There is no doubt in my mind that some may find this series entertaining and maybe even cute. Unfortunately, I am not in that category. For me, this was yet another in a long string of endless high school cliché dramas that was unoriginal and trite and filled with every conceivable trope you can think of. Admittedly, it started out interestingly enough. But here again, it moved too inextricably and set up a false premise that from a logical perspective did not make any sense that was never explained nor fully clarified.

Win (Flute Chinnapat) attempts to start up a band composed of high school students. He develops a crush on the guitar player named Nut (Marc Thanat). Unbeknownst both to the band members and Nut’s parents, he has a brain tumor but begs the doctor to not say anything to his parents (for which I did not understand given he was underage). Nut does not want to share that information with anyone but promises the doctor that he will immediately after the band’s competition. During their musical performance, Nut faints and is rushed to the hospital where it becomes obvious to everyone that Nut is dying. Shortly afterward, he passes away with Win deeply regretting his hesitancy when he was alive in not expressing to Nut how much he liked him. And of course, Nut never expresses if he felt anything for Win.

Fast-forward, 20 some years, Win comes back home after being terminated from his pointless and lifeless job. He never really pursued a music career even though he wanted to with Nut. Now on the anniversary of Nut’s death, he finds Lin (Mint Benjenee), the ‘girlfriend’ of Nut, at his gravesite. She begins to reminisce about what if Nut had lived; would she now be married to him? While Win is driving back home, he drops his phone and as he attempts to retrieve it, crashes his car, suddenly awakened to find himself returning to being a teenager again.

The fates have given Win an opportunity to rearrange his unfulfilled life, maybe save Nut, and perhaps be given a chance for them to be together.

Some variation and/or version of this story has been done endlessly before. The plot holes are a mile-wide in this one right from the beginning. If you want to change dynamics, you go with what you know and since you already know what killed Nut before, one would assume that is the logical place to start. However, while Win knows the general future, he continues to act pretty much like a dense high schooler.

Sure, there are unexpected alterations from his first version, but the whole story becomes so whitewashed and made to feel Pollyanna in order to use every cliché and trope in the book to ensure Nut and Win have a happy ending. None of it worked for me, and frankly I was simply bored with the story telling. It was all so predictable and mundane. The two of them were like wooden sticks needing to be propped up for support. They really had no screen chemistry and even less sexual tension between them. Granted, I am aware they were ‘high schoolers’, but seriously, both are chronologically in their mid-20s and they looked it.

In this second version (which is never explained why it is the case) the drummer and second guitarist are surprisingly more dynamic and become central figures than they originally were. Chai (Bom Panupong), the second guitarist, now has at least a personality about him. In this version, he is a ‘bad seed’ and a product of a mother who is clearly an alcoholic. Not always good-natured but good-hearted, Chai is a very handsome and thoughtful young man who takes Eck (Austin Kijchunakan), the drummer, under his wing. Eck is a very shy, sheltered young man who is exceptionally wooden, awkward, and timid around others. Talented on the drums, his withdrawing personality prevents him from shining forth. Of the four protagonists, he is the only teenager among them, and it shows. He is a joy to watch because his movements are organic and raw and come from a place lacking experience. While they made him play the part too much like a caricature with a one-dimensional personality, he is still refreshingly interesting to watch as he is so natural. It was no wonder that the kiss between him and Chai at the end was implied as he was much younger. However, their relationship seemed a bit more poetic in its development and honestly a lot more believable as it was demonstrated better. We knew where Eck and Chai were and frankly where they were going.

There is also a quasi-lesbian relationship that takes forever to develop. Blu (Opal Kulwipa), a close friend to Win, is fairly open about her attraction to females. She develops a crush for Lin. The dynamics of their development takes a backseat to the male protagonists which is unfortunate as I found their interactions even way more nuanced and developed than those of Nut and Win’s. However, all these relationships are in syrupy and sappy stages of development where you know that nothing, but positive outcomes will take place, with only a few minor bumps along the way.

I wanted to honestly like this series, but I found myself simply gliding through so much of it because I have seen it all before and exercised much better. This series brought nothing new to the screen. Here are some of its flaws that I just could not get past:

1. I have stated again and again I am sick of mid-20-year-olds playing high schoolers. They simply cannot do it mentally, emotionally, psychologically, and physically. It looks and feels phony to me. Win and Nut scantily kissed, only occurring in the 8th episode first, and then at the very end did we see them even shirtless for barely a split second, which of course was cringeworthy and painful to watch because they looked uncomfortable. If you want sincerity and integrity, then use actors and actresses the age of the characters. Full stop. This is getting ridiculous. The natural awkwardness is missing. It all looks and was play-acting.

2. Bom Panupong as Chai was also too old for the character as well. He looked older and certainly acted older than his counterpart and when it came time to really mean something (such as the kiss) it became underwhelming. The contrast between him and Austin as Eck could not be more evident than when they are together. It was cringey to say the least. The spontaneity and naturalness were not there and the whole scene looked ridiculous. Better to have nothing.

3. The development of relationships between males in these series continues to be astonishingly pre-pubescent and silly. There is nothing mature or serious about their bonding. How can you expect us to believe that supposedly 17-or-18-year-old testosterone-laden young males act like preteen schoolboys making sandcastles in the neighborhood sandbox. There is zero chemistry, no exploration of any sexual desires, or signs of lust between them, or even a sense of excitement about being with each other. Has any producer, director, or writer spent any time with, or observe teenage boys as of late?

4. While I appreciate the sentiment of the families being so open and accepting and maybe some might have been (remember this was still the 80s), this went a bit overboard with its embracing. Of course, then you must have one parent who takes an opposite approach to his son’s wishes. Again, all of this is so contrived and pattern-oriented. There has to be some anchor to reality of parents’ behaviors. Frankly, none of these parents seemed genuine except for Chai’s mother. She was real while the others were idealized versions of good and bad. Perhaps a combination of fear and acceptance would be a better road for parents to travel rather than presenting than as either extreme.

5. Finally, the whole way Win gets back to his high school days is simply baffling. It does not appear as if he is remotely concerned about wanting to return to his original time. So, perhaps Win is dead? Or in a coma? None of that is fully expounded. Is that even important? Sure, it is! Because it gives the series value and a sense of purpose. If he came back to ‘rearrange’, then he should have returned to his present time after the rearrangement. So, what happens now? Theoretically, is there a Butterfly Effect here? The story simply does not follow logically. The story simply ends.

In terms of production, this series also left a lot to be desired. The constant flashbacks were annoying and showed an inherent weakness in the storyline that they did not know what to do with the plot. A heavy reliance of flashbacks is always a bad sign of shortcomings in the story. The plot itself is frankly silly. Nut has a brain tumor. He undergoes a surgical procedure and subsequently returns, fully recovered, entering Win’s home with the ease and composure of someone returning from a routine outing. That is not how major brain surgery works – at all. Overall, the acting by all of them is so awkward, stiff, and essentially feeling like they were uninvolved. There is no depth to these characters. It all felt so shallow. This is especially true for Flute Chinnapat as Win. Remember, he is a near 40-year-old in a teenage body but acts like a complete teenager and not a very mature one at that. Sure, there are pretend scenes where they try to convince the audience that he is ‘really’ older, but it is all so cosmetic that it was nothing deep or insightful. This series could and should have been way more intuitive and impactful than it was. One or two scenes got close, but the whole series should have been way more creative. Win’s dialogue with his father about his music career was nice and showed genuine signs of a real connection with his father. More of that was needed. On the other hand, Nut’s father was simply irrational in his approach to his son with no apparent reasoning behind his negative actions. I also did not find the music impactful at all, but I am not in its demographics. However, I do wish the production crew would do a better job of recording the music so that it does not sound like it has been unrehearsed or not recorded with greater clarity. It all sounds so amateurish.

Why these kinds of series continue to be made is beyond any level of understanding. Relationships do not materialize until the end and are prepubescent in nature with not an ounce of sexual tension or intensity about them. Please just stop and develop stories that have a sense of relatability and connectivity to them. Please. Otherwise, you are wasting performers talents and audiences’ time.

Rating- 2 out of 5

Streaming on- Gagaoolala/ FRT Entertainment YouTube Channel