I just finished this lakorn, and it's become one of my favorites, all due to Boy and Margie. They are just so fantastic together! I saw them in their previous lakorn, Wayupak Montra, and enjoyed them together there. But I think this lakorn really let the actors' natural chemistry and charm shine through, in particular Margie. She did a fantastic job playing Bee's natural liveliness and fun, as well as her youth -- I could see why everyone loved Bee so much, because Margie made her very easy to love. And I liked the way she sort of snuck up on Mark -- he had a very definite idea of what he wanted in a woman, and Bee just blew that all away, so he was in love with her before he realized it. They're almost not given enough time together to fall so hard for each other before the melodrama kicks in, but it works because the actors have such strong chemistry and interaction together. They played both sides of the coin really well -- they were totally entertaining while bickering and fighting, but could also play the heartfelt drama and the pain of being separated very naturally as well. I often feel in lakorns that the melodrama of the situation can overwhelm the characters, so their actions seem too over-the-top for me to really feel for them. But when Bee ran out of the car to hug Mark after they signed the divorce papers, man, I was crying. They were both so great, and it felt real. But the best part was seeing them on their honeymoon, after all the melodrama was over. Mark and Bee's totally happy, relaxed mix of banter and sweetness was so them -- they weren't these super dramatic lovers pledging eternal love, they were goofy and sexy and having fun and showing you how good they were together, which was much much more effective for me in terms of a believable and effective happy ending. Any couple whose happy ending includes a tickle fight is a good happy ending for me. :yes:
This lakorn definitely wasn't flawless -- I skimmed through a lot of the early episodes because there was way too much time on Mark's relationships with other women. And as mentioned above, there really wasn't enough time spent on Mark and Bee just falling for each other before the melodrama of separation kicked into high gear. Pacing was the biggest issue -- even in the last episodes, when Mark is cooking for Bee in the U.S. and Wimada is watching and remembering when he cooked for her, it's like, while I appreciate the attempt to give Wimada some real emotions in regard to her past with Mark, showing Mark doing EXACTLY the same stuff with someone else is really undercutting the true love with Bee aspect here! At this point in the story, they should be going out their way to show how player Mark is different with Bee, not making the same moves with her that he made with someone else.
I have a mixed reaction to May. For once, it was nice to have a third party girlfriend who was given her own story, with whom I could potentially sympathize -- everything that happened to her was really rotten and no fault of her own, including Mark falling for real for Bee while May was hospitalized. However, they had May act like such a nang rai, because she had to be the obstacle to Mark and Bee, that I couldn't actually feel sorry for her or sympathize. There were hints of her inner turmoil along the way, but I wish she'd been given more genuine development -- she didn't have to be such a witch to be such an obstacle, given that both Bee and Mark felt they had to separate so Mark could marry May once they learned the truth of what had happened to her. It was nice that she finally, at the very last minute, did the right thing for Mark and Bee, but I wish it hadn't been such a last minute turn, but more naturally built up.
No mixed feelings for Sunny, though -- I loved him! What a great best friend he was to Bee. I loved that he might have had feelings for her but their friendship came first -- he truly cared for her happiness and was there for her always. That made him a more effective threat to Mark than anything else, I think, because Sunny would be super easy to love, and Bee trusted him completely. Sunny was just a good guy, through and through. I want a sequel focusing on Sunny finding true love of his own, and not with May, whom I still didn't like even after she did the right thing. I also really enjoyed the performance of the actor playing Mee, Mark's father -- he was such a genuinely affectionate, paternal figure for both Mark and Bee, who also had to face up to his own mistakes and try to figure out how to resolve thing for everyone. I loved how he adored Bee like a daughter and trusted Mark's word when it really counted.
So overall, despite flaws, I really loved this lakorn, most of all for Boy and Margie's natural chemistry and that Margie really had a chance to shine with this character. I hope they're paired up again soon and we get to see a lot more of their funny/bickering/sweet/sexy vibe together. I especially want Margie to again play a character who runs rings around Boy, cause that was a riot!