Heroin (2024)

Worst of all...?

EDIT: Just finished. Long review ahead!!!

This Thai adaptation was the 3rd drama adaptation of the novel "Are You Addicted?" The first two adaptations were produced by China titled "Addicted" on 2016 and "Stay With Me" on 2023. When the news that the novel was getting a Thai adaptation, people were expectant and had high hopes because people believed there would be no limitations and censorship compared to the first two. However, things did not go well with this one.

PLOT: Since the source material is Chinese, the first two adaptations did not really change a lot plot-wise. This adaptation really presented Thai culture.

- From the get go, episode 1, it was different from the first two adaptations.
-They included religious activities/practices that were not in the source material.
- Hero had someone (the lady) who he stayed with, while the novel and the first two adaptations did not. Poppy had a job while Lou Yin/Su Yu did not.
- Unfortunately, they did not execute well the "penmanship" scenes which really affected the chemistry of Hero and Poppy. In my opinion, those parts were iconic and should always be present in every adaptation of the novel.
- They also rushed to remove Lala/Jin Lu Lu's parts. The "mooncake" part lost its original significance and just became off.
- The supposed first plot point wherein the mother would gate crash the auntie's store grand opening was also not the same and rushed. In this adaptation, it happened during the parent's day where both parents attended instead of only the mother.
- The second plot point, the r*pe scene, was also change and was not as impactful as it should've been.
- ML's cousin was tamer in this adaptation. He was so much of a nuisance in the novel. For the record, yes he was attracted to the MC.
- The father was so much harsher in this adaptation.
- The ending was different from the novel and the other two adaptations, mainly Stay With Me. For the record, Stay With Me depicted the exact ending of the 1st novel. The two lead characters did get into an accident because ML's cousin tampered the breaks of the car.


Going in to the 5th episode, Hero and Poppy's chemistry is not there just yet. What I did like was Hero's confession scene. The way he laid his head cutely on Poppy's tied hands was a cute detail. However, the "angle kiss" was rather disappointing. I understood why (and this was also controversial and problematic) but it could've been avoided if they did not cast a minor as one of the lead role.

EDIT: The chemistry of the two is nonexistent. I just couldn't feel the attraction between them even with the montage of them sleeping.

CASTS: Personally, they could've done better with the casting, especially with Poppy. This adaptation was rather badly welcomed because the casting of a minor, being paired with an adult, and being part of a series which deals with adult themes.

August's (Hero) acting is good but Mac's (Poppy) is not. He did not portray Bai Lou Yin to my expectations. The same with Poppy's family. It felt so detached like I couldn't feel the family vibes with them. I think it's because of poor execution. The leads' friends were also stiff. I don't think they're friends at all LOL.

MUSIC: The OST matches the vibes of the series. But it's not impactful to me to the point that I would look it up.

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Now this deserves a little praise. I loved the locations, especially that area to Poppy's house with the tall trees. However, it's a little stereotypical that the color grading is yellow or warm just because they're in the country side. It's just like in western movies wherein if the location is in Mexico, it would always be warm/yellow-toned.

TONE & MOOD: I am conflicted with this. The common Thai humor is pretty obvious. The series is "sunny" and "bright" overall and while I understand the humorous tone (the novel had humorous undertone too) it took away the seriousness of some scenes. I felt like the series was just presented too bright.

CONCLUSION: I have finished watching and I could tell that this would be the adaptation with the lowest rating among the three adaptations. From the controversial casting of a minor to the overall writing and execution, I believed this was a wasted opportunity to finally produce a decent adaptation of the novel. In all honesty, I have just fast forwarded the remaining half of the drama. While I understand and appreciate that they adapted it culturally, in the end the execution was just a fail.

Leggi di Più

MEGA LETDOWN

So boring and dull, the camerawork and lighting are amateur production level. The cast are stiff and have no chemistry.
Music is Meh.

Why did they even bother if their budget was so low, just wait for Japan to adapt it like they are with LITA.

Why is August always half naked in ep 2? I think 90% of the budget is on insurance for Augusts chest.

Poppy is a dumb name but it suits the immature/inexperienced actor playing him, although he has a long line of dramas he has been in its most likely due to mummy and daddy pushing their darling boy for fame.

Leggi di Più

Where to begin?

Alright, let’s get to it.

First off, Mac should not be in this show. His parents never should have agreed to let him be in this show as a minor regardless of the age of consent. So essentially, I blame the parents for their decision.

Yes, Mac is 16 and the same age as his character, Bai Luo Yin from the novel, but I personally think given the amount of NC scenes in the novel especially one scene in particular (IYKYK), no 16 year old needs to play that out on screen for adults, men AND women, to take advantage of for their own benefits.

Second off, the director being 35 but having a history of casting underage actors at 16 or 17 is a red flag. And the producers should also be looked at for even letting this happen.

Note that if they are 17 but in college then that’s another debate for a later time.

All of these things have been mentioned again and again and this show should be cancelled because of these factors.

I feel bad for August because he is a great actor and definitely carries Gu Hai’s spirit from what I saw in the first episode.

Now if they would have just used August for the eight years afterwards with other actors his age, this would have been a hit show.

So we now have three shows:
Addicted (Mainland China) with it ending with BLY’s ex returning.
Stay with Me (Taiwan) with it ending with the car crash.
And now this adaptation from Thailand , which we have no idea how far they are going to go with only 10 episodes.

And to point out that the author of the novel is not even a screenwriter for this adaptation as she was for the first two adaptations is definitely questionable, unless of course she was asked to be a part and she said no. (If anyone knows that situation, let me know.)

This whole thing would have been welcomed if they just went with the second part of the novel with the main characters as young adults and the aftermath of what happened to them. And we could even have had the development of the second “couple”, You Qi and Yang Meng that happens after the wedding of BLY and Gu Hai.

All this to say the age gap between August and Mac will always be criticized because it’s too morally conflicting despite Thailand’s law.

I really do hope Mac is able to voice any opinions he has on being a part of this show. I always say let the actors speak for themselves without any hindrance from agents, producers, and of course the media.

And if you’re asking, if I’m still going to continue the series? Well, given the fact that it’s not or no longer available in the US on WeTV or YouTube, unless pirated on different websites then no. But I will be reading the comments throughout the ten weeks it’s on air for the people who can watch it to see what this production did.

Thanks for reading my review.

Leggi di Più