Buang Ruk Gamathep (2009)

I Should Have Started My “Pong is Shirtless Again” Count. (And In Which Episodes.)

Things I liked:
1. Chemistry between the main couple, Phubobee and Ornicha, portrayed by Pong and Bee.
2. Cute kid.
3. Pong shirtless. Again. (I know, shameless, right?) (But hey, you probably would like it too.)
4. To borrow a phrase from Humbledaisy, Pong being “crazy pants” because he didn't know how to express his love/feelings.
5. A mostly strong and sassy female lead.

Things I've come to expect in a Thai lakorn to check the boxes:
1. Somebody is going to the hospital. Multiple times.
2. Kidnapping
3. Separating a couple in love because one of them is viewed as beneath the other by the family.
4. Side characters, usually a “2nd” lead, who lies to undermine the relationship between the main couple in order to become the main love interest.
5. Karma.
6. Forgiveness for pretty major hurts and cruelty.

Things I didn't like:
1. How easily forgiveness was given.
2. The “best” friend character, Gifgay. That old saying, “With friends like that, who needs enemies.” comes to mind.

Story: 7 – some parts better than others, still some of the character had behavior gaps/jumps
Cast/Acting: 8 – I think the actors mainly nailed their characters
Music: 6 – mostly seemed to fit. Opening credit song really laid foundation for what this lakorn was about.
Rewatch value: 3 (the digital quality was not the best, but still pretty watchable)


Spoilers Ahead:



















It's somewhat hard to make the leap to believe Ornicha could really love Phubobee because he played such a role in the death of his brother and her sister. Not only their deaths, but the subsequent hardships Ornicha, her father and Toonkla experienced by being forced to live/hide in a different province. But, ultimately her guilt for having feeling for him was overcome by her love for him that was really planted when they first met. I think neither knew how to express that love in a healthy way and ended up hurting each other. Especially Phu. He's like the kindergarten boy who likes the girl so he hits her. He is, as he later says, “heartless” until he met her. It's a bit of pay back from his brother, Pawat, telling him if Phu loved someone he would understand how he felt about Oranee. I would have liked to have seen a bit more “happy” for the couple after all they experienced. I did like seeing the very end with the baby and the family reconciled and happy. However, I would have liked to have seen Phu suffer a bit more over his role in the death of his brother.

Oh well, it's a Thai lakorn and even when they drive me to drink, I still love them.

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"You are not the only one who thinks i am heartless, i thought so as well. Until i met you". -Phubodee

***
"Buang Ruk Gamathep" has been such a entertaining journey throughout all the 28 episodes. Its about Cupid`s magic, all the characters meeting together in a conflict so great we get a star-crossed lovers forbidden to love each other and the fruit of their love in the form of a child that will make enemies become lovers. First we have the main-leads siblings tragic love-story, the passiontae Pawat (played by Setjinda) & gentle Oranee (played by Noon Daran). Pawat is one of the heirs to a powerful family empire and his mother refuses to let him be together with a woman from lower class status. Not caring however good of a person Oranee really is. So she sends for Pawat`s older,cynical alpha brother Phubodee (played by Pong Nawat) for him to ruin Pawat`s relationship with Oranee. Phubodee in this case gets very agitated when he meets Oranee`s spirited and feisty younger sister Ornicha (played by Bee Namthip) who never lets him get away with his snobbish and spiteful behaviour. Their spirits clash into a fire of hatred, both unable to stand the other. But this is Cupid leading the fate of all lovers...The Magic of Cupid.

This is a slap-kiss romance that highly delivered and the cast did such a great job. I absolutely loved the chemistry between Bee & Pong, i mean wow...on-screen they look absolutely beautiful together.I love their cat-mouse game, how stubborn both were and how they never gave up without a fight. Phubodee is the villain in first part of the story, since he is mostly the cause of breaking up his younger brothers relationship with Oranee and he did it in such a despicable way i had such a hard time forgiving him for it. The tragic conclusion to it all, just so darn sad. I was really shipping Oranee & Pawat...Pawat was such a strong male character which come as a total surprise to me since most of the lakhorns i watch have the younger brother always being a weakling. Pawat was a breath of fresh air, he stood up against everyone for his love, his older brother, his mother...everyone!

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