I had to make a chart about who fathered whom ... in order to keep track about how everyone is related.... a lot of fun....LOL Still, I found parent generation to be more interesting than kid's generation, especially all the intertwined love stories.
Lots of makjang, makjang, makjang , reminded me of those long family K-dramas .... Still, many stories and characters packed in, all intertwining, makes a very good pace, held my interest. Most characters are developed enough w/ individual motivations.
The key is the black-magic potion, the only ridiculous part .... But that potion is necessary to make sense of events and make character's actions believable .... I am glad they injected this plot-line, otherwise characters would have been typical lakorn change personality scenarios. ..so that's good.... Other ridiculous thing are the minor parts played by evil 2nd male and 2nd female leads.... Typical lakorn, so why stop at that cliche? :P
The lead actor is very cute ... Typical possessive man-child male lead , yet likable ....( Obviously only good if you like slap/kiss, not a perfect male lead.) Unfortunately I am biased against the lead actress, just my personal superficial prejudice, all her facial expressions looked as if she's disgusted all the time ... her character wasn't bad tho.... The Nang'Rai is terrible actress and annoying. The brother Pat is good, Dut is cute ...
CONCLUSION: A typical slap/kiss revenge made interesting by the multi-generational intertwining stories and the interesting characters.
EDIT: Just found out why the story is so interesting.... it is inspired by classic lakorn Ching Chang, based on the novel ....... Inspired meaning it is an adaptation, not a remake.
I disagree w/ most comments below.... I make my case and draw a different conclusion!
+ The two leads, their characters, their wonderful chemistry, their good acting ang the good writing, make this show very very good. The plot has good pace and progress, w/ minor issues listed below.
+ I like Kim's character here ..... for someone full of "pride and prejudice" her actions made a lot of sense ... I love characters like her, whether male or female: they are nearly perfect and have warm hearts, except for this outer appearance of arrogance..... Maybe that's why I love the originals, Darcy & Elizabeth! .... She's also vulnerable and has problems trusting, a complex character w/ room for growth!
+ James is a pleasant surprise ... What a good actor, and very manly! .... Not easy to play the "bought husband", both the acting and the writing gave the role dignity! ... Sawat is perfect! (see blow)....
+ For once, I did not find the Nang'Rai (evil second female lead) annoying (many may not agree) ... yes, she was delusional and obsessed too much and for too long, but the actress is pretty good so I did not hate her... Also, I never liked the spoiled rotten N'rai trope, this was better in that she was looking for male love to replace her father's negligence... more believable and relateable.
A lot of the credit is due to actress, she's very good (usually they give this role to very bad actresses...Ughhh:P)
+ Some typical lakorn tropes, including characters that suddenly change.... Chaya's heart changed too quickly .. (Not spoiler, it's typical lakorn second male lead role, who suddenly changes from heroine to her best friend)
+ Some inconsistencies :
-- They obviously went back and re-shot many scenes .... BUT, why didn't they dye Kim's hair? ... It kept changing from very light brown to black .... I can overlook such mistakes if it means the drama is better in the end!
-- Uncle Chaya liking his niece is creepy ... so he convinces himself they're not blood-related b/c he's not his father's son .... what B.S.!!! ..... I am sure it would have been better to make his mom not so perfect so doubting his paternity is plausible!
-- Some plot points didn't make sense, b/c they want a perfect male lead ..... They have already agreed on payment plan for his loan before the marriage question , so why do they keep saying he is a "bought husband"?... Doesn't make sense! ... Obviously b/c they want the male lead to be perfect and honorable .... I bet in original he couldn't pay back that's why he's "bought"!
I really hate this trend of making perfect lead characters w/ no flaws!!!
+++ Conclusion:
-- Like most new lakorn remakes, Leads are changed, made into un-flawed characters, so plot looses much tension .... If the leads are nearly perfect, than the plot needs a lot of purely evil characters to compensate ....
-- That's why so many newer lakorns, like this, have a lot of delusional Nang'rais, evil mafia characters, and a lot of crime, killing, and action in the plot!!! ...
---> I am very glad this lakorn did not sacrifice a lot to this new trend, Anusaniya kept a lot of her pride and prejudice .... If they also let Wat remain imperfect, by possibly impregnating his ex-girlfriend and by not being able to pay back the debt, then the plot would have needed a lot less drama from crazy evil side characters!!!
---> Thanx to well-developed lead characters, and good original story, this is a very good remake!
-- James Ma and Kim are the two best actors of their generation
EDIT: Too long.... I will soon move this and write it as a review
Wonderful choices ... Love them All !!! .....
Mishil deserves #1 spot, she is brilliant, and I love the no-excuses villains....
<3 Qi Ji <3 .... He is the best thing about that show, forgot the character's name.
-- I would add: #6 villain:
Prince Suyang, who became the king in: The Princess' Man .
I love his Complexity, his driving force, his propensity for evil yet his immense admiration and love for his daughter, our heroine! ....
played by Kim Young Chul, I love all villains by this actor.
Others that I love and remember are:
Ki Cheol in Faith , played by wonderful Yoo Oh Sung ... Love this actor and his villains.
Vik in Iris, played by T.O.P. ..... lots of charisma!
Lakorn w/ a touch of reality .... The writers understand behavioral psychology .... @Humbledaisy explained it well in her comment below ...
The writing showed a realistic approach to human behavior, i.e. anger management, alcoholism, depression, personal responsibility, etc... ... Not a comprehensive understanding, but not superficial either.... a wonderful stride forward for lakorns!.
The story is nice, but a bit draggy towards the end ....
Main couple's romance is OK, but character study is better ... Great is always nice to look at ..... I also like the second lead guy ... and their friendship.
The female lead's character is a bit annoying at first, she is supposed to be a spoiled daddy's girl that doesn't know anything .... She improves later....The actress did a good job, but she lacks charisma.
I fast forwarded most of the scenes of the second couple ... boring, uninteresting romance, both characters and actors.
The mothers steal the show, his mother, the nang'rai's mother, and most especially the dead fiancee's mother ..... All three go through very good development ....
I especially love Aunt Srijan's courage and the actress who plays her, Belle Kasemsap.
Not a bad watch, worth it for the realistic approach to human behavior, refreshing! .... and to Beautiful images of the natural wonder that is the "Guilin of Thailand".
Well, what a mess. I wish she ends up with the doctor Forget about passion, I am more interested in how she coppes…
@ Myauntmary ... u may want to edit and check the spoiler box b/c u discuss betrayal .... :)
Btw, I am Not defending his decision, but it is understandable ! .... As a warlord, he has to put the welfare of his people ahead of his own personal selfish need for love ..... He's also ambitious and ruthless, traits that allowed him to survive after the murder of his father ....
He's an anti-hero !!! ... a complex not-perfect character that undergoes growth!
So... After the whole Myung-Hoon rapes Ji-Hyun part, I'm rather not willing to watch this anymore, despite the…
Actualy, Myeong-Hun's character development is one of the interesting things about this drama.... Many complex grey characters in this, they go through realistic development that makes sense in terms of personalities traits and behavioral psychology .... a sign of exceptional writing.
1 
Still, I found parent generation to be more interesting than kid's generation, especially all the intertwined love stories.
Lots of makjang, makjang, makjang , reminded me of those long family K-dramas .... Still, many stories and characters packed in, all intertwining, makes a very good pace, held my interest.
Most characters are developed enough w/ individual motivations.
The key is the black-magic potion, the only ridiculous part .... But that potion is necessary to make sense of events and make character's actions believable .... I am glad they injected this plot-line, otherwise characters would have been typical lakorn change personality scenarios. ..so that's good....
Other ridiculous thing are the minor parts played by evil 2nd male and 2nd female leads.... Typical lakorn, so why stop at that cliche? :P
The lead actor is very cute ... Typical possessive man-child male lead , yet likable ....( Obviously only good if you like slap/kiss, not a perfect male lead.)
Unfortunately I am biased against the lead actress, just my personal superficial prejudice, all her facial expressions looked as if she's disgusted all the time ... her character wasn't bad tho....
The Nang'Rai is terrible actress and annoying.
The brother Pat is good, Dut is cute ...
CONCLUSION:
A typical slap/kiss revenge made interesting by the multi-generational intertwining stories and the interesting characters.
EDIT: Just found out why the story is so interesting.... it is inspired by classic lakorn Ching Chang, based on the novel ....... Inspired meaning it is an adaptation, not a remake.
EDIT: I deleted actual link b/c I noticed videos disappear soon afterwards... especially if on YouTube or Dailymotion ....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llg2kdbvv5o
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x58syw1
+ The two leads, their characters, their wonderful chemistry, their good acting ang the good writing, make this show very very good. The plot has good pace and progress, w/ minor issues listed below.
+ I like Kim's character here ..... for someone full of "pride and prejudice" her actions made a lot of sense ... I love characters like her, whether male or female: they are nearly perfect and have warm hearts, except for this outer appearance of arrogance..... Maybe that's why I love the originals, Darcy & Elizabeth! .... She's also vulnerable and has problems trusting, a complex character w/ room for growth!
+ James is a pleasant surprise ... What a good actor, and very manly! .... Not easy to play the "bought husband", both the acting and the writing gave the role dignity! ... Sawat is perfect! (see blow)....
+ For once, I did not find the Nang'Rai (evil second female lead) annoying (many may not agree) ... yes, she was delusional and obsessed too much and for too long, but the actress is pretty good so I did not hate her... Also, I never liked the spoiled rotten N'rai trope, this was better in that she was looking for male love to replace her father's negligence... more believable and relateable.
A lot of the credit is due to actress, she's very good (usually they give this role to very bad actresses...Ughhh:P)
+ Some typical lakorn tropes, including characters that suddenly change.... Chaya's heart changed too quickly .. (Not spoiler, it's typical lakorn second male lead role, who suddenly changes from heroine to her best friend)
+ Some inconsistencies :
-- They obviously went back and re-shot many scenes .... BUT, why didn't they dye Kim's hair? ... It kept changing from very light brown to black .... I can overlook such mistakes if it means the drama is better in the end!
-- Uncle Chaya liking his niece is creepy ... so he convinces himself they're not blood-related b/c he's not his father's son .... what B.S.!!! ..... I am sure it would have been better to make his mom not so perfect so doubting his paternity is plausible!
-- Some plot points didn't make sense, b/c they want a perfect male lead ..... They have already agreed on payment plan for his loan before the marriage question , so why do they keep saying he is a "bought husband"?... Doesn't make sense! ... Obviously b/c they want the male lead to be perfect and honorable .... I bet in original he couldn't pay back that's why he's "bought"!
I really hate this trend of making perfect lead characters w/ no flaws!!!
+++ Conclusion:
-- Like most new lakorn remakes, Leads are changed, made into un-flawed characters, so plot looses much tension .... If the leads are nearly perfect, than the plot needs a lot of purely evil characters to compensate ....
-- That's why so many newer lakorns, like this, have a lot of delusional Nang'rais, evil mafia characters, and a lot of crime, killing, and action in the plot!!! ...
---> I am very glad this lakorn did not sacrifice a lot to this new trend, Anusaniya kept a lot of her pride and prejudice .... If they also let Wat remain imperfect, by possibly impregnating his ex-girlfriend and by not being able to pay back the debt, then the plot would have needed a lot less drama from crazy evil side characters!!!
---> Thanx to well-developed lead characters, and good original story, this is a very good remake!
-- James Ma and Kim are the two best actors of their generation
EDIT: Too long.... I will soon move this and write it as a review
Beautiful w/ a nice fashion sense.
Mishil deserves #1 spot, she is brilliant, and I love the no-excuses villains....
<3 Qi Ji <3 .... He is the best thing about that show, forgot the character's name.
-- I would add: #6 villain:
Prince Suyang, who became the king in: The Princess' Man .
I love his Complexity, his driving force, his propensity for evil yet his immense admiration and love for his daughter, our heroine! ....
played by Kim Young Chul, I love all villains by this actor.
Others that I love and remember are:
Ki Cheol in Faith , played by wonderful Yoo Oh Sung ... Love this actor and his villains.
Vik in Iris, played by T.O.P. ..... lots of charisma!
@Humbledaisy explained it well in her comment below ...
The writing showed a realistic approach to human behavior, i.e. anger management, alcoholism, depression, personal responsibility, etc... ... Not a comprehensive understanding, but not superficial either.... a wonderful stride forward for lakorns!.
The story is nice, but a bit draggy towards the end ....
Main couple's romance is OK, but character study is better ... Great is always nice to look at ..... I also like the second lead guy ... and their friendship.
The female lead's character is a bit annoying at first, she is supposed to be a spoiled daddy's girl that doesn't know anything .... She improves later....The actress did a good job, but she lacks charisma.
I fast forwarded most of the scenes of the second couple ... boring, uninteresting romance, both characters and actors.
The mothers steal the show, his mother, the nang'rai's mother, and most especially the dead fiancee's mother ..... All three go through very good development ....
I especially love Aunt Srijan's courage and the actress who plays her, Belle Kasemsap.
Not a bad watch, worth it for the realistic approach to human behavior, refreshing! .... and to Beautiful images of the natural wonder that is the "Guilin of Thailand".
Lakorns are evolving!
Btw, I am Not defending his decision, but it is understandable ! .... As a warlord, he has to put the welfare of his people ahead of his own personal selfish need for love ..... He's also ambitious and ruthless, traits that allowed him to survive after the murder of his father ....
He's an anti-hero !!! ... a complex not-perfect character that undergoes growth!
Many complex grey characters in this, they go through realistic development that makes sense in terms of personalities traits and behavioral psychology .... a sign of exceptional writing.