Reviews

OBSESSED!!!

This is the first drama this summer that had me in a real chokehold. The chemistry between the lead actors Zhou Keyu and Bao Shangen is absolutely electric, from their easy banter when they start (and re-start) as enemies, to the literal diabetes they exude during their sweet moments, to the heartbreak they convey when circumstances drive them apart. THE YEARNING is 100000/100 in this one.

From their youth to adulthood there was never a moment I felt bored of their relationship and I felt that every plot device served to show us just how significant, impactful, and "destined" their love was. I truly believed they were made for each other. Often times I find it problematic when youthful (high school) love is portrayed so all-consuming that they'd willingly throw away their lives for each other (because it's just not realistic). I also would not think that someone can't possibly move on after a 10 year gap. But in this show, it not only makes sense, you can truly feel the magnitude of what they feel for each other. Zhou Keyu and Bao Shangen did an incredible job of bringing life to these characters.

Though the plot elements in the 2026 timeline could make a littleeeee more sense, i appreciated that they served to quickly bring our two leads back together (they know what we want hihihi).

Bottom line is, I'm OBSESSED. Never-ending summer has completely taken over my algorithm on all platforms and I'm not mad about it.

This is your sign to WATCH IT NOW! (and have tissues ready)

Read More

More like love at first sight

Thai gls are starting to lose me. Most of the shows I see only exist to show the lead actresses' chemistry and not to tell a story.
The show is named enemies with benefits, the pilot trailer and the official trailer all alluded to the leads being enemies with benefits but they were nothing like that. This is more of a love at first sight/one-night-stand thing cause both Lal and Wine instantly like each other and act married immediately. They were not even enemies, Wine was just strict.
I went in expecting banter, them hating each other yet being drawn to each other, navigating personal and professional boundaries etc.......I got nothing. They don't even do justice to the thai title 'Lal doesn't like Wine' cause Lal is the one who is 100% into Wine from the beginning. Their back and forth in the initial episode was good and I was so sad it died down.
The dynamics are also lowkey boring, it feels very similar to 'hello is this luck'
The stars are for the last half of the show and Wine's characterization. Wine was a good character, all of her fears and her experiences making her the person she is today and her awareness of herself were all great.
Jan and Jinging were great even though they didn't have much to work with. Most of the show was just them being lovey dovey with each other. KapookCize were just there but its good to finally see them as a solid pair. The side characters were good too, actually felt like a found family.
Osts were amazing. I wish they put more effort into styling cause I feel like we were supposed to feel a change in Wine physically after she starts dating Lal but we can't see that cause the styling is so basic. Lal's hair colour changing every episode was pissing me off.
I like stories in the same universe so I will be seated for bake love feeling.

Read More

Are they being serious ?

My review isn't going to be very positive because... how do you have FreenBecky in your cast and still end up with such a boring series?

I honestly felt like the characters didn't make much sense together, and I never really connected with their relationships. The only truly interesting part of the series is the villain. The performance is excellent, and the character has real depth and complexity.

As for the romance between the Princess and Vayo... I was just bored. It genuinely surprised me because I expected so much more. Their love story never managed to pull me in, and I found myself losing interest instead of getting emotionally invested.

Read More

Where are the enemies ? but the benefits is there

I really enjoyed this series. I think it's a great adaptation of the novel. One thing I especially liked was that they gave both Lal and Wine assistants. In the novel, they're not surrounded by as many people, so I thought that was a nice addition. I just wish we had seen more of Lal's best friend because I really liked that character.

I also loved Lal and Wine's personalities. They're completely different, yet they're still naturally drawn to each other, and I think that contrast works really well.

That said, I wish there had been more romantic and sexual tension between them. Everything moved way too fast for my taste. From episode one, it already felt like they were a couple, even though they're supposed to be friends with benefits. I really missed the slow build-up that would have made their relationship even more satisfying. Still, their chemistry is cute, and the series fully embraces the classic romantic comedy clichés.

I also appreciated that the show addressed topics like workplace sexual harassment, consent during sexual relationships, and the professional attitude expected in a corporate environment. Those themes added more depth than I expected.

My favorite part was definitely Lal and Wine's relationship. They communicate well, respect each other, and have a genuinely healthy dynamic.

On the other hand, the second couple was completely sidelined. Their development came far too late, even though I think they had the potential to be just as interesting.

Overall, it's a fun series that keeps you entertained while also making you think about some important topics. For that reason, I'd definitely recommend it.

Read More

Blurring the lines between love and obsession

Double Helix is one of the best character-driven dramas out there. It is nothing but a beautifully written story about flawed people, forgiveness, and love that feels genuinely earned. Lu Feng and Yi Chen have incredible chemistry, and Ayden's acting truly brought the story to life. 🥹

For those calling it "garbage": at least finish the series first. It's completely fine if it isn't your taste, but judging it before seeing the whole story means giving up on something realistic and grounded enough to make you feel every emotion. 🙂‍↕️

Kudos to the entire team for giving us this lovely series! 🎉

(P.S. It was actually a traumatising series... but "lovely" because of all the beautiful moments between Lu Feng and Yi Chen. 🤧♥️)

Read More

complete 10/10

this k drama blew me away. the characters’ chemistry, the storyline, the acting. it was all fantastic honestly… the main characters chemistry was so enchanting… you could FEEL the heartbreak and love and sacrifice that the main characters felt. you want justice for everyone who’s been wronged and the storyline has such a great pace. they don’t fall in love too early, then you’re left with 6 episodes of tying up the story. there were so many plot twists to keep you guessing. and then you finish it all up with a nice bow. no loose ends that I can think of. my first 10/10 and I’ll stick by that.

Read More

Glory to God in letting us live our truth

July 6, 2026

Ticket to Heaven is a masterpiece. I am beyond amazed and in awe of this series, as someone who is also in the same boat as Barth and Tanrak being Catholic yet gay, it truly speaks to my soul just watching this series. It is written so lovely and well, and the 6 episodes run time just makes sense. I totally get and understand both Barth and Tanrak, and seeing how they live in their truth is just a hopeful and positive message to everyone who is kinda in the similar boat. I truly think that there are a lot of aspects about our interdisciplinary lifestyles with conflicting views and opinions. However, it is truly all a good reminder that at the end of the day only God can judge us and that we can live our truths and let us still have a connection with God.

I remember looking forward to each episodes and having all my emotions be felt because it is truly such a matter of reality that many religious queer people face. I think that there are major factors in how this is also reflective of P'Aof's life story so it just really has a strong substance and depth. I am so happy with how everything unfolded and resolved. I love the execution of the first scene where Thailand is the pioneer for same-sex marriage in Southeast Asia. It just resonates well and eugh, it truly tugged my heart strings.

Ticket to Heaven deserves the love and recognition that it is getting. A truly heartwarming reality drama about religious queers and questions they face regarding life!

Read More

Fun business drama.

Old CEO business dude swaps bodies with a future soccer star. What follows suit is a highly fun solid business drama filled with the typical reborn/isekai trope where the main character is knowledgeable about things others would never expect. Since the old CEO now inhabits the main lead's body, I never had enough of him being haughty and acting like he's still the CEO around others despite inhabiting the body of a relatively nobody. Lots of comedy and overall a fun show. It's still full of strictly business plot lines but ML navigating his way back to the top for revenge is written well enough. "Romance" is almost kind of weird, but the show saved it in the end I was happy with how it was resolved. The ending to the ending was a nice touch to wrap it all up.

Read More

Great acting by gemforth

Gemforth are the perfect pair for this drama, gentle and soft, which is perfect for this storyline.
Now that I know its based on a true story it hits more.
It's a shame there are only six episodes to this drama even if they are 55 minutes long.
It has a great cast and a great storyline.
I hope to see more of Gemini and Forth in dramas like this as they are a gentle pairing, it would be nice to see them in something with a bit more action and out of their comfort zone................
.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Read More

Sooooo realistic

Wow this is the most realist drama ever. There's no rich boy, poor girl. They are not step siblings, their parents dated and moved in together, but they never married. The ml's dad died and fl mom got involved with scammers and ran away leaving the girl with nowhere to go. They just stayed together taking care of other, since they had no one else. How they had to do minial jobs just to survive and eat. This is about life in general. They never treated each other like brother and sister.This story is so good, the ml and fl did their roles well. The chemistry is top notch,. This is a must watch.

Read More

An extremely polished version of a story about religious trauma.

Don’t get me wrong i really enjoyed this series. The story is simple yet mostly well executed, the characters are genuinely likable, the cinematography is stunning, and overall Ticket to Heaven is easily GMMTV’s best release this year.

Most of what I’m about to critique, however, concerns Tanrak’s character and his storyline.

By the end, I couldn’t shake the feeling that a lot of what was originally planned had been cut or heavily softened. The rawness of the pilot episode, the tension, the difficult moral dilemmas, the emotional messiness was gradually replaced by long shots of characters staring into the distance, vague monologues about “being true to yourself,” and almost no meaningful commentary on religion itself.

The show feels so concerned with avoiding controversy that it ends up pulling its punches whenever things become uncomfortable. Instead of exploring how religion can genuinely shape, suppress, and traumatize people, it chooses the safest possible route.

Everyone is simply too nice. Tanrak’s deeply religious friend, who initially seems poised to become a source of conflict, turns out to be nothing but supportive. The catholic school bullies appear once and are then forgotten. Even the priests, who repeatedly imply that same-sex love is sinful and incompatible with God’s plan, ultimately come across as patient, understanding, and accepting.

Individually, none of these choices are bad. In fact, it’s refreshing to see compassionate religious characters. The problem is that when everyone becomes reasonable and supportive, the story loses the source of its central conflict.

The series constantly tells us that Tanrak and Barth are terrified of their love, but rarely shows us why. We hear about fear, shame, and sin far more often than we actually witness them. Tanrak spends much of the series haunted by guilt, yet he is almost never publicly shamed, seriously punished, ostracized, or forced to confront meaningful consequences for choosing love over the priesthood. As a result, his fear often feels disconnected from the world around him.

Religious trauma doesn’t only come from openly abusive people, it can come from years of internalizing doctrine, guilt, and impossible expectations. The show hints at this, but it rarely commits to exploring it in depth. It wants the audience to understand Tanrak’s suffering without fully engaging with the institution that created it.

That’s why the ending didn’t land for me emotionally. Tanrak’s decision to leave everything behind should have felt devastating. The culmination of years of indoctrination, fear, and impossible choices. Instead, it felt strangely straightforward. I wanted to see him relapse into old beliefs, desperately try to reconcile faith with his identity, question himself over and over, maybe even choose the church before finally realizing he couldn’t keep sacrificing himself. That would have made his eventual decision feel earned rather than inevitable.

Tanrak’s internal conflict is portrayed with surprising calm. He often feels less like someone on the verge of becoming a priest and more like someone who only occasionally attends church. His struggle remains mostly internal and verbal, but it rarely reaches the level of desperation that his circumstances suggest.

Ironically, Barth’s relationship with faith ends up feeling richer and more convincing. Through his family, his upbringing, and his evolving beliefs, his character experiences a gradual and emotionally satisfying development. Tanrak, despite carrying the show’s central conflict, never receives that same depth.

I still think Ticket to Heaven is a must watch series. It is beautifully made, emotionally sincere, and filled with strong performances. But I also can’t help wondering what it could have been if it had trusted itself enough to ask harder questions. Rather than criticizing religion, it mostly avoids criticizing anyone. In trying so carefully not to offend religious audiences, it sacrifices much of the complexity that made its premise so compelling. The result is a story that is emotionally moving, but ultimately far less challenging than it had the potential to be.

Read More

50/50 — Just Like Its Main Characters, Ups and Downs

The series starts with a fun and energetic premise, mixing workplace comedy, romance, and a friends-with-benefits dynamic that quickly creates curiosity. The comedic tone works well in the beginning. The intimate scenes are intense, playful, and often emotionally engaging.

However, the writing becomes increasingly uneven as the story continues. The central relationship has strong potential, but the friends-with-benefits setup often feels more like a convenient plot device than a believable emotional situation. Instead of building the romance through consistent communication and deeper character development, the series repeatedly relies on jealousy, misunderstandings, and avoidable drama.

Lal is generally the more emotionally open and likable lead, while Wine’s development feels less consistent. Her behavior often creates unnecessary distance, and the series does not always give enough insight into her inner conflict to make her decisions fully convincing. Because of this, the relationship sometimes feels frustrating rather than romantic.

The workplace setting provides some entertaining moments. However, many conflicts feel exaggerated or created mainly to push the plot forward. This can be acceptable within the comedic tone, but at times it makes the story feel artificial. The antagonist also lacks depth and is written in a very obvious and one-dimensional way, which weakens the more serious parts of the series.

The side couple becomes one of the more wholesome elements and, in some moments, even feels more naturally developed than the main relationship. On the other hand, some side plots and cameo moments feel awkward, rushed, or poorly staged.

Technically, the series also has some noticeable weaknesses. Certain soundtrack choices feel repetitive, and some editing decisions make the later episodes feel less polished. The finale, while trying to be wholesome and satisfying, feels more like a collection of sweet moments than a fully earned emotional conclusion.

Overall, the series is enjoyable in parts, but the tone can change quickly from charming to frustrating. It is held back by lazy drama, inconsistent character writing, weak communication, and underdeveloped antagonists. Much like the two leads, the series feels very 50/50: Lal is easy to love, while Wine is often difficult to understand. It has enough charm to be entertaining, but the story could have been much stronger with more natural relationship development and less reliance on forced conflict.

Read More

Química e potencial.

Eu posso facilmente dizer que esse drama tem um potencial a ser explorado.
Essa série é cheia de tramas e subtramas, as histórias do casal principal e secundário poderiam facilmente ser dramas separados, porque são ambas bem complexas. Existe uma variedade de coisas possíveis para ser serem abordadas em uma possível segunda e terceira temporada.
Por ter tanta coisa, senti o casal secundário colocado de escanteio a temporada toda, o que é uma pena, eu gostei muito da dinâmica deles.
Acredito que algumas possam ter achado que o Qing Long ocupou muito tempo de tela, mas eu gostei bastante dele, achei um personagem bem interessante e gostaria de ter visto mais sobre ele (mais da perspectiva dele como líder e o que ele planejava para o Liu Yu), além disso, ele deixou um mistério em aberto relacionado a causa da sua morte. Além de tudo, acho que os sentimentos dele direcionado ao Liu Yi ficaram sem um objetivo.
O assassinato em série que foi apresentado pelo casal secundário foi adionado muito de repente, nos episódios anteriores não tiveram menções sobre casos semelhantes e o irmão do Guang Ming nunca tinha sido mencionado. Acredito que o que poderia ter sido uma conexão entre tudo isso seria se o Qing Long também tivesse sido morto por ele, o que até onde sabemos, não foi caso.
Ambos os casais tem uma quimica incrível, espero que façam uma segunda temporada.

Read More

One of the Best Dramas of the Year

Good Points:

P’Le and Rann, the two main characters, were incredibly charming. Their reunion gave birth to so many emotions: conviction, conflict, regret, growth, and the painful feelings they had both been carrying for so long. As those emotions developed, their chemistry became absolutely explosive.

What makes them so lovable is that they hurt each other precisely because they care about each other so deeply. That delicacy, awkwardness, and emotional clumsiness between them are unbearably precious.

My favorite episode is Episode 4. The feelings Rann had been holding onto for P’Le and P’Le’s desire to protect Rann, even if it meant rejecting her, finally collide. They expose their true emotions to each other and begin to understand one another. It is a cruel scene, but also a truly beautiful one, because they face the painful reality they could no longer avoid and still manage to reach each other’s hearts.

The chemistry created by Miephat and Aya was also just as powerful as the chemistry between their characters. Miephat portrayed P’Le wonderfully: someone who acts strong on the surface, but is actually deeply delicate inside. Her emotional expression was excellent.

Aya also portrayed Rann beautifully: a girl who is scared, but still gathers her courage for the person she loves, shows her strength, and stays by P’Le’s side. I think both Miephat and Aya have a very deep understanding of the characters they play and of the story itself. They are such wonderful actresses that they made me want to see them lead another series together again.

A Few Minor Concerns:

The red thread that Rann had been holding since Episode 1 was never fully explained, so I wish the story had revealed where it actually came from earlier. If we had known where the red thread came from, Rann’s rejection when P’Le gives her the necklace in the middle of the story would have carried even more emotional weight. That is why I really wanted to know the origin of the red thread.

Seven episodes were far too short. I wanted at least ten episodes. With more time, the story could have explored Peem’s past more deeply, and the sense of P’Le, Rann, and Peem as an important team would have felt even stronger. Then, in the final episode, the loss of Peem would have weighed much more heavily on the audience, and it would have been easier to feel emotionally connected to him.

Conclusion:

This series is my number one drama of the first half of this year, and I truly think it is one of the best dramas of the year.

The story carefully builds up P’Le and Rann’s emotions, then lets all of those accumulated feelings explode in Episode 4. I also loved that they did not simply become completely close right away after that. Instead, their distance gradually became smaller, little by little.

Most of all, I am truly happy that P’Le and Rann were able to reach a happy ending.

Read More