hypocritical ML with anger and communication issues (and likes to slut-shame the FL)
-A nice, but somewhat doormat FL who somehow forgives her sister no matter what
-A narcissistic sister from hell who only cares about herself and blames others for her problems
-An overly nice 2nd ML
-Forced marriage and divorce
-r*pe
Then yeah there is. The plot is more or less what you'd imagine from a classic slap kiss and the ending is what you'd expect, although not without some surprising character development on the way (unfortunately not from our ML).
Watching this was pretty much like reading one of those trashy mom romance novels; the plot was ridiculous, most of the characters were rage-inducing and unlikable and the romance for the most part is toxic. But like those novels, you're not really going into it expecting an amazing storyline and fleshed out characters - you're reading them exactly for the hot mess they are, and bc they're a guilty pleasure. With that in mind, I have to say I was thoroughly entertained throughout this entire lakorn (tho not without having my handy FF button beside me - then I really would've gone crazy).
When I first read the synopsis for this, it gave me war flashbacks to Jam Loey Rak, which I hated. However, I'm happy to report that this and that are not the same; they surprisingly didn't spend too long on the island and I would even argue that there was no point in having that part, because it didn't add much to the story other than developing the relationship between the leads. My immense dislike for the ML however, was pretty much on the same level as JLR where I'd have to add that I'm more disappointed too mainly because of the events leading up to the r.
As Pat succinctly said, Pop is someone with a huge desire to win. Him kidnapping Pat was to win over his dad (and he didn't even do it right, this clown). Forcing marriage on Pat was a punishment he doled out for 'losing'. Him doing the r to Pat was to win over Arthorn. I was disappointed because before that, he didn't touch her because he wanted them both to understand each other and I really believed he wouldn't do the thing. But for him to do it bc of a stupid misunderstanding was disappointing. A lot of the misunderstandings he has of Pat is his own doing, consistently accusing her of being a ho, never listens to her, and doesn't trust or believe her. Although he apologizes, I don't believe he feels complete remorse for what he's done and there's very little character development from him. Overall, I don't think he's a person deserving of Pat.
Pat surprisingly had a backbone, and stood up for herself a lot in front of Pop which I appreciated a lot. Unfortunately this backbone ceased to exist in front of her sister, which I couldn't understand. Her sister not only slut shamed her, used her to do her dirty work, told her parents that she ran off with a guy when she knew it wasn't true and was overall a huge snake to her. There were multiple times her true nature was exposed which upset Pat but Pat still chose to believe in her. The worst thing was when she went against her morals (I was very disappointed here) and stole money for Pim, with Pat promising she'd pay her back, only for Pim to later on be like "I owe you $? What are you talking about" like WTF. Pat still blindly sides with her sister for whatever stupid reason. I guess she gets rewarded for it later on but it was pretty rage-inducing to watch.
Leading up to the last two episodes, the storyline and characters are pretty predictable and I was thinking it would end predictably with Pat + Pop having their HEA and the sister gets exposed and goes insane/to jail. But surprisingly, it's not the case. There is nice character development from the sister who realizes she's a horrible person and her and Unnop agree to divorce; they both become better because of it. She also pays back Pat and tries to make things right. It wasn't all of a sudden. Things aren't easy between Pop and Pat - there's no, "Ok I forgive and forget everything" but rather "We're better off not together, I can't trust you" (my respect for Pat leveled up here) and time was taken apart to figure out the relationship. Although I don't really see why Pat would ever like Pop and the resolve between the two was kinda one-note, I can appreciate the effort taken by both parties to resolve the issues between them instead of ignoring them and going for the HEA.
Now for some appreciation. The MVP of this lakorn was for sure Pat's dad, who always had Pat's back and was the most reasonable character in the show. Another thing I appreciated was the character development for Unnop; we see him go from self-centered a-hole to someone with more appreciation of his family. I also really liked Arthorn for being the nice guy (it got annoying at times, but I also felt sorry for him cuz Pop pretty much played him) and basically calling out all the bad things about Pop (he was pretty much saying all the things I was thinking, which was super cathartic).
Music was alright and appropriately played. For the purpose of watching this as a guilty pleasure, it did succeed in that aspect so I'd only recommend this if you're bored and like slap/kiss lakorns. I don't think I'd rewatch cuz the ML is so toxic and I don't support the romance, however there are two things that I will always remember from watching this lakorn:
1. The rip-off Pokemon t-shirts. I'll never look at Pikachu the same way.
2. The part where Pop asks Pat if she is Pim (they're returning from the island) and she replies with "I'll be whoever you want me to be." At first I thought this was pretty deep, but thinking about it later made me realize that it made no sense, and is the kind of line that trashy romance authors would put to make things deep when it's really not. I just had to laugh at myself for that lol.
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I liked this drama. With the majority of lakorns being dramatic for the heck of it or having crazy 2-D delusional characters, I have to say this drama was a nice breath of fresh air. You have a headstrong kick-ass FL and supporting characters that do more than to be entertaining. ML isn't too shabby either. My fav character has to be hands down the spurned wife, P'Nat. She was more than just a crazy villain, as we're able to see the motivations behind who she is and why she does certain things. I felt for her the most, and was honestly on her side for the majority of the lakorn because when it came down to it, the FL's sister stole her husband from her and it was because of something she couldn't control (this is where I really felt sorry for her because she was infertile and goddammit that's not her fault). It was off-putting to see the FL's sister be so nice, because if she was so nice then why be with someone who's taken...I was kind of annoyed by her near the end.I also loved P'Nat's fashion LOL. Fashion is usually not something I pay attention to in dramas, but everything she was wearing was something I wanted to wear it too.
I also didn't like the second ML; I'm not sure if it's his character or the actor but I felt like most of the time his expressions weren't appropriate to the situation at hand. I felt no emotion from him, and he felt like a robot to me. He was only really alive when he was with P'Nat, and honestly I was shipping him with her more than the FL's sister.
My favorite part of the lakorn was the mother-child relationships; all were really touching. In particular, the ML and his adoptive mother's relationship touched me the most. She raised him despite being not related at all and it really hearkens to the idea of family being more than just blood; it's about unconditional love and support. I like how the adoptive mom doesn't hate the bio mom of the ML, and is understanding because of something that I believe; that not everyone is meant to or knows how to be a mom.
It took me a while to finish this lakorn. Why? Because I'm someone who's driven primarily by romance when watching dramas, and while it was here, I wasn't really feeling it. This is not a romantic drama, the romance being more of an element and it was done okay.
All in all, I'd recommend watching if you want to watch something with not much bs, a great storyline and fleshed out characters. Don't expect heavy romance. Music was alright, nothing to write home about. Not sure I'd re-watch it tbh, it'd only be to look at what P'Nat is wearing and looking for something similar.
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Let me start by saying that I didn't mean to watch this lakorn initially; I mixed this up with another lakorn I meant to watch (how could that happen right? Well it's been a long time since I last watched lakorns...). That being said I don't regret watching this. The first episode is kinda confusing as I thought this was a rom-com (and it is for the most part) but there was tragedy where the FL's father passed away. The way the FL and villagers reacted to it was kinda weird, but I rolled with it and ended up finishing the series. Here's what I think:The story is standard where you have an FL from the jungle brought to the city by the ML, who swore to protect her after her father passed away. We see how he brings her there to learn and open her world more. Along the way there's some drug dealers that have been messing with her village and the ML's work life, and we see how all four leads work together to bring the head honcho down. I thought this was great, as it's been awhile since I've seen everyone work towards a common goal. It was especially great with the villagers; I loved the leader, the two bros and Fahlan haha. They added a lot of colour to the plot and it was great to see them care for the FL. You figure out who the bad guy is pretty early on, and he gets what he deserves in the end. So all in all, a cohesive story.
I liked the lead couple, Mdee and Pao. Mdee is a strong, spirited young lady who can sometimes be too stubborn for her own good. I liked that she wasn't afraid and took matters into her own hands instead of leaving things alone. Unfortunately she didn't do this where it mattered most; instead of believing in her love for Pao, she chose to go away because of their class difference. I guess I could understand, but come on, she had strong convictions the entire drama only to falter here. It was also awkward to see her look shocked or act awkward when Pao was being affectionate with her. I also wish Pao was more forthcoming with his feelings (when he realized them). However Pao's character was great; I really appreciated how he wanted to do things the right way and it was cute to see him confused on whether he loved Mdee like a daughter or lover. Both were cute together and I didn't oppose it (plus the staircase scene..hohoho).
The 2nd leads are where I have mixed feelings. I wasn't too happy to see the actor who played Jaet, as I didn't like him in KMSY. But actually he was a lot better here. He had good chemistry with Mdee and Wan, and was in general a good friend. Love-wise tho...he's a bit of a mess. I really didn't like how he tried to kiss Wan when he knew she wasn't interested in him (and she said no) and then went on to get angry at her for not comforting him when he had a hard time. Like, ok sir? He started to then crush on Mdee which is fine, but then flipped back to Wan after "actually" realizing her loved her all along. Wan was also a mess, but her backstory and character was more developed. She's been forced to live only by what her mom dictates and has developed inferiority and depression issues because of it. It doesn't excuse some of the bad things she did in the lakorn, but she does redeem herself in the end and becomes a better person with more self-love.
The theme song for this is pretty cute and catchy. The only thing I didn't like was the baby music they played when Mdee was thinking about Pao; I thought that was pretty cringy. Overall, this was a pretty easy watch and the romance is quite fluffy; while it's not exactly my cup of tea, I can appreciate it for what it is and would recommend you check this out.
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TL;DR - I have some issues with the romance but I give it a pass; if you don't think too hard, you will enjoy it. Good story and casting, and overall had a good time watching.I guess to start, can I just comment on the English title for this lakorn? I found it to be quite lovely and also apt at how I would describe the romance in this, in which somewhere, somehow, their love began. I say this with some romantic awe but also some critical inklings, of which I'll explain later and first start with what I enjoyed.
The story in this was very well done and kept me riveted throughout the lakorn. It was fast-paced but you could still digest what was going on, and every scene mattered. Production and script was also great. I'm surprised it was done so well as the last OneHD lakorn I saw was not so good. I will comment that I didn't realize that this was supposed to be set in the 1970s until I saw how the FL's best friend was dressed, so I suppose they could've done that better. Otherwise, I thought this was a well-produced show.
The casting in this was also spot on and I think everyone acted very well. In particular, the roles of Pokhai and Lookmee as the antagonists were done very well and I liked how they were clearly evil but also had their reasons for why they were like that. Especially Pokhai, I felt so bad for him and could not completely hate him, and almost wanted him to win and bring his shit father down. I also felt bad at how he was used by Lookmee, although he was pretty much playing with fire with her. Lookmee was also a scary, cold-hearted villainess that genuinely made my blood boil, but also impressed me with how far she would go to obtain her goals. Her desire to win was what brought her demise and it pretty much stemmed from her father, who can only regret.
Speaking of fathers that can only regret, we of course have to mention Panin's father, who was the source of all the problems this show had. He was awful and prejudiced, and it took Pokhai dying, Lookmee scorning him and Ris taking a bullet to realize he was wrong. I wish he was punished more for what he enabled and I'm surprised Pokhai's mom didn't spit in his face after everything (like all he could say was sorry but would that bring back her dead son? I think not).
I also want to shout out the MVP of the show which is Linjong. The best and sweetest friend anyone can have. I also really liked the child actor who played Pete, as he is probably the best child actor I've seen by far.
Now to discuss the romance; overall, I liked it. I liked Ris and Panin, and I was surprised that Panin was not angry at Ris for long; in fact he was reasonable and kind, and it made it more believable for why Ris would still like him. I actually thought the beginning part where it seemed like he insta-loved on her was well done and didn't make me cringe. But here's the thing that holds me back; if I were Panin and found out that the girl I really liked but only knew for a couple days was the object of my brother's year long crush and had a baby with him, that would kill any feelings I'd have. Similarly, if I were Ris and was deceived by a guy I only knew for a couple of days, who turned out to be the brother of my best friend, and had to deal with a shit father-in-law, that would also kill my feelings. I didn't see why they had to be together. I also just didn't see how they could love each other again but somehow they did, and I kind of just went along with it. I don't really want to think about this too hard, so I'll just leave it as it is and be happy for their HEA.
The music is what got me into watching and it was appropriately played, so it gets full marks. I wouldn't re-watch this, but I'd remember the good experience I had watching. I know this was a remake but I haven't watched the original, nor plan to, so I can't comment on that. Overall if you're in the mood for a romance set in the 1970s with a good story and good cast, I'd recommend you give this a watch.
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TL;DR - I didn't like this and had a hard time watching it. The story is clunky, the main leads are unlikeable and the romance is problematic. Things do get better in the last 2-3 episodes, but IMO it's not worth going through all the episodes prior to it. A lot of people seemed to like this, so I'd say to give it a watch and see how you like it.So...to say that this lakorn wasn't what I expected is kind of an understatement. I enjoyed watching My Forever Sunshine which had Mark in it, plus I heard good things about this (and I haven't had Mew on my screen for awhile), so I thought I would enjoy this as well. It's safe to say that I think MFS is much better than this in all aspects, and I'll just start with what I liked first.
I liked the secondary cast, and particularly enjoyed the LGBT sub-plotlines. I thought it was well done. I also liked the beautiful scenery of Dawei; I didn't know Myanmar had so many beautiful places and temples, and the culture was very interesting to see. Another like is the character development for Yada and how they took care of the villain by doing unto him what he did to others.
Now to get on with my dislikes; I'm going to organize these because I'm pretty much gonna be ranty, and it's unfortunately the things I care most about in a drama which is story, characters and romance.
1. The story was kind of a mess for me. The individual plotlines (there were 3) kind of made sense on their own but when looking at the lakorn as a whole, I thought it didn't flow well and was not cohesive. I especially didn't like the first one, (hacker plot) where it not only went on for way too long, but it was random and really only served to make the female lead look bad. Story lines should be there to engage in the lakorn and develop the main characters. This wasn't the case for the first plot, the second plot (Dawei) was just kinda better and the last plot (pregnancy) was the best. It's unfortunate that the best one was only about the last 3 eps whereas the rest took up the majority; I felt a lot of it could've been cut down. It was also predictable, as there were episodes where I had it in the background while doing something else (while occasionally looking at the screen), because I didn't need to watch it fully to know what was going on. Part of why I couldn't enjoy the story was also due to our leads, which is my next point.
2. a) Moei: At first, I felt sorry for Moei and I related to her deeply in regards to her unrequited love for Tien. The scene in ep 3 with her and Tian in the rain was the peak of her unrequited love and I actually teared up. However when it got to the hacker plot, I was dumbfounded to see Moei not only be super clingy to Tien, but also low-key manipulative. I couldn't understand how even after Tien would reject her or put her down (often in a cruel manner) that she would cry, then stick to Tien as if nothing happened. It was unnerving. She kept clinging to Tien in hopes that he would fall in love with her and it was really cringey for me to watch. Later down the line, I found her character to be inconsistent eg. in one moment she was wishing for Tien to love her, but then when he did, she backed off and thought he deserved better. She had many moments like this where the change was so abrupt, and I think it's more of the director's fault than Moei. There is no build-up to Moei's changes, and I wish we could've seen her thought process so it didn't feel so random. I don't see why production couldn't add some more scenes showing Moei writing in her journal about her changing feelings/thoughts instead of me having to fill in the blanks. I'm sad to say that I found her unlikable for the most part, and I wish she was better written.
b) Tien: Obviously he was unlikable for me from the start, and I immensely disliked how he treated Moei. However, this actually changed during the hacker plot where I actually began to feel sorry for him; he was forced to marry a girl he doesn't like and said girl is clinging to him in an unwarranted manner. Him being mean was doing Moei a service, as he wasn't leading her on and I found myself rooting for him to get away. However, he began to be unlikable again by continuously putting down and taking advantage of Moei, and treating her like an object. I especially found it gross when he fell for Moei and tried to stop her from leaving; instead of confessing to her, he got her drunk and slept with her as a means to keep her. This behavior is pretty consistent up until the last couple of eps, and I was just not with it.
3. Now with both leads being problematic, the romance was of course not something I really supported. It was unbalanced from the start. There was this toxic cycle of Tien treating Moei badly, but then Moei would just accept it in hopes that it would show her love, which only enabled Tien to continue disrespecting her. It was also icky to me that with Moei's pursuit of Tien, it showed that if you like someone, you just gotta stick to them like glue and eventually they will love you back. That's absolutely not true and this is the kind of mindset the 2nd leads usually have, which I generally despise. Overall, I thought they were better off not together.
I have to say, this would've been a lost cause if not for the last 2-3 eps. I liked how Moei made Tien prove his love for her (not a fan of how she did it but whatever) so that the relationship between the two was equal. This was also where I was actually emotionally invested into their pairing and I was touched with what they did for each other, especially with how Tien freaking donated his kidney for Moei. I also liked how the ramifications of Moei's pregnancy added to the plot, and how it made them rely on and take care of each other. It really came full circle to how they were then vs now, and I just wish this happened a lot sooner.
I thought the music was alright and appropriately played. I would not re-watch this. A lot of people seemed to enjoy this, and if you are one of them then that's all that really matters. These are just my opinions. I would say to give this a watch and see how you like it.
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I briefly checked this lakorn out a few years ago when I was procrastinating doing school work. Years later, still procrastinating, I decided to watch this lakorn not expecting much, and hoping at least for a satisfactory love line. And wow did I not only get a satisfactory romance, but I was also amazed by our other main leads, 2ndary cast of characters and overall how this lakorn was able to keep me invested till the end.I'll be giving a review on our 6 main leads, followed by shoutouts to some of the supporting characters:
Chat: A very unique ML. At times, I thought of him as rapper Chat with how fast he would talk and have strange hand gestures to go with it. He does the whole "angry at my father for abandoning mom and I" very well by not humiliating his father, not being vicious to his step-mom and importantly does not use the FL as a punching bag for his anger (for once). I actually felt sad over his anguish and guilt over his mom's death, and we see how heavily it affects him throughout the series. All of his anger is rightfully directed at his father. I also really like that he's not stupid and pretty much disregards his grandma + aunt when they're exposed as instigators. What I adored about him the most tho, was his devotion and desire to be with Yo, even if it meant that their love would hurt others. I was firstly impressed with how easily he accepted her and quickly grew to love her, and was tastefully possessive (weird to say but really, I never felt grossed out/cringe when he was being possessive). He fought hard to be with her in the end and never gave up on their love even when she gave up. The only thing that bothered me was how crappily he treated King, which she didn't deserve.
Yo: A refreshing FL. Speaks her mind, has an actual backbone and does what's right even if it sacrifices her happiness. What first surprised me about her was how she went after Chat with no hesitation. She pretty much pestered him until he opened to her and he had no chance with how cute she was being. But her infatuation didn't mean that he could treat her anyway he wanted; there's a point in the lakorn where he lashes out at her and then tries to brush it under the rug. But she doesn't let him get away with it at all, and even says along the lines of "When you're angry you expect me to take it, but when you feel better you want me to suddenly forgive you? Don't expect me to go along with your mood" like woooooow I was so impressed when she said this (all FL need to take notes lol). She doesn't allow the ML to boss her around and sets boundaries she expects him to follow. I was overall very impressed with her character.
King: Best 2nd FL here. Not a bitch, not vengeful and is an exceptionally beautiful soul. She's very kind, but not dumb. She loved Chat and actively tried to get to know him, and I felt so bad every time he blew her off. Even when Yo turned out to be the one he loved, King didn't hate her and wished happiness for both of them. Even when her mom forced her and Chat to marry, she knew that he didn't love her, so they wouldn't have a good marriage, and she loved herself enough to not want that. Like for real, she is an angel and I was rooting for a happy ending for her.
Puchong: Best 2nd ML lol. Actively pursued Yo but never crossed boundaries and respected her space. Very sensible and a total gentleman, but never a doormat. He was more than a tool to ignite Chat's jealousy and I was rooting for him to get his happy ending with someone who loved him.
Pom/Kusuma: Wow she was great; she came later in the lakorn and I was worried if she would even make an impact when everything else was established, but oh boy was I wrong. She's a communication expert that's actually a communication expert. She pretty much saw the relationship between Yo and Chai right away, picked up on Krit's love for King. and gave actual helpful advice when our leads were having issues. I loved her budding friendship with Puchong and was pretty much supporting her and Puchong getting together.
Krit: Unfortunately a forgettable lead for me, although I still liked him a lot. He was very kind to Yo, sweet to King, and was overall a good person. I really liked his voice lol. But his presence got reduced near the end of the lakorn and compared to the other amazing leads, he didn't stick out much.
I was surprised at how much I liked all our main leads and appreciated how they were portrayed as real, 3D people and not just tools for plot. What made this lakorn even better was some of the secondary cast: Same and Jane, the two best friends anyone could ever want. The head servant at Chat's house, who would call out the grandma and care for Chat as her own son. The best ofc was Grandma Lamoot; just straight savage and a hoot to watch. Yo pretty much got her back bone from her. I was pretty sad that she died, although the way she died was kinda sus.
I felt like almost every mother figure in this drama was terrible on varying spectrums, although the last one I'll mention was a very good villain. To start, Puchong's mom straight up is not a real person; the way she hated her son was borderline comical. Chat's grandma was selfish and very emotionally manipulative, although she does somewhat redeem herself in the end. But def the biggest villain was King and Krit's mom (King and Krit are not related btw and were adopted by this woman). She was the master puppeteer in manipulating not only Krit and King to do her bidding, but also the Grandma, Chat and Yo. She's quite cold and calculative and is not above using threats to get what she wants. Although she was terrible, I actually found her to be admirable because the way she carried out her plan was almost full-proof, and although I didn't agree with how she using everyone as a pawn, I could respect why she did so.
Now one to some points on why I didn't rate this higher:
-The romance. You might be surprised I'm saying this, but hear me out. I really liked their relationship; it was mature and respectful. But there were a lot of times that I felt there could be more feeling/passion. I often felt they were held back in expressing their feelings (whether it's the fault of the network or actors, idk), and although I did believe in their love, there was a lot of potential for me to be even more invested that was just wasted.
-Acting: sometimes the acting of our leads would throw me off, especially Andrew's. While he did deliver in the emotional scenes, it's the smaller scenes where he doesn't emote well. There were times when I would expect him to show some sort of emotion or react to a shocking event (not that I want it to be over the top, but subtle changes in expressions, or change in vibe) but he would have this blank face. I wasn't sure if it's bc it's his character or him, tho I still liked his character.
-Aunt See: A pretty pathetic villain and stuck around for too long. Although I really liked how our leads and Yo's mom would beat her down time and time again, it got pretty repetitive after a while and not much was done to her until the last 2 episodes. Even then her ending was pathetic and didn't make sense.
Overall I still really liked his lakorn a lot. Having the ML, FL, 2nd FL and 2nd ML be sensible and very likeable people is quite rare. Although this doesn't have much of a story, the cast of characters make up for it by tenfold. Music was good and I really liked one of the songs. I would totally recommend you watch if you have the time and I will certainly re-watch this on my own time.
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I'll get straight to the point and say that this was a depressing lakorn to watch. I hadn't planned on watching at all, but again the YouTube fan vids got to me and against my better judgement I watched the entire thing. This lakorn mainly centers around war and the dissolution of a kingdom due to internal disunity. Romance is not the main focus, but it doesn't mean that it's weak; on the contrary it has depth and it's beautifully developed. Although the ML dies in the end, there's a lot of OTP moments that make up for it and it only happens in the last third of the final episode (generally I don't mind if the OTP don't get together in the end as long as it's within reason, + there's a lot of OTP moments - which in this case there was). Although my main reason for watching was for the romance, it doesn't mean I didn't pay attention to the rest of the lakorn - and honestly it was hard to watch at times. You watch how good people (those who do the right thing and are willing to die for their country) like Daoreung's dad, her bro, etc die fast and early whereas selfish and cowardly people like Thip live long and prosper. Karma does get to those people at some point, but the damage they cause ensues the destruction of their home country. It really made me sad, especially the scene where the king is in the palace, tearfully gazing at Buddha and knowing that despite doing everything he could to save his country, it was all in vain. It made me think how awful it must be to go through war and although I hated the 'bad' characters, I could understand their motivations for wanting to save themselves over their country.
I liked the ML; I LOL'ed so hard when he immediately wanted to wife the FL after seeing her all grown up. His heart is strong and true, and he's the true embodiment of a soldier loyal to his country. His unwavering love for Daoreung (DR) touched me, and his intense love stares at her made me swoon. Krai might've been too hot-headed for his own good at times, but with the bs politics he had to deal with in the army, I can't blame him.
Now about the DR, I have mixed feelings; I am annoyed but also sympathize with her. Her character is that of a damsel in distress, which most viewers won't like (given most dramas have strong FLs), but I think viewers should give her more credit. I feel like if I were a young girl who grew up with peace and love, only to have that all taken away by war then I probably would've reacted like her too. It's in the older times too, which means she unfortunately has to rely on men to protect her (and was raised to think so). Some may point out that her grandma (awesome character btw) is not weak like her, but I feel like the grandma and Krai kinda coddled DR and didn't do much to teach her to fend for herself. With that being said, I still wish DR added more to the plot than just crying constantly, and I'm low-key surprised Krai was patient enough to deal with all that.
One thing I will take from this lakorn is the music; it's easily my favorite part of the show. I love the sound of boran music, and I felt it perfectly embodied the themes of the lakorn. I also thought it was appropriately played and guided the mood of the scenes very well.
Overall I don't regret watching this but for sure I won't rewatch except maybe for the Krai + DR scenes. If you're ok with watching an intense lakorn where there are realistic portrayals of what goes on in war, then I'd say to give it a watch. I did want to add that I felt the ending was incomplete, although I learned later that it's supposed to lead to the sequel. While I understand that, I wished they put more focus on DR and how she learned to move on after Krai's death.
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