A predictable storyline but with good acting and fun side characters
The plot for “To Love and Cherish” is really simple and predictable. So, if you are looking for something unique, this is not it. However, even if it’s a familiar storyline, this drama still has its charms, mainly due to the young couple and the fun side characters.I’m not going to lie, I picked this drama up because I haven’t seen Film in a while and I was informed by a friend that there are BL actors not kissing boys here. LOL You know, Boss, Pond and Aston. I am also a fan of second-chance romance, so why not? It’s only 10 episodes and each episode is not as long as a typical lakorn.
Although the lovely young couple’s acting isn’t perfect, they are definitely sweet and charming. You see how cute young Ran and Yai were, and you ponder how they became such depressed adults. What did they go through that changed them so much?
Aston (young Yai) and Neeya (young Ran) are just too adorable. The flashback scenes of them are a breath of fresh air. They exude typical young innocence and sweetness. I was glad the drama was not afraid to show us some sweet kisses, shameless flirting and declaration of love. When scenes require them to be more emotional (later in the drama), that’s when it shows they need to be more seasoned to act those out. They are not bad, but compared to Film and Bua, they pale in comparison. I still love them very much.
As the adult Yai and Bua, Film and Bua definitely show us the controlled angst, the depression and the hard lives they had. The acting is great, especially with some of the subtle facial expressions. They don’t have to be loud, it’s the controlled emotions that shine. This pair is a great contrast to their younger counterparts. The chemistry is ok but not great. Even when they finally got together, I still don’t quite feel the love that should be overwhelming. They say all the right things, but to me, the chemistry isn’t strong. Unfortunately, their storyline is not as interesting as the flashbacks. The animosity that Yai has is understandable and Bua knows it and takes them all in quietly and maturely. I just wish their resolution would come sooner, and has this us-against-them mentality. Maybe that way the chemistry would have been better.
The supporting cast is wonderful. I just saw Pond in “The Edge of Horizon” and I hated his guts. I didn’t know if I could ever recover and I am so glad I saw him here again in “To Love and Cherish”. As Alex, he’s so lovely and sweet. Pond redeemed himself in my books. Pond didn’t overact here (thank goodness) and his character is just so supportive, calm and mature. On the other hand, Boss is so funny. He’s not the cool guy in his BL dramas, but this goofy and adorable famous actor, Sam. We know he’s not going to get the girl (all his fans will revolt) but it’s still fun to see him in a role where he can have some fun and go after a girl with his BL buddies. Lastly is the little sis, Dao. That girl is sassy and smart. She’s a wonderful addition to this trio of supporting characters that makes the drama so easy to watch. A big reason I am giving this drama at least an 8.0.
Well, what’s a Thai drama without a couple annoying and evil characters? We definitely have them here. Two women who are relentless and shameless. You definitely want to strangle them and make them shut up. Once I saw who plays Yai’s mother, I already knew this actress is going to create drama.
Even though “To Love and Cherish” did not bring anything new to the table, I did have an easy and good time watching it. It can be a quick binge, or a first easy introduction to a non-BL romance Thai drama. It has frustrating moments, but not a frustrating watch. I just wish I could love the chemistry between Film and Bua more, since they are the story.
Drama Completed: 9/5/2026 Review #718
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This review may contain spoilers
A drama TO LOVE AND CHERISH! ✨️
Going into this series, I was pleasantly surprised by how deeply engaging and enjoyable the overall story turned out to be! 👌💫 It avoids the exhausting traps of older, overly complicated lakorns, keeping the narrative watchable and fluid! ❤️🔥🔥One of my absolute favorite parts was the flashback era with the younger versions of the leads together. Their chemistry and performances completely stole the show, feeling far more outstanding and impressive to watch than the older main counterparts! 👌💫
Even though the main male lead starts off toxic, he isn't written as an irredeemable jerk—he eventually owns up to his faults, understands her circumstances, grants forgiveness, and steps up to be a truly great partner. Plus, the redemption arc for the villain adds such a wholesome layer to the conclusion, showing how beautiful things get when characters finally let go of hateful mindsets to see others in a brand new light!
And can we talk about Sam and Alex? 😭❤️🔥🔥 These two absolute green flag characters are brilliant additions to the story! 🤌✨️ Having them around the female lead, spending quality time just to support her and to make her feel safe, secure, and comfortable brought so much warmth, positive energy, and lovely vibes to the entire journey! 😍🤭🙈 These two characters are my favorite in this show, that will stay unforgettable and unmatched, elevating so much the value of story! 🙌
Stories like this are truly one of the best to watch! I can easily say this one retrieves the worthiness of lakorns, and they really should make a lot more like this since they are my absolute favorite type of dramas! 💖 It is so much strongly recommended for me because it won't lead to any frustration—it's so underrated here, but I easily give it a 9.5 for delivering such wholesome conclusion! In fact, this drama is easily one of the top 1 for September to me! 🤭🙈❤️🔥🔥
In general, it is a surprisingly rewarding watch that hits all the right emotional notes! 👌💫
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A story that treats its audience with dignity and respect!
Its been a while since I've written a review, so bear with me hehe😅I'm giving the show a re-watch value of 8.5 cuz I think i need to be in a certain mind space to watch this show in its entirety due to the angst and anger 3 of the characters bring out within you! You can def catch me rewatching my fave scenes and moments from the show!
To Cherish and Love is one of those rare lakorns I've come across with good, consistent writing, where the audience feels like they are a part of the story themselves, living with the characters' lives and feeling what they feel.
Before I can delve into anything, I have to give a shout-out to the young actors portraying the younger versions of our main leads. They truly made the story feel alive, as if their life experience did happen; their friendship, love, heartbreak, everything was indeed lived through. So so beautifully portrayed, your healt wept for the characters, and understood them much better!
The story focuses on a hard-working woman- K'Ran who is the sole bread-winner of the household after the passing of her father. In order to meet basic needs, she works multiple jobs to keep their family of 4 afloat and comfortable, always taking care of others, but not herself, as she believes she doesn't deserve it.
N'Dao, the youngest character, is a very mischievous and energetic fujoushi, who goes to great lengths in order to make sure that her favourite pairing isn't separated (I wish they could have touched on this a bit more, showing that bl actors are human too, and need to be respected as such, and are not there for "fans" to force their beliefs onto their "idols". It at least shows that bl actors behind the scenes do have relationships with women, which I appreciated, so 0.5% cut!). N'Dao does this by basically managing to sneak past all the security of the TV-Station of the ML and gives him an earful.
The male lead, forced into an engagement by his mother with K'Nana, shows no affection towards her, as his heart still beats for K'Ran though he's been trying to forget about his hurtful past. When he meets his ex-K'Ran, the FL at his company unexpectedly, he is livid. He threatens to fire her, but K'Ran is resilient, patient, and self-sacrificing, painfully so. She tries her hardest to fight for her survival at her ex's company.
I did not like how K'Yai treated her, but based on what he believed: that K'Ran is a heartless, selfish woman who goes after rich men, his actions make sense. I am not saying I support him making the FL's life ever more of a living hell than it already is in the slightest, but the story is so well-written that you hate him for what he is doing, and also want him to have an honest conversation with himself and have his eyes opened! He truly cares for K'Ran, but at the same time, he is afraid she is after K'Sam (his best friend from the US, a bl actor at his company who also falls for K'Ran's kind heart and resilience) and his younger brother K'Lek as they are rich. He makes her overwork herself so that she doesn't get time to "seduce" his friend or brother.
The show is very well executed in that, you not even for a moment feel confused or lost in the plot. You do not feel like your emotions are being played with. When you have a doubt, it gets resolved, even if not immediately within the same ep. The best part is that there is not a single miscommunication or misunderstanding (yes I choose to say this because K'Ran chose to lie to K'Yai deliberately). There are NO dumb characters!!! The story flows naturally, and the characters are actually intelligent! They find out the truth on their own, and the audience doesn't feel like we are being spoon-fed/info-dumped.
I absolutely LOVED that the other 2 male characters did NOT fight for K'Ran. They instead fought to keep her happy, to help her earn, and eat well lol, cuz that woman refuses to take care of herself my God! Thank God for K'Lek being there! And once both K'Sam and K'Lek realise K'Yai still loves K'Ran, they do their absolute best to help them both get back together again!
I am not giving the show a 10 simply because I am not satisfied with how the story dealt with K'Yai's narcissistic, selfish, clearly, hurt, AND psychotic, masochist of a mother (I wanted to cut off an entire 1%, but that would mean the entire show in only 85%), who was the cause of the rift between K'Yai and K'Ran. Living with a person like her, I know first hand that such a person will not change, whether over a long period of time (in my family's case-25+ years), or overnight just because their safety is threatened. They can pretend they have turned a new leaf, but they will NEVER accept their mistake, or let the world know of it if they can help it. So K'Aoijay revealing her disgusting deeds to the world, AND getting off scot-free really pissed me off.
Character ranking:
Grandma: Hands-down best character! And truly wise!
K'Lek: Gosh adorable bean!
K'Ran: So glad she is finally happy!
K'Sam: Can we have more men/2nd leads like this please!!!
K'Yai: You can see he's gotten his mother's masochistic tendencies, but he becomes better, and learns from his mistakes!
K'Dao: Annoying little devil (saying this is the sweetest way possible😂)
K'Nana: Girl please learn some self-worth! And someone make her pay an actual price for trying to make K'Ran's life hellish in highschool!
K'Aoijay: Lady, you need to pay for your crimes against your son, you daughter-in-law (especially), and mother-in-law, AND your granddaughter!
I'd honestly love to see a continuation of the show with just our main CP living together, a happy and fullfilled life filled with laughter and warmth. That way we could also get to see if K'Ran wants to explore going back to her studies, or Taekwando, seeing that she's truly stopped blaming herself for her father's death
And, can someone PLEASE cast the young actors portraying K'Ran and K'Yai as a couple or even friends in another show! Their chemistry was so natural!!!
Truly a great journey overall!
PS: Did anyone else feel K'Film has lost more weight or was it just me...? Ma man, you are perfect the way you are! Please don't lose weight!
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I wish there's more...
It literally took one Yai & Dao edit on the clock app to convince me to watch this drama, and somehow, I ended up finishing the entire series in one sitting. 😭It’s been a while since my last Thai lakorn, and * this series reminded me exactly why I love them. The plot itself isn’t anything particularly new or unpredictable, but somehow, the series manages to capture everything that makes a romance enjoyable—love, family, growing up, and the journey of two people finding their way back to each other.
I especially loved seeing Yai and Dao as a young couple, but I think I loved them just as much, if not more, when they grew into adults. There’s something so satisfying about watching their relationship evolve as they mature. Their younger years had that innocent, youthful charm, while their adult relationship had a different kind of warmth that made me want even more of them.
And honestly, that’s probably my biggest complaint: I wish we got more sweet moments after they got married!I was ready for all the domestic fluff, married-couple moments, and little scenes showing them enjoying their life together. 🥹
Overall, this was such a lovely surprise. I didn’t expect one random edit to send me down the rabbit hole, but I’m definitely glad it did. Sometimes, you just need a good lakorn to steal your heart—and this one absolutely did.
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Short And Sweet Drama
Such a cute and lovely drama! 🥹❤️I started watching it without any expectations, and it turned out to be so much better than I expected.
The story itself isn’t anything very special or different. It’s actually quite common and simple. But the way it has been presented to us is really good. There’s no unnecessary drama, and they haven’t dragged the story out or made it unnecessarily lengthy.
The chemistry between the leads is really good, especially between Young Yai and Rak. Their cute and innocent first love, along with the way they start planning their future together, feels so relatable. You can really connect with their characters and their relationship.
I also loved Grandma, Lek, and Sam. They always helped guide the leads in the right direction and gave them the support they needed.
It’s such a short and sweet drama, which I honestly didn’t expect from a Thai drama. 😂❤️
Definitely worth rewatching! ✨
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Achei de uma pureza e delicadeza a relação dos protas que eu nem consigo explicar. Eles tinham um amor tão fofo, tão genuíno, que a química simplesmente exalava, tanto na juventude quanto depois de adultos. E sem falar nos atores, que se parecem MUITO com suas versões mais jovens.
Sinceramente, não consigo encontrar defeitos. Acho que a história se manteve muito bem do começo ao fim e gostei muito da forma como os personagens foram construídos.
O que mais me chamou atenção foi que não eram pessoas ruins de uma forma cruel. Eram pessoas feridas, egoístas, fracas e inseguras, que não conseguiam enxergar uma vida para si mesmas e acabavam esperando que o futuro viesse através do outro. E foi incrível acompanhar todo o arrependimento, o amadurecimento e o perdão.
Acho isso muito respeitoso, porque por mais que a gente muitas vezes espere um final mais duro para as pessoas que causaram muito mal, o drama soube trabalhar isso muito bem. Soube trazer as emoções e mostrar que no fim, eram muito mais pessoas BOAS do que ruins, eram apenas pessoas machucadas, que tomaram decisões erradas e precisaram lidar com as consequências. Até quem eu achei que poderia ser um verdadeiro pé no saco de chato me surpreendeu muito com a maturidade e a parceria.
Então, realmente, não tenho do que reclamar. Pra mim, foi um drama bom, com uma história BOA e muitos sentimentos envolvidos, mas o melhor é que todos esses sentimentos foram muito bem trabalhados e conduzidos da melhor forma possível. Eu amei!!!!
PS.: É loucura minha, ou o nosso prota LEMBRA muito nosso Chen Zheyuan??? Até certos olhares dele, eu ficava: "eu conheço de algum lugar"... Parecia MUITO, ainda mais com ciúmes. AMO.
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