This review may contain spoilers
An Intriguing Thai BL That Had The Potential To Be A Lot Better
Khemjira is a supernatural thriller BL drama that centers around a cursed young man whose karma can only be altered by a shaman powerful enough to counter it. The greatest asset of this drama is its gripping story rich with Thai lore, buddhism, reincarnation, and history. Perhaps, the best and most compelling character is the main villain herself, Ramphueng. Though her evil deeds can never be justified, her grievances are deep and her motivations understandable. I watched this for the plot (yeah, really) because it intrigued me from the moment I read the synopsis, but I stayed for the second couple. Jet and Charn made this drama for me.
For the most part, this was an enjoyable drama with a riveting plot that, at times, put me on the edge. However, the central character, Khemjira, is not in the least bit interesting. Khem, as he is often called in the drama, is basically a feminized male character that is as tropey as the cursed and trapped princess in the tower waiting to be rescued by a knight in shining armor. He might as well be a damsel in distress in a typical shojo manga that cries for her beloved and must be kept safe at all times. Despite his ability to see ghosts and potential to learn magic, he is not taught the necessary skills to defend himself just because. Instead, he begs for people to help him and is practically useless all throughout the series. I'm convinced that Khem was originally written to be a helpless woman but was later changed to a man to turn it into a BL story. Oh, he cooks and cleans for everyone. That's his job. He is given the stereotypical gender role for women. If that's not a clear indication of how the author sees this character, I don't know what else to tell you. This is my biggest beef with the drama.
And because of this characterization of the main character, I had no interest whatsoever in his romance with Peem. As strikingly handsome Harit is, I just wasn't as invested in them as I was with Jet and Charn. I found myself skipping their NC scenes and fast-forwarding a lot of their interactions. I have nothing against Namping. I think he is severely lacking in the acting department but then so are the others. I give him a pass for being a newbie. I'm sure he will improve in time. I just dislike his character so much I would've given the drama up if not for the intriguing story and the engaging second couple. Besides, femboys in BL have always been a pet peeve of mine. I watch BL to watch boys fall in love, not effeminate boys. But I understand that some actually want that, it's just not for me.
I also watched this drama in 1.25x, which I don't normally do. I don't usually like speed watching but the episodes are overly long with too much fluff and many fodder characters. A lot of the scenes are just them standing around and looking at each other awkwardly as if they're waiting for the director to yell "cut". I thought that was so strange. The story could've been told in 10 episodes or fewer with just 40 minutes run-time for each. It's really not that deep. A lot of the important stuff is about Ramphueng and the curse anyway, and that was told in just 1-2 episodes. The BL stuff could take up the other 8 episodes.
The production value in this is not bad, but not impressive either. I guess for a Thai drama, it's pretty good. The music is also enchanting and apt for such a dark supernatural drama. I want to commend the writers for the detailed descriptions of the rituals and spells, though. It does seem like they are well-researched. I found this aspect of the drama especially fascinating.
But as I mentioned, it's really the second couple that got me hooked. The two actors have such great chemistry that they made me believe that they really are just two relatively straight boys who are “gay for each other”. Jet is oozing with charisma and is so adorable that I became convinced that he could make any guy fall in love. Charn's quiet strength and calm nature is a great complement to his feistiness. I suppose they are also archetypes in BL or even in hetero romance, but the fact that none of them act like girls really help sell the “gay for you” trope. Suffice to say, I adored them and always looked forward to their scenes no matter how small or trivial.
All in all, I was entertained. The story and the charm of the second couple kept me from dropping it. Would I recommend it? Sure. I know there are BL fans out there who don't have the same nitpicks or pet peeves as I do and would appreciate an interesting story and eye-candies. Would I watch it again? Probably not. I will watch snippets or videos of Jet and Charn being lovey dovey, though.
For the most part, this was an enjoyable drama with a riveting plot that, at times, put me on the edge. However, the central character, Khemjira, is not in the least bit interesting. Khem, as he is often called in the drama, is basically a feminized male character that is as tropey as the cursed and trapped princess in the tower waiting to be rescued by a knight in shining armor. He might as well be a damsel in distress in a typical shojo manga that cries for her beloved and must be kept safe at all times. Despite his ability to see ghosts and potential to learn magic, he is not taught the necessary skills to defend himself just because. Instead, he begs for people to help him and is practically useless all throughout the series. I'm convinced that Khem was originally written to be a helpless woman but was later changed to a man to turn it into a BL story. Oh, he cooks and cleans for everyone. That's his job. He is given the stereotypical gender role for women. If that's not a clear indication of how the author sees this character, I don't know what else to tell you. This is my biggest beef with the drama.
And because of this characterization of the main character, I had no interest whatsoever in his romance with Peem. As strikingly handsome Harit is, I just wasn't as invested in them as I was with Jet and Charn. I found myself skipping their NC scenes and fast-forwarding a lot of their interactions. I have nothing against Namping. I think he is severely lacking in the acting department but then so are the others. I give him a pass for being a newbie. I'm sure he will improve in time. I just dislike his character so much I would've given the drama up if not for the intriguing story and the engaging second couple. Besides, femboys in BL have always been a pet peeve of mine. I watch BL to watch boys fall in love, not effeminate boys. But I understand that some actually want that, it's just not for me.
I also watched this drama in 1.25x, which I don't normally do. I don't usually like speed watching but the episodes are overly long with too much fluff and many fodder characters. A lot of the scenes are just them standing around and looking at each other awkwardly as if they're waiting for the director to yell "cut". I thought that was so strange. The story could've been told in 10 episodes or fewer with just 40 minutes run-time for each. It's really not that deep. A lot of the important stuff is about Ramphueng and the curse anyway, and that was told in just 1-2 episodes. The BL stuff could take up the other 8 episodes.
The production value in this is not bad, but not impressive either. I guess for a Thai drama, it's pretty good. The music is also enchanting and apt for such a dark supernatural drama. I want to commend the writers for the detailed descriptions of the rituals and spells, though. It does seem like they are well-researched. I found this aspect of the drama especially fascinating.
But as I mentioned, it's really the second couple that got me hooked. The two actors have such great chemistry that they made me believe that they really are just two relatively straight boys who are “gay for each other”. Jet is oozing with charisma and is so adorable that I became convinced that he could make any guy fall in love. Charn's quiet strength and calm nature is a great complement to his feistiness. I suppose they are also archetypes in BL or even in hetero romance, but the fact that none of them act like girls really help sell the “gay for you” trope. Suffice to say, I adored them and always looked forward to their scenes no matter how small or trivial.
All in all, I was entertained. The story and the charm of the second couple kept me from dropping it. Would I recommend it? Sure. I know there are BL fans out there who don't have the same nitpicks or pet peeves as I do and would appreciate an interesting story and eye-candies. Would I watch it again? Probably not. I will watch snippets or videos of Jet and Charn being lovey dovey, though.
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