Moonlight Chicken (Thai Series)

Finally a Thai BL drama that gives us a very realities and relatable story line, not just from the premise perspective, but the interactions, the conversations, the relationships, the economic crisis impact, family values etc. To be honest, my friends here highly recommended me to watch this show and in the first two episodes I found it different but strictly ok. But as the story progresses, more layers are peeled, I didn't even realize but the show had completely engrossed me in it. With a well-paced structure, it allows us to get to know the characters, start relating with them and root for them. It shows that life is not perfect. Everyone has flaws, their strengths and weakness, but it's the situations that we are put into that make us. At only 8 episodes, it is still significant time since all episodes are almost an hour long each.

Jim, a man in his late thirties, owns and runs a diner named Moonlight Chicken, and is very popular amongst late night patrons. He is well respected, but his diner doesn't make much money, but it does bring him a lot of goodwill. Jim is single, gay and a neighborhood check vendor seller Gaipa has a huge crush on him. Jim lives with is teenage nephew Li Min who is going through all weirdness that teenagers do, including life goals and is generally rebellious by nature. One late night Jim meets a drunken customer Wen, and their flirtation leads the pair to Jim's house, where they have a passionate one-night stand. They part ways the following day without knowing each other's names. But Wen has now developed feelings for Jim and visits Jim again, who categorically refuses to be ready for dating. But Wen is persistent and feels he can change Jim's mind. He works for a company that is buying out all these small restaurants in the area to build a huge mall and because of this Jim's restaurant is also in danger. While Wen and Jim's friendship gradually start to flourish, we see that Jim used to have a boyfriend who passed away many years ago in an unfortunate accident. Also Wen is in a complicated and toxic relationship with Alan, where Wen wants them separated but Alan is not ready to give up so easily. Wen is very much into Jim and is falling really hard but also understands that Jim has this wall and he doesn't let anyone cross that. In parallel, we see Li Min's growing friendship with a deaf boy Heart. Their first meeting is by chance, but slowly their friendship grows and eventually translates to love. When Jim finds out about this, he is not just worried about Li Min's future but also now that he is gay, he is worried about the struggles he will have. Of course, Heart's parents are also not super cool by this idea of an unlikely friendship. While Wen is continuing to pursue, One day Gaipa finally finds courage to confess his feelings but as expected Jim politely declines. A tragedy soon happens in Gail's life which interestingly eventually brings a lot of these people together, gives them courage to be true to themselves and what they want from life and go for their dreams while also finding love for themselves.

In first episode, you get a feeling that this may be just another one of those Thai dramas with dreamy and  heart eyes but I couldn't have been more wrong. This show is so much more than that. It's complicated and at the same time very realistic. Even though the show starts a one night stand between two people, but almost immediately, it moves on to focus more eon the emotional aspect. Both Jim and Wen have deep guarded secrets/insecurities and this wall that they have. But this time Wen is ready to take charge. He really doesn't want to let go of a guy who he thinks is right of him in every aspect and I somehow connected with Wen's persistent nature. He was consistent, persistent without being annoying. And I like that and I could understand why Jim would slowly let him be a part of his life. We see slowly the journey of this couple from their individual traumas to healing and eventually to a bond of love. Their traumas are very different from one another, but they are there as an emotional anchor for one another and give each other space to work things out. As actors both Wen and Jim do a tremendous job. Jim struggles with trust issues, traditional thinking, a stubborn personality, and insecurities about his age. He conquers these mental burdens after meeting Wen, whose progressive views influence his love interest to change. One thing that annoyed me was lack of reasoning of why Wen broke up with Alan and what the real issue there was. Also it us important to mention here a little about Gaipa, the guy who has crush on Uncle Jim. His portrayal of heart broken lover who is rejected by Jim but how they eventually move on was just too good. It hit the spot without being melodramatic. He stole the show in the two scenes where he is with Jim, he knows he can't have Jim but he has to live with the reality. On top of that he soon loses the only family he had left and your heart reaches out to him. Amazing acting and characterization.

Having talked about the main couple already, I do now Anna talk about Li Min and Heart. I will admit and say that I cared a lot more about this couple than the main one (and I did care a lot about the main couple). I think this teenage couple was the real heart of the show. Their friendship and eventual love, navigating through Heart's disabilities and Li Min acting super mature for his age was so heartwarming that it is very difficult for me to put into words. Their emotional bond is treated with respect and dignity that it deserved. I feel like Li Min is almost the second very important character of the show. Li Ming is a sophisticated character with immense depth and his compelling teen romance with Heart hits the right notes. Heart is super cute and his frustration about his parents not understanding him is portrayed really well.

This series touched on many difficult situations and the reality of life, many problems and dramas, and yet it did well in pacing the aftermath and resolution to comfort these problems. Way too many shows prolong these situations unnecessarily. This time it was just balanced. Moreover, each character (besides that of Alan) is very well fleshed out. For a change, even the elders like Heart's parents and Jim's sister had a proper story arch and well defined storyline and they were not just random fillers. The finale seems convenient and all problems like losing his restaurant and starting a new business seems so easy but I am wiling to ignore that because the pros here outweighs the negatives a lot. The poignant plots, talented actors, and stylish aesthetics resonate positively with me. I would highly recommend this show for its meaningful, realistic reminder of how our lives will be all about ups and down, but its the journey that you take the people you meet along the way and how you will struggle but eventually succeed in things you do. Fantastic chemistry, and the biggest win of the show is mature story and characterization, near perfect direction, lack of unnecessary melodrama and very relatable relationships. (8.5/10)