SarahD

Great suspense drama with a side order of love

This story is set in the slums of Thailand and features Jack, a poor taekwondo student who through a brief association with Joke, a middle class kid whose only skills are lying, pretending and stealing goes from poor and honest to poor, desperate and enslaved.

5 years later they reunite after Joke is released from prison following the situation that led to Jack’s downfall and at the same time we meet others stuck in their own versions of hell and watch as they all grow from individuals trying to survive to a team determined to right the wrongs of the miserable lives they been given. Through it all and somewhere down the line relationships are formed and Jack and Joker fall in love.

The standout performance for me was Tangkwa Chananticha Chaipa who plays Toi Ting a young street smart kid who wants more out of life than the shitty hand she’s been dealt. Her believable character was fearless, brave and sassy wrapped up in a cute little bundle.

Yin and War as Jack and Joker were brilliant and it’s easy to see why Jack just let Joker win him over again and again as chemistry aside deep down he knew there had to be a really compelling reason for his sporadic return to crime and the sad puppy dog eye look Joke gave when caught hooked Jack in every time (it would make me forgive him every time too tbh).

There was very little opportunity for NC’s or PDA’s in this drama and to be honest I think it would have detracted from the story. In fact there only one intimate scene but it was enough to see how their slow burn romance spilled into every part of their relationship and it had me reaching for a metaphorical fan as it was so sizzling hot.

The other characters were well acted, their plot lines adding depth and breadth to this story by injecting love, laughter, a bond forged by desperation and the need to trust that together they could beat the system.

The contrast between the haves and have nots was poignantly obvious as evidenced in so many ways: from grotty buildings with peeling paint and doors that don’t close properly to sumptuous mansions with glittering fountains and marble staircases; poorly dressed, malnourished individuals with knife and fork haircuts compared with exaggeratedly overstuffed individuals with dubious taste in horribly expensive clothing; the raw honesty of frantic people trying to survive as opposed to bored mega rich to whom the lives and belongings of the less fortunate are just a game.

As an aside , the music used a lot at the beginning of their relationship, when Jack and Joker’s hearts skip a beat, is called Windfall by Megan Wofford (thank you Shazam!) and it’s also used in Cutie Pie on Lian and Kuea’s wedding night.

You should also watch the special one-off episode. It will break your heart but alludes to another series or just another one off. Here’s hoping…

Would I watch this again? Absolutely

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Great little whodunnit with a side order of BookForce

There is so much to like about this story but I do feel the last few chapters could have been significantly shorter as once we get to the bottom of the mystery there are still several chapters to go and we end up watching a lot (ok so it was all cute) of padding so I docked a point for this.

The story centres round two characters Tankoon (played by Force) and Botpleng (played by Book). The former is a criminal psychologist and the latter a wealthy young man with no memory of his life following an unknown trauma approximately 10 years earlier.

One day (Bot)Pleng anonymously receives a diary documenting his life before his memory loss and in it he discovers he had an all encompassing love affair with a man called Tan(koon). Days later he finds a body in a suitcase and to his horror, as he turns round to see if there is anyone else nearby, Tan walks onto the scene which puts Pleng firmly in the suspect bucket as he is standing over the body when he arrives. Tan is immediately drawn to Pleng and as his curiosity (both personal and professional) is piqued he manages to get an invite onto the team investigating why the body they found belongs to a member of staff at one of Pleng’s many residences.

The plot thickens, another body is found, also tied to Pleng’s household and Pleng discovers that the man he waxes lyrical about his diary is not Tan but Tan’s dead brother Thunphob who for some reason says his name is Tan. Emotions run high and bonds of trust and friendship are built on pillars of sand.

Down the line we discover that someone is preventing Pleng from regaining his memories and he becomes worried that it was him that killed Thunphob. We also learn that Pleng is not really Pleng but a young companion called Tontharn brought into the family and unofficially adopted to become Pleng’s little brother. To top it all off a whole catalogue of lies and deception is uncovered when Pleng finally gets his memories back.

The chemistry between Book and Force is electric as usual with great banter and play fights. There is more skin than usual in their intimate scenes and Force spends quite a lot of time getting topless which is unusual for this couple but rather easy on the eye...

The other actors and their sub plots also add to the drama and we get to enjoy JuniorMark (from my perfect 10 liners) and Boun from between us) in all their glory too.

The penultimate scene paralleling Tan & Tontharn and Thunphob & (the real) Pleng on bicycles is really poignant and I will admit to feeling a lot sentimental and slightly tearful as I watched their carefree journeys on the same patch of dirt track. Kudos to the writers and direction for such a powerful scene.

The cinematography and the staging was great and added to the whole drama.

Would I watch it again? Probably not, but it was a lovely way to test the brain cells (the whodunnit) and enjoy Book and Force in action again.

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What incredible chemistry and a brilliant plot line

I put off watching this drama as I didn’t like the photos of Mark Chao’s character (yes I know, super shallow) but eventually, due to the amazing reviews it’s had I thought I’d have a go.
I was a fool to not watch this sooner.
The characters, the acting, the costumes, the production values, etc… utterly brilliant. The baddies were so well played that I wanted to boo them off my screen as I ranted in frustration. The main couple had so much chemistry they were so believable. The child who played Ah Li was mesmerising. I could go on but you get my drift.
I loved Ye Hun, even when he was being pathetic in the Celestial Palace. He has such an adorable, dorky smile and telegraphed each and every emotion perfectly from frustration and authoritative commandant barking out orders to love struck puppy.
Yang Mi acted her little cotton socks off and I felt every bit of her despair, heartbreak, love and devotion both as Su Su and Bai Qian. I really enjoyed every aspect of her journey except for the last few episodes when I wept and wailed like a heartbroken teenager.
The rest of the cast were excellent even if I didn’t always agree with the plot lines they’d been given. The two main baddies played their parts so well that I wanted nothing more to stab them with a hairpin- both thwarted in love but the outcome of their situations was so different.
Would I watch it again? Very likely.

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