Mills15

There has been no other story that has been told as many times as the dramatic saga of F4. Based on the original manga by Kamio Yoko, Hana Yori Dango is an ever evolving story that has seen many language and cultural adaptations over the years. Most of us have watched at least one version of it, yet some of us have watched every single adaptation in hopes of finding that one remake that sets the story apart from all the other ones that were produced.

The first viewing experience I had was when I watched Meteor Garden. The Taiwanese version was low budget and cheap looking, yet the cast brought the story to life in a way that had us sitting at the edge of our seats just waiting for Shan Chai and Dao Ming Si to defy the odds of the rich boy poor girl trope and prove to us all that love prevails no matter what. Yes, it was 2001 and most of us clung to the hope that although Dao Ming Si was a complete ass and a nasty piece of work on the outside, deep in his soul he just was a lost poor little rich boy who needed a strong girl by his side to turn him into a decent human being.

This being the premise of the story, it was easy to see that nearly every adaptation was the same in terms of the narrative and the purpose of the story:

Meteor Garden (Taiwan, 2001)

Hana Yori Dango (Japan, 2005)

Boys Over Flowers (South Korea, 2009)

Meteor Garden (China, 2018)

I had watched the Taiwanese and Japanese versions before declaring that I would skip the South Korean and China versions as it was predictable and honestly, the story was not aging well. In today's society, it is incredibly hard to watch a show about four spoiled rich boys selecting schoolmates to bully simply because they were bored and they could. The level of violence was unacceptable and as I grew older, it bothered me to a level where I questioned why I ever championed Dao Ming Si/Doumyouji Tsukasa when they were just awful people. Was there something in the water back then that made us such fans of toxic male leads? Some fans may have been rooting for Hua Zhe Lei/Hanazawa Rui instead, but don't forget that he too was a member of F4 and did absolutely nothing to help out the victims (please don't think that just because he stopped Shan Cai/Makino Tsukushi from being sexually assaulted that he became some hero, because he truly was not decent either.)

Having sworn off the series, I told myself I would never watch any other adaptations - the first two and their multiple seasons plus a movie were more than enough. Then in 2021, F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers aired. This was the one. It overshadowed all the other adaptations and paid tribute to the story of F4 by bringing it into today's world and making it relatable. This version was a masterclass in how to adapt a classic story and give it new life and purpose to exist today. It was just done right.

This adaptation was produced with a budget that could carry the show without cutting down on the quality or reality of the characters' lives. It truly made us believe that there was this exclusive school somewhere in the middle of Bangkok that catered to these incredibly wealthy children who were all set to inherit their family businesses. Done with true Southeast Asian relatability: Thyme came from a real estate mogul type family, Ren from a family that practiced traditional medicine, Kavin from a family that practiced cultural crafts, and MJ from a family that was part of the Thai mafia. I liked that the production team decided to localise these aspects of the story and make it familiar not only for their Thai audience, but also for most of us in Southeast Asia who could relate to it.

The premise of the story began the same way, F4 being revered yet feared by the entire school. I feel like the director really leaned into the audacity of the boys as he found an abandoned space that resembled the ruins of a stadium of some sort and Thyme would sit on a chair in the middle of this space and watch whichever victim he had chosen be bullied so violently, like he was some depraved king on his throne. Was it ridiculous and over the top? Of course it was, but when was this story not? The settings in the drama were chosen so well that it transported us from the school, to Thyme's palace of a home, to Gorya's regular suburb and even to the flower shop where she and her best friend worked. Each transition between these spaces felt natural and did not look like it was part of a fake set which had been created specifically for the drama. I truly believe that Thyme's family home belongs to some mogul who was kind enough (or smart enough) to lend it to the production team for filming.

Following its predecessors and the original storyline, the drama progressed as predicted however, it cleverly utilised social media and technology to make it more current. This aspect of the show was rather ingenious and drew attention to how easy it was to be a cyberbully because one can always hide behind their screen. There were moral lessons and social accountability awareness weaved into the story, eventually culminating in Thyme feeling severely remorseful for his past behaviour and visiting each victim he bullied to apologise. None of them forgave him easily, which I found incredibly realistic. The scene with him on his knees outside a victim's house begging for forgiveness was so powerful and so well executed. None of the other adaptations had ever done this. This was what made F4 Thailand stand out and break the barriers of adaptation as the director and screenwriter chose to tell the story responsibly and for it to age well into the future.

The cast for the drama was excellent. Most of us know Bright and Win from 2gether which came out the year before F4 Thailand and had already made them famous internationally. The Thai BL fandom is a global one and many of them had a hard time accepting both Thyme and Kavin who were so very different from Sarawat and Tine. For me though, I was late to the 2gether fan club and had watched F4 Thailand first, thus I shipped the characters from both shows accordingly without much trouble. Tu was cast perfectly as Gorya, she brought out that familiar rebel and kind girl energy that we all loved. Whether she was kicking Thyme, falling for Ren or carrying the weight of her family on her shoulders, Gorya was a force to be reckoned with and Tu gave it her all to make us root for this poor girl who really just wanted to go about her daily life without any drama. The final episode of the drama really clinched this version for me, as Gorya goes to see Thyme's mother (Cindy was brilliant) and it's not a confrontation, but Gorya coming to understand that Thyme's mother loves him very much and only wants the best for him. The way this scene played out in the rain and between the gates of Thyme's palatial home really showed how two women who came from such opposite backgrounds could unite in their shared love for this one boy. Thyme's mother realising that Gorya never wanted to take him from her, but just wanted to be a part of his life was such an important lesson and a realistic one too. Again, none of the other adaptations had this conversation take place and the significance of it definitely added to the success of this adaptation. Let's not forget the subtle and quiet romance of Kavin and Prim, "indie" Ren and MJ's fried chicken sponsored unfinished love story on the side, as well as the wonderful Lita who all came together with just the right amount to balance out our main couple.

For those of you who missed out on this version or didn't get around to watching it simply because you don't watch Thai dramas, let this be the one drama you watch. I promise you, no regrets.