Passerby

Worst of all...?

EDIT: Just finished. Long review ahead!!!

This Thai adaptation was the 3rd drama adaptation of the novel "Are You Addicted?" The first two adaptations were produced by China titled "Addicted" on 2016 and "Stay With Me" on 2023. When the news that the novel was getting a Thai adaptation, people were expectant and had high hopes because people believed there would be no limitations and censorship compared to the first two. However, things did not go well with this one.

PLOT: Since the source material is Chinese, the first two adaptations did not really change a lot plot-wise. This adaptation really presented Thai culture.

- From the get go, episode 1, it was different from the first two adaptations.
-They included religious activities/practices that were not in the source material.
- Hero had someone (the lady) who he stayed with, while the novel and the first two adaptations did not. Poppy had a job while Lou Yin/Su Yu did not.
- Unfortunately, they did not execute well the "penmanship" scenes which really affected the chemistry of Hero and Poppy. In my opinion, those parts were iconic and should always be present in every adaptation of the novel.
- They also rushed to remove Lala/Jin Lu Lu's parts. The "mooncake" part lost its original significance and just became off.
- The supposed first plot point wherein the mother would gate crash the auntie's store grand opening was also not the same and rushed. In this adaptation, it happened during the parent's day where both parents attended instead of only the mother.
- The second plot point, the r*pe scene, was also change and was not as impactful as it should've been.
- ML's cousin was tamer in this adaptation. He was so much of a nuisance in the novel. For the record, yes he was attracted to the MC.
- The father was so much harsher in this adaptation.
- The ending was different from the novel and the other two adaptations, mainly Stay With Me. For the record, Stay With Me depicted the exact ending of the 1st novel. The two lead characters did get into an accident because ML's cousin tampered the breaks of the car.


Going in to the 5th episode, Hero and Poppy's chemistry is not there just yet. What I did like was Hero's confession scene. The way he laid his head cutely on Poppy's tied hands was a cute detail. However, the "angle kiss" was rather disappointing. I understood why (and this was also controversial and problematic) but it could've been avoided if they did not cast a minor as one of the lead role.

EDIT: The chemistry of the two is nonexistent. I just couldn't feel the attraction between them even with the montage of them sleeping.

CASTS: Personally, they could've done better with the casting, especially with Poppy. This adaptation was rather badly welcomed because the casting of a minor, being paired with an adult, and being part of a series which deals with adult themes.

August's (Hero) acting is good but Mac's (Poppy) is not. He did not portray Bai Lou Yin to my expectations. The same with Poppy's family. It felt so detached like I couldn't feel the family vibes with them. I think it's because of poor execution. The leads' friends were also stiff. I don't think they're friends at all LOL.

MUSIC: The OST matches the vibes of the series. But it's not impactful to me to the point that I would look it up.

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Now this deserves a little praise. I loved the locations, especially that area to Poppy's house with the tall trees. However, it's a little stereotypical that the color grading is yellow or warm just because they're in the country side. It's just like in western movies wherein if the location is in Mexico, it would always be warm/yellow-toned.

TONE & MOOD: I am conflicted with this. The common Thai humor is pretty obvious. The series is "sunny" and "bright" overall and while I understand the humorous tone (the novel had humorous undertone too) it took away the seriousness of some scenes. I felt like the series was just presented too bright.

CONCLUSION: I have finished watching and I could tell that this would be the adaptation with the lowest rating among the three adaptations. From the controversial casting of a minor to the overall writing and execution, I believed this was a wasted opportunity to finally produce a decent adaptation of the novel. In all honesty, I have just fast forwarded the remaining half of the drama. While I understand and appreciate that they adapted it culturally, in the end the execution was just a fail.

Read More

What???

Okay what the heck was that last episode?? It was a terrible way to end a drama! I know there's a 2nd season but seriously, the last episode was not IT. They could have chosen other parts of the book for the last ep. Spoiler ahead...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Wang intentionally flunked the exams because he wanted to distance himself from Tian because of his feelings. But they resolved this, comes Wangzai's bday and that's when they confess and got together. If I'm not mistaken that's when they first kissed too (in the novel). After that, the had an exam and Wangzai got back to Class A, JiaHao failed, and that's when the angst started. I think this parts would've been the better option to end the 1st season.

For the cast: I'm okay with their performance, however, Liu Dong Qin does not really look like a high school student. I'm a little flabbergasted why they casted adults to play high school students!

The music: It's great and fitting.

The plot: It's not new. It's actually very common for a coming-of-age slash slice-of-life genre. What I appreciate was the world building. Like I've read stories and watched movies/dramas that show students but don't live like one (they spend most of their time outside than in school which is unrealistic). With this, one, especially in the novel, it really presented the idle yet eventful life of a student. They built Wangzai and Tian's student god images with actions and not merely a description. They actually showed how they study, how much time they spend on it, and whatnots. Typically, authors would just say that their MCs and MLs are studious, geniuses, etc. without showing how they are like that. But in this story, it's the opposite.

I understand why other people find this boring and slow but I appreciate its pace. People got used to fast-paced dramas like in the 3rd ep the lead characters are already in love and whatnots. People forget the MC and ML are still high school student. What could they do beside going to school and studying?

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this and would definitely wait for the 2nd season. A must watch and rewatch!

Read More

It's giving

Another Taiwanese BL that did not disappoint.

I have not read the novel so I don't know if it stayed true for the most part of the series but it was really great.

I especially loved how the actors acted. They felt really natural; the subtle movements, facial expressions, even their breathing looked natural. The comic elements did not feel forced.

Plot wise, there were parts that I was still confused about. There were scenes that I felt was unnecessary, parts where it could have been delved deeper. But hey, as I said, I have not read the story so I can't say much.

Overall, I can say I did not regret watching it and certainly I would watch it again and again.

Edit on April 26, 2024, 1 day after watching the series...

I finished reading the main story of Da ge and wow I could say that they did not stay true to the novel, like a good 80% is different. I especially dislike that they made Xiao Bao and San Pang a couple in the series. It's creepy, weird, and wrong like dude watched her grow up, even babysat her and they made them a couple?? Xiao Bao in the novel achieved her dreams of becoming a model and an actress, San Pang in the novel met another girl and had a family. I don't understand why they had to change the two's fate and created a weird relationship in the series.

Also, Xian in the novel at least in the beginning was far cold hearted than in the series. Yuan, on the other hand, well, still a loyal and obedient puppy.

And you know what, the relationship between Qian and Yuan, both the novel and the series had the same vague transition from being brothers to lovers. It just kind of happened. And yeah, in the novel, it was Qian who made the first move, while it was Yuan in the series.

Read More

On-hold

Haven't finished this because of no eng subs for ep 8 and the rest of the eps. So far so good though, the FL is very tough and witty. I just think that the ML is crazy here. Like he allowed his soon -to-be-wife to live with him and his mistress (which is the FL) and allowed two more women to live with them! I would understand if the time was way back but it wasn't. It's ridiculous. The supposedly fiancee has no backbone too. She just let's the ML do whatever he wants with the other women. The FL here is really great, kudos to her acting and for the writers who gave her hilarious comebacks.

Read More