Two Worlds (2024)

A lot going on but interesting and worthwhile

Overall this series is pretty good, but does have a lot going on plot-wise that made it a little muddled in the middle. It did bring it home at the end and I was like, "okay, cool!"

I was interested in this series because of the two main leads; I think their chemistry as actors is really good from doing Cutie Pie and Naughty Babe. This series is very different in genre and style from those two works so that's a refreshing change, I think. However, I would say that there was a LOT going on for ten episodes—to the point where I was kind of hesitant with where it went. Once they delved into the gangster storyline with Tai and said that Tai's Original Universe Counterpart killed Kram's mother, I was like 'okay, you had me but now you're losing me.'

I really think that the story would have been stronger if they stuck with, and dug deeper into, the conspiracy plot and Phupha's murder instead of detouring into the Big Slum gang stuff. They do kind of set up the gangster stuff in the beginning, BUT over the course of the episodes it becomes a lot to go through when the main plot of Phupha's murder is already interesting enough to get us into the story. That being said, it could have gone either way. Mostly, my critique here is about the focus of the narrative. There was a lot of plot-points that are run through quite quickly and any one of them could have been developed more and stretched out to fill the story for 10 compelling episodes.

Now the supernatural/sci-fi element of going to an alternate universe was super interesting to me. But it didn't go where I thought, and I was a little disappointed. Not that everything has to meet my expectations, but based on everything that I watched, I really do think this aspect of the narrative would have been stronger if they used it to more thoroughly explore the conspiracy plot and reveal more about the characters than what we're led to believe from the beginning. Putting a character in a situation where everyone they know is now de-familiarized can be a great narrative tool to explore how the perceptions of what we think we know about various characters and events can be flawed.

Which leads to me to the Tai thing. I really found it hard to believe that Kram was so quick to think that 1) Tai was different and 2) not be scared of him anymore. Yes, in this universe Tai does not have a scar on his face, so that's a big difference. But, I felt like there should have been resistance and confusion on Kram's part to believing that this was a totally different person. Moreover, Kram believes that Original Universe Tai killed his mother, and I had to think this would definitely color Kram's perception of Tai in that respect. It gets revealed at the end that Original Universe Tai didn't actually pull the trigger, and Kram tells him that he started to think he didn't once he got to know the other Tai, which sort of comes unexpectedly. I wish that was a more prominent point that developed sooner so we weren't thinking the entire time that Tai killed Kram's mother in the original universe.

Then it gets into another arc where Kram gets sick. I kind of thought this mysterious illness had something to do with the fact that he's from another world, but no? That also felt like an odd detour plot-wise. And by this point, the series actually resolved the main plot of Phupha's would-be murder. So this kind of gets thrown in there to bring more tension to Tai and Kram's relationship and the fact that Kram has, up until the last episode, basically abandoned his original universe. What pleasantly brought it back for me was the final two episodes where Kram returns to his world and then Original Universe Tai ends up having to sacrifice himself to save him from this illness. It makes an interesting arc and parallel here seeing both Tais save Kram. So while this Tai is still a Bad Guy, he does end up getting a kind of redemption here, which leads Kram back to his better counterpart. In that way, I think the series did hit on what I was really looking for in an exploration of different sides of the same character.

I mean, all of this is just to say that I really felt like there were some missed opportunities to dig into what the story had already set up. By the end, I do feel like there was a strong point about these alternate connections between Tai and Kram, which did wrap up in a thoughtful and interesting way, but I still feel like that could have been made stronger with more development between them from the beginning instead of as much emphasis on Kram and Phupha. There was just a lot of other plot stuff going on, so I do end up thinking about all the ways the narrative could have been strengthened to make that arc more poignant and satisfying.

Overall entertaining and pretty good. Just fell a bit short, but that's okay and not a dealbreaker honestly.

ALSO. I'll just mention Pai (is that right?) goes through a whole dumpster fire of injuries in this series. I mean, he was shot, stabbed (multiple times???), tortured, had his leg impaled on an animal trap???? and then somehow managed to have sex with that other guy??? like, with a leg injury????? My dude needs stitches and a tetanus shot. That's all I was thinking.

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Nothing that hasn't been done before but still sweet

Two Worlds in of itself actually doesn't have THAT unique of a plot. We've seen the son of a gangster trope countless times. Not to mention the world/time traversing trope isn't becoming that uncommon. Like with Memory in the Letter or Time the series. (Which is awful, do not watch Time.) However what does make Two Worlds stand out from the rest is the fact that with time, interaction, and explanation, the other side characters begin to gain their memories from the other world as well. Which I feel was it's strongest aspect. As it involves the side characters more, since they also have personal feelings attached to Khram despite not interacting with him in the second world and even in some cases, are dead themselves in the first.

That being said, despite this extremely well done twist with this trope, the rest of the series is kind of meh in my opinion. While I did enjoy the more intimate scenes, I feel like they were a little played out and randomly inserted as filler space for any given episode at a time. Once again, the all too well worn out trope of the gangster's son didn't really bring out anything new to the table or was all that interesting. Sure it brought about drama but the anti-climatic ending of Thai's father only executing himself wasn't very satisfying. And as soon as that happens it feels like that entire plotline of Thai being the new boss of the gang is just kind of dropped.

Another really big gripe with me was the first world's Thai Who gets bitten by a snake and dies... Just before the second world's Thai arrives. Don't get me wrong I'm glad it ended up that way but it was so out of left field that it was pretty hard to take it as anything but a last minute cop-out of "Oh well there can't be two of these mfs walking around."

Overall though this is definitely worth a watch, was able to go through all ten episodes in a single day and enjoyed myself enough to do that. I would suggest this BL to someone who likes plenty of spicy scenes and doesn't mind some questionable logic of characters or happening coincidences to move the plot along.

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In the end, all that matters is enjoying the experience, and I sure did

• Two Worlds might have sparked mixed reactions from many, but for me, it's one of my favourite transmigration stories and no one can change my mind (I may or may not be a bit biased)

• Let's first discuss the plot. Now, this plot isn't perfection. I could see the plot holes here and there. But they weren't much for me to stop this series entirely. I enjoyed the plot, and I noticed that like any other transmigration story I must have my focus, otherwise it's going to be messy and confusing on the surface. I must also say that I was intrigued with this story since I saw it's pilot teaser, so I may have spent lot of time into grasping each and every aspect of it. But that helped enjoy my watching experience instead of feeling like this was a waste of my time. I do think that some things that happened in the pilot could have been retained in the series, especially the scenes of the death of the first world's Phupha and the second world's Khram. Those scenes seemed as if there was no effort into doing them. Tai's large knife was not at all intimidating to me, and made me laugh instead. But I figured out that those elements didn't bother me. Never had I ever thought we would be introduced to a virus around the finale, but guess that's how the novel is. As for the ending, I believe both Tai and Khram ended up in the second world (in contrary to what I guess happened in the novel). But I was somehow satisfied, since I never thought it as an open ending.

•I personally loved MaxNat's chemistry as TaiKhram more than I should. I enjoyed it more than the love triangle and would've loved to see them from the begining itself. But I'll admit that GunNat's chemistry as PhupaKhram wasn't bad. They did great with what they were given. I was also somehow rooting for TaiPhupa, even though they barely had any semi-romantic scenes together.
•Individually, their acting is varied. Max is good as usual. Tai's definitely a more healthy tsundere and Max did justice to him. His expressions were fantastic and I loved his hairstyle in the series than in pilot. Also, that voice in which he greeted Phupa in the first episode is my golden scene, I also re-watched that episode due to Max. Tai's relationship with his father is complicated enough for Tai to take him as the only person he shall not kill. The second world Tai is far more delicate and likeable than the first, but I do feel sympathy for the latter. Nat, on the other hand, had some moments where his flared nostrils got on my nerves, but I fell in love with his boba eyes. Also, is it only me or is it noticeable that Nat's lips are of a different shape sometimes? I kind of find them undefined, could be my perception. Plus, the scene where Khram says he will save Tai is funny, considering the guy is short and fragile, who is he exactly going to fight? And again, contrary to popular belief, I could see that Khram took some time to accept his feelings for Tai and move on from Phupa. Speaking of Phupa, I really appreciate Gun's acting. He really fits his role and also did full justice to it. One thing that sometimes made me amused is how Khram always wore those rags when Phupa took him to some modern places like that art exhibition or Bangkok (except for that one banquet scene). Like, please Phupa, give that guy some decent clothes.

•Jao and Wayu's story is also enduring. I was surprised to see them having a past connection and the NC scene was killer. Their same time proposal was also cute. I kind of feel sad for Khrams's parents. In the first world, the father is the widower and in the second world, the mother is widowed and blinded. I really wished they had happiness in both worlds. I loved how understanding Duendao in the first world was towards Khram's feelings for someone else and in the second world, her supporting his blinded mother is so generous. Por is miserable and has toxic masculinity, which he expected from his son after his wife's death, but he couldn't get that. I don't feel any sort of pity for him and just feel sorry for Tai instead. His right man Piak is a shocker. I have never seen a man like him before. Chat and Satreekit being the secondary villains was unexpected. Wiroj having an unrequited crush on Phupa's namesake father was interesting given that he was actually the biological father. Phupa marrying Run and having a son in the end was endearing.

• The soundtrack, especially the instrumental is addictive to me. I also appreciate the production value and the natural scenery. Also, Khram with a bunny is cute. I was not expect to see another cgi tiger in a MaxNat series.

•Overall, this series is not for perfectionists. It's for those who understand and enjoy it regardless of anything. And I'm one of these people.

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well acted given what they had to work with.

Everything about the show sounded so cool. I’ve seen the leads in other shows, and this one really gave them they opportunity to show growth and depth of character in a way that I hadn’t seen before. absolutely fantastic.

the plot is based of a novel, which I haven’t read, but involves a portal to effectively a parallel earth where events unfold slightly differently. initially, this is shown pretty well. natasit’s character loses his lover, falls through the portal, is determined to keep him alive in that world. this new world’s natasit is dead, however and was the lover of max instead, creating its own romantic conflict along with the organized crime and general sci-fi/fantasy issues of world hopping. as the show progresses, the rules of worlds become less clear and a mystery illness appears. the ending in particular feels… surreal. and potentially unreliable. as though you can’t tell if the characters ending is what is shown because you can’t rely on them to tell the story anymore. I do wonder a bit if some of this is my lacking context for Thai culture. maybe there are clues in the illness or rituals or way the portal is set to work that would make more sense if I had better background or had read the novel. but as it stands, regardless of how gorgeous the shooting and incredibly acted it is, I can’t really say for certain how it ended or if there was meant to be a specific message.

I enjoyed it. I hope to see many more things with all of the actors. they had a very small part but I did find myself attached to the cute little side couple too. I just feel like this could have been amazing and I am instead super confused

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Could be really good... could

When my pen pal sent me some edits, I thought I wanted to see it. It interested me right from the start, maybe also because I saw 1000stars only recently and the set with the characters reminded me a lot of this series in combination with Manner of death or The sign. Sounds great, doesn't it? At first it was.

The rules of the two worlds and traveling between them were simple, we had someone to explain what and how it worked, all the characters had their own personality and their actions made sense. Mysterious, tension, feelings and confusion in them... It made sense.

The dynamic of the main characters was amazing, but it's no wonder since Max and Nat have been through something. The side couple also starred, although they only stole my attention at the end. I think they could have been incorporated into the plot a bit more, because somewhere in between the teasing of each other, they certainly had something to offer. Anyway, in the last three episodes, they were the best that was shown on the screen and not just because of THAT scene.

And then came the second half, where some disease appeared that only a possibly non-existent miracle flower could cure, and everything revolved around him. For me, 2W ended with the ninth episode, and I consider the tenth one just a cover that was meant to gag those who wanted a happy ending.

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Whatever happens, the expression on their faces remain the same.

Though I like this series as a whole, I feel I could drop it after six episodes. While the series still offers plot twists, the main protagonists remain irritatingly unchanged. Phupha is the most emotionless main character I have ever seen. Although actors perform satisfactorily overall, I wish their characters would develop alongside the storyline, showcasing new emotions. Sadly, this does not happen. Even Khram, your smile can be enchanting, but after more than six episodes with the same expression, it becomes irritating. The plot progresses, but this development does not reflect in the characters' attitude, which is something I felt was lacking in this series.

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The real definition of true love (an enternal connection)

MaxNat did it again! My boys never disappoint, they always deliver. Two worlds is a parallel universe series, a genre I'm not usually drawn to but I had to watch it for MaxNat. To be very honest every second of it left me with no regrets at all. Everything portrayed in two worlds was unfiltered charm, the story was a well-told tale. It kept me on the edge of my sit throughout, and I let out unhealthy screams. Max and Nat have something special when it comes to acting together, their chemistry is always believable, compelling and engaging always, they slayed that. The love scenes were insanely beautiful and ever moment felt so real. Two worlds might have started out as an action series but it ultimately focused on true love. I've never seen such beautiful eternal true love in series before, it left me wondering if true love still exists in this world (but probably doesn't). Max risked his life all the time for Nat's well-being and I'm glad it paid off in the end. I wish we had seen Nat do the same, but his emotional scenes made up for it. Jao and Wayu their love scenes made my heart skipp a beat, the chemistry and emotions spoke louder than the dialogue and leaving a lasting afterglow (I'm still glowing bitch!). I wish they had explored the parallel universe concept further but to be very honest, It ended perfectly! A short series that showcased the essence of true love. No matter where they're, they'll always be together, weather in this world or another world.

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