Review: Fai Chon Saeng 2009
What would you do if your father was framed for a crime he did not commit then murdered in cold blood? Would you lie low, try to live your life the best possible and wait for those responsible to be ruined by their own acts? Or would you actively seek them out and plot their downfall at whatever cost? The premise of Fai Chon Saeng had potential, with twins Tien and Wan(Chompoo) choosing two different paths in reaction to the same event but ultimately both the story and execution was a let down.
I obeserved in my initial impressions that it's all very OTT and the lakorn continues in the same vein for the remaining episodes. I got quite fed up with the constant raging and screaming of almost everyone around ep 3 that I jumped to the final ep and was ready to get it over and done with for this lakorn but somehow I found myself wanting to know how things got to where they are and ended up backtracking that I eventually only skipped a couple of episodes! So I suppose it does have its entertainment value in a soap opera-ish kinda way?
Meh stuff:
- Blah revenge plot. I was watching 3 revenge dramas around the same time (this, Rang Ngao and Jdrama Maou) and this had the silliest revenge plot out of them all. Wan's intention couldn't be less obvious if it was written on her face yet she somehow believes that the bad guys would be taken in. Erm, kudos to having not-stupid villians for once?
- An OTP I didn't care for. Wan and Chakchai (Grate) wins the award for most unconvincing couple among those that I've seen in my few years of lakorn watching and for the first time I found myself second lead shipping a lakorn nang'ek with her ex-boyfriend. I was pretty touched by Khem's (Jason Young) devotion to Wan in the early episodes and I found the way he was written into having an affair with Chakchai's sister very awkward, like it was only to get him out of the way and not because it was in line with the story or his character. Then when Wan and Chakchai sorta got together, he's always doubting her and they often argue to the point where I wonder how/why do they even think they love each other?? When Wan found out she had a brain tumour, Khem was the one beside her and his one short scene with Wan at the hospital touched me more than any of hers with Chakchai.
yes, I just spent an hour doing graphics for this and I didn't bother posting a pic of the p'ek. XD
It also didn't help that Grate didn't have much chemistry with Chompoo and it just added to the whole 'unconvincing-ness' of this couple so in the final supposed-to-be-very-touching-scene where Wan dies in Chakchai's arms, I was all 'uhm, whatever.'
- All that screaming and fighting. FCS wins another award for most number of cat fights I've seen in a lakorn. Mind you, not just a slap or push but full grown women tackling each other to the ground complete with hair pulling, face scratching, bitch slapping, wax pouring (you read that right) oh the works!
- Useless pra'ek. Oh hey, one more award to give to FCS for most useless pra'ek. Chakchai is a decent guy but to me, it wouldn't make much of a difference to this lakorn even if he was written out of it. He didn't change Wan's mind on revenge, he didn't affect her character, he himself got zilch character development, he didn't matter to the overall plot except for being the one to record damning evidence against the villian but then again, any other character could've easily replaced him in that role.
- The villians and side characters. Most of them were so self-centred and/or annoying I wanted to slap them upside down then throw them over to another lakorn which I will not watch.
What kept me going:
- The twins. Fortunately the core of FCS wasn't the shaky main couple but the twins and their responses to what life throws at them. It's rather contrive to have twins with opposing personalities - all the better for audiences to tell them apart I suppose - but the lakorn manages to flesh out their characters and not simply draw us a cardboard 'gentle-type' and 'fiery-type'. It was heartwarming to see the sisters look out and care for each other, and it was especially satisfying when Wan gave Tdree the smackdrown she deserved after she bullied Tien.
- Tien's love story. Tien/Natin's story itself is pretty standard romance novel fare but it has way more heart than what I can feel from Wan/Chakchai. Amidst the hate and selfishness radiating from majority of the characters, Tien and Natin stand out not only for their devotion to each other but also their love and sacrifices made for their families. They aren't saints for they cry, struggle and falter just the same but again and again, they try their best to protect those they hold dearest and I'm gald they got a happy ending.
I rate this: 2.5/5
I obeserved in my initial impressions that it's all very OTT and the lakorn continues in the same vein for the remaining episodes. I got quite fed up with the constant raging and screaming of almost everyone around ep 3 that I jumped to the final ep and was ready to get it over and done with for this lakorn but somehow I found myself wanting to know how things got to where they are and ended up backtracking that I eventually only skipped a couple of episodes! So I suppose it does have its entertainment value in a soap opera-ish kinda way?
Meh stuff:
- Blah revenge plot. I was watching 3 revenge dramas around the same time (this, Rang Ngao and Jdrama Maou) and this had the silliest revenge plot out of them all. Wan's intention couldn't be less obvious if it was written on her face yet she somehow believes that the bad guys would be taken in. Erm, kudos to having not-stupid villians for once?
- An OTP I didn't care for. Wan and Chakchai (Grate) wins the award for most unconvincing couple among those that I've seen in my few years of lakorn watching and for the first time I found myself second lead shipping a lakorn nang'ek with her ex-boyfriend. I was pretty touched by Khem's (Jason Young) devotion to Wan in the early episodes and I found the way he was written into having an affair with Chakchai's sister very awkward, like it was only to get him out of the way and not because it was in line with the story or his character. Then when Wan and Chakchai sorta got together, he's always doubting her and they often argue to the point where I wonder how/why do they even think they love each other?? When Wan found out she had a brain tumour, Khem was the one beside her and his one short scene with Wan at the hospital touched me more than any of hers with Chakchai.
yes, I just spent an hour doing graphics for this and I didn't bother posting a pic of the p'ek. XD
It also didn't help that Grate didn't have much chemistry with Chompoo and it just added to the whole 'unconvincing-ness' of this couple so in the final supposed-to-be-very-touching-scene where Wan dies in Chakchai's arms, I was all 'uhm, whatever.'
- All that screaming and fighting. FCS wins another award for most number of cat fights I've seen in a lakorn. Mind you, not just a slap or push but full grown women tackling each other to the ground complete with hair pulling, face scratching, bitch slapping, wax pouring (you read that right) oh the works!
- Useless pra'ek. Oh hey, one more award to give to FCS for most useless pra'ek. Chakchai is a decent guy but to me, it wouldn't make much of a difference to this lakorn even if he was written out of it. He didn't change Wan's mind on revenge, he didn't affect her character, he himself got zilch character development, he didn't matter to the overall plot except for being the one to record damning evidence against the villian but then again, any other character could've easily replaced him in that role.
- The villians and side characters. Most of them were so self-centred and/or annoying I wanted to slap them upside down then throw them over to another lakorn which I will not watch.
What kept me going:
- The twins. Fortunately the core of FCS wasn't the shaky main couple but the twins and their responses to what life throws at them. It's rather contrive to have twins with opposing personalities - all the better for audiences to tell them apart I suppose - but the lakorn manages to flesh out their characters and not simply draw us a cardboard 'gentle-type' and 'fiery-type'. It was heartwarming to see the sisters look out and care for each other, and it was especially satisfying when Wan gave Tdree the smackdrown she deserved after she bullied Tien.
- Tien's love story. Tien/Natin's story itself is pretty standard romance novel fare but it has way more heart than what I can feel from Wan/Chakchai. Amidst the hate and selfishness radiating from majority of the characters, Tien and Natin stand out not only for their devotion to each other but also their love and sacrifices made for their families. They aren't saints for they cry, struggle and falter just the same but again and again, they try their best to protect those they hold dearest and I'm gald they got a happy ending.
I rate this: 2.5/5