I Saw You in My Dream

It was an interesting dream.

I placed spoilers at the end of this review.

Overall, this was an enjoyable and interesting series. However, I am a sucker for series that have a supernatural/strange element to it. The script was good for the most part, but needed a little more tweaking and had some very weak aspects towards the end. My main complaint is key information was always misplaced which created some confusing, well for me at least. I recommend being patient because they do eventually reveal the information. The cast did a great job with their characters. I thought Putter did a great job making Yu a very likable character without him being a complete A-Hole. Ryu also did a great job making Ai appear innocent and loveable without being annoying. The cinematography was very good and did a great job keeping the consistency between the scenes involving the two different outcomes (dream version vs reality version) depending on Ai actions.

Random Note:

I went in with low expectations because this is a product of Dee Hup. Their series always seem incomplete and/or never fully hitting the mark at the end. I was very pleasantly surprised how good this series was. Apart from my main complaint and notes in the spoiler alert section, I would definitely rewatch this.

It was cute how they slipped in a quick nod to another Dee Hup series (Lovely Writer) which seems to be a running theme in their series.

If you are not going to show actors actually playing a sport, don’t bother including a match scene.

The English subtitles on GagaOOLala were good with the exception that it didn’t show English subtitles when printed content appears on screen a few times. GagaOOLala did not edit out the break credit between the episode sections.



********Spoiler Alert********

I liked that they kept the teasing aspect of the relationship to a minimum and ended it by the first episode.

Just a few examples about the misplace of information. One was the age difference between Ai and Yu. I was confused at first because I assumed that Ai and Yu were the same age. This was eventually cleared up later on, but this could have been addressed during the character introduction at the beginning of episode 1. Another was the relationship between the characters. I was a little confusing in the first episode because it introduced a lot of them without fully explaining who everyone was or their relationship between each other. They slowly give this information but they could have found a better way to do it.

Although it was a happy ending and I did enjoy it, it seemed rushed. Once again, they reveal a lot of key information at the very last minute.

Episode 10 came across as very random. I understand the main purpose was to introduce the treat Ice will play, but It could have been written better. It also had so many illogical things about it. If they knew a stalker was roaming around, why was the front door unlocked?

The script for episode 11 was the weakest out of this series. The entire storyline involving the slipping pills was not realistic. I understand they wanted to give a sense of urgency, but no one would have survived that amount of pills Ai used. Not to mention that you do not take medication prescribed to someone else. You also don’t take pills from an unmarked bottle. How did he even know it had sleeping medication?

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Overall, decent. Lots of filler that could have been cut, though. Slow burn - they get together at the end of ep 8. The dream premise was interesting but fizzled out. Yu is in danger every other day for random reasons and then it’s suddenly completely safe after the finale. There’s no real reason or explanation or deeper mystery behind it revealed.

Mostly good consent. They immediately end things when someone pushes away or says they’re not ready. They ask if the partner is okay before proceeding, and say that stopping is okay if they’re not ready. Both couples are equals and take turns leading in the bedroom. The secondary couple both lead outside the bedroom too. For the main couple, Yu mainly takes the lead out of the bedroom, but not in a domineering way. For example, in the special episode, Ai expects and waits on Yu to propose instead of thinking about doing it himself. Both couples show reciprocal affection - no constant rejection and pushing the other person away and shying away for no reason.

Two dubcon drunk scenes. For the secondary couple scene, one is extremely drunk. The drunk one is the one that initiates, they have a pre-established relationship, and the drunk one has initiated sex while sober before. But having drunk sex was not pre-negotiated. He passed out before anything could really happen though. For the main couple, I couldn’t tell if the scene was real or a dream. But the drunk one initiated. He had rejected sex while sober the night before. He had expressed an interest in sex while sober to his friends, but did not convey this to Yu. When he wakes up naked the next morning, he looks upset and asks if Yu did something to him. Yu says he got hot and took his own clothes off. So clearly it didn’t progress much further than the make out session we saw, if that makeout session was real and not a dream. Also one dubcon scene where Ai says he’s going to “punish” Yu. The scene wasn’t pre-negotiated, and Yu seemed hesitant and didn’t kiss back much at first, but eventually reciprocated. Ai should have pulled back to verbally check for consent before proceeding at that point.

The second couple was more compelling for me. I bought into their romance more and they had more chemistry. They were also better kissers. One of them was a playboy at the beginning of the series, but he’s 100% in on Ing once they get together. He dates one other person at the beginning, but he’s not really serious about him and there wasn’t much drama surrounding it. He proudly tells the ex that he and Ing are together later in the series.

The ex drama for the main couple annoyed me. In ep 3/4, Yu seems like he’s really not over his ex. I almost dropped the series at this point, especially after reading spoilers for the ex drama in ep 10. In ep 10 though, His ex is getting harassed and Yu offers to help her. The thing is, he offered, she didn’t ask. He offers to let her stay at his house. He doesn’t tell her he’s in a relationship. He doesn’t tell Ai that she’s staying over or why. This happens almost immediately after they finally get together and sleep together too. He brings her to dinner with Ai’s parents, and is super caring and attentive to her, putting food on per plate and talking to her, and practically ignoring Ai. Ai and Yu don’t sleep in the same room while the ex is there, even though they usually do. Yu stays home with Pan instead of going out with Ai and their friend group. There was no reason he couldn’t help his ex, respect her wishes to not tell Ai the details (just tell him she’s in danger and he’s helping), but also disclose his relationship status, interact with Ai as normal, and prioritize his feelings over Pan’s, while also caring about her safety. In the end, Yu never discloses their relationship. The ex finds out through the internet. She apologizes to Ai for not knowing, and Ai apologizes to Yu, saying he would have done the same, but Yu never apologizes for or even acknowledges his approach and absolute disrespect of their relationship. That being said, Yu does seem emotionally over his ex at this point, even before offering his help, and the drama starts and ends within the one episode.

There was a love rival for Ai as well, but it didn’t bother me much. Ai never reciprocated and unlike Yu, he did all the right things to shut it down and prevent misunderstandings with both Yu and the rival. To be honest, the rival was a good guy and he actually put Ai first, unlike Yu with his ex. I wouldn’t have been mad if the series was written for Ai / Wann instead of Ai / Yu. He also accepted no for an answer when rejected.

I thought this series was going to be steamier than it actually was, especially when they showed that he had an erection at the beginning. But it doesn't go past semi-clothed make out sessions and implied sex.

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Beyond "Deserving" and "Blame"

I feel like "I Saw You In My Dream" moves past "possessive" tropes to offer a mature look at love, responsibility and persoanl dreams.

I liked the relationship between P'Yu and Ai, even P'Yus teasing. Having grown up too fast after his parents' death, Yu uses teasing as an emotional outlet. I also think that around Ai, he feels safe enough to be "childish" and it also shows a realistic realationship which often happens between "siblings" (which he feels like it is in the beginning).

I really appreciated the character dynamics in this series; the chemistry didn't just exist between the leads, but felt genuine across the entire friend group. While the pacing was a bit slower than other BLs, the connections kept me completely hooked. I was really drawn to the concept of the dream sequences and the wall of drawings in Ai’s room to visualize his dreams. Those sketches provided a fascinating look at his inner world, though I think the show could have dived even deeper into this (it got a bit lost). Overall, it was a beautifully grounded take on romantic relationships and the weight of destiny.

I personally also think Pan’s departure and reasoning was pretty realistic, it was a response to an industry that oftenimposes an "expiration date" (esp. for women) and the "shipping" culture". I persoanlly think (and I know this is maybe not the way most ppl see it) she had the courage to leave a so called "safe life and relationship, for a difficult dream". Had she stayed with Yu, no one would have been happy: Pan would have lived with the resentment of a stalled career, and Yu would have watched her light dim and maybe blamed himself and Ai would have realised his feelings for a someone who is already in a relationship. She realised that her dream was more importand to her, than the romantic relationship at the moment in her life, and I think that is completly fine.

I also like that Yu later treats her with dignity, not because of "love", but because he values human safety. While I also think he could have communicated this better to Ai initially. I think this can also be seen very well in the way Ai and his family rally around Pan (when her path became dangerous due to the actions of a third party). This challenges the "victim-blaming" narrative, showing that a person's past career choices or relationship history never justify harassment.

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Good, but I enjoyed H2H more

My only complaint is that the series felt longer than it needed to be. In episode 8, I felt like we were getting a lot of filler and NC scenes just to expand the show out to 12 episodes, and by episode 10, I was watching at 2X speed so I wouldn't DNF it because I found my attention drifting.

Despite that, I liked the acting, except for JJ's, because it felt very stiff, but I've seen him in other things, and it's been fine, so it's probably because it was his first drama, or that's how they wanted him to act.

Didn't care about the singing. I rarely do unless music is the main focus of a character or plot, like Kim from Kinnporche, or ThamePo & Cutie Pie.

I love this kind of plot because it dives into something that many people experience, but don't really talk about. I have these kinds of dreams a few times out of the year, and it always leaves me feeling disoriented when they start happening in real life, and I think this show captured that feeling very well. I also like that in this series, it's an inherited gift.

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A fun supernatural BL of Joy

Let me start by saying I was a big fan of this series by the end. The actors were very good, and they shared good chemistry. The storyline worked and was toward in a way that kept you interested. I loved the supernatural element of the dream powers that allowed him to see the future, and how he tried to figure out more about it. There were a lot of twist and turns, and overall the storyline was well put together and kept me interested. The only thing I feel it did not need was the Panpan story in the middle. The cast worked well and was a joy to watch, and I hope to see them together. I love how they were a tight family together, and all the secrets that came out at the end help explain a lot more. This was a great series I would watch again.

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I Saw You On My Bad Review

I watched this show mainly for Putter, Surf and JJ.

The arc with JJ was heartbreaking, the chemistry from Surf pair was heart wrenching and the pair with Putter was heart flopping.

This was a somehow good production, but the story is lackluster, the settings are like poorly done and Ryu's acting skills suffered a little in this show.

But bear with me, I think that Ryu suffered because JJ and Putter acting skills were very on point so the director didn't know what the direction to do with him, because he is a good actor.

And this is another point of contempt, the direction seemed to don't know what to go with the story, so they threw in everything they could to the wall and see what could stick.

But nonetheless I think that if Putter and Ryu act again they should get a proper direction.

By the way the special episode got right what this entire series didn't get.

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A case of throwing plot devices at a wall to see what sticks

From the first episode, I found the premise vaguely interesting in a "if this is done well, it could be really good; if it's not, I'm going to roll my eyes hard enough to see the future" way. And I promise you that it plummeted like a physics class egg drop experiment (Google it). Did it get better? Euh, kinda? Did it get good? Absolutely not. Did it get tolerable? In the same way that the sound of a dripping faucet does when you're waiting for maintenance to come.

This felt like the writers started out by giving the audience too many characters to start with, and then made most of them immediately unlikeable. Great on paper, as I'm someone who's a huge fan of a (well-done) redemption arc, but maybe give me more than three minutes to learn a name and associate it with a face - especially when we're talking about new actors. Each time the characters started to settle into their storylines and it felt like we were going to get a moment of cohesion, we either got a new character, a new story arc, or both. If you're at all familiar with the genre, I'm sure you can guess the percentage of clean resolutions to introduced conflicts (hint - it isn't 100). There are entire scenes/occurrences that are never explained or even addressed and incidents that just show up toward the end of the series as though it's just canon that's been there all along. To be fair, I have not read the book (I actively try not to read a book when I know it's being adapted into a series), so this may be something that just didn't make it into the adaptation.

Will I watch this again? Absolutely not. No. Not even if I lose a bet. Take my eyes out first and then maybe. No, actually, still no.

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I loved it!

I absolutely LOVED this series! I loved the connections and bonds the actors portrayed between their characters, the story was interesting and kept me fully engaged over the few days it took me to binge watch it, I thought the music and soundscore fit the series perfectly and helped bring even more feeling and emotion. Lastly, I thought the story as a whole, with the inclusion of the spin off episode, left me with such a satisfied, warm, and toasty and hopeful feeling. I absolutely loved this series and wouldn't change anything about. Kudos to the actors and to all involved in bringing this story to the series screen.

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Disappointing Watch Indeed!

Wasted potential. That is what this BL was, which is such a shame as the premise was initially entertaining. Then it slipped into banality and triteness.

It is a story of two neighborhood boys who grow up together. Their tale on how they become connected, to say the least, is a real tearjerker. Ai (Ryu Ingkarat) is the younger of the two. He is in college now but is still rather immature and at times an emotionally fragile individual. Meanwhile, his very best friend, who is slightly older, and an established photographer, is Yu (Putter Phubase). While they advanced together as next door neighbors, their relationship seems more like a blended family, remaining exceptionally close. Yu, an astonishingly handsome young man, is deeply reflective, always eager to help and please, but has a somewhat impassive personality. His affect, however, seems a bit laid-back. Throughout their friendship, he has always been unmerciful in teasing/torturing/pranking Ai. Ai, now that he has gotten older and is beginning to flex his wings, forthrightly expressed his dislike and displeasure for this constant humiliation. From that point, the foundation for a more serious relationship is established. A bit at least.

Read the complete article here-

https://theblxpress.wordpress.com/2024/12/28/i-saw-you-in-my-dream-series-review-ep-1-to-12/

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Simple Romcom done right.

I Saw You In My Dream is a Thai BL story about Ai who just learned that he can dream of what will happen in the future when he turned 20 but his dreams only have Yu in it who is his neighbor he grew up with when Yu and Yo’s parents died when they were younger. This led to him really worrying about him constantly and learning that he is actually interested in him and that it led to them having their own love affair. The story is pretty decent and I think that I really enjoyed the story of this one. It is simple and I know that there is this weird part of the story that is about him seeing some parts of the future in his dreams and I think that is a big part of the story but the presentation is pretty simple and I like that they did not overcomplicate the main story and focused on the relationship of the couple instead which is surprisingly cute. I was a bit hesitant before on how they will be attacking the story because they sometimes go to the extremes but this one did not and it was actually used in the subtlest way possible which is quite fine. I was thinking about the concept and they were able to incorporate it well to the story without putting so many details that can be irritating at times. I was not irritated in this one. In fact, I was more invested with the relationships of the couple that we have. Yu and Ai had a good start and a really good foundation for their relationship since they are a couple who have been together. The show did not have to really push the relationship anymore because it is already there and I think that is a smart decision. They just have to focus on two things and it worked. They also did not try to make so many things happen at once and instead focused on one event at a time which was surprisingly helpful to the story. It did not take away from the story at all and we got to really see the relationship blossom well. I really loved these two and another thing that I loved is the secondary couple in Yo and Ing who are both good with their roles. Actually, the entire cast did a good acting job here. It required something simple and they were able to give just that without making the characters feel like a stereotype or a caricature of some sort. Yo is the one I feel is the most good-looking of all the cast and the relationship he had with Ing had some intensities and I love that about it. It is floating on the simple idea trope but this is what happens when you have something simple and you will be able to handle the story well and just do a good job with it. We have a strong main couple and a good secondary couple. Even the supporting cast is legitimately good and they had their own moments to shine and to really play with the characters they have and it really worked out well. I was not mad about it. Actually, I will say it again that I really enjoyed the show from start to finish because they had one goal in mind and they really decided to go for it and focus on what they really wanted. This is a light show to watch and I am always a sucker for a simple, easy to watch, and enjoyable love stories. I really enjoy watching them and this is just one of them.

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Sweet and Fluffy

This series is a light and fluffy comedy with a little bit of supernatural elements thrown in. It is not the most intellectual series I've watched, but it was nice to see a series that had more than a few normal looking people. Putter, playing Yu has redefined what handsomeness is. The character of Yu has unique features, but as the series progressed, I could see why Ai could fall in love with him.

I could have done without the ex-girlfriend but she in the source material, so I had to live with the unnecessary conflict this brought to the couple. A weakness of this story is, I feel that there were times I could not read their thoughts as well as I would have liked. I think that if I had access to a translated copy of the novel, it would have helped me understand the inner thoughts of the characters better.

I recommend this for people who like fluffy, not super deep or philosophical. The characters are like people I would be friends with in real life, so they were relatable to me.

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