MidnightReader

I truly love this series. Compared to season 1, I liked it more, simply because I really didn't care about HillEaster. I think the only real negative thing I have to say about the series is that I wish the stories had been interconnected like they were in season one instead of these separate, standalone stories. Separated the way they were, everything felt disconnected, like they weren't a part of the same universe, even though we have recurring characters like North showing up in each of the stories.

North & Jo were the only characters from season 1 that showed up in each of the stories. I love North, so I was really happy about this, but I was disappointed that we were never told how Jo and Suea (Tiger) know each other. This was the one thing I wanted answered the most because I'm convinced Jo has worked with the mafia before, even if he's not a member, and I just need to know, you know?

North really is the best friend you could have. He's also spent way too much time with Arthit.

The exaggerated and cringy faces/dioluge are also not used as much in this season, thankfully. It was one of the more annoying things in the first season.

TONFAH/TYPHOON
I hate to admit that I was a bit disappointed in their story. I thought for sure that it would be the most interesting because of Typhoon's abusive father. Still, instead we focus mostly on the cute/shy moments and pushed the hurt/abuse so far into the background that the trauma seemingly healed itself and the father was taken care of almost instantly after he hits Typhoon.

I felt like with the years of abuse and neglect Typhoon went through, it wasn't given enough weight, and we focused too much on the romance. Honestly, if they wanted to focus so much on the romance, I feel like it should have been an episode or 2 longer to deal with everything in a more impactful and believable way. Or they could have cut out some of the fluff. Some could have been removed. The pacing slowed at times because the cute/shy moments were super repetitive. I actually started watching at X1.5 speed during some of those moments because they felt like they added nothing to the story. Tonliew's acting did get me feeling emotional, and it would have been nice to see him slowly heal from his trauma instead of only seeing it for the first couple of episodes. The boy has been emotionally, mentally, and physically abused and neglected. He barely eats or sleeps, and has nightmares. He even thought about killing himself after losing the last person he felt loved him. All of that and Fah slowly healing him should have been the focus.

I didn't count my feelings on this too heavily on my score because it's probably how it is in the book. I will be reading all the stories later on; I'm just not sure when.

On the cute moments, there are a few that I may have liked a little too much. I love that Tonfah is always pulling Phoon into his lap. I love that Fah calls Phoon "little one"; it's adorable, and it fits him so well. I also really like that Tonfah's look sometimes just screams "I'm going to eat you." Bever does that look a little TOO well. It was also really cute when Phoon got drunk and was talking about having kids with Fah.

So the couple that I thought would be the most interesting ended up being the most boring to me.

ARTHIT/DAO
This is the couple that I thought I would like the most & I was kind of right. I love them on the same level as JoNorth & SueaNao. They are both very straightforward people who don't lie or sugarcoat things, and their personalities complement each other really well. I wouldn't say this was enemies-to-lovers, but it was at least pain-in-the-ass-to-lovers, which I'm always here for.

2 things disappointed me here. First, I wanted to see Dao tell his friends about his powers. I feel like we really missed out when, honestly, it was probably nothing. Second, explain to me how Arthit and Dao have never met once when all of their friends are dating? I know Dao isn't the most social, but they should have met at least once in passing (I'm not counting Dao seeing Arthit eat Fah's gift). Both of these things didn't hinder my enjoyment of the story, but they are things that I would have liked to see.

I laughed and cried a lot more in this story than I was expecting. Meen, Dao, and Arthit made me cry multiple times. Arthit and his father Direk ( you know his actual father, not Hill, Jo, and Fah) made me laugh many times. The one that was the most memorable was Direk having Arthit saved on his phone as "little sperm"; no idea why I found that so cute and funny. I also laughed a lot when Arthit was dealing with Khram and somehow became his therapist. Oh, I also loved it when Dao pulled on Arthit's ear just like a pissed mother would.

This pairing had the best cuddles.

SUEA/NAO
First off, I love that Nao has a twin brother, and they gave us a good reason for why he wasn't in season 1 (Studying in Boston). They used different actors, but they looked enough alike to pass for twins.

The first 5 & 1/2 episodes (I'm not sure where in episode 6 it went from past to present, so I'm saying 1/2) gave us the full backstory on how Suea and Nao met, Suea falling in love, and all the son-of-a-mafia crap that happened in between. We even get a 2-year time skip when they are in high school that is mostly shown through little moments and phone calls. I wish we had gotten to see a time skip of their 2nd year in college because I don't think we saw anything from it? I would say we needed more of their first year as well for those who didn't watch season 1. I'm not sure because I'm not really sure when we got to present day. (This was the only real negative in this couple's story for me) I love that they spent so much time building up Suea's one-sided crush and the tension, only to put us in the present day, where Suea snaps & finally confesses his love. I liked seeing so much of their lives.

Suea's gay panic was the funniest and cutest thing. Singha being a tsundere with a brother complex was also very sweet.

Also, I thought Jo was bad when he was trying to win over North, but Suea is so over-the-top it's funny. Seriously though, how do Suea and Jo know each other!?

I actually teared up a couple of times for Suea because he was hurting so much from the things that Nao said and did that unintentionally hurt him, and he wouldn't/couldn't cry. He was clearly hurting, and it felt like he wouldn't allow himself to cry at first because he had already accepted that to be a part of Nao's life was to experience the emotional pain that came with him being interested in others. Nao was both the person who made him the happiest and the sadest & he endured it for 6 years. He is literally ready to kill & die for Nao. Nothing his father or brother did to him could make him cry, but Nao could bring him to his knees.

Except for the first time he was forced to kill. Which was a fucked up thing to do to your child, mafia or not, and Suea was literally a child. He was 16! I'm surprised there wasn't a part of the story where Suea's father targeted Nao to force/manipulate Suea into doing what he wanted. The asshole kicks the bucket randomly near the end (good riddance) before Singha is forced to marry, so both of our boys get to be happy with the ones they love.

I don't know how this story had time to develop the relationship so beautifully while giving us two side couples that we didn't ask for, but I appreciated it nonetheless. We didn't actually see a lot of Micky & Tul, but Singha & Ben were in the story quite a bit & while we only got a little bit of the romance, it didn't feel forced at all. They did this when Tonfah/Typoon's story felt like it could barely handle the romance.

OVERALL I really liked the series. If the stories had been connected instead of being standalones (and done well, mind), I probably would have rated this series a 9.