Help Me Khun Pee Chuay Duay (2021)

Welcome to my final review of 2021!

As per usual, negatives first! Whilst I didn’t mind the disapproving parent trope, I didn’t care for all the scheming and plotting. I think this lakorn would’ve still been enjoyable without it. Also, I’m utterly dissatisfied with the outcome of the antagonists. It’s not often I even say that but this is one of the few times I’m not a happy bunny. It felt lazy.

Another thing I was displeased about was Prang’s role. She plays a “main character” who is really in supporting role. There’s been a few lakorns like that this year but she still has good scenes. She certainly killed all those crying scenes lol.

STORY
I’m not really sure if this is spoiler cos for me it’s not, given that it’s revealed pretty much everywhere that a ghost is involved ~ in the title, in the trailer, in the (open) tags, and of course, for those who read synopsis….in the synopsis. Anyways, the Ghost plot is what piqued my interest in this lakorn. The ghosts aren’t scary at all which for me is an absolute bonus!

It is a little bit episodic but honestly you shouldn’t be too bothered by them as there is still a lot of focus on the main plot because they are linked.

CAST/ACTING
Everyone did a fabulous job playing their parts. I will admit that I got attached to some of the characters especially because of the presence of the Family and Friends theme. I loved the main couple as well as Non + Mu and Non + Pong’s antics and whilst Prang did spend most of her scenes crying, it honestly didn’t bother me. She had reason to cry so much, only a monster would whinge about that lol.

MUSIC
I’m sorry but I only remember Please Help Me by Kongthap Peak cos it was so repetitive but since I loved it from the moment I heard it, I really didn’t mind lol.

REWATCH VALUE
Absolutely, 100% but then again that’s cos I enjoyed this lol so probably best to ignore this part.
I probably liked 99% of this lakorn as reflected in my review so I am unsure if the story dragged. If anything, I didn’t want it to end but alas all good things must come to an end right? I think the fact that this was pretty heavy on the topics of Karma and Merits made me love it even more as I don’t really see other countries mentioning similar things. If you like ghost plots, leads who can see ghosts, family theme and of course romance + comedy you may enjoy this.

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Better than Expected!

The ghost plot is what attracted me to this drama and I liked that all the ghosts were not scary looking and had their own little story to it. I kind of wished there was more focus on the ghost plot and Non making merit by helping them. He was hardly a human and there was no real plot development on him learning to control himself when he transformed. I found it cheesy that all the ghosts he helped was related to him or Mu (mostly Mu) - talk about coincidence to the max lol but it pulled into the storyline of Non and Mu. Another negative aspect of the story development that could have been better was how some events unfold and then there was no clean wrap up for it. For example, Non got killed and then it was mentioned in the news but there was no follow up on if his killers were caught, Nong finding out the news, or Non's funeral. Mu's story tends to overshadow Non's. I also wished Pong revealed to Nong about things related to Non. Nong never got to know of the things Non did for her and the family; I think she deserved it.

The scheming and plotting could have been omitted, as it took up unnecessary screen time. Too much was wasted on the mom's disapproval, Pawanee's jealousy, Laorong's infatuation, and the ex-boyfriend's need to win - I started fast forwarding most of their parts and was still able to follow along. I feel it disrupts the flow of the story and overall mood. It should have focused more on Non's family, as Prang's character is supposedly a main character, but it felt more like she was in a support role.

Non and Mu's relationship does involve bickering, whining, and guilt trips, but they do end up helping and learning from each other. In real life, I would not befriend someone like that lol. However, you do see their friendship evolve and she is genuinely sad about him leaving and does care for his family too. The plot was also refreshing in the sense that it is modern with her wanting to pursue a career for herself first before marriage and being an influencer. All of the three families had their own dynamics and was mostly light hearted. Honestly, I was hoping Mu got pregnant and Non was reborn as their son LOL. Am I the only one who was hoping for this?

The most notable thing about the drama is the CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH! OMG! YES! You even see growth among the ghosts, support roles, and antagonists. Khet's mom took a while though; I was disappointed she got worse after her father passed away. If you have watched a lot of lakorns and Korean dramas (as I have), you will definitely appreciate it here, especially Khet's character, which is the cherry on top! His character is memorable and definitely worth mentioning, as it shows that good guys doesn't always finish last and isn't always the 2nd lead. You can be rich and be a good human being to others. I like that they didn't focus on his wealth nor have him flaunt it. He even dresses pretty normal (until he had amnesia lol that's another story). Too often, ML in dramas are rich, the heir, or CEO but they get the girl by being "bad" as in forceful, manipulating, mean, gaslighting, playboy, etc. I liked that he trusted Mu and acts like an adult by communicating and listening to her. Sometimes, I felt their relationship wasn't equal. For example, Khet would express his concern about the ex-bf and she would pretty much brush it off or say he is cute when jealous - that was frustrating and got old real fast. I also felt Khet's character is sometimes a support role and Pong's is more of the main role. Anytime something happens, Mu usually calls Pong or Non for help.

I wished there was more scenes with Nong. The writer and producer didn't do much with Nong and gave too much to Wee, Laorong, and Khet's mom. I love Prang and every time she cried, I cried lol. It was unfortunate we didn't see more of her business venture and life as a single mom and grieving wife (this lakorn would have been perfect to dive into these topics). I was really starting to think she would bake more than just brownies and open up her own shop, but that plot line kind of went nowhere. She had a whole book of recipes that Non work to obtained! What happened?!? Again, this goes back to how certain plots/events are left hanging.

The least memorable thing about the drama is definitely the music, but I didn't really mind it. I think the plot and acting balanced it out. The sound effects was kept to a minimal and wasn't exaggerated or too distracting. Overall, I will watch it again when I'm in need of something fun and light, but I'll definitely skip all the scheming and plotting and just watch it for the ghost storyline and those related to Mu and Non.

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