Since this is coming from a company producing BLs, is marketed as a LGBTQ+ romance/BL (as well as a horror/mystery) series and I'm watching it for those reasons (and not for it being a horror/mystery production) - I'm not a fan of ep. 1. Sure, it establishes the characters to some degree and introduces the horror/mystery storyline, but doesn't do anything in the BL departament; more than that: it implies that the main focus of the show will be its horror/mystery aspect - which disappointed me. As for the horror and mystery - it's nothing new nor groundbreaking, relying on well-known tropes from formats like "Final Destination" or the recently airing "Leap Day", released by GMMTV (btw: what looks like the same building was used in both productions).
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An interesting episode, well crafted (even with a tiny connection to events of ep. 9) and nicely paced - especially when it comes to the Kit-Shane plot thread (what I liked in particular was when the episode gave Shane time to dismantle everything scholarship related on his cockboard; this was given just enough time to breathe). Kit - again - was how a boyfriend should be: supporting, caring, but not intrusive, patiently waiting for the right moment to step in; Kit just might be a model BL boyfriend. BTW: while Kit is written as caring more for another (his bf) than himself, Shane, Kim and Mon are more about themselves - their plans, views, feelings, doubts and fears come first; this was very visible in this episode, but it wasn't the first time those characters behaved and acted like that. Also, Mon's mom wasn't in this episode - and that's a good thing.
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If you watched the trailer (as I did) you've already seen everything important from ep. 1: the main couple gets established (rather than introduced - as this, apparently, happened in a series which aired 4 years ago), issues the main plot of the series revolves around are presented almost immediately and the show gets on the road with the body swap thing. Both ep. 1 and the show as a whole benefit from good production quality, an interesting main plot and fairy well done scenes where the main couple gets intimate. However, there are more misses than hits here. First of all - the writing. Body swapping as main plot point can be used in many different ways: as basis for comedy or a tale of the main couple reflecting on their relationship or for each of the main characters to do some introspection; hell - it can even be used to produce erotic content. Whoever wrote the script for "Suntiny" knows this, but did what seems a half-hearted job: the comedy isn't very good nor is there a lot of it, and while both mains describe positive influence of body swap on their relationship, this remains a declaration only and is not followed by any actions. What also bothered me a lot was how writing influenced pacing of the episode: I felt like the story is not progressing in a natural way, developing in an understandable way, but jumps from scene to scene - and those scenes are only loosely related. Another problem was lack of acting; Max delivered his lines like a machine, in a flat, boring way - Nat, despite all of his shortcomings, at least brought some feeling and intensity to his performance. And one more problem: poor editing and some weird editing choices. Ep. 1 is only 38 minutes long and watching it I got the feeling that there are several scenes missing (either cut during editing or not shot/written at all) - scenes that should be there for ep. 1 to tell its story in a comprehensive way.
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Atmospheric, immersive and with a lot of undeniable chemistry between Great and Inn - that was ep. 1 and my forst impression of "Memoir of Rati". Loved all scenes shot after dark - this little detail gave them all the ambience they needed. Hope the political/geopolitical aspects of the story's setting, touched upon in this episode, won't become too important later - this is, after all, a BL.
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Sweet Tooth, Good Dentist Episode 10
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Emotionally and tonally by far the strongest entry into the series, ep. 10 takes full advantage of the slow story build up from previous episodes and clever writing to deliver real gut punches. Combined efforts of Mark, Ohm, Khaotung and Honey (portraying Jay's mother) result in a satysfying conclusion of Jay's arc, presenting him in full complexity - as a deeply wounded, split person. Mark's delivery of "I'm allowed to be happy with that, right? I didn't do anything wrong, did I?" shows not only the actor's skill, but also resembles another well acted moment of self-reflection - from ep. 7. It's also worth appreciating how this episode uses music and lack of it in more important scenes, like the last scene with Mark and Khaotung, which is played with almost no background music.
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Sweet Tooth, Good Dentist Episode 9
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I wasn't particularly happy with the previous episode, especially for the way it dealt with the strained relationship between Croissant and his mother. Now, for a change, I'm very pleased with the way Jay and his mom's relationship was presented and how that allowed more introspection for Jay - it all happened in a very calm and natural way, without needless drama or crying. I almost got teary watching Jay revealing his past to Sant, so honest and vulnerable thanks to Mark's very authentic performance. Scenes like that, where the actors themselves seems quite moved, show how good this series could have been with better and more consistent writing. MarkOhm keep carrying this show and scenes with those two are alone (regardless whether comedic, romantic, serious or even sad) are why I keep watching STGD and - on balance - consider it an imperfect, but decent show. P.S.: it's always good to see Khaotung working, especially when he's not under Jojo's horrible direction.
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After fun and joy of ep. 5 the show returns to its roots - and returns in full force. You can feel how abandoned the main characters are, left on their own with a problem which is hard to explain to anyone else and remains a mystery even to those affected by it. The whole production team, not just the cast, did a splendid job creating a world in which the main characters seem alone (even though they are surrounded by other people), desperately fighting a faceless danger which slowly creeps towards them. A perfectly suffocating feeling.
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Sweet Tooth, Good Dentist Episode 7
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After several episodes with just enough content we got one with content overload. I thoroughly enjoyed all MarkOhm scenes and think the episode could have been limited to those, with the Yada-Gug-Baiporn plotline getting dragged for too long and for no apparent reason. The short scene with Mark and Na Phuang Chernyim where they talk about fear was the best one of the series (so far) when it comes to acting - played entirely straight, a sobering moment in this crazy and funny episode. While Captain's departure brings some badly needed closure and clarity to the Jay-Sant dynamic, we got long expected foreshadowing of the past haunting our two main characters.
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With a lighter atmosphere and more camaraderie episode 5 seems to be putting the series on a new course - possibly towards solving the Leap Day mystery. The script is not perfect though, devoting the first part of the episode to an incomprehensible search for a Leap Day loophole - all because of something Day's teacher vaguely alluded to during class. The story gets better afterwards and - for the first time - Dew and Pahn almost didn't annoy me. Pond and Gun continue to shine, particularly during Day-Ozone scenes.
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With a welcome change of setting (to that of a science museum and an amusement park) and pranksters on the loose, the highschool crew faces more love dilemmas: how to confess one's feelings, should fear stop us from doing it and how to avoid unwanted conversations we probably should have. Kim, Shane and Kit present various stages of teen insecurity, restlessness and awkwardness - all of which feels relatable. The show sticks with it's general lightheartedness and (correctly) avoids straying into drama or getting too serious. Again, Luke does a decent job, Mick is a little wooden while Chokun and Aston give passable performances. In the background Paul and Ken keep having fun while Pod and Papang put their characters on a course towards relationship. The show keeps its good pace and retains its momentum, which - by episode 3 - is a good sign.
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Bland Zee and struggling NuNew - acting isn't and probably won't be a strong suit of this show. In fact, acting got eclipsed by rather decent action scenes - and it seems the series will stick with them. The general plot makes sense, but it doesn't translate into a sensible script: why was Khanin kept in the dark about his identity for twenty-something years? Why was his death faked in the first place? Why was he separated from his biological father and was raised by a fake father? Who and why thought that was a good idea? Why did Charan approach Khanin in such a weird way, why the delay in getting to the point of Charan coming to the UK? Sure, all of that serves a purpose - to establish the two main characters, give them some initial interactions and generate some early on drama, but it's nonsensical at the same time. BTW: all characters we see in the UK speak horrible English - but why would they even need to speak English? All characters in Emmaly speak Thai, not Emmalian, so why couldn't people in the UK speak Thai as well? As for production quality: it's decent, but a lot of things look funny, like palace interiors, uniforms or most exterior shots of what's supposed to be the UK. It looks delightfully campy, but I doubt it was intentional; I'm sure the prop department wanted everything to look glamorous and serious - in a fantasy or fairytale kind of way.
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Sweet Tooth, Good Dentist Episode 6
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Script wise this was a weird episode: after a strong start impying we'll see Jay and Captain competing against each other to win Sant's favors, once Jay declared that he won't back down - he backed down and stayed passive for the rest of the episode. Not only did he not compete with Captain - he basically gave up on doing anything (inviting Sant to watch Nanon's movie was the exception), allowing events to unfold for an unspecified period, which could have been a week or a month - the episode gave us no clues regarding that. On the other hand we had Captain and Sant spending more and more time together - and all of the sudden Captain not only stopped pursuing Sant, but made a U turn and helped his rival, by giving Sant a lift. tldr: both Jay and Captain gave up on pursuing Sant, which made no sense storywise and resulted in the episode losing its driving force. Mark, Ohm and Jimmy really deserved better material to work with; this episode's script was less than filler - it was a waste of everyone's time.
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Like before, I'm all for Pond and Gun. Ozone's hospital bed monologue about himself and Day was the emotional core of the episode and Gun nailed it. The slowly developing mystery - providing more questions and no answers - is still captivating and enjoyable. What I was less fond of was the Night-Dream side of the story, although Dew and his character was less annoying this time and the comedy bit at the library was the best part of his performance in this series so far. Not sure, however, what the comedy was needed for - in a show about a curse killing people on a regular basis and constant danger.
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Packed with "main main" couple relationship development and some audible heart flutter, ep. 2 loses none of the pace with which the series started and pushes us deeper into teen love territory. What stood out to me was the consistently decent writing, which allowed for some candid exchanges between Shane and Kit; their argument on the school staircase was played completely serious, felt genuine and prepared the ground for confessions of both characters. Things like that make this show generally lighthearted, romantic, but only partly comedic - which I like. Luke did a decent job in this episode, with Mick lagging behind. Performances of the rest of the cast were okay, but this can be attributed to the script of this episode being far less challenging for them.
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The mystery stays engaging (helped by Gandhi Wasuwitchayagit, who expertly switched from innocent to creepy in a second), the atmosphere of dread is there (the flashback/nightmare scene was really good), while Day and Ozone are well-written characters portrayed in a solid way by Pond and Gun. On the other hand: Dew and his character are both obnoxious, Pahn can't act and her character is annoying, while the Night-Dream relationship plotline is a joke. Never thought I'm gonna say that, but I'm here for Gun and Pond.
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