Khemjira

Could have been amazing but....

Oh where do I even start from?

Khemjira should have been my favourite show this season because I adore anything supernatural/horror/bl but it left me with conflicting feelings.

Let's start from the positives:

The music was amazing. I literally cannot express how much I adore Mantra. I think this was the best part of the whole show.

The plot was interesting and a nice break from all the stereotypical BLs. I also liked the fact that they icluded so much Thai lore and culture. The multiple reincarnations were also interesting to me.

Some of the side characters were very interesting, especially the villain. Her back story was so heavy and interesting, explaining her motives perfectly. Additionally, I really loved the second couple,.

The acting of some of the actors was amazing. I especially liked the Villain, the female Khem and the Peem's brother from his previous life. The second couple actors were also very talented.

Now for the bad...

The main couple. There, I said it. The main couple was, i think, the worst part of this. I don't know what went wrong. The characters were so one dimensional, I couldn't really see them as real people. They almost seemed soulless. The acting? Not that good. There were some scenes that I was so frustrated by the lack of emotion it made me want to stop watching. Khem getting tortured? He was emotionless. Khem almost getting killed? Barely blinked. Khem believing that peem was going to die? Blank expression. I needed him to cry, scream, do something instead of just standing there looking pretty while a tear rolled down his face. Was the actor so inexperienced? Did he not want to look ugly or something? Real humans don't just have blank expressions when sad or scared. Same for Peem. He didn't even cry when he watched the person he loves getting tortured. They also never convinced me that they were in love. The only times that I actually saw some emotion were surprisingly the NC scenes. I don't know what happened but the acting there seemed so much better.

Well, thats it overall. I hope the actors improve because they are both stanning.

Overall, an enjoyable watch mainly because of the supernatural elements and the side characters.

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The story could’ve been developed better.

Well, this is the story about a character named Khem, whose family is cursed, and who is destined to die when he turns 21. Because of that, he decides to seek help from a shaman to banish the demon from his life and survive. The premise is actually interesting, especially for those who enjoy horror and suspense stories.

The problem lies in how the plot unfolds. The shaman quickly starts creating obstacles instead of helping Khem. So, what does the viewer expect from that? That the main character will look for other alternatives but no. Instead, we get tedious scenes of the character washing dishes, working as a house servant. We spend long stretches watching scenes from past lives showing that the two already had some kind of connection. It’s the kind of plot I personally don’t like.

I felt the story lacked substance, especially considering that each episode is almost two hours long. The acting is really poor, especially from Namping. The other actor isn’t great either, but people always use the excuse that he’s supposedly handsome to justify never taking any acting classes.

The positive side is that DMD is investing in its BL series, unlike its competitor GMMTV, which is becoming more and more disappointing by focusing on so-called heterosexual series. The story lacked rhythm, and the episodes should have been condensed to 40 minutes at most.
The romance part is also weak and practically nonexistent..

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Not really that good, people

Don't kill me, but I'm not on board the whole 'Khemjira best BL of the year'. Yes, the story and the production quality are amazing. But apart from Firstone and all of the extra's, the acting was just so-so. Chemistry of the mc was spotty at best. Keng is clearly a passionate kisser, bit Namping hardly matched that passion.

Keng and NP are both acting as introverted characters. That means they need to master the art of micro expressions and voice tone. They do not. Their acting has too little range to keep being interesting.
Firstone as Jett was the only one with emotional range.

There were some parts really too long and boring, while others could have used more depth. Some episodes were thrilling and riveting. Some of them were not. Some plotlines fell flat, like the 'girlfriend from the past' Prim.

I really liked the show, but it's not one of the best BL's of the year. It just above average and that's mostly due to story and originality.

Lastly, an honorable mention for the amazing extra characters. The theatrical performance scene in the field was beautiful and the hordes of ghosts were truly frightening at times.

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Sluggish plot saved by strong world building, production, characterization and my love for the cast.

Let's face it : this series is not without flaws : the main one being its lethargic pace. It felt so slow at times that I am pretty certain that putting the show in speed ×2 would make the dialogs seems to be at regular speed....The scenario is not dense enough for the duration of the drama and the story could have been covered in 8 episodes of 1 hour rather than 12 episodes of 1h10 to 2h. Despite me loving the main cast that I first encountered in DoMunDi Friendship reality show, I couldn't help feeling their acting was also a bit unequal depending on the individuals.

Having said that, I LOVED the atmosphere, the world building, the soundtrack. This series has its own color with a real artistic vision. Its esthetics felt very cohesive and the various special effects, costumes and make-up were solid. It is really setting itself apart from other BLs I have seen and felt fresh. The overall story was really interesting even if slow-paced : for once, I felt that redemption when offered was deserved as it was the outcome of well-written ill-fated relationships. The karmic burden, the white and black magic, the previous lifes : it was captivating. The opening generic as well as the soundtrack were work of art in themselves, setting up perfectly the small traditional village and fantasy atmosphere.

The chemistry between the main couple Peem/Khem (played by Keng and Namping) as well as the secondary couple Chan/Jet (played by Tle and FirstOne) was also great, with the secondary couple being my fave of the series. I feel the characters of Charn and Jet were the heart of the drama, they were animated and charming : their bounds really made me swoon so much. I cannot wait to watch Tle and FirstOne as main leads in another work : both their chemistry and acting was super convincing ! Peem and Khem had also some very nice and hot moments but I was less invested in them than in the secondary couple. It is partially due to their characters being more closed off but also unfortunately to some less convincing acting, mainly by Namping. He felt sometimes bland here, which is a bit of shame because I expected more of him from the previous title I saw him in. It might be linked to the role/directing, so I will definitely keep an open mind for his future performances.

I would recommend this to people looking for a dark fantasy BL drama. While slow-paced, it takes the viewer into a well-rounded journey featuring characters with motivations that made sense. The romances were very well-built as well, with a lot of fiery chemistry, angsty slow-burn and butterflies inducing moments.

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Pretty disappointing

I blame my high expectations.
I expected too much and ended up with crumbs.

Now I'm not saying that this is a bad show per se, it's actually the best quality domundi had ever made, but still it's not flawless and not at all deserves this high rating.

Now I shall say what I liked and didn't like about this.

1- acting: everyone was amazing and I was really impressed by Keng, the first scene he appears in was spectacular, and the way he carries his character till the end was really good, also side characters were amazing specially FirstOne and Tle.

On the other hand, Namping was terrible, and I'm really sorry to say that, but him being the MAIN character is a heavy weight I'm not sure he is ready to carry yet, and I'm more sorry to judge him like that but the show is in his character name, mate literally just standed there, said the bare minimum he has too little script to deliver, his hands are glued to his side, he walks without moving his arms at all, and his shoulders are slightly up as if someone spilled cold water on him in the middle of December's winter, with little to no facial expressions at all, so I'm absolutely and utterly disappointed that Domundi focused on improving the show quality and yet this is who they decided to give the role of Khemjira to.

2-story: the beginning was amazing really catches your attention, but after a few episodes everything is so random, we have things that happens thoughtlessly, where is the ghost? What is she doing? Why did she stop harassing him? No answers, also some inconsistency in the plot like they are at school but don't attend it, and then we learn that they are on a break but once Khem decide to go back on a whim, he is back to school again like this part is confusing, and the end was really really anticlimactic, like a monk and a few chantings? Why didn't they do that earlier!! Why didn't they solve that grudge before it got to this point, and how was he alive all that time, if she is that strong why couldn't she take revenge earlier?

I skipped some other illogical things because they are necessary for the plot, still I couldn't help but having them spinning in the back of my head while watching.

3- characters: I said that a billion time before but personally it's hard to like a show if I hate one of the main characters, and here I didn't like both, I could stand Peem slightly more than Khem because of Keng, but he still was annoying in some parts, like mate why are you complicating everything? And Khem, why are you so damn pushy!!? Khem's character is just so ridiculous too, I know he has a female name, but I didn't know that he was also brought up as one!! He is so mushy, that's not someone surrounded by ghosts and scary stuff his whole life!! That is a 10YO girl, but it's a Domundi thing to cast the Uke as too feminine character, I just want to say if you really want a feminine MC, just cast a woman!! ALL female characters were so pretty and MORE masculine than Khemjira, he was the most feminine out of all the female characters in the show.
And that is not a compliment.

Am I being too harsh? Maybe, it's just too average and I expected too much that's why I'm slightly pissed off and disappointed tbh.
This had a few good things too, like Mix doppelganger and his blind lover, they were so sweet, actually FirstOne is the reason I continued watching, sadly I can't seem to be happy enough about any other tiny thing I enjoyed to write them down.

Lastly, lower your expectations and watch it. I would not necessarily suggest it if someone asks me about a show, but if you are contemplating whether to watch it or not, just give it a try, you may like it more than I did.

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the script should be written in a more interesting way

Domundi’s two BLs this year didn’t really work for me. Both The Next Prince and Khemjira felt like sleeping pills. I think if they had been condensed into fewer episodes and with shorter runtimes they would’ve turned out much better. The story simply didn’t have enough substance to stretch that long; at times, it felt like psychological torture for the viewer.

On the positive side, the actress who played Ramphueng really stood out. In terms of acting, I thought she was the best in the whole cast.

The special effects were great, the songs were beautiful, and I liked that the main characters shared a connection from the past it gave them a bit more depth.

But that’s about it.

I found the leads’ performances flat, bland, and unconvincing. There wasn’t much chemistry between them, and especially Namping’s acting felt weak it lacked energy, passion, anger, and intensity.

The story also dragged a lot, with long stretches where nothing interesting or meaningful happened. Overall, I didn’t enjoy it.

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A rare gem with all the right elements

While I do rate shows depending on my enjoyment of them, I think I would've also rated it a 10 just for how it was made, for the story, the acting, and everything, so I actually feel quite happy with giving it such a good score.

Khemjira is surprisingly dark considering we rarely have such dark and horror element BL shows but they pull it off, even until the end. It doesn't forget in the middle that what it was supposed to be but goes through from ep 1 to ep 12. Further, I enjoyed that even the villainess of the story had a proper background and it wasn't just a misunderstanding or was just a short flashback. No, we saw in full how everyone's life and karma is intertwined and it made for a very enticing and breathtaking story.

Considering that quite a lot of rookie actors are in the show, the acting is quite stellar. There are some scenes where you miss a little bit of emotion but overall it works and the acting works well for the characters we have in front of us. And every single actor had at least a few scenes where they showed so much emotion that I just wanted to cry and then break out in a slow clap, praising them. I am definitely looking forward to seeing more of them in the future.

And finally, the last episode, or finale, can make or break a show and I have to say: it works. The finale is absolutely 100% perfect how it is done. It made me laugh, cry, squeal and stayed true to its characters as well as fulfilling a fan's wishes. Perfect.

Overall, Khemjira provides the rarely seen gem in BL where just everything works out and is perfect. No storyline that lags too much, no character that loses itself on the way, but just a story that you dive into and want to follow to see what happens. Biggest compliments to the whole production team and everyone involved!

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A bad hallucination

Honestly, you can’t look me in the eyes and tell me this series was good.
For me, it was pure psychological torture.
The positive points:

The budget, sets, costumes, and makeup — you can tell there was real investment in the production, and I really liked that.

The reincarnation of Chan and Jet as Da and Jintana — their love story was heartbreaking, and I’ll always be happy to see a little GL couple.

Ramphueng — such a memorable character; honestly, she’s the reason I managed to finish the series.

And lastly, episode 9, which in my opinion, was the only one that managed to raise the bar a bit.

The negative points:
Unfortunately, that’s where things fall apart…

The script — Domundi really needs to work on their writing. The romance between Khem and Peem just didn’t work for me at all.

The acting — I’m sorry, but I wasn’t convinced at all.

The dialogues — flat, awkward, and in serious need of rewriting.

The episode length — way too long for what was actually happening.

In short, I really wanted to love this series, especially since I’d been looking forward to it, but it was honestly very hard to watch.

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Khemjira Proves Novelty Still Exists

Full disclosure: This is my first time officially reviewing anything on MDL, but this drama is so deserving, I couldn't help myself.

Khemjira is genuinely one of the BEST dramas of 2025. It has single-handedly set the standard for novel storytelling, bar none.

Damn, I could do without the same old tropes we've been fed lately. Honestly, after three (or ten!) other series repeating the exact same tired plots—I could recite the script in my sleep, come on!—this was a truly pleasant surprise.

I read they took a massive gamble by sticking faithfully to the novel's structure, and boy am I glad they did. I normally HATE horror, but in this one, it was so beautifully done. (Don't judge me, I still watched those scenes through squinted eyes and on mute —but never mind that detail!) The romance was also perfectly handled; not forced or over-complicated, just right. The entire cast absolutely nailed it. Hats off to them.

If this doesn't sweep the awards, I am going to be damn PEEVED OFF!

P.S. Directors, take note: This doesn't mean we need 100 copies of Khemjira. It means we want ORIGINALITY. Where on earth has the novelty gone in being creative?

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Gorgeous but Drifting

This series kicked off with a lot of promise. Visually, it was stunning—right from the first few episodes, you could tell the production team put serious thought into the aesthetics. The cinematography was gorgeous, the color grading was rich, and the locations were just beautiful, not to mention the lovely face of actor Keng . It felt fresh, like they were really trying to offer something different this time around, and I was totally on board. But somewhere along the way, the pacing started to drag. Unfortunately, the storytelling didn’t quite keep up with the visuals. It stretched out longer than it needed to, and there were moments where I found myself checking how much time was left in the episode. That said, there was one clear standout: the character of Ramphueng. Her arc was hands down the most compelling part of the series. The way her journey of revenge and eventual forgiveness unfolded was powerful. It had the potential of becoming a memorable BL series, but it didn’t quite hit that mark. Still, it’s a good watch overall. The visuals alone make it worth checking out. I’d give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

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