Remember You (2021)

Smooth storyline without the extra romance in a criminal, investigation drama

The drama is an adaptation of Korean drama Hello Monster (2015), but it very much has improved the storyline in the original.

Watching the original, I was very much disappointed by all the plot holes and excessive plot they have between the main storyline and the side stories of crimes and romance. It could have been better if there were some clarity as to why the characters suffers their fate or act a certain way. However, if you are into a bubbly crime solving drama then that one is for you. Not to say that the original was bad, it was very good in the chemistry between the characters and introducing an intriguing story in 2015.

When Mouse (Korean Drama) came out, I am blown away by how amazingly tight knit a crime drama can be while showing more realistic characters' reactions. Upon hearing the Thai remake of a high potential drama, I had a high expectation going into Remember You (2021).

The first quarter may not be as amazing introducing the characters and their chemistry as the original but making it pass halfway will be worth it. To be honest, I was unimpressed by the first few episodes as they are somewhat a bland replica of the original until I discovered the plot fix in the first crime case they solve together. It shows me the potential the rest of the drama is and I am glad I didn't give up on it. Plot holes in several occasions in the original were filled and improved, unnecessary plots/storylines were trimmed, characters finally have more realistic feelings, and the ending is a close ending (I won't spoil it).

The most important thing in conclusion is it gives the spotlight on the main relationship - the brothers amongst the less important one the original pushed it to. Also, the characters are reimagined very well and I love them passing the first quarter (sorry but the original characters were sometimes off from what they are suppose to be like female cop, little brother etc. who are supposed to know how to fight).

Now that I have watched the whole drama, I think it was great that the first quarter was slightly boring since the main character did not know or even have hope that his brother is still alive to be so motivated.

Ps: There is no OST or song in the remake (hence the 1 point in Music) but I'd rather have cinematic soundtracks than OST that is put in wrong moments.

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Not worth it because of one character...

To be fair, I've watched Hello Monster a long time ago and I don't have any memories of the series at all. I remember some scenes (especially the fantastic acting of Do Kyungsoo) but I don't quite remember the rest of the series so I couldn't really compare with this one (except the beginning of the plot). And maybe because it was a long time ago but I remember liking the Korean series.

This Thai version... not so much.

The actors are good. The plot is well written. But there is one big problem for me... the female lead.
She was insufferable from the start and, from episode 4 or 5, I couldn't see her on the screen anymore and I had to skip all of her scenes (especially the ones with the male lead). I re-read my comment on the Hello Monster series and I was already saying at that time that I didn't quite like the romance. But I don't remember hating it that much! That Thai version seemed to have worsened the female character. I mean... she is a cop but she's scared on a crime scene... She also is and admits to be a criminal herself because she's a stalker but the male lead doesn't seem to be put off by this news... She says to Pathomkarn that she hated Tanwa at first which is a total lie. She never hated him and, even though, she doubted his innocence in the first few episodes, she never disliked him, on the contrary. She also prefers that her attacker run free just for her to stay in Tanwa's home. Well... I can go on and on with her...

Also, she is the reason I hate the ending. Because, of course, we can't have an ending with the two brothers being happy together...

So, I may be unfair to the series because of one character but, sometimes, one character can spoil an entire series...

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A bit Different than the KDrama

Hello Monster: Remember You is one of my favorite KDramas, where I loved the entire cast, as well as the chemistry between them. So I started this with some reservations, despite my overall love of lacorns.
In the Korean drama, while I love Jang Na Ra, her character was pretty inconsistent. At least she looked and acted like a confident knowledgeable detective, tho. In this one, the actress is simply too young. She doesn't have the gravitas for the part. The character remains the problematic mess it was in the KDrama, as well.
Our profiler here is not Seo In Guk. But he's otherwise excellent - fits the part, does the job, and I very much approved of him. Same for his brother - not Park Bo Gum but still you're rooting for him LOL
The police team are fine, and I actually prefer the head detective here (boss' son). Of course the KDrama DID have Kim Jae Young, but I thought Best Vichayut Limratanamongkol was just as gorgeous in fact :D
Where this REALLY shines is the casting of our main bad guy! Now, I thought D.O. just nailed his part as the younger one - chilling! Choi Won Young as his older self is excellent, of course, because CWY is one of THE best Korean actors out there. However, in the lakorn, OMG the younger & older actors LOOKED so much ALIKE! Same facial expressions, mannerisms! Totally chilling, both of them! Because of this, it really felt like you were looking at the actual younger/older versions of the same person! This was just amazing to me and really made this version totally worth watching :D
The story line is a bit more difficult to follow here than it was in the KDrama, I feel, but since I already knew the story I can't tell how problematic that would be for someone unfamiliar with it.
Overall, this remake is totally worth watching, just as every other lakorn remake of a KDrama that I've seen!

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When you're trying not to compare a Remake to the Original story

I did my very best to not compare this drama to the original K-drama (Hello Monster). However, the more I watched, the more interesting it became and over time, I was engrossed in it and kept watching forgetting a bit about the original.
Like the story is initially the same, but you know how it is in remakes, there will always be major or minor changes. The changes in this drama were minor so they weren't much of a big deal to me.

For this drama, what rooted me was the actors/characters themselves more so than the story itself. Like I already knew the story, but I wanted to see how the actors would enact the characters and make them into their own version without making me think of the original or try to compare. I wanted them to make me feel like I was watching something brand new. That is what I look for and what I want to feel in remakes when I watch them. I never looked at who were casted and wanted to be surprised(minus seeing Tay in the poster) to see how the characters can make the story unfold and how well they able to interact with each other and make me as a viewer continue to watch. I think they succeeded in pulling me in and making me not wanting to stop watching. It had that effect of making me want to rewatch the original story and not in a bad way or to compare, but just to enjoy its originality and appreciate the efforts of the remake.

It took a while to get used to some of the characters. Like the FL, I couldn't get used to her. I'll be very biased about that with no Fs to give. I don't know why they made her so plain and kiddish-looking and she looked so lost half the time. She didn't even seem like a cop at all. LOL I didn't dislike her but she was my least favorite character. The rest investigation team were cool peep, even the Lieutenant/ team leader was so cute.
Now, for the big 3. Kong, the actor who played him was quite creepy but he didn't give me much chills as I was expecting. Like I felt like he was trying really hard to give off that serial killer vibe but because he was trying too hard, it didn't have much of an impact to me. Paytai, played by hottie Tay wasn't bad, but it felt lacking. I don't know what it was but I wanted him to spice up his character some more. I know he could have because he's an amazing actor but to me, it felt like maybe he was holding back a bit. Now, my fav character was Tanwa/Tony played by Petch. He did well. Something about this guy interest me a lot and he was one of the main reasons why I continued to watch. It was my first time seeing this actor, but I actually really liked how he acted.

The story was decently written and I did enjoy the drama as it's own if I didn't watch the original and I do like it as a remake. I don't care for the music, not that it was there much of the time.
Will I rewatch this? Probably not. These dramas are a one type watch dramas. If I rewatch again, it would be specific scenes, not the entire thing.
Would I recommend this to anyone who has or hasn't seen the original? Sure! I'd recommend this for one who hasn't seen the original. As for those who's seen the original, I'd say this drama wasn't bad at all. Don't pay much attention to anything, just watch of your own volition and judge for yourself whether you will enjoy it or not.

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Unconventional, possibly in unintended ways

At first, this series seems like it would be firmly in the crime thriller genre. There are criminals, including a serial killer on the loose from the time the main male character is a child to the time he is grown up and has become a criminologist. There are different criminal cases, but there is a connection between the cases even though the crimes are unrelated. Yet, it does not go very heavy on the solving of mysteries. As some viewers have noted, the investigations don't even seem professional. The story is pretty good fiction, but if you are expecting a solid criminal investigation story or even a realistic portrayal of psychopathic serial killers, this series will defy your expectations. The police don't seem to be very good at their work and requires the expertise of the male protagonist, and the male protagonist himself has to rely on his resourceful friend (a wealthy art dealer of all things) to find out information. Eventually, his reliance on the friend becomes a self-conscious joke in the series as the friend observes how the male protagonist would keep on giving him orders to investigate things. (And yeah, it's not very nice to blackmail your gay friend into doing things for you by threatening to out him to his father.)

I think there are several narrative threads left hanging: I found myself asking at the end, "Wait, so is the guy who flees to the Philippines and gets arrested there a serial killer or has a serial killer made use of him to kill?" Also, what has really happened to the main female character's father? And perhaps the oddest of all: why does the story end with the identified (main serial killer) still on the loose in a drama that sets itself out to be some sort of crime drama? I can't really tell whether it is merely an attempt to have some sort of cliffhanger for Season 2 (which may not happen) or if it is a daring deviation from genre conventions.

A deviation from what one may expect from the crime genre seems plausible because the deviation is present way before the ending. Sometimes, the deviation is interesting. For instance, one might already guess from Episode 1 who the "monster" referred to is, but even when one guesses it, one may watch on to find out how the dots are connected. Also, the fact that the main serial killer has someone in the police force helping him secretly is strongly hinted at (together with the precise identity of the person helping him), but even upon getting the hint, one may want to watch on to find out exactly why the person is helping the killer. This makes the story more fun than merely having sudden revelations that no one would expect, something that I think too many series try to do.

On the other hand, there is awkwardness in the way the series defies genre conventions. For one, the serial killers (yes, there is more than one) are "humanized" a little too much. They seem to be psychopaths though I don't recall the term being used in the series at all. The term "monster" is used, perhaps because the series is meant to explore human nature without pathologizing certain behaviors. There is allusion to a story about how there are two wolves in every person (one good, one evil) and how the wolf that one is fed will govern the person's behavior, and the duality of human nature seems to be the focus here. Yet, the series seems to take this a little too far in showing the humane side of people whom we might understand to be psychopaths, showing them to be highly capable of true empathy and affection. Yes, there is the nature vs. nurture debate, but is it possible for someone to have the capacity for love and empathy when both nature and nurture have worked together to efface the person's good side (assuming there is one) from a young age, as in the case with the male protagonist's brother?

The depiction of the male protagonist's relationship with his brother is also quite unconventional. I'm pretty sure it is not my BL-fan imagination shaping my perceptions, but there are points when the brothers are depicted almost in a way one might expect lovers to be depicted. It might well be possible to do a montage of their scenes together and convincingly present it as a trailer for a BL series that does not exist. It's not that I mind the portrayal of brothers being really chummy and not exhibiting any toxic masculinity towards one another--after all, it is not as though there is actually any incest going on in the story. But what is the point of it all? Especially if we remember that the younger brother is actually rather selfish in telling their father not to believe what the older one says, his longing for brotherly affections can't possibly be as innocent and sympathy-inducing as the series eventually makes it seem. I would guess that the younger brother just wants to be loved without loving anyone, but this doesn't seem to be the case eventually. In other words, the story seems to venture into a rather dark terrain and then suddenly chickens out and heads the opposite direction instead.

Many seem to hate the main female character, but she isn't really that bad. There are some points when she is a rather badly written character. For instance, she is supposed to be a rather feisty person and a daring police officer who will investigate and stop crimes even when there is danger, but then she would suddenly behave like an idiot afraid of ghosts when exploring a house. Unfortunately, the character seems to be quite unnecessary (especially with the lack of elaboration on what has happened to her father) and seems to be placed in the drama for some obligatory romance though some scenes between the male lead and his brother seem more romantic than her scenes with the male lead.

Overall, the story is quite intriguing even with its flaws. I don't know how faithfully it has followed the Korean original, but assuming that it has followed the original story closely, I think it should have taken liberties to correct the inherent flaws in the story.

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Office Romance or Thriller?

It’s an alright drama. Personally, I felt that it was way too episodic for my liking and there ended up being too many plot holes and unexplained events towards the end.

Character development was adequate, since the drama focused more on revealing the complexity of the characters on the morally grey scale as opposed to whether or not they actually changed for the greater good. The screenwriters really had a knack for making practically every "villain" someone who did what they did for a reason.

Cinematography was good. The shots and camera work were relatively steady and had some cinematic moments. It had some unique frame-to-frame transitions as well. Lighting was consistent throughout and unlike other dramas, I’m glad that they chose a more "natural" lighting as opposed to putting saturated filters to make colors pop— like, you’re watching a thriller.. not a romcom! The lighting really set the mood for the scenes and was overall enjoyable to watch.

Acting was also good, but I truly felt like ML’s acting lacked something important. I don’t know how to explain it— I just guess that it felt incomplete.

Also, despite popular opinion, I thought that the FL wasn’t too annoying. Personally, I found her witty (not mentioning the stalking phase.. I don’t know how she got away with that). As much as I tried not to dislike her, I was annoyed at how much screen time she had in the drama. IMO, the story could’ve just been centered primarily on the two brothers. It was a shame how the ML got so little screen time despite his importance to the overall story. FL could’ve simply been a background character without the unnecessarily romance. Too much of the plot was centered around those two, and their romantic moments felt like fillers that dragged the drama to an extent. At some point, I found myself having to skip every scene where she and MC interacted because I wanted to see ML so bad.

Ending was textbook perfect. After all, justice was somewhat served.. but only SOMEWHAT. I hate hate hate it when culprits are somewhat invincible. It makes sense if it were to be a fantasy drama, but how is it that our culprit can crawl out of practically any situation regardless of life and death like a rat? He is literally a rat!

The screenwriters could’ve had MC investigate the cases that were actually relevant, such as the ones done by his brother.. but no! The cases MC decides to investigate are merely subplots, with some not even connecting to the bigger picture! Again, this just dragged the drama on an unnecessarily longer length. All we’re left with is implications. The screenwriters drop ambiguous hints based on word of mouth here and there, such as when Meena said that the P guy was going to be his "last victim." Did he kill all those other 9 people or did he use others as his executioners? Why did he choose those executioners? Context is very limited, which makes connecting the cases to the bigger picture appear like a tangled mess.

Logic is somewhat out of the window for some aspects of this drama. For example, the whole idea of the culprit having no pulse is just so mind-boggling and anatomically wrong that I just can’t get it out of my mind.. but at the same time, I have to just remind myself that this is a work of fiction, and things aren’t supposed to make sense.. I guess?

Overall, the major flaw of this drama is the plot. Trust me, the premise is very promising, but the execution could’ve been done entirely different. First things first, start off by filling in the plot holes for gods sake!

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A must watch for all the detective fans out there.

If you love watching crime and detective movies and series , this is more than perfect. the story the plot and the twist is something I've never seen nor ever read , the story is so new and fresh. I tried so hard not to binge watch but I failed because , this series is that much interesting.
Not to mention the cast and the effort they've put in to make this amazing. the cast is in sync with the stories characters.
Each and everyone of them was born to play their character. The story began from one person then wrapped around in someone else but it made it so good. There is a romantic story a, a brotherhood story between two loving brother and co - worker ship in this series. Its a must watch .!!!

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honestly loved it

to be honest i have to say this with lots of caution
but anyway i believe this one was better than the original version.
i really enjoyed the korean version but many things annoyed me about it.
first we had a really not attractive female lead..
i maen i tried a lot to connect with the FL but that was useless...she was annoying and not really appealing...
in thai version we have a more tolerable FL that i could connect with and understand her feelings .
second i want to talk about the vibe ..
it was a thriller and mystery drama so the vibe had to be dark and mysterious but this is not what i felt from the Korean version....i was able to connect with thai version because it's vibe was just perfect :dark and unfriendly
third it's the cast
i personally loved the brothers cast in both versions but their roles were better portrayed in the thai version
i mean they were perfect .nothing to complain
fourth and the last one it's in the way they end
i wasn't satisfied with the Korean version ending because i couldn't understand what happened at the end ..you can say it was a open ending
but thai version had a clear ending and that was a beautiful ending.. the best ever possible ending
so that's why I love remember you .
if you haven't watched any versions i suggest starting from the thai version
enjoy your watch
thanks for reading my review

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Siding with everyone else.

I really took my time on getting to make myself finish this drama. Overall was a good drama however like others may have mentioned- the main girl lead annoyed me so much that I didn't want to watch until the end so I took in consideration of others advice & fast forwarded her romance scenes because I'd rather enjoy a good crime drama & get to the point.
Semi sad ending for Meena but I just really wished they would've have caught the two'face perpetrator instead however I must say his childhood was a indeed a very sad one & hate to say this but I'm glad he at least took in the kids and gave a few of them a good future, lawyer-nurse-cop.
This would be a one time watch for me.. I can't make myself watch it again even If I wanted to.

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Tay Tawan brings a Surprise!

'Remember You' has been on my watchlist since the time I started covering every Nanon works but I couldn't make it somehow. But now when I'm on the follow up for every Tay Tawan's work, yes finally I have completed watching it. Although judging from the main cast and especially the poster, I was in the wonder what kinda role he'll be in. Still looking for some rough reviews and details, and finding out him being in the 'main role' couldn't stop me anymore and just get on with it right away. AND out of more surprises, in spite of his late entry in the storyline, what kept me excited was his name mentioned in the opening credits among the other three ONLY names, that was super enough to guess that how MAIN is his role. And man...!!! I DID NOT expect him in that character - He has given all the taste of reactions an audience can ask for from a thriller drama. Known to his work, skills and talent from other projects - I was just enjoying each and every moment and frame Tay Tawan is in the character of Meena/Paytai. SPECIAL MENTION of him in the ACTION sequences. Man......!!!! 🤌❤️😍💯 More in love with his performing skills. Kudos to the action director who gave our Tay such a Solid form. Tay Tawan fans, can not should not miss E13 at any cost and obviously the finale. Every other cast has done the full justice to their characters including the two main child artists. The series may seem long in the very beginning to cover soon in a short period, but you'll be hooked in no time and will cover it happily and satisfactorily. Definitely a must watch. And Tay Tawan, we love you man. Keep surprising us with your work, talent and skills. What a fine artist you are. 🤌💯😍😘

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