The world is a cruel place. It’s beautiful, too, but it’s because the cruelty far outweighs the beauty that the beauty is awe-inspiring. The more rare something is, the more precious it becomes.

Adapted from the webtoon Payback, written by Samk and illustrated by Fujoking, this Thai adaptation stars Min Thanakorn Wichanukhor as Sun and Toptap Jarukit Kaewmoonrueang as Jay. Sun is a twenty-five-year-old deliveryman carrying the weight of a tragic past, one shaped by violence, loss, and guilt he can’t seem to escape. When he enters Dream Entertainment seeking revenge, he finds himself reunited with Jay, the company’s powerful director. Calculating and emotionally guarded, Jay approaches life like a game of strategy, but Sun’s arrival threatens to unravel the carefully controlled world he’s built around himself.

It’s a sad reality that the world is a cold, hard place for the poor. It’s a daily struggle trying to make ends meet while supporting the people we love, and morality often plays a very small part in choices made out of desperation. I’d like to think kindness fixes everything, and while it goes a long way toward healing people, it’s far from a cure-all.

Sun lives in that dark, cruel place where the world is far more violent than benevolent and where the people he’s trusted have betrayed him. His own choices haven’t been great ones, and while it seems karma has punished him for those choices, it hurts to discover that others have only benefitted from them.

The first two episodes weave an intriguing web of deceit, betrayal, and loss that leads to an even more intriguing need for revenge.

I’ll admit the first thing that grabbed me in the trailer for this series were the fight scenes. They felt realistic and well choreographed, something that isn’t generally the case with BL series. The plot was confusing, but once I tuned into the first episode, it quickly became apparent why. Where the trailer left me questioning what was happening, the series quickly filled in the gaps while leaving me with the same desire for revenge as Sun. And that has everything to do with the acting.

Min Thanakorn’s Sun is impressive. Eye acting is one of the hardest things to pull off. It truly impresses me when an actor can break down an entire scene using only his eyes, and Min accomplishes that. From loss to anger and even affection, he carries all of it in his gaze. To be honest, in real life, most of us who grew up in poverty learn to mask hard. But our gazes tell a story. The good and the bad.

And that’s who Sun is.

And it doesn’t stop with Sun. Every actor cast in this series delivers an outstanding performance in these first two episodes. While Sun carries the burden of hooking the viewer, it’s the rest of the leading and supporting cast who carry the burden of developing the stories around him in a way that keeps people invested. From Toptap Jarukit’s Jay to Fuaiz Thanawat Shinawatra’s Sunny, Shogun Paramee Thesdaroon’s Sky, and Khunnote Jirapat Uttamanan’s Kajorn, there are some characters you’ll fall in love with while others you’ll absolutely hate.

But all of them do an amazing job of keeping you invested in the story and feeling exactly what you need to feel to want more. And they do it hand in hand with well-choreographed fight scenes, well-edited transitions, and good cinematography.

I’m ready to see where Sun’s payback takes him and where the immediate tense and sensual energy between Jay and Sun leads them.

There’s no doubt that Payback is going to be one hell of a thrilling ride.

For a series that promises angst, plot twists, and combustible romance, check out Payback now on iQIYI.

Rating- 4 out of 5