Who hasn't had the fantasy of a musical idol falling in love with you? What would happen if you fell in love with the fashionable youth idol when you are tasked with documenting his latest concert as part of a boy group? What would happen if in the midst of the band's dissolution you became its leader's closest confidant?
'ThamePo Heart That Skips a Beat', the Thai romantic drama directed by Mui Aticha Tanthanawigrai ('The Shipper', 2020), tells the story of Po (Est Supha Sangaworawong, 'Love by Chance Season 2: A Chance to Love', 2020), a young filmmaker who finds work in an entertainment company as director of a documentary that will record the latest performance of the popular boy group Mars, and is bewitched by the charms of Thame (William Jakrapatr Kaewpanpong), the band's singer and dancer, as well as his heart and soul.
And it's art that unites Thame and Po, in a way. Each one from their own line (Thame in the musical area, Po in the cinematographic arts), and they come together at a middle point that leads them to love, while one is about to leave the band to debut solo in South Korea due to a misunderstanding with the other members of the group, and the other must capture the group's final concert in images and sounds.
Both the work behind the script and Est's inspirational and empowered performance add to the narrative of the series substantially. The fact that the protagonist is a young man who has left his happiness and future on hold during the time he was dating someone who led him to be in the background in the relationship, turns a premise disconnected from reality into a very more earthly and empathetic. One that allows the viewer to understand more about the phenomenon of invisibility that some people suffer when they are part of the lives of public figures, such as artists. But if Po, his character, is leaving one of these relationships, he runs the risk of falling into another, when his path crosses that of Thame.
They are both heartbroken and need to heal. Will they find comfort in each other? Can they share their loneliness and sadness? In addition to their passions for music and directing work, will love be what heals them? Will the band's fate be to disband once Thame becomes a solo artist, leaving his bandmates behind? Is this Thame's dream or is it an action undertaken by internal conflicts that can be overcome? Will Po manage to overcome the trauma of having been a "shadow" in her relationship with her ex-boyfriend? Will Po be able to prevent the group from dissolving? I ask myself these and other questions, and I hope to have answers in the final episode.
Against all logic, the series does not raise the curtain on the meticulous process of creating a global musical sensation, but on the imminent separation of the iconic world-class boy band, made up, in addition to Thame, of Dylan (Hong Pichetpong Chiradatesakunvong), Nano (Lego Rapeepong Supatineekitdecha), Jun (Nut Thanat Danjesda) and Peeper (Tui Chayatorn Trairattanapradit).
The series does not raise the curtain on the meticulous process of creating a global musical sensation, but on the imminent separation of the iconic world-class boy band, made up, in addition to Thame, of Dylan (Hong Pichetpong Chiradatesakunvong), Nano (Lego Rapeepong Supatineekitdecha ), Jun (Nut Thanat Danjesda) and Peeper (Tui Chayatorn Trairattanapradit).
With a script by PingPong Suwanun Pohgudsai ('Cherry Magic', 2023-2024), Kannika Tovaranonte ('Gen Y', 2021), and the director himself, the series is a GMMTV production aimed at showcasing the five members of the group LYKN boys, winners of the Best New Artist award at the Komchadluek Awards 2024, who on screen show their skills as singers and dancers.
Combining their talent and charisma with exemplary physical discipline, William, Hong, Lego, Nut and Tui drive the viewer crazy with their songs, dances and stage movements. After starring in the short film 'No Worries', in 2023, and the documentary 'LYKN Day1 to Debut', the five members of LYKN more than reaffirm their acting and musical abilities.
From the first frame in which he appears, William is not only able to fill the screen, but he also manages to perfectly convey the energy of his character and the very particular circumstances in which he finds himself. Something that really manages to captivate the viewer and make the journey that the character goes through much more transcendental for them.
The series not only tells a romance between Po and Thame, or the story of the idol band, but also reflects on the price of success, the importance of friendship and the need to balance notoriety and privacy in a relationship couple. With convincing performances, this series promises to be an unmissable event for lovers of BL and music in general.
Although these are preliminary assessments, since only one episode of the 13 that the series has has been broadcast, Est manages to portray the young film director who must carry out the mission of filming the documentary of the Mars farewell concert, while deals with the recent breakup with his ex-boyfriend Earn (Pepper Phanuroj Chalermkijporntavee), the trauma left in him by a toxic relationship in which, after helping or achieving success, he was despised by the person he he loved, and the feelings that Thame, the handsome and seductive leader of the band, awakens in him.
Without a doubt, music is the other main protagonist. In addition to "All I Need", by LYKN, other musical themes by a real band created for the series are played, such as "I Remember", in the voice of Victor Lundberg, and "Destined", a song performed by Tui Chayatorn, among others.
The lyrics of the songs turn out to be a decent summary of the series: "How could we fall so quickly and let ourselves go? It's time to give up. Now that it's over, there's nothing to say 'cause, I guess we've said it all," we signals the breakdown of Po and Earn's relationship, but then, like a pleasant foreshadowing, we will hear: "You stole my heart in the blink of an eye. I've been yours since the first time we met. All I need is you!" ", as a sign of the birth of a new romance, while the audience claps their hands and sings the song.
Likewise, Thame performs a song with the other members of the band, and then acts alone on stage, and sings a song in which he expresses: "...although all the dreams we had did not turn out as planned," and Dylan, Nano, Jun and Peeper retire, leaving only the leader of the group on the stage, it is a prediction of what the viewer could expect in the series if they do not solve the group's internal problems.
In my opinion, the creators have sought to make the story seem as authentic as possible and ensure that the actors who are members of LYKN were integrated into the plot in a real way. The five boys have this type of integrity, which must be of great help, since in the progression of the series in general, they are in charge of writing, performing and dancing the songs that we hear intertwined with the love story between Thame and Po.
It's too early to give conclusions, but what I've seen so far, I believe this couple's romance. Yes, they are diametrically opposed in some aspects but at the same time very similar in others. The fact that their relationship makes them grow individually enriches the plot. Examples? We can see it when Thame tries to better understand Po's passion for art. Likewise, when Po tries to look at Thame as the man he is and not the famous singer.
In this sense, how I would like them both to learn a lot about themselves and their sexuality through their relationship with each other, that they both make the other better on a personal level, and that together they can keep the band together.
But I will tell this later.