Just Amazing! One of the Best Historical Dramas I've Ever Watched

I've seen a few lakorns before but this is the first one I've ever finished. It took me only 4 days to watch this drama because of its captivating story and fantastic acting by the cast. The show has a perfect mix of romance, comedy, and historical content.

STORY - Definitely not something that has never been done before but there's something about Bpoop Phaeh Saniwaat that's different and made me continue to invest my time in it. The romance was slow burning but that just made you long for the scenes even more. I do appreciate the constant new Thai history facts I was receiving while watching this and I feel somewhat more educated by the time I finished the drama. What made me want to watch this drama was that Por Date HATED Karakade in the beginning, but you can see how their love develops over time. It's just so sweet.

CAST - Superb acting by everyone. Now when I see the actors or actresses, I refer to them as their character's name instead of their real name. They pulled me in and connected me with their character and story. Pope's smiles every time he looks at Bella makes me want to cry because of how cute and pure it is. Bella duality is amazing, being able to play the evil Karakade and the cutiepie Kadesurang. I also love PJ's take on his character, bringing out a gentleman who liked to see his friend (Pope) riled up once in a while. Susie and Prang did not irritate me one bit, despite being the "second female leads". Louis Scott, goddamn, I've seen him play the supporting character in a few dramas and so I've always liked him but man, I despised him in here. I think he played his role really well, but that wig needed to go (or at least groom it better because LMAO, half of the time I was staring at it more than paying attention to his lines). The actresses and actor that played the servants made my heart warm because of their incredible loyalty to the family. They also played the comic relief role very well.

MUSIC - Y'all, I've never thought I would actually get into Thai music but here I am. I'm addicted to the OST and I'm upset that I can't find my favourite ones online. If anyone know how I can listen to the whole album, please send me a message. The tracks that played every time Pope or Bella did/say something romantic made me squeal. It gave me all the feels!!!!!

REWATCH VALUE - 100% will watch again because it has made a permanent record on my list, being the only Thai lakorn I've finished. As someone who is extremely picky when it comes to dramas, the fact that I finished this, loved everything about it, and watched it within 4 days (even though I was meant to be studying for my exam), just shows how awesome it is. I'll definitely watch the romantic scenes again and also just to re-listen to the alluring music.

BONUS!!! - Can you believe this lakorn has no evil female character, no love triangle, no slap/kiss, yet still managed to be one of the best released this year? It just shows that you don't need the typical clichés for a drama to be a hit.

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High Expectations but Felt Flat

I was so excited for this drama. I re-watched the trailer everyday before it came out because I was obsessed with the song, the scenes and the potential romance hinted in the plot summary. Unfortunately, after 5 episodes, I could not continue with the drama anymore.

STORY - It has the kind of premise I enjoy. There has only been two Thai dramas I've managed to finish and both dramas have a ML that hate the FL in the beginning but then when he gets to know her, he falls in love with her. Here's the difference between the two, ML in this drama HATES and is MEAN to FL for no reason? I mean I like a little testy ML but this was just hard to believe. In the other dramas, the ML had a really good reason to be angry but in here it just seems like he doesn't know what he has for granted. The plot involving the mistress was dark and I hope she got a good ending. Also I need to mention the weird hacking arc. It was supposed to be cool but my friend and I both found it lacklustre and cringe. We had second-hand embarrassment watching those scenes. Keep in mind this was only the first 5 episodes. Maybe it gets better later on but I don't even want to know if it does after what I saw.

CAST - Mark is of course great at acting, especially in these kind of roles. When I first had thoughts of how terrible this drama was, I thought maybe it was because Mark was playing a character I already saw him play and coupled with a bad plot it just couldn't keep up with my expectations. But then I watched a newer drama he was in with a similar character and boy that has become one of my favourite Thai dramas ever, so no, I don't think it was him. This is my first drama for Mew and I sadly have to say I am disappointed in her acting. Maybe it's the character she's playing but she just seems so bland. She was really good at the crying scenes but everything else felt awkward a bit. Also why would a writer make the FL such a pushover? They should be strong so they can fight the bully that is the ML. I was so fed up with her being basically a door mat and slave for him. Supporting leads felt unnecessary with no interesting additions. Perhaps I've spoilt myself with good supporting leads but this just wasn't it. I've seen some of the actors in other dramas so I know they can act, it's just this one has mediocre (bad?) writing. I want to mention Yada (I think that's the character's name). She's the mistress / lady Mark's character was seeing in the beginning. Was expecting to hate her but her acting stood out to me. She had a meaningful side story but I wasn't in the mood for that kind of story. I really do hope she got a good ending.

MUSIC / EDITING - Probably the best thing about this drama. Yesterday, the iconic song sung by Mark during the school assembly was stuck in my head for weeks. It was also the song that played in the trailer. Probably the best thing I took away from this drama was that beautiful song. I don't remember the other songs but I do remember the unnecessarily loud AF music that played inappropriately at every potentially "interesting" scene. Like at the wedding, why the heck would they play that drama soundtrack / effect and make it all serious as if a dead person just came back to life? I almost spluttered at the sheer absurdity of those scenes. The editing was also all over the place. A lot of weird cuts.

REWATCH VALUE - Considering I couldn't even bring myself to finish it, I don't think I ever will. I watched this back when it was released and until now I still remember how disappointed I was with the drama. I am now also hesitant to watch anything with Mew in it. This has shown me that even if the plot of a drama sounds like my cup of tea, it probably isn't. Good dramas are always hard to come by it seems.

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