Love in Translation (2023)

Slow-Burn Pining Into Wildfire, Great Through Ep 6.

Spoilers only at bottom of review. 8 Episodes total. Finished series & updated review 10/15/23.
I'm conflicted on how to rate this because Ep 2 through 6 are great, very enjoyable, and I would easily rate a 9/10. I know I'll re-watch them multiple times. But Ep 7 & 8 are cringy for multiple reasons and I would rate them a 4/10. Such a disappointment. Still, I loved most of the main couple's story so much that I've decided on 8/10 as my overall rating. When I watch again, I will likely either stop after the first scene in Ep 7, or skip to the 2nd half of Ep 8 to finish.

Wonderful acting by the two leads, decent plot Ep 1-6 but ridiculous plot Ep 7-8, smooth-flowing dialogue *until Ep 7, some lovely cinematography, okay music, meh side characters.

The first episode is a bit overly goofy, and though it did get a few chuckles out of me, I was glad to see that toned down in the second episode as the character interactions and emotions became the focus.

The actors playing Yang and Phumjai are fantastic. There are a lot of sweet moments between the characters and the actor's chemistry is palpable, like magnets. They both also really nail the nuances of overlapping feelings; puting on a certain mask to others while the character's true emotions are just under the surface and still visible for the audience to see. Their chemistry and the way they interact with each other quickly drew me in and got my emotions invested. Their characters and the way they act them are my favorite thing about this series.

The friend Tag and the girl Tammy are acted well and feel like real people. I especially like how Tammy is written; I didn't like her character at first but her actions and communication skills won me over.

The brother is not acted or written well, he feels like the weak link, though his character gets slightly more likeable by the end. The other side characters are more like caricatures; over-the-top and lacking depth. Because the series is only 8 episodes, I was okay that they didn't spend a lot of time rounding these people out in Ep 1-6. But then Ep 7 & 8 relied on them more heavily and the simplistic writing and acting got annoying (especially in situations that were supposed to be serious and dire).

There are some beautiful shots utilizing space and lighting that, to me, underscored the bitter-sweet lonliness of pining. The feeling of being a part from others as you hold your thoughts to yourself.

Sometimes the background music was good, but at other times it did not fit the mood of scenes well (for example, positive major chords being played during an emotionally sad moment). It's probably not obvious enough to bug most people, but it distracted me from scenes a couple of times.

GENERAL SPOILERS:
The intimate scene at the end of Ep 6 had a similar feeling to Love In The Air nc-17 scenes, and I learned it had a similar approach: the actors improvised the scene as their characters (except for a couple of lines). It is BOTH emotional and hot, the best combination in my opinion. It feels very real. And this scene will be memorable for a couple of reasons, you'll see ;)
In Ep 7 & 8 there's a good amount of affectionate skinship and a couple of emotionally charged kisses.

Ep 7 & 8: Ugh, what a way to unravel the magic. The writers, director, editors, and most of the actors created a muddled mess. There was obvious confusion about what mood/tone was the goal. On one hand, there's a very serious situation, on the other, the side characters continue their over-acted comic relief. Things that were supposed to be serious were undermined by lightheartedness or ridiculousness, and what were supposed to be feel-good moments or humorous were not because they were poorly done (& poorly timed) and ridiculous. Tension is completely disolved.

!SPECIFIC SPOILERS!:
Further frustrations with Ep 7 & 8 (I just needed to vent):

Why is it that in most BLs calling the police (or for an ambulance) is treated like an afterthought? You think you're boyfriend is kidnapped and you call and wait for your brother, your employees, and your friend to show up and ask "what should I do?"? This is so obviously unrealistic it's just lazy writing for plot contrivance trying to wring our emotions.

The older brother didn't have any savings of his own to help out instead of "being a hostage"? And neither of the brothers thought to ask their very weathly parents for a loan (instead of one of their sons being a hostage)? Get real. If the situation was as dire as the script pretends it is, something could have been worked out with the loving, supportive parents.

The creditor goes from being set up as a scary mob-like antagonist (though this is not pulled off well), to a waffling basic business man. A dire situation spearheaded by a buffoon lowers the stakes and can't hold tension (or the audiences attention).

The completely unnecessary and eye-rolling cliche of the discovery of a young childhood connection. Thankfully, it was brief and didn't have an impact on the story.

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enjoyable romcom

Overall: it was a fun watch and I hope we get a sequel/see these actors in more series. 8 episodes about 45 minutes each. Aired on iQIYI and YouTube (not in the U.S.) here is the first episode link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s27LxcQeg_0

Content Warnings: kidnapping/held against will, manipulation, coercion

What I Liked
- the supporting characters
- I did laugh several times, the comedy sound effects weren't excessive (I loved that security guard just watching them go at it like that wasn't part of his job lol), though the comedy did give way to angst at some points
- sweet and supportive moments (though Yang should have apologized verbally in episode 3)
- Tammy wasn't a cliche female character
- ep 6 NSFW scene was very well done

Room For Improvement
- plot holes/continuity errors/nonsense stuff (i.e. pretty sure that isn't how you find investors/partners, why didn't he just ask his wealthy parents???)
- Phojai's plan/timeline made no sense and that was a weak apology
- they lived in the same building, but this was not shown/explained and then sometimes Phumjai was at a different bedroom/house (his parents?)
- cliche plot point in ep 5 and other cliches (sick after being in the rain, accidental fall/catch, etc)
- ending was rushed, too much of the debt stuff (could have cut that whole plot out)
- several interrupted kisses in the final episode
- I didn't deduct points for the blatant product placement because it funded the series

Note: I am blown away that Offroad's character here is so different from Saint in Our Days, I have to keep looking to make sure it's the same actor

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