As I am writing a review for Mam Gam Dang, I got to thinking about the importance of the beginning, middle and ending of lakorns.

You see, Mam Gam Dang had a great beginning, it was engaging and you easily fall in love with the leading characters. Towards the middle of the drama, things remained stagnant but at least the feelings between the two characters made progress and we get an inkling that things will be alright in the end. Until, well, the ending, where everything fell apart and the sequences just didn’t make sense.

Which really threw me off and got me thinking about what is important to me: can I forgive a lakorn that starts great but ends badly? Or is a lakorn fantastic with a bad beginning but a startlingly good ending? How should the middle take part in all of this?

Ultimately it is up to the viewers and writer/director. But I decided to come up with some criteria on what I deem a great lakorn.

The beginning should be engaging to the point where it hooks me and makes me want to continue.

The middle should have an obvious character development or plot developments that will keep me entertained and not drop the drama halfway.

The ending is almost as important as the beginning and middle. I like my dramas to be wrapped up nicely in a bow, lose strings tied- and not to mention, an ending that makes sense!

Also most importantly, the drama should leave me feeling like I got something from the story, whether that is appreciation for the suspense, characters, storyline and/or conflicts.

After further consideration, I felt that Mam Gam Dang is a good lakorn that left me wanting more. I have a contention with the writer/director for the rushed ending that came out of the left field. But all in all, the lakorn did leave a solid impression on the characters, which is attributed to the great acting abilities of both Matt and Chakrit. I hate to see a drama that is so full of potential but becomes lackluster because of an unpolished ending. But I didn’t hate the ending, and that alone cannot be said for a lot of lakorns!

An example of what I think a mediocre lakorn is Rak Patiharn: the lakorn started out teasing us of a wonderful storyline, one that is more character base than plot base (which is alright with me), a story about a young girl who has returned to her motherland to find her remaining family members but realized that they didn’t want anything to do with her. The lonely and internal strength could have been captured, but unfortunately fell by the wayside by the leading female’s constant lies about her identity. The relationship between the leading characters started out on the wrong footing but over time developed into fondness. And of course, they waited until the very last episode to reveal her true identity which ends up hurting everyone in the end.

Poor? Typically the ones that I lack enthusiasm to complete the series are what I deem poor.. maybe because the characters weren’t appealing to me, maybe the plot sucks, maybe the middle dragged too much and maybe the whole cast is lackluster, but for whatever reasons, they were not up to par.

So in your opinion, what is more important, the beginning, middle or ending of a lakorn? And based on that, what keeps you pursuing the lakorn and how do you decide whether it is good or not?