This review may contain spoilers
It's Not My Thing & That's Okay!
This is the first Thai GL series I've watched in AGES, which is why I'm disappointed that things turned out the way they did with this one. The premise is great but the execution falls flat. The first episode was incredible; it was exciting, it was entertaining, it made you want to come back for more and then the second episode happened. There was something that happened midway through that episode that gave me the biggest ick I've ever gotten while watching a series. It was sudden and unexpected but it happened.
There was a scene in the second episode where May "lost" Ai-oon and she was grasping at the physical space in front of her in an attempt to find her and there was this look on the actress's face that completely took me out of the scene. Her facial expressions, her body language, her vocal performance. It broke the immersion! I didn't feel like I was watching a drama anymore; it felt like I was watching an actress act out a role and that's never good. An actor's performance is supposed to make you forget that you're watching a drama. It should be that seamless, that effortless. They're supposed to disappear into their role and that's not what happened here. It quite literally gave me actress playing an emotion that doesn't quite fit. It was too over top and there was a LOT of overacting.
The actress playing Ai-oon, Namtan, was fine. I had no issues with her performance whatsoever. I felt like she captured the inner conflict of a woman struggling to find out what happened to her sister while falling for someone she shouldn't. There was a subtly to her performance that worked for her character. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for her counterpart, Film. This is the first series I've watched of both of them so this is my first exposure to both of them as actresses. Film's character, May, was already operating with a huge disadvantage. She was the epitome of a Mary Sue character. She was well-loved, successful, sympathetic, adored, and she had a tragic backstory to boot. May was very one-dimensional and flat as a character and I'm unsure if there was ever any dimension added because I didn't stick around to finish to see.
But anyway, her character was already at a disadvantage due to all those things and her performance didn't elevate that character in any way, shape, or form. Granted, everyone knows that you don't watch Thai GL (or BL) dramas for stellar acting performances. You watch for the queer love and pretty faces! However, I expected more and felt the audience deserved better from this story and we just didn't get that.
Sidenote: this story was also quite predictable. I immediately called May knowing that Ai-oon was pretending to be her sister but I don't know why. I don't know why she continued the charade knowing what she knew and that was the only reason I wanted to keep watching. I needed answers but my patience had run out and I couldn't be bothered anymore.
Honestly, I think this drama was the final nail in the coffin for me. I've struggled with watching most Thai GL dramas, which is why I don't watch as many of them as I could. I always end up dropping them for some reason or another, and this drama is no different. I just think this genre isn't for me, which sucks but I appreciate all sapphic love story attempts but life's too short to watch bad TV if I don't have to. What's even more unfortunate is that I think I probably would have been more receptive to all Thai GL dramas if they were as mass produced back when I initially started watching Thai BL dramas years ago. I think it's just a matter of being more exposed to different markets of Asian dramas so I'm simply more picky now.
Would I recommend this? Maybe? It depends on where you are in your Thai GL drama journey. If you're new to Thai GLs, then you may like it. If you're not new to any of these markets, then probably not. Would I rewatch this? No. Would I go back and finish this? Also, no.
There was a scene in the second episode where May "lost" Ai-oon and she was grasping at the physical space in front of her in an attempt to find her and there was this look on the actress's face that completely took me out of the scene. Her facial expressions, her body language, her vocal performance. It broke the immersion! I didn't feel like I was watching a drama anymore; it felt like I was watching an actress act out a role and that's never good. An actor's performance is supposed to make you forget that you're watching a drama. It should be that seamless, that effortless. They're supposed to disappear into their role and that's not what happened here. It quite literally gave me actress playing an emotion that doesn't quite fit. It was too over top and there was a LOT of overacting.
The actress playing Ai-oon, Namtan, was fine. I had no issues with her performance whatsoever. I felt like she captured the inner conflict of a woman struggling to find out what happened to her sister while falling for someone she shouldn't. There was a subtly to her performance that worked for her character. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for her counterpart, Film. This is the first series I've watched of both of them so this is my first exposure to both of them as actresses. Film's character, May, was already operating with a huge disadvantage. She was the epitome of a Mary Sue character. She was well-loved, successful, sympathetic, adored, and she had a tragic backstory to boot. May was very one-dimensional and flat as a character and I'm unsure if there was ever any dimension added because I didn't stick around to finish to see.
But anyway, her character was already at a disadvantage due to all those things and her performance didn't elevate that character in any way, shape, or form. Granted, everyone knows that you don't watch Thai GL (or BL) dramas for stellar acting performances. You watch for the queer love and pretty faces! However, I expected more and felt the audience deserved better from this story and we just didn't get that.
Sidenote: this story was also quite predictable. I immediately called May knowing that Ai-oon was pretending to be her sister but I don't know why. I don't know why she continued the charade knowing what she knew and that was the only reason I wanted to keep watching. I needed answers but my patience had run out and I couldn't be bothered anymore.
Honestly, I think this drama was the final nail in the coffin for me. I've struggled with watching most Thai GL dramas, which is why I don't watch as many of them as I could. I always end up dropping them for some reason or another, and this drama is no different. I just think this genre isn't for me, which sucks but I appreciate all sapphic love story attempts but life's too short to watch bad TV if I don't have to. What's even more unfortunate is that I think I probably would have been more receptive to all Thai GL dramas if they were as mass produced back when I initially started watching Thai BL dramas years ago. I think it's just a matter of being more exposed to different markets of Asian dramas so I'm simply more picky now.
Would I recommend this? Maybe? It depends on where you are in your Thai GL drama journey. If you're new to Thai GLs, then you may like it. If you're not new to any of these markets, then probably not. Would I rewatch this? No. Would I go back and finish this? Also, no.
Was this review helpful to you?
