Khemjira

rating pity

At the beginning of the story, we learn that the protagonist, Khem, is cursed and, at 21 years old, he will die because a vengeful ghost, Ramphueng, will come to take him and send him to the afterlife. The premise was even good, and I've always liked horror movies, so this isn't an excuse. As the story progresses, Khem asks for help from Master Peen, who soon creates several annoying and irritating obstacles to avoid helping him. So you wonder if the master isn't going to help the khen why does he spend several episodes in the master's hut doing absolutely nothing? Not even the screenwriter must know that.The DMD company tortured the viewer with a boring, irritating, and pointless BL, with episodes almost two hours long, not to mention the terrible acting and lack of chemistry between the main couple. And up until now, I'm still looking for the romance and horror in this story. some dialogues are completely irrelevant, lasting around 10 minutes. I found myself checking the clock multiple times. By the way, this is already the second mistake of the year from the DMD company for me.

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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 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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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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It's not that good.

This is the most overrated series of the moment.

Khemjira is a Thai BL series that promised to combine a horror story with romance (boys’ love). The premise was very interesting a character, Khem, who suffers from a family curse.

The problem is that they decided to make the story too long, and at times it’s quite tedious to watch. The romance part was the weakest, in my opinion. At the beginning, the character Keng the shaman in the story treated the main character badly because he had promised not to get involved with curses and wanted to dissuade Khem from being around him. After that, there wasn’t much progress in their romantic relationship. In the middle of the story, we suddenly find out they’re going to end up together “just because,” due to some past-life connection a very lazy type of writing.

The character Khem is probably the least developed. He feels like one of those 1950s female characters who exist only to be saved by “the stronger man, the virile hero who will rescue him.” That kind of trope should have been left behind long ago. The character lacks personality and is simply pushed along by the plot.

The character Peem didn’t appeal to me either he’s that stoic, without much expression who’s only there to save the damsel in distress, even if at first he doesn’t want to.

The main couple has no chemistry, and worse, they fall into the same type of pairing we’ve seen in other BLs: one tries to give a passionate performance (Keng), while the other feels lifeless, cold, and dull like a puppet without emotion.

The secondary couple seems to exist only to make up for the lack of romance in the main one. The main couple could be considered a “slow burn,” but there’s a difference between a well-developed slow burn and complete stagnation.

The acting was very poor, as is common with this production company. Especially Namping there are about three more demanding scenes that required stronger acting, and he didn’t deliver in any of them.
I also found the dialogue uninspired and sleepy, and the episodes overly long and boring.

The good part of the series is the special effects, the music, and the performance of the actress who plays Ramphueng. You can see there was at least some effort and investment in this BL series.

As for the ending, I found it anticlimactic. I didn’t like it much, to be honest.

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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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Filled with unnecessary plots and is an overly long show that shouldn’t be

I was dying waiting for this series to be finished because it looked so promising, but I ended up a little bit disappointed. Don’t get me wrong , I’m not going to talk all bad about this show. There are a lot of elements that deserve to be praised, and I’m here for that too. First things first, let me start with the elephant in the room.

The main problem with this show is that it drags on for way too long. By the time I'm writing this sentence, I’m on episode 8 and the storyline leading up to this point should’ve only taken about 4 or 5 episodes. Not to mention, each episode is over an hour long , episode 8 is almost two hours! I feel like most of the screentime in each episode is just filler. At first, I thought I’d get a story firmly based on the culture of shamans and mediums, as well as countryside superstitions. But that plot ended way too early , just by episode 3 ,and was barely included in the later episodes. It would’ve been great if they had focused on that storyline instead. It would’ve made the show much more interesting and given it a stronger climax, rather than focusing only on the characters’ intimacies. I just wish they had explored more stories about shamans and their culture, because there was so much potential , especially with such long episodes. Don’t get me wrong , I definitely enjoyed it until the end and liked the background story. I was just frustrated because the screenplay wasn’t what I expected.

Another thing I wish had been better is the makeup. I know the genre is BL, which often relies on fan service , leading most production companies to focus too much on making every character look flawless all the time. But since this series was nearly perfect and detailed in most aspects, I also wish the makeup had been more subtle and natural-looking.

Especially Keng’s character, “Master.” He’s young, stylish, and very attractive , someone who is found attractive by both genders, which explains why he has to wear glasses whenever he goes out. (Though that plot reveal didn’t quite fit the situation perfectly, but let’s move on from that.) Still, as a shaman or medium living in the countryside, I can accept the fact that he dresses well , but his hair and face always looking perfect, even in life-and-death situations, is something I just couldn’t accept.

I first noticed Keng in Paradise of thorns, and he caught my attention there. He didn’t wear any noticeable makeup in that film , which perfectly suited his character ,and he still looked incredibly attractive. That’s why I genuinely think they should’ve toned down the makeup in this series if they truly value their production quality.

Besides all that, I actually liked the show and got along with it quite well. One advantage of having such long episodes that focus mostly on the characters’ intimacies is that I felt very familiar with them and genuinely grew fond of the show.

The production quality is the main aspect that deserves every bit of praise. The production design, setting, and lighting are undeniably above standard. The acting is also worth praising , especially for a BL series, where acting and directing are often the most noticeable weaknesses. None of the performances were perfect, but they were still better than in most other BL series that are filled with cringey moments and awkward acting.

I’m also glad the production team decided to change the character “พ่อครู” from how he appeared in the pilot teaser. The current version, with a more serious personality, feels much more appealing to me. And the performances of all four main actors have improved significantly compared to the pilot teaser.

Another great thing about this series is the music. Offering such a generous number of soundtracks , enough to make up a full album , is something you rarely see in BL series. All of the songs fit perfectly with the show’s theme and are genuinely enjoyable.

To be honest, I wasn’t very impressed with Keng’s singing ability in Paradise of thorns , maybe he was still inexperienced or easily got nervous at that time. But now, the soundtrack “Mantra” has become one of my current favorite songs, and Keng’s vocals are truly impressive in it.

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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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Ambitious but lengthy and with disappointing male leads

They say that writing a good short story takes more skill than coming up with a sprawling epic. I don’t know how much I agree with that. What I know for sure is that this series’ runtime should have been cut by a third. As it is, some parts of the show are barely watchable even at 1.75x speed. It’s a shame that the plot drags so badly, because many conditions for success are met: We've got stunning sets, convincing horror elements and spiritual rituals, as well as a talented cast of side characters with captivating past lives. I mean, the lovable Khemmika? JinDa and their present-day reincarnations? Ramphueng as a sympathetic but reasonably frightening karmic enemy?

Would a tight story on top of that make me forgive Domundi for pairing a block of tofu with a slab of marble (both giving middling performances), though? I’m just glad Khem is a man and not a woman, otherwise this character would be a parody of meek femininity. And don’t get me started on Thong and Ake or Grandma Si. My dislike for child companions and sick elders is more of a personal failing than a storytelling flaw. But it sure didn’t help whenever I almost dropped this show. Apropos nothing: Did I mention the series’ imperfect handling of domestic abuse and infidelity? I guess the pacing was just one of several issues after all. And yet, there’s no denying Khemjira its strengths, which drew me back in every time I was about to give up.

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The sum of Karma

The costume design for the show is really good, particularly for it's various period settings, they look the best that I've seen in any Thai drama so far. The lighting and color grading provides a gorgeous look. Sadly they are wasted by the other two immensely important aspects of the overall cinematography and atmosphere, the photography and editing which doesn't know how to create horror, atmospheric, or emotional tension with the static shot framing and stagnant edit pacing. Paran being sucked into the earth looked cool, Jet getting possessed and pulling over the bridge, as well as Khem getting possessed was good. Basically the white contact lenses and ghoul make up really give a fantastic lofi but strongest effect. Those are a rare few times the horror finally clicks, but the track record make them accidents rather than intentional.

There is no punctuation to what should be key emotional moments. Other shows do it too much, but here they just don't do anything. The green actors are directed well enough. The show's sluggish pace works best in miring in the emotion like when Khem presents a meal for his spectral mom. I do appreciate the balance of seriousness and humor in the tone of the series though it completely the feeling of tension that should exist in this type of story and I do see the attempt though they can't quite reach it. I also see the attempt to convey the emotion within the nc scenes and not just be fanservice. Some of them definitely could have been or needed to be edited to be a lot shorter .

Paran is already stunning as a young modern day shaman, but he was even more gleaming and every bit the ethereal visuals of a deity in his past life. He tries to keep a boundary between their past lives current selves, but it can't help but overlap for Paran who already memories and feelings of the past before anyone else. Every life is a different person, you make the choices that you can in the specific situation that you are in, yet the karma is cumulative be it good or bad. Paran receives kindness from a fellow deity that lives on from his past life, giving him his past life's godly weapon. Paran's past life Wat's brother who caused past life lady Khem's death with his obsession towards her also came back to help empower Paran in the final fight. Khem's past life despite being a child was one of the people that horrifically wronged Ramphueng that set off centuries of woe though in his current life and as an adult he would not have made that same decision. It's sweet that Thong and Ake is reborn into kids that were adopted by Paran and Khem and Paran will bear eating the spiciest food to not disappoint them despite being so strict with them and also Jet when they were his spirit and human disciples restrictively. He is the softest dad and Khem is probably the main disciplinarian dad.

The first episode starts with an interesting idea that sadly went nowhere with Khem using his curse as a gift to do good. His ability to see ghost saved a child living across from him from an abusive situation as well as the ghost's soul. That would have been cool if Khem got to do more of that as he solved the mystery of his curse. Khem is strongest as a character and in his element outside of his romance plot when he's with his schoolmates. He speaks up and out for himself for and to others. He's really good at art, which also doesn't come into play at any point except for getting a job teaching it at the end. Art degree coming through with an additional income for the family of four. It's lovely that Paran and Khem talk about registering their marriage and going on to have a happy family. The Thai legalization of gay marriage is still so recent and such an amazing human rights win.

The second couple are less supernaturally confused being they were already drawn to each other before any memories of their past lives come into play. They are just regular 20 year olds who have never dated before confused. They are also a good contrast with Khem who is more femme in demeanor because that's just the way Khem is and not because his past life was a femme woman because so were Jet and Charn. Charn's vision seems to be getting worse since his past life though, which is some kind of weird karrma. What did he do to wrong the vision gods? The scene where the fieldtrip club members was fawning over Charn when his glasses fell off was silly. He looks better with his glasses on. The show tried to keep the product placement as organically blended into the scenes as they can while still highlighting it. Charn dropping The Face Shop bag in slow motion is one of the best dramatic use of the product placement I've seen so far.

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A genre mix that serves both genres well--supernatural chills and romantic thrills

Khemjira stands out in at least two notable ways. First, it is the rare Thai BL series that prioritizes storytelling over couple moments. In service to that mission, the series musters a large company to tell the tale of the main couple; yet, a wide swathe of this ensemble plays little to no role in encouraging the blooming romance. Instead, they supplement the otherworldly angles of the supernatural story that entwines the leading men. Second, and perhaps more impressive, Khemjira is also the rare supernatural series whose phantasms deliver a genuine sense of menace. Goofy comic relief ghosts, they are not. Victims of tragic endings to incite viewer empathy, they are not. These specters threaten doom; danger looms where they appear. Light romantic comedy, Khemjira is therefore not. If there is a third notable achievement it may be the panache with which the makers blend the expected sinister chills of one genre with the expected warm, fuzzy thrills of the other. That few such genre hybrids manage this feat attests to its difficulty.

The title character, college freshman Khemjira, fears a curse on his family will result in his own early death. Following some near-miss accidents on campus in ep 1, his best friend, Jet, redirects a volunteer student break trip toward his own hometown, small and rural. Will the local shaman be able to help avert Khem's doom and neutralize the curse? Surely it helps that the aforesaid Local Shaman, Peem, proves to be young and handsome. Viewers quickly ascertain that the winsome young shaman has a connection with Khem’s family. Indeed, adolescent Peem first met young Khem years prior. (Ever seen a K-drama? Any K-drama? Then, you know what it portends for the main characters' future when an episode establishes they first met as children.) In this case, the destiny implied in the trope "destined lovers" also combines with the sense of destiny implied in the reincarnation trope. Two reincarnation tropes, in fact, as a third student on the trip, Charn, turns out to have been connected in a past life to Jet. These two meet as strangers but feel an immediate spark. Over several episodes, Charn and Jet realize that spark emanates from an unfinished romance in their prior lives (as women). Those “older souls” also connected to prior incarnations of Khem's and Peem's souls. That earlier coupling, likewise star-crossed, supplied story fodder for one of the ghost-of-the-Week episodes. On a recurring basis these soul bonds explains why Jet and Charn feel compelled to take extraordinary efforts on behalf of Khem. All three same-sex relationships (main couple, side couple, and flashback GL side couple) have some chemistry. The romances in Khemjira manifest palpable spirit.

Chiefly, the romances work because they flow from events in the ghost story. Rather than developing romance between shaman and student as the engine to drive the story forward, momentum stems from the need to address the deadly curse hanging over the student's head. In the first few episodes, the series follows a format we could dub "supernatural threat of the week." Early episodes center around Peem’s attempts to exorcise spooks and demons via his shamanistic magic. The group of students is caught up in that effort. Thai BL is replete with examples of college students undertaking a service trip to rural areas during a school break. These boondoggles comprise a veritable genre staple. Such endeavors typically depict students in bucolic acts of mundane service. Perhaps they paint a school or plant some trees. Khemjira is the only series where the service entails eradicating poltergeists in and around the rural village. (The villagers seem quite blasé about the level of wraith activity in their immediate environment. Perhaps their ubiquity explains why a family of shamans chose that village to make a living.) Using a threat-of-the-week format also ensures tension and foreboding inflect the series’ tone rather than silliness (from ineffectual ghosts) or lightness (from treacly romance). By the time the series reveals its true villain, inevitably a vengeful spirit with a grudge against Khem’s family that spans generations, Khem, Jet, and Charn have determined a prudent respect for Khem's safety dictates they remain in the village with the shaman. Peem’s attempts to reverse the curse dominate the series' second half.

An array of secondary characters serve a clear purpose to the story. They pop in and out when necessary. Especially well-crafted figures were an old village woman and two very young ghosts. The old lady aids Peem-as-shaman by contributing her own considerable magic to supplement his combat with otherworldly forces, but she also plays a grandmotherly role to Peem-as-person. There the magic stems from sage advice, tender affection, and an occasional home-cooked meal, ministrations also extended to Jet (who grew up in the village) and Khem (the newcomer in danger). Meanwhile, the boy specters add an infectious childlike whimsy that leavens the series' darker moments. Peem-as-Shaman uses the duo as intermediaries betwixt the worldly and otherworldly realms. He also apparently had used them as babysitters for young Jet, who bonded with his childhood playmates despite the fact they were not, technically speaking, alive when he played with them. Their endearing manner of literally "popping in and out," as a physical POP, must be seen to be appreciated. For the most part, the rich panoply of side characters contribute to a perception that the writing staff had a clear command of their tale's convoluted permutations.

Notwithstanding this praise, Khemjira (the series) has some mentionable flaws. One side character, introduced in the penultimate episode, felt truly out of place. That character felt so extra(neous), one speculates Domundi had contractual or publicity motivations to rope that actor into the show somehow. Despite maintaining a suspenseful atmosphere most of the time, the plot occasionally feels sluggish. A few episodes feature sequences whose exorcism from the storyboard might have reduced bloat. (For example, a love rival for Peem, smitten with Khem; a love rival for Khem, smitten with Peem; shenanigans at a rural country fair; arrogant bullies among the college students.) In addition, the writers might fairly be knocked for taking too long to explore the origins of Khem’s family curse; likewise, the romances progress along a similarly protracted timeline. But these are minor complaints. Considering the level of intricate plotting necessary to tie together the story’s disparate threads, the writers can be forgiven these minor pacing issues.

Khemjira will, in some respects, always be linked in memory with its contemporaries from 2025, The Next Prince and Revamp. The latter's association, coincidental, reflects both chronology and genre. For ten weeks Revamp and Khemjira overlapped broadcast runs, even sharing Saturday as their mutual broadcast day. Bigger coincidence, they aired finales on the exact same Saturday. Many viewers would have experienced the two series in lockstep. Yet, their more salient connection is genre. Each aspired to tell a compelling love story which simultaneously entangled mortals with supernatural beings. Khemjira got the tricky formula right; Revamp failed that test. By contrast, the link to the former required no coincidence at all. Both Kehmjira and The Next Prince sprang from the creative and production teams at Domundi. Indeed, they are production siblings: the two series gestated in pre-production simultaneously; filming blocs overlapped; they made it to air within months of each other. But The Next Prince always was the studio's Favored Child. Being second-fiddle may have saved Khemjira: perhaps executives who might have interfered with creative choices concentrated instead on The Next Prince and its high-profile cast. At the final analysis, both Revamp and The Next Prince disappointed, in part, because their plots too often catered to their popular leading men's shipped pair rather than the characters. That outcome reeks of executives interfering with creatives. That the business model for Thai BL relies on couple pairs for financial prosperity is no secret. The resulting tendency to write toward couple moments (as opposed to character moments) practically ensures that many series, even decent ones, will serve up an emaciated plot—if the story bothers with plot at all. Series like Perfect 10 Liners and We Are managed to subsist by stringing together a pastiche of warm, fuzzy moments. Viewers overlooked their anemic storyboards. Meanwhile, Revamp and The Next Prince received no such grace, and they have become instant lessons in the ignominy that faces series when they choose to stint on fidelity to worldbuilding and character development. Whatever the reason, the makers of Khemjira managed to create a series built around story and character rather than relying on sweet moments between a shipped couple. They got right the worldbuilding. That, more than any other factor, made Khemjira a fun watch.

Khemjira therefore overcame several obstacles on its way to success: the tendency of ghost stories to descend into comic hokeyness; the challenge to blend seamlessly two genres while doing justice to each; being an afterthought in its own company; the challenge to create, then sustain, a vibe that exuded baleful danger; and the tendency of the Thai BL industry to prioritize couple moments over story quality. The creative team and actors navigated these shoals to deliver a series that runs far more than it plods.

[Note: I dinged the rewatch value solely because I believe any suspense thriller works best the first time. On any rewatch, the viewer knows what is happening and why. That awareness leeches some of the atmosphere.]

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Come for the yaoi, stay for the supernatural trauma symbolism

This was an okay show. It started very strong, with a story that was both intriguing and entertaining. The biggest problem with this was an unstable quality across the board from plot to acting, which diminished a good part of my enjoyment. This went back and forth throughout the show causing both frustration and confusion. But still, it had enough redeeming qualities to make the time spent on it, worthwhile.

First on the plot: So the story follows Khemijira who carries a centuries-old family curse on his back that will result in his death, once he turns 21. He already has terrible luck and ghosts follow him everywhere, trying to harm him. Desperate and inching closer and closer to his birthday, he and his best friend petition for a great shamanic master's protection but the master is reluctant, for unknown reasons.

Right out of the gate, the setup for the story is great! We have flashbacks across multiple timelines to help tell the story, we have ghosts and murder attempts, we have mysticism and spiritual rituals, and I would say the strength of this show was in its scenes of traditional practices and focus on religion and folklore rituals. When they worked with those elements, the show was a ten out of ten for me. Showing the vicious cycles of resentment, revenge and karma was brilliant here. Not only was it interesting to watch, but it was also executed with care and attention to detail. The ritualistic chanting was beautiful. The ways that karma is shown to be felt cross lives was enlightening. Even the simplest subplot about ghosts and karma was interesting enough and in "some" cases, it was connected to the main plot, so the story wouldn't feel stagnant. The thing that was dragging the show down, however, was the main plot!

So the romance plot: In my opinion, the romance was weak, underdeveloped, ham-fisted, and not engaging enough. The show does this very boring thing where we are told about a past connection between the main characters, and then no more attempt is made to make this romance work! There is no attempt to build a connection between these characters as they are now. There are only external elements pushing them together; a pre-destined connection, jealousy of potential rivals, and the forceful jeering of side characters. These are alright situational plot devices to draw characters together; however, the show needs to actually build a basic chemistry base for these characters, first. They barely talk to each other! The master is constantly avoiding Khemjira like he killed his pet kitten as a child, and Khemjira just cooks and cleans like a modern cinderella, giving kicked-puppy eyes to everyone but mostly the master, as if doe-eyes and a dream are enough to build a relationship around. The two of them are not put in enough one-on-one plot situations to build any kind of dynamic together. They are mostly kept away from each other in the main episodes focused on their romance which not only made those episodes drag with barely anything happening but also, just wasted those episodes because the curse-plot was sidelined and nothing was happening on the romance front, either. Well, unless we count the really boing romance between the supporting characters as development, which I don't. On that note, I did not like the second couple. It was just very forced. Their scenes bored me. Most of the romance was focused on their lame dynamic, and there was this sense of "this is gonna happen, anyway" to them which made it feel like this was not happening because the story was naturally headed in a romantic way but because this was a genre trope that could not be avoided. This was true for the main romance, too. There is an automatic feel to all of it. Like two great hands are grabbing these characters like dolls and smashing their faces together for a kiss. As a result, I did not enjoy the romance. I like my romances with massive build-up. I like them heavy on the conversations and building of connections, so when we are just expected to accept they are destined to fall in love, and no one actually tries to explain their attraction in any way besides "Pretty boy! Me kiss kiss!"...yeah, not my cup of tea!

To make matters worse, the actors had NO chemistry. I get it! They are handsome men! But you can't just put beautiful people together and call it a day! They were so awkward together. The actor who plays Khemjira is so obviously a tall and broad man, while the actor who plays the master is clearly lean and delicate in the features, and they tried SO HARD to make the master seem domineering and macho while Khemjira was delicate and dainty...and it was not working! I could SEE Khemjira slouch in on himself to appear smaller when the men were clearly the same height! lol (also his head was way bigger than the other actor which lol, doesn't mean much just...the doe eyes were not working!)This made everything feel so odd. Like, why are we making this giant man act like a sweet, feminine, tiny person?! It was just odd, and the effect was unsuccessful, which made Khemjira's character uncomfortable to watch. I wish they would just let the guy be an ordinary, not-dainty, but just kind and sweet, person. Which is how the show started, before the romance was introduced and how the book depicts him (heck yeah! I read enough of the book, to judge the show's adaptation skills, for it!) but once the romance starts, they start to feminize the character which while there is nothing wrong with more feminine male characters, it was just not working here!

None of this was helped by the fact that the core four main actors are bad at acting. There! I said it! I'm sorry. They could not act. They stood out like sore thumbs too because the supporting cast was good! The subplots about ghosts and folklore that made up the best parts of the show were the parts that mostly dealt with side characters, and I would say these supporting actors were doing the heavy-lifting when it came to acting. Even the child actors were better! I guess these guys were cast for their looks and to sell that yaoi aesthetic because they have to work a lot harder to sell...anything! The crying was awkward, the lovey-looks they gave each other made me cringe, the sex scenes were a torture to watch (weird choreos there, too), the line delivery was bad! I suffered! The acting was bad. Not the support cast, though. They were fine! Some of them were actually good! Not the mains, though.

I will say one good thing about the casting, the casting team's ability to find past lifetime equivalent actors who look so similar to the mains was astounding! The female counterparts of the male actors looked so similar to them that I was totally speechless! In fact, all of the production on this show was great. I will give them that. The multiple past lives were gorgeous and I loved those parts.

So, to sum it up, this show had 4 solid episodes of intense plot, focused on the curse and developing the base for the show. Then the next 4 episodes that focused on romance were boring, not good. Then from episode 9 onward, one episode would be amazing, and one would be lackluster. This level of unstable quality across the whole run of the show is what was slightly disappointing to me. However, I gave this show an 8 because I thought the good parts were very good and I was invested in the show thanks to them. Shoutout to my favorite character, Ramphueng. She was what held this show together. Vengeful, wronged, chaotic, yet pitiful. She was so compelling that you both felt for her and feared her and resented her actions all throughout the show. I honestly would have given this a 5 if the show had messed up the ending with her but the show ended the plot surrounding the curse so beautifully (at the 11th hour, too! lmao) that I raised my rating from a 7 to an 8, just because of how emotional it made me. The plot was dragged though...
I also enjoyed the past live plots. I will not spoil anything but what was happening there was told much better than the modern era. I liked those moments so much. I wish the show had been more focused on those lifetimes.
There is also plenty of fan-service after the main plot, which I know a lot of viewers will be happy about.

Overall: I do recommend this show! Weirdly enough, though I didn't like the romance, I loved the other parts of this show enough to recommend it. The production is great, and sans romance, the story is compelling too. It's not too scary either, as far as horror stories go, since the show breaks a lot of tension with cheap BL-exclusive humor. You will enjoy it even if (like me) you don't like horror.

Fun fact: There is a scene at the end when one of the characters just lists all the plot holes. Very funny! lol

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