Raeng Tawan (2016)

Loved this so much. This story wasn't so much revenge though, more about the growth of a character. A fascinating, astounding character. Despite my appreciation, I'm giving this 7.5 because the 2nd leads and all the other side character had way to much screen time. It was so boring when the leads were off screen, that I fell asleep in the middle of the day. I started skipping all the scenes without the leads after that.

So, for the story: our beastly character - hot, handsome, powerful, and charming - is like a wounded bear who is rough with and hurts everyone around him because that is all he knows in his life. He is upstanding and revered in the community but despite commanding loyalty, I think many people don't get close to him because he is fearsome.

Then he suddenly has a family in the form of a little boy and the boy"s aunt. This was formed by force - because what the hero wants, he gets - and he hates the aunt due to some misconceptions (because slap and kiss lakorn). He treats her so badly that I'm surprised no one calls the police. Yet all his workers and his lawyer keep making excuses for him. I hated that part. Why must a woman put up with abuse because the man is lashing out from the scars of his past? Why did everyone keep making excuses for the abuse?

He really wanted the love of the little boy, but he didn't know how to get it, so in the process, made things worse. The boy and his aunt hated and feared him. So he was sad. Boo Hoo. Still no excuse. Despite all this, you can't help but be interested in this hero and his story. He is an outstanding character in every way.

But slowly, he changes and learns to let his little (forced) family in. The best parts to me (because I'm a romantic) were the many times he apologises to the MFL for treating her badly and hurting her. He does it tearfully and genuinely. When he falls in love, he accepts that love whole heartedly. For example, when she angers and betrays him, he is sad and disappointed, but he is not mad and does not hate her. He is rather open to her about his feelings.

And he pouts so adorably. especially at the end when he tells her he's mad at her but he can get un-mad at her. Lol. He was asking to be buttered up. By the end, he is a completely different person, changed by love and so very willing to accept that change and that love. That alone (and his hot bod) made this worth it.

My only problem - Why the 2nd leads got so much screen time? Their story was boring and useless to the plot. I skipped them the entire show.

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Good starting plot with some revenge and suspense plots. The male and female leads hate each other so much making me keep on watching and wondering how the love story between them begins and blossoms.

This lakorn has a strong core involving the past revenge and crimes and how it affects the present lives of the characters. Besides the love story of male (Suriyen) and female (Thantawan) leads, the lakorn also tells much of love between the supporting casts. Good for those who likes to watch more than one love relationship story in one lakorn. Great acting to keep the suspense going on till the end.

One of the best lakorn in 2016.

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This series is exactly that!
(this said, this is my first review of a drama, and I have been postponing writing reviews for some.. errr, ten years or so)
Now, where should we start.
Does it have a story? Yes.
Do the leads have chemistry? Oh, yes.
Does it provide us with some sweetness? *let's just say: I have never seen a manlier man wearing a teddy bear hat* ..that was not a spoiler, but a way to lure you in. :)
WHY I LIKED IT?
This drama, though it may have it's flaws, gives you one great story of an amazing transformation that a human can have, once we let ourselves go, an put down the defense walls around our hearts. It's also touching a serious topic of child abuse (I, personally, would like to see more of that side of the story, but maybe in some other drama).
It's a slow burner, in the romance part, but it's a furious fire when it comes to emotions. There's a lesson in patience and trust in people, that we should all take from it.
Also, the FL is showing us how to stand strong and see the best in people, in order to help them see the best in themselves. As for ML, I'd have to say: this (more than anything) is a story of letting go of the past and letting people in. And, as scary as that may seem, we see his heart opening up, until he is the "morning sun" (watch the series and you'll understand.
I'd add the second story was also adorable, in a way: it gives the overy-sugary coating to the story, just to water it down a bit, and make a comedic break (though: we never got to know how in the world did the second lead got so head over heels for FL, since all I saw was: both of them in at the same flight back to Thailand, but.. hey, love works in mysterious ways). I'd hand it to Pen, girl can be as bright as a bee and naive as a four year old at the same time, and she played her part perfectly.
THINGS I DON'T APPROVE
(also know as "thing I did not like)
I don't stand for any sort of violence against a woman. As a woman myself, I'd say this: if this was real life, and someone waned to harm me, I'd kick, scream, bite, spit (yes: spit!) and fight for my dear life. We don't see that here, and YES I know we wouldn't have much of a lakorn if it wasn't for a little bit of aggressive behavior in male lead, but some of his actions are just pure sadistic; but if they were trying to teach us of FL amazing potential for forgiveness, then they have given us the lesson.
Less talking, more shooting (I'll try not to turn this into a spoiler). If you are literally having a cliffhanger scene, holding each other at a gun point, do you really need to make a 10 minute long melodramatic conversation. Dear, I'd shoot you just for talking that long.
The police. Yes, the police. They are too KIND. People are shooting each-other, you have at least five open murder cases, and you go about town asking suspects would they kindly admit something?!
THE MUSIC
I gave it a lower score, since there was one major theme, that would play too loud for a sensitive scene we were shown. So, mr. Director, please, tone it down, and find a softer tune, if you want us to get "the feels", please.
RE-WATCH VALUE
Errr, yes. Not everything (I don't want go go thru all the Evil Plotting and endless fillers), but some scenes were so genuinely adorable, that I'd love to see them again.
OVERALL
A good show, kept me on my toes the whole (how long was it?) 14 times 1.5 hours. I gave it an 8, because the ML deserves a 10, but overly dramatic Evil People made me feel like I'm back in the world of Telenovelas.
WATCH IT.. but brace yourselves for some extreme male harshness at the first part.

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I'll preface my review to say that my evaluation of this drama is based solely on the story of the leads; I had no interest or patience for any other side story (especially the second leads') and mercilessly skipped over scenes that does not involve the leads.

I'm a huge fan of hate to love premise and this drama delivered in that respect. This is a really enjoyable watch because the leads are such strong actors oozing with chemistry. Their explosive arguments are like a guilty pleasure and I binged the whole drama.

The "hate" here is caused by the murder of Suree, the twin sister of the male lead, Suriyen (Athichart (Aum) Chumnanon), presumably by her husband, who's on the run. The female lead, Thantawan (Chippy Sirin Preediyanon), is the husband's sister. The story begins with Suree's funeral and the reading of the will and who would be responsible for her son, Pete. At one end of the spectrum, we have Suriyen, a relative stranger who has never been a part of Pete's life, suddenly here, with the law on his side (he is declared guardian of the boy in the will). He has every reason to suspect the father as the murderer since his sister left a telling voicemail. And he believes Pete's aunt colluded with her brother to murder the mother. The aunt on the other hand, whom the boy loves very much, sees in the man nothing but a mobster you would not want anyone close to, let alone her nephew. So there is much antagonism between the boy's aunt and uncle as a result and massive chasm between the two from the outset.

Aum is so good at playing bad boys. I recently watched an old drama of his and despite how terrible his character is, it kept me watching because he's such a good actor. He's even better here. He aged so well; simply exudes confidence and authority and looks real good while doing it. I also really liked the female lead. She displays mental fortitude in the face of many challenges brought upon by Suriyen. And boy, he is real rough on her in the beginning. I loved her bring-it-on attitude in response. It was amusing to see him get all worked up because of her. She is also mature and empathetic. When she discovers how scarred he is (literally), she begins to see that he is just a misunderstood, lonely soul. With patience and understanding (but telling it like it is), she helps him bond with his nephew, the only family he has left. There are some fun, comedic parts as he softens up ever so slowly. But when he finally opens up to Thantawan, you'll realize how much he has suffered and how lacking in love his life has been. And when he asks her to stay with him, that she and Pete are his only family, my heart broke. After the three of them bond, they are like a little family. It was so cute. When Pete hugs Suriyen, my heart just melted. And the date at the end was so sweet (I can't stop laughing at "love you, kiss kiss"). Also, I've never seen someone declare his love on a speedboat before. I loved it.

You can expect gun fights, violence and abuse against women and children here, as is typical of Lakorns. But as described above, there is plenty to love about this drama. In a way, it is about one man's journey to learn to love again and become human in the process.

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This is my first time writing a review for any Lakorn ...I rated 5/10 overall because ..The storyline isn’t that bad but the 2nd leads were giving more screen time than the main leads ...I don’t even feel the chemistry between the leads at all ...There wasn’t even a single kiss through out the 14 episodes of this drama ????...I really expected more romance ...And secondly was it really necessary to burn Thanthawan brother alive in the drama ...Even if you wanted to kill his character...Another means of death could’ve sufficed ...Any one that is hoping for romantic scenes between the ML’s in the drama ...DONT BOTHER WATCHING

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This is my first review, so I'm sorry fir any mistakes in the following.

I actually liked and disliked the drama for a few things.

I liked the acting and i liked the change in the male leads character from a person who couldn't deal with kids and his own feelings to someone who is compassionate and forgiving.
I liked the female lead she didn't give in and endured so much for her nephew. She even gave up her own dream, which isn't such a normal thing to do and she also never stopped believing in the goodness in people.
I liked the second couple in the end a little bit. They were cute. I loved the girl way more than the guy and i felt that the didn't deserved her at all.

HOWEVER ... i can't say i loved this drama because of the male lead and the story. The male lead is a douche and that not just at the beginning. He is so unreasonable till the end. And one thing I cant get over he sexually and physically abused the female lead and after that scene I could never see him in the same light again. Even though he apologizes, it doesn't make up for any of it. He should be locked up in prison for attempted rape and assault.

The story was also a bit dragging but actually it was quite a interesting plot.
Like others have said too much time wasted in other couples who really have no chemistry whatsoever.

So in genreal I recommend this drama to people who don't take these kinds of things (assault, rape,abuse) in dramas too seriously. Otherwise its really hard to sit through it.

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Gee, Atichart is out for revenge, yet again. Haven't we seen enough of that? Apparently not (SSKF review looks like it was first thai revenge lakorn ever watched:) He's 35 here, again with that unsightly facial hair (and I won't forgive him being a jerk if he is also ugly:-p) But the nang'ek is new. I don't know her, at first sight I don't like her, but that's okay. If the lakorn's enjoyable, I eventually I accept any cast. But will this be enjoyable?

Seeing first episode, I can tell Atichart's acting has NOT improved. He MUST portray the quiet gentle type (Namtan Mai) any other case was a disaster (Jam Loey Rak, Badarn Jai, Botan Gleep Sudtai, Borisut Bumbut Kaen, Maya Tawan, Fai Nai Wayu... Plerng Chimplee) as god forbid, a role that requires him as much as raise his voice is not what he can handle (with grace). First episode did NOT look good. Atichart's in yet another "psycho" role. I AM used to that in thai revenge lakorn, but producers need to finally understand they can't cast this actor in this type. Now, what else this show has to offer?

Deaw Suriyon in cop uniform. Hmmm... Aom Sushar, 28 years old, in a side-role. Peach Pachara from 'Hormones'! My, who's HE got paired with? Not Aom? Why didn't they switch HER in the nang'ek role? At least Atichart would be less creepy with someone closer his age. I really can't understand people who decide casting for lakorns. Lately I've seen some weird pairings.

Since episode one, more than one thing in this lakorn was giving me the creeps. First, Atichart, obviously. Not only he again portrays character who is mentally ill, he even has a psycho hairstyle. Whenever he gets closer to nang'ek he's giving me the creeps. Chippy Sirin isn't exactly a beauty. Her face is a bit like a boy's. She is very active in fighting the psycho pra'ek. I'm not sure that's a plus. Aom Sushar's "old maid" character gets pestered by Peach Pachara's annoying whippersnapper. Let's just say that when he was portraying a teenager in 'Hormones', he seemed more mature. That painfully underlines their couple's age gap. It's not cute, it's creepy again.

I hate when lakorn's atmosphere gets too dark, luckilly that's prevented by the kid, and several employees on the farm.

The way Atichart's character is acting in front of the kid can't be described as smart. It only scares the kid away from him and gives more cards in nang'ek's hands. But then she acts even more stupid. I guess it must be some "brilliant" writer's work. Else the two would NOT have to spend this much time in each other's company:)

Pra'ek keeps acting like in his life, since he was in kindergarten, he's never sorted out basics of human behavior. Keeps having violent outbursts, his ex-girlfriend (whom he keeps stalking) avoids him in fear. Then he cries. Basically he's acting like an angry toddler with man's strength. Lashes out on nang'ek, too. Keeps asking her why is she afraid of him? LOL. As he's attacking her while crying, she attacks back (smashes his head with a flower vase:) but then she comes back with first aid kit:) Seriously, it's not her responsibility to tend to a man grown up to this age (Atichart IS 35 here, I don't know what age are we supposed to believe his character is, but well he doesn't look fifteen) who first needs a psychologist to help where mommy failed to teach the basics of self control. She doesn't need to become his nurse/punchbag THERAPIST. But obviously that's what she'll need to become, for this lakorn's main relationship to progress. She'll need to care about him tremendously to bother (as he won't be a nice patient) and the two characters are not in that kind of situation. I understand the writers intention to show how great the nang'ek love is in this lakorn, yet it simply doesn't look very admirable Atichart having to receive help from girl in her twenties.

However silly this "couple"'s antics, it all travels a different level if a child has to witness it. Unlike the pra'ek, the boy IS still of age where he's got the right to act out, especially seeing some abusive behavior towards his aunt. Yet often he acts more sensible. I wonder how come the writers failed to realize this. Or at least they should have some kind of a line to not cross when they involve small children. They often show us flashbacks of a pra'ek as a little boy, to make the audience understand where he is coming from. Only it's grossly inconsistent with how they deal with the child they have in the present timeline.

Then, young girl arrives on the scene saying she's Pu's girlfriend (sorry, I refuse to call him Poo, like they do in "fansubs"). It is shown that his attachment to her is only a pitty. Well, at least we know the pra'ek is capable to pitty someone. Else her character is obviously only here to annoy nang'ek & pra'ek both. Which subsequently means to annoy the viewer.

Now, on the top of all the annoyance the viewer shall find out all the kisses here are fake? Maybe production should care less about the personal life of the actors (from my point of view, I don't care whether they're single, dating someone else, dating each other, happily married with ten kids, divorced, gay or celibate... they are there to provide me with the romance, else they don't deserve to get paid) and finally realize shooting yet another "rape" or "abusive" lakorn when filming a simple kiss is a problem might be pointless, as most people won't bother watching.

Episode 4 shows the first "molesting attempt" scene, and it looks more ridiculous than anything else. Combined with Atichart's level of "acting" for this type of role, I am at verge of dropping this... At 4/14.

Episode 5... I'm afraid I won't finish it, let alone the whole lakorn. Pra'ek is 35-year old acting like annoying 5-year old, portrayed by a gross looking guy who cannot act. Girl isn't even pretty. Real 5-year old cries all the time. Rest of the time is filled with yet more unsufferable yelling and "sexual assaults" of two people who cannot kiss. Does all this sounds like enjoyable watch, or a punishment you'd make watch your enemy? You be the judge, LOL. I'm quitting... I take it as my pride I did not finish this:)

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