(another!) Sawan Biang re-watch

So, instead of watching the dramas I promised myself I would (Thai Full House, Rahut Rissaya, I Need Romance 3), I ended up re-watching Sawan Biang for the nth time over the past couple of days from ep9 onwards. And guess what, I’m still not tired of it. Some random thoughts …

(Ep9) You’re not feeling well? What’s wrong?

I’ve not watched all of Ken’s lakorns obviously but I dare say Kawee is his performance EVER (if you think other, please let me know which lakorn! I’d love to check it out). Narin is the one deserving all the sympathies here and considering what Kawee did to her, it’s a wonder she’s not beating him over the head with a big stick already. But when Kawee sweeps in, trying to express his concern in his clumsy, brute fashion, I really can’t hate him.

 
(Ep10)
Narin: I wonder who you (the baby) will look like. Will you look like mom?
Kawee: Maybe the baby will look like dad.

Every time I watch SB I can’t help going zomg Ken why you so amazing?? Now, I’m not saying what Kawee did to Narin is excusable just cos he’s a woobie now, but I feel for him and I can’t hate him like I do with other nasty p’eks and I think the credit in a large part goes to Ken’s portrayal. He makes you feel every bit of Kawee’s anger, hurt, rage, sadness, regret.

(ep11) Narin: Let me ask you, if I weren’t pregnant, would you still care for me? If I didn’t have the baby, would you have done all this for me? Cook, pick flowers, give up everything to live here, would you have done it for me? I was only Narin, and not bearing the heir to the Worawath family, would you still care for me?

A valid question. Do you think Kawee would have done all this for not-pregnant Narin? I believe he would – eventually – but the baby was the catalyst that threw him into action. Kawee had been refusing to acknowledge his growing feelings for Narin because that would mean he ‘lost’ to Leela and it probably would’ve taken a long absence from Narin to force him to face his feelings, put down his pride and go beg for her forgiveness . What do you think?

I also appreciated that even when Kawee realises his mistakes and tries to redeem himself, the old proud Kawee doesn’t suddenly disappear overnight. Every time Narin rejects him and his efforts to please her, his temper would surface. To Kawee, he is making his greatest effort and putting his entire heart into doing things for Narin but she rebuffs him time after time and so that fiery, impatient Kawee would jump out. But Narin would point out – very rightly – that these are all nothing compared to what he put her through, and he should just get lost because she will never forgive him. The old Kawee would then slink away and the new Kawee ever more determined to do his best for Narin. I love this process of Kawee learning. Learning that as much as he hurts, others hurt too. Learning to say sorry, to give, to sacrifice, to be responsible. Learning what it means to love a person.

Perhaps this is what makes Sawan Biang such an enduring lakorn for me.