Blkittykat

Oh.. nooooo..

Oh I did not like this.

As a psychological thriller - it was neither of that for me. I don't know if I wasn't in the right mood to appreciate this or.. no I just didn't appreciate it.

The story was incredibly simple - no complications of any sorts and relied completely on jump scares and gore to coast through. It wasn't scary but it was incredibly gross, so there. They tried to build this suspense by casting the lead as this extremely unlikeable character (more on that later) but the intrigue you want to build doesn't work when almost every detail of the story is revealed early on, and you don't do anything after that to develop it into something complex.
I waited and waited for it to get a bit more exciting or a even confusing but it every "twist", you can see coming clear as day, and those you don't see, rely on making you want to throw up.

And. Every. Single. Character. SUUUUUCKED. Not that the focus shifted from the female lead much but I just grew to dislike them all because they were basically terrible humans or became terrible humans through the course of the movie. There was maybe one character who was decent? Debatable even then, you just don't care about any of them at any point. In that regard though, acting was good because all of the actors were super convincing and I can appreciate that.

I just wanted a good psychological thriller - I didn't sign up for a borderline offensive, gore fest that couldn't keep my attention.

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Keep Holding On

I always find that with dramas or movies based on real life, no matter how dramatised they may be, there's no room to distinguish between fiction and fact. We're watching an event of someone else's life play out, and whatever emotions they elicit in the one watching, I imagine they felt every single one of those emotions magnified to a thousand going through it. And how much of the events were adapted and changed to be made feasible as a series, I don't know, but it also doesn't matter because this was a raw, emotional and hard hitting look at the Tham Luang Cave Rescue.

And while we could examine the narration or the acting in the series, I didn't feel any need to do that because at the end of the day, it was powered by emotion. The panic, the desperation, the loneliness, the tragedy, the sorrows, the joy, the relief, the companionship, the overwhelming wave of emotions that hit you while watching are incredibly powerful. They didn't cut corners showcasing those emotions, they were palpable and they pierced you. In a matter of life and death, you truly feel powerless, like fate is tossing you around and you have no control, and the narration made that incredibly clear.

It is in moments like these though, that you can see what the human spirit is actually capable of, and how human nature which can rear its ugly head more often than not, can sometimes be the best thing ever. This was the most beautiful thing about a story that was brutal and tragic, watching human beings put aside all other matters to come together for the 13 Wild Boars.

The people in charge of the rescue had to make difficult choices, sacrifices. They were sometimes put in situations where they essentially had to weigh the life of one person to another's, and I cannot begin to understand the torment they must have felt.

The thirteen team members who were trapped in the cave had no choice but to keep holding on, with no contact to the outside world and no way out, just waiting to see if someone would come to their rescue.

But they held on. All of them hold on. To whatever it was they had. Faith, trust, conviction, and hope. They held on with every fiber of their being, and it moved me to tears.

There was a quote in the series, by one of the kids on the team who said "Bravery doesn't mean you're not afraid, it just mean you keep moving forward despite your fear."
I've seen and heard that so many other times before I did here, but coming at the moment it, and the magnitude of the statement, no others were more meaningful than this one.

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A fast paced, quick watch

I'm a huge fan of variety shows like Busted, and I've been craving more content like it. As if right on cue, Agents of Mystery came out, and just from the preview, I knew this would be something I would enjoy.

For the most part, the mystery actually worked for me, which did take me by surprise. Some of the twists within the actual cases were definitely jaw dropping, and I did not anticipate them. The cases themselves were quite basic, what actually made them interesting was the cast.

This is my favourite part of mystery variety shows, the chemistry between the cast. And not only did the six participants have great dynamics, it was also incredible to watch each of their individual strengths. They also managed to create some moments of comedy despite being in very serious settings and I appreciated that.

When it came to solving each case, they had to rely on teamwork and trust each other, and the mix of solving the cases to the puzzles they had to solve to crack the cases was very well balanced. I do wish that there were more episodes though, I would have loved to see them get closer as teammates, and solve more cases.

If shows like Busted or The Devil's Plan is your cup of tea, give this a try as well. It's an easy and quick binge that will keep you on your toes with the mystery and delight with the teamwork

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I'm not talented.. but I'll try

I may have misjudged this show based on the trailer and the fact that only Off and Gun are listed as the leads, but make no mistake, none of that took away from how much I loved it.

I understand this may not be a common sentiment, but I genuinely loved this show. I don't need complex writing that's itching to create conflicts, or a plot that's completely out of the ordinary to enjoy a drama, sometimes I'm happy with a basic story with good emotional depth.
A tight story that's character driven, yes please!

And though I got a little fussy that Off and Gun, despite being billed as the leads, didn't have as much screentime as I expected them to, after a while I didn't think it was a bad thing. Sure, I'm still allowed to be mad that it was marketed one way and we got like a third of what they promised, but the fact that all the other characters got their time to shine is a good thing. I got to understand them better, I felt some of their stories and experiences on a personal level, I witnessed good character growth, not just for the support characters. The fact that Ryan and Jane also had time to grow into themselves, follow their dreams and figure out what they wanted, I think they handled that extremely well.
For what it's worth, even with the limited screentime, the Off Gun chemistry was amazing.

But, despite all my praise, I did find myself dissapointed with some things they did, actually one thing. The Tae - Ba Mhee - Judy love triangle.
*Sigh*
Not all growth is personal or work related, it can be romantic, but did it have to be this way? I don't think so.
All that push and pull, the kiss and the breakup, the tears and the arguments, it wasn't worth the eventual turn this triangle took. This is the one thing that genuinely frustrated me, all I could do was watch and rant.

Most of my review stems from the fact that this was a very personally touching story for me, and though you may not have experienced the same watching it, or though you may not have the same feelings watching it, I can say that this is worth a try.
Sometimes getting invested like I did is nice though, you may discover depths that even the creators didn't think about when making the show, and that's kind of wonderful ♡

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