@phatman the haircut is gonna happen in this week's episode, so I was told.
Haha So I just dropped by to talk about JamesJi because it seems no one wants to talk about him in this lakorn thread
so please indulge me a little.
He improved quite a lot and it shows in Episode 9 and 10. I mean, before that the fight scenes were a big leap, and forgive me for being sexist but I attributed it to having a male director in NDFD so James appeared to be most manly in this role, even when the premise had been he was supposed to act like a Eunuch. Then with the dramatic scenes, the way he just kind of held everything in, it was beautiful. I mean, he's cries a LOT in all his lakorns, but his crying is different each time. Like compare his crying scene in Ruk Sud Rit and his crying scene here, it's a big world of a difference (of course his character there and his character here is different too.) Even his crying in this commercial is different as well.
Before I used to think Pope was the only one who can pull off manly tears, but I think slowly, but surely, James is catching up.
And then with the sudden shift to romance between Mangmao and Khanthong in Episode 10, forgive me for saying this, but I think Nant served his purpose in the story - the main point being having Khanthong in the worst state of his life then suddenly making Mangmao appear as a breath of fresh air - or even his very oxygen to breathe in that suffocating world. You guys have to understand that the P'ek (yes, he exists.
) had been suffering his whole life - with his parents both suffering injustice, he himself suffering injustice not just by the hands of the politicians and Jaojom phen, but even his grandfather and even his class, being a peasant quarter-turk boy and everything. Nant, who is his only friend is taken away from him (there was foreshadowing of this from the very beginning as Nant always kind of flirted with the girls, and Khanthin said he'll get into trouble for it someday - only for the reverse to happen, that is, he ended up revealing his secret due to his own "softness"/kindness and his best friend had to pay for it. Imagine the pain he was going through) So mean as it may sound, Nant's purpose in the story had been to highlight the pain of Khanthong, how he had to lose something from his own weakness, and how he had to toughen up to continue the mission despite everything. - and of course Nant's loss would also highlight the blossoming relationship between Mangmao and Khanthong - as now, Khanthong has literally lost everything and Mangmao is all he has left, apart from his mission. His mission is his reason to die a noble death, but now, he has Mangmao who is his reason to live.
But that is not to say Nant is insignificant. On the contrary, he was quite crucial in the story and character development and Phet played him quite well. His character was a simple guy, unlike our serious and uptight Khanthong and so you see him being scared and being playful at the beginning but when it was time to step up, he stepped up, big time, and through that whole process, he maintained his simple, jolly facade. When Nant was crying silently and telling Khanthong to just accept his fate and go on with the mission, Phet's acting was restrained and not over-dramatic that he would be mourned for for long because in the end, he died a hero. Instead, he had that quiet acceptance of his fate and their final scene together was like the bro code of all bro codes and you know that that was that. I used to pick on the style of the director, in that the scenes seems scattered all over the place, or that the editing isn't done well, or what, but for scenes like these - it has that right amount of solemness and lack of cheesiness - unlike say the more romantic lakorns with Pa'Jaew or P'King Somching.
and then we go to Khanthin and Mangmao. the scenes between them are not modern day lakorn cheesy, but they're damn sweet. I don't know if you guys feel the same way. I first thought Taew would have a hard time looking younger than James, i mean, look at them off screen and he's a big baby. But in the Lakorn, Taew is so bubbly and cute and not annoying as that bubbly and cute character, and now that she's "maturing" - she's becoming more adorable - and Khanthong is becoming more endearing as he falls hard for Mangmao. Like Khanthong only smiles and shows real emotions when with Mangmao and it's like his desensitized monk self is shaken by Mangmao's honesty and "pureness". I really love that scene with the wintermelon and dried fish (oh btw. That's the thing James couldn't pronounce and it took more than 30 takes was it?
Maybe that's why his tears were so realistic in that scene with Taew hahahaha). It's like Khanthong smiles for the first time - like that Khanthong of years ago when his mother and father were together and everyone was happy and before all this sh*t happened in his life. They barely have dialogue, but looking at each other, James and Taew were able to draw the emotions quite well.
SO I haven't seen 11 and 12 yet. So That's my belated review of 9 and 10. Sorry, I talked too much.