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Autumn is finally here in the Pacific Northwest, a welcoming change from the hot, drizzle free summer. I love the feel of the brisk, cool air that greets me every morning. Brown leaves, pumpkin spiced lattes and a thin scarf are endearing things to this time of year. Who doesn’t love Autumn?

I like how lakorns are steering towards an Autumn-feel trend too. Starting with The Sixth Sense where heightened senses are used to barter with ghosts and spirits. And for the coming month of October, more spirits and ghosts will endeavor to give us the chill: Qi Pao and Rang Ngao. Although the latter doesn’t literally have any ghosts, a twin playing the part of her sister, wreaking revenge for a life taken, sounds pretty darn scary.

Hong Sabat Lai has occupied my time but now that it came to a close (I’m already missing the names: Nay, Rabin and Siwat!) I finally had time to give Tanchai Nai Sai Mok and Tawan Tor Sang a gander. And unfortunately, both are misses in my book. I like “pretty” as much as any fangirl, but even that can’t keep me going.

I picked up Tanchai Nai Sai Mok to watch Louis Scott and see how he handles a pra’ek role. He plays Prince So from a make belief kingdom who recently graduated and is forced by his parents to wed so they can pass on their royal genes (oh and the throne). Prince So is a picky guy and not yet ready to shackle himself with a wife- his immediate wish is to explore the world. But what he really wanted to do is frolic the uninhibited land of BKK. Fed up with his son’s shenanigans, the King took it upon himself to make the selection on the prince’s behalf while the prince takes off to BKK on royal business and enjoys his bachelorhood one last time.

Not only does Prince So abhors the idea of marrying, he dislikes doing royal appearances as well. So he contrives for Peter, his sidekick and royal butler, to take on his role while he experience “life.” This includes looking for authentic places to eat, where he meets Punch Waragorn (sorry I don’t remember the character’s name) who is a peasant and a schemer. He had mistaken her for a man base on her appearance and immediately hires her to show him around town. Punch decides to use his misconception to milk her chance of making more money.

This is Punch’s second lakorn where she has to pretend to be a guy. I’ve never understood this plot device, especially when the “guy” apparently has a boob. Thankfully, this misconception doesn’t go on much longer- as Prince So discovers she is actually a female as they were running away from villains who would like nothing better than to kill the prince. I’m sure there’s more to this drama but I quit after the fourth episode. There is no argument that Punch is a gifted singer, but as an actress, I don’t find her compelling to watch, sorry. To top it off, her character is so unlikeable. How can I relate to someone who schemes innocent tourists for a living? As for Louis, his Prince So character is such a selfish idiot that I have no empathy for him. Oh you’re a Prince who must wed, boohoo. You’ve got it so bad. Clearly, this lakorn is not for me.

I believe all lakorns and movies are entitled to remakes. Why not? It offers the director an opportunity to spin a different perspective, or try to make an old lakorn better. Even though it can be tiring for the viewers to learn that a lakorn is yet another remake. So, Tawan Tor Sang is a remake which originally starred the super-hot Pete Thongjure and sweetheart Kob Suwanant. From what I remember, it was a pretty dramatic lakorn, wreaking of revenge (borderline incest) and lots of intense scenes between the leading characters. This time around, Dome Pakorn plays as Pakapong while Mai Davika plays as Rasa.

I’ve been wondering how Dome will fare in a lakorn that required more than stiff gazes or fangs baring ala Love Never Dies, and boy did I get that answer! The hottie needs some work. Although I’m not a fan of his new hairdo, I did like the one scene where his hair is brushed back, to showcase the fine sculptures of his face (it is the hotel scene where Rasa learns who Pakapong really is.) I’ve only seen episode one, so I shouldn’t be so quick to judge, but it is enough to keep me away. Mai is beautiful, but her character at first impression is too unreasonable for me. I mean, I get that she’s supposed to be a confident, strong person, but her character’s reactions just don’t work [for me].

Now, I’ve been known to fangirl and spazz over lakorns that has no great plot, but that would require some seriously good chemistry and loveable characters. Tawan Tor Sang, it is not. If you want to read the synopsis of this lakorn, check it out here, the basis should remain the same with just the director’s personal take and adjustments.

I will be continuing on with The Sixth Sense and await for the highly anticipated Qi Pao (don’t we all miss Anne), the remake of Rang Ngao and a curious Panyachon Gonkrua (Anne’s producer debut.)

[You can read recaps of Rang Ngao at Darkness lakorns, the link is located to the right of my page under “recaps.” Sousday mentioned a couple of months ago that she may sub Panyachon Gonkrua in English. I’ll be recapping Maya Tawan (which is a long ways away from being aired so I am open to writing something else in the meantime.) If anyone knows whether Qi Pao will be e-subbed, do share with the readers! Please feel free to vent/share some of your hits and misses of lakorns thus far!]

And finally, is it Autumn where you’re at or are you one of those who live in a land with only two seasons?