Jai Son Rak (2024)

A mess..

I had high hopes for this drama since it had a really strong start, the actresses are very talented, the budget is good and the premise had really good potential, the first few episodes were very beautiful and I expected the whole series to continue down this path.. Boy oh boy was I wrong.

What I liked: The acting was great, LingOrm give it their all and it shows.
The meet cute was very adorable and I loved when LadaEarn first got together, they were sweet and it put a smile on my face.
Suzie, oh how I love her, she's one of my favorite characters in thai dramas, not to mention very relatable (I wish she had more screentime).
Tan is an incredible character and an amazing friend to Lada, I absolutely loved seeing their friendship and I loved seeing Tan as a character, one of the redeeming points of the story in my opinion.

What I disliked: Where do I even start? Both the female leads disregard so many boundaries but I'll let that slide since it's what moves the story forward.
Earn doesn't seem to really understand the consequences of her actions even when Tan is kind enough to give her an explanation of why what she does hurts Lada so much, but yes, I get it, it's the trauma of letting her girlfriend go too easily that prompts her to move forward despite everything.
Lada is truly the one I do not understand, acting cold is one thing, but always giving Earn hope and constantly fueling this push and pull between them is another. It was incredibly painful watching her barge into Earn's house and destroy the puzzle, she was being abusive, saying horrible things without even really knowing what was going on, and how was this resolved? She just apologized in a half-assed way and Earn immediately gave in, what lesson are we supposed to take away from this?
Honestly LadaEarn spend more time arguing and having conflict than being happy, how am I supposed to root for them to get back together when I've seen them be sweet twice in the whole series?
Earn cries in basically every episode and at one point I stopped caring, I was just like "yup, she's crying again, should've known". I found myself not wanting them to get back together anymore, seriously, what they really need is therapy because there's clearly so many unresolved issues and traumas that prevent them from moving forward.
As for the other characters, I had never seen someone go through character development and then immediately back to their starting point in the span of an episode, Wisanu is one of a kind really.
Ratee is just a flat character, the popular mean girl added just for conflict, nothing much to say about her.
Engfah helping Earn but still being pushy and wanting a chance really rubbed me the wrong way, especially when they still tried to paint her as a good friend.
Lada's mother.. Do I really have to talk about it? I think there's no need, we've seen this characters in dramas so many times and it gets worse and worse every time. She magically recovered from homophobia after almost dying and so everybody is happy and everybody forgives her, worst of all it feels like Lada and Earn only got to be together because she allowed them by changing her mind. There's just so much wrong with this type of storyline.
8 episodes never felt so long, to be honest this could've just been a movie.
I watched TSOU with a friend and we got progressively more frustrated after each episode.
Seeing the potential, I'm just left being incredibly disappointed for what could have been.

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There's still a space for improvement in the screenwriting but otherwise the cast was really good. LingOrm's chemistry fascinated me and it'll be great if they get a new series and become as famous as FreenBecky so they can get higher quality series.

About the story... the ending actually disappointed me. Not LadaEarn! There were amazing and their wedding was really beautiful but the mother. It's actually strange that she'd seen Lada in her worst, she saw how hurt she was and how she was overdrinking herself constantly while Thaen had to take care of her as she was unable to take care of herself but she didn't feel bad at all and even manipulated Lada into thinking that Earn started dating a guy and seemed to be in love with him. Then at the end she suddenly started feeling bad after waking up from her coma. It's just... the hatred was stuck in her for so many years despite seeing her daughter in so much pain, unhappy so why did she start caring if Lada was happy or not? I can never understand this nor forgive her because the pain both girls had to go through was extreme and it's terrible that other woman was the reason of it.

Then there was Wisanu who actually shocked me when he wanted to marry Lada despite knowing that she loved Earn and could never look at him in a different way. She was giving him hints when she wanted to make Earn jealous but then she made it very clear and he still pursued her. Then he got drunk and wanted to feel loved out of sudden, started dating Thaen to whom he felt sexually attracted to but otherwise didn't show much interest in him. He confused me too much at the end but at least left our girls alone.

I also didn't like Lada's father. Despite supporting her relationship and not minding at all that she was a lesbian, he still let his wife to do all of the horrible things to his daughter. He was the one Lada would trust but he never told her the truth and let her deal with her pain on her own. Just trying to speak up to his homophobic wife was seriously not enough when he let her do what she wanted.

I understand the toxicity in the series was needed to make the series exciting but Lada forgiving everyone after going through so much, even willing to live without Earn just so her mother wouldn't die of heart attack was so sad to see when she has never done anything wrong, just fell in love with a woman. Her mother just apologized and that was all, she deserved to suffer and yearn for Lada. Realizing that she can lose her daughter forever and it is too late to apologize after years of constant pain and manipulation she caused her. Making her ill so she'd be pitied and forgiven was simply lazy but I get it, it's the last ep. They turn out like this in thai industry.

Also my intention is not to offend the lovers of this series. I really enjoyed it and LingOrm made me want to watch more GL series which I didn't do before so it's still one of the best thai gl series I've seen and I hope to see the actresses again! ❤️❤️

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A lot of potential but ultimately disappointing

The series was sold on the premise of ex girlfriend’s meeting again years later and us the viewer being left to wonder and speculate what actually happened between them. So right from the beginning of the show I was very disappointed that they showed and rushed through Lada’s and Earn’s entire romance from meeting, getting together, conflicts and why they broke up in the very first episode. It left nothing for the viewers to wonder or speculate about them, which cut down a lot of the interest, leaving a lack of build up in the present story with no subtlety or nuances to their actions.

The characters were too one dimensional, silly even, lacking depth, arcs and development and the ones we got felt rushed. I wouldn’t have minded this as much if it were for just the secondary characters but it was not. The main couple particularly suffered from this because their relationship lacked depth and them getting back together had very little to no build up, I barely found myself rooting for them. I wouldn’t have particularly needed for their relationship and dynamic to be more complex if the show had left their past together as something for the viewer to wonder and shown to us as the story went on. Because then atleast it would’ve had something to create interest from. But that wasn’t the case so really there was nothing to work with besides the fact that they had chemistry and were cute together, but it was not enough. There were so many clever and missed opportunities the show could’ve gone about portraying lots of aspects but the actual choices felt lazy.

The production and acting was good overall but no amount of good acted out scenes could make up for the mediocre story telling. On the acting topic, the dialogue at times was too in your face, like they would throw in these lines to make it feel deep or something but it just felt silly and lazy so it would make the acting look over the top in certain scenes.

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One of the Best Thai GLs in 2024!

"The Secret Of Us” is an emotional journey detailing the complexities of what it truly means to love and be loved.

Quick Summary: Dr. Fahlada Thananusak (Lingling Sirilak) is a highly accomplished doctor, fluent in several languages and affectionately known as the “angel doctor” for her exceptional skills and nice disposition. Working at her parents’ hospital, Dr. Fahlada’s world is turned upside down when she encounters her ex-girlfriend, Earn (Orm Kornnaphat), who broke her heart years ago. As Earn joins the hospital staff, unresolved emotions, and painful truths resurface threatening to disrupt Dr. Fahlada’s life once more.

The main problem Fahlada and Earn have is that they don’t talk to each other. Their inability to communicate with one another is one of the root causes of their breakup. After being manipulated by Lada’s homophobic mother, Earn chooses not to tell Lada that she was pressured into ending their relationship to secure her mother’s medical care, instead, she chooses to lie and keep everything to herself. This creates a big riff between the two that leaves both heartbroken.

Lada and Earn are also both a bit immature throughout most of the series. While both have stable jobs and are responsible in other areas of their lives, they still have much to learn as it relates to romantic relationships. Throughout the series, they engage in petty attempts to make each other jealous, resorting to childish tactics like holding hands with or feeding other people.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2024/09/03/the-secret-of-us-series-review-ep-3-to-8/

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Anguishing Allure

The journey of Lada and Earn in rediscovering their spark was a painful one for them and us, but at the end of that path, there always seemed to be a glimpse of hope.

Misunderstandings, parental pressure and prejudice, scars of the past, rivals in love, these were just a few of the obstacles the leads had to overcome in order to resolve their issues and discover that they never stopped loving each other, but no one makes it easy for them, least of all themselves.

It was frustrating through and through to watch, but that was part of the formula, part of the experience. I found myself saying multiple times that none of this would have happened if they had just had communicated like they constantly did before it all went down and out, but all the drama and angst was part of the appeal. When one thing began to get resolved, the next problem cropped up, and that's just how it went along.
Weirdly enough, this is something I've seen a lot, but it's been quite a while and it took some getting used to before I was able to sit back and enjoy the drama as it came, because it kept coming.

Until that happened though, it was the chemistry between the leads that kept me in it. A healthy relationship and not, the leads definitely had enough chemistry to move the story on even when it seemed to be stalling. The acting was extremely good from the both of them, all their emotions were on full display and you could feel their pain and sadness as they did.

It was good, a good balance between romance, drama and slight comedy. It may take some getting used to, some of the scenes may seem extremely over the top but stick with it, and it may be a happy ending for the viewer as it was for them.

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The actresses showcase fantastic chemistry and deliver impressive performances!

The plot could use some improvement. I really enjoyed the beginning; those sweet moments were delightful. Lada's mother, on the other hand, is quite the villain, which is unfortunate for her. It's tough to see how manipulative her mother is, but every drama needs a bit of evil to create tension.

However, what I found frustrating was when Earn decided to eat the dessert despite knowing she’s allergic to bananas. Eating a banana in the hospital was also a poor choice—it felt immature and a bit lazy in terms of writing, just to force a reconnection between the two characters. Testing someone's affection by bringing your allergy into the mix is quite dumb.

I'm not comfortable with scenes where characters engage in sex after one of them has been drinking. It feels wrong when someone has clearly expressed that they don't want you in their life, yet another person takes advantage of their intoxication.

Even if the drunk individual is still in love with you, it would be more respectful to suggest waiting until they're sober to see if they still feel the same way.

It seems rather immature for them to play jealousy games after having spent the night together. Given that one of the characters is a doctor, I would expect a bit more maturity from her. If their intimate encounter hadn’t taken place, I might be more understanding of this whole "trying to make each other jealous" storyline.

Later on, they seem to be on good terms, but I wish we could see more of their journey. What really brought them together? It wasn't that night they spent together, especially since they were just trying to make each other jealous not long ago.

Another misunderstanding occurs, leading to more tension between them. I realize that a shift is necessary (for the drama to be more dramatic), as I mentioned, when they were getting along for that brief moment, it felt incredibly rushed. Because of that, I didn’t really mind when they fell out again. Now, they’re attempting to start fresh, but it feels just as hurried this time.

I feel that the frequent use of "go away, I don’t want to see you" followed by moments of getting along has become tiresome, causing the plot to lose its strength.

The remarkable chemistry shared by the lead actresses helped the series avoid being just average.

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A really well done drama.

A well done drama indeed, the last time I felt this way was when I watched a korean drama called "Familiar wife" and it's Japanese remake.
These two cast members gave me the same kind of feeling, like they were made for each other, along with excellent OST and camera work. Support cast members were nice too, especially the FL's assistant. I just wish the drama was little bit longer because the last episode seem a bit too rushed for some reason.

Anyway, this drama was well worth it, you won't regret watching it.
And thanks to the subtitle team for their hard work.

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want them in a new series with a better script (also BL side couple timings)

Overall: I thought the actresses did a good job but the cliched script dragged things down. The BL side couple was cute however 10 minutes of screentime was not enough. Aired on YouTube worldwide and Netflix in SE Asia.

Content Warnings: non con kissing turned consensual, slap, manipulation, homophobia

BL Side Couple
This is all of the BL scenes thru episode 7 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKDiAXnZ200 ; then in episode 8 watch 37:57-38:40 and 41-41:20

What I Liked
- visuals
- sweet moments
- supportive friends
- BL side couple was cute

Room For Improvement
- really terrible communication, took until episode 7 of 8 for a character to learn something
- "plans"
- the dad knew and never told his daughter
- the managers fighting
- the BL side couple had about 10 minutes of screen time and way too much of their relationship development happened off screen

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Heartwrenching yet a beautiful story

Honestly, the story is quite simple and even has a dejavu vibes but still, it got my attention and it made me want to follow what's going to happen till the end. For me, it's even a lakorn (soap thai opera) with women love women storyline for me so for sure there's going to have some conflict and heartwrenching moments.

Since I didn't read the novel, I can't compare to it but I have to admit, some subplots / some parts could be more developped and should even be added to make the general storyline a bit better and to feel more complete than this.

I didn't know the actresses but they are so good at portraying their characters and they also have good chemistry, they are so pretty and cute together!!
For their characters, I might sometimes not be agree with their choices or behaviors but I don't know, I can't help but at the end, I still like them (or maybe I looked at the situation differently and I was trying to understand them).

The OST are nice to listen but I don't know if I gave a higher rating because of it or it's because of the quality of the production and also with the acting of the main leads..lol

Anyway, it's one of my favorite GL series despite some flaws.

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