Tawee Pope is famous. It is many people’s favorite lakorn [or among their favorites]. Every ‘older’ [but young at heart of course!] avid lakorn watcher knows of it. A present-day modernist nang’ek time-travels via a mirror to the past to meet old-fashy pra’ek. I myself have watched a bit of the 1994 original but do not recall anything of it aside from what I summarized in the sentence before. Therefore, I am unable to review Tawee Pope in comparison to its predecessor. When news came out of its remake, I was thrilled at the general storyline of “two worlds” bringing together two soul mates [more because of Om!], then disappointed that Pancake was the nang’ek, and as I watched it, I clearly became disappointed. Fans bashed the remake calling it an epic failure. I agree. Godninja boldy rates Tawee Pope with 2 stars.
Tawee Pope (1994) starred then ever-so-famous “Ann” Siriam Pakdeedumrongritre and “Tua” Saranyu Wongkrajarng. And when I said it was famous, I mean it. Since then, it has been remade into a movie [interested? watch The Siam Renaissance] and two musicals starring big names. So the pressure was on for “Om” Akapan Namart and “Pancake” Khemanit Jamikorn. Perhaps the most distinguishable attribute to Tawee Pope 2011 is its OST “Tur Ker Krai” (Who Are You). If you want the whole history [plus DL link] of this song Lyn has got us cover here.
Since Tawee Pope lacked in the goodness department, I must mention my top five scenes:
- [Scenes in this case] Whenever Khun Luang managed to crack smile or roll his eyes. If not for you, I would have been long gone.
- Khun Luang (or was it Manee?) meekly confessed he likes her and they held hands. Such a little thing, but it was so cute. At this point, I was just begging for any hint of romance!
- Khun Laung hugged Manee back when the mirror called her to return. After the first time, he was a selfish bastard.
- Om Akapan took off this shirt for me! This was when Khun Luang had a brawl showdown with Arnus [don’t recall this character name] as a diversion to get the letter.
- The morning after ending of course! Pixs on top. So freaking jealous!
I think that is all the nice stuff I can say about Tawee Pope, so there comes the hating. Number one thing that this lakorn killed was…it’s whole purpose. And if you don’t have a purpose, then you automatically fail. Simple as that. There was no significance to the time-traveling. There was no focus on the historical events which I thought was the point of Tawee Pope. The idea of Manee as a weapon of trickery to coax intelligence from the foreigners had so many possibility of epic plotline. Even though she manged to extract the ‘valuable’ info, they never showed how it was significant. Perhaps how it was used to counteract the imperialism or anything, really!
Few more notable things to diss: Though according to character, Pancake over-acted, and even my Om bored me. You can’t be handsome forever, baby; I need some facial expressions. I wanted to rip off my laptop screen at the immense stupidity of Manee and the mirror. Mirror mirror on the wall, why can you let Manee bring in electric shavers but not a book. You want her to changed history, but you also limit her. This is the paradigm of time-traveling. And Manee, if you couldn’t bring the one important book, why the heck didn’t you just read it and remember it. I thought you were smart? Oh, I can’t forget the lack of romance. You made me angry too many times. Thai lakorns need to get their priorities rearrange.
Enough, I will only complain on one more point-the ending. Apparently in the original, the mom and the friends were able to come to the past. Okay, in this one, the mom appeared in the past, but she did nothing. Where’s the logic in that? What I would have loved was a little family tree or something at the end to know how their life went. How many kids they had, going to grandkids and so on the to present…then [I’m really am wishing too hard] goes to a single great great (whatever how many great) granddaughter. And then flash, we see Kul, Tron, and Raiwat meeting a descendent of Manee and Khun Luang. And because I felt so bad for Raiwat at the ending, he should get their descendent. Now this would have made up for all of the disappointments. I know this isn’t much of a thorough or impartial review, but then just me making my time to review this piece of disappointment is a miracle in itself.
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LakornGods Reviews Series
Looking for Tawee Pope Eng Sub? Check out:
Tawipob Viki Channel I SPICYDara’s YT Channel
LakornGods 
I am not Thai and I started to be addicted to Thai dramas.Previously,I watched Korean dramas and now I am hooked to Thai dramas.Among all Thai dramas that I watched,Tawee Pope is my number one at heart.I could not bring myself to watch another drama after watching this.The songs,the casts,the storyline,the scenes are beyond words.I could not imagine other main actor and actress other than Pancake and Om to act in this drama.Superb.Please judge the drama fairly due to the talents of the casts and not merely you like or dislike the actor/actress.I love the soundtracks of the drama and fall in love with everything about Thailand,the language,the culture,the beautiful history etc.Thumbs up Tawee Pope.
Alritey, since everyone’s just posting their opinions, here’s mine: As a person who’s been watching all types of dramas for years, I have found out one very important thing about watching dramas/lakorns that most people often dismiss, and that is if you already dislike an actor/actress–try to put those feelings aside and see how the drama turns out first, because that is the only way you will be surprised. If you already dislike the actress, in this case, then you might miss a chance to see a wonderful lakorn unravel its story…before watching this lakorn, Tawee Pope, I had no idea that it was a remake, nor was I a big fan of the main actor and actress, I was just pulled into it by the storyline. I recently finished the lakorn and was AMAZED by Pancake’s acting skills! Om was amazing too (playing as a conservative and traditional man)! I LOVED Pancake’s reactions! I would have reacted just like her, all giddy and silly–because I really met my dream guy! Not only did I lOVE the romance of this lakorn, but I loved other parts of it as well, such as the importance of a heartwarming mother-daughter relationship, the significance of history and ancestry, politics and culture conservation, trust, belief, goodwill, and self-identity. These themes were all well-integrated into the storyline, making it the wonderful story that it was. As for the problems such as the bringing the books to the past, it’s not Manee’s fault–it’s the scriptwriter that should be at fault. The historical events, even though they may not have been emphasized as much, were very intriguing! It drew me in nonetheless and now i just want to read and learn a whole lot more about that time period! As for the ending, I LOVE it! I LOVE the fact that it pulled, tugged, and pained my heart as I watch Manee make her one and final decision on who she will live with for the rest of her life–her lover or her family and friends. Because if I had to make such decision, I probably wouldn’t have been as brave as her. I agree, I like the idea of a family tree too, but i’m satisfied with the ending as much as it is. By the way, this is to anyone who’s deciding whether or not they should watch a certain lakorn: never start watching a drama with expectations…just let the story unravel and surprise you, because expectations lead to disappointments. 🙂 I RECOMMEND TAWEE POPE TO EVERYONE! You can watch it on viki.com in eng sub (just search for Tawipob)! I hope this lakorn teaches you as much as it did for me. This is one very unforgettable lakorn. I actually really want to read the novel, but sadly it hasn’t been translated into English. There’s still so much to say about this lakorn but I’d probably talk about every episode, so all I can say is ENJOY AND LEARN from this lakorn EVERYONE! 🙂
wow! your comment was like a guest review! thanks for sharing. i mean it. you addressed good points. it’s the screenwriter’s fault. yes, i agree and that’s why i’ve always wanted to be a screenwriter among other things too. i like you best where you talked of expectations. yep, i expected too much and got dissapointed.
thank you. i really appreciate your response and reflective attitude. 😉 i was thinking, i would love to set up a blog to talk about dramas/tv shows but im still not sure. who knows, maybe one day, i’ll set it up. i just love sharing my thoughts and it would be a great way to have a record of my own reviews just for self discovery. i learn from what others write and expand my perspectives from that. im glad for your review because it offers a different perspective. 🙂
we welcome all individuals that can contribute to the online community. try it out, you’ll like it. it’s a very rewarding experiences, but if you’re a student like me…i recommend you to give it some second thoughts. i really love getting to know other thai bloggers and subbers. there’s a bunch of crazy stories behind some of us i tell ya. i wish i can write more often, i actually am quite addicted to writing post of LG.
thank you so much! i’d love to try it out but on second thought i am a college student so i may not be as committed to my blog. but i’d love to try it out. maybe in the summer. i’d like to do one that is general for all types of dramas, be it k-dramas, t-dramas, or j-dramas. 🙂
I totally agreed with you. I love Pancake and Om in this lakorn and have watched it three times already. Loved it! Loved it! I didn’t watch the previous versions but I was really glad that I found another of my favorite lakorns. I never thought that I would ever finished watching any lakorn that is not ken&ann”s. Pancake is unbelievable in this lakorn. More romance? …. I love the way it is, but it is just me. The more I watch it, the more I smile and enjoy it. Some details of the story could have been better but it was not the actors” faults. It exceeded my expectations and I am very satisfied with this remake. I have no desire to watch the previous ones for comparison but maybe some day I would. I know for sure I will watch this remake again soon. 🙂
I am not Thai and I just started watching Thai drama not long ago. I am not a fan of any actors or actresses either and had no idea who and who. I haven’t seen the original version of this drama and didn’t know it was a remake until now. I randomly went through the drama list and watched it. But I truly enjoyed the drama and watched twice. I have seen a lot of people bashing the drama without event truly understand the meaning behind some of the ideas.
Would you even bother with the drama if it focused on the history most of the times? Would you want Khun Luang to be childish, immature and constantly express his thoughts, feeling on his face when he was raised as a perfectly calm gentleman not to mention he is a politician?
Manee went back in time and wanted to help Khun Luang with his works because she, as a Thai, did not want to see her country having to lose more lands or having her country being controlled by the foreigners. She, I should say, tried her best to change history. The purpose of not having her able to bring back the books because she needed to work with her own ability to change the history if she wanted to change it. Manee was in a different time and at that time, history hadn’t been made.
Then comes the romance, or how some said “lack of”. This is totally different from the others I have seen. It is refreshing to see a more subtle romance than one where the girls keep on fighting to get the main actor’s attention. The romance in this romance is tender, sweet and it was being expressed in many different ways and from many different person. “You are good. I have raised him since young, to be the perfectly calm person and haven’t never once seen him this angry.” Khun Luang’s mother told Manee.
“I’d rather be alone during the day and dream at night…” Though Khun Luang never exactly said he loved Manee to her in person, but he expressed his love through his actions, his words to others, and through his music. “My son, you pour your heart and love out through tonight’s play.”
Love comes in many different ways and forms. Screaming your heart out, dying for the one you love, leaving your love so she could have a better life, or just quietly watching over her, they all are forms of love.
I love Khun Luang and Manee characters in this lakorns, and for me to love the characters, the actors/actresses would have to do a good job in bringing out the characters. I would too recommend this lakorn.
I am glad to see the first subjective comment. Thanks.
I didn’t watch this lakorn b/c of Pancake although I LOVE Om soooooooo MUCH !!!!!!
i don’t know, but if you’re going to be acting in the remake that is so freaken popular, make sure you do it so that it will be even better or else don’t do it at all or else it will be a laughing stock to everyone else…i don’t know but that’s just my opinion
it’s hard living up to expectations esp if the precedessor was a hit. these days remakes are big dissapointments. if i were actors, i wouldn’t take on remakes, the pressure is too much.
if i put myself in the actors’ shoes, i’d think it would be the perfect challenge to take on a remake because you would, for one, be improving your acting skills, and two, if the remake is a hit, your hard work pays off! It’s worth the risk, because no matter what you learn from that experience and the knowledge you gain from that is priceless.<–PLUS you get paid for the entire thing. XDD
OMG Ninja! It’s almost as if I wrote this review myself. Total disappointment. I didn’t think Pancake could pull if off when it was confirmed she was taking the role of Manee. As for Om, I was undecided since I saw him in Bundai Dok Ruk. Anyways, the first 3 or 4 episodes made me eat all the unkind words I said about Pancake cause she did a pretty good job compared to Ann. She was actually pretty cute but I don’t know what happened after that, she turned into an idiot. All those stupid jokes from the future and so many other things that I don’t want to waste time listing, So that was the end of it for me. I don’t even know how they dragged it for that long and I thought maybe the drama gods would be kind and reward me for actually enduring till the end and I would get a great ending. Now I know that God hates me, cause the ending sucked like hell. There was no closure for her friends. Ann’s version did a great job, she got to say goodbye and prove to everyone she really traveled through the mirror. As for the version where she was pregnant? Never heard of it before, so I’m going to go ask my Mom about it. Cause I wanna go see that version.
thanks for coming! love you so much!
I agree! I heard somewhere that (i think in the older ver. or some version) that Manee had gotten prego and then she got sent back to the present and she had to decide whether she would stay in the present or stay with the person she loves. Or somewhere along that line… Anyways! I do agree I mostly watched this lakorn for Om as well 🙂
Thank you for the review!
WTF? Prego. Really? How can they leave that point out???