Krong Kiattiyot (1998)

This was actually really nice.
First : one of these rare lakorn where the male lead is just a GEM ! Not only he is nice, he’s also very funny, charming and head over heels towards the female lead. His charming, humorous and carefree personality are one of the best assets of the drama and I cannot help but think that no one could have played this better than Andrew ! His relationship with the female lead is so pure and loving and this feels like a breath of air amongst all of these angsty lakorns : I was especially surprised as the author who wrote the original novel is specialized in toxic, unhealthy relationships being romanticized in the worst kind of slap and kiss and as a result, I usually hate her stories (I can enjoy some slap and kiss but only at a certain degree ; and the author really seems to think that there’s something okay about a man physically abusing you). So I was surprised to see her pulling off a healthy and pure romance between two leads and even a male lead who behaves like a gentleman and not a monster in human shape. Come to think, it’s a bit of a shame that she didn’t write more stories like these since she’s obviously doing a better job than at writing slap and kiss)
Also, the story never stops moving on : we have a good pacing and the story doesn’t uselessly drag.
Another very good asset : the supporting characters. I liked the fact that all of the supporting characters had their own stories, their own struggles, their evolutions and had as much (or almost) screen time as the leads. I think that lakorns that succeed giving a good writing to their supporting characters are pretty rare so it makes me appreciate this one even more.
But just like I said, what I love the most is the « innocence » of the story : we laugh and we smile with the leads and other characters, who show great acting skills, and this feels like such a relief.
Of course, there are some flaws. I’d say, the biggest is that it’s hard to define what is the triggering factor of the story itself or the main focus : the leads met and they fall in love. Hmm, a big light ? I mean, when we watch the series, it is good but I would hardly know how to make one want to watch that or distinguish it. I think that they tried to focus on the fact that Fluke, the FL, lived in a « cage », unlike Kett, the ML, but it was clumsily conveyed. It didn’t feel like the FL was imprisoned or overpressured by her parents, but simply that they were overprotective with her and a bit narrow-minded, but to call it « being caged » feels exaggerated.
Also, although FL is cute, sometimes, she really felt TOO naive and innocent like a child, like someone who gets caught in the flow but doesn’t take control on her own. So if you hate naive, stupid, weak FL and wants a strong, badass girl… sorry but you better back off.
Also… I know i said their romance was one of the best assets of the drama and I still think it is, especially in the world of lakorns, full of angsty, frustrating, toxic relationships : but it sometimes felt clumsy. We don’t really know what makes it that Kett is so crazy about Fluke and we don’t really feel either that she fell for him but more like once again, she got caught in a flow and followed it without questions. When watching the leads, I sometimes felt that rather than looking at two grownups, I was looking at two kids playing lovey-dovey.
But these last point can be easily overcome, I think.
So I think it’s quite a pity that this lakorn wasn’t subbed as it probably was, in my opinion, one of the best lakorns at the end of the 90s.

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