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Honestly, I am very torn about this drama. On the one hand, I liked that it was different from the usual BL drama. On the other, I did not like it, and I think that might be due to two things: my not understanding some aspects and also because parts of the script and Thi's character are not written well and there are more than a few scenes that land in the area of "awkward".
I assume Champ Weerachit (the director and screenwriter) did the same here as he would later do in "1000 Years Old", only there it was vampires, whose tropes and clichés I know well enough; namely that he played with the tropes, inverted/subverted them and combined them to build a new and surprising world. I suspect that I would have enjoyed it more if I knew the (pop) cultural tropes around the films referenced, Thai gangs, and เด็กวัด "temple kids". I am very sure that a lot of the scenes we saw were richer in meaning than I could possibly understand.
What both dramas have in common is a colourful design -- from the clothing and the accessories the characters wear to the sets, which are lovingly decorated. I like that "I Will Knock You" is set in a middle-to-lower-class area and both young men come from this background too -- it's unfortunately quite unusual till today in Thai BLs.
The bright colours and the way the script plays with tropes make this drama seem like it's set in a world that is a step to the side of ours, a world where fights don't really end in more than a few scrapes and temple kids and /or gangsters are not actually dangerous. Which is why the brief dip into the reality of classism and real-life consequences of knife violence felt like being doused in ice water. On the one hand, refreshing and finally something more than Thi's eternal waffling about, on the other a disruption in style. Whichever it was, the realism doesn't last too long, and in the end, we're back in Champ's fantasy world.
I do think if the script and the direction would have leaned even more into the absurd side of things, it would have made this world even more distinct and thus different from anything else in the BL industry.
I also loved the way music is used in the drama -- both as helpful characterization for Thi and Noey and as background music for setting the mood. I am a fan of Luk Krung anyway, and this was a delight.
Now, on to the two aspects that really should have been better.
One is the script, and Thi's character. He endlessly waffles about, and is never quite clear on his feelings for Noey. For the most part, it just seems as if he lets things happen around him, and never actually takes action or speaks out for himself. Even after he stopped being afraid, he never says outright "I don't like you like that, Noey" or "I like you, Noey". Not even in his own mind does he do that. And there are scenes where it seems like he has made up his mind by the way he acts -- and a few minutes later he goes "What is happening to me?" in his inner monologue. It's exhausting. It feels like Champ Weerachit didn't really want Ti to commit to being Noey's boyfriend.
The second thing, and this is even worse, is that there are quite a few scenes where Bom's ("Thi") and Tar's (Noey) acting is not good, but rather awkward. It's especially obvious in scenes where Thi is afraid, happy or feels any other intense emotion; I didn't feel his emotions at all. Maybe it was supposed to evoke second-hand embarrassment? But I didn't feel this one either. It was just ... awkward. Several of Tar's scenes felt similarly mis-acted. I wonder if this is due to the abilities of the actors or due to how they were directed by Champ?
Both of these aspects, especially the latter, are a problem throughout the series, and not even the fantasy world or the interesting premise could help. Overall, this feels like a beta version of an interesting drama (and "1000 Years Old" would be the release version 1.0) -- the main points are in place, but it doesn't quite get there.
Was it good?
I liked some aspectss of it, others were awkward and not quite polished enough to be good.
Did I like it?
I don't know. I want to like it more than I actually do, I think?
Who would I recommend it to?
Fans of fluff and plots that are different from the usual type of BL fare, who are able to tolerate rough acting.
I assume Champ Weerachit (the director and screenwriter) did the same here as he would later do in "1000 Years Old", only there it was vampires, whose tropes and clichés I know well enough; namely that he played with the tropes, inverted/subverted them and combined them to build a new and surprising world. I suspect that I would have enjoyed it more if I knew the (pop) cultural tropes around the films referenced, Thai gangs, and เด็กวัด "temple kids". I am very sure that a lot of the scenes we saw were richer in meaning than I could possibly understand.
What both dramas have in common is a colourful design -- from the clothing and the accessories the characters wear to the sets, which are lovingly decorated. I like that "I Will Knock You" is set in a middle-to-lower-class area and both young men come from this background too -- it's unfortunately quite unusual till today in Thai BLs.
The bright colours and the way the script plays with tropes make this drama seem like it's set in a world that is a step to the side of ours, a world where fights don't really end in more than a few scrapes and temple kids and /or gangsters are not actually dangerous. Which is why the brief dip into the reality of classism and real-life consequences of knife violence felt like being doused in ice water. On the one hand, refreshing and finally something more than Thi's eternal waffling about, on the other a disruption in style. Whichever it was, the realism doesn't last too long, and in the end, we're back in Champ's fantasy world.
I do think if the script and the direction would have leaned even more into the absurd side of things, it would have made this world even more distinct and thus different from anything else in the BL industry.
I also loved the way music is used in the drama -- both as helpful characterization for Thi and Noey and as background music for setting the mood. I am a fan of Luk Krung anyway, and this was a delight.
Now, on to the two aspects that really should have been better.
One is the script, and Thi's character. He endlessly waffles about, and is never quite clear on his feelings for Noey. For the most part, it just seems as if he lets things happen around him, and never actually takes action or speaks out for himself. Even after he stopped being afraid, he never says outright "I don't like you like that, Noey" or "I like you, Noey". Not even in his own mind does he do that. And there are scenes where it seems like he has made up his mind by the way he acts -- and a few minutes later he goes "What is happening to me?" in his inner monologue. It's exhausting. It feels like Champ Weerachit didn't really want Ti to commit to being Noey's boyfriend.
The second thing, and this is even worse, is that there are quite a few scenes where Bom's ("Thi") and Tar's (Noey) acting is not good, but rather awkward. It's especially obvious in scenes where Thi is afraid, happy or feels any other intense emotion; I didn't feel his emotions at all. Maybe it was supposed to evoke second-hand embarrassment? But I didn't feel this one either. It was just ... awkward. Several of Tar's scenes felt similarly mis-acted. I wonder if this is due to the abilities of the actors or due to how they were directed by Champ?
Both of these aspects, especially the latter, are a problem throughout the series, and not even the fantasy world or the interesting premise could help. Overall, this feels like a beta version of an interesting drama (and "1000 Years Old" would be the release version 1.0) -- the main points are in place, but it doesn't quite get there.
Was it good?
I liked some aspectss of it, others were awkward and not quite polished enough to be good.
Did I like it?
I don't know. I want to like it more than I actually do, I think?
Who would I recommend it to?
Fans of fluff and plots that are different from the usual type of BL fare, who are able to tolerate rough acting.
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