Cute, but nothing more
I hadn't watched anything else from JoongDunk, so I wasn't sure how the pairing would be. I found the couple to be very fun and cute, and while the storyline lacked some substance, it was a very cute romance that was a fun watch. I will admit, as many of the reviews here point out, there was no "hidden agenda". There was a slight misunderstanding and that's about it.Zo (Dunk) has a crush on Nita, a girl in the debate club with him. Nita recently got out of a relationship with Joke (Joong), but the two seem to still be hanging out a lot. Zo decides to approach Joke and ask him if they're dating - and if not, ask for advice on what Nita likes so he can ask her out. Joke decides to coach Zo on how to win over Nita by going on fake dates with him; however, it's clear from the beginning that Joke's real motive is to win Zo over for himself.
Based on the summary and the title, I expected a lot more time in the show before Zo and Joke ended up dating. The relationship pacing felt a little off considering the premise, but I really wasn't opposed to it. I thought the romance between teh characters was really nice and it was a light and fun story. I did that that towards the end, they tried to bring in too many family conflicts which took away from the relationship. I assumed the issues would revolve around them coming out to friends and family and maybe some other relationship troubles, but instead their issues were totally unrelated to the romance, and still for some reason affected their relationship. These conflicts should have either been brought up earlier, or framed in a way that directly impacted the relationship of the main characters. Overall I enjoyed watching it and thought it was a cute romance that could have benefitted from a bit more plot outside of the relationship.
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All that drama....for this???
I'm sorry but this show is bad. I don't think many people actually had high hopes with it, between the fact that it was delayed for so long, then all the drama with the actors not being paid, etc. etc. but wow, I did not expect it to be THIS bad. I want to say that Jeff and Barcode made this watchable but frankly, they didn't. Nothing about this show was very good at all - the dialogue wasn't good, the plot was pretty stupid, and the show itself just ended up feeling like a whole lot of nothing. Also, I feel like no one is talking about the elephant in the room of everyone speaking different languages??? Sure, you can argue that the aliens can translate every language or whatever, but the humans can't! You've got one conversation going with two people speaking Thai, two speaking Korean, and one speaking English and they're all just supposed to understand each other? Plus, the characters barely made any sense in themselves considering they tried to develop an entire nation of aliens with weird powers (tasting through your hands?) and desires to take over the world in a show that lasts less than 4 hours. Not to mention the character that is but also is not a dog...? Frankly, I don't care how much you like JeffBarcode, this show is not worth it.Was this review helpful to you?
Great story that lacked time
I love queer romance AND I love crime dramas, so obviously I was looking forward to this one. While I really enjoyed the crime aspects, and I found the characters to be super interesting, I do think that this show REALLY would have benefitted from a few more episodes or longer episodes. There were a few aspects of the show that I think really needed more time and more attention to really stick - and I know that a lot of people loved this for the romance aspects, I even feel like parts of their relationship needed more time to flesh out.Lee Chaeha is suddenly selected to work alongside a top prosecutor Ju Taeseon despite his lack of seniority at work. Taeseon is known to be strict and hard to work with, but Chaeha is determined to do a good job considering how much he respects Taeseon. Taeseon hates no one more than the people that defend other's bad actions - and since Chaeha is the son of a murderer who once defended his father, this hatred extends to his new coworker. As the two work together to investigate a recent murder, Taeseon is also trying to make Chaeha's life miserable; Chaeha is determined to prove that he's worth keeping on the team.
This show starts off with Taeseon HATING Chaeha. Say what you want about the sex scenes early on, but they are not at all romantic - Taeseon's entire goal is to humiliate Chaeha and make Chaeha feel like he is beneath Taeseon. However, as Taeseon learns more about Chaeha, these desires to make the man miserable start to turn into something else. As a viewer, I felt like we did not get nearly enough time to watch Taeseon's feelings for Chaeha change. To go from wanting to squash Chaeha like a bug beneath his foot to loving him simply cannot happen as fast as flipping a switch. It seemed like Taeseon saw one other person be mean to Chaeha and decided he liked him. I also thought that Chaeha was a bit too cool with this, especially considering the whole employee x boss dynamic they had going on, but he even calls himself a freak so I guess I can move on from that. Between the odd pacing on Taeseon's feelings, and the rushed ending to the case they're solving, I thought that this show needed at least another two episodes to actually wrap up. The last ten minutes of the finale genuinely had me looking up if this was the last episode or not, because it felt like there was wayyyy too much for them to do in those ten minutes (and there was!). The ending wasn't very satisfying because we didn't get to see the full progression of the relationship or the case. Still, it was a fun watch with a few good twists in it - I just really wish they had the time to explore the characters and the case a bit more to make it feel whole.
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Not Worth It
Melody of Secrets was one of the shows I was really excited for when the original mock trailer dropped because it seemingly had a really unique plot. Unfortunately, the execution of the actual series did not live up to the hype. "Twists" in the story that weren't woven into the plot and were just there for shock value, and a plot that felt all over the place for no reason slapped together for a mediocre show. I don't even think I can give a proper summary, because it felt like the show kept changing directions every episode, and not in a good way.Overall, I think that Force and Book did a decent job acting in this, but the show was so poorly written that it didn't matter. Every plot point felt unrelated to the next, and the overall story just did not live up to any of the concepts that they seemed to be going with. The murders didn't even seem to be all that important after awhile?? And then it was just tragic backstory and random plot twists. If you like mystery, there are much better shows; and if you like ForceBook, I'd still recommend pretty much any of their other shows over this.
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Could've been great
For anyone that remembers, this was originally supposed to be a WabiSabi production, until WabiSabi dismantled their artist management and Boun and Prem moved to GMM. Part of me wishes that this didn't go to GMM , specifically because from the WabiSabi mock trailer, this show was supposed to be dark and serious originally, and under GMM it became a vampire romantic comedy. Now don't get me wrong, I love a romcom, but if you're going to give m a vampire show I want it dark and bloody. The fight scenes weren't great, and it really seemed like they could not figure out the tone of this show. I think if they had stuck to the original idea of a dark, serious vampire show - or if GMM decided to scrap the idea and give BounPrem a romcom - it would've been much better.When art restorationist Punn (Prem) is fixing up a painting for an upcoming exhibit, he releases Ramil (Boun), the leader of the vampires who has been trapped for a century. Ramil, unfamiliar with the current world, takes an immediate liking to Punn, who teaches him. Punn seems to have mixed feelings about Ramil, and his dreams of laying in bed beside him don't help. The two grow closer and Punn learns about the world of vampires, but not all of them trust this sudden mortal addition to their group. As hunters start to target Ramil and his family, Punn has to decide whose side he will take.
I love a vampire plot, and I was quite happy with the special effects in this show (especially compared to the god awful effects GMM had in My Golden Blood....yes I'm still mad about that show). However, it felt like they kept going back and forth between wanting this serious hunter vs. vampire action show and a silly vampire x human romance. There were a few episodes that had me really invested, especially as we learn more about Punn's secrets, but the beginning and end of the show were fairly mediocre. I won't put any spoilers here, but I did feel that the final resolution was a bit underwhelming. Still a fun watch, but I can't help but think about how good it could've been if the right amount of planning and money had gone into it.
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Bringing Back Yearning!
I was super excited to see a historical drama from GMM, and I'm so glad it turned out as amazing as it did! The romance was so soft and sweet, though not without its challenges. The directing was incredible, and the backdrop of the time period really tied it all together. While the show was sometimes a bit slow or the conflicts a bit repetitive, it was still an amazing watch!Rati (Inn) was born in Siam/Thailand but grew up with his father in France, and now works as a translator. At the beginning of WWI, Rati travels to Siam to teach the nobles French as France attempts to recruit Siam's help in the war. While there, he meets Count Thee (Great), and the two quickly become friends, though it's clear from the beginning that there's more feelings than that. However, their love seems impossible with everyone against them.
Great and Inn really surprised me in these roles! I watched them before in Wandee Goodday and really enjoyed them together, but this was so different from that show that I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I ended up LOVING them as Rati and Thee! They did a great job portraying the longing and heartbreak of their characters. The conflicts were very predictable (of course there's an arranged marriage, parents finding out about their relationship, etc. etc.) but I still quite enjoyed them and thought they were done very well. I wish we got a little more on the issue of France and Siam - the biggest issues seemed to be that Rati would have to return to France, as opposed to the political issues of their relationship. Still, it was a great watch and I would definitely recommend it if you enjoy historical dramas!
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Engaging, but with pacing problems
Leap Day was honestly such an enjoyable watch. I had a feeling this show would be good based on the cast and the trailer, and I'm so glad I watched it! It was a really fun thriller, and although there were parts that felt a bit repetitive or slow, the story ended up coming together quite nicely. I do wish some aspects of the show were more thought out and that the pacing was a bit more consistent, but it was still a fun time.Day (Pond) and Night (Dew) were both born on leap day, and every leap day since, they each lose the person they love most. Now in college, the two have watched many of their loved ones die - but everything changes on their 20th birthday, when the pair meet. In this fateful meeting, they narrowly avoid the curse of leap day and save their loved ones, but it seems the curse is unwilling to let go. Day and Night decide to work together to try and break the curse they've endured their whole lives, all for the sake of the people they love.
The first few episodes of this show and the last few episodes had me locked in. There was a bit of a lull in the middle where it felt like we weren't getting anywhere in the plot, but eventually it picked back up for a fantastic finale. I was worried about Ozone's (Gun) character and the portrayal of autism in this show, but was pleasantly surprised by how it was handled. Gun does a great job as always, and the character is never treated as a burden or "weird" in any way. The relationship between Day and Ozone is absolutely fantastic, and the bit of romance between Night and Dream (Pahn) is adorable. I just wish the lore of the curse was a little more thought out and explained, but overall still a great watch!
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Felt like we abandoned the plot somewhere
The Boy Next World was a show I was really looking forward to based on the trailer. Boss and Noeul have great chemistry, and I was excited to see them try out something a bit different - except, it didn't feel any different. The characters felt oddly similar to their roles in Love in the Air, and the parallel world plot somehow felt like an afterthought even though that's the entire premise of the show.After Cir (Boss) is hit by a car, he wakes up in the hospital in search of his boyfriend, Phukan (Noeul). However, it seems that Phu isn't his boyfriend at all, even though he knows everything about him as if he were. Cir must convince Phu that he's from a parallel world and win his heart in this world too, all while dealing with an overly controlling mother.
I was SO excited to see the parallel world aspect of this show play out, but was very disappointed with it! We barely got anything on it (or the whole mind reader thing?) and it left me wanting so much more from this show. I feel like they were banking on people watching for Boss and Noeul, and didn't bother putting in much effort to the storyline of the show. The worldbuilding just felt so underwhelming, and the ending didn't feel satisfying at all. I feel like they tried to smash too many ideas together, and didn't have time to truly explore the one really unique aspect of this show, which is this idea of multiple versions/timelines of Cir and Phu. I think this is only worth watching if you're a fan of Boss and Noeul.
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Should have stuck to one plotline...
I saw so many people hyping this show up and I wanted so badly to like it but I just found that it felt like two different plots/worlds smashed together into one with no real link between them. I'm not trying to be a hater - the fight scenes were great, the effects were good, and the storyline was interesting, but I just could not like it as much as I wanted to.Tharn and Phaya are training to become part of the special forces detective team, and the training is intense, to say the least. It seems as though Tharn has some kind of innate sense if Phaya is in danger, and this sense is rooted in visions that allow him to see the danger that Phaya is in. The two of them become closer throughout their training, and even closer after it's completed and they're initiated into the force. However, there is an evil lurking. While trying to catch a rich and powerful drug cartel, secrets of the Naga sea monster threaten their safety more than the cartel does.
My main issue here is that we have this drug smuggling investigation going on with a team of detectives we've grown to love, and also the plot of the Naga, which seems to be totally unrelated except for the fact that Tharn is involved. If this was a fantasy/supernatural story, where Phaya and Tharn are dealing with the issue of the Naga, I'd have no problems with it. Or, if this was a story about becoming detectives and investigating this elaborate case, I would love it. However, combining these two things took away from the show, in my opinion. It felt like the Naga was added on too late in the show to be really important, and also it felt like it took away from the detective aspect of it and didn't give us a chance to see the investigation fully play out. I found myself getting distracted while watching it, waiting for the (well done) action scenes and case developments.
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One of the only dramas I would consider perfect
Some of these reviews calling Vincenzo overhyped baffle me. This was hands down one of the best dramas I've ever seen. Song Joongki as Vincenzo was absolutely amazing, and the rest of the cast perfectly complemented him.Vincenzo is a mafia lawyer who has left his mafia family in Italy to return to Korea and retrieve the money he has stashed there. in the form of gold. This gold is conveniently buried under a building in order to keep it safe, but he must tear down the building to retrieve it. One small issue: the building is full of tenants. In the midst of attempting to figure out how to get these tenants to leave, Vincenzo encounters a much larger problem: the conglomerate Babel is attempting to buy the building from him in order to demolish it and build their own. Vincenzo decides to take the side of the tenants in order to secure his building, without revealing his true plans. This gets him wrapped up in Babel's business, which leads to bigger problems than he ever anticipated.
This is a drama that starts off seemingly light and fun, with funny building tenants and even funnier interactions between them and Vincenzo. However, as the show progresses, it becomes darker and darker. The morally gray protagonist Vincenzo makes you question whether or not you should be rooting for him time and time again, and while he always seems to come out on top, you're never quite sure if that was for the best, or if the ends could ever justify his means. Throughout the show, this unsettling feeling grows in the viewer, until you're not really sure if you should have ever rooted for him in the first place...
This show kept me on the edge of my seat every episode. With elements of crime, law, and mafia, I knew I was bound to like it but it truly blew me away. I wish I could watch it for the first time again.
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Not enough payback
At the start of this show, I really loved it. A main character is driven by revenge against his ex, only to discover his ex's now successful life as an actor is embedded within a much larger, systemically corrupt problem. From the outside, and the first few episodes, this looked like something I would love. Unfortunately, as the show went on, it became more about our main character's career as an actor and less about the actual revenge.Sun (Min) was once in a happy relationship with Bank (Fuaiz), but that ended when Bank took Sun's money, ran off to become an actor, and left him with no way to pay for his mother's cancer treatment. Sun becomes hell bent on getting revenge, and after paying his mother's medical debt, is sick and tired of seeing Bank's face, who now goes by the name Sunny, on billboards. Sun auditions for the same entertainment company as Sunny in order to drag him down from the inside, and discovers a much more corrupt system than he expected.
Min as Sun was perfect - he totally delivered the cold, emotionless Sun. Plus, watching Toptap as the love interest was great. Did I enjoy the relationship dynamic between them as they fell in love? Honestly, not at all. It felt predatory, and like Sun was a victim of the very system he was seeking to destroy. Still, the actors did a great job portraying the characters even though I found Jay (Toptap) to be kind of unbearable for most of the show. I will say, if you're going into this thinking it's some crazy revenge thriller, it honestly isn't. This is more about the story of Sun's life as he struggles to claw his way out of debt, motivated only by revenge, and the way he falls in love as he's pursuing this. While still a great show, I think the revenge portion deserved way more time that it got.
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Twisting love and hate
Secret Relationships was honestly such a fun and engaging watch. With twists I never saw coming and jaw-dropping moments every episode, I would highly recommend it if you like a show filled with lying, betrayal, and lots and lots of drama.Da-on, an assistant manager at a construction consulting firm, finally decides to confess to his crush of eleven years , Jaemin, whom he met in college. As he goes to achieve this, he gets off on the wrong foot with his new coworker Seong-hyeon. At his dinner with Jaemin, the confession gets delayed when Jaemin mentions the return of his ex-boyfriend Suhyeon. Da-on, still determined to win Jaemin's heart, also starts becoming closer with Seong-hyeon. Plus, his past with Suhyeon continues to be brought up upon his return. While attempting to find love, Da-on instead finds liars, manipulators, and frankly psychopaths.
What an intense watch! Every episode was packed full of twists, and it was so fun to watch. The actors did a GREAT job at portraying these characters. It was honestly super well done and super interesting. While portions of the show felt a little over the top and unrealistic, it was worth it for how juicy the drama is.
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Red flag after red flag
My Stand-In was SO engaging - the twists the story took, the action scenes, and the dynamic characters were super fun to watch. The actors did a fantastic job portraying the characters, and the storyline was one of the most unique ones I've seen from a Thai show recently. It was truly a very well done show. However, I found it really hard to enjoy the main relationship because of how toxic it was.Joe works as a stunt double for a famous actor named Tong, and has worked with him for awhile since they have similar builds. When Ming mistakes Joe for Tong from behind, Ming and Joe end up chatting a bit - and going home together. To the viewer, it's pretty clear that Ming's reason for hooking up with Joe is that he's actually in love with Tong, but Tong is straight and dating Ming's sister. To make matters worse, Joe genuinely likes Ming and wants to be with him,, but is completely unaware of the fact that not only is he Tong's stand-in in his movies, but also Tong's stand-in for Ming. Relationship troubles are quick to follow, as are the difficult politics of drama in the film industry.
You learn in the first episode that Joe dies in a stunt accident, and spend awhile getting back to this point, which I thought was really well done. Then, Joe navigating life in a new body adds another layer of plot and character development to him, which was fantastic to watch. But I could NOT get over how much I hated Ming throughout the series. Every thing he does is so clearly motivated by his own selfish interests, and it isn't for a LONG time into the show that he genuinely seems to care about Joe. I found myself hoping that Joe would come to his senses and date literally anyone else. By the end of the show, Ming was a bit better, but I was mostly just yelling at my TV hoping that Ming would leave Joe alone. If you don't mind toxic couples, the show is really interesting and well done, and worth the watch. If this is a deal breaker for you, steer clear of My Stand-In.
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Pointless
I was excited for a TutorYim show......and boy was I disappointed. This show had no real plot, no real comedy besides sex jokes, no good kiss scenes (and you had TUTORYIM!!). It was truly a show of nothing. Tutor and Yim are great actors who can pull off a sexy show or a comedic show - and somehow, this one missed the mark on both. I was immediately hesitant when I saw the show was by Copy A Bangkok and I was right to be skeptical. They tried to use sex to sell the show and it didn't work. Regardless of how much you like these actors, this one isn't worth it.Erng (Yim) catches his boyfriend, who he runs a bar with, cheating on him. After confronting him and breaking up with him, Erng heads to a temple to pray for a new boyfriend. While there, he meets In (Tutor), and the two immediately hit it off. They become business partners in Erng's new bar, and fall in love while opening it.
I don't think I could even tell you what happens in this show, because it's basically nothing. Outside of a few things that happen with Erng's ex boyfriend, there is truly nothing that I can even remember from this show except the characters constantly being horny and making sex jokes. Sure, watching a comedy like this translated definitely doesn't help, but I cannot imagine it was very good even if you spoke Thai. It seems like the company was hoping that having TutorYim as their main actors would get enough people to watch that they could make money off it. While the characters could pull of sexual tension, after the scene it was back to a whole lot of NOTHING! I was so bored watching this show that I regularly would forget it was even on, and I'm not a person who does other things while shows are on. I stuck this one out because I constantly hoped it would get better and let me tell you, it does not. It started with way too much exposition thrown into the viewer's face in the first episode only to end up with nowhere to go with the characters. Some shows are so bad that they wrap back around and become unintentionally funny, but this one manages to sit at the horrendous intersection of bad and unfunny AND boring. Not worth it.
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How to ruin your life (and everyone else's)
This show was FULL of twists and turns, and even though it was only eight episodes, it was jam packed with drama. If you made every single wrong decision you could, this is how it would end up.Bambi wants nothing more than to be famous. She doesn't seem to care how or for what even - she just knows she wants to be in the spotlight. To do so, she figures she needs to surround herself with other famous people. When a video she posts online gains her a solid following, she decides to join a cram school full of people she sees as useful - a well-known BL actor, a politician's son, a businessman's daughter, etc. However, they still don't seem to see her as on their level. Bambi is determined to do whatever it takes to make it to the top, and when she's told that gaining something will always cost something, she's ready to pay whatever price necessary, even if that means dragging everyone down with her.
I loved watching Bambi stumble into this world of billionaires and famous folk that she can't possible keep up with. Every decision she makes is a foolish one, and it ends up biting her in the ass. She's out to prove that "taste" isn't something you're born with, but something she can build her way to. However, most people don't see it that way. I do think that a lot of the storylines were left a little too open-ended and frankly, I'd love a second season. Some of her mistakes only started to have repercussions at the very end of the short season, so seeing it play out more would be great. So while this drama was a super interesting watch (and the actors did an incredible job) I can't rate it any higher due to it feeling unfinished.
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