EllisInRealLife
This review may contain spoilers
There's something decent hidden amongst the clutter
Kiss Me Again is... decent. There are some moments/episodes/plots that I really enjoyed and others that I found objectively bad or problematic. In my opinion, KMA suffers most from its bloated cast and uneven pacing. For a show with 4 main couples, I don't think that every single pairing should have been involved in a love triangle or square. There were many times while watching when a supporting character would appear and I would completely forget what involvement they had in their respective storyline.
None of the hetero pairings felt like an epic romance to me. Thinking back on how flawed Kiss the Series was, the one thing they did right was Sandee and Thada's relationship. As nonsensical as the drama dragged, their relationship felt epic. Kiss Me Again is all the drama with none of the epic. Except for Pete and Kao.
Not only do Pete and Kao work well as romantic interests in this series but their storyline feels the most environmental. Pete/Kao and their friendship with Sandee, Thada, June is extremely enjoyable. The absence of the complete gang in the 2nd half of the show was felt. I even liked Mint's character development throughout the show. It's unfortunate that her story didn't continue in Dark Blue Kiss.
There are very many terrible production choices. From editing, to framing, to sound mixing. At the beginning of ep 14 (which I began immediately after finishing ep 13) when So runs to Sanson in the hospital, showing concern for Sansuay, I had initially thought I accidentally skipped an episode. I had completely forgot that Sansuay got into a car accident in the previous episode because 1) it ended with a cute/sweet PeteKao phone call and 2) the execution of the accident was unconvincing. It looked like a tiny bender fender; nothing worth an overnight stay in the hospital. But, I'll admit, Sansuay's car accident was more convincing than a couple of fake kisses. Mint "kissing" Kao was painful to watch, as was Sanson and Matt's first "kiss".
Even when the kisses actually happen, they can be slighted by poor editing. For example; the PeteKao kiss in the pool. Kao goes in for a kiss while Pete is dripping wet. Pete's hair is wet and stuck to his forehead but as the angle changes to a wide shot, he's suddenly damp and his hair is no longer sticking to his face. Great scene but not-so-great editing and continuity.
Sanwan/R was a very problematic storyline for so many reasons. For one, R was a pushy person. And I hate that he made so many comments that she looks better without glasses, which isn't even true. She literally looks the same. It's annoying and rude. Don't even get me started on when Sanwan was almost raped. It ended with R getting stabbed and hospitalized and the perpetrator didn't go to jail or anything. He just apologized a couple episodes later and walked away. Like wtf?! I'm not sure how things work in Thailand but in America, when a person is hospitalized with a stab wound, a police report is filed by requirement.
Sanson/Matt was equally as problematic. While they did have pretty good chemistry, I just never understood why Matt liked Sanson. It was very crappy of her to try and out him to his mom. But, I appreciate the bisexual love triangle-ness. There was never really any confirmation on Matt's sexuality but I'd like to believe he's bisexual. It makes me appreciate their storyline a little more.
Sansuay/So had "epic romance" potential but there was some episodes that missed them completely and for most of the first half, they were stagnant. But despite that, the Sanson/So kiss reveal was still very shocking to me. I honestly don't have much negative to say about this pairing or storyline. I mean, I could have done without the love triangle (which had a very anti-climatic ending) but it wasn't as prominent in this storyline as it was in all the other ones. And I think it would have worked better if they got together much sooner while Sansuay dealt with a more personal conflict. It sucks that, at the core of every storyline is only the pairing that comes from it. The only characters that I felt had any personal growth was Mint and Pete (even though Pete's development is retconned in DBK).
Overall, it's neither the best nor the worst. I didn't fully dislike any storyline but moreso disliked certain aspects or developments within the storylines.
None of the hetero pairings felt like an epic romance to me. Thinking back on how flawed Kiss the Series was, the one thing they did right was Sandee and Thada's relationship. As nonsensical as the drama dragged, their relationship felt epic. Kiss Me Again is all the drama with none of the epic. Except for Pete and Kao.
Not only do Pete and Kao work well as romantic interests in this series but their storyline feels the most environmental. Pete/Kao and their friendship with Sandee, Thada, June is extremely enjoyable. The absence of the complete gang in the 2nd half of the show was felt. I even liked Mint's character development throughout the show. It's unfortunate that her story didn't continue in Dark Blue Kiss.
There are very many terrible production choices. From editing, to framing, to sound mixing. At the beginning of ep 14 (which I began immediately after finishing ep 13) when So runs to Sanson in the hospital, showing concern for Sansuay, I had initially thought I accidentally skipped an episode. I had completely forgot that Sansuay got into a car accident in the previous episode because 1) it ended with a cute/sweet PeteKao phone call and 2) the execution of the accident was unconvincing. It looked like a tiny bender fender; nothing worth an overnight stay in the hospital. But, I'll admit, Sansuay's car accident was more convincing than a couple of fake kisses. Mint "kissing" Kao was painful to watch, as was Sanson and Matt's first "kiss".
Even when the kisses actually happen, they can be slighted by poor editing. For example; the PeteKao kiss in the pool. Kao goes in for a kiss while Pete is dripping wet. Pete's hair is wet and stuck to his forehead but as the angle changes to a wide shot, he's suddenly damp and his hair is no longer sticking to his face. Great scene but not-so-great editing and continuity.
Sanwan/R was a very problematic storyline for so many reasons. For one, R was a pushy person. And I hate that he made so many comments that she looks better without glasses, which isn't even true. She literally looks the same. It's annoying and rude. Don't even get me started on when Sanwan was almost raped. It ended with R getting stabbed and hospitalized and the perpetrator didn't go to jail or anything. He just apologized a couple episodes later and walked away. Like wtf?! I'm not sure how things work in Thailand but in America, when a person is hospitalized with a stab wound, a police report is filed by requirement.
Sanson/Matt was equally as problematic. While they did have pretty good chemistry, I just never understood why Matt liked Sanson. It was very crappy of her to try and out him to his mom. But, I appreciate the bisexual love triangle-ness. There was never really any confirmation on Matt's sexuality but I'd like to believe he's bisexual. It makes me appreciate their storyline a little more.
Sansuay/So had "epic romance" potential but there was some episodes that missed them completely and for most of the first half, they were stagnant. But despite that, the Sanson/So kiss reveal was still very shocking to me. I honestly don't have much negative to say about this pairing or storyline. I mean, I could have done without the love triangle (which had a very anti-climatic ending) but it wasn't as prominent in this storyline as it was in all the other ones. And I think it would have worked better if they got together much sooner while Sansuay dealt with a more personal conflict. It sucks that, at the core of every storyline is only the pairing that comes from it. The only characters that I felt had any personal growth was Mint and Pete (even though Pete's development is retconned in DBK).
Overall, it's neither the best nor the worst. I didn't fully dislike any storyline but moreso disliked certain aspects or developments within the storylines.
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