A stain Ruining a drama that could have been AWESOME !

And I could have absolutely LOVED this drama. A beautiful and intriguing love story between the two leads, various and interesting characters, an intense plot, full of twists and turns (especially since I have a weakness for Chinese historical dramas) and a WONDERFUL male lead as we girls dream to find in reality (while knowing that we won't) played by a fair and charismatic actor.
BUT there is a little problem : no, in fact, it's a big problem that prevents me from fully enjoying the love story that is at the heart of this drama.
And there, I take the risk of being murdered by the fans of the said problem (yeah, because this problem has fans): and yes, I am talking about Angelababy, alias Plastic-Face, main actress of the drama ( hence the gravity of the problem). No, it's not for her face which seems very fake that I don't like her. This is for her lack of emotion throughout the drama. Angelababy falls far short behind her partner Wallace Chung when it comes to conveying emotions through her acting. Yet her character had incredible potential: if we separate the character from the actress, Ping Ting is a strong, intelligent, determined and charming woman who sees her world turned upside down by her encounter with the hero. But Angelababy fails to portray Ping Ting's strength, charm, or inner struggle between those she's always been loyal to and the one she falls in love with. And then I can imagine SO many actresses who would have done a better job than her, despite being less famous.
Yeah, I'm not afraid to say it: I think here Angelababy was chosen more for her fame than her acting skills, and in my eyes, she ruins the drama.
I can't even console myself by telling myself that we may one day have a remake with an actress at the height because the drama is based on a novel to which he was VERY unfaithful (and for some reason, I prefer the scenario from the drama to that of the novel)
Go ahead, Angelababy fans: you can slash me now ?

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Kinda like a Thai Desperate Housewives but much better and much more realistic

This series is a revenge for every woman who's been somehow abused by her husband (with other ways than insults or beatings), for every time an unfaithful husband was not held responsible for having several women, for every time a man thought a wife should mostly behave like a governess or a nanny ; for everytime a woman complaining about her husband being a player would be judged as being exceedingly jealous and temperamental ; for everytime a woman's pain of having to share her husband with shameless mistresses would be belittled ; and for everytime a woman who would be upset about her husband requiring from her to be nothing else but the perfect housewife, even though he himself knows nothing about chores and never did these ; for everytime a husband would think he can treat a wife as a servant or disrepect her because he's the one bringing money at home ; for every wife who was forced to give up her career for marriage ; and for every mother who would do the real job when raising the kids, doing the annoying but important stuff, and would still have to stand to see their husband get the hugs from the kids alone, all because they would only be here for the fun stuffs with the kids, like playing or buy them things, while they would only get annoyed glances from their immature kids
I also liked the fact that the series pointed out that physical, verbal abuse or infidelity were not the only things that could make a relationship toxix (through Jiad and his ways of constantly belittling his wife and treating her like a servant, forgetting she was a woman with self-respect, feelings and dreams and not just a housekeeper and nanny for his kids)
The series also shows out that even if you're old enough to be a mother, it's still not too late : if you're unhappy and want to change your life, want to go back having a career and work again, want to leave your husband, then your age doesn't matter, only your will.
And the series certainly does not forgive those abusive husband and leave them no possible redemption for having treated their wives wrongly for about 20 years : they do not treat their wives and end up paying the price, eventually losing their wives to then realize they were actually precious to them. It is also interesting to see how different their reactions are : amongst the three husbands, two of them seriously repents (one realizes how much he hurt his wife and decides to let her go for her sake, no matter how his hearbtreak, because he knows he owes it to her while the other one somehow still hopes for a second but nevertheless realizes that what he considered as insignificant problems eventually made him lose his most precious woman ; and you have the third husband who not only loses his wife but everything else and yet refuses to admit that this is the result of his actions. He is openly shown as et he most selfish and irresponsible one).
The characters are also awesome because they are realistic : they have qualities but they also have flaws. For example, Pan, the wife who has a partier for a husband, has big troubles controlling her temper and her feelings, which makes life sometimes extremely difficult for as she can’t let some things alone but mostly because with a player for a husband, her marriage life is extremely difficult since she’s unable to keep her calm when he’s out partying or playing with another. So, basically, she maintains herself in a toxic and unhappy relationship (she and her husband are passionately in love but like teenagers, with big fights and useless reconciliations and so on and on) and many times, us viewers wonders why she stays with him, since it makes her so unhappy (especially at one point in perticular of the drama, when their relationship faces a big revelation) and since her husband is obviously very disrespectful of her feelings : so when she finally admits that no matter how much they love each other, their relationship is very toxic and that this has to stop, this feels like a big step for the viewer.
As for Nira, the hi-so woman, this is the same : although you can’t help but feel pity for her situation, as a woman who has to accommodate with her husband’s affairs and his illegitimate children, but also fight with his mistresses, sometimes you can’t help but feel she has a share of responsibility in her situation, especially when you learn of her past, about how she and her husband's met and got together ; moreover, too often, you feel like she makes her marital fights pass before the sake of her children. However, despite her flaws or her past faults, this certainly does not excuse or justify what her husband puts her through, especially when you later see how she evolves, her character growth and the efforts she does to make up for her past mistakes, towards her children, towards her husband’s illegitimate children and towards herself.
These two are the best example of these characters who have both flaws and qualities but all characters are as realistic as this, making them so complex, and yet understandable
I also liked how the show pointed out how the various actions our behavior of the parents influence their children, something that is too often put aside : the angst, the shame, the anger, the suffering, the sadness that they may feel when they see their parents behaving shamelessly, deliberately causing their own unhappiness, or simply when seeing their parents’ abusive relationship and/or how it sometimes also pushes them to develop bad behaviors that are only the result of the bad teaching (or lack of teaching) from their parents.
The series also has the great point of reuniting veteran actors from the thai industry, actors who once played young leads in romantic series but still stand firm in Thailand and show their talents as experimented actors playing experimenting parts
It's not my usual cup of tea (I like romantic things) but I have to admit : it was brilliant !

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Nice to watch but not extraordinary

This was nice (I discovered promising actors that I wish would be with a more important channel) but I didn’t like the fact that despite having a (nice) girlfriend, the male lead still fell in love with his (fake) niece. For like 27episodes, he refused to admit his feelings for Kom and kept dating Roong, even though they often fought because he cared more about Kom than about Roong. So it felt like the male lead was in love with 2 women, that he was fickle and not sincere with Roong, who was really nice and strong (for once, the male lead has a girlfriend who is nice before meeting the female lead). I honestly felt bad for Roong because she deserved better than a man whose heart wasn’t entirely with her.
And then, the writers killed her. So awful ! It seemed like the writers wanted her to give free way to the leads but didn’t find any better to do this without making the leads look like a cheating couple. They could have allowed her to walk away freely from this suffering relationship and Kom and Chartsiam could have been together with her blessing and she would have had her chance to be happy. But no, Until the end, her relationship with Chartsiam would have brought her more suffering than happiness. I cannot believe he dared to ask her « to make him forget about Kom » : so cruel ! And to think this was their last conversation before she died.
Kom herself was annoying sometimes (even though I don think her character was to blame for that love triangle with Chartsiam and Roong : she did her best to not ruin her relationship but Chartsiam is the one who persevered in being with Roong while being in love with Kom). But she tended to be quite immature and impulsive sometimes, even selfish. She ran away from home so many times that I stopped counting at some point. And this didn’t feel like someone rebelling against her persecutors but more like someone running away from her problems, not caring if those who love her might worry.
Moreover, the story was a bit cliche : a poor orphan girl mistreated by her current guardians (stepmom, half-sister, etc.). The only part that was a bit original is that the one mistreating her the most was actually her biological father but even that was a bit predictable. Moreover, I found it a bit ridiculous that after everyone discovered that, they were all like « Come on, forgive him, he’s your biological father after all, it doesn’t matter if he’s been mistreating and beating you for the past 6 years ». I can understand that Rangsan’s feeling for Kom changed when he realized she was his daughter but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t wrong to mistreat her when he thought her to be the daughter of his wife’s lover. And yet; that’s what they seemed to imply when they said « He didn’t know you were his daughter ». I don’t agree on that : they should have let him pay his karma (saying that but I actually felt sorry for Rangsan but that was probably due to the actor’s great performance).
And finally, the last episodes and the ending felt rushed and frustrating :it’s like the writers realized too late that they only had a few episodes left to write the end of the story and they were like « let’s just wrap this up very quickly ». Besides, the ending of each character unsatisfying : I actually would have wished Rangsan to spend a bit more time with Kom before dying (I know, pretty contradictory with what I previously said) ; like I said, Roong’s ending felt sad and unfair ; I also wished for Ratirot, Kom’s Nice sister, to end up with the kind Ram who always took care of her rather than with that butthead Rat who kept acting on impulse and hurt people around him, more especially those he pretended to love ; Ratirot felt sometimes a bit too easy to persecute and too weak (I can’t believe she tried to kill herself just because Rat didn’t like her) ; that brat Podjanee changed from a spoiled brat to a strong and smart girl way too quickly and that didn’t feel natural, furthermore, we wished to have seen her being punished a bit, as she was really intolerable sometimes (preach to the actress by the way) ; and her romance with Ram seemed forced, like the writers wanted to give nice Ram a consolation prize after having failed twice to get the girl he wanted. We just don’t see when and how they fell in love. And finally, Bunga’s karma was only mentioned too briefly : after all the awful things she’s done, we wanted to see more of her punishment.

So after writing this review, it probably gives the impression that this lakorn is absolutely awful. However, it is not : it is nice to watch to spend time, if you like the good old recipes from Thai dramas and you’ll discover great actors. I have nothing to say against the cast : Nutcha Jeka is very young but she already has charm and talent. I just find it sad that these talented young actors waste their time with Channel 8, a channel that is not bad but that doesn’t produce many lakorns.

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I don't like police/crime series. And yet I LOVED THIS

So I'm gonna make it short and simple
I usually don't watch this kind of stuff. The kind of drama that includes only police, crime with very little romance is REALLY not my type : i'm not afraid to say it but I'm more into cheesy romance. It's not that I think that police and crime dramas are not good but I'm the type who watches dramas to cheer myself up from a boring reality, not to watch the harsh problems of reality.
But guess what ? Even I liked it. Even acknowledge the quality of this drama. I watched it initially to see Lin Bo Yang again, that I hadn't seen much since Blood of Youth, despite liking her very much.
But I still find myself sucking into, expecting next episode, being interested by the themes and the various characters.
Fighting scenes ? Awesome, not too present so they're obviously not here to compensate a lacking writing
We don't have just investigations about various but the characters have all their personal stories, with distinct personalities and psychologies. We see how their backgrounds intertwine with the cases and this is heartgrasping '(lol, i just invented a new word). We're touched with them, worried with them, and when they get into difficult situations, our heart breaks for them
There's never a dull moment. We always get some new event, new revelation, making us hold our breath, with a sense of mystery floating above all of this
Therefore, the writers succeeded into making this not only a story about crime and investigations but also about the human being and his psyche, and human relationships
And I think the best part about the writing is that it shows how think the line between bad and good can be : the "villains" or aren't stereotypical, one dimensional characters and criminals. Many of them found themselves sucked up into the underworld and therefore have no way to get out of it, as it is part of them now. They're not part of it because they wanted to or because they were greedy and they're not necessarily evil. I'd say the most striking example would be Jiang Xiaohai, who, despite first appearing as being of little importance, also became the most remarkable character of the show (great applaud to the actor's performance), as it was sometimes very unclear how much he was involved in all those crimes and conspiracies and yet, very often, he appeared as someone with principles

Edit : however, there is a thing that bothers. There is a character at the end to whom they did REALLY dirty by not even giving him a proper ending.
But I think the screenwriters were somehow trying to show some realism so I’ll let that pass. Nevertheless this felt both heartbreaking and frustrating, which makes me take out just one little half-point
So in short : really, even if you're not into this, give it a try for at least the first episodes. Just like I said, even I liked it

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Useless

when the project was announced, many viewers wondered what was the point in this umpteenth adaptation of a story that is far from being popular and that had already been adapted not long ago.
After watching it… I still don’t see the point.
This new adaptation of a woman wondering how to face her husband’s numerous infidelities, when her husband keeps claiming that she’s the only one he really loves and that it’s just normal for a man to sleep around, especially when his last conquest starts to take more and more place in their married life.
The original story is pretty boring, as it is more a story of a domestic type, treating about the consequences of a man being adulterous on the people around here, and also trying to see who, between the wife and the mistress, will win.
This adaptation tries to innovate by making it some psychological war between the husband and his wife, rather than between the wife and the mistress : husband already wasn’t very likeable in the original material, but he’s simply intolerable here. Narcissistic, cruel, taking a personal pleasure in playing with and manipulating women, especially his wife, brilliant doctor Wikanda, as his narcissistic complex cannot stand having anyone, especially a woman, above him so he feels the need to bring them down to satisfy his ego. And for that, he’s willing to use sex as it allows him not only to defeat women, but also to get their willing submission, satisfying his ego that absolutely wants to believe that his amazing charisma (URGH) make women want to stay for him like crazy, even after he makes them suffer. And at some point, Wikanda can no longer stand this game so she tries to get away from this toxic, destructive man. However, her husband Dr Rut won’t let her : again, his narcissistic complex and egocentric need for power won’t accept to let her go out of his control. Let’s remember : Rut wants to submit women, especially Wikanda, who may be the only woman who actually makes him feel threatened (I can’t feel of any other reason why he would want to defeat her this much), as she’s acknowledged and admirer by everyone, as much as he is, something he can’t stand (so marrying her was a way to submit her)
The writers try to make this story more interesting with this psychological war between husband and wife, but also by adding other secondary plots that are supposed to show a deep, complex psychology of the supporting characters. However, it clearly fails at it as it only succeeds to make the characters nonsensical and incredibly dislikeable (not as much as Rut, sure : but there isn’t a single character that you’ll like here). For example, Wikanda’s friend who has an abusive husband who keeps reminding her of how amazing Wikanda is compared to her. As a result, this friend, rather than wanting revenge on her husband, is looking for opportunities ti get revenge on Wikanda. There’s also her other friend who is revealed to actually be one of Rut’s numerous mistresses. Why would she betray her friend, you ask ? Well, apparently, to help her friend. Yes, you’re right : this is ridiculous.
It even makes the viewer feel that the writers were change through the middle of the story as Orn was definitely the 3rd main character of the story in the first half, her triangle with Rut and Wikanda even being the focus of the story but she suddenly becomes a supporting character and the story is no longer about the war between the mistress and the wife, but the war between wife and husband.
The writer shows a very skewed vision of women : here, we’re either sluts, weaklings or jealous and heinous women. And yet the show tries to present itself as defending/honoring us.
On acting, nothing brilliant either : most of the performances are extremely mediocre and as the show tries to make something sensational, for most of the cast, the result is only something extremely exaggerated and unnatural. The two leads, playing Wikanda and Rut, are probably the worst : it is no longer a reveal to anyone that New Wongsakorn has no talent (sorry to his fans but I’ve never heard anyone praise him) and the actress playing Wikanda always looks like she’s watching the horizon with a need to dramatically cry.
Moreover, the writing is extremely bad and unequal : while the story is incredibly slow and frustrating for about 16 episodes, things suddenly fasten. Although it is satisfying to finally see Rut falling and getting the live slap he deserved, this isn’t enough to make up to 16 episodes of frustration and these events are way too fast and sudden to be credible.
Moreover, the ending is far from being entirely satisfying : Rut is punished, but despicable Orn isn’t, or barely. It is implied that her ex-husband, who appeared as one of the only likeable characters, is her punishment as he apparently keeps stalking her to get revenge for what she did to his family, but not only this is far from satisfying, this makes it even more frustrating : you don’t see why the writers seem to pretend that Rut is the only real culprit and spare Orn. Moreover, you can’t help but have a taste of « unfinished » about Orn’s ex-husband and his revenge. Somehow, as viewers, one couldn’t help but expect a real conclusion on his side, especially as he appears a likeable character (he was after a sincere ally for Wikanda and a smart guy), but his ending just makes it feel like his character took 100 steps backwards (I mean, seriously, dude ? From now on, your only purpose is gonna be to stalk your ex-wife and screw up her one-night stands ? Talking about pathetic…)
So in other words, they adapted a story that had already been adapted too many times and too recently despite its poor material and potential and they tried to innovate it by making it more complex, but brought absolutely nothing consistent or interesting compared to the original, making it even worse

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Overall, it was pretty disappointing
It had started nice but it went slowly but surely downhill
Mostly because the three main characters feels really irritating or misplaced
Maytinee is supposed to be the villain of the story but she is actually more likeable than her doormat second sister or than the manwhore male lead. You can’t help but feel pity for her because she lacked of love and was constantly pushed to her limits by her third younger sister, which drives her to become the murderer she finally becomes. We can’t help but feel that she could have ended differently, had she received the love that she needed. and for that, we feel only but pity for her. Moreover, her dark aspect make her more complex and more interesting as a character than the others. Besides, the actress’ acting is strong and makes us feel all of her charisma.
On the other hand, you have her second younger sister, Darika. The writers want us to feel sympathy for her but they fail, as she appears weak, annoyingly good and boring to death. It feels super irritating to see her being so caring with everyone, even when they persecute her. Besides, the actress’ acting doesn’t help, as she always seems to be nervous, like she’s about to be beaten. And I find it just incredible that the writers try to present her like a victim and a good person when in the end, it turns out she was actually an accomplice of murder all this time, even if it was by weakness (and it’s pretty nonsensical that she doesn’t get arrested for that in the end). Her sister may have been the real murderer but at least, it is openly admitted that she’s not a good person.
And the male lead... AKA manwhore of the year. At some point, he even kisses the eldest sister, while having a crush on the younger sis. Huh, seriously ? I don’t think I need to say more. He had started nicely as he was just trying to know more about his brother’s death but at some point, it seems to become secondary to him.
So these two characters are supposed to be the main characters but they are the most irritating while it feels like the villain should be the main character. This destroy what could be a good story.

Otherwise, the story is nice : plenty of suspense, mystery and darkness. However, I repeat, the main couple stops from fully enjoying the story

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So it’s over
And personally I don’t think it was as bad as everyone considered but that’s just a personal opinion. Maybe it’s also because I do my best to not take logic too seriously when it comes to Dramaland (actually, I even tend to throw it out by the window when I do : one of the first rules I’ve learnt to enjoy Dramaland !)
It’s definitely not epic : it’s a cute, lighthearted fluffy romance, just the kind of thing we need when we don’t want anything too serious (and god knows I need that sometimes with my anxiety problems) and that does the job
Unlike many people, I do think that all of the cast did a really good job. The main couple had cute scenes, good skinship and a strange chemistry which somehow still works out. I wouldn’t call them my favorite ship (I’m just too obsessed by Xie Wei and Jiang Xuening right now) but I think they’re definitely cute to follow
I do have a big crush on the niece’s character who starts off as an annoying spoiled imbecile to then grow mature and decisive
Again : it’s definitely not epic, and it’s not the c-drama of the year. For example, it’s sometimes too repetitive, goes around in circles with no real reason. I do think it should have been shortened by at least 10 episodes (especially with the arc where the main couple was having a fight : this took way much time and place, and came way too late)
I so think it’s more of a 6,5 but I’ll go to 7 because I do have a guilty pleasure for this
But in my opinion, it does fulfill the main purpose of a drama, which is make us have a nice time when watching it and that is enough for me

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