I haven't been on this forum in so long but Kluen Cheevit has inspired me to join in the discussions once again. Please don't mind me while I share my thought process through this lengthy post lol. I quite like this new version for the various changes the production made to the script. It was something that I wasn't planning on watching however, it caught me by surprise when I saw short videos via IG.
I've watched Johnny and Jariya's version and personally didn't care for it all that much. It was one of those lakorns where there was so much angst and hatred that it felt almost suffocating to watch yet I stuck until the end to see how the characters redeem themselves. To my dismay, both of them didn't suceed in that regard. The dialogue was so off-putting and it just was unrealistic on many levels. There was barely any chemistry between the leads because of all the animosity misunderstandings so when it came time for Sathit to confess his love for Jee, it sounded forced and insincere. The fact that Sathit purposely wanted to marry Jane to provoke Jee was already a big 'No' for me in terms of praeks. As great of an actress Jariya is, her portrayal of Jee came off too cold and contentious where I couldn't emotionally connect with her or really sympathize with her. She wasn't a 'Mew Lalita' in Sai See Plerng where nang aek was a total b*tch but you also empathized with her where you wanted to comfort her. To be blunt, she was just annoying to watch for me. I apologize in advance if this portion of my comment happens to offend anyone since I'm aware that many people liked the older one.
Yaya's version of Miss G is written in a way that is more likeable. Instead of being snappy and unfeeling to almost everything and everyone, turning to alcohol to forget her miseries to the point where trouble comes about, Yaya's G is just a woman who creates a shield to protect herself as she's used to people's negativity towards her. Initially, she'll come off harsh to people who start something with her but deep down, she's nice and compassionate to those she cares about. She doesn't take shit from people who bully her but she also has her limits of when she wants to showcase her emotional side. Her crying in almost every scene doesn't make me view her as a weak character or a weaker G compared to Jariya. I think this G's strength takes on a more quiet and reserved approach that stems from mindfulness and peaceful intentions. She knows shes wrong and sincerely wants to make ammends with Sathit and the mother but has her reservations due to her concern for her friends. She's considerate of P'Suki and everyone involved by knowing when to back down when acting recklessly. She's strong in the sense that she allows herself to show her true emotions instead of repressing them. Intuitively, she knows when to be the bigger person in certain situations like when Gale's character goes off script and slaps her when she was filming the lakorn. She can embrace fearful situations and not let them control her which is why we see her acting normally with Dao/Darika despite all the crap she's having to encounter. I love how this remake is challenging these misconceptions because in the lakorn world, viewers are taught that a strong nang aek can't cry, can't back down, can't complain, can't be afraid. A good nang aek can't be mad and can't have a backbone. This version of G and Bella's potrayal as Rin in Padiwirada are two of the nang aeks I've watched recently that go against those silly dynamics. It's astonishing to think that both versions were produced by Lakorn Thai and P'Da Hathairath because both renditions give off different vibes. The basic plot line isn't all that great but the changes are intruguing.
Sathit is still an arse who is emotionally and physically abusive towards G but it just makes me more interested in seeing how he tranforms his hatred into love for her. I already read and listened to the summaries so I know that this Sathit will start showing his feeling gradually and really does take time to win G's heart when she runs away. That already gives me hope that his Sathit will be more enjoyable than Johnny's who only showed love to G in the last 2 mins of the lakorn lol. I love me a good jerky praek who has to grovel real hard.
Acting wise, I think the cast is doing decently well. Mark still has a lot of weaknesses but he's improved in the last two EP's with his crying scenes. It's when he's mad and aggressive where you can detect a lot of forcefulness in his demeanor. I think he'll likely get better in the future episodes because those scenes were filmed more recently close to the end of production. Once he gets more comfortable and into character, he'll show more naturalness in his acting. I give him an A for effort because it's evident that he's really trying hard to deliver in this challenging role, even if he's not 100% there. Louis is good as the usual and Masu is pretty cute. I've never watched his previous lakorns but from what I'm seeing, he can generate good chemistry with all his female colleagues. Yaya and Toey were the biggest surprises and scene stealers of this lakorn. For someone so small, Toey has such a strong presence and acts the role of Piak pretty good. I wouldn't have expected her to display so much sass in here. There's some overacting here and there but it's acceptable since her character allows for some major exageration. If there's anyone who is annoying me in this show, it's Piak which is a testiment to Toey's acting abilities. Yaya, holy she is gorgeous! I've always questioned why the producers she works with always likes to play her looks down so much. You have such a beautiful girl with all the qualities of the perfect nang aek, nice speaking voice, gentleness and overall likeability yet you dress her either as a tomboy, farmer or just plain 'ban ban'??. In here, you get to see her versatility in looks where she can be cute, beautiful or sexy without trying hard at all. Her acting has improved heaps since Neung Nai Suang where she's more expressive with her body language. However, like her co-star, I see her forcing her harshness sometimes in her mouth movements which is something she's always struggled with since Game Rai Game Rak. Taking into consideration that the script has written G to be more emotional and bratty along with her acting experience, I would say she's great as G. Not perfect but good where she's acting in the way the director and writer wants her to and she's not displaying any annoying tendencies that deters me from continuing on. She's probably one of the few actresses who can play a headstrong nang aek 'tasetfully' without coming off as repulsive. I've attempted to watch many lakorns in the last few years with a similar type of nang aek but couldn't bring myself to finish them because the lead actresses were just not doing it for me. I don't expect perfect acting but I do have to feel a connection in some way. The rest of the cast fit their roles and add comical relief to the lakorn which makes it more fun.
My only concern is that the story will start to drag because I already see a lot of repetitiveness in EP 3 and 4 already where Sathit just wants to torture G. I'm most looking forward to when Sathit realizes that he's just using his excuse for revenge as a way to just get close to her lol.