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Manner of Death thai drama review
Completed
Manner of Death
1 people found this review helpful
by Sakura
Oct 29, 2023
14 of 14 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 9.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers

A Rare Gem in the Ocean of Thai Drama

CONTAIN SPOILERS
"Why have I not watched this before?" I kept asking myself as I keep biting my nails and play episodes after episodes, binge watching the series in 2 days.

The plot, the premise, the storytelling, the characters, the acting, the dialogues - I am so happy to see that this drama , especially a BL which often flaunt soft and lovey-dovey themes, is tackling so mature a theme so articulately. Sex crimes, human trafficking and drug violence? A plot and character driven theme with on point storytelling? I'm in!

First thing. The plot. From the first forensic test they performed is clear that the production team did their research. The author of the novel is a doctor so I was content that we will get to see some proper real life (almost) dealing of forensic job here. I was not disappointed.

I will give this drama the title of a true crime investigative drama, keeping it real. They notion that 'after a crime happens, everyone is the suspect' was kept throughout the series. Even the main characters are not above the suspicion. Every episode ends with a perfect cliffhanger.
I loved the style of the storytelling as well. Instead of a linear flow of one incident after another, the plot takes liberties to going back and forth in flashbacks and days before of one incident. To some, it may be repetitive, but for me who is too invested in the flow of the story, loved watching it to search for the answers.

The actors, all of them, have done an amazing job. However, I will give kudos to Inspector M and Captain Gun for their respective acting, which was complete opposite of what I thought at first.

The chemistry between the two main characters, the main couple, is undeniably gorgeous; each glance, smirk, tease, heated looks, stares, touches, squints :muah: chef's kiss.

Their emotion for each other is unbridled yet also untrusted, which is very logical and true to the theme of 'everyone is a suspect', and perfectly portrayed with the relation to their respective characters. Dr Bun does not know much about Tan. Tan lies to Dr Bun. They are attracted to each other but also don't fully trust each other (at first). They kiss each other, share sweet moments and then point guns at each other. I was like yes, both of you go for it, kiss each other and then kill each other. Do it.

I should mention, yet again, the natural fluency of the way the main casts tackle intimate scenes. It never looks forced, like they are acting for acting's sake. It's simply like the two people are in love and making love to each other. Kudos to the actors who are also strong and vocal allies of LGBTQIAPN+ community.

There are discussions of abortion but again, kudos that they spoke about it as a choice of an individual rather than an offense and exercised with a look of contempt.

The ending was super sweet. I did not expect them to not kiss but the hugs and soft touches made the scene comfortable to say that the two characters were in perfect marital bliss. And no overt intimate gestures were needed to showcase their love for each other.

And now.

YES. There are plotholes. A hell lot of that.

1. Why Tan's home has the main entrance opened as they they sit down for dinner? Do they not know that there is danger?

2. I don't think that illegal abortion centres perform the abortions while the operation theatre door is partially opened and police, even though may have warrant, can barge into one surgery room where a patient is under the process.

3. As much as I loved the intimate scenes, once again brilliant, some of them felt a bit ill-timed. Dr Bun and Tan broke into Inspector's car, stole a laptop, brought it to their home and then have sex on the sofa? I was like wait what? Now? Idk men, I would probably want to see what was in the laptop, especially as danger is looming over.

4. The journalist is snooping around dangerous areas alone and without any precautions for self-defense?

Some tropes are very familiar and I knew what is in the store for some characters, like the journalist and Pued from like episode number 2.
There are a few more things but those are just me nitpicking over smaller details.

Also, the guy who hacked the SD card and phone and helped share the videos stored on Jane's cloud drive deserves a special applause. If not for him, both the doctor and his beau would be dead.

The ending although unprecedented was not completely unexpected. But still, watching it play before my eyes broke my heart for Jane.

The show is also a testament that you need to be vigilant against people and how they treat you, even if they are someone you love because people change, yes, even the ones you love can change in future. Caution can be your best friend. It also shows how pressure from corrupted authority can make one bow down before the crime even when they know what is wrong and what is right (Inspector M, you were awesome as you decide to not bow down and break that chain of injustice).

All in all, this is a fabulous drama of Thai entertainment and drama industry and not just BL. Please watch and give it more love. I hope to see more plot and characters driven stories in future.

I got to know from social media that Dr Bun's actor Tul has left acting to pursue his other passion and Tan's actor Max has had health issues. Even though it makes me sad that we may not see them together in any series again, I wish them prosperity in their respective lives and thank them for this series. Be happy both of you.

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