This review may contain spoilers
Painfully captivating
I don't know why I took so long to watch Shine, because this series is a masterpiece. If Gelboys started the year with an impeccable and authentic work, Shine closed 2025 with a bold, political narrative full of emotion and beauty.
The story unfolds with a growing tension that is simply irresistible. The series manages to balance well the coldness and cruelty of the dictatorship with the indulgent freedom and rebellion of those who refused to live in a stolen democracy.
Without a doubt, the protagonists here are Krailert and Naran. The narrative between them is pure excellence. From the impeccable acting to the character development, the letters in the newspaper, the duality of their lives, the forbidden desire, the threats, the conflicts of their professions.
It's truly one of the most interesting narratives I've seen in a long time. It's captivating and agonizing at the same time. It's a tragic story but still endowed with such beauty and nuance. They truly steal the show and are responsible for carrying the most significant storylines of the series.
Dr. Trin and Tanwa work well together and it's obvious that the chemistry between them is irresistible. The acting is top tier and I I had no doubt that they would deliver another excellent piece of work here.
What surprises me is how their characters end up being overshadowed and detached from the main plot of the series. The entire romance between them is choppy and fails to develop at an interesting pace.
Tanwa is the one who loses the most here. He's a character who feels disconnected from the plot. There's no evolution, no change. He goes through the entire plot drugged, drunk, fighting with his father and living a reality oblivious to the suffering around him.
And this makes the character sound selfish and alienated at the peak of his privilege. And when the series decides to put Victor in a "love triangle" with Dr. Trin, his image is completely deteriorated.
But it's undeniable that despite the lack of care for the series' protagonists, the story is simply fantastic and frighteningly close to what we could be experiencing today.
A major highlight is Victor, who, despite falling into the cliché of an impossible love triangle – which I consider unnecessary to the plot – still manages to deliver such a powerful narrative.
The ending unfolds bittersweetly with the painful realization that a forbidden love will never be free but still giving us hope that in the midst of all this chaos, some survived to love again.
A beautiful story and a sublime directorial debut by Jean Khamkwan.
The story unfolds with a growing tension that is simply irresistible. The series manages to balance well the coldness and cruelty of the dictatorship with the indulgent freedom and rebellion of those who refused to live in a stolen democracy.
Without a doubt, the protagonists here are Krailert and Naran. The narrative between them is pure excellence. From the impeccable acting to the character development, the letters in the newspaper, the duality of their lives, the forbidden desire, the threats, the conflicts of their professions.
It's truly one of the most interesting narratives I've seen in a long time. It's captivating and agonizing at the same time. It's a tragic story but still endowed with such beauty and nuance. They truly steal the show and are responsible for carrying the most significant storylines of the series.
Dr. Trin and Tanwa work well together and it's obvious that the chemistry between them is irresistible. The acting is top tier and I I had no doubt that they would deliver another excellent piece of work here.
What surprises me is how their characters end up being overshadowed and detached from the main plot of the series. The entire romance between them is choppy and fails to develop at an interesting pace.
Tanwa is the one who loses the most here. He's a character who feels disconnected from the plot. There's no evolution, no change. He goes through the entire plot drugged, drunk, fighting with his father and living a reality oblivious to the suffering around him.
And this makes the character sound selfish and alienated at the peak of his privilege. And when the series decides to put Victor in a "love triangle" with Dr. Trin, his image is completely deteriorated.
But it's undeniable that despite the lack of care for the series' protagonists, the story is simply fantastic and frighteningly close to what we could be experiencing today.
A major highlight is Victor, who, despite falling into the cliché of an impossible love triangle – which I consider unnecessary to the plot – still manages to deliver such a powerful narrative.
The ending unfolds bittersweetly with the painful realization that a forbidden love will never be free but still giving us hope that in the midst of all this chaos, some survived to love again.
A beautiful story and a sublime directorial debut by Jean Khamkwan.
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