MidnightReader

I had no expectations, but was still disappointed

The best thing about this series is that it shows how AI is ruining creativity and taking jobs.

All the actors did a great job, but good acting can only carry a show so far when the plot and the script aren't pulling their weight. To me, Dew and Gun just didn't have any chemistry, and it felt less like love and more like Pheem imprinted on Jira.

The plot was hollow at best and felt full of loose ends, especially regarding Jira's "job". The script spent more time on the artistic side of things when it should have worked more on the "plot" and developing the characters and their relationships.

I couldn't connect with or care about any of the characters because we really didn't get to know them. I honestly couldn't remember their names until around episode 7, when the show actually started to get a little interesting. Which is sad.

The friendship between Koh and Pheem just fell apart with neither of them actually caring, and I didn't care either because it had no history behind it, even though we are told they've known each other for 20 years. I believe Pheem had Stockholm Syndrome, but they didn't really do enough with it. It's like Jira just existing took him half out of it, and Koh breaking them up cured him. More time needed to be spent on his healing, and not being used like an emotional yo-yo.

Watching this honestly felt like a waste of time; I gained nothing from it, not even enjoyment.

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Do I need to give up on BL thrillers & Mysteries?

Every one of them has disappointed me.

Easily the best thing about this series was the cinematography.

OST was okay, I guess. I didn't pay attention to it half the time.

Watched a lot of it at X2 speed when the talking was really slow (this may have just been me), flashbacks, and when it was just music playing over moments with no dialogue.

Everyone did a good job on the acting, especially Jan (Dao) and Pu (the grandma). I hated both of their characters so much from the very beginning. The grandma was just a right bitch that I wanted to punt in the nearest lake. She was downright horrible to Tontharn for reasons that weren't his fault, and some of the problems she caused. She at least admitted that what she did was nasty, unlike Dao, who, until the very end, thinks she was in the right.

Now, Dao, I didn't like her because she was just shit at her job. I know that it was to spin the narrative, but boy, was she bad at it. I don't for a second think that she was 2nd in her class. Second from the bottom, maybe. I have 1 Forensic Science class from high school under my belt, and I knew more about how an investigation is meant to be run. This wasn't it! What made it more confusing was that the timeline of events was in order, but it was almost impossible to tell when things happened. I blame the writers for that. We start with two dead bodies found on the same day, and we aren't told the time of death, how they died, or if any evidence could be found at a secondary location, or if they were killed where their bodies were found. No one tried to backtrack their movements from the day they were killed, or if they had any other connections other than working for Botphleng's family. No one questions why this person killed and dumped two bodies in the "open" (they weren't really) like they were "playing with the police" and then stopped. I'm not saying killers can't just kill and stop; I'm just pointing out that no one thought it was strange. Did Thunphob die from the head wound or drowning? He was nothing but bones? Get an anthropologist to take a look. Also, his body was found a month before the series started, but how long had he actually been dead? Unless I missed it, no one reported him as a missing person. Then we have the fact that Botphleng could be a target, and she just doesn't give a rat's ass. She literally says, "He's strong, he can protect himself." Whether he can or can't doesn't matter; it's your job to offer him protection. He doesn't have to take it, but you have to offer it.

As a whole, crime investigation and general knowledge needed a lot of work. It would have been nice to see some of it as well, instead of Dao pulling information out of thin air like she was investigating, and not trying to spin the narrative. Honestly, for her reveal, it would have been better if she had been a likeable person who seemed to be trying to help, that way the reveal would have come as a greater shock. Just because most of the hate is going to the grandma doesn't mean that people are just going to think she's the killer. To me, she seemed too obvious a suspect, so I was suspecting everyone but her and her daughter. I also didn't think it was Tanu, Jen, Miles, or Tankoon, so that left very few people as suspects.

I'm going to be honest. I normally don't like Force or Books acting, I liked them in Perfect 10 Lines and nothing else, but they did a really good job in this one, especially Book. Book actually made me cry when he was telling Nim everything that he could remember. Not an ugly cry, but the silent kind that you don't realize is there until it's already fallen. His panic attack was also good.

Why did Thunphob continue using Tankoon's name with Botphleng after they got closer? Seemed weird.

Tankoon pissed me off (this was a script problem) when one minute he would say "I'll help you get your memories back" and then the next say "Your family doesn't want you to remember for a reason". PICK A SIDE AND STAY THERE. Also, who gives a fuck what the family wants? They are clearly hiding something shady if they have spent countless years making this boy forget who he is. Tontharn going back to the house at all after learning about the hypnosis was just wild and one of the stupidest things to do. No one put this boy in a horror movie.

Tanu also pissed me off by saving Botphleng's mom in the fire when his literal son had a large piece of burning wood on top of his unconscious body. I don't know if he knew Botphleng was in the burning building, but if he did, I'm doubly pissed off because what the fuck!? Why save the one person NOT directly in harm's way? Am I the crazy one?

The only surprising, and in my opinion, well-done thing done in this series was Tontharn being Botphleng and the reveal of it.

It would have been really interesting if the real Botphleng had followed Tontharn around as a ghost during the whole series, only to finally be laid to rest once the truth is revealed and his grave is placed next to Thunphob, then they move on together.

I've seen quite a few Thai thrillers, and so far the only one that hasn't disappointed me is Triage. I won't stop watching them completely, but I'm going to be very picky from now on. I went into this with zero expectations, and the only reason my rating isn't lower is because of the acting, and Botphleng's real identity reveal was well done.

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It had potential

The biggest problem with this series is the runtime. With this kind of plot, you can't just condense it down to 10-minute-long episodes and expect to get anything of substance done.

Which is why they kind of don't. Ji Han really just stumbles around with no real goal, falls in love, & gets a second chance after catching our fugitive. I didn't believe the romance. The worlds and their connection were never really explained; they are working on the assumption that the watcher has a baseline amount of knowledge.

Why are we spending actual time on schoolwork? Why are there two possible love interests? Most full-length series are too short to involve multiple love interests! Why is there no attempt to "fix" the error? Doesn't the original ledger that Ji Han came with at the end still exist? Is that not going to be a problem? Where is Ji Han getting his clothes from? That last one isn't really important, but it bothers me not knowing.

The acting was at least alright. Kan Hyeon Bae (Ji Han) did a really good job for his first role.

The chemistry really wasn't present outside the NC scene; it was alright then, but the kisses were good & VERY audible.

Not a total waste of time, but it was really disappointing because the plot had potential and the acting wasn't terrible.

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Finally a BL K-drama where the world didn't feel empty

I'm not used to Korean BL dramas having a budget or having a cast bigger than 4 people. This series had both. Maybe because it didn't really focus on the romance at all, to the point where I didn't believe they actually loved each other, so they decided to actually put money into it?

The romance was so far into the background that they could have made this a bromance and had the 2 NC scenes replaced by investigation scenes, and it wouldn't have made a difference to the emotional level of the story. It was so unimportant that even the characters avoided the topic for most of the show. At least until we got closer to the end, and apparently the scriptwriters decided the show needed some emotion outside of sad and angry.

The script was also a little ridiculous in the beginning regarding Ju Taeseon's lines. I burst out laughing and said "What do you mean?" way too many times within the first couple of episodes alone.

The actors all did a great job, especially the actress for Oja Hyeon. She pulled off batshit crazy scarily well. She actually made me uncomfortable a couple of times. I would have liked to have seen more of her internal & family struggles because there was a lot more there than was unpacked.

The CGI only bothered me a little. After seeing a couple of series with the most fake CGI models recently, looking at you 'Double Helix', anything above it doesn't bother me as much.

Loved the OST. It's not often that I notice the OST; honestly, if I don't notice it, you've done a great job, but the OST really stood out here in a good way. I also really liked the OP; I never skipped it.

Now, as for the plot. I will admit that when it comes to crime dramas, I'm not the biggest fan because they never put enough research into things. I was mildly impressed with the amount of investigating being done in this series (it would have been nice to see both sides of things since it was obvious who was behind most of it) and that they made it make sense why they couldn't find any solid evidence. HOWEVER, I took points off for the fact that it was obvious who the son was and the victim's connections after learning about said secret son. I had already picked up on Song acting weird in episode 1, and he and Tak exchanged looks a couple of times that weren't normal. I didn't need them to connect the dots for me for the murders because everything clicked right away once we talked to Oja Hyeon's sister & learned about the possibility of a son. I understand it was only 10 30ish minute episodes, but that's why I said they should have just taken the romance out of this series.

Am I glad we finally got a BL K-drama with an actual budget and cast? Yes, but not at the expense of a better plot. Romance should enhance the plot, not weigh it down, which is how this felt to me.

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Trigger Warning for SA, Kidnapping, Confinement, Isolation, & Abuse

I was really looking forward to this one. Just a warning; my thoughts are all over the place right now so this review may not be the most organized. It's also almost 3am hehe so there may be some spelling and grammar mistakes.

This is a series where there aren't many characters that aren't going to frustrate or annoy you at least once. The MC's work friends probably won't, and maybe Yi Chen's (the little brother) boyfriend won't, but he also didn't have much personality outside liking little Yi Chen. Ke Lu was fine too, but we didn't see him much either. Lu Feng's sister is pretty cool as well after their father dies, you can tell she cares about her brother at least.

Can I just point out how stupid it was to have the MC & his little brother share the same name.

Don't get me wrong it wasn't bad, but it did feel like it was trying to hard to be something it wasn't. There was always something happening that would remind me of To My Shore & Revenged Love; mostly in the dialogue.

The OST was alright. I didn't hate it at least, there was just too much of it. Once or twice an episode would be fine, but it happened sometimes 4 or 5 times where we would get a flashback/montage with a lyric song overlaid. The flashback/montage's were over done as well. We didn't need that many.

We didn't need so many NC scene's of the second couple either. I would have much rather have seen how the little brother fell in love. I don't believe it was love at first sight like with Qin Lang and Lu Feng. We don't get enough of the second couple.

The fashion was probably my favorite thing about the series. I liked the Yi Chen siblings clothes, especially Xiao Chen, but I also really liked Zhu Sha's. Not many people can pull off a bubble skirt (at least not many I've seen).

I liked that we got to see our main couples relationship at basically every stage. High school, college, right after college, and then meeting again after 5 years of separation.

The acting was good. Xiao Chen seemed overly dazed at times, but I chalked that up to his character being overwhelmed with the situation. I especially liked that you could tell something was wrong with Lu Feng just from his eyes.

The last thing that I feel is worth mentioning on the positive side them giving a reason behind Lu Feng's aggression and impulsive behavior. Bipolar disorder isn't something I know much about so I can't speck for accuracy, but this is the first time I've seen them give, or at least acknowledged, a mental health reason for the ML acting crazy obsessive over the main character. Xiao Chen being a trigger for him also makes perfect sense if his love for him run's so deep, and they are constantly being torn apart. I also like that we got to see him working though it. Was this accurate treatment? I have no idea. It felt like it would hurt more than help, but my medical training didn't cover this type of mental disorder.

Would it be horrible of me to say that I was happy that the parent's all started dropping like flies? I didn't care about any of them and I don't think we were meant to. Lu Feng's father died & Lu Feng's tears felt like those of relief. I'd cry in relief too if my abuser died. The Chen's father? It happened with no fanfare. I'm not even sure they told us why or how he died. The most memorable thing he did was fly into a rage and lock Xiao Chen in his room. The Chen's mother? Lady was really holding on for that wedding wasn't she? She wasn't going to be able to rest till she saw her son in a loveless marriage that anyone with eye's could see would go no where.

(I've heard in the book they actually have a kid and so does Lu Feng from a one-night stand & I'm interested to know how that affect's the whole kidnapping thing. I may have to read the book.)

BACK TO THE MOTHER. This women pissed me off. I already didn't like her for not even worrying about her son who had just been attacked, but was more worried about him not being "normal" as she put it. Then she kept trying to set him up with girls & ignoring what his type really was. At the hospital though was were I really wanted her to just bite it. When she was giving this long death bed guilt trip to Xiao Chen about how at least one of her sons needed to be normal or it was a waste of time raising them, how he corrupted his little brother, how she had saved up so much money for him to start a family with. It's like being normal is more important than her children's happiness. If only she knew that Xiao Chen was picturing himself marrying Lu Feng while marrying Zhou Lan.

The wedding was a shotgun wedding.

Since I brought her up~ I don't like Zhou Lan. Not because she married Xiao Chen, in that she was just being a good friend while also getting to marry her crush. Can't blame the girl for taking the opportunity that landed in her lap. I didn't like her at the beginning because her character felt desperate, but it was near the end where she brings a gun and accidently shots Xiao Chen that really solidified my dislike. Why didn't she call the cops? Why would you enter someone's home with a gun? She didn't even know anything about Xiao Chen & Lu Feng's relationship, didn't know anything about the situation, or weather Lu Feng has a gun, she didn't take into account that Xiao Chen could have been hit. She simply didn't think at all. If you think someone is being held captive, confirm and then call the cops. Don't take the law into your own hands. I pisses me off that she didn't get any punishment for this either, or if she did we aren't told about it. I don't care if her reasons were good it's still attempt of murder.

Episode 9 was were Lu Feng went from a toxic red flag to a psychopath. Props to the actors during this episode because it was a lot, especially the biting which was real at least once. Sadly we only got this level of toxic psycho behavior for only one episode. I know I'm a horrible person for wanting more. I just felt like they tried to pack it all into one episode when it could have been spread out into two episodes and had more impact.

Finally the thing I HATED most. Who thought that 3D model of the city was good? It was so fake & ugly it hurt to look at. I'd be embarrassed for people to see my name attached to it. I don't know what the budget was but it must have been scaping the bottom of the barrel. I'm going to assume they didn't have the funds for a drone, or maybe legally they can't do drone shots. But a picture from Google images would have looked better. The worse thing is we didn't need these city or sky shots at all! When we have a time skip sure use it, but they subject us too these moving 3D model's multiple times each episode for no good reason. Just don't show us anything at all. Transition from one scene to the next using the fade to black method or something.

Was that a bit harsh? Probably, but it bothered me throughout the whole series and I couldn't not say something about it.

While I was disappointed by many aspects of the show I'm still glad that I watched it.

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I was not ready!!!

It took me around 2 hours to finish the first episode. Why? Because I was either in such disbelief at what I just witnessed and had to watch the scene multiple times, or I needed to just take a few seconds for a mental reset because I wasn't ready for the things that were happening. It was a lot to take in when I wasn't expecting this level of intensity from a GMMTV non-OFFGUN BL project.

Safe to say I loved every second of this BL crime version of 10 Things I Hate About You. They even kept the 90s vibe, which was appreciated, and included a bonus 50-minute short of 10 Things You Shouldn't Do In A Prison.

OST was good & fit each scene really well. (I normally don't bother commenting on the OST unless it was really memorable in a positive or negative way.)

JJ being in an actual relationship in a series is already a treat, but with another man? I was very happily surprised.

The plot hit a couple of slow areas in the pacing around episodes 7-9, but otherwise, each hour-plus-long episode flew by. The relationships felt both like they got enough time to develop and didn't, especially the beginning of Style & Fedal relationship. I wasn't surprised at the "plot twist" regarding Bison and Fedal's parents. To be honest, I knew who their killer was in episode 5 & was 50/50 on whether Keen knew about it. The truth behind Fedal's ex-boyfriend didn't surprise me either.

The only part of the plot that I wanted to speed up and just be done with was when Style and Fedal just walked into someone's home, held them at gunpoint, married the couple, and then ended up holding them at gunpoint again. It was such a long scene that I was more than done with it, but I understood the point of it. How did they even go from holding them up to marrying them?

THEN WE HAVE THE LAST EPISODE! 1 hour and 20 minutes long, and we spend almost 50 minutes in prison doing things that should not be done in a prison! I'm honestly surprised they didn't just time-skip over the prison time. Especially considering they tied up a loose end that I thought was already tied.

All the actors did a phenomenal job, especially in the crying scenes. I already knew I was going to love First and Khaotung because I've loved them in everything. Joong is always solid, and it was nice to see him play a more aggressive character. Dunk is the one who really shook and impressed me. I never would have guessed that he could pull off a bold, flirty, sassy, shameless character so well. Shy, blindly in love, Khaotung, and shameless, flirty Dunk are my new favorites. I didn't expect to enjoy Fedal/Style's couple more than Kant/Bison, but I did. I loved both couples, but I found myself more invested in Fedal/Style. Probably because Fedal was more antagonistic, and I probably have a type.

Also, can we just get more of Dunk in a crop top? His showing off his waist was another thing I couldn't get over, and sometimes it produced some funny reactions. Dunk showing off his waist and Khaotung throwing his leg over First shoulder in episode one was almost enough to take me out. Like DAMN let me BREATH.

SO yeah, I loved the series and will definitely rewatch it someday.

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I went in with high expectations, and I wasn't disappointed.

ACTING: I found a couple of the actors acting to feel very by-the-book, but it honestly didn't bother me; they still did a good job. I particularly liked JJ's acting; I found his energy and facial expressions (especially his smile) to be perfect for a comedy series. This isn't a comedy series, so we didn't get much of that side of him, but you get a good judge of his acting from seeing this and the more serious side that he has for the majority of the show. I'd only seen JJ in "I saw you in my dream" and "The Next Prince" previously and I found his acting very stiff in "I saw you in my dream" which was understandable for his first role, and we honestly didn't get enough of him in "The Next Prince" but based on what little I did see I can tell he's really improved. On a side note, I love it when JJ speaks English, something about it is really cute. JJ & Net really know how to cry.

OST: Was pretty & not overbearing. They went with the mood really well, and the lyrics often matched what was happening in the story or between the characters.

PRODUCTION: Very well done. My only complaint is that there were some moments where we were just staring or rotating around the characters when we could have just moved on, and there are way too many moments where the characters are just standing in silence for too long. Even when we are getting internal dialogue from Nakun, the silence stretches long enough to be awkward.

PLOT: As time-traveling stories go, I think this is one of my favorites. I like how it worked. I do think they spent a little too much time trying to explain it as if it could logically be explained, but it was also nice to hear some of the different viewpoints. Normally, I'm really disappointed when the characters in a series have to investigate something because it feels like they either aren't doing enough or they are overlooking the obvious, which makes them look stupid. Not in this series. I liked it, and the historical setting (which I normally don't like) made it better. I liked that gathering information and proof was harder than it is today, where literally everything can leave a paper trail or video evidence. I also liked that Nakun was noticing the small details; he was really trying to Detective Conan this shit.

ROMANCE/CHEMISTRY: I liked both couples, but the chemistry wasn't anything explosive. For Nakun and Phop, it felt like a natural progression, but with Jom and Kaew, it felt very reserved, which I guess fits with the time period. For Thee and Pun, it didn't make me feel anything at all, and that's probably because we don't really see their progression from passive to interested. Besides My Stobborn, this is the first time I've been interested in the NC scenes.

PRODUCT PLACEMENT: Made no sense, but I found it funny.

SPOILERS:

I'm so used to the main character traveling through time mentally that it was a bit shocking that Nakun physically traveled clothes, jewelry, and all. It makes sense because Klao is dead and there's no living body for him to enter, and honestly, I think I prefer this because it's like Klao's death was the trigger for the time travel. It reminds me a little of Two Worlds, where they can only travel if the other world's version of themselves is dead. I'm assuming that age matters as well, but it was never brought up in all the explanations they were giving us, so I'm not sure.

When Nakun is randomly sent back to the present day, we spend a lot more time mourning than I expected. I love that we got to see everyone in the past mourning for Klao/Nakun, whereas a lot of series would just move on to them meeting again in the future and living happily ever after. We get to see Phop find Klao's body and then slowly waste away till he dies. I do wish we had gotten to know how long after Nakun returns to the past that it took. Nakun is given time (no idea how much) to heal and become more mentally stable after he returns before he meets Phop again. I did tear up a couple of times seeing both Nakun and Phop become so lifeless. Nakun at least had hope that Phop was alive and that he just had to find him, whereas Phop found Klao's body.

I was upset about them just missing each other because it's so overused, but it's probably in the novel as well.

(I may read the novel, actually.)

I also REALLY love that Phop used a wishing stone to wish to be reincarnated near Klao with all of his memories. He got his memories back on his 20th birthday as well, around a year before Nakun traveled back in time, and it was interesting to see him put the pieces together and then set things up for his trip to the past.

Nakun gets his ring back! It's apparently Phop's family heirloom, which I found interesting.

I would have liked to have seen more of their time together inbetween them meeting again and their marriage, but this is me wanting too much, and I'm aware of that. The "wedding," if it can be called that, was literally just an announcement and signing the paperwork, which they somehow made sweet.

What was the bracelet about? What did it actually do, if anything? We see it vibrate or something a couple of times in the first episode, and then it literally does nothing. Did I miss something? If I did, please, someone explain it to me because I was watching for this darn bracelet to do something or mean something in every episode, only for it to amount to nothing. Now that I think about it, this is the thing that annoyed me the most out of the series, and I thought all the scenes with the mom went on WAY too long, especially the one where Nakun realizes that she's the reincarnation of Klao's father. Why did we have to rotate around them, hugging for so long?

A couple of annoying things aside, I really loved this show.

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Monkey see Monkey stalk

What is it about History 3 & not letting our characters live in peace? Make Our Days Count had me ugly crying & this series just left me unsatisfied.

Before I get into that, the acting was fine. I haven't seen Jake in anything before, so I don't know how in-depth he was with his character, but everything about Meng felt ridiculous. I couldn't take him seriously. The way he looked, walked, spoke, & behaved had me laughing. His existence alone was enough to make me laugh at first. Was he meant to be the comic relief? No idea, but it's what he ended up being. The only characters I hated were the two girl characters because they acted too entitled toward Meng & Tang Yi. Protective is fine, but telling them to stop seeing someone & actively trying to put a stop to it is pushing things a bit too far.

Kenny's flexibility was impressive, and I'm sad that we only got to see it a couple of times.

Now the plot is what made me really feel unsatisfied. We have this case that happened four years ago, and Meng and Tang Yi are trying to uncover the truth. Along the way, we learn that a LOT of people are not who they say they are or are doing shady things behind the scenes. I honestly wasn't surprised by any of that, and the big parent reveal at the end felt less like a reveal and more like an "oh they finally caught up" moment. But the most unsatisfying part was them just dropping that Tang Yi is most definitely going to prison, but we don't know on what charges, what evidence, or for how long. Meng said he would wait for him, and that's all well and good, but for how long? It's not like Meng has a safe job. What if Meng dies before Tang Yi is released? They should have at least given us a time skip to show that they are together again after Tang Yi becomes a free man. They tortured us with 2 episodes in Make Our Days Count after what happened; they could have at least given us 10 minutes here & wrapped things up cleanly.

If I'm going to watch a crime show, I want all the facts laid out, and I don't want loose ends in the case or the relationships.

The pacing was also slow at times and then would be very fast in others. It didn't help when they brought in other potential love interests for our main characters & we had to deal with unfounded jealousy. There is also 1 flashback that we see different parts of in 3 different episodes, because we apparently didn't need to see it all at once. Overall, I would say the pacing is good for this kind of show, but a couple of parts did drag a bit.

Also, Meng got hurt so many times, and each time it felt like he healed by the next day. I know that multiple days, if not weeks, passed, but the point is it didn't feel like it.

My favorite thing was Jack and Zhao's relationship. It was like Jack was taking care of an excited puppy that he found interesting at first & that interest turned into attraction. I wish we had gotten to see more of them, or at least their internal thoughts or struggles with falling for each other. Though Jack does seem like the person who would just go for it if he liked someone. They also had decent enough chemistry, whereas our main couple felt lacking.

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The best of the En of Love series

In terms of acting, plot, music, & just being generally interesting, this series was the best set in this world.

Yin & War are great actors, and you can tell that they really go all in no matter what role they play. War in particular is really good at expressing his emotions just through facial expressions and body language. The supporting cast also did a good job in what little screen time they had & thankfully this series didn't subject us to 90% teasing and flirting. We actually got drama!

What made this series the best was, in large part, that it was actually interesting. It had actual drama. I don't want 100% fluff. I want the characters to go through something that makes their relationship grow stronger. Granted, what Mark goes through is something no one should have to, but you know, at least we got some spice. That said, I'm a big hater of cheating. It is one of the things that will turn me off a series so fast. It's treated as a normal thing that is bound to happen when it's something that you could easily not do. Now, in Mark's case, I find him innocent of being an accessory to this cheating the first time it happens. After that, he's guilty of being an accessory.

This is a plot that needed to be expanded further because it's clear a lot happens in the background that we don't get to see. It also has the kind of relationship problems that can't be resolved easily & is going to cause a lot of heartache. They did a great job doing so much in very little time, but I'm glad they decided to make Love Mechanics and give us the full story.

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You can watch the cut version without missing anything important

This was a rewatch (I watched the cut version last time), but I remembered nothing from it, and honestly, I won't remember any of it this time either. Addicted and Stay with Me just did everything so much better: from the plot to the characters to the balance between seriousness and humor. Also, I don't know how, but this version somehow does less than the others when it had the time to do it right. If you want to watch the major red flag that Hero is supposed to be, then watch Addicted. If you want a fuller & just all-around great adaptation of the novel, then watch Stay with Me. Don't waste your time with this adaptation, or at least watch this one first so things only get better. (Stay with Me was my favorite).

What didn't help this series at all was the translation. The series already wasn't doing too hot, but then there would just be random moments where they didn't translate anything being said. I know some basic Thai, but not enough to understand most of what's being said, even with context clues.

I had no problems with the acting, really; they did the best they could with what they were given, but I wish they had recast either Mac or August so that our main couple could have actually kissed. This couple is supposed to be VERY intimate; this is a fact in both the novel & original adaptation, but they couldn't really do that here because Mac was underage. So every fake kiss and intimate moment was blocked or black-screened. I'm not the biggest fan of NC scenes, but they are a large part of our main couple getting together, so avoiding them like the plague made the romance incredibly fake because it had little to build on. It also felt like it came out of nowhere; I'm not even sure when it started. The chemistry between them was also hit or miss, but as I said, the actors did the best they could; I'm honestly surprised that their chemistry was as good as it was.

The characters themselves weren't even as good as the originals. If you are going to take out the NC scenes, you can't also take out the back-and-forth between them. Them playing tricks (bullying) on each other built the tension and showcased how smart Bai Luo Yin (Poppy) is. Without it, the relationship felt imbalanced & Poppy came across as just an everyday student with nothing really special about him other than his handwriting and Hero noticing him. In the original series, it was a great way of showcasing his intelligence without relying on basic school knowledge. Hero was also just straight up weaker than his predecessors. This isn't anything against the actor; they just didn't do a good job of showcasing it at all.

Even the tension with the parents felt lacking, like it didn't actually feel dangerous at all, even when a gun was involved.

Our side couple was probably the best thing about the series, and that's only because we get no resolution from them in Addicted or Stay with Me, and here we at least got a kiss.

The plot itself felt patchworked because of them avoiding the NC scenes & glazing over some of the more relaxing moments the main characters shared that would have helped build the relationship. They didn't even include the whole ordeal Bai Luo Yin had to go through with Gu Hai's uncle. But the one thing that really bothered me is how they chose to start the series. We start with them as adults after they've been apart (if you haven't read the novels, it was 8 years), & they had no reason to do this. Why show us that if you have no plans to do that time skip in the series? Why do it if you're not even going to make it to where the time skip happens? It was completely pointless to include this scene because it didn't add anything to the plot except confusion.

So yeah, unless you are really interested or invested in the series, I would give this version a hard pass.

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Trigger warnings for bullying and implied rape

If this series had been given more time, and they had filled the montage moments with actual substance, then it could have actually been good. As it stands, the subject matter was too heavy, & both the plot and the characters felt underdeveloped. Xing Yao's social anxiety is debilitating & it felt like most of it was swept under the rug after a few words from our main love interest. It didn't feel resolved. It didn't feel like he overcame his trauma. It felt like we were getting to the end of the series, so we needed to resolve it quickly. The whole plot is about him overcoming his trauma to become a professional singer, & his childhood best-friend/crush helping him along the way. It sounded great, but the execution was weak and lacked substance. We also just weren't given enough time with the characters to care about them. I hate everything that Xing Yao went through, but that's not the same as me caring about him. This happens to me a lot when I watch Chinese & Korean BL dramas.

Other problems I had were:
* Too many montages with the same, like 3 songs playing.
* A lot of the background would just be blurred for whatever reason. Marketing maybe?
* Xing Yao has a nice voice, but it would have been nice to hear him sing more than the 1 song.
* The translators use the term "her" instead of him when referring to Xing Yao way too much. I let it go at first, but it started to get distracting.

Honestly, the only thing I liked about the series at all was the acting, which wasn't anything spectacular but wasn't bad, & the chemistry between our MLs, which by Chinese BL standards isn't that bad.

This is far, FAR from the worst thing I've seen, but it's also incredibly forgettable.

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Lite spoilers & Trigger warning for SA

This is a series to watch if you want to turn your brain off. You don't want stress; you want problems solved quickly, & you want soft romance. Don't expect this series to get your blood pumping in any way.

I had no problem with our main couple other than not really understanding where the attraction came from for either of them. It didn't feel like a love that should have lasted through 5 years of rejection. Most of my problems with this series had to do with the writing, humor (which, unlike in Me & Thee, stopped being funny after a couple episodes), & the way they handled the side characters.

Instead of giving us an out-there plot with a wedding as a cover for drug trafficking that did nothing but add another couple, we could have progressed the three side couples the show had already started. Of those, Yu & Tai were the least interesting and made the least sense. Honestly, Yu's character alone had too much and nothing going on at once. He felt more like the android in Eternal Butler than a human. I don't ship them at all. Tee & Jeab could have been cute, but Jeab calling Tee a monster and treating him like a bully went a bit too far. Tee teased him, yes, and the end hints that Jeab gets that Tee likes him & that's why he teases him, so things may go more positively, but calling him a monster was way over the line. My favorite to-be side couple was Tian and Mark, probably because Tian was the most realistic character & actually had internal struggles unlike everyone else. Honestly, I would like to get a sequel with Tian and Mark as the main couple. Tian has self-worth & trust issues, and Mark feels like he could be a good one to both support him and help him to open up again.

I wish dramas would stop adding side couples if they are going to do basically nothing with them. They hit us with a "To Be Continued" at the end, so I expect us to be getting either a sequel or a special episode, but I don't hold out any hope for them doing much at all with the side couples.

Also, the "villains" in this series disappear without a trace after their part of causing a problem is over. Where did they go? Kluayhom & Khem just disappeared after each is rejected like they weren't important at all. I mean they apparently weren't, but still I hate when shows just drop characters like this almost as much as I hate when they do nothing with the side couples.

The humor was funny for the first couple of episodes, but after that it was mostly cringy, and I found myself rolling my eyes a lot. It was better than a lot of comedy drama I've watched, and it was more down to the writing than the acting.

The acting was over the top for some characters and is just plain painful to watch at the best of times. This opinion isn't limited to this series either. Otherwise, the acting was alright.

The SA isn't that intense, and it doesn't last long, but it happens nonetheless. Once between Moo & Khem & once between Tian and Mark. Nothing graphic happens & clothes are not removed, but it is non-consensual touching, so I felt it needed to be mentioned.

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Funniest drama I've watched in the past year

I'm not the biggest fan of Thai comedy, but this series had me rolling from episode one. As soon as I SAW Pond, I started laughing. Pond's delivery and everyone's reactions were gold; I honestly don't know how they made it through some of these scenes without losing it. I would hate to say how many retakes they had to do. Maybe they are used to Pond acting this way since many times Phuwin and others have said that he wasn't acting; that's just how Pond is. Filming this series had to be a lot of fun. This is also the kind of script that I would normally hate, but it works well because it fits Pond's character.

How much this series made me laugh was pretty much my sole enjoyment of the series. If it weren't for the fact that it made me laugh so much, the OST was really good, it had a large budget, and it had great acting, I would have rated this show lower.

The show lost my interest at many points, so much so that I stopped watching to play games on my phone. I wasn't interested in the plot at all, and the pacing started well, but felt very rushed toward the end. For example, the proposal and wedding at the end. Both of these things felt like they happened because it's written in the book, not like it was a natural progression of the relationship. Maybe if we knew how long Thee and Peach had been dating to that point, it would have made it more believable. Or if they had gone through some kind of hardship together. Things just felt like they happened way too fast, and then there were important things that we just didn't get to see, like Thee going through the adoption process & planning the wedding (no matter how small).

While I'm on that, the emotional moment when Peach learns that Thee adopted Mork & Morn fell flat because they hugged instead of kissed. That wasn't a hugging moment. It was a kissing one. Pond & Phuwin have never had the best or most emotional kisses, & honestly, they look uncomfortable. I don't know what they can do to fix that, but it would make their series a lot better if they would, because the more emotional scenes just fall flat or become uninteresting.

The only other thing that I didn't like that actually affected my enjoyment of the show was that we are given 2 side couples & neither of them gets enough screen time for me to care about them. I'm going to assume we get a lot more of Rome & Mok in the sequel Peach & Me, but I feel like I should have at least been made interested in them in this series. I simply didn't care about them even though I love William and Est.

At least Rome not being a big part of the story can be explained, but there was no excuse to not show us more of Tawan and Aran's relationship. We don't get enough of them together for me to care. We get one sweet flashback, a little chemistry, & a moment when Tawan hits rock bottom & Aran takes him back. Some moments that we could have gotten are just cut off completely, like in episode 1 where Aran tells Tawan they will talk; we never get to see it. Aran tore up his contract after Tawan disappeared. Why? For what reason? Why didn't we get to see that? Tawan is also friends with a Japanese mafia boss's illegitimate child & this would have been interesting if they had felt like friends and less like they were using each other. I forgot a few times because they act like exes, but Tawan & Aran have never dated. They were in the talking stage, and at the end they are in the roommate stage, so actually can we even consider them a couple?

I know the main focus of the show is Thee & Peach's relationship, but don't introduce side couples and then do nothing with them.

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Trigger Warnings for SA, rape, self-harm, drugs & alcohol, violence, & manipulation.

Even after this series has been over for months, I still see people who are obsessed with it. They post photos and reels almost daily about the show and the main actors, and after finally watching the series, I really don't understand. Overall, it was a good series, but nothing that I would put my time and energy into months after it's finished.

I have one question that I asked myself at the end, and that was, "Is this Stockholm Syndrome?" Is that the real reason Shulang goes back to Fan Xiao?

OST wasn't invasive, and when I do notice it, I like it.

I liked that they made Fan Xiao such a black flag. He's not the worst character in the series by far, but he's obsessive and possessive to a dangerous degree, and had the money to do what he wanted. All the trigger warnings are because of him. The man needs therapy to deal with his past trauma and his current obsession. They made it easy for me to want Shulang nowhere near this man, while also feeling a bit sorry for him when he's trying to be a better person, and Shulang is RIGHTFULLY pushing him away. (Sometimes my empathy is a problem; I see someone hurting and I hurt with them.)

I also like how Fan Xiao marks his territory. Sorry, not sorry.

Shulang was easily my favorite character (even though I got freaked out/worried by his hands a couple times) because of how much he reminds me of my mom. Kind to a fault, but you don't fuck with the people they love. He's stupid for going back to Fan Xiao, but I wasn't surprised either because no matter how bad the manipulation, you could tell he still loved him, and once the good things he did were brought to light, you could see that it was easily breaking down the walls Shulang built. This is why I suspected Stockholm Syndrome; he went back to him so easily.

The only thing I didn't like about Shulang was how quickly he moved on from his boyfriend that he'd been dating for years. At least I think it was years. He didn't seem affected by the breakup at all until he learned Fan Xiao's role in it.

I wouldn't blame Lu Zhen for breaking up with Shulang because he felt like Shulang wasn't emotionally available enough & he didn't see that until Fan Xiao started showing him attention. Sadly, it seemed less like he realized this and more like he liked the attention because after only the second meeting with Fan Xiao, he was already telling him that Shulang was a relative. He realized what he lost too late, and I can't bring myself to feel bad for him.

We have a relationship happening in the background between Xue Bao Tian and Zhang Cho, and I really wanted to know more about it. It was a red flag relationship that they just teased us with.

My least favorite character in the whole series has to be the brother. I don't know how old he was, but it acted like a 16-year-old who thought his brother owed him his life. Anyone who does a fake suicide attempt so they can live an easier life on the back of someone else's work should be ashamed of themselves. And his reasons made no sense. Why was he mad at Shulang for defending himself from bullies, but not the bullies themselves for his mother's death? How do we know if Shulang even defended himself? We get 1 flashback, and it didn't look like he was.

Alright, on to the things that I didn't like/annoyed me.

* The only thing that annoyed me more than it was actually a problem was that the main characters seemed allergic to closing doors sometimes. Multiple times, they just left doors open while having very private conversations or while it's freezing outside. Close the damn door!

* They smoked too much. Every time you turn around, they are smoking. Did they need to smoke that much?

* They say each other's names too much. Honestly, this goes for all Chinese dramas.

* Why are so many people speaking English? Why are so many people speaking Chinese? We are in Thailand a majority of the time, but everywhere our characters go, it's either Chinese or English being spoken. I'm not talking about the main or supporting characters either; I'm talking about the background/extra characters.

* The kissing was just okay, but the chemistry was good.

* Our main actors really didn't show that much emotion, and maybe that was down to direction so that it would be more impactful in the emotional moments. It made their acting feel stiff for the first couple of episodes.

* I didn't get invested in the story or the character until episode 8, where Shulang starts learning the truth behind Fan Xiao's lies and manipulations. For a series that is so highly rated and praised, that is too long before getting pulled in. I should have been gripped from episode 3 at least, but even after I got into the series, my feelings for it were still at "whatever". I was even a bit bored in the first couple of episodes.

* This series didn't need a happy ending, but if they had to give us one, I wish they had spent more time redeeming Fan Xiao in Shulang's eyes. Have Fan Xiao slowly redeem himself, not have them jump back into a relationship after Shulang's friend inadvertently points out that he's still in love with Fan Xiao, and that's why he can't let go. He should have already known that; what's important is Fan Xiao changing and winning Shulang over again.

* I hate that when time passes, they don't tell us how much.

* I would have liked to see Fan Xiao do some actual work, not just control & manipulate multiple people's lives, or drink & smoke.


Despite all the hype, I went into this show with little excitement or expectations, and my feelings stayed at a 7/7.5 the entire time. There was never a moment that got my blood pumping or my heart hurting so bad I cried. Nothing that made me mad or overly happy. I honestly didn't feel much of any emotion while watching this, which feels strange. I'm not going to tell anyone not to give it a try because it seems a lot of people really enjoyed it, but to me it was like throwing a pebble into the water.

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