lilili

I think saying that you want someone who is kind, generous, responsible, ETC just like your older or sibling is a lovely thing. But HYD crosses the line to being weird. In the anime after Makino kicks Domtouji, he lays on the ground with heart eyes and says sister? That's too far.

Korea also made the 2ML a much bigger character than in other versions because the actor was popular so you had crazy things like a wedding photoshoot with the 2ML instead of the ML. The second half of the drama practically convinced you he was end game. In other versions the 2ML is important but in his proper place narratively.

I literally had no idea who Bright or Win were until the first episode of F4T dropped. And then I binged 2gether during F4T's two week break. So I had zero biases going in and didn't know anything about the fan controversies. But there's a reason that show blew up the way it did even though it has bad writing and directing and the secondary couples are boring. The chemistry between Bright and Win is insane and every time they are adorable together it's like a crack endorphin hit to the brain.

Now they are both in F4T and so far I'm loving Bright as Thyme. Very different role from Sarawat and he's hitting the mark. Win not as much, he hasn't sold me on being a playboy but I'm open to having him change my mind.

I looooooove The Smile Has Left Your Eyes! I'm so grateful they took out the incest but I did have a laugh over how they messed with people's expectations around the childhood connection trope.

You're getting a lot of charitable takes on this but here's my considerably less generous take: if you watch Japanese content, themes of incest is a thing (a thing I hate very much). Watch 100 Million Stars From the Sky if you want to be psychologically scarred for life.

Ah really love your breakdown and agree with most of it. Your breakdown of Ren's character being off intentionally until something breaks through when he loses control is so insightful. Too bad Dew is out of his depth. Agree that the pool voiceover was Win's strongest scene.

I wish I could read those early threads. I remember when the teaser dropped there was a lot of criticism of the adaptation and people saying the franchise should die because it was too toxic to make in the modern era. How are people in Thailand reacting to the drama now that there's three episodes out?

You made my night! Thanks for listening :)

Tbh I'm on the verge of stopping because it's so much work as I'm sure you know. It's been fun but I also have a life that needs attending.

Oh no I'm not offended at all! Plus tbh your opinion is vastly more supported than those of us who love BoF against our will, reason and morals 🤣🤣 Agree on the younger people, I find it scary.

Yep! It's in the works. Waiting for a few more episodes to drop.

Boys Over Flowers is still a first Kdrama for a lot of people and winning new fans to this day. My podcast episode on BoF accounts for 70% of the total listens for all of our episodes. I'm boggled by that stat to be honest, it's crazy how beloved BoF was and is. It's still winning new fans and some of them are very young.

Thank you! 😊Apologies for the obnoxious self-promotion but a year ago I did a podcast episode on Korean Boys Over Flowers and the entire HYD universe so I spent a lot of time thinking about this before F4T dropped: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2DQjHxMrY41UoxjLnJr9ir?si=Z9yi6s9QT3eCCCh79QcXQw&utm_source=copy-link

Thanks for remembering Fah, I agree she was great!

I find it fascinating how polarizing Bright is. In 2gether, the whole production wasn't great. I mean his hair changed length from scene to scene 😆. And the writing was terrible and made no sense. But whenever Bright was on screen I was hooked. He has that it factor that's independent of his actual acting talent.

I do want to give him credit for the scene in the arena with Gorya ready to shave her head. I think he did a great job there with portraying Thyme's conflicting emotions. He did fall short in the airport scene but it didn't register for me until I read everyone complaining about it and went back to rewatch the scene. Whatever he was serving there was still better than Dew.

Mixed bag:

Tu is brilliant, esp. because it's her first acting role. The way complex emotions play out in her face and eyes is amazing. Plus she radiates strength in a very realistic way. She's not superhuman or cartoonishly powerful, just a very real young woman who is scared sometimes but still does the right thing.

Bright is fine. I don't really understand the hate he gets. Is he Shakespeare trained level? No but is he able to handle what's required of the role? Yes. Plus he's got that special something/charisma that's needed to sell you on this deeply problematic character.

Dew honestly is a weak spot for me. He's a newbie and unlike Tu not a naturally gifted actor. He wears beige and his performance is mostly beige though he did alright in the scene where he gets angry at Gorya for begging Mira to stay.

Win isn't selling me as a playboy yet. I really loved him in 2gether so maybe this is a hangover for me but he's too cute/soft for me to think of him as a predatory player. But I'm waiting to be won over later.

I love Nani, his part is small but he's got a nice, loose energy and pops on screen.

The supporting cast is excellent. Cindy is terrifying as a cold blooded businesswoman with contempt for her son. Maria has nice chemistry with Bright, their scenes feel very realistic in terms of an older sister looking out for her little brother.

Shoutout to Prim for already making a big impression in her brief scene with Win. She's channeling way more strength than previous versions of the character.

Another shoutout to June who is communicating volumes about Hana with very subtle facial expressions and body language. She's probably the strongest actress among the younger crowd.

Something I love about F4 Thailand is it's brought out my people, the ones who are addicted to the HYD franchise yet understand how deeply problematic and effed up it is and are willing to dive into desconstructing the narrative and examining it closely. I feel like the writers must also be fans because they so clearly understand the appeal of the original story and what they needed to change to make it relevant today. It's hella fun to see more and more people discovering the show and freaking out over how good it is.

Even though he shoved her (the asshole) the kiss still works for me because Gorya is the reason he's following Mira. She shoved him back and forced him out of his passivity to finally do something. And Gorya still cares for him and is happy he's going after what he wants. Also remember he did step in and keep her from being sexually assaulted and stopped her from shaving her own head so even tho that shove was terrible she still has reasons to crush on him.

"In the Japanese version, didn’t he even say something along the lines of “She deserves it” when someone brings up the almost-sexual assault?" << YES HE DID and it's unforgivable

Re: Dao Ming Si, it's interesting to think about the definition of toxicity because he was so jaw droppingly violent but not sadistic if that makes any sense. He had no self control and exploded way too often but he didn't seem to get off on it while Domyouji seemed to take pleasure in it.

Anyway, we're going to see Thyme's violent side again but I'm wondering when and how it will be handled. I hope we don't see him attempt to assault Gorya, that will kill the character for me and I really enjoy him right now.

There are people on Discord arguing for that scene to be included and I can't 😭