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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The biggest disappointment in BL history...

While this show was not only overhyped and we all expected greatness, the script of this show was worse than I could ever have imagined. As usual this series started strong in the first two episodes to declined at a steady pace *till episode 12, where the jumped of the cliff and landed on the belly.

Everyone reading the novel can agree, that the novel did not need to be spiced up with the SM part for example. If the book is already good, you should not change it into something it never was. The pacing is all over the place and the side couples are mostly just extras where there stories are wasted and not explored in depth. But we see scene after scene of the ML which did nothing for the story.

Episode 12 culminates in the trash script this was, with one cliché after the next. Nobody can fault the actors who all did a very good job with what there were given. And of course costumes, most of the staging and cinematography was impeccable, The music with an real orchestra was great - if they had used it everywhere and not used some music from a library which again was completely unnecessary. The few minutes in every episode could have been handled by the composer as well. Of course I could nitpick about the "english" natives and the "London underground station" and so on. And don't forget all the ads slapped directly into our faces. And don't forget the miraculous healing power of Chakri, who was serving again after being shot (which was not a stray shot in the arm or so).

All in all, this was overhyped and did not deliver. Aof said, he did the best he could. If that's the best, I don't see a future for Domundi. But of course the fangirls will overrate this show again, will not understand how weak that story was and that the drama was forced. And they will write glowing reviews (hello CRPH & thanks for blocking) not having a shroud of integrity to write about the flaws this show has. Normally this show would rate even lower, but I can't deny the acting performance (oh daddy Ramil you were the perfect asshole through out the series), the cinematography, costums and most of the staging and most of the music. But the script was trash. As I have written all of that - the conclusion is: This show is a waste of your time.

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Definitely more show than substance

This BL drama follows the journey of long lost Prince Khanin coming back to the country of Emmaly to take back his place in the royal family under the protection of devoted guard Charan. The premise is not that innovative, it is very much a mix of "The Princess Diaries" and some dystopian YA novels, but in the BL genre, it feels at first definitely fresh. Unfortunately, it really does not hold up and is rather disappointing.

There some big pacing and writing issues. The drama is incredibly slow and repetitive as it takes 75% of the series to get to the main point of the story : the tournament whose result would determine the fate of the monarchy in the fictive country of Emmaly. The world building is pretty poor : there are details but it overall feels very "Disney Channel movie" with oversimplified economics and politics issues that are resolved in an unrealistic and immature way. The enemies are obvious from miles away and their overall arc is pretty much expected. Production wise, they clearly had the budget but it is proof that having ressources cannot save a bad and lacking scenario.

In terms of the various romances, the only one that interested me (even if the finale could have been more convincing) was the secondary couple played by Jimmy and Ohm. It was the most outstanding one and the less cringe, with a solid chemistry. They could have had more screentime given the fact that the 3rd couple played by JJ and Net was completely useless and here to promote their new pairing, without bringing much to the plot. The main couple played by Nunew and Zee was just a let down for me...Not sure why I was not interested, but while far from catastrophic, their more sensual scenes felt very one note...

I would not recommend this to people unless you are a big fan of one of the actor(s). If it were not for some of the most spicy NSFW scenes, I honesly think it could be seen as a kid show given how oversimplified and limited the writing is. Not that kids cannot have good written shows (they should for sure) but it really gave me that overall feeling that I can't shake off. Do yourself a favor and just watch an edit of the secondary couple storyline, rather than spending your time watching the full drama.

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awesome styling with some lackluster writing

Overall: the writing was not what I hoped for, but I still enjoyed the different premise. 14 episodes about 1 hour each. Aired uncut on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/the-next-prince-episode-1-1bv2jjiv65o?lang=en_us ; 1st episode cut on YouTube (not in Japan or South Korea) https://youtu.be/5wUsrm8lZcI?si=_ZOtV42qRgEUm8Ia

Content Warnings: past deaths, manipulation, fights, blood, dub con kissing , slap, violence, child abuse, sexism, attempted murder, murder/deaths, torture

Watch Suggestions (to focus on the romance and less politics/competitions)
- watch episodes 1 and 2
- episode 3 watch 33:40-37:40 and 48-51:30
- episode 4 watch 8:30-9:40, 16-17:50, 22:50-23:45, 32:50-33:50, 42:30-45:30 and 48:30-49:45 (also extra scene after the end credits)
- episode 5 watch 29:50-31 (I'm conflicted about this scene) and 45-end
- episode 6 watch beginning-5, 8-21:45, 25-26:55, 38:15-39:30 and 42-end
- episode 7 watch beginning-11, 1hr3-end
- episode 8 watch beginning-27, 30:10-33:50, 34:35-35:50, 43-58
- episode 9 watch 22-28
- skip episodes 10-12
- episode 13 watch 43-47:15
- episode 14 watch 26-end (you could watch the fencing at the beginning if wanted)

What I Liked
- dynamics/chemistry
- enjoyed the beginning fight sequence in episode 1
- commentary on gender roles/sexism and environmental justice
- Chakri
- kissing/intimacy
- production value* (i.e. set design, styling)

Room For Improvement
- started with a world building exposition dump
- a ton of nonsense plot stuff: a dad didn't show any anger about being lied to about something, no bodyguards around protecting royalty, a very long hold in episode 4, nonsense plan in episode 4 (should have known dad would know what he did), a bunch of people perfectly spaced on a field in episode 12 and a lot more
- a character acted like a privileged brat for too long
- wish we would get a sane, safe and consensual BDSM relationship, I guess their ending was okay
- not enough of the side couples/relationship development, felt shoe-horned in
- *the camera was too shaky, wanted more stable shots

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such a disappointment and waste of time

I’m sending this review as I just finished episode 14, this is one of the worst writing i’ve ever seen in my life, the plot only starts on ep 11 cause they chose to show us khanin and charan being lovey dovey and irrelevant for more than half of the show, all the plot twists and most of the outcome happened in one episode when the 5 previous episodes were boring and now they absolutely destroyed Ava’s and Ramil’s character when they were the only ones with a possibly interesting development while deliberately making them do the opposite of what they did in the novel like wtf?? I will not finish this show I’ve seen enough, if you like a well developed story with character development that make sense then you should watch something else

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When Destiny Meets Desire: The Next Prince

👑 King Assavadevathin:
“To Prince Khanin, Prince Ramil, and Prince Calvin…
Please, just one of you — like girls. I need an heir, not the next season of Boys’ Love.” 😩👑

👸 Princess Ava:
“I do.” 🙋‍♀️💅 (You’re welcome, Your Majesty.)

High budget. Gorgeous production. And quite possibly some of the best costumes I’ve ever seen in a BL. Every outfit looked like it belonged in a royal museum exhibit—truly a feast for the eyes.
Zee and NuNew? As expected, their chemistry is electric. They’re so comfortable with each other that even the smallest glance feels loaded with meaning. Add in the delightful side couples—Jimmy/Ohm and Net/JJ—and this series really gave me a full-course BL meal.
And oh, the NC scenes…
That scene was nothing short of cinematic poetry. The royal guard and the prince collided like fate itself had been waiting for this moment. Time seemed to slow as they moved with aching precision—no rush, only reverence. Their kisses were deep and desperate, laced with longing and truth, tongues entwining as if trying to memorize each other’s soul. Their eyes spoke volumes—burning with love, pain, and the weight of everything unspoken. And then, as the bodyguard finally entered his prince, he held him close and whispered “breathe”—a single word that shattered the silence like a vow. In that moment, it wasn’t just bodies meeting—it was hearts breaking open, lives intertwining, destiny unfolding.
A big round of applause to both NuNew and Zee—this scene is a testament to their extraordinary chemistry, carried over beautifully from their previous series and so clearly alive even offscreen. Their connection breathes life into every frame.

What I didn’t like:
• Some episodes dragged and felt like filler where nothing much happened.
• Ah yes, completely realistic.
You spend your whole life in London, form close friendships, go to school, build relationships — and then one day, strangers try to kill you and your father. So you flee to Thailand, and apparently, that’s the end of that. No one notices you’re gone. then… crickets? No calls? No texts? Not even a dramatic group chat message? Not even one “Hey bro, are you alive??” on Facebook? Apparently, once Khanin lands in Thailand, his entire London life just hits delete.
The writers really said: “Let’s just forget his entire existence in London ever happened.” Like… okay? Realism who? Continuity what?

Overall:
A beautiful series with stunning costumes, solid action, royal betrayal, and passionate NC scenes. It could’ve been a full 10/10 if the plot and writing were tighter. Still, if you’re here for the romance, the visuals, and ZeeNuNew magic, this series delivers.

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Love ZeeNunew but...

I watched the 'making of' documentary for this series before the show aired. I saw the decor, heard the budget and thought this had the potential of being the BL of the year.

I'm now wondering where all that budget went. Not into story and character development, that's for sure. Honestly, the look and feel of everything is amazing. It's like watching a hollywood royal fantasy. Lots of colour, silver and gold, flowers, extra's, locations, etcetera. But this does nothing for the actual storyline. And that disappointed a bit.

The actors were doing an amazing job. Zee and Nunew were made for eachother and we can see that. Jimmy and Ohm acted their hearts out in their scenes but i dearly missed parts of their story. How did everything turn out this way? Neither was their story wrapped up in a satisfying way. It's like scenes were cut in their parts.
Then there was a FLF couple. At least, thats what I saw. Nothing was done with them, however. A missed opportunity.

That left just the main love story and the mystery and politics to form a good story. Unfortunately, it was not good enough to fulfill the promise of the documentary. I did enjoy it, as it is a very underlit genre in BL, and it was very intteresting to see how is was handled and it was certainly entartaining. But it could have been much much better

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When Good Production Can't Save Bad Writing

What really saved The Next Prince for me were the top-tier production value, NewZee’s amazing chemistry, the beautiful cinematography, the OST, and the costumes. But overall, the plot really struggled due to weak writing.

It started to feel dull and dragging from episodes 3 to 7—I honestly dozed off a few times because nothing much was happening. I couldn’t even tell where the story was going. It’s super disappointing because Zee and Nunew have undeniable chemistry, but they always seem to get stuck in shows with underwhelming storylines.

The actual plot finally picks up around episode 8, so if you’re planning to watch, maybe start there to save time. But even then, the payoff isn’t that satisfying.

I also didn’t vibe with Prince Khanin’s character. I don’t get why Nunew keeps getting roles like this—he came off as a clingy, immature teen who's overly needy with Charan, even when they weren’t dating yet. He’s supposed to be a prince, right? Then at least write him like one. Same issue I had with his character in Cutie Pie—also not well written.

The side couple, Prince Ramil and Paytai, were actually more interesting to watch, but they barely got enough screentime, even with the series being as long as it was.

I only finished The Next Prince because I already started it, but to be honest, it didn’t really hook me from beginning to end.

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All that glitters...

Like so many other BL series with a novel concept, The Next Prince starts off quite well, only for whatever illusion of innovation to vanish and make space for vapid nonsense-plots and romantic clichés as the story unfolds. In the show’s defense, TNP is by no means uniquely bad. Its flaws are what we’ve come to expect from many a mediocre BL. If the pairings had captured my heart, I wouldn’t have bothered to activate my neurons. Alas, they didn’t, so here we are.

Initially, I wasn’t looking for super progressive politics because this kind of monarchy BL clearly isn’t the right setting for that (but it could be!). Then the protesters broke out into song. The laughably weak portrayal of rebellion almost looped back around to being funny but missed just hard enough that from then on, I wanted more (more, more). My irrational desire for serious commentary was met with criticism of the systemic abuse of power that was so comically defanged that I found myself genuinely wondering if I was watching satire. Women shouldn’t be confined to the domestic sphere and instead be allowed behind the stalls, selling snacks and charms for the prince to enjoy? Groundbreaking. Miners should continue mining but with basic safety equipment? Your grace is immeasurable. Domestic abuse is bad, actually? You don’t say!

I would say: Bring back the guillotine! But then again, this show does a perfectly good job of assassinating its characters without any outside help. Luckily, Paytai and Ramil were not /not/ entertaining and Calvin and Jay had half a spark that one time. But before addressing the most obvious disappointment character-wise, I’ll air my grievances with Khanin’s character: Did I hallucinate a likeable version of him? He was spunky in the beginning, right? Why couldn’t he have kept the backbone we were led to believe he had? Or, the show could have at least had more fun with the power Khanin had over Charan. I mean, come on! The fiery prince(ss)/ devoted bodyguard couple is as BDSM-flavored a dynamic as the one between our trauma-bonded Paytai and Ramil is.

Anyway, Ava. Look, anyone who has seen more than one BL knows that it’s exceedingly rare for them to succeed in doing anything worthwhile with their female characters. Obviously, female characters aren’t the point of BL, that’s not the fantasy. But like man, if you’re going to include women in the cast, could you try to not be quite so half-assed about it? When they announced the final participants of the fencing competition, I found myself wondering, eyes burning (from binging too many shows) (“Keep your eyes open wide”), throat dry (drinking water in between episodes really helps) (“Everyone deserves to breathe”): Is this genius? Is this an exemplary depiction of the limits that genre conventions impose on storytelling? Not really.

By the end (the last episode made a last-ditch effort), Khanin technically achieved everything he had set out to do, but it felt very unsatisfying. Not to mention that with the budget they had, mistakes such as the face of a character currently speaking being completely out of focus and a timer that doesn’t count down should have been caught. Unless you’re a massive fan of ZeeNuNew, I’d skip this regrettable waste of characters with initial potential and beautiful costumes. Don’t critique the royalty romance genre if you’re not going to do it well! That kills the enjoyment for both the viewers who like its tropes and those who would like to see them subverted.

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The Next Prince Bride hehe

Ep 14 - thank the Lord a lot of the stories were resolved however I am really disappointed and embarrassed for Zee and Nunew. A lot of the issues with the pace, plot and storylines all could’ve been dealt with by inserting a lot of the resolutions into the actual earlier episodes rather than leaving it for literally the last hour to explain the plot. Given the budget and the promotion it’s upsetting because I’m such a huge fan and supporter of both Zee and New, thankfully they’re so very early in what I’m sure will be a long career in the entertainment industry with plenty of more series, movies and music to be made by them both. Even though Zee has mentioned he’s retiring from acting he says he may take on smaller projects in the future, but really as an actor he only needs to be in a movie every year or so which I think is a really good move for him then he can really think about roles that he likes and concentrate on his other passions.

Eps 12 - 13 finally some pace, but really it feels like it should have been eps 2 and 3 not 12 and 13. It’s like the story has just begun and now we should expect some thrilling developments but there’s only 1 episode left!

Ep 11 - holy cow Batman, being brutally honest, the whole series could have started from this one episode and we would have understood everything that happened in the back story so for that I’m really disappointed! It’s been such a shame as there are so many opportunities for a great script but instead we have been painfully inserted with a loooong needle and drip fed 0.001 ml of sweet nothing covered in a soft filter and packed with slow motion fan service.

I just finished watching episodes 1 - 3 of ABO Desire from China and it gave story like it was on crack, I got whiplash from just 3 episodes of finely crafted drama. There were a few holes but nothing that the fast paced story telling couldn’t cover.

I think the hype equation TNP created has been bigger than the sum.

Eps 8 - 10 not a lot happened tbh.

Ep 7 - finally a bit more story and a longer ep! There’s no denying the chemistry between the 2 MLs and the secondaries are getting more interesting. Feels like we’ll see some plots thicken halellujah!

Ep 6 - please fix all the holes, plot hole, loop hole, man hole, any hole lmao, but really can we get some P L O T. Everyhing is so short lived and feels like it needs a longer to build with more storyline and longer episodes, almost 1/2 way thru and not a lot has happened, the struggle is starting for me.

Ep 5 - hmmm the progression is regressing, slightly tedious. Felt like at least 20 minites of nothing. Let’s hope it speeds up…a lot. Hope the length gets longer too so we get more story in.

Ep 4 - Oh dear, Khanin said those fatal words, ‘I don’t trust anyone but you’. There’s gonna be some more Khanin tears with that one line, I can feel it in my waters.

Jimmy is excellent in his portrayal of Ramil as is his push/pull relationship with Ohm’s character Paytai.

Background music and scene changes are still clunky unfortunately, I’ve seen this happen with a few other Thai productions and wonder if they are using the same sound editing team, a bit unfortunate given the budget but nothing they can’t fix post-production down the track.

Getting Daou was a real bonus, his ‘I Trust You’ with its key change is magically perfect. I’m hoping for some more pop or rock songs next as it is the 4th ballady type song now.

Ep 3 - Oh my Princedomhood the Palace was Palac’ing, that’s for all the haters going on and on and on and on about it not being Palace enough, just check out the golden chairs in the dining room let alone Khanin’s bed! Gurl she rich now lol.

And so the battle for the crown doth begineth bahaha we’re off with scheming and just whose head is on the chopping block.

New track ‘I trust you’ has entered the OST.

Likes: Butler Chakri…I want one.

Not so much: Too short, each episode could easily be 90 minutes lol. Some of the scene changes are fast, don’t get me wrong, usually in BLs it feels like 5 minutes of no dialogue/music between scenes but not here it’s wham bam thank you mam and next!

JJ’s casting - his big moment came…a royal choir dressed in their finery…then his solo…and we heard an average voice HUH? Was a bit of a buzzkill. The top soprano was too strong overall and to be fair he should have been stronger if given a solo. So here’s where my intial rating is now unfortunately starting to waiver. It seems like nepotism now, so many stronger with better annunciation Thai acotrs are out there BUT Aof is now stuck with the team he has. Given the budget and hype my critical eye is now watching. JJ’s moment was more of a…meh blink and you’ll miss it. Early days still so looking forward to some strong acting from him.

Funny/cute/weird moment: The first (non) kiss was direct from ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’, no it wasn’t but it was a very good effort for a stolen kiss, spy stylez.

Ep 2 was off da hook! The opening sequence alone was like Mission Impossible, I got chills lol. Ok not MI but it was thrilling to watch for a BL, you get me. Now that chemistry that we all fell in love with during Cutie Pie, well she’s back with a vegence 🔥🔥🔥baby is burnin.

The pace in this episode is very different to the first one. I noticed the series has received quite a few negative 1 and 1.5 star reviews because they didn’t think the pace was good and that the environment wasn’t royal enough. Well folks you get pace, you get baddies, you get a hilarious taxi driver, you get romance on an airplane, romance in a late night book shop, you get to watch Zee being a macho man AND taking his top off and, o yes, you get Royalty, I mean c’mon King Nirut, Thai acting royalty at its best.

O and the tears, the tears 💧💧💧and that was just me lol our poor teerak Khanin has to pull them out twice.

Who was the the taxi driver? Hilarious.

Like: you’re probably not gonna believe this, but the opening credits are the Thai version of Game of Thrones. I sh$t you not. There’s a TNP world coming and I think more series are being lined up, you heard it here first.

Not so much: the scene changes and background mood music in a couple of spots is a little jarring. I mentioned it during ep 1 and again I believe it’s because of the timeframe and getting it edited on time. I personally have been in series and TVCs and I know that background noise just naturally or from filming a scene in a public area can be extremely difficult to edit out. I also mentioned before that IQIYI can update episodes so I imagine in further post production they may fix these bits and re-upload, but don’t wait get that subscription stat.

Funny/weird moment: Lavatories sounded like laboratories, try saying it like that, it’s hilarious ie instead of lav-it-tree, la-vor-ra-tory soooo cute.

Best scene/s - Nunew literally being a puppy 🥺🐶. Pahahahahaha the train scene, Zee with a MO 🤣.

Ep 1 was intriguing, the sets were larger in scale than anything we’ve seen before. Given it begins between London and the fictitious Emmaly we are immediately immersed into Khanin’s world.

Like: The scale, you really can’t get past the level
of character detail this BL has gone through in creating this world, it really is next level, from the fencing apparatus and locker room, to the family crests, colours and emblems. Can’t wait to see more of this after only one episode.

Not so much: In a couple of the scene changes you can hear an audible clunk in the music/background noise, a bit of a surprise from this company who normally don’t miss that kind of detail. I can only assume that in order to get the episode in on time this could have happened however I do know that Iqiyi do reloads, so down the track might actually get replaced with a cleaner version.

Without giving anything else away, the story has begun.

Iqiyi - what was kind of annoying is that you could watch ep 1 on Youtube at exactly the same time as on paid for subscription app Iqiyi, however, they’ve said only for ep 1 so we shall see.

The OST track ‘Above’ is here: https://youtu.be/nOnvysr64Yc?si=x8d6CcOTFjRKQWj-
It’s a signature sounding track with his usual song writing collaborator Amp. I’m hoping there will be a more fuller, harder track also.

The 2 trailers we have been given were both outstanding so I am excited for the series to start.

I am especially impressed by the costumes for this. They are very specific, very grand where they need to be and very purposeful ie fencing looks, guard looks etc when they need to be.

The inclusion of some of Thailand’s most well known and loved actors is a real bonus for us with some of them participating in their very first BL series and mentioning they accepted the roles immediately because of Zee and to balance this softer track. Nunew!

I’ll be giving a per episode review and background once it starts.

Here is the latest trailer in case you missed it:

https://youtu.be/xKAOhZyvcAU?si=1oEHDdjwqy1x0Sh6

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