Song Hua Jai Nee Peur Ter – 1st Impressions

Split personality. Telekinesis. Fated love. These are all plot devices for our currently airing lakorn, Song Hua Jai Nee Peur Ter (Two Spirits Love). However the most compelling aspect of this lakorn isn’t so much the busy plotline, but it is the talented actor himself – Mario Maurer. Gird your loins; his expressive eyes will go right to your soul. And the chemistry with his costar, Mint Chalida, that’s icing on the cake.

Mario plays Thanatorn, a prickly business owner who not only has telekinesis but a split personality. What a total gem – not. He’s nonsensical, on guard and can’t quite control his powers. He may seem tough and mean, sparks literally fly when he walks by, but he’s just a person who’s afraid of losing control. Can’t fault the man when you got an incurable condition like a dissociative personality disorder. He just never knows when “the other guy” decides to show up and whether he’ll overstay his welcome.

There is a trigger though. Thanatorn gets recurrent dreams of a woman dressed in traditional Thai clothes. One fine evening in a heavily congested street, he meets a woman who looks just like the woman in his dreams – Kewalin (Mint Chalida) who was on a volunteer paramedic run. Next thing we know, Thanatorn collapses in her arms (we haven’t been shown how the switch transpired, just that it did.) The “other guy” is called Mek, a soft spoken, kind man riddled with battle wounds and who appears to be a blast from the past. Which begs the question, is he a time traveler or Thanatorn’s alter ego? Perhaps both! Kewalin thinks he’s amnesiac since he seems so lost, and gives him shelter for the night. And as if nothing happened- as if the switch just turns itself back off – Thanatorn is back as himself again.

He starts piecing the puzzle together when he spies a job application with Kewalin’s face on it. Then upon meeting her in an interview, she tells him that he’s the Mek she knows and rescued. That threw him in for a doozy. Thanatorn decides he’ll keep Kewalin around by offering her a job at the company– she seems to be the common denominator between him and Mek- and he needs information on the “other guy.”

Ah, Mario Maurer is simply perfection in this lakorn. He plays the polar opposites Thanatorn and Mek to a tee! One will not get confused who is who. I am so interested to see how this love triangle –which is not really a love triangle – plays out! Thank goodness channel 3 decided to pair these two together, so much chemistry!

Mint Chalida isn’t so shabby herself with what she is given. Kewalin has a good head on her shoulders, and it’s hard to fault her reaction when she has to deal with two different personalities coming from one man. I thought we had it hard dealing with a pr’ek who is hot one minute and cold the next, but dealing with a pr’ek who simply won’t remember what happened or takes on an entirely different persona? That’s a tough job for anyone. Kewalin has my sympathies. But she does get rewarded with adorable puppy dog eyes from Mek. Gah.

The rest of the cast is pretty great as well – especially on Kewalin’s friend/family side. Parent living far away, strict brother, funny friends – all makes for a fun and engaging watch.

The writing and directing however, could use some work. I’d really like to see a better transition from the switch between Thanatorn to Mek, instead of the excuse that either Thanatorn or Mek just simply disappears and we get another scene. I’d love to get a reaction of Thanatorn when he wakes up from under Kewalin’s bed! Now that would have been interesting, instead we see him flashing back to the time he leaves her home all confused. If the switch is as “on and off” as it seems, then put him in the middle of something totally uncomfortable.

Regardless, watch it for Mario. Watch it for Mario-Chalida. #twospiritslove

Pic credit to @Anyama on Instagram

On a personal note..

6 months. Time has gotten ahead of me. I cannot believe I’m a mother to someone.

Still can’t commit to writing articles on a regular basis, but if something strikes my fancy, during the little free time that I have, I’ll be sure to write. In the meantime, I’ll be watching this, slowly but surely. I’ll try to be more visible on twitter too, but as always, feel free to place a comment here, I’m listening and I’ll respond. Hope all is well with my Lovelies! ~P’Fia