This review may contain spoilers
Every Teen Girls Dream, Every Grown Woman's Nightmare
What to say. I'm not the demographic for this, so I have to temper my review with that understanding. Still, a drama in which a man stalks, lies to and, as one person says (approvingly), is romantically obsessed with the main character (Phu), gave me pause. I mean, there's an adult version of this type of drama -- it's called "You" on Netflix.That said, the most concerning aspect of the drama is the belief that the healing power of love is enough to overcome severe trauma. I have a better suggestion -- therapy. There is no question that Cir gravitated to Phu because Phu supported him at a time in his life when he had been abandoned by his father and left with a mother who, my opinion, had both a paranoid borderline personality disorder and sociopathy. The father's choice, coupled with the mother's frequent beatings and issues of control resulted in, again in my opinion, an individual with attachment issues and a severe form of PTSD. It's no wonder that everyone stated that they preferred Cir after his association with Phu rather than before. That put a lot a pressure on poor Phu who himself had abandonment issues.
Honestly, I would have liked to have seen the father grow a pair, get the mother arrested for child abuse and take custody of both kids, Of course, I don't know Thai laws. With that in mind, what kind of traffic laws in Thailand allow an individual to hit someone in a crosswalk, and put them in the hospital without any legal repercussions? Really? Again, I'm not familiar with Thai laws, but clearly if I go there, I'm looking both ways before crossing. No scratch that, I'm prepared to wait all night for an empty street before crossing.
Okay, that was critical me. My inner teen and politically traumatized adult squeed throughout the entire viewing. The romance, the over the top drama with a touch of the supernatural resonated with my gothic-novel reading and science-fiction loving inner child. Hey, this was imaginative, well acted and thankfully allowed me a respite from current political realities. I'm here for that.
Was this review helpful to you?
Deja Tunes
I'm about 2/3 of the way through this drama. I like it. Good production value, good acting, and, as several reviews have noted, a really decent soundtrack. Wanna know why? JMO but every song was reminiscent of a chart topper. This was most clearly apparent in the strongest song that played during the episode 8 end credits. That's very similar to Closer by the Chainsmokers featuring Halsey. It's not plagiarism. But the chord progressions are way similar. If you've ever compared Slow Burn by Musgraves and Fire and Rain by James Taylor, it's the same dynamic. Or a descant situation similar to (imo) Thinking out Loud and Let's Get It On.Again, I liked this drama. BLs have kept me from obsessing over the madness that is currently possessing my country. So, thanks for that. I just had a head jerk moment when I heard that last song. It took me out of the drama for a second. Okay, back to floating on my river of denial.
Was this review helpful to you?
DNF
I want to thank other reviewers who called out the creepy behavior of the teacher. At the beginning of the first episode, the teacher says something to the main character along the lines of "I'm also looking at you." Yuck, veey inappropriate. The comments on this site let me know this continues throughout the series.Which leads me to a theory that may or not be supported by subsequent episodes. Perhaps the friend recognized the willingness of the teacher to act on and exploit the feelings of the main character (yeah, don't remember their names). Perhaps he recognized that the power imbalance and age difference of the relationship (likely leading to intimacy) would ultimately be traumatinig resulting in years of therapy -- or not. Either way, I'm not going to finish this series to find out.
Was this review helpful to you?
