cascayew
This review may contain spoilers
I wasn't expecting to be wowed by this lakorn (especially since it's the end of the year) but To Sir, With Love proved me wrong. It's probably the best I've seen this year and exceeded my expectations. I got into it because I saw that Film, who only starred in boy/girl dramas before, was actually going to be in a BL and was curious to see how it would go. I'm very glad I took that chance, otherwise I would've missed out on a very well acted and well produced show.
1. Story
The story was complex, engaging, and had great pacing. It was very obvious that a lot of care went into how it was edited and delivered. Having this sort of LGBT+ plotline set in a historical time could've easily gone wrong, but it wasn't the case here. The historical aspect greatly enriched the story and provided much of the character's justification for their actions. It was also quite unpredictable, and major actions actually had major consequences. I think what really made this stand out was how it was really a lakorn made for a modern audience; even though this is set in an older time, there are modern ideals that are cleverly interwoven where it didn't feel out of place and greatly appealed to me as a viewer of today.
2. Leads
Before I get into Tian and Yang, I just want to say that I consider Li (T's mom), Jao Sua Song (T's dad) and Chan (Y's mom) to also be the main leads, and would actually put Jiu and Ying Pin as 2ndary leads. Because without them, there would be no richness in this drama and no believable way to move the plot forward. When I saw that P'Pok would play Li, I knew she would kill it and boy she didn't disappoint. She is an amazing actress, able to pull off so many emotions and make me simultaneously empathize and hate her. Her look when she found Tian and Jiu together made me laugh for days. I adore her and she looked so fab in her Chinese outfits. Jao Sua Song was a surprise since I didn't expect much but his voice is so enchanting and he is surprisingly level-headed, intelligent and can admit he's wrong (can we pleaseee have more dads like this in Thai dramaland). I didn't like Chan as much as the first two but she was a convincing antagonist and it was enough for me.
I thought that this was Film's finest acting to date; previous dramas I've seen him in were just okay. Here he conveyed Tian's sensitive and gentlemanly manner so flawlessly and pretty much acted his pants off as Tian. Yang's actor was also good, although his role was written so well that it would've been hard for him to mess up. The brotherly relationship between Yang and Tian was a major highlight and mood booster for me while watching this, and I'm glad they both stayed loyal to each other till the end.
3. Secondary Cast
I don't have any complaints about the 2ndary cast; all acted well and added to the plot. I liked that Ying Pin wasn't your typical flower girl, but was sassy and intelligent. I also like that Jiu wasn't just a cold assassin, but was willing to open his heart and be desperate in his love for Tian. The rest of the cast, from the house servants to the members of the Five Dragons Association were fun to watch and really lit up the world inside the lakorn.
4. Romance
I wasn't sure if the drama could carry out a convincing BL love story, but I was wrong and the romance hit me in all the feels. This is the kind of love story I love where the two leads meet and there's a spark, but it's not until they get to know each other that the spark becomes a firework. Although this was a love story between two men, I liked how the focus was more on how they were just two people who fell in love, irrespective of their gender. This couldn't have gone so well without the two actor's commitment to the roles, from how you could see Tian light up when Jiu was around, to Jiu doing things for Tian that suggested that his love for Tian was deeper than we thought. I think my only gripe with this is that I felt like there was some missing info for how Jiu accepted being with Tian despite both being men; there wasn't an internal struggle shown that I'd expect men of this time to have, especially when being gay was unheard of. Regardless, well done to Film and Jam for maturely and beautifully carry out a convincing love story.
5. Overall
This was a visually appealing drama, from the vibrant colours and patterns in the background, to the clothes that everyone was wearing. The music was amazing (I have Ice and NuNew's songs on my playlist) and played appropriately. This was a wonderful watch with great storytelling, acting, romance and much more. I highly recommend you give it a go and I will certainly re-watch this on my own time.
1. Story
The story was complex, engaging, and had great pacing. It was very obvious that a lot of care went into how it was edited and delivered. Having this sort of LGBT+ plotline set in a historical time could've easily gone wrong, but it wasn't the case here. The historical aspect greatly enriched the story and provided much of the character's justification for their actions. It was also quite unpredictable, and major actions actually had major consequences. I think what really made this stand out was how it was really a lakorn made for a modern audience; even though this is set in an older time, there are modern ideals that are cleverly interwoven where it didn't feel out of place and greatly appealed to me as a viewer of today.
2. Leads
Before I get into Tian and Yang, I just want to say that I consider Li (T's mom), Jao Sua Song (T's dad) and Chan (Y's mom) to also be the main leads, and would actually put Jiu and Ying Pin as 2ndary leads. Because without them, there would be no richness in this drama and no believable way to move the plot forward. When I saw that P'Pok would play Li, I knew she would kill it and boy she didn't disappoint. She is an amazing actress, able to pull off so many emotions and make me simultaneously empathize and hate her. Her look when she found Tian and Jiu together made me laugh for days. I adore her and she looked so fab in her Chinese outfits. Jao Sua Song was a surprise since I didn't expect much but his voice is so enchanting and he is surprisingly level-headed, intelligent and can admit he's wrong (can we pleaseee have more dads like this in Thai dramaland). I didn't like Chan as much as the first two but she was a convincing antagonist and it was enough for me.
I thought that this was Film's finest acting to date; previous dramas I've seen him in were just okay. Here he conveyed Tian's sensitive and gentlemanly manner so flawlessly and pretty much acted his pants off as Tian. Yang's actor was also good, although his role was written so well that it would've been hard for him to mess up. The brotherly relationship between Yang and Tian was a major highlight and mood booster for me while watching this, and I'm glad they both stayed loyal to each other till the end.
3. Secondary Cast
I don't have any complaints about the 2ndary cast; all acted well and added to the plot. I liked that Ying Pin wasn't your typical flower girl, but was sassy and intelligent. I also like that Jiu wasn't just a cold assassin, but was willing to open his heart and be desperate in his love for Tian. The rest of the cast, from the house servants to the members of the Five Dragons Association were fun to watch and really lit up the world inside the lakorn.
4. Romance
I wasn't sure if the drama could carry out a convincing BL love story, but I was wrong and the romance hit me in all the feels. This is the kind of love story I love where the two leads meet and there's a spark, but it's not until they get to know each other that the spark becomes a firework. Although this was a love story between two men, I liked how the focus was more on how they were just two people who fell in love, irrespective of their gender. This couldn't have gone so well without the two actor's commitment to the roles, from how you could see Tian light up when Jiu was around, to Jiu doing things for Tian that suggested that his love for Tian was deeper than we thought. I think my only gripe with this is that I felt like there was some missing info for how Jiu accepted being with Tian despite both being men; there wasn't an internal struggle shown that I'd expect men of this time to have, especially when being gay was unheard of. Regardless, well done to Film and Jam for maturely and beautifully carry out a convincing love story.
5. Overall
This was a visually appealing drama, from the vibrant colours and patterns in the background, to the clothes that everyone was wearing. The music was amazing (I have Ice and NuNew's songs on my playlist) and played appropriately. This was a wonderful watch with great storytelling, acting, romance and much more. I highly recommend you give it a go and I will certainly re-watch this on my own time.
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