Century of Love (2024)

excellent chemistry in a fantasy/soap opera-y plot

Overall: Daou and Offroad did a great job with a more soap opera type aka lakorn plot. 10 episodes 1 hour each. Aired 2 episodes per week on YouTube except SE Asia with delayed English subtitles https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXopbKxiivxq9qaU0XyhJiHY5za79C2ev&si=qAIRIqP0gomWPMe2 ; GagaOOLala everywhere except SE Asia, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong and Macau https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4563/century-of-love-2024 ; Netflix for SE Asian countries

Content Warnings: please see my comment with a spoiler tag as there were several in the first episode, theft, attempted kidnapping, attempted murder, blood

What I Liked
- clear set up
- a character said she could dress how she wanted to
- supportive group, supportive grandma
- that one character was a bit flirty/mischievous and was not a pushover
- the scene at the end of episode 1
- child actor did an excellent job
- need a whole series of that demon fox scene
- a character clearly stated that he was bisexual
- two complex characters and not just stereotypical villains
- non cliched female characters

Room For Improvement
- the sound effects during the fight scene
- too many flashbacks of recent scenes
- too many catch & falls
- some cartoony villains that were extremely obvious
- low budget CGI
- nonsense stuff: a character was smart about hiding something and then none of them were smart about it later
- they kind of kid a cop out with the world building at the end but I guess it goes with the "live in the present"
- the angst/pain stuff went on for too long
- (neutral) there were comedy sound effects

Note: I was not bothered by a character's reaction to learning something in episode 1, he had a very long time to build up in his mind what that person would be

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A Century of Cold Hearts and Warm Acceptance.

This is San's story of his century-long quest to find his love or 'reincarnated' love, Wat. The narrative was compelling, heart-wrenching and full of lakron-ish vibes.
It had melodramatic elements like the famous characters often finding themselves in very dramatic situations, accidental kisses or the main character fighting 10 men together and winning. Though overall it added an entertainment value (at least for me).

San is portrayed with a mix of coldness and vulnerability. I could sympathise with him and his cold demeanour because living for a century and seeing people close to him dying is a hard thing. I loved the dynamics of his found family with him! And Tao as his friend/advisor was such a support for him.
San’s initial reluctance to accept his feelings for a man and his disbelief about Vee’s true identity did spice things up and brought an intriguing dynamic to their overall relationship. To be honest San’s behaviour was a point of concern at the start, but this was somewhat understandable given his century-long lifespan. His outdated views did make sense but at last he did come around!

The fantasy and mystery elements of the drama were engaging but nothing groundbreaking or new but executed well enough to keep you hooked for the next episodes.
What I found disappointing was the undeveloped antagonist's role. The motivation and backstory weren't clear enough and felt underwhelming . Their presence seemed more like a villain requirement than a substantial threat. I missed the overall tight tension of a good villain in the story.

Coming to acting, Daou and Offroad's chemistry was very evident and so palpable. Their acting was so much better than Love in translation, especially Daou's. Honestly, their acting made me believe Vee was made for San. Them being around each other made everything more alive for San. The performances of the supporting characters especially Ju’s added a positive and entertaining aspect to the story.
I felt Third's character in the story was very insignificant. If he contributed more to the story ,it could have added an extra layer of drama and more cohesiveness to the reincarnation angle.

Overall, I’d recommend this if you enjoy soap opera-style dramas with strong chemistry to drive the story forward.

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San The 100 year Old VIRGIN

No really, knowledge was chasing some of these characters but they were faster, cuz the heroes didn’t even bring a knife to a gun fight, they brought a flashy projector with bad batteries, which immediately died. LIKE??? WHY, CHILDREN, WHY? LMAO.

This had some of the most cartoonish dramas scenes I’d ever seen, and I loved every moment of it. That being said, I swear the comedy made some of the characters seem like they had the combined IQ of that one coyote from looney tunes.

Also, tell me who the real Ms Wad is. No I don’t want to live in the present and learn a lesson. I am nosy, I WANT TO KNOW!! Which reminds me, was Wee on a Treadmill while he was trying to get to San in that dream sequence or am I tripping?

Sskskssksn, San being horny on main was gold. Mfer might die tomorrow, but he wanted to spend the night eating. I get it, after being a virgin for 100 years and pulling a stud like Wee, I too will totally ignore my dead date. His horny arse even said, ‘you can just lie there’ LOL, is that a kink I'm hearing? Huuhhh??.

Anyway. Listen, Century of Love is what you get when you give Daffy Duck artistic rights, cuz this was a chaotic funny ride. No, no, hear me out. *check notes*

1. The big bad villain showed up to the final battle in his bathrobe!! And he spend most of it, fighting his side-kick. LIKE??? LOL, settle this when you go home? why is yous all gonna fight now? And the funny part was, he kept shooting people in the back and in the leg, making sure he didn't hit anything vital. And of course, he immediately die and I was like... nahhhh...this is like sad and stuff mr...whatever your name was. He was so one-dimensional I can barely even remember his face. Oh, well, he dead though, so...stuff.

2. San giving Ms Wad the stone. QUE??? I was confusion that whole exchange, dafug you mean she deserves the stone cuz you didn’t chose her? that's not how it works? It made no sense, other than bringing drama—which, yes, I ate up. But damn, great-great grandfather done lost his marbles with that decision. Cuz why?? Out of guilt? And he knew he’d die without it, so then what’s the point of him choosing Wee if he doesn’t even get to be with him? make it make sense!

3. San, oh San. Mfer put on a hoodie, catwalk to the enemy's garage, saw that Suchat is a stupid head, then proceeded to tell the wheel chair villain exactly how to defeat him. LIKE?? The whole time he was talking I was like: Child, child! Will you keep quiet?? What surprised me the most though, is that after the villain heard all that, he just ignored it. He put his hands on his eyes and went, ‘la la la la, nothing to hear here! Nope, not me, I’m hearless!’

4. The minions throwing their guns away and grabbing machetes so they could match San. LIKE??? BROTHERS, BROTHERS, did we come here today for playing??? What nonsense was that? Not gonna lie though, that whole cartoonish fighting and with San doing his fancy arse poses had me rolling with laughter. It was very entertaining.

5. Wee, believing it took two days for his gun wounds and scars to disappear. Come on son, don’t shame your cool auntie. She did not raise you to be this dense and have the IQ of a potato. It took him literally a century to put two and two together. I hope they don't let him work the cash register at work, cuz---good thing he married an old rich guy.

6. Tao, throwing all his calculation out of the window the moment someone with the same face as Ms Wad showed up. Then why you bother with all that mumbo jumbo rituals? Then in the finale, he talking about it doesn't matter who it is. Boy if you don't harsh your face. I liked him though, he made me laugh in a lot of places, especially when he found out San's junk had basically been out of service for a 100 years.

7. I’m not even gonna comment on the Goddess. I aint trying get my arse strike by thunder or nothing--nope, not today! But like, why all the drama? Homegirl was so dramatic. Thunder here, rain there, nightmares in the corner, Wee on that treadmill, then stare at the camera for a little bit. Like, girl, I get it, someone grind your colourful stone and drank it, but damn girl, chill? Please?

No but this show had me rolling. That fight scene between them in episode 8-9 made me choke on my popcorn with laughter. HAHAHA, that exchange scene was so unserious, comedy gold, I found myself laughing instead of fearing for them.

CHARACTERS
Whom ever casted this drama deserves a pizza slice and like half a can of soda, cuz they ate with this. The chemistry between DaouOffroad was chemistrying and the support characters were supporting. I liked all the characters even Ms Wad and Third. Yes, I even liked Dr. Second Lead.

I loved DaouOffroad in Love In Translation, watched it while waiting on new episodes of this. (Side note. The moment I saw Daou in that drama I went, OMG YOUS HAVE HAIR?? SINCE WHEN?) LOL, but lowkey every time Wee left his job, I kept expecting Yang to show up and go ‘Phumjai get back to work!’ Also like, am I the only one surprised that Wee didn't get fired? Does he even work at that store, or does he just show up to move stuff around and go back home?

Anyway, I love Wee and San together. They made me laugh and cry. And like Chu, I was their supporter since day one. I love San in his old grandpa outfit just acting like a dinosaur and being effortlessly funny, while Wee was all sunshine and rainbows although his situation was so sad.

One thing I didn't like though about San was when he was being an annoying Coward, trying to pimp Vee to Third like a half eaten sandwich. Like were you hit in the head with a coconut? in what world is you quietly dying in a corner without even saying goodbye good? Boy must have left his brain in the past under that basket, cuz he was talking nonsense in that scene. I was ready to fight like, 'No, shut up, you two need each other! Go to him child.' Thank the goddess Third had enough brain cells to spare and brought Wee to him.

One thing I loved about Wee was when he was like, dude you don’t tell me what to do, if I want to date the reincarnation of the guy who killed me, I’ll do. Eff your concern I like dying. No, but I really liked how he formed his own opinion and didn’t get persuaded. Most bl characters would have made like postage stamp and stayed where they were when San warned them.

Now how in the hell did San become a great-great grandfather if he’s a 100 year old virgin? Like, his thing didn't even work when we met him. It was just decoration, collecting dust until Wee arrived. So howw??

And LOL, one slow motion shag and San is out there erasing Ms Wads existence with Wee’s. Damn, virgin’s am I rightttt? Also why were they so happy telling everyone and their mommy about their slow motion deed? San's better than me though, cuz, after a 100 years, I'd have tore Wee's cloth off with my teeth and toes.

Anywho, the casting of San’s family was perfect. I loved their reaction to things, especially the old man. They were all a fun bunch. And usually I don’t vibe with loud nosy characters like Chu, but I didn’t mind it in this one, cuz she added color to Sans personality whenever they were in a scene together. And, I love, love, love her tops *chefs kiss* beautiful.

Ms Wad showing up on a random Tuesday to ruin everything made me roll my eyes. Of course she’s gonna show up, we can’t have peace in this house. Also, there’s been too many females popping up in bls lately, imma need them all to find the exit, having an infestation in this economy is not good for my health.

That being said, I hated Ms Wad when she showed up that Tuesday, but after she kicked Suchat’s in that alley, I clapped. Girl thank you! That dude just vexes me! Also she's the real MVP of this show, girl just wanted to make paper and she made it her whole personality. In the finale when she asked to be paid, I yelled, 'Yes girl, I love you!' no, she needs her own show in the same universe where she scam people for money.

And that Third fella, the moment he showed up, I was like ‘Who is the jo with the jojo?’ Out there talking about ‘I liked you since our school days but waited too long’ Then keep waiting. Literally every time he tried to stake some claim I was like ‘Master, master, master, go sit somewhere.’ and then mfer went and said ‘If you break his heart, I’ll take him from you.’ Take him and go where?? Where is you going to him? Wee just rejected your sorry arse because he's in love with a 100 year old virgin who is in love with a ghost.

How the eff do drama guys think they can just take away the love-interest? I remember in Love Mechanic (Vee Sucks, goddamn air breather) that one random boxer with the personality of a brick wall, threatening to take Mark away if Vee didn’t threat him right. Bish where you gonna take him, huh? He literally can’t stand your peeping arse, where the eff you think you gonna take him??? Like, is that supposed to be romantic? Arrgggg.

Oof, but in the end, I came to like Third. Even understood it when he punched San. And I like how when he understand Wee's feelings for San, he supported them, and became a friend. Sucked though that he had to watch them be all lovey dovey, but that's on him for still staying in the same city after that rejection. I'd have moved countries. Mars couldn't have been far enough.

Anyway, Suchat just effing sucks, and I was glad he and his giant hair died. Won't even bother writing about him, y'all know he deserves to purchase real estate on the sun... so...

With all that being said, yes, the acting in this was good, the cast did not take their acting lessons from a block of cheese. Little San was such a good actor, really, he embodied his grown up aura so well. That child is going places in the industry. Side note: isn’t it weird Wee never asked about the kid once he moved in? Like did he think he’s in his room this whole time or what?

Plot
I liked it. The moment I read the summary, I knew I wanted to watch it. Also the comedy in this was on point, it made me giggle where I was supposed to, so kudos. The only bl I’ve find myself rewatching over and over is Cutie Pie, but I can see myself returning to this in the future to watch that funny exchange scene again.

The plot wasn’t without flaws. Yes, the villains had no depth and were so cartoonish, and the heroes made some bad decisions among other things, but it was entertaining enough that it wasn’t a glaring issue, which is all one can ask for nowadays in a bl show.

Episode 9 had me bawling my eyes off, so much, because you see, I watched this and episode 9 of Meet You At The Blossoms back to back, literally, why did I put myself through that???

I wasn’t ready for this show to end, so I went into the finale already sad. During the goodbyes, I went to pour myself some wine just in case it doesn't end well. The way I clapped when Ms Wad saved the day. I thought it was going to be a sad ending, and I would have accepted it, but this would have been a review of me cussing the writers and their ancestors, so here's another slice of pizza writers, thanks for the happy ending.

All in all, it was an entertaining show, even with its flaws. There was chaos, laughter, tears and arrggg moments, and I enjoyed it all. I highly recommend. It’s going straight to my list of best bls this year along side, Unknown and My Stand-In.

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True love lives forever

They met after 100 years.. sounds cliche right.. but it was Mind blowing.
This series will be remembered by many..
And it will always remain in my heart.. what a romantic story.. epic one.. this series itself is filled with all green flags. long time I had watched such a feel good family plus romantic drama.. I didn't know if I need to cry or enjoy their love towards each other at the same time.. no matter what, you have to watch the series to understand the depth that conveyed through this series.. then only you will find out, how a homophobic grandfather falls in love with a handsome yet cunning young man, and their love towards their family and friends.
And please can anyone tell me where can I get a niece like chu and and a friend like tao and third.. nobody can hate the cast.. they deserve so many awards and recognition..
This series had barely one song and it was perfect.
I need season 2 with some of their adventures and also to see further stories of other characters.
Love u offroad.. don't lose your smile for anything. Because it's precious, just like you.

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Great series. Maybe let down by the last two eps.

I really like that we've moved past university (or worse, high school) stories, and I applaud the plot and theme of the story, which is that clinging to the past only brings sorrow.

This is a charming series, with a superb actor in Daou, who gives a deep and mature performance. Offroad is infectious with that smile, but he did pale a bit in comparison to his partner, perhaps partially because his character isn't as interesting or deep, and doesn't really have that much agency - he more or less gets dragged along by fate or whatever else is happening. He's clearly been hitting the gym, because... woof.

The cast is extraordinarily attractive, with not only Daou and Offroad, but Pond, Gumpuns as the hot priest, and especially See as Vee's friend Ton who we don't get enough of.

There are a few things that did diminish what could have been a better series. One is the 2D villains, who would twirl their mustaches if they had them - they were cartoons and lacked any depth, context, or any defined role in the plot other than being evil. I liked that although we revert to the female villain, she's not evil so much as selfish and bumbling. This is all Lakorn-ish, including the overly dramatic musical cues, and got a little tiresome.

The other problem was the tonally dissonant last two episodes, which took way, way too much time and made me ff through most of it (there's a +10 sec button on GagaOOLala). It was tedious and not fun like the rest of the series. This, like almost all Thai series, would have benefitted from being 2 episodes shorter - it's a bit dragged out to fill the time.

Still, you won't regret watching it.

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Could have been great with better writing, acting and execution

Subjective Gut Rating: 7.75

I can’t help but compare “Century of Love” a little bit with “I Feel You Linger in the Air”. Even though they have completely different plots, the historical context and the main house give me a very similar feeling. Unfortunately, IFYITA is so much better in every single way - acting, writing, chemistry, production quality and cinematography.

“Century of Love” is unique and a breath of fresh air among the sea of Thai BL’s with a focus on high school or college students. The plot is interesting but unfortunately the writing is not. There are so many plot holes and unexplained storylines. You will have to suspend reality to truly enjoy it. How can a 100-year old man who couldn’t ‘perform’ have grandchildren and a family? How come Vee can help reduce San’s pain when he first moved into the house, yet never ever repeat that again? Who are those villains? What is their background story? How did the sick guy come to know of the stone? Is the reason for the betrayal due to debt and nothing else? How come the other character does not have the same healing aftermath of the stone? I have so many questions and I can’t seem to calm my brain to ignore them.

But I am not surprised there are plot holes. After all, it’s hard to do that with a supernatural/fantasy plot. I might overlook some of these shortcomings if the acting is good. Unfortunately, I find Daou and Offroad’s acting only average and somewhat inconsistent. I think Offroad performed a little better, except for a few crying scenes. He looks great as the fox demon. Daou’s grumpy personality is a little awkward and his acting is not subtle enough. The exaggerated ‘thinking’ is all over his face. However, I do think he got better as the drama went on, especially when he doesn’t have to act like a grumpy old man anymore. Among the cast members, I am most impressed with Pond (Doctor Third) and he gives me a little bit of second-lead syndrome. Pond almost made me want to check out “180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us” just for him. Cookie (as Wat) also did pretty well. Luckily, there aren't any annoying characters. I like San's descendants. The 3 generations are quite fun and provide some pretty comedic and heartwarming moments.

The chemistry between the leads is decent with a few good kisses. I was more interested in the first half of the drama before the leads are officially together. The pace starts to slow in the second half, especially the last few episodes. The plot becomes predictable and there’s more repetitive crying. I think the drama will benefit from a couple episodes shorter.

It’s unfortunate that an interesting general plot was not executed well. The drama seems to be of a lower production value (maybe that’s why there are so few product placements), with poor CGI. Luckily, the fight scenes are decent, even though they are not of good C-drama or K-drama quality, they are better than other Thai dramas.

“Century of Love” is not a horrible watch due to its more mature and interesting plot. If you have time and are fans of the actors, it’s worth checking it out.


Completed: 9/1/2024 - Review #480

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Grab You Then Loses You

This series was astonishingly hooking at the beginning. I was completely mesmerized by its fascinating story and intriguing premise. And I love period pieces and stories that reflect the culture, customs, and religions of other societies. To want to live so for someday he could reunite with his reincarnated love was just magical and so romantic. And I believed it. I wanted this story to be true. Perhaps that is the sentimentalist in me. I became starry-eyed and wanted to see true love be never ending. While this series is entertaining, it lost its magic when it got so deep into its own story. The convoluted twists and turns were simply too much and throughout it became harder and harder to find the characters likeable. Overall, this series is mildly entertaining. It certainly started out strong but then as it progressed, it seemed to flounder in what exactly it wanted to say and how to say it. I never quite bought the love story.

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Not a BL nor a period drama… What even is this?

Let’s start with the title of this show – or rather with its translation to English: “ปาฏิหาริย์รักร้อยปี” means ‘a miracle of centennial love’ (according to Cambridge University online translator), which – considering the plot and script – makes more sense than ‘century of love’.

The misleading English title is just a small problem; the unspecified genre is my main concern. I wanted to watch a Thai BL – what I got instead was a mix of action, supernatural, straight romance, comedy, family drama and several other things. There is a BL aspect, but up until the end of ep. 5 (which means for at least the first half of the series) it is either entirely absent or heavily sidelined by other plot threads. Once the boy love part gets going in ep. 6, drama and obstacles emerge – but since there are only 5 episodes left, everything needs to be rushed, including the ending. Bad pacing is not helped by far too many flashbacks.

The script feels like a first draft, with plenty of inconsistencies and weird/unnecessary twists, while basic characterization and world-building are missing. I will give three examples of that.
1/ Who is the reincarnated Wat? First we are told, that Tao calculated both time and place where San and Wat will reunite – Tao even points the direction from which the reincarnated Wat will appear; San and his relatives follow Tao’s calculations and meet Vee. At this point everyone except San is convinced that Vee is Wat. This is confirmed by more calculations, this time based on Vee’s date of birth. Apparently all these calculations were meaningless, as Vee can either be Wat or someone else, but sharing Wat’s fate – whatever that means. Despite of another proof – Vee’s presence stabilizing San’s condition – Tao changes his mind about Vee once Watfah appears. Why is he so easily swayed? We also learn of another method of verifying who Wat reincarnated as: using the stone. Why wasn’t this method used before, when San was doubting Vee? And why is this method so useless? What’s the point of all this back and forth and why is so much of the series about that and not about San and Vee getting together?
2/ San’s condition and how everyone reacts to it. The present-day part of the series begins only several short weeks before the 100 year deadline – and San still has not found Wat. This means he has only several weeks to live – and yet his family does not seem overly concerned. However, when the stone is gone, consumed to save Vee, San’s family is suddenly sad and devastated – realizing their ancestor will actually die. How exactly do these two situations differ? Were they all convinced that reincarnated Wat will show up at the last moment, feed the stone to San and save him? Or have they accepted that San will die and that why they were so calm at the start of the series?
3/ San’s actions and attitude. Initially he wants to find reincarnated Wat because he loves her and wants to be with her – but also because her feeding him the stone is the only way he’ll live. Once he falls for Vee he no longer cares who is Wat reincarnated (he discovers he no longer loves her), he even parts with the stone – which basically means he will die (even if Vee is Wat, with no stone they can’t reverse the curse). Is this resignation, some weird frame of mind or just poor writing?

As for acting, I immensely enjoyed Offroad and his performance: Vee is playful, witty, cute and goodhearted; he truly cares for those he loves. Daou’s performance was less enjoyable, probably because of how convincing he was as old, inflexible San – the same performance, however, unveiled a different, much softer face of San: that of a caring, loving man. Daou and Offroad have great chemistry and the series would benefit from having more of them together on screen; together they created a handful of good scenes I’d like to rewatch – which I cannot say about the rest of this series.

I do not mind the special effects (criticized in some reviews as cheap), as – for me – the show was about something else; the music, on the other hand, is dreadful: too loud, too dramatic and poorly chosen – in general off-putting.

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Cringe and cliché and highly overrated!

OMG, what a crap story. 🤣 Yes, yes, many will disagree with me but I'm sick of the "but I'm a man" lines and the 180° turnaround two episodes later...

The story was weak, the over-acting cringe. Why did it have to been Ms. Wad and not Mr. Wad? To be gay is not a new thing.
Happily I could got through with it with lots of skipping the BS.

The only highlight was Vee's grandma. Also the martial arts scenes started strong, but in the end even their quality declined. The "bad guys/gal" were one-dimensional and from a pennybook without any depth. But all characters were a lot like that, one-dimensional. There is some growth for both Vee and San but only on a minuscule scale from a bad outset imho.

I personally prefer "Lost in Translation" as the much more enjoyable show, even when this show was not perfect either. If I were you, I would skip this show and watch the former outing or when you like fancy costumes and an historical/fantasy vibe I would recommand "Meet You at the Blossom" as a much better experience.

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Goblin of the Stone?

This drama has a little bit of everything and nothing at the same time. some moments of sweet, some moments of predictable oh so predictable and some moments of oh these affects are so bad they give it a retro feel...

I find myself loving the godess a bit more than I probably should and probably enjoyed some of the side characters more than the actual leads but all in all the chemestry is decent, the story is fine and the found family friendships are all top, top, top.

The vilanis however are just lazy writing at its best, bad directing at its worst.

An okay watch but not much more...

P.S. there may be a plot hole or ten so beware and do not expect everything to make sense...

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