Bad Romeo (2022)

that joyless place. I like to call; The last 11 episodes

"Whoa. Speculation reset. Just toss everything we thought we knew last week out" (2 months ago). My comment after episode 6 aired - where the line draws, and romance ends.

Where, watchers thought maybe a great chemistry could climb out into the light toward freedom. A place, that hunted-young-couple would discover love and themselves in the process. But, that story-180, took our leads away from originality, and right back where they started.

Where, the rich can take your organs, ruin your life, kill your child, and force lust on you. While, clueless vengeance and misunderstandings loop repetitively. We all know that place, that joyless place. I like to call it; The last 11 episodes of this soap-opera.

That wonder of walking down a dirt road, in a crown of straw, with a pony-tailed man - With old nanny as witness to a wedding under a open sky. All fell to nothing, and in the end the house they built, meant even less. That couple; mundane, but rich; chemistry gone; wander the earth; to write five star hotel reviews in branded gear. What a difference, that time skip made.

There are better romances out there. This could have been something special, but, it isn't. Not recommended.

Read More

"Bad Romeo" was one of the most anticipated lakhorns to watch on my list ever since it got stated that both Urassaya & Mario would co-star as love-interests which was my dream come true. And in a project produced by Anne Thongprasom made it even better. I did not get disappointed since i just finished binge watching this lakhorn in just three days. Oh my, what a journey this has been. Saikim Kidakan is the heroine played by Urassaya Sperbund in this tale, born into richness and luxury but with a sad,loney and to much controlled of a existence inside the golden cage her father has built around her. To get a little taste of freedom she chooses to change her lifestyle with her friends and thats where she meets the tough but golden hearted car-mechanic Kaokla played by Mario Maurer. Fate is a irresistible force where both meet at a time where they needed each other. And how could they resist the temptation of each other at a fateful night where both submits to the passion between them.

This night however results into a unexpected pregnancy and Kaokla willingly wants to help Saikim with whatever decision she wants. They elope, fall in love and get married and later on gets cruelly separated from each other. Both gets so broken inside that a piece of them dies, especially Kaokla who almost loses everything..even his life. No wonder his anguish and heartbreak turned into hatred...no wonder he wanted to ruin everyone who wanted to ruin him. His heart turns stone-cold...wanting to punish his beloved wife and family for destroying his family.

What a journey this has been.I never wanted this to end. So many smiles, tears and laughted i shared with these characters that were to die for, especially Klaokla & Saikim. Their unstoppable love...always growing. I felt so bad for them, my heart hurt so much when they tried to hurt each other. This was such a epic slap-kiss story, i just could not stop watching. Yaya & Mario did incredible job in this story, i am so amazed and in love with their passionate on-screen chemistry. Bad Romeo has become on of my favourite lakhorns to re-watch!

Read More

Sometimes star crossed lovers can be cute.

Anne's newest production after waiting for 2 and half years for this production to air, Yaya Urassaya and Mario Maurer are back after their respective lakorns (Klin Klasong and Thong Ek Go watch Thong Ek if you want more of Mario!).

The story isn't something new but I like that most confrontations are consesual, and not like usual Thai lakorn slap and kiss.
I would say this story is angsty, light slap kiss, and mostly romance.

Mario and Yaya acted very well, and Yaya played her role to perfection as the innocent girl gone naive, dealing with her first love, heartbreak and how she deals with the events in life, but in the middle I did hope she escape from all this mess her dad, her family, her best friend and all the negative people around her including Kla for some episodes, thank fully that the romance redeemed Klla : )

Mario did excellent as Kla, strong headed, bad boy who was cute with Khim, strong headed with others, he deals with events in his life in a melodramatic way for a lakorn, he did great with the melodramatic scenes and he made me feel pitiful for him.

At first I did not feel great, with the instant love but I did love that there were plenty of sweet moments and much more substance that you should watch, in the lakorn and I was invested in everything ( Even now at 16 episodes)
This is possibly one of the best lakorns in 2022, and compared to TDA (The Deadly Affair; this one is the better one out of the two that had similar airing times).

The other supporting characters, such as Than (Who was a sweet guy I did like that he found his love), Lita (Who I don't like even now but she had chemistry with Than and if Khim forgave her, I guess I should too).
Khim's dad and Kla's step mom are evil, I don't understand this year with lakorns making daddy issues as a troupe but I guess it adds more substance more than the usual slap kiss arguments.

Mario and Yaya had holy smokes chemistry, and every time Kla touches Khim I get butterflies, and I am filled with anxiety. Mario and Yaya did amazing with creating chemistry with and I felt like this time Yaya really stepped out of boundries due to not being awkward and I appreciate her acting (Although I still am not a fan of her). Mario is someone that I became a fan of with Thong Ek and I love how he can play cute roles and bad boy roles greatly.

The supporting characters all did a great job. Shout out to Claire for being the best second female lead a lakorn can ask for, don't get me wrong I have seen nice second female leads before there are many and I love second female lead's but lakorns are different Nang Rai's are banshee's screaming bansheees: Usually there are three types the Smart Nang Rai (She is a screaming banshee, but also knows her tricks to capture the male lead's heart). Pitiful Nang Rai (She gets used by everyone leading her to be a screaming banshee to the male lead pra'ek because she can't target anyone else) Screaming Nang Rai and Woe me because I am pure evil nang rai. ( Som from Piang Chai Khon Nee mai Chai Poo Wised she will kill anyone for the male lead and by god if he rejects her I will cut him). Claire was not a Nang Rai (Evil second female lead) she was a human, that vied for love and when she knew that was not Kla she let him go, for herself to find her life and him to find his love. This was suprising but I loved Claire and Mint Ranchrawee in Praomook was the first time I saw Mint R. and I thought she had great acting skills, she proved herself with this lakorn with minimal screen time and she was a great second female lead. I loved her acting kills, and she was so pretty. Actually, Yaya, Aokbab, Mint R. are all so pretty which explains the visual pairing with Mario, the visual pairing is a treat on the eyes.

Any ways you should definitely this one out, Anne Thongprasom is a winner with this one! Cannot wait for her future productions.
Ch3 has detiorated after Thong EK (Possibly their one of the last best lakorns produced) and I am glad they will come back intor their strike with Bad Romeo, and Kaen Rak Salab Chata (Check that out Aom produced it and I am waiting for Suep Lab Mo Rabat very much because Aom is also a great producer). If more lakorns like Bad Romeo which have solid plots appear in lakorn land get out the popcorn cause I NEED TO WATCH.

Final statement: Go watch try it out! You might find it great, chemistry is what your looking for and there is heaps of it (Mark and Mario are now on the same level for me in terms of chemistry with Ya. OST is great and Mario serves his beautiful voice to a song go check it out!

Read More

Nice beginning. Terrible story line

I just watched this series for fun. It started as a sweet romantic story, although some parts seemed questionable (like swapping houses with your bestie, and then it turns up to be somebody else's home. Really, could that happen in real life?), but oh well, like I said I just watched it for fun.

I do think the acting was really good. The actors and actresses were mostly good-looking. The scenery was beautiful (countryside, the island, city scenes), but the storyline was so terrible. Okay, this was the usual rich girl/poor boy love story with all its challenges. The plot is also filled with politics, social injustice, family business, trust and betrayal, love and revenge, but the romance became more and more trashy. Why make this into 17 episodes, when you could have stopped at episode 10. I couldn't stand the "I still love you--No, I dont love you anymore- Yes I love you--No I dont love you" and the "Let's sign the dvorce papers--No, dont--Yes, I will sign it--No, I wont sign it" cycle. This seemed to be never-ending and was very tiring to watch.

Could the title also be changed to "Bad Romeo, Bad Juliet". Khim was not the sweet-and-innocent rich girl who cannot be blamed. Yes, there was an issue of mistrust towards people around her. But she also had her share in making Kla's life miserable. It went both ways.

The final episode was -what can I say?- too simplisitc and boring. A nice honeymoon on an island, with cheesy romantic talks between Khim and Kla. Then what happened with the other characters? Suddenly we were suppossed to forget about them all. The happy ending, left us with no further explanation on what happenned to the other characters: Khim's father, cousins, aunt, bestie, ex-boyfriend, and also Kla's sister, stepmother/natural mother Asia. Everything seemed to be hanging, and viewers were just supposed to forget they all existed? Okay, let's just focus on the everlasting love between Khim and Kla. Now everybody's happy. Ha ha ha.

One minor thing which also didn't make sense to me. Do super-rich people who live in huge mansions live alone? Khim's father, Asia, even Carl (Kla) lived alone and did their own house work. No domestic helpers? No security guards? No drivers? No gardeners? I just can't believe this to be true.

Would I watch this series again? I dont think so.

Read More

Bad Romeo: A Rollercoaster of Feels, Tears, and Fire

I just had to write this review because Bad Romeo hit me square in the chest with ALL the feels. This drama took me on an emotional bungee jump—from the giddy sweetness of falling in love, through the agony of betrayal and death, passed the fire of revenge and hate, and ultimately to the tearful catharsis of forgiveness and a happily ever after. It was a ride, folks, and I was not ready.

Kaokla: The Handsome Tsundere with a Tragic Past
Let’s talk about our leading man, Kaokla. Whew. What. A. Man. He starts off as the sweetest dreamboat, only to transform into a walking red flag wrapped in trauma and resentment. But, honestly? I loved every second of his descent into his brooding, vengeance-driven self. He had every right to be angry—what happened to him was horrific—and his pain was so raw and real that his bitterness toward Saikim was heartbreakingly justified. And yet, even in his darkest moments, he could never really bring himself to hurt her. That level of emotional complexity? Absolutely captivating. His transition from a golden-hearted dreamer to a revenge-fueled force of nature was mesmerizing to watch, and Mario Maurer delivered it with every ounce of intensity and nuance possible.

Saikim: Sweet, Sad, and (Eventually) Stronger
Then we have Saikim, our soft-spoken yet deeply wounded heroine. I just wanted to hug her and shake her at the same time. Raised in a loveless home with a controlling, gaslighting and toxic father and an absent mother, Saikim grew up starved for affection and riddled with self-doubt. It’s no wonder she clung to the love Kaokla offered like a lifeline. But girl, why oh why did you keep believing your father’s manipulative nonsense?! So much of her suffering—and Kaokla’s—stemmed from her giving in to her father’s lies over and over again. So frustrating. But through Kaokla, she slowly learned self-worth, courage, and how to fight for herself and her happiness. Her journey was real and raw, even if I wanted to throw things at my screen half the time.

The Villains: Evil Parents and Their Bizarre Choices
And now, the ugh part: the villains.
Saikim’s father was pure poison—manipulative, power-hungry, and outright cruel. But what really ground my gears was his rushed redemption arc in the final episode. I mean, really? After everything he did, all the lies, crimes, abuse, and destruction, we’re supposed to buy into a last-minute change of heart? Sir, no. There were no real consequences for his actions, and that left a gaping hole in the narrative’s sense of justice.
And don’t even get me started on Kaokla’s real mother—his “stepmom”. Yeah. That happened. This weird, soap-opera-level plot twist could have been compelling if handled better, but instead, it was just yuck. Although Kaokla's “stepmom” ultimately killed herself due to her guilt, I still felt that such punishment wasn't enough. I mean, she wasn’t feeling guilty about the murders and crimes she’d committed or anything, she was feeling only guilty about thinking dirty thoughts that she shouldn’t have about Kaokla... She should have paid for her crimes and truly suffered for what she did to Kaokla. The whole thing was messy, unrelatable, and unrealistic.

The Supporting Cast: The Breath of Fresh Air We Needed
Thankfully, Kaokla’s adoptive father and sister were the balm to my irritated soul. They were loving, supportive, and provided the warmth that this drama desperately needed to counterbalance all the toxicity elsewhere.
On the other hand, I wasn't really impressed with Saikim's best friend, Lita, and Kaokla's best friend, Khem. Both betrayed them, and Saikim and Kaokla forgave them too easily.

The Romance: A Masterclass in Chemistry
Let’s get to the heart of this drama: Kaokla and Saikim’s relationship. Whew. The passion. The longing. The pain. Their love was epic in every sense—sizzling chemistry, heated arguments, and moments so tender they made my heart physically ache.
Mario Maurer and Yaya Urassaya Sperbund owned their roles. Mario’s ability to shift from ice-cold resentment to soul-deep devotion was a sight to behold, and Yaya’s portrayal of Saikim’s quiet suffering and eventual strength was so moving. And the way they looked at each other? I swear my screen was steaming. The hugs, the little touches, the kisses, oh the kisses! Pure, unfiltered magic. And when they fought? It was like watching fireworks in a thunderstorm. Their push-and-pull dynamic was electric and deeply believable.

The OST: A Dreamy, Emotional Soundtrack
The soundtrack? Absolute perfection. It made me fall in love with Kaokla and Saikim all over again, every single time.

Final Verdict: A Flawed Yet Unforgettable Masterpiece
Was this drama perfect? No. The villains could have been written better, some plot points felt forced, unrealistic, and just plain gross (cough stepmom cough), and Saikim’s father’s redemption arc was laughably weak. But did this drama wreck me in the best possible way? Absolutely.

At its core, Bad Romeo is a beautifully tragic yet deeply hopeful love story. It’s about pain, healing, and the idea that love—real love—can endure the worst storms. Saikim and Kaokla are the epitome of star-crossed lovers who were ripped apart, burned by fate, and yet, against all odds, found their way back to each other.
This drama has permanently cemented itself in my all-time favorites. Would I watch it again? Unequivocally, I would emotionally devastate myself again.

Read More

One of the Most Frustrating Plots

I have not written a review for a lakorn so long. Here goes my rants!

I’m not digging this lakorn, I saw many positive reviews, but I’m on the other side of the road, so frustrated with the plot and characters. Bad Romeo started off pretty decent, but to me this lakorn is a rocky ride. Compared to Game Rai Game Ruk (Yaya/Nadech) lakorn that had the similar concept, Bad Romeo was a huge disappointment.

Let’s talk about romance. I liked the way Kim and Kla met, how their story started and had their short sweet moments together, but did I feel a true love between those two? Heck No. Everything just felt forced and not real. Right after the one night stand, Kla likes Kim, like how or why? The baby comes into the picture, and that forces them to get together for the short period of time. Again, Kla leaves this pregnant woman who is new to his village, family or whatever all by herself when she needs close attention and care. He did not have to travel far to work, like I’m sure he could’ve done something to be by her side. I’m sorry, but this whole plot is a mess!

Next comes the lack of trust. Misunderstandings happen because of evil set ups by Kim’s father and other annoying characters. In the beginning, Kim doubts Kla, and does not believe him. Do I blame her here? Not really, she’s still learning about him, and the first times, she had her reasons. However, love means trust, which both of them lacked for each other even after years later. That’s what frustrates me. Even after 7 years, the truths are revealed, both of them trying to reconcile with each other, going back and forth, even after I feel like “oh my god, they finally understood each other” at Episode 15, there goes Kim believing her father instead of Kla. We are again back to point A, where this whole mess started. I just did not feel their love was genuine. When love does not feel genuine, chemistry is also not there for me. Don’t come at me, but I just found some of Mario’s scenes with Yaya so cringy. Like some kisses for example looks so fake and forced ugh!

Like when Kim went back to Kla’s village to reconcile with him, home girl was still wearing the engagement ring with Tan… like make up your damn mind… Both of them were just going back and forth, back and fourth (especially signing the divorce application like how many times did they go back and forth while the other person is playing hard to get type of shit), like I did not feel true love at all. Not only that, being unfaithful to their partners and using them as tools too. Mind you, at the end of Episode 15, I actually hoped for a shitty ending for them because they deserve to have bad ending for being just annoying, dumb characters.

I felt extremely sorry for Tan and Claire’s characters here. I wish those two got together in the end (least annoying characters for me along with Kla’s dad). I liked Tan, but it’s super hard to ship him with Kim’s back stabbing friend who cares about herself more than anyone else.

Last but not least, the whole situation with the Asia, the step mom is disgusting... I saw people in the comment section indicating Kla and Asia had a sexual relationship (God, just watched the finale and she's actually Kla's mother!!!). Just seeing those seductive scenes made me uncomfortable as hell! So I don’t even want to think about an actual relationship. Yes, Kla maybe a victim but that’s still disgusting!! Like you are into someone who looks like your own son!

Ugh anyways, I don’t know what this writer was thinking. This to me was a frustrating lakorn overall. I could go on more with things that frustrates me about this lakorn for pages.

Read More

The Ending was frustrating

After all the quarrel, I hate u I don't believe u, I still love him but I don't know... the ending was like two different dramas.
The main leads suddenly became comedy character, wearing unknown shirts and dress, with even earrings....what is this? I know they have swapped the luggage, but do u really have to wear the earrings man? So childish ending.
The fact that they are separated for 7 years, their character should be more mature than what they displayed in last episode. Even before they separated,their character was better than that.

In terms of script, I don't know why Carl/Kla always mentioned about khim being pregnant, Khim mentioned about meeting the baby....... Were they hallucinating?Idk coz those two already know Khim not pregnant any more. It was 7 years ago....

Talk about other characters, Khim's father turning point was so sudden. The fact that he was almost died during the fire, he still hate Carl, but suddenly, don't know which Angel came to purify his heart, he suddenly became soft and accepting everything,even his ex wife.
And Nate......so sad that this character exist without doing anything. I wish that Nate can wake up and fall in love with Khim.

Read More

The English title for this drama is misleading. The male lead is not a bad person; it just so happens that the female lead’s family disapproves of him because of his background/status. This is basically a reverse Cinderella story with a poor ML and rich FL and a lot of the conflict stems from it. That said, this is a melodrama, so it has the usual tropes and makjang elements one can expect; I only recommend this if one likes watching this type of show in the first place.

It is pretty good for its genre. The best thing about this is the chemistry between the ML and FL, which is very intense and heartfelt. It’s one of the best I’ve seen in a long time and it doesn’t matter whether the ML or FL are having a romantic moment or a scene of heightened conflict. Mario and Yaya really sold it; they got along so well that there were plenty of times when they didn’t even seem to be acting. They were very natural when they were together.

I am not surprised about Yaya’s performance since I’m familiar with her work. In her last melo lakorn, she efficiently played a very fierce and strong FL. In Keu Teur, her character is gentler and more subdued, which also works since this means that she gets to play a different type of role. She really nailed the role of Saikhim, a character who loves her father in spite of the fact that he bullied her since childhood. Saikhim comes from a wealthy, but very toxic family and yet she doesn’t lose her goodness throughout. Yaya does facial expressions very well; one example is the scene in the beginning of the second episode where the ML’s ex discovers them together in the garage and the FL tries to flee. FL doesn’t say anything at all in this scene but you can feel her panic just looking at her face.

Mario was a pleasant surprise. It’s the first time I’ve watched him and he plays a very strong, devoted and yet vulnerable ML. At first, I thought he was too baby faced to play this character but he was very fierce when defending himself and going against other characters like the FL’s dad or even his evil ‘stepmom.’ The circumstances of his life put him at a disadvantage many times and yet he was no pushover. I love how he could speak out for himself, was single minded and not wishy washy about the FL and also that he was generous about helping people.

Another thing I really liked was that, unlike in previous dramas, the main misunderstanding between the leads was cleared up way before the last episode. Normally, the writers drag it out until the very last (or second to the last) episode, so the viewers only get to see good moments between the leads at the finale. Not so here. It was a very good decision to clear up the misunderstanding several episodes before the show ended and what’s more- I really liked how, even if the ML came back for revenge, it never went out of line (this is one of the few shows where he is actually justified and only acted out of self defense); also, it was clear that he still loved FL even before* the misunderstanding was cleared, which is another thing I liked.

There are only two flaws that bothered me. One is that both the FL and ML are too forgiving. The FL’s father’s actions were inexcusable; even if he supposedly turned good at the end, it was a little unbelievable. The FL’s friend (the second FL) did something very wrong which led to the leads separating. I could understand why she did it and liked her in general, but the way she looked down on the ML’s background was a bit hypocritical and snobbish, given that she also came from the same humble origins. It’s a good thing she redeemed herself later.

The character who bothered me the most was the ML’s friend, Khem. What he did to land the ML in jail was completely unforgivable. It frustrated me a lot to see him (and everyone else) brush this off at the end and worse, to see him angry at the FL’s father and act like he had no part in what happened to the ML.

There is also a very unpleasant reveal about one of the ML’s relationships at the end that was very uncomfortable and may turn off many viewers, but I saw the ML as a victim in there and not at fault for what happened.

Read More

Chemistry level 100%

I just want to say that I regret not watching this drama as soon as it became available on streaming platforms. This one is really entertaining. From the first episode until the last. I am always a sucker for character development, and it's very rare in Lakorn to see one, which is why I can only name a few good dramas made in Thailand. This one is one of the few exceptions.

Now let's talk about the chemistry level. I thought Mark Prin and Yaya's pairing was really great, but lo and behold, the Mario-Yaya pairing turned out to be explosive! I am always feeling giddy whenever they are on screen! They should've been paired more often because they are the reason I lost sleep for two days and was unfocused with work trying to finish their drama.

This drama is really good and a rare gem by Lakorn standards. It reminds me so much of what I feel whenever I watch a classic Thai drama. Lakorn dramas are a guilty pleasure of mine, and new lakorns are not that engaging anymore because pairings don't have chemistry (they are all visuals with no substance). That is why it has been a couple of years since I found Lakorn engaging again.

So, thank you, Bad Romance! I hope Yaya will be paired with Mario again!

Read More

Must watch!

one of the best lakorns played by Mario Maurer. I like the story, dialogue, shots, scenes and more. I watched a lot of lakorns featuring Mario Maurer in the role, but this time it was different. I saw a scene where Mario showed a face full of hatred and expressed anger that I had never seen in most of the roles Mario played; Ah really, when I saw Mario Maurer's hateful face I immediately clapped my hands and said "Wow, I've never seen this before!". this changed my opinion about Mario who previously thought he could only play the role of 'crybaby', completely smacking all those thoughts away. I'm not a fan of Urassaya, so I don't have any comparisons about her acting elsewhere, but I know she is a famous actress (I saw the Free Fire game using her face claim LOL) with amazing acting skill. Yes of course, in this lakorn she perfectly plays the role of Khim, absolutely flawless. ah, theme song and soundtrack also nice! overall, yeah that's it, this is a great lakorn and wow!

Read More