• i didn't see the point of starting a new list for this drama at first, given that i even nearly dropped it after finishing episode 1. the only thing really pushing me on is MEK and what made me hang on was the oddly cheesy but intriguing trope of reincarnations. i just needed to know what's up really.
• but now i have to do it because i feel like i had nowhere better to dispose my 吐槽 as i go. i have already thrown my logic out of the window for this drama. most chinese lakorn fans will tell you this: leave your IQ at the door when you're watching lakorns. this is the first time watching lakorn that i truly connected with their advice lmao (i don't watch slap/kiss lakorns after all).

this drama's premise is like an army stew of major romcom tropes. this being the most special thing about the drama, it compels you to watch despite the cliche story development which seems to have modelled after corny taiwanese idol dramas from the 2000s.

• reincarnation 前世今生:
  • it has been implied it's so.
  • but up until ep.5 we are directed to doubt whether mek is the reincarnation of than. after all, mek is a servant but it's a khunluang who resembles than??
• DID (_kill me heal me_):
  • the show itself did mentioned that than could be diagnosed with DID. they even had the 'doctor friend' character to support this trope. except of course they are treating this with the least medical/professional viewpoint, and merely using it as a plot device. sadly. mental illnesses are real demons plaguing people. even for kmhm, i was already having mixed feelings about them threading on this topic, but doing it somewhat half-medical but half-gimmicky. i didn't quite like it. this drama didn't even try lmao.
  • apparently some people theorised that than could be possessed by mek, but for now, his condition was diagnosed as DID for no better way of explaining his condition. well. i have no idea.
  • even so, it's amusing to see than and mek switching around, and their take on the trope really felt like kmhm except shin segi archetype is the main personality now. i have to say mario maurer really controlled switching between the two personalities quite seamlessly. he did a pretty good job.
• supernatural powers (_you who came from the stars, starman_): this trope seemed to be included very conveniently even though it seems rather illogical but so far it is not extremely jarring in part of the narrative. we are dealing reincarnation and shizz after all. it's just slightly sticking out like a not-so-sore thumb. so far it hasn't had quite a major impact on the narrative(??) i feel like the characters haven't questioned than's supernatural powers adequately?? not even than himself is surprised??
• (faux) time travel: there is no real time travel involved, but the similar narrative as mek from the era of rama v, landed in the modern era, and was just being a little baby in an alien environment. he has been amused by and afraid of just about anything.
• 霸道总裁 "the overbearing CEO":
  • than's character is really the archetypal overbearing CEO male lead. i would rant for an entire post how problematic this trope is, yet if writers are sensitive enough to the issues this trope possess and handle them well, it isn't impossible to do it well (eg. boss & me) but very rarely.
  • but for this drama? absolutely. no. it falls into the other category of dramas with this trope (a good fraction of it), which is outright problematic but we close one eye on since the male leads are, what my friends dub, lovable bastards. dangerous too, is how the trope have been pretty normalised in the context of romcoms.
  • the trope is problematic because more often not not, the fem leads are usually the cinderella archetype. there's severe power imbalance between the leads. and what kind of healthy relationship would have that?
  • usually, male leads (who are most likely portrayed to be somehow interested in the fem leads for god-knows-what reasons) would bind the poor fem lead in some way by:
    • a) employing her in his company
    • b) help clear her family's debt
    • c) simply help them financially in financial issues they're desperate about
  • the fem leads end up being indebted to them, then somehow, moral obligation gets mixed up with love. it's here where the lines get blurred.
  • in shnpt, than employs geaw and he had NO CARE AT ALL for mixing up his personal life with his work or whatsoever. geaw reluctantly plays with it, often on the consideration of her job and financial situation (sometimes also mek). gradually, she gets excessively involved with than's life, taking care of him when he turns into mek and shit, even though she HAD COMPLETELY NO OBLIGATIONS TO FROM THE START?????
  • really, if than isn't the male lead (*coughs* and a good looking one *coughs*), like what our chinese netizens have said, we would have already called the police for some of the things he have done. they haven't even confirmed their r/s at all??? like everything's just a blurred mess and we're going with the flow. questionable idol dramas are always prone to this when writing romance.
• puppy-like male lead (_kimi wa petto_??? i haven't watched this i wouldn't know):
  • mek. enough said. he's too frickin diabetes-inducing adorable that he will melt the hardest of hearts. props to mario on pulling off such a convincing portrayal.
  • i mentioned that mek was the only motivation for this drama, yet i still have to say, it's a very superficial motivation. as in it's not like there's even much depth to mek's character. we know he's a servant but servants don't cling to their masters like koala bears it's disrespectful??? and he's like a baby lmao. i'm not convinced but i am completely bribed by the cuteness to look past the problem. anyway.

it may seem like the drama has a convenient formula for sending girls all go gaga for 12 episodes concocted. and their triumph card is mario maurer. it would be nearly garbage without him. (like how kmhm would have been a flop without ji sung)

i would focus my criticisms on the romance because i would die from over-exhaustion if i have to analyse on their lack of logic. for a romance drama, we'll talk about the romance and their characters.

• the romance? what romance?
  • this argument and rant is going to apply to plenty of romance dramas i've come across. it's actually easier to list drama ships i truly ship than the ones i don't feel shit for. this is ironic and laughable because we're watching ROMANCE dramas. we don't feel for the romantic love between the couple? it's like eating fishball noodles but the fishballs taste bad?? i'm just going to make use of this drama to rant about this major problems most idol dramas have.
  • one of the main culprits of unconvincing romance is, what i've mentioned, the overbearing CEO trope. i've already explained above why it's problematic and that itself already deters people from feeling like they really complement each other and should be together.
  • drama writers often have the wrong idea of how a romantic relationship should be. i don't know if it's because of underlying asian mentality attributing to the deeprooted influence of patriarchy. we tend to think that the guys should be superior to the ladies in every aspect. that's why i mostly only ship couples who don't have jarring problems of severe power imbalance.
  • anyway, the reasoning for romantic development in this drama is almost non-existent, apart from the seemingly hopeless romantic idea of the leads being lovers in their past lives. i would totally buy that concept, i'm a hopeless romantic after all. apart from that, it doesn't mean their present identities should be spared from proper convincing romantic development?? i honestly have no idea how than fell in love with geaw, and geaw with than. but sometimes we just go with the flow because aw he's changing to become a gentler person because of her stuff, we enjoy the intimate charades the leads play. but once the leads get together, it's when the true problem comes in, why are they even together? so more often than not, my interest for the drama quickly dies after the leads officiate their r/s and we just see them being lovey dovey every other scene. it's boring af when you don't have a substantiated dynamic. this is how you testify the true lovers, and yes, the quality of writing.
  • at the point of ep.5, geaw does show signs of possessiveness over than, we are expected to think that she already likes him. oh dear, even 薛妖怪 of 我的奇妙男友 was capable of pointing out to us and the industry of romcom writers that possessiveness ≠ love. other than that, geaw doesn't display much affection and care for than (not mek), like how she doesn't care about him being plagued with journalists and wanted to ditch him to go home, despite all the things than have helped her with already. is it love? she felt more blasé about his existence, and sometimes she's just caught in the flow, caught in his orbit, she gravitates towards him. is it love?
  • than also have been gravitating towards geaw because of his "dreams". he just has a particular preference for geaw all for the dreams? indeed, you would feel a special connection to someone like that, but what exactly is so attractive about geaw to than?
• i've been skipping the side-love line between geaw's brother and various girls...
  • tbh nee and champagne both seem to be lovely girls. what did they deserve to get entangled with korn? lmao.
  • after nee and korn's first meeting, that was when i decided that i want nothing to do with the side plot. why? HE FUCKING RANDOMLY PULLED A UNKNOWING NEE INTO HIS EMBRACE AND FORCIBLY KISSED HER JUST SO HE COULD HIDE FROM THE GANG OF PEOPLE CHASING HIM, YET HE GETS ANGRY AND PRETEND TO BE THE VICTIMISED WHEN NEE GETS ANGRY AT HIM THAT HE DID SUCH A THING. yo even though he proved to be more of a gentleman afterwards with champagne, i don't wanna invest my time in a character like him, and the pointless love triangle. bruh.
• i didn't wanna talk about the logic but still... ep.5
  • everyone was just so...UNDOUBTEDLY...sure that...than was possessed by the spirit of his previous life mmmm??? is it the most plausible explanation for this?? especially when it's way more logical to say that he was lying and pulled off a joke than being possessed. come on. idk maybe this has got to do with the religious beliefs or smth i dont fucking know. but it's so hilarious. i'm also closing an eye on this.