meh

Let's get the negatives out first.

One of the main gripes I have with this drama is the fact that it was just so predictable and repetitive. I don’t know how many times they’ve gone into that cave, start something half-way, leave just to give the evil girl more time to store up her chakra, she attacks them outside of the cave, gets hurt, goes back into the cave, stores up her chakra again, rinse and repeat. Like damn, just KILL her already.

In addition, all the dumbass people who keep dying in that damn cave to give blood to the evil girl. You'd think after the first few they'd just be forced to lock up the damn place for good due to hazards. That way, at the very least, regular people won't end up just wandering in searching for the treasures.

But plot convenience is convenient, I guess.

Final episode flashback exposition dump. Now this is funny. We have all the main characters standing around, having conversations about the past, then having flashbacks to reveal the TRUTH about everything. You know why this isn’t ideal, right? It’s cheap. Having it all be dumped on the final episode to 180 change the evil girl, is a cheap way. What they should have done is slowly reveal bits of the truth throughout the entire drama, let it cook with the evil girl, so by the end when she does repent, that is earned. Let her on her own accord, start realizing the truth herself, THEN revealing one last truth will be the final blow to crumble her hatred.

Because if it is THIS easy to change her around when she was 100% hatred the entire time, then why tf didn’t they just do this cheap reveal in the beginning and stop wasting people’s time. If the conflict can be solved this easily, then what was the point? You get what I’m saying? For the drama to be 15 eps 1 hr+ each, it should be justified why. Not this cheap result.

The monk is supposed to be the good guy but after the ending, he was so wrong. He's an instigator. Like he literally was responsible for all this yet he let the evil girl go around hunting the main leads. Going to why revealing the truth in the final episode sucks. Cuz this monk had the truth the whole time and just let them run around in circles. Dude has a kink or something, I'm sure.

One other gripe I have is that they make the evil girl delusional. She is doing bad things because she is delusional that the main guy loved her. Look, it would have been so much better if you removed the delusion part and just let her realize he does not love her but she doesn’t give a shit anyway. Now THAT is evil. Someone who knows they aren’t even considered and STILL wanna be the shit stain. She stops being delusional half way but I’m telling you this should’ve been the standard since day one.

Because I grew so tired of hearing her say “He loves me! He loves me!” like bro, did you forget you literally hypnotized him. Stupid ass. That "he loves me! So I hate you!" story only works if she hadn't done black magic on him.



Onto other thoughts and opinions.

I got nothing major. The opening song grew on me, I guess. It’s a decent song.

The story itself could've been good but they couldn't execute it well. As mentioned it's repetitive. Therefore predictable. It's as if they've run out of new ideas to include in the show. I wonder if this is due to the fact that the show itself is a simple one and could've been handled in 10 episodes or less, but they keep dragging with the repetition.

Bua’s probably the strongest actress here, imo. Ben comes second. Didn’t really care for the rest. They all sort of just become a mixture of background characters. Even New despite being the main lead. His acting was a little stiff.

The side couple is cute, I guess. But I wasn't really into their bickering and comedy. Fon's character is just loud and noisy.

Overall I'd say this was meh. I wouldn't rewatch unless someone paid me.

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Story: Amazing. I literally have no words. I watched this and I was hooked from the getgo because the story was so personal. The story captured all angles of perspectives of the main characters and interlocked into an amazing narrative that allowed us as viewers to empathize with all of them, and in turn, really connect emotionally, whether thats intense dislike or intense care and love. I've seen this twice, about to watch it again soon, and I still feel so interested everytime. This will forever be a favorite of mine.

Acting/casting: Tor who plays Gym for this series did a superb job. He was so amazing. It's so unreal just how dedicated he is in order to give us a realistic performance of someone who is autistic. I felt like I was really watching someone's real life and this wasn't just some drama. If I had to compliment only one thing then I would say it's Tor's eyes. He wasn't acting as Gym, he IS Gym. His eyes spoke as Gym. They say the eyes are windows to the soul and Tor's eyes is the reason I believe that might just be true because he's so good at using his eyes to convey emotional turmoil as Gym. Sky who plays Dong also did an amazing job. He really portrayed the internal conflict well and you can really feel his anger, his saddness. As a viewer, I can really empathize with his feelings and I can't help but feel anger for his situation. The mom's characters were also good, although Gym's mom's role wasn't very active in the series, She kind is part the background. Suquan who plays Dong's mom really looked like a mom to both the main characters. Overall, the actors played their roles very realistically. Everything was just the right amount of acting. Not exaggerated, not under. Just right. Chef's kiss.

Ping and Fuaiz who play the child version of Gym and Dong were pretty good as well. They're kids so I don't have much to say about them. Like they've still got years to become better.

A separate paragraph for Belle who plays Noi. This character might be my only slight dislike about the story. It's nothing major. I just don't find the acting that great. She's not that expressive, in opinion, and seemed like she's always lost. I don't know if her character was supposed to look lost but that's how I felt when I saw her. The character Noi played a huge role in the story and I appreciate her for being part of the story, but her character alone felt like the odd one out in this story. Maybe it's just me.

Rewatch value: Yes. There is no score because the answer is yes.

Overall: Yes. Just yes.

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Could have been better

Story: I thought the story was pretty solid. There are different layers of subplots going on that all tie the characters together. I did find one of the subplots kind of forceful, like it had to be placed there for the purpose of continuity of the larger plot. But it didn't bother me to the point of disrupting my enjoyment.

The hate to love thing they have going on was nicely done. I like that I'm able to see the levels of emotion/feelings they have for each other change per episode. Visually it helps me understand how they developed those feelings and thus helps me enjoy when they express certain emotions later on.

Acting/cast: Jake who plays Shao Fei is my least favorite. His acting was not the best. There were moments when I thought wow, they let this make it into the final cut? I don't know how to explain his acting, I'm not an acting expert, I just know what I saw was not the best it could have been. Also, I don't know if this is how he normally is in normal life, but he does this thing where he pulls his chin out and his back and neck look like he has kyphosis. It's not a pleasing visual. Chris who plays Tang yi is alright. I think he and Andy, who plays Jack were good. He was able to express Tang yi well, although I did find some scenes a little exaggerated. Andy's character was a weird one, reminded me of someone who's a little kookoo sociopathic, but I think Andy did a good job since his character doesn't really express much emotion except smile, so it should be easy already, I assume. Kenny who plays Zhao Zi also did a decent job. He's the one with the least experience out of the 4 but he did relatively well. He was able to capture the niave innocent factor. However, overall, judging the finished product on all of their acting/casting choice, I think the finished product was pretty average. I'm not going to lie and say this was the best acting/cast I've seen because it wasn't, but the cast did well enough to get the story across.

Let's talk about the action portion of this drama. I have a gripe. Personally, I found the fighting very poorly choreographed. They all looked stiff. It was awkward. Fists were flying but they looked like they were flying in the wrong direction. I wish the fight scenes were more worked on because it's supposed to play an important role in the story. Cops and Mafia, c'mon, you should at least have epic fight scenes.

Something to note that was actually quite good about this might be their chemistry/ability to be professional about certain scenes. It wasn't exactly clear in the final cut, because characters have to be characters, so you don't see the realness behind their behavior, but the behind the scenes was another world. I loved their chemistry and friendship. Really great on that part.

Rewatch value: Personally I was really interested in Jack and Zhao Zi's relationship. Because they would have moments weaved in here and there, it makes you more curious what their relationship will turn out and that's where my attention was on. I would definitely rewatch this for Jack and Zhao Zi's relationship. The main story was alright but it's a one time thing for me. I wouldn't want to rewatch for Tang yi and Shoa Fei.

Overall: Yes if you haven't watched this, you should watch it for the experience.

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Acting/cast: Khai was an ASS. I was fuming with the way he treated Third. Narcissistic, selfish, unaware, unapologetic! Jerk! Like you're about to catch my hands if you don't stop being an ass! But Off is a sweetie though :> He did a good job being an ass.

Third was so pitiful. He kept getting his hopes up only to get himself hurt in the end. He sacrifice so much of his time for Khai but Khai doesn't see his worth. I wanted to tell Third to ditch the guy so many times and find someone better. Thank GOODNESS he stopped caring for Khai toward the end, like yes queen, you don't deserve the b.s. Seeing Khai come crawling back was SATISFYING. Gun is a sweetie too though :> His acting was awesome! His crying face had me wanting to hug him like a mom. Even though he was crying so much in the series, it looks like he has the power over Off in real life. Great friends!

Two was such a good friend. He was willing to help and stayed by Third's side always. He was on Third's side, and not Khai, because he has a good moral compass to support the friend that isn't the ASS. His side couple kind of came out of nowhere (imo) simply because Two was so into girls, but they were cute.

Story: I like it. I like that there's a split in the story. One is from the perspective of Third and the other is from the perspective of Khai. And we get to see both their sides of the story, although what Khai did is still unforgivable, it's good that he admit his wrongs and is able to face his feelings for Third. I think Two and Aun's story developed the least but they were still pretty cute.

In my opinion, Bone's story was the most pure. He fell in love with someone but he was mature and gave her happiness without being selfish about it. He was happy she was happy. That's the purest form of love.

Rewatch value: Yes! I think the story is memorable and I probably won't need to rewatch but maybe in a couple of years.

Overall: Give this a watch!

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Story 8.5/10
I think the story is good. I consider it divided into 3 sections. Manmuang and Sukawong’s development. Mingla’s development. And the war/politics development with Nor Muang and others, including Sukawong. The entire drama revolves around the love for a partner, love for family, and love for the land that they are born on. The FL Manmuang is a strong headed selfless woman that will do anything for her land. The relationship between the FL and ML is the conflict that involves her family wanting to maintain tradition and him wanting them to know the world is changing, that being used to old customs will not prosper their lands. What binds it all together is the love that blossomed between them. I think the story did a good job showing how someone hard headed like Man Muang started to change her mindset once she was able to see that Sukawong was right about the world. It starts to shift from the love for the land and family to the love for a partner. There’s a critical part in the drama that shows us how ManMuang had to choose Sukawong over her land and family and I thought that was portrayed very well, because it not only establishes that Sukawong loved and trusted her judgement, but also that she loved him too. Considering that though, at the end, what Man Muang chose to do was also able to show it isn’t just about one or the other, being black or white. What she chose to do shows that she still had love for her land and family, AND that she also loved Sukawong too.

Moving onto Ming La’s side of the story. MingLa was someone who was selfish and only wanted to win over Man Muang but I think after encountering someone way worse than her and experiencing true horror and seeing that Manmuang is still going to love her, she comes to fully understand the love Manmuang has for her. I don’t blame Mingla for who she is, I blame the mom for feeding her hate and making her mindset full of jealousy.

The rest of the story that revolves around preventing War and politics was interesting too because we get to see how Sukawong was correct that being too old fashioned will not bring prosperity. Chian Ngern wants independence but seems unaware that their ignorance of the world will just bring them doom if they continue to be unmovable. Nor Muang not being able to accept change cost him to regret what he did in the end. Him hating Sukawong just end up making him hate himself. I can't say if he deserved it but at the very least he saw where his hatred led him.

Acting/Cast 9.5/10
Sir when I say I have wet tissues with me, I mean it. Gotta love Taew’s acting. Mark was good too. The expression in their eyes, chef’s kiss. I think they casted the perfect actor/actresses for this drama. Since most of the drama Manmuang misunderstood that Sukawong was in love with Mingla we didn’t get to see that much open loving, but based on their actions, we can see that they did love each other during the time that they were together. Their acting was able to portray very well how Sukawong and Manmuang loved each other but still had that line drawn between them due to the misunderstanding.

Music 8.5/10
The music really adds to the mood of the story. I like it.

Rewatch value 8/10
I think I would rewatch this if I have free time and nothing else to watch. The story was overall fun, the characters were likable, and the ending was nice.

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I've never found something so hard to sit through. Never. This is the first series that I had to pause every other minute just to let my cringe flow out of me before I can continue watching. Sitting through 8 episodes of this was the hardest thing I had to do as a BL fan.

We've all heard the tales of toxic relationships from this series and they all hold true. Except, when you do watch it, they make it into a joke so you don't mind it as much. I was even surprised at myself for ignoring the red flags even though in my mind, the red alarms are going off.

Story: The story starts out with a bang. Type, the homophobic jerk finds out his roommate is gay. GASP. Craziness ensues. Something unbelievable about this story is how they make the homophobic person seem not that homophobic? Like, if I was homophobic and I find out my roommate is gay, I'd have dipped out that room. Wouldn't even confront the guy. I'd just be gone living in the streets. No but seriously, gone rooming with friends. Why Type thought he should confront the guy and somehow convince him to move out, is unbelievably a dumb way to kick off their relationship. The story itself has NO SUBSTANCE. Where is the story? Homophobic guy gets in a relationship with gay guy and crazy things happen. That's it. When, why, how? The whole 8 episodes was literally just them having cute moments together. Type is still homophobic, Tharn still likes him somehow, and they do nothing except tease/flirt with each other. There are certain parts where they expose their deep secrets to each other (Type exposing his past with the resort worker, Tharn exposing his past about his first times) But I'm like, where did this come from? How did y'all just happen upon this conversation? Were y'all that close to reveal those types of problems? There are SO MANY of these scenes in this series where there is no introduction, they just start talking about it and it's awkward. And then sometimes they talk for a long time, just expository dialogues that drag on and on and on and on. The friends get involved only for comedic relief. Most of the setting takes place INSIDE A ROOM. Seriously. It's like I'm on acid and blacking out in between scenes. And every scene I wake up to see are scenes where they are inside their dorm or apartment. I know this is rated 18+ and they started as sex friends but the emphasis on sex over emotional support, is problematic. The first time they had sex was in EP 4 and I was like, BRUH Tharn, what are you doing? Why did you let your bottom half take over? Type was clearly giving you something without actually thinking about your feelings but you JUST GOBBLE IT UP. Sigh. Then like I was on acid again, I don't understand when they agreed to be sex friends. Did I miss it? Was it in the series? I don't know. Type says they'll only do it once then all of a sudden they are sex friends. Where is the transition?

The story's blatant attempt to normalize problematic problems like sexual assault, manipulative behavior and apathetic toward their relationship development is why this series will never get good scores from people with a BRAIN to think outside "uwu it's gay, me likey". I have so much to say I don't even know where to go from here so I will stop. This will just become a rant if I continue anymore.

I've only spotted a few good things. In EP 1, when Tharn says to No that he won't move out, otherwise it would mean he admits being gay is wrong. YES! YES you got that part right! THANK YOU. Another good thing is the placement of the music. The song has a particular feel to it so when played in the right place, gives the right mood. Type's dad was great as well. He's so chill. He doesn't even play that big a role and I remember him quite well.

Acting/Cast: I don't know enough of the characters to know their cast, so I'll just talk about Gulf and Mew. Gulf is very cute in real life. He has that "i'm here but i'm not actually here" vibe. He looks carefree, goes with the flow, type of guy. What he likes is what he likes and he does what he likes. Type is the exact opposite of him. I like that Gulf was able to become a completely different person on and off screen. However, his acting as Type was slightly stiff? Perhaps it's Type who's stiff and not Gulf but Type was a one dimensional stiff character for me. Mew....I don't know. Mew and Tharn are basically one person? Caring, attentive, and loving toward his friends and family. Tharn is just slightly more devious with his teasing. Mew's acting was subpar, in my opinion? There are good parts but there are also parts where I thought, what exactly was he trying to accomplish by making that facial expression/tone in voice? Why does he look horny 100% of the time he looks at Type?

Music: As mentioned, the music was good.
Rewatch value: I have not finished this series and plan to finish. Even if that means one episode per month, I will finish. Expected rewatch value is 2/10.
Overall: 4/10. Because I haven't finished.

UPDATE: HAHA I guess I won't finish this after all. Idk lost the motivation. Relationship dynamic was not really my thing, story isn't clicking with me, and overall, I'd rather spend my time on BLs that I actually like than spend it on ones I dread finishing. That's all. BYE!

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Flawed

I found most of the characters annoying and flawed. Rungsiman being the one who's most flawed because his character was inconsistent. Halfway through the drama he completely flips into some soft boy head over heels for Tasika. But in some other parts, he's the tough powerful King. I found his obsession over Tasika baseless. When, where, and how did he come up with the idea that he would love this girl. He saw her once and completely dedicated his time on her. The director did a horrible job at developing their relationship. I saw nothing significant until half way done then all of a sudden Rungsiman was obsessed. Their relationship development was toxic and baseless. Falling in love with your kidnapper, expecting your victim to fall in love with you, just the whole thing, is toxic and undeniably hard to accept as a viewer. The execution was not done right and if it had been done right maybe this drama would have been more enjoyable.
Kwan's acting was pretty bad in this drama. I've never been a fan of her acting. Something about it screams amateur. I didn't have any problems with the rest of the other actors. I didn't find them as cringey as Kwan.
My favorite thing about this drama was Benlee and the soundtrack. Other than that, I think the overall of this drama was flawed in many ways.

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Disappointing.

Disclaimer: This is all my opinion, if anyone here enjoyed the drama, you do you. Let me do me.
1. Why Tik? Out of all the actors available, why him? He's passed his prime. Visually, verbally, and physically, he's passed his prime. When I watched the episodes, I didn't feel the energy of a King. He lacks assertiveness. His acting was stiff and lack emotion. He looks like he read the script and repeated the dialogues. He didn't become Rangsiymun, he's impersonating Rangsiymun. He's not making the character into his own, he's just portraying it. You get me? I don't think he's fit for the role. He literally looks like a Dad attempting to be some badass guy.....and it doesn't look good. The chemistry between Tik and Kimberly is almost non-existent. To each their own but to me, I didn't see it. They look like a mismatched pair.
2. The clothing choice is over the top. It looks like clothes you'd see on a theater set. I wonder if they spent all the money on costumes and had nothing left for the CGI.
3. CGI. It's so bad it's comedic. I don't mind bad CGI when I know it's only a small part of the whole story, but this drama relies so much on CGI for the locations and surroundings that I find it insulting the CGI was so awful. It's beyond me. How can this drama be from 20019-2020 and have the same (or similar) level of CGI as the 2008 version?

I don't think I have anything good to say about this remake. It just feels so flat for me.

Overall, in my opinion, this remake is disappointing. Pass.

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The beginning of this drama was like bam bam bam bam! Action, action, action! One after another. I was wondering where the plot was for a while. They fight every episode every 15ish minutes or something. Maybe I'm exaggerating a little but that's how it felt for me. Things start to slow down toward the end when the conflict becomes more central and characters spend more time in conversation.

Chart is a smart, calculated character. I like him. He likes to use his brain and plan things out so that he gets things done properly. Pailu on the other hand was a pain to watch. Her character is sassy and bold but the one thing annoying about her is she's selfish and thinks she's the shit. She acts on emotions and have ruined Chart's plans over and over again. I found her attitude intolerable after a while. Like when people tell you to not do something risky, how about don't do it? Your confidence doesn't reflect the shit situation you end up in when you fail. You just end up exposing yourself and Chart to dangerous situations.

Yod was a complex character. I sometimes liked him but at other times, I was like, dude wake up, you are living a delusion. He was so angry and on edge all the time and I just wanted to sit him down in a spa, hand him a cup of tea and tell him to relax. Yod and Chart's bromance was probably the best thing about this drama. I loved their interactions. They're always at each other's throats but they won't kill each other. Their relationship development had the most progression, in my opinion.

The story itself was pretty good. I enjoyed the mixture of action, romance, drama, and comedy. I thought the plot was set up in a good way as well. There was flow and progression. Things were slightly predictable but it wasn't so bad that it ruined the fun. The two main characters had to build their feelings and it didn't look forced. I liked that about it.

Overall, I think this was a good drama. Definitely give it a watch if you've got some free time on your hands.

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Story: The story itself is a cliche. I mean Love Sick already did this, only it's pretend relationship to chase away a arranged relationship. But still, the essence of a pretend relationship turnt love and then the confusion in between, all that jazz, is cliche. What the story should focus on then, is execution and making sure the details are unique, which I think 2gether has done well to differentiate from others. How Tine approached Sawarat and how Sarawat responded, is their own thing.

Their relationship development can be a little dragging after having spent so long with the back and forth between "liking" or "disliking" especially when Tine's character is unaware of his own feelings. Sarawat's feelings might not be "out there" at the beginning but we all can tell he likes Tine from the getgo. Who responds to a confrontation with "If you keep looking at me like this, I will kiss you until you drop," ? Someone who has a crush, obviously.

The editing in this series becomes noticeably more choppy as each episode continues. I don't know if Champ, the director, or P'Aof, the producer, is trying too hard to get 2 novels into 13 episodes and this was his best, or if he's truly unaware how choppy it looks. The choppy editing does make certain moods/feels feel forced or dissipate too quickly. Which then does ruin the overall experience of each scene. The editing definitely needs work.

I have no interest in the side couples. Literally 0%. I just don't care enough to be invested in how their relationship will develop. Sure I will watch it so I know what's up but do I really care if they don't get together or if they do? Not really.

Overall, the story is pretty good. It's super cute, specifically Tine. I could use less of the poorly edited scenes but it's cute, nonetheless. Reminds me of a compilation/cut scenes/shots of two people's relationship rather than a well executed development. Ya get me?

Acting/Cast: I think the cast is perfect. Win is perfect for Tine. He's so cute and energetic, the epitome of how Tine is in the series. Is he even acting or is he just being his usual Win in the series? lol. Bright is also perfect for Sarawat. His initial demeanor is very similar, The no smiling, a little awkward/cold, but sweet once you get close type. Their acting is good for the amount of energy in the series, in my opinion. Win's acting is definitely very good for a first timer, but in comparison to actors who have been in the career for a while (I keep thinking of Gun Atthaphan) his acting is pretty average. It's not the worst but it's also not the best, like you do notice the subtle "I am new, I am uncomfortable" feel. The other reason why his acting might have been good in this series is because he isn't exactly acting like a different person to his normal self. Tine is Win, and Win is Tine. That, imo, is easier to act out than if Win were to attempt to act like Sarawat (which we have seen from interviews, is not as good as when Bright does it). He has plenty of room improve though and I have high hopes for Win's future. Bright's acting, when not considering the series, is average. Maybe it's the bland character that's making his acting bland but Bright's acting for Sarawat is bland. He's stuck with one portrayal of Wat and it's noticeably average as the series continues. I find Bright's angry expression hard to take seriously, that's just my thing. He does this thing where he contorts his face and one of his eyes is smaller than his other eye.

Overall, both Win and Bright did good for the series but if just critiquing their acting alone, then there's room to improve for both actors.

Music: This series is basically a Scrub'b album, of course the music is going to be good. The opening song is nice and Bright's Kun Gu is very catchy as well.

Rewatch Value: 8/10. The series itself is entertaining but overall, I wouldn't rewatch this too many times.

Overall: 8/10.

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