The Editors' Guide to Writing for MDL
Payakorn Sorn Ruk (พยากรณ์ซ่อนรัก) or 'The Prophecy of Love' is a Thai lakorn currently in its fourth week of airing. Based on the novel of the same name by Pa Ronat, it premiered on June 15th 2020 and has since taken up the Monday-Tuesday slot on Channel 3. This thirteen episode series combines elements of fantasy and romance with a modern-day mystery and quite a lot more.
Now, how on earth did I end up watching it, and why do I feel the need to write about it? Two fascinating questions, which I feel have answers that could make up the entire contents of this article, but that would hardly be fair to you, dear reader, wouldn't it?
I've always had a personal vendetta with the episode length of lakorns, almost always going for the upper limit of more than a hundred minutes' duration. It just seemed odd to me to have a feature film's length's worth of one episode that doesn't even tell you enough, and you obviously have to tune in for the next one. This lakorn is no exception. However, I shall do my best to overlook this particular aspect of the lakorn and comment on what I've seen so far, while of course, keeping the article completely SPOILER FREE.
A LITTLE NOTE
Before we officially jump into the article itself, I'd like to make a few things clear. As of the time this article is being written, 6 episodes of the drama have aired with 5 of them having been subbed already. The subbers are working hard to put out subbed content as fast as possible, so please make sure you watch your dramas on their official sites instead of pirated websites that steal and upload content. The subbers for Payakorn Sorn Ruk are those behind "JamesJi Fansub." Please appreciate the hard work of subbers, most of the time they do it without any incentive. Now, without further ado, let's just jump into it!
Rosita (or Rose for short) is a young woman of Thai-French descent who is happily living her life as a well-established florist with a loyal line of customers. Her life is almost perfect with a loving mom who is a writer and some close friends who are always there for her, except for her father, who is out of the picture. A freak accident in the past bestowed Rose with the power to see people's futures by touching roses they had been in contact with.
Rose successfully manages to keep her powers on the down-low until a man she had caused trouble for in the past; famous actor Theeruth, calls her out to test her abilities on a set of people, each with profound secrets of their own. Having seen the possible futures for each of the people involved, Rose gets a target placed on her back as everyone seems to be out to get her, to silence her once and for all. With Rose's quiet life shaken like a snow-globe, how will she survive when pitted against several people, not knowing who to trust?
My Thoughts: I honestly had no idea that the lakorn would actually be so dark when the initial teaser images and premises posted on various sites actually gave the semblance of it being a romantic-comedy. [The synopsis above is self-written to provide a more apt description of the lakorn's tone and overall mood.] It was, therefore, a pleasant surprise when the opening sequence came onscreen (more on that later) and I realized I might have been slightly misled. No regrets, though.
 Ice Preechaya Pongthananikorn as Rosita/Rose (Florist) |  James Jirayu Tangsrisuk as Theeruth (Actor) |
 Mai Warit Sirisantana as Kacha (Policeman) |  Pear Pitchapa Phanthumchinda as Rinradee (Actress) |  Cine Phatrakorn Bussarakwadee as Kratai (Hotel Receptionist) |
 Benz Kamonchanok Rodsatien as Ran (Office Worker) |  Nat Nattaraht Maurice Legrand as Auaychai (Profession Unknown) |  Petch Krunnapol Teansuwan as Thanapon (Business Owner) |  Noon Ramida Prapatnobon as Lyla (Fashion Designer) |
The characters are so heavily involved with each other that talking about one without spoiling another's arc would be like tiptoeing through a landmine. The people listed above are our key players and hidden among them are foes and allies, all of whom poor Rosita is up against. One very notable (and commendable) feature of the plot is how the audience gets to spend enough time with each character, with each episode focusing on each new character.
My Thoughts: The reason I was looking forward to this lakorn finally airing was, of course, the unconventional pairing of James and Ice. I first saw James in Nueng Dao Fah Diew and have been enamoured with him ever since. Ice is an incredibly talented actress and was absolutely amazing in I Fine... Thank You... Love You where I saw her for the first time, and have loved her since. It was, therefore, a no-brainer that I would be watching these two even if they just sat there and built sandcastles.
However, what surpassed my expectations (and to an extent) even overshadowed the leads are the supporting cast. They're all incredibly talented actors who play their roles so effortlessly that I was in awe and sometimes even low-key rooting for some of them. Well done on everyone's part.
Let's face it, lakorns aren't really famous for their amazing visuals, are they? However, the visuals in this lakorn, in particular, are something else entirely. No, there aren't any grand, sweeping landscape shots or awe-inducing camera angles, (in fact, there are some very questionable stunts, but we'll look past that) but the incorporation of the very simple and minimal motif of flowers in most scenes is a very special nod to the crux of the entire story, which boils down to the roses, small, seemingly insignificant, yet very powerful.
The opening sequence is something I almost always skip because I personally feel that they are too spoiler-y for me. However, the opening sequence for Payakorn Sorn Ruk has an elaborate story of its own, whichever so subtly hints at what is yet to come and what areas of morality our characters stand-in. It's beautiful in its own right and is further accentuated by the OST (oh my gosh!)
I'd be lying if I said this lakorn's primary OST is not one of my all-time favourite OSTs. It's quiet at first, slowly building up to a crescendo-ing ballad that sweeps you off your feet in a pool of emotions: longing, despair, loss, grief. I was all for it ever since I first heard it.
The second OST, which serves more as an end credits background music, is another soft, yet melodic number that is in stark contrast to its predecessor. It's wistfully happy and hopeful, beautifully sung by our male lead himself. However, as it is apparent, I have a clear bias among the two, one that I find myself constantly going back to. Click on the respective thumbnails to be redirected to the music videos for each. [Videos may contain spoilers.]
Here we are, folks! The final section of the article, where I basically try to organize my thoughts into cohesive categories fervently. Simply put, Payakorn Sorn Ruk has its moments, and it also has the potential to make you want to pull your hair out and then pull the hair off the head of the characters onscreen. But isn't that what makes a truly good lakorn? The most amazing hair pulling moments graciously await you in Payakorn Sorn Ruk, my prophecy is that you'll inevitably end up with fewer fistfuls of hair than when you started.
The Leads: Both Rose and Theeruth are fine as far as their characters are concerned. They are not the people you want to devote yourselves entirely to, but they are also not the worst people out there, thank heavens. Where Rose and Theeruth fall flat, Ice and James step in to add some of their own charms which help a ton, because Rose's laid back demeanour often comes across as genuinely unbothered, and Theeruth's playful inquisitiveness feels borderline stalkeri-sh. Both of our leads also seem to have a death wish because they actively seek trouble, and (in our male lead's case) create trouble for others.
The Romance: I absolutely love the way they're dealing with the romance, slowly and carefully. The leads work together to uncover mysteries, put aside their differences and bond. The romance is on the back burner for the first few episodes, and I appreciate that as an avid fan of slow-burn romances, their progression just feels more real and warranted. The slow build-up of trust and mutual respect just speaks volumes to me, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
A Rose By Any Other Name: I like how the fantasy element is incorporated into the drama so far. Rose's abilities do not make her an overpowered Mary Sue (chances of that happening in a lakorn are relatively low regardless), and she's still vulnerable yet smart in situations where needed. I would like to see a further build-up of her abilities as well as their limitations besides the ones they've shown already.
Natt Nataraht: I swear every time this man comes on screen I giggle like a schoolgirl and I don't know why. He's up to no good, and his character is a bit of a mess, but I really love him and have often found myself hoping he'd get the upper hand on our leads.
Pat x Kratai: Call me delusional, but I ship these two, they're adorable, and their interactions are hilarious.
Little Rawee: Just the sweetest, most adorable ray of sunshine in this otherwise pretty dark drama.
The Plot: For a 100+ minutes duration per episode, you sure do sometimes feel that we've ended up not too far from where we began. Where on earth did those 100 minutes go? I think this is where the lakorn succeeds and fails. It doesn't get boring, (for me personally) yet, the characters go around in circles so often it is bound to leave any sane person feeling disoriented (not referring to myself I'll be honest I quite enjoy it.)
Overall: The current rating for Payakorn Sorn Ruk on MDL is an 8.0 on the dot. Would I rate it lower than this? For now, definitely not. Would I rate it higher than this? They better have something ready to blow me away if I am to give it a higher score. There's so much to watch out there and so little time. Would I recommend this to anyone? Definitely. It's been a somewhat fun roller-coaster ride so far, (if you enjoy roller-coasters like I do) though it might get crazy sometimes. But then if you're an avid lakorn watcher, you're bound to have seen something much crazier than this. For this reason alone, I highly recommend Paykorn Sorn Ruk for its cast and the OST (I could sing its praise forever) and some very wholesome behind the scenes moments. Whether the adaptation lives up to the source material or not is something I can't comment on, but I'm confident I will see this lakorn to the end.
