My Forever Sunshine (2020): A Detailed Review

My Forever Sunshine

The story of Paeng, a girl with a tragic life. After losing her father, she has to go live at Artit's house. The only way for her to be able to stay at this house is to be with him. But no one expected that her approaching Artit nearly costs him his life. He ends up hating her to the bones and she is exiled far from home for four years until the day they come across each other again. One might think that time will lessen hate, but not for Artit. Not only he still hates her, but he also hates her even more than before. But to keep her final promise to Artit's father, she must endure it! (Source: MyDramaList)

The summary seems to have some misinformation, but I'm guessing if you're reading this article, then you've already watched the show and probably know which part I'm talking about.

WARNING:  Major spoilers alert! So if you haven't watched the show and plan on watching it, do not read any further! Just like I stated in the My Husband in Law review, this is not a recommendation nor a summary article. This is my review and my thoughts about the show. The article is more garnered toward people who have already finished the drama and want to read someone else's opinion on it. Remember to keep in mind that we're all very much our own person and will always have different takes on things, so if you disagree, that's fine. If you agree, even better, but please keep it civil. My Husband in Law Supremacists beware! I will be comparing the two shows from time to time (since they're both Mark's dramas and came out after another with somewhat similar-ish themes. Also because I see a lot of comparison between the two) and I'm just going to say it here, that I enjoyed My Forever Sunshine much much better, so if I took a jab at MHIL and offended you, I apologize. Keep in mind, this is all my opinion!

Introduction: Man, I am so disappointed in myself that I didn't pick up this show sooner although I initially had plans to. I just have drama phases and then phases where I completely stop to do other things. And wow... let me just say I am so glad I didn't drop the idea because I was so hooked from the start. Episode after episode, each one was just as good as the last, good as the next, and kept me completely glued to the screen. This was one of the very few dramas out there where I was completely devastated it ended because I felt like I was so emotionally invested with the main characters and the story, I really took it personally. My Forever Sunshine is my current favorite drama and it is one that will definitely need some time to get over.

In my honest opinion, although I can understand why My Husband in Law is the more popular of the two due to its more simple natured theme that is easy to get into, I personally believe My Forever Sunshine is superior in terms of execution, meaningful and well-developed characters, and a thorough, better-structured storyline. But I won't be shouting these things into an empty void without stating my reasons why I believe so. We will be separating these points and breaking them down when we go into specific categories.

The Cons: Finding a show that I'll like or enjoy isn't hard. But finding a flawless one is nearly impossible. Saying My Forever Sunshine is my favorite drama of all time is a strong statement so it should be near perfect, right? Not really. Just like every other Thai drama out there, it has its fair share of eyebrow-raising moments. But not nearly as questionable as the cons I've written for My Husband In Law, so you can let out a sigh of relief. Some of these are rather very minor or so irrelevant that if you squint, you might miss its whole existence, but I love nitpicking so might as well get the bad out of the way before we can get to the goods. I promise you though, that the pros outweigh the cons which is what makes My Forever Sunshine worthy of a watch!

• Gender portrayal imbalance: So you might be wondering what the hell are you talking about when you read that bolded statement. Well... has anyone noticed that most of the girls on the show are like major alpha b*tches and if not that, they love getting into fights or talking sh*t. Examples: Paeng (when she was a teen), Aeung, Duang, Nang, Thong, Arthit's mom, Non's mom for that very brief moment where she backed away from Ling after finding out she was infertile. Even the female workers love to gossip. Now stop there for a second and I dare you to think of more than three males on the show who are portrayed as legit assholes, who badmouth like breathing on a typical day and are a d*ck just for the sake of being one. Crickets. Awkward, right? The males on this show are made out to be like the up and coming Jesus with hearts of gold while most to all of the females are shown as petty, b*tchy, and so much less than what they are. Like the only actual male on the show that I'd like to shove chopsticks up his arse was Mark. Even Daen Din (Mark's sidekick) wasn't that bad, and he legit just poofed into the air and ceased to exist later on anyways so...?
  
  
• SHE'S UNDERAGE! The girl was 15/16. I'm just finding things to complain about but those "eyebrow-raising moments" are scenes from when Paeng was still 15/16 and some very uhm... weird comments were made about her (especially by Kot, even though he was an enjoyable character :(). That club scene where those guys tried to drug her and other things like waiting for her to mature was all just very unsettling. Maybe I'm overreacting but I don't know. Like they treated her like a kid but then expected her to act like a grown woman.
  
  
• Pushing and pulling: I love Arthit's and Paeng's relationship and I'd die for Mark and Kao to pair up again but lord... I was going bald from how indecisive these two became at the time. Like they were together, then they're not, then they are again, then something happened so now they're not, then something and now they're good again, then they're not. I got a headache. Like I just wanted to enjoy their moments in peace (╥_╥).
  
  

• It got a little draggy near the end but then honestly, I kind of expected it from a 19 episode drama. But there were definitely unnecessary scenes and dragged-out conflicts, but these are mostly only prevalent in episodes 17-19. I still did enjoy and like every single episode though, but I could still handpick out scenarios that didn't need to be there. One of them being Arthit's mom not accepting their relationship. It was like she was getting there to finally being remorseful and to have a true awakening that she had not been very nice to Paeng this whole time... she was almost there but then I guess I had my hopes too high. But we're going to save all of her awfulness for a character rant later on.

Story: The story of Paeng, a girl just like any of us, someone who lacks a sense of security and is so misunderstood when she's just trying to find a place in this big world she can call her own. When her parents are taken away from her, she sets out again to find the sunshine in her life and she found it in our male lead, Arthit. Only to lose him as well because her upbringing and the events in her life gave her a twisted definition of love. Like a story of an ugly duckling blooming into a beautiful swan, she comes back 6 years later to make amends for her sins and redeem herself, as she unintentionally earns Arthit's love the right way. (Source: Me)

What I really love, is the way the show touches on the meaning of the title, in both Thai and English. The Thai title is Trab Fah Mee Tawan which translates to As Long as the Sky Has The Sun. In episode 19, Arthit takes Paeng to see the sunset and tells her that they are like the sky (Paeng) and the sun (Arthit). Paeng later adds on in another scene that the sunset is her favorite (when it's the most beautiful when Arthit is the best version of himself). Arthit was always like the sun to her whether he was hot, warm, bright, rising, or setting, it was as long as the sky has the sun.

With My Forever Sunshine, Arthit had always been the sunshine in her life. Even when they were apart for years, he was still the first person she found the light in beside her parents. He was the ray of hope after she had given up. Her losing Arthit was the edge that finally drove her to become the person she is today. To find him again and still wanting to become better because of him, he was her forever sunshine. 

Lol, that was kind of cheesy, sorry, but just thought I'd put that there since I adore the title so much. Such a simple title that holds such a beautiful meaning behind it. 

I love a good underdog story and I think My Forever Sunshine played well to that field. Paeng's journey was very touching from beginning to end and I think they did an amazing job of showing the struggles she went through, her path to redemption, and finally just discovering happiness once again in the same place she found it. It seems that a lot of people had a hard time watching the first few episodes due to its darker setting but for me, it was very engaging the way they carried it out. It was more interesting to watch because we were following Paeng who was such a flawed imperfect character, which is what makes her so perfect. On the other hand, we have Arthit who has completely turned into a madman for understandable reasons.

They are very much like fire and water from the start, but as the story progresses, we got to see two troubled individuals come together to face their past, learn to forget, to forgive, but mostly to move on and put their differences aside. The story would've been a very solid 10 if not for the last few episodes (my last point on The Cons) but still nevertheless rich in quality that I'd have to give it a 9.5!

The Pros: Things I believe the show did great whether small or big. The Pros within My Forever Sunshine are louder and more widespread that it shrinks the importance of The Cons when in comparison. This is why, despite its shortness in certain areas, the rise in other areas very much makes up for it.

• Eye candy cast: The more superficial literally not even related to the root of the story at all, but the actors/actresses are all very good looking and super pleasant to look at! There were many times I was absolutely star-struck at how gorgeous Paeng and Ling were. Or when Arthit and Non were just oozing sexiness through the screen lol. Even the side characters down to Nang, Kot, Mark, Arthit's parents, and ESPECIALLY Paeng's parents. Like wow. But they're not just all looks. These people can actually act! 10/10 Acting/Cast!
  
  
• Story: I already talked about this so I'm not about to put you guys to sleep again but wow, what a beautiful storyline that holds alike to so many other lakorns but also so unique in its own way.
  
  
• Lovable Heroine: I think many of you girls reading this might be able to relate, but as a girl myself, I am so much more critical of female characters especially the main ones because I hate it to the core when a woman character is so degraded in terms of portrayal that I feel the writers are literally insulting me. And I always have to be 2x more cautious when watching Thai lakorns because a lot of the leading ladies fall into this area where they're either the relative of Mother Teresa or so lacking in brain cells they make my dumb*ss brother look like a genius. So I was relieved when we got a strong-headed heroine like Paeng who was just so unapologetic in what she does and someone who isn't afraid to put annoying pests in their places. She kept her unbreakable attitude consistently but I still kind of wished they didn't debuff her so much at the end because she got too sweet, too kind, too forgiving to the point of almost unrealistic but still indeed a very lovable character.
  
  
• Very easy, enjoyable format: Regarding my complaints about the jumbled out last few episodes, every one of them was still very entertaining to watch, and all hold very different conflicts that they're focusing on, which makes it more appealing to witness as a viewer. Like one episode was about Paeng's home life, then another about the death of her parents, then her trying to integrate herself into Arthit's family and falling in love with him, then her wrongdoing and getting sent away. They're all very organized and not scattered around.
  
  
• Mark and Kao: They were super duper cute as a pair! And Kao's tiny height makes Mark look like a giant. I just love all their moments after she came back to the farm although he was a handful, these two have amazing chemistry together and I'd love to see them pair up again for future projects!
  
  
• Some very important life lessons to be learned! To be honest, I was surprised, but the show does touch on a lot of meaningful and important messages: Not all, but I will list a few I caught:
  
  

  • The way Paeng's character was shown in the beginning. She is very possessive and seems largely insecure that the people around her will leave her, this leads to her being obsessive with her parents, the only people in her life she finds importance in. But we get to see why she behaves like this. On the outside, she comes off like a typically rich and obnoxious girl, but inside she is just wrapped in warmth by the emptiness of her large house but lacking any reassuring love as her father has next to no time for her, and her mother well... cheated. It's not hard to put one and one together as to why Paeng was the way she was. I am glad the show didn't just write her off as another ungrateful snotty teenage girl, because that was the last thing she was.

  • Really really love how they make it a point again and again on the show that you cannot and should not invade your children's life. This is their time to live it and as long as they are happy, you have no right to tell them what they should and shouldn't do. Big applause to the writers!

  • Non was just such a good person on god. A true gentleman, someone who respects his lady to the fullest. I love how Ling wasn't treated any different just because she was infertile. Everyone was understanding and respected her choices, especially Non who tells her that if he can't have her, he'd rather not have children (╥_╥).

  • Mark was also a character that had a lot of depth as to why he's as messed up as he is. Just like Paeng's, I like how the writers didn't just brush him off as another psychopath looking for trouble. He in many ways is similar to Paeng in as he fears being alone and always have that thought in the back of his head that everyone will leave him. In a really sick way, he obsesses with Paeng because they're "alike". A person that grew up without love will never know what real love is like if you don't try. A person without guidance will never know right from wrong, but you don't have to be that way forever. Mark and Paeng very much represent two different ways you can turn your life around when you crash into a roadblock.
    
    

• Lovable side characters: Whether they're borderline ridiculous to just straight making you want to kick the crap out of them, most of them still very much have little quirks that made them tolerable and a good portion of these side characters does recover from their irritable phase near the end.

Characters: Now this is my favorite part, ha. This is where I get to go off on a character rant/analysis about anyone and anything that I liked or anything that pissed me off about them. I'll try to keep it short except for the two main as usual.

Paeng

The star of the show as My Forever Sunshine centers around her and her journey. The main points I've wanted to make about Paeng, I've already pretty much said it all above. But man, I honestly couldn't hate Paeng even when she was at her edgy teenage phase because I understood exactly what she's going through. Nobody wanted to listen to a word this girl had to say and simply brushed her off as a bratty troublemaker. I mean, I probably wouldn't be of any difference too if people are always victim-blaming my left and right. 

Hold your breath but I don't really think she's all that violent. I'd say she just isn't very good at expressing or defending herself through words that she resorts to physical tendencies because it's the only way that actually shuts these people off. When the girl tries to defend herself, no one listens anyway.

She just likes being around people that treat her well (Arthit, her parents, Arthit's dad, Aeung, Jaem) and doesn't take sh*t from disrespectful people (Nang, Arthit's mom, etc). Sounds very much like a teenager if you ask me. Her love toward Arthit at the start was honestly adorable. The way she'll make efforts to be with him, hold his hands, rest on his shoulder, it was all very pure as it's her first love.

I really did like her as old Paeng up until episode 5 I believe, because that was when she pulled the sexual assault allegation and lost all redeeming qualities that once made her endurable. Arthit's dad sending her away was the best thing to ever happen to her as far as character growth. Only when she learns to lose again, did she learn to stand up and become even stronger than before. 

Paeng's just been through hell and back and yet she's still standing tall. Even when she dragged Mark to court and he was beating her down, she never lost a sense of who she is or what she's fighting for. That scene where she was being all tough with Mark but the moment he left, she just broke down. It goes to show a lot about her character and personality. She puts on a strong demeanor outside, but just like any other living breathing being, she is fragile and easily broken. 

And that you guys, is why Paeng is such a good character. She is not perfect, she can piss you off, she can be mean, she can be attention-seeking, but most of all, she is just a human being riddled with flaws, and instead of ignoring her problems, she learns to overstep them because your mistakes do not define who you are.

Arthit 

Mark and douchebag characters, name a better pair Lol. But seriously, Mark has gotten so good with his acting, he breathes and lives Arthit. When he was a douche, he was really a douche. When he was in love, you can see it in his eyes and expression, he was really in love. So props to Mark. But we're here to talk about Arthit, so let's see. 

Arthit bears similar qualities to Thien (My Husband in Law) in terms of a*holery but Arthit is more easily flustered, nerdy, dorky and just the overall definition of a cute mess. While Thien was quite hot with the ladies, Arthit was well... hot with his plants and was basically married to his job. He's pretty much a grumpy 50-year-old grandpa stuck in a young adult's body. Even at his most despicable moments, it was very hard to be angry at him because he was so entertaining to watch as he was just legit so crazy that I was at the edge of my seat just wondering what kind of nonsense he will pull next. I love all of his interactions with Paeng because Paeng triggers a very special bomb in him and not in a good way. Just seeing him get so worked up and pissed off at the world whenever she was around or whenever she breathe was just hilarious.

But let's just take a moment to talk about how much of a dork this man absolutely is. He got all excited from his butt being grabbed (even checking it out later and his dad walked in lmao), was all flustered when she was snuggling him up close, and just look at how adorable he is here when he's being all jealous. He's also so perverted (which Non and Paeng have commented on) there were times you could tell he was just so ready to risk it all Lolz. 

Inside, he really was a kind-hearted person supported by how nice he was to Paeng in the past and just the huge amount of respect he has for his parents. He has his heart in the right places, but he lowkey has anger issues he needs to work on. He can be very possessive of Paeng and has shown some toxic behaviors like throwing her phone out of anger, getting very jealous easily, etc. It's difficult not to love him though because you can tell he does love Paeng and care about her wellbeing. Arthit is one amusing character that I'd probably get a migraine from analyzing. But man did he made me laugh!

Onto supporting characters. Only going to try to list the more relevant ones.

Characters I like

Thanon: The only time I didn't like him was when both he and Arthit liked Ling. He got a little violent/impulsive there. But was overall a great friend, a great brother to Paeng, and a great person in general.

Ling: Classy and elegant. Same points made for Thanon. Had always been a great friend, a great sister, and a great person. Love how she stood up for Paeng when the opportunity arises.

Kot: Those offhanded comments he made about Paeng when she was underage were what really threw me off about his character but he really was great throughout the show. The same point applies to him as for Non and Ling.

Athit's dad: He did make some questionable choices but he did make up for it in the end and admit his faults. Overall he was chill and level-headed. Would love to have a dad like him IRL.

Aueng: She was the realest one. She always stood by Paeng's side no matter what and was always ready to snatch ugly weaves, throw hands or kick someone in the shin as long as she gets her point across that they cannot disrespect her boss like that. 

Sape: A loyal worker and a sympathetic person. Also, his and Arthit's interactions are hilarious.

Characters I am lukewarm about

Nang: She didn't really get a whole lot better until near the end and although she's currently on the road to a better path, she still did downright horrible things to Paeng in the past and I don't remember her ever really apologizing for it (correct me if I'm wrong). But she was a fun character that made me laugh a lot. Especially Kot and her accidental kiss and then her "breakup" scene with Arthit made me cackle.

Duang, Thong: They were so petty and did all these things to bring down a teenage girl. I am glad they realized they were wrong and actually apologized but I can't say they deserve to be on the above tier as I do not adore them as much as those on it, but I don't hate them.

Characters that need to burn in the lowest depth of hell

Mark: He was so sick, so so sick. Deaw did an amazing job of playing as Mark though so I'm not even complaining. But as a character, please stay 6 feet away from me at all times.

Tubtim (Arthit's mom): I literally felt my brain cells dying when I was watching her. Amazing actress, but awful awful character. And how dare she claim to be doing it out of love. She was so selfish and so egotistical to the very last moment. She had to see her own son monitor through life like a walking dead for her to realize how horrible of a person she is. And to know how hard Paeng's had it and to still only think of herself and her feelings. Like wow. To be that dense takes talent. Not to mention Paeng's father literally saved her family when they were at their lowest. Just. so. freaking. ungrateful. Her redemption arc made no sense and just overall a big no. If I were Arthit, I'd give it to her and marry Paeng so she can stay mad all she wants lol.

Story: 9.5/10

Acting/Cast: 10/10

Music: 8.5/10

Rewatch Value: 10/10

Overall: 9.5/10

I really had such a fun time when I was watching the show and it is for sure something I'll come back to. It may not be as light-hearted as the cover shows and might be harder to indulge in as it features sensitive topics but I am glad I gave this show a chance because I came out of it feeling like I just went through a long emotional ride and I love it every second!

- Sincerely, elexir

_{Editors: BrightestStar (1st editor)}