Hindsight Review: An Interesting and Ultimately Satisfying Experience with GMMTV’s “Never Let Me Go”

TYPE OF REVIEW : HINDSIGHT REVIEW
No spoilers.

It has been an interesting experience watching GMMTV’s Never Let Me Go. It is the first time I’ve watched an ongoing Thai drama as it aired. But it is also the first time I am watching the follow-up series of a Thai BL couple that features them as completely different characters from the ones that first introduced me to them.

In my First Impression Review of the series, I talked about looking forward to the different experience. The only other Thai BL couples that I have followed and watched so far have either only played the same characters (TayNew and PleumChimon) or did not have follow up series (Singto and Ohm).

Add to that how I’m following Pond and Phuwin from the fluffy Fish Upon the Sky to the considerably more dramatic Never Let Me Go, it really is an interesting and different experience. But one that, after 12 episodes, I am happy to have had.

I guess I am used to Filipino teleseryes and Filipino loveteam culture where the same pair of actors are stuck together for several series with different characters. Filipino networks like to milk popular stars and their pairings as much as they can.

But it was still different here because as similar as Filipino and Thai television can be, there are also unique qualities as well.

Never Let Me Go on its own was a solid series. It isn’t a series that broke any new ground. But it knew what it was and wanted to be. And they still executed that familiar plot well.

The big draw for the series, for me at least, was that novelty of seeing Pond and Phuwin playing different and more mature characters compared to the ones they played in Fish Upon the Sky. And I think they did a great job. Their chemistry was tested in a different way here and they rose to the challenge. One positive is that this series allowed them to be able to shine on their own in stories that did not necessarily hinge on their chemistry or in scenes together.

Of course, their star-crossed love story is the main event. But their respective characters also had their own stories separate from each other. And were also on the more dramatic side too. So it was a good opportunity for the actors to show their versatility and that they are capable of doing more than just delivering romantic vibes between them.

The series also gave a great preview of the pairing of Perth and Chimon. Though their focus was relatively limited since they are a secondary couple in the series of course, they nonetheless gave viewers a taste of the chemistry that will surely get much more opportunities in their upcoming series together. Like Pond and Phuwin, Perth and Chimon also got story on their own and away from each other. And together, the four lead stars actually fostered a great dynamic that ultimately helped to make the final episodes very satisfying.

I most enjoyed when the series shifted to the island setting and the sort of runaway vibe Neungdiao and Palm had as they hid from the threat against them. Those quieter moments were the highlights of their story and Phuwin and Pond’s performances rather than the more soapy and action-heavy scenes back in the big city or at school.

Again, the story isn’t the most groundbreaking. So more responsibility rests on the shoulders of the cast. And I think the cast delivered more than enough to really help keep the series engaging. The supporting cast including Organ Rasee Wacharapolmek, Nat Sakdatorn, Pitisak Yaowananon and especially Panadda Ruangwut, who played the “adults” in the series really did their part in building a fully realized world for our main characters, especially Phuwin and Pond’s Neungdiao and Palm, to tell their story.

I think the series was good enough. I looked forward to the new episode every week and thanks in large part to the cast, it was a story that left me satisfied after 12 episodes.