Reviews

Don't Judge a Drama by Its Synopsis!

After being transported back in time to Yong'an City, the Shen family met their (supposed) ancestor Lin Yan, a royal official. Following their failed attempts at returning to the present, the Shen family decided to settle in the city where they go on a journey filled with culinary delights, business, familial bond, and an unconventional love story.

Upon reading the synopsis and watching the trailers, I have to admit that I was skeptical about the whole romance plot with your ancestor. I eventually gave it a try and ended up getting hooked. The whole concept of a family of three generations that gets transported back in time was definitely fresh and interesting enough for me to give this drama a chance. The story started out great with elements of comedy that stood out when the Shen family were just transported back to the past. It was funny to see how the Shen family would treat their then young ancestor with respect and fear of retribution when they go against him. The sound effects also helped in supporting the comedic mood to the story. The story even got more interesting when the present-day three generation Shen family started settling down and building a business in the old Yong'an City. Unfortunately, what started out great ended up going downhill towards the end.

After the plot twist towards the end, the story started to get heavy and hard to digest. The ending was slow yet rushed, clear but questionable, and definitely bittersweet. The ending definitely raised some questions unanswered. Not to mention, the scene of nearly meeting them in the present time, as expected from time travel costume dramas. How I wish for a better ending to this warm family costume romance drama.

Despite the sloppy ending, the drama really did well in casting Li Yun Rui and Wang Ying Lu for the roles of Lin Yan and Shen Shao Guang, respectively. Li Yun Rui exudes the charisma, intelligence, power, and maturity befitting for the role of Lin Yan. He was great with his expressions and he was able to portray Lin Yan as a dependable young man (or ancestor) for the Shen family. Wang Ying Lu also delivered with her performance as Shen Shao Guang, a young, modern, and smart lady. She was able to clearly show Shen Shao Guang's conflict after starting to develop feelings for Lin Yan. In addition to the two main characters, the actors who acted as the Shen family also left a lasting impact, enough to say that they stole my attention. Even the kid actor was such a scene stealer!

Do I recommend this drama? Only if you stop just before the ending. Yummy Yummy Yummy is a drama that lures you with warmth and wit yet ends with an unnecessary sad and draggy approach.

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A fantastic show that lacked some plot but in a good way fr fr

A phenomenal show, I can’t even lie. The plot gets boring in the middle, but then it picks back up for a fantastic ending. I would give it an 8.85, so a 9 out of 10. So I am gonna say what I like, what I didn't, and then an overall view.

What I liked. The story and the plot. I love the fake dating trope more than anything. I can’t even lie, it's so good, but it is always done fucking terribly, but they stuck THEIR FOOT INTO THIS. The setup was great, with the car crash and the mind-reading, it was all so good. Speaking of the mind-reading, I think that was great. Having something that can stop the mind reading, it holds them back, and then the fact that it's genetic. GREAT. Also amazing chemistry from BigPark. Like they always have good chemistry, like in their TikToks and monster next door, but THIS WAS A NEW LEVEL. I don't know what training they did, but this was great. You can feel it from the start, and it's not too much or doesn't seem fake. I also liked the characters; besides Apos' brother, he made me so angry, I can't lie. I think everyone did a good job and really brought the show to life. Their sex scenes! Those were GAS. Oh my lord, especially with the mind-reading shit, I fear I am gonna need a special episode just for them doing that shit because that was crazyyyyyy. Especially at the endddd holy fuckkkk. It was the best thing ever. While I think our side couple had some flaws, they were still great with their awkward kissing. THE PARENTS. I love how they flipped from who was hating and who wasn't, because genuinely, that was so real. The dads' breakdown bit was also really good, and I enjoyed it a lot, I can't lie. The way it all came crashing down right when they were gonna get their happy ending felt so good, and I don't know why. Their loveless arranged marriage also broke me, oh my god, that was so real, and that's why the mom was so scared, because that's what happened to her. And the dad, just the thought of losing this woman he has grown to love broke him, and I love that. Another thing I liked was our villain, of course, not the way his story ended, that was bad, but all of his build-up, it was so fucking perfect I can't. The fact that he may have loved ya at one point, but the love was gone now, and all he wanted was money was FANTASTIC, and my husband did a great job with that. The happy facade slowly cracking off into this literal killing machine. THE REAL APO. Great acting on Parks' part because that felt like genuinely two different people, and he has genuinely gotten so much better at acting, so phenomenal job. Also, real apo character work was GREAT. Of course, he's still him, but he's changed, for someone that he actually loves beyond the superficial, just like Thorn loves Ya (Also, as I am rereading my review, I just realized they call him Ya because his name is SuriYA. I am so dumb). Very cute. I wish they had gone into that more, but then again, not his story lol. I think that might be it. The pacing at the end, I really enjoyed it, didn’t feel rushed. It felt genuine, like oh, it’s very suspenseful and very like oh my God, what’s gonna happen next, and I liked that. Also, something about this show was fucking addictive because I finished it on time, and I watched each episode every day it came out, besides the 9th one, because we had finals, but this had me sold.

Starting off with what I didn’t like. The plot towards the middle, specifically around the theme park part, felt like a very bad filler episode, and that kind of made me mad. Like, I feel like we could have put some more lore hinting that Yi was the evil guy, but no, we wanna go the fuck ass theme park, oh my lord, don't piss me off. Another thing I didn’t like was the side couple and their placement. It felt very random, and I can't lie that dynamic pissed me off towards the middle because he obviously fucking likes you, what's your problem? That felt like a waste of time and lowkey made me mad. I wish they did more with the real apo at the end. Like, I wish they showed him with his lover, showing that he actually moved on and not just saying that, but yeah, just a little bit more with that would’ve been good. I can't think of anything else right now, but there might be more. OH YES I CAN. The ending for our villain, terribly fucking way to go out. I hate that after all that, he died in a car accident. We should have had a final stand-off, or done something where he rots in jail and doesn't get let off easy. That just made me angry. Okay, that's it.

Overall time, I actually watched this show as it came out, so I am proud of myself. Okay, starting off this show was very embarrassing, lmao, and I was so happy to see BigPark again because they have such good chemistry, and I love them. Also, Keng and Namping cameo...I was very obsessed with this show and writing one sentence reviews lmao. I loved how Thaila was in love with him in this world, and then he was in love with him in the other world, very cute parallel. THE MIND READING SHIT GOT SO FREAKY SO FAST, AND I FUCKING LOVED IT. I love it when they put Big's hair down; he looks so fucking hot like that. "That's freaky on g. OH HELL NO. SURIYA GO HANDLE THIS BITCH." Idk what I was yapping about, but this is so funny lmao. They started to get really good at kissing lmao. Episode 6 was when their dynamic changed, and the show just started to get better. I like how they connect to the two worlds, very interesting. As the show started to end, we got more lore and background, and I enjoyed that. The more lore we got with the parents and everyone, just made the show so much better, I can't even lie. A great way to end off a fantastic fucking show.

I would recommend this 100 percent. I think while the plot gets a little boring towards the middle, it picks back up, and this is a fun and cute watch. Okay bye!

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Thai Soap opera style BL?

Holy mother of cliché moments, I love the two leads but out of all the bodyguard X businessman, protector X prorectee love stories, and enemies to lovers genre in general, this has a huge amount of cliché moments that are too much to turn a blind eye upon, and this is only for the BL part.
Because the show literally gives you nothing else to look for, no story, no characters worthy, no mystery or crime to be solved, just nothing.

I have to say first that the cast were great, the two leads have a great chemistry and I've been a fan since LIT, I'm sure everyone shipped each sibling with his bodyguard, and somehow all were fantastic, be that as it may, this is the only enjoyable thing about the show, and Story-wise, it's the worst.

The story was the weakest, and I'm generally not a fan of soap operas but I could stand watching some of them if it's somehow enjoyable or has some interesting things going, and I didn't know that this was one tbh, I just thought it's a normal action bl.

I mean the whole Bodyguard backstory was too much, Of course we have this multi billionaire MC, rude and broody that has a really bad encounter with the very poor Cinderella man ML, an unfortunate one mind you, where he throw some cash at him to solve the issue but the proud and dignified full of self-respect poor man refuses to take them then both of them gives e/o some life lessons, while staring deeply into eachother 's eyes - In Short each calls the other an idiot - then oh wow the poor guys saves the MC from danger and damn why is he so sexy now, time to make him my bodyguard and fall for him because the way he throw a punch makes me hard!! And omg! You're naked wearing only a towel??? I will "accidentally" fall on you ouuuuuuppppssss!!! ....

And since this is a soap opera, now everything HAS TO BE connected, all characters are connected and of course the ML saved the MC when he was a child by giving him sweets or something, so now both of them has to collaborate and expose the bad guys while saving the MC from his childhood trauma in the process, and everything surely ends with faking death, knock knock, wake up dead man, he's back from the grave.

We're still doing this ... In 2025 ... Alright...see why I'm pissed ~~

And for the sake of my sanity, I'll not talk about the funny shooting sequences, with flashlight bullets nor the Jackie Chan style acrobatic fighting scenes that only help making the actors look cool instead of being realistic, and I'll definitely not mention the plot holes and unrealistic everything.

But I'll definitely talk about the intimate flirty moments that are completely out of place and the extremely unreasonable hate and animosity between the characters, why? No idea, I know the reason but that much hate is just unbelievable.
If you hate someone THAT much, and you are that rich, just hire a sniper! Easy, clean and Gets the job done with one bullet and no traces, apparently the idea of a hitman didn't reach Thailand yet.

Also, the older brother irritated me, he keeps exploding like a firecracker every 10 seconds, mate how can you lead a company with that temper, just calm down a bit, it's not good for business, if you were my son I'd never leave anything in your hands with this temperament, maybe if you behave like a normal person for a while you will get to rule the world and whatever ~~ but the whole Queen maleficent behaviour and facial expressions don't help your case, it only makes you look more like an idiot.

I mean, after all I had Daou's captain Tsubasa haircut every other scene and his drunk antics to soothe the pain of watching this story and maybe make it more bearable but still ... I won't get the time I wasted on this show back.

Overall I think this is a let down after LIT, maybe I prefer DaouOffroad in more lighter BL than this.

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I had no expectations coming into this drama.. I just wanted to watch something that’s not too demanding.. Unexpectedly, this was good.. Nothing innovative or fresh and I don’t think that was the intention either.. It sticks to familiar conventions and still works..

I think it’s important to understand that this is not a romance story but a legal drama with a robust, character driven competitive narrative through and through, with a touch of romance and undeniable chemistry and instinctive spark between the main leads.. It also had one of the most mature relationships I saw from characters in this age group in dramas.. No unnecessary jealousy, love triangles, outside interference or forced tensions.. This had all the good vibes I needed at the time..

The characters here feel deeply and love wholeheartedly.. They are good, not flawless but always trying to be decent, to be good to those they care about even when they could be selfish, because their futures are at stake here..

Special shoutout to He Lan Dou.. She was really good.. Her character Guo Xiao Yu was one of my favorites.. Hu Xian Xu and Zhou Yi Ran were good too.. I liked how Hu Xian Xu brought his character, Jiang Chen to life.. There were a lot of small nuances in his character traits that made him feel real.. This is my first drama of both of them.. I was waiting for his upcoming drama Undercover Auto Genius because of Wang Ying Lu, but now I have one more reason to watch it I guess..

There were a few things that bugged me but I just want to bring up one here.. They were part of a Talent Hunt Program, essentially a competition to get a job.. They kept saying elimination, elimination but none of them actually got eliminated.. The first one was forced out because he cheated and the rest quit by their own choice.. That took the edge out of the competition, which was the core theme of the story.. I mean, we all knew who the finalists would be but they didn’t have to go so easy on the others..

Overall, it is a pretty decent watch.. I would have loved to see another 6 episodes, showing what their lives were like after the competition ended.. The ending might feel vague but I think it’s fairly clear that they both got the job and stayed together at the firm.. Still they could have done a better job with that..

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With Food as the Main Course, Everything Else Was Just a Side Dish!

After being transported 500 years back to Joseon, award-winning French chef, Yeon Ji Yeong, met temperamental tyrant, King Yi Heon, when he was out on a hunting spree. Despite being in shock and disbelief, Yeon Ji Yeong ended up cooking her first dish in Joseon. Although initially skeptical, Yi Heon gave it a taste and memories about his late mother, the deposed Queen, came flooding in. After a failed attempt at escaping, Yeon Ji Yeong was brought to the palace by Yi Heon where he commanded her to cook for him as his Chief Royal Cook. As they work together, love blooms and eventually continues across time.

I never knew food could be such scene stealers. I believe the dishes in this drama and the visualization of its taste makes up a majority of the scenes. The camera angles and sound effects when cooking and tasting the food would make you drool. This would be perfect for a food or cooking show. However, as a drama that promises themes of fantasy, comedy, and romance, Bon Appétit, Your Majesty did not deliver mainly because of sloppy writing.

The story started out promising showing enmity between the two main characters. As the drama progresses, there was a repetitive formula of conflict, cooking, tasting, and conflict solved. This made it seem that cooking and tasting were the focus of the drama and everything else were just grounds to serve the food. The comedy in this drama was also below par. Compared to its predecessor Mr. Queen, as a historical, cooking, time travel, comedy romance drama, this drama left no lasting impact. Not to mention, the sloppy ending that left so many unanswered questions. The writer was definitely lazy towards the end and decided to go for the "what matters is that it's a happy ending, everything else doesn't matter" approach. The script in the end left me scratching my head in disbelief as it clearly represents how the writer just don't want to be bothered writing anymore.

Aside from the story, the character development was also poorly written. Despite Yoona and Lee Chae Min's potential as actors, it is a pity that their abilities were not used to the best advantage. In the first two episodes, Yeon Ji Yeong and Yi Heon's chemistry were interesting enough to keep you anticipating. However as the story progresses, the chemistry between the characters started to get plain and boring, which was ironic considering that their romance were supposed to start and make you feel butterflies in the stomach. The only evident progress was that they went from a hostile relationship to becoming friendly and closer. The buildup of romance was not strong enough to support the ending when Yi Heon lost Yeon Ji Yeong and how they reunite in the present. Watching the ending actually made me cringe as I wonder how dramatic and exaggerated the characters are.

To summarize, this drama definitely lacks depth in terms of story and character development. It is a drama best watched on a faster speed and while eating some food, just to kill time. However, if you are a fan of Yoona or Lee Chae Min, Bon Appétit, Your Majesty is worth giving a try!

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Where Romance, Sisterhood, and Growth Take Center Stage

A Breath of Fresh Air in the Palace Drama World Where Sisterhood Shines Brighter Than Power
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New Life Begins is a refreshing and heartfelt costume drama that takes a familiar palace premise and transforms it into a story centered on growth, empathy, and sisterhood. While the setting involves princes choosing wives from different regions, the drama avoids the usual harem toxicity and instead focuses on women supporting one another and reclaiming agency within a rigid feudal system.

One of the drama’s most impactful arcs is the First Prince and his wife, whose relationship addresses serious themes rarely explored so thoughtfully in costume dramas. Through their marriage, the story openly discusses postpartum depression and emotional abuse, showing how neglect, pressure, and lack of understanding can quietly destroy a woman’s well-being. This arc is handled with surprising care and realism, emphasizing the importance of emotional support and awareness. It’s uncomfortable at times—but necessary—and adds meaningful depth to an otherwise lighthearted drama.

Each couple brings a unique dynamic to the story:

Main Couple (Sixth Prince & Main Wife)
The emotional core of the drama lies in the relationships surrounding the Sixth Prince. His romance with the FL is a slow burn built on mutual respect, trust, and emotional maturity. The FL shines as a quietly strong and intelligent woman who grows steadily without ever losing her sense of self. Equally memorable is the ML’s first wife, who is an incredibly strong and dignified character in her own right—resilient, perceptive, and deeply admirable. Bai Jing Ting’s portrayal of the ML as gentle, dependable, and observant ties these dynamics together beautifully, making the relationships feel healthy, layered, and genuinely comforting.

First Prince & His Wife
A powerful and sobering storyline that explores postpartum depression, emotional neglect, and abuse within marriage. Their arc highlights how societal expectations and silence can harm women, making this one of the drama’s most meaningful and socially relevant storylines.

Third Prince & His Wives (“Solar Girls”)
Chaotic, hilarious, and unexpectedly heartwarming. Their dynamic is full of energy and personality, and their bond steals many scenes.

Fifth Prince & His Wife
A sweet but comical pairing. The Fifth Prince loves his wife deeply but constantly fails in execution, leading to plenty of lighthearted moments.

Fourth Prince & His Wife
Intense, passionate, and full of tension. Their chemistry is strong, though their story carries more emotional conflict.

Seventh Prince & His Wife
Soft, sweet, and absolutely adorable. Their gentle relationship adds warmth and charm, even with limited screen time.

What truly elevates New Life Begins is its focus on women’s experiences—marriage, motherhood, ambition, trauma, and healing—while still delivering humor, romance, and engaging storytelling. The drama balances comedy, politics, business elements, and emotional growth without feeling scattered.

✅ Who Should Watch New Life Begins

If you enjoy light-hearted historical dramas with warmth, humor, and heart
If you love strong female characters, sisterhood, and women supporting women
If you’re tired of toxic harem fights and want a healthy, positive palace setting
If you like slow-burn, respectful romances built on trust rather than misunderstandings
If you appreciate dramas that gently discuss real issues like postpartum depression, emotional neglect, and women’s agency
If you enjoy ensemble casts where every couple and side character has their own meaningful arc
If you’re a fan of Bai Jing Ting and want to see him in a mature, gentle, green-flag role


❌ Who Should Avoid New Life Begins

If you’re looking for heavy political scheming, ruthless power struggles, or dark palace intrigue
If you prefer fast-paced, high-stakes revenge plots
If you expect intense melodrama, toxic romances, or constant betrayals
If you dislike slice-of-life storytelling mixed with comedy and soft romance
If feminist themes and women-centered narratives are not your cup of tea

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Overall, New Life Begins is more than just a light costume drama. It’s comforting, empowering, and quietly bold in the issues it chooses to address. A rare gem for viewers who want healthy romance, meaningful themes, and strong female-driven storytelling.

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My Dearest?

“My Dearest” is without a doubt one of the best historical romance series I’ve ever watched. At first—especially during the first two episodes—you might think you’re dealing with a cliché and repetitive storyline, but if you give it some time, you’ll slowly find yourself completely drawn into it.

• The visual effects, battle scenes, and action sequences are absolutely stunning.
• The acting is flawless and highly professional. The love visible in Jang-hyun’s eyes and Gil-chae’s transformation from an innocent, naive girl into a wounded yet mature woman are conveyed entirely through their performances, which truly highlights the actors’ skill.
• The cinematography and high production quality clearly reflect the professionalism and dedication of the production team.
• The storyline is deeply engaging and emotionally gripping. Unlike many historical dramas that rely heavily on clichés, this series presents a different perspective on a nation’s fate—how a country is pulled into war and how each individual plays a role in shaping its destiny.

Honestly, I can’t fully describe how much I love this series. I’m genuinely in love with it, and words just aren’t enough 😂

However, despite my deep love for the show, there were two aspects I personally found disappointing:

1. The timeline isn’t clearly defined, which makes it confusing for viewers to understand the time gaps between events.

2. I had hoped that everything would end at the beach in episode 20, with Jang-hyun dying there while surrounded by soldiers. But instead, he survived, and a completely different final episode (episode 21) was presented.

How is it that events spanning ten years required twenty episodes, while another ten years were wrapped up in just one episode?

Episode 21, in my opinion, didn’t live up to the quality of the rest of the series. Because of that, I personally choose to imagine that Jang-hyun died on the beach and that the story ended with episode 20.

Despite these two flaws, this series holds immense value for me. I truly enjoyed every moment of watching it and have absolutely no regrets.

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"The Royal Family" is an epic drama of dreams, hope, and legacy about horse racing and the people dedicated to the sport. This drama is crafted so intentionally to center the horses and the beauty of the sport through top-notch cinematography and grand storytelling. The cast obviously is a who's who of talented actors with Tsumabuki Satoshi and Sato Koichi really setting the tone with their characters' relationship and growth. No character is wasted in this story - everyone is vital, critical, and adds to a narrative that grabs the audience and really doesn't let go. Though I'm not at all a fan of the sport, watching this drama felt like watching a love letter to horse racing and my emotions were completely swept up into it all. I sobbed after nearly every horse race, the anticipation and adrenaline running through me thanks to the superb acting that brought each race to life. As with dramas like this one, a story of team perseverance always becomes a story about chosen family brought together by a shared goal and dream and watching that struggle and growth as they came together was fantastic. Highly recommend this drama if you appreciate a well-written drama (it's not unique, but it is very strong!) that will take you though a beautiful human (and horse!) story with an amazing emotional journey.

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Slow Start...Ended Better Than Predicted

For me, this series was just middle-of-the-road. I was happy for another Englot Series, but having them star in Unlimited Love was not enough.

The beginning of Unlimited Love was very slow in terms of character and relationship building among the main ensemble cast. A lot of the show's bandwidth is devoted to the episodic elements of Unlimited Love. On top of that, the early story messaging was very superficial, which was distracting and problematic. While I believe every story has a right to be told, I thought we were beyond these kinds of surface-level stories in 2025.

But the series was not all bad. The last couple of episodes of Unlimited Love gave us what they should have from the start. It was hilarious, and the pairings all finally took steps in their relationships. This was nice to see, as I do believe MGI did an excellent job chemistry-wise with all the couples, and I wish we had the chance to see more of their relationship dynamics. I hope MGI gives them more opportunities to shine as pairings outside of an ensemble cast.

All in all, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't great.

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No Redeeming Quality Whatsoever

The dullest drama I have seen EVER! There was a small chance that this drama would be good with the male lead playing a double role but I couldn't even tell the two roles apart. It was portrayed so badly. Even the flashbacks felt pointless and uninteresting. I was not invested in their friendships nor their relationships. The leads had no chemistry and the romance bored me as well.

The majority of the drama revolves around the architecture and city planning work and the fight between the two leads. It is only in the last few episodes that the couple finally get together and it is completely uneventful.

The second couple are slightly better but there is something about this drama that manages to make their story utterly boring as well. Even the supporting characters were incredibly boring and I fell asleep multiple times watching the last few episodes. The entire drama was seen on 2x and I still wished I could speed it up further.

There is some good scenery but not enough to raise the score of this drama. I didn't enjoy the music and there were no memorable dialogues. There is something about the way this drama was shot that makes it so unlikeable. Only I know how I didn't drop this show. I had read the last couple of episodes were good so I held on but it was not worth it.

I really urge people not to waste time with this drama even if you love the actors. This is easilly the WORST drama of 2025.

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would have been so much more if they had tried to do less

The early episodes held such promise - bouncing from one crime lakorn trope to another, then swerving (because Thailand, and I love this) into comedy series and developing a beautiful care and trauma focus with Q’s sleepwalking, anchored by Ohm’s ability to show quiet emotion through his face and voice.

But the crime lakorn never became more than a string of tropes, ungrounded and unintegrated, lazily thrown together in pursuit of plot, motivations and filling time. Enough to carry an entire side plot of a 30 hour lakorn but merely surface level tension here. Veteran actors Lift Supoj and Pym Pympan gave competent but generic performances, they could have done them in their sleep. Tae Pitisak was at least given a decent monologue to work with and he is excellent with a good monologue.

This is the first time I've felt my familiarity with lakorn tropes and actors got in the way of watching either a lakorn or series. Their characters were stock roles so I was watching actors go through well-known motions. Papang though, he’s not cut out for a tough guy. Give him more roles please, but not this.

I wish I had seen this earlier, before I got the hang of lakorns and their tropes. It might have worked better for me as I wouldn't have realised how paint by numbers it was. Or maybe I would have just been casting about for an explanation within my experience. The series support characters were generic too.

The BL was also trope-heavy, though on a par for recent GMMTV fare and Ohm can elevate anything through the strength of his acting and facial expressions. Much praise for him. No criticism of Leng, his delivery suited his character. And certainly none for the two of them together or their chemistry. The only thing lacking there was years of fans building up fantasies about their boys, the kind which lets shippers bypass everything else and fill in the gaps with their own emotions.

But all of those tropes, that was a lot of weight for the BL to labour under, and through the middle it was more cliches than unique characters. That’s on the writers, Ohm and Leng did their best to try to make them more. (How often am I writing something like this these days? GMMTV, get it back together. Please.)

This had one excellent idea which it developed and then set aside - the sleepwalking, with its mix of care and trauma. Anchored of course by the quality of Ohm’s performance. It seemed a promising start, especially with the kindness and humour it mixed in, the perfect recipe for Thailand’s fantastic way of tempering trauma and difficult subject matter.

They did revisit it in the last two episodes, with the characters having matured. They got the emotions right in that, although it felt somewhat discconected and …. Still trying to figure out what was missing there for me. It might come back to integration of the story lines and their many elements.

The series also had what should have been solid ideas around sacrifice, except they chopped it all into too many pieces and scattered it about, dissipating its emotion. That’s my primary criticism, this series couldn’t be bothered to truly develop and explore any of its ideas. I have to mentally recompile it to appreciate what they were trying to do, it just kept bouncing from one bit to another.

It’s like the many writers (too many cooks perhaps?) didn’t have the courage to properly develop and explore any of their story-lines, or understand which ones were its strengths - everything was resolved too quickly and easily. This would have been so much more if they had tried to do less.

So this is yet another What might have been, with this premise and these actors, if only the creators had done their part better. I very much want that tender care/trauma laced with comedy series the beginning seemed to promise. Choose a few lakorn tropes carefully to develop the themes of sacrifice and the questions it asks around that. And above all, have the courage to stay with those emotions. Thailand does that so well.

What this might have been, with Ohm and Leng and that potential.

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so far so good. make me feel alive again.

Honestly speaking, I wouldn't watch this if it weren't for Yu Shuxin. I'm not really into this kind of plot (no-blood relation step-siblings), it's just too awkward for me and not my type. But I'm so glad she's the FL here, otherwise, I may have never known this masterpiece of a drama.

The male lead, while I feel like he can do more, still, his acting worked well. He suits so much as Jin Chao. His eye acting, in particular, is his best department. Second was him while in a race. I'm glad she's paired with YSX. That kind of eye acting needs to be known more. Plus! His yearning character deserves more attention too! haha. For YSX, the girl can really act. Just one thing I wish could've done differently was her expression when Chao reached something, cos that reaction reminds me of Ling Miaomiao. I feel like that reaction was out of character for Jiang Mu's nature. But other than that, she's so great. Although I like her expressions so well, that's not what hooked me to her character. Instead, I like how cool she is while driving, while conversing, but most of all when she can fight. Finally! One thing I quite don't like in modern drama (not fond of modern drama, truthfully speaking) is that MOST OF THE TIME, FL relies so much on ML. Always needs saving. But Jiang Mu belongs to another FL who knows how to defend when needed. That's a very good one for me. So yep, these two together bring good chemistry and their tension is just so perfect!

For other characters, firstly, I love San Lai! If there's no Jin Chao or Mike (forgot his name in SAL, oh my), if I were Jiang Mu I'd definitely fall for him. He's so nice and attentive. I like the other workers in Chao's business too. But my favorite aside from the main leads? Definitely Mike. WHOEVER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR GIVING HIM THAT ROLE AND PAIRING HIM WITH YSX DESERVES A RAISE! He gives me butterflies every time he's close to Jiang Mu. Definitely my type if Jin Chao didn't exist in this drama (he's just built differently you know? Who doesn't like a man who yearns, who can say no, and so passionate and almost like obsessed?? I'm definitely into this type!) Mike and YSX's chemistry is also really good (or was this YSX's never-ending "chemistry queen"?). Lastly, Snakey (was that what they called her?). She's crazy but I feel like deep inside her, she's not a bad person. And yes, her with ysx made me think I was watching a GL, lol. Their dynamic and tension is so ugh so good!

Overall, this is a very well-thought-out drama. It is almost perfect. This year, I can count using my one hand how many dramas hooked me. It has been so rare for me to be impatient for new episodes, and thank goodness SAL happened because I'd be bored to deàth!

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