F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers (2021)

New fav drama, definitely worth watching

Binge watched this in 2 days, and I have only good things to say about it. This is the first time I've actually written a review on a show cause it was just THAT good. The actors are amazing and I personally think they suit their roles perfectly, they are good at showing the emotions they want us to feel. This show was definitely an emotional rollercoaster and I think it made me feel every emotion possible to feel. The story is well written and doesn't have any plot holes that I noticed. However it's a bit toxic at times, but I know that's the point so I won't give them less points for that. I'm personally not the biggest fan of the OST but it's still good and definitely suits the show. I'm a bit sad that Ren and Gorya doesn't end up together as they're my main ship, but I will definitely rewatch the show some time and it's safe to say that this is a great show and one of my new faves.

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Couldn't finish it

They managed to make this more toxic and more violent than the Kdrama. I thought they would bring this to the 2020's. I can’t see a redemption or a real change, they just accepted Gorya and decided to be on her side.
I can't even see any relationship between the leads. There's nothing there. F4 wasn't charismatic at all. Gorya wasn't as strong. There was more chemistry in Lita's and Gorya's first encounter than there was in all the scenes between the leads.

I know they have to promote the produts in the show but they don't need to promote dieting or small figures for women.

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Miraculous: a BOF adaptation I actually liked

Whether or not you are a fan of previous Boys Over Flowers adaptations, you need to watch this. I went in with no expectations and was blown away.

I've never had success with any BOF iteration. The Japanese, Korean, and Chinese adaptations all had enough overplayed tropes, cringy moments, and problematic messaging to turn me off on them.

This version is an exception.

This adaptation gets it right: it maintains the heart of the original story that continues to capture hearts to this day while injecting its own charm into the story. I was charmed from the get-go. The production was sound, the OST was not annoying (the bare minimum I ask for in dramas, LOL), and the acting was impressive for a majority rookie cast.

I cannot gush enough over the script and storytelling. The redemption of our Bad Boy character was glorious-- in all previous versions, I failed to see why anyone would forgive him for his actions, but this version sold it to me with sincerity. Consent, bullying, socioeconomic class, politics, business, and feminism are all touched upon in an organic manner that never seemed forced. The family bonds and platonic friendships at the center of the story are the glue that holds this beautiful story together.

The liberal product placement is a fair trade for being able to watch the show for FREE on YouTube. Run, don't walk!

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of the 5 versions I'm stuck on which are my favorites.

I've seen every single one of the boys over flowers adaptations including the movies. I'm torn because I love all of them so I can't really choose which one is my utmost favorite. However if you go by how many times I've watched them, then Meteor Garden (Chinese version) is 60 times, Meteor Garden (Taiwanese version) is 10 times, boys over flowers (Korean version) is 35 times, boys over flowers F4 (Thai version) 2 times, Hana Yori Dango 1 & 2 is 6 times, the movies I've seen 6 times as well. I can say all of the mom's in them are not as cruel as they seem at first glance. The thing that amazes me the most about all of the moms is their quick 360 they do close to the end

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would i watch it again? prob no

i would like to mention that i haven’t watched any adaptation of the original webtoon and this is my first time getting to know the story so i can’t compare the versions, this drama was super exciting in the beginning but then it got a bit boring and i didn’t get excited for the next eps anymore:( still it made me cry and also laugh a lot, i love the cast but the acting was lacking in some scenes, especially gorya, im sorry but her crying always ruined the moment TT the storyline was good but sometimes i felt like it was a bit rushed and they should’ve focused on one plot at time, also i wish we would get more kavin and kaning scenes, overall it wasn’t bad at all but i probably wouldn’t watch it again

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Differs From Other Versions

F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers is much different from all the other versions. It talks and takes bullying and other problems more seriously. In all the other versions the female lead, which is Gorya in this case, ends up giving in to F4. In the other versions the second male lead, which is Ren's character, always seems "mysterious" and helps the female lead in a way that seems like he doesn't care for her. Ren is different from all the versions. When Gorya was trapped in the room and the boys waiting to get her from the outside, Ren made sure Gorya can go come safely. He even asked "Are you okay", which never happened in the other versions. Ren does seem mysterious but in a good way, and not some person Gorya will fantasize over. F4 Thailand has only released 2 episodes so far but I am in love with the series already. I can't wait for the next 14 episodes !!

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i love ren/dew

I have never watch other adaption of Boys over Flowers, so I am not comparing this to anything however I do have very knowledgeable about the other adaptions.

I really like the show, I do believe the acting was little mediocre, however for the actor's names and especially for Dew first acting debut it wasn't bad, I just found it funny how Dew would smile during serious scenes, it made me really appreciate him and love him more. The entire plot of the characters were good, tbh I didn't really watch MJ part because I thought it was the same at the end then I found out for it to be different. The plot of Ren's Mira arc and then Thyme going back to himself, then the whole amnesia arc within 2 episodes. It could tell that a lot of was giving into the show for only a 16 episodes series. For all the characters and I think they did really well based off the amount of episodes givin. I think if it was higher amount of episodes it could be so much better because realistically the only problem that can be seen is the pacing. I really did like the ending of the series it made me so happy to see that Gorya referred to Ren has her first love, so I love that for them.

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THE BEST DRAMA EVER❗️

This is my first Thai drama. I saw one of the scenes in YouTube shorts and I instantly fell in love with it. THIS IS THE BEST DRAMA EVER PRODUCED PLS. THE CAST, AND THEIR ACTING>>> IS JUST FLAWLESS... MY FAVORITE CHARACTER IS THYME. THE WAY HE EXPRESSES HIS EMOTIONS GIVES ME BUTTERFLIES WHENEVER I THINK ABOUT IT. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH IN THIS DRAMA. AND THE PLOT OF THIS DRAMA WOW..IM SO IN KOVE WUTH THIS DRAMA. NOBODY CAN REPLACE THIS FROM NY HEART.

I STRONGLY RECOMMEND FOR YALL TO WATCH THIS❗️

I really want to rewatch again even though I just finished it. but since I have exams I'm not able to do that :(
but as soon as I complete my exams I will rewatch it again. this drama made me feel soo much emotions I did not know I had.

all the characters are just perfect. nobody can replace them and the visuals in this drama tho>>>

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The best remake out of all the ones tht were made in my opinion-

I literally got second lead syndrome on the first ep i-dewwwwwwwww is just too leng i cant hes literally AN ANGELLLLL❤❤?❤??❤i cant resist it but its MADE ME WANNA SMASH THE SCREEN when i found out he wont end up w anyone-idk if theyll change it but i rly want him to end up w gorya even tho its impossible ahhhh-theyre perfect hes such a calming character and the best like thyme(bright)is alright but he took it too far at this point w the new girl lita its wasss soo heartbreakin-whereas ren(dew) is always there for gorya and i was screamin when he got heartbroken cause of the mira gurl-im cryin rn i cant stand this-i luvvv dewww hes the best second lead too out of the other ones in this remake i literally got obsessed-i cant wait for him to have other shows-i wish he and groya could do one together irl-ANYWAYS IT IS RLY GOOD LIKE THE AESTHETICS AND EVERYTHING ARE RLY CUTE-THE STORYLINE IS ALSO GOOD BUT i cant help it when they keep bullyin gorya plus this is literally those hate to love ones and where the fl is poor and the ml is rich-which is okay but like still if this was irl i dont think ud end up w someone who bullied u on the first day and w someone whose rich and ur poor-its kinda unrealistic but still overall its rly good!?????im waiting for this saturdays ep!?

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When two people really care about each other, they make it work. No matter how hard it is.

A MORE RELATABLE VERSION OF F4!
First of all, till date [13/2/2022] only 8 episodes have been released and I WILL watch the entire series so you can consider me a person who has seen all the episodes released. And if you're wondering why I am writing a review now instead of later then I have a lot of thoughts about this and once further episodes are released, I'll have more which I'll add on here!

F4 Thailand has a very unique charm to it which has drawn me in to an extent that I feel like I've been hypnotized by the series and I enjoy it. Maybe it's because, the violence was toned down, maybe because I'm able to understand Thyme so much better.
So let's begin the review:

STORY => So the story is the same old cliche, rich bad boy with a poor girl but as I mentioned earlier that it has a very unique charm which makes me forget the cliche. Now in the earlier versions, Daoming Si/Goo Joon Pyo from every glance were just rich, stuck up brats who had a sudden change in them because of love which also they abused which made the second male lead more favorable but here I honestly didn't really have second male lead syndrome. Thyme here is so much more down to earth? So much more broken and Bright portrays it excellently. The character arc and his sad past makes so much more sense here and as to how that shaped him into what he is. Another thing about the story is that they have included an element of "Heavy is the head that wears the crown". Kavin (Win) explained it simply but yet it had so much meaning in the series. The pressure that he talked about it made me understand Thyme more and made F4 pitiful to some extent.

ACTING => There's only one word for the acting in here "TOP NOTCH". Bright portrays every emotion you name extremely well. His eyes convey so much and I really mean that he doesn't act out but becomes Thyme. Whether it is having fights with Gorya, regret about the past, hurt, anger, happiness - Bright brings the character to life. Then there's Tu who is Gorya. Tu has done a great job for her acting debut. She really looks the combination of elegant and badass. The minute she kicked Thyme, I felt the satisfaction that I never felt in the earlier versions because I was overwhelmed by the whole toxicity. The other F4 actors - Win, Dew, Nani have also done very well but there stories will start from now on, specifically Win and that'll open a whole new dimension of theirs to watch. BONUS - Cindy who plays Thyme's mother, damn she looks so sharp that I am scared of her the minute she is on screen. Jeez, the casting is amazing, they really got the bet actors on board!

MUSIC => Let it speak for itself. Go now and listen to Who Am I by the 4 actors of the F4.

To conclude, the cinematography has also been extra ordinary. The aesthetics, the fashion, the dialogues and the writing team is very smart too! They really named the flower shop that Kaning (Xiaoyou/ the fl's friend) and Gorya work at "Maytee O Garden" which when you read out seems like "Meteor Garden" which is another version of Boys Over Flowers. Yeah, but if you've watched the previous versions and don't wish to watch this thinking that you can't go through the whole toxic phase again, please watch this because they've reduced the toxicity a lot and the characters are more relatable. And those who have never watched any versions, skip the others and watch this one. You'll never regret watching this!

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First Half Great. Good Friendship story.

This is based off the show itself, I never read the manga, but have seen Meteor Garden Chinese adaptation and the Korean version of F4.

LIKES:
Cast all of them had good acting and fit their characters well. Sure there was room for improvement, but they all did well with showing a range of emotion.

Writing: first half of the series, their adaptation was good, changing some of the angst and betrayal/lies moments. These four seemed closer as teenagers, without having to relay on too many past childhood memories to show that. The reason of the 4 being so elite was shown without being over the top. The element of humour was well handled too. I didn’t mind how Ren and Gorya’s relationship developed in terms of their friendship, compared to other versions of F4 B.O.F.
Also I liked how Thyme handled the bullying portion and the retribution for it. And Gorya’s parents weren’t as annoying and over the top with their acting, like in the Korean version.

Loved the chosen locations and general cinematography, especially for the most part film stabilizers were used. The colour palette was good too.

Wardrobe was for the most part well chosen to suit each character, and I liked it much better than the Korean version, especially for Kavin.

Music was good, didn’t over power the actor/actress voices and was appropriate. The theme song wasn’t over played like it was in the Korean version, and it if was played a lot, I didn’t notice it.

DISLIKES:
WRITING:
Some of the storyline was cut out, which made for certain moments to be less impactful as they should’ve been, especially when it came to Thyme’s “evil” mother. Thyme’s sister really wasn’t used well, compared to the Korean version and really didn’t even need to be shown in the drama, aside from the one business related screen that allowed Thyme to leave to handle another situation. Ren was portrayed as a loner and artistic, but not as in depth of a character as the Korean Boys Over Flowers version of that member of F4. MJ being the Mafia Boss’s son, seemed to blur between him and Kavin. Almost as if their script was mixed up. Even in the end with the Iris moment, once more Kavin seemed more like the Mafia Boss’s son. Also the second half of the series seemed more rushed and timing or pacing became an issue to get the whole story across within the 16 episode limit. Would’ve been better if there had been 20 or 25 episodes, especially to show each character’s growth and conclude their individual storylines better. Also missed that Gorya’s best friend, wasn’t involved more. Even Kaning’s own love story, especially in second half of the drama, was very down played or lacking. Finally in regards to what the main characters grew up to become, was very vague except for Thyme. In the Korean version we saw what jobs/careers they’d chosen as adults.
There was more violence it seemed between the characters in this version, especially against the girls, than in the Korean one or Meteor Garden.

DIRECTING:
Some times the character’s reactions were way too slow. Too much time spent on driving and running around.

WARDROBE: They sucked at choosing clothing for Kaning, to the point of being tasteless. Sometimes for Ren’s character, it was like they forgot he’s supposed to be rich.

Product Placement: The IRIS moments were fine, but as is the norm in Thailand the constant product endorsement became annoying.


OVERALL: It took me a while to finish watching this show, because I wasn’t as invested in the characters as I was in other versions. I have yet to watch the Japanese version, so I’m hoping that will be the best one. It’s a decent watch, but better in the first half of episodes. I would recommend it to people who like this genre. The romance was VERY low key and I found it more about friendship and loyalty than about love and romance. I won’t watch it again and no scenes stood out, that I want to revisit.

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