07222023
This review may contain spoilers
Dangerous Romance was dangerously bad
I was watching this series as it aired but after episode five it wasn’t captivating enough so I set it aside to binge later and oh my goodness, I damn near pulled out all my hair. The entire show is a bore, sure, sweet and interesting moments were sprinkled here and there but overall it was similar to staring at a blank screen. A lot happened but they were uneventful. At one point I was watching an episode a day and every day I considered dropping the show but held on for PerthChimon. PerthChimon did their best but their characters were not worth the 12 hours of torture.
What I liked:
- PerthChimon
- Perth's whole wardrobe was spot on!
- Enemies to lovers trope
- “Wind” by Chimon
- Sailom’s friend, Guy.
- The development between Nawa and Guy, and Auto and Max.
What I hated/took issue with:
- KanghanSailom. They don’t make sense. Not when they were children, not in high school, not in their universe or the real universe. Their ONE run-in as children that left Sailom with a long-term crush on a kid he never met again or knew is one thing but to compound that with the current HS bully Kanghan? It’s such a cop-out that Sailom is ready to forgive Kanghan for anything and everything because of that one incident. It's like Sailom forgot that Kanghan’s bullying crossed the line of SA and extreme harassment. Then again, their first two kisses were non-consensual so--
- Their getting together was so bizarre. Kanghan was just mad that Sailom rejected Pimfah then all of a sudden, after Sailom’s confession, Kanghan became possessive and told Sailom he didn't like Sailom hanging out with Guy. NANI?!
- Kanghan gave us a cliche, vague reason when he first fell for Sailom, he said ‘Before I knew it, I had already fallen for you’. That could be cute but then when exactly was that? Because Kanghan still liked Pimfah up to Sailom’s confession so at best, Kanghan had two nights to decide that he, too, likes Sailom. Once Sailom ‘opens his heart’ to Kanghan, Pimfah is tossed to the back and without any struggle accepts Kanghan and Sailom’s relationship as if she never cried over Sailom. Her shipping Nawa and Guy was also a WTF moment.
- Sailom forgave Kanghan too fast, and Auto and Guy even faster. Unrealistic.
- In the beginning, Sailom had a moral fiber and standards but as the show progresses, he loses that. I thought it was strange that Sailom stopped Kanghan from breaking a replaceable debit card but was completely fine going out and spending all of Kanghan's dad’s money on it. He never physically tried to stop Kanghan’s impulsive spending either. Sailom also acted as if he was above it, that Kanghan was the only one spending all the money when we saw the new clothes, watches, and accessories on him, the food he ate, and the suite he bathed and slept in. It was so odd to put Kanghan down for it when he willingly participated.
- Maybe it was implied or the translation was off but I believed Kanghan jumped the gun with his dad paying his way into the football team. Remember, Kanghan was personally invited by a senior to try out for the team due to his skills. Secondly, the dad asked the coach to look after his son AFTER Kanghan already made the team. Or are we supposed to believe the senior was set up by Kanghan’s dad and/or coach?
- The actors had chemistry but their characters were not chemistrying. When Kanghan’s father was carried out of the house, I thought he’d run to his dad but instead, he ran to his grandma. Sailom also doesn’t stop or seem too concerned about the police escorting his brother in handcuffs to the car. Saifah and Name’s relationship was interesting but it came in at episode nine and wasn’t naturally developed. Why would you introduce a gangster to the rich family you care for? (Name’s driving scene was also terribly done. Thanks for nothing, Dangerous Romance!)
- Pimfah, and even teacher Napdao, Auto, and Guy were all there for Sailom on TWO occasions when his brother was locked up but Pimfah, Nawa, and Max weren’t shown to ever be there when Kanghan’s dad was shot, and in a vegetative state. And I thought Kanghan was Pimfah’s best friend? Least, that’s what she said episodes ago. Nawa also spent more time with Guy who just had knee surgery rather than be there for Kanghan. Then again, Kanghan and Guy seemed to be the good friends that Kanghan and Nawa are meant to be whenever they're on the fields.
- Napdao and Pimfah’s implied lesbian relationship is a no-go. I feel, Napdao only exists to keep Pimfah from meddling with Kanghan and Sailom’s relationship.
- Who told all the actors and extras not to act natural when they're in the background? In many scenes, everyone only pays attention to the characters whose arc matters at the moment. I.e. in the car scene with Pimfah and Napdao, Sailom, Auto, Guy, Nawa, and Max weren't engaging but watching Pimfah and Napdao act from the backseats. There was also the scene with Kanghan and his father, where everyone was just watching them in front of the bleachers. It was so robotic and controlled, it didn't feel natural for the main, support, or extras.
- The show is predictable and not thought-provoking.
- The editing & shooting. It's like they gave up on this one; like they couldn't even watch what they've edited and shot. In two of the scenes where it was heavily raining, the surrounding areas were completely dried when the cameras panned out. The first mistake was funny but the second one, come on, now. All of the football scenes were so boring in the way that they were shot and edited together, and at every game Sailom always gets in a scene where he soloingly shouts ‘Kang, you’ve got this!’. If Kang can’t play football without Sailom cheering him on then he shouldn’t be near a ball.
- The part where Kanghan pulled up to save Sailom on the motorcycle was nice but it was badly shot, no suspense, and the bad guys left before Sailom even jumped on the bike and panicked. It was anticlimactic.
- The sound editor or whoever was in charge put in so little effort it was comical. I don’t recall if earlier episodes had it but in episodes 9-12 someone vividly had an aggravating obsession with using a beat to indicate a transition in scenes and I had the hardest time recovering from it. The sound quality, in all, was poor. Dirt poor. There was no proper audience cheering at any of the games or clapping when a scene warranted one. There were no good buildup tunes either; everything was either short or abruptly cropped out. It was a hot mess.
- This series was flashback-heavy. In episode 6, I cut out 6-8 minutes of flashbacks; every single scene of just Kanghan and Sailom contained at least two flashbacks (I'm not kidding).
- After episode 7 or 8, the quality dropped and it's most likely due to budget limitations but it doesn't excuse anything.
- This probably doesn’t bother the majority but it always irks me when GMM involves guns or shooting scenes as they never do them justice. I’m no pro at guns but I do know that if you shoot a pistol at closed range and in tight space, per se, in a hospital room, the hospital room isn’t going to look or sound the same. Kanghan getting shot in episode 11 was cringe. Where was his gunshot wound? Where was the blood on the white part of his shirt or hospital walls? Where was the feeling of excruciating pain and paralyzation when one’s been shot? The boy was completely fine. Whoever did the CGI needs to be fired. There was no silencer on the gun when the villain clearly said and I quote “I’ll make it as quiet as possible”. I mean, obviously, he thought he could control the volume of gunshots but that’s not how it works. Even with a silencer, it can still be pretty loud.
- The English title doesn’t apply to the main couple
- You know a series is bad when you’re tired and don't like seeing the leads together. How is it that I enjoyed the second and even third couples more than the main?
I could sit here and trash Dangerous Romance all day but I don’t want to spend any more time on this series. You’ll never catch me watching it again. I hope that Perth and Chimon get a decent series next time. This was a very baseless watch.
I'm sure this one will be a guilty pleasure for some but I can't say it was any kind of pleasure for me.
What I liked:
- PerthChimon
- Perth's whole wardrobe was spot on!
- Enemies to lovers trope
- “Wind” by Chimon
- Sailom’s friend, Guy.
- The development between Nawa and Guy, and Auto and Max.
What I hated/took issue with:
- KanghanSailom. They don’t make sense. Not when they were children, not in high school, not in their universe or the real universe. Their ONE run-in as children that left Sailom with a long-term crush on a kid he never met again or knew is one thing but to compound that with the current HS bully Kanghan? It’s such a cop-out that Sailom is ready to forgive Kanghan for anything and everything because of that one incident. It's like Sailom forgot that Kanghan’s bullying crossed the line of SA and extreme harassment. Then again, their first two kisses were non-consensual so--
- Their getting together was so bizarre. Kanghan was just mad that Sailom rejected Pimfah then all of a sudden, after Sailom’s confession, Kanghan became possessive and told Sailom he didn't like Sailom hanging out with Guy. NANI?!
- Kanghan gave us a cliche, vague reason when he first fell for Sailom, he said ‘Before I knew it, I had already fallen for you’. That could be cute but then when exactly was that? Because Kanghan still liked Pimfah up to Sailom’s confession so at best, Kanghan had two nights to decide that he, too, likes Sailom. Once Sailom ‘opens his heart’ to Kanghan, Pimfah is tossed to the back and without any struggle accepts Kanghan and Sailom’s relationship as if she never cried over Sailom. Her shipping Nawa and Guy was also a WTF moment.
- Sailom forgave Kanghan too fast, and Auto and Guy even faster. Unrealistic.
- In the beginning, Sailom had a moral fiber and standards but as the show progresses, he loses that. I thought it was strange that Sailom stopped Kanghan from breaking a replaceable debit card but was completely fine going out and spending all of Kanghan's dad’s money on it. He never physically tried to stop Kanghan’s impulsive spending either. Sailom also acted as if he was above it, that Kanghan was the only one spending all the money when we saw the new clothes, watches, and accessories on him, the food he ate, and the suite he bathed and slept in. It was so odd to put Kanghan down for it when he willingly participated.
- Maybe it was implied or the translation was off but I believed Kanghan jumped the gun with his dad paying his way into the football team. Remember, Kanghan was personally invited by a senior to try out for the team due to his skills. Secondly, the dad asked the coach to look after his son AFTER Kanghan already made the team. Or are we supposed to believe the senior was set up by Kanghan’s dad and/or coach?
- The actors had chemistry but their characters were not chemistrying. When Kanghan’s father was carried out of the house, I thought he’d run to his dad but instead, he ran to his grandma. Sailom also doesn’t stop or seem too concerned about the police escorting his brother in handcuffs to the car. Saifah and Name’s relationship was interesting but it came in at episode nine and wasn’t naturally developed. Why would you introduce a gangster to the rich family you care for? (Name’s driving scene was also terribly done. Thanks for nothing, Dangerous Romance!)
- Pimfah, and even teacher Napdao, Auto, and Guy were all there for Sailom on TWO occasions when his brother was locked up but Pimfah, Nawa, and Max weren’t shown to ever be there when Kanghan’s dad was shot, and in a vegetative state. And I thought Kanghan was Pimfah’s best friend? Least, that’s what she said episodes ago. Nawa also spent more time with Guy who just had knee surgery rather than be there for Kanghan. Then again, Kanghan and Guy seemed to be the good friends that Kanghan and Nawa are meant to be whenever they're on the fields.
- Napdao and Pimfah’s implied lesbian relationship is a no-go. I feel, Napdao only exists to keep Pimfah from meddling with Kanghan and Sailom’s relationship.
- Who told all the actors and extras not to act natural when they're in the background? In many scenes, everyone only pays attention to the characters whose arc matters at the moment. I.e. in the car scene with Pimfah and Napdao, Sailom, Auto, Guy, Nawa, and Max weren't engaging but watching Pimfah and Napdao act from the backseats. There was also the scene with Kanghan and his father, where everyone was just watching them in front of the bleachers. It was so robotic and controlled, it didn't feel natural for the main, support, or extras.
- The show is predictable and not thought-provoking.
- The editing & shooting. It's like they gave up on this one; like they couldn't even watch what they've edited and shot. In two of the scenes where it was heavily raining, the surrounding areas were completely dried when the cameras panned out. The first mistake was funny but the second one, come on, now. All of the football scenes were so boring in the way that they were shot and edited together, and at every game Sailom always gets in a scene where he soloingly shouts ‘Kang, you’ve got this!’. If Kang can’t play football without Sailom cheering him on then he shouldn’t be near a ball.
- The part where Kanghan pulled up to save Sailom on the motorcycle was nice but it was badly shot, no suspense, and the bad guys left before Sailom even jumped on the bike and panicked. It was anticlimactic.
- The sound editor or whoever was in charge put in so little effort it was comical. I don’t recall if earlier episodes had it but in episodes 9-12 someone vividly had an aggravating obsession with using a beat to indicate a transition in scenes and I had the hardest time recovering from it. The sound quality, in all, was poor. Dirt poor. There was no proper audience cheering at any of the games or clapping when a scene warranted one. There were no good buildup tunes either; everything was either short or abruptly cropped out. It was a hot mess.
- This series was flashback-heavy. In episode 6, I cut out 6-8 minutes of flashbacks; every single scene of just Kanghan and Sailom contained at least two flashbacks (I'm not kidding).
- After episode 7 or 8, the quality dropped and it's most likely due to budget limitations but it doesn't excuse anything.
- This probably doesn’t bother the majority but it always irks me when GMM involves guns or shooting scenes as they never do them justice. I’m no pro at guns but I do know that if you shoot a pistol at closed range and in tight space, per se, in a hospital room, the hospital room isn’t going to look or sound the same. Kanghan getting shot in episode 11 was cringe. Where was his gunshot wound? Where was the blood on the white part of his shirt or hospital walls? Where was the feeling of excruciating pain and paralyzation when one’s been shot? The boy was completely fine. Whoever did the CGI needs to be fired. There was no silencer on the gun when the villain clearly said and I quote “I’ll make it as quiet as possible”. I mean, obviously, he thought he could control the volume of gunshots but that’s not how it works. Even with a silencer, it can still be pretty loud.
- The English title doesn’t apply to the main couple
- You know a series is bad when you’re tired and don't like seeing the leads together. How is it that I enjoyed the second and even third couples more than the main?
I could sit here and trash Dangerous Romance all day but I don’t want to spend any more time on this series. You’ll never catch me watching it again. I hope that Perth and Chimon get a decent series next time. This was a very baseless watch.
I'm sure this one will be a guilty pleasure for some but I can't say it was any kind of pleasure for me.
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