Rarng Ruk Prang Jai (2021)

Went in with no expectations, thank goodness!

So, I've been watching so many crappy shows with little plot, bad acting and lacklustre endings so having stumbled upon this show was a blessing.

The story starts off really well with an intriguing mystery. The way the mystery was handled was well-done. It wasn't that hard to guess the murderer, but the flow of the story was really good. I liked a lot of characters in the show, especially the FL. She carried this show for me. She was strong, had principles and wasn't afraid of anything! The ML was also well written. I liked that he was more of a supporting presence (minus episode 14/15 where he did a 180 that seemed really out of character for him). It's so unique to see a ML who isn't dominating the story progression as is the case with so many lakorns, and the females just enduring through the story. The FL/ML also had amazing chemistry. I was rooting for them the whole show and I would have liked to see way more of their interactions.

My only gripes with this show is the ending kind of was very mellow. We have everyone forgiving everyone and a little bit of a reconciliation between leads in the last few moments of the show. i would've liked to see more of the main couple. Also, episodes 14/15 were horrible. I really didn't like the u-turn the ML did and how the FL was fighting an uphill battle even when evidence was presented to the police. I get that the caption had a bias, but it was really annoying to see him talk down to the FL like he had some sort of moral high ground to judge her as a murderer when she's been cooperating with the police (with a lot of attitude, which was well deserved due to the police bias), isn't a fly risk, and the only thing pointing to her as a murderer is her own admission which was done under extenuating circumstances where she was kidnapped and was about to be killed. How could that be admissible as evidence?!

Lastly, I think the overarching theme of women being devalued and their misery being overlooked by society in general and not being believed by people was a really hard-hitting point. The fact that everyone ignored all the warning signs of abuse, which led to the death of the sister shows that our society has a long way to go. More shows need to shed light on this topic, especially in lakorns where we see so much abuse to women that it's become trivialized. I've been guilty of watching slap/kisses, but I've realized that I enjoy shows with intimacy. The reason slap/kisses are so appealing to me is because they get really intimate scenes between leads and it creates more dynamic stories as apposed to vanilla shows. it's sad that so many of these slap/kisses can be turned into willing and still get the point across instead of having to reset to physical assault to show intimacy between main leads.

All in all, this was a delightful drama, one which I'll probably be visiting again in a few years time for a rewatch since Ioved the chemistry and the mystery unfolding in the show. I would be really intrigued if the main couple has another show. I've never watched either of them as main leads and I've grown to really like both their acting.

Bonus points: the SFL wasn't a complete b*tch and was actually supportive of the FL once the truth came to light! I hate shows that have females fighting over men like they're b*tches in heat and their only value is through the men in their life. Both Fl/SFL cared about their careers and valued their work and friendship. Kudos to the writers for letting women have discussions that aren't only about men!

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