This review may contain spoilers
TL;DR - A pretty enjoyable slap/kiss lakorn. The last episode could've used more work as well as the romance, but it's not so bad that you can't enjoy the deliciously chaotic mess this is. If you like this genre, I'd totally recommend!
Against my better judgment, I enjoyed watching this. Like a lot more than I thought I would. I initially went into this thinking it was another kidnapping island slap/kiss lakorn with terrible characters and plot. Which if it was, it would've been fine by me as I only watch these as a guilty pleasure and don't expect anything deep or complicated. But this lakorn managed to subvert my expectations, and I would like to list some of the things this subverted from the typical slap/kiss clichés you'd expect:
1. a) The ML actually had a good reason and was "justified" in his kidnapping of the FL (I put this in quotations because in reality, kidnapping is never the answer. But this is a slap/kiss so I'm not gonna criticize something I know is a part of the story). I felt pretty awful at the way his sister died and there was so much shit that he was dealing with that the kidnapping felt warranted. By the way, Akkee was a complete psychopath in the lakorn, and watching him was like witnessing a car crash; it's terrible but you can't look away. He was hella entertaining and I couldn't take my eyes off him when he was being so bad (eg. lying to his gf/best friend's face about kidnapping Chabaa with a straight face). It also helps that he's surrounded by people who will call him out on his bullshit and question his cruelty. I could understand why he was pushed to that point and felt sympathy for him, which was absent for the MLs in other lakorns I've watched that are similar to this.
1. b) This is also the first lakorn with this plotline where the ML gets arrested and actually goes to jail for what he did (albeit for a short while). I was so happy when I saw that. I was also happy to see that the ML regretted his actions (and reflected on them) when he found out the truth and apologized to the FL and others he had hurt.
2. Our FL Chabaa can be too nice at times, but is not a doormat and can talk back/fight Akkee when needed. A lot of times in these types of lakorns, the FL has spunk but falters against the aggressiveness of the ML, which I get, but can be disheartening to see. However, Chabaa really stays true to herself and keeps fighting Akkee even when he's being aggressive towards her. She holds herself well against him and it makes for a better watch, especially when she's being sarcastic towards him. I also liked how she was honest with herself and took time in accepting her feelings for Akkee while also consistently rejecting Sarut, who would've been an easy way out from loving Akkee. As I'm typing this, I think I liked Chabaa a lot more than I thought haha. I credit this to the actress, who was a big part in making her character so alive and likable.
3. Little overacting, good pacing and sensible characters with self-awareness. Oh man, it was shocking to me that there were not that many overacting/extreme reactions from our characters. When they were dealt with shocking situations, it would be me having my jaw dropped to the floor while the characters on screen just carried on like it was normal. Things were so messed up, but it was so so good. What helped me stop dwelling on the fact that things were messed up was the great pacing; scenes changed from one thing to another that felt seamless, and allowed enough time to digest what was going on, but not too long where it'd feel drawn out. Again, it was like watching a car crash. The sensibility of all the characters also added to how fun this was to watch; there wasn't a lot of convenient loss of logic or pretending that things were ok when they actually weren't (eg. 2nd ML/Chat knowing he was drugged by the villain, Adun saying to Akkee he knows he kidnapped Chabaa, Dad knows Chat is lying about knowing where Chabaa is). Things don't go on as I expect and it kept me interested enough to quickly click on to the next episode.
I honestly would've rated this higher, but there are two big things holding me back which is the romance and that last episode. I'm pretty disappointed with the romance, as it had the potential to be a good one and both leads had good chemistry with eo. The transition from hate to love was also done very well. But they spent too much time on Chabaa accepting her feelings for Akkee and drama with the side characters instead of focusing on Akkee proving himself to Chabaa and developing their relationship (this was in the last third of the lakorn). Especially in that last episode ugh, it was so half-assed. Scenes were not in order and it felt like everything was rushed just to finish the lakorn. We see Akkee in the last half of the episode going from self pity to somehow conveniently being with Chabaa, forcing a kiss on her, saying their I love yous and then looking off in the distance. Like wtf? I was so confused. It was an anti-climatic end to a mostly fiery lakorn.
Overall I still unexpectedly enjoyed this lakorn a lot. It's a well made slap/kiss lakorn. Music was good and appropriately played (except there was this one BGM where the chorus part sounded purposefully out of tune...). If you like slap-kiss lakorns, then I would totally recommend you watch. I wouldn't personally re-watch just because I don't tend to re-watch stuff and this doesn't have anything that would bring me back.
Against my better judgment, I enjoyed watching this. Like a lot more than I thought I would. I initially went into this thinking it was another kidnapping island slap/kiss lakorn with terrible characters and plot. Which if it was, it would've been fine by me as I only watch these as a guilty pleasure and don't expect anything deep or complicated. But this lakorn managed to subvert my expectations, and I would like to list some of the things this subverted from the typical slap/kiss clichés you'd expect:
1. a) The ML actually had a good reason and was "justified" in his kidnapping of the FL (I put this in quotations because in reality, kidnapping is never the answer. But this is a slap/kiss so I'm not gonna criticize something I know is a part of the story). I felt pretty awful at the way his sister died and there was so much shit that he was dealing with that the kidnapping felt warranted. By the way, Akkee was a complete psychopath in the lakorn, and watching him was like witnessing a car crash; it's terrible but you can't look away. He was hella entertaining and I couldn't take my eyes off him when he was being so bad (eg. lying to his gf/best friend's face about kidnapping Chabaa with a straight face). It also helps that he's surrounded by people who will call him out on his bullshit and question his cruelty. I could understand why he was pushed to that point and felt sympathy for him, which was absent for the MLs in other lakorns I've watched that are similar to this.
1. b) This is also the first lakorn with this plotline where the ML gets arrested and actually goes to jail for what he did (albeit for a short while). I was so happy when I saw that. I was also happy to see that the ML regretted his actions (and reflected on them) when he found out the truth and apologized to the FL and others he had hurt.
2. Our FL Chabaa can be too nice at times, but is not a doormat and can talk back/fight Akkee when needed. A lot of times in these types of lakorns, the FL has spunk but falters against the aggressiveness of the ML, which I get, but can be disheartening to see. However, Chabaa really stays true to herself and keeps fighting Akkee even when he's being aggressive towards her. She holds herself well against him and it makes for a better watch, especially when she's being sarcastic towards him. I also liked how she was honest with herself and took time in accepting her feelings for Akkee while also consistently rejecting Sarut, who would've been an easy way out from loving Akkee. As I'm typing this, I think I liked Chabaa a lot more than I thought haha. I credit this to the actress, who was a big part in making her character so alive and likable.
3. Little overacting, good pacing and sensible characters with self-awareness. Oh man, it was shocking to me that there were not that many overacting/extreme reactions from our characters. When they were dealt with shocking situations, it would be me having my jaw dropped to the floor while the characters on screen just carried on like it was normal. Things were so messed up, but it was so so good. What helped me stop dwelling on the fact that things were messed up was the great pacing; scenes changed from one thing to another that felt seamless, and allowed enough time to digest what was going on, but not too long where it'd feel drawn out. Again, it was like watching a car crash. The sensibility of all the characters also added to how fun this was to watch; there wasn't a lot of convenient loss of logic or pretending that things were ok when they actually weren't (eg. 2nd ML/Chat knowing he was drugged by the villain, Adun saying to Akkee he knows he kidnapped Chabaa, Dad knows Chat is lying about knowing where Chabaa is). Things don't go on as I expect and it kept me interested enough to quickly click on to the next episode.
I honestly would've rated this higher, but there are two big things holding me back which is the romance and that last episode. I'm pretty disappointed with the romance, as it had the potential to be a good one and both leads had good chemistry with eo. The transition from hate to love was also done very well. But they spent too much time on Chabaa accepting her feelings for Akkee and drama with the side characters instead of focusing on Akkee proving himself to Chabaa and developing their relationship (this was in the last third of the lakorn). Especially in that last episode ugh, it was so half-assed. Scenes were not in order and it felt like everything was rushed just to finish the lakorn. We see Akkee in the last half of the episode going from self pity to somehow conveniently being with Chabaa, forcing a kiss on her, saying their I love yous and then looking off in the distance. Like wtf? I was so confused. It was an anti-climatic end to a mostly fiery lakorn.
Overall I still unexpectedly enjoyed this lakorn a lot. It's a well made slap/kiss lakorn. Music was good and appropriately played (except there was this one BGM where the chorus part sounded purposefully out of tune...). If you like slap-kiss lakorns, then I would totally recommend you watch. I wouldn't personally re-watch just because I don't tend to re-watch stuff and this doesn't have anything that would bring me back.
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