To be completely honest, this show is somewhat of a mess. It breaks the laws of logic, flies in the face of human reason, and unabashedly continues on and on and on without any explanation. Furthermore, despite the fact that it was made in 2017, when you watch it, it feels like you’re watching something made back in 2007. And really, how can people become good so quickly after being evil for so long? But despite all of this (or perhaps because of it), this drama is relentlessly endearing. It just goes after your heart and then doesn’t let go, right from the very first scene. I adore it. I have a massive crush on Mark Prin now—and like Kimmy by extent, haha. I already know I’m going to love Yaya for a thousand years. I even have a soft spot for the supporting characters (have you seen Toey Jarin‘s photoshoots?) So even though it is messy, it’s important to remember that any piece of work is what you take out of it. I got SO much out of this drama. It made me research Buddhist funerals, the concept of karmic forgiveness, look into monasteries, become educated about Thai culture, read sites on their entertainment industry, find out about old scandals, and just made me learn—learn—learn! And it helped a lot with my thesis because of that . . . strange, right?

Moving to the actual drama—what initially intrigued me was the question it posed. How is it possible that a man can fall in love with the woman responsible for his fiancé’s death? This question was more than answered for me. Yaya is spectacular and has so much heart as Jee. Mark plays his limited role of Sathit very well, he gives it a lot of subtlety and the fury and heartbreak he shows is understandable and palpable. Louis is good, even though his character is mildly irritating. Toey’s Piak is actually fun for me—which I think is unpopular amongst other viewers, haha. I found her misplaced jealousy and petty vengeance taken to the extreme to be very enjoyable in the beginning, though after they began doing circles with their sideplot I did get bored. The actor who played P’Suki was uproarious, I loved him too. Jee’s best friend—Dao, I think?—was nice as well. She comes across as relatable and so altruistic, and somehow I saw a lot of myself in her. Funnily enough, though, I actually got bored of her loveline faster than I did of Piak’s. I’ll probably go back and watch the important bits of her story sometime soon.

Finally, what everyone’s been waiting for—YES, THEIR CHEMISTRY IS MAGNIFICENT. It’s . . . to die for, and for me, unforgettable. Their romantic scenes are perfection. The small touches, every single embrace, the look on their faces—it was everything. Mark does it so well—I sort of feel as though his hands have some part to do with it? The camera focuses on his hands a lot—he brushes hair away from Jee’s forehead, rubs a circle with his thumb over her shoulder, smoothes back a stray wave, holds her hand, and so much more. Mark infuses a lot of meaning into these relatively tiny things that elevate their romance for me. I might’ve fallen in love with him over the course of this drama, LOL. Yaya is fantastic too. Her eyes, body language, dialogue delivery. They mesh really well somehow, and I know that they’re in a close friend group in real life too, so maybe that sense of comfort and familiarity translates somehow. And the kiss scenes . . . I’m not even going to say anything. You’ll have to experience it for yourself.

The music is alright, only relatively good, though the lyrics are really nicely applicable. Sufficiently heartstring-tugging, in my opinion. Coming to rewatch value, I already know I’ll be rewatching. I watched it for the first time with a friend, and have a rewatch planned in a month or two with another friend after finals. It’ll be her first time then.

This one is going into my list of greats (and I will fully admit that it may be in part due to its sentimental value for me, LOL). But really, I adored this.

Read More

As if in a dream.

This is the first drama I have watched in a long time. The initial premise caught my eye and as the drama went on, the resulting threads that spin off from this central betrayal kept my interest. That said, the main couple lost me around the sixteenth episode mark and the secondary couple kept me watching. Both of them fall into interesting and--rare (?)-- tropes.

The first couple is about a righteous general whose wife turns out to be a member of a demonic clan. However, if you are expecting a drama about contrasting principles or the struggle of incompatible lifestyles despite pure marital love, you won't find it here. It goes a slightly more mainstream route and the conflict is mostly about staying together in the face of outside evil. This is still executed well and the episodes that show how they got to their present state are the most captivating part of their love story. For example--the scene in which he buys her red-and-white flower shoes and puts them on for her is quite beautiful. The contrast between a civilized man and chaotic woman is played around with in a fun way during these episodes. Overall, they start off as a very innocent couple. This quality slowly goes away as they face more trials (you'll know what I mean when you see it) and hence I began skipping around on their scenes.

The second couple is about a princess who is forcibly married to her first love. She possesses Qilin blood, which makes her a coveted item throughout the series. It seems everyone in Chang'an wants her blood, including her villainous (or so you think) general hubby. These two kept me watching till the very end. The hook with them is a simplistic question about the morality of taking advantage of an innocent. But the drama manages to complicate this question with a few tragic backstories and watching the eventual romantic answer to this question is riveting. My favorite moment with them is definitely their first meeting, set during a magical night festival with the usual effects of sparklers, candied hawthorne, gold-tinseled booths, and lanterns.

Watch this if you are in the mood for an intense, whirlwind romantic drama. It will surely fulfill all your expectations in that case! I was lucky enough to pick this up at the exact right moment.

Read More