Reviews

Antiheroes, villains and wild beasts

Inspired by the comedy "The Taming of the Shrew" by English writer, poet and playwright William Shakespeare, the Thai BL series 'The Heart Killers' brings back four popular and talented actors: Kanaphan Puitrakul, Khaotung Thanawat Rattanakitpaisan, Dunk Natachai Boonprasert, and Joong Archen Wiraphakul, who play Kant, Bison, Style, and Fadel, in that order.
The series addresses themes such as love, courtship, disguise, deception and crime, while love arises both in the case of Bison and Kant, and in that of Fadel and Style. However, unlike Shakespeare's work, whose secondary plot serves as a counterpoint to the main plot, in the Thai series both stories balance and measure equally, that is, there is no preeminence of one over the other.
Directed by Jojo Tidakorn Pookaothong, the story is not set in the Italian city of Padua nor are we in the 16th century, but in Bangkok, in the present. Instead of Katharina, the main character, it is Bison, a young man with a boisterous, stubborn, disobedient and indomitable personality, but also famous for being attractive. This in principle would not have any mystery nor would it be transcendent for the series, except for the detail that the father of this young woman, Baptista Minola, does not want to marry his youngest daughter, Bianca, until Katharina, or rather, Bison, does not has found a boyfriend.
But the story, which has a script by Kanokphan Oraratanasakul, Issaraporn Kuntisuk and Fleur Irene Insot, known for writing 'This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans', will bring us other changes: instead of Baptista, it will be Bianca herself... or better yet said, Fadel, Bison's intelligent, handsome and responsible brother, who will oppose Bison having a boyfriend until he himself finds the right person to love.
Fadel, who is the complete opposite in character of his older brother, has never shown interest in any of the men who have disputed his love in the past.
Protector of his brother, Fadel scares away all the suitors who are interested in Bison, to the dismay of the latter, who has just succumbed to the charms of the handsome man... no, don't be hasty, he is not Petrucio, but Kant, a young man with a strong character and intelligent, who will have the courage to pretend to Bison.
The love, which is taking shape between the two lovers, will pose a serious problem: will Fadel accept Kant when he himself has decided not to allow his brother to have a boyfriend until his heart also trembles with passion?
Faced with this dilemma, Kant and Bison, who is devoted to annoying others, especially Fadel, will plan to find a suitor for him. And who wouldn't be a better choice than... stop there, it's not Lucentio, but Style, the happy and smiling automotive mechanic and Kant's best friend.
Style must fulfill the task of helping the two lovers as much as possible to get Fadel to accept Kant as Bison's boyfriend, so the three of them develop a plan: Style will pursue and woo Fadel until he makes him yearn for her him and in this way allows Bison to also have a boyfriend. But when Style sees Fadel he falls in love, and he will try to win him over, but to do so he will not have to pretend to be a Latin teacher.
But the most interesting twist in the story is that both Bison and Fadel are two hitmen. As you hear, dear reader: while the authorities are not clear how to respond to organized crime in the Thai capital, these two young antiheroes are a curious solution. These brothers are hired to murder drug traffickers, rapists, corrupt politicians, dishonest businessmen...
If in "The Taming of the Shrew" that would be the main approach of the work, the Thai series brings other ingredients. Of course, in both one and the other, various situations of entanglements and abundant witty dialogues await us in which verbal wit undoubtedly becomes the most forceful of weapons.
Owners and workers by day in a hamburger restaurant, Bison and Fadel are, by night, two expert shooters and assassins. While the first dreams of not spending his entire life chasing criminals, the second believes it is necessary to carry out, for life, his mission of exterminating all villains.
But who is Kant? Is he really in love with Bison or does he have a hidden agenda? Kant is a young tattoo artist who has a history of being a car thief. He was caught by the Police some time ago for this crime. In order to have his criminal record archived and even be lucky enough to see it disappear completely, he must complete undercover police missions. Otherwise, they could reopen their case and end up in jail, so Babe (Kenji Kanthee Limpitkranon), his younger brother, would lose his only protector in life.
In this way, Kant will be forced to be an informant and spy for the Police on the same parasites of society that Bison and Faude eliminate daily.
And it turns out that, at the request of Chris (Peter Tuinstra), the police agent handling his case, Kant will have to secretly investigate the brothers Bison and Fadel, suspected of being the two hitmen who have taken the law into their own hands.
It is interesting how the series rewrites the work of the Elizabethan playwright that deals with the theme of "taming a brave woman by her husband", giving it a personal touch that does not leave anyone indifferent. The dialogues are full of wit and the wordplay is remarkable. That's something I love about Jojo, who plays with language and shapes it as he pleases to create series considered true gems of the BL genre with insightful, intelligent and even cynical characters, as he demonstrated in 'Only Friends', 'Never Let Me Go', 'The Warp Effect', 'Our Skyy 2', 'Nobody Happy', among others.
It is also striking how instead of machismo, the submission of the woman to the designs of the husband, marriage and the struggle between the sexes that permeates Shakespeare's work, 'The Heart Killers' takes an unexpected turn to address topics such as crime, flirting and a pitched battle between different personalities or characters.
As in "The Taming of the Shrew," the Thai series notes the ingenious use of duplicates. The contrast between the two brothers, the two love stories, the day divided into two, the different dreams of Bison and Fadel about their futures, the two scenarios that will involve one the laborious life as a front in the hamburger restaurant and the other the crime, among others, all aimed at giving rise to an agile and continuous dramatic counterpoint that very effectively helps the two romantic stories intertwine in an effective way.
In addition to a battle between totally opposite personalities, 'The Heart Killers' is a battle between wits, all the themes: seduction, crime, the relationships between best friends and between the two brothers, the professional tasks of the protagonists, namely that of a tattoo artist, a car mechanic, a chef and a restaurant worker, all of this to give rise to a display of deceptions and tricks, and the winner is always the one who demonstrates the greatest practical intelligence in all matters.
Furthermore, 'The Heart Killers' is a series of transformations that relies on the conventional resources of intrigue comedy; disguise, deception and false identities.
As far as the characters are concerned, above all I would like to highlight the two brothers, since the contrast in their personalities is overwhelming. On the one hand there is Bison, who has a lot of character and does not always agree with what is said to him and, in part, likes to bother others. Meanwhile, Fadel is very serious, responsible, and has always managed to maintain his composure... until Style enters his life.
Khaotung is a convincing actor. He has had meteoric growth since his debut as an actor in the 2018 series 'Cause You're My Boy', in 2018. The construction of his character allowed him to deliver a performance full of subtleties, where Bison's surly and indomitable character contrasts with the moments of introspection and the decisions that lead him to confront his most intimate feelings.
First once again demonstrates his talent, that each role he plays is comfortable for him, despite the challenges, the volume of work, and the archetypal experiences that he has to express on screen, no matter how new they may be for him.
Both make up a dream ship. Their interactions are natural. They know each other well, after being a couple in 'Only Friends', 'The Eclipce' and 'Our Skyy 2'. On this occasion, not only are their sex scenes a gift for the viewer.
Joong Archen Wiraphakul's Fadel is the most important character in this rising star's promising career until today. In his social accounts, the actor, model and singer recognizes that the recognition and affection of the public is the greatest reward received, in addition, what he has been able to grow and learn as an actor and person during the process. I never imagined seeing him "masturbate" in front of the cameras.
But of the four, Dunk has the most growth from a role prior to this. To my surprise, his Style overflows with provocation, sexuality and impudence. As an actor, he has been able to increase his acting skills through training and giving his best in each project. His evolution as an actor is based on extracting valuable lessons from each experience to apply them in future projects.
In the series he had to face things that he had never experienced, such as harassing Fadel, speaking with brazenness and determination, adopting a much sexier pose than on previous occasions, no longer in a university uniform, but in a car mechanic's outfit, T-shirts and shorts and occasion clothes. He had to face situations he had never experienced and search the depths of his emotions to interpret them. For this reason, I consider that 'The Heart Killers' and Style have been a school in his life.
Dunk and Joong Archen are also two actors who have managed to get along after pairing up in 'Star and Sky: Star in My Mind', 'Star and Sky: Sky in Your Heart', 'Our Skyy 2' and 'Hidden Agenda'.
Only the first two episodes have aired. I'll come back later to update the review.

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The vibes are vibing, the romance is in the air!

Man resigned from big company to be close to his crush, and this happened in episode 1! honestly, we stan.

Ha Joon in a romantic role is giving everything, his open smiles, flirty posture, walking by FL's poster and admiring it, surprising her in ther office, this man was made to play the romantic lead, he's swoon-worty!

Jung Ryeo Won is as great in melo as she's being a badass, the woman has done both Witch's Court and Wok of Love, the range! She has a smile that is self-assured but not invulnerable, as we see from her alteration with that prideful teacher who wants to destroy her life.

It's been a long time since I was so enthusiastic about a drama, but this one is hitting all the right spots!

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a steady start ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧

i have been looking forward to this series for quite a while now and i'm really exited it's finally airing ^^ so far i liked the first episode, the characters were nicely introduced and it ended on an interesting cliff hanger, making me wait impatiently for the next episode to air. i am quite excited to see ah-jeong and ji-han's chemistry in future episodes but personally, i'm more invested to see how do-han's story will unfold and if he could keep his secret since i'm in a somewhat similar situation to him. i think this drama has a good start and i am definitely eager to see how it will turn out ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶

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Could have been a Korean Sound of Music (minus the music) but too many characters who cant act!

Hmm... if this was a 12-16 episode drama that just focused on the story of the widower and his children, and the plucky young live-in tutor - of how she melted his hard heart and helped restore his relationship with his kids - this would have been a brilliant K-Sound of Music (without the music)
But sadly it's over 100 episodes, with a supporting cast who a) get almost equal screen time and b) are terrible actors that I found myself fast-forwarding their scenes. TERRIBLE ACTORS! But ! persevered through four and a bit episodes, only to find that in ep5, the production changed from the beautiful, glossy, well-produced practical sets that we know and love from good kdramas - to that of a daytime soap! #dropped
Such a shame as Lee Se Hee's character was adorable and that particular story arc had real potential.
What a shame!

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Incest

I had to drop this drama. From episode 11 I came to understand that there was going to be a love triangle between three people who grew up as siblings. That feels totally wrong to me. The first 10 episodes were very interesting and I had never seen a drama like that before. It feels like a familiar everyday life. From the moment they grew up, their lives becamr boring. And why are the brothers trying to hide from Jiang Jian? Wtf I can't imagine my brother leaving for a few years and suddenly we falling in love like that. Disguting. People who see this as the best love story to ever exist need a brain check.

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Romance writers should be good at writing romances

still in the middle of it so I'll just lay out a few points. and they all come down to this:

Writing is important.

First: It's one thing to draw out the chemistry of the main characters before they get together. Tried and true development in all romance novels, tv shows and movies. It's quite another to drag it out and string the viewer on until so long until they no longer give a crap if they ever get together. Yeah, the phone ringing the first time right before the kiss is cute. But after the 6th time, the audience feels ripped off. Because they're here for a romance. This is the contract that you've made with them. You make the romance show, They pay to watch it and expect to get to see the romance develop between them. It doesn't happen here. And not in a refreshing way either. It's just odd. This one It reminds me of a riding in a car on a smooth street, then hitting a pothole. Then another. and another. After a while you just want to get off the road.

The cast/characters: Love the FL actress. ML actor was fantastic in Love Between Fairy and Devil. Here he plays the role of a men's starched white dress shirt. Attractive. Stiff. . He gives long stern looks. Lots of them. As a writer, you need to give the character a personality., especially one of the leads. The second couple is just sick mentally and she is desperate for trauma therapy. They only get together when they're drunk, and the third. Ugh. The third....young 3rd FL, stalking isn't ok because you're adorable. Stop throwing yourself at guys that you saw ONE TIME at a conference, showing up wherever they go, calling asking them out and buying things. It's so beneath you. Look around. You're a badass, smart, and charming.. Use your skills to go get a life. 3ML who is being pursued by this young woman, your buddy told you to tell her you aren't interested if you aren't, cuz what you're doing now is just toying with her. Instead, 3ML (who's 30) never says "Hey, young lady. I'm not interested.". He just sort of watches, confused.

The chemistry: there was some in the first few episodes. The pauses and long looks between the ML and FL. But his long looks wear thin. She's pursuing him but is getting nothing back. As in. no response whatsoever. He ignores her texts. Like the "shunning" that some religious sects do to punish someone. The fact that she keeps writing him and pursuing him when he doesn't respond, then when he is with her responds like an inanimate object, is extremely...curious.... and not at all realistic.

The romance: Are they or aren't they? Heck. the writers don't even know, much less the characters. And by episode 20 I don't' know or care either and am ready to drop it. In the middle episodes (12 - 17?) We think we're FINALLY getting somewhere.. But then we have sort of the micro-memory- loss portion of the story. Example, If I've held hands with someone, I'm thinking we've at least got something going on. But the characters, ergo the writers, seem to have the memory of a fruit fly,. Between one day and the next they seem to have no recollection of how much their relationship has developed the previous day. Example: in 20, he grabs her hand and holds it. She's stunned and doesn't know what to do.. Because they've never held hands before? Oh, no. They have. Several times. Very awkwardly, but they did. Apparently don't remember. Kisses: you know the kisses that were interrupted seven times up to now by a phone ring? She kissed him early on. Like, episode 10? (Oops, sorry, spoiler.) But every time he tries to kiss her now, she panics and runs away. Wait, are you twelve?? What are you running away for?

I might watch it till the end. Should you? If you have absolutely nothing to do, (fridge clean, garage tidied, sock drawer in order) then yeah. go for it. Would love to know what you think.

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