Well this is it! My first GL of the year and it’s almost the end of the year! And such a unique story. As somebody who has seen the insides of a prison (as a prison volunteer, not as a criminal) I thought I should give my opinion on it.

The Story

Bells’ (Pangjie Paphavarin) boyfriend takes her to a club as her graduation party where someone slips a packet of drug in her bag. While trying to dispose of it she gets caught by the police and despite her innocence has to serve a two year jail time. She gets assigned to the library as her work along with her cellmate – Kae (Belle Kemisara). Coincidentally the library is also where exchanges happen for contrabands and when accidents happen. Bell is again blamed for a lost parcel and beat up by a prison gang. But the prison ‘rabid dog’ Claire (Mable Siriwalee) who is known for beating up prisoners and guards alike and having no regards for authority suddenly takes a liking to her. Bell finds companionship in a place and from a person she would have never expected.

Acting

The acting is amazing. What else can I say! Every character that has appeared on-screen in these two episodes has done a brilliant job. The story is unique and very different from ones you usually see in the Y industry. And the actors have their work cut out for them to make us believe they actually are in a prison. Every prisoner has a sense of hopelessness regardless of how powerful they are inside the prison. The actors, especially the 3D sisters have to show that. What I hope that the acting skills stay consistent throughout the series. After all there is a lot more to come.

Direction and Cinematography

The cinematography is one of the best I have seen in the Y industry. It doesn’t feel like something that can be seen for free on YouTube. Some may say the yellow filter feels tacky, but I like it. To me, it feels authentic. It shows the life of the prison. Bleak. But sometimes hopefull. One complain I have is that somehow claire and bell always have their hair down. It would be extremely hot in a prison for them to keep their hairs open all the time. Shampoo and soap are also rationed, so their hair would get matty in a week. Hilariously I feel the budget is a bit too much. Thai prisons, especially women’s prisons, look much more shabby. It looks like a prison in Finland.

Prison Dynamics

I have to point this out that some of the things in the prison system workings shown in this show is soo wrong. The things that are correct are the police procedures (although in reality her proceedings would have taken a long time), new inmate transfer, the ‘jobs’ prisoners can hold, inmates getting into fights for nothing, smuggling of contrabands, the behaviour of the guards. The prison system pretends to rehabilitate prisoners but never does. And this show is showing that. So good job to the scriptwriters and director.

There are things this show gets terribly wrong. Firstly- the cat. I feel the cat’s sole purpose is advertising the sponsors. Animals wouldn’t be able to enter a prison ground. Unless it’s a really shabby prison- which it is not. Secondly- an abandoned building on the grounds that prisoners have access to. Again – impossible for a prison like that. A possible location is the part where 3D and Mangkor talk. The location is out of the eyes of many but still accessible to everybody. Thirdly – it’s not as easy for someone to become a prison guard, even if their father is a warden. Even if it’s a corrupt country like Thailand. Fourth – the visitation scene. The way Dao’s son just enters… it doesn’t work like that. You have to apply an application for visitation weeks before your visit. There is a set number of visitors an inmate can get. So Boom couldn’t have just entered because the car was hot.

I know it’s obviously a show, so things wouldn’t be realistic, but I just wanted to point them out.

Overall it is a good show. And dare I say it is the KinnPorsche of GLs and will definitely raise the standard for future GLs!

Rating- 4 out of 5

Streaming on- Mine Media YouTube Channel