I feel the most important thing to re - iterate here is that don't skip this drama because it may seem like the continuation of Tharn Type 2. Rather decide whether to watch it based on the consensus I'm going to present hereafter on why to watch it or not.

REASONS TO EXCERCISE CAUTION BEFORE YOU WATCH
Oh, where do I start?
Blackmailing ✔️
Gaslighting ✔️
Harrasment ✔️
Trying to pass off mental health issues as just being violent and manipulative ✔️
Trying to make the lead saying that he wants to imprison the other lead romantic ✔️
(Honestly listing all the toxic stuff that happened in this series might take a whole other review.)

THE REASONS TO WATCH

Now for the reasons to watch.
The number one reason you need to watch this is because, it is in fact, not a continuation of Tharn Type. Yes, Fiat and Leo are in it, but it feels like the characters here are a more accurate representation of what they were meant to be in Tharn Type 2. The storylines of both characters are explained much better here, and there are actual explanations to their behaviour in the prequel.

And yes, watching the prequel would help you understand some scenes better, but Don't Say No works as a standalone series just as well.

The second point as to why you should watch Don't Say No is because of the cast. I haven't seen most of the actors in any major works before this, and for beginners, they're quite good. They seem to have captured the essence of their characters perfectly and it says a lot about the actors when they are able to invoke the exact emotions from the audience suitable to their actions. Yes, some of the crying scenes and the intimate scenes could have been better, but for first timers you could tell they did their best.

Finally, if neither of the arguments have convinced you, or you're still on the fence, my final defence : Leon ☺️.
Just watch it for Leon. That boy has got me and Phob falling for him. Honestly I was quite suprised that such a sweet and respectful character is present in the MAME universe, but he is, and honestly, I believe he's reason enough to watch the series.

So there you go : this has been reasons to watch or not to watch Don't Say No.

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This is the most chaotic series I’ve ever seen! What I thought was going to be a good way to pass time, turned out to be a beautiful story about friendship, love and the bond you create with the people around you.

THE STORY:
The series follows the story of an apartment complex where only men are allowed to be tenants. The story also has several callbacks to Why R U the series and you will see why soon. From here on out, the story follows several couples, the most prominent being Nott and Pun, and their journey towards love.

THE ACTING:
The acting is seriously impressive! All the characters seem to be crazy and the actors channel the essence of their characters very well. A special shoutout has to be given to Poppy as Porpla, whom I just found out played Junior in Why R U the series! For actors who seem to be doing their first or second roles, they were amazing. I have to say that it’s been amazingly cast.

THE PRODUCTION:
This is the first time I’ve seen a sitcom format for a BL and I have to say I’m sold on this idea. The production team has done an excellent job with this series and I believe it’s going to get even better as it goes on. The series also breaks the fourth wall often to either give advice on love, or sometimes it’s just cause!

THE OST:
What a fun OST! The OST of this series is the same as Why R U’s OST and I love it. Most of the tracks of Why R U’s OST are reused for this series and I couldn’t love it more!

THE NEGATIVE:
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I cannot think of one negative thing about this series.

THE ENDING:
WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT ENDING! Seriously what was that ending? They rode off on a Spaceship and THE END!! Then that one year time jump? I really hope that was a season 2 announcement.
All kidding aside though,
What I thought was a series that depended solely on it’s hilarity, delivered a surprisingly poignant and heart touching finale. That conversation between Porpla and Pun about unfulfilled first love was something else. Poppy was just ‘Chef’s Kiss’. I never would have thought that my favourite character at the end would be Porpla and the relationship I would be most invested in would be that of Pun and Porpla. That Spaceship though! I guess they got together, but that ending has got to be an announcement for season 2!

This series does not have as high as a rating as other series’ do, but trust me, it’s worth your time. If you’re having a bad day and just want to laugh , this series is perfect for you. Its a surprisingly insightful series about life, if you just look past those quirks. I hope this review helped you with your decision to watch this series. Thank You!

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An adaptation no one needed

I'm actually writing this review much later than I actually finished the series, because I was certain my angry screams weren't quite review material. And when I say angry, I was seething.

This is one of the worst things I've watched, and the moral, feel good factor aside, this was literally a mess. After all that, they didn't even get the moral, feel good story right, did they?

I'm trying to be as eloquent as I possibly can, otherwise this would just be a lot of angry rambling, about how the story was beyond horrible, that having the lead spout some generic pap about forgiveness and togetherness after making her go through 12+ episodes of torture and bullying doesn't really cut it. It's so messy and difficult to watch. The storylines are either incredibly boring or downright offensive.
The characters are also the literal worst, I had such a hard time rooting for any of them. You just go from episode to episode wondering how people can be this horrible, insensitive and just plain annoying at times. Sometimes, you just want to go feral and jump through the screen to knock some sense into them, because mostly, they all suck.

The acting.. it wasn't horrible. Well, it wasn't horrible from everyone except the leads. You would think the leads would be the two characters you would most want to see, that they're the ones you would root for, but never have I ever come across two characters whom I have wanted off my screen. Kind of worked though, because Win's character Guy, he's barely in it. Great's character Saint probably had more screentime, as probably did Jane's character Faye. Which would have been fine since the two of them actually acted, but like I said, you don't really want to see any character on screen. Except for Ann. Ann is good, Ann is the best.
Now because Guy isn't featured a lot, he doesn't share a lot of scenes with Baifern's character Liu, and Saint has more scenes with her. So there were a lot of people who had a hard time believing in Guy and Liu as the main couple, and while there may be some truth to this, I don't think it was the main problem. Win and Baifern just don't have chemistry. Yup. They have absolutely no chemistry together which is surprising because I've seen a bunch of their works and they're good actors. They could have pulled off these roles with a much better nuance than they actually did so I don't know what happened. I will admit that the screentime Guy got does have something to do with them not being able to quite convince us that Guy and Liu work well together, but when it comes down to it, the leads have no chemistry. They're both always yelling at each other, or yelling that they're hurting each other or crying about hurting each other that by the time they cross all their misunderstandings and get together, you're praying for them to break up.
Which brings us to the pacing. 10+ episodes on needless bullying, manipulation, trauma, which doesn't really stop until the last ten minutes of the finale. It just shifts from one person to another until you're clutching your head, begging them to end it. And if you came for the romance, let me tell you it took literally forever for them to actually have some semblance of a good relationship and even then, you really can't care enough.

This review is already longer than I intended it to be, so I'll try to keep the rest of my thoughts to a minimum. It was difficult to watch, I appreciate that they tried to portray the reality (to some extent) on the emphasis of physical appearances that is forced onto everyone these days, but nope, it didn't work. It absolutely did not. After everything is said and done, let's be honest, this was an adaptation that never should have happened.

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FRIENDSHIP? WHAT’S THAT?

I wrote a review for Friendzone and this just feels necessary to do. Season 1 dealt with the relationships of 4 couples - each with their own storyline, depth, length of relationship and set of problems.

Season 2 deals with the aftermath of the decisions made in the Season 1 finale, and the story continues from there on. Saying that the relationships portrayed are extremely real would be a lie on my part, because honestly I’ve never seen relationships like these. Yes, they are quite realistic on the outlook that people today have on relationships and love, but I have never seen relationships so toxic in my life, including some friendships.

Unlike the first season, where the friendships between the characters was the key reason as to why all the relationships seemed to be so flawed, the second season does not imply this. The only couple where “friendship” seems to be taken into account is the Earth - Sam - Stud and several other men saga. In fact, even simply friendships seem to take a backseat to highlight relationships. Somehow though, the final episode brings us back to what was the basis of the show.

The thing about this season is that it completely changes your beliefs and views after the first season. Earth fan? After season 2, I’m not. Hated Stud? I don’t now. Thought Boom and Tor were toxic? Season 2 showed that there are way more toxic relationships than them. Of course these are my opinions, but I must warn you, opinions are subject to risk when you watch season 2.

Another thing I noticed about the series in this season is how aware people are of their actions. Every single character in this series is entirely aware that what they are doing is just toxic and hurtful, but they do it anyway. They know the consequences and yet soldier ahead. They sleep around, cheat and lie, and behave with no remorse. Every character is extremely manipulative, even if it wasn’t evident at the beginning. They know how to turn a situation around for themselves and they do it! The thing is, if you watched season 1, you know what they went through there, and even if you hated them there, there is serious character growth here. Props to the actors here, they managed to make me hate and love their characters all at the same time.

Ultimately, what this series seems to be is a somewhat realistic and relevant take on relationships today. If you liked season 1, you should absolutely watch this, because if I’m being honest, this was leagues better than season 1. The storylines are more indulgent, the new characters are complex and flawed, the older characters are changed and better. I’ve tried to keep this review as spoiler free as possible, but here come a few. So if you want a spoiler free review, I would stop reading right here.

Seriously, stop here if you don’t want spoilers.



Now, spoilers.
Here are all the ships in the final episode, in the order they concluded
1. Boom / Tor - They’re married y’all!
2. Stud / Ta - Yes, Stud and Ta ended up together, and even as a Stud Earth shipper, I couldn’t help but jump ships. Somehow the two of them together just makes sense and honestly they look soooo cute together!
3. Cris / Amm - They ended up together! First actual GL by GMMTV has a happy ending!
4. Earth / Sam - They broke up. It was a decision coming from the first season and it finally happened in the season 2 finale. Hopefully the break up helps them actually grow.
5. Music / Locker - Oh boy this was a great one! The way she rejected him was straight up savage and honestly the guy had it coming. Good for her! (Not actual Good)
6. Good / Boyo - They decided to stay friends and that’s a solid decision. Totally respect and agree with it.

All in all, a genuinely satisfying ending!

Honestly, this is a good show. It’s like an America drama and a telenovela had a baby and that baby carries mild traits of both parents, if you get what I mean. If you love relationship drama, and some instances of romance and friendship, but mostly drama, then this is the show for you. Plus, it’s got a ton of familiar faces if you love Thai dramas. This is one of those dramas you can watch to just turn off your brain after a long day and scream at your TV if you don’t like something. And that’s a good thing.

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This has been a series I’ve been looking forward to since the initial trailer was released and let me tell you, it does not disappoint. From the very beginning the story has been consistent, heartfelt and funny. The Shipper is a perfect example of a fujoshi’s imagination, including how far it can be taken and how far from reality it actually is. Initially promoted as a BL, the story soon takes a different turn, a very good diversion.I myself am a BL lover and the reason I started this series was actually to get my replacement for 2gether the series, but this turned out to be something I very much enjoyed. I’m still very confused about as to who to ship, but that’s what makes this show itself- it’s extremely unpredictable. One minute you’re on a BL ship, the next a heterosexual ship and the next, ( I’m actually ashamed to say this ) a sort of incesty ship. But that’s what makes this series so good, the fact that it’s realistic, but at the same time doesn’t take itself too seriously.

THE STORY:
This is what I imagine fujoshis to be like. It’s very realistic, you know, except for the soul swap stuff. Seriously though, this series has an extremely investive story and very real, very flawed characters. The ones we never get to actually see on our screens. The characters who make mistakes and are able to admit it. The characters who sometimes act before thinking, just as actual humans do at times. The characters who have problems and don’t have perfect lives. The characters who very much resemble ourselves and the characters who are actually worth rooting for. Although I would have loved to see Kim in Pan’s body, I can’t say I’m disappointed. They gave us the exact story that they promised, in a well written way too.

THE ACTING:
Perfection. The acting is perfect. Each character is beautifully portrayed and written. Every single member of the cast is perfect as their character and even out of them. If I mentioned every actor and how well they’ve been portraying their role, let’s just say this would be a very long review. I’ll say just this, this series hit the jackpot with the cast. The way every emotion is clear and correct for every scene is very rare and this is some of the best acting I’ve seen in a while.

THE PRODUCTION :
The production has been spectacular. The level of production has been significantly high in GMMTV shows, but this is a cut above the rest. The premise may be repetitive,what with the soul swapping, but this series has genuine life lessons and a well executed plot. It may be unrealistic at times, but I believe that was the point production was trying to make.

THE OST:
The OST honestly slaps. It’s sweet and light hearted, very much like the show. The video for the OST though! That’s the cutest s**t I’ve seen in a long time. The second track though. I have a feeling that after this finale, I might cry a bit every time I hear it and I listen to it a lot. Like, a lot!!

THE NEGATIVE:
Now I know the student- teacher relationship was needed to move the plot along, but come on! She’s 40 ( sorry 39 ) and he’s 17? I cringed so hard at those scenes. Also, violence is never okay. It doesn’t matter what the situation is. VIOLENCE IS NEVER OKAY. One thing I have to say is never, ever expose someone’s life or secrets. We may never know what it is that they’re going through, so stay considerate.

THE ENDING:
That’s the ending you’re going with huh? I was honestly hoping that WayKim would have a happy ending, but it is what it is. My heart is broken and guess that’s that. Despite that, the finale was quite good. Everyone got their happy endings and the last frame of the series makes me believe just a little bit that WayKim will have one too. I really hope there is a second season. ( God, please let there be another season! )


The great thing about this series is that so many of us started watching it for the BL, but we seem to have continued watching it for what it truly is, a beautiful and heartfelt story full of laughter and tears.
This series has quickly become a favourite of mine and for good reason. Despite having low viewing and not much exposure. I hope everyone gives this show a try. The cast and crew deserve that and more. Hope this review has been helpful to all you confused individuals out there. If you do decide to watch it and are confused about who to ship, don’t worry, I’m pretty sure the characters themselves don’t. Thank You!

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Half Baked

I love food. I love OffGun. I love it when people fall in love over shared food. I love it when a lead scams his way into a ton of money because the other lead is adamant that he won't take cooking lessons from anyone.
Unfortunately, I didn't love this.

Seriously though, I love dramas that are in the food/cooking genre. There's something incredibly heartwarming about two people bonding over their love for a particular dish, or learning about each other through food, just sweet core memories. And Cooking Crush had that, plus a lot of stuff I adore in dramas: comedy, a great couple, good side characters and a reasonable plot. With each episode I watched, I liked it more and more. I had no major complaints and I enjoyed the prospect of watching something that was funny, light, and relaxing.

That is until it hit the halfway mark. It's like the writers, actors, director and every single person who worked on this forgot what they did in the first six episodes. Either that, or they changed the screen writers halfway through and said take it in whatever direction you want, there doesn't have to be any continuity, whatsoever. It's baffling how quickly it all changed because before I knew it, the characters were unrecognisable, the writing was so messy and it felt like a chore trying to get through some of the episodes.

Understandable that they needed to shift the focus onto the competition, but the shift was so abrupt and random, with them choosing to spend episodes on unnecessary conflicts, plotlines that saw no progression and the relationship between the leads going up and down like a rollercoaster. And by the time they focused on the actual competition, I felt no connection or investment anymore because of the aforementioned.

Through it all, I just kept hoping it would get better. Kept hoping.. and it didn't. The story after a while made absolutely no sense because they kept introducing characters who's sole purpose was to create conflict that was resolved within seconds without proper explanation. The chemistry between OffGun was suddenly non - existent, the acting felt really off, almost like the cast and crew themselves had given up on the production.

I don't mean to lay into the series like this, but it really does baffle me. How did something with such potential come down to this? The few positives in this were the supporting characters, the relationship between Firefy and Dy, and Ten. Even then, there isn't much to brag about here. Everything about this was simply, okay.

I would recommend watching the uncut version, although not as much as I would have liked, there are explanations to certain actions, the connections between the characters are explored a bit more, it really did make for more of an enjoyable experience.

Honestly, the best thing may have been the opening credits.

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Campy Vampires

They most certainly did not take anything they created seriously, and that may be why I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

The entire feeling of this series was unseriousness. I could never take anyone or anything they did seriously because it was always over the top and accompanied by loud music to create a comedy effect. It worked because this was by far, the best series the leads have worked in together.

I don't want to be the one comparing their previous works to this one, first off, because story wise, the three couldn't be more different. This is the only series, by the way, which had an actual story and a proper setting, and although most of it was completely ridiculous all the time, and although it had a ton of inconsistencies and “because the script said so” moments, they managed to keep the campy vibes throughout, so it didn't matter that the plot didn't make sense, I doubt they ever wanted it to make sense.

Even the characterisation felt better this time around, no more whiny, bratty or stone faced characters who have the emotional depth of a puddle. Despite being written as comedic characters, they managed to have some kind of personality, and sort of likeable ones at that. This extends to all the other characters as well, even in the moments where they came off a little over the top, I believe it was just to enhance the comedy, but character wise, they were written to have much more depth than I anticipated.

One thing which I absolutely hated though, was the lack of consent. It also happened so many times over, in almost every NC scene. Non con kissing, doing things while the other person is unconscious, it was atrocious. The series would have been better off having removed every one of these scenes, I reduced my rating significantly because of those.

Overall, since it had around 8 episodes and a truck load of characters and storylines, not much should be expected when watching it. Watching it primarily as a campy comedy may work though, where else will you find vampires with no powers using red wine as a blood substitute?

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I was promised food..

This may be one of my lowest rated J BLs. Sucks when something promising turns out that way. Nevermind that it was riddled with clichés like the returning ex, subpar communication, break ups over silly reasons just to reconcile, no, the biggest problem I had with this was somehow none of the above.

It was the leads. I still can't figure out why they liked each other, except for a small love at first sight moment. What came after was a cute beginning which then dove into the cliché landfill, only to come out with underdeveloped characters and an underwhelming relationship. It certainly didn't help that one of the male leads was so hot and cold, he was sure of what he wanted, until he wasn't.

Now all of this could have been slightly salvaged, if they had chemical. IF. They did for a while, too bad it was just in the last couple of episodes. It's a jump from not being able to understand why they like each other to believing they do, and it just didn't work.

I'm not really angry about the lack of food, (although it would have helped the rating) because there were tiny moments I guess. It sucks though, because I can appreciate a good love at first sight story, but they didn't quite nail it here.

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This just might be the best of the Girl Next Room series. It’s funny, wholesome and just so pure. This series also boasts an excellent cast with Mild, Off, Mek and Apple. Sort of like a mini Ugly duckling Dont reunion. If only Victor was part of the cast. After waiting patiently for ten weeks I was finally able to watch this series and I was not disappointed. If you told someone that this series is just Mild and Off screaming for 45 minutes, you would probably be right!

THE STORY:
The story follows Duchess aka Danglek, whose only goal in life is to get rich. She does just that once grown up, but now longs to be accepted into the Rich club, to affirm her status. She discovers that entry into the Rich club is by acceptance only, and also that her childhood crush, Khunkao studies in the same university as her. She also bumps into Krathing, who she views as a chatter box and an irritant. She though has a secret. She was poor before. When Krathing discovers this, he begins to extort her for money in exchange for keeping her secret. The rest of the series follows the aftermath of these events.

THE ACTING:
I mean? Should I say anything? The cast is perfect in every way. Off and Mild could literally play themselves and the story wouldn’t change. The characters are spunky, sweet, extremely likeable and just very well written. Even the Richy Angels ( The mean girls ) are not that bad. Every character is perfect. I feel like I have to mention Apple. From Ozone, to Honey, to Yuri/Yuki, she has range man!

THE PRODUCTION:
I can say without doubt this is the best of the anthology.

THE OST:
Nothing that great.

THE NEGATIVE:
Why is everyone so obsessed with being rich man? I’ve got to side with Krathing on this one. Not all rich people are nice. The obsession to get into that rich club and the obliviousness about it’s actually is astounding! Also, the way they treated Duchess in episode 4 was disgusting.

THE ENDING:
I KNEW IT!!!!! I KNEW IT! I knew that Khunkao and Krathing were related. I knew Krathing was the one who bought her the glasses. Swoon. Oh man, that was the sweetest ending ever. That hug!! So cute. Ugh, when will I find love like that.

While this series has several characters from the other parts of the series, it can easily be watched alone. Hope everybody watches this series and hope this review was helpful. Thank You!

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Hello Stranger is what you imagine a quarantine love story to be like and it delivers. Most hate to love relationships are filled with toxicity, but this relationship is filled with mutual respect and genuine care and concern. The second of its kind, Hello Stranger is a sweet story about first love and new experiences. The pacing is consistent and the storyline, though predictable, is realistic and refreshing.

THE STORY:
The story is one that’s we are all familiar with. Boy meets boy, they seem to dislike each other. They are then forced to work on something together. Then they fall in love. What is unexpected is how realistic it feels. That akwardness of working with someone you just met and who you also slightly dislike is evident in the first episode, but that disappears by the second episode, indicating that they’ve spent time together and are now more comfortable. Mico seems to learn what it is like to step outside his comfort zone and his four point life plan. Xavier seems to learn what it’s like to be Mico and that not everyone is who you make them out to be. The emotions are raw and real and you feel as though you are living their story because it is just so relatable. Through each other, they’re learning about a whole new world, full of love and laughter.

THE ACTING:
So people are saying that the acting in the first episode was a bit akward, I think that may be due to the situation. Imagine working with someone you dislike. I would think that’s the reason for the akwardness. The acting really took a turn for the best in episode 2 though. This is one of the first Pinoy series I’ve watched and this is on par with any and all other series’. The chemistry though! Xav and Mico’s chemistry is through the roof. Overall the acting is very consistent.

THE PRODUCTION:
This is the second series after Gameboys to follow the internet and quarantine love theme, and the production has been handled extremely well. Phillipines has recently started to create more BL content and I believe that this series is definitely the benchmark for future Pinoy series’.

THE OST:
So if you read the translation for the OST’s lyrics, you would know how well it goes with the series. One line of lyrics literally translated to English mean
“ No matter what anyone says, I know our love is true.”
That, according to me genuinely encapsulates what this series is about.

THE NEGATIVE:
None.

THE ENDING:
I can’t believe Xavier asked for Mico to be his partner! That just made this series more perfect :). God, that ending was everything I could have possibly asked for. I’m going to keep this short: You won’t be disappointed by this ending.

This honestly is one of those series’ that is unabashedly life’s greatest pleasures and a genuine joy to experience. Whether you like sweet, sickly romance or aching hearts, this series has something for you. Hope everyone gives this a try because it is so worth it. Thank You!

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Ugh

Let's call a spade a spade: this was terrible. At no point was this something that could've been considered even remotely good.. scratch that. At no point was this something that could've been considered even remotely acceptable. What even was this?

It's an insane mix of genres, no one can tell what it's supposed to be because it's got romance, comedy and fantasy, in an office setting. I don't think the writers themselves knew what they were doing, how else do you explain THIS?

They spent an abhorrent amount of time focusing on jewellery making, finances, embezzlement, and patents. After all that, they couldn't even be bothered to make it interesting. All this trade talk that was used, I have no idea if any of it was right, and the jewellery making business sounds interesting enough, but leave it to them to make it as confusing and boring as it can be.

The fantasy aspect in a word.. ludicrous. You can't conveniently have it be a plot device to further some weird jewellery competition or the romance between the leads, and even if it has to be just that, you can't have it be as lame as this.
Ignoring it episode after episode, only giving glimpses of something that seems grand and complex, only to conclude it as a means for Lin to make that gaudy necklace felt like a slap to the face. And this should be hit with a copyright by the way, the way it felt like a blatant rip off of The Sign at points, someone call Saint.

Chemistry who? The smidgen that seemed to be there after Big Dragon despite the weird vibes they had to begin with went down the drain the minute someone on the writing team decided that “Khun Dad” was a sexy and cute nickname. Really? “Khun Dad”. I shudder everytime I think about it, and after that point, I was either nauseous or laughing for no reason or both. Because I didn't know what else I could do. I feel for the leads, I really do because they have proper chemistry in real life, and they got stuck with “Khun Dad”.
Such a strange relationship, Lin gets treated like an actual child, I can't figure out why they're actually into each other, but to make sure that no one doubts that they are, they're all over each other. And they weren't even good NC scenes!! The visuals I witnessed are going to be hard to forget.
You've got disapproving parents but the weird kind, over intrusive parents but the weird kind, and a parent who's son saved them but not really and it's just weird.

The two side couples were no better. Three, actually, but much like a lot of people and things in here, the third couple was merely a plot device for more Khun Dad. Of the other two, Sam and Yo had much more going for them than Pim and Prim did. I'm kind of over the ‘we've known each other from before but only one of us realises it’ trope, even without that, those two didn't really do anything for me, because they didn't even have enough screentime for me to figure out what kind of connection they had.
Sam and Yo were a little better, but so fast paced and impulsive. Not as characters, as a couple. I couldn't figure out what kind of connection they had either, but at least I believed they had one.
Which is what happens when you don't give a pairing with potential proper screentime and instead have dedicated time for office gossip, catty support characters and leads riding horses.

This was.. no good. I can't even say I'm dissapointed because all I feel is anger. I'm racking my brain, trying to think of just one positive, absolute positive, but I'm coming up blank. This was just not good.

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A Sea of Dissapointment

Not quite sure what happened, but going from strong start without any real story to weak ending with an actual story seems outlandish.

I don't understand because, this started out with as many NC scenes as there were panoramic views of the beach, scenes of them eating and drinking and diving into the ocean.. “what's the story there” was my thought as I watched the first three episodes and would you know it, I was hooked. There was essentially nothing going on, just a whole load of chemistry carrying it through but I wasn't complaining. Great scenery, good banter, it had summer romance written all over it.

Then why is that the minute some real story started to creep up, it felt like the writers just threw up their hands and went “we'll just have Mahasamut sit around and look good, while Tongrak  does the same, and maybe add a dash of drama every now and then that will end up having no real impact on the viewers or the characters themselves?”
Episode after episode of scenes that added no real depth to the story, and all of a sudden, a couple of episodes where a very heavy backstory is unraveled all at once, only to be resolved all at once and much too weakly.

The major thing they had to unpack though, the very basis of the complex relationship between the leads, they conveniently left that up to the finale until it felt like a lame attempt to create the drama that never came in the previous episodes just so they would have a reason to separate. What should have been an intense and complicated arc based on traumatic experiences Tongrak has gone through his entire life was reduced to something of a childish outburst and was, of course, resolved much too quickly and weakly.

So many characters who were, to put it quite bluntly, useless. Their sole purpose was to either come onto the screen to irritate us and the leads, I mean Tongrak's cousin? What did she do other than cause drama?
Or some characters like Palm, Mahasamut's brother were reduced to comedic reliefs when I would have much rather watched a character like him as opposed to Rak's cousin.
A villian who's scenes actually made for good character development for Tongrak, which was then immediately subjected to whiplash by everything else that followed.

That list would be incomplete without Vie and Mook though, because why? Just why-
As characters, they added the bare minimum, but as love interests? Why? Their pairing is one of the worst I've ever seen, in terms of romantic connection, friendship, just as two human beings, the equation between the two of them annoyed and appalled me endlessly. Just.. why-

For all they didn't really manage to do well, the series got one thing right. Not the series, Fort and Peat got it right. They had chemistry in spades and laid it all out on the table. This could have been pulled off perfectly with just Fort and Peat, just saying, because every scene that didn't involve them, didn't really have my attention.
And I guess they got two things right, only halfway on the second one though: the scenery. Just beautiful. The island setting really did elevate the experience.

It's a shame though because when nothing was really going on, they reeled me in, and suddenly they had way too much going on without anything really happening, giving us something over - dramatic yet boring. It ended weakly despite starting strong, and it's a whole lot of wasted potential.

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Because you came looking for me, before I came to find you

Take notes because this is perfect execution on all fronts.

Choi Yi Jae, at the lowest point of his life as he sees it, chooses to end his life, only to meet Death who is angered with his flippant attitude towards her and is now putting him through a punishment of undergoing 12 reincarnations, each person on the brink of death, Choi Yi Jae is given the chance to save their lives. If he succeeds, he gets to live out the rest of their life, if not, he goes through his trial again.

And punishment it is because he has to not simply find a solution to prevent their imminent threats, but also go through the feelings of sadness, betrayal, pain, helplessness and more when his reincarnation eventually succumbs to their situation. Choi Yi Jae nevertheless goes through his lives with his personal agenda and goals, but with each passing lifeline, his attitude towards life slowly shifts as does his personal goal.

It's such a great beginning honestly, not just with the story, but the execution and the cinematography. And most importantly the cast. Wow. Seo In Guk is honestly such a good actor, plus each of the actors who play one of the reincarnations is brilliant at picking up on the little quirks that Seo In Guk brings to his character so that it looks like each of them is actually Choi Yi Jae. Just the guest cast is stacked, Choi Si Won, Sung Hoon, Kim Kang Hoon, Jang Seung Jo, Lee Jae Wook, Lee Do Hyun and that's just the first part. I haven't even gotten to Park So Dam yet, every expression and dialogue of hers carries the weight of her character. Every single one of them just brings something great to the table.

This was a really good 4 episodes, the plot honestly wrote itself and I can't wait for the next part.

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So, I have to admit I was very excited for this because it was a long time coming after Love Mechanics, but man am I disappointed. This was not the only En of Love series I have a problem with, all of them were rushed and not upto the standard of some others, but this one is just meh. That’s the problem, it’s just meh. Now despite the fact that there were only 4 episodes, quite a bit of story was able to be told and I can appreciate that, but something was just off about this series, from the very first episode. This series is not problematic, but seems to be riddled with problems, if you know what I mean.

THE STORY:
Just like the others, rushed. I understand that there was a need to fit a huge storyline of three novels into 11 episodes, but this series would’ve benefited greatly from creating something like 2moons2. By that I mean making a twelve episode series, with each couple getting their dedicated screen time. This would’ve allowed us to maybe make more sense of the fact that all the relationships moved at the speed of lightning. Neua and Praram are cute, but that’s all. The fact that half their relationship unfolded on a public forum doesn’t really help their cause. Do these people really not know the concept of privacy or private chats?! Besides all these, what was the need to bring in conflict in the last episode, just to have it resolved in seconds? I will say though, Em and Pralak would be a good couple.

THE ACTING:
Despite the fact that they had an episode dedicated to the fact that Prom and Benz underwent acting classes, the final product is underwhelming. The acting mostly fell flat and comes across as akward, owing to the storyline of episode 2. I will admit that they do have chemistry, but that’s not always enough. Benz is a special case. As Pralak, he is awesome, but when he’s playing Praram he just seems so... stiff. Once again the supporting actors stole the show. That seems to be the theme with this series.

THE PRODUCTION:
As specified before production would have benefited from having twelve episode with equal airtime for each episode. The casting I can’t complain about. The actors all fit their character descriptions and that’s a positive.

THE OST:
The OST actually suits the theme of the series very well so props.

THE POSITIVE/NEGATIVE:
What can I say. This series is like Goldilocks. Not very good, not very bad, just existing in the middle. There are no problematic aspects, but that’s just about it. The story itself is very short so it comes across as something ordinary that could have been better. Now that’s not bad at all, just not noticeable enough.

THE ENDING:
Once again, what is with the conflict solved in sixty seconds?! Not just that, but what was that ending? Like everything in this series, it was also just meh. Also who says congratulations for a birthday? It’s like saying congrats on being alive for so long! Sorry, it’s just been a very tiring episode, but good news, they did get together. ( What am I even saying? ).

I usually say that you should try it out at least once, but this series is totally upto the viewer. So may like it, others may not. All I can say is if you find the synopsis interesting give it a try. I can’t promise you will love and neither can I say you will hate it. At the end of the day it’s your decision. Leave a comment about your thoughts. Thank You!

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A tale of youth, friendship.. and love

This show had me in my feels, I'm not going to lie.

Above it all, this is about real people and real feelings, and I appreciated just how well that came through. As the hosts put it, “people tend to be drawn to the dramatic side of reality, but their stories were beautiful.”

Each of the participants were endearing in their own ways, a mix of different personalities, with different life experiences, thoughts and views. Living together, working together, sharing responsibilities, discussing finances, it tends to bring out all different sides of people, and despite being a dating reality show, they depicted all of this in good detail.

The romance didn't take a backseat to this though, it was up and down, and toyed around with the minds of everyone involved and the viewers but don't believe me if I say I didn't find it adorable. It was adorable. Whether I was frustrated, or confused, or ecstatic, these were relationships worth watching, seeing them grow into themselves and grow their romance.

My favourite part though will always be the friendship. The kind of bond you develop living in such close quarters and dealing with such big emotions can't quite be described coherently, or at least I can't, but I will consider that this may be one of the biggest and best things they'll all take away from the experience. The way they could all talk to each other openly, give advice respectfully, take another person's feelings into consideration.. there are so many moments I can point out where the kind of friendship they developed simply warmed my heart. Through all the confusion and the heartbreak, the bond never wavered and I loved it.

I must also mention the hosts, who were wonderful. They were watching it as we were, and their reactions were so similar to the way anyone watching would react. It was also very interesting to see their perspectives and thoughts, to see them discuss everything with thoughtfulness and sensitivity.

It's strange how a reality show can leave you wanting more, but between the lack of the dramatic drama and the general wholesome vibes of the cast, it's understandable why this feels as genuine as it did. And I appreciated it all.

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