<2026>

Hmm. I don’t even know what expectations I had going into this. I like quiet films. So while overall this was quite easy to watch and get immersed in, none of the emotions or dialogues felt particularly meaningful nor deep. And it’s definitely better and more respectful than other films about white people going to Asia, but when it comes down to it, the hero of this story is a white guy and the narrative is quite protective of him. To put it a little bluntly, he gets to swoop in and decide what's best for everyone without having to do much reflecting on his own behaviors. He undermined the authority of the actual family members that were paying him, by doing things they asked him not to do. But of course his meddling always works out for the best, because this is a cozy feel-good film for the whole family. What if he had actually fucked up with one of his clients? Even thinking about all the different ways he could've ended up making huge mistakes feels redundant though, because the film isn't interested in looking too closely at these things. The narrative gently wraps Phillip up in cotton and sends him on his merry way, with no room for error, even pushing the death of a character back a little so that it can become an emotional moment instead of trapping Phillip in legal issues.
I think this is a big reason why this film failed to move me more deeply; it's about human connection and yet the main character didn't learn more about his colleges and his relationships with the other two main characters he was paid to get close to felt very unbalanced and a little hollow.
As for the theme of 'Rental Family', I don't think that that was particularly well done either. It all felt very surface level to me.

(Idk. Idk. Or maybe my heart is a stone.)

It had some nice moments that made me chuckle. The two main actors, compared to other works I've seen them in, showed their best acting performances in this. And overall it was quite enjoyable, especially the first half. But. Although there isn't one bad thing in particular that I can point to, 'Me and Thee' simply didn't occupy any space in my mind. I wasn't excited about new episodes, didn't look forward to the weekends to be able to see them and sometimes even forgot that there was going to be a new one. Ultimately, this was a very low stakes, low tension Rom Com. Albeit one of the better GMMTV dramas as of late, it still felt pretty lukewarm. And the last episode wasn't really enjoyable for me. (Getting married that quickly and not even telling your partner about adopting two kids? Surprise, tee hee. Ugh.)

A 'dating' show of people only flirting and playing sexy games on the beach or in a pool usually isn't my style, but the messiness and the variety of the contestants' sexualities made it quite entertaining to watch. And, well, TodTime completely captivated me from episode 1 and were the biggest reason why I kept tuning in every weekend (hello (somewhat?) one-sided longing, my weakness). 

Most of the time I don't like thinking about how scripted these shows are, because I don't care too much about the realness of them nor whether these people will continue to date after the final episode. But with 'Love (X)' some moments simply felt too fake and like they were set-up in a certain way.
For instance, the fact that neither Time nor Namnung chose Sunny when it was her round in the final episode left me a little speechless. All so that Tod could get his chance to confess and we get to watch it. If Time had actually chosen Sunny before his turn as he said he would ('yesterday, today and tomorrow') and they left the show together right then, the big confession that the show was working towards wouldn't even have happened. That would've been realistic. Or if Namnung had decided to make a choice and Sunny had left with her, only leaving Time and Tod behind, the situation would've looked very different as well. In the end, it felt like one huge set-up, but oh well.

Lastly, hiding the contestants' sexualities from each other until the second to last day was pretty fucked up, severely influencing people's actions. Knowing from the beginning could've especially helped the two gay people, who were already limited in their choices and thus very reluctant to pursue anyone. Even the mess that was Sunny, Namnung, Time and Tod could've profited from knowing about each other's preferences earlier.

Boring.