Wing3dBean

It was great, but it's not without faults

👻What I Enjoyed/Liked👻
1. A1 cinematography & production - So incredibly well done that I can confidently say that it's among the best that I've seen this year. Also, the village setting was so well done.

2. The inclusion of Thai culture, outfits, shamanic practices, etc. They were all so grand and beautiful. I haven't seen another Thai show that includes this (granted, all I watch from Thailand is BLs), so this was super interesting to see

3. The overall story - This doesn't get a 10/10, but for the most part, the story was well done. Throughout the 12 episodes, they gave us a lot of background info on the characters and how they all connected to each other, making everything feel cohesive. By the end of the story, there aren't many loose ends

4. The acting - I think the cast, the main 4, are largely rookies, and they did a really good job. I have seen cringeworthy acting in the BL scene. These four, they deserve their flowers. I hope to see them get even better in the future

5. The NC scenes in eps 7 & 8 - Aside from the fact that they were so very hot, I feel like they suited the couples perfectly. Chan & Jet are more playful, and so was their scene. Peem & Khem are more angsty and slowburn, and their scene reflected that beautifully.

👻What I Didn't Like/Areas That Could've Been Worked On👻
1. Ramphueng should've received an apology. From her backstory, we see that they wronged her 1st. Her revenge - crazy as it was-, was justified. What that family did to her was horrible. In episode 12, they make her apologize, but why didn't they apologize to her, too? For over 200 years, no one ever said 'sorry' for playing a part in the unjust death of her and her son. Khem and his mother should've apologized to her for the parts that their past selves played in that

2. Does anyone know if Ramphueng went after all the people in that family (including the 1st wife and polygamous husband), or was it just Khem and his mother? I mean, Khem testament (as Krongkhwan) was the one who put the nail in the proverbial coffin of her death but... what happened to the other people throughout the years?

3. Khem/Namping's crying scenes - When he has to sit and cry silently, it works. It's great. But when more emotions are needed, like he needs to be on the floor sobbing, it doesn't work. IDK if this makes sense, but during these intense crying/emotional scenes, as a viewer, I can tell that he's acting (and that it's not going well)

3. Khem & Peem don't have much in the way of facial expressions - Peem is stoic, and Khem is either sad, faking a smile or on the verge of crying. I don't want to judge too harshly since perhaps this worked because that is who the characters were. However, in the future, I'd love to see Keng and Namping use their facial muscles more in whatever show they'll be on. As per the latter half of the last episode, we see that they are clearly capable of it, so let them use them.

4. Khem was always the damsel in distress, and surprisingly, doesn't have much vigor to stay alive - This might be the thing that pissed me off the most. We started the show with Khem wanting to find a way to survive past the age of 21, then his friends suggested that Peem might like him, and suddenly, all he could care about was whether Peem liked him back?! Sir?!?!?!?! WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PLOT??? Listen, I understand that this is a BL. That they are meant to fall in love but... Priorities man. Vengeful ghosts 1st, romance later. Also, him up and leaving after Grandma Si died.... Come on now

5. The timeline - I might be horrendously bad at math, but I believe that the mid-1700s were at most 275 years ago. Where did the 400 years that they kept talking about come from?

6. Peem should have had a longer chasing arc - He was so mean for so long. He should've had to struggle and prove himself for longer to win Khem's affection and trust

👻Random Thoughts👻
a. Those villagers were so cool with all the ghosts. If it were me, I'd have left and never gone back😂

b. We largely saw Khem interact with ghosts that wanted him ☠️. I wish we saw his interactions with nice or at least neutral ghosts. Like the ghost mama in ep 1, who simply wanted to save her son

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Is this how sports fans usually feel? I hate it

If the title wasn't clear enough, my faves didn't win.

💪🏾Next time, contestants from all the countries should be chosen fairly. Some countries were very obviously more staked than others. It's like they were setting some of them up to fail. I mean, I know you have to fill the numbers, but the differences in strength were so glaring

🇹🇭Thailand & 🇵🇭Philippines - I rooted for them since they had black contestants. Namely, James & Robyn. Did I think these teams would win? No. But as Issa Rae said, 'I'm rooting for everybody black. '

PS. I wanna add a note here that representation truly matters - I'm speaking about James. I've been watching Thai BLs for about 3 years now, and in all this time, I've only seen 2 black characters in these shows.
The first time was in 'Triage', and the other time was in 'I Will Knock You'. Seeing James on such a huge show -and killing it btw, heels and all - felt so good. I hope all the black and dark-skinned Thai pple out there saw themselves in him. I mean, I think he's a pretty big deal over there already, but he deserves this, too

💪🏾Australia - I liked them coz they were strong. I've seen pple hating on them, saying they were loud and rude coz of all the cheering and cursing, but to me, they looked like any other Westerners. I'm not a sports person, but they acted like what regular sports pple that I'm exposed to act like. They fumbled really badly in that rope game - I think that they should've replaced Eddie with Katelin. Had they strategized better, I genuinely think they'd have been in the final match. N probably would've won. Also, Dom, my favorite of all the Aussies. I need him to give me just 5% of his positivity

💪🏾Mongolia - Before this, I knew very little about this country and its people. Truthfully, I actually still don't. However, I started rooting for them after perhaps ep 2(?). They are definitely the opposite of Australia, but that quietness hid such strength. They were reserved and respectful, and so incredibly smart and strong. Their sportsmanship is truly one to be admired. While some teams ( I won't be mentioning names👀) were busy posturing and being rude to other contestants in the name of the game, they largely minded their own and stayed real nice throughout. I hope to see them again in the future. where they'll win. I'm genuinely so sad that they didn't win😭

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Honestly, Eat The Rich

After watching 'The Elixir', I was hella sceptical about watching another zombie film. I mean, 'All of Us are Dead' and 'Kingdom' (both seasons) and 'Happiness' are some of my holy grail zombie shows, and 'The Elixir' was gonna do me like that? Nah, I was traumatized.

I didn't wanna see another non-Korean zombie show. My trust was broken. That, coupled with the fact that I've been disappointed by some of the main character's acting chops in BLs b4.... my expectations were on gasping for breath on the floor. Despite all that, I was genuinely impressed by this.

What I Liked
🧟The overall story is what carries this. As a fan of zombie shows, I love how fresh (and sciency) this concept is. IDK who worked on the script, but hats off to them. They honestly made this story so very interesting to watch. If some things were done differently, I genuinely would have rated this as highly as I did 'All of Us are Dead.'

What I Didn't Like
🧟The acting - I'll not be naming names but yoh...! I was right. Some of these BL boys.... Please send them to acting school. My two cents are these: we know that actors can get by with good looks. It's been done over and over and over again. BUT!! With Netflix investing so heavily in Thailand, and companies obviously wanting to get themselves a piece of that pie, wouldn't it be better to have their actors do better so they can represent them - and Thailand - well on the global stage? Some of these guys have been acting for years, and they are still so stiff. HOW???? How can you not express more than 2 facial expressions? Oi🤦🏾‍♀️

🧟‍♀️We lost Lilly too early - She was one of the better actors in this (one of the best TBH), and I hate that we lost her to Zombieism when we did. IMO, she should've had a bigger role.

🧟‍♀️🧟‍♀️ - Why were the girlies written like that? - If it wasn't Fah with the phone, it was Mook(?) who let's an obviously unstable friend out, leading to unnecessary deaths. And let's not forget about little miss horrible, Prao. Seriously, does anyone know why she was so mean to literally everyone? Good Lord! Oh.... Also, Ning, I don't like a know-it-all. I just... If I rant about her, I'll never go to sleep, and it's already 1:20 am

🧟All the anger management issues and dumb decisions - I understand that it is a high-stakes, high-stress situation. But did we need to keep arguing that much? Not only did it waste time, but it also cost lives. In terms of dumb decisions, the pple in this show acknowledge that they've seen zombie movies before. Now, with that in mind, why would you
1. Start running after a friend who's been bitten in the name of saving them?
2. Ditch the survivor group to go find your bitten friend to apologize to them?
3. Start a fucking cheer routine in the name of trying to get your friend back? Isn't silence the ONE cardinal rule of any zombie world?
Bro... The number of times these pple made me want to punch my TV. Lawd Jesus *rubs temples*

🧟Continuity Issues - Some of those scenes needed better consistency

Random Thoughts
a. Tutor, I did not know the power that you hold. You beautiful, beautiful man. Whoever styled his hair, tell him to keep it like that, always
b. I kept expecting to see Noeul. Zee&Nunew were present, so were Keng&Namping as well as Max&Nat, so whenever I saw Boss, I expected Nouel to pop out, even though I'd gone through the cast list and seen he wasn't in it😅
c. I really would like a 2nd season. The final ep ended at a really incredible point - Full zombie son, half zombie mother, and human daughter... That is such a cool place to start the 2nd season from. Plus, let's not forget the pple on the roof. It's been a month since they were left there. Clearly, they were able to restrain Non, but how have they survived (if at all) for an entire month? What have they been eating? Will the Patron be exposed for his misdeeds? His secret is known by a lot more pple now, so I'd love to see what they'd do with the info.
Basically, there's so much good content they could give us in season 2, but... Will we ever get that 2nd season, or will Netflix make it another 'All of Us are Dead' situation?

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No woman (no one really) deserves this

Let's be honest: If Hae Jo was played by Oh Jung Se (or any other non-conventionally attractive actor) and not Woo Do Hwan, NO ONE would have perceived this story as anything close to romantic

When I started it, I genuinely thought that it'd be a great drama. One of the best of 2024, however, everything was ruined by the romance btwn Hae Jo & Jo JaeMi. It was the textbook definition of a toxic love with a toxic, selfish, and cruel man. Hae Jo is not only horrible to the supposed love of his life, but also utterly horrible to his adoptive mother/older sister.

Maybe they were trying to frame this as he has a hard time expressing his feelings, so you need to look beyond what he says to see what he really means, but that's a heck no for me. I would not want a person who uses my insecurities to hurt me, -simply because they are going through something or they are trying to save me from themselves -, in my life.

He insulted JaeMi in such cutting ways and abandoned her much too much. He also ruined her potential love life for selfish reasons, knowing he was going to die. And to reiterate, he was also really crappy to his adoptive mother/older sister. Basically, he is a shit man who ruined the show for me

The only positive here is that Eo Heung & Jae Mi didn't get married. Jae Mi didn't love that man, and Eo Heung, while he did love her, his reasons for wanting to marry her were wrong. I'm glad (for him) that they went their separate ways. It allowed him to finally get under his mother's thumb, stand up for himself by himself, and find himself

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So Darn Cute - A Review For The Re-Edited Version

The story is generic - a bit of 'enemies-to-lovers' with a bratty, entitled idol & a straight-by-the-book couldn't-care-about-idol's status stuntman. The episodes are short, and the overall vibe is very soft, slice of life. And that's the beauty of it. It's uncomplicated, sweet, and straight to the point. Very calming and cozy.

The main actors have good chemistry with their interactions and their banter, and the side characters also did a good job. I wouldn't say I saw any cringey acting in this one. I will say that the 1st episode was a little shaky for me. The editing was abrupt, but I think that's because this was in reel format before. However, after that, everything is done well, and the story follows beautifully.

Also, a side note, Lee Tae Hyung, the actor who plays Gu Jae Yeon in this show, his ears remind me of Wonho's ears

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Low stress and funny watch.

My fave couple was the youngest sister and her husband. Loved how she beat the shit out of him and his aunt. Unfortunately, I didn't like the forced angst in the end with the separation.

After that, the 2nd youngest sister and her husband. For once, the amnesia plot worked well for the plot and the relationship. Love that she was smart and helped deal with the court cases. Plus, they dealt with their issues with the quickness.

The story with the 3rd eldest sister was good, but they also got annoying at the end with the angst.

I shall not be talking about the eldest sister, coz she most certainly got the short end of the stick with her husband. Definitely my least favourite couple

Comic relief from the 2nd eldest sister and her husband was gold. We didn't get much from the daughter-in-law and the son who came back after they thought he was dead, but that's neither here nor there

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Loved Loved it.

💑1st Couple - loved the angst in the main couple. While their story was sad, it wasn't overdone or dragged out. The fact that the younger one - Hyun - was the pursuer and he kept being lively despite the older one, Kim A,n ignoring him at 1st helped not make the story too angsty/annoying. Their story with the stalker wasn't the best, but... What can we do?

💑2nd Couple - Maru & Minwoo - Another dose of angst. Had me out here wishing Minwoo would disappear and that someone would slap Maru upside the head. Thankfully, Minwoo's plan to pretend he had a gf worked in getting Maru's head out of his ass. Their kiss scenes - esp the one Maru initiated in... was it ep 7 or 8... That kiss was fire.

💑3rd Couple - Joo Hyuk & Sung Min - They were the highlight of the entire thing for me. They were absolutely hilarious, esp the 1st meeting after the 1 night stand n when Joo Hyuk was playing hard to get. Loved that the younger one was pursuing the older one. Also, his aggressive style of pursuing was funny. PS. their NC scenes - the one in ep 9 - Holy Jesus. That was so well done and shot. Perfection

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My 1st Chinese Drama

The cinematography in this was quite something. I loved their use of bright colours and the cozy decor in the houses, esp Sang Zi's room back home, her dorm room, and the eventual house she n JiaXu got.

JiaXu is honestly the greenest flag of all green flag men out there. His attitude and treatment of Sang Zi from when they 1st met till they started dating and after was just perfection. Aside from JiaXu, Sang Zis' brother was so cool n hilarious -also so hot. Their portrayal of the sibling relationship was so good. I envy them.

While I quite liked it, it's a slow cozy drama...which generally aren't my type, esp when they have this many eps. I'd lose interest if I tried binging it. Also, the angst in those last 3 eps... So slow, so boring. Did not enjoy it. That's why the plot gets an 8.5 - so, it's not them, it's me

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I genuinely do not understand the hate.

Pple complaining about cliches... It's a romantic comedy. What life-altering plot did you expect to pop out of it? Humans are wild. They claim to want throwback type romance, they get it, they are mad. Hard eye roll. Personally, I liked it.

The ML was such a green flag - very adorable consent king. The FL was also well written. Not overly dramatic and firm in her mind and choices. The couple was also very mature - and I don't mean the 1 million kisses, but in their interaction, communication, conflict management, etc.

What I wish was better was
(1) Eps 15 and esp 16 were boring as hell

(2) The love stories with her friends. I wish we got to see more of the budding romance btw the FLs friend and the younger guy. I think it'd have been really cute. As for the friend with the useless husband, I wish it had been done differently. She ended up looking like a tyrant to her stay-at-home husband. I wish she had
(a) Left him and her terrible in-laws or,
(b) The husband would have been shown enjoying being a stay-at-home husband. basically a role reversal without the subtle misogyny that "utakaliwa kama bibi yako is the breadwinner".

(3) Oh, also, not all family members should be forgiven. The sister was shit. N his mum, it should have taken more conversations

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Was it toxic? Yes. But was it extremely engaging? Also, yes.

I put this story in the same category as stories like The Novelist, My Personal Weatherman, My Beautiful Man, KinnPorshe, The End of the World With You & to an extent, Love Mechanics. They all have some level of toxicity (albeit in varying degrees) that absolutely no one should want IRL but they do make good plot.

IRL Joe should have completely disappeared and never let Ming back into his life, but as someone said, the heart wants what it wants. And Ming did get a redemption arc and changed for the better. My only gripe with the story is the Tong and Ming's parents' situation. Tong should have been kicked out of the family and lost his career, but they just gave him a slap on the wrist and paid off his debts for the sake of his kid. That was not ok.

Also for Ming's parents, the mum did the quickest turnaround ever after threatening to out his son. Also the Ming's dad threatening Joe with a gun... The explanation that he gave saying why he didn't want Joe and Ming to be together was kinda dumb.

So, yes, the last 2 episodes had some absurd bits and felt a little rushed, but overall, I really loved the story. I hope we get more interesting stories like these in the future. They don't always have to be toxic, but just, good and engaging plot

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I Tried. I Really Did

Dropped after 25 episodes. The story started going down for me after like 16 episodes, but I pushed on to see if I'd still like it.... I don't

I hate amnesia as a plot point. All it does is drag down the story and basically halt it. Instead of us dealing with new things, we are on pause n kinda go back a few steps.
Also, I read episode recaps from that 'Cho Na Writes' website, and they keep dying and going through the amnesia thing.

So far in ep 25, she's the one who supposedly dies, then he'd die next coz she'd accidentally kill him. Then she's immortal n meets his amnesiac reincarnated self in lik 16(19?) years. Then she dies, and they meet again in the modern world, and the show ends..

Aaai. Nani anataka kushinda hapo akizungushwa? Not me! ✌

I did like their chemistry, though. They were really cute together. He's a cute tsundere. N her lazy self was a fave. All she wanted to do was eat and sleep. N she got to do that n ended up with a hot, rich, powerful man who loved n indulged her... Dream life right there

If someone were to twist my arm to rewatch this, I'd only watch the 1st 14/15 episodes and stop there

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It's formulaic and predictable, which makes it boring.

Sure, they gave us an incredibly good-looking and talented cast, but forgot to match the plot to their looks and acting chops

Park Bo Gum's character is too moral and is the boy version of a Mary Sue. Also, that whole 'has a brain injury but won't go to the hospital, take care of himself, or tell anyone' thing pissed me off to no end.

I was curious to see Lee San Yi again after Bloodhounds, but his character is also boring. The jilted male lover who just won't leave or give up. They tried making his character interesting with his weird, mysterious family dynamic, but still... Meh.

Our female lead... she doesn't leave much of an impression. She's there to be the romantic interest, and that's all she majorly is. They don't use her to her full potential. I wanted to see that sharp shooting talent of hers put to good use, but as of ep 11, I think we only saw her use it once - in that episode with the break-in.

Oh Jung Se's character, I think I read an article here that said that he wanted to portray 'a grotesque monster with the most ordinary face'. That is actually what made me give this show a chance. However, all he is is a stupidly rich fellow who doesn't smile much.
They did good with that 'most ordinary face thing' - he's not a heartthrob type villain, he looks like a regular dude - but lost it with the whole 'grotesque monster' thing. I wanted him to get his hands dirty. Min Ju Yeong (Oh Jung Se's character) didn't scare me. He looked constipated, though.
I wish they had given me someone like Ok Taec Yeon's character in Vincenzo. Or the murderer guy from Beyond Evil. Then the word 'grotesque monster' could have fit perfectly

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Overpromised but Underdelivered

I remember binging the 1st 3 episodes and coming on here where I wrote a note that said in part, 'Great chemistry, pacing, and tension. Hope they keep it up till the end.' Clearly, I was thoroughly impressed by those episodes; unfortunately, the chemistry, pacing, and tension all but disappeared after that. We got some of that chemistry and tension back for a while in ep 6, but then it disappears again. Then, 2 episodes later, the show ends very anticlimactically.

Let's go back to those 1st 3 episodes coz this is where they overpromised - and show the multitudes(?) that are AE/Enaga. As AE, he is the walking, talking definition of debauchery. He's very sexy, not just in how he carries himself, but his face. The man is gorgeous. And also because he parties, drinks, and smokes, something that is foreign to Chiaki. I think AE even mentions at some point that he wants to 'ruin' Chiaki. Ruin that air of innocence that he has (I'm paraphrasing here). However, as Enaga, he's naturally clumsy, very shy around his design idol (who he eventually likes), slouches when he walks, and has this quiet sexiness, more like cuteness, about him.

I was very curious to see how these two sides of him would meld together. Especially when you remember that in ep 3, AE is jealous of himself when Chiaki tells him that he had fun with Enaga on a night out. How far was AE going to push Chiaki? He'd already gotten him to drink, party, and smoke, so... what else was there? Well... Nothing. There was nothing. Because after ep 3 AE basically ghosts Chiaki, and we spend the next episodes bouncing between Chiaki's & Enaga's heads/thoughts and prepping for the fashion show. The chemistry, pacing, and tension that I was very excited about are sacrificed for a series of inner monologues.

I guess you could argue that his realization of his lie (and feelings?) made him step back, but I feel like he sacrificed a part of himself. AE is Enaga and vice versa - two sides of the same coin, two halves of a whole. The side of him that loves partying and is very forward and flirtatious doesn't go away simply because he likes Chiaki. I'd have loved to see that side of him more. I think seeing that constant struggle happening in real time as he interacts with Chiaki would have shown a better light on this tentative IdolxFan relationship and his larger-than-life vs everyday clumsy classmate personas

🤘🏾Aside from that🤘🏾
🧷Music gets a 4 coz I don't like it when shows use the same song over and over again - not including the OST. Can't change that. I mean the songs within the episodes.
🧷If anyone were to twist my arm to rewatch, I'd stick to the 1st 3 episodes
🧷I didn't quite like how Sumiura was portrayed. I never like that wide-eyed, innocent, submissive look UNLESS it plays a part in the characters/relationship dynamic. E.g., underlying tones of a D/S relationship - My Beautiful Man and My Personal Weatherman are great examples of instances where I think this character portrayal works best

All in all, the show let me down, and the story feels unfinished. From what I've seen, the manga only has 1 volume, which would perhaps explain why this story is the way it is. I lowkey wish that those adapting this for TV had worked with the mangaka to expound this story to better fit a well-rounded TV storyline

Side Note:
If Mr. Kim Namjoon, my ult bias randomly showed up infront of me, I doubt I'd go wide-eyed, submissive, and clumsy like Sumiura did. Chances are that I'd run and hide like Soobin did when he met that babe from KARA😅

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You have to guess what the characters are thinking because they're certainly not going to tell you

You know what this movie made me think of? The 2023 Korean Netflix movie, Ballerina. I did not like that movie. See... Ballerina and Tee Yai: Born to Be Bad suffer from the same problem - a lack of dialogue. They give you great actors, incredible cinematography, interesting action scenes, but very little dialogue. You spend most of the time trying to guess what the actors are doing, how they're doing it, and at times, why they are doing it.

Apo - my dear lovely Apo - has very few lines, especially in the 1st half. I think we were at minute 40 something when he said something and I asked out loud -to an empty living room - 'wait, is this the 1st time he's spoken?' Then I remembered that no. It was likely the 3rd time (in 40+ MINUTES!) - the other two times were at the temple and in the train.

He spends his time looking (glaring) at people and shooting them. I mean, that's cool, but also, WHAT IS HE THINKING???
We know why Tee Yai became bad, but why does he STAY bad? He sees that his friendship with Rek is strained and fraying, so why does he keep pushing and dismissing his friend? He keeps robbing, but why and to what end? What does he do with the money? What does he gain from all of this?

Tee Yai's bestie, Rek. He's very different from Tee Yai. Yes, they rob together, but whilst Tee Yai is ready to kill at the drop of a hat, Rek holds back. Rek also doesn't seem to enjoy their robbery lifestyle and has new priorities once Dao comes into his life. Basically, you clearly see that the relationship btwn Rek & Tee Yai is strained and that something's gotta give.

But they, once again, do not take you through that thought process and the conflicting emotions. Decisions are made, and you sit there like 'oh, I guess that's the choice you made'. Things happen, and you simply have to accept that they did. You don't know how or why they happened, but they did, so just roll with it. Just go with it, babes. Don't ask any questions

All in all, the writing, the script, and maybe even the post-production are at fault for what this movie is. A lot was left unsaid - and as per the credits, a lot was cut-, and I think that was to the detriment of the plot. They give you interesting characters, but don't care to flesh them out enough for you to care or root for them. Perhaps it is, as one commenter said, that this movie would have been better were it a series, or even a miniseries, to help us understand and connect with these characters better

What I'd have given to know more about
👱🏼‍♀️Dao - A prostitute in love with an infamous wanted criminal? Life dealt her some very complicated cards. Plus, can you imagine if we got a glimpse into her thoughts about brothel sex work and the violence that surrounds it?
👮🏼‍♂️Jakkrarat - Is he righteous or corrupt? Maybe he's morally grey? Or perhaps he's an overworked cop experiencing unnecessary pressure from his superior, and that's what turns him bad?
👨🏼Kid (Khit?) - He was a rich kid who shot his a-hole of a dad n went to join a wanted criminal's gang for (seemingly?) sh*ts and giggles. I want to know what pushed him to do that

Sigh... So many questions, so few answers.

Random side note: The number of times I said 'This man is so fine, Jesus' every time Apo came on screen.... That man is so goddamn fine. Christ! That long hair with a goatee is definitely a look that I'd like to see replicated in future movies/series👌🏾

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