8392225
Now. One thing is the cast, the other are the characters. Nang'ek has a family that is ready to drug her and sell her to nearest old & ugly rich guy, who's ready to assimilate the family debts by marrying her. And when she escapes, she meets her pra'ek, who wants to do the same, with the difference that he's young and handsome... or, looks like BigM, lol. He feels entitled to do this to her because he holds grudges against her for hurting him somehow in the past, but considering she doesn't even remember knowing him that's clearly a bull (or she should remember his voice). Same goes for the plot. Even if one accepts the dubious logic of a forced marriage, it makes no sense if it's supposed to be for 1 year only.
But! All that is only an outer shell. What matters is, shall the inside be sweet and enjoyable:)) First kiss is episode 2, it's not passionate kiss yet, but it's not fake, either;) If Hana Lewis, now 30, improved in this department (I watched her earlier work and she was way more convincing in her action scenes than kissing scenes in her 20's), then no matter the silly plot, this lakorn might still turn out to be an enjoyable watch. But then, we get to the wedding night, and of course then the writer doesn't know what to do, because they should sleep together, but they shouldn't sleep together. This storyline is always stupid. I seriously don't know why "forced marriage" is such a popular trope. There is nothing much exciting about it, either way they are married. Also, there's the revenge... It's the classic Misunderstanding kind of it. Also annoying.
Also, a psychopatic support character attempts to kill nang'ek after 5 episodes. Wow, the writer seriously held themself back, LOL. Five whole episodes, what a restraint. Okay, the level of stupidity has risen enough to quit questioning the "plot" whatsoever, so I won't bother to keep commenting on it. Whenever a ghost or alien should appear, I won't say a word. Like our nang'ek, trapped in forced marriage, who is willing to let 2 beautiful women move in the house with her & her husband. It's practically a comedy, seeing all 3 of them sitting at the same table. While 2 of them would love to pull each other's hair out, the third one is smiling. She can now just sit back and be rid of the guy she doesn't want, without much effort. No comment on that;-)
As for the side characters, Ploy Randapa is also engaging to watch, she is attractive but her role consists of being the desperate "bad girl" using cheap methods with guys or being used by "bad boys". But then her character has some ending, which should belong to other genre, but of course, not in the case of "classic" lakorn. Chingching Kharittha is cute but I didn't like the guy they paired her with. Who's actually funny to watch is Man Patthanapol, portraying something betwen a dandy spiv and a total crook. I almost laughed most of his scenes. Of course, up to the point it got too out of hand with his psychopatic mother... Since then, I had to completely skip him. Again, thai writers did not know the right measure. Apart from the "classic" over the top characters, the Misunderstanding which could be cleared by 5 minutes conversation was dragging my patience and bored me sooner than 1/2 of the series arrived. This is really something the writers should avoid by 2022. They were binging on it for enough decades:)
It's annoying to watch Sa Anisa in her psycho role. I do understand the producers NEED to time-stretch every lakorn. They need to employ more cast and there should always be some kind of a rival characters. But it's so tiring and dated. Sa Anisa is a beautiful woman. And if she has to be on this show too, then she should have her own sensible story. Watching her as a desperate weirdo is not my kind of entertainment. At all.
Since episode 10, the producers do give up on the story of married couple who sleeps in the same bed but does nothing:) There are a few nice bed/scenes. BigM might not be typical pra'ek but he is sexy and Hana Lewis considerably improved (a few years back, she was not capable to shoot a simple kiss scene) and overall conveys herself way more attractive as a woman than when she was younger. If this show attains a slightly erotic tone then it MIGHT be an enjoyable watch...
Instead, mostly we watch some property plots about contracts being stolen during which Hana Lewis's nan'ek takes her husband's side, while she first said she only married him for money, now that she slept with him she says she loves him and would stay with him no matter what. So, the only couple drama waiting would probably be when she learns about his identity and that he only wanted revenge... Chingching Kharittha has an engaging line with her father, who is a bad guy. Still, even a bad guy loves his child. Will the love turn him a bit towards good?
I wanted the hidden identity revealed soon. Because I don't like it when that is dragged. My wish was fullfilled in episode 15/17. But the way it happened made zero sense. The only thing achieved was that both parties still believed they were deceived by the other. Probably so that they could drag this to the final. As traditional, despite the main couple being MARRIED and sharing 1 room and 1 bed, it is a random side-character who gets the chance to "explain" things to one of them first. After that, our pra'ek doesn't believe a single word his nang'ek says, and is hanging out getting drunk with the psychopatic murderer, instead. Because THAT is the interaction the viewers "wish" to watch, and waited so many episodes for... Somehow, I found it funny that just a "facial reconstructive replacement surgery on entire face" done in Korea could change the whole person and turn a GUY into Sa Anisa, whose wrist is 6 inches. Did they replace all the bones of his entire body? LOL. Not that I did care for this side-plot, but you understand my Story rating.
Then, only 1 last episode is left to conclude all the criminal investigations and murder attempts... Yeah, good old "romantic lakorn".
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Melodrama DONE RIGHT
Normally I avoid the Tag "Terminal Illness", or "Tearjerker" like a plague... But I sensed this Melodrama would be different.And it was. It was a rare one that I enjoyed.
Perfect cast. Just Perfect.
It's not that I would really cry watching:) I mean, everyone was just SO perfect in their role, either perfectly good or perfect villain. Also the cutest looking little girl they could find, I know that little girl of her age would not be capable of such behavior, would not be so adorable to strangers, or would not be capable of saying the stuff she was sometimes able to say. But it was all made so the drama would be the most enjoyable. And enjoyable it was.
Lee Seo Jin was perfect. So handsome, and not too prettyboy-ish, not too young. Uee did a great job, physically she looked both ordinary and attractive enough to be convincing in her role, and she portrayed the illness symptomps great. Her character sometimes cried in self-pitty which is something they usually don't allow for main heroines but I could understand it perfectly. Who would not cry when in pain and fear of dying? Her best friend, the one that had a nail salon, was pretty on the outside, and absolutely beautiful woman on the inside. His best friend, who seemingly was just an employee was also totally adorable & funny. It was all perfect to make it most moving, like still keeping the relationship with mother of your deceased husband... Everything was a melodrama, but melodrama DONE RIGHT.
I appreciated the romance it had, and the moments of happiness, because I agreed: people should be happy even in the worst circumstances. That's what I also appreciated about this drama. It had the best possible ending I've seen in such stories.
I can definitely recommend this "sad story" over many "sweet and happy" ones about young girlies who are all virgins and know nothing about love and loss.
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Originally, I'd give 6 stars. Then, I could give even 10, but....
Watching first episodes, I was like: To be perfectly honest, maybe I WOULD like the BL fascination to quiet down a bit in Thailand, lol. Opening yet another BL series, I did appreciate this one incomporated the today's tendencies (and BL fangirls pushing gay-romance culture) straight into the story, and in a fun way. There ARE new kinds of pressure on goodlooking boys today, and it's more natural for the show to address it directly than to pretend they live in special universe where everyone is automatically gay... First, I identified with Zon as the main character. He is scared that he started living in some "gay land". I found that funny and also I could relate. It began to be rare to find a straight guy in today's "idol dramas". Thailand already had queer even in straight dramas and those are here, too. In total count, everyone either looks gay, acts gay or IS gay. While some can be 2 or 3 of these things, it seems nobody is 0. The engineer school uniform became like gay uniform...It's funny how Zon enounters the main duo from 'TharnType', and believes he really traveled inside BL fiction. I felt for him and hoped he would be able to find 1 ordinary straight person on the whole campus lol. But then he thinks he got saved as soon as he sees the character portrayed by Saint Suppapong, which is ironic because that "actor" looks so much like a girl that it's scary.
Which brings me to the Saint & Zee couple. After 'Love By Chance', I was convinced that "Saint" Suppapong can't act even at gunpoint. He SIGNIFICANTLY improved, here (well, he couldn't possibly get any worse). The dynamics works, Zee's character is the right amount of predatory, while Saint's character makes perfect prey, who answers with just the right amount of spunk back. So completely different from Saint's character in 'Love By Chance'.
With Zon & Saifah, you realize the cast in this series is a bit problematic. Some "boys" are 28, some barely 20 and look like underaged baby in compare to their "peers", let alone to be believable as their seniors. Zon looks ridiculous paired with Saifah, who looks 10 years younger and 10 times more feminine than Zon, but it's all supposed to be saved by him being taller. Most scenes the baby-boy looked like he needed to return the senior jacket to whomever he stole it from. Probably to Zon, who keeps wearing freshmen shirt despite looking older.
At first, Zon & Saifah's interactions are funny, thanks to Zon's perceptions and fears that make it funny. Any stale lame scene is made funny by Zon commenting on it in his head. But that doesn't last long and soon we watch montage of the two along with sweet music? The funny inner commentary is gone and sweet scenes keep piling on... I felt treated the same way Zon was treated. The BL was just forced on us audience. It did not happen organically. By the way, I felt like that watching most BL shows...
This respect, Saint & Zee couple line definitely works better. The tension in between the two is undeniable. Sadly, the plot uses a third party, which is a girl "dating" Zee's character, who chooses Saint's character of all people to confide about her relationship problems. And he gives her like girl magazine advice, instead of saying: "Well, I think the problem might be he is into guys. He already kissed me twice." This he doesn't tell her AND he doesn't stop giving her "advice". It feels ancient old way to keep the triangle going. This was obviously inherited from straight dramas, where two girls always tend to be "friends", while nang'ek believes in the friendship sincerely, nang'rai abuses it to get the guy and to get into her rival's head. So, Saint's character in this plays one of the girls? Episodes where Janis Janistar's character is omitted are better. Also, when showed as cartoons, all scenes look better:)
But when the two boys are left alone, it's as steamy as it gets. First, its's clear and clearer that Zee's character is CRAZY about Saint's. He kisses him a couple more times, saying he's "just teasing him", but then Saint's character's here is NOTHING like in 'Love By Chance'. Wow. Now I wonder, is this show going make fun of BL, or become a strong piece of it itself?
Back to Saifah & Zon... The two are cute together, still I'd prefer them to be just friends. They're more enjoyable just making fun of it. I don't really like them as a serious couple. Started more or less skipping their scenes, I just don't get those two. Then, Saint & Zee couple progressed from supressed angst to both-side confession during one single episode. Huh? Peaked too soon, just like 99% BL.
All this was just 1/2 of the series. What now?
Saifah & Zon kissed. I cringed. I just don't get what happened to Zon. No matter how "nice" has Saifah been to Zon, it's so weird Zon would jump into being physically involved with him just for that. It felt all constructed and I lost my overall interest. Instead of focusing on Zon as the main character, I quit watching his line entirely.
Opening episode 9... With me watching a bundle of other shows in the meantime, I mistakenly thought it was the last episode. The main couple is together already, they go happily to the beach... Then I noticed this was not the last episode. And I was like: You know what? For me it can be. I have like no reason to keep watching this... Them just being happy at the beach and getting all mushy was almost unsufferable to watch. Wouln't it be great just to end it now? It's not like I care whether they have a huge fight later, break-up, or reconcile at the end. The second couple, we don't see them this episode, and we don't miss them.
So, I dropped the series after epi 9, rated it 6 stars. Then more or less accidentally kept on watching. I totally skipped the other couple and I still didn't like Saint, but Zee was giving me something to watch. Apart from him being hot and the only one of the cast actually having manly body (and therefore they made him wear his shirt constantly open... while everyone else just has a t-shirt:) it's was him solely who raised my Overall rating, he really made me care about his character in the end, meaning the 12th epi, where we can watch him completely break down and confess all his feelings. It's a great scene, very authentic. Zee's voice breaks, picture frame falls... Be it accidental or not, the scene was a treat. Including the poignantly inserted flashbacks. Else I wouldn't give the Overall rating 2 additional stars. Because as soon as Zee leaves the scene, and it's just Saint sitting there on the bed awkwardly clenching his little fists, it's not working anymore.
Thanks to Zee, this could easily be a 10 stars show. But for that, he would have to not share his scenes with someone like Willie McIntosh, or Saint Suppapong. I really wish to see more of Zee, comedy or drama, gay or straight.
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I wouldn't praise it that much like the other review as there is no proper kiss scene, just something fake that's proper embarassing to watch. Far from feeling the "romantic sexual tension"... You can see it in the opening credits (mostly we can watch their back or their elbow only), even a kiss on a forehead or a cheek which looks less fake is hotter. So sorry, this won't be a 10 or 9.5 lakorn for me.
After several epis this dragged for me (the version I watched - with the persistent mispelled logo 'Fire Of Desier' had TWENTY episodes, so I found it quite far from "miniseries"). Too much dealings with the secondary characters and when there was time for the lead ones, it was awkward. It's one of those stories where he says that he loves her since day 1 but how those feelings did develop is unclear. I don't know if it was the script or Purdy's acting, but sometimes it looked like Ken was just making fun of Uma.
I cheered for the second couple - Uma's brother & Uma's best friend - way more. I also liked both of them more than Ken or Uma.
Episode 15 (or 16 with subs) out of 20, there is Ken & Uma's kiss on a forehead, which is nice. It's not much but it's not fake. She has developed some kind of feelings by then so the more it's intriguing. But then they continued by more kisses, like him kissing her face here and there... but obviously kiss on a cheek was too much already so there was the need to fake it. Then we move straight to bed scene (I'd say when it's like this, it would be better to leave it) which is plain uncomfortable. As we obviously won't be able to see a lip kiss, we watch huge detail of Purdy's lower half face, followed by huge detail of her hand on his back. I felt like an unwanted pervert watching a scene I wouldn't mind skipped.
The rest of the episode is weird, too. After the bed scene there is one scene (the one from the opening credits) with Ken kissing Uma's cheek, which looks better than the whole bed scene but mere 2 scenes later Ken is shown sulking and going to sleep on a sofa without a word. There was not even a scene with him and Uma having a fight so I went back to double check if I missed some scenes. It was not quite understandable... But then again, what WAS in this lakorn.
Following epi/s, the "silent treatment" seems to continue and while I appreciate this type of nang'ek (the older I am, the more grateful I am for absence of loud screaming characters in lakorns) I would sure love to know the explanation. Meanwhile, the second couple is jealous on both sides, in denial on both sides and each crying secretly in one corner. By the way, where did the original big drama about Ken being a farang actually go? LOL.
Episode 17 (16) Ken makes a big scene finding Uma's contraception pills. He says "no wonder we were together for months and you still had no sign of being pregnant". Wow, they slept together for months, actually? I didn't know, LOL. I saw only one (bad) bedscene. But maybe it was a way this lakorn could work. Better only imagining bed scenes than seeing bad ones. Way to go!
Yeah, I definitely appreciated the r* scene actually being offscreeen. And not because I would debate how much of a "r*" it was if she actually loved him, but because I now COULD imagine how horrible it would look like. No loss not seeing it. In the same episode there is also a separation of the main couple with both nang'ek & pra'ek crying but I'm sorry I'm watching this in 2021, not 2001. I am no longer sympathetic with people living in 1 room and not being able to talk things through. LOL.
Even the last episode, there is still stupid side-character plotting business to deal with...
Overall, this was way more boredom than joy.
But I won't rate it badly considering the year of origin, I'll leave the rating neutral. It would be foolish to complain, you get exactly what you expect with this kind of story. And the cast IS an eyecandy;)
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This review may contain spoilers
Reverse-harem with the kind of heroine that can't enjoy it, LOL
On this lakorn's poster (or on another poster than the one uploaded here) you may see lovely Rodmay surrounded by FOUR boys: the story brings us to the household with 4 sons and 1 maid/fosterdaughter (depends on each household member's view), she's beautiful and kind. For the thing not to be too exaggerated, ALL four are in love with her, LOL.She only loves 1 of them back, of course:) To be fair, it's depicted well at the beginning why she shares the bond with him and no other brother. Only pitty being the character not staying consistent later: he was supposed to be the one who would NOT rape her, LOL.
Another letdown is Mik Thongraya character's romance line with Praew Chermawi (even prettier than Rodmay) that is cut short. Scriptwriters never learn that less is more. So, besides there being a fight, rape, robbery or kidnap every 5 minutes (and if not that, then at least we have loads of yelling) they would not work more on the characters. As it's more dramatic to kill some of them every now and then. Not enough? Let's kill one of them twice.
So, each plot line ends up with loads of crying, but none is satisfying. At least Rodmay posesses enough charm and cuteness to makes us watch her saint-like character without being bored. On the other hand, one of the 4 sons finds his happiness later in buying out a girl from a brothel, as she turns out to be more decent a person that the one staying in the rich house. That's the only couple left to root for, as all the others are shattered...
As the ending bonus, we can watch Kan Kantathavorn going totally psycho (and his character is supposed to be a doctor). This lakorn's rating is understandably not very high.
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The posthumous child did not get ressurected here, exactly...
Well, I've mentioned in my 'SOTUS' review already how much my excitement dropped, after the actual SOTUS theme in the series got more or less discarded.There is practically no hazing here, someone might now be a head hazer, someone might have inherited the same number student to watch over, but it's all kinda mellow, and again has hardly any drama. So, the SOTUS is now only present in the show's title. Never mind, though.
Because, the main couple remains. The drama can be about the relationship. We care about this relationship a lot, don't we? I'm still thrilled for them, thrilled with ANY interaction of those two I can get, and yet it was a stretch to watch 13 episodes of 'SOTUS S'. To watch Arthit sitting crammed in a tiny office, doing desk job now (he used to be at production but now he's transferred) is about as entertaining as watching your real colleagues in your real office. If you do have - or had ever - an office job, you KNOW what I mean. So, action is something this series is NOT.
We can also see some kind of "dreamy bits", i.e. little fragments of couple intimacy developments (that probably come from other timeline than this series is in), but each time ONLY after each episode ends. It kinda painfully emphasises what is missing in the actual series.
The most promising drama arch comes when the relationship is revealed (through some sneak pictures) to all the company's employees. For it to be really dramatical (because you might say to yourself: so what? some little company?) the company actually belongs to Kongpob's father. At that precise moment, I felt so strongly for Kongpob (he's the one I identify with more), as he was the one pursuing Arthit from the start (which I loved) and now he somehow, by destiny, was like put into a position of the someone who reduces Arthit (as a work person) from someone valued for his work, to someone known just as "the faggot from the pictures". That's surely not something he wanted to bring to Arthit's life. I understood Kongpob's fear, somehow tangible troughout the series, of losing the person he loves, perhaps thinking: how long is he gonna stay with someone who can't give him kids, makes him undervalued even at his work, unconfortable and not at ease? And now the real bomb striked, him coming from a wealtlhy family (which he purposedly concealed from Arthit) would make him look like he's sucking up to the company owner's son? But somehow it's all kinda mellow again, the colleagues all show understanding to Arthit, no one condemns him (we live in modern age, after all) and - what's more surprising - the father issue is not dealt with, at all. So, drama gone. Even at 'Our Skyy' the theme of Kongpob's parents remained unadressed, so there you have a comparison with the 'Bad Romance/Together with Me' couple, which - despite looking like juvenile buffoons in compare to SOTUS couple - actually delivered more. They really dealt with the issues like the parents, the infidelity, etc. 'SOTUS' has not delivered.
Oh, I almost forgot one thing. But one of the fellow reviews here reminded me, thankfully. The whole 'SOTUS S'/season 2 is not consistent with the time jump at the end of 'SOTUS'/season 1. While that timejump in Kongpob & Arthit's relationship was only a few minutes long, I actually liked it better than this whole series. So in the end, this is my solution. For myself, I decided to happily ignore the whole 'SOTUS S'.
So, how to rate this? I must still rate considerably high. Even if the series did not deliver, the main couple is inspirational enough for fans watching to make better stories in their minds. I did not hate the 'SOTUS S', just that drama was all maybe too much kept under the surface. It's understandable as the thai society is not that open - not in reality apart the TV/movies. So I get that. But as the entertainment if failed, I'm sorry.
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First, I was thrilled, but...
...it kinda did not last.I loved the parody aspects of it and had it worked beside humour AT THE SAME TIME as romance as well, my rating should be higher. Sadly it moved from being rather smart more to a "toilet humour" and the ending was not quite satisfactory, either.
By the way, since seeing this my nickname for Ice Preechaya is 'The Body'. As she is here almost entire of the screentime "crossdressed" as a guy, and with this being a parody, the body betrays that disguise A LOT:)
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This review may contain spoilers
The best I've seen of Andy's
Well Andrew Gregson's fanclub took the trouble of subtitling almost all of his lakorns, and that's the reason I've seen so many, not because I like him that much:) He is not my type, on the other hand I found Anuwat Niwatawong quite sexy in this:)) He and Nok Sinjai form the second couple in here, for which I cared more than for the leading one. And if it was not for their tragic ending (which I hate in my lakorn) this lakorn could even make my re-watch list. Nok Sinjai rocks in her role.But let's go back to the leading couple. While Andy has a long hairdo in this and truthfully he never seems to be what interests me most in his lakorns (despite being the lead) I just must, must praise Bua Chompoo Ford, not just for being extremely beautiful, but also totally different from most nang'eks. So soft and subtle in her expression and speech, but you won't forget her. I wished the happy ending at least for her so I'm glad for the lakorn's ending.
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Promising... but average.
The definitive pros for this lakorn is the main couple cast: finally we see Urassaya Sperbund with someone other than Nadech Kugimiya (who's too korean-faced to my taste:)This drama proves that Mark Prin gets better, more attractive with age (I say he's your future choice for a pra'ek) and even Yaya reached full bloom here and looks really hot (see the opening scene:)
What I appreciate also is the harsh contrast of her character's stardom glamour with her family life (the horrendous mother). I was able to relate to such character.
Sadly this lakorn is only just promising - it has some bits with real potential - but firmly stays in the average waters. Or waves?:-p
The second couple's drama with Toey Jarinporn & Louis Scott fullfills in about the middle and then only re-plays itself.
In the end this is not a re-watch material.
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Here, we have Mick Thongraya, playing alongside two actresses, one of which is former beauty queen and looks like thai Pryianka Chopra, the other is former teen-beauty queen and looks particularly awkward with him as she reaches about his waist with her head LOL
Seriously, what is the main problem is the lack of chemistry or believable story, as the main girl leaves her home where she lived whole life and was perfectly happy, only to stay in some huge mansion where everybody pesters her. She just has a perfect brother-sister like relationship which suddenly changes into love in a way that seems forced for the script purposes only. You don't believe in this couple even when she does such believable things as stealing military vehicle and going to save him single-handedly in the jungle.
I didn't care how it will end... Enough said.
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Oh... Negative review, I'm afraid;)
I'm sorry if I can say only negative things about this title.I liked the music. There, I tried to write something nice.
Truth is, for me this was loong watch I didn't particularly enjoy (though I finished it) so I cannot recommend it. Because if it was quite unwatchable from the start, then at least that would save me lot of time.
The first episode looks like another SOTUS and then an unlike group of 5 "friends" forms, just because they all share the same blood-group or smth, I didn't quite get why these five should be friends, except that it was in the script. The group consists of 2 guys and 3 girls, so you know from the start that pairing within would have at least 1 odd person out. Then again the only girl NOT having any romance line here and really acting just as a friend quickly becomes your favorite.
As this is GMM25 and not Channel 3, the romance line doesn't have the lakorn-ish "feisty start-middle drama-happy end" arch. Positive or negative as this may be, I don't find the romance here particularly successful so I'd really prefer if this was a friendship-story only.
But soon the most "attractive" and ambivalent girl in the group starts playing manipulative "love" game with one of the boys (who happens to be Tor Thanapob whom I loved in Club Friday but hated here: the same silly wide-eyed expression 80% of the screentime), actually taking over the role of the boys, who are both passive here (as SHE is the one who pushes things forward, she makes the move, she acts, initiates sex... her weird "masculinity" is kinda symbolized by the strong car she drives, etc.) and then we never get that show's first grip back again.
The other girl, later I have found out she's a singer, but it's not put in any use in here (perhaps end credits?), who is unobtrusive at first (they made her wear unflattering clothes & makeup the whole time) though having cute smile and curly hair, has both boys competing for her at one point. The only trouble being, that the one only mildly interested in her is overdoing it in coming forward, while the one truly interested is like purposedly putting himself behind. Poor girl who cannot mind-read understandably falls for the wrong one. Enough for the story: as this should be spoiler-free review, and also I don't bother to really care. That's not what's most important.
The main problem is this series showing potential repeatedly for being something worth watching and then dropping again. Nothing really comes out of it and it's a waste of time, as the story is not something which would make you like the characters (see other reviews), and - what's essential to ME - it was not ENJOYABLE. And I just want an enjoyable watch: that's it. This dragged and never delivered.
O-Negative left me emotionally empty and had no fun, so as for me, thumps down.
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The further episodes actually had the feeling of the repeated joke. Or added characters that weren't necessary. It's low budget, which is very obvious but at least during the 1st episode one is entertained enough to not mind it. Episode 2 had practically nothing added, episode 3 added stuff I like to skip. Episode 4 had some badguy stuff, with bad actor (/wrong type) as the bad guy, and the background song which didn't match the scene (only it's not funny this time, it's morelike ridiculous). Looks like the wisdom "Less is More" applies even on such short timed series as this. Episode 5 had kiss scene. I didn't find episode 6 at first, then I found it having 5 minutes only, so I wasn't sure whether that was a full cut. I only knew that by then I found the background songs annoying. The final I found had 6 minutes and it featured a confession involving giving the guy balloons (seriously) and more listening to grossly unfitting music style background songs (which played loud). It looked like they put grown-up actors into a home-made kids movie.
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It's more of a comedy. It's full of embarassing moments: for the girl. Though she's supposed to be more experienced and successful in dating. The boy is cool. Though he's supposed to be just a 16 year old brat, lol.
During the few epis, he receives love confession from 3 different girls. It looks like every girl he knows is in love with him:) Then, last episode is all about him suddenly missing the main girl. I couldn't help reminiscing the first one: he plain told her that if she's hitting on him, he's not interested:D Something like that is like a slap in the face. Somehow, it did not make it up for me, him looking wistfully at her FACEbook later lol.
But, with the last 10 minutes on the runtime... We have to have an ending, so you guess if it's a happy one;)
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This review may contain spoilers
How many times needs this series to change its form to finally work and be fun?
I have noticed while ago that Marcus Chang is GEORGEOUS. I watched three of his previous dramas in a row (all the titles starting with letter 'B') which I might else not finish to the end, just to keep looking at his face (okay I dropped the 3rd one, LOL). Had he starred in something really thrilling (romantically or otherwise) I think I would probably explode:) Instead, I slowly like, fell asleep in my admiration. The 'Lost Romance' received pretty promising ratings but from reading about it, I got the impression this shall be morelike a mocking of romantic genre than a strong piece of it itself. Still, I tried watching.First episode was boring for me and I kept watching only to not drop this before it begins. It indeed only begins in episode 2. The heroine finds herself INSIDE her favorite romance novel. The leading guy looks exactly like the guy across the street she's got a huge crush on (because he looks like Marcus Chang:) else he is just like the book character (ridiculous name, gay looking shirt, ridiculous behavior towards women), the real world guy probably acted differently but we barely got to know him, so who cares. The romance book line is indeed (mockingly) over the top, but then again so it's the "real" one (characters DO have typical drama behavior even there, also there's the evil step-sister capable of murder and everything). So the only difference is one line of the series takes itself seriously. It's the one I wanted to drop in episode 1.
So, was I only watching the "inside-the-book" line from then on? More or less. In the other line, both the lead male & female kept lying unconscious in the hospital and there were mostly scenes with the side-characters only. So, I did continue to skip it.
The dreamy guy wearing Marcus Chang's face has someone else (both the book and the off-book version). There's a couple of clear 'Hana Yori Dango' references - or clear to me, as I am such fan I see it in everything - so our main heroine, despite not being the saint-like romance lead, can surely catch the main guy's eye with her antics. After all, not all the romance heroines were the angelic type, right? But then, she quickly falls into being a vile side-character, bullying the angelic girl. And the romantic hero sees her that way! What now?
Now whatever she does, her hero ends up in romantic moments with the angelic girl. It's practically annoying:) To be fair, Vivian Sung isn't that much of a looker and the angelic girl IS prettier than her... There is one plus guy also pining for the angelic girl, of course. He is not acting so exalted as the main one, just cute, rather. Resulting in him being actually more likeable: it's clear he represents the "second lead syndrome", here. Everyone shall gradually like him more than the lead... And so, poor Marcus Chang once again landed the role that despite his attractive looks, turned out to be not that attractive.
But! Then she moves into his house as his housemaid (big LOL:) and finally the proper fun setting starts. See, the viewer like me would not be satisfied with romance mockings only, usually I would wish for some of it really working (the scene where he rescued her from the icing truck looked the best, so far). But then, this series heroine knows she's actually just lying there in hospital. So, she can enjoy certain liberties no other romance heroine can:) To watch her behaving with such anarchy was kinda fun of its own:) I started enjoying since episode 4. Episode 5, my fun got even greater. Almost whole runtime got filled with their interactions. Though it's kinda pitty Marcus Chang never seems to have a leading lady who would match him in looks, his romantic hero obviously never enjoyed himself better than with this naughty "heroine":) And I enjoyed watching this couple's antics. But! It ended soon.
Yeah, pitty they changed things back in episode 7... She's back working at his office. That is just not so funny like when she was his housekeeper! Typical weak script, going back and forth. She's back interacting with the SECOND male most of the screentime... And he IS likeable. Very. So it's like you really start to like certain pairing, and when you're enjoying them the most, they tell you: "Sorry, a little change!" And then you really start to like the different pairing, LOL. It suddenly feels like that the first guy is practically forgotten. There is even a scene where she bumps into him not looking, doesn't even stop to notice him and just leaves. Kind of symbolical. Still, the 3 "housemaid episodes" featured just fun in concentrated form. Now it seems all the usual fillers are back in play. After all, we have TWENTY episodes to fill here...
The heroine who was to enjoy herself in her favorite romance genre now doesn't actually know whom should she romance sooner, as she works so well with both the guys. AND they both seem interested in her now, neither of them seems to care about the angelic girl anymore (only the office female side-characters seem to "care" about her). Vivian Sung's hairstyle and make-up in this series often looks so deliberately unflattering like she TRIES to look ugly. So it must be the bubbly personality? That does wonders. As the guys, both the first and second male, in truth, seem like they are BORED more than anything else (well, there isn't really any "drama", or anything happening). Still, the book story we were supposed to be inside of probably no longer works, if the angelic girl got out of the picture so easily. She IS after all the resident cinderella the both guys are supposed to like NO MATTER WHAT.
Now, the lead guy (or let's say the first guy? 'cause both the guys are actually the leads) suddenly keeps having flashes and dreams about the other, "reality" line. Which would mean the concept was shifted to some kind or 'Life On Mars' experience (another series I am a huge fan of to see it in everything:)
To expand the heroine's reversed-harem experience even further, third guy is introduced into her circle (of course he is also related/befriended with the first one). He might be a latecomer but he has bleached hair to stand out. He is called Moran so he has the best name, too. Just replace the 'a' with an 'o'. At the main girl's place, I'd date all 3 alternately. I'd put them on schedule:) It's not like that a single romance line here is consistent to enjoy, anyways.
Then, it looks like the screenwriter really started to run the guys like on schedule:) So, first they put some romantic scenes with the first guy back into the program. Hmm... Their kiss after 10 episodes of waiting is not a very good one. Ookay... turn for the second guy, again?;) And not forgetting the third one later:) Because it's better to move from that. (Still, I wonder who possibly could kiss the heroine on her hospital bed as it was emphasized so much that each TOUCH is interconnected with the other reality.) Then, she gets the romantic position in situations instead of the angelic girl (and she like, immediatelly jumps into the unocuppied seat of a villain girl... no longer angelic). Then, she gets scenes getting closer with the second guy, again... It's like a merry-go-round.
Btw, all this is 1/2 of the series. It feels long already as it didn't really run in one steady flow. Speaking of which, such is my experience with several romance dramas of late. It's like simple, good romance is something scriptwriters can no longer write. Maybe that's why 'Lost Romance'.
After it's shown that both his former girlfriend, the former angelic girl & his bleached-haired brother are capable of things they should not be capable of, the first guy declares love to our heroine (with the second guy firmly friend-zoned). So, after they rescue each other from these psychos, our couple is happily in his house again (she no longer a housekeeper though, lol) sharing a hot kiss & hot bed scene that is not short. But... there are still 8 episodes remaining. Good to finally know whose lovestory this is, but what do they intend to do with it now?
They started to dig into the connection in between the two realities. Well, what else could they do. Since episode 14 it starts getting really demented (something between badly written sci-fi or an unintended parody) and we can kiss goodbye the show that didn't take itself too seriously. So, the main couple's cute scenes are the only thing that save the whole thingy. Marcus Chang is charming in his role, but in which role he wasn't?;) Episode 15-16 on, we don't have chance seeing him other than just one reality version, though. Which is the version I skipped right from the start. I kinda wished to stick with that:)
I really wasn't interested in the off-book version of his character or the line with his insane sister (like I mentioned early episodes, this "reality" didn't seem like a reality either, it was morelike a typical corny drama). Meanwhile, the main heroine (who is SAME in both realities) spends all her energy to convince others the other reality "wasn't just a dream". But I watched different shows where almost everything happened in the main character's subconscious and it was not treated as an inferior story. Here, we're anxious to find some physical "proof" it all existed (one character produces a book in which it's possible to read about it, etc.), but what was more important for me was the fact I was REALLY bored this time. How many times should this series change its form to finally work and be fun?
By 16th episode this was VERY long (and inconsistent) experience and I couldn't believe it was STILL not the final. I did not understand how much they wanted to drag this dead thing and I did not understand so many praising reviews. HOW were the viewers able to enjoy this? I red a few but I don't get it, my experience is as I described above. Also, it CHANGED like every 3 episodes, therefore I used so many paragraphs, lol.
I'm afraid the quality of this show definitely isn't the scriptwriter, it's Marcus Chang only... The way he can look at a woman. Or if after a long time, there is a sudden smile on that face of his. At least director used this well. But it's not the first time someone did. Marcus Chang was amazing in all his dramas, no matter how dumb those were. When we're all back in the "reality" I was not interested in since the first episode, he only makes it bearable by being there. The only drop of humour in this reality (the only reality now left for watching) was the scene where Marcus Chang's off-book character was reading a girl-audience romance book and was trying to logically understand it, lol. Else it was tedious, or plain unwatchable: any scenes with his "real" family, which all belonged to the prison/pillowed cell, really like from stupid sixpenny paperback crime novel.
To spend THREE more long-runtime episodes in the off-book reality was dubious decision to say the least, just watching the opening credits (those are nice, perhaps better than the series itself:) Because most of the scenes shown in the opening credits are from the other reality, and even the characters (including the famous second lead syndrome) are actually gone from the series, now. It was like the spell was broken. What we were left with? All I can say is the return into "reality" was a disaster. Forget about playful mockings of the romantic genre. This was rather something to mock.
Rewatch quality: To tell the truth, series like this, even if this WAS a good romance, I would still crop the "other reality" intro and outro and used just the middle part for a re-watch. But, the good romance here lasted about 3 episodes, lol. So I won't bother re-watching it.
Overall, WAS this a perfect, "iconic" romance? You be the judge. Just take a look at this series' poster. Does romance have so many people? The poster is crowded, also it's double. I think it answers you best.
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I even caught myself humming the title song (as for the season one's title song, I didn't even remember it:)
As I skipped most of the 1st Puppy Honey for being overfilled with animals, silly costume animals, and Kang Korn Sirisorn, I enjoyed watching this better.
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