Não Me Abandone Jamais (2022)

This review contains spoilers

Never Let me Go was kind of a mess for a character-driven viewer like me.

Its cinematography, camera language, colour grading, editing and choice of music were all really good. The drama was a sight to behold most of the times.

But I personally found the drama lacking when it comes the writing and the acting which are - to me - the backbone of a show.

Writing-wise, I lost count of the plotholes and the number of times the story made no sense - there are many examples of such occurrences in the comments.

Worse in my book (because I'm unfortunately used to suspending my rational thinking when watching dramas), the characters were sometimes inconsistently written, Nuengdiao particularly, who was at times shown as someone who knew how to easily navigate the dark side of being from a wealthy/influential family (when he used his influence and connections to get Palm's mom and dad released for example) and at times being completely incompetent or unknowledgeable at it (when he did nothing at all to prepare for his uncle's attack in the second part of the show, though he knew it was coming).

Some actions also made no sense from a character's point of view (such as Nuengdiao enjoying himself on an island with Palm while not knowing his shot-to-death mother's condition, or the way Palm announced his mom's death to his father, not even taking him apart to tell him the news, not even taking any caution while doing so).

Acting-wise, I know Phuwin and Pond didn't have a lot to work with, given the way their characters are written, but I still think their acting needs improving, especially Pond's in highly emotional scenes. Nonetheless, their chemistry is great.

Relationship-wise, I could never quite truly engage with Palm and Nuengdiao's relationship. There's being boyfriends and there's being actually willing to sacrifice your life for one another, and I never quite understood how we got from one to the other. I also constantly felt like the show was telling me one thing (how their relationship was epic, one of kind, unbreakable despite the challenges etc.) and showing me another (Nuengdiao and Palm breaking up two times instead of working through their difficulties, or failing to work as a team in high-pressure circumstances). I also would have loved the show to work its romance more within the plot because some romantic scenes of the last eps (the restaurant scene for example) felt really tonally jarring to me in the context of an imminent attack from Nuengdiao's uncle. All in all, I never felt Nuengdiao and Palm were the mythical OTP they advertised.

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Just here for the nature shots!

The only reason I finished this series is because of the AMAZING nature shots. The view of the mountains and all the greenery were absolutely stunning. I wish I could get a video of just that!

The acting/story
The acting was ehh okay but not great. Pond and Phuwin are both good actors, but I felt like the story line just couldn’t let them shine. They had more chemistry behind the scenes. It seems odd that the story was so blah, because the director and writers all have good dramas under their belts. But this drama just seemed lacking.

I liked the “bodyguard” troupe, but I felt the story was rushed with unnecessary details that took the up the place of a steady storyline. They tried to fit too much into the series with out focusing on how the flow went.

The soundtrack was okay, nothing special.

Rewatch value
2 stars… only because the cinematography and maybe because I like Pond and Phuwin. But it would be at the bottom of my rewatch list.

The our sky sequel episodes was a little better but not much.

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very interesting concept but the execution was lacking

This show had a very interesting premise but, in my eyes, didn’t allow itself to go down an either darker or more lighthearted road and therefore couldn’t utilize iit. This show dealt with death and abuse but kept it all very PG-13. You definitely can still make a dark show with that rating, but this show specifically failed. This show wasn’t able to juggle and perfectly balance out romantic, dramatic, and sad moments. Therefore, it would’ve been easier if they just leaned more in a darker or lighter direction.

To give an example. At one point, Nueng’s mother and Palm’s father both get shot by assassins. And their knee-jerk reaction is to flee to a beach and hide there for idk how long and just chill there and have fun. They try to make it seem like Nueng has the best time of his life to lay the groundwork for the finale, but it doesn’t work. One moment Nueng is there, having the time of his life (even saying that he’s never been happier) and then we are reminded “oh right, the mom could be dead by now” but this show doesn’t want us to dwell on that too long, because oh look! another cute moment between our leads!

So, either this show goes into a darker direction and let’s Nueng and Palm show more humanity and worry about their parents or they go down a more lighthearted road and tell us “yeah they are fine, now look at them swimming in the ocean!” both doesn’t work. Or rather, this show didn’t make it work.

While Nueng and Palm had a stronger beginning, their ending felt weak. I absolutely love the bodyguard trope. There is just so much external and internal conflict right at your feet but the writers stepped over it. There was some interesting back and forth and testing boundaries and how far they could go. Especially since Palm’s dad seemed really really concerned his son might overstep a line and get them fired or something. And after Nueng’s outburst at the dance, yelling at Palm to “know your place” and calling him a mere bodyguard, etc. In the end it was a bigger deal to me than Palm it seemed. It should’ve laid the groundwork for future insecurities and struggles. You tell me that everyone around Palm kept telling him that there was a clear boundary that Palm shouldn’t dare to cross and that he was worth less than Nueng and he was only there to protect the rich and wealthy and he was like “yeah, anyway”? A shame. Palm just seemed to get over it too quickly, after his own father was telling him the same. It’s like everyone around Palm kept telling him the same thing and Palm just ignored it as best as he could.

The writers were also such cowards and didn’t like to address the obvious classism. They constantly brought it up but as soon as it could’ve actually made things interesting, they dropped it. Same goes for the “bad rich and good rich people” mentality. In BL there are only two types of rich people. The Good Rich People and the Bad Rich People. Nueng rarely gets called out on his privilege because he wants to help the less fortunate by playing piano for a dance club for seniors. His family is apparently stupidly rich but they are good rich people, so it’s fine. You can say about Not Me what you want, but at least they were very clear about one thing (and I am grossly simplifying here) “there is no such thing as good rich people because as long as they are hoarding their money and don’t help others with it, they are bad rich people”.

The bullying at school was definitely a choice. And to have the class president constantly come in after a “prank” and yell “guys come on, stop it” and his “I am the class president I can take care of it” obviously you can’t, Ben.

Also, you shouldn’t give away your villain if you aren’t doing anything with it. I was a bit let down after they revealed who killed Nueng’s father immediately. There was no mystery aspect to it, instead we got many mustache-twirling evil-laughter scenes with him. I always cringe when a grown-ass man is after a teenager. The only good thing about it was that it introduced an opportunity to us for a very interesting character that this show didn’t allow to become something great. Chopper.

I would’ve loved it if they allowed Chopper to be more of a flawed character. He remained pretty solid throughout the show, always trying to do the right thing and stopping his father for the most part. And I wish they would’ve given him a bit more room to explore him trying to help his father by spying on Nueng, or idk.

Chopper was by far the most interesting character for me. He was the most morally gray out of the teenage cast and definitely had a lot of internal struggles that were brushed over. His dynamic with Nueng was great. The “doesn’t matter if our parents hate each other, it has nothing to do with us” was a feast they didn’t eat. They never allowed Chopper to get close to Nueng, so his betrayal of never telling him what his father did, didn’t hit as hard. Especially when Nueng returned from the beach and tossed him aside. So much angst and drama that they chose to ignore.

With that we come to my next point. Chopper and Ben’s relationship was a mere fraction of what it could’ve been. Basically, Chopper confessed his feelings for Ben and Ben rejecting, causing them to grow apart. And right after we find that out, Ben and Chopper both insinuate that they have feelings for each other and make it more or less known to the other. And after that there isn’t much development until they…suddenly decide to move in together. We don’t even get a dead fish kiss, imagine that. Not even a high five.

On top of that, this show wanted to frame Ben as Chopper’s moral compass. Ben telling Chopper to betray his father and stop him from committing more crimes and get more people killed felt ultimately flat because Chopper was never trying to do anything but that. He tried to reason with his father, but you can’t expect a teenager to stand up to his father who literally cuts people’s hands off IN FRONT OF HIM for a living.

The whole “you should stop your father” felt really insensitive coming from Ben, after he couldn’t stand up to his own father and be honest about the kiss. It was really hypocritical. And after everything, Chopper get’s shipped off to England to follow Ben to university (and we never get a scene where Chopper and Ben talk about moving to Europe together since it… seems like a pretty big move). We don’t even get a heartbreaking goodbye between Chopper and his father. He seemed devastated after he got shot and the next scene is him being sad about his father being in jail and that’s it. He rides off into the sunset with Ben never to be seen or heard from again. And there goes the most interesting character, wasted.

Same goes for Palm and his mother. At first it seemed like Palm had a lot of resentment toward her for leaving him and his dad behind. But after she explained that she wanted to flirt and party and live her life and just wasn’t ready for a child, all seemed forgiven. And then she’s killed and Palm shed a tear or two and that’s it. Nueng got almost the entire show whining and crying over his dead father and injured mother, but Palm didn’t even get an episode or two for his injured father and dead mother? Seems fair.

I wish they would’ve divided the focus on Palm and Nueng more equally, instead of blatantly favoring Nueng and his family over Palm’s (in a way it’s poetic how the rich family get’s more screen time and is favored over the poor family).

Or, and here I come with a drastic change, make this show about Chopper and Nueng. Two cousins who really love and care about each other are thrust into a family feud that neither of them want to deal with because “no matter if our parents hate each other, it has nothing to do with us”. More or less, the bad buddy road if you will but without the romance and more family bonding. I know that this show is about Palm and Nueng and I really love the bodyguard trope, I do. But I feel like there was so much unexplored potential with Nueng and Chopper.

The ending was okay, even though I’m really over the “separating the couple for ages in their time but for five minutes on screen” trope. Even though I did understand it from their perspective at the very least. I know that many wanted a sad ending but I personally am not really a big fan of those, so for all it’s worth, the ending was fine.

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Oh the bodyguard trope....

Am I gonna love a bodyguard plot? Of course. Every time.

I thought this one did a good job of building the relationship before the romance even started. The cinematography reminded me a bit of ITSAY, with beautiful beach shots throughout the show. Pond and Phuwin do a fantastic job as Palm and Nueng, and their chemistry is great.

Biggest complaint with this show is the frustration you feel as a viewer from the back and forth of "you're better off without me!" between the two of them. Luckily, it was never too drawn out, but it was still a bit overdone. The way they wove the legend into the show was really well done, and I loved that they kept that until the end. I was expecting this one to be way sadder than it was, and I'm glad it wasn't! It was a great balance between conflict, tragedy, and relief/happiness that it made each episode worth waiting for.

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mixed feelings

it's a good bl but it has its pros and cons, so let's list it.

PRO.
-the story is good, it's entertaining, has some angst moments, romance, drama, etc.
- Acting of the main couple can be better since it's a bl with lot of drama that requires more emotions but It wasn't horrible. phuwin's acting when pond's character gets shot was the only moment I really felt the impact of the scene with both of them.
-Perth acting is so good, he did an amazing job with the character.
- I liked the picture, it was my fav thing lmao

CONS.
-even if the story is good, there were situations that didn't make sense.
-Some episodes were boring and it did take me a long time to finish them. I was really close to drop the bl
- there's moments where the acting should be dramatic but didn't feel like it, so the plot and drama were ruined lmao.
-first episodes were so good but the last ones are kind of boring so it can make the viewer lose interest in the show

Conclusion.

tbh I don't think it's a bl that I'll rewatch, it wasn't bad but I didn't connect with any character. i don't think is a waste of time but if someone doesn't watch it, I don't think they are missing an important series.

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Doesn't deserve the negative comments it receives.

Oh whoa! There were bad reviews but listen, LISTEN! The tension. The stolen looks. The slight touches. The lingering of eyes. The double meaning behind words. Dare I say it was an acting masterpiece? Yes, yes I do. I have been watching BLs for over four years and this was definitely worth the watch. Don't expect a mafia BL; it's about a rich family (as stated in the series' details) in conflict with others, but it covers the same things. It reminded me of Kinnporsche but with a younger cast (the mc being 18). AND the acting?! Pond played the role of a shy servant turning into a friend and into even more PERFECTLY! Pond and Phuwin both had awesome acting skills; the way they portrayed their characters' feelings and thoughts even without words made me scream more than once. The way Phuwin could portray his character's jealous with purely bodylanguage made me respect him even more as an actor. Even before they admitted it to themselves, you could see the growing love in their eyes which was enough to give me shivers. Whoever dares to say they lack chemistry must lack something themselves. They're one of the BL couples with the most chemistry I've encountered so far and maybe the best kisses in the whole of BL.
I don't get why there are so many bad reviews about this masterpiece.
OH AND HOW COULD I FORGET…the eye candy!! Pondphuwin are a beautiful duo and I hate to be superficial but it must be added to the review; the many shirtless scenes are definitely a present given to us by the Lord Himself ><

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A rather forgettable series

As always, everything is my own opinion and not intended to offend or upset anyone. (Let's be honest, I'm just rambling, really.)

So, I'll be honest - I didn't enjoy this as much as most, it seems. Perhaps I'm just fed up with every other BL being mafia related in someway, and the whole 'boy from powerful family falls in love with boy who is a nobody' feels so over done these days. The storyline was predictable and very little felt realistic or believable.

In terms of the cast, until recently I didn't enjoy Phuwin as an actor at all; I feel like he often gets typecast and comes across as whiny, which makes me sad because he is obviously a great actor and very talented, but I feel like he doesn't get to shine very much. Even Pond didn't really get a chance to show off his acting skills; I feel like the cast were a bit restrained? I'm not sure how else to explain it.

Over all, I felt it was pretty forgettable, and not a series I would ever rewatch. (However, I will say that the 2 special episodes for Our Skyy 2 were fantastic, and I would have loved to have seen more of that Palm and Nueng because Pond and Phuwin actually looked like they were enjoying themselves. I'll hold back from saying too much, though, as I'll save those rambles for my OS2 review.)

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Left me unsatisfied.

I’m a sucker for vintage and retro in movies and shows and that’s what I want to talk about first. The atmosphere In this drama is just ravishing. My eyes are in heaven. Thank you.

Many people say that this movie is a miserable attempt to recreate KinnPorsche, but I won’t agree. I am used to seeing similarities between Thai dramas, they stopped bothering me. I always look for specificities in every drama and I have never failed to find them, and that’s what I pay attention to while rating dramas.
Salient similarity: “You do it, because my/your father told you so. That’s your duty, you don’t have feelings for me”. The same situation was with Phupha and Tian. Classic story.

Thai dramas would have lost their peculiarity without beach vacations, musical instruments and motorcycles. I’m glad to see that the guitar was replaced by the piano. There’s something that has been bothering me all the time: american songs. It was so unusual to me…Thai songs were outnumbered by american songs, but I’m not saying that it is a bad thing. I just love listening to Thai songs in Thai dramas, that’s it.

Everything is comprehensible in this drama until you get picky about the plot: What happened to Palm’s father? When did Ben manage to generate feelings for Chopper? I knew from the start that these two would end up together, what I’m saying is that they needed more screentime.
Sometimes the main leads were clutching at straws for showing some chemistry: either they had smoldering emotions or tried to forge them. This is the main reason I couldn’t force myself to feel that special emotional boud with the leads. I still can’t get over Khao and First, because they enchanted me with their acting skills and chemistry. Palm was naturally shy and meek, but what about Pond? Was he shy to act? There were a lot of sad moments and only once they made me cry and I apparently felt the chemistry: when Palm was screeming and calling his mom after she died and when Palm hugged Nueng from the back after pushing him away. I adore that scene.

I can say the same thing about Nueng’s emotions. When Palm got a tattoo to honor Nueng, the latter was supposed to act like he was really astounded. In my opinion, he failed. Instead of manifesting surprise, he was acting as if Palm MUST have done it a long time ago, because he was his Young Master, and it would have been a shame not to do that. I need real emotions, that’s it.

This transition from teenagers to adults was not smooth. Nueng became a businessman in the blink of an eye..or maybe I’m underestimating him. I don’t know, it just wasn’t convincing enough to me.

And the last time when Palm left Nueng…C’mon, bro, you have talked this over for like hundred times already and the deduction has always been the same: You love each other and want to stay together. I understand, that Thanya’s words affected him, but c’mon, how could you think of yourself as an impediment after what you had been trough? This was either a way to get them separated for worrying the audience, or forgetting promises given once or even more was a piece of cake for Palm.

7.5/10.

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This series is definitely not everyone's cup of tea just by reading at the reviews, well I am disagreeing with them.

The story is so good. Yes, it started like a school drama but doesn't we except it to go into action just by the start scene and just by role that is played by Palm?

It was well acted, storyline was good, and cinematography was perfect (a fan of ITSAY, Your Name Engraved Herein...). Never imagined to have PondPhuwin to be in this kind of genre considering their other series but they really fitted well, I commended their acting a lot. And can I just say that Perth is an actor to look foward to. I knew him from Love Chance and he keeps on improving not just in acting but visually too. PerthChimon is a great pairing too.

Current rewatching the series because I miss them. I just hope to have another series from them soon.

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Was not a fan of PondPhuwin Now a big fan

I honestly doesn’t know what to expect from this series but as the stories went by I was hoping to see more of them. Phuwin as Nueng is my favourite character through the series as he displayed a much better acting than in Fish Upon the Sky. They played a different role and I must say they really did a good job. The mothers and the supporting characters did a good job despite some plot holes. The good thing about it is the story doesn’t gets boring until the end after clearing up the main threat Palm manage to pull another cause for their parting. The bad part was they knew who caused the problems but instead ran away which could either have been solved in the first place. Also Neung father was shot and they let the murderer to slide without careful investigation.
For the cast, Chopper was such a character I was hoping he didn’t turn out like his father as there were a good reason for him to hate Neung. I’m glad he wasn’t. Perth displayed a whole emotions well with his character with Ben. Although there was some lack of development from Ben side, I don’t think I can expect alot from support characters.
Pond played his part well despite there were some off-emotions during his dialogue and it was as though in the last ep makes me feel Palm doesn’t want to be with Neung and the leg injury only requires months of physical therapy he could have stayed and gets better with him. Leaving Neung is a let down.
Overall, I want to see another Pond-Phuwin series. I wish GMM give them another chance to portray different characters and hoping their acting improves for best.

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It's not what i expected, BUT at least...

For me, it's still one of the best Thai bl series in 2022. However I agree with the comments below and can’t deny the fact that there’s a lot of nuance here.

I’ll start with the good parts. First of all, the idea of the story isn't cliche. Love between boss and bodyguard, it's like fresh air. The second one is the main character's acting: it's stunning, I believed in it and don't have any pretension to them at all. The last is the storytelling. I thought it has a good content. There were a lot of happenings, locations, which constantly changed and kept in tension. So I wasn’t bored watching it.

So, now about the nuances I mentioned at the beginning. Palm has a very strange relationship with his parents. Their reactions to each other are not natural. Palm so easily swallowed mom’s egoism. " I’m sorry I left you" - I’d be crying in there. Characters are not completely disclosed. It’s about Ben and Chopper. Their relationship was very flat. They lacked time and more intimate conversations. And a huge claim to the filming of fights. Sorry, but it feels like the work of another shooting team. Was it not possible to put the sound on top of an implausible slap?

In the end, I want to say I probably expected a lot from the series, but I didn’t get it. I liked the sea views, the beach and etc. Such a beautiful picture, but not enough attention to details. And I think it applies to many Thai series. But with that kind of experience, why not get better?

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