Roy Ruk Raeng Kaen (2015)

I just rewatched this drama again after about a year and I thought it was time to let out all these thoughts that had been percolating.

The storyline of Roy Ruk Raeng Kaen is of two lovers separated by anger and plans of revenge - a typical lakorn plot. Unlike many other dramas, however, RRRK's storyline is really of one man trying - and failing miserably - to live with uncontrollable anger and how it destroys his life and all around him.

Hero (or lead, at least) Kimhan is driven by thoughts of revenge for the death of his sister and by what he views as his betrayal by the love of his life, Mook. Although Mook (played by the lovely Fonthip Watcharatraku, aka PookLook) is on the receiving end of his physical, verbal and emotional abuse, I think she comes out of this drama in the best shape. She learns from her experiences while the lead never does. This is the storyline in a nutshell, excluding manslaughter, crazy wives, earth-mother/folk singer/girlfriends on the side and suicide. The story is interesting and there are some great bits of dialogue musing on the meaning of life and love - but no resolution for Kim's anger.

An "A-Lead" that never learns from his mistake? How can this be, you ask? Easy - Kim may experience loneliness and sadness by the end of the drama but he NEVER stops trying to get his own way. It's really the driving fault of this show. I believe the writers were trying to give this show an open ending, leaving it up to us to decide if he's changed, but his smirks in the end scene showed me that he did not.

The cast was actually quite good - especially the veteran actor Leesuwan Watcharabul (aka Note) who plays Tada, the man behind all the drama. It is his wife that dies and predicates all the revenge action. He is a character that does learn from his mistakes! The second lead girl's father is also another tragic male character - I wish I knew this actor's name. It is largely his handling of "how to make his daughter happy" that leads to her mental illness and I think her father knew it. It broke my heart.

Lead actor Pataradet Sa-nguankwamdee Michael (also known as Michael Wu) has been criticized for being stiff but I think he's just a young actor. He certainly can do the "woo woo" scenes of extreme love, hate, sadness - but he doesn't show much for everyday thought or meaning. The script seemed to camouflage this by having him drink a lot but it didn't give him much of an acting range.

The music of this show was particularly nice. Each character had some sort of theme that clued you into their thoughts and there were no annoying "funny" soundtrack noises to get in the way of the story.

I think this show has some nice rewatch value - mostly so you can see the secondary characters (the brother, his girlfriend, the general, his daughter) do the heavy emotional lifting of this show. Several times, I've reflected on some of their lines and how they expressed feelings. Don't let "bad" hero Kim put you off this show - the real story is from the characters that swirl around in the wake of his bad decisions.

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Intense Drama!

Wow. That was intense. it kept me captivated every episode. So many flawed people. Of course, it was over the top with nonsensical decisions and motivations, but that is the draw. If you love angst like I do, please immerse yourself in this. Definitely flooded in revenge. It had all the feels: hatred, spite, intense love, stupidity, but most of all passion. It was great to watch because it displayed real emotions. And the story was captivating. Watched it from beginning to end. No skips. The ML and FL were fantastic. The arrogant ML, the fearful but polite SML, the kind hearted FL, the insane SFL. But for some reason you could identify with them, or at least understand them. And the ending was perfect. Their love was sustained. I thought the writer of this drama did an excellent job with no fillers and ways to take up an episode. So have at it! If you love the revenge, passionate love, angry, cold ML and soft, kind hearted FL scenario, add this to your repertoire of dramas!

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