The Gifted (Thai Drama) – a review

I should have written this review the moment I finished the drama because now I have little recollection of what my first thoughts were when I finished this. But here I go.

WARNING: SPOILERS!

When I first found out about this drama, I thought that this was like the Lorien Legacies except it was Thai and there were no alien fighting. They just had special abilities that most normal people don’t. There are ten Gifted students, namely: Pang – can make anyone do whatever he wants when he touches them; Namtaan – at the touch of an object, she can see its past; Ohm – he can turn himself and any object invisible; Claire – she can see people’s emotions through their aura; Punn – he can imitate any skill at first look, he also suffers from having multiple personalities; Mon – her senses are heightened and she has super human strength which makes her talented in combat (pretty badass); Korn – he can stay awake for days without feeling sleepy; the twins – they both react to things simultaneously and the antagonist Wave, who is a technopath and has healing abilities. And Mr. Pom, their teacher who, we later discover, has the ability to erase and manipulate people’s memories.

There was one thing I’m not sure I liked in this drama. There were only 12 episodes and most of it was spent discovering the potentials of the Gifted students. Sure, during the first few episodes it was nice but it went on for 8 episodes straight. It would have been better that they discovered their potentials while they were discovering the “secret” of their school. It would have raised the intensity of the drama and kept the interests of the audience. One person could be bored watching them discover their potentials one by one and if I wasn’t in quarantine I would have given up halfway because each episode, atleast from 1 to 8, had closures and nothing much to keep you on the edge.

There are also many things I would have wanted answers from.

1. How did Claire got the idea of Namtaan being a “nosy-bitch” even before everyone found out what her potential was? And why did she hate Namtaan so much? (Context please!)
2. How did they get the idea that their school was hiding a big ~secret~ after finding out that Chanon resigned? I mean, with the rules that come from being the Gifted, it could be possible that he was made to resign because he was a delinquent. There should have been a stronger driving force that would push Namtaan to investigate about Chanon and not just to exercise her potential.
3. Their tests! The test of the Gifted students is different from the normal ones and I get why the director chose that test every year. But it didn’t show how much it would help or test their pontential. Finding out what happened to first Gifted student? You have Namtaan for that which is also pretty unfair to the other students since the test is supposed to be tailored for everyone. There’s nothing really mind-blowing with the test, it was just like a huge treasure hunt and it could even be done by normal students. While it tested their problem solving skills and teamwork, the test almost had nothing to do with their potential. Even their final exam was very lame for me. They were only to compete with collecting as many pins as possible. This was honestly so lame but this is also probably the longest screen time for the twins.
4. The twins. If the writers were not gonna give them their spotlight, why exactly did they include them still? I say, the drama did the twins dirty. Their purpose were never cleared out in drama and even when they got 0 points during the test, they were never removed from the program. They deserved better.
5. If they were really Gifted, why is it that the school just simply lets them go when they graduate? Like they serve no bigger purpose after they’re discovered they’re gifted and went through the entire program only so they could work typical jobs? I mean sure alumni worked big jobs after but that’s it? Anyone super intelligent, despite not having special abilities, could do that.
6. Mr. Pom and the director did nothing to address the attitude problem of Claire and Wave. That’s it which is why aside from Pang there wasn’t really character development from other characters.
7. With all the mess Wave has caused, how was he only suspended for one week and even got to stay in program? A part of me understand why they would keep him since the Gifted program started when they discovered Nicha had special abilities after she killed her classmate Wipawee. But still, why?
8. And if the director was willing to keep them despite their bad actions, what exactly was the purpose of this if he just let them go when they graduate to have normal people jobs?
9. After 8 episodes, suddenly the story arrives at a turning point. They face their big enemy, their fellow Gifted student: Wave. And his backstory! How does one boy like that possess so much power over the entire school? And the Gifted students even had a hard time defeating him even as they work together. This is A LOT like the X-Men and Magneto lmao.
10. The ending, lmao what the fuck happened here. Wave and Pang teamed up to bring down the director even if they don’t exactly know what he’s done except rank students based on intelligence and abilities and give the best treatment to the most excelling students – which is by the way how most schools work today so honestly this wouldn’t be a strong enough reason to take down the director because if they wanted to give everyone equal treatment there are many ways to do it but I guess he’s a young man fueled by his strong desire for change and reformation – so they conspire against him to find out what evil he’s actually done by using Namtaan. So finally they found out that Mr. Pom and the director had an experiment gone wrong which Mr. Pom also has no memories of. And they got all evidences that could take down the director but then turns out the director already knows everything and so Pang and Wave loses. This was also a major asshole move from Pang that he didn’t want to involve the other Gifted students but didn’t think twice about sacrificing them when the situation called for it. What exactly was he protecting?
11. Also the sappy ass scene Pang had with Namtaan was so damn misplaced and cringey that I skipped the scene just after a few lines. I never liked Namtaan’s character but this scene specifically just made me want to enter the screen and punch her in the face. Pang explains to her that he never told her about the situation because of how risky it is and Namtaan replies by saying that Pang doesn’t trust her. Namtaan then tells Pang that she has to come with them if she can’t stop him and even asks if her gift isn’t useful and to be honest, given the situation, it’s not. If anything she will just become a burden to them since when she uses her power, her blood pressure shoots up and she passes out. This will mean more trouble for Wave and Pang so if she really wanted to help out, she should have just not gotten in the way.

What sets this apart from any other super power series? A boy who likes to cause trouble and is in the last class suddenly discovers he has a higher purpose and ultimately changes for the better with the help of his super friends – a funny guy and a nerd which by the way, she looks the stereotypical nerd girl with the glasses, the bangs, the cardigan on top of uniform and her simply being weak. I think the writers tried to portray each character’s personality by their clothing but it just seemed too stereotypical that the viewers just can’t find nothing new with the characters.

WHAT I ACTUALLY LIKED ABOUT THIS DRAMA

1. Claire and Punn’s romantic storyline was not forced and actually was not cringey. Their chemistry and partnership actually worked.
2. Mon, she is so bad-ass. And she was actually one of the few who was willing to give up her potential for the greater good.
3. It was entertaining. There are some cringey moments but overall it was nice and I actually developed an attachment with the drama.
4. Visuals! From Mr. Pom to the Gifted students and even with Nac, it was a visual serve.
5. The show of their potentials were not bad like how in the Philippines when they do super power dramas they do bad at the editing when super powers need to be shown, The Gifted actually was not bad and they did a good job with it.
6. Overall, they did a good job with the drama and I’m actually excited for The Gifted: Graduation which is coming this year. I’m looking forward to how things will turn out and hopefully my questions will get answered.

My takeaway from the drama:

Those above will preach about equality but will never give up what sets them apart from those below them and what keeps them above from everyone. Unless, like Pang, you have been at the bottom and you have nothing to lose.

My rating: 8/10

Would I recommend: Yes but just don’t have high expectations of it

Please leave some feedbacks or comments for me if you agree with me or not or if I’m wrong or if I missed anything. They will be much appreciated even the harsh ones. Thank you!