A sincere, heartfelt depiction of rural Isan teen life

To understand where Nha Harn is coming from, one needs to know the social background of Isan, Thailand's impoverished northeastern region. It's home to a third of the country's population, but is mostly left behind by economic development. For the common folk living in rural areas, opportunities are rare, their futures uncertain.

Most depictions of Isan have tended to either sensationalize or romanticize its people's struggles, but Nha Harn does neither. Instead, it just tells personal stories of teens living the typical rural Isan life, through non-judgemental lenses that amount to their own views. Building on a trend since 2014 of successful indie comedy films by Isan creators targeting Isan viewers, Nha Harn was originally made as a movie in 2019. TV Thunder's series adaptation, by the same director, Chantana Tiprachart, re-packages the story with more mainstream aesthetics and production values, while remaining faithful to its origins.

Nha Harn The Series is a sincere, heartfelt depiction of rural Isan, a rare spotlight on the regular lives of kids from poorer families so commonly overlooked by mainstream media. It beautifully showcases the charms of the region, from the dialogue, which is almost entirely in the Isan language, to the exquisite locations and scenery, to the music, which infuses mor lam and luk thung influences throughout.

This is on top of a very solid (though not perfect) production. Technical quality is consistently good. The actors, many of whom are on camera for the first time, portray the characters very believably, even if their delivery isn't always on point. While the plot isn't the most original, and the early idyllic storylines might not capture attention by themselves, this is more than offset by the subject matter. The series doesn't try to make itself into a piece of social commentary, but when it does touch on the pains of hardship faced by the people represented by its characters, it does so with such a raw, searing intensity that it's impossible not to feel for them.

Nha Harn might not exactly be Hormones' counterpart for the working class, but it comes quite close. And for successfully depicting Thai society's marginalized kids in such an appealing manner, it is highly recommended.

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An original take on a unique chapter in Thai history, which loses its way towards the end

The annals of Thai history in the Kingdom of Ayutthaya during the 16th century are sparsely detailed, save for a few chapters of political intrigue. Among them, the story of Thao Si Sudachan, the consort of King Chairacha who became regent to her young son following her husband's death in 1547, only to commit filicide and elevate her lover to the throne as an usurper soon after, is one of the best known. Previously depicted in the 2001 epic The Legend of Suriyothai and 2005's The King Maker, the traditional story depicts Si Sudachan as a scheming villain who upsets the peace of Ayutthaya (also known as Ayodhya, according to some sources). But history is written by the victor, and it's always inviting to imagine what the other side of the story might be.

One31's The Empress of Ayodhaya does just that, giving an original reimagining of Si Sudachan's life from her point of view. As a work of historical fiction, it opens solidly, clearly laying out the history and tying the characters to their historical counterparts. The opening episodes shine with their focus on the intricate palace intrigue between various factions, in a manner that evokes the early seasons of Game of Thrones. Si Sudachan (Mai Davika), here known by the fictional personal name Jinda (Si Sudachan being a royal title), is introduced as a strong and intelligent female figure intent on playing the game in order to put herself on the throne and reunite with her lover Wamon (Film Thanapat). The series features pretty much everything one would expect from an epic historical piece, with some modern twists, and the sets, costumes, and art design are fine to look at (to the layperson at least. Will have to defer to experts regarding historical accuracy). While there are noticeable goofs here and there, they aren't so serious as to detract from the whole story.

But the story pretty much loses its way towards the end. In overextending their efforts to have the audience sympathize with Jinda, the writers turn what was initially a strong, interesting, morally grey character into a passive, helpless victim in constant need of rescue. Where in episode 1 Jinda shows rumours of supernatural events to be superstition, black magic suddenly exists and is real in episode 7. The factional struggles ultimately devolve into a simplistic good-guys-vs-bad-guys tale. While it's understandable that the ending is constrained by the outcome of history, the way it was handled ended up being utterly unsatisfying.

And then there's the animal welfare issue. While I won't judge the work by the issues that happened as part of the production, it still needs to be mentioned. Whatever the ultimate outcome, here's hoping that future productions learn from the lesson.

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