The Next Prince: Uncut

Wasted Potential At Its Finest.

I don't even know from where to begin. The writers tried to bite off more than they could chew and it's laughable.

As a casual watcher, if you want to watch seemingly captivating characters with plenty of potential get half baked storylines and an immaculate wardrobe and decor, this one is for you.

First and foremost, believe me when I tell you that the writing and pacing for the main characters is very akin to trekking on a jeep. The *main characters*, who have more than enough screentime. Not the supporting roles. And this is one of those rare times I felt that the side characters were much more well written and had succinct storylines with the very limited amount of screentime. Scratch that-- by the end of the drama, their scenes were the only ones I didn't fast-forward.
Now that the biggest issue I have with this one is out of the way, let's get down to business.

• When Charan, an art Professor with a double identity as a guard who protects the ruling King's family, the Assavadevathins, is sent for a secret mission to retrieve their hidden heir, Khanin, back to Emmaly, he does not know that whom he is about to bring back is going to set forth a series of events that might just change his life forever. Meanwhile Khanin, who is still bitter after being harshly uprooted from everything and everyone he knew, decides to agree to enter a Royal competition to secure the throne for the Assavadevathins in exchange for information about his supposedly dead adopted father.

☆ The Good:

• I think the actors did a wonderful job portraying what was given to them. Even challenging characters.
Shout out to JJ in particular, because for a character that was air dropped, he managed to evoke emotions with his performance, particularly during his final appearance. And NuNew during the first 3 episodes, where he really had to express and face difficult circumstances.
Ava's actress was no joke too. She was very expressive, particularly in EP9.

Then there is Jimmy and Ohm for Ramil and Paytai. They tried their very best till the end, considering the 'half baked' situation, and most of the conjectures about their past and personalities were made solely based on their minute performances; something which is no easy feat as characters like Ramil tend to get easily dumbed down as evil. Both the characters of Ramil and Paytai are emotionally taxing and they managed to steal the thunder and overshadow what was supposed to be the main story.
Also, I adored Chakri. Particularly during his solo shenanigans.

• Everyone had convincing chemistries, which might be one of the reasons this drama managed to stay afloat. Particular note on Khanin and his adopted father's scenes -- they were natural and reminded me why I stuck on till the end.

• The costumes, sets, even the music at times all blended in well.
(I do think the that frilly outfits worn by Khanin were overboard as it looked like his clothes either matched his hair or the decor of the palace half the time. It's a good thing that NuNew could pull off the princely air, otherwise I would have never been able to take Khanin seriously. Ava's, Calvin, Paytai and Ramil's outfits were beautiful, though, without being flashy. )

• I even forgive the writers for the absolutely cartoonish representation of a fictional nation, but with an actual Royal family still alive and kicking, they'd be playing with fire if something even close to reality gets portrayed on screen.
(I took it as one of those fictional Young Adult novels with similar settings. )

☆ The Cold Pricklies:

What I genuinely cannot wrap my mind around is the fact that the scriptwriter is the same one behind "I Feel You Linger In The Air".

• The villains. Writers should learn to write good ones, or choose to not include anyone if they can't pull it off well. This was the last straw for me.
There is another 'villain', but you know that something is terribly wrong when viewers support him.

How in the world am I supposed to root for a character when his entire family were depicted as shady, ignorant and selfish? I frankly did not want the Assavadevathins to win ---- major issues were swept under the rug in favour of poorly written redemption arcs that not only downplayed the seriousness of a situation, but also portrayed the other characters in an unsatisfactory light.
I hated Prince Tharin till the end. They writers made him act like a rabbit when he should've been the one in the frontline. I find it impossible to believe that he was selectively blind to all the ongoings until Khanin arrived.

• There was a certain way the scriptwriter chose to introduce the various royal families and the places where they stay--- Khanin would somehow simply go off to visit that place under some excuse whenever it happened . Which was futile as it did nothing to his character.
It took 8 or 9 episodes before there was some movement relevant to the story because Khanin seemed to have forgotten all about his adopted father.

• As for the main character.... Khanin might be one of the most under-utilized ones I've seen. He had the most screentime, yet his plotline was stuck in a monotonous cycle for half of the show. Yes, him clinging to the one person he could trust was natural. But, they overfrosted their cake.
Which is sad because NuNew is a multi-talented and fantastic performer. *knock on wood*
Very sure that he could've pulled a much more challenging role than this spongecake of a story. The other kids got that part, though. (Ramil, Paytai, Ava, Jay.)

They spent episodes on him doing nothing substantial, choosing to stuff all his development within the first and last part of the drama. By then, all the time we needed to connect with him had become cold.
Which might be why so many people are pissed off.

He seemed to be the most relaxed at times even, considering that he should be the one throwing pots and pans instead of meekly accepting his role as a dress-up- doll. What happened to the Khanin from the first 3 or 4 episodes? Where was his desire to know more about his adopted father and all the shady shenanigans that were going on?
Even he gets forgotten during the final episodes.

• Charan -- How they managed to mess up one of the main characters, out of all, I do not know.
I liked his character much more when he wasn't being viewed through Khanin's eyes. Once he became involved with him, all his enigma was erased and he was reduced to a mere love interest.
And after EP13, I'm convinced that his family was brainwashed/he has some form of Stockholm Syndrome --- the Charan from the early episodes wouldn't simply let things go the way he did. (This is indirectly related to my first Cold Prickly.)
Initially, we could see him bend himself to the rules and even get tired of being tossed back and forth like a bargaining chip. Something he himself says. He almost feels relieved that Khanin simply didn't see him as a disposable person.
It's evident that he knows a lot and has even seen a lot. He could get information and dig through things for Khanin; yet all that gets swept under the rug in favour of his 'love story'. Which I didn't root for as much I thought I would. It just didn't feel natural.

He had the most secrets to keep and his association with a shady character was interesting. Yet, it didn't get fleshed out. All of that was stuffed behind dialogues and you expect me to buy that?
Zee Pruk can act, but I'm starting to doubt that he is getting typecasted in such roles.

• Khanin and Charan's romance needed natural progress - it was new or never established prior to the story, which doubles the writer's and director's task for making it appear convincing to the viewer. Instead, I felt suffocated by the amount of sugar they were attempting to insert into what could've been an excellent portrayal of power dynamics -- the story is supposed to be between a royal guard and a Prince.
What I got was insta-love, which I dislike. Charan seemed to be okay with being tossed about as long as Khanin was involved and Khanin's character lost all purpose for several episodes to fit in their romance.
Never thought I would say this, but watch Cutie Pie if you need a convincing relationship portrayed by the same actors.

Charan and Khanin's relationship literally had no challenges or hardships to get through. It's okay if they didn't have any, but it shouldn't come off as insipid. I liked their rapport much more when they were out of their uniforms.

• This is also one of the reasons why I find the other Royal kids' storyline much more rivetting... and enraging. Both Ava and Ramil had something challenging to get through, regardless of how their characters are written. (Ava being sweet and Ramil being arrogant to everyone outside of his home.)

Then there is Khanin, whom we see, spents most of his time touring or attempting to romance Charan. What was the point of all that? Other than shedding more light on the supporting characters, it brought no development for Khanin. Who learns and seems to promptly forget about his connection to the Snake family; goes for drinks and fun at the Phoenix family and enjoys some pearls before meeting someone at the end of EP8, where the story begins to give him the leverage he needed to get through the competition. But, even then, he doesn't seek the answers for himself.

• Ramil might not have the same amount of screentime as Khanin, but every scene of his kept me intrigued.
There was 'something' to know. His upbringing was clearly convoluted, considering that he was the sole heir for many years and his father's draconian methods to keep him in line put him under a constant state of pressure.
[There is a speech from his side in EP11 which perfectly describes his actions, so I understand where he is coming from and why he is the way he is.]
It's also evident that Paytai, a selected 'companion' was the only other real 'friend' he had. That too, one who was approved by his father.

• Jimmy described his character and couple as the bitter palate cleanser which is exactly what it was.
I wondered why he seemed to say that his character was a balance for the 'sweet' parts, since it looked like he had more potential than to just become a background character. Turns out that he was 100% right.
Don't expect any progress in Ramil × Paytai storyline, which I deem is one of the absolute worst, since they had a very interesting one to build up on and the writer decided to throw it away hastily. I'm calling it half baked because EP14 just nails in the fact that I, as a viewer, don't know anything about their relationship or how it works out.
Where was all the seemimgly established relationship dynamics among the three?

We are introduced to Paytai as a 'companion', who is supposed to get hit in Ramil's stead; then we have Paytai's dream in EP4, which explains his reaction ... yet, I don't know where their relationship stands.
Did Prince Rachata know about it? Did Ramil even know that Paytai cherished him? Because the first few episodes gave no hints about it.
I don't see any steady writing that could bring a neat denouement to these two. Their past remains a mystery. But, atleast Paytai seems elated by the way things went down for them.

• Same with Ava, who is much less restrained, yet has to live with the fact that the misogynistic rules of Emmaly will forever paint her in an unsatisfactory light for her father, however hard she tried. She was the token female character for women empowerment; she clearly displayed defiance and endured endless training... for what?
Her friendship with Ramil is very interesting since Ramil seems to loosen up around her and she gets his nature to an extent. Where was all that?

• Calvin existed just so he could go back and tell his family that Emmaly sucks. Jay is like the only character who seems to know what he wants right from the get go, and where did all that go?
Net is a really good actor, but he needed a stable backstory for it to shine through. His expressions matched mine half the time he was on screen -- wanting to disappear from the spotlight/pure confusion.

• What happened to everyone's mothers? Particularly Ava and Ramil's, since it's not told what had happened to them.
There are women, who played pivotal roles in shaping the events that occurred to the characters'. There are like three of them, even in the main poster and it's even hinted that something major that had taken place in the past was linked to one of the main characters. Yet, everything got stuffed into an episode. Which was purposeless as they had tons of time for an actual build-up instead of a deus ex machina.

• The good thing that this drama brought? It helped me discover excellent actors.
I am now genuinely curious about Love Upon A Time. Also, somehow Ohm's unhinged tweets made their way to my twitter timeline -- it made me explore the fandom of Thai BL pairings (which seems to be companies' attempts to save time and money for conducting additional screentests and workshops/acting classes; a quite logical option), their fandoms in extension; and control of fanservice in general. Then there are Ohm's tweets/tiktoks which genuinely made me wonder if he was an expert in social media content/marketting/if he simply adored his fans and wanted to keep them entertained/if it was a mix of fanservice and actual emotions, but he jokes around way too much. Reading/watching them was a bright spot amidst all the chaos. I'll miss it.

It also makes me stress that a few casual viewers like me, who don't follow pairings or fandoms would prefer a good story to elicit the right emotions. Chemistry alone can't save a drama, and The Next Prince, for all it's opulence, relied solely on the actors' strengths to power through.

☆ Final Thoughts:
It's not a terrible drama if you have it on double the speed, and choose which part to watch as you won't miss much even if you skip. But, if you prefer strong scripts and storylines, I suggest you run away from this one.

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The Princess diaries but make it gay

Domundi new era and I’m HERE FOR IT.

I know this has been one of the most anticipated series for the longest time, and I’ll admit I had high expectations and you know what I was not disappointed. there was apart of me that thought it this was going to be cringe and I’m glad I was wrong.

you can tell so much effort went into this. Now I am a huge DMD fan but I can admit they sometimes lack in the script or in places here and there. but this, this is everything I wanted and more.

music: fantastic
no cringe acting: that’s a plus
so far no silly sound effects: sign me the hell up.
good fight scenes: yes please

and the cinematography is chef’s kiss.

the wait for us to get here took forever, but you know what, the wait was worth it.

plus I NEVER give 10/10 across the board and yet here I did. fingers crossed it doesn’t let me down

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