Ready, Set, Love (2024)

squid games meet the hunger games

this short series is really a mix between Squid Games for the gaming stage and the cruel steps to reach the top. it also reminded me of the Hinger games as it is set into a distopian world where men are literally farmed following a pandemic that altered the way children are born.
the reality show set by the governement to mask underground activities were also a good plot point.
But the staging is far below the quality I expected. The actors are ok but not tremendous, to my point of view. I still watched the 6 episodes and liked the hopelfull end but would have expected a bit more depth especially with the second leads.

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"Ready, Set, Love" is the most unusual and worth-watching Thai series in February!!

"Ready, Set, Love" is a romantic-comedy series exclusively available on Netflix. The story is about an epidemic outbreak that affects only males which makes the number of men in the country almost non – existent. Consequently, a facility called “The farm” is established by the government to gather all the remaining men and take care of them. Once the men at the farm reach adulthood, they are referred to as "gentlemen" and participate in a variety show where women compete for the opportunity to date and marry the man they like.
For me, e me, who isn't typically a fan of Thai TV series, “Ready, Set, Love” stands out due to its concept, which is rarely seen in Thailand’s drama series industry.
Promotion
“Ready, Set, Love” was released on February 15th, which is during Valentine’s day. People are enjoying the month of love and this series is about dating that attracts people to watch this series. They promoted it by allowing some viewers to flirt with the male actors. And also following various trends in creating content on online platforms. This increases the desire’s people to watch it, including myself, who watches this series because of the promotion activities.
Concept
The variety show in the series has a concept similar to "Squid Game" , a highly popular series. Despite these similarities, this aspect makes the series even more interesting for Thai’s series industry. With staff members wearing cartoon masks and an AI serving as the show's host, the series takes on a uniquely exotic quality.
Production
I truly admire the production team; they really made it. From the scene design to the realistic CGI and the investment in real locations, it's all commendable. Additionally, the color tone is colorful, such as the gentleman, they have their own distinct color palette, which fits them well and makes the series even more enjoyable. The soundtrack is also fantastic. One song I especially like is ‘Beyond the wall’ , which was made specifically for this series. For me, I think this song reflects on men who have been living in a place created by the government since birth. Even though everything seems to be provided for, they have never met their real family. Wouldn't it be better if they could escape beyond the wall and live a life of their own choosing, rather than one dictated by others.
The storylines
For the story, I admired how the issues in Thai society are portrayed. If you only watch the teaser, it only focuses on the love story of men and women. However, after watching it, I realized it also includes the love story of LGBTQ, which the actor performed smoothly and without interruption, which really impressed me. In addition to the love story, there are also political issues. Including the government that pleases and benefits only the elite. And it also contains the truth of the world. Furthermore, the actors performed well, including new actors whom I had never seen before, but their performances were excellent, the chemistry of the main couple is very good. All of the characters are unique and have their own stories. For example, “Chanel” who initially appears to be the villain of the story, but the way she does because of her family. And in the end, she turns over a new leaf, which makes the audience feel sympathy for her. However, there are some scenes that seem to not make sense and leaves me feeling dissatisfied. For example in the scene of the Snakes and Ladders Game, the leading man passes the game easily while others struggle, So I felt like it’s too unfair. Additionally, some scenes are intended to be funny but it isn't that enjoyable. Also, the plot development is good in the beginning, but in the near-end part, it progresses too quickly, which also leaves me feeling dissatisfied. (For me, this series, if you watch this series for entertainment, you shouldn’t take it too seriously.)
Overall
I would say that I’m impressed by this series. Both the concept and production were great, and the high quality actors. And for the story, I hope the next season will come out and be even better. But overall, it is excellent, and I would recommend others to watch this series.

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Better than expected.

Some things a bit overboard, some things a bit too convenient, some things/characters too predictable, and it's definitely not some profound dystopian drama. But it definitely scratched the surface and had quite some nice starting points worth thinking about IF something like that would ever happen. How would women rule the world, what about birth rate and birth control, how to secure mankind's survival, etc.

It's probably just me taking attention to that, but even though it was maybe just randomly put into the story, it's actually quite logical that waaaaay more female relationships would exist in that environment and feel soooo normal. I hope, you know, what I mean. Another normal than what we have in our sociaty right now (where's still fighting for acceptance in many parts of the world).

Though I'm almost sure they wouldn't "sell" men like that if they are that valuable to the world.

The setting kind of resembled Squid Game, only without the death threat. I quite enjoyed the games, they really put some thoughts into those. Also, nice music and such beautiful shots here and there <3

And I was totally surprised by the good acting of the whole cast. I was esp. fond of the supposed evil SFL. I liked her performance, her facial expressions and gestures quite a lot.
I also liked the main couple, but I hated the hairspray hairstyle of the ML and his overly careful way of running his hand "through" his hair, lol.

Overall, a somewhat basic stereotype kind of character setting, but they still put together a really enjoyable story with only 8 episodes and even left room for a 2nd maybe deeper season. I would totally go for that since there's a lot more to tell about just everything. Potential's there. Hope, they use it wisely if they decide to it.

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Určite to stoji za pozretie

Bola som spočiatku skeptická, nejaký seriálik o hre a´la : Přijmeš moji růži? ... ale teda už po prvej časti sa to zvrtne a zatiahne vás to do deja, že sa vám ani nebude chcieť ísť spať, kým neprídete k časti, ktorá nie je napínavá resp. nejak zaujímavá ;-)
Tematika seriálu o svete, kde sa rodí len cca 0,01% mužskej populácie a smotánka si ich necháva pre seba, aby sa mohla množiť, pričom na oko, sa v rámci súťaže, o priazeň mužov môžu uchádzať aj dievčatá z nižšej vrstvy. Hlavná predstaviteľka je tvrdohlavá, ešteže existujú mladšie a ešte tvrdohlavejšie sestry, ktoré im radi popletú život, a láska, ktorá sa prederie na povrch aj vtedy, keď je zakázaná.
Seriál je vtipný, napínavý, so súťažami s akými sa bohužiaľ u nás nestretávame, (max ak ste pozerávali Takeshi castle) s krimi - dramatickou zápletkou. Koniec je fajn, ale ostal otvorený, tak som zvedavá, či sa odhodlajú na druhú sériu a celý "svet" dajú do poriadku.
Serial mi ponúklo v rámci Netflix-u a to rovno s cz titulkami, a keď som videla, ze tam hrá Man Trisanu Soranun , nebolo o čom, a pustila som si ho,xi
Jednoznačne ho môžem odporučiť a prajem vám prijemné sledovanie ;-)

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GAME SHOW X DYSTOPIAN X SO MANY LOVE STORIES!

RHIS WAS SO GOOD!!! i found this on tiktok and randomly started to watch it. I LOVED IT SO MUCH!! new fav drama omg. i need to watch more Thai dramas. SO GOOD. SON IS SO FUCKING HOT TOO. bro like HIS HAIR W THE TWO LIL THINGS POPPING OUT. he is so fucking cute… made me literally feel butterflies. i haven’t felt that in a while DAMNNNN. bro is beautiful. omg and the first 2 eps had to be my favorite with the pining and enemies/jealousy w day and son. THEYRE SO CUTE! this drama was so good. the way they portrayed the game show… so we’ll done! like the production of it!!! and the cinematography!!! plus i thought i’d not like chanel, but she’s one of my fav characters. ESPECIALLY HER AND MAX. i wouldn’t have expected that, they’re so sweet. and the way she backed off from him cuz her bestie likes him, ugh. but her mom is the bad guy. i love how she ended up choosing max at the end. SO CUTE. on the other hand I HATE ALMOND. bro like after everything valentine did to save u…. and u BETRAYED THEM!! what the fuck bro like ???? ugh but this show was so well done and so cute. funny too—a little cheesy but i liked it . i didn’t like the main girl that much, but i feel like she was so real LOL so i liked that. SON THO. COME HOME TO MAMA. plus the cliffhanger????????? i hope they’re ok….. but at least they had 4 years free LMFAO. SON UGH SON!!!! ofc they had a child connection … BUT SON. he was perfect. beautiful. UGH SWOONING JUST THINKING OF HIM! but new fav drama <333

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A different type of Hunger Games!

I got major Hunger Games vibes from this show!

In a world of barely any guys, a female chosen from the lottery (similar to Willy Wonka's Charlie) is forced into a game show where top winners can live happily ever after with a male they choose at this government monitored place, called the Farm.

I had started this thinking it was going to be a cute lighthearted romance drama, but NO NO this was not it at all. The more I watched, the more complex it got into the dystopian world they live in. I was curious about the games they would play. They were decently entertaining and creative to watch.

The way they ended was pretty cliffhanger, leaving room for Season 2 so we understand more about the world they built!! I need to know more about the father! Everything was plotted and planned well, aside from some smh moments from the female lead. Highly recommend, especially if this is your first Thai drama like it was mine! The male lead is a fantastic actor.

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Very entertaining and visually captivating

This show is like the book The Selection meets The Bachelor meets Squid Game, which I found to be very entertaining.
I am a fan of shorter series but I felt like the story could've gone a lot deeper and there could be twice the episodes. The plot and stories have SO much potential so part of me wishes we got a little more but I don't wanna complain. I loved the overall vibe of the show- it made me laugh quite a few times and stayed pretty light hearted despite some of the darker things you discover are going on.

Visually this show is incredible. The colors. The lighting. The unique camera work. The sets and locations. It is BEAUTIFUL and so cool to watch. I really appreciate all the detail that went into making this series look like a work of art.

I don't think I'm in any position to judge acting, I think everyone did pretty great. There were only a few moments where the pacing of the scene just seemed off enough for me to notice, but this is just me being nit picky and I don't think it took away from my enjoyment of the show.

TLDR; give this show a watch! There's no way you won't be entertained, it's very bingable, and visually fantastic!

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Art style copied from Hunger Games + Squid Game. Weak storyline. Weak Performance.

Plot [-]

The concept of the story is alright, but the plot and storyline are weak. There's not much substance at all. There's absolutely no need for 6 episodes. They could just make it into a 2-hr movie and that would be enough.

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Acting [-]

The worst acting goes to the FL. Her performance is exaggerated and unnatural. While the genre may require some level of exaggeration, her portrayal goes beyond what is necessary. It seems like she hasn't found the right balance between delivering a performance while maintaining the level of believability.

Apart from FL, FL's friend also delivers an unnatural performance in some scenes. As for the FL's younger sister, she is cute and natural in appearance (I think her performance is the best in the series. She has a long way to go in this career), but the words she uses in her dialogue seem to come from almost 20 years ago. I strongly feel that the writer of this series might belong to Gen Y as their slangs are from the heyday of that era. (For example, who still says เพื่ออออ? (The FL uses this word a couple of times.) And you make the younger sister who is an early teen says ตายแล้วววว (-_-) Guys... no kid says that word. I don't even say it myself though I'm older than her.)

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Music [-]

This series is quite silent when it comes to music. They hardly use any soundtracks or backing tracks apart from the main opening song. I usually admire a series/movie that can captivate viewers without relying on music which often plays a significant role in evoking emotions. However, the way this series avoids using music seems somewhat out of theme. Firstly, with their shallow story and character design, they can hardly engage viewers emotionally, so incorporating backing music would be beneficial for them. Secondly, considering that the series has a futuristic and dystopian theme within the fantasy genre, using the right music would help immerse people who haven't experienced such environments before. While it would be impressive and ingenious if they could achieve this without music, since they cannot do so effectively, they should take advantage of what music can offer here.

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Art Direction [-]

I quite like the art direction for most parts of the series. The light, the colors, the props and camera angles are align with my taste, but they totally lack originality. They are heavily inspired by Hunger Games + Squid Game. The color palettes and the uniform used in this series appear to be direct copies from Squid Game. Though copy, they still did it quite alright, but there's one aspect that stands out negatively, which is the costume of the actors in the last scene, including the ML's costume and hairstyle. The world of the commune in that scene lacks imagination and creativity. It's simply a copy of the hippie style but ends up feeling fake. Just look at the ML's hairstyle, it feels overdone. They seem to have run out of ideas on how to differentiate that community.

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Above all [~/-]

It's super cringey. I got goosebumps and second-hand embarrassment watching the FL doing her foolish things. She's the character that could have been cool, really, but they portray her as dumb.

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hmmm, tôi không biết đặt tên tựa đề đánh giá như thế nào

vâng, thực tế mà nói chung thì..
1. về diễn xuất và khả năng phối hợp giữa tất cả mọi người đều chặt chẽ, không có sự rời rạc.
2. phim tạo nên nhiều tình tiết bất ngờ, tạo tình huống hồi hộp (đặc biệt nhất là các phân cảnh cuối cùng đến từ tập 6 [ví dụ: tính từ vị trí của chanel (do lilly thủ vai) lên trước khi lilly chọn cưới người đàn ông cho mình,v.v...]
3. âm thanh, âm nhạc đều được hòa âm và phối khí cực kỳ tốt, nghe rõ ràng.
4. hiệu ứng hình ảnh linh hoạt.
5. nichapalak thongkham (lilly) diễn xuất trong bộ phim này thật sự rất tiến bộ ^^
6. đây là suy đoán của tôi, ban đầu tôi đã nghĩ nó dành cho người 16+ trở lên, tôi đã đúng.
kết: đây là ý kiến riêng của tôi, bạn có thể tham khảo nó.

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Good premise, execution was okay, and the ending was unsatisfying

I think the show had a really premise, the fact that we're watching partially as the reality show viewer and partially as a normal drama viewer. I also think the fact that this was held in an alternate universe where the male only makes up 0.01 of the population is very new.

I binged the show, which I rarely do, so I can say that it was a very enjoyable watch, I was sucked into it, although there are some cringy parts that I skipped past through. The flow in the beginning made a lot of sense, the character introduction, the reality show flow, but in the middle episodes, it felt kind of wonky, it was as if they were trying to fit in so much content but they weren't allowed the time? I'm not so sure. And the ending? I think it was too hurried, overthrowing the government is hard for sure, so it feels weird that they tried to cram it in the last 20 minutes of the last episode. And the last scene where we see Madam Kwan finding out Son, Day, their son, and Son's father? It's a bit ominous but tells us nothing.

The show was really fun overall, I wish they executed it better and I wish we had a more coherent ending.

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It was very fun

This Thai drama left me impressed by its production quality. The premise it deals with is very interesting and even though there are only 6 episodes they are very enjoyable and make you want to keep watching one after the other. Undoubtedly, I think it's a plot that could have been approached more deeply, but for its format I don't think it was too bad (although I was left wanting to see more). I think it's perfect for non-stop weekend viewing, it's fun, the games are entertaining and I really liked the characters. It was hilarious sometimes and I loved it, without getting so reflexive or critical it is a show that I would watch again because I enjoyed it from beginning to end. Let's wait if they decide to bring out a new season.

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Interesting premise but too many plotholes in the world-building

This show was interesting at times and it dragged at others. It's only 6 episodes but somehow they managed to drag it at times and at others it felt rushed.
As other people have mentioned in their reviews there is a flaw in the world-building of the show. There are too many questions left unanswered in terms of how society works and what things are different, especially when it comes to reproduction and what kind of things they were doing to solve the problem of the decline in male population. It gave me the impression that nothing was being done science wise to try and understand why it was happening or how to solve it. I think at one point it's mentioned how they created artificial sperm or something of the sorts? It's just mentioned in passing but it's never explained. In a society like that you would think the few males would be exploited to no end as sperm donors, and would create issues of everyone eventually being related if the pool of men is that small. The artificial sperm would obviously solve this to a certain extent but then if they're capable of making artificial one, shouldn't they also be able to overcome the decline in born males? It brings the question if the problem then it's the mother carrying the child, in which case, and considering they can make artificial sperm, maybe make an artificial uterus? Anyway, I'm getting too much into this, the show just simply didn't care in explaining anything. Even if it had been complete fantasy and surreal, some kind of explanation would have been welcomed.
The premise in terms of the world and the plot itself is interesting but it lacks enough exploration. The lack of it would have been passable if all that had been a background element and the plot had revolved exclusively about the show and the FL's character participation in it, but it does involve the bigger issues into the plot and as such it's not satisfactory as it is.
The show part of it it's also quite a big plothole in itself. It's never really explained why it exists in the first place. It's not like it's giving anyone hopes or anything if also the women usually chosen to marry those men are from rich families. Why are they pushing the marriage thing onto those men? They should be forever donors lol it wouldn't really matter much who they marry as long as they contribute to the whole population lol It's said it's the 7th time the show happens, by this time the whole population already knows it's fixed if all women chosen are from rich families and it would have lost all spectators. Sure, the men themselves would be equally popular like celebrities, but no one would care to follow a show to see who they marry, it wouldn't be them so who cares?

Someone in the reviews said this was a trying to be somewhat of a mix between Squid Game and Hunger Games, and I totally agree. I haven't even watched Squid Game although I know more or less what is about and certainly this shares the looks. The music in the last episode when the female contestants are presented was very close to the Hunger Games one, it was blatantly similar.

Acting is generally ok, some of them are better than others. Characters wise, I feel a lot of them were quite superficial and we don't learn anything from many of them, or we learn one thing and that's just their whole vibe. Almond was an interesting character in his more grey area, but it was unsatisfactory how his motivations and decision at the end is not explored more. FL's character was ok in the very beginning, then it's too silly and cliché (girl that doesn't care much about her looks, it's a black hole eating and is clumsy and can't read the room) to then being a more mature towards the end. It was inconsistent and they could have avoided that cliché phase altogether. I'm generally not a fan of the troupe of childhood acquaintances to adult lovers, here it was worse that in other shows because it was pretty much instant as soon as they recognise each other, and their childhood experience together was very brief, or at least it's only shown in a very summarised way, what doesn't help their case either way. As it happens often I was more invested in the side love story and progression of Chanel and Max than the main characters, they were more unique and they had obstacles to overcome. Sure, it's not really explored enough, but for what it is, it was better in my opinion.

Things are kind of left there and then there is an "epilogue" 4 years later. It brings many questions, especially of those that were left behind. Then we have the classic evil laugh, almost, because the evil queen has found their location HOHOHO I mean, it's not like they were super secretive in their location, they're not even covered by woods or anything. I don't know... haha Either way, I don't know if they're doing a 2nd season of this or not, and if not, what a silly way to end it.

Despite all of this and other flaws it was surprisingly passable and entertaining in a general way????!!! How is this possible really??? Maybe it's because my expectations were quite low but I thought it would be worse. I think it being 6 episodes also helped it a lot in that respect. It didn't overstay its welcome much.
My rating goes for interesting idea and for the general entertainment it provided, surprisingly.
It's generally watchable but keep expectations quite low and don't question much of anything, otherwise your brain cells will combust, mine are certainly fried at the edges and I'll move on to something else immediately before I dwell too much into the details of this and I see the back of my head and steam out from my ears lol

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