A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021)

Worth watching

I waited to watch this, fully intending on skipping it altogether because I wasn't a fan of EarthMix. My mistake. When I ran out of dramas that I wanted to watch, I decided to give it a try. And I'll be honest, the one thing that drew me in was Earth's concern when Mix actually fainted while trying to do a heavy scene. (You can see this in the behind-the-scenes or as I originally did, in a YouTube short.) Earth stayed in character for a second, calling out "Tian?" and then immediately started calling out Mix's name, which alerted the crew that something was actually wrong. Mix is so understated that I never would have thought he'd put so much pressure on himself, but that pressure, along with the elements, exhaustion, and other things caused his body to simply give up for a few minutes. It all goes to show how hard Earth and Mix tried while making this series. I applaud them and the director/cast/crew for all the effort that went into making this a worthwhile series to watch.

It was a little frustrating that neither one of the lead characters ever made any confessions, so when Tian had a 'what about us' moment, I wondered the same thing. What about them?? Is there a them? Also, if you're going to have a lack of intimate contact throughout the entire drama....which I was completely fine with as it wasn't needed....why are you going to put a nude Earth on the screen??? It was great camera angling, and with the mirror, showed just enough for you to know that he was probably completely naked, but simply being shirtless would have sufficed. I didn't see the reasoning behind putting the actor through that.

I think that all of the side characters and supporting cast did a fabulous job. Especially the kids. And probably my favorite character was Dr. Nam, being such a supportive friend and not-so lowkey matchmaker. LOL.

This was a very good drama, and I'm glad I finally got around to watching it.

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Last few episodes frustrating, but a brilliant success as a whole

Best things:
- Mix is one of the best new actors of this generation. I am absolutely blown away by his acting. Honestly, he was the main reason why I watched the show because he was so captivating. In the times when I wanted to drop the drama, his acting kept me watching.
- Lovely allegory, won't spoil what it is actually clearly intended to say but watch it for yourself!
- The production quality is top-notch, one of the best in BL
- Interesting and intriguing characters
- Amazing child actors
- Music is spot-on!

Worst things:
- Hypocritical behavior of some characters that were not fully resolved even at the end, dampening my enthusiasm for the drama in the last few episodes
- If you prefer apologies to be spoken and not be done through 'actions' this won't be for you. One of the leads avoids apologizing in words.
- Falls off slightly in the last few episodes but picks itself back up in the second half of 9 and 10.

Overall:
- Would still highly recommend, but frustrations with the storyline prevent it from being perfect.

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One of the best BL'S made.

Wow... I think this is by far the best BL I've seen. The plot is very unique on it's own, it's not your standard BL like most are but has a story that exceeds my expectations by far. It's deep, it has a meaning and it's a beautiful yet cute story. The acting is amazing, the emotions are brought over so well, you can feel it off the screen. What stands out for me is that it's not a forced chemistry, most BLs have such a forced feeling to it between the leads, and this BL focuses on so much more then just them being / becoming and item. Don't get me wrong I adore skinship but I think it did add to the whole story they kept it to a minimum.

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There is so much heart in this story

Ultimately, it’s a story about human and human emotions. The conflicts are complicated: guilt and how you deal with it, good intentions does not always have good results, emotion is a fickle thing. The romance does not felt forced, its natural (and oh the chemistry is burning through my screen) and for me, it’s impossible not to root for Tian because he’s a reflection of so many of us: someone flawed who is trying to do better. The drama is not perfect, some things could’ve been done better but they all felt really miniscule in the face of the message they are trying to deliver, and it doesn’t damage all of its good moments. I go back to Pha Pun Dao when I need a good angst, fluff and laugh at the same time. Would recommend and rewatch with you anytime.


Ps: istg the ost lived permanently in my head after watching like 3 eps.

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Perfection!

Watched from debut but finally got the review in after re-watching this again!
This was amazing! From beginning to end. Was worth the wait (thanks to Covid).

I love the story, acting, music, landscape, etc. Production was high and very noticeable.

Really enjoyed the cast. Some of my old favorites and a few new.
Earth has it all - talent, looks, and personality. I love Earth as Phupha. Fits perfectly. This was my first tie seeing Mix who plays Tian. He made me smile over and over. He has become a fast fav of mine.
White is one of my longtime favorites plus cutie Drake and Khaotung makes this perfect for me!

Earth and Mix as Phupha and Tian had so much chemistry you could feel it naturally like they have been in dozens of things together. They hit their emotions perfectly and nothing looked forced.

It felt like no let me rephrase that - it WAS and IS a beautiful Love Story! I've re-watched this several times since its debut only last year and I still get the feels everytime I watch it like its brand new to me.

Since I've said I watched this last year I can say now that Whatever Earth and Mix are in together on screen is magic! No matter no simple or deep the story is they bring it home!

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The development in this series is just pure perfection

I personally liked this BL very much. The thing I liked the most was the character development. It was fascinating to see how the characters changed throughout the series, especially Tian. He was so spoiled at first and didn't know how to live alone, especially in such a harsh conditions as in the village. He didn't know how to teach at all not to mention to handle the kids but he became such a good teacher towards the end. All the troubles he had he solved them, way or another, it was so fascinating to me. And Phupha's character development too! He was so cold at first, no emotions were shown especially to Tian but in the last episode the way he looked at Tian just melted my heart and I wish someone would look at me like that too. The development of their emotional connection was something that I really needed to see. I loved this so much I think I have to rewatch it soon.

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Best BL I’ve Seen

Alright, I’ve seen many BLs this past year, recently getting into them I’ve watched more than i can keep up with, seeing many types and storylines. With the repetitive school/engineer/mafia topics. This series was different. Everyone’s acting was so good it was as if I were genuinely feeling their characters emotions, especially Mix’s. His acting was tugging at my heartstrings, had me tearing up while watching it, so that’s how I know it’s good.
I really enjoyed Tian finding his true self through out this. The messages in this storyline too, they were so well put out there. In fact, it had me thinking about my life, how i should be living for myself and not for others. It really got me thinking at the end and reflecting on many things throughout my life.
What I enjoyed as well were the little flashbacks to put the story together. At first I was a bit confused when trying to put it together, but that’s on me haha. It was nice to see how things played out in those flashbacks so we could get the whole story.
When I finished up with this series I decided to have my grandma watch with me, surprisingly she’s in love with the series. She had said the exact thing as me, mentioning how she felt characters emotions, the acting so good she was crying, etc.
I just highly recommend this series. I really enjoyed it and it takes me a good bit to get into a series, or even finish some because i’m nervous for how things play out, but this had me wanting more each episode.

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I'm not even exaggerating, this series is an over-all 10/10

10/10 STORY: When I watched the trailer, I thought I was never gonna like the series, that it's gonna be a boring plot about a volunteer teacher in a village, falling in love with an officer. Everything was new to me since I got used to university and office romance so i thought "how were they gonna pull this off?", I said there was no way this series will be able to get the viewers romantically thrilled/excited, mature and mountain theme will be booorinngg. But a few episodes in and I'm already hooked, wanting for more! It even exceeded most of the series that I've watched and love. I'm not even gonna say anything as I want whoever is reading this, having second thoughts if they should watch it or not, to go check the series for themselves.

What i liked about it the most too is that it didn't need a second couple that would take up screen time just to try hard to give romantic excitement to the viewers, I love how the director knew that they didn't need that and the chemistry was so good that the main characters/couple was enough romance for the whole series.

10/10 ACTING/CAST: Great acting, great chemistry/ They were really capable of portraying their characters well that I'd forget that I was watching Mixx and Earth. They owned their characters and it was almost as if it was they truly were Phupa and Tian. Characters are very realistic, we got a stubborn kind-of-rebellious rich kid with a great character development by the end, and a very responsible, reliable hunk chief officer that everyone looks up to. I also love Tian and Phupa's supportive friends, most especially DOC NAM, which is by far, one of the best side characters of all-time. Also, nobody was toxic in the series so it was really refreshing.

10/10 MUSIC: Although it suits the theme, at first I was like "what's up with this flute music" but then I grew fond of it. It really served well as the series' identity.

10/10 REWATCH VALUE: this series is special, magical and a once in a blue moon experience. I'm glad that I got curious and watched it. Now it became one of my favorites. This series gave me happiness, thrill, sweet memories and lessons and I'm certain that it will have the same effect to the new curious viewers out there. I'm willing to re-live each moments/episodes over and over again.

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Such a dreamy series

This BL series is well-written. It is definitely my comfort series. Everything from the music, cinematography, and ambience was just so beautiful, warm and peaceful. All the actors were great too. I was very impressed with Mix, though he wasn't as experienced of an actor as the rest of the cast, he still portrayed his role as Tian pretty well.
By the time it got to the end I was tired of Tian living his life for Torfun. I'm glad he was able to move on and live his life for himself.
Overall this series is not only magical and dreamy but Tian and Phupha 's love story is unique and beautiful, this BL will forever hold a special place in my heart.

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Its very deep and meaningful!!

after years I've never seen any good bl dramas as good as a tale of thousand stars, the thing I very love about this drama is their (earthmix) chemistry as a couple both on camera or off the camera. P'Aoff is amazing director, this series is undoubtedly beautiful, the story is out of the box and unexpected, the sound, camera, everything about this drama is amazing!!!. There are some plot twist in the story but they don't change the whole story plot either so its ok for me. To be honest this is the one series that if I could rewatch it like when I watch it for the first time ????

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