This review may contain spoilers
Took a long time to finish because of the weak plot
The great looking actors, generally high production value, kisses and bed scenes fail to elevate this series above the mundane because of the weak plot.
This is very odd for, based on the summary of the original material this series is based on (someone posted on MDL), there is so much potential for a reasonably good plot. Unfortunately, the series spends most of its time on nothing in particular. It feels like someone is deliberately putting everything that is potentially interesting aside.
The series starts with Lian behaving coldly towards Kuea, inexplicably saying that there's no love between them and calling him Annabelle (yes, that horror film Annabelle). Devastated, Kuea wants to break off their engagement. But he doesn't ... he doesn't ... somehow he doesn't ... and then Lian makes Kuea move into his house. By this point, it is clear to us that Lian actually loves Kuea but there's no good explanation for the way he treated Kuea.
After moving into Lian's house, Kuea still wants to cancel their engagement, but ... he still doesn't. And then they make out. And then they spend some loving days together. But Kuea is still hiding his true self from Lian, who actually knows what Kuea is really like. Nothing much happens until Kuea somehow finds out that his family's properties have been transferred to Lian's name because his family has fallen on hard times. He thinks that Lian is with him just out of obligation (what causes him to come to this conclusion isn't clearly explored). When Lian proposes to him, he rejects Lian in front of an entire party of people.
The rejection was the climax of the story. One that turned out to be an anti-climax. They make up (and make out) so easily you might laugh. And then lots of nonsense about Kuea trying to propose to Lian.
I don't know why the adaptation doesn't show more of the things that would have made the main characters more interesting when there are clearly opportunities to dos o. Showing the scenes of Kuea's mother discussing the transfer of properties to Lian and Lian's thoughts and emotions at a strategic point would have made his love for Kuea more touching. Instead of focusing so much on Kuea trying to hide the "secret" aspects of his life from Lian even when he supposedly wants to break off their engagement (and doesn't have to care what Lian thinks), Kuea could have been shown to be making attempts to see if Lian would be able to accept him for who he is. There could have been misunderstandings that make him think that Lian is unable to accept him.
Given that Nuer is brought in as someone who is obviously trying to hit on Kuea at first, it is also baffling why the series does not make use of this potential third party to create tension. Can't you at least make Lian misunderstand Nuer and Kuea's relationship and get jealous or something like that? In the end, Nuer is brought in as a potential third party quite pointlessly. It is rather silly because the writers might as well have left out Nuer's initial interest in Kuea. After all, from the start, Nuer also looks at and interacts with Syn in a way that suggests a potential romance. And seriously, since there is so little going on with Kuea and Lian, why not give more screen time to Nuer and Syn, who are actually the couple with the best BL potential as the story goes? I think the series would have become better if half of Kuea and Lian's time had been given to Nuer and Syn.
The series tries to deal with more serious issues by pointing out the fact that Lian and Kuea can get married in a traditional ceremony but they will not be recognized as a married couple in the eyes of the law. Unfortunately, it doesn't really do much here except to harp on this. It's a good thing that Thai BL has become more daring in pointing out that gay people still do not have equal rights, but there are series that do it better.
It's not even that Cutie Pie has a weak story. It has a reasonable story but the plot structure and the delivery of the story fail to do justice to material that could have been interesting.
This is very odd for, based on the summary of the original material this series is based on (someone posted on MDL), there is so much potential for a reasonably good plot. Unfortunately, the series spends most of its time on nothing in particular. It feels like someone is deliberately putting everything that is potentially interesting aside.
The series starts with Lian behaving coldly towards Kuea, inexplicably saying that there's no love between them and calling him Annabelle (yes, that horror film Annabelle). Devastated, Kuea wants to break off their engagement. But he doesn't ... he doesn't ... somehow he doesn't ... and then Lian makes Kuea move into his house. By this point, it is clear to us that Lian actually loves Kuea but there's no good explanation for the way he treated Kuea.
After moving into Lian's house, Kuea still wants to cancel their engagement, but ... he still doesn't. And then they make out. And then they spend some loving days together. But Kuea is still hiding his true self from Lian, who actually knows what Kuea is really like. Nothing much happens until Kuea somehow finds out that his family's properties have been transferred to Lian's name because his family has fallen on hard times. He thinks that Lian is with him just out of obligation (what causes him to come to this conclusion isn't clearly explored). When Lian proposes to him, he rejects Lian in front of an entire party of people.
The rejection was the climax of the story. One that turned out to be an anti-climax. They make up (and make out) so easily you might laugh. And then lots of nonsense about Kuea trying to propose to Lian.
I don't know why the adaptation doesn't show more of the things that would have made the main characters more interesting when there are clearly opportunities to dos o. Showing the scenes of Kuea's mother discussing the transfer of properties to Lian and Lian's thoughts and emotions at a strategic point would have made his love for Kuea more touching. Instead of focusing so much on Kuea trying to hide the "secret" aspects of his life from Lian even when he supposedly wants to break off their engagement (and doesn't have to care what Lian thinks), Kuea could have been shown to be making attempts to see if Lian would be able to accept him for who he is. There could have been misunderstandings that make him think that Lian is unable to accept him.
Given that Nuer is brought in as someone who is obviously trying to hit on Kuea at first, it is also baffling why the series does not make use of this potential third party to create tension. Can't you at least make Lian misunderstand Nuer and Kuea's relationship and get jealous or something like that? In the end, Nuer is brought in as a potential third party quite pointlessly. It is rather silly because the writers might as well have left out Nuer's initial interest in Kuea. After all, from the start, Nuer also looks at and interacts with Syn in a way that suggests a potential romance. And seriously, since there is so little going on with Kuea and Lian, why not give more screen time to Nuer and Syn, who are actually the couple with the best BL potential as the story goes? I think the series would have become better if half of Kuea and Lian's time had been given to Nuer and Syn.
The series tries to deal with more serious issues by pointing out the fact that Lian and Kuea can get married in a traditional ceremony but they will not be recognized as a married couple in the eyes of the law. Unfortunately, it doesn't really do much here except to harp on this. It's a good thing that Thai BL has become more daring in pointing out that gay people still do not have equal rights, but there are series that do it better.
It's not even that Cutie Pie has a weak story. It has a reasonable story but the plot structure and the delivery of the story fail to do justice to material that could have been interesting.
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