This review may contain spoilers
People who are saying, she's following her magic not her own feelings, i think your concept is a bit wrong,even though its shown in a practical form, but the magic is supposed to be her metaphor. she takes time to accept what she really wants,and her magic reflects her desires. she did love chalarn and her love for peng was slowly fading away.
its not her magic's wish. it is indeed her wish. her magic is acting on her desires before her.
WILD EXPLANATION BELOW :
" i bore what i could, i accepted what i can, that's why we lasted 15 years" tantawan said to chalarn about peng
Girl, a clap doesn't make sound well with just one hand's force. that one hand will eventually get tired.
Actually even though i kinda shipped pengXtantawan more than tantawanXchalarn at the beginning, im glad she ended up with chalarn.
BUT from episode 9 i was all tantawanXchalarn.
yes i read the comments in mydramalist, a lot of ppl were saying that the ending is unclear. the ending looked pretty fucking clear to me.
Yes tantawan loves peng more than chalarn, even during the ending of the last episode, but her love for peng is slowly fading away as well. i mentioned above that her magic is her metaphor portraying her desires before herself.
when she closed her eyes beside her brother at the starry sky, she of course thought of peng and it was peng who indeed came.
most ppl thought that to be the important moment. but the most important moment was after that, when they were sweet conversing in the bed.
when she asked peng for the next night to hang out with her or dine , his reply was " i have shifts".
And her expression said the very thing," ah shit here we go again"
she was sick of this,
" love and compatibility are not the same thing,"
even though very supernatural based, if the super power is considered her metaphor, the ending was very realistic.
she clearly loved chalarn,. and peng too. peng more.
but with peng she was suffocating slowly. and chalarn? he was everything tantawan wanted peng to be. no one knows if chalarn isn't gonna turn out just as peng later on, but for now, we live this very minute, and in this very minute, she felt extremely happy with chalarn
even though they say opposite attracts, complete opposites dont attract each other. complementary opposites attract .
north pole is opposite to south pole, but together they make a magnet. chalarn and tanta are different or opposites but they are complementary.
but even though peng and tanta were opposites, they were not complementary .
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This review may contain spoilers
I can't believe this drama only has 1 review. I have been a big fan of thai dramas and when i found out that Sunny, Davikah, Sky and Thanaerng were in it, i just had to watch it! I did enjoy the drama and binge-watched it all in 2 days. It made me laugh and cry along with the characters. The OST was on point and I do like the core of the plot, which is even with magic, a relationship requires both parties to work hard on it in order to keep it going.**Spoilers ahead**
Cast - The cast was visually pleasing and I was in constant awe of Davikah's beauty. As for acting, Sunny and Davikah were on point. The scene where Peng had a complete meltdown in the ambulance, begging for his power to return just so he can save Thantawan. My gosh, that really broke me. Bank was an interesting choice for a villain. I'll admit I could not get over his baby face but he did do a fantastic job. Sky on the other hand, though I loved him in Hormones, he needed to brush up with his acting skills. I know he is stiff and it kind of worked for Chalan, but at times when he really needed to deliver, he just fell flat.
Characters - I loved that all the characters had their share of flaws. It made them more relatable. Peng was always putting work first and came across as cold to the person he loves, Chalan being very naive but also very positive about things, and Bamee being very fiesty and hot tempered but extremely straightforward. I do however wish Tantawan had more of a personal growth. Her life , for me, was kind of sad, as it was always centred around the person she loves.
OST - Pretty good tbh. Found myself feeling most of the songs, especially "you are my everything".
Ending - I'm teamPENG so the ending was a disappointment. I do get why she picked Chalan though. He was attentive towards her and she could truly be herself around him. She could cry and share her emotions with him. Peng on the other hand, was cold towards her and kept taking her for granted. Despite her voicing her unhappiness, he often brushed it aside. Come on, the things that he said to her whenever she cried was just downright hurtful. It was only when he found out her feelings were starting to fade, that was when he started working on it. By then, it was too late. All it took was a small interaction between Chalan and Tantawan to change everything.
I do like how Tantawan recapped her feeling for Peng at the end. I know some found it confusing and that they did not like it. But i do get it. Tantawan will always love Peng . But she knew that with him, 1 of them had to morph into someone else for the other to be happy. She didn't want to do that to him as she knew first-hand what it was like when she had to do so in their 15 year relationship. To compromise is one thing, to completely change oneself is another. With Peng, their connection will always be there regardless, hence he will always be "her ambulance".
Overall, i am very very happy with this drama and will gladly rewatch it again.
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This review may contain spoilers
My Ambulance widens your perspective towards love. To be completely honest, I wasn’t really expectant when I started watching the show, but surprisingly, after going through the first episode, I found this drama quite interesting. Why? First, the show is a vision. Each scene was shot in alluring visuals. Also, it pops each important element needed to emphasize in each frame, which was pure genius.
Undeniably, the lead cast were amazing, but clearly, what made the whole show impeccable was the ensemble performance as a whole. The emotions they were showing relays so much towards their audience.
Also, another important element to point out is musical scoring. The songs they used on the show were a tremendous fit. Just as how a single song had different arrangements tailor-made for different scenes were to die for.
On that note, I saw this series a show to definitely watch. I know a lot of people didn’t like or favor how the show ended because the plot ending was quite unexpected in a romantic show, but in my opinion, it is important to give plot lines like this a chance. Also, not liking the show's ending doesn’t clearly mean it’s not a good show at all.
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Fluffy yet enticing
Most fluffy shows are quite simple. They make you smile and maybe melancholic for a little bit, but My Ambulance takes things a step higher. It actually makes you think of questions.My Ambulance uses the love triangle trope, but in a way that it's not obvious who's she is going to choose at all. Is she going to choose her long-time partner that she's all up and crazy for while slowly drowning in compromises, or will she choose the new guy that she quite hated, but in context, feels super genuine with him? Does she want a responsible man, or does she want a comfortable man?
I promised to only watch episode 1 just because I loved the OST so much. Well, guess who binged watch all the episodes under 24 hours?
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This review may contain spoilers
The StoryAt a young age, Tantawan gains a magic that allows her to call out to the person she loves and let the person teleport to her. That's also how the romance between her and Peng starts. Flashforward 15 years: Peng is now a doctor and Tantawan seems to have nothing to do but devote her life to taking care of Peng. However, Peng has become a doctor thoroughly dedicated to his work ever since an incident in which he caused a patient to die because he was in a hurry to meet Tantawan. He still loves Tantawan, but seldom expresses his affections and hardly has time for her.
After a car accident, Tantawan falls in love with a young houseman who treats her reassuringly though she loses her memory of the accident for some time and is puzzled by why she has romantic feelings for the young houseman, Chalan. However, she still loves Peng, and a love triangle ensues.
Besides the romance plot, there is also the revenge subplot in which a grieving brother wants to kill Tantawan because she is the driver causing the accident that leads to the death of his sister.
The Characters and Relationships
At first, I found the older Peng to be rather unlikable as he is cold to Tantawan. However, he turns out to be the best written character in the series apart from a couple of issues. The initial portrayal of Peng as someone who seems cold towards Tantanwan is a good thing, as we can easily understand how Tantawan may feel neglected. But the reason behind the change from his youthful self and older self is explained: as a houseman, he hurriedly gives the wrong treatment to a patient as he has a date with Tantawan, causing him to die. The deep sense of guilt causes him to resolve to be a serious doctor who spends most of his time working and learning more. His love for Tantawan is soon shown when he tries to shield her from the truth that she is the driver who has caused a girl to die. However, it is unconvincing that he would so quickly be interested in Paebii after he breaks up with Tantawan though it is Paebii that causes him to realize that he should balance his dedication to his work and his love life.
Tantawan, on the other hand, vacillates between being a rather irritating character and being one that we can sympathize with. At her worst, she seems ditzy, unreasonable, or too emotional. At other times, she is a good natured person. In yet other moments, she turns into a melodramatic comic character.
Overall, I found myself more interested in the side characters' relationships: 1. the houseman, Liwan, and his relationship with an older nurse, Tikka; 2. the houseman, Dao, and his friendship (or possibly more) with Tantawan's brother; and 3. the friendship between the people in the Emergency Department. Even the vengeful Taai is a more interesting character than the most important character, Tantawan.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Like the character of Tantawan, the drama is inconsistent. Sometimes it is lighthearted comedy. But it can suddenly become a drama about life and loss that leaves you with a heavy heart. Then it can also morph into a love story. The series can be rather good in its individual bits, but the bits don't seem to be particularly well-mixed. It kills off an ambulance driver's grandmother for no compelling reason except perhaps as a device to move the plot forward. The death of Dao in the second last episode is also unnecessary drama that I can't appreciate. In the end, I find that the series aspires to be more than it can possibly be but ends up being less as a result.
The ending of the love triangle has also got a number of viewers upset because Peng's love for Tantawan is steadfast and deep, but Tantawan chooses Chalan in the end. Personally, I think both Peng and Chalan truly love Tantawan, so no matter whom she chooses, it won't be satisfactory. It is just that it is especially saddening that despite the 15-year love between her and Peng, Tantawan chooses not to give their relationship another chance.
My problem isn't with who deserves Tantawan more (as some viewers put it) but with how Tantawan still seems to love Peng in the end. Based on her final lines, she seems to love Peng and doesn't want him to change for her, and yet she won't be happy with him if she doesn't change--not to mention that he has, in fact, already changed. That's still OK--if she doesn't want to continue her relationship under such circumstances, we can't really judge her for it. But she chooses to be with Chalan even though there is still someone else in her heart, which doesn't seem very fair to Chalan.
The ending is also self-contradictory: Tantawan tells Peng that the person she chooses will somehow have his teleporting magic diminished (??). Also, Tantawan is supposedly letting the magic reveal whom she really loves since she can't decide (but she seems to know what the magic will reveal as she cooks something for Chalan even before the magic reveals that Chalan is the one who still has the magical connection with her).
I guess she is ultimately not letting the magic decide, but has simply chosen not to be with the person who can't devote more time to be with her. As she says, Peng is her ambulance, but he is also everyone else's ambulance. Her decision may not be a selfish one--perhaps she loves him so much that she wants to let him go so that he can be himself (just like how Peng breaks up with her so that she can be with Chalan in the middle of the series). But again, if her love for him is so deep, I can't see how she can be with someone else and love him as much. The ending thus fails to satisfy.
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On another note, since I’m in medicine, I generally stay away from medical dramas since the inaccurate depictions of medicine really irk me. I had a few moments of those, but not as many I would have expected. So I’ll applaud the writers who did their research for this one. Could’ve been been better, but not bad.
As for the actual storyline- very interesting concept. I like how they not only had how useful Tantawan’s gift is, but also how it can cause big problems, both comedic and heartbreaking.
The romance(s) in the story was/were fairly realistic from a certain point. Themes of being in love with multiple people but loving them differently and chasing your love vs fulfilling your needs was covered. It yielded some understandable, if not sometimes frustrating results.
And now my “things that annoyed me” list:
1) character failing to be considerate of other human beings and screaming at them in public for perceived wrongdoing.
2) overly harsh superiors in the hospital who place student doctors in positions of unrealistic responsibilities and then commit #1
3) really bad seniors at work who shame you into creating terrible work life balance. (This does get fixed by the end, but watching them indoctrinate students with idealistic dogma was hard to watch.)
4) serious issues with the damsel in constant distress. Tantawan is definitely infantile until the last episode. I’m not a huge fan of a lady who needs her man to come save her every time. (Paebii was awesome and had zero issues)
5) the ‘villain’ needed mental help, not just justice. Worst, this was acknowledged, but never had anything done about it. Which brings me to-
6) although some of the EM was technically ok (not great, but ok) the psychiatry and portrayals and simplification of diseases like depression, PTSD and depression with psychotic symptoms, was never portrayed properly. And sure, this is the farthest thing from a hard hitting medical drama, but misrepresentation of mental health in media just confuses viewers and misinforms them wan out the real issues people with those diseases deal with every day.
Anyway, that’s my 2 cents.
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STORY:
It makes no sense a lot of times, but it starts off with some dark and cute moments. Once the kids are adults only then do we get the exact idea of what their personalities are like. Our lead is a good-for-nothing but a loving girlfriend. Her boyfriend is a cold and level-headed doctor and then enters our 2nd lead. This drama is a true love triangle - quite funny and cute in places and there are times when it is cliche. Depends on your preference but I did like a few characters. I didn't take the drama too seriously because it was more of brainless fun.
CHARACTERS/ROMANCE:
I didn't like the character development of Peng. He went 180 degrees a couple of times and in the end it wasn't believable to me. Tantawan was ditzy but I did understand and empathize with her. But she cried too much and I wonder how taxing it must have been to act. Chalan was someone I didn't take seriously in the beginning but the process of him falling for our main girl was quite cute. He won me over a couple of times. What I did like was that the heroine gives both a fair shot - whether you agree or disagree with her choice in the end. I was Team Chalan after the first few episodes and there was no going back for me when it came to Peng. I wished there was more development of romance or romantic moments in general. I didn't like the back and forth with Peng and Chalan's idiocy at times. But it still had its moments and I was glad with her final choice. Nothing else would have made sense to me.
ACTING:
I like Sunny in the beginning but he wasn't too diverse with his expressions. I feel like Davikah can pull off any role if she is given the right one. She is drop-dead gorgeous, cute and also cries well. She is good at humorous scenes as well. The Chalan actor is quite young so he can improve but he is someone I would like to keep my eyes on.
REWATCH VALUE:
Probably none. I could go back to some Tantawan and Chalan scenes and that would be it.
I would like to recommend this if you're looking for something fantasy, quick and a stressbuster. There is a BL plot too which was cute but I didn't like the way they ended it. I'd like to mention the Ambulance girl too because she is a very cute actress and now I am following her on IG as well. Thai actors are great at pulling you in with their personalities.
I am glad I gave it a watch and finished it. I did think it would be the best Thai drama ever but still nothing beats Padiwaradda and the magic of Jamesji for me.
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Pleasant Surprise
Actually I only watched this because I wanted to see Billkin and PP...but I actually found myself invested in the story and all the characters. Plus I’m a fantasy fan and I think they did a good job in gaining my attention. I found each of the characters interesting in their own right. One reason I gave it a high score was the characterization of the young females. Kudos to portraying strong women who can get hurt and still move forward. I know some were upset about Dao but it was a good portrayal of real life.Of corse Billkin and Pp were great. I’m so glad to see them in a different setting outside of a bl. It’s obvious that they have chemistry. It’s more apparent that each actor is truly talented. I look forward to seeing them in more productions. All in all I think it was a good entertaining series. I recognize some of the other actors from other works and I would watch them in another series.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I really liked the premise of the story. I liked how the show incorporates magic with love. STORY
Okay, so a lot of people didn't like how it ended probably because their ship wasn't the endgame. I understand the point of view for those who are Team Peng. But seriously, Peng and Tantawan's love language is so contrasting that I wonder how they stayed together for 15 years. The guy haven't asked her out for lunch/dinner date for 10 years already! The first time I saw Peng showed even a slightest bit of emotion was when he was with Paebii.
Admittedly, I'm a fan of noona romances in Kdramas so I was whipped for Chalan. Uncertainties with the future with Chalan? Wouldn't he end up like his idol Dr. Peng after 5 years? Yes, those are all valid questions. But love is a gamble and I'd rather Tantawan choose her happiness now than continue walking on eggshells with Peng.
There was an episode where Peng and Tantawan were conversing about how the magic only works when Tantawan is in love and it didn't work on Chalan (he was pretending during this time). And Tantawan says... Magic is just magic. Who you choose is what truly matters. By that time I know she's already endgame with Chalan.
+ I adored the hospital staff friendships too.
ACTING/CAST
I loved all the casts acting. They portrayed their characters really well. This is my first time seeing all of these actors so I'm not familiar with their acting portfolio. Mai Davika nailed her role. If it was played by someone with a slightly different portrayal of Tantawan, I would've hated the character already. Tantawan is a character without much substance but Mai Davika made it work. Another noteworthy performance is Bank Thiti. He played that mentally-ill revenge-seeking brother really well. I was really creeped out by him.
MUSIC
Why did I start watching this drama? Cause I watched Love Siren on youtube and I LOVED it. I found out it was an OST for a Thai series and boom, found myself watching Episode 1 of My Ambulance. So to say, the music brought me to this series.
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I personally like Davika and she's always a great actress.
I love Sunny but I don't think this character was for him honestly.
Everyone else was decent and new to me so they weren't terrible.
I liked the music. Lol.
I would not rewatch this, I'll be honest, I barely wanted to finish it. lol, so overall, it was okay.
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Duty or Love
I did enjoy the drama and binge-watched it all in 2 days. It made me laugh and cry along with the characters. The OST was on point and I do like the core of the plot, which is even with magic, a relationship requires both parties to work hard on it in order to keep it going. I loved that all the characters had their share of flaws. It made them more relatable. Peng was always putting work first and came across as cold to the person he loves, Chalan being very naive but also very positive about things, and Bamee being very fiesty and hot tempered but extremely straightforward. I do however wish Tantawan had more of a personal growth. Her life , for me, was kind of sad, as it was always centred around the person she loves. I loved Chalan and Tantawan alotWas this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Story- I really liked the story because it is very interesting and it makes you want to watch until the end (mainly because of wanting to know who she'll end up with)
- Good point of My Ambulance is that it is unique. This is the first thai lakorn I've watched that revolves around the lives of doctors. I was fascinated by how doctors especially those in emergency response.
- Another good point from this series is that it gave the second lead a happy ending unlike most series wherein the female lead always end up with the male lead. I was actually anticipating that Tantawan will end up with Peng because they are always together in promotions. This really made me happy because tbh Chalan is more deserving. Tantawan deserves more than exhausting relationship.
Cast
- Davika Hoorne proved in this series that she really is one of the greatest actress in Thailand. Her portrayal of Tantawan is on point. She's pretty and cute at the same time(she reminds me of former Miss Universe Catriona Gray). Her bubbly personality never fails to make me smile. Her cries are also very relatable. Over-all, I love her as Tantawan.
- The two main male leads are also very talented. Both of them gave great emotions but I really am rooting for Chalan. HE WAS JUST SO LOVELY AND CHARISMATIC.
- I also love all the supporting cast. Each of them are unique and the side stories are really interesting especially between Dao and Tikao. Dao's death made me cry :(((( The bond between all of them are so strong. That is why I fell in love with them.
- The antagonist was great but there were times that he was lacking for me. He's good but not the best antagonist I've seen so far.
Music
- I LOVE THE MUSICAL SCORE PERIODT. LOVE SIREN IS ONE OF MY FAVE SONG AND I REALLY LOVE HOW IT WAS ARRANGED TO FIT DIFFERENT SCENES.
Rewatch Value
- Would definitely watch this again. Compared to other thai lakorns this isn't heavy which I love. I'd also watch this for Davika and Sky.
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