This is the story of Kaew who six years before was dating Por. Por’s sister Put in a fit of jealous rage killed Kaew’s sister (King?) thinking she(King?) was having an affair with Put’s husband. This caused Kaew to break up with Por. Six years later the family is still suffering the loss of the sister and Kaew’s mother is in poor health. Needing money Kaew gets a new job where surpirse, surprise, Por is her new boss. He is understandably bitter about the dissolution of their relationship years before.

In the meantime Kong while with his mother in the hospital mistakenly accuses a good Samaritan of having stolen his mother’s wallet. That guy turns out to be Pee, the brother of James, husband of Put, who was the reason that Kaew and Kong’s sister was killed. Neither of them realize the connection at first. When Kong does realize he wants nothing to do with Pee.

I actually found this secondary couple more interesting than the main couple. Perhaps because I just came off of watching Life is Beautiful. Kyung Soo and Tae Sub were good together but they were already in an established relationship when LiB started and their whole storyline centered around them being gay. Pee and Kong it’s almost incidental that they are two guys. Their storyline in reality is the same as Por and Kaew. Por’s family has caused them a lot of pain and a relationship with anyone from the family would be out of the question. It was interesting to actually see feelings unfold between them naturally.

I’m so inspired by this drama I am seriously considering writing a Spanish sub for the Pee/Kong parts, LOL.
I don’t know if it’s just the actor’s ability or the writing but Pee and Kong actually seemed like a more natural couple to me. There were plenty of longing looks and O is a fabulous actor. Some of the looks he was giving Kong you could tell he wanted him, haha. He was exactly the same as when I’ve seen him in other dramas with no awkwardness that he was paired with a male rather than the usual female. Fluke also did a great job especially I think with the emotional scenes. I don’t want to spoil it but things get really tough for Kong in one of the later episodes and I actually got a bit teary eyed which is very rare for me. I watched a sub interview someone posted on YouTube and apparently Fluke did not know he was playing a gay character when he was given a role in the lakorn. He really threw himself into the role. There were a few bits of awkwardness but I attribute that more not having a lot of acting experience.

Some of my negatives with this drama had to do with the Por and Kaew relationship. I found her to be somewhat of a doormat in many ways but unfortunately this happens way too often in lakorns. Por was the usual lead male acting tough and arrogant but inside you know he is crying.

I am posting two clips below. One is the first part of ep. 5 which is when Pee and Kong first meet. Below that is the song that Fluke sings for the drama. He’s got a nice soft voice.

Episode 5.1

Kwarm Roo Seuk Dee Dee (Tee Mai Aht Bauk Krai) / Good Feelings that we Can’t Tell Anyone

I think the parents in this drama are great and very understanding parents and it really comes across how much they love their kids and want what is best for them. At the heart of the drama (at least in the eps I’ve seen) is the relationship of the oldest son Tae Sub with his boyfriend Kyung Soo. It really depicts how difficult it is in to be in the closet and then how difficult it is to make the decision to come out to the family. There is a good contrast in the reaction of Tae Sub’s and Kyung Soo’s family. It is at times heartbreaking to see Tae Sub’s parents try to be strong and balance their love for him with the news that for them came out of left field.

Can I just say that Ho Sub is the brother everyone would love to have. No matter what is the reaction of people around him you can tell that in his eyes Tae Sub is still his beloved hyung and nothing has changed for him. The character is very cute, not just physically but also in his eagerness and his caring towards those around him.

I think the writer is doing a wonderful job of conveying how even within families people can have very different beliefs of what they find acceptable. Tae Sub and Kyung Soo look good together (some slight awkwardness on the actors’ part but that seems to change over the course of the eps.) and care deeply for one another while at the same time being very much aware of how their relationship is impacting their families.

All in all a drama well worth watching. Though obviously due to the topic if you are a homophobe then watch something else.

–Edit 12/23/10– the previous vid is gone. Here is another one.

I am still scratching the head about the news that someone hacked into Funimation and stole an ep of One Piece and posted it one day before it was set to be released. Apparently Funimation had come to agreement with Toei to allow Funi to post one hour after the Japanese release.

Now I don’t necessarily feel that you should never watch fansubbed anime. There are some real gems out there that for whatever reason will never see the light of the day in the U.S. but seriously people this is “One Piece”, you know that it will be subbed and/or dubbed.

Also, the argument that many anime fans have given for years is that anime was taking too long to reach the U.S. from it’s Japanese release. Funi was releasing the ep one hour after it’s Japanese release.

So then again what was the point of stealing and posting, besides screwing it up for the rest of us?

There are just no words to describe this, LOL.

Profanity just ahead…

You can find it here http://www.hulu.com/big-windup