Ruk Laek Pop (2020)

Bittersweet...

I'm surprised no one wrote a review for this yet especially considering how this seemed to be popular during its airing period.

STORY:
To summarize it in two words, I'd call this lakorn a "missed potential." There were tons of promising elements and while most of them nailed it in execution, the plot holes were so glaringly obvious that it got frustrating to stick around. I believe the lakorn was eight episodes too long. They could have done the entire arc from episode 5-9 in one single episode and without the unnecessary filler, the result would have been a tightly written, well paced 20 episode lakorn. The time travel element while pretty straightforward, did stagger and get wonky at times. However, I believe the triumph of the story is in its ability to create heartwarming situations out of anything and still make you cry like a baby.

The motif of past and future, actions and their consequences, while having been explored numerous times in time travel dramas, was done so in a much more emotionally charged context, you could feel yourself in the same situation.

ACTING/CAST:
If it weren't for the group of actors who played their hearts out as their characters, this lakorn would just be a mess. Due to the excellent performances all across the board, the lakorn shined despite the setbacks that the writing faced.

Film Thanapat (Pete/Pian) was absolutely amazing in his portrayal of both great- grandfather and great-grandson. His charm is just oozing throughout the lakorn and he's become one of my favourite Thai actors.

Vill Wannarot (Wan) was an excellent heroine. She was eccentric, quirky, hilarious, smart and endearing, and had great chemistry with Film.

Bifern Anchasa (Pink) is the reason I started watching and finished this lakorn. Perhaps the saddest, most self-sacrificing character in the entire lakorn, I cried my heart out for her and fell in love with her all over again. Since Film and Bifern are great friends IRL, that chemistry just burst into fireworks on screen and every little moment they shared on screen together was a delight to watch.

MUSIC:
If nothing else would make me cry, the music certainly did. It was absolutely beautiful and I'm sure I'll be going back to listen to the OST time and again.

REWATCH VALUE:
I don't rewatch anything. I will however, definitely rewatch certain Film-Bifern clips over and over because I'm biased that way and I could kill to see more of their interactions.

OVERALL:
Definitely recommended to everyone especially fans of time-travel romances. The story does get a tad too long so the 2x speed option as well as the skipping ahead options are your best friends.

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Sweet glimpses of romance, great chemistry and interesting storyline

I am often drawn to Thai Lakorns featuring time travel because most of them do not run on the same plot. This Lakorn follows Pete, our modern-day spoilt and irresponsible pra'ek who accidentally traveled back 100 years earlier during his great-grandfather Pian's era and ended up trading places with Pian. During that time, he also met Wan, played by Vill Wannarot. The twist to this story is that Pete thought Wan was his great-grandmother and tried his best unsuccessfully not to fall in love with her.

One reason that made this drama enjoyable for me is the dual roles that Film Thanapat played as a present-day influencer and his great grandfather, who looked identical to him. Film did an excellent job switching between playful and adorable Pete and a more matured and dignified Pian. His microexpressions were great, and Film in all his roles so far has impressed me through his superb acting. That said, I think he could have handled the crying scenes better, especially compared to Vill. She as Wan did well, too, although she did not show as much range as Film. However, she was on-point during the emotional scenes. She cried so prettily that even when the scenes tugged at my heartstrings, I could not help but admire her loveliness. Together they made a great-looking couple, and that heightened my enjoyment of the show.

While I was thrilled at the plot about two separate worlds bringing together two soul mates, I find the romantic tension a little lacking. There was not enough build-up of attraction and awareness of each other that convinced me that these two were falling in love, except perhaps towards the end. The romance was relatively chaste with innocent skinship, which I don't mind if there were implied near kisses and increasing intimacy (just like the scintillating chemistry between Pope and Bella in "Love Destiny"). Still, there was definite chemistry between them, and I started off rooting for Pian and Wan first and then was won over by the sweet interactions between Pete and Wan.

Other than the romance between Pete and Wan, the main couple, there was also the secondary relationship between Pian and Pink, Pete's best friend in the present. This is where I thought Film shined as well. His ability to act restrained as old-fashioned Pian while showing interest and care for Pink using his eyes and expressions. Through the love story between Pian and Pink, the drama took on heavier topics and presented everything beautifully in the story; topics like family responsibilities versus personal desires, the way families were made up, the principles and values that one believed in and held tightly, and how one's actions can seriously change the outcome of the future.

Speaking of Pink, Bifern Anchasa deserved praise acting as the self-sacrificing love interest of Pian. The show was smart in writing her character as someone who believed in time travel and understood the consequences of one changing history. The side plot concerning Pian and Pink made sense to me, even though many commented that the ending could have and should have been different for them. It would be great if the show made a spin-off focusing on Pian and Pink. Without revealing spoilers, it is a workable plot so hopefully, the scriptwriters will note the viewer comments and the amount of interest generated in these two's relationship.

While watching the show, I could not help but think that the romantic storyline was a sweet excuse to highlight the achievements of the King during one of the prosperous periods of Ayutthaya kingdom - an era that brought many changes to today’s Thai society - and the tremendous respect that the Thai people have for their royal family.

The OST was great, and was effective in stirring up my emotions. There was only one main song and I included the link below for posterity. There were also a couple of instrumental pieces that set the tone well and appropriately for the scenes. If there was anything to complain about, it was how loud the background music got when it came to the suspenseful moments, and sometimes the music did not transition well. It is a common problem in many Lakorns, so I am not going to take off too many points for it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-4HspJRgxM
กลางหัวใจ (เพลงประกอบละคร รักแลกภพ) - แอ๊ค The Golden Song【OFFICIAL MV】

The other thing that I did not enjoy was how the show dragged a little in the middle, with unnecessary drama involving characters that were not really the villains but could be considered the antagonists. Some of their actions and reactions did not quite make sense, and it seemed that the show would have benefited by cutting a couple of episodes out. I did not skip through the episodes, but it would not have made much of a difference if I did, especially towards the middle-end.

Finishing off on a positive note, I must say that visually, there was so much to enjoy - from the good-looking cast to the gorgeous outfits (past and present), to the settings and locations.

Overall, it is a light romantic drama that I think most will enjoy. If you like a little fantasy in your romance drama, then do give it a watch. Just let the story unravel and surprise you.

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