The English title for this drama is misleading. The male lead is not a bad person; it just so happens that the female lead’s family disapproves of him because of his background/status. This is basically a reverse Cinderella story with a poor ML and rich FL and a lot of the conflict stems from it. That said, this is a melodrama, so it has the usual tropes and makjang elements one can expect; I only recommend this if one likes watching this type of show in the first place.

It is pretty good for its genre. The best thing about this is the chemistry between the ML and FL, which is very intense and heartfelt. It’s one of the best I’ve seen in a long time and it doesn’t matter whether the ML or FL are having a romantic moment or a scene of heightened conflict. Mario and Yaya really sold it; they got along so well that there were plenty of times when they didn’t even seem to be acting. They were very natural when they were together.

I am not surprised about Yaya’s performance since I’m familiar with her work. In her last melo lakorn, she efficiently played a very fierce and strong FL. In Keu Teur, her character is gentler and more subdued, which also works since this means that she gets to play a different type of role. She really nailed the role of Saikhim, a character who loves her father in spite of the fact that he bullied her since childhood. Saikhim comes from a wealthy, but very toxic family and yet she doesn’t lose her goodness throughout. Yaya does facial expressions very well; one example is the scene in the beginning of the second episode where the ML’s ex discovers them together in the garage and the FL tries to flee. FL doesn’t say anything at all in this scene but you can feel her panic just looking at her face.

Mario was a pleasant surprise. It’s the first time I’ve watched him and he plays a very strong, devoted and yet vulnerable ML. At first, I thought he was too baby faced to play this character but he was very fierce when defending himself and going against other characters like the FL’s dad or even his evil ‘stepmom.’ The circumstances of his life put him at a disadvantage many times and yet he was no pushover. I love how he could speak out for himself, was single minded and not wishy washy about the FL and also that he was generous about helping people.

Another thing I really liked was that, unlike in previous dramas, the main misunderstanding between the leads was cleared up way before the last episode. Normally, the writers drag it out until the very last (or second to the last) episode, so the viewers only get to see good moments between the leads at the finale. Not so here. It was a very good decision to clear up the misunderstanding several episodes before the show ended and what’s more- I really liked how, even if the ML came back for revenge, it never went out of line (this is one of the few shows where he is actually justified and only acted out of self defense); also, it was clear that he still loved FL even before* the misunderstanding was cleared, which is another thing I liked.

There are only two flaws that bothered me. One is that both the FL and ML are too forgiving. The FL’s father’s actions were inexcusable; even if he supposedly turned good at the end, it was a little unbelievable. The FL’s friend (the second FL) did something very wrong which led to the leads separating. I could understand why she did it and liked her in general, but the way she looked down on the ML’s background was a bit hypocritical and snobbish, given that she also came from the same humble origins. It’s a good thing she redeemed herself later.

The character who bothered me the most was the ML’s friend, Khem. What he did to land the ML in jail was completely unforgivable. It frustrated me a lot to see him (and everyone else) brush this off at the end and worse, to see him angry at the FL’s father and act like he had no part in what happened to the ML.

There is also a very unpleasant reveal about one of the ML’s relationships at the end that was very uncomfortable and may turn off many viewers, but I saw the ML as a victim in there and not at fault for what happened.