In Shine episode 2 there’s a brief mention that Narun’s editor had to go to Japan. This is a fascinating thread of real life journalists who had to go into exile because of political reporting:
romance not being at the forefront of the story doesn't mean there's no plot. the plot is all of these characters…
One aim of the plot is Apo coming out to himself and accepting his sexuality. The romance with Tawan is secondary to that the way the romance in Marry My Husband Japan was secondary to the FL learning to value herself.
Another aim of the plot is Apo joining the student protests. Right now he's intellectualizing his beliefs, he needs to get into the streets alongside Victor and the other students to literally have skin in the game.
Another aim of the plot is to see whether the relationship between Krailert and Naran leads Krailert to do things to help the reformists or if he'll remain firmly in his very cushy closet and betray his lover.
the term for this kind of plot structure is parallel narratives. it's sort of a slice of life about that era except with a lot more urgency and sky high stakes.
I'm surprised that Krailert wasn't killed when the General found out he was gay. Is it because his family is too powerful? Also, does anyone know the significance of the rings that Krailert and Tanwa are wearing?
🎵 Cliched screenplay : "Amadeus of Rock" **eye roll** 🎵 Amazing music: the OST is on repeat in my car 🎵 Stunning cinematography: you can tell Netflix invested a lot in this because the money is on the screen 🎵 Fantastic acting: even with the cheesy script the actors are killing it. Special mention to Miyazaki Yu who is so much fun to watch in her drumming scenes and Suda Masaki who ate in the episode focused on his character. 🎵 Eye candy: the entire cast is gorgeous, I can't take my eyes off of them, both men and women. Special mention to Machida Keita who looks freakin' amazing with long hair.
this version is so much more faster bc its 10 episodes and that's just a Little disconcerting when we move from…
I think Wateru held back because he knew that he was fated to die and had no idea how much time he had left with Misa so he was struggling with his feelings for her. He didn't want to make her life more difficult than it already was. That's why the signals are confusing, it's on purpose to communicate his conflict.
Someone spoiled the ending below in the comments without using a spoiler tag, it’s a huge spoiler so watch out…
If it makes you feel better, I knew the plot because I watched the Korean version first and it didn't lessen my enjoyment of the Japanese version at all.
Is it the same story? I don't wanna see the same thing again, but if it's different I'll give it a try
Plot is very similar (not identical) but the big change is in the tone. This is much more grounded, the focus is less on the revenge and more on the FL's emotional journey and learning to value herself. Also the ML is much sexier and has fantastic chemistry with the FL.
I know that the US Air Force was stationed on many Thai air bases from 1961 to 1975. That would explain the strong…
Thailand is a military dictatorship today! And the monarchy is the wealthiest in the world, worth $30 billion, in a country where the average annual income is $3700. Also, it's a crime to criticize the king, even after he dies. So the issues the drama is showing are still very relevant today.
First impressions: The production values are stunning. The drama looks incredible and they got most of the little period details right. The costuming in particular is fantastic.
The music is also great and it's mostly original compositions for the production. I really like the song playing over the end credits but it's called Dark Side of the Moon and it's confusing because of the Pink Floyd song having the same name but oh well.
The performances are solid, especially the supporting actors. Apo is getting to play a meaty role as a privileged man who is struggling with his sexuality and the political upheaval going on around him. Mile is doing his rock star thing but he's very good at it.
The drama is a little slow and I felt like the editing could've been tightened up, especially at the beginning of the episode. Also, I think you need to be familiar with the history of Thailand to fully grasp what's going on. There was a sequence at the end of the drama with people reading a newspaper columnist and after googling I think the column is supposed to be written by King Bhumibol Adulyadej who was a gifted musician and composer. He reined for 70 years and his personal net worth was $30 billion and I think the drama was low key shading the monarchy for having that much money when people were starving (directly criticizing the king will land you in jail even today so they have to be careful).
ETA: I was wrong about the newspaper scene, this is what someone explained to me: The newspaper reading scene is two columnists arguing with each other. Klai Rung and Sarasawadee, pen names for Krailert and Naran. ใกล้รุ่ง Klai Rung translates to "near dawn," or "sunrise." It is also the name of a well known song composed by King Bhumibhol aka Rama 9. สรัสวดี Sarasawadee is the Thai name for the goddess of arts and sciences.
At the end of the episode Mile kisses Apo so the BL fans got fed. But this isn't a BL. It's about the political and social upheaval of that period of time. A student protest takes up a big chunk of the episode. And there's a lot of time spent on shady political deals being made at the expense of poor farmers. So if you're watching this for sexy fun times, yes there's some of that but that's not the main focus of the drama.
I just finished watching the first episode, and I really don't know what to make of this thing yet. It is very…
Mile's hair is extensions, you can see where they are clipped in. I wish they'd done a better job with his hair because the rest of the costuming and styling is very period accurate.
MDL is insane, this drama has been written up in the NY Times, The Guardian and Slate as the best of 2025 but MDL reviewers are all nope it's a Jdrama, gotta rate it 7.7.
So my question is that I didn't watch the Korean version when it aired.. but I just finished watching this, and…
It's worth watching but it's dramatically different in tone from the Japanese version. It's a makjang crack watch that puts exquisite revenge over everything else
https://x.com/leafykaravika/status/1955576048479068658
Another aim of the plot is Apo joining the student protests. Right now he's intellectualizing his beliefs, he needs to get into the streets alongside Victor and the other students to literally have skin in the game.
Another aim of the plot is to see whether the relationship between Krailert and Naran leads Krailert to do things to help the reformists or if he'll remain firmly in his very cushy closet and betray his lover.
the term for this kind of plot structure is parallel narratives. it's sort of a slice of life about that era except with a lot more urgency and sky high stakes.
🎵 Amazing music: the OST is on repeat in my car
🎵 Stunning cinematography: you can tell Netflix invested a lot in this because the money is on the screen
🎵 Fantastic acting: even with the cheesy script the actors are killing it. Special mention to Miyazaki Yu who is so much fun to watch in her drumming scenes and Suda Masaki who ate in the episode focused on his character.
🎵 Eye candy: the entire cast is gorgeous, I can't take my eyes off of them, both men and women. Special mention to Machida Keita who looks freakin' amazing with long hair.
The music is also great and it's mostly original compositions for the production. I really like the song playing over the end credits but it's called Dark Side of the Moon and it's confusing because of the Pink Floyd song having the same name but oh well.
The performances are solid, especially the supporting actors. Apo is getting to play a meaty role as a privileged man who is struggling with his sexuality and the political upheaval going on around him.
Mile is doing his rock star thing but he's very good at it.
The drama is a little slow and I felt like the editing could've been tightened up, especially at the beginning of the episode. Also, I think you need to be familiar with the history of Thailand to fully grasp what's going on. There was a sequence at the end of the drama with people reading a newspaper columnist and after googling I think the column is supposed to be written by King Bhumibol Adulyadej who was a gifted musician and composer. He reined for 70 years and his personal net worth was $30 billion and I think the drama was low key shading the monarchy for having that much money when people were starving (directly criticizing the king will land you in jail even today so they have to be careful).
ETA: I was wrong about the newspaper scene, this is what someone explained to me: The newspaper reading scene is two columnists arguing with each other. Klai Rung and Sarasawadee, pen names for Krailert and Naran. ใกล้รุ่ง Klai Rung translates to "near dawn," or "sunrise." It is also the name of a well known song composed by King Bhumibhol aka Rama 9. สรัสวดี Sarasawadee is the Thai name for the goddess of arts and sciences.
At the end of the episode Mile kisses Apo so the BL fans got fed. But this isn't a BL. It's about the political and social upheaval of that period of time. A student protest takes up a big chunk of the episode. And there's a lot of time spent on shady political deals being made at the expense of poor farmers. So if you're watching this for sexy fun times, yes there's some of that but that's not the main focus of the drama.