Double Savage (2023)

not for everyone, but worth a watch

I was fully not expecting to get as invested in this as I did, despite it not being perfect, but let's get into that.

Story: The story follows three siblings, with a focus on two of them: the golden child and the outcast. Personally, Pakorn stole my heart right away, and I felt such immense sympathy for him as he struggled to get the same love from his parents that his siblings got. I always felt that something was off about Pawin, and it was so satisfying to see that I was right about that in the end. Rungtawan is our other main character here, and while she really lost much of her potential by the end, she still played a meaningful role in the sibling rivalry that took place.

Acting: I think the acting is the main highlight here with everyone doing amazing justice to their characters, including the parents and side characters. If the acting was not good, I don't think it would've been possible to create a good series with this rather cliche plot. It is what to look for here, and I think nobody would regret checking this out purely to see the acting skill of everyone involved.

Overall: I think this is definitely something to watch with low expectations in mind, as what I did. Going in like that, you may be pleased to find something you are intrigued by, or something to cry over, in my case. I think it is a nice switch off from reality, easy to binge, and worth the watch in the end. I really do recommend everyone give this at least a few episodes!

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People are not white and black, we are gray

Any kind of love rivalry is a very common theme in all sorts of works of fiction. Even love triangle and brothers going against each other, be it for love or other things. This means that the plot and story must be really good for the series to do well, for the series to really shine. Sadly, the plot and storyline are where Double Savage falls short.

Korn: His father hates him and is abusive towards him while his mother enables him to do so. I know she is supposed to really love him, but the fact that she just stood by and did nothing? Yeah, doesn’t really make her a good character in my books. His two siblings do try, but they cannot really do much unless they want the same treatment. He is an incredibly strong, smart and independent character, but his family obligations and love know no limits. Even at his own expenses. Ohm did exceptionally, he truly shined in the role of Korn. The action scenes were great, yes, but the emotional ones? He really portrayed so many emotions through his eyes. Him being calm and mad at the same time was done so well.

Win: I really wanted to like him, and I did at the start of the series. And after that, it all went downhill. I don’t even know if I can believe that he at some point truly loved Korn as a brother should. His actions in the second part of the series show his true colors and they make me question everything I have thought about him. I think his upbringing as the golden child of the family really showed. He felt the pressure his father put on him, yes, but he was also led by the idea of being better than everyone. Perth played Win so well. The scenes where Win and Korn are going against one another had be on the edge of my seat. Especially the way Perth played Win.

Rung: The girl has absolutely no redeeming qualities. She made playing the victim her whole personality. She messed things up for everyone, multiple times, and caused troubles for herself and even more to others, yet she went and blamed everyone else but herself. Boo-hoo, go cry in the corner and see if anyone cares. She was manipulative and selfish, and she only truly cared about herself. I must give it to Film, it’s hard to make me hate a character this much, but she did a great job. I really loved how she controlled her emotions and her micro expressions in many scenes.

The whole love triangle between the two brothers and Rung was done very poorly. The way brotherly rivalry was written into the plot was not exactly great either. As I said, this is a very popular trope, so it really needs to be done well. Which it wasn’t. It made very little sense how extreme Win’s reactions were at certain scenes, especially after the later revelations. And his double standards for Korn and everyone else? I am disappointed with how they decided to resolve all of this in the end too. Especially the whole Rung situation.

Li was probably my favorite character in the whole series. She truly loved her brothers, equally and unconditionally. Even when they were acting like idiots, she stood by them and supported them in any way she could. She is brave and loyal, she is caring and supportive. I could really relate to her.

I also really liked both Ah and Mek as well. The two might have been criminals, but they had good hearts. They cared not only about themselves but about everyone around them and their whole community. Even if their community turned their backs on them on certain occasions. I even liked uncle Wit. I really enjoyed how calm Korn seemed when he was around him. He is truly at peace while around him.

The rival gang – who were they? Where did they come from? What did they want? What was their end goal? No one knows because they showed up and left with no explanation. Which is another plot hole.

There were some plot twists that I did not expect. While some made sense and really fit into the story, there was also a lot of them that just didn’t make any sense. Or really lacked background information that would make us understand them better.

I think the acting was the only thing that saved this series for me. I think all the actors did an amazing job in the roles they were given. And yes, even those who played characters I disliked. I hated the characters, not the actors. The plot was… what even was the plot? I feel like the reasons behind what happened were not solid or made clear. Another thing is the ending… why? Just why? Redemption arc is something that should be given to characters who deserve it. And not everyone does.

If there is one thing that the series showed well is how people are not white and black, we are gray. No one is completely good, and no one is completely bad, but we are a mix of good and bad.

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