Duang With You (Thai Series)
The actor playing Duang is the show’s clearest triumph. He makes Duang’s restless enthusiasm, theatrical gestures and playful, high-pitched voice feel effortless rather than overdone. Just as importantly, when Duang is hurt or upset, he continues to put Qin’s needs before his own, helping keep him likable. Qin’s gradual change is compelling, too, and the romance finds genuine emotional moments without straining to make the relationship feel profound.
Those strengths are asked to carry a very small story across a very long stretch: all 12 episodes run 70–90 minutes. Duang, an art student, sees Qin, a music student, perform at a university festival and immediately decides he is destined to be the love of his life. Duang is impulsive, relentlessly positive and optimistic; Qin, though handsome, initially seems reserved, aloof and cold.
Duang tries conversation, gifts and just about every other way he can think of to win Qin over. Their real progress begins when they are assigned to create a song-and-dance routine for a festival project. As they grow closer, the show reveals that Qin’s guarded nature is rooted in childhood trauma and unresolved problems with his parents. Duang’s selfless devotion helps Qin confront those difficulties, and Duang also helps bring Qin’s family back together.
A former schoolmate adds another strand to the story. Qin once fell deeply for this ex, who abruptly left him; now the ex returns and tries to win him back, but Duang stands in the way. That subplot, like the revelations about Qin’s past, mainly explains why he has built such a formidable emotional wall. There are also one or two parallel romances, but none changes the central pattern: Duang pursues Qin, Qin acts indifferent despite his evident curiosity, and the two slowly fall for each other.
The show remains upbeat and avoids manufacturing drama, and its lighthearted approach can be appealing. But the same attempts to get closer recur so often that the main romance is stretched beyond its welcome. Even with the side stories, there simply is not enough plot to justify the runtime; the series feels nearly twice as long as it needs to be.
With tighter editing, this could have become one of my go-to lighthearted comedies. The ingredients are there, and it is certainly not a bad show. I just wish its creators had known when to bring it to a close. (7.5/10)