6
1
You Who Came From The Stars.
If you ever had a chance to meet a version of you from another life and timeline, what would you do?
Love Upon A Time's underlying theme rests upon this fact. Like any other time travel drama, it comes with the same caveats, but what I admired about the story as it wrapped up, was how consistent the characters and rules of time were.
You just know that there existed a distinction between the past and the present, almost as if the flow was rough around the seams. But, it is this little point that made me add an additional half stars to my 8.5 rating.
Well, here goes my thoughts.
Time travel and History are two genres that rarely do well in synergy. The suspension of disbelief becomes a necessity to admire its beautiful and often tragic elements; something that viewers find highly disconcerting as the existence of paradoxes makes the former impossible to ignore. And melancholy is a feeling desired by none.
But, without a doubt, none can deny that they are always suspenseful, regardless of what genre of time travel the story is attempting to convey. Was it going to be a romance? Doomed for sure. Were they going to change the past? A price has to be paid.
Hence, isekai dramas, although a deluge of them are already present, tend to scare away viewers.
Like all drama viewers, I too, have had my fair share of the same genre. The Eternal Love, my first Chinese Drama, happens to be of the exact same kind as Love Upon a Time. If you think Nakhun Patthanathada was over the top, Qu Tan Er would have given him a run for his money — the girl got transported a thousand years back and she did not even attempt to hide that she was not the same person as she was before.
Scratch all that, I love time travel dramas and novels. Unfortunately, our male lead Nakhun Patthanathada doesn’t.
★ A rational English Literature student. Nakhun, finds himself plagued by a series of ill omens, culminating in him spectacularly failing Thai History as well as inciting his English Professor to grant the class an assignment on whether they believe in time travel fiction after he trenchantly refuses to divulge from logic. Fate offers him a chance to fix both his academic issues - sending him back directly to Ayuthaya Kingdom, 400 years ago.
Forced to assume the identity of a certain “Klao”, he attempts to navigate the past with his non-existent knowledge and find out what had happened to the real Klao. All while being constantly monitored by Klao’s childhood friend, Lord Phop, who starts to suspect that the new Klao indeed might not be the one he had known.
★ The drama begins with a pilot episode that goes a tad bit overboard with emphasizing how exactly unlucky Nakhun was. It takes its sweet time, introducing characters very much earlier while slowly building up the plot around them, letting their personalities and relations simmer and settle. Particularly characters such as Jom and Kaew.
Moreover, Klao’s storyline is literally buoyed by an ensemble cast - particularly Phop and the servants Chuay, Sai, Phong and the cooking Lady, who offer insights and flashbacks into the mysterious Klao’s past. Something that Nakhun himself might not be able to provide.
Personally, I liked how they managed to instill the truth about how high the stakes were for Nakhun - he was nowhere close to the real Klao and his modern shenanigan and detective work combined with the classic historical set up that characters such as Phop lived by gave an amalgamation of two different genres in a rather comic manner - it was romance for Phop while it was a mystery for Nakhun.
★ I’ve always admired JJ’s skills after seeing him in The Next Prince. (Yeah. Considering that his plotline was pure smoke, he managed to create something out of nothing just through sheer talent, which is why I remember him.)
But, Love Upon A Time gives him the opportunity to portray a variety of emotions - Nakhun is a versatile character who changes according to the person he deals with. He is rather funny with Thee, doesn’t mess around with Pun, careful with his words when it comes to Phop and manipulates both Phop and Chuay to get his way. He is also sharp and knows to defend himself quite well.
While Nakhun is more serene, the character Klao is hinted to have had a miserable existence. Moreover, we can make out exactly how different those two were.
★ They do not kid around with time travel. The prickly part? The viewers are stuck in the past as Nakhun is. This can be either thrilling or annoying, but as I am in the former category, I did not mind it much.
★ As for Nakhun and Phop’s romance? Nakhun clearly informs viewers about what he thinks of their relationship and I share the same sentiments as his.
Phop is already in love with Klao, which Nakhun perceives quite early in the story. From Nakhun’s point of view, the romance is fun and easy to follow and is evidently the lighter aspects of the rather tumultuous past of Klao. But, the caveat? It is bound to be doomed.
So, in spite of cheering for the couple, viewers can't help but feel despair. They were bound to the rules of the time and time itself was their biggest enemy.
Then, there is Phop. Who is clearly stuck somewhere in the middle of a modern romance and historical tragedy.
Net is an expressive actor and he does not disappoint, bringing Phop’s internal dilemma to life. He shines in the final episodes, both as Phop and Tinnaphob. I have to give it to him, his future self was a lot more calm and composed as compared to Phop from the past.
★ Jom - it's surprising that he received a lot of dislike initially. To me, he was a very interesting character and I found his actions quite different from how others perceived him. I might be in the wrong, though.
Latte plays the two very different characters extremely convincing – one was a goofball foolishly in love with Pun while the other was a very serious Physician who thwarts Kaew’s attempt at romance. Just like JJ’s Nakhun and Klao. Both characters are a stark contrast to their modern counterparts.
★ Kaew/Pun -- the most consistent character in both the past and present. Kim Pongsaton was absolutely ethereal in his role. Calm, quite and collected to both Thee and Nakun's, he was a scene stealer.
His romance with Thee was both endearing and heartbreaking to watch.
★ The Friendships, particularly between Jom/Thee, Pun/Kaew and Nakun was heartwarming. Not to mention Chuay, Sai and Phong
The story is almost told by an ensemble cast without whom the plot wouldn't move forward. Even minor characters like Varna exist to prove a point rather than simply being a plot device.
★ Nakhun and his mother -- initially glimpsed in EP1, her presence as a very important person in Nakun's life doesn't change, even when he goes back to the past. There was something deeply moving about seeing the simple love between a parent and child being portrayed on-screen. (I'm in a similar situation as him when it comes to college, which might be the reason it struck home.)
★ Villains -- the mystery is rather high stakes and dawdles as a result of the 'culprit'. But, it is not until the final half of the drama that things begin to become more clear. I have to say, by the end of the drama, I felt rather satisfied with how everything wrapped up.
★ The Soundtrack was absolutely beautiful. All the different OSTs, along with their instruments were absolutely wonderful. Particularly the one by Bowkylion and JJ.
And so were the traditional outfits. I loved Kaew's in particular as it seemed to simple suit him perfectly. Also, Phop's uniform and Varna's outfits.
★ Is the drama perfect? No way - but that's the thing about time travel dramas. Considering that we had only one and a quarter episode to reestablish Nakun's life back into the future. There is also an upsetting truth when it came to this, but I understand why it had to happen that way.
But, Love Upon A Time acknowledged these inevitable changes and boldly pulled the story closed without leaving any loose threads.
★ This is definitely one of the best works by Mandeep Channel, perhaps following Khemjira, Your Sky and Duang With You. There was a story and characters to build up and they managed to arrive at a neat denoument without stepping off line.
Kudos to the cast and crew and I'll definitely be looking forward to Net, JJ, Kim and Latte's future works.
I began this as an experimental watch, but three months later, I have completed it with satisfaction. A solid 9/10 for being one of the most wholesome dramas I've seen this year.
Love Upon A Time's underlying theme rests upon this fact. Like any other time travel drama, it comes with the same caveats, but what I admired about the story as it wrapped up, was how consistent the characters and rules of time were.
You just know that there existed a distinction between the past and the present, almost as if the flow was rough around the seams. But, it is this little point that made me add an additional half stars to my 8.5 rating.
Well, here goes my thoughts.
Time travel and History are two genres that rarely do well in synergy. The suspension of disbelief becomes a necessity to admire its beautiful and often tragic elements; something that viewers find highly disconcerting as the existence of paradoxes makes the former impossible to ignore. And melancholy is a feeling desired by none.
But, without a doubt, none can deny that they are always suspenseful, regardless of what genre of time travel the story is attempting to convey. Was it going to be a romance? Doomed for sure. Were they going to change the past? A price has to be paid.
Hence, isekai dramas, although a deluge of them are already present, tend to scare away viewers.
Like all drama viewers, I too, have had my fair share of the same genre. The Eternal Love, my first Chinese Drama, happens to be of the exact same kind as Love Upon a Time. If you think Nakhun Patthanathada was over the top, Qu Tan Er would have given him a run for his money — the girl got transported a thousand years back and she did not even attempt to hide that she was not the same person as she was before.
Scratch all that, I love time travel dramas and novels. Unfortunately, our male lead Nakhun Patthanathada doesn’t.
★ A rational English Literature student. Nakhun, finds himself plagued by a series of ill omens, culminating in him spectacularly failing Thai History as well as inciting his English Professor to grant the class an assignment on whether they believe in time travel fiction after he trenchantly refuses to divulge from logic. Fate offers him a chance to fix both his academic issues - sending him back directly to Ayuthaya Kingdom, 400 years ago.
Forced to assume the identity of a certain “Klao”, he attempts to navigate the past with his non-existent knowledge and find out what had happened to the real Klao. All while being constantly monitored by Klao’s childhood friend, Lord Phop, who starts to suspect that the new Klao indeed might not be the one he had known.
★ The drama begins with a pilot episode that goes a tad bit overboard with emphasizing how exactly unlucky Nakhun was. It takes its sweet time, introducing characters very much earlier while slowly building up the plot around them, letting their personalities and relations simmer and settle. Particularly characters such as Jom and Kaew.
Moreover, Klao’s storyline is literally buoyed by an ensemble cast - particularly Phop and the servants Chuay, Sai, Phong and the cooking Lady, who offer insights and flashbacks into the mysterious Klao’s past. Something that Nakhun himself might not be able to provide.
Personally, I liked how they managed to instill the truth about how high the stakes were for Nakhun - he was nowhere close to the real Klao and his modern shenanigan and detective work combined with the classic historical set up that characters such as Phop lived by gave an amalgamation of two different genres in a rather comic manner - it was romance for Phop while it was a mystery for Nakhun.
★ I’ve always admired JJ’s skills after seeing him in The Next Prince. (Yeah. Considering that his plotline was pure smoke, he managed to create something out of nothing just through sheer talent, which is why I remember him.)
But, Love Upon A Time gives him the opportunity to portray a variety of emotions - Nakhun is a versatile character who changes according to the person he deals with. He is rather funny with Thee, doesn’t mess around with Pun, careful with his words when it comes to Phop and manipulates both Phop and Chuay to get his way. He is also sharp and knows to defend himself quite well.
While Nakhun is more serene, the character Klao is hinted to have had a miserable existence. Moreover, we can make out exactly how different those two were.
★ They do not kid around with time travel. The prickly part? The viewers are stuck in the past as Nakhun is. This can be either thrilling or annoying, but as I am in the former category, I did not mind it much.
★ As for Nakhun and Phop’s romance? Nakhun clearly informs viewers about what he thinks of their relationship and I share the same sentiments as his.
Phop is already in love with Klao, which Nakhun perceives quite early in the story. From Nakhun’s point of view, the romance is fun and easy to follow and is evidently the lighter aspects of the rather tumultuous past of Klao. But, the caveat? It is bound to be doomed.
So, in spite of cheering for the couple, viewers can't help but feel despair. They were bound to the rules of the time and time itself was their biggest enemy.
Then, there is Phop. Who is clearly stuck somewhere in the middle of a modern romance and historical tragedy.
Net is an expressive actor and he does not disappoint, bringing Phop’s internal dilemma to life. He shines in the final episodes, both as Phop and Tinnaphob. I have to give it to him, his future self was a lot more calm and composed as compared to Phop from the past.
★ Jom - it's surprising that he received a lot of dislike initially. To me, he was a very interesting character and I found his actions quite different from how others perceived him. I might be in the wrong, though.
Latte plays the two very different characters extremely convincing – one was a goofball foolishly in love with Pun while the other was a very serious Physician who thwarts Kaew’s attempt at romance. Just like JJ’s Nakhun and Klao. Both characters are a stark contrast to their modern counterparts.
★ Kaew/Pun -- the most consistent character in both the past and present. Kim Pongsaton was absolutely ethereal in his role. Calm, quite and collected to both Thee and Nakun's, he was a scene stealer.
His romance with Thee was both endearing and heartbreaking to watch.
★ The Friendships, particularly between Jom/Thee, Pun/Kaew and Nakun was heartwarming. Not to mention Chuay, Sai and Phong
The story is almost told by an ensemble cast without whom the plot wouldn't move forward. Even minor characters like Varna exist to prove a point rather than simply being a plot device.
★ Nakhun and his mother -- initially glimpsed in EP1, her presence as a very important person in Nakun's life doesn't change, even when he goes back to the past. There was something deeply moving about seeing the simple love between a parent and child being portrayed on-screen. (I'm in a similar situation as him when it comes to college, which might be the reason it struck home.)
★ Villains -- the mystery is rather high stakes and dawdles as a result of the 'culprit'. But, it is not until the final half of the drama that things begin to become more clear. I have to say, by the end of the drama, I felt rather satisfied with how everything wrapped up.
★ The Soundtrack was absolutely beautiful. All the different OSTs, along with their instruments were absolutely wonderful. Particularly the one by Bowkylion and JJ.
And so were the traditional outfits. I loved Kaew's in particular as it seemed to simple suit him perfectly. Also, Phop's uniform and Varna's outfits.
★ Is the drama perfect? No way - but that's the thing about time travel dramas. Considering that we had only one and a quarter episode to reestablish Nakun's life back into the future. There is also an upsetting truth when it came to this, but I understand why it had to happen that way.
But, Love Upon A Time acknowledged these inevitable changes and boldly pulled the story closed without leaving any loose threads.
★ This is definitely one of the best works by Mandeep Channel, perhaps following Khemjira, Your Sky and Duang With You. There was a story and characters to build up and they managed to arrive at a neat denoument without stepping off line.
Kudos to the cast and crew and I'll definitely be looking forward to Net, JJ, Kim and Latte's future works.
I began this as an experimental watch, but three months later, I have completed it with satisfaction. A solid 9/10 for being one of the most wholesome dramas I've seen this year.
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