This was a hard series to dislike. Conversely, it was also a difficult series TO like as well. Overall, what brought this series down was its production value and the way it was presented. A comprehensive story cannot be told proficiently in 30 episodes of 8 minutes or so stretched over 3 months. No one’s attention span can last that long or retain details or nuances of a story in that sporadic of a time frame. Especially, this series as several episodes were tedious, repetitive, and lackluster. While the concept was great, it simply droned on too long with the same mundane storylines going nowhere which caused one to lose interest. What was entertaining was the fact that, at times, the main protagonists were quite good and surprisingly effective, given the fantasy nature of the story. Then unfortunately they too slipped into banality and repetitiveness.

Narvi (Pak Varayu) is a handsome young man working at a radio station but seems listless and a bit lost in who he is. While not anti-social, he does seem to be pretty much of a loner. He does not seem to be involved with anyone. One day, as he comes home, he is startled and obviously terrified to find that a ghost is visiting him. Sasin (Mon Taechin) seems friendly enough but is dressed in some historical attire from a distant past. He acts as if Narvi is someone he knows. More specifically, someone intimately – they were once lovers.

While Narvi has no recollection of these memories of living that life with him, slowly over time and gentle reminders from Sasin, Narvi begins to vaguely recall, mostly through dreams, feelings towards Sasin. There are flashbacks of sorts.

The story waxes and wanes quite a bit with an occasional poignant moment or humorous melee occurring. It spends way too much time trying to get to a point. Given that this is no doubt a low-budget production, it did seem a bit rudderless in the middle of the series.

There are not many characters in this series and there is not much of a screenplay to sink your teeth into here, as dialogues and story tended to be superficial and repetitive. However, the character who does show the most depth to his portrayal is Mon Taechin as Sasin. His role as a ghost from the ancient past has to show enough bewilderment of the present to be intrigued by it but not completely overwhelmed by it all. I thought he did a very good job of meshing his past with trying to blend into the present. And when Narvi ‘modernizes’ his looks, Sasin does seem to become more comfortable in his new persona and frankly his appeal is heightened even more. He definitely became way more attractive. His range of emotions were deeper, more intense and significantly more pronounced than those of Pak Varayu as Narvi and therefore more believable. There is not a particularly strong screen chemistry between Non and Pak, mainly because the story spends so much time pushing the two apart because of Sasin’s unexpected and unintended interference with Narvi’s life and lifestyle. Always on the part of Narvi. Since Sasin cannot be seen by anyone else except Narvi, this also tends to cause confusion when out in the public.

While this series is rather short time wise, it felt like a LONG time. It spent way too much time on insignificant issues such as trying to get rid of Sasin as a ghost and/or denying Narvi’s feelings for Sasin. It would have been more intriguing to have spent the time nurturing their present relationship or at the very least giving us more details about their past one. The strength of their relationship is an important component not only to their past relationships but to their current one. Neither was developed enough for us to truly believe in it.

This series had so much potential and in a few scenes, it became quite poignant. To make a fantasy work, the actors have to suspend their own disbelief and make us feel that their reincarnation is possible and past lives are a part of our composition. In other words, Nirvi must believe that he indeed was the past lover of Sasin for us to fully embrace his love for Sasin now. That whole element felt a little weak. Pak Varayu could never fully embrace his character, especially in the more emotionally charged scenes requiring sadness. Tears must look heartfelt for us to believe in its sincerity. The outward signs of love must also be more intense than a few forlorn looks or somber faces. If the scene calls for crying, then do so. One thing that has never worked for me are ‘crocodile tears’. It cheapens the entire viewing experience because the acting then becomes only basic.

I did enjoy the ending of this series, however. It all was very symbolic, and I thought it was quite effective. With Sasin ‘gone’, and Narvi lost and an emotionally empty vessel, he now realizes how much he wants/needs his love back, despite his hesitancy from the past. He wishes for Sasin to return. And so, on this Halloween night of the full moon, he pleads for his love to come back. Their journey to their love was one in which both had to deplete and clear their karmas of negativity. Only then could the stronger human emotion of hope attain the signs of life. It was on the strength of Narvi’s hope and love for Sasin to return that he was able to bring back Sasin now in full human form.

It undoubtedly would be more impactful watching it in toto. In terms of total time, it is only about 4 hours. I am getting concerned about series being so broken down into such short segments that it is virtually impossible to comprehend it on a singularity basis, especially if you have production issues and/or a screenplay that is hit-and-miss with only a few good moments shining through. While the premise is intriguing and fun, if they had detailed it more, this would have been a better series. The connection between the two protagonists is certainly not very intense but there is enough there to show that a good connection was made. Build on that more to make it feel more fervent. Do not just give us the ‘B’; make the ‘l’ bigger!

Rating- 3 out of 5

Streaming on- Kongthup YouTube Channel