A medley of no communication, stupid choices and kisses that’ll make you weak in the knees
Now, the arranged marriage trope is a personal favourite when done right, and although this show has some redeeming qualities, there’s no way to excuse this….The writers did not understand the assignment!
Arranged marriage has no actual relevance to the plot, it simply acts as a way to force the main couple together at the start without the initial build up of getting to know each other and developing feelings.
Now into the actual review lol.
The story and character set up of all three couples was lacking in some aspects.
Starting with Lian/Kuea:
what was the main message behind their story? In the first 5 episodes we can deduce that it is “he should love your real personality not your fake persona”, however this message gets completely lost in the middle of the drama, with the focus being on the actual romance entirely eluding a healthy relationship, however the original message suddenly returns in the later episodes and showcases this couples shocking lack of communication. (I mean really….they do not talk to each other at all!!!!).
In addition the logic behind they’re choices and actions wasn’t tight, the script kind of just made them behave in a way that allowed the next scene to happen without paying attention to the actual character and what he’d do, then working around that.
(+)This couple had the best chemistry
Second is yi/diao:
This couple’s story turns out to be kind of….unique (not to spoil things), by the end you get the gist but since they’re not the main couple there’s no detailed explanation.
This relationship in particular functioned weirdly. Sometimes we get Yi scolding or being protective over Diao like he’s a child but then the sexual tension is off the charts….is that weird? It is most jarring in the first half of the series and luckily dies down quite significantly as a relationship is established.
Lastly Syn/Nuer:
Although I don’t find their chemistry to be as strong, this couple grew to be my favourite. Unfortunately, they had the weakest set up, due to being on screen for like 30 minutes combined but whatever….I’m not bitter…much.
How Nuer even developed feelings for Syn isn’t clear, in fact I’m still not exactly sure when it happened but it did and I’m greatful for that lol.
Onto the cast:
The chosen actors for this show were perfect. Each actor made their presence as these characters believable. The acting however is a different story.
Kilen Wang (Zee) - This actor I would say was the best and most skilled actor by far. His micro expressions how he conveys sadness, the seggual dancing (*wink*) and those damn tears are all of high quality.
Kuea (Nunew) and Diao (Nat) - these two where quite clearly the weaker actors. Their line delivery was subpar and the facial expressions were lacking, but it was bearable.
Although they each have good chemistry with their partners you could still see a bit of the awkwardness I assume is due to inexperience in their interactions.
They are clearly inexperienced and need practice but they did a decentish job.
NOW! Onto the best thing about this entire show!!!
The music. If this show was anything it was promotion for the angelic vocals that are Nunew. In fact he should just sing OST for series. Every single song that leaves his mouth in this show is amazing, my favourite as of now being ‘will you still love me’ (bloody perfection this one).
Not just this song but the whole damn soundtrack. In fact even if you hate the plot I’d say deal with it simply for the music, because listening to the lyrics with the context of the moment just adds that extra something. (Sometimes you wanna dance and sometimes you wanna cry for Kuea, I’m telling you!!)
The songs are placed in the perfect place all throughout the drama, with the lyrics perfectly describing how he’s feeling at that moment.
This is the type of drama that you keep coming back to for that specific scene (whatever that may be).m, and with that……
A list of summarised positive points of this series to persuade/dissuade:
- amazing chemistry (all 3 couples and the main have the strongest)
- With amazing chemistry comes amazing kisses and more (*wink*) when I say kissing I mean it. The main couple where basically devouring each other. Damn!! - it bordered on me thinking; should this be age restricted?
- Zee in a suit (nuff said)
- Although quite simplistic there where important conversations about multiple socially sensitive such as; marriage inequality in Thailand, how trans people are used by the media, sexist jokes (like are you on your period?), respecting boundaries(not ss but you get it) etc.
- The main conflict was dragged out in my opinion and should either have been solved around episode 10-11 or the story as a whole should have just been around 10 episodes
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It’s better than you think!!!!
Diary of tootsies 2 tells the story of the gay friendship group that in other series would be disregarded, misrepresented and/or used as cheap comedy.The story:
- The story has no solid plot. It is centred around the lives of 4 friends as they experience love, heartbreak and other struggles.
- This show is absolutely hilarious but I like that you still get to feel for the characters as they struggle with decisions and lifestyle, from living with HIV, to falling for the closeted ‘straight’ guy.
The acting/cast:
- Gus acts as the main narrator of the story and this makes the friendship more realistic as it shows the closeness of these friends.
- The acting, at time could be a bit over the top and dramatic but honestly I done care because it just made it more enjoyable.
- Every one of the friends got a well developed storyline, additionally they are all completely different and unique from each other.
The Music:
- there’s nothing particularly unique about the soundtrack but the opening theme song is fun
Rewatch value:
- I’m definitely going to be rewatching it.
WARNINGS:
- To have a full understanding of everything that’s happening, I’d suggest watching the first one (it’s just as good), although you could probably figure out what happening if you watched as a stand-alone.
- Don’t drink anything whilst watching or else you may actually spit out your drink in laughter.
- It is chaos!!
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An ACTUAL arranged marriage.
Padiwaradda is a historical lakorn about the arranged marriage between Saran and Rin.The story is focused on how, despite being in an arranged marriage, the couple can actually develop love and respect for each other.
The story:
- The drama is a slow burn (my favourite) that mainly moves around the main couple. We see Saran and Rin go through the struggles that come alongside the nature of their relationship with one another and others.
- A side plot of the story is with Saran’s job as a police officer, who is investigating the local bandits. With this, we also get to see the Buddhist faith and how it goes against black magic which was, albeit far fetched, still exciting.
- The side characters and couples where also as interesting as the main couple and their stories were pretty well developed and also had important messages behind them .
- An issue I had with this lakorn is the lack of visual storytelling. You are told things that could be portrayed through the actors expression, or things that are already obvious and need no explanation.
The Acting:
- The main couple had very convincing and swoon worthy chemistry. They were believable and enjoyable to watch.
- the acting as a whole was ok. Some where weaker than others but I can ignore that because the main couple was great.
- Every character had substance, they had a personality that explained how they acted. Even the crazy ex girlfriend had reasons for her behaviour despite how ridiculously shameless she was.
The Music:
- I loved the soundtrack for this lakorn. It fit the drama perfectly and was just beautiful on its own, however the same 2 songs where basically used in repeat, which isn’t an issue for me because they where so good.
Rewatch Value:
- I’ve already rewatch it a few times since I last completed it, so it’s safe to say I will be rewatching it plenty.
WARNINGS:
- It’s a historical lakorn so obviously the values and mindsets are quite dated, an example being ‘a wife’s duty’.
- The second female lead and ex girlfriend of Saran, Duangsawat, is crazy and never gives it a rest. Saran will also be quite trying for a portion of this drama.
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Not bad but not good.
I 100% only watched this drama because of gong Jun’s acting, but I’ll try to be objective about my subjective opinions. (Does that even make sense?)This drama is about a firefighter and a medical student/doctor (I think).
The story:
- The story is centered around the main couple’s love story whilst it was advertised as a profession centered story. At the start, you see the productions efforts to make the character’s professions the centre of the story but this fades away as the story progresses.
The way the main couple get together at the start barely makes sense as there was no realistic reason for them to be attracted to each other but they do get together relatively fast and the relationship is healthy and sweet. however I’d say the chemistry veered closer to a close friends dynamic sometimes. Due to this there was no unneeded conflict or drama in their relationship. (Which is good and bad).
The writing of this drama relied a lot on coincidences to tie the characters together. So much so that it became too predictable or just ridiculous. Additionally, it was very cheesy, with long dramatic speeches about a characters passion and duty for their job. It was unrealistic and hard to take seriously.
Acting:
- I think it’s pretty obvious that The male lead (Gong Jun) is the strongest actor, despite how biased I am. He also plays the role of an ideal man: he’s nice, respectful, moral etc.
- Although as a whole the acting wasn’t massively impressive. Amongst the cast there was a mix of weak and ‘good enough’ acting.
Music:
- the intro song was good, and the music as a whole wasn’t that memorable, so it wasn’t significantly bad or good.
Rewatch value:
- there aren’t enough scenes I enjoyed to rewatch the entire show, but I could definitely just rewatch the couple I did enjoy.
Warning:
- A lot of the supposedly cute romantic moments can feel quite forced and artificial.
- The representation of how a hospital functions is flawed and kind of annoying. A lot of the time, the doctors and nurses are just sat doing nothing in an office (also what nurse has an office).
- Yan Lan’s (the fl) specific job description was unclear. I had no idea where her she was a surgeon or student, but of course she knew more than everyone above her (because she’s the fl).
- I do not like the sets. To be specific the interior of the fire station. It is literally just completely plain white corridors, not a single detail. I hope they don’t actually look like that because it looked blinding.
As a whole this drama for me sits in a very neutral zone. I don’t hate it, nor do I love it.
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