Kleun Cheewit (2017)

incredible payoff with lots of ANGST, had great writing yet an underwhelming resolution

tropes: #slowburn #enemiestolovers #revengeromance #ANGST #impossiblelove #misunderstanding

this was definitely the best Thai lakorn i have ever seen -- admittedly, i haven't seen that many. it seemed to be less dramatic (although there was still a lot of drama, of course) compared to the usual lakorn. i would even say it was much more realistic at times. however, the episodes are entirely way too long and full of filler. that is why i mostly skipped everything other than the main couple's scenes. and that's mostly why i gave this an 8/10. if it was shorter with a higher budget and a better resolution of the conflict at the end, the score might've been much higher.

i love the revenge/romance genre but this plot was something else. as someone who enjoys the slow burn, impossible love, enemies-to-lovers, angst, etc. tropes, this was giving all of that and more. i also wanna add that this is the kind of drama I'm looking for when i say enemies-to-lovers, you know. it doesn't get any better than this.

this was incredibly angsty. when i read the synopsis, i knew that it would be a slow burn but those first 5-6 episodes almost killed me lol. i was just like, how is this gonna work.. no matter the circumstances, which did matter but you know, she did cause his fiancee to die. and the hatred portrayed was so raw that i was just like, how are they gonna turn this around? break the ice? how could he ever love her? but it was actually so well done. it was slow but the payoff was so worth it. my favorite scenes were the ones where they both acted with so much affection to each other without admitting to their feelings. i also loved that they didn't undermine Sathit's relationship with Tiw just to make it easier for the main couple to be developed. no, they really showed us that he was deeply in love with his fiancee that died and that's why the main couple's chemistry was so good and full of angst.

it was just very realistic and the relationship of the main couple developed very organically. on that note, i loved the writing of their dialogues. it was very strong and fulfilling. both main leads did an amazing job with their performances but especially the female lead. i think she just might be my favorite female character in all Thai dramas i've seen so far. she was just so strong and had a lot of self-respect. she never let herself be disrespected and humiliated. she always knew what to say in response to insults. she was just way too iconic. these are all the characteristics that are often missing from the main female lead characters in Thai dramas. written by a woman? yes ma'am.

the issue of consent in Thai lakorns isn't something new but seeing them acknowledge an act that happened nonconsensually between the main couple at the end showed me that the issue isn't that there is a lack of understanding around consent (culturally and among lakorn writers) but it's actually that there is a lack of respect for it. to be frank, they just don't care is what it is. i would love to say this has gotten better in the newer lakorns but that does not seem to be the case (cough cough Nabi, My Stepdarling).

finally, i didn't like the last two episodes very much. i thought the resolution was underwhelming and they dragged the drama between the main couple for way too long. they literally only gave us like 30-minutes of cute scenes of them as a couple when we needed a few episodes at least because they were just too cute! anyways, i loved this so much.

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Let me start off by saying this is the first time watching a thai lakorn drama from beginning to end and boy was it a roller coaster!! It's like a makjang on steroids!!

Story - The story had some of the cliches things that you see in chinese/kdramas. Unrequited love - exception being when they realize that their feelings were not reciprocated they backed off. Psycho parent.

Acting/Cast

Jee - did her thing. I love the fact that was she a strong female but ...at the same time I thought that sometimes she was too damn nice..like sis...you can't take the blame for stuff that you did not do.

Sathit - I could not stand his ass! He was so blinded by revenge that he didn't see that he the hurt and pain that he was causing someone that was innocent. Him and his psycho "sister"!! He thought he was holier than though..I still don't like his dusty ass..but umm..I guess you love who you love..so my heart was unfrozen (slightly) lol. I wanted Jee to find someone better but ehhh..again you love who you love.

Suku - I absolutely loved suku! He was ride or die for Jee and I loved that about him.

Best character growth award goes to Jee's mom. I am sure you are wondering why?! It's because it did not take her 15 damn episodes to realize that even though she did the thing she did out of love her daughter that is not how she saw it..side eyeing Sathit!!(still don't like you lol)



The other casts did a great job. Stepdad - made my skin crawl so that means the actor did the job he was assigned to do well. lol I didn't like that Dao made herself a sacrificial lamb! I won't go into detail and will let you find out for yourselves.

I tend to believe that dramas have some teachable moments and takeaways. So..here goes...

1. Be careful what you wish for because once you get it you may realize that it is not what you want.
2. FInd out all the facts before you go off the handle as karma likes to bite people in the behind
3. If there is no trust in a relationship it is doomed to fail. If you keep accusing your significant other of cheating eventually you are going to push him away and find yourself single and lonely.
4. Stay away from creepy stepdads ! lol
5. Have Tylenol and tissue on deck because changes are you will need it.

Overall...I enjoyed the drama. I did skip some parts because I was annoyed with some of the characters and did not want to see them not because the drama was bad. It is actually a good drama.

Rewatch - I will rewatch dramas that I love in a heartbeat however...I will not re-watch a makjang on steriods..nope not going to do. If you are on the fence about watching it, I would recommend giving it the try. The female lead is actually very strong and not dumb which is my favorite kind of female lead.

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Everything is excellent

This drama is really amazing. It is full of emotions like hate to love, revenge, guilt and many more. Acting is fantastic. mark and Yaya convey their emotions easily. I want to thank them for doing this wonderful drama. No one can replace them❤❤
This is my fifth Thai drama. I have never seen a drama like this before. I like this message in this drama "Goodness exists so love. True Love comes from the actions of your goodness." It is really amazing. Everyone should know this. I hope this review is helpful for all viewers. everyone must watch it. I just saw all 15 episodes in just two days. You will be addicted to it. It will be heart touching❤❤. Especially the ending when Mark proposes Yaya to marry. It was really sensitive. A very good ending.
The main reason for more rewatch value is their acting, dialogues, and direction.
You can say the story is common and a kind of melodrama but it succeeded bcoz of unexpected twists and some unique type of direction. Thanks to P'Aew.
I bet you will feel all their emotions along with them. You cry, laugh, and love them with all your heart.
Believe it or not, i still have all 15 episodes on my phone and I never thought of deleting them. I want to keep them for my whole life so that they will be in my heart forever.
☜☆☞One important thing I ask you to be patient at the beginning bcoz it will be full of anger, hate, and vengeance. So many quit for 4 to 5 episodes. Please don't do that and watch until the end. Otherwise, I think you will lose some of the best feelings in your life.
And another thing ost and music gave life to the drama.Thank you everyone of this KLEUN CHEEWIT group for this excellent drama. Lots of love from INDIA to Thailand. I can't wait to see these actors of Thai.

EDIT: Editing this after 4 years of watching. It was in my head for almost a year and watched many dramas to get over this but I end up rewatching it. My eyes would be swollen from crying as if it is my life lol. I go so deep into their feelings. For so long I couldn't understand why they would part ways even though they love each other but slowly I was mature enough to understand the relationship. As the audience, we know everything that is happening but watching it from the individual point of view of leads all those issues between them made sense. Even though they love each other the other person wasn't aware of that love. This made them break up many times. I have watched about 40 dramas still this remains best for me. Maybe the time I watched also has an impact. I always wonder if this wasn't one of my earliest dramas, would I love this in the same way? One thing is sure I would definitely love it but not sure if I would be obsessed with it for that long.

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Best Lakorn for me so far

Just got into Lakorn a week ago when I stumbled upon My Husband-in-Law and fell in love with Mark's boyish look, manly demeanor (despite his bratty attitude in some of the scenes), and superb acting. So I checked out another drama of his and fortunately this is available on Netflix.
OMG I fell deeply, madly deeply in love with him here. Both he and Yaya are total eye-candies here, but I was swept off my feet because of their intense acting (can't say the same for many of the supporting cast though).
Usually when I watch Korean and Turkish dramas, I always sided with the guy no matter how bad they treated the girl, but in this story I totally fell for Yaya's character. I've watched this drama 3x already and everytime I get to the climax, I was like 'You're too good Yaya, Make him suffer and regret his actions' and think she was too kind for her own good. But of course, I still feel giddy when they end up together in the end <3

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This is a very good revenge/hate to love lakorn. The majority of the cast did an excellent job portraying their characters and the leading couple has great chemistry. The storyline is similar to the Korean drama “Secret/Secret Love”, which is a fantastic drama, but this lakorn shines on its own. Although the lakorn is intense on the revenge plot, there are many nice interactions among the leading couple that make their love for each other authentic and some funny scenes that lighten the darker moments of the drama. There are elements that are cliché on the lakorns of this genre and, one can only wonder when the writers are going to stop the famous rape thematic that hinders many viewers from fully enjoy these type of dramas, and them making light of such a horrendous event. Although on this drama the rape scene comes from a different angle been that the leading couple had already developed affection for each other but were still in denial of their true feelings, it’s still unnecessary. If the viewer can put this aspect of the lakorn aside, then it will be a very entertaining drama to watch!

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It could have been one of the best Lakorns, if the story and some actors were better.

I starteted this Lakorn because of Yaya. After one Episode i dropped it.
After i see so many People loving this i started 2 times to finally finish it.

My feedback:
Cut of the scenes (the ML and FL shouldn't meet at the start.) of the beginnig and the last episodes of this lakorn.
Fix the connections and entanglements this lakorn is way to long.
And give us a beautiful love ending scene, because the ending is garbage.
And please beginn the story timeline wise with the accident, would be more mysterious.
Cut of some of the characters, there are way to many.

The ML and FL can make up for a lot, but in the end it can't make me love the whole Lakorn.
The scene of the movie shooting is really really great, but many scene after that are bad.
I only like the mittle of this lakorn. Where the ML understands the FL is not so cold-hearted.

First time i dropped because of the parking scene. Second dropped because of yayas character at the beginning.
I maybe will watch some of the cute and fighting scenes again.

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Watch because Yaya is that Good!

This like many many other reviewers was my first Thai Drama.

THE GOOD:
Yaya!!! I can't stress enough that along with her beauty she is an amazing actress. She carries this show with her acting abilities. After the male lead got on my last nerves at about episode 6. I only continued to watch b/c Yaya is that good and I also was curious to know how the 2 could ever end up together.

The chemistry between Yaya and Mark is off the charts. I didn't find Mark all that attractive he definitely has an adorable smile and we get to see that in the last episode a lot.

The characters of Wadee and Dao were great. Suki was a good character too with his one liners and I died most of the time he was on the screen.

The catfight between Yarija (Jee's mother) and the Housekeeper (Sitta's right hand) had me on the floor one of the best catfights I've seen in a very long time. Reminded me of Crystal Carrington and Alexis Colby Carrington's fight on the original Dynasty!

THE BAD:
These episodes are way too long. They clock in at an hour and 50 minutes each and the majority of that is just nonsensical filler. I may not watch another Thai drama for a while unless someone can recommend one that is an hour or less with 20 or less episodes!!

The final episode was such a let down. Boring, slow no great kiss between the leads!!

THE UGLY:
Piak is a hot ass mess!! Girl needs to grow the fuck up and Chaiyan needs to get a backbone and separate from her for a while. She needs serious help and a long stay at a mental health hospital. She is the worst antagonist I have seen in a while. I was so annoyed that her father and Thit acting as if her actions have no bearing on the reason her husband finally wants nothing to do with her. Chaiyan was hurt by her ridiculous actions. Piak has no redeeming qualities.

OVERALL:
Watching once was enough for me. Will not watch again but may try to find other things that Yaya was in. The cast is good for the most part. The soundtrack was only 2 songs I remember and they were not good enough to be the kind of songs I don't mind hearing repeatedly thus they were annoying b/c they were played in almost every episode.

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A must watch Thai Drama

this was my first Thai drama. I just mistakenly watched the trailer on youtube and got hitched with this. I did watch this while it was releasing on TV. The waiting for a week for the next episode was very difficult as this held its quality of narration at its peak. Both ML & FL did very good work on acting and they have very good chemistry together. I became a fan of Yaya and Mark with this drama.
The story has very good development and the execution was very well planned. Every character has their own part in the drama and most of them were very well developed and drop into an ending. The ending was not rushed but was able to keep the suspense till the last episode. This was not a comedy but could give inner happiness in its own way from the beginning.
Only very few dramas can give you emotional satisfaction and this was one of them. Like much other Thai drama, this does not give you emotional torture.
one of my highly recommended dramas. you can watch it again and again without getting tired of it.

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Amazing Acting

This is the first Thai drama I've completed and i have to say that it's unlike any Crdama, Kdrama or Taiwanese drama I've ever seen. If anything, the way the plot unfolds and goes throughout the drama reminds me of Mexican Telenovela's (only much shorter), the key aspects of the drama being the misunderstandings that could have easily been solved had any of the characters ever spoke the truth or bothered to listen to the truth.

One of the best thing about this drama was the acting. Especially Yaya's portrayed of the female lead; you can really see her emotions through her eyes, when she's being cold and when she's being warm. The FL's storyline had me in tears and whenever the FL would recall anything about her family life, I could litterally feel the pain in her eyes. I have never been so emotional about a character in any drama before. I didn't even feel bad for the ML when he lost his fiance or any of the secondary characters, all of whom had their own drama to deal with, but I sympathised with the FL throughout. I could skip the scenes with any other charecter, but not the FL's scenes or storyline, she had me hooked.

The drama starts off with the FL being portrayed as a 'bad' person, when truly the only antagonist was the ML's sister throughout the drama. But I loved the FL's character so much: a women who could stand on her own, make her own success and living and could care less what others thought of her.

I didn't really like the other charecters so much, I loved all of the FL's friends including her manager. Their relationship was so sweet.

The secondary couple had a very toxic relationship that I didn't like for a lot of the drama. But the main couple was the definition of a 'slow burn romance'. It was really slow, but it was also very genuine, the build up was the best part of the drama.

The ending was definitely not as good as I wanted it to be, especially the action aspect. I wanted less romance and more action at the end, especially for a drama that really focused itself on the action aspect for the main couple for the majority of the drama. I had to skim through the last episode of the drama because there was way too much romance and nothing else.

Overall, the acting of all the characters in this drama was really good, and not cringe (until the last episode). This is definitely a show I'd recommend to anyone who is a fan of a LOT of drama, anyone who liked telenovela's, but not really anyone whose a Cdrama, Taiwanese drama or Kdrama fan, it doesn't really fit the vibe.

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a thrilling story filled with misunderstandings and beautiful chemistry

so, i’m one of the viewers who saw the kdrama “secret” first and saw many people discussing this drama after i finished it, which got me intrigued since i enjoyed the twists and turns of secret. (i know this isn’t a remake drama. the source material is thailand’s own story)

and boy oh boy, i had no clue what i was in for.

it’s an intense show, for sure one you have to suspend your morals to watch a bit, if you’re like me and you have seen dramas such as “goodbye my princess” or anything else where you can deal with a ML and FL who aren’t just rivals like usual “enemies to lovers” shows, but have ACTUAL hate for each other. and it’s mutual at first for sure. genuine hate.

that’s what sets this apart. its the difference between the way that the ML and FL are characterized. FL is an extremely misunderstood yet strong and hard working woman. she doesn’t put up with bullshit, which is great.

meanwhile ML is a hardheaded and most definitely stubborn, but unlike being the usual rich and powerful ML, he’s just a lawyer. so it definitely sets itself apart from the revenge dramas IVE seen.

i enjoyed it. would rec for anyone looking for some genuine enemies to lovers.

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best story drama for upcoming 100 years

this drama is best drama it will make you feel soo good watching u will feel lets end all episodes without skipping. all have played really amazing work. hats of to directors and writers who made this story soo beautiful. this is not a typical love revenge drama but something that u cannot explain with feeling.
female lead: after watchinh this drama 10 times i can clearly say that Yaya Urrasaya is my favourite. no one can beat her in acting. she is just amazing the way she potrayed Jeerawat/ Jee character who was always struggling inspite of being best top actress of thailand is really beautiful. her stepfather was always trying to abuse her but she survived every time her mother was never her supporter but she was ok with it and never expected anything from her. she was always accused of being mistress of her director friend. after story develops she was drugged by father and in order to survive she ran away and she did accident of a girl who was fiance of lawyer and later the way she tried to made everything ok but never succedded and end up being hurted by everyone and Satit ( male lead).she accpeted that she was ready to sleep with shatit because she was just fed of making everything ok and she thought if its the only way that she can compensate of killing shatit girlfirend and get back evidence against her from shatit was just amazing.,....... there are other lot of thing which we cannt include here
male lead: Mark prin became my favourite from this drama he was always amaxing

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