Heroin (2024)

Un adattamento del quale non si sentiva la mancanza...

Nonostante le aspettative non fossero alte già in partenza, il risultato è stato comunque molto deludente. Remake dell'omonimo drama made in Cina, all'epoca interrotto brutalmente dopo una prima stagione incompleta ma ragion veduta, già che si era dimostrato davvero malsano nei contenuti e nei messaggi trasmessi. Fortunatamente, la Cina ha poi fatto ammenda con un remake successivo davvero notevole, "Stay with me" - più Bromance che BL - di una estrema delicatezza ma al contempo sorprendentemente emozionante.
Questo ennesimo adattamento non regge decisamente il confronto, ma non ne sono rimasta sorpresa: le BL tailandesi devono la loro diffusione prevalentemente a una minor censura, ma a livello qualitativo difficilmente raggiungono la sufficienza minima. Tolte le scene intime, resta una lunga strada ancora da percorrere, insomma.
Il drama in questione ne è semplicemente l'ennesimo esempio: tutto ruota attorno al romance, ma ci gira in torno veramente male. Sceneggiatura superficialotta, scene a casaccio dove regna la confusione e che non sanno distinguere i momenti importante dai riempitivi, dove tutto fa brodo se utile a inserirci qualche accenno o riferimento pruriginoso. Ma la sostanza, quella manca. La coerenza, pure. Poco credibile, molto prevedibile, sempre e comunque in balia di clichè talmente irreali da risultare spesso imbarazzanti e ridicoli.
Di tutte le BL made in Tailandia che ho visto - e parliamo di svariate decine - qualitativamente parlando quelle che meritano le posso contare sulle dita di una mano. Questa serie, ovviamente, non è tra quelle. E l'inevitabile paragone con "Stay with me" le fa fare solo ancora più brutta figura. Remake disastroso, del quale non si sentiva certo la mancanza.

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this story is cursed to leave us unsatisfied

Whether you're watching this story for the first time or you've seen the Chinese versions, my initial impression is to temper your expectations, this show is far from the polished diamond it could be. Based on the same novel as Addicted (2016) and Stay With Me (2023), a lot of us had high hopes for this remake and just wanted to see our characters get their long awaited happy ending without the censorship gods trying to de-gay the story, and while this version did give us a "happy" ending, it wasn't the journey it so easily could have been.

Story:
In this adaptation, Hero (Guhai/Wubi) angrily runs away from home after his rich father remarries, he escapes to the countryside to live with his aunt and starts going to school there where his new straight-laced classmate Poppy (Luoyin/Suyu) turns into the outlet for his frustrations.

At the beginning, they sloppily rush through the story, giving the stepbrother enemies-to-lovers romance a new Lakorn flavor comedy spin. Though I love Thai humor, the type of corny slapstick comedy they're using here doesn't really fit with this story or characters, and I wish they didn't interrupt the vibes with so much potty humor. It starts to improve in the next few episodes, and though there's still a lot of cringe, we start to see some good chemistry. Then episode 6 hits and the story is all over the place again. After that the episodes are a mismatch of good and bad, including the random side couple drama, which honestly feels like a fanservice throw in for Hit, Bite, Love fans. They tried to do way too much, and it made the overall feel very disjointed.

Acting:
This isnt really all on August and Mac, but I personally wouldn't have cast them together. Their acting and character development felt forced at first, but after a couple episodes they started to improve and the characters start becoming more complex and loveable. Then all of the sudden, the chemistry just stops, and the story becomes jumbled, their romance just "happens" and we don't expirience anything really unfold. I suspect it's due to all the flack that they've been getting about Mac being 16 and the huge age gap between him and his co-star, which seriously-- why cast him in the first place then?

There arent any crazy scenes but oddly enough they do have a couple of intimate scenes, and there are even a few suggestive shots of the minors that were totally unnecessary, but then they go and censor the kisses??? Isn't censorship the whole reason this story keeps getting remakes, why cast minors in the first place? Seriously it's like the Chinese version all over again. And you know what, if Stay With Me should be testament to anything, it's that you don't need sexy fanservice or even kisses to have sweet romantic tension, so where'd the chemistry go??? Do better Thailand.

Overall, whether I rate this as a standalone or compare it to the other adaptations, the result is still the same. Lots of potential, a mess of production, and a "happy" ending that leaves you just as unsatisfied as before.

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