Praxis

Of course, but then isn’t it a fact today as well? Or did you mean that it was less problematic at the time 🤔? Or maybe less problematic to portray, at least?

Of course, but then isn’t it a fact today as well? Or did you mean that it was less problematic at the time 🤔?

Very true… in fact I’d go so far as to say that if you look closely, you’ll find there are closeted couples in most C-dramas, whatever the genre!

I never said there was no rape. You should read more carefully before commenting.

Thank you for commenting!
And you’re right, I never said there wasn’t rape in the books. It’s obvious there is, it would be absurd and idiotic to say there isn’t. But that’s not the whole story!
Oh well, I guess I didn’t make my point clearly — but in any case, it seems to me that if anyone tries and explain the books, then they somehow are mistakenly taken as ppl who condone rape 😒… I tried here and elsewhere, but I’m not going to try and explain anymore, it’s just frustrating!

Oh and BTW, I also ended up reading all four books, as well as many of the verse’s other works by this author. She’s great, despite the blatant lack of consent and the repetitive use of violence! Most, if not all, the couples deal with rape, which is a bit troubling..

And in fact, whichever way you look at it, there is a real societal issue in Thailand when it comes to consent and to the very definition of rape. Even the Thai words for rape are problematic, as forced sex is *not always* seen as nonconsensual / rape (there are actually two words being used, one of which means forced sex, while the other means rape), and even in heterosexual dramas, women are often raped but the rape is somehow intertwined with the romance… If this is a topic you’re interested in, I suggest you read the following article: https://undertheropes.com/2016/04/01/rape-culture-in-thailand/

Hmm.. I was 100% against this after reading the synopsis here, as well as the comments below m. However, because I like to make up my own mind by looking up the source material, I went to read the original novels.

I believe the synopsis does not correctly reflect the actual story in the books. There is rape, there are some triggers, red flags, and what have you, however the synopsis by Lazy Subber is already biased against the books and is taking numerous shortcuts when describing the story.

It’s obvious that some people will simply hate the books and series if they are ever made.
But this is a fairly successful series with over 20million reads on one of the Thai servers it’s on. If it were true to the synopsis, I may be really naive, but I don’t believe that over 20million people would read this series (the number of readers is similar for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th books).

I don’t really want to take a side in what I see here as a “black and white” debate in the comments, with no (or very few) shades of grey. I think this should be a different sort of debate, taking into accounts those shades of grey.
For instance, the synopsis here mentions “rape” several times. This is NOT a faithful representation of the story. The books are not about stupid traumatised people who idiotically fall in love with their captors/rapists.

In short, the story between Day and Itt is not about Day being a rapist and Itt falling in love with his rapist. It’s like hiding the forest behind one tree, i.e. the actual multilayered story behind a forced-sex/revenge sex scene. But the plot is NOT focusing on just that.

I’ll try and write a new summary for the first two books soon to post it here so that if anyone is interested, they can get a better understanding of the plot.

Thanks for getting back to me! I just reread my comment and realised that it was somewhat ambiguous when I said I found out about everything that happens next! For me it was a GREAT thing to be fully appreciated, I wasn’t complaining at all, I’m actually in awe because of how detailed it was — it was basically the perfect review and exactly what I was looking for and hoping to find, which is why I commented in the first place! Sorry if it sounded like whining. Plus, you had a spoiler warning so it’d be pretty silly of me to complain :)
I used to hate spoilers and would always finish a show I started watching… I don’t know why, but I’ve changed lately; sometimes if a plot is really getting messy, I know that I just won’t like it and to be honest, I no longer feel like every single BL is worth the time investment, if that makes sense? I’ve seen some pretty horrid shows, like Physical Therapy, which was just a waste of time imho! So to find a review like yours that is so complete and gives me exactly what I always wish /hope to find, yet can’t find anywhere (or, rather, anywhere else now!), well, that felt like such a struck of luck! So thanks again :-)

Ah and I 100% agree with you re: the boring cp
Most BL actors aren’t even gay, so to have a real-life couple on screen is refreshing. Same goes with the ‘boring, yet realistic’ relationships. But you’re right of course, in this particular case it doesn’t really bring anything to the show. I like how they’re sort of a sounding board for other prospective couples, which is how they’re depicted in the first half or so. However, I am sure I would’ve been sick of them as well, or rather, I wouldn’t have really cared about them anymore anyway, given how the story turned out!
I’m off to check out your other reviews ;-)

Thank you so much for writing such a great review! (I don’t know how much you’ll remember about this series, as it is somewhat unremarkable and ‘nearly forgettable,’ as you put it, but I wanted to thank you in any case!)
I just finished watching the episode where dad walks in on his two “sons” Simai and Lukmo/Kai, and I thought, this is gonna be even messier than I feared, so came here on MDL hoping to find review with some information about the main plot points, to see if it would be worth it to finish the series. Little did I know that I would not only find out what happens next, but also end up reading a great synopsis that beautifully presents all main plot points and their deriving issues. Thanks to your excellent, comprehensive review, I know I won’t like it and that I’ve probably seen the best this show had to offer. Thanks for writing such a good review and summarising with such clarity the entire plot — it’s confusing, for sure, but you managed to make it less so!

I’d just like to point out that the Newyear-Both relationship may be boring, but it’s not often in a BL (or in dramas in general, for that matter!) than you’d come across a wholesome, positive relationship that actually works out without tons of unnecessary drama. The two characters are boring and lead boring lives, I suppose. But I must say that it’s the very fact that they actually portrayed such a realistically-boring relationship that makes it interesting! It takes some guts, don’t you think, to be decidedly boring!? ;) that’s just my take on it anyhow!
Cheers 👋🏻!