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The Gifted Graduation thai drama review
Completed
The Gifted Graduation
12 people found this review helpful
by labcat
Nov 29, 2020
13 of 13 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 9.5
This review may contain spoilers

Engaging with an insane number of plot twists

The sequel doesn't quite have the same appeal as the first season, which is more focused on a group of youths discovering their potentials but eventually fighting against the director of the school who has created an unequal system and done some pretty heinous things.

Season 2 loses a lot of the sort of mood. This doesn't make it bad, but perhaps it will no longer attract the same audiences. Season 2 is very solid in terms of having an engaging story though it also appears that the scriptwriter(s) has decided to throw in plot twists just because it can be done. To be fair, the twists are deftly executed and can surprise even those who are already expecting some twists. Yet, this cleverness also creates a fictional world in which one can be sure of practically nothing, including the protagonists' goals and beliefs (or perhaps even who the protagonists are?).

Undeniably, Season 2 would have disappointed many people if it had ended up simply showcasing more and more special potentials the way it was done in Season 1. Instead, it seems like a smart choice to dwell more on the character of Supot and his past--complete with a couple of plot twists-- after introducing a few new characters and their potentials. The story is exciting and suspenseful, but perhaps we also find it hard to root for any of the main characters in particular. When we can no longer be sure what the students should be fighting or fighting for, it can also be an alienating experience though this is probably part of the point.

It is hard to pinpoint any aspect of the series that has been done badly. Everything is at least reasonably good though we may find that there are too many characters, some of whom are not adequately showcased. Punn is a character who is given a reasonable amount of screen time but there seems to be so much more to the character that I wish there had been more shown about him. The new character, Third, on the other hand, is an intriguing character who vacillates between been rather irritating and being rather lovable and doesn't seem to have been developed sufficiently. There are some nice Pang/Wave bromance moments to please fans, but again, I wish there had been more about their relationship (and the other relationships in the story). Perhaps the underlying problem is that the events unfold at a frenetic pace with multiple plot twists and something has to give way somehow.

The series could also have been more interesting thematically. While it surfaces the issue of inequality in society and of the question of how to have inequality when people may not be born all that equal (do we have to rely on special people to fight for equality?), it eventually seems to refrain from commenting strongly on the theme of inequality. In the final episode, the series even seems to circumvent the issue by suggesting that everyone is special in some way (plot twist: literally everyone is born with a potential) though Director Supot wants to activate and develop the potentials of those with certain traits like a high IQ. Then the series tries to emphasize that everyone should have the freedom and choice regarding how to live their own lives (choose whether you want to activate your potential, choose to undo it if you want), but is there really an equivalent choice in real life beyond the fictional universe? Ultimately, the society represented in the series does not become more equal though a force that threatens to make it more unequal is eliminated. Is the status quo of inequality (both in the series and in real life) acceptable then? This isn't really answered.

Still, the strength of the series is ultimately in the interesting story that is told very well. All the actors have performed their roles at least competently. I don't think it can reasonably be said to be a disappointment. It may not have maintained the same tone of the first season or share the same traits that have attracted us to Season 1, but it has its own appeal and is a worthy sequel (after all, Season 1 isn't perfect either, though I enjoyed it).
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