Mos Panuwat Sopradit and Bank Mondop Heamtan join forces again to lead the cast of the series 'SunsetxVibes', a piece that shines in the BL universe like the name of the company where the protagonists work.
The Thai director, screenwriter and assistant director Mi Puwadon Naosopa ('Secret Theory of Kissing', 'City of Stars') convened a team of writers, composed of, in addition to himself, his colleague Somchai Tidsanawoot, known for writing ' Lovely Writer', 'Hidden Agenda', 'I Feel You Linger in the Air', and newcomers Nunt Thongngamkham and Baifern Ataya Sawatdee, to adapt the web novel "Sunsetxvibes" (เพียงชลาลัย) by Rosesarin, and place, in the competitive business world, this suggestive variation on the theme of two young people who meet by chance one night and the next day discover that one is the newly appointed director of a large fine jewelry company and the other his new employee.
After 'Big Dragon', the series that introduced the MosBank ship in 2022, both actors participated in 'Y Journey: Stay Like a Local' and 'Club Friday Season 15: Moments & Memories', in the first two both as protagonists and in the latter having Bank as a supporting actor.
However, despite its powerful cast, made up of renowned actors and actresses, the undeniable chemistry between the protagonists, the predictable multiple romantic relationships, including perhaps a lesbian one; the beautiful cinematography, its contemporary style, the brilliant visual effects, its majestic soundtrack, the clarity with which the story is conceived on paper, the pulse with which the direction channels it through the production, and the way of defend it from Mos and Bank, the series, like its predecessors, does not enjoy the approval of the public, and I fear that the cause does not have to do precisely with the audiovisual product, but with the "trauma" that 'Big Dragon' left in many fans of the BL, as many CDM users recognize.
Someone could tell me that the problem lies in the fact that they do not accept that one of the protagonists hides their identity from the other, but, although the series must generate a conflict to be resolved with consequent personal growth, in my view, the problem does not come from hence, since the low ratings are observed from episode 1 itself, when the young people had not yet met in person. In other words, no one could know what would happen between them. The comments make it clear.
They have not given the series the benefit of the doubt and without thinking they have sent it to the slaughterhouse for reminding them of the disappointment they got (we got) with 'Big Dragon'.
I believe it is time to grow as we demand of our narrative heroes. It is not logical, fair or ethical to judge an audiovisual product because it reminds us of a frustration.
Let's trust that this time there will be an explosive, mature, healthy romance, and that we will come to identify with the feelings, the emotions of the characters.
Let's wait for warm atmospheres to be created with which we can identify and empathize with the story, so that we see ourselves reflected in the protagonists.
Let's trust that we will delight in a full love story, without red flags (as there were in 'Big Dragon') and that the proposed premise, the intellectual potential and the good intentions of the team behind the camera, the cinematographic resources at the reach of the creators and the undeniable artistic abilities of the cast.
Let's hope that the intrigue and the outcome surprise us, provide us with the satisfaction of our expectations and we can believe that love can change the course of a story, a relationship, even the universe, and feel that magic and passion can exist even if be it in television series.
There will be time to send it to the stake if it fails to meet our expectations.
For the moment, I say my YES for 'SunsetxVibes' and I hope, as on other occasions, that MDL allows me to return to this review to update it.
Thank you.