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?‍♂️ Series Review: [GMMTV Vampire BL Series]

wish the action scenes felt more realistic or that they had been excluded altogether if they couldn’t be executed well. A supernatural theme doesn’t excuse unrealistic physical fights; it should enhance them. When it doesn’t, it just becomes laughable.
Acting & Characters

It was fascinating to observe how each actor handled their role.
I once thought Boun was the stronger actor and Prem kept a wall between himself and his character, but now I feel the opposite—Prem seems to have improved and connects more deeply with his role, while Boun feels slightly detached. This makes me think it’s all about how well a character’s traits fit the actor.

Some of the supporting cast felt wooden, but Barcode has shown noticeable growth—both physically and as an actor. And I must praise Mark (Methas) for his portrayal; I truly enjoyed both the character and his performance.
Story & Structure

There were some inconsistencies between the trailer and the actual series, but after finishing all ten episodes, I was pleasantly surprised. It turned out better than I expected.

The story flows nicely, even though, like many Thai dramas, the final episode feels padded with filler. The last episode could easily be shorter. Still, I appreciate that the show didn’t drag out unnecessary melodrama—it kept things relatively focused.

One big issue I have with many GMMTV series (including this one) is emotional detachment in the final episode. The supposed “big fight” between good and evil lacks emotional impact because the villains are never fully integrated into the story. If the evil side isn’t active in the main characters’ lives throughout the series, viewers can’t care about the final conflict. It ends up feeling like an afterthought rather than a climax.

Romance & Chemistry

The relationship between the main leads was interesting but could have used more emotional exploration. The romantic storyline feels solid though.

Still, I appreciate that the show avoided unnecessary comic relief—a refreshing change from the usual GMMTV formula. The overall atmosphere stayed consistent, and I was never pulled out of the story by misplaced jokes.

Themes & Execution

This series feels a bit different from the usual GMMTV lineup—it’s slightly darker, more mature, and not reliant on cliché humor. That’s probably why I ended up liking it more than expected.

It’s not fiery or groundbreaking, but it’s stable, safe, and competently done. The main weakness lies in the lack of real tension or danger—vampire stories should make you feel unsettled, but this one mostly made me feel relaxed. The danger between the lovers was stronger than the danger between good and evil, which unbalances the tone.

Dialogues

Dialogue remains one of GMMTV’s persistent problems. Too many lines feel staged, as if the actors are simply delivering words without real emotional connection. Crying scenes alone don’t equal good acting; what’s missing are authentic emotional shifts—anger, excitement, vulnerability—that make characters feel alive.

Final Thoughts

This isn’t a masterpiece, but it’s definitely one of the better vampire-themed BLs from Thailand. It’s well-structured, atmospheric, and emotionally consistent, even if it never reaches the intensity or innovation of other top-tier BL series.

If we rate it out of five, I’d say 3+—good, enjoyable, and relaxing to watch. It may not excite seasoned viewers or win new audiences outside the BL community, but it’s still a solid entry that proves GMMTV can handle something a little different when it wants to.

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Somewhere along the road, I stopped understanding Earth.

Like - completely.

At least to the point where S2 ends. And - I am saying and complaining this right now just because I rooted for him, and think I understood him, and would excuse many things coming from him... till

S3, that would be maybe more satyfying for different not only shippers, but character rooters as well, please?

If it were to end like this I would say that season second sufferred problem of not have time to make filmed on time hence suffering severe issues of wrapping it to the point that something very important was missing. Missing in the sense that the creators of the series didn't show us something. It was either cut out of the final product or wasn't filmed at all, or somebody forget to present it to us. But it was something that was vital for understanding and maybe emphasizing with the main characters. That is a good pointer for me that the creators intent to create another season in continuation with the existing stuff, or that it was rushed and not finished before release date. But it might just my feeling.

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Too few episodes killed good intentions

Sigh. It didn’t start badly at all — in fact, it was very promising. I honestly didn’t realize it only had six episodes, and that’s a real pity. The restrictions clearly hurt it, but that’s not the only thing people are criticizing.

One of the most talked-about issues is how a show with such obviously high production quality could end up with such awkward, almost perfunctory kisses — and even worse, how it skips straight from A to Z in the main relationship. It’s deeply unsatisfying to see them suddenly become a couple without any real emotional build-up. If you can forgive the kisses, that abrupt transition might still be the biggest transgression here.

Then there’s the subject matter. What we learn about the main character is undeniably problematic, and the way the show treats and approaches these topics feels clumsy. I suspect that’s another reason the current rating sits around 6.9. Personally, I don’t think this is a series for kids or teenagers — it’s better suited for adults who can handle retrospective and introspective storytelling. Still, it’s painfully underdeveloped. Six episodes were never going to be enough.

As another reviewer pointed out, trying to squeeze four couples into a regular-length Thai BL is already ambitious. Doing it in six short episodes is nearly impossible. Each episode gets about twenty minutes of story, and that’s just… laughable. Maybe if they had split it into four separate mini-series, one per couple, it would have worked better. But as it is, they decided to keep all four — and while every character was charming and likable in their own way, all couples felt rushed.

If you watch this as a supplementary series rather than a standalone, you might not be too disappointed — at least until episodes 5–6, when you realize how much they tried to cram in so little time. The first four episodes just drift along, postponing the moments everyone waits for in a BL: the first touch, the first kiss, the emotional payoff. Then, suddenly, everything happens all at once. It’s uneven, to say the least.

Despite that, I still believe this is a higher-quality series than its rating suggests. The visuals are beautiful, the characters are adorable, the performances are solid, and it’s definitely more watchable than some other BLs with weaker writing but higher ratings.

If anything, I think the show was simply dealt bad cards. Maybe if they had left out the kisses entirely, it would’ve even worked better.

So, newcomers, don’t be put off by the rating — this isn’t a “bad” series. It’s just one that deserved more space to breathe.

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What a lovely... second version of Old-Fashioned Cupcake!

And so we will not avoid to draw comparisons between old-fashioned cupcake and this one for obvious reasons: there is an age gap, office romance and both are japanese series.

In my personal taste, Old Fashioned Cupcake still rocks it miles in comparison with this one. And I am a little bit sad for saying that maybe because I would love to see at least something on the level of Old Fashioned Cupcake.

I mean this one had the biggest hopes because the age range is very similar, the topic is very similar. It's as well again Japanese boys love genre series. When I was trying to discern why is that, maybe one of the things that play significant role in it is I am a fan of age gaps, I am not a fan of height gaps. But before you accuse me of anything, listen, it's not I hate it, it's more I don't care about it so I don't see why would anyone do a thing of it. Now when this one is out of the way, another thing I think plays a significant role in why I still love Old-Fashioned Cupcake way better than this one is because the tone of the series of Old-Fashioned Cupcake was much more serious (+ heavym, yes) in comparison to this one. So to explain it in reversal, I am not a target audience for this specific type of behavior of the male leads, I mean of the characters of course.

You see, I can imagine adult people behaving like adults did in Old Fashioned Cupcake. I don't see them behaving the way it was in this series.

It is not that it is something bad, I love that someone experiments with sweeter, lighter tones. I love that there is such a representation in series. But it does not change the thing that I am personally more on the darker side of spectrum and so I appreciate more the darker things than is this one and I came into watching this not knowing what is it about or who is gonna do what. I did not know the original material for this.
After all of this is said, I just want to note here that no matter how much I love Old-Fashioned Cupcake more, there are definitely moments and instances where this series and the story shined. I did appreciate, stand above, and in the context of the whole series I did not expect them, which is a praise.

If we avoid the comparison itself, it's a nice, cute, sweet, light-hearted comedy with deeper moments, topics of self-doubt and self-value. Introspective one, where one of the things that stand above in comparison with Old-Fashioned Cupcake (haha, we haven't seen that coming, right?) was, of course, the final kiss. I mean, there was this rumor that there is no kiss scene in Old-Fashioned Cupcake, which is not true, because there is a kiss just the episode before the last one. kone-sided (which is very doubtful, that it was one-sided, but like "kinda one-sided"). But there is not a kiss in the final episode, nor in the additional episode that came out later. But there is this final, rounding kiss of these two male leads. And that one kiss is basically like five kisses in one, which was very nice after all of this, after one not-necessary episode filler, after all of the complaining, coming to this thing and expecting nothing, paid off in rewards, and we have got the official final, you know, final episode kiss of the two characters, then bed scene (just sleeping what you thik aobout?), annd then again 1:1 parting Old-Fashioned upcake eating scene. Nicely enough, the kiss was nice, and it was a proper kiss, not the dead fish kisses we so frequently see, if the team don't want to do it in the first place. So I greatly appreciate the actors' efforts and the storytellers' and creators' creative decision about this.

From my viewer's perspective, it is a nice attempt and try at Old-Fashioned Cupcake number two, with its own merits. And now I would love to see another one where it's again darker, deeper tones with more of the good things from this series (and i don't mean only the proper couple parting kiss).

- I am up to no good.
Nox.

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FINAL REV

I have this theory: every writer is an exceptionally good storyteller in one particular direction—and not so much in others.

In this series, the development of the story between the two main leads is just perfection. It’s beautifully done, especially in the detailed, emotionally loaded moments.

However, there’s the last episode—where the flaws and gaps begin to show.

If you’re going to include something as intense as time reversal, that’s totally fine—as long as you keep it focused. For example, having two major scenes where the main lead gets shot is already pushing it. But keeping it at that, and not more, was the right choice. A scene like that—being shot and falling down several floors—carries immense visual and emotional weight. The less you repeat something that heavy, the better. And if you do echo it, let it be in a mirrored or symbolic way, not just repetition.

Then it works.

Now, let’s talk about the ending. The entire arc involving the brother of one of the main leads is deeply problematic. His sudden, intense descent into obsession and irrationality—mirroring the main villain’s madness—feels forced and unrealistic, especially at the start of the final episode. It was just too much. (Though, to be fair, by the very end, things harmonized a bit, so I might let it slide.)

If the writers wanted to give the brother some depth, they could have simply gone with:
He wanted the fame.
The power.
The spotlight.
He was jealous.
He wanted to save and protect his mother—and himself.
He wanted to win.
He wanted everything.
Or—he simply went mad.

That’s enough motivation.
THAT IS TRULY ENOUGH.

...but falling in love with his brother? Why that choice?

Less is more—and this episode is a perfect case study. Just a few scratches removed from the script, and it could’ve been truly perfect and balanced.

That said, I do love the core idea. I love the character dynamics. I love the tenderness, the sort-of attraction/devotion/kindness the creators infused into the leads’ relationship. And I love the actors in those roles. They portrayed dedication, devotion, and warmth flawlessly. But I’m also deeply disappointed in the denouement—well, mostly regarding the brother. (See above.)

On the bright side, one thing I am happy about is how short and to-the-point the resolution was. And, for the most part, the characters behaved logically and rationally. There’s still room for improvement—especially when dealing with serious topics that deserve thoughtful, realistic handling. But I’ll give the series credit where it’s due.

And finally—

#ItIsACrime that we never got a proper couple arc for WeinaiJanine.
#JusticeForWeinaiJanine!
*winkwink* Who saw Janine in The Next Prince and went crazy? 😁😁😁

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up to currently aired episode

Achjaj, the push-pull but in the wrong direction.
If anyone else (after thorough movie/series experiences with other projects) feels something is off here… yes, there is, you’re right.

How to put this to not trigger… ok, the hell with it. After watching this, you have to have the feeling Krist is waaaaay better an actor than Singto. Thanks to the past controversy, despite that? Well, maybe he just is. You have to have the feeling that the only times when Singto is properly acting is when he is without Krist. And you would be absolutely correct in that.
Right?
So Singto is a bad actor, right?
Well… not really?

I have seen both Singto and Krist in several roles. I was not present when Singto left the company, I don't know why that happened, I’ve heard that he is back, that Krist made him come back. I am not sure if it’s for ever or just for this project.
I have loved Singto in Paint with Love. I personally think that type of character suits him well. I have seen him in series where the character is way more detached than a romance character could be, and I would say that suits him very well too.
I have seen Krist in multiple things, acting well all the time.
It's a real pity we cannot combine the character from Paint with Love with the character Krist is portraying in The Ex-Morning.

The push-pull but in the wrong direction: What I feel the problem here is, the writer couldn’t decide who is gonna be the dominant character, making both of them both, and then… got entangled and strangled with this dynamic. Making it indeed very difficult for them — and us — to land smoothly.
I am temporarily giving up on hope that this issue will solve itself, and I see in Krist+Singto great potential acting side by side — as friends. This story is interesting, unfortunately the romance here isn’t, or not so much, or not acted properly (probably the last). In this respect, their Sotus project remains way better in the romance department than this series (maybe the leading = directing is to be blamed here).
I still like it, I will still finish, and after that I will hope for reconnection of these two in something that will suit them, their acting abilities, and that their characters will be written well… romantically better.

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Ball Boy Tactics

The love scene — the generic sound design was absolutely atrocious. Here's a clear example that slow doesn't always equal sensual. I understand that the show might be trying to showcase its actors in a way that appeals to a horny teenage girls, but please, please… could you take a step back from doing it so obviously? Maybe five steps. Or fifteen. Thank you.

Surprise, surprise — aside from that, everything else was acted well. In my vocabulary, this is a well-told story. Every actor with even the slightest importance brought their A-game. The picture quality, character styling, group dynamics, cinematography… all of it was solid, often even above that.

But the love scene? If I’m being kind, it felt like you were trying too hard: too much time spent saying nothing new, showing nothing we haven’t seen a million times before. If I’m not being kind, it felt uncomfortably close to selling young boys to lewd gazes — the music, the long camera takes, and the overall directorial style of this scene didn’t help the case, even if the acting remained decent.

I was honestly worried, with the two-episodes-per-week format, that these last two episodes would fall flat. But no — they were very well done, aside from this one misstep. I’m positively surprised, enough so that I would place this series among the best of the year, for me at least.

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Rew

Wohoa, I am at episode 2 and it could already have a different name: All The Things That Wouldn't Happen Like That at All IRL.
It is not a bad story... it is just so badly written story. ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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⚠️ Warning: Fans might not like this. - Episode 1

⚠️ Warning: Fans might not like this.
What follows is a critical assessment of the first episode of The Next Prince. If you're a die-hard fan or expecting praise, consider this your fair notice.
Read on at your own risk.
*Episode 1*
1. It isn't a good idea to start a big series with montages of this type.
2. This really doesn’t help the audience immerse themselves in the story, right? Throwing a bunch of scenes without actually emotionally connecting people to it—no matter if what you're showing makes sense or not—doesn't work.
3. Just throw in faces of overly hormonal girls who are gonna end up with whom, before they realise they are not connected to character A in the first place. Mix gently, do not tilt, or spiders are gonna fall off of it.
4. Action scenes… that are pointless, where the most action comes from the cameraman (kudos to the cameraman, though) and the editor. Not even gonna refer to the boring modern fencing stuff. From a dramatic perspective, it is done badly.
5. Well, for such a long wait and for such an expensive drama, why not mention they did a poor job cutting the filler takes on the compass? The same goes for tension/mystery—they really tried hard, but you can learn to do that correctly only if not every answer you have for everything is a comic relief… (this one is a stab at all Thai series, not only The Next Prince.)
6. Overdramatize. Just close your eyes and stretch it as much as possible. Because that is a solution. Poor audience waiting for years for such a result. The first episode is a failure—maybe because of the obviously big production. Nothing about it is done smartly to make you want to continue watching, sadly. It is still as bland as Mandee Channel gets with their latest projects. So Cutie Pie still stands as their best series of all they’ve made.
7. A bunch of tropes thrown into the same spot—unfortunately in this case all in episode one, in the first half—will not make your series good. On the contrary. (Don’t get me wrong, by the way—without a doubt, there are gonna be many fans who will make sure this series doesn't drown. Unfortunately for all the parties involved—the company, the fans, and the series with these actors.)
8. Doing promo in such an obvious way for the food you sell elsewhere in the first episode is also not the brightest idea. Why not invite Engfa to chew it for you there? Would drag more people to watch it anyway.
9. I can’t say I am impressed with you using the training stick to get your actors to even get close for the first kiss on screen in this series either. I always feel bad seeing it in series. I wonder why you used it here, if it is such a big project.
10. You do not know how to work with a pause. Learn it—then you don’t have to overuse filler (and crap).
11. Even if I omit everything I said—which I won’t—for a first episode it is incredibly stuffed. Too stuffed for it to ever shine.
12. Oh, and in the next lifetime, can you please stop blurring the paintings and backgrounds and be more mindful about angles? You’ve learned how to move the camera—bravo—but don’t make goblins out of humans, thank you.
If it is done for 14-year-old girls, it can still hold some power, I guess. At least for some of them. If we compare it with other Thai BL series, it ranks somewhere around the worse end of the middle in quality.
I sincerely hope I will be able to give praise from now on, but as I doubt it, I guess there are only going to be a few points here and there this story can collect in the 4? months to follow. And as I have it on good authority, even the original work is bad… Well, that’s that. Still, pity the wait.

approx: 1/10

*Episode 2*

Ahhh, finally, I finished watching episode two. 😫

In Episode 1, I honestly didn’t think the series could survive on 3.5 potentially decent minutes—especially when both scenes were copy-pasted from other films. One from underage romance tropes, the other from adult real-life dramas—randomly stitched together.
I doubted the series could make it.
What I didn’t doubt is humanity’s endless need for therapy (and for good taste), but let’s talk about that another time.

Now, in Episode 2… they’ve shown that they might still have the potential to return to the level the company had in 2022. Overall, if you survive the first ~25 minutes (you are a hero), you will finally land somewhere… better. (Namely, the first 4 minutes are just plain horrible—only looking good visually in terms of production. Sadly, they messed up the first segment of the plane scene logically; it could have been good and nice, instead of just… nice. And don’t get me started on the idiotic fight scenes again.)

There’s more to work with here. That said, the main issues remain:

a) Characters are still not emotionally connecting to the audience. Instead of building those bridges, the story just skips ahead without foundation.

b) It’s still bland and boring.

c) It’s still illogical.

d) It is still indigestible—the toxic level of unnecessary overdramatization.

e) Characters do illogical things, and the narrative just pushes them together for the sake of pushing them together—disregarding how human beings actually act in such situations (if the situations ever happened like that).

f) The main narrative between the two leads is unwatchable and unengaging. (Though Jimmy… you managed to mess up his parts too, but we are glad to see him back.)

But: redeeming qualities are back—finally—in the form of the sweet side narrative! Looking for a needle in a haystack, it is, but finally, at least that. We got there. Yay, I guess?

In conclusion:
Unlike Episode 1, Episode 2 actually offered something interesting. And for me, interesting > well-done or beautiful. So yes, I’m improving the rating based on this episode.
And I suggest you pay close attention to what I’m saying.

I didn’t blame the actors for most of the issues in Episode 1—because much of it likely wasn’t their fault. They were either directed to act that way or were working with what they were given.
However, I won’t turn a blind eye to the shortcomings of such an expensive project that took so long to execute. It’s in my best interest for future episodes to at least meet Episode 2’s standard—or go beyond it.

Still, it’s not to my disadvantage if the series continues to decline—because either way, it becomes a learning material for me.
So no—I’m not afraid of giving lower or higher ratings, depending on the quality I see.
Again, I benefit either way.

Pain N°1: This is probably going to be considered one of the better or best series of this year.
Why?
A1: Production.
A2: Fanbase.
A3: Lack of better projects.

Does it make this series one of the best? No.
Is it going to be enough? Yes.
In the department of kink and preferences, is it going to stand out (royal topic)? I fear yes, it will—and for quite some time.
Is it going to be trash from hindsight once better projects with this kink/preference/topic come out? I don’t predict so.

approx 7/10

*Episode 3*

In episode three, we repeatedly run into the same problems we've had since episode one.

Pain No. 2: The very degrading CGI everywhere is overwhelmingly annoying. It is indeed starting to become part of the bigger problem of this series. That high production value and choice of actors — that sheen — often mask what is essentially still a cheap, predictable, tropey, hollow political drama that tries to resemble Western royal dramas, without the socio-cultural weight, seriousness, and taste in design (or in drama).
The plot relies too heavily on bits and pieces of fan-service tropes and clichés, calculating drama rather than earning emotional arcs. Attempts at gravitas buckle under the weight of melodramatic scenes. Yet, where the real drama stands and could have a serious adult impact, we conveniently (and probably in tune with attention-lacking and memory-less writers, audience, and readers) skip it.
Shortcuts are our strengths, so mix Khanin’s non-existent royal awakening with a little spicy scene, while making the political intrigue meaningless.

Pain No. 3: Nunew's new colour. I just remembered my disagreement with this choice from before, when I saw him standing beside the ugly yellow curtain. EVERYTHING HERE is ugly yellow-orange. I would change my colour immediately after this scene back to the original.

Pain No. 4: Difference between a flag and a crest, please? Anyways, really? Not even trying to hide the roots of this?

Pain No. 5: Where cheapness again shows its horns is in the editing and camera work. This abundantly expensive project is supposed to be visually striking, and while I can't complain about the camera work in general or the wide shots, it embarrassingly struggles with close-ups and details.

+1* for the scenes and acting this time, -4* for... well, the design.

Side Dish: I must say, I’ve reflected on how people tend to criticize Zee’s performances and perceive him as someone who acts woodenly. On the other hand, NuNew is often admired for his expressive abilities. Well, we’ll discuss that later.

As someone who can recognize these nuances, I can confirm that Zee is often typecast into cold, reserved, unapproachable, aloof, stiff, and “wooden” (adult) roles—especially since working with Domundi. I understand that younger audiences, or those who aren’t particularly interested in acting, might interpret these as signs of stiffness or poor acting in general—whether they think it’s because he can’t act better (which he can) or because he’s being chosen for these roles precisely because the creators know he can’t act anything else better. I have seen him do more, so it’s either intentional or there’s another issue we won’t solve here and now by talking about it. However, I’ve seen some of his performances, and in terms of expression—he is actually very expressive. Personally, I don’t consider him a wooden actor at all. But let’s dissect this:

Facial Expression (Mimicry)
Zee is not stiff in this department. He is very expressive, particularly through his eyes.

Gestures and Physical Expression
Here, I could agree more—Zee can appear stiff. But really, this might just be due to his height. Many tall people who grew quickly tend to be more aware of their surroundings and therefore may not move as smoothly. Another factor that doesn’t help with elegance and smoothness in movement is… well, weightlifting and all the heavy training stuff. Just saying.

Intonation and Voice Work
Monotonous or unconvincing intonation... the delivery sometimes sounds like memorized text without genuine emotion. This is 50/50. I struggle with this issue in almost every actor from Thailand. They tend to be either overly emotional or entirely flat—both extremes are problematic. So yes, you might accuse Zee of that, and I could say the same about NuNew. Just because they’re on opposite ends of the spectrum doesn’t mean it isn’t the same issue. In fact, this applies to every Thai series... every actor. Send me examples of older Thai actors you think are strong in voice expression—I’ll thank you later.

Reacting to Other Actors
Because he appears wooden in other aspects, Zee often comes across as calm, composed, and attentive to others’ performances. So I’d say he reacts well and listens actively—or at least appears to do so. For this specific role, and his type of roles with NuNew in general, that works quite well.

Role Context and Direction
Here lies the greatest sin: poor direction, weak scripts, and characters that lack conflict and depth—roles pushed onto him rather than chosen (all are just possible examples)—are more to blame than any lack of acting skill. If a character isn’t well-developed or is designed only to make others look better, the actor isn’t given much to work with. In short, there might be a problem in the way he is being directed.
For these reasons, I don’t view Zee’s performances as stiff or wooden. But depending on what you focus on when evaluating acting, you might interpret it differently.

On the other hand, the widespread admiration for NuNew—while I understand your appreciation and acknowledge his likable personality in today’s Thai entertainment scene—isn’t, in my opinion, solid proof of high-quality or non-wooden acting. The fact that he’s often cast in feminine, tearful, hysterical, or overly emotional roles (which almost always end in crying as a form of - non+intentional - manipulation) speaks more to the limited imagination of the creators than to his actual range. Again—typecasting. The fact that one actor repeatedly gets a certain type of role and another gets a different type (and yes, these two are complementary together) doesn’t reflect their talent—or lack thereof—but instead reveals the uncreative thinking of creators obsessed with preserving the formula for financial success. It says nothing about what these actors are truly capable of.

That being said, I’m not criticizing NuNew the singer, the person—or even NuNew the performer, not here, not yet. But I do suggest that you stop crying along with him (God knows every Thai model trained for three months to act is a professional weeper—because it works, especially with... well, large audiences), and start to see behind the veil: is all this actually a sign of good acting? Is the crying even necessary? Or is it just something redundant done to cover other shortcomings with loud, hysterical, and over-the-top bouts of petulance/stubbornness?


approx 6/10

*Episode 4: Part One*
OK, side note, and I can't stress this enough. There is not a universe where you can promote this series as not a musical and not make it look incredibly cheap starting an episode like this. You can either promote it as a musical—or a heavily music-influenced movie/series, where you search specifically for those reasons a singer as MML—or you don't do this at all.

---- ok, because limits, the rest goes to review for the episode, maybe i will clean this all up after final episode, who knows -----

*Episode 4: Part Two*

aprox ?/10

ep.1 1/10
ep.2 7/10
ep.3 6/10
ep.4 4/10
ep.5 3/10
ep.6 3/10
ep. 7 3/10


current avr: 3.86/10

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⚠️ Warning: Fans might not like this. - Episode 1

⚠️ Warning: Fans might not like this.
What follows is a critical assessment of the first episode of The Next Prince. If you're a die-hard fan or expecting praise, consider this your fair notice.
Read on at your own risk.
*Episode 1*
1. It isn't a good idea to start a big series with montages of this type.
2. This really doesn’t help the audience immerse themselves in the story, right? Throwing a bunch of scenes without actually emotionally connecting people to it—no matter if what you're showing makes sense or not—doesn't work.
3. Just throw in faces of overly hormonal girls who are gonna end up with whom, before they realise they are not connected to character A in the first place. Mix gently, do not tilt, or spiders are gonna fall off of it.
4. Action scenes… that are pointless, where the most action comes from the cameraman (kudos to the cameraman, though) and the editor. Not even gonna refer to the boring modern fencing stuff. From a dramatic perspective, it is done badly.
5. Well, for such a long wait and for such an expensive drama, why not mention they did a poor job cutting the filler takes on the compass? The same goes for tension/mystery—they really tried hard, but you can learn to do that correctly only if not every answer you have for everything is a comic relief… (this one is a stab at all Thai series, not only The Next Prince.)
6. Overdramatize. Just close your eyes and stretch it as much as possible. Because that is a solution. Poor audience waiting for years for such a result. The first episode is a failure—maybe because of the obviously big production. Nothing about it is done smartly to make you want to continue watching, sadly. It is still as bland as Mandee Channel gets with their latest projects. So Cutie Pie still stands as their best series of all they’ve made.
7. A bunch of tropes thrown into the same spot—unfortunately in this case all in episode one, in the first half—will not make your series good. On the contrary. (Don’t get me wrong, by the way—without a doubt, there are gonna be many fans who will make sure this series doesn't drown. Unfortunately for all the parties involved—the company, the fans, and the series with these actors.)
8. Doing promo in such an obvious way for the food you sell elsewhere in the first episode is also not the brightest idea. Why not invite Engfa to chew it for you there? Would drag more people to watch it anyway.
9. I can’t say I am impressed with you using the training stick to get your actors to even get close for the first kiss on screen in this series either. I always feel bad seeing it in series. I wonder why you used it here, if it is such a big project.
10. You do not know how to work with a pause. Learn it—then you don’t have to overuse filler (and crap).
11. Even if I omit everything I said—which I won’t—for a first episode it is incredibly stuffed. Too stuffed for it to ever shine.
12. Oh, and in the next lifetime, can you please stop blurring the paintings and backgrounds and be more mindful about angles? You’ve learned how to move the camera—bravo—but don’t make goblins out of humans, thank you.
If it is done for 14-year-old girls, it can still hold some power, I guess. At least for some of them. If we compare it with other Thai BL series, it ranks somewhere around the worse end of the middle in quality.
I sincerely hope I will be able to give praise from now on, but as I doubt it, I guess there are only going to be a few points here and there this story can collect in the 4? months to follow. And as I have it on good authority, even the original work is bad… Well, that’s that. Still, pity the wait.

approx: 3/10

*Episode 2*

Ahhh, finally, I finished watching episode two. 😫

In Episode 1, I honestly didn’t think the series could survive on 3.5 potentially decent minutes—especially when both scenes were copy-pasted from other films. One from underage romance tropes, the other from adult real-life dramas—randomly stitched together.
I doubted the series could make it.
What I didn’t doubt is humanity’s endless need for therapy (and for good taste), but let’s talk about that another time.

Now, in Episode 2… they’ve shown that they might still have the potential to return to the level the company had in 2022. Overall, if you survive the first ~25 minutes (you are a hero), you will finally land somewhere… better. (Namely, the first 4 minutes are just plain horrible—only looking good visually in terms of production. Sadly, they messed up the first segment of the plane scene logically; it could have been good and nice, instead of just… nice. And don’t get me started on the idiotic fight scenes again.)

There’s more to work with here. That said, the main issues remain:

a) Characters are still not emotionally connecting to the audience. Instead of building those bridges, the story just skips ahead without foundation.

b) It’s still bland and boring.

c) It’s still illogical.

d) It is still indigestible—the toxic level of unnecessary overdramatization.

e) Characters do illogical things, and the narrative just pushes them together for the sake of pushing them together—disregarding how human beings actually act in such situations (if the situations ever happened like that).

f) The main narrative between the two leads is unwatchable and unengaging. (Though Jimmy… you managed to mess up his parts too, but we are glad to see him back.)

But: redeeming qualities are back—finally—in the form of the sweet side narrative! Looking for a needle in a haystack, it is, but finally, at least that. We got there. Yay, I guess?

In conclusion:
Unlike Episode 1, Episode 2 actually offered something interesting. And for me, interesting > well-done or beautiful. So yes, I’m improving the rating based on this episode.
And I suggest you pay close attention to what I’m saying.

I didn’t blame the actors for most of the issues in Episode 1—because much of it likely wasn’t their fault. They were either directed to act that way or were working with what they were given.
However, I won’t turn a blind eye to the shortcomings of such an expensive project that took so long to execute. It’s in my best interest for future episodes to at least meet Episode 2’s standard—or go beyond it.

Still, it’s not to my disadvantage if the series continues to decline—because either way, it becomes a learning material for me.
So no—I’m not afraid of giving lower or higher ratings, depending on the quality I see.
Again, I benefit either way.
And I do appreciate the rational, heartfelt feedback some of you have provided.
Thank you for that.

Pain N°1: This is probably going to be considered one of the better or best series of this year.
Why?
A1: Production.
A2: Fanbase.
A3: Lack of better projects.

Does it make this series one of the best? No.
Is it going to be enough? Yes.
In the department of kink and preferences, is it going to stand out (royal topic)? I fear yes, it will—and for quite some time.
Is it going to be trash from hindsight once better projects with this kink/preference/topic come out? I don’t predict so.

approx 7/10

*Episode 3*
In episode three, we repeatedly run into the same problems we've had since episode one.

Pain No. 2: The very degrading CGI everywhere is overwhelmingly annoying. It is indeed starting to become part of the bigger problem of this series. That high production value and choice of actors — that sheen — often mask what is essentially still a cheap, predictable, tropey, hollow political drama that tries to resemble Western royal dramas, without the socio-cultural weight, seriousness, and taste in design (or in drama).
The plot relies too heavily on bits and pieces of fan-service tropes and clichés, calculating drama rather than earning emotional arcs. Attempts at gravitas buckle under the weight of melodramatic scenes. Yet, where the real drama stands and could have a serious adult impact, we conveniently (and probably in tune with attention-lacking and memory-less writers, audience, and readers) skip it.
Shortcuts are our strengths, so mix Khanin’s non-existent royal awakening with a little spicy scene, while making the political intrigue meaningless.

Pain No. 3: Nunew's new colour. I just remembered my disagreement with this choice from before, when I saw him standing beside the ugly yellow curtain. EVERYTHING HERE is ugly yellow-orange. I would change my colour immediately after this scene back to the original.

Pain No. 4: Difference between a flag and a crest, please? Anyways, really? Not even trying to hide the roots of this?

Pain No. 5: Where cheapness again shows its horns is in the editing and camera work. This abundantly expensive project is supposed to be visually striking, and while I can't complain about the camera work in general or the wide shots, it embarrassingly struggles with close-ups and details.

+1* for the scenes and acting this time, -4* for... well, the design.

Side Dish: I must say, I’ve reflected on how people tend to criticize Zee’s performances and perceive him as someone who acts woodenly. On the other hand, NuNew is often admired for his expressive abilities. Well, we’ll discuss that later.

As someone who can recognize these nuances, I can confirm that Zee is often typecast into cold, reserved, unapproachable, aloof, stiff, and “wooden” (adult) roles—especially since working with Domundi. I understand that younger audiences, or those who aren’t particularly interested in acting, might interpret these as signs of stiffness or poor acting in general—whether they think it’s because he can’t act better (which he can) or because he’s being chosen for these roles precisely because the creators know he can’t act anything else better. I have seen him do more, so it’s either intentional or there’s another issue we won’t solve here and now by talking about it. However, I’ve seen some of his performances, and in terms of expression—he is actually very expressive. Personally, I don’t consider him a wooden actor at all. But let’s dissect this:

Facial Expression (Mimicry)
Zee is not stiff in this department. He is very expressive, particularly through his eyes.

Gestures and Physical Expression
Here, I could agree more—Zee can appear stiff. But really, this might just be due to his height. Many tall people who grew quickly tend to be more aware of their surroundings and therefore may not move as smoothly. Another factor that doesn’t help with elegance and smoothness in movement is… well, weightlifting and all the heavy training stuff. Just saying.

Intonation and Voice Work
Monotonous or unconvincing intonation... the delivery sometimes sounds like memorized text without genuine emotion. This is 50/50. I struggle with this issue in almost every actor from Thailand. They tend to be either overly emotional or entirely flat—both extremes are problematic. So yes, you might accuse Zee of that, and I could say the same about NuNew. Just because they’re on opposite ends of the spectrum doesn’t mean it isn’t the same issue. In fact, this applies to every Thai series... every actor. Send me examples of older Thai actors you think are strong in voice expression—I’ll thank you later.

Reacting to Other Actors
Because he appears wooden in other aspects, Zee often comes across as calm, composed, and attentive to others’ performances. So I’d say he reacts well and listens actively—or at least appears to do so. For this specific role, and his type of roles with NuNew in general, that works quite well.

Role Context and Direction
Here lies the greatest sin: poor direction, weak scripts, and characters that lack conflict and depth—roles pushed onto him rather than chosen (all are just possible examples)—are more to blame than any lack of acting skill. If a character isn’t well-developed or is designed only to make others look better, the actor isn’t given much to work with. In short, there might be a problem in the way he is being directed.
For these reasons, I don’t view Zee’s performances as stiff or wooden. But depending on what you focus on when evaluating acting, you might interpret it differently.

On the other hand, the widespread admiration for NuNew—while I understand your appreciation and acknowledge his likable personality in today’s Thai entertainment scene—isn’t, in my opinion, solid proof of high-quality or non-wooden acting. The fact that he’s often cast in feminine, tearful, hysterical, or overly emotional roles (which almost always end in crying as a form of - non+intentional - manipulation) speaks more to the limited imagination of the creators than to his actual range. Again—typecasting. The fact that one actor repeatedly gets a certain type of role and another gets a different type (and yes, these two are complementary together) doesn’t reflect their talent—or lack thereof—but instead reveals the uncreative thinking of creators obsessed with preserving the formula for financial success. It says nothing about what these actors are truly capable of.

That being said, I’m not criticizing NuNew the singer, the person—or even NuNew the performer, not here, not yet. But I do suggest that you stop crying along with him (God knows every Thai model trained for three months to act is a professional weeper—because it works, especially with... well, large audiences), and start to see behind the veil: is all this actually a sign of good acting? Is the crying even necessary? Or is it just something redundant done to cover other shortcomings with loud, hysterical, and over-the-top bouts of petulance/stubbornness?

approx 8/10


*Episode 4: Part One*
OK, side note, and I can't stress this enough. There is not a universe where you can promote this series as not a musical and not make it look incredibly cheap starting an episode like this. You can either promote it as a musical—or a heavily music-influenced movie/series, where you search specifically for those reasons a singer as MML—or you don't do this at all.

⚠️ok, because limits, the rest goes to review for the episode, maybe i will clean this all up after final episode, who knows ⚠️

*Episode 4: Part Two*

aprox ?/10


current avr: 6/10

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Two years too late....let's go.

Another entry in the ever-growing world of DoMunDy – and an easy target for criticism.
Yet another project that someone clearly believed had to be perfect — so much so that it took almost two years after being announced before anyone dared to actually make it.

Because of that, I see no reason to hold back on my viewing experience or my reaction afterward — and that’s a good thing. I think we all need this kind of project every now and then.

Considering how long this one has been in the works, I really wanted it to succeed. But looking at The Next Prince, I’m afraid it might not. We’ll see to what extent the production company can replicate the success of Khemjira, which as a series seemed to hit the mark.

*EP 1*
+ production quality
- typical subpar attepts at dragging emotions out of audiences
+/- gore/disgusting: + abv avr for horror movies, below avr for Thailand AV
+ thrown into the act / - Start like this, in this specific genre, I am not convinced it is the best start. It is confusing at a place where it should actually explain to us what happened. I am not gonna watch lunatics and gore running around a school for no reason.
- And then again the intro where the credits roll - the dead characters in here are just one and a half point better than the one we have seen in Revamp. I'm just really not a fan of something that looks dead and unalive, even if it is for a series that is about unalive non-human creatures. But yes, the AI-generated colours and the "human hand" helped here. But stil, meh.
- You have there too many "important" characters and something feels off. As if via production quality you really try to give it the impression of being expensive but when the camera goes to main actors it just feels incredibly cheap. To be fair, it's not the worst I have seen from Domundi/Mandee, but...It is still present, and it is as well not the worst I have seen in this genre, so you have plus points in there at least.
+ It starts to feel like a drama. It's not there yet, but it starts at least to be promising.
- The blue night seems to be too blue, and the color palette is just somehow off, as if you were trying to present us young people in military service, but we are watching a zombie series, so what is your focus point here? And it helps to ground the series, but I'm afraid it's too grounded. I don't really like the color palette, even though on and off itself it's not bad, but it just doesn't feel suitable.
Then again, it seems you are trying to ground us more with colors and attempt at atmosphere than with actual explanation what is going on and why. And that's not enough.
- What is even more unsatisfactory for how slow you go? I have the feeling of this being too fragmented. I am not sure you can work properly with big spaces. You know, even that you need to learn for audiovisual language to work.
20/100
*EP 2*
Again, I have this feeling that this gets too slow at places that no one cares about and don't want to see that and that's not a good idea most of the times. I start to have this feeling that nothing stands out in this series which is a problem too.
Don't count on people being used to specifcs of this genre. Even if people are used to this genre, you should still explain it properly. As you know your target audience used to be women (92-95 %) who are after these boy love genre actors and most of them probably don't watch this genre regularly and it might get confusing. So the least you can do is actually explain and introduce all of these aspects properly, fully. Not skim through it.
On the other side, if you know you have there important people that audiences can actually be interested in (90 - 95 % are there bcs of them), you should use it in your advantage and make them the focus points and not giving space of 20 minutes for something that really no one cares about.
+ I think I should thank you for killing someone I don't even care about (?)
20 / 100
*EP 3*
+ I guess they found the magic of silent terror and I think in the department of over-dramatization this one is not the worst.
? Still too many important people.I even dare to say this might work way better atmospheric-wise if they made out of it a regular horror movie, locked them (characters) in a hotel or big house, and then all the running here and there without the disgusting aspects and supernatural, unrealistic, dead monsters running after them. It would make more sense, it would be maybe more interesting.
Off script: Okay, what is even James doing there? I thought he ran away from acting to his brighter future in singing career. So he's like indecisive or what?
- Mostly uninteresting.
20/100

*EP 4*
+ I like here performances of girls and older actors.
- Many of the male actors and their performances are blending tgt.
- There is a significant step /diference between support characters and important characters in acting abilities.
+/-/? I skipped a lot. I did not miss anything.
+/-/? I guess ZNN fans or MaxNet fans must be elated, cause there was another series that we waited for for two years and there is nearly nothing out of these two main company actors, or it is so blended with other situations and characters it is as if they were not present.

*EP 5*
+ Wow, here we go, one potentially homosexual scene. And from none other but our main couple, hooray. It's actually a nice scene, it brings a little bit of humanity into this shitty, unhuman world. It is nice to be here and there reminded of lies and things that d not exist IRL between strangers. 😁
- Which brings me to another problematic part of this. This really did not have to be a series. Give me the material and I will cut it out for you into max two hours, but I believe it's gonna be hour or hour and a half. Not a freaking seven hours. Why? What for?
Okay, we have here even emotional acting. Maybe if you have showed a little bit of this in TNP, the ratings would be much better now. ALAS, it is what it is and it won't be anything else.
Okay, for the last scene, the scene did not make sense at all, so let's pretend it did not even happen.
15/100
+ ..eeehh... good production?

*E6*
Okay, again, queue of distractions, and things that people don't care about, and nothing out of the things that people do want to see, and it intensifies probably for us to disconnect with the story, and not to mourn the fact that it's gonna be over soon. I guess we should not feel like celebrating, right? with other couples, then you have here extra special proof that that's a not good idea. I don't even know why would you test something like that in the first place. However, I guess I would not have to have more warnings than this. Look, it's not that it is bad and we all like these actors and those who we are used to seeing all ar all fine alone as side characters, even if important ones. They kind of work anyways. But all of those that are in current ships, I mean, I'm not the specialist here, so maybe other people will express their opinion on this. I have seen some opinions already in comment section. But... I mean, there are only those few who are, again, vsible/strong enough to make it.
I just wouldn’t experiment with that too much — after all, you’ve built your brand around those couples. Just saying.

*EP 7*
Okay, there is this genre-conditioned issue I have with this series and that is at the beginning of episode 7 I expected much more brutal deaths and there are still too many people alive. I don't like it. It does not sound right.

And then again, for the last 2 minutes, let's not forget to be dramatic, right? The Sophie’s Choice, which kid to kill? Let's kill both babies!

Why would they even try to hold the door .. if they didn’t need to be held in the first place? Then… the whole magic will be forever and for all eternities left unaswered as the eighth wonder of the world that left me... truly speechless.
+ Praise to the mask dep.

After further consideration I give it plus two points for no specific reason but that I just discovered that this is probably not my favorite genre. I mean with werewolves --- no it's still bad but I mean with vampires, there is some hope but like what hope you have when there are just unalive undead whatever un- people running around screaming or gurgling, they are chasing after you, you are running away from them. There is no point in that there is no anything in it, only hopelessness packed in gore and disgust, ... I probably don't like zombie movies, how could I actually like a zombie series. I mean maybe it is still waiting for me to discover.
So there are those two plus points for nothing. (Okay, no, wait a second. I actually remembered two AVs with zombies that I liked. Not the zombies, the movies, I mean.)
Happy now?

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