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 Pursuit of Jade. Changyu falls off a cliff AGAIN.
I also started recapping a new show with episodes 1-2 of Payback. I’m not sure how to get revenge by becoming an actor, but I look forward to learning.
For Funsies I am sharing commentary on the latest BoatOat omegaverse nonsense Knot over on my Patreon! If you feel like supporting me and reading my deeply insightful comments about Boat sniffing a coffee cup, it’s there.
What did I watch this week? Two shows that had me watching their episodes as soon as they dropped, but despite that, I’m only recommending one of them. The other… Let’s start there.
Your Dear Daddy – Your dear daddy เรียกแด๊ดสิธาร – 2026
Recently aired rich-boy-in-the-countryside Thai BL with 8 episodes.
A young man trying to escape feelings finds himself in debt to his rich one-night stand and working on his farm. Rural healing ensues.
I wouldn’t say that the show started strong (and I didn’t in my initial review), but it had potential and a lovely size difference.
Unfortunately, that potential and size difference were mostly wasted
When the couple was on screen together, I was happy. But they didn’t have enough time on screen together.
Instead, we spent the majority of each episode with two other couples, their half-baked romances, and an uninteresting corporate sabotage story. Our shorter guy and his trauma weren’t dropped, but outside of that and some hot scenes with his partner, he had little to do.
The disappointment is all the worse because our leading pair had really good chemistry. They were the reason I had to watch every week as soon as a new episode came out.
I loved how down bad our larger lead was for his smaller partner. I love a good trauma-healing story, with one character getting to lean fully on the other without any “they need to stand on their own two feet!” stuff that can drive me crazy.
And I got that in a few scenes. Scenes I really enjoyed. But then they were over, and I had to watch our larger guy talk about business deals.
Those business deals came with a betrayal by a childhood friend
But the friendship had been destroyed before the show started. Our larger guy felt sad about it all, but there wasn’t much more to it. He didn’t need the smaller guy’s help much, so it didn’t deepen or alter their relationship.
The most interesting part of this business conflict was when it put our shorter guy in danger. Other than that, it was just a “who’s the insider leaking the numbers” story I couldn’t care about.
Then, the final showdown involved a graph. And a broken wine glass. And once it was over, it was just a thing that happened, and was now done.
As for our other two pairings, I’ll be honest that my brain checked out when they were on screen. Which was a lot of the time. I don’t think either relationship really went anywhere exciting.
I would have rather spent more time on the tea farm, with our smaller guy becoming a bigger part of his larger partner’s world.
At one point, our larger guy talked about his past, how he tried to conform to his father’s expectations and failed. I would have enjoyed more plot dealing with that than who was sending the bad guys the business numbers.
I’m not someone who uses 2x speed or FFW when watching
It’s some kind of spiritual issue for me. I can’t explain it.
But if you ARE the kind of person who does this, then I can recommend you watch this and use that skill to only watch the scenes with our leads together. They’re good.
The rest is on you.
Okay, so let me recommend this next show to you!
Wu – อู – 2026
Recently aired fate-demon-fantasy Thai bromance with 9 episodes.
A young man who unknowingly has a bit of a demon inside him meets another young man who can alter fate. Bromance ensues.
What intrigued me about this show in my initial review was what kept me watching until the very end: The main characters, their complicated feelings, unconventional choices, and deepening, hardcore bromance.
Then there was the larger, overarching external conflict.
A plot SO BIG it involves the Prime Minister of Thailand
This larger plot went over my head at times. Even now, I’m not sure I can accurately describe what happened, except that it’s about a democracy, individuals, fates, the will of the people, and corruption.
Also, an evil demon that had been summoned to influence everyone involved. Like, the entire population of the country. I think.
It was a bit overwhelming, and at times, relayed through news clips, felt very distant from our two leads and their rag-tag team of ritual performers. Yes, it affected some people closer to them, but still often in scenes that didn’t involve them.
Not only that, but an evil demon as a bad guy is tricky. It’s like a bear. Bears gonna bear. Evil demons gonna evil demon. It’s hard to get upset about that.
Especially towards the middle of the series, every time we left our two leads, my interest in what was happening flagged. While these things are important IRL, the entire political situation in Thailand was too overwhelming for me to connect with emotionally.
But over time, I saw how it was tied to the smaller stories going on
Our main guy, the Wu, is a lonely outsider. Set apart from the average person because of his abilities and how he was raised, he’s also not accepted by other Wu. Mainly because he doesn’t just go along with what those in power dictate is best for everyone. He ignores the status quo, takes a harder look, and makes his own decisions.
Seeing how other Wu use their power has left him lonely and disillusioned. But he doesn’t let anyone see that. Until he meets the other lead.
Coming out of the middle of the story, as our Demon-Infested guy grows closer to the lonely Wu, I better understood the connection between this larger story and the smaller one. It’s about those in power, how they use that power, and the ones who are willing to go against them.
By the end, I was fully invested in how it would all play out
The last episode, where our Wu interacted the most directly with this larger plot, pulled all these different threads together in a way that I found both surprising and satisfying.
Not only that, it made me want to go back and rewatch it, so I could catch things I missed and better understand how everything was woven together. It says a lot when I want to rewatch a show that doesn’t have kissing.
So yeah, if you’re okay with two men being deeply devoted and willing to risk everything for each other while never once kissing, and a conflict that affects politics and the lives of everyone in a country, give this one a try.
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