downunderthere

Two Meryl Streeps in a bizarrely conceived plot

Before I say anything about this drama, I wanna note that this was my first GL and the sense of romantic giddiness that a lot of us here for I completely got. I am planning for this to be the first of many. I also want to emphasize the two actresses are way too talented for this script. Sonya in particular was extremely convincing, especially during the more emotionally tense moments. But Lookmhee was wonderful as well.

Now, all that said, what the fuck was that?

First of all, Pleng doesn't seem to understand the concept of "I love you" and that lesbianism is an option. The amount of times these two confessed their love for one another on their knees, only for Pleng to turn around and try to set up Wan with someone else was frankly ridiculous. Wan literally kissed her on the lips casually in episode five and she just thought nothing of it I suppose? One time I get, eight times it was starting to wear on me a little bit.

Now, let's talk about those final episodes. I do think the drama's script coddles Ek a little too much when he was consistently a creep throughout the entire series. Not to mention the scene where he randomly walks in to them making out and is like "you two should die" was hysterical. I laughed my ass off I'm sorry.

What really got me though was the unnecessary "incest" plot twist that wasn't actually incest, but it was still a really bizarre inclusion. It was already weird from that point forward, but then we got to episode eight, where Pleng says that even if the sibling test results were positive, it wouldn't have mattered. I had to close my app and take a break because oh my god.

These actresses are way to good to play these characters who have deep, deep flaws in their writing. The plot went beyond unrealistic or even melodramatic, it just got weird at points. In a way, I leave this drama both impressed and disappointed. I look forward to the next one.

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A contender for the best BL of 2025

Khemjira from the first episode had me hooked.

Beyond having an intriguing premise, it handles the subject matter maturely and Khem's emotional state given his day-to-day life of constant peril. Almost every episode has edge-of-seat action and storyline sequences, albeit there are a few episodes that this slows down primarily to flesh out the boys' relationship, but it quickly picks up where it left off.

However, none of the plot would have the emotional impact it did without the work of the cast. All actors felt extremely well-suited in their roles and captured their unique personalities very well. Namping especially delivers a phenomenal performance given the amount of range he had to portray episode to episode. The acting is A-grade and only enhances the immersion of the drama overall.

I also want to compliment the series for its inclusion of Thai culture, religion, and history. Although I'm no scholar on the subject matter, it gives the feeling that a lot of care went into its world-building and writing. The character of Rampheung especially just really embodied how much thought went into the writing.

It's hard for me to think of ways Khemjira could improve. Perhaps it could have benefitted from more substance in its less action-packed episodes, or hit more emotional beats than it did, but overall, this show is exceptional. The writing, the cast, the production value are all highly polished. It's hard for me to imagine another BL beating it quality-wise this year.

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Poor script, surprisingly polished execution.

Knock Out has a very strong cast; there were several moments where I felt the need to go back just to watch how one of them acted in a scene again just because it was intriguingly convincing. This was particularly true of Nice although everybody held their own.

The biggest downfall, however, is the story. While Knock Out tries to handle dark subject matter and occasionally delivers thoughtful messages pertaining to such, it becomes increasingly difficult to take seriously given the nature in which it's depicted. Yut's comically-evil archetype would give Carbon from Jack and Joker a run for his money, and the way their veins lit up like IMAX whenever they injected steroids had me in stitches laughing.

Even with the amount of turns the narrative takes Knock Out is shockingly predictable. In the beginning, it goes out of its way to show the two main antagonists as overly charitable philanthropists, and quite honestly, the big reveals that they have been actually evil all along just do not hit at all.

It also does not bother to properly flesh out its arcs, as the central conflict to Keen's character is resolved within the first couple episodes. There was also Typhoon's sudden change of heart, which was not hinted at whatsoever until the final episodes.

All that said, the production quality and cast are the strongest parts of this series. Nice and Gunner's performances are absolutely worth the watch on their own, but if you're in this more for story purposes, Knock Out will likely leave you hanging.

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God it’s irreparably flawed, but I loved it.

I struggle so deeply with giving The Wicked Game this rating, as this was a drama I was truly enthralled with. Pheem’s characterization was incredibly strong and well-rounded, Offroad had a hell of a job with this character and he did fantastic with it.

Now, here’s where the issue lies. That ending. It was almost the same as Laws of Attraction. Also killing off everybody in that show except for Than and Pheem? So Risa was never actually brought to justice? It made everything we had been building to feel in vain, which is not a good feeling as a watcher. Just lazy writing that I’m quite disappointed with.

I really believe they should have made more episodes, because that final episode felt as though they were just trying to cram everything together in a horribly messy little bow.

Now, all that said. What a ride. I truly loved this show. Though I was disappointed with how it ended, I was locked in every episode that came out. It was edge of your seat drama and it was incredibly entertaining to watch the power plays that happened each week between the siblings. I wish Chet and Risa would have lived to the end to see what would happen to them. But at the same time, with the constant violence in that family, perhaps they were bound to wind up like this.

Oh, The Wicked Game, how I hate you and I love you. Oddly fitting given the dynamic between Than and Pheem. I look forward to the next one.

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