axplne
This review may contain spoilers
Asks interesting questions
This had been something I'd been meaning to watch since it was released but I have only gotten around to watching now. I watched it over two days and can say that whilst it is both entertaining and intriguing, it does leave much to be desired.
[THE GOOD] This show is visually captivating. From the bright colours and attractive cast, it is very pleasing to the eye. The set design of the dating game, which makes up the bulk of the show, is brilliant and heavily inspired by 'Squid Game', and you can see a lot of effort and care was put into the production. The dating game in of itself was amazingly done and though the explicit concept of the Gentlemen being essentially sold of as cattle left an uncomfortable feeling, the games of the show being used to win dates was both refreshingly different and similar enough to current dating reality TV shows for it to be plausible for such a show to happen today or in the near-future.
I didn't have a problem with the acting in this show, it was neither brilliant nor awful. Simply acceptable. For some the acting may be considered too exaggerated, but it's done in a way which matches Thai humour and you adjust fairly easily to it. The characters, bar a few, are likeable with interesting stories. The female lead (FL) is one of your typical headstrong and true-to-herself leads but it's not overly forced and given the ridiculous world she is placed into, her awkwardness is understandable. The male lead (ML) starts off as a typical cold character but you quickly come to realise it is a facade he puts on as one of the Gentlemen and the person he is with the FL is much more real and likeable.
A character I didn't expect to love so much was Chanel but she ended up becoming my favourite. Although she is one of the elites of this society, she is still a victim who suffers under the expectations of her mother. Her character development is great as she moves from being somewhat emotionless only acting on her mother's instructions, to being emotionally vulnerable with Max (her eventual love interest) and then having the confidence to go after what she wants. I really wanted her to win the dating game and I was so happy when she did. Chanel's story also reveals certain things about their society which beg questions of what would happen if we lived under a matriarchy. Though their society is completely matriarchal, it is still not enough to be a girl. Chanel reveals to Max that her mother's tough expectations of her stem from the fact that she wasn't born a boy in a way that reflects many societies today. In this matriarchy, the male sex has remained a symbol of status and power.
I also enjoyed the stories of many other side characters. The queer representation on this show was done very well as although heterosexual relationships are viewed as almost sacred given the scarcity of men, this worshipping is questioned briefly in the first episode and there does seem to be a general accepted lesbianism of that society. It is nice to see an actual lesbian couple go through pregnancy and the difficult decisions they are forced to make upon learning they have a son. The gay storyline of Paper was also done really well as that was one of the first questions I had early on in this film; what if some of the men are gay? Whilst Paper was able to have that gay relationship by the end, it would be interesting to perhaps explore a man who had had to deny that and be part of a heterosexual relationship, maybe in a second season.
What I would also like to be explored more in a second season, if they do one, is the familial relationship between Valentine, Almond and their mother. Though you could see the plot twist of Almond being the missing brother from a mile away (most plot twists were very predictable in this show), I think it sets up a very interesting story to explore as though Valentine misses her brother and wants him back, Almond is in a completely different situation. He has never grown up with that family, he never expected it to be something he could have and how can you miss something you don't know?
[THE BAD] This show tried to do too much with too little space. It was obvious from the start that this was going to be an issue but the mixing storylines began to feel much clumsier towards the end than they had appeared at the beginning.
The story building is weak. Yes most dystopian stories have massive plot holes (almost all of them forget that other countries exist and that no country acts in isolation), but the actual premise for this show doesn't make sense at all. The disease that has caused the decrease in the male population is terribly explained and not expanded on at all. It isn't clear whether or not this disease only affected birthing rates or if it killed the male population because if it only affected births then there should be a lot more men in the show from the ages of around 50 upwards as it is only set in 2024. The lack of this older generation of men suggests that they were killed off by the disease, but then it doesn't explain why the few remaining men and those being born aren't affected by the disease. The cause of the disease is implied to be rooted in women, but as the female sex have no control over the sex of the child (only the male sex carry the Y chromosome) it just doesn't seem plausible that women are the issue. Not that it really matters as there seems to be no talk of finding or creating a cure at all in the show.
The lack of talk surrounded a cure suggests that this society doesn't want to find one. Given how they treat men in this show and our current patriarchal societies, it is entirely plausible that they dislike the male sex in spite of their worshipping of the Gentlemen. It was noticeable in the show that society was functioning totally fine without the male sex and actually seemed more peaceful. Outside of The Farm, there were no police officers and there was no mention of crime whatsoever. In fact, as I was watching, I caught myself wishing that I lived in such a place where I could be free to go out without worry and simply have fun as a woman. They don't explore this at all, but I wish they would have because there are many reasons why women would prefer to live in a male-free society.
The reproduction in this show also doesn't work at all. Though there are many ways they can make children, whether it be through sperm banks, artificial sperm (through stem cells) or even asexual reproduction (which could potentially happen due to the lack of male sex), the gene pool is significantly reduced. You'd either end up with most of the population related to one another or as clones, an inbreeding that would make them extremely vulnerable to disease. The female population would eventually end up naturally decreasing to match the male population or it would be the end of the human race entirely.
[SUMMARISE] This show was entertaining with a good love story, good characters and intriguing plot. However, the dystopian world was poorly constructed and was avoided for most of the show. It had a good beginning but weak end, I especially disliked the time skip, but I will be watching a season 2 if they create one. Most importantly, this show introduced interesting questions such as:
(1) Would patriarchal ideals still be present in a matriarchy?
(2) Would the rights of gay people be restricted in response to a population crisis? - particularly relevant when looking at current CCP policy in response to China's population issues
(3) If given the option, would women choose to live in a world without men and at what cost?
[THE GOOD] This show is visually captivating. From the bright colours and attractive cast, it is very pleasing to the eye. The set design of the dating game, which makes up the bulk of the show, is brilliant and heavily inspired by 'Squid Game', and you can see a lot of effort and care was put into the production. The dating game in of itself was amazingly done and though the explicit concept of the Gentlemen being essentially sold of as cattle left an uncomfortable feeling, the games of the show being used to win dates was both refreshingly different and similar enough to current dating reality TV shows for it to be plausible for such a show to happen today or in the near-future.
I didn't have a problem with the acting in this show, it was neither brilliant nor awful. Simply acceptable. For some the acting may be considered too exaggerated, but it's done in a way which matches Thai humour and you adjust fairly easily to it. The characters, bar a few, are likeable with interesting stories. The female lead (FL) is one of your typical headstrong and true-to-herself leads but it's not overly forced and given the ridiculous world she is placed into, her awkwardness is understandable. The male lead (ML) starts off as a typical cold character but you quickly come to realise it is a facade he puts on as one of the Gentlemen and the person he is with the FL is much more real and likeable.
A character I didn't expect to love so much was Chanel but she ended up becoming my favourite. Although she is one of the elites of this society, she is still a victim who suffers under the expectations of her mother. Her character development is great as she moves from being somewhat emotionless only acting on her mother's instructions, to being emotionally vulnerable with Max (her eventual love interest) and then having the confidence to go after what she wants. I really wanted her to win the dating game and I was so happy when she did. Chanel's story also reveals certain things about their society which beg questions of what would happen if we lived under a matriarchy. Though their society is completely matriarchal, it is still not enough to be a girl. Chanel reveals to Max that her mother's tough expectations of her stem from the fact that she wasn't born a boy in a way that reflects many societies today. In this matriarchy, the male sex has remained a symbol of status and power.
I also enjoyed the stories of many other side characters. The queer representation on this show was done very well as although heterosexual relationships are viewed as almost sacred given the scarcity of men, this worshipping is questioned briefly in the first episode and there does seem to be a general accepted lesbianism of that society. It is nice to see an actual lesbian couple go through pregnancy and the difficult decisions they are forced to make upon learning they have a son. The gay storyline of Paper was also done really well as that was one of the first questions I had early on in this film; what if some of the men are gay? Whilst Paper was able to have that gay relationship by the end, it would be interesting to perhaps explore a man who had had to deny that and be part of a heterosexual relationship, maybe in a second season.
What I would also like to be explored more in a second season, if they do one, is the familial relationship between Valentine, Almond and their mother. Though you could see the plot twist of Almond being the missing brother from a mile away (most plot twists were very predictable in this show), I think it sets up a very interesting story to explore as though Valentine misses her brother and wants him back, Almond is in a completely different situation. He has never grown up with that family, he never expected it to be something he could have and how can you miss something you don't know?
[THE BAD] This show tried to do too much with too little space. It was obvious from the start that this was going to be an issue but the mixing storylines began to feel much clumsier towards the end than they had appeared at the beginning.
The story building is weak. Yes most dystopian stories have massive plot holes (almost all of them forget that other countries exist and that no country acts in isolation), but the actual premise for this show doesn't make sense at all. The disease that has caused the decrease in the male population is terribly explained and not expanded on at all. It isn't clear whether or not this disease only affected birthing rates or if it killed the male population because if it only affected births then there should be a lot more men in the show from the ages of around 50 upwards as it is only set in 2024. The lack of this older generation of men suggests that they were killed off by the disease, but then it doesn't explain why the few remaining men and those being born aren't affected by the disease. The cause of the disease is implied to be rooted in women, but as the female sex have no control over the sex of the child (only the male sex carry the Y chromosome) it just doesn't seem plausible that women are the issue. Not that it really matters as there seems to be no talk of finding or creating a cure at all in the show.
The lack of talk surrounded a cure suggests that this society doesn't want to find one. Given how they treat men in this show and our current patriarchal societies, it is entirely plausible that they dislike the male sex in spite of their worshipping of the Gentlemen. It was noticeable in the show that society was functioning totally fine without the male sex and actually seemed more peaceful. Outside of The Farm, there were no police officers and there was no mention of crime whatsoever. In fact, as I was watching, I caught myself wishing that I lived in such a place where I could be free to go out without worry and simply have fun as a woman. They don't explore this at all, but I wish they would have because there are many reasons why women would prefer to live in a male-free society.
The reproduction in this show also doesn't work at all. Though there are many ways they can make children, whether it be through sperm banks, artificial sperm (through stem cells) or even asexual reproduction (which could potentially happen due to the lack of male sex), the gene pool is significantly reduced. You'd either end up with most of the population related to one another or as clones, an inbreeding that would make them extremely vulnerable to disease. The female population would eventually end up naturally decreasing to match the male population or it would be the end of the human race entirely.
[SUMMARISE] This show was entertaining with a good love story, good characters and intriguing plot. However, the dystopian world was poorly constructed and was avoided for most of the show. It had a good beginning but weak end, I especially disliked the time skip, but I will be watching a season 2 if they create one. Most importantly, this show introduced interesting questions such as:
(1) Would patriarchal ideals still be present in a matriarchy?
(2) Would the rights of gay people be restricted in response to a population crisis? - particularly relevant when looking at current CCP policy in response to China's population issues
(3) If given the option, would women choose to live in a world without men and at what cost?
Was this review helpful to you?
