La Pluie (2023)

La Pee-ew

La Pluie started off promising enough with an interesting concept and characters that worked within that concept, however, it quickly snowballed with ridiculous, unnecessary drama that contributed nothing to the story and eventually concluded by ghosting one of its leads for almost the entire episode. It could have been much better than it was if the creators had a more solid grasp on what kind of story they were wanting to tell. As it is, it strays into the absurd and eventually loses any kind of credibility. This is one drama that almost isn't worth the watch because the script is so bad.

The concept of rain related deafness was interesting where the person is unable to hear anyone except their "soulmate". It's not well explained or really developed, but at least initially that was fine. You have Saengtai and Phat who have experienced hearing loss for at least two years at the time the story starts and are soulmates. However, due to his parents divorcing, Tai doesn't believe in soulmates any longer and actively ignores Phat whenever he tries to communicate with him. I liked Phat and Tai initially. The fact that both of them were determined to defy their destinies and then ended up falling for each other in the end was cute. There was a decent build up and I liked their interactions. What ended up killing it for me was throwing Lomfon into the mix. The drama that created was unnecessary, particularly suddenly having Lomfon develop hearing loss and hearing both Phat and Tai. From there it was just a constant back and forth of misunderstandings that got tiring to watch. The final episode sent Tai on the hunt to find Phat and we spend almost the entirety of the episode Phat-less which was certainly a decision. He finally shows up with about 5 minutes remaining, they make up and everything is great. Throughout the series there's the side couple of Saengtien, Saengtai's younger brother, and Lomfon who start to develop feelings for each other, but it's complicated by Lomfon's feelings for Tai as well. Basically everything gets neatly and conveniently wrapped up and leaves you wondering why it took so long to get to that point as well as feeling like nothing was really gained.

I do feel a lot of issues would have been cleared up if the parameters of the rain deafness were defined. This is supposed to be a medical condition and yet there is absolutely no rhyme or reason to how it works and I lost interest in the idea of it as it was manipulated to forward the story. Lomfon, who has feelings for Tai, doesn't seem to have a chance because he's not Tai's soulmate until he very conveniently develops the hearing loss and can hear both Tai and Phat which, it is never addressed or explained that he seemingly can hear both of them, he just focuses on the fact that he can hear Tai. They also talk about how it's not possible that they can hear more than one person which makes it seem like this is a complete anomaly and again, isn't that just convenient. And then when Lomfon and Phat start fighting over Tai, all Tai has to do is yell that he doesn't want this destiny and suddenly they're all cured? It just completely strayed out of the realm of plausible within the confines of the story to the absurd and took away any and all credence it had to begin with. And I do get that a lot of it was probably deliberate. Half the point of the drama is this debate of whether soulmates are real or not. But there needs to be some level of grounding as well and there was not.

I started out overall liking most of the characters, particularly Phat. They each had their own distinctive personalities and I was hopeful that there was going to be some real character growth, but I was frankly disappointed the farther along we got.
-Saengtai was one of my least favorite characters, but I also found him interesting in his decision to defy his destiny. I didn't approve of his treatment of his mother and his childish behaviour regarding his parents' divorce. The fact that he laid the full blame on his mother and evidently made absolutely no effort to understand why his parents had reached the point of concluding things were not going to work out was frustrating the more that got dragged out. That his parents had to sit him down and explain things in detail that didn't feel like they should need an explanation was ridiculous. He was old enough that he should have been able to figure a lot of that out himself. Aside from that, I also found his passiveness to be frustrating as the story progressed. Things that seemed like they should have caused a reaction didn't and especially after he and Phat broke up, he was just far too calm about everything. And then there were other times he made unilateral conclusions without waiting for any kind of explanation. All in all, he came across as quite selfish and self-absorbed at times.
-Phat started out pretty perfect. He was friendly, kind, compassionate, and an all around good guy. He was incredibly patient and considerate with Tai, he communicated and communicated well both with Tai and with his ex, Nara. Even with Lomfon he was initially polite. He was an absolute breath of fresh air but in hindsight a little too perfect. He lacked some personality. But then Episode 10 hit and his character went up in flames. His reaction to finding out Tai had lied to him and finding Lomfon kissing him was to beat the crap out of Lomfon. The sudden aggressiveness that permeated his every action that episode was completely out of the blue and out of character. And he never shows any real remorse for those actions. He never apologizes to Lomfon for attacking him nor does he apologize to Tai for going off the rails. It's all very neatly swept under the rug. He later goes to try to make up with Tai, sees him talking to Lomfon and immediately interprets that as them being together and decides the best course of action is to disappear. We see him in Episode 12 for a grand total of about 5 minutes during which he mostly stares blankly at Tai while he monologues. It's a disappointing ending for the character.
-Saengtien is a loveable, mischievous brat and I absolutely loved his relationship with Tai and him as a character. I don't recall a good explanation being given for why he and Lomfon are at such odds initially, other than they are very different people. Lomfon is obviously more introverted and Tien is much more extroverted. I liked the way that Tien's attraction to Lomfon was developed as it felt natural. I truly felt bad for him when he saw Lomfon and Tai kissing and his reaction and his behaviour afterward felt justified. The love confession scene with Lomfon is such a good scene, just his hesitancy to believe, rightfully so, and then the hope. It's beautifully done and the range of emotions always gets me. The ending though where he suddenly develops hearing loss feels a tad ridiculous. Again, I know it's driving home the point of the show, but still.
-Lomfon left me feeling conflicted regarding his character. On the one hand, I liked his interactions with Tien and I liked the build up of their relationship. And initially there was nothing wrong with him liking Tai because at that point, Tai was single. His continued pursuit though of Tai even after he had entered into a public relationship with Phat was over the line. At that point, it didn't matter if his feelings were conflicted as to whether he liked Tai or Tien. Even with developing the rain deafness suddenly and being able to hear Tai, the fact that Tai was already in a loving relationship should have told him that he was now off limits. His continual pushing of the matter made me lose a lot of respect for his character. And while I was glad he did apologize to Tai, he also owed an apology to Phat which he never does. I do still love his confession to Tien though and I think they're adorable together.

The acting was overall decent. I liked the chemistry between Suar and Copter. I felt it was lacking more between Title and Pee, but I think that's in part because there were times where it felt like Title forgot to emote and his expressions were just dead. They did have their moments though, just not enough to be consistent. Aside from the last episode where he just seemed devoid of any real emotion which felt out of place, I liked Pee's performance. Suar was great and I was impressed with his chemistry with everyone he interacted with. Copter was a bit wooden at times which worked to an extent with his character, but I did feel he could have given more.

There were several elements that were thrown in without much explanation that really didn't contribute much to the story. One of the main ones being that both Phat and Lomfon had history with Tai without any of them realizing it. Phat's grandmother had lived next door to Tai and he and Phat had communicated via notes over the years, however, had never actually met. And then Lomfon had his own connection to Tai as Tai had saved him from being hit by a car, that one encounter resulting in Lomfon falling in love with the stranger who saved him and making Tai Lomfon's first love. Nara and Dream's developing relationship came out of left field. While cute, I don't think there was time to give it the attention it deserved so it wasn't well executed and felt rushed. And finally, in the last episode, we have a random couple show up to help Tai when he runs out of gas and for some reason get their life story. They get more screen time than Phat.

This was essentially a drama with an interesting concept and a decent cast that was let down by the writing. It started out well but went downhill during the last couple of episodes and the ending was disappointingly anticlimactic. Frankly, this is one drama that you're not going to be missing out on if you skip it.

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Twisted a Serious Medical Condition...

To accept this series, you have to buy into its core belief or concept. This core belief was a functionally based condition that I simply could not wrap my head around either logically or scientifically. Apparently, for some individuals with ‘sudden sensorineural hearing loss’ when it rained, you lost your ability to hear but could still communicate and hear your ‘soulmate’. While I am all for ‘poetic license’, this was carrying something real so farfetched that it simply is not believable whatsoever. Even if it were remotely possible as a medical condition, you would not suddenly develop it nor suddenly lose it as the series implies. I am all for ‘fantasy’ but this one I had a hard time wrapping my head around. Even as a good story. And therefore, I could not. So, I stopped trying.
The true issue here is the lack of communication, not some misused medical condition that sounds fanciful. Not a particularly good or interesting series except for the character of Lomfon.

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A Cool Concept Marred By Stupidity

I had so many hopes that this drama was gonna showcase a unique perspective on the soulmate concept, but I guess my hopes were too high. I came into this as someone who has watched hundreds of hours of queer romances hoping to add another entry on my list of favorites, but was sadly disappointed. Maybe I was too excited? I guess I should now explain my score and how this drama let me down...

Story: The story concept of hearing your soulmate in the rain was a good one. Where this went wrong for me was in the execution and flow of the story. The wishing your hearing loss away made the concept have no standing to the rest of the episodes. What was the point of the concept if you can just wish to not be soulmates with someone in a fit of anger? It was such a letdown for me to realize that the writer and director couldn't help but sabotage their own plot by erasing what made this a unique concept. I get that they wanted to add drama to the plot, but couldn't they have come up with something more unique like instead of being able to only hear your soulmate's voice, maybe when you reject them, you become deaf all together. All I needed was some consequences to the act of rejecting your soulmate.

Characters: I really only liked Patts and Tien by the end of this show. They were the only two who actually seemed to evolve as the story went on. Patts for me was a walking green flag. Reading the comments after the kiss between Tai and Lomfon made me think that he was justified in however he was gonna react to it. I felt like a majority of the comments complaining about how violent his reaction was to their kiss have never been in a relationship where one person is open and the other is secretive. Patts was open and honest with Tai from the beginning and was basically ignored and gaslit thru the majority of the plot up to that point. The childish behavior that Tai showed really justified the reaction he gave. From Patts' perspective Tai ignored all the signs that Lomfon liked him and was basically entertaining him. I ended up holding no sympathy for Lomfon and Tai after all of the mess that was episode 10.

Tien on the other hand was really charming thru the whole show. He started off a bit of a goof, but matured the way he should have as a college aged male. I was hoping that he would've wizened up to who Lomfon really was by the end, but the heart wants what the heart wants.

As for the rest of the cast, there were no other standout performances or characters that weren't annoying. I am sick of all these BL dramas with annoying female characters. All female characters in BL dramas I compare to Manow in UWMA. She was sassy, but didn't try to ruin anyone else's relationship. The vet clinic cast was way too involved in Patts' love life for me to really wanna be invested in their characters.

Overall, this was cool concept ruined by mediocre writing and poor plot development. Characters with no redeeming qualities and undeserved happy ending made this a crappy experience for me.

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saengthian, my star

the start was good i'd give you that, the rest - not so much. 1 star for the start, and 3 stars bc saengthian was absolutely adorable.

jokes aside, the concept was promising. but... the execution not so much, it was quick to get repetitive, and the acting seemed to get worse as the episodes moved on - or perhaps i only started to notice it then because i became so extremely bored with the show, that i honestly might have used the skip 10 seconds button so much that my finger was starting to hurt.

also, the ending?? no words. what even was that?

anyways, it's over - we cheered!!

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Promising take on ‘soulmates’, cringey execution

The whole soulmate / destiny thing is horribly cliched unless the plot is properly thought through and executed.

I couldn't get myself to like Saengtai and Patt either. Saengtai is a petulant, somewhat unreasonable individual, and always in need of rescuing. His fight with Patt was a product of his poor decisions and even poorer communication, exposing the fragility of any relationship built on “destiny”. Also, their relationship was really cringey.

The side couple, Tian and Lomfon, turned out to be more interesting and in my opinion, more compatible than the main couple.  Their conclusion is not one that’s unexpected, but the writing could have been a lot smoother.

Verdict: What was this? The plot had potential but the execution was just awful.

Full review: https://asianblreviews.wordpress.com/2023/08/05/la-pluie-2023-bl-review/

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What a waste of a good show!

Started off great but went to hell in a handbasket.
I'm so annoyed right now!!

I love the idea of soulmates. This is the first show I've seen that showcased the concept. It started off brilliantly but boy did it let me down!

In this world, people who have soulmates lose their hearing whenever it rains. But when they turn twenty years old, they gain the ability to hear again during the rain--but only their soulmate's voice, provided that both soulmates are in a rainy area at the same time.

One main character has soulmates for parents. But his parents divorce when he's a teenager. This leads him to "not believe" in soulmates and ignore his own soulmate, refusing to answer him, for two years.

The other main character is just a nice, cheerful man, despite having had his own difficult childhood. He doesn't stop being nice and optimistic, nor does he give up on his soulmate, despite the years of silence and neglect.

My issue with this show is that they take the concept of soulmates as it is accepted in this world and then decide to break the rules on us for the hell of it. (I'd have to spoil the story in order to explain this further, but I don't want to do that.)

Needless to say, I was and am pissed off beyond reason at the curve ball they threw at us and how they "resolved it".
I don't consider the resolution to be satisfactory and I'm not happy with the ending of the show (though the main couple does have their "happily ever after").

I'm not happy with how the side characters were handled either. Their motivations are all over the place and the secondary romance is one hot mess. Hated their ending too.

The acting was good.
The chemistry between the two main leads was great.
The music was good.
Rewatch value...5...6? I guess. (Knowing the ending will probably ruin the start of the show for me in the future)

Overall, an amazing concept that the writers absolutely tanked.

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Finally...!! Its overr..!!!

Acting- I actually felt that casting was good. But they could have been better gelled together...i could feel the bond btw Tai and Tien the most, next only to Tai and his father. The actors were good and performed what was expected of them, though there is a room for improvement in their expressions. The intimate scenes kinda felt orchestrated though they were spicy.


Story- Not gonna lie, this had a lott of potential for it to be handled like this. Tai redeemed himself in the final EP, yet i felt he didnt deserve to be forgiven easily like Lomfon was also forgiven. I kinda get that Phatt and Tien are in love but they got hurt and their partners werent greenest flags out there . The pacing was choppy, editing was also not very good(like who the hell shows that many flashbacks). The story could have been just about the soulmate crisis and the *kiss* arc could have been avoided, having crush is OK but the mess in EP10 &11 was kinda too much. Trimming it to 10EPS and simply showing Phatt and Tai getting to know each other and LomfonTai relationship progress from enemies to lovers would have been enough. Angst with adequate amounts of romance along with few NC/love scenes would have made this series a huge hit. Finally DreamNara could have had more scenes (could feel the chemistry).

Final verdict- If you seriously like watching shows with logic and continuity dont watch this and waste your time, but if you want to watch a good first half and a messy second half drama you can go for it.

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Rainfall Ruined

Sometimes, soulmates may meet, stay together until a task or life lesson is completed, and then move on. This is not a tragedy, only a matter of learning.
- Brian L. Weiss

Perhaps this would have been better if soulmates really were meant to part sometimes or at some time. Basis aside, the story promised something new, something that would go against the very premise of the drama, that soulmates don't always need to end up together. A situation where the lead doesn't necessarily end up with the person who promises to be his soulmate, or with anyone at all. As the episodes go on though, it becomes evident that this is through and through a "I'm the one for you and you're the one for me story".

The drama definitely starts out strong, the chemistry is clear, the premise is interesting and the characters seem empathetic and fleshed out. However, as the show goes on, small cracks begin to appear, and the story loses it's steam. The creators definitely want to create tension with the "who will the lead pick" storyline, but it's glaringly clear who he will. Filler scenes, uncharacteristic behaviour, unreasonable misunderstandings and unnecessary characters really drag down what could have been a solid story and the more you watch, the more uneventful it seems. Even the genuine conflicts that are presented at the beginning of the show as a roadblock for the potential couple are resoundingly solved within a matter of five minutes, but something that can be resolved with a quick conversation is dragged out for 3 episodes.

Interestingly, with a premise as promising as this, you expect some kind of follow through or proper explanations, but everything is ultimately chalked up to the rain gods playing their games and the very thing that led to this huge snowball is conveniently tossed aside (rather underwhelmingly) when the writers realise they've messed with it too much.

What should have been a simple story was needlessly contorted to create a drama that effectively lost all direction causing them to pull out a Hail Mary at the last moment, and let's just say this should have ended at episode 6, whether the story was complete or not.

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Rain that Dried Out

To be frank, I must admit that as the story progressed it just got worse. The beginning of the story was refreshing, and the storyline intrigued me, particularly the concept of two soulmates losing their hearing during rainfall, leaving them only able to hear each other. It's quite an endearing concept. The idea of having someone to communicate with on gloomy days and eventually meeting that person sounds incredibly wholesome. I still love this aspect of the story, but I have to confess that towards the end, when they started tampering with this unique element, causing it to disappear and involving Lomfon in all the confusion, it really irritated me. Why did they have to portray him as such a villain?

I absolutely adore Saengtai as a character. He's a loving individual who consistently tries his best, despite having certain traumas that may influence his judgment. This remains evident throughout the drama. His brother, Saengthian, is also a character I adored. He's a pure cutie pie, and the way he protects and wishes the best for Tai was just so heartwarming and had me melting.

I have to admit that I'm not a big fan of Phat though, and this sentiment became even stronger when the climax of the drama unfolded. The way he handled things and communicated with Tai seemed selfish and self-centered, a stark departure from his previous character just a few minutes ago. Moreover, simply disappearing and cutting off contact due to a simple misunderstanding infuriated me. I understand that such misunderstandings are common in these types of dramas, but what happened to resolving issues through communication? It felt like a sudden and out-of-place breakup, especially considering how happy and supportive they were in the previous episode. Really said 'who she? cause I don't know her.' It left me genuinely shocked in the worst way possible.

Despite these setbacks, the acting in the drama was outstanding. The emotions conveyed through the actors' eyes truly immerse you in the story. The quality of the filming was also breathtaking as well, especially when it comes to the settings in which the scenes were shot at.

Overall, if we set aside the unnecessary drama and sudden plot twists, I did enjoy the drama. The concept was unique, and the actors delivered remarkable performances in their respective roles. The message of the drama, emphasizing the idea of loving and being with the one you truly love, rather than conforming to the universe's idea of a perfect match, was both sweet and on-point as well. Love can take various forms, and this message was well-conveyed.

If they ruin the relationship between Thian and Lomfon with that ending though.... the rain will become a river which I will then drown the screenwriter in. :D

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Goob beginning but......

Okay the series started as an absolut bangwr, i love the comcept of soulmates but its delicate and has to be made rught or it will feel off and forced.
And for the first few eps this series did that really good, they showed the inner conflicts of having a soulmate and what it actually means , if the feelings you feel are actually yours or just drstiny forcing you yo like the one it picked for you.
The acting was good to that poiny especially the two main characters but i wanted a bit more of Patts ngl. Tian was played so well i cried and smiled with him

But it all went downhill with the double soulmate thibg because like why, to add conflict? There is enoygj potential for that jn the whole is this destiny or really love situation and i would have wanted to see the struggle of a soulmateless couple ( lomfon and tien) too, the way they resolved all that in the last eps was okay . But it felt like the acting part was being left aside for the story, i saw that especially in the confession scene of lomfon. His expression was ok but boy could have acted better.

And then what the heck was that last scene, was that really necessary, is there gonna be a second season if that mess.
Like why does tien need a soulmate, and if why another one, that just feels like the producer want to keep milking this concept because its pipular with the fans. Wicb u cant even say gor the ibternational fans.

Overall i liked the first eps after that it was a angering mess and the last ep made my blood boil witn the last scene. So take you bloodpressure meds kids and dig into this mess of a series if you want to.

I cant recommend or not recommend if to be fair.

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An Unfortunate Failure

La Pluie's lack of a well-thought-out story, even with its vague hearing loss gimmick, is its undoing. An underdeveloped script is exposed the longer it goes.

A unique premise needs high level understanding of screenwriting to pull off successfully, especially in a series. Otherwise, the unique premise can prove too much for the novice to handle.

The result of a poor script don't just apply to the audience. The cast can be left to flounder with unclear or nonsensical character motivations.

La Pluie's faults are not rare in the BL space, but viewers are desperate to see them improved. To improve the BL space is to ditch the entire premise.

Your goal should not be to write/produce a "BL", your goal should be to create a great story for screen that just so happens to have a same-sex couple at its core. This would broaden project appeal to a wider audience, attract better talent and generate more revenue.

As for La Pluie itself: I would have challenged myself to write a first draft outline of La Pluie without the hearing loss premise. If we can craft a good story without the premise, then the foundation is laid as you then go about adding in said premise in future drafts. The ending should leave open the possibility of a second season, while also providing some closure.

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La Meh

It's not a good sign when the best acting and storyline comes just from the parent characters when the majority of it is about the main characters. Neither of the main couples where very interesting despite the supernatural conceit of a mystical rain powered connection.

I find the psychic hearing/loss portrayed interesting in that there is more choice in it than the characters realize. It's appears to be a strong connection of some kind between two people that doesn't require mutual love and can be broken unilaterally as well. The maturity of the parents was amazing, from their break up to supporting the mom's new path in life.

From the focus on showing how psychic rain hearing doesn't mean a magic unbreakable love bond and can be platonic soul mates, it's so nonsensical to push the main characters Tai and Patts back together. Their only connections are the psychic rain hearing, that they are both man children, and the doctor being the biggest one between the two. It would have been better if they just broke up permanently and Tai learns to be a stronger person on his own than to get back with a emotionally volatile and physically violent guy who has a ton of issues of his own to work through.

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