Reviews

A Must-Watch Drama in 2024

I started watching this drama because of Cheng Xiao and Minghao—two of my absolute favorites! Initially, I thought the main couple would be Cheng Xiao and Minghao, but it turns out that's not the case. Cheng Xiao plays a supporting character, but she completely nailed her role and shines just as brightly as the leads. Honestly, her performance is so captivating that she steals the show at times.

The drama has already secured a spot in my top 5 favorites list, right after The Love Game in the Eastern fantasy. It’s currently in 3rd place! My all-time favorite remains Dashing Youth and The love game in Eastern fantasy in 2024 but this one definitely deserves its ranking.

The story and characters are exceptionally well-written, with every detail pulling you into the drama’s world. At first, I thought it might be a BL/GL drama because they emphasize not just the couples' chemistry but also the connections between Cheng Xiao and Chen Duling, as well as Minghao and Jiarui. Honestly, I’m obsessed with the dynamics between Jiarui and Minghao and love their chemistry even more than the actual couples (Minghao and Duling)!

This drama stands out with its strong performances, stunning visuals, and an intriguing plotline. It’s one of those shows that keeps you hooked from start to finish, and every character feels so alive. Definitely worth watching if you're a fan of complex relationships and beautiful storytelling!

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Beautiful

Oh boy, this was an absolute tear-jerker, especially in the last few episodes. The relationship between Geu-ru and his dad was heart-warming already, but it’s given such a perfect arc as we see Geu-ru coming to terms with his grief while he and Sang-gu get closer.

There are parts of this show that really surprised me with how deep it got, and even plot developments that weren’t necessarily new still managed to hit the right emotional beats.

I did enjoy the “case of the week” style and I enjoyed pretty much every single story, but I definitely don’t think any of them were extremely hard-hitting emotionally. Still, the parallels between them and the A-plot was really strong, and if I’m being honest I’d totally watch a sitcom type of show where they just do this every week for the rest of my life. The dynamic of the main trio — Sang-gu/Geu-ru/Na-mu is just THAT good.

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Love, like life, is a series of steps, and we must start with the first one

Imagine 'Hotel del Luna' (2019), by South Korean Oh Choong Hwanm without ghosts walking through the rooms, 'Meet Me Outside' (2020), by Filipino JP Habac, without dating apps, or 'Hit Bite Love' 2023, by Thai Yuan Tin Tun Danop, with two lovers enjoying the pleasures and dangers of BDSM (something that breaks the tone of the series towards the end), and you will get 'The Renovation'.
If this setup sounds generic, that's because it is. However, the Thai miniseries of the romantic genre by Nob Sathanapong Limwongtong, director of numerous BL series, such as 'La Cuisine' (2022), 'Ai Long Nhai' (2022), 'Gen Y' (2021) and 'Gen Y Season 2' (2022), among others, manages to find some new angles and emotionally effective ways to examine those turbulent feelings that arise when two people fall in love.
There are many much more urgent and exciting Asian BL miniseries with similar plots, but 'The Renovation' more or less falls into the above-average range of this crowded genre due in large part to the authentic and nuanced performances of its young actors.
Scripted by Wittavat Sungsakijha, the short drama of two episodes lasting one hour each, revolves around Manu (Kunavut Jirattikorn), a young architect unlucky in love who seeks to heal his heart, and P (Peter Paratthakorn Duangsawang), a nerd who recently graduated abroad, who dreams of being a writer and is looking for both a plot for his first novel and true love.
Their lives intersect when P arrives at a hotel complex under renovation owned by Manu, located on Hua Hin beach, one of the most famous tourist destinations among Thais thanks to its proximity to Bangkok, with a reservation confirmation and previously paid stay via social networks, waiting to find inspiration for his first novel.
While Manu assures that there could have been an error in the reservation system and that, as a solution, he could disburse his money through the same payment mechanism, but it could take around fifteen days, P will claim that he likes the atmosphere of the hotel, even being under renovation, so it doesn't bother you to stay in those conditions.
Without staff to attend to him, P will demand that Manu himself, as the owner of the resort, be the one who receives and cares for him during the days of his stay.
And although that is a perfect and quiet place to vacation or wait for the muses, it will also be a place for a palpable romantic tension to arise between Manu and P, and they develop an emotional evolution quickly, making it possible for one to find that person in the other. May it heal your heart, and the other that first true love that you were waiting for, and maybe, maybe, the inspiration for your novel.
I like the quotes of song lyrics, poems and phrases from musicians, poets and businessmen, such as Bob Marley, Ralph Ransom and Sam Walton, visible on the walls of the hotel.
I like how Manu begins to laugh and gains affability after the night in which he drinks with P and then takes him, when he is in a state of intoxication, to the guest room, gives him a dry bath and, with great modesty, He changes his clothes so that he can sleep peacefully. His distant and cold personality gradually transforms once he comes into contact with P and they begin to get closer.
Peter recreates P's open, frank and expressive personality with great success. The young actor is a pleasure to watch for his portrayal of the flirtatious visitor, eager to realize his dreams as a writer and find love.
Some other scenes establish flirtation and obvious sexual tension between the two: invitations to eat the food prepared by one of them in the absence of service personnel, that one visits the other in his room, worried, to make sure he is well, that Manu offers P a strong black coffee for a hangover, the way in which one takes care of the other, the games in the pool or those in which one paints the other's body, their dates for ice cream, on the edge of the pool or among lit candles at the Moonlight to eat squid…
Where did these two debut actors come from who, with their presence, fill the screen and demonstrate a chemistry that goes beyond the physical realm, being emotional, psychological and fully satisfying. I would like to see them in other projects with a better budget and script, in more complex characters.
Simple and direct, the romantic comedy emits refreshing and relaxing vibes, about two boys who, due to the circumstances described above, live together in a beach resort one summer and little by little open to love.
Filmed at the Paskani Hun Hin Resort, the beautiful photography by Nattapong Pakdeesri ('Gen Y 2, 2022), also shows the beach town that is 3 hours from Bangkok (200 km), and the 3 kilometers of little beach busy Hua Hin, a place famous for being a family-friendly and friendly destination, also thanks to its relationship with the Thai monarchy, since several kings have frequented this beach city usual.
The interest is not in the narrative arc as presented, but in the understanding of what they think and feel: the resort owner who heals the wounds of a recent breakup and feels confused, uncomfortable, in the presence of P, and the visitor who raises suspicions as a person interested in discovering the secrets of the hotel and its owner.
I'm looking forward to the second and final episode.

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A very original story telling and great Actor!

This story is beautifully executed and a very easy to binge watch.
I felt all the emotions watching.
The ML going through the rest of his life feeling someone else's past life
and the woman is attracted to the ML because of her late husband heart
inside of the ML which brought them closer but he was already married
which made things complicated. I felt it for the other woman as she earns for
her husband's attention while he only care to learn about the heart of the man
he is living with. I enjoyed it and as I love watching the ML in series it was easy
on my eyes lol. He is just so flawless with his acting skills that he makes everything
so natural. I recommend if you like series with no action in a country side setting.

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Over done amnesia

First , I actually love Jeremy Tsui, will watch anything with him in it. This is a good performance by him, but surely not one of his best. Wasn’t impress with FL or the wanna be girlfriend. 2nd leads were pretty good. I definitely agree that the amnesia bit went on too long, who ruined the story it would’ve been better with more romance especially since Jeremy was so romantic as the grand tutor. Could have done without the love triangle. Tired of women who chase men and are delusional about the man having any type of love for except in a sisterly way. Thinking the other woman that the man is interested in is a problem so she needs to be removed. Over played too much. I would hard pressed to watch this again even with Jeremy in it the amnesia wore me out

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Fun, Romantic, and Charming

It was a fun ride. Each actor contributed a special charm to the series. Cartz Udal as the vibrant and unusually interesting friend, Aning. Mac Alonzo as the alluring and handsome Magic, brimming with sex appeal. Larence Brenches as Jack, who emanated the aura of a charmingly handsome young prince. And Leilani Kate Yalung who portrayed so well both the gruesomely terrifying Gina and the innocently beautiful Gina.

In the last scene together...of Jack and Magic...when they are standing by the piano, the music was hypnotizingly ethereal. It was so beautiful that when the episode ended I went back to that scene and replayed it over and over again.

Although it would be nice to have a Series 2 with Wizard and Jack, I think that it would only detract from the original love story of Jack and Magic. Sometimes it's best to leave a beautiful piece of art be as it is...without trying to replicate it or add to it. It shines brilliantly in and of itself.

As an avid BL fan of Thai, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Taiwanese BL series, would I recommend this one? Although it lacked the sophistication of the more recent continental Asian BL's , it made up for this lack of an unlimited budget sophistication by exuding fun, romance, and charm in an offbeat and sometimes campy fashion.

So...my answer is Yes. Absolutely yes

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Fantasy justice and criticism for real world laws

Justitia is an extremely educated demon, having not only learned demon laws, but apparently all of the law and procedures of the South Korean court system in addition to memorizing the Christian bible and who knows what else. I do wonder if it was also a form of torture for her to endure in addition to being the heir to Bael, but whatever the lore about that, her skills makes her uniquely suited to play the system to her own ends. Manipulating humans while dealing with new feelings that her human body sends her is another issue. She did not understand how crushes causes dangerous impulses like fluctuating with wanting and not wanting the attention of a guy by taunting the police with dead bodies that would lead back to her being a glaring suspect. It's so ridiculous that she knows how the investigations work, but she still leaves the bodies with an extremely unique stamp on the forehead of the bodies around. Her cases draw attention to how the system both in the show and in real life can give slap on the wrists for the most horrific crimes and even in the case of serial killers, they can become "innocent" by just waiting out the clock on the statute of limitations, as well as corruption from the rich and powerful in the justice system.

Although Justitia falling for Da On is a big turning point, it's merely one part of her softening towards humanity. Her heart also pains for other people and she sheds tears for them as well. The Satan hunting Demon charity volunteer group leader and demon crime scene cleaning crew shows that this is a danger and possibility for all demons to become sympathetic to humans, so it's not only Da On causing this in Justitia. I really like that when she asks for 3 years in the human world, it's not to play house with Da On, but to live as an actual human judge full time. She's not at this point centering her life around this man at all, so I'm find with the romance. The awkward immobile closed mouth kiss scenes never look good, directors need to wake up and accept the fact. The actors show in a much later kiss scene that they can do a normal kiss scene just fine. Also the interrupted kiss gag is also never funny, especially when it's multiple times. The ending has Justitia suddenly given another deal about killing 10 killers to remain human forever and also there is the fate of the original human Judge Kang Bit Na uncertain. It seems to suggest a second season rather than closing out cleanly with room for more, which would have been better as there is never any guarantee for a second season, especially for asian dramas.

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BOOM SHAKALAKAAA

I LOVED THIS PREMISE. I've not watched many transmigration shows, but this one is AMAZING. Like the transmigration to lowkey enemies to lovers...this is everything I needed in a c-drama. I don't really read synopses when I start c-dramas, but I think watching this while not knowing anything about the plot made it better!!! Especially when it got to the transmigration plot.
Originally, I thought the story would go to palace drama where it's real Yang CaiWei versus ShangGuan Zhi (like Yang CaiWei has to fight to make Pan Yue to believe it's actually her), but I pleasantly enjoyed the route they went.

**SPOILERS AHEAD***
One thought I had though...Zhuo LanJiang and Bai XiaoSheng's little side relationship was giving situationship 😭because what do you mean he won't say I like you or I love you but he's gonna say "I feel at peace when you're near me" and then they're doing the dirty LIKE I KNOW THEY ACTUALLY LOVE EACH OTHER but I kept thinking of it LMAO they were very cute though and justice for them fr

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The entire plot could have been avoided with a ten minute conversation

This is one of the most generic BLs I have seen. I honestly had no intention of watching it, but after seeing Joong and Dunk in other shows, I decided to give it a shot. It was extremely predictable, with drawn out back-and-forth conflicts that didn't actually help build the characters. If Joong and Dunk's characters would have just sat down and had a conversation, the entire show would have been avoided.

Daonuea (Dunk) confessed his feelings for Kluen (Joong) in 11th grade, and with no response from Kluen, Nuea went on his study abroad trip for 12th grade and tried to forget about it. That is, until the two reunite their freshman year of college. Trying to forget about the confession, Nuea pretends to have not known Kluen, but it seems the feelings are still lingering. When others start pursuing Nuea, he's torn between trying to move on and staying true to his own heart.

Thank god this show was only 8 episodes, because it took forever to get anywhere with the plot and if that was drawn out any more I would have dropped this. The only reason I didn't rate it lower was that the relationship does become very sweet and cute, and that part is fun to watch. However the miscommunication and constant "you should move on and find someone better" got old SO fast, and I think the entire first 6 episodes could have been condensed to two, and the couple could have had some more interesting challenges when they were together. Instead, we got a very stereotypical show that didn't really do anything new, besides an ending that clearly just wanted to set up a sequel. This is probably only worth watching if you're a fan of Joong and Dunk and are waiting for a new show from them....

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