Luang Ngao (2023)

"Revenge over hearts"

"𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞" - A good-hearted person slowly turning into a revenge-driven soul. This drama is dramatic, chaotic, and full of angst, so it’s best suited for those who can handle over-the-top lakorn intensity. A mother creating an entire fabricated story just to use her son for revenge was actually new for me in Thai dramas. Since I enjoy heavier revenge plots and I like the Gypsy x Indy pairing, I decided to give it a go.

For what I liked: I genuinely enjoyed the characters of the ML’s brothers, Yang and Fu. They always supported each other and even helped the ML, despite him treating them badly because of the lies his mother fed him. I liked the female lead too — I only wished she had been stronger at resisting the ML’s pull, but I’m glad she never approved of his actions. The cast did really well, and the acting felt solid throughout. I especially liked the plot twist revealing that Srijan, the ML’s mom, was the mastermind who twisted the real story just to push her son toward wealth. The soundtrack during the main couple’s moments was beautiful, and seeing that Bie and Indy are father and son in the drama as well which is in real life made it even more interesting. I also liked that the ending where main couple finally got together once the ML recognized his true feelings for the FL — a love based on sincerity rather than possession.

What I didn’t like was the ML’s character itself. If he wanted revenge, he could have done it with man of dignity — but greed turned him into someone who manipulated people’s hearts, whether men or women, using their feelings to reach his goal. He broke those who loved him and took advantage of their emotions, so I expected a stronger, longer repentance arc for him. He faced some consequences, but I wished he personally apologized to the people who truly cared for him.

The pacing also dragged, especially because the drama focused more on the side couples — Yang & Phimrak, and Fu & Nike. Their stories were okay, but I really wanted more screentime for the main couple. The ML’s mother was ruthless, cold, and shockingly evil. The way she used her own son for money was beyond imaginable. The plot follows a familiar revenge-lakorn structure, but with a slightly different tone this time.

It’s also the first time I’ve seen a male lead playing with both men’s (Eknarong) and women’s (Chatwarang) feelings at the same time in pursuit of revenge. I disliked the ML, but since characters like this do exist in real life, I can’t call it bad writing or lower the rating out of pure frustration from the early episodes.

Overall, “The Demon” was a dramatic ride — messy, emotional, and heavy, but with its own storytelling. The rating I gave was based purely on the cast, acting, and the theme, which I really liked. However, the score dropped because of the weak scriptwriting, especially around the less screentime of the main leads and pacing.

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