I know I say this after every episode, but this drama is so, so good. And they’re good at mixing serious and less serious elements. There is angst and a foreboding sense of impending doom, there is longing and pining and passionate love, there are also light and funny scene that make me laugh. And all this works so beautifully together.

Also Apo is one of the most beautiful men alive. Seriously, he’s breathtakingly gorgeous and I can’t tear my eyes away from him whenever he’s on screen.

More (mainly about Krailert and Naran, because wow, does their relationship hit my id hard 😊) with spoilers here.

Naran and Lert in their honeymoon phase with sneaky dates in movie theaters where they wear disguises and hold hands under the cover of darkness, and the next day still flirting publicly through the newspaper articles written under pseudonyms (and oh, I loved those proto shippers squeeing over the possibility of both Sarasawadee and Klai Rung being men 😊). And then they kiss and have a post-lovemaking cuddle in that dark, cramped little room in Krailert’s library. That was lovely and sweetly romantic, and filled with so much aching desire. And it made me want so badly some sort of happy ending for them. Because it isn’t just lust and thrill of a forbidden romance. It’s love, plain and simple. And they try to snatch those moments of happiness from everything else happening around them. And Naran is so deeply in love with Lert now that he was even defending him to his journalist colleagues. And how passionately.

But yes, they are doomed star-crossed lovers on the opposite sides of a serious conflict. I would be glad if they’d just break up, because I’m pretty sure it will something much more dramatic than just a bad break up.

And it looks like to me (especially their last scene in this episode shows this) that they are aware of all the complications of their forbidden love. They know what the other person is doing, they know they are on opposite sides, and they know that this honeymoon period can’t last forever. And yet, they can’t help being drawn to each other and taking so many risks, because they care so deeply, and love so thoroughly.

At least Trin, Tanwa and Victor’s lopsided love triangle brings a bit of humor for now. But of course Trin/Tanwa might not end with happily ever after, either.

We have the last few days of oppressively hot and humid weather here. Luckily starting on Monday it’s supposed to be colder and much easier to breathe. 😊 And luckily for me I spend this weekend at my sister’s summer house in the country. This stuffy heat is much more bearable here than in the city.

Kdramas

Branding in Seongsu

In between watching all the currently airing dramas I also decided to start Branding in Seongsu on a whim a few weeks ago. I finished it last week. It didn’t have good reviews when it was airing, but you know what? I enjoyed it a lot. I love Kim Ji Eun and I was in the mood for bodyswap trope. And this drama delivered both a good performance from Kim Ji Eun, and a lot of laughs at our leads bodyswaping.

There was also a nice surprise in the form of a supporting canon gay character. Sure Rex was a bit stereotypical as in, flamboyant and fabulous, but he was competent and good at his job, and never treated as the punchline of a joke. And for a mainstream kdrama that’s a lot.


The Winning Try

It’s a new kdrama about a former star rugby player Ju Ga Ram, whose career was ruined by a drug scandal. Three years later Ga Ram agrees to become a contract coach for the high school rugby team at his former school. This high school rugby team is currently the weakest team in its league.

On the surface it looks like a straightforward feel-good underdog sports story. And it is that, too, of course. And this is the part of this drama that I like the most. All the boys in the team are adorable, their interactions make me smile and laugh and go aww a lot.

But there is the other, more serious subplot, too. Unfortunately it is the one connected to the trope I dislike. Fortunately it doesn’t irritate me too much here, so I can just sigh and grumble a bit and then get over it. 😊

More with major spoilers here.

Ga Ram is very seriously ill. He has myasthenia gravis, a rare condition that causes voluntary muscles to tire rapidly. In the present day, Ga Ram is taking medication for the condition, but nobody at the school knows, of course. And I don’t mind him not telling anyone at school. But this is where one of my most disliked tropes appears – not telling your loved ones about your serious illness.

When he was diagnosed with it he also never told his long-term girlfriend about it. And when he was hospitalized for a long time he never told her either, and cut all contact with her. So now his former girlfriend thinks he was an asshole who disappeared from her life for no reason. And then appeared three years later and behaved like nothing happened.

I could do without this subplot. I could also do with less time dedicated to the machinations of main villains. Because villains in this drama are very, very boring.

Just give me more Ga Ram training and taking care of his ragtag team of enthusiastic and adorable rugby players. I don’t even mind cliched love triangle subplot with two team members liking the same girl. Who is an awesome character, so I totally don’t blame both of them for falling for her. 😊

BL dramas


The Next Prince

Well, that drama will probably win the disappointment of the year award for me. I fast-forwarded through most of the finale, because I really wasn’t interested in anything but Ramil and Paytai’s fate.

A bit more complaining behind the cut.

And I was hoping that Ava, Khanin and Ramil would work together, and I don’t know, lead rebellion against the monarchy, or fight for the future leader of Emmaly being elected by the people. I don’t really care what, I just wanted something more than Khanin meekly believing his father’s vague promises, and Ava withdrawing from the competition. And I have to say that I didn’t think that I cared enough to get angry, but the whole thing with Ava pissed me of a little. Because seriously, what was the point of her fighting earlier against Emmaly’s sexist practices? She really wasn't allowed to be a character at all, was she?

And wow, in the last episode we hear this grand statement: “Gender doesn’t matter. It’s skill that matters” as we cut to Ava sitting in the audience and watching the competition. *sigh*

Doctor’s Mine

Consent talk in the 2nd episode, nice. I thought, with all these comments from the creators about going back to basics, that this drama would probably be bad about consent issue. I’m pleasantly surprised I was wrong. So for now I’m watching. One of the main couples (not MonPak one) is fine if a bid bland for me. I’m not fast-forwarding through their scenes yet. 😊 And Mon and Pak being hot and adorable together more than make up for blandness of that other pairing. And there is a promising secondary GL couple on the horizon.


Shine

This show is very good. I’m so impressed and entranced. Episode 2 was excellent. But wow, the secondary couple syndrome strikes again. And how. 😍

Spoilers here.

Krailert and Naran, holy shit... I’m so in love. Trin/Tanwa is great, too, absolutely. But damn, Naran/Krailert is like made for me. Antagonists-to-lovers with flirting through articles published in the newspaper, and with so much trauma in Krailert’s past. And yes, they are both gorgeous, and hot together, and very good at kissing. 😊 I can’t wait for the next episode today evening.