Welcome to my Saturday blog post, where I give thoughts on dramas I’m watching, whether at the beginning, middle, or end. Whatever I want, because I’m petty that way.
This week, I recapped episodes 19-20 of The Prisoner of Beauty. I wouldn’t blame Man Man for giving up on romancing Wei Shao at this point, but thankfully for the show, she’s tenacious.
I also recapped episodes 11-12 of I’m the Most Beautiful Count. We’ve finally escaped the Love Triangle and are returning to the lighter themes of human rights and equality for everyone.
What did I watch this week?
This week is rich with one of my favorite romance characters: the damaged rich person who needs healing. I’ve got two from two countries.
We’re going to start in Thailand with an initial review of:
The Wicked Game – เกม รัก ลวง – 2025
Currently airing Thai Soap-y Former Cop + Poor Rich Boy BL, I’ve watched 4 of 10 episodes.
The unloved and abused youngest son returns home to steal the family company and drags a do-gooder former cop into the mess as his bodyguard.
Here’s a link to the official teaser.
This is far less serious and far more soapy than I thought it would be, but that’s no problem since I like soapy!
Let’s start with the characters and set-up
Our Rich Guy spent his childhood being abused by his older brother and others before being sent away. Now, older and hotter, he’s back with plans for revenge.
Older Brother is played by our beloved Yang from To Sir, With Love, but he is no longer our Beloved Yang. He is yelling, throwing things, scheming, and falling apart while being the absolute worst. It’s a blast.
He’s never going to give up his position as heir to some stupid younger sibling. And he has no problem using violence to maintain his position.
Pulled into this entire mess is our disgraced Former Cop, who was framed by evil people who didn’t want him revealing their evil deeds. Thanks to a fated childhood meeting and drama coincidences, he rescues our Rich Guy more than once.
Rich Guy wants him as his bodyguard, but Former Cop is rightly reluctant to get into this mess of shady characters. Then, a very convenient targeted attack changes his mind.
It feels like a combination of Kinnporsche and Laws of Attraction, and shares writers with the latter. Production-quality-wise, it also shares a bit more with the latter.
The show moves fast, and the characters can’t be trusted
None of them, except probably our Former Cop.
Everyone else, including our Rich Guy, is scheming, betraying, and using others in the soapiest possible ways. In just the first four episodes, we get investigating piles of paper, drug parties, attempted SA, strange use of bath bubbles, saunas, senators, gunfights, parental abuse, flirting, too much to track.
On top of a fondness for the broken and rich, I love stories where no one can be trusted because everyone is different shades of evil. I’m pleased that even OUR Rich Guy is doing bad things, and not just misunderstood. Yes, we know why he’s so desperate and willing to do the wrong things, but what he’s doing isn’t great.
In the midst of this all, we have our Former Cop, looking concerned and upset as he gets pulled further into this disaster. My main worry about this show is that he’ll become a finger-wagging, judgmental, moral authority to his love interest.
Instead, I hope he maintains his own strong moral core while being understanding and sympathetic to the disaster that is his love interest. I find it most satisfying when someone changes their ways for the better because of their own determination, not because they are given an ultimatum or scolded.
Since a similar dynamic existed in Laws of Attraction, and I remember liking how they did it there, I’m feeling hopeful.
Okay, now let’s move over to Japan with a full series review of:
Love Sea: The Home for Lovers – Love Sea ～愛の居場所～ – 2025
Recently aired Japanese Rich Guy + Island Guy BL with 10 episodes and 2 special episodes.
A rich author is forced to vacation on an island where he receives all kinds of service from an easy-going, laid-back, local ikemen.
This is based on the same story as the Thai drama with (roughly) the same name that came out last year. I haven’t re-read my review of that one and will not be writing this as a comparison of the two.
This is a kind of classic, trope-y romance that I love
Once again, we’ve got a Rich Guy, in this case a Rich Author, who isn’t always very nice or good because of trauma from his past. Unlike the show above, though, this story is firmly in the romance genre, so no gunfights or corporate take-overs here. Our Rich Author isn’t evil and scheming, he’s bratty and self-centered.
Our Laid-Back Island Guy sees him as a cat, who treats him coldly and threatens murder with their eyes, only to rub their whole body up against his when they’re in the mood. He enjoys the Rich Guy’s snark and willfulness, up to a point.
Their initial spark is very sexual, so it’s nice to see that this show doesn’t do the “will they kiss? Oh no, they dropped their pudding! No kiss!” nonsense that drives me crazy. Spice level, this is on par with a lot of Thai BLs, though not My Stubborn level. Nothing can be My Stubborn.
There’s not a lot of plot here
They meet on the island, and it’s fun because we get to see the beautiful nature on the island.
Then they go back to the city, which isn’t as beautiful, and we don’t see as much of it. There, we meet our Rich Guy’s Gal Pals, who are the second couple. Their romance is sweet at times, but mostly confusing. They seem to get something out of it at least.
Our Rich Guy is falling in love but terrified, and doing what he can to keep his partner at a safe distance. Our Laid Back Island Guy tries his hardest to love and support Rich Guy, hoping to get his cat-of-a-partner to return his love and, er, rub against him more.
Eventually, someone needs to run, because this is Japan. How can we have a climactic ending if someone isn’t running?
Our Rich Guy is the main conflict in the series, so if you prefer bad guys on both sides, this isn’t for you. But he gets points for trying in his own way, and I like seeing his efforts to take care of and protect his Laid Back Island Guy.
That’s about it.
Most of the story is about making a relationship work
I’m almost more interested in this part of love and relationships than the initial getting-into-the-relationship that romances often focus on.
Here, the relationship begins early in the series, so most of the episodes are them navigating what they started. Outside of overcoming our Rich Guys trauma, how can they love each other despite having so little in common?
I like it when loving someone means taking an interest in what they love, getting to experience something new, and enjoying things together. You don’t have to be naturally drawn to things or even love them to enjoy them with your partner. We get to see that with these two.
The two special episodes are enjoyable fluff that explore the dynamics of the relationship more. They were a nice kind of dessert after the main meal of the show.
While I can see all the flaws with this story, the lack of plot, the trope-y-ness, and nothing about it being new, this is still a potential re-watch for me. It’s just got so many things I like, from sandy beaches to healing and comfort, that I don’t care about the problems.
Leave a Reply