Dear Doctor, I'm Coming for Soul (2022)

An unusual blend of BL and serious drama

The story here is pretty good despite a few flaws, namely:

1) Prakan's initial hostility towards Tua Phee is not very logical because (as he later seems to understand) Tua Phee does not cause anyone to die but merely sends souls of the dead on their way. A doctor getting angry with Tua Phee is like a doctor getting angry with someone who provides funeral services--the latter doesn't cause people to die.
2) For a large part of the series, it is not clear when Tua Phee's love for Prakan becomes romantic love. The changes in feelings could have been shown, especially given that when Pua Phee is alive, Prakan is only a kid.
3) Like many supernatural series, it is hard to have a truly happy ending (think: The Miracle of Teddy Bear and Something in My Room). Even a happy ending has to deal with some of the sadder things in life, but the audience may prefer their BL series to be more escapist. And it is even harder if you don't want the ending to be too predictable.
4) Too many deaths/near deaths of the main characters (sometimes for no good reason).

Still, Dear Doctor, I'm Coming for Soul has a rather good story that is competently told. Prakan's character is flawed, but he doesn't get to the point where he becomes annoying (at least for me). Apart from Prakan and Tua Phee's romance, another relationship that is nicely portrayed is the kinship/friendship between Prakan and Metha. Yacht is really good as Metha, conveying the characters jealousy while convincingly maintaining the fundamental righteousness of the character.

The side couple, Natee and Keeta, is cute--a nice addition to the story without being digressive or excessively sweet. At the same time, Metha and Nuch's love for each other is also portrayed in a way that will make us wish they end up together but doesn't get in the way of the more serious parts of the story.

Read More

Cute concept but some classical tropes

[spoiler at the end of this review]

I quite enjoyed this drama for several reasons but it doesn't mean it's perfect.

I like the apparent conflict mixed with affection between two opposing characters: the doctor saves lives, the Grim Reaper takes them to the afterlife. It mixes the typical "medical drama" genre with something more fantasy/paranormal.
It creates some tension and it makes us invested in the survival of the patients (will they be saved by Prakan or get taken by Thua?).
The acting is decent and it's nice to see the two actors from Grey Rainbow together again. The change between "work mode" Thua and "relax mode" Thua is interesting. He really goes from a stern-faced, serious, unshakable grim reaper to a sweet fun-loving person.
The subplots are quite interesting, enough to keep us watching: Metha's and Prakan's conflict of interest, Nathee and Keetha's relationship.

However, it's not a bl drama that reinvents the genre.
You will get the compulsory beach episode (though it was cute), the "accidentally falling on each other", the "I love you but I don't" feelings, the "let's not talk and let things go bad between us" moments ... tropes are comforting, we expect them, we get them but at the same time it feels a little stale.

[SPOILER ALERT]

I'm not sure if I dig the fact that Prakan and Thua knew each other when Prakan was a young boy. Thua had some brotherly affection for him so it feels almost a bit wrong to develop romantic feelings for that boy now that he is a grown-up man...

Read More

Finished on the second try

This was actually my second time trying to watch Dear Doctor. The first time, a few weeks ago, I ended up no finishing the first episode because the rhythm was a bit off for me. But this time I endured episode one and finished the series. The first episode is a bit weird because we get dropped in the middle of the story, the protagonists already know each other and we have to understand everything via pieces of plot explanation.

The show actually doesn’t have all that much medical scenes in it, but there’s still a lot of scenes at the hospital, just not treating cases or during surgeries. I’m not the biggest medical drama fan, so that did not bother me. The whole competition to see who’s gonna get the chief surgeon position was a bit meh, because there’s a total of 5 doctors working there, and there’s not a single doctors that’s over 30. The two side couples are ok, I just wish their romances would’ve been developed better. All 4 characters get a good amount of screen time, just not for romantic scenes.

The main couple is probably the strongest aspect of the show. Karn and Nut have known each other for any years and are part of the first wave of thai BLs, with Grey Rainbow. They have great chemistry and their characters have a nice story. There’s no real twists and turns or plot twists, but it makes sense for their relationship to develop slowly at first. The whole thing about them meeting 20 ago and how that explain’s the fact that Prakan can see Tua makes sense. They have some nice sweet moment together.

Regarding the ending, I think it was nice to see Tua mention that, after sometime, he would not be able to accompany Prakan in social situations with his family and friends, since he’d not age. It’s a huge aspect for human x non human relationships, and many series don’t spend time on that. The scene with Prakan turning old and dying was done well, but I wish we’d seen more moments of them together doing stuff during those decades together.

The actual ending kinda surprised me, because I was expecting Prakan to become a reaper so he’d stay with Tua. But, since we don’t know how much time Tua has to stay as a reaper, the jump forward to reborn Prakan was a happy ending that fits with the show, and restarts the cycle. It's a very Goblin-esque ending.

Read More

Exciting, Well-Paced and Unique

TL; DR: While Dear Doctor, I’m Coming for Soul isn’t perfect, it is an exciting supernatural hospital drama with a satisfying conclusion.

WOW. I literally have been avoiding this drama because of the low ratings but I don’t know what people were on rating this so low.
It’s not perfect, but I felt like it was a well-paced, well-scripted take on a killer/healer storyline. And the ending is lovely, only a little bit bittersweet with a lot of hope.

It’s a unique storyline and I personally found the conflict quite exciting. I anticipated every episode and devoured this show in a couple days.

The characters, even more antagonistic characters, are fully fleshed out and three - dimensional. It’s really not something you see very often but everyone had complete characters arcs over the course of the show.

There are a couple of flaws, such as the moral back and forth. It was a bit annoying when Prakan went back and forth about whether or not he was okay with Tua being a Soul Reaper. It lasted a few episodes and I was kind of just like, dude use your words, you’re an adult.
Acting was also a little bit lacking at times and didn’t pack the emotional punch it needed to. I’m a crier and I unfortunately didn’t feel enough to cry. That being said, the leads actually did have good chemistry, so points for that 100%.

One thing I wish they talked more about, Tua is not killing these people lol. The show keeps acting like he is. He is just guiding them to the afterlife. I feel like they should have shown what happens when a soul isn’t guided or something to express why this role is important.

The ending, I personally thought was perfect for this show. It is the happiest possible ending they could have given in this plot. Is it sad that Tua has to wait every 20+ years for Prakan to reincarnate? Yes. Is it also super romantic? Absolutely yes. It’s bittersweet and lovely that Tua watches his lover grow old, helps guide him to the afterlife, then waits to do it all over again (which is absolutely what is implied by the ending).
Really solid, satisfying endings are hard to come by in BL (and most shows in my opinion). This one was so well-paced and fitting that it solidified this show as a higher ranking for me.

I absolutely would recommend.

Read More

Happy hurt

First impression: the hospital/medical ER scenes don't feel good enough, compared to some American medical shows (eg. Grey's Anatomy, Chicago Med, 9-1-1). Pretty sure EMS don't bring simple broken bones and laceration during massive disasters; they triage and rushes the more life-threatening ones to the hospital first. IDK too, if it was allowable, Methaa(spelling?) operating on Prakarn, or Pra operating on Nuch, since the three are best friends-ish. The eng sub did a good job translating the medical terms though.

Prakarn: I understand it's the whole premise of the series, him being antagonistic towards grim reapers, but it's kind of unreasonable? Or maybe he's subconsciously blaming all his lost patients on Tua as a coping method? IDK, the idea of the story is good, but it feels lacking, not fleshed-out enough.

Tua: the best part of this show. He's mysterious, tragic, enduring, and adorable all in one. I have so many feels about this character, both happy and sad for him.

Romance was enjoyable. I love the main CP interaction. The way they hold each other, the eye contacts and intimate moments are very well done. Very sweet, and honestly worth it despite all the other negative points of this show. The ending was good but painful, but weirdly enough I like this show very much.

Read More

Great 11.5 Episodes

I'm obsessed with Sotus (the series), Enemy-to-lovers tropes and I really love slow burning relationships.
And this series delivered. I was so happy, I found a new jewel with my preferences.
The tingle I get at the moments when Tua tried to avoid meeting Prakan . . . Aweee, just like Sotus <3 .
The kissing scenes and the dialogue . . . AAAAWEEEE.

And all f*cked up with this ending, imho.
So disappointing in my eyes.
Okay, it's not fair: I had expectations.
I wanted them to live a life together, not this "I will be by Your side in every life You live", because Tua will always live like a ghost and Prakan will always seem to be lonely from the outside. No, I don't like that.
Maybe I wanted a wonder or a fairy tale ending. At least I wanted them to live only one lifetime together, all even and at eye level.

The support characters where well done, nothing spectacular. BL side couple was a little dull in their interaction. And the other side couple lacked of tension, sorry. (But YES, Yacht had a real glow up, damn!)
Only Singto Numchok Thanatram who played Khett, the other soul reaper, did a great job. He created an interesting character and I wanted to know much more about Khett.

available on YouTube

Read More

Here to take you on a journey!

Honestly, it took me a while to complete this show because it's pretty heavy. Others might disagree but dealing with death and loss in each episode was pretty tough. I understand the Prakhan's issue with Tuaphee/Sanya. We all need something or someone to blame when things go south, and I suppose being the actual personification of death, it's easy to take his anger out on him. Karn, Nut, Cookkai, Yacht, and Singto were phenomenal. The acting was crazy. Singto was an unexpected delight!
The story could be cleaner which is why I didn't give it a ten, but everything else was awesome. I loved LOVED the ending. I cried so hard.
Tua and Prakarn are really... so very very loveable because they make sense. They make a lot of sense. I'm glad that I decided to watch this. If you're into slowburn dramas this one would be for you. <3

Read More

Underated Bl series

I just finished watching"dear doctor I'm coming for soul" episode 9 though it's not as interesting as kinnporshe (in some people's eyes) and not even popular I do like this Bl series it's mature,it treat life issues ( though quite gloomy because of unending deaths), there's more about friendship and family than LGBTQ and to me that's right, I'm just happy that so far the other Soul reapers have not questioned B888 about his feelings for a fellow man, rather he's warned of the consequences of being to close to a human. To me this is refreshing no one questioning their right to be happy or together, there's at the moment a growing chemistry between the two main protagonist, the quarrel ( more like tussle) between Dr Meta and Dr Pakran is funny and showcase how we fight over irrelevant things in life,at least Pakran now understands this as he tells his opponent after the his near death experience"It doesn't matter who will be new chief of surgery". Somehow this Bl series serves as an anthesis to kinnporshe, it's not toxic,it doesn't promote violence and unlike the former ( kinnporshe) life and death is treated seriously! In it's way "dear doctor I'm coming for soul" have set a new precedent for Bl series...no longer the childish romance that permeates many Bl but the reality of our lives. Maybe this series appeals to me because it reveals that one must live well and enjoy life as one of the Soul reapers puts it "It's too late...humans never know when they are going to die" I do look forward to episode 10 now that Dr Pakran recognizes B888 as Sanya(promise) the Gladiolus flowers are a symbol of more promises to be kept!

Read More

Sweet

First I have to say, as long as you don't think realistically this is rather enjoyable. (Don't be like me and find random illogical parts) lol and if you can get past the MCs 'always shocked' facial expressions
Anyways, I was kinda worried since I've seen this theme in BL before but I gave it a shot. It had its cringe and cheesy moments but also its really sweet moments. Unfortunately, (as usual) I liked the side couple more and I feel they need their own story cause they definitely didn't get worthy screen time! It's not something I'd necessarily recommend but I don't feel like it'll be a total let down. It's about average in the BL department at this point lol
Enjoy...

Read More

Promising. Wish I Can Rate This Higher

A compelling, promising premise. A doctor and angel of death love story. Quite complicated right?

The cinematography is okay, but could be better. There are some shots that I wish they did for a better overall experience to the viewers. But I have to commend the very good transition of Tua Phee’s human form to the all-black suit as the grim-reaper. The death scenes in the drama is well-executed.

Acting is excellent! The leads are perfect to their roles. But there are instances that I’m displeased with Dr. Prakan due to his unwavering tantrums. He keeps blaming Tua Phee in every sh!t as if everything happened is the grim reaper’s fault. I understand where he is coming from, but it keeps happening until the middle part of the show where it gets tiring by then. Tua Phee, is endearing even on his angel of death outfit. He has a big heart which makes him my favorite character in the story.

I admire that we have multiple couples as it gives different flavors to the audience. We have two gay couples and a straight couple. I like that the writers balanced their screen time, no couple is left-behind, though I wish they have more time to fully mature their story. Slow-burn romance for our leads is done right though.

The plot is good, some arcs are well-developed, but some are weren't fully fleshed out and feels half-cooked. I would love to see the lore of the underworld and how they operate behind the scenes cause it is one of the unique parts of the story. If only they put more fantasy and background story for the grim reapers, I might've rated this higher. Such a waste of potential. I also feel that the villain in the hospital is easily caught in one episode. They're supposed to build up the climax towards that scene, 4-5 episodes of gradual development will do. There are also story arcs that was dropped and never heard again, again another wasted potential.

Some people don’t like the ending, but for me it is one of the best endings I've seen and possibly the best ending that this type of series can have. It is realistic, bittersweet, yet hopeful. It's such a pity that a unique story with endless possibilities failed to reach it's full potential. It could've been a masterpiece.

Read More

Have the tissues handy..

From the synopsis, it's pretty obvious this series would be an emotional roller coaster. However, when I managed to get to episode 8 without any tears, I thought I might just make it. Then episode 9 hits and it's nothing but the pulling of heartstrings in both happy and sad ways till the very end.

The story was well done from start to finish with no real unnecessary filler or plot points that barely make sense. There were a few storylines that were suddenly introduced out of nowhere and then resolved just as quickly that had me wondering if I missed something being mentioned earlier. But as long as the issue was resolved and not just introduced to create tension between the MC, I can overlook the randomness.

The acting/chemistry between the MC was fantastic and, while it is a slow burn, there are clear traces of it as it develops and blooms over time. The connections between them made sense and wasn't an overkill of coincidences which these kinds of stories could quickly turn into. The secondary couples were okay though it felt forced to me. Especially between Nathee and Keeta.. there was zero chemistry there in my opinion. It even had me wondering if Tae was at all comfortable playing the role in the first place.

I've heard some people compare this with Triage, especially since both series came out the same year. But besides being about doctors and having a more serious tone than a light-hearted BL, they had absolutely nothing in common and I don't know why one is even brought up whenever the other is. That's like comparing something like Cutie Pie and SOTUS just because the main character is a University engineering student. Or really any University BL, for that matter, which there are a lot of.

I believe this is definitely worth a watch. If I had to give any heads up, I'd say take it for what it is and don't overthink the ending. Sometimes, open ended isn't so horrible and I feel like it works well here.

Read More