As a person who didn't read the novel...

I picked up this drama because of the hype and because I had heard of the novel and manhua beforehand. I think the high rating comes from people who have read the novel and therefore are attached to the characters in a completely different way compared to me. I tried to like it and understand it. I honestly tried. However, I could not rate this drama any higher. (Please don't kill me.)

Story - The story was very hard to follow as a person who had no knowledge of the plot beforehand. I'm familiar with the concept of cultivation (vaguely), but there were some points I just didn't know, like the "golden core" concept. I had to google quite a fair bit about the plot while watching to understand it as well as explain it to my mother (yes, I watch dramas with my mom). The names in particular were hard to remember because every single person had like 3 names so I really wish there was a chart of the characters out there like there was with Nirvana in Fire.

Anyway, I had no idea what was happening in some points. I didn't really realize that Wuxian gave his core to Jiang Cheng until later which then led to him developing demonic cultivation. I didn't even know what happened when Wuxian fell into the graveyard. The entire first 30 or so episodes is dedicated to a flashback segment which kind of left me bored, but I understood that they needed to hook you. A lot of parts were dragged out. I literally hated that it took 4 episodes for Meng Yao to explain his whole evil plan. So yeah, the plot was a drag. I did appreciate the key moments between Wuxian and Lan Zhan though.

Acting/Cast - I really liked Wang Yibo, Xiao Zhan, and some others. The acting was decent for the most part. The most annoying thing was the way the zombies acted. Every time they were getting ready to attack, they just stopped and yelled out.

Music - I really love the theme song. I streamed it so many times on Spotify already. Yanli's song was a nice addition too. There was this one instrumental that kind of threw me off though because it was very modern(?). It just didn't fit.

Effects - I was actually impressed with some of the effects because they looked a lot better than those of 10 Miles of Peach Blossoms. However, there were still some moments that I just died laughing because of how bad the effects were, especially the dog-dungeon scene.

Overall - For the average drama watcher, I wouldn't recommend this. It's too confusing and long without proper context. If you're a fan of the novel, go ahead. Most fans enjoyed it so I don't see why you wouldn't.

Read More

Maybe ke yi will be our always

Once again, I decided to watch a drama for the hype, and this time I was not disappointed. I hardly cry with TV shows but this one made me catch the feels a few times. There was just so much rawness.

Story:
Most dramas about the mundane world tend to bore me because I like a healthy sense of escapism. However, this drama had my attention from the very start. I love childhood friendships, and I love when friends stick through thick and thin with each other. That's why I was absolutely torn when Teh and Oh Aew had so many ups and downs, being friends in one moment and then resenting each other in the next. Teh is imperfect - he has seemingly many flaws but he also has a good heart. Honestly, I related to Teh on so many levels because of this. I could understand the reasoning behind his jealousy, regret, fear, desperation, and sacrifice. Friendships are difficult to navigate with such emotions, especially as a teenager. However, I can also understand people's reasoning for being upset with him. All of this negativity festering within made him hurt everyone around him. He made Oh Aew miserable because of his inability to be honest with himself. There are just so many implications as to why Teh acted the way he did. Regardless, friendship was a huge takeaway from the series for me. I loved all the playfulness and little jokes between Teh and Oh Aew, and their relationship with the other boys was pretty admirable as well.

Now for the romance part, it was very suspenseful. They turned something so innocent from their childhood like back scratching into something very different. I felt embarrassed to watch some of the scenes they had together because of how raw they felt, and they didn't even do anything too bad. But seriously, the change in their relationship was so slow and subtle that it makes you sit on the edge of your seat. Probably the most disappointing part to the development of their romance was their treatment toward their secondary love interests. Both Tarn and Bas were angels to Teh and Oh Aew, comforting them despite being rejected. I sympathized with Tarn so much because it hurts to have someone pull away from you and not give you any clear reason as to why. These two characters honestly made me question why Teh and Oh Aew got together in the end.

As an aside, I loved the incorporation of Chinese culture into the drama. It was hilarious to see the boys watch a cheesy historical Chinese drama and emulate the sword fighting and play. The cultural element really helped to suck me into the drama.

I don't have any other critiques for the story other than the fact that episode 4 was not on par with the first three. The melodrama was amped up, and this was the episode where a lot of the petty stuff happened.

Acting/Cast:
The acting is excellent. I very much believed that these characters were actual people. I was heavily invested in Teh and Oh Aew's friendship while it lasted. There was a lot of ugly crying, something that is extremely rare for dramas where the actors are meant to look perfect at all times. I was unsure of PP's acting at first, but I quickly grew to like him in his role as Oh Aew. His expressions were everything to me and he was very gentle.

Music:
The OST is everything. It added so much to every and wasn't too overt at any point. I enjoyed the music box version of "Skyline" a lot, andI'm honestly just weak for historical OSTs. The ballad/Billkin's love song was lovely. The composition of the song just really sets the mood. I really hope they release the whole soundtrack (including the instrumentals) on spotify.

Overall:
The director, screenwriters, cast, and crew did not come to play with this one. They brought it all. This series just felt so magical yet real at the same time.

Ke yi ma? Ke yi.

Read More

This was the first Thai drama I tried to watch before dropping it after 1 episode because of how annoying Type was and the sexual assault scene. (I picked up UWMA after and had much better luck in getting hooked). However, my friend started watching it, so I picked it up again.

Story - If you're going to make a bigoted character who has a traumatic past, please make it realistic. During the first 4 episodes of the drama, I was bewildered at the fact that Type was letting Tharn touch him, grab him, and get so close. I know trauma can be expressed in different ways, but with Type's particular expression of homophobia I just wasn't convinced that he would turn gay in such a seemingly short time. It really seemed like all of the drama happened in the first four episodes as well. It was the most interesting part in my opinion because it was supposed to show Type change his perspective on homosexuality. After the first 4 episodes were done, I honestly felt like there was no conflict. I suppose that explains the reason for 12 episodes because there's only so much you can do with the story after the main conflict is "resolved".

The last two episodes had me laughing with Lhong going full on yandere mode. I had always wondered if he liked Tharn but never questioned it. When he dropped the glass at the news of Tharn and Type being together, I was wondering where the resolution was. I know the director wanted to pull the twist, but some things about Lhong were just left really open. Also, are they just going to ignore the fact that he committed some pretty serious crimes like (paid) rape, blackmail, and attempted murder?

Also, I found San to be somewhat of a predator even if he was similar age to Tharn. He literally told Thorn straight to his face about how he couldn't resist Tharn's innocence. This part with San and Thorn aggravated me. What if he did that to Thanya? All I'm saying is that San rubbed me the wrong way.

Acting - I really had issue with Gulf's acting to the point of laughing at first. He seemed to get better but it could've just been the change in Type's character. Mew is the standout for me. The way he conveyed Tharn's more vulnerable side was amazing, and I couldn't handle seeing him cry.

Techno was my favorite character because of how loyal and understanding he was, and his actor made me laugh in a good way.

Music - The music placement was pretty good to highlight certain moments appropriately. I praise this part because UWMA did really bad in this respect. The OP and Tharn's song were pretty good to listen to but nothing extraordinary.

Sidenote - I watched UWMA and SOTUS before this. Coming off those two dramas, I was not prepared for the HBO-level of intimacy in this series. You can tell the director knew what the audience wanted. I didn't really appreciate the fast pacing of the intimate scenes. I'm too soft for this. ;-;

Overall - The story was the weakest part in my opinion. The drama had very few high points for me, and I ultimately have no attachment to the drama. I'm glad I watched it, but I most likely won't be rewatching.

Read More

Holy Moly

I really don't know what to say for my general feeling on this drama. There were some strong points but a lot of weak ones as well. It's just a real mess.

Story:
Pete and Trump's conflict was kind of interesting? I mean, I wasn't that convinced of the situation and just saw it as a way to show Ae in a heroic way, but how could they just completely forget about Trump? He was the only major antagonist in Pete's life so I don't understand why he was underutilized. Also, I found Pete's character to be very weak. He's shy, nice, handsome, and rich (had all the Apple products and matching pajama sets lol). He wasn't very compelling to me, and it didn't help that he was always a damsel in distress.

AE. I fell in love with Ae's character. He was the realest character to me with how multifaceted his personality was. I could genuinely feel his confusion at having to deal with feelings for a person for the first time, and his flaws also added to his realness. His possessiveness was a bit concerning to me, but Pete obviously didn't mind it. I really just admired how honest he was throughout his relationship with Pete.

Other characters that I liked were Pond, Cha-am, and Good. Pond is probably really accurate in representing a college-aged male and could be quite distasteful sometimes. However, he was such a delight and showed some redeeming qualities. He pretty much carried all of the humor in the drama. I especially loved him and Cha-am together because she really brings out his more gentle side. As for Good, he reminded me of a sloth. His mannerisms were just so cute and his interactions with Can were interesting. He's iconic.

I didn't find Tin and Can's relationship all that enjoyable. Can was extremely petulant most of the time and he also looked really young to me, too young to fit with Tin. There was a lot more they could've done with Tin and Can's storyline as far as Tin's family interfering in Tin's life. It was just such a missed opportunity to cause more drama from Tin's brother especially as well as the fact that they have different lifestyles.

Tum and Tar felt very irrelevant in Tharntype (until the end) and the same can be said here too. You could watch the whole drama without them. Their relationship is also very taboo, and I don't understand why this isn't being questioned by the other characters in the drama. However, they barely interact with Tum and Tar so it makes sense.

I think everyone agrees on how terrible sexual assault. There's just something about selling your brother to your friend and allowing your friend to molest your brother, hmm. Anyway, Kengkla and Technic were unnecessary and their behavior was downright disgusting.

Acting/Cast:
A lot of it was average or kind of rough.

Saint is probably a really good actor, but his role as Pete was just so subdued. He also is very manly compared to Pete in the way he speaks and acts which is very interesting but he's acting. Understandable. He also reminds me of Jin from BTS, lol.

But holy moly, Perth carried the drama with his acting. I already praised Ae's character as being so real, and this wouldn't have happened if Perth hadn't been casted to play him. Perth absolutely sold me on every feeling Ae had. He could just convey so much with his eyes, and I could feel the love he was portraying toward Pete. It also helps that Perth is a cutie. My only gripe with casting Perth in this role is the fact that he was doing all of these scenes at the age of 17. I know the age of consent is different in Thailand but still. It just kind of weirded me out even though I'm around his age. Anyways, he's an amazing actor, and I'm definitely looking forward to his other works. (He did great in UWMA.)

Music:
The music in these dramas aren't that great, the background tracks in particular. But for some reason, I really enjoyed the music. The little techno instrumental was funny.

Rewatch:
The only thing I would rewatch is the Pete and Ae interactions. Everything else can go.

Overall:
The drama lacks good conflict and also has a ton of questionable/abhorrent behaviors portrayed in the show. I enjoyed very few characters. I mainly stayed for Pete and Ae's relationship.

Read More

Decent Watch

My favorite part about this drama was the chemistry between the two main characters. I could genuinely feel the love and heartbreak that both characters experienced with others and each other. The music was also fantastic with the main song sung by Yu and the sweet instrumentals. However, the story was pretty weak. Everything is really rushed since there's only 6 episodes, so we don't get enough time to fully explore their relationship as well as the rest of the cast. I think the drama would've benefited greatly from this, especially with what they were trying to set up for season 2. I ended up binging this though, so I would say it's a decent watch.

Read More

I wish I had seen it sooner...

I've had this in my "to-watch" list for years now, and I never got around to watching it for some reason. I'm glad I finally got around to it because it turned out to be a very fun movie. Lynn is a very charming character, and you can't help but root for her even when she's throwing aside her morals. It was interesting to see her and Bank's characters completely switch by the end. I honestly found myself comparing this movie to Parasite because of the similar production, somewhat similar storyline with the scheming, and suspense from what would happen to the characters if they were caught. It's a very well-made film and always had me interested. Overall, it's a very satisfying watch.

Read More