The Luminous Solution (2023)

Be careful what you wish for!

The original plot, no unnecessary time consuming side pots, cute actors (except for one), lovely music and a short duration was what kept me hooked on this drama when I have been dropping recent thai bls like they were hot potatoes!

The main problem this drama has is the casting and it is twofold! Firstly: Why would anyone give Gun a main role is beyond comprehension: he cannot act and even though he managed to tone down his ugly grimacing, it is still there and going crescendo as we approach the last episode! Secondly: Is it really so difficult to find actors who look alike for the characters' young and old versions! Just watch japanese dramas: it is uncanny! Their ability to find similar looking actors is amazing!

Gun with his overacting has ruined the enjoyment of this drama. But not so much as to drop it as I have been doing a lot recently with thai bls! This drama has an original plot idea which was unfortunately undercooked!

It is a story of a magical cafe that appears before you when you are the most desperate and offers to fulfil a wish. There are three at first unconnected, stories being told here. The first one is a woman abandoned by her boyfriend when he discovered she was pregnant. The second one is about Reaow and Mai, a new student in his high school. The third follows a longtime couple whose relationship is starting to fall apart because of work and lack of communication.

The pacing of the drama is a bit off: draggy for the most of it, it feels rushed in the last episodes with all the revelations coming out at a breakneck speed. But they managed to explain the majority of questions we were asking as we watched. I wished that the fantasy element had been more present in the first episodes which looked mostly like a mash up of two dramas: a school BL and an adult bl with a weird cafe owner(she was extremely weird, cackling and laughing like a maniac!) thrown randomly in between.
The two love stories were interesting though nothing new. The final episode twist, which I frankly did not see coming (bad casting!!!!) put a damper on the teen romance and it changed my appreciation of the characters (Reauw unexpectedly turned actually to be an ambiguous and grey character). The teen romance was well presented and Mai's questioning of his own sexuality in spite of his macho upbringing (there is apparently a wrong translation in the crucial scene: he does not say "I am straight!" but he says "I'm a man. Men don't cry!") was very convincing. Are you strong enough to go against your parents when you are 17?
The adult romance was ruined by bad acting and the lack of chemistry though the premise was interesting. Thana has been with his high achieving doctor boyfriend for ten years and the cracks are starting to show in that relationship because he does not seem to be able to keep up the pace with the successful doctor and they do not seem to talk anymore. He meets a young man in the neighbourhood and they hit it off famously: they seem to be on the same level, they seem to understand each other and they definitely have better chemistry.

I really liked the drama a lot and I am a bit disappointed because it could have been something exceptional with this original plot, better writing, pacing and not casting Gun: the rest of the actors were excellent! The cinematography is rich, soft and sparkling. The background music and the final song about forgetting were very nice and fit the drama perfectly.

There are plotholes (how does the café really work?), there are inconsistencies but they just made me go huh! And they were not bad enough for me to drop this which is a good sign! The ending is open and not what I hoped for: I did not want for Thana and his doctor to stay together. In spite of all the attraction they felt for each other, the whole relationship was built on a lie (a wish!) and should have crumbled when the truth came out.

I liked this drama a lot: it is different from the unwatchable fluff and soft porn thai producers seem to be churning out at a scary speed and that I keep dropping even faster! It has an interesting plot premise and I wish they put a little bit more effort into writing and casting which would have made it perfect!

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разочарование

Хм, сюжет не обычный, но запутали очень сильно, отсюда потерянный смысл, так как пытаешься понять что, куда, зачем и почему. Очень понравилась игра Бэнка. Я не узнала его. Да и играл превосходно. Сценаристы, конечно умные ребята и долго делали "две" пары, которые в конце концов оказывается одна. Нет, не квартет, а прошлое и настоящее. Понравилась операторская работа. Освещение, съемка в разных местах, с разным светом - шикарно. Музыка и музыкальное сопровождение были в тему и к месту. Особого ожидания от Таиланда в последнее время я не испытываю, что здесь в очередной раз мне и показали. Поэтому не расстроена от слова совсем. Хотя нет, есть огромное расстройство игрой Гана. Нет, ну правда. Я думаю, да даже уверена, что в жизни он очень обаятельный и милый парень. В первых ролях - очарователен, эмоционален, но вот начиная с "Золотая кровь" и вот сейчас , такое впечатление что забивал на все уроки актерского мастерства и прогуливал, но тогда какого его брать на главную роль? Не видели или что? Вопрос к тем кто проводил кастинг - прошлое и настоящее, ничего что дети до безумия разные с взрослыми? Ну да, мы все растем и меняемся внешне, но не до такой степени разницы. Очень порадовал Миг. И первая главная роль - с дебютом, было здорово наблюдать хорошую игру. Дом Воранат - я скучала. Не играл - жил. Спасибо. Бэнк и Тонтэ - отлично. Очень достойно.
Сериал на раз. Для меня плюс - это игра актеров которых выделила. Слава богу 6 эпизодов, а не затянуть эпизодов на 12 и больше. Тай штампует не думая, какой рейтинг будет. А жаль, раньше хотя бы был смысл.

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Interesting premise but poor writing

I was looking foward to this series because of supernatural element but it fell short of my expectations. Main reason being poor writing. Side plot of the cafe lady felt unnecessary. Our main CP arent likeable (i can understand that they have been together for soo long , so their relationship is bond to have troubles) but i don't hold that against the series. It redeems itself through the side CP (Ryou n Mai),they are soo goddamn CUTE!!!!!. I assure you that the series is worth watching just for them .They are my favourite part of this series. Also I actually liked the plot twist but it was really poorly done. Only if it had been written well ,it would have been brilliant. Another thing i dont like about this series is that they didn't dwell much in the supernatural aspect which made it kinda confusing to say the least.

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It wasn't horrible but I didn't like the ending.

I'm not really confused on anything except for wondering (I could've missed it but Idont think I did) what Nack wished for, because I expected it to be about Reaow loving him but his feelings didn't change at all.

I know the ending was sorta a happy ending with the couple ending up together in the end and the lady getting to see her son again but I didn't really like the ending. I wish they could've worked stuff out instead of him wishing but it is what it is. I'm not really sure what else to say about it. I guess I also wish that Mai would've actually have gotten with reaow honestly instead of the wish as well but yeah.

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Underestimated

I'd agree with a lot of others commenting the show being somewhat confusing, and some acting that could be improved.
After watching through a second time it was definitely easier to pick up on some things that would have been overlooked, sometimes making some questions there aren't answers for... but overall still pretty enjoyable.
I think this is a overall pretty heavy BL in the grand scheme of shows to date, and I think they did a good job telling the story they wanted to. Lots of emotion they did a good job of portraying, some they could have done better. Overall was pretty impressed they story line seemed to stay consistent within all that was going on.
Overall would highly recommend to any other avid BL watcher.

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