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Raeng Pradtanaha thai drama review
Dropped 10/15
Raeng Pradtanaha
0 people found this review helpful
by 8392225
Apr 15, 2022
10 of 15 episodes seen
Dropped
Overall 4.5
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 5.0
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 1.5
Kimberley Anne Woltemas looks her most georgeous. But I hate the sight of Nadech Kugimiya. The only 2 cases I was able to tolerate him: 2010 'Ngao Ruk Luang Jai' (a very humble role), 2017 'Leh Lub Salub Rarng' (a funny role, in which he was not much in the way of my admiring Urassaya Sperbund's impressive rise in acting skills). The reason I'm mentioning this is any lakorn having him as a pra'ek has HUGE minus with me from the start.

But if I'm something as a drama viewer it's this: I am open. If the portraying characters and their drama and their romance shall be likeable, I am capable to get past the unlikeable cast. So I gave this lakorn the same chance as to any other.

The beginning was funny. The stupid rich girl was nailed by Kimmy. She made me laugh in her very 1st scene, while getting angry she called the guy named Pittaya "You... Pittbull!" LOL. I might not physically like Nadech but at least he's got his acting right. The tension between him and the rich girl was priceless. So far good, then.

Then there's a scene of Nadech smacking Kimmy's backside like a little kid's and then answering his phone saying: "I'm not done with work yet." LOL. Actually the characters know each other since childhood so it's kinda sweet. And that's all episode 1. Needless to say this was NOT the case where I would be skipping through the first episode listlessly, looking for something to at least remotely catch my interest (I am the WORST audience, when it comes to 1st episodes;) Oh no. This got my attention from the start:) So, I accepted the cast and continued watching.

What I didn't enjoy was there was a third party involved (yeah, this is a triangle story:-( Anyways, Kimmy's character of a spoiled girl is so clearly jealous it's obvious what feelings are the source of all her attacks. For her, there was nobody else since childhood, but that is not the case with him. As Min Natwara portrays a girl dangerously beautiful and poised, especially in compare with our naughty nang'ek. Opposite her we have Alex Rendell's super-annoying "playboy" (read: man whore) who's 2 years her junior and can't even remotely match her in sophistication.

Now, Phit wants to quit working for the rich girl's family. Instead, he is told he has to train her as he is the only one who can handle her, lol. This starts in episode 4. I hoped for her that with time she'll get better at work, there is nothing cool about being stupid.

Episode 6 (or, as I'm watching the "double number - half the runtime" version, approx. episode 3), Kimmy's naughty nang'ek encounters Alex's play boyo. Now, they would be a pair I'd enjoy watching;) Could Nadech just leave? LOL. Unfortunatelly, Alex is stuck in his silly side-role where he like ostentatiously grabs Kimmy's ass just because he has the fleeting opportunity to feel her up. He offers her a kind of joined-enemies collaboration (on splitting the Phit & Ravee couple up). She doesn't deem him worthy of even that and just leaves. I agreed, the girl portrayed by Min Natwara was clearly out of his league.

Meanwhile Thae, the spoiled rich girl grows more emotionally mature in her love for Pittaya, the only problem I had with connecting to his lovely story was that he looked like Nadech Kugimiya. Sigh. If he looked at least like Alex Rendell. But like it was said, Alex can be either Kimmy's "sleazy side-guy", or upcoming love interest of... Min Natwara? According to the poster, they should become second couple. I still cannot imagine their two characters happily together. Plus Natwara is older than Alex.

I must say that the way Thae redeemed herself with Phit & Ravee couple, and even more the way she then handled Alex's play boyo, really impressed me and since then I cheered for her and was all Team Thae:) Rarely I do see in lakorns a nang'ek who behaves the way I like. Pitty she didn't stop just after the newspaper post.

Kimmy's nang'ek then scores even more sympathy points with the audience... Her story with pra'ek since childhood through her being ostentatiously scornful of his lower status up to her quest to actually reveal his birthright which then backfires, and brings even more despair to her is more engaging than usual stories of nang'eks in lakorns. Kimmy portrayed it very well, pitty she wasn't there with some other guy... So, during the annoying triangle with Min Natwara's side girl recurring again and again to claim him, I felt like saying: "Yes, just take him if you want him so much and please could you send any guy that doesn't looks so gay in his stead, thank you." LOL. I just wanted her "drama" to end, or could she head off to have her own side-romance already?

But it's still impossible to imagine Natwara & Alex's characters as a second couple, with her still so desperate for Nadech's pra'ek and him practically acting a villain. Kimmy's nang'ek first handled him in very smart way, then sadly ended up acting very stupid (in order to get rescued by pra'ek, of course:) When Alex's character almost commits crime and is about to indirectly cause death of a person, I found it a bit too much. He's hardly to be viewed as a romance character after causing such tragedy?

Luckilly, it doesn't quite come to that. But obviously there's still long way to go. Kimmy's nang'ek is suffering alone, Nadech's pra'ek just takes high moral ground and she's the one left ridden by all doubts. He still has his other love interest to deal with... Overall I still liked the acting performance of both the leads. And the oldchool romance story. I started enjoying it after I settled in it, and I thought this definitely was one of the better ones both Nadech & Kimmy starred in.

After the wedding (in half the series) there's plenty pra'ek-nang'ek scenes to enjoy but I just cannot ship a couple that has Nadech in it. I just wanted the second couple's story to start.

Be careful what you wish for. The second couple's "story" starts with rape. That really is what Alex's character is in here. So, this lakorn might be one of the better ones for Nadech & Kimmy, but definitely not for Natwara & Alex. She gets warned that he is a rapist, so she goes and visits him alone in his apartment. It's like bad parody. Thus, Natwara's character WON'T have her separate story and shall keep meddling into the main couple. I don't like such stories. By 1/2 of the series, I catched myself zoning out. I considered dropping this.

Seriously, Kimberley Anne Woltemas was too good for this. Apart from her, there was nothing much watchable. I just honestly wanted it to end, as I was neither able to enjoy the line with Nadech, who physically repulsed me, nor with Alex, who was repulsive character.
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