This review may contain spoilers
When The Plot Gets Sticky!
This review I write for the Drama/Lakorn fans like me who first and foremost look for reviews and browse through comments [on MDL page] before starting a show and despite all the warning and praise always watch it and love or hate it, respectively, against the reviews and comments (provided, I am not the only one). Hence, I will try to keep it as brief as possible which is a tough task for me as I am used to rambling riotously. (Can you tell!)The description of the show is almost right. It is regarding a man set off to taking revenge for the wrong done to his family. And there are these three women, who are posing about him in the poster, he gets involved with along the way. The rest is a little bit (sorta a lot) altered through the show.
I wanted to watch it for the sole reason of James. He's a fantastic actor. Versatile at that. He can shine even in the role of a light pole (no pun) with his rainbow expressions. Therefore, I feel the show was unfair to him. The first episode was as per the description but lost its story from the next. It seemed the director or the writer was snoozing until the last few episodes.
The hero's journey which was supposed to be avenging his family's misfortune soon became something else. Like he couldn't quite stick to his own decision. Every scheme he plotted against the apparent evil-doers either got lost in the middle or ended up him having filled with guilt, for one reason or another. He appeared to have bitten off more than he could chew. He was supposed to be this charming manipulator who flirts with women and uses them for his purpose (without conscience, I believe), but I didn't see that. Even though he flirts with two girls and the third one was collateral, and totally inadvertent, he was not a complete despicable jerk, which I expected him to be. And the other adjectives like; "God Of Economics" (ye right!), cunning, irritable and whatnot, was obviously thrown out of the premise during the process of the show. Him being rough outside and soft at heart was half true, as in, he didn't seem rough from anywhere. A lot confused though. His track was utterly mishandled. Poor JM!
Now coming to the last few episodes, the writer was [definitely] kicked in his shins to wake up from his slumber and made to write a new track. This time for the FL instead. Therefore, from episode 10, the show became anew and focused on the heroine's journey of revenge. And how I loved her calling out all the Baetches!
The new actress was A-mazing from the beginning. That's the one good thing the writer did for the show, writing a strong female lead. In the beginning, she was lugging around all the obligation and gratitude to the family, that is her "benefactor", and her folks' employer, and also her duty towards her own family. But towards the last episodes, she stripped off all the niceness and went against the foes head-on. The best part of the show. For this only I could manage to finish it. Gina was an A+ from the go. She has a strong presence and I'd love to see her more this year.
I cannot rate it in entirety since it's like two different shows. It concluded way better than started. And I might re-watch just for the last few episodes and the great chemistry (that's a staple in a Ma starrer ). I always like stories with strong female leads. And if they are kicking butts and taking names (even metaphorically), I tend to visit again.
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Loved it
I didn’t know what to expect from this drama .....looked like yet another revenge lakorn to me. I was between lakorns...you know ...waiting for the ones I really want to watch so I started this. And boy am I glad I did! James Ma stole the show for me. This was my first time watching him and I don’t know why I didn’t earlier. From the way he looks...to his wide range of expressions...oh he was a treat to watch. He made what could have been an average drama very very interesting, he’s not like your usual heroes. I laughed and cried with him. Even thought he supposedly portrays a supposedly cold hearted guy....his warmth was palpable and he’s funny....naturally funny. Loved the FL ...Her acting was on point and she’s lovely. In fact all the supporting roles were done right. The show wasn’t draggy either. Loved itWas this review helpful to you?
MDL user 'Soju' wrote: "The poster of this scares me." That made me laugh hard and I agree:D
James Ma portrays a character who gives many speeches and often lectures other characters. Just during first 5 episodes he counsels about personal money management and DEBTS at least 3 times. It almost looks like the scriptwriter went through something while preparing this lakorn:)Love-wise, he isn't so wise (pun intended). There are three women spinning around him (hence the scary poster:) but first one is his sister, second one his mark, only the third his love interest. But their first kiss causes a death of a good person and then, there comes the overly aged evil rival Willie McIntosh, muhaha... Things won't go smoothly.
18-year old Gina Yeena makes a decent main cast. Natural beauty and natural acting. Even the kiss scene was not a disaster, while there are known leading ladies 20 years older than her who still can't manage. She deserves a praise. Even Yoghurt Nattasha this time portrays someone a bit more than just a snotty airhead. While Pear Pitchapa subtly transformes into a character with charm and class, very different from her other roles.
The story's most poignant twist comes in episode 9, in which Dao Nuer stops being the 'North Star' and obeys the calling of the dark side. I appreciate this lakorn was not overly long. Still, the main couple had almost too much of going back and forth... I appreciated it when he finally told her of all his plans (we can't love someone we don't know), better late than never. The two shared great chemistry and I liked how James Ma's character - despite being swarmed by girls like you see on the poster - remained steadfast in pursuing Dao Nuer for no other reason than he just simply liked this girl, who at first didn't stand out. Overall the script emphasized chances given to all its characters to pursue either the light or the dark side.
Overall Namfon Sruangsuda deserves the highest praise for her acting, and hers was the most complex character. And I loved Mr. Frank's character's development, though there I cannot praise the acting of Willie McIntosh that much, LOL. But I guess he did the best he could:) M Apinan had the scariest scenes, still I found him way hotter than James Ma... well, he was always my type;)
The ending was satisfying and fullfilling for all the lakorn's characters and it was not about returning as the lost heir or marrying the rich prince, like usual:)
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so average!
I've started to watch this in between other dramas, and though it's quite entertaining, it's still mediocre... The FL looks mediocre, she hardly has any acting skills, and the ML, though handsome and all, is overdoing it most of the time. Dont get me wrong, they r both handsome, but so forgettable, nothing to get someone's attention. I might keep watching it since i have no other option at present, but it's NOT ENGAGING, i skip a lot of the boring scenes. The tropes are there, but it's not this that puts me off - just the general impression.Watch it if you're a fan or super-bored.
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Sorpresa por trama y por James Ma
No me lanzaba a los dramas de James Ma; había algo en su cara que me frenaba, sin embargo ha sido empezarlo y atraparme. Su variedad de expresiones, sus ojitos sonrientes y sus mil caras iluminan el drama de principio a fin.Las partes cómicas las hace brillar y las dolorosas nos las hace sentir.
La historia está bien, entretenida. El juego entre las 3 chicas (involuntario a veces por parte de él) también está bien medido. Creo que todo queda bien ajustado a sus 13 capítulos, ¿para qué mas?
La protagonista lo hace también muy bien, aunque hubiese preferido que siguiese peleando sin cambiar a modo 'heredera'.
Por criticar algo diría que si el prota le hubiese contado todo antes a la prota esto se hubiese resuelto en 10 capítulos.
En general, una buena sorpresa en el vasto océano de los lakorn,
Recomiendo, sí.
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