☆ Rec: THAILAND ☆

Everything - if not almost everything - about this was just so on point for me !! To the extent it has a special place in my heart. It gave us a beautiful ship, and quality feels of smiles and tears. Possibly one of the most refreshing Thai dramas - gentle/conservative male lead + feisty/independent female lead + no evil second female lead + no evil mother-in-law.

The most refreshing lakorn out there - if not, one of the most. My all-time favourite lakorn.

A personal favourite. One of the better-done tropey love/hate romance, in my opinion. Especially fun given the gender roles reversal !!!!!!!

one of my fave lakorns tbh - despite flaws and all. something I never expected

it has a distinctive stand, subverting usual romcoms, to make a point that your male leads can simply be ordinary. (even though wat is anything but ordinary!! he must be a superman to take all these!!)

MUST watch if you love seeing your male leads being the poor yet dignified one (aka how fem leads are usually shaped in most romcoms, begrudgingly), and also emotionally soft and devoted. up against your haughty rich fem lead, who is actually soft at heart - polite with everyone except for male lead just because of her pride...and prejudice (lmao) they surprisingly hold equal weights to each other in every of their caustic exchange and banter. it's insanely satisfying to watch.

Ohhhh this ship! Swoons. There's a relatively strong plot woven beneath the romance, for a lakorn. And not forgetting to mention that the leads have one of the cutest dynamics with each other!! I love Chai Lek and Soifah so much it's unbelievable.

This drama immortalised Switzerland for me. No other drama felt more romantic and fairytale-like. I'm in love. The travel romance is beautiful. It's by no means perfect - especially with the bulk of annoying side characters and the lead romance does has its bumpy parts, but it's so much about these two distinctive individuals: Ruj is a soft, reserved gentleman with an inferiority complex, a rarity of a male lead. Possibly my favourite Pope role (yeah, not even Date). Ying Taew is elegant, beautiful and brave for their love. Even though she wasn't too well-written - could be frustrating at many points - but I still adore her!!! Mew's acting is stiff but she was the perfect Ying Taew(!!!!!) 

This is only valid childhood friends-to-lovers romance for me. Dramaland rarely has such an elegant and soft couple. They built their relationship on support and care for each other - and I loveee them for that. Ruj and Rasa <3

Is more needed to be said for this one??? Time travel romance + the great leads and cast!! Awesome side character writing. Extra Must Watch if you're a history nerd - and it subverts the typical narrative of altering history in time travel stories.

I never fastforwarded, and almost never skipped anything - it was never boring watching this.

I love a well-executed, nuanced melodrama, and Thailand is often unable to deliver. so this is a rare gem for me. A story full of potential, in my opinion - albeit not fully realised. Kobori's was a big problem, though he was made to be adorable. Writing quality did slip over the episodes, but still bearable. Of course there were some draggy parts. But all in all, my favourite things were really the cultural exchange between Kobori and Angsumalin.

If you think Ang is the worst female lead ever then don't talk to me about this drama, unless you wanna have a serious talk with an open mind about this. haha :p

My very first lakorn. If not for the 'mistaken for gay' trope + wangst being used to bolster the plot in the middle of the story, this drama would have gotten a lot higher rating from me. 

I'm not sure why it doesn't seem to be well-liked by MDL, but oh gosh, the ending was GOOOOD. It was so SATISFYING. Also, the leads' dynamics is refreshing - the male lead is not overbearing and controlling - he's gentle and sweet - seemed like a pushover but he actually isn't (Spoilers!). And the female lead being someone who has a mind of her own, but without being annoying. She helps the male lead out by devising plans to keep the evil second fem lead away - sooooo satisfying tbh.

This drama had the potential to get higher ratings from me - if not for male lead being problematic at some point in the story. Otherwise, I really liked male lead's clear-cut attitude towards any unwanted suitors, and him being pretty sweet towards the female lead. Fem lead isn't a weakling - and isn't afraid to bark and bite back at people who bullied her and her siblings - this is why it was generally satisfying watching this drama. No putting up with wrongful accusations, no being stepped on silently - none of that. Refreshing!

Last 1/3 of the drama is when the drama lost its steam. Otherwise, it would have been great (despite the ridiculous premise of snowballing lies, lol).

Relatively refreshing premise for a lakorn. The leads were so friggin cute but literally everything else was boring - all the side characters except for Prik sucked or were simply boring.

Naam and Yeeo <333 I need a second Mark/Bella drama.

Wasn't that great and had a fair share of frustrating points, but relatively sensible for a lakorn - which is why it was still decent. Very very likable female characters. In fact, what stood out to me at the end of the drama are the stories of the three sisters!

Any fondness for the pairing's romance will go from positive to subzero - by the end of the drama, you'll be wishing Rin never got back together with Saran. Gurl could have been independent woman who needs no (shitty) man.

Okay, lbr, my only soft spot towards this drama is Chen!! I think I fell in love with Ken after this drama. He's so natural with comedy, and at the same time, do touching scenes so well. Chen's character is seriously BAE. 

Other than that, I wasn't a big fan of Napat and the ship's interactions. While there were sweet moments, I think it was mostly attributed to Chen's character. It's true that Napat is strong and independent, but it was not without being unreasonable at times (but at least I think about how she got pregnant unwillingly, so I can understand her feelings a little better).

My very first Thai drama. Even though I wasn't fully devoted to the story/ship till the end, it was definitely entertaining and refreshing for most of the drama.

only for the satisfying visual storytelling.