Reviews

Conflicted

As the headline suggests, I have very mixed feelings about this series.

Within the context of how the story is written, I would rate this as a solid 8/10.

Major Heartstopper vibes, cute story, good chemistry between the leads, just the right amount of tension with the love triangle, no toxic female characters. Acting, production value, colouring, editing and soundtrack are all good.

The plot is relatively simple and straightforward. Some major foreshadowing everything isn't as it seems when Nikko mentions he wants to be remembered as a positive person. MODC has made us all a little skittish. All good so far.

Then... everything goes sideways when the major point of dramatic tension is introduced.

Nikko faints, we get the big reveal, he has ALS. Bold choice, weird reveal because fainting isn't an ALS thing but whatever. Look back at previous episodes, Nikko's speech patterns, his fatigue, his mothers anxiety, kind of tracks, lets see how they are going to deal with this. Lets give them the benefit of the doubt.

Nikko goes back to school with a cane. Okay, again, not really how ALS plays out but lets be honest, these are 18 minute episodes. Not necessarily looking for an in depth examination of the disease process.

Strange conversations, doctor talking about interventions available in the States, Nikko talking about how he doesn't want to hold Eli back, the super dramatic scene of Nikko not being able to feel his legs.

At this point I gave up. My suspension of disbelief can only stretch so far.

I know this story, I've lived this story. My partner died of ALS. It is absolutely a story worth telling, unfortunately it isn't this story. If you are using a disease as a major plot point at least have some idea of what you are presenting. Google is pretty good like that.

ALS is a terminal, progressive, degenerative, neuromuscular disease. It affects voluntary control of your muscles. It doesn't happen in isolation, it doesn't affect sensory nerves. There are no treatment options beyond treating symptoms: pain, muscle spasms. Life expectancy is 2-5 years.

Nikko isn't just sick, he's dying. It's a matter of when and how not if. Given that as the story framework and how the disease actually presents, it's a whole different story. Equally as lovely, equally as dramatic. Just not this story.

Nikko would not have walked into his bedroom and woken up unable to walk or feel his legs. Progressive disease, doesn't affect sensory nerves

At that point in progression, he would never have been able to open the wheelchair let alone transfer himself into it unaided. His arms would have been too weak and his fine motor control of his hands would have been compromised. There isn't even a transfer pole in his room.

The prom dance, beautiful scene. If the disease had progressed to that point where Nikko couldn't stand, his diaphragm would be weakening. Eli holding him like that would have been so painful and he wouldn't have been able to breathe. Not such a beautiful scene now.

Interventions, and I will concede that might be a translation error during the conversations with the doctor, there are 3: breathing tube, feeding tube or experimental drug therapy. No need to go to the US for the first 2, opportunity for plot development if it is the 3rd option. At least very different conversations with the doctor, or between Nikko and his mother, Nikko and Justine or Nikko and Eli.

So close in the scene with the mother and counselor. Give the mom one more minute of screen time outside loading the wheelchair to completely break down alone. Elevates the 1 dimensional character into someone struggling but maintaining a brave face in front of everyone else, her son included. Any caregiver would relate to that.

So, I'm conflicted.

As the story was written, it was okay. Sweet and lovely with a tragic twist.

As someone who has dealt with ALS, disease isn't a just plot device. This story is a disservice to people who have ALS and the people who care about them. I realize I'm heavily biased so here is my question.

Is it okay to use something as a plot device without any real understanding or representation of what it is?

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Good. Could have been better

Why is the title Dangerous Romance? Is it because of the social standing of the two leads? Or is it because really violence is involved?

Honestly speaking, the same trope of enemies to lovers and smart boy tutoring the dumb boy and falling in love has been overused, even by GMMTV standards.
So, I will just write about a few things only.

Firstly, nobody is happy with their surroundings. Sailom is poor but has a living relationship with his caring elder brother. Kanghan is rich, has everything but feels neglected. Anybody else in Kanghan's place would have been happy but not Kanghan. Boy wants his father to focus on him. Which is absolutely right. There is less drama that is why they had to bring in bullying.

Sailom is poor but possess a spine of steel. He is the top student of his year and is getting a special scholarship to study in the prestigious school. And works when he is not studying to earn money. Chimon was channeling his inner Wasuthorn when he was answering the math questions written on the whiteboard.

While at first disliking (or not really) Kanghan, he starts to become friends with him. Sailom's friendship changes Kanghan for good. I like how Perth managed to show the slow but gradual growth until he falls in love.

Sailom falls first but Kanghan falls harder. And Kanghan is not a windmill in love but a hurricane. The upgrade of him from enemy to friend to lover to sugar daddy was pretty quick. And his possessiveness over his love is also immense but his heart is at the right place.

Sailom is a pure hearted boy. He sees expensive things but does not touch them. He has a rich boyfriend but does not take advantage of him, even whe jokingly mentions himself as expensive.

the actual flow of the story starts around episode 10. Kanghan gets mad at his dad and elopes with his boyfriend. But being the dutiful son-in-law and friend Sailom keeps Kanghan's dad updated. In fact, Kanghan's dad and grandma trust Sailom more than Kanghan. I was snorting a lot.

the plot thickens as Kang's father gets shot and Sailom's brother admits his fault. A rift starts between the two. Kanghan's love and possessiveness wins though. Sailom is wind and Kanghan is windmill. Without Sailom Kanghan is nothing.

The rest of the episodes are like Bollywood melodrama. Guns blazing, thugs entering hospital, firings ensued, Kanghan gets shot but no blood comes out. I am glad that they did not extend that shot otherwise I would really drop the series at that point.

The show mentioned teen escort services due to poverty which I was not ready to witness.

The side couple of Nawa and Guy is much more interesting. Pawin and Marc have been main leads of My Gear, Your Gown series and are an established pair of BL world. They portray the same type of enemies to lovers trope but I enjoyed Nawa more than Pai because of his sassiness.

Overall, it's an okay series. I for one will not be rewatching it.

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such a simple elegant cute sweet love story

I really really enjoy the acting of them. Their acting so effortlessly elegant and handsome. The story is a bit rushed I know but still their interactions, bickering, cute moments are so simple yet so beautiful. I have never seen such a smooth acting and this feels so real. Like how the punching marks still remains in their faces not like other bl's where after one day they just healed them. And also as Meen was staying outside he just had to wore the same shirt, this also feel so relatable. And they flirted with each other sa casually. How Jeng was being so smooth with those flirting and all. And he never ashamed about being a virgin still now.
I really they have their own series. They are so good. Please have them their own show.

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One of the best BL Drama to ever exist - Groundhog Day but make it BL

A solid plot and the proper way to tell the story - that is what Triage is.
Triage is a journey. The journey of Dr Tin, of becoming a changed man, from a self-centred person to an empathetic doctor and a genuine human being. And we are the witness of his change.

Another mature plot from the writer of Manner of Death that tackles a very serious problem of organ trafficking. I am glad that the writer chose such a topic for her story.

Each episode has perfect amount of elements to keep me engaged in the flow of the story. From the first episode , they have deftly managed the medical protocols. Yes, there maybe some exaggeration but for a normal viewer from nonmedical background, it seemed great.

The plot can get a bit repetitive for some, it gets repetitive and tiring for Dr Tin as well. But it is a puzzle he needs to solve himself. Otherwise there is no salvation for him. The slow burn plot is my jam.

Jinta provides accurate amount of mystery and magic realism/fantasy moments paired with humour.

The main leads act like flowing river, spontaneous and fluent in chemistry, portraying their confusion, anger, pain, hesitation, capitulation and gradual intimacy.

The two male leads falling in love is just beautiful. I am in love with them. I have a special place in my heart for Sing , his character is very well written and Tonnam's acting justified it. I wish I could see him in many more roles like this. The side story of Sing and Gap may seem a bit underdeveloped, but it's a real sweet one.

All the support roles have done brilliant jobs. The guest appearance of Dr Bun and tan , ah my MaxTul heart was screaming in happiness.

There are plotholes of course.

1. How did Dr Doi enter Sing's house?
2. How is it possibel for two unarmed doctors, outrun trained thugs with guns?
3. Tol's disguise as a doctor was the funniest.
4. The dreamlike sequences could have been a bit better.

But hey. I absolutely enjoyed this series despite all the things I mentioned. Triage has taken its place in my top 5.
An job excellently done. Kudos to the team.

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A Film Made For The Fans Of The Original Series.

The movie is an answered prayer for the fans of the original series. Unlike the series that has lots of changes from the original manga, this movie is very loyal to Volume 6-10 of the manga. The question is… Is it a good or bad thing? I’ll try my best to explain it with minimal to no spoilers.

Just like its predecessor, the movie focuses on the emotional aspect and character development of the main characters. Of course, they retained the fluffiness, cuteness, and romantic-comedy vibes of the series. But what I like about this movie is that it shows the growth of the beloved leads. One example is that Adachi asks Kurosawa that their relationship should be open to the people close to them, so if in any case something happens to either of them in the future, their partner will be notified especially in emergency situations.

If I have to be honest, the Nagasaki arc is one of the weak points of the movie. Sure, it is loyal to Volume 6 of the manga, but the fact that Adachi and Kurosawa didn’t communicate well and created the long-distance relationship conflict kind of feels unnatural to them, given that they established that they will be open to each other’s feelings in Episode 10 of the series. But then, I must say that for this conflict, it was Kurosawa’s fault for being too kind and so Adachi will not feel bad for leaving Tokyo. I just pretend that this conflict was the necessary push for Kurosawa to be totally out of his shell and be more true to his emotions. The succeeding part of the movie is what I like the best, which focuses more on the daily life of a gay couple and their relationship. They did an amazing job in that part and retained the lighthearted romantic atmosphere of the show.

The scene with the parents is probably my favorite part of the show! Adachi unleashes his hidden courage with a strong affirmation of his love for Kurosawa, EVEN WITHOUT THE MAGIC! In that scene alone, you can see how far these characters have come compared to what they were in episode 1 of the series. You can’t help but cheer and be proud of them! The scene alone is so touching that I literally end up crying. Akaso Eiji is brilliant in that scene!

Kurosawa in this sequel, shows more of his flaws. He is known to be perfect and undisturbed most of the time, even if he is pissed or uncomfortable. But when it comes to Adachi, he becomes hysterical that leads to impulsive decision making. When the camera pans on him, you can see in his eyes how terrified he is because of what happened to Adachi. I have to commend Machida Keita for his acting in that scene.

If I have to be very objective, I would say that the drama is better. But the movie is still wonderful as it is. The series set an incredibly high standard that is difficult to match, let alone surpass. Expecting any sequel to live up to its masterpiece predecessor is very unfair to everyone who is part of the show. That’s why I would say, the movie is great on its own.

Basically, if you are a fan of the original series like me, you will definitely love the movie as it was made for you. If not, then you might not appreciate it.

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A new outlook on villainess(es)

I was on a search for time traveling story plot right after watching A Time Called You with Ahn Hyo-seop and Jeon Yeo-been with a great twist compared to regular time-traveling dramas these days.

I watched two of Zhou Ye’s previous works and loved her sparkling eyes, her acting needs some improvements however. So
I ventured on another one with her acting as a main lead hoping this will be something that would make a mark. And it did. More than expected. The feeling of overachieved is so much better than a disappointment. FR!

I didn’t think I’d have liked it as much as I do, probably 2 eps and left. Well, I finished 11 eps in one night. Needless to say, though I could hardly stay awake the next day, I couldn’t wait for the night to come so I could continue with her time-traveling adventures.

The story isn’t new yet how the director’s and script writers’ new takes on villainess(es) was beautifully done. The viewers get to see the reason behind the villainess(es)’s action. They are not a bunch of bad eggs. Sometimes, circumstances and their over-achieved character aka passion for love drive them to a rather darker road especially, when there are no one who would wait for them in the other end. The villainess(es) can change once they realize the ugly truth thus, knowing they are loved, care for like every other person.
On the other hand, the so-call kind and smart protagonist such as Mu Yao, Zhong Ye Lan could be so annoyed and heartless when the camera rolls are on them. The situation makes us viewers feel sympathy towards them however; their stubbornness and silliness (with a weak nature) are part of many reason we feel frustrated towards their decisions and actions. How could you be so one dimensional and still be loved by many (male partners?!)

This storyline gives me hope in a smarter, calculated yet kind and strong characters. For those that not naturally evil, they simply are strong-willed and know what they want, and go get it. As human, we all make mistake. They can change the path if they are given a new start. Though not everyone is lucky enough to have that. The same goes with Hua Qian, she thought she was given a second chance to revert her action and be a better person, to fix almost everything.
*******Spoiler: however, it was only a dream. She still needed to wake up and deal with the consequences. She was lucky to have someone who cared and stood by her the entire time. Some were perhaps not that fortunate.

I wish there was a couple more ep to really define a happy ending and how she recovered from her mental breakdown, start over. But, I understand how the writers wanted to leave it at that for us to linger, to imagine and to wish her a new start with her man, who had loved her since the beginning of time.

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Boring

See who ships love story might like this . Yes , it had love story but the chemistry between the leads started in episode 23 and in episode 24 they get separated and in episode 25 she cameback to him . I hope this would give you a glimpse how the story would go . So basically till episode 21 the story was . They came together due to a circumstances and because of that they had to live together . In between they had fallen for each other. But not sure about their feelings . When they were sure so unable to tell each other . Then jealousy, misunderstanding,then misunderstanding had cleared,patch up and ultimately separated. So in this way the story went.
It was a time waste to watch it.

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MY NEW COMFORT KDRAMA

I was in a HUGE kdrama slump. i had no interest in watching any new releases especially ongoing dramas… i was even in my cdrama era for awhile but Twinkling Watermelon brought me out of my slump. I had like no expectations for this drama. I just kept seeing it on my TL and saw it was highly rated on Viki so i wanted to give it a chance. The first 2 episodes were really depressing and confusing for me so i kinda had to push through and i’m so glad i did because i instantly got hooked on episode 3 and i’ve been tuning in every week since episode 7 from then on. I love everything about this drama from the storyline, family, friendships, romance, music, comedy, angst, acting, etc. It’s everything i look for in a kdrama. ‘90s youth band dramas will always be my comfort. I know people refer to this as a time travel drama but i see it more as a youth drama. Anyways, we have 4 more episodes and i’m wishing for a happy ending because i can’t really predict the ending at all… I just know i’ll go back to this drama a lot and you’ll see my talking about it 3 years from now.

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The first ever kdrama I've watched!!

This was the first kdrama I've watched. When my mom was watching this, I used to watch this. I was very young and I couldn't understand anything but I can remember I really loved its music. That's why I watched it along with my mom. so when I grew up, I watched this again and yes I love it despite its sad, tragic ending. Song Hye Kyo was very young and beautiful and all the child actors did an amazing job. Song Hye Kyo was the reason why I rewatched it and ofcourse my childhood memories made me watch it again. Unique plot and amazing actors. the ending broke me but still I like it but I will skip the ending if I watch it again. overall, I recommend this drama but let me tell you, it's full of sad scenes than the happy scenes. Happy scenes are very limited in this drama!!

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Deserve higher ratings

Impressed by the story and great acting of the two major actors, desperately looking forward the season 2.
By the way, do I have the chance to watch the season 2 in rest of my life? If not, i will die with my eyes open. Bright and Nonkul, i know you two from this series, but it’s not enough. I hope both of you to show us more good work in the future.
Who haven’t watched this excellent series yet? It’s a great pity you know! Just watch it immediately. It won’t let you down .
Finally, the story and bright &nonkul will linger in my heart for a long time!

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If Perfection has a visual representation that is this drama

First, let me gush a little bit why this show is so prevalent for me. Frangipani flowers hold a really special value to me. I have some of the best memories with it. My school premises had a huge frangipani tree that was teeming with flowers almost whole year. My best friend and I used to collect the flowers that fell from the tree on the ground, beautiful white petals with specks of gold in the centre and the heavenly scent was both of our favourite.

Then we grew up, moved cities to find our lives. We are in touch but not as much as we were before.
And now that I go to office, I found another frangipani tree on the way, smaller than the one I knew, but full of bloom. They remind me me of my sweet time of childhood. Out of habit, I collect them and take them with me.

Never did I ever imagine that someday, someone will make a whole series using frangipani flower as a symbol of love. Because it is not a fancy flower. It is not used in traditional worship offering, it is not something one gifts their lovers with, it is not even given a second glance. So when I saw the flower used as a symbol of love I was delighted.

The seemingly insignificant flower gets such love is also a proof of every ordinary person has their own extraordinary story . Jom is an ordinary man in his timeline but his story of love is extraordinary.

Now that I got it out of my chest , let us move to the series itself.
The plot, the storytelling, the characters, the writing, the acting , the cinematography, the music - everything is superior.
I Fee You Linger in the Air is not a series, it is feeling, a vibe, a piece of pure art. A gem of production.

I know Nonkul is a very strong actor. And his previous works show that. Bright on the other hand is fairly new but their chemistry together is absolutely marvelous. And the support characters have done such a great job that I am speechless. The portrayal of the 1920s Chiang Mai is enacted beautifully.

Tee Bundit has exceeded my expectations with this. One of the best drama series ever and not just in the category of BLs.
I am eagerky waiting for the special episode and the season 2.

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A Windless Windmill

The title Dangerous Romance is very much an oxymoron. There's nothing dangerous about the romance in this drama unless you want to very loosely connect it to the fact that it's an enemies to lovers story. It's Thai title, Heart in the Wind, is far more suitable and poetic. The name aside though, Dangerous Romance is a fairly fluffy drama with a few doses of angst and a touch of drama towards the end to spice things up. It's not complicated, it doesn't break the mold, but it's fun and I was mostly entertained by it.

The drama follows the fairly common enemies to lovers trope. Kanghan is the school's rich boy bully whereas Sailom is the school's scholarship whiz kid. Predictably and quickly, the two clash and then fall in love. Too quickly for my taste. Kang and his friends aren't just your garden variety bullies. They're not only physically abusive, but Kang takes things several steps farther by threatening Sailom's jobs and even takes a gun, albeit not a loaded on, to threaten him with at his home. However, when Kang saves Sailom from getting beaten up by debt collectors, suddenly all the issues between them dissipate and their relationship starts to develop. While Kang does acknowledge and take ownership of his actions, he never really faces any consequences for them and it all gets swept under the rug so to speak. Given how Sailom was willing to stand up to him, it felt a bit out of character that he so easily forgave Kang. Their romance, while at times a tad dramatic, is never dangerous. There's nothing forbidden about them being together, there's no impression that either of their families would object, and while they do have several instances where they're in danger, it's not because of their love. Aside from the first and last couple of episodes, the rest was mostly filler. Kang's moment of teenage rebellion lasts a couple episodes in the middle but doesn't really accomplish anything other than some very slight character development and a few sweet moments. The plot line with Name and his boss and cronies at the end was very nonsensical and generally just a mess. As a side note, the series is rife with tropes, from having actually met when they were younger to the accidental falls to the ever present sponge bath and on it goes. The pacing left something to be desired. The beginning was fairly fast paced, but quickly mellowed and became almost laggy at points before picking up again in the last couple of episodes. Part of the issue was the number of time jumps. It make things seem like they were happening faster than they were, like the development of Kang and Sailom's relationship.

I struggled with Kang's character in large part because there were aspects that made no sense. He clearly started developing feelings for Sailom early on, and then quite suddenly seemed to be torn between his feelings for Sailom and the sudden development of his feelings for Pimfah. Now whether he actually had feelings for Pimfah or he just didn't want to acknowledge his feelings for Sailom and so was deflecting, who knows. Regardless, it didn't work and was confusing to watch because up until that point, we'd had no indication that he viewed Pimfah as anything more than a friend. Similarly, after Saifah confessed to killing Kang's father, Kang distanced himself from Sailom and was, at times, quite cruel to him, despite obviously still caring about him. When he and Sailom reconcile, he tells him that he never wanted to leave him, etc., etc., however, no one ever forced them apart, it was his decision. There's also the underlying current that his family life and the issues with his father somehow justify his bullying others. It does not and it didn't sit well with me how quickly his actions were overlooked. And once he and Sailom did get together, he was almost too sweet. I would have liked a better balance between the sweetness and the bad boy persona he had. Sailom was enjoyable just for his razor sharp tongue. He had some fantastic comebacks to Kang's bullying which immediately increased his appeal. I appreciated how he stood up for himself and his friends and refused to back down. Some of his sass though was lost once he and Kang got together. There were moments where I expected him to fight for their relationship, but instead he just moped. In general, his character just became less compelling as the story progressed.

As side characters, I really enjoyed Auto and Guy. They were good, solid friends for Sailom and I enjoyed their interactions. Max and Nawa left me with mixed feelings because while I did enjoy the development of Guy and Nawa's relationship, neither character ever acknowledged their part in the bullying started by Kang other than to joke about it. I would have liked to see them owning up to what they did rather than it, again, just be swept aside. Pimfah was generally likable, although her inexplicable crush on Sailom came out of nowhere and was so quickly resolved that it felt almost pointless. Saifah left me feeling a bit frustrated, because he was obviously not dumb and yet some of the things he did made no sense. The hinted feelings between him and Name were sweet, but ultimately left underdeveloped and not needed. Same with Pimfah and Napdao. Kang's grandmother was a queen and I'm so glad they didn't kill her off as I was afraid they would. She was one smart cookie and I really appreciated how even though she loved Kang and clearly doted on him, she also didn't just brush aside his misdeeds and she didn't just view him through rose colored glasses. Kang's father, on the other hand, was a disappointment. His reasoning for how he was raising Kang was incredibly weak and he just came across as someone with weak character. I will admit that I did cheer when he showed up to Kang's football game though, if for no other reason than it made Kang so darn happy.

Perth and Chimon are both incredibly talented actors, but this was not their best work. Their chemistry lacked consistency and there were more than a few awkward scenes. The kissing scenes in particular just did not work and were almost uncomfortable to watch. Chimon also seemed to struggle with several of the more emotional scenes where he had to cry. It felt forced. The acting wasn't bad, I've just seen stronger performances from both.

There were several episodes that were unnecessarily flashback happy. I'm generally fairly ambivalent towards the sound effects used, but there were instances where they really didn't fit and stood out. The wind/windmill analogy was cute the first time or two, but then just got repetitive thereafter. One thing I did like though was the costuming, particularly the school uniforms. While not shabby, you could definitely tell that the scholarship kids' uniforms were older and less pristine. It added a dimension to the characters that was appreciated. I also liked the music, particularly the theme song although it was overused per the usual. I liked it enough though that it didn't get too annoying.

Based on the trailer for Dangerous Romance, I was expecting far more from it than I got. I was expecting it to be more fast paced and, based on the title as well, to have more at stake. Instead, it turned out to be a fairly generic piece of fluff that, while entertaining, didn't give anything deeper. It's underlying theme, Do you think all people are equal? poses an interesting and compelling question, but ultimately doesn't give a particularly satisfying answer. Nevertheless, if your expectations aren't too high and you go in with an open mind, you may find it to be a pleasant diversion.

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The stupidest drama award of 2023 goes to … you guessed it right: Arsedal Dumbronicles

Character Consistency? Who. Logical Storytelling? Who. Emotion, heart and substance? Who.
I feel so disappointed, that we have to get into it.

❌ Acting:
I have said it before and I’ll say it again- Lee Joon Gi and I vibe. I think he is a better actor than SJK, does killer action scenes, has a lot of range and knows how to play complex and dynamic characters. That said, he sucked absolute ass playing a dual role in this drama.

Oh, don’t get me wrong, the man acted more than some actors will in their entire careers. He made all the right faces, all the right moves and you could see how hard he was working. Yet, it was like he accidentally brought Moon Lovers’ script with him and played the Fourth Prince for 12 episodes straight and nobody said anything,

Because whatever LJG played was definitely NOT Eun Seom or Saya. He played his own characters that lacked the essence of the ones we saw in the previous three seasons. I mean sure he didn’t have much to work with because the writing of the season was absolute trash but still- his Eun Seom and Saya were the exact same people. There was no difference at all and it was just annoying to watch. They knew it too which was why they just yeeted Saya out of the script and called it a day.

Other than that, we had Shin Se Kyung, I don’t wanna talk much about her cause the thought of her acting makes me wanna stab myself with a chopstick. She’s one of the worst actresses alive and this writer duo keeps giving her strong female characters to play which she effectively dumbs down with a portrayal that mostly consists of her wide eyed and sputtering like a fish outta water. The rest of the actors were good but really, when the two main leads who are constantly stuffed in our faces are so meh, what’s the point?

❌ Writing:
This has to be some of the worst writing done by these usually awesome writers. It’s abnormally bad. The characterization completely goes to shit in this season. Saya, who was arguably the most loved character of the first three seasons, becomes as useless as a doormat and has major side character energy. They completely dumbed him down and made him act like a cowardly weasel who keeps running from his enemies. I was so so so frustrated because it was like they wanted to effectively break all of his fan following so they could champion Eun Seom and make him a convincing hero considering he was Beta as hell in the first three seasons.

Speaking of Eun Seom, they decided to shove him down our throats as this overpowered God who was one-note as fuck, could never lose, was suddenly Machiavelli in a wig, hardened and ruthless as Inaishingi- which as we all know is a complete 360 from what his character was supposed to be. I really came to dislike Eun Seom because I didn’t connect with him at all. They killed his emotions and stuffed him with one dimensional heroism which was boring to watch after a while. All the rest of the characters were on some spectrum of dumb to dumber and lacked basic sense.

The best character was undeniably still Taealha- the vicious, tigress of a queen and mother. She’s the only person interesting to watch. It’s funny to me how the villains had more heart and emotion than the good guys who were just robotically going from one battle to another with surface level feelings.

❌ Lore:
What lore, really? They just made up whatever they wanted to. The prophecy that was driving the whole shitshow came into being with the most underwhelming climax of all. They totally ditched it last minute and added new stuff that frankly, insulted the audience’s intelligence.

❌ Direction:
Let’s be honest, the direction wasn't great as well. The previous director jumped ship and without him they never landed on their feet again. I hated the editing and abrupt cutting in this one and the camera work for a production this big was just average. That’s not to say the cinematography and special effects weren’t good, cause they were - especially with the fight scenes, it is to say that as far as scenic shots are concerned, none of them were good enough to be memorable. They focused too much on the fight and gore to really give a shit about anything else. Also I can’t believe that they decided to put an English song and used it as OST for literally a historical show based on the early civilizations of Korea. Make that make sense.
Every time it dramatically started playing as one ancient warrior slashed another ancient warrior, I stopped taking this shit seriously.

✅ The Good Stuff?
Honestly, there wasn’t much. The hype action scenes were exciting, yes. The strategies and politics were slightly interesting but they dragged way too much. Taealha kicked ass as always and the instrumental was good. It was fun to watch the gorgeous and talented LJG do his thing even if he was completely out of character for the roles he was playing and I sincerely believe his talents got wasted on this script.

❌ Other than that, this was a waste of time. I get that there were a lot of hiccups, I get that the time was short with only 12 episodes and I get that there were new actors but honestly, if you know all of these things, then you should be focusing on a few important themes than just overstuffing the drama with plot lines and hype scenes with no real substance.

I think this is one of those very few shows that had such a big budget and a lead actor that I absolutely love with so many strong female characters and still ended up being a complete basket case.

100% Jeana Disapproved
#JusticeForSaya

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Albeit the Slower than usual Pace, The Chemistry is Chemistrying

From the pilot we knew this was gonna be a brawler to some extent and there were expectations for the series given the casting of seasoned actors for the lead characters.

What I liked about this series was the beautiful cinematography, dialogue and pace (which was slower than usual and reflective of the pace of life then), the impeccable acting by Nonkul and Bright (never heard of them before this series), and the character designs. Majority of the characters were likeable, even with their flaws. The main leads truly hard carried this series, but the supporting cast and characters were equally amazing (albeit some awkward acting by the extras in the market scene). I have never seen an actor (Nonkul) act coy so well (without being cringe) and Bright was able to pull off that innocent yet hungry look effortlessly.

And their hands! The way they moved their hands during the intimate and emotional scenes, the choreography and their hands need an Oscar. The chemistry between the two main leads was sensuous, genuine and natural, and beautiful to watch. The main characters feed off each other and together made each other whole; when one was weak the other was strong, when one was lost the other led. It's been a while since I've seen such great chem and acting in BL (in general). There was also notable effort put into set design, costume and even CGI, to give us good production quality.

While the choice of music was rather predictable, I'm thankful there was no overuse of the theme song which can get irritating by the time viewers reach mid-point of the series. The plot line and character designs were also good, except for maybe ep 10 and 11, where there was some in-congruence in character (Yai, and his mother).

What could've been better for me was the context setting and ending. I thought more effort could have been put into building up the 1920s universe, especially since this could be interesting for international fans who may not be familiar with Thai history and way of life. That context setting would've also helped understand the impact created by Jom. The ending also needed some damn explanation... I hope they help put a proper conclusion to the series with a special edition. *Spoiler* and personally I don't really want to go further back in time...

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