TL;DR - A solid and very well produced time travel lakorn. The plot, characters, production and music are great. Romance is top notch. The kind of drama where I wish I could forget what happened so I can watch it again. There are hiccups here and there but overall I'm happy, and it's worth it to see the magic of Mike/Mook again.

Obligatory disclaimer that I love this couple although even if I didn't, I would still give this lakorn a high score. Not only is the romance superb, the story, secondary characters, music, production are also amazing, and in my eyes, done very very well. I didn't have much expectation going into this, and I had doubts that Mike could pull off a classic boran character, but I'm happy to say that I was wrong on all counts. I'll start with the story first.

The story is about a modern girl (Mae Orn) who travels back 200 years in the past due to a spell the male lead (Khun Luang) chants to find his soulmate. Time travel plots can be tricky, because you have to make sure it all makes sense, and that there's no loopholes the audience can see. This aspect was done well because every character was held accountable for their part in making sure Mae Orn was sent to and stayed in the past. There was purpose and logic to the things characters did in the past that made the events in the future timeline make sense. It really comes full circle in the end. The pacing of the drama was good and although the rest of the story was simple, there was a good mix of comedy and fluff to make me happy, but enough tragedy so that it didn't feel stale and out of touch. 

Of course, I have to gush over our leads, Khun Luang and Mae Orn. I wasn't sure Mike could pull off a gentlemanly character since I'd only seen him in ML and KKSR but boy was I wrong. He was sweet and sensitive, but not a doormat. A total gentleman who could think for himself, has strong morals, is an advocate for women, has a super nice body (:P), and much more. I loved that he could see through Bua's scheming (mostly) and his devotion towards Mae Orn. Mookda was great as Mae Orn; someone who was spunky and not afraid to be herself, but knew when to draw the line and be conscious of her surroundings. Her teaching her modern ideals and mannerisms to the servants and Khun Luang was super endearing and I replay those moments a lot. She could be a bit too self-righteous at times (esp concerning Mae Bua) but it wasn't too in my face, so I could ignore it. 

Since I love our leads as individuals, I'm obviously gonna support them being together and my goodness, I swooned and fangirled hard every time these two interacted. Khun Luang's gazes of love to Mae Orn gave me the same feelings of when Por Date would gaze at Mae Karakade (Love Destiny). The magical Mike/Mookda chemistry struck again, and it was a beautiful slow burn romance that gave me all the feels. I liked how the drama didn't make them fall for each other just because of the soulmate spell, but made them spend time together and go through events that tested their relationship. Whenever one got mad, the other would come over and talk to them to figure out why and try to resolve it. They both openly communicated with each other, and both wanted to protect the other at their own expense. I honestly could go on and on about their love story but for now I'm just gonna say I'm very happy with it and it's a well deserved HEA.

The secondary cast were all great and added to the plot. I especially love the servant gang, who added colour to the story and this drama wouldn't have been such a great watch without them. MVP is of course Por Yong, who was the reason Khun Luang could meet Mae Orn. Kaew surprised me; Chorkaew (Kaew's future self) was pretty flat but Kaew herself was sassy, bubbly and her facial expressions were always on point. I love how the servants (wanna shout out Chun and Mun too!) shipped Khun Luang and Mae Orn together and all had great comedic timing. My most replayable moments besides the romance is the servants being silly and interacting with the leads. Khun Luang's mom was awesome as well because despite her initial prejudice, she was able to see Mae Orn as a good person and the one who her son loves. Mom Tos was also an awesome 2nd ML. I actually also liked the villains Maggie was killed it as Mae Bua), although I have an issue with them that I'll discuss next.

I had some issues with this lakorn that came up repeatedly that I couldn't ignore. The biggest one are the villains; to start, I liked how terrible and cruel Mae Bua and Mom Thep were because although they made my blood boil, you can't deny they added excitement and propelled the story forward. What I disliked was how one dimensional they were and how they would repeat the same mistakes over and over with very little consequence until the very end. It got tiring to see the same cycle of either Mae Bua scheming to kill Mae Orn, or Mom Thep scheming to get with Mae Orn. After their failures, they would get told off but that did absolutely nothing and they would repeat the same shenanigans. Honestly, I wanted to see some growth from them or them having other goals other than to harm Mae Orn. Some of the editing also felt a little choppy and abrupt; we'd be in one scene feeling sad then cut to another scene that's happy, but before you could feel happy, you get cut back to the sad scene. I also wish Mae Orn had a bit more backbone when dealing with Mae Bua. I'm also salty about P'Jun; the actress who plays her tends to play the villain roles, so I was happy to see her in a good role. But then her character got stupid (I know it's following the novel but ugh) and I was very disappointed that she got with and stayed with Mom Thep despite all the shit he put her through. It was somewhat cathartic for her to end him, but I felt like her character was tragic when it didn't have to be.

The music was absolutely stunning and I love both OSTs a lot. It was played appropriately and guided the mood of the drama very well. I also loved the boran sound effects and background music. Overall, if you couldn't already tell, I love this drama a lot and had a great time watching. I was pretty much obsessed from the beginning and it got to the point where I knew I had to spare at least 2-3 hours for each episode, because of how much I would pause to take it in or to replay certain moments. I highly recommend this if you love time travel love stories and will certainly re-watch this on my own time.

As a side note; I've been a Mike/Mook fan since 2020, ever since I saw them in Maturot Lohgan. That drama has a special place in my heart as well as this pairing. Somehow, the chemistry of these two hits me differently than other pairings, and I always go back to them when I need a serotonin boost. I'm quite thankful that I was able to watch three different types of quality lakorns with these two as the leads, and if this is the last, then I'm beyond satisfied that this was the one to end it off. Of course I wouldn't complain if they were paired up again...but maybe after some time passes haha

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I never really liked the Taiwanese version of this drama (and I only briefly watched the Korean version) but Thailand has proven to me that they can do remakes well and most times better than their original counterparts. With that in mind, I gave this a go and here are my thoughts:

Likes
-A cohesive and engaging story with no filler and a nice balance between the serious and the silly aspects; it's a more mature re-telling of the original, which I really liked 
 -ML (Phawut) is one of the best MLs with how kind, compassionate and silly he was. Loved how he cleanly cut off his ex he realized he was in love with the FL (Wanida). One of the rare ones where who takes responsibility for what he does and truly has the FL's best interests at heart
-Esther gets flak for playing the same type of innocent, kind girl that gets taken advantage of, but you gotta admit she plays it well. She was a doormat but I never felt annoyed and rooted for her to break out of her shell
-Secondary cast was great; the grandma was more serious than I expected, but I actually liked that a lot. She knew when to get involved and when she should leave things be, and respected the ML's wishes even if it broke her heart. She also looked out for the FL and had her corner when ML was being mean. Loved the secretary and Wanida's mom as well
-I really liked Tre as Taya here (side note; anyone else get thrown off by his character name? If you've watched Prissana 2000 then you know it's the real name of the main actress. I found that so weird) and I found him more charming here than in Wayla Kammathep. What charmed me was how he liked the FL but never pushed her boundaries and respected that she was with the ML instead of trying to steal her away. Plus his search for his sister was really nice (also I'm hoping him and Esther get to do a lakorn together because their chemistry is pretty good)
-The use of Phawut's illness to push Wanida away didn't turn me off; usually I dislike these plots because of noble idiocy and it's been done before. But here it made sense; if she knew early on and stayed, she would've never got the chance to study abroad and develop as an individual. It was better that she saw the world first before staying to take care of him. I actually cried quite a bit at the angsty scenes regarding his illness, and felt invested in this storyline; so overall, this was a "male lead has a 'terminal' illness" done right

Dislikes
-the story lost some steam for me near the end, since it was easy to predict how things would turn out
-I wish there was more romance between the leads; there was a lot of romantic scenes in the beginning, but the true romance where it was just the two of them (no ex, no obstacles or misunderstandings) was short-lived before he found out he was sick. Then it went all angsty and self-sacrificing which I enjoyed, but made the leads separate up until the very end. It felt a little unsatisfying  
-Although I really like the ML, I think him not telling 2nd FL (his gf at the time) that he was married and got someone pregnant was shady af

Overall
It wasn't an addicting watch, but it was certainly enjoyable and well produced. It stayed faithful to the original story while adding its own Thai flair and twists that fit in the plot. Thailand strikes it again as being able to do great remakes of classic dramas. If you were a fan of the original story, I would recommend giving this a go.

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I was scrolling through Twitter when I saw the promotional posters for this lakorn and saw Fern (the main actress). I hadn't seen any projects of hers since Hua Jai Sila and the premise of this one interested me greatly. I wanted to see how it was executed and wanted to feel some angsty love. I gave it a go and here's what I think:

1. Story
I wasn't impressed with the story in the beginning, because I found the execution to be lacking. However once I got past episode 6, I didn't look back and essentially binged watched because the story was so damn good. The layers of lies and secrets they built in the early episodes slowly unraveled one by one like an onion and it was very entertaining. There was always something exciting going on. The pacing that the secrets get revealed maximized dramatic effect, so it was interesting to see how the characters reacted, and what their next move was. The story was always being pushed to its limits and it was unpredictable. Overall, I was impressed by the story and production, and it's the first time in a while that I kept watching just to see how it all ended.

2. Leads
The leads were interesting in that they were your typical poor girl/rich guy but with a twist. Nuch was the more no-nonsense, realistic lead while Tham was more emotional and wore his heart on his sleeve. It made for a different dynamic and it was interesting to see how these traits played out. I thought Fern and Tre did a good job with their characters, and it helped that they're both good-looking and complement each other (I especially enjoyed how the screenwriter/director seemed to use any excuse to keep Tre shirtless haha).

3. Secondary Cast
When you have a storyline as crazy as this and with the lengths that it was pushed, it can only be good if all the actors/actresses are committed to putting on a good show. Frankly, all of them delivered. I have to give big kudos to the cast in general (primary and secondary) because they all acted their pants off and were a big part in why this was such an exciting show to watch. They all made the crazy things seem believable and it was easy to immerse myself in the story because of them. My fav character is Tham's lakorn writer friend and my MVP is That. That was so heartbreaking for me because of how self-sacrificing he was and how he just wants to make everyone happy. What happened to him was a big injustice and I hope Toy's next role won't be as sad.  

4. Romance
Surprisingly the romance was my least favourite part of the lakorn and was the main reason why I wanted to drop this early on. The foundation for their love story was not believable and (I hate to say it) felt forced. I think it was unfair for Tham to get ragged on for not being with Nuch faster, when he got badly burned by moving too fast in his previous relationship. I also don't know where he got the conviction to say she was the one even though they went on like 3 dates. As for Nuch, I didn't see why she would fall for Tham with how immature he was. I felt like a no-nonsense woman like her wouldn't really pine for a guy who she had a few dates with. I guess love doesn't always make sense and when you know, you know? Sure you could have that kind of romance set-up but I was not a fan of how they executed it here, and unfortunately didn't feel invested in their relationship.

5. Overall
This was one of the rare lakorns where I didn't like the beginning, but grew to enjoy more as it progressed. The story and acting was just too good. The romance was serviceable. The music was bopping and there was a lot of variation; I actually looked up some of the songs and added them to my playlist. I don't think I'd re-watch this because I know the plot twists. I'd totally recommend this if you want an entertaining, well-acted drama with eye-candy leads. 

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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.

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I first started watching this drama a few years ago but never got around to finishing it. This drama just randomly popped in my head one day and I was wondering why I didn't finish. I gave it a go and here's what I like/dislike:

Likes
-how the male lead doesn't fall for the female lead at first sight and how wonderfully complex he is; major props to the actor for making him a memorable ML (and also rest his soul)
-the female lead can actually pass for a boy and is good at toeing the line of femininity and masculinity; very likeable
-great 2nd leads with good chemistry
-interesting secondary cast; good villian that made me blood pressure rise every time I saw her on screen and lovely Bussaya family. Also surprising character development for FL's mom and ML's dad
-interesting and engaging storyline that is logical and while it is old-fashioned, it makes more sense than half the dramas I've watched this year
-lovely music that's appropriately played
-well-developed romance and the juicy angst that the ML feels for the FL (who he thinks is male) that can rival that of Coffee Prince
-how the ML accepts the FL, even if he thinks "he's" male, because he loves "him" and can't be without "him"

Dislikes
-the only thing that I disliked about this was how they treated being gay like some kind of disease and huge source of shame. I mean, I get that the LGBT+ scene was not like it is today. But it sucked to see the FL bombarded with gay slurs and how everything was suddenly better when it was revealed the FL was actually female. I just made me think how ironic it was considering how now, Thailand is one of the biggest producers of BL content

Overall
I really really enjoyed watching this. I finished this a couple days ago and I'm still thinking about it and wish there were more episodes. This is one of the best gender bender dramas you'll ever watch. Highly recommend!

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This was a very interesting lakorn to watch. I pretty much binged-watch the first 10 eps over a span of three days and continued to watch the rest in real time. This was highly anticipated, as it starred Yaya and Mario who've never been the OTP up till now (both were in the Rising Sun series, but paired with different people). Now that I've finished, I'll give you my thoughts below: 

1. Story
For the most part, this was a coherent, engaging story with decent pacing. The middle episodes felt filler-ish and there was a noticeable decrease in quality of the last few episodes. But for the most part it was good. I felt like this was a slap/kiss lakorn dressed in modern clothing; while there was a good production and was no nightmare 2nd FL or r*pe, the core still felt like a typical slap/kiss with an angry male lead, soft female lead and all the misunderstandings. I pretty much felt like its "true colors" (if a drama could be a person) manifested in those last episodes with the fast pacing and plot twists. This inconsistency in pacing did annoy me, and I wish it stayed on the more contemplative tone that they set in the beginning. 

2. Leads
It's no surprise that Mario and Yaya killed it as Kla and Khim, and I felt like they're the reasons why I enjoyed watching so much. Both such complex, broken souls that have been through so much tragedy and heartbreak. I loved both characters. I really liked Kla as the rough but kind-hearted mechanic, and it was sad to see him change into a bitter, angry person due to everything he went through. Both him, Khim and I miss the old him, but completely understand that if he didn't change, then he wouldn't survive. Excellent character development. I just wish I could say the same for Khim; she still supports her father despite him ruining her life and how he continuously disregards her worth. I wish she realized that he'd never change and cut him off from her life; that she didn't need his love to know she was valuable and that her own strength was enough. Unfortunately she's too influenced by her dad and I think they could've done a lot more with her character. I think if anyone else but Yaya played her, I wouldn't have liked her as much. Yaya was able to make Khim be lovable and a victim of her dad rather than a doormat.

b) I have a complaint I want to make about Khim and her dad's relationship; a of of people talk about the incestuous relations Asia has towards Kla. But I also felt Khim's dad was borderline incestuous with Khim, in how he was obsessed to have the most important person to Khim be him. It was gross. I'm also sick of seeing these shitty fathers do shitty things to the main leads and gettin away with it in the end. This has been a long time issue I've had with Thai lakorns and to some degree I get it, but the straight up manipulation, abuse and cruelty Khim's dad put on her nearly ruined her life. It sucks even more that Khim realizes this, but still chooses her father in the end. Why can't we have our leads leave these shitty parental figures? Khim's father doesn't even apologize for what he did. I'm at least glad they did no redemption arc for him.

3. Secondary Cast
This is the first time where I've felt the secondary cast was useful to the plot but were very, very unlikable. Pretty much everyone (except Kla's dad and Claire) failed the leads and played a heavy role in the trauma they went through. While I expected the rich father to be extremely shitty, I didn't expect the "best friend" characters to be shit as well. Lita and Khem are two of the worst friends anyone can have, and are so selfish; they were the reasons Khim and Kla separated. Especially Lita, she was shady from the first ep but when she decided to lie about the letter switch-up for years and watch Khim be tortured about Kla, she was dead as a character to me and I couldn't care less. I was disgusted that they gave her a love-line with Thanchai, who I thought deserved way better. She got off way too lightly with her lies and the fact that she wasn't sorry about it, and Khim still kept her around makes my blood boil to an unhealthy degree.

I also want to mention that the way characters reacted to the lies and deceit was weird and the only one who reacted normally was Claire. She was my surprise co-MVP along with Kla's dad. If anyone wants to know how to properly deal with being betrayed, you should take a leaf out of Claire's book.

4. Romance
What really made this romance work for me was the strong foundation they built before the time-skip that made everything after so enjoyable to watch. In many ways, this reminded me of Game Rai Game Ruk (Yaya is the lead there too lol) where the leads were deeply in love before jealous forces tore them apart, and lead to a psychological game where both were very mad at each other. This was a more complex, better produced version of that. Yaya and Mario have amazing chemistry together, and their love and angst towards eo was palpable and poignant. They really made me see how two people can love eo, but not trust eo, and their relationship was tested over and over through various obstacles. I almost thought they couldn't make it but the fact that they did made it satisfying to watch.

5. Overall
This was addictive and I had a good time watching. Tbh, Yaya and Mario pretty much carried the show with their character portrayals and chemistry. The music was on point and suited the lakorn well. I just wish there were more refinements in the storytelling and character development. I'd probably re-watch the pre-time skip episodes and some select scenes but not the whole thing. Would recommend watching.

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TL;DR - This is chock full of Thai lakorn clichés and it got too much for me. The part when they were in Chiang Mai was the best, but things went downhill when they were in Bangkok. I would still encourage people to watch this as it is light-hearted and fun, and the episodes are pretty short. It was just unfortunately not my cup of tea.  

If this series only consisted of the episodes where the leads were in Chiang Mai, then I would've rated this higher. Unfortunately, I can't base my rating on a select few episodes just because logically it wouldn't make sense (even though sentimentally, I wanted to like this more). I can't deny the bad parts that soured my experience of the lakorn. A lot of people seemed to enjoy this and if you are one of them, then that's all that really matters. All of this is my opinion only.

Basically the first part of the series where they were in Chiang Mai was the best in terms of story pacing, character and romantic development. While it wasn't something I hadn't seen before and predictable, it still had unexpected emotional punches that made me feel connected. I loved the setting in the village and seeing the way of life there; the traditions, the way people spoke Thai and the clothing. Northern Thai clothing is so beautiful. The villagers, especially Khun's dad, were all adorable, well-meaning and innocent. I also thought Bua's acting shined here, as she was able to make her spoiled princess character bearable to watch and showcased her development well. The romance was also progressing well here, and it seemed to be going well until the leads went to Bangkok.

Oh boy. It seems like when they got back to the city, everything from story to romance went down the drain real fast. The story pacing became slow and hard to immerse in, and it didn't help that they used every Thai lakorn cliché in the book to drive plot. You have a shitty parent figure who wrecks havoc but gets a redemption in the end? You got it. A female lead who means well but gets herself in multiple sticky situations and ends up getting saved by the ML every time? You got it. A male lead that is so tight-lipped about his love for the female lead that you need to create a whole scenario with the 2nd ML to push him to admit it? Yep. An irrelevant female character comes to destroy the relationship between the leads even though it's been 6 years and she and the ML never dated? Oh man. The list goes on and on. The clichés were tolerable in the beginning but it really got too much and in my face. There was no subtlety. When you rely on clichés to tell your story, it just tells me that you're a lazy writer and it makes story progression feel unnatural and superficial. I felt like especially with the last scenario I mentioned (with the side FL) it added nothing except unnecessary drama and making Khun look like a fool. 

The romance at this point also relied on clichés too much where it was detrimental. Sure on the surface, Khun and Fah seemed perfect for each other and their wedding at the end was really nice. But if I really thought about it, their relationship felt oddly superficial because they put clichés where they should've put meaningful dialogue/action. The only significant conversation I can remember is in the very beginning when Fah and Khun are talking about their siblings during Fah's initial visit to the village. After that, the leads get swept up in love rival drama, family drama and drug trafficking drama, and that takes up more of their time than actually sitting down and having a conversation. The same two situations play out where Fah needs help and Khun saves her or Khun feels insecure and cuts Fah off, and Fah has to track him down and figure out what's going on. In all this, I don't see where Khun gets the confidence to say that he will only love Fah for the rest of his life; also I don't know how Fah can rely on Khun when he tends to shut her out of his problems. Presumably they get their issues sorted out by the time they get married, but we don't really see that progress. Overall I wasn't satisfied with the romance.

MVP of this show is the 2nd ML, Kawin. I admired him for trying to fight his 2nd ML fate and attempting to break out of the friendzone with Fah. Although it was futile, I will remember his attempt for a long time to come (for real I was impressed haha. Haven't seen a 2nd ML like this).

The music was okay and appropriately played. This did not play out as I'd hoped, as I like both leads. I will just look for more of their lakorns to watch. Would not re-watch. 

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TL;DR - I really wouldn't recommend you watch this unless you like the lead actors. In my opinion this was a terrible remake and the 2002 version was much better.  

Alright, so off the bat this was a very difficult and strenuous lakorn for me to get through. I usually start off the review with things I liked or appreciated, but for this lakorn I truly cannot think of any good thing I enjoyed. I do have some honourable mentions, one being Tor (2nd ML) and Neung's mom. Both were the most sensible characters out of everyone in the show and I could connect with them. Everything else just did not work for me. So with that being said, let's go on to the things I didn't like.

The story was very dry, repetitive and had a lot of filler. The same cycle of events kept repeating throughout the lakorn (eg. Kong's aunt and Fah scheme something and they mess up every time, but still get away with it and scheme again) and the same conflict between Kong/Neung kept re-hashing itself to the point where I just wanted them to go their separate ways and never see each other again. You better believe I had my FF button for the majority of this. I also felt that there was a major inappropriate use of music here; scenes that were supposed to be serious or foreboding would mainly have this upbeat music that irritated me a lot. An example I'll give is when happy, upbeat music played over the r*** scene between Kong and Neung and romanticized it, which made me feel disgusted. Simply put, I felt this was a poorly executed story and the editing was very substandard.

I honestly didn't like either of our leads, Kong and Neung. Kong was a deceptive, selfish manipulator and his love for Neung came out of nowhere; sure there were moments that he looked guilty for what he was doing, but then why does he feel guilty? There isn't any meaningful interaction between them that would make me believe that he changed his mind. This was the same issue I had in the 2002 ver, but I could ignore it there whereas here it bothered me. He couldn't take no for an answer, and forced himself numerous times on Neung which made me dislike him a lot. As for Neung, I did initially sympathize with her but after the reveal, she couldn't decide whether she still loved Kong or not. She hated him but then would get emotional and teary when he was with other women. A big part of why I didn't like her is also due to Lily's portrayal (I didn't like Push's either), which I will discuss later. 

The romance was pretty much dead on arrival after the big plot point was revealed. Again, I didn't understand where Kong's love for Neung came from, and him desperately trying to get her back would've been touching if it weren't for the fact that she showed no love for him at all. There was very little romance, no chemistry and no scenes of them being truly happy together and understanding eo; it was buried by continuous misunderstandings and schemes. So Kong being desperate and shedding his pride while Neung just wanted to get away as far as possible made him look like a loser to me. The betrayal was something that ruined their relationship and nothing happened that could make me believe it was something they could get over. They were better off not together, and it was really telling to me when I started to ship Neung with Tor, which I never considered when I watched the 2002 version. 

I was surprised I had such a tough time watching this version because I remember enjoying the 2002 version a lot. I went back to watch the 2002 ver and I've made my own conclusions below on why this 2015 remake didn't work for me, but the 2002 one did.

1. 2015: "Can I copy your homework?"
2002: "Sure but change it so it's not obvious."
If you know this meme then you understand where I'm going with the above statements. The 2015 show was an almost exact repeat of 2002, which is not what a remake is supposed to do. You're supposed to change certain things to fit in the time period it's airing because the audience and the times have changed. The few things they chose to change didn't make sense (they made Kong r*** Neung a 2nd time. Why??? They changed the flower ring scene which is one of the most pivotal moments for Kong and Neung's relationship. Why???), and the things they kept didn't make even more sense (eg. Kong is peeping at Neung and the r*** scene). I don't know why they didn't modernize this script and I honestly feel like anyone watching this for the first time would've been turned off by how old-fashioned it was. They made a somewhat questionable story even worse, and another big part of why is because of the leads.

2. Push vs Tik, Lily vs Aom. I didn't like Push's portrayal of Kong, or Lily's portrayal of Neung. Some of this is not totally on the actors, as the script was crappy and I'm sure they did the best they could. But the biggest reason why I enjoyed the 2002 ver was because Tik was very convincing and charismatic as Kong, and his charm swept me away; I could completely see why Neung would fall for him despite not knowing him for long. As for Push, I just felt like he was aggressive and creepy and his charm didn't work on me at all. But Tik would've also looked aggressive and creepy if Aom was not as strong/fiery as she was and actually had a backbone. Lily just seemed soft and weak, and it didn't help that she had a slow line delivery, to the point where it sounded like she was trying to remember her lines in between sentences. It made her look foolish. All you have to do is compare the 2002 and 2015 wedding scene where Neung reacts to the betrayal, and you will see why I think Aom portrayed Neung better than Lily did.

Overall in my opinion, this was a terrible remake of Roy Leh Sanae Rai. I would not re-watch. I honestly would not recommend anyone watch this, and would 100% recommend the 2002 version.

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TL;DR - A light-hearted, feel good lakorn. It does have its dark moments, but it makes the good moments even better. A very good story and fleshed-out cast with a nice romance between the leads, although the female lead is kind of passive. Recommend to watch if you want something comfortable. 

I'm probably in the minority when I say that I enjoyed watching this; I didn't have much expectations when I started, and was more in it for Toey (male lead) but this managed to surprisingly knock my socks off in more ways than one. This style of lakorn reminded me of those Korean weekend family dramas (that I used to enjoy watching), but not so makjang and not quite as long. I will start off with what I liked.

Firstly, the story was really strong and the pacing was good. Things didn't drag more than it needed to, and at first glance the story looked simple, but it had a lot of twists that I didn't expect. This drama also got surprisingly dark at times, despite how idealistic it was. It was easy for me to follow and immerse myself, and I never felt the urge to fast forward. Key plot points were revealed in a low-key, mature manner with not much drama; something that I greatly appreciated, but did have some faults with (I'll explain later). I liked how they played with the theme of family, and how it was more than just bloodlines. What helped make the story so good was because it had a great cast of characters that made me care for and want to root for them.

I liked the two main leads quite a lot, but I also equally liked the secondary cast just as much. They felt like real people with their own dreams and motivations, and even with the bad characters you could understand why they did what they did. There was complexity in their characters and the relationships they had with each other that made me feel like they were more than tools for plot. In particular, I really liked the character of Narin and his growth (although I think he got away a bit too easily despite what he did) and the development of the love line between Chom and Pat. I think this is the first time I was invested in the secondary love line, as I usually tend to ignore them in favour of the OTP. They had the kind of relationship where she didn't trust him and he was always trying to convince her she could (which I don't like), but what sold it for me was how he realized soon enough that no matter what he did, she wouldn't trust him and he thought it was better for her to meet someone else. Then it got her to realize she was being too hard on him, and she spends most of the drama trying to get him back. This was not something I expected and it impressed me greatly.

MVP of this drama is Rita's dad haha. Although I wasn't a fan of the actor's line delivery, he was the most compassionate, level-headed and reasonable character of them all, and knew when to cut through the crap. Phu's dad gets an honourable mention. I felt like both their wives didn't deserve them, although the wives do have redemption arcs of their own that made them better. 
I also really liked the romance of our leads, Phu and Pang. The start was a little off, but I have to say this was one of the most mature, healthiest relationships I've seen in a while. They communicate properly with each other (for the most part) and when one has issues, they talk to each other about it and go through it as a team. It helped that Phu is one of the nicest, gentleman-like male leads I've seen, and one of his greatest characteristics is that he always does the right thing even if it may hurt himself or others. I thought the way he dealt with the revelation between him and Pang was really admirable and selfless, and was refreshing compared to the male leads I usually watch. 

Now for some cons; as much as I appreciated how low-key this drama was, I also thought it was to a bit of detriment; there were some key moments where I felt the bells and whistles of dramatic effect could elevate it greatly. Instead of making me feel wowed, I just thought "huh okay this is happening" (very anticlimactic). I also thought things got a bit ridiculous near the end; I hated how they dealt with Grandma Thongbai and Phu around this point. It was too much and caught me off guard. I also think that Phu and Pang were too forgiving to the ones who hurt them, and it kinda sucked to see Pang not fight for herself when she should've (taking the moral high ground is a good thing, but not satisfying as a viewer). I also thought Pang was quite passive in her relationship with Phu; Phu was always the one confronting their problems while Pang chose to run away from them. He fought hard for them but she didn't do as much, which I wasn't a fan of. 

I really like one of the theme songs and have it on my playlist. Overall despite my misgivings, I thought this was a solid lakorn with a great cast and well thought out story. Not sure I'd re-watch since I know all the plot points. This is more of a comfortable and convenient type of drama, so if you are a slap/kiss fan then you probably won't like this. But if you like those light-hearted, feel good dramas then I encourage you to give this one a go. 

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TL;DR - Did this warrant 17 episodes? I thought so until the last ep. The reveal with the revenge doesn't happen until the last couple of episodes, which isn't my favourite. The romance had its moments, but due to the choices of the male lead, I would've been okay if they didn't end up together. Give it a watch and if you can buy into the ML's reason for revenge, I don't think you'd have a bad time.

I started watching this because it pretty much has my favorite type of slap/kiss plot (although I'm sure 90% of this genre has this sort of "macho man misunderstands innocent girl" type story) and I liked the look of the main leads. After finishing, I definitely thought there were some interesting elements, but overall just thought it was okay. I will first start with what I liked first.

One of the things that surprised me about this was how the story managed to be engaging and believable enough that it almost warranted the 17 episodes; when I first saw that it was going to be that long, I was filled with dread at how this was likely going to have a lot of filler. But this wasn't really the case; there are multiple plot lines occurring that make sense, and this lakorn does a good enough job to make you care about the characters that are directly involved. In particular, I really liked the storyline involving the dad and his conflict of how to love and protect both his sons born from different mothers. Whoever produced this show had a good sense of when certain plotlines should come in, and was in line with the current psychological states of the characters. At least to me, things went on in a logical manner that was engaging and not hard for me to go on to the next episode, although I had issues with the last episode that I'll discuss later).

I also really liked how they dealt with the character of May; the twist involving her was brilliant and she's one of the most memorable villains I've seen in awhile. Sa Anisa has really improved since Maturot Lohgan. I really really liked how when her secret was revealed, she was not demonized for being trans but rather more for her terrible actions as her own person. Her struggles as a trans woman were expressed well, and honestly it would've been too hard for the main leads to figure her true identity, so it made sense that it was revealed in the end. I will say that I felt like it would've been more in line if she'd try to kill Jan; she'd already gone too far and we don't really see her feel guilt for tricking Jan till the last episode. I felt like if I changed my whole ass gender for someone, I'd see it all the way through. Regardless, I'm satisfied with her development and I'll remember her for a long time.

Now onto what I didn't like; the first problem was that I didn't like how everything was resolved in the last episode. Problems that had been plaguing the characters for hours in the lakorn were conveniently settled within half an hour or so in the last ep. I really dislike this kind of storytelling because it makes me feel like I wasted my time, and it makes for an unnatural ending. This sort of quick, idealistic wrap-up with sunshine and rainbows felt like a cop-out and it disregarded the earlier conflicts that took long to set up. I also felt like production kind of gave up just because it was the last ep. Another problem I had was that I wasn't expecting the revenge plot to go on for so long, although this is a point that I'm conflicted with myself. On one hand, Jan should've had an idea that Sichon was Nam (there were a lot of coincidences) at least halfway through and move the plot quicker. On the other hand, if she did find out early and things resolved sooner, I would've lost interest in the OTP.  Ultimately, this is something that I've just come to accept, although it doesn't make me satisfied and isn't what I was expecting.

Another dislike is unfortunately the romance; because the revenge went on for so long, it personally made me unable to completely immerse myself in the romance. I thought BigM and Hana had really good chemistry, and the way they touched eo was very intimate and special. However for me, when I saw these intimate scenes, my feelings of romance would be negated by the fact that I knew the revenge would come, and it greatly bothered me that Jan was totally falling for him while he was intent on deceiving her. 

I was also disappointed by Sichon's character; at first I thought he would be like the main lead from Game Rai Game Rak (both even have similar names!). However, Sichon had this big insecurity about being low-born and would just again and again cave-in to it despite what Jan did for him. While I don't deny that he loved Jan, he also couldn't believe in her and it's telling when the aunt and 2ndry FL believed her more than him. The moment he chose to believe Mek's words (in the latter third) was when I kind of gave up on him and thought Jan deserved better. Jan was a queen in every way and frankly I would've been okay if they didn't end up together. 

I will inject some Sichon positivity and say that I was touched at the part with May when told her that gender didn't matter when it came to love. That everyone deserves love. I honestly expected him to hold that against her, but the fact that he didn't warmed my heart.

Music was alright (at the very end they played one of my fave Tilly Bird songs which I totally didn't expect), and I liked the secondary cast as well. Not something I'd re-watch. If you don't mind that the big reveal doesn't happen until the last couple of episodes, I'd say to give this a watch. 

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TL;DR - The gangster mafia male lead gets the high schooler female lead to negotiate with an arms dealer on his behalf while she's still in her school uniform. If this sentence makes you cringe, then I advise you don't watch but if you find humor in that, I'd say to give it a go. You gotta suspend your disbelief a lot on this one plus the romance is not too hot, but the unintentional humor this show gives and the kick-ass actions of the FL make it worth a watch.

I honestly wasn't sure what to rate this lakorn, as I had many things that I enjoyed but also many things that I disliked. I kinda figured I would average it out to an average score even though subjectively, I'd probably add a 0.5-1 extra for the laughs and comfort it gave me (as I was stressed when I started watching this). However I can't deny the subpar aspects of this lakorn and will actually start with the potholes first.

To sum it up: the editing, directing, production and story/plotline. All of these were done dirty to the point where it was actually funny how bad it was. You get the sense that the directors meant for this to be a serious and dark drama about the mafia, but with the stylistic choices made, it's very hard to take it seriously. Regarding the story; it's quite illogical and you have to suspend your disbelief heavily in order to watch. The way they depict the mafia and gang relations is unrealistic and the things that they get certain characters (esp Nark) to do just doesn't make sense. Important secondary characters also drop like flies with little to no remorse. The pacing is also pretty bad as there's a lot of filler, and I'd say about half the drama is the actors just staring at each other for long periods of time. As I was watching this, the editing reminded me of a PowerPoint presentation where each slide had the same special effect; you effectively had multiple sequences of scenes where the camera cut to one person and then zoomed in on their face; then it would cut to another and do the same thing. The music was also very overplayed (although I did like it), and some of the outfits looked like they were styled by someone with absolutely no fashion sense.

Of course I have to mention the fantastic acting from Bomb, who played the male lead (and by fantastic I mean terrible lol). I knew Bomb was stiff as hell from seeing him in Khun Chai Rachanon, but here he seemed even more flat. There were times throughout the lakorn where it seemed like he was mentally not there; something I found amusing, but it was also frustrating in scenes where he was supposed to emote. It didn't help that with all the zoomed-in staring scenes this lakorn had, that he was the one who had the most close-ups (ofc since he's the ML) where he just gave nothing. At most I felt he was serviceable here. I don't hate Bomb, but it just sucks when you know a different actor could've elevated the character of Lin Lan Ser (LLS) even more and make him more watchable.

And yet. Despite all these issues I had, I still enjoyed watching this. I found some of the bad things (PowerPoint editing, Bomb's flat expressions) to be amusing in a way and would giggle uncontrollably when it came about. What I found funny was that this was intended to be a serious mafia drama, but then when presented with the unrealistic depictions and some small things (like trying to pass off Taipei as Hong Kong, the bad guy talking to the villain on the phone while literally getting a bullet taken out of him, Nark passing out with her eyes open and crossed like a cartoon character), it's just begging to be made fun of. I just wonder how they thought the audience could take it seriously with all that and if anything, this could've been a satire on mafia dramas. 

This show was also greatly helped by a good secondary cast and the star of the show, Ruthainark. Mint's back must've hurt from pretty much carrying the show on her shoulders with her wonderful depiction of her character, Nark. I love that Nark is fearless, very independent and solves problems on her own. She talks back to LLS in an audacious manner that is funny and admirable. She's also crucial for the story progression as it is her plans and meddling that allows the plot to move forward. It did drive me a little crazy at how dense she was to LLS's feelings, although LLS deserved it haha. When comparing Mint's lively portrayal of Nark to Bomb's flat one, it strangely complements each other and generates this weird chemistry (more on that later). I do want to mention some fave secondary characters in Jongsing (who's pretty much the reason why LLS is at the top), Danny (who always knew what was up) and Mei Jin. Mei Jin was a surprise for me as her actress usually plays the bitchy, possessive types but here she was just a sad lady looking for love. I was sad at her ending and she definitely deserved better.

Now for the romance, I'd say in general it was lacking. However I don't think that's to a fault, as the leads had a huge age gap (and the FL was still underage) so it helped to not make the pairing feel so icky. I did think that both characters complemented each other, and had this interesting chemistry where I couldn't help but think they were cute together. It's not the healthiest relationship by any means, but if I'm just looking at this as a drama-made relationship and not a realistic depiction of one, then I don't mind.

Overall, I'm still not quite sure what to make of this lakorn. The bad and the good balance each other out. But what I will say is that this came at a time when I wanted to watch something mindless and funny, and this achieved that. If you come into this lakorn with the expectation that this is a fantastical/unintentionally humorous portrayal of the mafia, with a somewhat acceptable love story between a gang leader and a high schooler, then I think you'd have a good time. For re-watch value, I would probably re-watch some select scenes I found funny, but not more than that.

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TL;DR - I didn't like this and had a hard time watching it. The story is clunky, the main leads are unlikeable and the romance is problematic. Things do get better in the last 2-3 episodes, but IMO it's not worth going through all the episodes prior to it. A lot of people seemed to like this, so I'd say to give it a watch and see how you like it.

So...to say that this lakorn wasn't what I expected is kind of an understatement. I enjoyed watching My Forever Sunshine which had Mark in it, plus I heard good things about this (and I haven't had Mew on my screen for awhile), so I thought I would enjoy this as well. It's safe to say that I think MFS is much better than this in all aspects, and I'll just start with what I liked first.

I liked the secondary cast, and particularly enjoyed the LGBT sub-plotlines. I thought it was well done. I also liked the beautiful scenery of Dawei; I didn't know Myanmar had so many beautiful places and temples, and the culture was very interesting to see. Another like is the character development for Yada and how they took care of the villain by doing unto him what he did to others. 

Now to get on with my dislikes; I'm going to organize these because I'm pretty much gonna be ranty, and it's unfortunately the things I care most about in a drama which is story, characters and romance.

1. The story was kind of a mess for me. The individual plotlines (there were 3) kind of made sense on their own but when looking at the lakorn as a whole, I thought it didn't flow well and was not cohesive. I especially didn't like the first one, (hacker plot) where it not only went on for way too long, but it was random and really only served to make the female lead look bad. Story lines should be there to engage in the lakorn and develop the main characters. This wasn't the case for the first plot, the second plot (Dawei) was just kinda better and the last plot (pregnancy) was the best. It's unfortunate that the best one was only about the last 3 eps whereas the rest took up the majority; I felt a lot of it could've been cut down. It was also predictable, as there were episodes where I had it in the background while doing something else (while occasionally looking at the screen), because I didn't need to watch it fully to know what was going on. Part of why I couldn't enjoy the story was also due to our leads, which is my next point.

2. a) Moei: At first, I felt sorry for Moei and I related to her deeply in regards to her unrequited love for Tien. The scene in ep 3 with her and Tian in the rain was the peak of her unrequited love and I actually teared up. However when it got to the hacker plot, I was dumbfounded to see Moei not only be super clingy to Tien, but also low-key manipulative. I couldn't understand how even after Tien would reject her or put her down (often in a cruel manner) that she would cry, then stick to Tien as if nothing happened. It was unnerving. She kept clinging to Tien in hopes that he would fall in love with her and it was really cringey for me to watch. Later down the line, I found her character to be inconsistent eg. in one moment she was wishing for Tien to love her, but then when he did, she backed off and thought he deserved better. She had many moments like this where the change was so abrupt, and I think it's more of the director's fault than Moei. There is no build-up to Moei's changes, and I wish we could've seen her thought process so it didn't feel so random. I don't see why production couldn't add some more scenes showing Moei writing in her journal about her changing feelings/thoughts instead of me having to fill in the blanks. I'm sad to say that I found her unlikable for the most part, and I wish she was better written.

b) Tien: Obviously he was unlikable for me from the start, and I immensely disliked how he treated Moei. However, this actually changed during the hacker plot where I actually began to feel sorry for him; he was forced to marry a girl he doesn't like and said girl is clinging to him in an unwarranted manner. Him being mean was doing Moei a service, as he wasn't leading her on and I found myself rooting for him to get away. However, he began to be unlikable again by continuously putting down and taking advantage of Moei, and treating her like an object. I especially found it gross when he fell for Moei and tried to stop her from leaving; instead of confessing to her, he got her drunk and slept with her as a means to keep her. This behavior is pretty consistent up until the last couple of eps, and I was just not with it.

3. Now with both leads being problematic, the romance was of course not something I really supported. It was unbalanced from the start. There was this toxic cycle of Tien treating Moei badly, but then Moei would just accept it in hopes that it would show her love, which only enabled Tien to continue disrespecting her. It was also icky to me that with Moei's pursuit of Tien, it showed that if you like someone, you just gotta stick to them like glue and eventually they will love you back. That's absolutely not true and this is the kind of mindset the 2nd leads usually have, which I generally despise. Overall, I thought they were better off not together.

I have to say, this would've been a lost cause if not for the last 2-3 eps. I liked how Moei made Tien prove his love for her (not a fan of how she did it but whatever) so that the relationship between the two was equal. This was also where I was actually emotionally invested into their pairing and I was touched with what they did for each other, especially with how Tien freaking donated his kidney for Moei. I also liked how the ramifications of Moei's pregnancy added to the plot, and how it made them rely on and take care of each other. It really came full circle to how they were then vs now, and I just wish this happened a lot sooner.

I thought the music was alright and appropriately played. I would not re-watch this. A lot of people seemed to enjoy this, and if you are one of them then that's all that really matters. These are just my opinions. I would say to give this a watch and see how you like it.

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TL;DR - I have some issues with the romance but I give it a pass; if you don't think too hard, you will enjoy it. Good story and casting, and overall had a good time watching.

I guess to start, can I just comment on the English title for this lakorn? I found it to be quite lovely and also apt at how I would describe the romance in this, in which somewhere, somehow, their love began. I say this with some romantic awe but also some critical inklings, of which I'll explain later and first start with what I enjoyed.

The story in this was very well done and kept me riveted throughout the lakorn. It was fast-paced but you could still digest what was going on, and every scene mattered. Production and script was also great. I'm surprised it was done so well as the last OneHD lakorn I saw was not so good. I will comment that I didn't realize that this was supposed to be set in the 1970s until I saw how the FL's best friend was dressed, so I suppose they could've done that better. Otherwise, I thought this was a well-produced show.

The casting in this was also spot on and I think everyone acted very well. In particular, the roles of Pokhai and Lookmee as the antagonists were done very well and I liked how they were clearly evil but also had their reasons for why they were like that. Especially Pokhai, I felt so bad for him and could not completely hate him, and almost wanted him to win and bring his shit father down. I also felt bad at how he was used by Lookmee, although he was pretty much playing with fire with her. Lookmee was also a scary, cold-hearted villainess that genuinely made my blood boil, but also impressed me with how far she would go to obtain her goals. Her desire to win was what brought her demise and it pretty much stemmed from her father, who can only regret.

Speaking of fathers that can only regret, we of course have to mention Panin's father, who was the source of all the problems this show had. He was awful and prejudiced, and it took Pokhai dying, Lookmee scorning him and Ris taking a bullet to realize he was wrong. I wish he was punished more for what he enabled and I'm surprised Pokhai's mom didn't spit in his face after everything (like all he could say was sorry but would that bring back her dead son? I think not).

I also want to shout out the MVP of the show which is Linjong. The best and sweetest friend anyone can have. I also really liked the child actor who played Pete, as he is probably the best child actor I've seen by far.

Now to discuss the romance; overall, I liked it. I liked Ris and Panin, and I was surprised that Panin was not angry at Ris for long; in fact he was reasonable and kind, and it made it more believable for why Ris would still like him. I actually thought the beginning part where it seemed like he insta-loved on her was well done and didn't make me cringe. But here's the thing that holds me back; if I were Panin and found out that the girl I really liked but only knew for a couple days was the object of my brother's year long crush and had a baby with him, that would kill any feelings I'd have. Similarly, if I were Ris and was deceived by a guy I only knew for a couple of days, who turned out to be the brother of my best friend, and had to deal with a shit father-in-law, that would also kill my feelings. I didn't see why they had to be together. I also just didn't see how they could love each other again but somehow they did, and I kind of just went along with it. I don't really want to think about this too hard, so I'll just leave it as it is and be happy for their HEA.

The music is what got me into watching and it was appropriately played, so it gets full marks. I wouldn't re-watch this, but I'd remember the good experience I had watching. I know this was a remake but I haven't watched the original, nor plan to, so I can't comment on that. Overall if you're in the mood for a romance set in the 1970s with a good story and good cast, I'd recommend you give this a watch.

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TL;DR - An excellent lakorn on all fronts (story, characters, music and romance). If you want to watch a good classic lakorn with no bullshit, you should definitely give this one a watch.

Have you ever had an experience where you wish you could forget everything so you can relive the moments over again? That is what watching this lakorn is for me. There is so much that I loved about this and I'll try not to gush too much, but off the bat this is a highly recommended watch and I'll explain why below .

One of the things I really liked about this show was how every moment counted and added to the story; there was no wasted filler. Every scene had a point, whether to develop the story or the characters. This made it easy to zip through the episodes and I never felt the urge to FF or was bored, because every scene was engaging and mattered. I loved how it really captured the feel of how life was in the 1930s in Thailand, how people thought, and how the social customs were. While I didn't agree with some of the ideas, I can't really blame it considering the time this was set in and when the lakorn was released. Everything made sense and I didn't have to think too hard to justify the actions of characters or story direction.

Speaking of the characters, this was casted perfectly and I pretty much loved all the characters, even the villains. This lakorn really took the time to build them up and make me understand them as individuals, and added depth that made them more than a secondary cast; they felt like real people, with their own feelings, thoughts and dreams, that in turn made me care for and root for them. I also loved the relationships that were built; in particular I loved the relationships between Prissana and her sisters. It made me think of my relationship with my own sister. I also felt I could relate to each sister in some way, and my fave is Anong because I am the most like her. I felt so bad when Praweet went from liking her to liking Prissana, but couldn't deny that Prissana was just so much more outstanding and Anong could not compete (I too, have been in a similar situation). I wish Anong didn't accept Praveet back since I felt she could do better, but she was clearly still in love with him and since it made her happy, then I'm happy too.

Some MVPs are Anon and Prissana's mom. Both characters I didn't expect to like as much, but both are just simply amazing and admirable. Both managed to be more than the roles of a typical 2ndary ML and the FL's mom, and all I can say is that you really have to watch to see what I mean.

Now to talk about our leads, Prissana and Tan Chai Puth. Prissana is simply one of a kind. She's headstrong but knows when to draw back (except with Tan Chai!), knows what she wants, can deal with people, is intelligent, confident, realistic and she doesn't bother with someone unless they bother her. I really liked how she dealt with Praveet; she had legit reasons for not wanting to marry him (incompatible personalities, etc) that were reasonable and well thought out, and not just that she doesn't think of him that way. I found that very refreshing. I'm impressed at how modern she was but could balance that with being in 1930s Thailand (as a side note, I was shocked to hear how fluent she was in English. Very unexpected!). Prissana is very unique (love her curls too!) and I don't think other FLs can compare.

I didn't initially like Tan Chai Puth, mainly because of the dog incident and how he didn't apologize for it after. There were some incidents that happened that were his fault that he didn't own up to and it frustrated me. But it actually made sense the way he reacted; as the lakorn explained, he is rich and royalty, and is used to having people cater to him and not the other way around. That's why it made it so much better when he did own up to his faults later in the story, and was the first to profess his love to Prissana. He's charismatic and wise, and I found his undying love to be endearing. Tan Chai is pretty much the embodiment of an ideal lover (though Praveet is in reality what men are like haha).

Of course, I loved the romance. It made sense and the slow burn got me all in the feels. I have to say, I'm surprised at the amount of affection that was displayed. Their hugs looked so warm and comforting, and I'm surprised they even had a kiss scene (granted it was a fake one, but I'm okay with that). I'm cheesed that we didn't get to see their wedding, but I thought their last scene together about being apart one last time (this was the night before their wedding) was beautifully done.

The music was wonderful and appropriately played. Overall, this was an excellent lakorn that kept me invested in the story and its characters from start to finish. I will likely re-watch this. If you want to watch a classic period drama with no filler or screaming/2-D characters, then I would highly recommend that you give this a watch.

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TL;DR - I thought this was decent, although I personally wasn't a fan of the romance until the last episode. I think if you like fantasy rom-coms, you won't be too disappointed with this one. If all else, it is worth watching for Mario's performance.

I had heard about this lakorn from a blogpost a few years ago and didn't think to watch it until I heard the OST. I really liked it, so I gave this a go. I will first talk about what I enjoyed.

The absolute star of the show was Mario and his dual portrayal of the thorny Thun and sweet Mek. He played both characters very well and was able to seamlessly transition from one to the other. He made it really easy to believe that there were two spirits in one body. It surprised me how much he made me want to punch him when he was Thun, but then make me simp for him when he was Mek (plus how he captured the Boran mannerisms) which is very hard to do. I enjoyed watching his performance. I can definitely see where the hype for Mario comes from and I'll certainly be looking for other lakorns of his that I can watch.

I also liked the story. It kept me on my toes and there were some things that happened that I didn't expect. I liked how I couldn't really predict how the lead's ancestors were intertwined, and how they showed snippets of the past but not the whole shebang until it was relevant (a weird thing to like, but when you've watched other shows that aren't as smart, you learn to appreciate things like this lol). I also like how the slow revelation of the past was paralleled with what was happening in the present; history was quite literally repeating itself in a similar, but also different manner that was creative and not what I expected.

Beyond these two things, I thought the rest of the show was pretty average. I found the secondary cast to be okay; Pu was certainly the stand out with his character growth and feeling sorry that he was destined to never get the girl (and he knew it). I did like the second leads, and in particular I was surprised at the decent performance Punjan gave for his character (Kew's brother). I say this because I watched him in My Forever Sunshine and I thought he was so blah there, but here he felt alive. His character development and love lines were interesting and enjoyable to watch.

Now to get on with what I didn't particularly like, which was the romance. In the beginning, I felt like I was watching a typical "tyrant CEO that forces his love on the poor female lead and she has no choice but to accept cuz he's rich" trope that has been seen a thousand times before. To Thun's credit, he did try to give Kew space and respected her choices when he could've just ignored them, and Kew did call him out for being overbearing. But he was pretty much doing things his own way and just expected Kew to go along with it, which I didn't like. I also felt the romance between Kew and Thun to be somewhat forced and didn't accept their pairing until the last episode. Again, to both Mario and Mint's credit, they were cute together and made their pairing as believable as it could be. It was just hard for me to see when Kew fell for Thun when it was clear that she liked Mek more and tbh I shipped her with Mek more than with Thun. They also had a terrible fake kiss scene. I don't deny the genuine love they both seemed to have for each other, but the foundation for it was weak for me and not really believable till the last episode.

I also didn't like how they milked the villain until the last episode. The rinse and repeat of him hurting the leads then somehow conveniently escaping got old fast. I wished they just had Champagne take over his role and move forward from there.

As for the rest, music was what got me into this lakorn and I still enjoyed listening to it here, especially the main theme song. It was appropriately played. I would not re-watch this. If you like fantasy rom-coms and don't have weird hang ups like me, I think you would enjoy this. If all else, just watch this for Mario's excellent performance as dual spirits in one body.

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