denryion

This was a campy, over-the-top, soap-opera level, over-dramatic series. Don’t take it too seriously, and don’t expect too much. The dialogue is bad, the acting is terrible, the editing is inconsistent, there are plot holes and inconsistencies galore, and the entire premise is ridiculous. Don’t try to make logical sense of anything, because you won’t be able to. But all the same, it was still fun to watch.

Given that the show is meant to be ridiculous, I’m not going to criticize all the ridiculous things that happened. But I will say that I wish it hadn’t been executed as a rich people dick measuring contest. Natee’s family kept calling him “poor” when he’s probably still in the top 1%, and Phakin would respond by buying something way more expensive than the family could afford. So it turned into one upping each other’s richness instead of a love-over-money thing, which is what I would have preferred. They invited a bunch of rich CEOs they had no personal connection with to the wedding, and wow those wedding rings were UGLY. Rich people need to learn big diamonds don’t make pretty rings.

Consent / boundary issues: Irene (arranged fiancé) attempted to rape Natee via spiked drink. Phakin had his employees keep tabs on Natee, which is how he knew he was at the club and in trouble. While drugged, Natee was inappropriately touching himself and Phakin, and I felt Phakin took a touch too long to step away. He also helped Natee shower apparently, because Natee woke up naked. Not sure why that was necessary. Phakin also made a joke about showering together immediately after they got married that made Natee uncomfortable. When Natee walks in on Phakin in the shower, he stares for way too long before exiting. When Natee is upset with Phakin after discovering his true identity, Phakin hugs him without checking for consent but gets pushed away and doesn’t persist further. When they’re having fake sex to fool the family, Phakin grabs / chokes Natee’s neck and that did not appear to be pre-negotiated. Natee hugs Phakin from behind, saying that’s how his mom used to hold him, but really it’s just an excuse to touch him, because he starts feeling up his abs and moves his hands down towards his crotch before Phakin stops him.

There’s one kiss at the end after they get married, and one NC scene where they’re pretending to have sex to fool Natee’s family. There’s no actual lip-to-body contact in that scene (Phakin kisses his finger instead of Natee’s mouth and only hovers his lips over the rest of his body), but it was fairly steamy for a shorts series. Phakin ties up Natee’s hands with a belt (pre-negotiated) and also grabs / chokes his neck (not pre-negotiated).

I’m not sure if it was a subtitle translation issue or them being heteronormative, but they referred to Natee with feminine words such as “wife” and “madam” even though he didn’t identify as a fem gender. They also used “her” to describe a fem male character that wasn’t indicated to be transfeminine.