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Sometimes the only thing you can do is lance the boil.  It hurts, but you have to get all the pus and bad stuff out so the wound can heal.  In Revenged love you have two people who have festering wounds.  It’s more obvious with Chi Cheng who desperately needed closure in regards to the abrupt and catastrophic ending of his relationship to Wang Shou (and the damage to his friendship with Guo Chengyu which also contributed to the wound). 

Wu Suo Wei is also wounded from his relationship with Yue Yue, but in a different way.  She made him feel worthless, like he didn’t deserve love.  I don’t think he really loved her at the end of the relationship (someone had a wonderful post I can’t find now about him being stagnant in that relationship which seems true to me).  But her throwing everything he had done for her over 3 years, and even his upbringing and family back in his face as unworthy of her time and attention, making him feel like he had to change everything about himself…woo boy that hurts deeply.  It would certainly lead someone to doubt their worth.

And so you have two hurt people who never communicated well and built their relationship through scheming and mind games.  It was inevitable that they would fall apart.  The show has done a really good job in layering the misunderstandings in a very compelling way.  It was so frustrating seeing them misunderstand each other, but at the same time, I can’t fault either of them really.  Wu Suo Wei did see Chi Cheng and Wang Shou kiss and Chi hid it which made him doubt everything else.  Meanwhile Chi Cheng is caught up with the pain of the mother dying and being unable to fix it or tell his boyfriend. Not being able to talk to her son about it in particular put Chi Cheng in an impossible position. I can see where both sides are coming from. And people are messy. We can say that they should just talk to each other but we all hold things in due to our own pride and hurt.

It is interesting that in the last few months we have had two shows were I feel like a breakup was not only inevitable but necessary.  For different reasons, in My Stubborn and Revenged Love the characters needed to break up and feel the pain to build something better and stronger.  

Also, I really want to compliment the pacing of the show. I am so glad that they made it 24 episodes so we get plenty of time to see the whole relationship develop, falter, crash, and heal.  I don’t want to encourage shows to have a lot of filler, but I do like having these longer ones that take their time to flesh the story out with legitimate story lines.  It makes the bad times hit so much harder, but the good times are so much sweeter.

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I read the book that My Magic Prophecy is based on recently.  I enjoyed it, it was cute but I did feel that it was a bit…unsubstantial.  I felt like the author could have done more with the investigation side, a lot of that popped up at the end so it gave the book an odd pacing.  Given that the inspector friend Ton clearly has a larger role in the series, I am hopeful that we will get more of the investigation side (with doctor Pong helping).

Which is to say, I am super intrigued by the meeting of Ton and Pong.  It seemed to indicate a history there and I want to see it explored.  Both characters are in the book, but they aren’t in a relationship and have really minor roles. I think it is a great idea to expand them and make them a secondary couple (though I know shouldn’t get my hopes up too much, they aren’t likely to get a lot of screen time). But I hope we get to see why Pong had that look in his face when Ton walked into the room.

The first episode was enjoyable and I think I will like the series.  I have to admit though, I like Jimmy and Sea just fine but I don’t really get what makes some people so crazy about them.  Then again, I haven’t seen Last Twilight so maybe that’s what I need to do to really get it.  I think the series will be fun though!

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I'm sorry but I'm already imagining a love story between them. They already stole my heart. Why are they looking at each other this way? They seem to know each other already. I need more of them!

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Oh, Secret lover is pinging at the same frequency as I cannot reach you with all the pining and intensity on one side and all the kind-hearted obliviousness on the other. I can't help but love when an ostensibly put-together, smart, popular boy is desperately, uncontrollably in love with his less-popular, less successful (but incredibly kind) friend. I like the addition of the female friend too. I'm a little surprised at how fast it is moving, but the first two episodes were great!

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I love this show.  The last few episodes have really been top tier for me.  I know people have different tastes but I literally don’t understand how someone could not love Keen and Thun (or find Keen annoying!! how is that possible?). 

As for Yut, I was correct in my last post about him that he has a complex about being a replacement for Thun. But I was wrong about the who.  It is not Sia Thep who Yut cares about but Pakorn.  It seems that in protecting Thun, he threw Yut to the wolves and Yut has turned all his anger about that towards Thun.  Pakorn has far more humanity than Sia Thep so it makes sense that his care is the one Yut is missing.

Which makes me think, Pakorn must have done all kinds of crimes to stay in Sia Thep’s good graces and avoid Thun getting pulled in.  He is not as awful a father as I first thought (he does love his son) but I still think this is a terrible way to deal with the problem of a cruel maniac wanting your son.  Running away with the family seems more rational then abandoning his wife and son without explanation and committing endless crimes, sucking all these innocent fighters (like Typhoon) into his nightmare.  Also, I really hate when characters have valuable information and choose not to share it.  Some of this could have been avoided if Thun knew who Sia Thep was. You are not protecting your loved ones by leaving them ignorant. It's a setup that drives me crazy (characters in Pitbabe do this too and it annoys me greatly).

Finally, I like how this is set up that Sia Thep wants both Keen and Thun, so one leaving to protect the other doesn’t work.  I’d hope they would both be smart enough not to fall for that anyway, but it is very clear that Sia Thep is not going to stop pursing both of them so they might as well stay together. 

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Oh, I missed that Old Guard 2 is out! Please tell me there is some good Nicky and Joe stuff. My favorite battle couple :)

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Although I like darker themes, I also need the main couple to be together and alive at the end. So I am super interested in Bangkok Boy but I am waiting for it to end to make sure its not devastating.

I can’t stop thinking about Knock Out. I wish I could binge the last few episodes right now.  Since Manner of Death, I am always hoping for more action/crime/mystery type dramas (particularly ones with mature themes) and this one is really scratching that itch for me.  Especially with how dark episode 9 got. Don’t get me wrong, I love all kinds of BL, but we just don’t get many of these action ones and the last few episodes of Knock Out have just been amazing for me. I also like that things that seemed unimportant earlier are now being tied into the drama (crypto wallet stuff from the very first episode, the crossword puzzles).  

I love that there is a real chance that we have a BL with no break up era.  Thun and Keen got together relatively early, and have stayed together since then.  There have been a few (2?) fights/wobbles but they worked through those quickly and in a realistic way with good communication (and maybe sex lol).  They have for the most part been solid and all the issues they are facing are external to the relationship.  It is so satisfying to watch them work together as a couple, taking turns saving the situation and each other.  I adore both Thun and Keen separately and together, they are definitely going on my favorite couples list. Ait and Mawin are also really solid and have been a pretty good side couple with good development without taking to much from the main story. 

I really hope we get more action and/or mystery dramas like this with the main couple staying together and battling/working through everything.

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I think it was a bit unfair how everyone seemed to decide that studying abroad was the best option for Kit.  He had never expressed an interest in doing that (other than following Shane) and was (gently) pushed into applying.  Kit’s family consists of some highly driven people who tend to believe in min/maxing their way through life.  But there are multiple ways to the same endpoint and treating the college decision as essentially locking you into one path does everyone a disservice.  Also, some people have a job rather than a career and that is ok!  I’d hope that people don’t hate their job because that is bad for their soul, but you don’t have to find your life’s meaning in your job either.  It is ok if it is just how you make a living. I think we put too much pressure on people with this type of thinking.

Plus, studying abroad in a country that does not speak your native language is hard and stressful and I think you have to be all in to really make it work.  Not wanting to lose Shane was clearly part of his reason for not wanting to go, but I don’t think it was the only one. 

Now, Shane’s reaction I do get.  For him studying abroad was this major goal of his that he sacrificed a lot for.  It didn’t work out, and he was devastated.  So for him, I understand that it seemed like huge thing Kit was giving up.  But for Kit, it was something he never planned on, and something his sister seemed to arrange.  I’m not saying that he didn’t invest some time and effort into the application, but it was not comparable to Shane’s experience. It wasn’t a sacrifice on Kit’s part to apply or give it up.

Finally, Kit has good parents.  They have certainly made some mistakes with Kit which have led to him feeling like a loser.  They clearly could have done more to reassure him.  But I think these mistakes stem from the fact that all of Kit’s older siblings have more similar temperaments and drive.  Kit is completely different and needs a different approach/strategy to help him grow into his best self.  He just needed different things from his siblings and his parents didn’t recalibrate as fast or completely as they should have.  But they obviously do love Kit for who he is and don’t think less of him for being different. Also, I really appreciate that his father gave him an unsolicited apology several episodes back.  We rarely see that. 

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I can’t stop thinking about Knock Out. I wish I could binge the last few episodes right now.  Since Manner of Death, I am always hoping for more action/crime/mystery type dramas (particularly ones with mature themes) and this one is really scratching that itch for me.  Especially with how dark episode 9 got. Don’t get me wrong, I love all kinds of BL, but we just don’t get many of these action ones and the last few episodes of Knock Out have just been amazing for me. I also like that things that seemed unimportant earlier are now being tied into the drama (crypto wallet stuff from the very first episode, the crossword puzzles).  

I love that there is a real chance that we have a BL with no break up era.  Thun and Keen got together relatively early, and have stayed together since then.  There have been a few (2?) fights/wobbles but they worked through those quickly and in a realistic way with good communication (and maybe sex lol).  They have for the most part been solid and all the issues they are facing are external to the relationship.  It is so satisfying to watch them work together as a couple, taking turns saving the situation and each other.  I adore both Thun and Keen separately and together, they are definitely going on my favorite couples list. Ait and Mawin are also really solid and have been a pretty good side couple with good development without taking to much from the main story. 

I really hope we get more action and/or mystery dramas like this with the main couple staying together and battling/working through everything.

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I love Keen as a character. I love him so much. He's this little baby surrounded by huge buff boxers and yet he is without a doubt the most aggressive and feral character in the show.

He lunges at men with guns, he bites people who dare to touch him, he talks back to every thug trying to kill him.

You’d expect his professional boxer boyfriend to be the tough guy but actually he’s busy using every once of strength he has to hold on to the leash

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I can't express how much I adore Keen. That boy can't fight but that won't put out that fiery spirit he has. He is ALWAYS going to talk his shit and move like he's untouchable.

Yut grabbed Keen's face and that boy BIT his hand!! DON'T FUXKING TOUCH HIM NEXT TIME!!!

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love him soo much!

I can't express how much I adore Keen. That boy can't fight but that won't put out that fiery spirit he has. He is ALWAYS going to talk his shit and move like he's untouchable.

Yut grabbed Keen's face and that boy BIT his hand!! DON'T FUXKING TOUCH HIM NEXT TIME!!!

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So Yut’s character is a full-on psycho.  I think it comes as a result of three things.  One, his underlying personality which must contribute to this, the long term usage of drugs for fighting, and his relationship with Sia Thep.  Sia Thep makes a brief comment about Thun fighting the “replacement boy” Yut.  Clearly he has always seen the talent in Thun and wanted Thun to fight for him.  But apparently Pakorn’s been blocking Sia Thep for 10 years (!!) so Yut became the replacement.  If, as I suspect, Sia Thep has always made it known that Yut was a placeholder in his eyes and not who he really wanted it makes sense why Yut wants everything Thun has and and wants to be thought of as the best. He doesn’t want to be the replacement, but the top dog.  It also feeds directly into his hatred of Thun.

But whatever the causes, Yut has fully lost it and is straight up crazy.  Also, you'd think that the fact that he needs drugs and an illegal weapon to get the best of Thun would bother him at some level (if he had any pride), but I think he is so f'ed up at this point by the drugs and being in Sia Thep's world that it no longer matters how he beats Thun, just as long as he does.

Gap does a good job with the role since I enjoyed Keen knocking him out a bit too much. 

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God I love Keen.  He was so great this episode.  You can put him in a corner but he is going to fight all the way.  From dumping the wine, spitting on Sia Thep’s face, biting Yut’s hand (hard), and knocking Yut out at the end, he just had so much righteous fire in this episode.  I'm glad he hasn't let all the craziness change him at all.

I also love how Thun and Keen balance each other out and make each other better. It's such a great dynamic that even Sia Thep sees the advantages of keeping them together.

I'm sure that someone else has already posted it, but Thun and Keen's relationship always reminds me of this famous post.

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My sweetheart Jom was very satisfying this week and it feels like we are making real progress.  On thing I did not expect is that Jom has so much significant trauma and things he is working through.  His parents neglected him as a kid and now his father wants to actively undermine him in really terrible ways while is mom and brother just kind of let it happen (they seem to want Jom to bridge the gap to fix things but how can he when his father is asking him to give up a job he enjoys and has meaning for him).  Plus we have the nanny abuse, plus having a boyfriend “stolen” from him by a woman who clearly caused some problems (Note: no one can really be stolen from another person unless we are talking about kidnapping, Tee obviously chose to leave Jom for this woman and that is on him, but it does sound like the woman made scenes and made it all more difficult than it needed to be).   That ex-boyfriend, now divorced from that woman, is likely to pop up again soon.  That’s a lot to deal with.

I think Yo’s bisexual awakening was nicely built up over the weeks and now he is at a point where he can no longer deny or ignore the way he wants Jom.  Jom has clearly put Yo in a “straight” box and hasn’t thought more about it.  It will be interesting to see how Jom’s realization develops.

I love Poe and Rose.  I love them separately and together (though Rose has some doubtful taste in friends).  Poe especially seems like a really upstanding guy who is just trying to survive the horror of high school (which I totally empathize with). I don’t hate the beauty queen or Fluke but they are both the kind of people that make high school hell so I don’t care about them much.  It would be nice if they came out of this with some lessons on how to treat people better but that seems doubtful.

I also love Kaew.  I feel like the actors and script did an amazing job of portraying their close friendship.  It felt very natural and real between them. She truly seems to know Jom as he really is and he can relax around her.

Just a nice (long!) episode all around!

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The revels in episode 8 of Knock out might not have been as dramatic or shocking as the father reveal in episode 7, but they were still really good.  In previous episodes, it was unclear if Phuwish was good or bad, it was fairly ambiguous and you could read his actions in either light.  Some people very smartly picked up on the hydrangeas (@negrowhat) which was a good spot that I did not notice.  But this episode made it fairly clear before the reveal at the end that he is no good.  Who would pressure to sell right away like that?  A manipulative, shitty person, that's who.

I feel really bad for the entire Petchsak group.  They are a scrappy bunch of fighters who are good people (with some minor flaws).  They want to play fair and do the right thing, but now they have been used and manipulated and will need to participate in blood sport.  Keen and Phet in particular are going to feel guilty about making this deal but they really didn’t do anything wrong, they were manipulated and guilt tripped pretty masterfully and I don’t think they would have expected that their small camp mattered enough for someone to go to these lengths to obtain control over them.  

I love Thun so much.  He saw that Keen needed answers about his dad’s death so Thun tried to get them for him the only way he knew how.  He should have probably checked in with Keen first but I think he didn’t because he honestly wasn’t sure he would come back with anything. He loves that boy so much.

I hope this show allows for some gray area in terms of Pakorn (and possibly Typhoon).  I think there are signs that Pakorn is trying to protect his son in the limited ways that he can.  But it boils down to the bare minimum i.e. he doesn’t want his son to die.  The boxing fight between Thun and his dad seemed a bit odd to me and I suspect that Pakorn may have whispered some things to Thun while it was happening.  But I also think that Thun is only at risk because his father got involved in shady illegal stuff (and he is the one that brought him into boxing).  So I do not want Thun to have to forgive Pakorn for abandoning him with no explanation 10 years ago even if he is doing the bare minimum now to keep Thun alive.  I hope the show has the gray area to allow Pakorn to help Thun (and not be totally evil) but be upfront on the fact that he is still a shitty father.  Typhoon may also fall into this, he may try to help Thun at some point but I hope we still admit that he was a bad friend.  As we all know, Thai dramas tend to be extremely forgiving of parental nonsense so I don’t know if we will get this but a girl can hope

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Wow, I did not have a pretty true to the novel (as I recall it) adaptation of Counterattack on my bingo card. What a surprise to get a 20+!!! Episode series of this somewhat toxic but very enjoyable novel.  They’ve done a really good job with the first 4 episodes and I’m looking forward to the rest especially given that they have time to really flesh out the story.

Why is there so much on right now that I want to watch?!!