This review may contain spoilers
You can watch the cut version without missing anything important
This was a rewatch (I watched the cut version last time), but I remembered nothing from it, and honestly, I won't remember any of it this time either. Addicted and Stay with Me just did everything so much better: from the plot to the characters to the balance between seriousness and humor. Also, I don't know how, but this version somehow does less than the others when it had the time to do it right. If you want to watch the major red flag that Hero is supposed to be, then watch Addicted. If you want a fuller & just all-around great adaptation of the novel, then watch Stay with Me. Don't waste your time with this adaptation, or at least watch this one first so things only get better. (Stay with Me was my favorite).
What didn't help this series at all was the translation. The series already wasn't doing too hot, but then there would just be random moments where they didn't translate anything being said. I know some basic Thai, but not enough to understand most of what's being said, even with context clues.
I had no problems with the acting, really; they did the best they could with what they were given, but I wish they had recast either Mac or August so that our main couple could have actually kissed. This couple is supposed to be VERY intimate; this is a fact in both the novel & original adaptation, but they couldn't really do that here because Mac was underage. So every fake kiss and intimate moment was blocked or black-screened. I'm not the biggest fan of NC scenes, but they are a large part of our main couple getting together, so avoiding them like the plague made the romance incredibly fake because it had little to build on. It also felt like it came out of nowhere; I'm not even sure when it started. The chemistry between them was also hit or miss, but as I said, the actors did the best they could; I'm honestly surprised that their chemistry was as good as it was.
The characters themselves weren't even as good as the originals. If you are going to take out the NC scenes, you can't also take out the back-and-forth between them. Them playing tricks (bullying) on each other built the tension and showcased how smart Bai Luo Yin (Poppy) is. Without it, the relationship felt imbalanced & Poppy came across as just an everyday student with nothing really special about him other than his handwriting and Hero noticing him. In the original series, it was a great way of showcasing his intelligence without relying on basic school knowledge. Hero was also just straight up weaker than his predecessors. This isn't anything against the actor; they just didn't do a good job of showcasing it at all.
Even the tension with the parents felt lacking, like it didn't actually feel dangerous at all, even when a gun was involved.
Our side couple was probably the best thing about the series, and that's only because we get no resolution from them in Addicted or Stay with Me, and here we at least got a kiss.
The plot itself felt patchworked because of them avoiding the NC scenes & glazing over some of the more relaxing moments the main characters shared that would have helped build the relationship. They didn't even include the whole ordeal Bai Luo Yin had to go through with Gu Hai's uncle. But the one thing that really bothered me is how they chose to start the series. We start with them as adults after they've been apart (if you haven't read the novels, it was 8 years), & they had no reason to do this. Why show us that if you have no plans to do that time skip in the series? Why do it if you're not even going to make it to where the time skip happens? It was completely pointless to include this scene because it didn't add anything to the plot except confusion.
So yeah, unless you are really interested or invested in the series, I would give this version a hard pass.
What didn't help this series at all was the translation. The series already wasn't doing too hot, but then there would just be random moments where they didn't translate anything being said. I know some basic Thai, but not enough to understand most of what's being said, even with context clues.
I had no problems with the acting, really; they did the best they could with what they were given, but I wish they had recast either Mac or August so that our main couple could have actually kissed. This couple is supposed to be VERY intimate; this is a fact in both the novel & original adaptation, but they couldn't really do that here because Mac was underage. So every fake kiss and intimate moment was blocked or black-screened. I'm not the biggest fan of NC scenes, but they are a large part of our main couple getting together, so avoiding them like the plague made the romance incredibly fake because it had little to build on. It also felt like it came out of nowhere; I'm not even sure when it started. The chemistry between them was also hit or miss, but as I said, the actors did the best they could; I'm honestly surprised that their chemistry was as good as it was.
The characters themselves weren't even as good as the originals. If you are going to take out the NC scenes, you can't also take out the back-and-forth between them. Them playing tricks (bullying) on each other built the tension and showcased how smart Bai Luo Yin (Poppy) is. Without it, the relationship felt imbalanced & Poppy came across as just an everyday student with nothing really special about him other than his handwriting and Hero noticing him. In the original series, it was a great way of showcasing his intelligence without relying on basic school knowledge. Hero was also just straight up weaker than his predecessors. This isn't anything against the actor; they just didn't do a good job of showcasing it at all.
Even the tension with the parents felt lacking, like it didn't actually feel dangerous at all, even when a gun was involved.
Our side couple was probably the best thing about the series, and that's only because we get no resolution from them in Addicted or Stay with Me, and here we at least got a kiss.
The plot itself felt patchworked because of them avoiding the NC scenes & glazing over some of the more relaxing moments the main characters shared that would have helped build the relationship. They didn't even include the whole ordeal Bai Luo Yin had to go through with Gu Hai's uncle. But the one thing that really bothered me is how they chose to start the series. We start with them as adults after they've been apart (if you haven't read the novels, it was 8 years), & they had no reason to do this. Why show us that if you have no plans to do that time skip in the series? Why do it if you're not even going to make it to where the time skip happens? It was completely pointless to include this scene because it didn't add anything to the plot except confusion.
So yeah, unless you are really interested or invested in the series, I would give this version a hard pass.
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