Spare Me Your Mercy (2024)

WATCH IT

This is the 2nd mystery types of BL drama I liked so much ( Of course first is Triage ) . Honestly this series is so good . I am so happy that I have found this masterpiece . I am not going to spoil anything . My review is simple .

Acting - Top tier .
Story - Excellent .
Cinematography - Outstanding .
Music - The intro music is so good .
Visuals - Eye candy

Just watch it , no regrets . Aside from the mystery and story , the chemistry between the two male leads is fire . The tension is tensioning . You will know how good this drama is after watching just an episode .

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a different plot

Overall: appreciate the premise and production value. Adapted from the book Euthanasia: Spare Me Your Mercy by Sammon which I haven't read and am reviewing this series on its own merits. 8 episodes about 45 minutes each. Airing uncut on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/spare-me-your-mercy-episode-1-1e3q3w4ts14?lang=en_us and cut on One31 YouTube channel (not in Japan, Korea, Taiwan or Thailand) https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXopbKxiivxrgJk-EvQLFVdakJlFviiix&si=aaqj7i0CX2sAeIVP - the first episode cut version was about 1 minute shorter than the uncut version.

Content Warnings: there are several major ones in the first episode and in subsequent episodes, but I'm keeping this review spoiler free for now

What I Liked
- unique premise
- mystery element
- countryside setting
- discussing the ethics of someone making choices about their life, including at the end of their life
- production value

Room For Improvement
- the first scene as a character set up/voice over exposition dump
- stupid characters/actions that felt "because the writer said so"
- reveals happened too early
- chemistry feels hot/cold, not sold on the romance aspect

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Compassion versus Law & Mercy versus Murder

My thought when I saw the first episode of the series was that it tried to establish a strong connection between showing mercy to a suffering animal by putting it to sleep and showing mercy to a suffering terminally ill human.

The topic of Euthanasia is very debatable and that's why only few countries have made it legal...there are various concerns regarding the choice of Euthanasia by an individual, whether:

*the person is in a fit mental state of mind to decide.
* The person is being coerced ( by the family)
* Doctors' abusing the power given to them. etc. etc.

I believe a person who is still mentally fit should be allowed to decide if they wish to end their life.

However, Can a person suffering extreme pain whose mind is clouded by pain medications be competent enough to make a rational judgement? Should the family members/ doctors' have the right to decide the fate of a terminally ill patient without their explicit consent (as in the case of putting an animal to sleep)?

The whole discussion is never ending , so in the end it comes down to morality and legality.


I feel the show focuses more on Compassion versus Law and Murder versus Mercy.

In the eyes of the law, things are weighed as per the rules and regulations, no room for feelings.

Freeing someone whom you care about from further suffering is an act of mercy, but law considers it a punishable crime, similar to that of a deliberate murder.

Motive plays a primary role in differentiating between the deaths of various people... how is one person's action of taking a life different from the other killer(s)? when legally all are crimes. The question here is not who the killer is, but why and how that person chooses to take a life.

What is most interesting for me in this series is not the mystery of who dunnit because that is not the highlight of the series. The cornerstone of the series is the moral ambiguity of the characters.

None of the character in the series is pure black or white.

We live in a society of flawed humans. The law has many loopholes and is imperfect but by and large it safeguards our society by protecting the weak.
So the question is left up to the audience as to how they regard the actions of these characters and whom do they sympathise with.


Overall: thought provoking and trying to present various viewpoints on the much debatable, sensitive topic of Euthanasia.


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CHARACTER ANALYSIS::::: CONTAINS SPOILERS from the series in order to discuss their motivation and ideologies on Euthanasia.

(Don't read the review further if you want to REMAIN SPOILER FREE.)


Interestingly all the below mentioned characters were connected to a terminally ill patient, the viewers are a shown a glimpse of their life when they witnessed the suffering of their loved ones how that affects their outlook on Euthanasia.


*The police captain, Thiu strongly suspects Dr.Kan and wants the guilty to be punished as per law but his heart doesn't allow him to remain completely unbiased in this case. Even though Thiu is sceptical , he is ready to accept any slightest evidence to prove Dr.kan's innocence without dwelling too deeper into it. Thiu's mother was terminally ill and he had transferred to a remote place to took a posting there but before he arrived, Dr.Kan had Euthanized his mother as per her request. He was unable to bid her a proper goodbye which remains his greatest regret.

*Dr.Kan may have started on this path for mercy and ending the suffering of patients, but somehow along the way did he become desensitised to killing? What he did in episode 7 to Boss was for a selfish reason and a clear crime. Dr.Kan's mother was terminally ill and he saw her constant suffering and his own father's helplessness that's why he chose to be a Doctor and was an advocate of Euthanasia.

* Boss who has seen his family destroyed due to his terminally ill father (his mother, unable to take care of his father killed his father and then committed suicide herself) admires Dr.kan for his stance on Euthanasia but doesn't understand that Dr.Kan doesn't enthasnise a patient to reduce the burden of care taking from family members' shoulder. Boss doesn't understand the concept of taking consent from the patients. He wants to reduce the family's burden.

* Nurse Onanong, started supporting Dr.kan when someone dear to her was terminally ill and wished to end their suffering. Nurse On tried to perform euthanasia but couldn't go through with it, at that time Dr.Kan like an angel of mercy came and helped her. He showed her the path to reduce the suffering of the terminally ill patients in a painless manner.

* Director Somsak, he was a staunch advocate of the Hippocratic Oath, was against Abortion or Euthanasia. He believed that doctor's job was to care for terminally ill patients to the best of their ability. His male lover who was Dr.Kan's mentor had been terminally ill, Somsak being a loving person wanted to spend the last few months with his lover but was deprived of that solace due to Dr.Kan euthanizing his lover.




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:::::::::::::Trivia::::::::::::

Episode 1 and 2

Just by watching the first two episodes I think the series is posing a serious question as to when does Euthanasia cross the line of showing mercy Versus murder.

So far in the first two episodes, there have been deaths of three terminally ill patients.

1. The police captain's mother ( she seemed to be quite rational and seemed to be in too much pain, but did she choose to end her life? Didn't she want to spend some time with her son who was taking a transfer to be near her?

2. Another terminally ill person, but his family was taking quite good care of him...they were hoping that they could live with him for as long as possible. I don't know if he would have chosen euthanasia?

3.The aged father who was clearly a burden to his children....but for me, his death was a blatant murder... because inspite of his advanced illness and pain, he clearly resisted and showed signs of wanting to live.


So the question is, If Euthanasia was really a choice of the above three people or was it forced upon them?


Episode 3
In episode 3, Dr.Kan injects the terminally ill tribal man after asking for his consent...even though he may not have been responsible for ALL 3 deaths in the previous 2 episodes, he certainly Euthanised the man in episode 3.

So legally he could already be a criminal, as I believe active Euthanasia is not sanctioned in Thailand...

Therefore irrespective of other people who he may or may not have euthanized, he is already guilty and is punishable by law.

Now we just have to see whether there is someone else besides him who is ethuanising terminally ill without their consent.

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Sammon Scene's Story Adapted Brilliantly

There’s a delicate line between life and death, one that often blurs into ambiguity.

In the melancholic yet romantic Thai BL Spare Me Your Mercy, this fine line is explored through the rising deaths of terminally ill patients—and the mystery of who might be behind them. Adapted from Sammon’s novel Euthanasia, the series stars Tor Thanapob as Dr. “Kan” Kantaphat and JJ Krissanapoom as Police Major “Thiu” Wasan Khambunrueang and delves heavily into themes of love, loss, and the morality of life’s end.

Spare Me Your Mercy is a fast-paced series that devotes much of its first three episodes to unraveling the mystery of who is stealing potassium chloride from the local hospital. Along the way, it cleverly introduces a roster of possible suspects, including Nurse Onanong (Fresh Arisara Wongchalee), Pharmacist Boss Chanchai (Aelm Bhumibhat Thavornsiri), Dr. Rin (Prim Atchareeya Potipipittanakorn), and Hospital Director Somsak (Gandhi Wasuwitchayagit). All while also weaving a deeper narrative that explores the equally suspicious Dr. Kan and the Police Major who finds himself falling in love with him.

Read the complete article here-

https://theblxpress.wordpress.com/2024/12/07/spare-me-your-mercy-first-impressions-ep-1-to-3/

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Quite a surprise

I’m not going to write some crazy in depth review like a ton of people do for these shows. I’m simply just going to review this on my emotions and how I felt watching this. Personally I am not really a fan of mystery mixed with BL. I am the stereotypical BL lover meaning I love the high school, college and office drama. Given that I have seen almost every BL on Viki and IQIYI, I was just seething for something else to watch. It took my a good thirty minutes to decide if this title is going to be worth my time. But I ended up giving it a shot. So far, the chemistry between the two mains is so/so. I feel the connection they have, but it’s just been such a slow burn which I love and hate, considering the fact that I just binged the first five episodes and now have to wait to see the rest. I was not expecting to love the mystery aspect of this. I think the cliff hangers and the not knowing is really hooking me onto this. Well that and just the face that the mains are such eye candy, I’m dying for them to get together. But they are playing this mystery off so well, like I could even tell you what is going to happen next. I also really like the idea of how they are using such a controversial topic as the main hook for the series. It’s risky in the public eye, but they have done it so well. I really would recommend this series, and please pray I don’t loose it before the next episode comes out, the stupid preview for episode six has really got me going crazy.

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Is this a bl?

This is a very intense show. Very well written and the actors are pretty good. I just finished episode 4 and moving on to episode 5. I’m having a hard time believing that this is a bl. I see nothing other than one character saying they like the other in the first episode. There’s been no real hugging or kissing or even any longing. The characters are not really thinking about each other when they are not together. I just don’t see it. (Maybe love will happen in the last episode) This is super good as a suspense. It really keeps you on your toes and guessing. But a love story, nah!

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Promises to be a fantastic one!

Update after Ep 3: The intrigue has actually grown, and so has the mystery surrounding the story...also, the more they reveal, the more it seems that one of the leads has a layered character with both bright and dark sides...and I love myself a complex and flawed character, so YES, still very much recommended and the 8.5 rating stands
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Woot! What a deliciously intriguing first episode...also fantastic chemistry between the leads...I'm hooked...

While I will update my ratings as I make progress with it, and post a proper review once I have completed it, this is an early blurb to let you know that if you have been sitting on the fence on whether or not to watch this, wait no more.....unless you want to binge-watch it once all of it is available.

The original story is by Sammon.....I have loved almost all of her stories that were made into dramas so far, which include Triage, 4 minutes, Manner of Death .....she is reported to be a doctor herself and that is probably the reason why all her stories have themes that include doctors, hospitals, autopsy, etc. The director is Wo Worawit Khuttiyayothin, whose other shows include Century of Love (mostly liked it), Laws of Attraction (loved it), and To Sir, With Love (Loved it a lot).

I am definitely rooting for this show. :D

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BL OF THE YEAR!!!!

With just one episode, Spare Me Your Mercy delivered everything and more.

The BL delivered in just one episode, perfect acting, the BL photography is incredible, quality, a million-dollar script, just the right amount of suspense, perfect soundtrack, only Sammon could deliver BLs with such quality.

I'm anxious to know what will happen in the next episodes (which will be 2 episodes per week).

The series has everything to be one of the best of the year, if not the best of the year.

I think the actors are new to the world of BLs, but they've already started with a heavy BL (very good).

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A Solid BL Thai Crime, Mystery, Romance and Suspense Drama

From the authorship of Sammon, the prolific Thai novelist of works of the BL genre, two magnificent suspense, mystery, medical-forensic, police and romantic dramas captivate the viewer.
Both have communicating vessels in terms of themes, styles, almost absolute pre-eminence of the hospital space as a dramatic epicenter, the rural environment, treatment and organization of information, ambiguity of the characters, script approaches, and interweaving of the respective investigative processes with their respective social contexts. However, they will not be one and another copy and carbon copy, since both have notable differences in their plots and the characteristics and behaviors of their characters.
Both titles – caustic, not at all complacent with their socio-historical surroundings – provide suggestive insights into homosexual romance in the midst of a criminological investigation, the eternal struggle between good and evil, police investigations that turn investigators and others involved into victims of powerful dark forces, moral double standards, the return of the narrative hero to the small provincial town where he was born after several years, already converted into a professional, the hatred of those who are different and the polarity of a Thailand divided into ethical, civic, human, cultural and religious issues.
These series are 'Manner of Death', directed by Chookiat Sakveerakul and Aum Natthphong Aroonnet, and 'Spare Me Your Mercy', by director Worawit Khuttiyayothin; the two adaptations, the first of the novel of the same name, while the second is of the work "Euthanasia", both written by Sammon.
The romance, mystery, suspense and police drama by Chookiat Sakveerakul and Aum Natthaphong Aroonnet recreates the investigation of a homicide carried out by a forensic doctor, who will be joined by the main suspect to, together, follow clues and find the real killer. The investigative process will lead them to discover illegal abortion practices, human trafficking, political, police and administrative corruption, sexual abuse against minors, human trafficking, illegal drug use, among other topics; Meanwhile, the two young people will discover they have feelings for each other.
Worawit Khuttiyayothin's crime-thriller-mystery-romance drama follows a police captain's investigation into the strange deaths of several terminally ill patients in a small provincial town, and with the death rate rising Among the patients, everything seems to indicate that each tragic outcome is part of a series of crimes in which the Palliative Care doctor who cared for the patients on the eve of their death, including the sub-inspector's mother, may be involved.
Worawit Khuttiyayothin, whose work expresses interest in strong, mysterious and complex homosexual male identities ('Century of Love', 'Laws of Attraction', 'To Sir, with Love'), finds in the construction of the characters of the police captain Thiu Wasan and Dr. Kan Kantaphat Akkharamethi, and in the defense of the characters by the actors JJ Krissanapoom Pibulsonggram ('#HATETAG', 2021), and Tor Thanapob Leeratanakachorn ('Hormones', 2013), respectively, four allies of notable weight.
The suspicions that Kant, a highly respected doctor, admired and loved by the other members of the medical team as well as by patients and families, is involved in the crimes, arise as a barrier to the romantic relationship he builds with Wasan, a prestigious police officer whose career is based on ethics and moral values, always dedicated to defending those most in need. As a police officer, you must be the one who defends justice. As a lover, you sincerely hope that the man you are in a relationship with is innocent of all charges.
Thiu and Kan are owners of a fascinating personality that does not leave anyone around them indifferent.
'Spare Me Your Mercy' has a procedural format with cases in which we will learn about each of the initial circumstances that lead the patient and his family to require the services of Dr. Kan and the clinic where he works, and with the subsequent death of said patient. in mysterious circumstances.
With the complicity of screenwriter Sirilux Srisukon ('Trab Sin Dind Fah' 2008), the director uses both the unusual psychological profile of the police officer and the doctor, the former for his sagacity in the area of ​​criminal investigation, and the latter as suspected of being involved in the crimes, as well as the ductility of both actors, to model two very attractive characters who circumambulate between determination and the veil, courage when confronting to all types of crimes and inspire distrust, sensitivity and coldness, the precise and the ambiguous, light and shadows, life and death, truth and lies, good and evil.
Like any police investigation sub-inspector, Thiu works in tandem with another police officer, in this case the experienced Lieutenant Kawin Kongthong (Phuak Pongsatorn Jongwilas), a man who shows seriousness and good sense when using the language and skills of the police officer to find culprits in a provincial city where a criminal act rarely occurs.
To highlight the performances of Fresh Arisara Wongchalee as the nurse On, Aim as "Boss" Chanchai, the pharmacist; Gandhi Wasuwitchayagit as Somsak La-amornchai, the hospital director, and Prim Atchareeya Potipipittanakorn as "Rin" Suphaphorn, the medical examiner, among other actors and actresses.
Worawit Khuttiyayothin observes the compass taken by directors of great police and suspense dramas (John Huston, Orson Welles, Akira Kurosawa, Jean-Pierre Melville, Martin Scorsese, William Friedkin and Brian De Palma, among others) in the way of peeking, putting on the screen and follow the evolution of the process of following the clues, identifying the culprit, eliminating suspect by suspect from the list of possible criminals, but personalizing their authorship to the time to put together your dramaturgical composer, to which you add the factor of romance and mystery.
His series, ascetically formal and with meticulous narrative rigor, makes his organizational arts an identifying mark. Each small compositional fragment gives it a unity of meaning that configures sizes and ultimately explains the tapestry of each scene.
The series captivates the viewer from the first scenes, both for the announced romance, the chemistry of the two protagonists, the perfect mix of exciting and mysterious murders, sensuality, intrigue that manages to attract even the most passive viewers and leave them glued to the screen, wanting more. A magnificent puzzle that, while making many dream of kissing and sex scenes starring Thiu and Kan, challenges the audience to join the clues to unravel some meaning at the heart of the story.
Some of the strongest things about this series are the element of mystery and the dichotomy between good and evil, between light and darkness.
In this sense, Worawit Khuttiyayothin also establishes a lucid correlation between the murders of patients with terminal illnesses, the high cost of hospital fees and charges, and the loss of family interest in protecting and caring for their patients at this stage of the illness being exhausted and suffering in the face of a situation that has no satisfactory solution, the search by some sectors of society for the decriminalization of what is also known as "mercy killing" as a driving effect on the development of palliative care, while another part of society opposes, crime and assisted suicide, since in Thailand euthanasia is not expressly allowed, but it is not expressly prohibited either, when religious, ethical, scientific and legal issues intermingle in the debates in around the legalization of "death with dignity."
While the initial appeal of 'Spare Me Your Mercy' for many people will probably be enjoying this new BL couple in action, since no one at this point can argue about the chemistry and complicity that exists between these two actors, I think the story as a whole is what really keeps the audience hooked and expectant.
So I ask the reader, as you follow each clue and test your intuition: Can you get to the bottom of the case, or will you fall into the trap? Can you anticipate the twists and turns the story may take, or do you think you have it all figured out from the beginning?
And I ask myself other questions: Will the young doctor be able to prove his innocence or is he really the one behind the crimes? What can happen when the patient is willing to undergo euthanasia but the law does not yet support it? As a doctor who saves lives... would you agree to take the lives of your patients? Will Thiu choose love or duty? Will Thiu be able to decipher the mystery of the murders, be faithful to the law and avoid falling into the temptation that the doctor represents? Could it be that fulfilling the mission of providing a dignified and suffering-free death to clinically terminally ill people when their condition will inevitably end in death could not be considered an act of mercy? Do you think Thiu and Kan will end up making 'Spare Me Your Mercy' the best BL of 2024?
Too early to write a definitive review. I will continue updating it as the next episodes are aired until the end.

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