Khemjira

DON'T WANNA SAY GOODBYE

I don’t have a lot to say about Khemjira and that’s a good sign.First,i want to thank Cali for trusting the agency with his work.The novel is beautiful.Thank you to the agency for the great casting and to the whole technical team for doing an amazing job.Every OST is stunning.Every actor truly put their heart into the project and i’m really grateful for that.This series reminded me so much of my own culture and especially my grandmother throughout the episodes(she’s basically Grandma Si and Pharan combined) the chanting,rituals,curses,spirits,healers,karmic debt «I FELT AT HOME» the only difference was the language.Since it touched me personally,maybe my opinion is a bit biased.But i really think everyone should give Khemjira a chance,it deserves recognition and you might form your own opinion too.

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Boring

I just found it very boring. Each week before the episode I'd check to see how long the episode was and I'd have to hype myself up to watch it. But I found myself being distracted whilst watching, going on my phone and watching reels or just responding to messages. I can see why a lot of production companies are switching to Reels format because nobody has the attention span for episodes this long. I think if the episode allowance stretched to 14 episodes and could have been watchable. Or if they couldn't do that, they could have cut A LOT of it down with editing to make the episode duration bearable.

I just felt like scenes were dragged out and the director should have shouted "cut". I don't know how anyone can stare at one another for that long and keep eye contact. It also took so long for the characters to get out a sentence. One of my pet peeves is breaking up a sentence. Throughout the series it was very one note. Peem (Master) was very cold through out. He didn't let up or show much expression. Khem was always this fragile/delicate boy. I didn't feel the romance between the too very much. That emotional connection that Peem really had feelings for Khem and would do anything to protect him. And for Khem it just seemed like he had a crush on the Master but had no real reason to fall for him.

The final ep didn't need to be as long as it was. The resolve/plot was completed in the 40/50 mins. The rest of is should have been a separate special episode. The climax of the plot was very mellow dramatic. When Peem was being surrounded by Ramphueng servants Khem wasn't screaming out in worry for Peem. When Khem was getting whipped by Ramphueng he was screaming out in pain as you would expect when getting whipped. And that's also going back to the episode when Ramphueng was getting whipped. I know she was casting a curse but every time she was being whipped she could have screamed out in pain and in-between she could have carrie do with saying her curse. And Peem wasn't really fighting or objecting when Khem was getting strangled by Ramphueng. It was just all very melodramatic for a climax of the plot.

However, despite my complaints, I think it was a well written story just poorly executed. The special effects were immaculate, the best ones I've seen in a BL. The make up of Ramphueng and her servants were astonishing. And for this is the reason why I'm giving this series a 6. If it wasn't for these it would have been a much lower score and I probably would have dropped it much earlier.

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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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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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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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Boring dragging

This BL series promised a horror story well… they delivered, but not in the way you’d expect…

The story revolves around Khem, a boy born into a cursed family, and when he turns 21, he's supposed to die at the hands of the vengeful Ramphueng... I found the story extremely boring. Each episode is almost two hours long, but none of them have enough content to fill that time. This BL is that classic type, as deep as a saucer; none of the characters have a mother, father, grandmother, nephew, uncle, cousin, or even a dog. I know that in many BLs these family members can annoy us, but they help to fill the time... The story lacked both horror and romance, especially with the main couple, who have zero chemistry. Plus, neither of them can act, especially Namping. His character is supposed to be dying at any moment, but can you feel that in his expressions? Of course not In the middle of the story, he tried to justify that the 20-year-old character would not know how to kiss. but who at 20 years old doesn’t know how to kiss someone? I clearly didn’t buy that excuse. I hope this isn’t the next Pond and Phuwin from DMD... And this company loves to annoy the audience with that irritating trope in BLs, where one plays the bottom, always being saved by the other, who plays the top, the strong, stoic one with no apparent emotions. They’ve done this with Zeenunew and all the other couples from this company, zzzzz. The story is shallow and pointless. When they told the backstory of the character Ramphueng, I felt no empathy at all. I was already extremely irritated and tired of the whole thing. And what was Net’s character even doing in the story? The ending was completely anticlimactic and dull. I’d give it a 0. I would never watch this again.

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Boring

First, I'll talk about the performances: Tle and FirstOne: they are far from Denzel Washington or Adam Driver's performances, but I think they didn't compromise and were the best part of this BL.

Keng: just a pretty face making a face like he ate something he didn't like the whole time, wooden performance.
Namping: played the character that gives the story its name, null performance, doesn't know how to show any kind of human emotion, anger, pain, suffering, joy. *He also doesn't know how to kiss, unlike other actors in that company.

Green Ausadaporn: definitely the best performance.

In my opinion, the problem with this BL is that it didn't have enough story to fill an hour-long episode. The character Khen is cursed and needs help to break the curse, but Keng's master character says he won't help for some reasons, which are the famous obstacles of romance stories, and even so, the character remains close to the master doing many nothing and annoying the viewer in the process. Very boring and tedious story. Then at a certain point we discover that they had some connections in past lives, so you wonder, are they together because of their past lives or not? It's the kind of cliché I don't like, it seems that the characters are together just because they had some kind of connection in the past.

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Great visuals but a bit a convoluted story with mixed acting

After having watched the first two episodes when they were new, I was so bored I decided to stop. But so many people talking about it and liking it, I continued. I can say there were many moments in the following episode which were fascinating and interesting. The cinematography, the sets and the visuals were all top worthy of 10/10.

However the MC acting was not convincing me very much. The Shaman Master is a model of super good looks, but I found his acting stiff and bland, Khem was a bit better but I have seen way better and complex acting skills, so the love feeling and drama didn't really show. Even when Shamanmaster is down and defeated (apparently) he has this almost passive stare. I have seen many BL series where actors were able to express much more with their faces. (Like First or Fourth, who can make much emotions out of small events, whereas here the MC actors went through huge drama and their faces and body language just doesn't show it. So unfortunately I found them the weakest link of the series. Acting of the second couple was much better in relation, even if they too are quite away from the really good Thai BL actors.

The entire karma and destiny story was interesting but way too overloaded, so many scene, backflashes, and so many scene so slow I wanted to play it 1.5 times faster. Silent stares, you get the idea. There were just too many characters, mini-arcs, items asf added. Like when Charn and Jet outed themselves to Jet's father, I could not remember ever having seen him, and kinda failed to see the relevant to suddenly out themselves to a dad that wasn't even there in the story.

Anyway, it was good, especially visuals, but not the super hit that others feel it is. As such a generous
7/10

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A BL So Slow the Ghosts Have More Chemistry

Let's start with the positives - the horror genre is definitely present and well-developed. At times, the atmosphere is tense and the mystical elements are visually well-executed. However, there's "too much" horror. It completely dominates the screen time, leaving little room for the development of other storylines. Some rituals are just plain weird, often feel out of place, and at times are outright cringe. It's hard to understand their purpose or why these unnecessary scenes take up so much time.

Now, about the BL aspect (yes, that's boys love, in case anyone didn't know). The relationship between the main characters progresses painfully slowly. Meanwhile, straight drama is somehow front and center - which really shouldn't be the case in a BL series. By the end of episode 7, we "do" see some progress between the leads, but even the "one" kiss that was clearly supposed to happen gets cut off. They leave the audience hanging at the most crucial moment - and it's not exciting, it's just "frustrating".

The contrast is especially clear when it comes to the secondary characters - their relationships develop "too" quickly, with barely any buildup, as if the writers were in a rush to check boxes. In the end, it all feels chaotic - some things move at a snail's pace, others race ahead without any balance. The story doesn't unfold in a natural or harmonious way.

Honestly? After episode 7, I'm not sure it's even worth continuing. If things keep going like this, there's really not much point in watching further.

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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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How is the rating so high?

The story started off well. I was hooked on episode 1, but then by episode 4 it lost me. I got to episode 10 and was absolutely confused by what was going on. The second lead couple have more chemistry than the main couple. Its not because of how the characters were written (boring), maybe it was the director. Maybe the actors. I had a hard time believing they actually liked eachother. There's nothing anyone can say that could convince me this show deserves more than a 6 rating. The production value is good, music is good. The actors are good looking, but not good enough to overlook the actual acting.

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Was Khemjira Worth the Hype?

Okay, I’ll admit it. I started watching Khemjira purely because of the hype. Everyone was talking about it, edits were all over my feed, and I thought, “This has to be THAT show.” Well… let’s just say my expectations were a little too high, and the finale did not do me any favors. That last almost-two-hour episode? Painful. I’m still not sure what they were trying to do there, but it definitely wasn’t the right way to wrap up everything.

And it’s not just the finale. Some episodes dragged on forever. I’m not exaggerating when I say it took me two days to finish one episode, I literally thought my eyes were getting bad, but nope, the episode was actually two hours long. Don’t ask me which one, I think it was ep 7 or 8. I get that they wanted to build tension and atmosphere, but honestly, trimming down some scenes would’ve made the story flow way better.

I’ve gotta give credit where it’s due, this is the first time I’ve ever found myself shipping the main character with literally everyone around him 😅. Khem (played by Namping) might not have delivered the strongest acting performance, but his chemistry with every side character was surprisingly good! I didn’t know Namping before this, so I’m giving him a pass since it’s his first big project. I did the same with Nanon before eventually falling in love with his acting, so maybe Namping just needs more experience. Luckily, the rest of the cast was solid and totally carried him through the rough spots.

What actually impressed me most was how the show tried to mix horror, reincarnation, karma, and Thai folklore. The cultural and religious layers were so interesting and made it stand out from your typical BL or supernatural drama. You could really feel the thought behind the setting and rituals, it wasn’t just for aesthetics. If only the pacing had matched the storytelling quality, this could’ve been a masterpiece.

But yeah… that last episode. Why was the timeline so unnecessarily complicated? It felt like they were adding flashbacks and backstories just because they could, not because the story needed them. I wanted answers, but instead I got more confusion and dramatic pauses.

Still, I won’t lie, even with all the chaos, Khemjira is better than average. It’s ambitious, beautifully shot, and packed with emotional moments that hit harder than I expected. So yeah, despite my rants, I don’t regret watching it. Just… maybe don’t start it at midnight unless you’re ready for two-hour episodes and emotional damage. 😅

Khemjira had the potential to be great, it’s just trapped inside too many long scenes and one confusing finale. Still worth checking out if you love folklore, curses, and complicated love stories with a side of ghosts.

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