Story: The script is done perfectly that will definitely make you fall in love with the leads and no room for Second Lead Syndrome. The story typical in the sense of having an innocent main female lead. However, the male lead unlike other shows with rich spoilt characters is a kind and understanding man. Furthermore, there is no angsty plot or evil second leads which made the drama a whole lot more enjoyable.
Acting/Cast: The cast was amazing and Sean and Esther have great chemistry during the show. They managed to show their love without much words and will make you fall hard for this love line. Similarly for the second leads, the actors were amazing. All the casts managed to make you fall hard for them or hate them like crazy which is great!
Music: One flaw of this lakorn is that they used the same music for almost every scene which by the end of the drama, your head will be repeated that particular segment of the song.
Rewatch Value: I think there is definitely rewatch value in this! After watching Korean, Chinese and Taiwan dramas, Leh Ratree made me fall hard for Thai lakorns and after I finished i can't stop replaying the scenes. And I'm sure to rewatch it again soon ;)
Overall: Leh Ratree is a really really sweet and cute drama. Do watch this if you are looking for a fun and light lakorn! I'm sure it will not disappoint :)
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Uneccesary remake, of a dated story-line.
The settling of a debt: the sins of the father laid upon one child. One punishment for having jerks for parents? Selling off your child and future grandchild in an all-in-one human trafficking moment. But then, both families were 'a piece of work' in both versions (2001, 2015) of this drama.I do appreciate they toned down little sis' need to be the male lead's mistress in this version. Though early cringe moments can be heard as inappropriate shadows, left in dialog. As for the 2001 original rape scene; 2015 same scene, slightly consensual context (FL touches ML's back in fadeout), & same outcome. A bad remake, of a dated story-line. Not recommended.
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This review may contain spoilers
Leh Ratree is a remake of an old lakorn. It is based on an incredibly old fashioned, unrealistic premise which a lot of viewers may find problematic, and rightfully so. A high society family wants an heir to carry on the family name and so they hire a "baby carrier" (the heroine/FL of the story) to take on the job. Since the FL is in financial straits (aren't they all?) she takes the job and predictably, ends up with the ML who is part of this family. In the real world, a family looking for a baby carrier would probably hire someone who already had a baby, not someone inexperienced like the FL, where you couldn’t be sure if she could have a baby or not!
The thing is, if you can get past the stupidity of this premise (it reminds me of those harlequins with titles like "the billionaires baby momma"), you'll find it's actually an enjoyable lakorn with likable characters. I've watched a fair number of lakorns and I can tell that this is one of the better ones.
While it focuses on the side characters, they do not take over the plot with their pointless story lines. This is one of the things I don't like in Thai dramas. Often, newbie actors/actresses with a lot of money or connections get cast as side characters and the result is that they are given too much exposure at the expense of the main storyline and the main leads. Thankfully, this did not happen here. I happened to like the secondary couple (Poo and Pakinee) a lot and how they got together was well developed. The good thing is that their story was written in such a way that it supported* the main characters relationship, rather than take the focus away from it. With what little time they had, the way Poo and Khun Pak got together was believable and they weren’t just thrown together.
The chemistry between the ML and FL. Khun Sake and Kate are adorable and the actors playing them had excellent chemistry. It isn't the heavy kind that you find in melodramas...but light and playful like you find in rom-coms. While I normally prefer a slightly intense dynamic between the leads (since I prefer dramas to rom-coms, in general), I think it also depends on the characters and the type of story you find them in. Leh Ratree had a lot of drama going on but Sake and Kate were both depicted as innocent and idealistic people...so it made a lot of sense for them to have a childlike playfulness in their scenes. The writers did a great job in showing their growth as a couple, from being initially hesitant of one another to being in love and always wanting to be together. This is what really makes it a great lakorn for me as I really hate it when the characters act bi-polar and literally go from hating to liking one another in the space of an episode.
I honestly don't think the acting is that great. The ML's expressions are really weird in some scenes. When he gets angry or troubled, he puts his eyebrows together and the effect is unintentionally funny. The FL’s crying scenes also look fake at times. I wouldn’t classify her as a "strong" character. Kate is not as intense or compelling as Kluen Cheewit's Jeerawat, nor is she funny and charming like Bpoop Phaeh Saniwaat's Mae Karakade. Despite that, she is likeable and sweet, and thankfully doesn't do anything stupid like a lot of candy girl types. There were times I wished her character would show more complexity but I don't think there's anything wrong with simple characterization when done right, either.
I think the only thing I disliked about the ML was when he flirted with the FL before* he separated from his first wife. I liked Sake a lot, but this was kind of a downer for me. I wish they put the flirting scene (this is the one where he first meets Kate) after* his divorce because it makes a big difference, IMHO. He was portrayed as an upright character and extremely loyal, so it was pretty out-of-character for him to flirt with Kate when he was still in love with his first wife.
Speaking of the first wife, Itsaya. I don't like the way the family treated her. I don't think a woman's value lies in her ability to 'provide an heir.' If Sake really loved her, he would have gotten past her inability to bear children and they would have adopted. To be fair, I don't think she was completely innocent. She did deceive him and lie for many years...I just wish the story would have emphasized that it was because of her being dishonest that he was divorcing her, not her ability to become a mother. This is the 21st century, for crying out loud. I'm not saying he should be forced to stay with her, only that she should not have been kicked out the way she had. In a way, the Suttagarn family kind of deserved the trouble she brought them later. I actually felt it made sense for her to fight back.
One thing I did like, is that the lakorn never presents her as an outright villain the way plenty of other lakorns would have. It shows her as a person with a conscience and someone who is redeemable and just made a lot of bad choices. Yeah, she's selfish and constantly dishonest -not just to Sake but to others as well. But she's not an evil person. It's good to see shades of gray in these characters. I'm not even sure if she can be classified as a nang rai. Come to think of it, I don’t think Itsaya is Leh Ratree’s main villain- it’s Khun Ad, who comes in the middle episodes. It’s in him that we see the usual over the top behavior associated with drama villains. I won’t deny that I find the exaggerated behavior entertaining at times.
I think Leh Ratree worked for me more as a family drama than as a romance. While I liked Sake/Kate and even Poo/Pak, I think the way the family dealt with their problems and the way the characters supported one another is what made the lakorn so enjoyable to watch. It's great that the mother-in-law Khun Ying accepted Kate (in a lot of asian dramas, mother-in-law is always evil) and supported her. It's great that you could really believe Sake loved Kate (and he didn't go from hating her to loving her just like that) and that she just wasn't a substitute for Itsaya or just there to have his baby. It's great that Kate felt the same way and that you could see they were meant for each other. It's great that, at the end of the lakorn, even a trouble maker like Itsaya felt at peace with herself and accepted Kate/Sake getting together. Leh Ratree only has 12 episodes but it wrapped up all these plot lines in ways that made sense and were satisfying to this viewer.
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This review may contain spoilers
My rating looks like it’s a stark contrast to most. For me, there are just too many wrongs in this drama; it would take too much time to write it all down. So, I will mention only the truly egregious ones. If we’re talking production quality, it’s pretty low, similar to your every day daytime soap opera. Probably 30 minutes of the hour and a half are taken up by commercials, so fairly annoying but thank goodness for the fast forward button. The music is also insanely loud and played inappropriately at times. I dislike all the characters except for Pu, the FL’s childhood love. I hate the FL’s father the most. He embezzles company money to feed his gambling habit, and then proceeds to “sell” his daughter, whom he claims to love very much, so he can avoid jail. He keeps on sacrificing his daughter and family so that he can live and not be prosecuted. Worst father ever.
The FL is so weak. She takes filial duty to the extreme. I really don’t see how the three men are so attracted to her; she barely has any personality. She just goes along with whatever anyone says. When she’s being manhandled and molested by the ML and Ad, all she does is protest loudly and weakly pushes them away. Come on, a knee to the groin, an elbow to the face, a head butt, anything to get away from your molester. The near rape scenes are disgusting, unbearable to watch, and nothing romantic about them at all. I come to totally hate the ML when it’s implied that he had raped the FL (she flees the house, cries her eyes out, and seeks refuge with Pu). Well, the audience discovers later that the sex was all consensual; the FL is just too overwhelmed by the experience and feels guilty. So, she makes everyone believe that the ML is a rapist. WTH.
Don’t get me started on the ML. I would like to punch him in the face a few times. I am completely turned off by him when he first meets the FL. He supposedly at that time still in love with his wife, but he shamelessly flirts and makes physical contact with the FL. Then, within a week or so of his family kicking his deceitful wife out of the house, he begins to pursue the FL. It sure is nice to have your mother put the girl of your interest on a nice big silver platter for you. How many times can your crazy violent “ex” wife (I put “ex” in quote because he never divorced her for how many episodes and still have the FL as his live-in “wife”) just barged into your house? Considering how rich the ML’s family is, where is security? Just that one butler and a couple of maids? If they don’t have security, call the police. No, they just allow her to walk into their house any time.
The stars are for the actors because they really tried with this plot/script, and I know that they’re good actors from seeing their other works.
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Don’t let the crazy sounding storyline hold you back from this gem!
When I first read the storyline I skipped over this drama. It sounded too unbelievable and ridiculous. Thankfully the great reviews brought me back and made me decide to give it a try. I’m so glad I didn’t miss this gem!The storyline may seem a bit far fetched at first glance. But the drama takes its time developing the story in a way that makes it more believable and understandable. The two issues that most people have with the drama are the ML leaving his wife and the surrogate storyline. So I’ll address these issues first.
I thought I wouldn’t agree with the ML leaving his wife but after seeing what she put him through with all of her lies I completely agree with his decision. Finding out your spouse has been lying to you throughout your whole married life is devastating. A relationship can’t flourish on a foundation of lies. Her actions made him feel like she wanted him for his money. And his pain upon the demise of his marriage was so touching and realistic.
As for the surrogate storyline, neither of the two families are keen on the idea at first, in fact, both sides are appalled at the idea. That type of reaction made things seem more realistic. So when certain circumstances eventually force the families to go ahead with the surrogate idea it was easier to understand their decision. Also, I have no problem understanding why the ML’s mother wants her only son and heir to give her a grandchild to inherit their family’s fortune, especially considering his age and disposition. The romance develops at a reasonable pace and all of the side characters are very interesting. The comedy is just right, not too much or too little.
Acting:
The acting was above average for the main cast. I have nothing bad to say about them. It took me a while to warm up to the ML’s former mother in law. She overacted her parts a bit and I got tired of her screechy voice. Some of the other side characters were a bit too over the top with their acting. But the main cast were superb.
Overall impressions:
This is one of the best Thai dramas I’ve ever seen. I like all kinds of dramas. I’ve seen hundreds of Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Taiwanese dramas. But this was one of the sweetest, lightest, easiest to watch Thai dramas I’ve had the pleasure of watching. The story was deep enough to keep the interest going without going too far with the angst or sadness. It is a light sweet romance with a little bit of angst, drama, and comedy on the side. I would definitely recommend it.
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ALL of the actors were so professional and had so much chemistry with each other on screen; this manifested through the characters making them come to life and give you those feels and emotions. You know when you sit there and you're like-- "MY EMOTIONS" "THE FEELS" "THIS SHIP; SHIPS IT'S SELF" <--- Yeah all of that is going on in your mind and you say them out loud as your watching.
This is a drama that will make you rewatch. I found myself speaking to the screen, saying all of the above. I found myself laughing out loud. I found myself pissed off and yelling. I found myself annoyed. I found myself sharing and having every emotion- because this drama allows you to do this and brings it out of you.
That's what a great drama is supposed to do. I didn't need to know where it came from. Give me the name and the videos, the stories they went for it. It's so good.
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For example the initial characters of Kate, an innocent and comical girl (a sailor moon type) who becomes auctioned in various ways for various reasons throughout the drama by men. The drama has superficially strong; however the entire drama is a throwback to the most sexist set of ideals ever. Meh, loving it though.
Anyway, poor Kate, loves my Mr. Hottie Pu. Yeah, he's my fave. I really shipped that ship. I remember saying--if they break up that ship I'm going to be so damned pissed. Ugh, ugh. I really shipped I never ship a ship that's not going to really be a lead ship in some way shape or form. My ships normally happen. I knew this was doomed. Pu is so hot and so sweet. He's like a Terrier. I like him if he was a doggie Just dependable---he just has anger management issues.
Pu is artistic, steady, dependable, he's a man who is a one woman man. In my eyes, he's the perfect guy. Boy next door---in Kate's case, literally. Hot boy next door, the Quarterback boy next door who you've been dating since you were 7 and he was like 11. Yeah, the numbers off, but whatever. Ugh so good.
Kate's family is made up of an absolutely beautiful set of people. She's average looking (even though she's a model), but her mother is absolutely gorgeous. Kate might have gotten her looks from bio-dad. Her Step-dad is attractive but a gambler who screws up the family---sexists ass and you'll see the show to understand. Then the two younger kids brother and sister---two other beauties. <--- I have problems here with LR. They dropped the ball with the siblings. I was hoping for at least 8 more episoes to go up to 20 so we can have storylines that expanded on the siblings. I felt there was places to go since they introduced it.
Not to mention, this segue's perfectly into Pa. Beautiful girl, great character and I loved her relationship with Pu, Kate, and her brother Sake. I just wanted so much of her though. I also wanted to see if she got her pregnant. I felt she did because of her situation. I felt they wishy-washed her relationship when they needed time to exten on it.
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Actin: Being my first Sean and Esther drama I had no expectations from either of them and frankly I was surprised. Sean is amazing as Sake. I am in love wit his character because he is so charming even when such a devil. He is a perfect blend of snarky, devious, possessive, protective and caring hero. I hated him with such fervour only to fall in love with his character halfway through. You hate him and love him in equal measure and by the end of the show his dastardly ways had given way to a gentle guy who loved our heroine with such deep passion. Coming to Kate, she isn't the smartest or the strongest of the bunch. But Esther is nonetheless a delight to watch. She is a typical heroine so nothing new there but Esther did her justice.
Romance: Spellbinding and achingly slow but a good slow burn. The romance is like a back and forth witty repartee between our leads. It is filled with childish chases around the house to a childlike pigtail pulling in the show. I love the teasing that they continuously engage in and its lovely to watch.
It's a fine line between being a rapist and teasing the heroine and Sean did his well. The romance does have those typical scenes of forces intimacy but given the cultural background, I'd say it is acceptable to a certain extent. The understanding and the care grows out of nights spent baking together rather than lust-addled brains of our hero or the sacrificial lamb-like innocence of our heroine. It is a relationship born out of force but stays due to mutual love, care and understanding.
Even the second lead romantic arc was cute to watch.
Drama: The show had absolute no drama in the in-laws department. The ladies in this drama were so refreshing to watch. The sister-in-law and mother-in-law were not your stereotypes of bitchy women but logical and smart and kind-hearted. Esther herself is a delight to watch in some scenes as this girl has some spunk despite crying throughout the show all the time. I loved the fiancee and hated the ex-wife with a vengeance. There is no girlfriend beating the heroine up here. Apart from Kate's family, most characters were bearable and quite nice in drama which is saying something because Lakorns have the worst kind of villains all the time.
First of all let me state right out that I am not a fan of Esther's crying and this drama had tons and tons of falling down, clumsily falling down, fainting, did I say falling? All the time. Oh Lordy I hated all of that but then this is a Lakorn and therefore to be expected. Her voice is kinda screechy like most drama heroines so she gets a pass there. I cut a 0.5 in my rating precisely because of her screaming and falling down acts. Unnecessary and stupid.
I recommend this to anyone who likes a good romance with a dash of teasing and melodrama mixed in.
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The story seems a very typical lakorn theme of father ends up in some trouble and has to "sell" his daughter to a rich family. Kate, our heroine, runs into issues when her loving stepfather robs a ton of money due this gambling addiction from his job. Needless to say he's either going to prison or his daughter can be the the "baby carrier" for the rich and powerful family he stole from.At the time, our hero, Sake, is married but his wife lied about being have to children and apparently she's some sort of gold digger although, even though she behaved very badly, it seemed like she really did love him. Needless to say she's kicked aside, Kate is moved in, and suddenly options for impregnating Kate are being discussed.
Along the journey a lot happens and of course, like most lakorns things get more and more ridiculous but as I heard someone say before, you just have to go along for the ride when watching a lakorn and allow the drama to take you on a weird and wild journey.
There are a lot of things that happen that aren't necessary to the story like the fact Kate's father develops cancer and is miraculously cured with one surgery and a round of chemo.
But I digress.... I thought the drama was fun.
There's some very cute romantic moments between Kate and Sake and they seem to play off each other nicely. The only thing that ever so slightly annoyed me about the drama was the fact a lot of time was spent developing the relationship between Poo and Pa, two secondary characters in the story. I actually felt like they had more time on the screen than Sake and Kate. Sake and Kate's relationship seemed to be rushed and on the back burner. Their scenes together were very, very short. Where as they'd spend a ton of time on Poo and Pa.
Lah Ratree isn't without issues but it's a fun drama with action, romance, and suspense. It's worth a watch!
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Disgusting
Sorry, not sorry, this was really not good.The parents SELL their daughter for breeding. Disgusting.
The ML was abusive towards the FL from the first episode.
WHy did they fall in love with each other - ??? Everything was just said, not shown eg. the sister said, they (ML and FL) love each other, like *huh* WHEN did that happen, did I skip episodes???
The *near* rape scenes were hard to watch - why *near* rape??? Well, if you are sold by your parents to get pregnant, what do you do, when the guy, you should get pregnant from wants to actually get you pregnant....yeah, exactly...she actually flees afterwards, cries her eyes out and refuses to go back - yeah, but we should believe, that she was not forced, that she was willing - I mean like WTH!?!
This is not romantic, this is not love, this is not normal, this is not, how it should be.
No, really, really NO!
This deserves NO star, but the acting of the side characters was good, so 2 stars.
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ML married, cheating, selling of own daughter
The ML was married, while trying to have a child with the FL. By the way, the FL was SOLD to the ML in order to bear a child. Do you really think, that in real life a good and healthy relationship can develop out of something like this? The first episodes, the ML repeatedly told his wife how very much he loved her, while pursuing the FL shamelessly. He must have been sooo sooo happy, when her parents sold the FL to him. He kicked his wife out and the FL moved in - just like that. Then the bed scene....watch it and decide for yourself, if it was rape or not. For me, it was. Then the age gap - I do NOT mind age gaps, but here, in this situation, it was a nono. The ML was old enough to at least pursue the very young FL with a bit of finesse and restraint but no, he went straight in from the very beginning....this was not for me, I felt sorry for that girl.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
TL;DR - A solid lakorn with well-written characters and sizzling OTP. Good watch for new and old lakorn viewers alike. I'm kind of kicking myself for not watching this sooner. I had seen this lakorn come up again and again and how it was a good one, but I had my doubts and never really got to watching it until now. I have to say, the doubts were completely unfounded and I really enjoyed watching this, though in a bit of a different way than how I'd enjoy other lakorns.
First, the thing that stood out to me the most is the acting and how well written the characters were; everyone in the cast acted well, and in particular I really liked Sean's portrayal as the stern, but kind hearted Sake and Esther as the innocent, sassy, naive but not stupid Kate. It would've been easy for me to feel annoyed by these types of characters (especially Sake, since he sort of insta-loved on Kate, which is a pet peeve) but the way they were portrayed made them endearing and very enjoyable to watch (LOVE how Sake doesn't go back to/feel sorry for his ex-wife). I especially fell for Sean in this, just cause he's so expressive and could really make me feel what his character was feeling in the moment.
Some 2nd lead appreciation: I really appreciated that they didn't make Pu go crazy and pine after Kate after he figured she was falling for Sake; he did get desperate, but came to a realization and quietly let her go. I also liked that they didn't make Pa a jealous bitch; she was sarcastic and spiky, but had a good heart and quietly liked Pu, respecting his feelings for Kate. Just normal human interactions and mature thoughts instead of the crazy interactions that usually come in lakorns like this (not that I hate them, but they can be a bit much) made it really stand out for me.
I also want to say, I really liked the 2ndary cast as again they were all well written and very likeable (esp Sake's mom, omg she's so cool, I wish I could be like her). This is of course with exception to the ex-wife and main villain, but the villain was actually threatening here and I felt creeps every time he spoke.
The lakorn was not all normal though, as the storyline was quite far-fetched; however it was done in a way that was surprisingly believable and Kate's dad, who was the initial shit-stirrer and did really terrible stuff, I found I could not hate. I felt that Kate's dad, despite what he did, really had the best intentions and really cared for Kate's well-being (thus I couldn't hate him, even though I usually would). What I also liked is how they made Kate's parents more involved in the story. They were more than just the figures to consult with when Kate had a problem and the lakorn showed how they had their own struggles and how they dealt with them, which I really liked. I wished they did this with the other parent figures, although I get that the story isn't about them.
The main stars are Kate and Sake of course and wow, I see why Sean and Esther were highly shipped together when this aired. Both had amazing chemistry with each other and played off one another very well. Their bickering was super cute. I did feel there was a missed opportunity to add depth to their relationship and there were some things that didn't make sense, but overall I still really liked them as a couple.
I liked how the lakorn knew where to end; at first I thought 12 eps was short, but I could feel myself detaching from the lakorn as it hit ep 11 (it got predictable). There was not much filler and most scenes were meaningful and engaging, which made the drama easier to zip through.
Overall this was a great watch and does live up to the hype it has. The music is memorable and played appropriately. I have to say, for a lakorn that was made in 2015 (and for me as a lakorn veteran) this was surprisingly watchable and was better quality in terms of story, character and OTP than some recent lakorns. It just has a lot of heart, characters that I could root for/empathize with and character interactions that were mature and logical. I would totally recommend that you watch it if you haven't already. As for re-watching I don't think I would, but I'll certainly look back fondly on this and remember the uniqueness of the cast and what I felt while watching.
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