This review may contain spoilers
One of the most disappointing series I have ever watched
What I liked:The acting was genuinely excellent. Film, Milk, and Love especially stood out, and their performances helped elevate the otherwise unappealing characters in this series. The cinematography, wardrobe, styling, and background music were also good. As expected from GMMTV’s production team, the technical side was solid.
What I disliked:
My biggest problem with this series is how terrible the characters are. A story that looks chaotic on the surface needs to show the characters’ different sides, contradictions, emotional wounds, and inner conflicts properly. Without that, the chaos just becomes shallow. Unfortunately, I do not think this series managed to do that at all.
Prim:
Prim hurts Gorya, does almost nothing to properly face what she did to her, and then ends up flirting with Bambi. Then, in Episode 4, she somehow reconciles with Bambi.
As a viewer, I was left asking too many basic questions. Even if the reason Prim and Bambi broke up is mentioned, the emotional process behind it and the path toward their reconciliation are not shown convincingly by Episode 4. The structure of the story is clearly flawed. Did Bambi ever truly make amends for what she did to Prim? Did the story build enough emotional groundwork for Prim to still be unable to abandon Bambi? The series should have properly shown all of these things before portraying their reconciliation.
It felt like the director or screenwriters understood the story in their own heads, but failed to communicate it to the audience. They seemed to assume the audience would understand what they themselves had not properly shown.
Bambi:
I do not mind Bambi being selfish. A selfish character can still be fascinating if the story gives her strong beliefs, a personal code, regret, or a clear sense of emotional conflict. But I do not think this series gave Bambi enough of any of that.
Her line to Airy about not being able to punish herself any further was especially hard for me to accept. That is not something she has the right to say to the person she hurt. If the line had been framed as words coming from her own weakness, as if she were desperately trying to convince herself, I might have understood it. But saying that directly to the victim crossed a line.
And Prim defending Bambi in that situation only made it worse. Prim should have let Bambi face the consequences on her own.
Shasha:
To be honest, I liked Shasha until Episode 8. She seemed to have a clear core as a character. I expected her relationship with Gorya to help her discover what real love means and grow as a person.
But Episode 9 destroyed that hope for me.
In order to get Gorya, Shasha uses her friend and manipulates the situation so that Gorya will come to her. And the story still lets them end up together as if this were a proper romantic payoff.
For this kind of story to work, Shasha needed to face Gorya directly and honestly tell her how she felt. Instead, it made Gorya feel less like a person Shasha truly loved and more like something she wanted to possess.
In the end, Gorya felt like an object to Shasha. I honestly cannot imagine these two lasting for many years.
Gorya:
Among the main characters, Gorya was the only one I found somewhat decent. The process of her being abandoned by Prim and then gradually healing through her relationship with Shasha had some genuinely good moments.
Even so, compared to memorable characters from other series, there were not many moments where I felt that Gorya herself was especially compelling. And since Shasha seems to treat Gorya more like something to possess than someone to truly love, I do not think Gorya will actually be happy.
This does not feel like a happy ending to me. It feels like a bad ending disguised as a happy ending.
Min:
For most of the story, Min was far too passive and indecisive. At first, it makes sense for her to be confused after meeting Praew. But the series should have shown her gradually becoming stronger through that relationship.
It should have shown Min realizing that this love was not just a temporary feeling, and that she would not allow anyone to mock or belittle their relationship. That kind of emotional growth should have been the core of her arc.
Instead, it felt like her relationship with Praew reset from episode to episode. There was very little build-up, and I kept wondering what the story actually wanted to do with her character.
Praew:
Praew was simply not compelling enough. She felt so diluted as a character that there was barely anything left to hold onto.
She should have been an important character who guided Min while also becoming her emotional support. But most of the time, she was just pulled around by Min and left standing on the sidelines.
Conclusion:
I do not know what this director and the other screenwriters have worked on before. But based on this series, I genuinely hope the writing team seriously reconsiders how it approaches scripts like this.
The director clearly has talent when it comes to visuals, editing, and presentation. That is exactly why I think the director should have focused only on the visual side instead of being involved in the writing. The visual direction had potential, but the script itself was where the series completely fell apart for me.
I had very high expectations for this series. Every GMMTV GL series I had watched before this had a strong story, compelling characters, and a world I could truly become invested in. Pluto, in particular, is one of my all-time favorite dramas. That is exactly why my disappointment and anger toward Girl Rules reached their peak.
With a cast and production team this strong, this series could have been something great. Instead, it became one of the most disappointing series I have ever watched.
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Painfully Ordinary and Boring Characters and Story
What I liked:Freen and Becky were truly excellent. Honestly, it is only because of these two that Lom and Blew had any sense of depth at all. In reality, Lom and Blew barely have any emotional buildup, but Freen and Becky’s acting ability and chemistry are so strong that they somehow create the illusion that there is something special between Lom and Blew.
There is really no other way to say it: Freen and Becky, who stand at the very top of the Thai GL world and can even be called its queens, are wonderful actresses.
The visuals were also relatively beautiful. The Air does not reach the level of the stunning, colorful, and memorable visuals seen in works such as URANUS2324 or Love Design, which were handled by VelCurve Studio, but it did not feel completely flat either. There was at least a certain degree of visual beauty.
What I disliked:
A heavy premise with only shallow weight
The biggest problem I felt was that, despite dealing with heavy themes, the story barely makes Lom and Blew carry any of that weight. I felt the same thing with The Earth 4 Elements, but this author, or whoever is writing the script, seems to have a tendency to avoid making the story too seriously dramatic.
For example, in The Earth 4 Elements, Din proposes a fake marriage in order to help Rose. That setup could have made Rose feel guilty about the possibility of putting Din in danger, and also about taking away something as special as marriage, an important milestone in life, even if it was only a fake marriage. Through that, Din and Rose could have come to understand each other better, reaffirmed their bond, and given the story more depth. However, this author, or whoever is coming up with the script, almost never depicts that kind of inner emotional weight within the characters.
That tendency is extremely obvious in The Air 4 Elements as well. Lom could have been shown carrying the pressure and tension of knowing that one wrong decision might get Blew killed. Blew could have been shown feeling panic, frustration, and anxiety over being at the mercy of an impostor who looks exactly like her, being pushed around and used for that impostor’s convenience. But the story almost completely avoids depicting the key conflicts, fears, and foolishness that should define these characters.
Even if those conflicts, fears, and foolishness had been depicted in the series, they would still feel extremely weak, or almost as if they were not there at all, because there is almost no real buildup behind them.
So even when Lom and Blew are given a nice romantic atmosphere, all I can think is, “Did these two ever really clash with each other face-to-face? Why are they suddenly getting closer?”
The weak portrayal of the setting
In Episode 1, Lom is introduced as an elite expert who has solved many difficult cases, but the evidence for that is far too weak.
During the hostage rescue in Episode 1, Lom is supposed to be the leader, yet she is sitting in what looks like a parking lot near where the hostage is being held, chewing gum while waiting for her teammates. Normally, a leader like that would be demoted immediately. On top of that, she even acts alone. If she is the leader, she should be with her team until the very end, confirming the final details of the operation and staying with them while they suppress the enemy.
The combat scene is also hard to accept. When facing an armed enemy who is holding a hostage, Lom gets close to the enemy, puts down her own weapon, and suddenly turns it into close-quarters combat. That is just too unrealistic. What would she have done if the hostage had been shot and killed? How would this woman take responsibility for that?
I think the director and scriptwriters wanted to portray Lom as a very strong, reliable leader, but she only looks like an idiot.
The series lacks scenes that make me think, “Yes, this person really is strong, smart, a leader, and an expert.”
There is almost no tension
First of all, Lom and Blew have way too many allies. Din’s group, Nam’s group, and Fai’s group were completely unnecessary. Yes, it would feel strange if those three sisters did not come to help, but the story could have given any number of reasons why they were unable to help or unable to go to them. If those reasons had been presented properly, the audience could have accepted it.
This series should have been portrayed as an extreme road-movie escape drama centered on Lom and Blew. It would have been far better if, through that harsh escape, Lom and Blew came to understand themselves and each other, deepening their bond along the way.
But in reality, there are safe stopping points prepared for them along the route, and the three sisters and other people keep helping them whenever something happens. Because of that, even when the series tries to create tension, I can only think, “Well, they’ll probably be fine.”
Conclusion
The Air 4 Elements ended up showing exactly the issues I had been worried about since The Earth 4 Elements.
Both stories deal with heavy themes. The Earth 4 Elements deals with human trafficking, a plan to take over a farm, and a fake marriage. The Air 4 Elements deals with an assassination plot against a princess and a life-or-death bodyguard suspense story. And yet, both of them have stories and characters that feel strangely light and weightless.
The basic premises of both The Earth 4 Elements and The Air 4 Elements are actually very good. That is why it is so disappointing to see them turn out like this.
Freen and Becky, alongside the production team and everyone involved, were among the people who created the absolute masterpiece Gap: The Series. But after that, works such as The Loyal Pin and URANUS2324 were boring and dull. The fact that GL projects like that have continued honestly makes me feel bad for Freen and Becky.
Freen and Becky are incredibly talented and wonderful actresses, which makes this feel like such a waste.
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Has GMMTV’s GL Series Entered Its Dark Age?
Good Points:Jan and JingJing’s acting was absolutely wonderful.
Jan delivered a stable yet consistently high-level performance, and JingJing’s explosive acting power was genuinely impressive.
Bad Points:
(Structure)
First of all, the structure was just terrible.
Why did they bring in Wine’s past trauma, which should have been one of the most important parts of the story, in the latter half of the series?
That kind of thing should normally be shown early in the story — in the case of Enemies With Benefits, around Episodes 1 to 4. From there, the story should have shown Wine overcoming that trauma through her relationship with Lal, and then, in the final arc, brought back the source of that trauma as the ultimate test she had to confront.
But in reality, every bit of character depth came too late. By the time they finally started digging into Lal and Wine, I had already lost interest in them, and I was bored with the story itself.
That is what makes it so frustrating. Lal and Wine had enough potential for me to like them, so it feels like such a waste.
(Too Many Unnecessary Elements)
First of all, the side-couple storyline was completely unnecessary.
Lal and Wine were already underwritten, and yet the show threw in even more romantic elements for the side characters in the second half. At that point, it was nothing but noise.
Tangkwa should have been a character who represented the beliefs that Wine could not directly express to Lal. She should have been used to give Wine more depth, showing why she respects Wine and what Wine means to the people around her.
Proud, meanwhile, could have been a tricky character who enters the story midway through, but is also serious and sincere about her work — someone who occasionally shakes up Lal and Wine’s relationship as a counterbalance.
In the early stage of GMMTV’s GL series, there have been successful side couples in works like 23.5, Us, and Whale Store xoxo. But in Enemies With Benefits, whether because GMMTV’s GL series has entered a mass-production phase or not, the side-couple elements ended up feeling extremely sloppy and unnecessary.
(The Setting Is Too Weak)
This series sometimes tries too hard to create tension around the idea that “it would be bad if people at work found out about them.”
But honestly, all I could think was: “Would it really be that bad if they found out?”
The reason is simple: the story never properly shows the threat or background behind what would happen if they were exposed.
If they really wanted to make the idea of being found out feel dangerous, they should have shown something in Episode 1, like Lal witnessing two employees in a relationship being forced out of the company. That would have made her think, “This company is dangerous. We absolutely cannot get caught.”
But the atmosphere in the workplace is actually pretty light. It feels like everyone would probably accept them anyway, so there is no real sense of tension.
Far from feeling like a threat, the employees in Sales and Accounting actually seem to want Lal and Wine to get along.
It is also a waste that the employees in Sales and Accounting mostly become background characters or comic relief. They should have been important supporting characters who helped explain why Lal and Wine are respected, and why their different versions of “being right” clash with each other.
Instead, they simply ended up as comedy devices.
As for Lal and Wine themselves, they were extremely hostile toward each other from the beginning to the middle of Episode 1. But after sleeping together under the influence of alcohol, the very next day, the distance between them suddenly shrinks as if all that hostility had never existed. Then one of them suddenly asks the other to become friends with benefits.
That was way too abrupt.
The show should have carefully portrayed the process of them gradually getting closer. If it had done that, it could have created the kind of painful, frustrating tension where they have physically crossed the line, but they are not lovers, and their emotional distance is still nowhere near as close as their bodies have become.
That is what the story should have shown.
(Conclusion)
Lately, I have been nothing but disappointed in GMMTV’s GL series.
From 23.5 to Whale Store xoxo, they were releasing one god-tier work after another. But from Girl Rules onward, everything suddenly turned to crap.
They do not need to make multiple series at once. I want them to carefully create one high-quality drama at a time.
Laying down a production line and mass-producing GL series like a factory is not the answer.
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One of the Best Dramas of the Year
Good Points:P’Le and Rann, the two main characters, were incredibly charming. Their reunion gave birth to so many emotions: conviction, conflict, regret, growth, and the painful feelings they had both been carrying for so long. As those emotions developed, their chemistry became absolutely explosive.
What makes them so lovable is that they hurt each other precisely because they care about each other so deeply. That delicacy, awkwardness, and emotional clumsiness between them are unbearably precious.
My favorite episode is Episode 4. The feelings Rann had been holding onto for P’Le and P’Le’s desire to protect Rann, even if it meant rejecting her, finally collide. They expose their true emotions to each other and begin to understand one another. It is a cruel scene, but also a truly beautiful one, because they face the painful reality they could no longer avoid and still manage to reach each other’s hearts.
The chemistry created by Miephat and Aya was also just as powerful as the chemistry between their characters. Miephat portrayed P’Le wonderfully: someone who acts strong on the surface, but is actually deeply delicate inside. Her emotional expression was excellent.
Aya also portrayed Rann beautifully: a girl who is scared, but still gathers her courage for the person she loves, shows her strength, and stays by P’Le’s side. I think both Miephat and Aya have a very deep understanding of the characters they play and of the story itself. They are such wonderful actresses that they made me want to see them lead another series together again.
A Few Minor Concerns:
The red thread that Rann had been holding since Episode 1 was never fully explained, so I wish the story had revealed where it actually came from earlier. If we had known where the red thread came from, Rann’s rejection when P’Le gives her the necklace in the middle of the story would have carried even more emotional weight. That is why I really wanted to know the origin of the red thread.
Seven episodes were far too short. I wanted at least ten episodes. With more time, the story could have explored Peem’s past more deeply, and the sense of P’Le, Rann, and Peem as an important team would have felt even stronger. Then, in the final episode, the loss of Peem would have weighed much more heavily on the audience, and it would have been easier to feel emotionally connected to him.
Conclusion:
This series is my number one drama of the first half of this year, and I truly think it is one of the best dramas of the year.
The story carefully builds up P’Le and Rann’s emotions, then lets all of those accumulated feelings explode in Episode 4. I also loved that they did not simply become completely close right away after that. Instead, their distance gradually became smaller, little by little.
Most of all, I am truly happy that P’Le and Rann were able to reach a happy ending.
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