This review may contain spoilers
Didn’t expect that ending but I did…
I didn’t think I would be able to catch this drama so soon considering… well, you know…But I am glad I did get a chance to watch it (thank all the souls who made it possible) and I must say it was a good watch though some things weren’t answered. Like the video clip Best took of that animal of a man which I was certain she would use against him, maybe to help Korn’s mother, show her what a bastard he was, or to ask money but nothing came out of that clip. 🤷♀️ Another thing is the accident of Pleo (why the hell did he run in like that?) but in this case, I guess Pleo did not know it was him until it happened. The story was kind of predictable but it did not take away the suspense, it was still thrilling to see how everything unfolded. I didn’t expect that ending but I did too, I realized I was just trying to convince myself that I might be wrong. 😅 I didn’t really like that ending because I felt that they could have prevented his accident (if only they let him know it was him, he wouldn’t jump in like that).
The cast and acting were great, they all did justice to their character. Though I have heard of Ken, I have only watched bit and piece of his work but after seeing him in this role, I think I am going to try some other dramas of his. His acting is decent. As for Bright, I have seen a few of his dramas and I think his acting is decent too, I have hoped for him to lands more leading roles and I was very happy and excited when I heard he was one of the leads in this drama. And he did not disappoint and delivered timid but unpredictable (as Pleo said, he could be pretty “f*cked up” when he decided to be one) Makorn. Typhoon as Ter was good but knowing they had Oh Anuchit as one of the cast and did not think about making him Ter was saddening. I believe he would have been phenomenal as Ter, the versatile actor that he is. I was like why did they make up Typhoon to look old when they could have used Oh and made it believable. But I guess they feared viewer might raise questions if they made him the same age as Pleo (Ken) and the character Ter had more screen time in their young age too, sadly. As for Best (Linn), omg, I just want to go into the screen and slap her. She irritated the hell out of me (Linn acted her so well).
As the novel of this drama was adapted from was implied BL, there is a few scene here and there that made you ask if they were finding one another to be more than just brothers, like the scene where Makorn pulled a blanket over Pleo and stood a really long time admiring Pleo’s face. Or how Pleo really look at Makorn, like really looked at him and it happened most of the time they were together.
But because of maybe their cluelessness, along with Pleo’s head mostly on getting justice/revenge and Makorn having that awful trauma, most of the time it felt like they are still not aware of what they are themselves. And personally, because of that animal of a man (Makorn’s stepfather), I don’t want to think this as BL at all. I felt that Makorn won’t be able to have a relationship with a man. Although his fate was changed by Pleo, the fact that it happened (could have happened) and Makorn already experienced it once says that he could still have that trauma. But I guess he would be able to convince himself that it did not really happen because the present life was his life.
Another thing I loved about this drama was the ending song “Good to be bad”. It depicted Pleo’s mindset so well and Maew Jirasat’s voice is phenomenal, he really rocks this kind of music.
I would be rewatching this drama again for sure and I recommend this drama to anyone who likes thriller/suspense.
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If you are a mystery/thriller lover and haven’t watch this drama, you are missing out so much
Let’s start with the fictitious country/city they had created for this drama, while I find it creative, the fake language really took me out. 😅 They didn’t even sound like a language. I think this is the only thing that bugged me aside from the unclear ending (maybe I am the only one who didn’t really understand it).I liked the mystery element in this drama, and I really liked the concept of it, like how the ones that had really decided for their death actually made something out of it to make the predators pay for their sins and crimes although most people won’t take this as something good. But for me, watching this drama, I come to think of all those people who quietly left the world, taking with them their suffering and possibly their predators' crimes too. It make me think that maybe if they were determined enough like the characters in the cases of this drama, some of the sinners/criminals might have been put behind bars although I am certain it might not be easy like in the drama.
I really liked the songs in this drama, after rewatching the drama so many times, I even started to sing along at some point. 😁
I recommend this drama to anyone who love mystery/thriller because it is that good! I even rewatched this drama right after I finished it.
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BOC never DISSAPOINTS
I have always felt that BOC knew what they wanted with their story and they serve it! Even with their very first series, KinnPorshe, even with it being the “average bl trope” if you read thai bl novels or fan fictions, they stand alone because of the decent acting and lack of that maturity of their level.So yes, when I got to know they were having another series for MileApo, I was in for it. Shine wasn’t the topical bl, it was much more than bl, explore the elements you won’t normally find in other series and they slayed it!
Acting, visuals, the depth of the characters, were great. I like the fact that they dared to make the main characters with flaws and not your topical good all the way just because they are the mains. They were pretty realistic in exploring the marriage/relationships between gay men and women, I liked those parts. You really got to see the bitterness, from both sides.
It is worthy of being rewatched again of course, but for me, one round was enough because this isn’t the typical story you could sit around and enjoy leisurely.
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Best psychological thriller that I have watched in a while
I am so happy I gave this drama a chance because I would have been poor losing this BIG gem otherwise. And thank GOD I decided to watch it in December last year and not when this streamed back in 2023 because I would have been so stressed by the long hiatus and the unknown as to if this will ever be picked up again. Hate to have things unfinished.The concept of the story was really appealing and I think it delivered its promised genre very masterfully—there were no dull moments. As a sucker for the thriller/crime-solving genre, I was engaged all 30 episodes. It was so fun to watch and guess. And although I could already guess who the last boss was by halfway through, the reason was still unknown and keep me wondering why he was sacrificing so many innocent lives.
The acting of the casts—from the leads to the supporting roles—were decent and believable. They portrayed their characters so well that it felt like they gave life to the characters from the novel. This was my first drama of everyone and I think I have become a fan of Zhang Xincheng. He portrayed the zero apath Pei Su so well, like how he expressed his inner thoughts just by the shift of his eyes, those minor changes that screamed so loudly. I am already looking through his list of dramas and already anticipating his new drama “Southern Anecdote”. Fu Xinbo quickly grew on me too, liked his portrayal of Luo Wei Zhao. Wish to see more of him in leading roles.
The osts were great, I liked every song. They also brought depth to the story that the characters couldn’t say out loud.
Rewatch value? Well, 10 of course! Although they have cut so many scenes, some bugs me and make me think “if only they didn’t cut it out, it could make me squeal even more”, I still find this drama a decent work that I could watch it again and again.
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Disappointment is an UNDERSTATEMENT
So here comes my rants…ahem…review.I thought about whether I should write a review on this show because it left nothing but disappointment for me (and many other, I believe). But I decide to do it after giving my time to finish it and thought I should be able to express my feelings. Let’s start with what the story was supposed to be, a Thriller! Yes, it got my attention right off the bat when I read the synopsis, being a sucker for thriller. It being a bl, I was even more excited since I wanted to see something new in the world of bl for once, from GMM (because if you read the comparison between them and other company under bl series, it’s not hard to guess many are feed up with how badly produced their series are).
I decided to give GMM and this pair, JOONG AND DUNK, a chance. Though I have watched some of GMM series, in the earliest making of bl series, JoongDunk was a first, I thought they looked good, which was a plus of course in entertainment industry, especially in bl world (for all the fangirl/boy, the requirement to make money). I wanted only two things, decent story and decent acting but guess what, both GMM and JoongDunk (especially Dunk) disappointed me.
The series did not turn out to be what was promised, it was so bland, tasteless and unrealistic beyond comprehension. It look like GMM wanted to balance the gore to be lightened by the fluffy (cringey) romance of the leads but ended up messing it up so bad that they ended up with nothing on both part, no part was developed in its potential, like the dog that wanted the bone in the reflection and ended with nada. They killed a very potential series by trying to focus on something else, the romance of the two that should be chasing bad guys and solving the crime to prevent another dead! It’s like they think a bl have to have romance, no, two men flirting, kissing and NC scene is a must! They should learn from Chinese bromance series. They should realize by now that exposing everything is less attractive than exposing this and that, minimum, leaving viewers some imagination. Not everything has to had it all spelled out. I believe if they had toned down the romance and focused on solving the crime, it could have been one of those rare gem produced by them. Romance wasn’t needed in this kind of genre, not to mention how they choose cringey romance instead of matured kind of it. The mystery wasn’t that mysterious either with how predictable it was, even Jay’s “crime” was I able to guess (maybe growing up watching Thai drama helps).
The most thrilled I was was when the first murder took place, so much for being a thriller, after that the series pretty much went down, nothing was thrilling and the disconnection the inspector and captain have to the case took the charm of a possible thrilling series away. Like, how could they be so busy with their own romance that they practically look like they only exist to catch the killers in the last episode and didn’t need to do anything to investigate? Like they weren’t the ones who were supposed to be solving this murder spree. They were so misplaced. Most of the time, it felt like the murderers were plucking flower petals after each crime—they are on their way, they are not—and ended up going home bored to death, wondering if they made it too hard for the duo. If I were in trouble, I sure as h*ll did not want these two on my rescue team.
Moving onto the cast/acting, I think the only ones who acted decently were Chimon and Sing. The other avengers team did good job too with the screen time they were given, Joong was okay but I think he can do better. On the other hand, Dunk, this actor was so stiff it made it uncomfortable to watch him. I am not lying when I said I already saw his wooden acting from his first appearance, the car scene. At first I thought it was me who wasn’t used to him but the more I watched, the more I feel that he lack. And reading the comments, it doesn’t look like this was his first project. And many claims that this was his “improved version” which made me wonder how the h*ll did he act in his previous projects. How did he even secure this project to lead? And the next. Frankly, he really needs to take on acting classes. As a leading man, for his fans and his co-star, he owe that much. I don’t think it was he being in character, sure, Kamin was supposed to be reserved and strict but those two personality did not equal to being wooden stiff. It was his acting that lacked, too stiff. Many says that he and Joong are very comfortable with one another but maybe because of his stiff acting, for me, he always looked guarded, especially in those intimate scenes, that I couldn’t feel the chemistry between them. It looked too awkward. Too uncomfortable to watch. Many blames the director for how it turned out but they could only direct and guide, the acting was done with the actor’s ability, his perception of the character, maybe this was how much the director could bring out from Dunk which says a lot about him. I hope he saw how he act from the reaction videos they made and have enough self-awareness to try and improve himself. He is not ready to be Kamin. Give it 3 stars for cast/acting as a whole cast.
What I like about this series would be the idea, the story and development we didn’t get, and I like the ending credit ost in earlier episodes.
Rewatch? H*ll no, one round was more than enough. I am not putting myself in that torture again. (Geez, why is it a must to rate rewatch value when there is none?!)
Yup, it’s decided, I am leaving GMM and JoongDunk behind, as I had wisely done until now.
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