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Love Syndrome III: Uncut Version thai drama review
Completed
Love Syndrome III: Uncut Version
1 people found this review helpful
by 07222023
Oct 29, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
This review may contain spoilers

Love Syndrome is more demented than amnesiac

When not one, not two, but THREE couples are a result of sexually assaulted victims falling for their assaulter, you know you’re in for a toxic mess.

Despite this series’ low rating, I gave it a go as I’ve seen Lee Long Shi in “Even Sun” and Frank paired with Drake in “Between Us”. Can't say I'm a big fan of both butttt I did enjoy them to some extent in said series. What’s interesting was seeing Lee Long ‘top’ here when he was the ‘bottom’ in Even Sun. I have to say his ability to do both makes him one of the more unique BL actors, not to say that not being able to fulfill both isn’t unique, but it doesn’t limit his acting or typecast him. (Also, I want to see a series where Fort Thitipong and Lee Long Shi are brothers because wow, they give me similar vibes.)

Before diving into the series, we need to understand that there’s a ‘Bad’ Day and a ‘Good’ Day (I honestly love that the character’s name is “Day” and they stretch the 'bad day' and 'good day' in him).
‘Bad’ Day is ruthless, jealous, and combative. He was born the day his parents were killed in a car accident that left him and his beloved younger brother, Night, orphans. Bad Day is a former mafia member who dropped everything bad about him two years ago. Good Day is the result of Day getting away from Bad Day and closer to Itt. He is mild-tempered, soft-hearted, responsible, and a bit of a pushover. Despite being the ‘Good’, he still possesses a dark side which is his openness and willingness to groom his boyfriend into becoming solely dependent on him.

This brings us to Itt, ‘Good’ Day’s boyfriend of two years. Right from the jump Itt is painted as a spoiled man-child who has an irritable cake obsession. Cake was his drug, he had to have it right then and there otherwise everyone suffer from his tantrums and inability to function, particularly Day. Despite Itt’s childishness and immaturity, he’s adored and babied by his peers, friends, and parents. Although Day has admitted to bending Itt into the role of a codependent boyfriend, it’s been revealed that Itt’s parents sheltered and spoiled him relentlessly growing up; never pushing him to do more nor asking him to help more with the family business. Cooking was also out of the question as he once burned down their kitchen. Therefore, when Itt, a grown man, lacks the basic survival skills it’s impossible to blame him or any party entirely. Itt’s codependency also allows him to accept abuse on an unhealthy level and I don’t care how many times a character says Itt is selfless, he’s the most selfish character.

Since Day suffers from memory loss and has returned to a character viewers aren’t familiar with, his growth, or lack thereof, is fairly acceptable. However, Itt has never truly grown. Itt doesn’t take responsibility for much of anything and this is because his friends and parents are always on his side. He shouts and raises his voice at Day every other four to five lines. Everyone but Day gives him more credit than he deserves and victimizes him on an unconditional level. The only time they called his childishness out was when he demanded cake and asked Peace to sleep beside him. I wish Itt’s cooking skills were developed and shown over the series and not him waiting until the final episode to show interest in learning because at this point we’re supposed to believe he’s been responsible for Day’s meals for months. I mean, did Night end up cooking all of them, or did Itt order delivery? Because we never saw Itt grocery shopping either and he clearly hasn’t shown any improvements when they went shopping with Bell.

The supporting and side characters were fine for the most part but they were too nosy and the amount of gossiping they did was excessive. There were a lot of times when I wondered why Gear and Night felt the need to control the direction of Day and Itt’s relationship. As a brother and friend, it’s acceptable to help but manipulating (i.e. Ball) is a different story. It gave the mains outs and excuses not to talk. It also skewed some situations i.e. when Day punched a wall because he couldn’t remember, friends miscommunicated that to Itt as Day punishing himself for punching Itt when in reality Day never felt bad for punching Itt on the racetrack because let’s be honest, was dumb and irresponsible on Itt’s part. The common person knows better than to jump in front of an oncoming race car at high speed. The part that further pissed me off about it was that Itt specifically asked Nan to be in the car with Day and still decided to put all of their lives in jeopardy. Had Nan not noticed and Day not braked, Itt would be 4-6 feet underground. Or had Day swerved, he would have crashed or flipped the car with him and Nan in it and they, too, could have been one with the ground. I’m so upset that when Day brought this up, Itt took ZERO accountability for it and never understood why he was in the wrong. Gear and Night also never asked why Itt did that, they just assumed that Day was in the wrong--he was, in the way that he overreacted and resorted to violence but I have to say Itt asked for it when he put all three of their lives at risk.
I also despise how selective the support characters are when it comes to over and under-sharing. When Day woke up with his memories of Itt wiped clean, he never got answers because everyone would just say ‘Curious? Figure it out yourself”. But then they would blame and get mad at him for not remembering. Day just couldn’t win as he was surrounded by Itt’s supporters.
Sometimes I questioned if Night was Day or Itt’s brother.
Speaking of Gear, I don’t understand his hostility towards Day in Night and Day’s house, especially when he once abused Night and knew Day hated him for that. Gear is a guest but he oversteps like he owns ¼ of the house.
I’m a huge fan of Nick. I love his humor and wit and wish there was more of him. He’s Itt’s best shield. I thought he and Neil were a compatible couple. Neil isn’t overly jealous of Nick’s flirtatiousness and understands that it stems from a cry for attention as the son of a mistress.
Nan and Mac…hmmm…at this point, I can’t gauge if they’re the second or most toxic couple but I’ve seen them being compared to Vegas and Pete from KinnPorsche and well…if you know then you know. Nan is Day’s henchman who instantly strikes us as someone who always has the upper hand and is quick on his feet. Despite his small screen time, he’s not a man to be trifled with. Although he doesn’t use his fists as often as Day, he’s proven to be just as good a fighter but with big brains. Aside from running a racetrack with Day, Nan’s toxic trait is to punish Itt’s molester, Mac. Mac is someone who went to high school with Itt and stole Itt's girlfriend, Meen, in the name of actually having a crush on Itt. As adults, Mac throws an out-of-the-blue confession at Itt while forcing himself onto Itt. Witnessing this, Day beats and shoves Mac into Nan’s arms and insists that Nan does whatever pleases him. And so Nan did, on top of threatening Mac with a non-existent video. Like DayItt and GearNight, Nan and Mac’s abusive relationship alas blossomed into ‘love’.

Guest roles and their purposes:
Meen - utilized to show us that Itt is bi aka gives Day more to be jealous of.
Kim - creepy guy #1 to prepare us for creepy guy #2, P.
Kamol - the mafia boss who never felt like a mafia boss. His motto is ‘killing creates an endless cycle of revenge so manipulate people to off themselves instead’

Other notes…:
- The mafia arc was done so poorly, it was over within 1-2 episodes
- The acting is passable, not great but not bad. In some scenes, one actor would overact as the other underacts. Frank’s acting can be dry at times, especially the non-red eyes and tearless crying.
- The script is…fair at best. I wish there were more industrial terms but meh
- Continuity error is a big one (the biggest offense is when Itt took the car to the waterfall but they kept cutting back to the house showing the car parked in front (establishing shot, I get it but c'mon now!). The first mistake I can laugh at but the second or third just tells you no one in editing was paying attention. And no one can convince me that was Gear’s car because it simply wasn’t.)
- The editing: they overused fade to black one TOO many times. The rectangle/zoom out in the middle was also used TWICE; it screams basic editing skills.
- Some camera angles need to go
- The comedy was satisfactory but lackluster editing killed it. And I’m not saying they should have added those overused sound effects but a change of song would have suffice. There were a lot of times when Nick delivered iconic, and I mean ICONIC, lines but background sounds never backed him up. It’s bizarre to laugh at a joke with soft, romantic music playing, just sayin’.
- Again, the misuse of music and sound throughout the show; they don’t match what’s happening on screen. (i.e. Itt passing out in the car due to Day’s speeding for one.)
- Opening song was chef's kiss though!
- Seeing that Lee Long Shi is a former Muay Thai trainer, I expected good action, and he and the series delivered! Although the pool table scene didn't quite work as Day was trying to pocket the 8-ball from two different angles but hey, at least we got comedy and romance out of it.
- Itt always has something of the five going on: he’s angry because cake, he’s happy because cake, he’s crying, he’s sick, or he has a bruise(s)/cut(s) on his face. (It’s ridiculous that they turned his running away into a camping trip for one but secondly, of the eight people present he’s always the one getting hurt. Like getting his jaw body-slammed and a leg cramp--there’s always something wrong with Itt.)
- Every. Single. Time. Day remembers something, Itt’s go-to reaction/response is ‘You remember?’. Istg, doesn't he have anything else to say? Seriously like no…he was just telling you what he remembers… The only time we didn’t get to hear it was when he had his panic attack.
- Day’s cast-off party was creepy, cringe, and a hot mess. I'm aware that its purpose was to reveal how sick all of the characters are and make Itt question whether he's Day's equal partner or property but I'm sure there are better ways to go about it. (Also, love that Itt was aware of that, however, he never got a direct answer because TOXIC RELATIONSHIP. Then again he said Day was his as much as he was Day's so...match made in heaven I guess...)
- Why is everybody gay?
- Why is everyone so taken with Itt other than his good looks?
- Why are all the villains men who are or were interested in Itt? Mac, whatever-his-face-long-hair-guy-who-pissed-everyone-off, and P.
- Why were characters introduced but nothing came out of them? Why wasn't Salmon a recurring character (he was one of the few healthy relationships Day had with literally anyone. And hello English-speaking Lee Long Shi!)?
- Why were issues created but never resolved or brought up again? What happened to the four teens that broke into the barbershop? Did Day ever replace Bell's stolen items as they never attempted to recover them? Why weren't the police involved in any given issue (SA, kidnapping, physical violence, attempted murder, stalking, you name it)? And why was Itt afraid of taxis, I don't think that was ever explained.

All said, this series isn't for everyone but I for one enjoyed it despite all the eye-rolling and frustration I went through. After episode 8, everything was redundant and even more unhinged but somehow it kept me glued to the screen. I wouldn’t recommend this series to the light-hearted but to the sickos such as myself, it's one of the must-watches!
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