shriek

this series is in dire need of a doctor…

(…which is ironic since the author of the novel(s) is a doctor)
This review is mostly to vent my disappointment. The badly handled sensitive topics will be shortly talked about.

The writing was simply not good. The actors did their best (more or less). At least one of the writers must be in their Wattpad phase. In case you don‘t really know what that means: It means that the writer writes without thought, just vomits their fantasies onto the page, re-uses the oldest and most successful tropes (which makes the story unoriginal) and is not aware of what good writing is yet because usually your brain hasn‘t fully developed yet at the time the phase happens. Wattpad is a good place to make all these mistakes, get feedback and improve your writing. (lmk if this explanation lacks something). When you are in your Wattpad phase you think it’s soo edgy to write that your main character was raped by their love interest because they’re interested in the main character and as screenwriter it’s probably even edgier to show the audience a „memory“ of it happening to make us truly believe it happened. Just to turn around and tell us it was a misunderstanding and didn‘t happen? What a violation and manipulation. What a betrayal of the characters, the viewers and morality. Who approved of this? (I fully understand the disgust and anger in user eliot_rulez‘s review.)
Furthermore a Wattpad phase writer would bend the characters against their characteristics in favour of their wanted outcome. So, the actions and reactions of the characters seem stupid, exaggarated, out of the blue, wrong etc. I felt that a bunch of times during the series… like the emotions and reactions sometimes were dialed to the max so tropes and situations that normally take up several episodes in other BLs got fired through within one or two episodes. On one side it felt like they did that so they could get to the NC scenes and on the other because they probably didn‘t get the budget (no surprise why) to have more screentime to tell the story.

What else is there to say?
- generally the chemistry between each couple was okay. The actor pairing worked.
- the acting ranged from „first time on stage“ to ok/good.
- a new rival just appears, does their damage and is gone again. (how in the world did Per survive getting stabbed three times in the abdominal region, lying and bleeding on the ground for at least 10 mins and then standing up, talking, being conscious through all this to then go to the hospital to have serious surgery? I‘m no doctor but what?!)
- as soon as the two main couples get together the writers use the jealousy trope several times which is exhausting to watch. These characters are not allowed to establish any trust in each other. Usually such things only happen when the series is long and they run out of other possible plot or it‘s a fundamental characteristic of a character. But they managed to do this when there‘s only 10 episodes and none of the characters (maximum Knight) showed enough jealousy throughout the series to warrant this. Damn.

The one good thing about this series (imo): The third ‚couple‘ Tum and Klah.
Since the other two couples were thrown into a whirlwind of tropes and drama and did a speedrun through their relationship stages this couple went at a pace that felt the most realistic. Their whole set up was the most interesting: two best friends, one in love with the other, but the other is in a relationship with someone that doesn‘t love them and uses them for their own (non-sexual) benefits. I was mostly drawn to their story. But in the end I couldn‘t tell you whether they got together or not. And for them to have a more prominent role in the series they‘d need better writers.

Needless to say this was a disappointment. The first trailer looked exciting. And then we get this. Stabbed three times, yet still walking and talking.

I am kinda sad to say this but so far I have never encountered Lee Long Shi in a well written series. Unfortunately here‘s the next one.

Thank you for reading until the end <3

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plot got lost in the glitz and glam

Oh how excited I was for this series. So many possibilites on how this could‘ve turned out.
The watching experience throughout the whole series was - generally speaking - okay to good. It made me want to continue watching. But it could‘ve been so much better if the writing would‘ve been better.
Too many characters that all had an open plotline that just got loosly tied in the end or just ended abruptly.
Let‘s go through them:
(points that start with: - are original review points, the ones with: + were added later)

Calvin and Jay
- they were pretty much irrelevant for the main plot. They could‘ve been scrapped and nothing would‘ve changed.
- their conclusion in the last episode felt very out of nowhere and not believable at all. I wished it didn‘t happen.
- what I would‘ve done: not tell anyone that Net and JJ play in this drama, only have them as cameo characters, show them meet at the academy and during the protests (Calvin trying to hide in the masses), and then maybe how Calvin watches the competition. What great promo that could‘ve been for a standalone series that could‘ve been announced during or after the airing of the series. Aah. That would mean more lore about Emmaly and Bhujar.
Because their story is interesting enough for a separate series: A prince who was sent to another country because his father and/or brother(s) don‘t want him to compete for the throne. As normal exchange student Calvin meets (and falls for) this guy who is very much not happy with the monarchy (everything Calvin stands for) and tries to change it with all he has. Calvins search for who he is and where he stands/belongs. And Jay‘s fight for justice and being in love with a royal (aka what he despises most). I would watch that.

Princess Ava
Oh Ava, you were my favourite to win the competition. I wanted her to become queen.
- I needed more of her (and her bodyguard, they had great chemistry. +the kind of chemistry I wished was between Khanin and Charan)
- for her to withdraw felt so counterproductive. She wanted that change so badly and then for her to back down because she got hurt is Argh! What was the point of her fighting in the first place then? She was just used to display the misogyny in Emmaly and her own family. To betray her motivation like that. Frustrating. Misogyny won once again.
+ her dynamic with her father is also interesting. To go against your parent(s) belief like that is hard. And to realise they think that way is devastating and disheartening. I thought Ava could do it. Together with Mira and the fresh outside support of Khanin.
- So her and Khanin becoming friends made sense but we saw too little of them bonding/interacting other than supporting each others standpoints during/after their speeches.

Ramil and Paytai
- there definitely needed to be more of their story. Quite the heavy story but what we got was not enough.
- their conclusion kinda made sense and was emotional but left me with questions: How are they gonna deal with all this now? Will they have to hide from Ramils controlling father? He definitely wouldn‘t let Ramil go like that. And the family of Paytai? He said he‘s the son of a politician sent to serve the royal family. Knowing Ramils father he might let something happen to Paytais family to get his son back. Their story just left so much ground for more plot. And not just for what happens after the series ended but also during. The breaking point of Paytai. Ramils breaking point. Those both needed some more time on screen.
- I wished (and kinda expected) Ramil would‘ve become friends with Khanin and also Ava (since they had a learned rivalry going on since childhood) in the end. So he could have this spark of hope of a different way of living, hope for change, some stability when it comes to support, friendship and family. And his struggle to accept this kind of acceptance and love.
+ and the abuse Paytai had to endure all these years… that must‘ve left more scars than we saw.

Khanin and Charan
- Khanin never wanted a title? Well, after being a little hesitant in the beginning he seemed to adapt very quickly and was very ready to fight for that title. Even if it was just for his family. +He never said or acted like he didn’t want the title once he was in Emmaly, until the end. Felt a little like one of those „it was all a dream“ endings. We went through all this for what?
- From Charan I needed some more visible inner conflict. Duty versus love. What seems right/appropriate or wrong to him. +his (family‘s) duty to the king versus his passion for art (what wonderful parallels). +Being the older, more mature person that is not giving in *this* quickly to Khanins advances. Also what was that all about?
- They got together way too quickly. I needed more hiding, stolen moments, yearning for each other. +Chakri getting in their way on purpose (at first) and telling Khanin off to not get involved, to act like a proper prince and all that. Which may cause Khanin to try and run away or to his new friend Ava. +for them getting together this quickly it took Charan ages to say ‚I Love You‘ back. I didn‘t really understand why.
- Although I liked the bold moves of Khanin, like them dancing with each other in front of everyone. That was a good way of making the folk warm up to him as possible next ruler. Which makes the ending of him basically giving up his title so ugh. They could‘ve done that dancing moment at the end.
+ them kissing this early in the series was exciting but then adding that Emmalian First Kiss lore to it to then not mention it again? I partially saw that Charan was working through what just happened vs. what he learned & believed that just got shattered by this London Boy. But it wasn‘t enough imo.
Could‘ve been a nice touch for Charan to mention that kiss again before he proposed…
- Them getting engaged in the end… It just felt too soon (Idk how much time has passed since the competition). That just felt like a reasoning for a special episode in which they get married. Will it be a royal wedding or a modest one in London? The latter would make more sense since both gave up their positions in Emmaly. (but honestly I would rather want to see a royal Emmalian wedding)

The royal heirs as group
- as I said earlier I wanted them to become friends. First Khanin and Ava and joining a little later Ramil. Them going out together was a good start.
- And then when the competition was won by whoever they would change the current way of ruling to them ruling together as a council. So every part of Emmaly has an equal right to have a say. But the fact that the father of whoever won would become ruler ruined this possibility from the beginning. That fact irked me since it was explained.
- I full on expected Ava to win so the other couples could go be happy without the responsibility of being the heirs.

Some more questions and thoughts:
- Why are we forgiving the Grandpa King so easily? Just because he is about to die? He was a bad bad ruler. Where are the consequences for his actions? Why did not more try to assassinate or overthrow him?
- How is Jay‘s sister doing?
- What happens to Wasins part of the country? I have a faint memory that they said something about that but already forgot.
- Were the writers too scared to write something too anti-monarchy since Thailand still has a monarchy? A constitutional one but still.
- While we got a bunch of action and some attacks I wished there would‘ve been more thrill. Thrill in who is scheming, who is attacking, is it one group or person? Will someone die? All this happened but in a out of the blue way. No time to try and figure it out yourself or to feel the thrill.
- What about Ramils father? He‘s a violent controlling person in power. How will that play out for his part of Emmaly? Will he cooperate now that he can‘t be the king or will he keep scheming to get the throne? + do his subjects now know about his personality and all that he did? Is it time to overthrow or assassinate him, too?
- the roles of the fathers were interesting but also odd. idk how to put it into words rn. Will maybe add a point about the fathers in the near future.
- There was always a a disconnection between Khanin and his biological father. That needed some better writing as well.
- all the mothers seem to have died in some tragic way. And where was Charans father? Or rest of family? Was him getting adopted by the king the only option? And would he be eligible for the throne because of that? If Khanin didn‘t want to come to Emmaly or surprisingly passed away before the competition was Charan the kings back up plan? Why else would he be trained to be good in so many things? Why was this not a part of the plot? The king constantly reminding Charan that he‘d be next in line in case something happened to Khanin. What an interesting dynamic this would‘ve created between Charan & Khanin. I never really believed the king cared about Khanin anyways, just about his family staying the head of Emmaly.
+ the title „The Next Prince“ suggests Khanin is going to keep his title… and then he leaves after he gave the people of Emmaly so much hope. Idk if I would trust the son of the King who made and kept everything so horribly. Might be a reason for a coup.
+ the detective friend of Charan was there but also not really.

And some good things to end this review:
+ creating a whole kingdom with lore and political dynamics was very fun to see.
- I absolutely loooved the costume design. They were so beautifully made. Chapeau to that.
- Loved the settings. Some beautiful parts of Thailand (I assume) were shown here. And that we started in London was very nice.
- Also loved the little „Emmaly Gossip“ segments (mainly on insta).
- the fan service was insane. And with that I mean that parade of them for the first episode airing when they were dressed in character. How can you not get excited when you see that?
- I am a little immune to noticing whether the acting was not so good unless it‘s blatantly obvious. So that was good to me. Especially liked Jimmy and Ohms performances. Bie as Rachata/Ramils father was scarily good too. +Ballchon (Chakri) and Kris (Ava) were great, too. Will look for other projects with them.

I had more thoughts than I thought and there will probably be more once I read other peoples reviews.
Anyways: Thank You for reading until the end :)

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I hate Sorn… so much

*inhale* * exhale* It‘s just a fictional character.
So. Up until like episode 8+, or whenever Jun had enough of Sorn‘s behaviour, I put up with it.
There wasn‘t much story to begin with. This series lived off of the characters and their relationships which is fine but like this there‘s only these relationships, the characters personalities and what decisions they make to focus on.

And once it came to Sorn having to redeem himself and failing this hard (in my eyes) it was over for me. I could not continue. I still had some hope Jun would stand his ground (get together with that delivery/restaurant guy) and not let Sorn back into his life because he knew exactly what Sorn was doing… but through social media posts I could see that they‘d get back together and That I did not want to see. Two episodes left and not even a glimpse of possible change on Sorn‘s part, no thank you.
Ugh. It‘s been weeks since I stopped watching and I hoped that would help write a review and yet my anger has been refueled so much it blurrs my thought.
Even if he changed, this is just not enough time to change my mind about him. As viewer you of course wish to see the 180 degree character change and a happy ending but for a character like Sorn I just don‘t see it happening. And two episodes to pull that off will not convince me.
„My Stand-In“ did it well imo: It took Ming several missteps and attempts and in the end he is still asshole-ish and very much himself but he has changed to the better. And as viewer we don‘t just magically forgive him for what he has done either. But here I can feel it already, Sorn will have that magical character change and viewers will just forgive him. I refuse.

Jun had quite the development in character. He noticed what he wanted and needed, what is wrong, what is too much for him and showed an immense amount of emotional maturity compared to Sorn. Setting boundaries is hard, especially when you‘re very used to getting them overstepped. It feels completely wrong and scary. And Sorn knew that, that sleazy SOB.
That conversation in the warehouse was my last straw… 🤬 Sorn really knew that all he had to do was say „I like you“ back, make a few half assed promises and good is. And he barely managed to do that. As soon as he saw how Jun‘s wall started to crack he didn‘t really care about anything else, just that he could slither back in and get his „possession“ back. He did not respect any of the boundaries Jun put down. Jun clearly said to not kiss him with tongue and next thing Sorn does is exactly that. Trash! Trash, trash, trash!
Now that I wrote it out it seems so clear: Sorn saw (even if just subconsciously) Jun as his plaything that he could fully control, coerce to whatever sexual thing wherever and whenever he wanted and as soon as Jun refused and put boundaries he first got more aggressive about keeping his control and then when Jun left he acted like a child whose toy got taken away. UGH.

And Jun‘s friends… they supported him sure, at first. But as soon as Sorn looked a little pityful they tried to convince Jun to get back. Trash them as well.

But massive props to Boat (& the writers) for playing (writing) the character so well it made me eternally hate him. Too bad it also made me stop watching the series. He could’ve worked very well as the villain in another story.
Also kudos to Oat, his performance as Jun was great. And I can‘t lie their chemistry together was amazing. I hope to see them in another drama where I will like the characters and story enough until the end.

The boss and his employee‘s story airtime was a little too spread apart. A little more frequency could‘ve been beneficial. Their story got completely overshadowed by the main couple. I can‘t remember enough to comment on their relationship development. They had issues, too. Issues that should‘ve been explored more.
And up until I‘ve read a review that mentioned the GL plotline I had forgotten about them. I mostly skipped their parts because it felt disconnected from the rest and hence out of nowhere that those two got together. Other than one of them having a fling with Sorn and working at the same place or just in the same industry(? idr) they had no connection to the main cast. Kind of a waste. :/

Overall there was just so much more I did not enjoy than enjoy. A toxic character can be interesting and „fun“ but this was just too much for me.

Thank You for reading until the end.

(I have edited this review a few times to find better words that are not as affected by anger)

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fun concept, (partially) messy execution

Times watched: 2x

The first time I watched this series I was still quite tainted by „Middleman‘s Love“. Back then it definitely affected my perception of Tutor and Yims characters in this series.

The first five episodes were solid. The back and forth between the fictional world and ‚reality‘ felt very fluid, was cool to see and made sense, the plot was built up nicely and I had my good fun with it. So I already was like: „wow. I am so glad I am rewatching this. This is so fun“
But then it got messy, unfortunately. So here‘s what I disliked:

That Sin went on vacation was out of nowhere. Before as well as after his little side quest he was only relevant on a side character level. If there would‘ve been some build up to him going there and it affecting the plot of their novel I‘d be fine with it. But like this… it felt a little like a waste of my time. The couple‘s chemistry was good, though. So why not use it?

Then they introduced the „enemy“ Intouch/Mohly. He was teased a bit but it was so subtle I definitely did not pick up on it on my first watch. His introduction was too late and too soft. I wouldn‘t even call him an enemy, let alone a (love) rival. He wasn‘t petty and jealous enough. All the problems he created were resolved… quickly and quietly.

The plot of their novel/fictional world got a bit confusing as well (when all we got for a while were the NC scenes). I couldn‘t follow it anymore, I didn‘t know what it was trying to tell me. Did it still have a connection to the ‚reality‘ plot? Idk. Wasn‘t there something about plagiarism in it too? Where did that go?
At least in the ‚real‘ world they got back on track, somehow. So the last 2.5 episodes were solid again.

Unfortunately the acted out chat room reminded me every time that Sin and especially Jao Samut were kind of just there and forgotten. I wished they were more actively included, so their little storylines would not feel so out of place and unnecessary. Either completely turn them into side characters or make enough room for them.

But there were definitely more things that I liked:
- the concept is fantastic. I love it.
- the production value was high and you could see it.
- Tutor and Yim were so fun to watch, their lovey dovey acting felt so natural. There‘s still potential upwards but more on the side of writing and directing.
- The NC scenes that were written for the fictional world being the more spicy ones (at first) made me giggle, a subtle but nice touch.
- Shan and Ob Aun‘s childhood story was good. And the actors portraying them did a very good job in my opinion.
- Shan‘s character felt the most consistent in the way he always could provide guidance in what to do in times of crises.
- The chat room being acted out was actually a cool touch, since they couldn’t really meet in person. Also showing how the room represents the mood of the group. Them being in Pyjamas or onesies to represent their avatars/icons. Fun.
- Ozone and Pie‘s story drew all the attention to them at some point. And it worked so well. Mark and Gems really created great chemistry. I needed more of their story.
- The part with the accidental posting of the wrong pen name and then how they resolved this mishap was stimulating my brain. They should‘ve made that a longer part of the plot where Intouch would play a bigger part in it as well.

It‘s always so frustrating to see the potential the story could‘ve had:
- I would‘ve loved it if the 5yes and their love interests all would‘ve appeared in the fictional world in some way. A way that made sense.
Generally it would‘ve made sense if the personal life of each 5yes member would have influenced their (part of the) story (a little more than we were shown):
- for Ob Aun, Shan, Ozone and Pie it doesn‘t need much more but for Sin, Jingjang and Jao Samut it would‘ve made sense so their parts wove into the rest of the plot better.
- That sometimes the fictional plot will tease or parallel things that have not happened yet/are happening in the ‚real‘ plot. Like the Snake King/Pie falling for his employee/disciple while Ozone/Shin‘er having no idea about it. Or Ob Aun starting to remember some parts of his childhood. Or the proposal.

Overall it was enjoyable. It was worth the one rewatch. Won‘t return to this for a while though.
And Thank You for reading until the end. <3

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I am giggling and kicking my feet because of this one ^^

We continue this GL anthology with Nam, the hotel empire CEO and 110% workaholic, and Chonlada, daughter of the rival hotel chain who wants to prove herself in an environment of disapproval because sexism and misogyny.

What I loved:
— I probably also fell in love with Lada a little bit. I loved her character (most of the time) a lot. She had her morals and principles and stood by them. But then again Phat managed to break her over time. Unfortunate but understandable.
— Charlotte played Lada in a really charming way. Hats off.
— Wardrobe was 10/10 again. All those pant suits? Jealous. Lada also always dressed beautifully. Except for the wedding dress. There I thought it was below her average dress style. Also took some screenshots to find some of the decor.
— I loved the progression of their love and all the little things that happened. I was giggling and kicking my feet ^^
— The appearance of Lam and Fai and Din and Rose throughout the series and not just in one episode. Really ties the anthology together.
— Loved how we got more of a glimpse of Lam‘s character (the police cousin, „Air“). That she‘s a very flirtatious person makes me even more interested in her series.
— Loved that Lada chose to do the „Whose string is attached to the bridal bouquet?“ and not the toss. Curious to see whether we‘ll get a wedding in all four series and if so what method of „Who‘s next?“ they‘re gonna use. I already can‘t think of more but I trust they‘re gonna be creative with it. And here they talked about having children… will we see that in the other series?
— A little detail that I just really appreciated: That Nam is basically blind without glasses.
— The incorporation of water whenever possible… the ocean, rain, pools. I only realised it fully after I finished the series.
— I liked the ring Nam gave Lada. And that the pink tulip became a symbol for Lada and the sunflower the one for Nam. BUT would‘ve been even better if they had included those flowers at their wedding and in the bridal bouquet (but also only realised this just now. So, it‘s not a big deal)… and the sunflower came a little out of nowhere resulting in that symbol not being as strong/established as the tulip.

The open questions & critique:
— The last episode being 1h 39mins long… That is proof to me that they should‘ve gotten 1-2 episodes more for each of the element series.
— What happened to the person that started at Monarch together with Lada? Yes, we see her in kahoots with Phat at the end… but that still leaves us to assume she was the one who poisoned the food at the event. But we never see it. Was she fired afterwards? We haven‘t seen or heard from her since Lada got promoted to assistant to the assistant. I think, I don‘t remember. Need to look out for her on my rewatch. Otherwise I feel like one or two scenes got cut that could‘ve explained that.
— The plotline of the father and the brothers (& Wat’s wife). Hm.
Apparently Wat wasn‘t an active abuser of Lada but a silent bystander. The only good deed he does is at the end when he helped Lada and her mum with a safe spot. How generous. But before he never intervenes. Maybe also because of his wife that he most likely doesn‘t love. At times I thought the wife was a legitimate daughter and sister to Lada that I forgot about. With how she treated and talked to Lada and all that.
Phat… he was a manipulative asshole throughout. Well played by the actor. Very jobless behaviour to follow your sister around like that and make her paranoid. I was not a 100% satisfied with his ending. It makes sense that he tries to flee and leave everything behind and in ruins… but I hoped he‘d be found and sentenced to be the caretaker of his father or something like that.
The father. Meh. Sure it‘s not fun to have a condition like that and get paralysed by it. But… in the end who was left to take care of him? The women he despised most. I don‘t want to forgive him just because he‘s disabled now. This storyline is so painfully typical, it feels realistic but I wished for something else in this fictional world. And Wat? Where‘s he in this equation?
— Okay, next: Lada‘s character arc (+ Nam‘s as well). Loved her most of the time. She acted according to her principles and then slowly because she wants to protect her loved ones and the paranoia Phat evokes. But at the end (+- the last three episodes) I couldn‘t follow her thought process anymore. I feel like we lost her character a little bit. I thought she would at least think (in hindsight) of the possibility that Nam said all these things to Phat because of powerplay and not because she means them. They have known each other long enough for her to know. So when Nam tries to talk it out and she refuses so vehemently… grrrrr.
And Nam being this super clever woman… fair enough. I just remember her police cousin telling her about what she found out but we as audience don‘t get to see that. So we also don‘t know all the things Nam knows and why she‘s doing the things she‘s doing. That got a little frustrating towards the end.
— Also thought Lada would really agree to getting disinherited by the father and fully get cut off from the Wachara Group and family name and then make a name for herself and not take it over (good for her but barely anything pointed towards that outcome). And then for the father to crawl back once she had married Nam. But of course he wouldn‘t do that, not for a woman.
— that one piano background music was used way too many times. I need it to retire.

Since this is an anthology I have to compare it to „The Earth“ (and later on to Air and Fire).
The main thing: The characters in „The Water“ truly felt like characters.
I was happy every time one of the other cousins and Rose appeared on screen. I am very happy that they appeared in more than one episode and sometimes all together and sometimes just one or two of them. Shows how close they are and still manage to visit each other despite their busy work etc.
But it also showed again what still annoys me with „The Earth“… Rose was meant to be a wifey, which is fine, but there‘s nothing more to her character… and that since childhood. smh.

I would loooove to see these two in a mermaid (or something supernatural) GL series. I imagine a very ethereal and otherwordly vibe. mmmh.

And again: I will probably rewatch this and then add +new comments+ with new or changed opinions.
Thank you for reading until the end. <3

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An inbalanced and undercooked meal, nonetheless a meal.

We‘re going straight into it

The inbalanced and undercooked parts:
This series had a lot of room for questions to form in my head:
— What was Rose doing while Din was at work? Just waiting? Or is she doing something at her farm? She‘s the heiress to the farm but doing absolutely nothing to become the actual successor. Din shouldn‘t be able to be around as much when she said she‘d take care of Thip‘s farm next to hers. That is an enormous amount of extra work.
— And who is Rose as a person? All I know about her is that she loves her family and Din. That‘s her whole life‘s driving force it seems. She studied abroad but we already forgot about that in episode 1. Rose felt very underdeveloped and as if she‘s only there to be reacting to what is happening and barely ever taking action on her own.
Seeing the childhood flashbacks she seems to have been raised to become a wifey that needs to be taken care of not the successor of the farm. And that also seems to be her goal. Nothing else seems to be important to her. Not even her fathers farm. 

— Din, too, felt a little like a confused character and I don’t just mean her gay panic. She also only has a few things that are her driving forces: managing her farm, caring about Rose’s father and disliking Wasu. The new thing „falling in love with Rose“ really throws her off.
— the character establishing and developing fell a little short. For example: after child Din felt sad that she couldn‘t lift Rose up when she got hurt I would‘ve loved to see a scene where she‘s working out/lifting weights as an adult. A simple scene but a connection that‘d make sense and not take up that much space. What I try to say with that is that there‘s almost no difference between childhood Rose, Wasu, Din and their adult selves. It makes the characters even more stagnant.
— pretty much every character felt like they were standing still until the plot moved them forward. Din completely forgot about the human trafficking once her gay panic got set off. And she doesn‘t need to do anything because the evil guys are also kinda inactive once they are not on screen anymore and for such a serious topic as human trafficking it was a little underwhelming how they worked with it. There were so many women on the farms… what if they become a target? How easy would it be for Wasu and Wasupol to make them disappear? Was that their goal for Rose as well? Once Wasu managed to marry her she‘d vanish?
— every time Din and Rose talked about their marriage being fake and they were outdoors, near other people or even AT THEIR WEDDING I internally screamed at them to shut up and go to a more secure place. Plus knowing there‘s a mole that tells Wasu everything… why didn‘t more things happen?
— I full on expected some kind of sabotage attempt at their first wedding. Not just Wasu being there and being annoying. I don‘t believe that Wasu and his father are that simple in their actions. There was a fire on Din‘s farm… yeah, but that also just happened once and could be the result of a dry period. So, was it really Wasu?
— Assistant Kaew… I didn’t like how her arc unfolded… At first I did not see any possible one sided love from her except for one look. So I got the impression that this is just to show the blooming jealousy from Rose so there’s a reason for her and Din to get closer for real. Her character is portrayed very timid and backgroundish… then we get heinous thoughts and actions just for her to get a character reset at the end. WHAT. It feels like her arc got developed as they were filming à la: „Rose is just jealous in this scene but what if Kaew is really in love with Din? That would be more interesting and mean a ‚real‘ threat“ - „then it would make sense for her to end up being a spy for Wasu because she‘s actually super jealous and gets mad, so much so she would commit crimes“ - „But wouldn‘t that be too much? She’s a good person and actually didn‘t want any of that“ - „Yeah you‘re right. Din will forgive her at the end then.“ (dialogue freely invented)
I know this is in the lane of a Lakhon series where there‘s a happy ending for everyone but the bad guys so I can‘t really agree here that she gets a pretty happy ending for what she was willing to do. I guess it was done à la the mindset of Moddang: „She‘s too pretty to be a bad person“ (and even when she did something bad she deserves forgiveness because she‘s pretty.)
— I haven‘t even talked about the acting and directing/editing yet. The emotional parts were well acted but some of the calmer moments were eh. Some scenes felt a little too long and sometimes I wished for a different angle or background music.

In conclusion:
the topics of the story (human trafficking versus gay panic to bliss) felt at odds/out of balance. And (mainly) the lead characters felt undercooked and bland.

But all that being said I still enjoyed my time with the series and also have things that I loove about it:

— I loved their flirtatious dialogue. That scene when they pick the wedding dress… And the bedroom talk had me blushing. And the kisses? mmmh.
— loved the wardrobe. When Rose had that jealousy-off drinking with the other person also wearing a dress with roses.
— stacked cast. All the actors for the fathers I have seen before. And the children were adorable.
— I really enjoyed the cousins. Lam the sniper cop with the 100% accuracy. Love. And Fai as well. Once those two entered the scene they easily overshadowed the main two just with their presence and that is not what you want for the leads…
— The locations of the farms looked great. The houses looked so chill and cosy, big but not city rich big. they had some farm charm.
— hooooly, the OST is beautiful. The voices… heavenly.
— that it is the beginning to an GL anthology. Very excited to continue and then return.

I will rewatch the series once I‘ve seen the rest of the element anthology because I feel like I was thinking a little too much and took it a tad too serious while watching. <- also because it seems to be Lakhon(-esque) and I need to get that into my head before rewatching. And after getting more into the vibe of the anthology I see the possibility of changing my opinions. But I don’t see what I’ve pointed out here as a waste. And to me it‘s always interesting to see how my opinions and perceptions change with time and a rewatch and reading some other people‘s opinions. :)
So, once I have rewatched I will return and add +extra comments+ (or I might delete this and write a whole new review. Until then 👋 and thanks for reading until the end)

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Thap In losers we‘re going shopping!

This review definitely contains spoilers.

Get ready to read how I am gushing about these characters and actors…

What I loved:
Thap and In are such well written characters and Jimmy and Sea played them so well. I get excitement aggression.

Thap is assertive and stubborn at times. He likes to bicker and tease. Loves a bit of a challenge. All this is partially because of his profession as a Doctor. What I also really liked about him is how he treats other people with grace even when his motives may be a little selfish. How he makes Tul realize how his behaviour puts In into a difficult spot with the motive of ‚In‘s mine‘ in Episode 5. MMh.

In is soft hearted (or ‚fluffly and soft‘ in the words of Thap) but with a shell. He cares deeply about the people he loves. But sees himself as the source of possible pain and suffering because of his ability and how the death of his parents occured.
He wants to see people happy, healthy and safe. And in that aspect Thap and In are the same. They both want that. But while In thinks it‘s fate, even if he tries he can‘t prevent it and thinks it’s better that he suffers instead of others. Thap, as doctor, has the mindset of ‚if I can help you I will do my best so you can *live*‘. Two different points of view about the same wish. And it works so well together.

Their honesty and vulnerability with each other that developed their relationship was marvellous to witness.

Jimmy and Sea played them so well. Idk if there‘s much more that needs to be said. They definitely acted in ways I haven‘t seen them before. Aaaah. 🫠 🤌🤌 Thank you very much for this performance. For them alone it‘s definitely worth watching.

The moment when Thap and In are at the flea market at the bracelet stand as well as the scene in the hospital when In holds back from joining Thaps family can so easily be read as jealousy or him thinking the same as the mother… I love that it was so much more than just that. I sighed in relief.

The side/secondary couple had the right amount of screen time. It was a nice bridge between Thap and In‘s story and the mystery/crime base plotline.

First played the part of the ‚villain‘ very well. Karn always appeared and acted a little sus, so it wasn‘t hard to guess that he has something to do with the incidents. Why he did it is a different question, one that I could not answer before it was revealed.

The imperfections:
- Unfortunately every time when they shouted or screamed the audio clipped/sounded distorted. It made me jump every single time and took me out of the moment. Maybe it was a style choice… if so it was the wrong one.
- some things were just a little too unbelievable. Like in Ep. 7 how Thap just took over as doctor in the ambulance. Eh. Or also how quickly the police were there after he got shot. okayy. It’s better not to think about it too much.
- First simply being part of the cast made it very obvious to me (and probably anyone who knows him from other series) that a well established actor like him will probably be the ‚villain‘. Despite that it‘s always fun to see ‚coupled‘ actors in roles independent from said couple. So I gotta mention the appearance of Junior and Book as well :) More of that please.

a few little things that just caught my attention:
- ahahahaa, during the product placements I realized Thailand now also has the bottle caps that stay attached. Made me giggle.
- emotional support blankie! yay (at times it seemed a little too hot to sleep with two blankets though)
- this is probably more an issue on my side: in the end when we get all these so far somewhat background characters (Wan and the father) and their emotional clarity and open communication… it felt a little unreal to me because I am so used to the opposite in media and real life. I hope we can see more communication like this.

(Have to go over this review again to maybe find some better words, sort and edit a little. But for now it is what it is)
Thank You for reading until the end.

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room for a third season?

I can‘t add much more than other reviewers. It was fun, silly, a little over the top and short. I enjoyed every episode even though it wasn’t much different from S1. They even pointed that out in the last episode. There wasn‘t much - if any - character development compared to S1. We see how far Akafuji or Hajime are willing to go and do stuff in secret instead of talking to each other.
(As always) I love the usage of inner monologue in japanese dramas, that makes the miscommunication trope way more interesting and bearable.
While there was more about the managers relationship in this one I wished there was even more about them. They seem to be AkafujixHajime 2.0. So, how will their relationship turn out in the long run? They seem a little more grounded/mature compared to AxH. Need some answers there.
And in the end there seems to be hints for a possible third season. I‘d be open to watch that.

Thanks for reading :)

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