The conclusion of the Gifted and well, what a ride.

When the Gifted S1 was released, some called it the most thrilling Thai series and it is hard to argue with that. The pacing, cinematography and storytelling was excellently crafted. It made us feel some sort of attachment to each character (except well, the criminally underrated twins).

Fast forward to the Gifted 2, for which expectations were naturally high. Did it live up to my expectations? Maybe no.

Let's talk about the positives. The acting remains strong as ever. Nanon, Jane, Gun and Ssing delivered several emotional performances superbly, as did the other cast members. Cinematography was excellent, and I really liked the yellow tint in the director's flashback episodes. The theme which ran parallels to growing youth movements around the world was not overly preachy and conveyed some applicable messages about hope and unity.

What went wrong? In a previous comment, I insisted it was storytelling and it sure plagued this season up to the finale. A rule in scriptwriting is "show, don't tell" and that was a prevalent problem in the last episode where there was too many exposition. The odd placing of characters was tough to watch as side characters stood around while the main delivered their lines. Many of the plot twists did not pay off too: What causes Chanon to switch sides? What is the purpose of the virus when we don't see the students getting cured? What actually is the Ministry's plan? A tried and tested method to engage viewers attention was used to an overkill here, and it did not serve the series well. There are other problems too, but I'm sure the comment section would be a greater place to explore that than here.

To sum up my thoughts, I feel that this season deserved a better, more well thought out storyline. That in no way robs this series from the brilliant acting displayed by its cast. It is an enjoyable series, but maybe due to its plot twists, may not withstand the scrutiny of a second watching.