Enchanté (2022)

Not bad but could’ve been better

I’m a bit surprised to see this show having a relatively low rating. It wasn’t perfect by any means but it was pretty decent imo.

To be honest I absolutely loved every episode right until the twist (8th episode). The acting was pretty good especially from Force but Book wasn’t bad either. Theo and Akk both had distinct personalities which I truly appreciate. Usually one of the characters is either a self-insert or a perfect guy with no flaws. That wasn’t the case in Enchante. All around up until the twist the story made sense, maybe it even would make sense with the twist if it had better foreshadowing.

So the twist is that Theo himself is Enchante. I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t expect that twist but instead of feeling like the show smartly fooled me with a red herring I rather felt surprised at how nonsensical it is. He supposedly did it bc he was afraid that Akk would leave him (?) or wouldn’t want to spend time with him for some reason so he made up the Enchante mystery himself to have an excuse to spend time with Akk by looking for Enchante. It technically could work but the show never made me feel like Akk wanted to distance himself from Theo. He did act a little weird around him sometimes (hot and cold) but it made sense bc they haven’t seen each other in around a decade and Theo has grown up in a completely different country at that. Considering that Akk also had feelings for Theo his strange behavior made sense to me. It never came across that Akk wanted to completely distance himself from Theo though, so Theos manipulative plan didn’t make that much sense.
The series shows us just one flashback on how Akk supposedly didnt want to spend time with Theo but that wasn’t enough. That particular moment didn’t even seem that serious and apart from that Akk did spend time with Theo and still would’ve done anything he wanted, that was pretty clear. If the writers wanted for this twist to work they needed to make it unapologetically clear that Akk wanted to distance himself and maybe didn’t even want to be close friends with Theo but it never came across that way.
I actually thought that Akk might be Enchante bc the series did drop some interesting hints like him wanting Theo to stop looking for Enchante and him being left-handed etc. I thought maybe he did it for a reason but couldn’t tell Theo the truth but then the truth would come out and that would be the main conflict of the story and their relationship.
Anyway let’s talk about the last two episodes. They were bafflingly redundant. By that point Theo and Akk got together and everything seemed hunky-dory but of course the writers needed to shoehorn some last minute drama bc why not? The twist with Theos parents was just random. It wasn’t foreshadowed either and didn’t add much to the story. I guess it presented a challenge for Theo to realize that he can’t force people to do what he wants just bc he wants it and it’s a good lesson to learn but I never had the feeling that Theo ever forced anyone to do what they didn’t want to do. He was a bit of a manipulator cosindering his Enchante plot but he never really forced Akk to do anything. He asked Akk to help him but he never tried to seriously force him to do anything. If Theo had been forcing several people to go out of their way to do things for him then the lesson with the divorce would make sense but Theo never forced anyone. People wanted to please him themselves. Akks self-confidence problems were also a little random, they were never foreshadowed properly either. Im getting tired of all the strange BL time skips that somehow happen a LOT in the last episodes. I truly don’t quite get the appeal or the necessity.

All around though I still liked it, I just wish the foradhowing would‘ve been written better and clearer. I wasn’t really satisfied with the Enchante conflict resolution in the 8th episode though. It felt too unemotional. Theo lied and manipulated the situation and he couldn’t be bothered to be a bit more emotional when he explained everything? Even if Akk had a hunch it’s not an excuse to be unemotional. I don’t really know if it’s the acting or the directing but I wasn’t really satisfied with that resolution. I don’t have any complaints when it comes to Force’ acting skills but Books emotional scenes were a bit lacking especially when it concerned the divorce of his parents. Otherwise I think he was quite ok.
It was still a pretty enjoyable ride for me.

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Yes, It Was That Bad

I have never seen a drama care so little about its characters.

When GMMTV released the first trailer of Enchante, I was intrigued by the reverse harem and the fairy-tale whimsy it seemed to promise, so I promptly added it to my "Plan-To-Watch" list. When I finally had a chance to settle down and watch the drama, the reviews were abysmal, but I thought, "No, it can't be that bad! This is right in the midst of the golden era of GMMTV!"

But yes, it was that bad.

Like many others have shared, the show quickly went downhill after episode 8, when Enchante was revealed to be... Theo himself! The twist itself was pretty dreadful -- so manipulative of Theo to even pretend that Enchante was a mysterious admirer, just to make Akk jealous. Akk sincerely tried to help Theo figure out who was the real Enchante, when in actuality, he was just stringing Akk along as he was trying to uncover why the hell these random men were claiming to be his Enchante.

I actually didn't mind that every fake-Enchante had ulterior motives because even after suspending my disbelief, it would have been pretty ridiculous to think that any of these men could have real feelings for such a manipulative, selfish physical embodiment of privilege.

But believe me, Enchante is nowhere near the worst drama I've ever seen. If the show had ended it there, right after Enchante was revealed, I would still have liked this drama. I could have forgiven all its flaws because I sincerely loved the chemistry between the male leads. Theo and Akk are playful, comfortable and genuinely happy to be in each other's presence. Akk lights up whenever Theo appears, it's so much fun to watch!

But after episode 8, it was like the show threw everything and the kitchen sink at the story. Let's make Theo have a temper tantrum when he finds out his parents are getting a divorce as if it's the end of the world, even though his parents think the absolute world of him and were even willing to lie about the separation until he was "mature enough" to handle the news. Let's throw in Sun, a mysterious older brother figure whose only purpose is to give Theo really shitty advice and make Akk jealous. Let's send Theo back to Paris right after he makes up with Akk to really test the limits of Akk's love, as if we didn't just witness him jump through hoops, navigating through Theo's unpredictable moods in practically every episode.

Don't even get me started on how they wrapped up the fake Enchante's, whose stories were so haphazardly thrown together at the end, like a half-hearted apology to the characters for making their stories so nonsensical.

I swear, this is not the worst drama I've ever seen. I really did enjoy the mystery of Enchante, the music was beautiful, acting wasn't that bad, but the only reason I made it through the last two episodes was because of Force's charisma and eyebrows.

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a hot steam of NOTHING

This has been the most complicated show I've ever watched in the BL world.. I started off hating Enchante... then with 4 episodes left I fell in love with Theo and Akk's chemistry.. but boy oh boy.. was Theo meant to be likeable ? because to me he came off selfish and narcissistic. From him literally catfishing Theo and pretending that other people were interested in him just to get Akk's attention.. it all got a bit much for me. I felt like Akk deserved so much better.. this show was a 7/10 for me.. Force and Book's chemistry saved it from being a train wreck.

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Unless your a Book and Force fan, don't watch it

Whoever wrote the script needs to be fired. It's that bad.

Usually when people in the reviews say it's bad, most of the time the drama is still a decent watch. This drama, however, is really not worth your time. The best thing about this drama is the chemistry between the two leads, Book and Force, but even then their chemistry isn't worth watching this drama. There are tons of other dramas out there with better actors that give better acting, have better chemistry, and shittier storyline.

~~ SYNOPSIS ~~

Where to begin... Usually I wouldn't write a synopsis, but it will help understand why the plot is so bad. At a glance, the plot and trailer gives off a male harem vibe, but in reality there is no harem. Aside from Ak, the other four men are not really into Theo. Furthermore, Theo is a really bad character. A great character like Ak is wasted when paired with Theo.

So let's begin. Theo comes back to Thailand after his grandma passes away. He meets Ak, his childhood friend. Ak has always been in love with Theo, so he tries to take care of Theo, who can't really get used to Thailand. Theo is a rich boy, who seems to have little real world experiences. Theo gets lost after falling asleep on the bus. He calls Ak to help him, Ak skips work to help Theo, which causes him to get fired. Theo apologizes, but does nothing more to help Ak, who needs to work to survive.

At university, Theo's major is in danger of being cancelled due to lack of funding and interest in the major. Theo is advised to meet with four of the university's poster boys to help get funding. They decide to hold a literary fair to gain interest and funds.
Meanwhile, Theo gets bored at school, so he writes in a book at the library. Ak gets upset at Theo and tells him not to deface school property. When Theo goes back to replace the book he finds that another person, Enchante, has written in the book. Theo and Ak go on a hunt to find who Enchante is. The four poster boys step up, claiming to be Enchante. As they continue to find who is the real Enchante, Theo becomes obsessed. Each of the four boys begin to hit on Theo, which causes Ak to get uncomfortable.

As the story progresses, we learn that Theo is actually Enchante and he offered money to the four boys to act as Enchante to make Ak jealous.


~~ STORY ~~

Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about it.

Honestly, the story could have been great, but the story really got lost in itself. If the plot was really about all four boys liking Theo and really wanting to have a relationship with him, then it would have been a fun story. Instead, none of them actually like Theo, but are actually being paid money to act like it. Also, three of the four poster boys, Natee, Phupa and Wayo were very manipulative and calculating. They are all really terrible people that are trying to manipulate Theo into giving them money for their personal gain. Even Saifah, who isn't manipulative, is still a strange character. Saifah has no impact on the story, which is really sad, since the other three made their mark, even if it was negative.

Moving on to the Theo/Ak storyline... While the chemistry between then was good, the story was weak. Theo comes off as too bratty for Ak, who is genuinely in love with Theo and is always doing his best to help Theo. You could even say that Theo was manipulating and playing with Ak, who he knew was in love with him. Why would Theo go through all the trouble of hiring four hot guys to pretend to be interested in him, who he knows is after his money, just because Ak was busy in class, one time, and couldn't pay attention to him. Really Theo? Do you need attention that much? It's sad because Theo and Ak have good chemistry and it's fun to watch them on screen... But the plot... If only Theo wasn't manipulating, despite the plot it would have been nice.


AK x THEO

Ak and Theo are childhood friends. Ak has been in love with Theo the whole time, even when Theo was in France. When Theo returns, Ak helps Theo get acclimated to Thailand. Theo is from a rich family, who tries not to flaunt his wealth. He is instantly attracted to Ak, but pretends not to notice Ak taking care of him.

Theo and Ak have really good chemistry. Every scene together looks realistic and they genuinely look like they are not acting. The only downfall to their chemistry is their romantic scenes. Any scene that has them hugging, kissing, or anything non-platonic looks very stiff. I heard that the actors who play Theo and Ak are good friends, so that explains why they have good chemistry, but things get awkward during the romantic scenes. It's hard to act romantic when you've friend-zoned someone in real life.


~~ OVERALL ~~

Decent acting, but really bad plot. The drama really wasted a nice cast on a crappy plot.

Even if you like any of the other actors in this drama, don't watch it unless you like Book and Force.

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Problem with trying to fit too many plot in a story

I have seen all these reviews saying it is great and all... But to be honest, if you are not all about that absurdly unrealistic rich boy with problems then eventual dreamy love overcomes all, this drama is not for you. It has amazing actors but side characters are not used to their full potential. This is like snow white and some dwarfs with a won't-admit-I-love-him prince. It would have been a nice small series if they didn't try to fit like a hundred stories into 10 episodes.

Theo and Akk are the main characters and they are shown in 90% of the run time. I have no problem with this. In fact, they are amazing actors, cliche ily but I won't tell you cuz idk if you love me. I 100% like not waiting for love but rather testing to see how far Akk will go for him. Sure it is more realistic as the plan had a plot twist that more contestants joined but it is only 10 episodes... you could have made it so that they all went for the money but no the contestants had to have their backstory rushed for why they lied and the result of that too. Even after all that, you also have to make Theo's parents divorced and he moved back to Paris only to find Akk willing to fly there to have love in the city of love. Besides, have I mentioned that the contestants are also the school's top 4 popular boys?

Contestant 1: went for the money because he is insecure financially and needed the scholarship to support his sick mother. How did it end? exactly like that in one episode while also revealing the rivalry with contestant 2 and planning to expose contestant 2 as fake as he did to contestant 1. What is his end game? didn't do anything with the rivalry, his mom practically got brushed through, and no revenge.

Contestant 2: went for the money but more specifically, for raising club funds. Actually knows Theo's plan but we didn't get a decisive clue until revealed 2 ep later. This guy also has a sidekick secretly in love with him but that storyline practically got thrown away with I need you more and bromance. If anything this guy could have played a major role because he was inspired by Theo and most secret keepers in dramas don't just give it up like this guy. This guy was GMMTV big brain time using as a storyteller to what actually happened without building Akk enough courage to confess and then hears it from Theo.

Contestant 3: went for the money but is a gambler, a liar, and a bad club leader. He also had a sidekick with a friend of Akk and that sidekick planned the whole milk Theo's money plan. When it is revealed, Akk didn't punch him in the face as he did with contestant 3 and somehow are still friends?

Contestant 4: actually got paid to lie but was so insignificant that all he did was confuse Akk and told Theo his parents divorced.

Overall, by trying to fit so many potentials in 10 episodes, they could not have the series explained worse. The Shipper (another GMMTV series) actually has decent storylines but because not BL explicit endgame, its rating plummeted. I would rather have a decent story and then be heartbroken enough to post complaints rather than cheap story telling not showing.

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good start with terrible ending

last episode kind of ruined it for me till episode 9 i can still give it 7 /10 but the last episode was straight up 2 or 3... editing is terrible and last half an hour felt completely disassociated with the rest of the series somehow nothing felt right there.

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An ok, sweet series that i liked but somehow expected better.

Cute romcom. I pretty much enjoyed what was an easy watch for the most part. Although I do think it dragged in some parts of the story like the who finding Enchante thing was way too long especially since it wasn't important. Also Theo's quest to safe the literary faculty was dropped of all the sudden. I guess it was some inconsistencies in the story too. I'll admit some of the scenes were dumb like the drawn out/slow motion scenes of Theo and Akk looking at each other with the sound effects that were meant to show longing and feelings. It brought down the intenstity for me. I could have done without them. Their chemistry worked better when the scenes weren't forced.
Book and Force have good chemistry but Book failed in the acting department. Sure he's a newbie but don't cast him as a lead when he can't emote. Force oth even though he's also a newbie was better at acting. Akk had so much charm that I immediately loved him, while Theo was just bland. He did improve a little as the series went on but I wish Theo's character would have been given more character development.
Also wish Enchante wouldn’t have been marketed as a harem BL when it really wasn’t. I think that affected many views on it. The suitor story line also was all over the place until the show explained their motivations. And I did like how their arcs had closure.
Some of the ending conflict was dumb but I guess in context of Enchante it made sense. In the end I did understand. The supporting cast was good and I feel this show may have been better with either Gavin or Fluke as the lead :Theo but I digress.
Now it may seem like I'm bashing this show and I didn't enjoy but I did. It was cute, fluffy and romantic plus I loved Akk's character. I just can't over look the flaws. I expected more from it from both the mock trailer and the trailer. Still I guess if people are looking for a cute, romantic, easy watch series(and if you can over look bad acting moments) then this is it.
Overall I give it an 8.0. I enjoyed it enough for what it was but don't think I'll be re-watching. And the ending really brought this series down for me. It would have been an 7.0 after the last episode tho it’s an 6.5 for me.

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I got the hype at the beginning and slowly faded on the way through the end. I even accelerated the playback speed into 1.5 times (in youtube) in order to save my money for another series that worthy my times more, the main reason this series looks flat was the lack of meaningful conflicts and it affected how you feel in every episode.

On the bright side that I can still watch until the end is Akk's characters who is so memorable. Another thing is the conflict that they brought up about Theo's family was quite different than any other Thai BL series. But the lack of ways to resolve it, makes this series even more disoriented.

At least, I can finish this series till the end. I remember how tiring I was when I was watching Bite Me. This feels different, a little bit.

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Eh

This show started out strong, but started going downhill the longer it was on. The chemistry between the main leads is top tier and I recommend watching for that reason alone. I thought the writing of Theo's character was very inconsistent and ultimately he became the whiny self-centered character that I didn't want him to be. They threw in a flashback sequence to try to once again make him seem like he's innocent and perfect and did nothing wrong after he abandoned Akk to go back to Paris which I just thought felt cheap. There are redeeming parts of the show and the very last sequence is very cute but overall I was just disappointed.

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Story of an immature brat

ForceBook chemistry is great, which made their interactions natural and sweet.

The OST is just decent and so was the acting.

It would have been nice to include a few scenes with Theo’s grandmother, considering the impact she had on Theo's life, which makes her a pretty important character in the series. Speaking of roles, I disliked Theo as a character. He made immature decisions throughout the entire series and acted like a spoiled little child. It was annoying to see Akk put up with all his drama, and made me feel like Theo did not deserve Akk at all. The plot was pretty annoying as well, and I didn’t see the point of it. The side characters’ stories felt rushed and there was little to no character development.

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So Close

With every drama I always start out with a 7/10 (unless ep 1 hits hard) and go from there, and here was no exception. So honestly this series is like any others but with just enough of a plot line difference I can say I haven't seen it before. It's hard to come across something completely brand new and that's ok. It got really good with a lot of characters that brought a good amount of drama and intensity that all played a decent part for the main couple. I think there was a side couple but... I'm not sure... maybe cause I lost interest I missed bits and pieces of them? (yeah btw there were a few eps I glanced at cause it got stale) Anyway, it wasn't necessarily BAD, but it wasn't something I'd re-watch or really recommend. The ending was the saving grace of the whole series but getting to it was a tad stressful
Enjoy...

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A rather special BL series that I enjoyed

This series has the misfortune of airing after Bad Buddy ended, in the same time slot. The comparisons in invited with Bad Buddy are unflattering, but it is a fairly nice BL series in its own way. My only gripe with Bad Buddy is that, with such a wonderful team behind it, there could have been a been more risk-taking to create something more unique. There are some BL series that have more personality to them despite having more flaws, and Enchante is one of them.

In many ways, what we have is a story about growth. Akk and Theo are likable characters, but they are both flawed. Akk is quite clearly in love with Theo from the time they were children, and while he is a very good friend to Theo, but his main flaw is keeping his feelings to himself. Theo, on the other hand, is someone from a privileged background who doesn't put on airs, but he can be a little self-centered and isn't as innocent as he may appear at first. To end up together, each has to overcome his flaws.

The story may seem pointless to some as the focus on Theo's search for "Enchante" leads to practically nothing but a few wild goose chases. However, it is interesting to see the story of each of the fake "Enchantes" and who the real "Enchante" is. If there is a recurring theme, it is that things are often not what they seem. But this is also perhaps the reason trust Akk and Theo have for each other is beautiful. In a world full of deception, where even the most beautiful things may turn out to be illusory, it is rare to find someone you can trust without hesitation. Perhaps this is why Theo gets so upset when he realizes that Akk has hidden a certain truth from him, and perhaps his ultimate lesson is to accept that things are not always as straightforward as he would like. The story, especially with its many allusions to The Little Prince, can actually be pretty thought-provoking, though some may find it too slow-moving.

I'm not sure where the series was shot, but the scenes look very beautiful--almost unreal, in fact. (Did they really film the scenes of the university in an actual university?) The cinematography and setting make the series seem almost like a fairy tale. We could say that the point here is that in a world that seems so beautiful, there can be unpleasantness--or perhaps we could say that in a world with so unpleasantness and deception, we can still try to create a space of beauty for ourselves.

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