If outstanding visuals aren’t enough to convince you to watch F4 Thailand, we made a quick review on the drama and we are sharing some of the reasons why we loved it. Who knows? These might be the reason why you may end up binge-watching it too *like we did.*

What’s F4 Thailand (หัวใจรักสี่ดวงดาว)?

Characters

Tontawan Tantivejakul as Gorya (Thitara Jundee)
Bright Vachirawit Chivaaree as Thyme (Akira Paramaanantra)
Jirawat Sutivanichsak (Dew) as Ren (Renrawin Aira)
Metawin Opas-iamkajorn (Win) as Kavin (Taemiyaklin Kittiyangkul)
Hirunkit Changkham (Nani) as MJ (Methas Jarustiwa)

Synopsis

To give you a rundown, it is a 2021-2022 adaptation of the hit series Meteor Garden (Taiwan and China), Hana Yori Dango (Japan), Boys Over Flowers (South Korea). The main characters are Gorya, the not-so-special but hardworking student who works at a flower shop and managed to score a spot at a prestigious luxury school.

Later on, she found out that the school has been run by F4-made rules that totally speak of violence and bullying. Gorya, pressured by her parents can’t quit school despite all the circumstances she needs to face after standing up for justice against F4.

F4, on the other hand, is the most powerful students in school. Aside from that, they belong to the top 1% of Thailand in terms of wealth and power in society. No one dares to fight against F4 until they met Gorya.

Here are some of the reasons why it is a must-watch:

Meteor Garden and its adaptations tend to be a part of our childhood and *adulting* won’t stop us from watching it

If you are a 90’s kid, you probably grew up watching Boys Over Flowers, Meteor Garden, and Hana Yori Dango. Our grade school and high school weekdays won’t be complete without ending our day watching it at home, right? 

They may have the same story but how the characters were depicted are different from one another making every Dao Ming Zhou, Go Jun Pyo, and Tsukasa Domyouji our ‘red flag but I am a color-blind’ kind of knight in shining armor. More so, we first suffered an extreme second lead syndrome thanks to Hua Ze Lei, Ji Hoo, and Rui Hanazawa.

For Generation Z who aren’t so familiar with the Meteor Garden classics, you probably have encountered the Meteor Garden 2018 remake from China. Still, this adaptation will probably make it to your fave list as well.

The characters are surprisingly not toxic

I already feel sick about dramas with toxic characters so I tend to drop the drama after watching a few episodes but I’m glad there is numerous character development among the leads here. Though we already know that we’ll be seeing bullying and violence from F4, we’ve seen more of the victims’ background stories than the sickening violent scenes. 

Also, despite Thyme being a brat, we’ve seen more of his bright and nice side than the unwanted traits he has. The second lead is friendlier and more dependable than the other second leads we had from all the previous adaptations. F4 is not as sick and violent as the previous ones making it more suitable to younger audiences compared to what we’ve seen before from Meteor Garden.

F4 Thailand is the most relatable compared to other previous Meteor Garden adaptations

Probably because it is closer to us Filipinos, F4 Thailand gives us relatable cultural background stories for the characters. The scenes are filled with sceneries that you commonly see in South East Asia and the actions of the characters are pretty familiar too. 

Even though the language barrier is a given, it simply won’t just stop us from enjoying the show. Additionally, the fact the female lead Tontawan Tantivejakul is a newbie is fascinating since she portrays her role Gorya perfectly.

It reflects the current issues of school bullying, violence, and the huge gap between the rich and poor 

Instead of mere physical violence, we’ve seen the bigger impact of online bullying towards Gorya. The manipulative anonymous accounts attacking her non-stop caused her a lot of psychological damage more than the physical attacks of students.

Since it is already the age of computers, F4 Thailand highlighted the use of Twitter and other social media platforms to show attacks and support from random online users and it simply reflects the current status of people nowadays. Aside from that, we’ve seen the huge gap between the rich and the poor start from the gadgets they use, the food they eat, and even their clothing styles. 

Are you watching this drama? What’re your favorite Meteor Garden/ Boys Over Flowers adaptation so far?