This review may contain spoilers
Derailed
This show had so much potential and I really enjoyed much of it. But it had too many annoying characters and just derailed completely in the end. This is all just my opinion.
The second ML, Phupha, was entirely too emotionally introverted and selfish for me to enjoy his character for ten episodes. His silence, horrible communication, and actions hurt Nan over and over again and that's just unacceptable, to me, in a romance drama. What got me is that he very rarely apologized which means the writers didn't see his actions the same way I did - as being selfish and utterly lacking in self awareness. This would have all be cleared up for me if the character showed growth from this negative place and earned redemption by the end. But that is not the case. Phu remained a selfish, emotionally introverted, bad communicator until the end. I don't feel his character had much growth at all.
Side character issues
- Gei Gei is supposed to be comic relief but I found her to be extremely annoying. The many times she stuck her foot in some mess and did absolutely nothing to get herself out of the mess but run away. That means somebody else had to clean it up. I just can't with that character theme. It's always a turn off.
- Party and KK - Lord have mercy. I understand persistence when you trying to get a man but come on! I was very close to fast forwarding through all of their scenes. I held on by a thread.
- Phupha's mother - WTH?? This woman managed to have a whole family in Melbourne and not exchange even pictures between her children?? She supposedly loves Phupha so much and yet there isn't a single piece of evidence to support that. Even knowing her child was traveling to Thailand for work, she never bothered to get in touch with Phupha and have them meet up?? I mean, she may not have been able to afford to go to Thailand but who would miss the opportunity to connect, in person, their children?? Make it make sense. This was weak writing at best and somebody should have caught this in production and made some changes.
While all of these are pet peeves really, the fact that the show derailed right at the last episode top the cake for me. I couldn't make it through episode 10 without fastforwarding. The fact that after nearly 30 years of knowing each other and ten years and sooo much emotional turmoil, they finally get together just to have Nan be offered a job in China and Phupha tell him to go!! I was utterly done! Horrible writing. This couple's relationship was given zero time to blossom and the audience zero time to get to know them as a couple. Even to the very last when they couldn't even have a night to themselves without the writers throwing in KK to cockblock them. That would have been fine if it was 2-3 episodes earlier but at the end?! This isn't a teenage BL, these are grown adults. You have to put more into building the relationship. The writers failed and turned it into silliness for no damn reason. It's upsetting.
In conclusion, this show was on a good pace to be a solidly good drama but it lost its way by the end and it badly handled some of the characters. It didn't show enough character growth especially for Phupha, and it didn't invest in the couples actual relationship. The ending was cluttered and took away focus from the main couple which is the opposite of what should be done in a romantic drama. I was left feeling frustrated, disappointed, and very close to feeling like I wasted my time.
The second ML, Phupha, was entirely too emotionally introverted and selfish for me to enjoy his character for ten episodes. His silence, horrible communication, and actions hurt Nan over and over again and that's just unacceptable, to me, in a romance drama. What got me is that he very rarely apologized which means the writers didn't see his actions the same way I did - as being selfish and utterly lacking in self awareness. This would have all be cleared up for me if the character showed growth from this negative place and earned redemption by the end. But that is not the case. Phu remained a selfish, emotionally introverted, bad communicator until the end. I don't feel his character had much growth at all.
Side character issues
- Gei Gei is supposed to be comic relief but I found her to be extremely annoying. The many times she stuck her foot in some mess and did absolutely nothing to get herself out of the mess but run away. That means somebody else had to clean it up. I just can't with that character theme. It's always a turn off.
- Party and KK - Lord have mercy. I understand persistence when you trying to get a man but come on! I was very close to fast forwarding through all of their scenes. I held on by a thread.
- Phupha's mother - WTH?? This woman managed to have a whole family in Melbourne and not exchange even pictures between her children?? She supposedly loves Phupha so much and yet there isn't a single piece of evidence to support that. Even knowing her child was traveling to Thailand for work, she never bothered to get in touch with Phupha and have them meet up?? I mean, she may not have been able to afford to go to Thailand but who would miss the opportunity to connect, in person, their children?? Make it make sense. This was weak writing at best and somebody should have caught this in production and made some changes.
While all of these are pet peeves really, the fact that the show derailed right at the last episode top the cake for me. I couldn't make it through episode 10 without fastforwarding. The fact that after nearly 30 years of knowing each other and ten years and sooo much emotional turmoil, they finally get together just to have Nan be offered a job in China and Phupha tell him to go!! I was utterly done! Horrible writing. This couple's relationship was given zero time to blossom and the audience zero time to get to know them as a couple. Even to the very last when they couldn't even have a night to themselves without the writers throwing in KK to cockblock them. That would have been fine if it was 2-3 episodes earlier but at the end?! This isn't a teenage BL, these are grown adults. You have to put more into building the relationship. The writers failed and turned it into silliness for no damn reason. It's upsetting.
In conclusion, this show was on a good pace to be a solidly good drama but it lost its way by the end and it badly handled some of the characters. It didn't show enough character growth especially for Phupha, and it didn't invest in the couples actual relationship. The ending was cluttered and took away focus from the main couple which is the opposite of what should be done in a romantic drama. I was left feeling frustrated, disappointed, and very close to feeling like I wasted my time.
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