Best adaptation till date.
my first c-drama was Meteor Garden... which led me to my first k-drama Boys over Flowers. and it has brought me to my first thai drama, again! and I have to admit, so far (till ep.5) this is the best adaptation in all aspects (screenplay, editing, cinematography, costume, scenario, and acting). Hands down. Period. End of analysis.if Lee Minho's Goo Joon Pyo felt awkward, Dylan Wang's Daoming Si was comedy gone wrong. Bright's Thyme is immature (which is the character attribute) but still believable and rootable.
all 2nd leads were handsome and stiff actors, and while Darren Chen's Hua Ze Lei was like a fluffy dream, I find myself liking Dew's Ren the most (I'm biased as a Yibo fan. I seriously think they look similar).
Kim Bum was the standout actor in the 3rd lead position against Caesar Wu, but I can see Win has quite a charismatic presence.
and lastly, Tu wins easily over Gu Hye Seon and Shen Yue combined. But I suppose credit needs to also be given to the character restructuring that's changed the flavor of this drama so far.
If my 2019 was spent discovering the land of k-dramas (which btw, hasn't changed) and 2021 spent exploring c-dramas... I think it's time for me to check out thai-drama-land in 2022. and what a great way to start!
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Watch it without any expectations then it’s entertaining!
Geo-politics is always interesting to decipher in pop culture. I begin with this statement purely because of the extreme difference in opinions regarding the ‘supposed controversy’.One of my biggest take-aways from the first few episodes was, “damn! Korea and UAE are really amping up their collaboration game!” First with BTS’ JK performance, a steady rise in good quality influencers on either side of the planet, PSJ-CWS-PHS ad campaign and now a massive Netflix production with top stars (even the ones in cameo roles)!
Next few episodes I realized I should not look for plot holes or be disappointed by what was unfolding, cause it really felt like the scriptwriters didn't want it to be a very serious work of art either. With that out of the way, I started enjoying the Drama with all it’s comic punches.
They promised a Genie who was bumbling around in 2025 and Kim Woo Bin rolled with the character quite chaotically, all the while looking very fetching. ✅ They promised an unfeeling psychopathic female lead and Bae Suzy seemed like a perfect cast (Doona/Anna have already shown us she’s capable of playing such characters). And she delivers in style! ✅
Mythology is a very fav subject and genre of mine and I loved how they fused two very different cultural backgrounds into an entertaining story that’s completely believable as a kdramaland product - the feels, the vibes, the glam, a tasty bibimbap with lots of different things thrown in!
Personally, a tighter plot with less side stories would have been great along with more development in the original connection between the two nations. But that wasn’t the agenda, hence i’m not complaining at all.
If people accepted a sparkling Robert Pattinson vampire in Twilight, I'm absolutely not questioning a Genie called Iblis who makes you question why we are all rooting for ‘Satan’ who is clearly a very grey zone entity.
Let’s not turn everything in a religious battle OR expect commercial hits to win any critics awards.
Entertainment is sometimes, just for entertaining the masses. And that, I think, this drama managed to achieve in an acceptable capacity.
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