I have been meaning to watch this series ever since it first aired and I can’t help but feel really behind in my series watching. In fact, I kind of feel overwhelmed. There are so many new series that have either already aired or are still coming out in the near future and I just can’t keep up. My watchlist is growing like crazy with both new BL and non-BL series for this year alone. It doesn’t help that I took a whole year off of watching dramas in 2022 and half a year off during 2023, so now I’m even more behind.
*sigh* so many dramas, so little time.
Anyways! I finally started watching Cutie Pie the series and I will be honest and say that I don’t really have many expectations. The reviews for the show seemed to be fairly mixed and I honestly only wanted to watch it because Zee was in it, and I wanted to see him in a new role since he was a brand-new actor when he was in ‘Why R U?’. I don’t plan on doing reviews for every episode because like I said, so many dramas, so little time. But I did watch episode 1 recently, so let’s jump into my thoughts!
Characters
Episode 1 introduces us to our main couple and the side couple. Our main couple is Nu Keua and Hia Lian who have known each other practically their entire lives. They’ve grown up together but there was some time apart too because Nu Kuea spent some time overseas and only returned to attend university in Thailand.
Hia Lian is of Chinese descent and his family moved to Thailand when he was very young to start a family business (with the help of Keua’s grandfather) that quickly blossomed and became a multimillion-dollar business. Hia Lian is next in line to take over the family business and is very stoic and serious. Kuea is younger than Lian and also comes from a rich family. He is more outgoing and fun. He loves cars and racing, and even performs as a singer and drummer at a local club, weekly. However, he hides this side of himself so he can be seen as a good and proper young man for his family and for Lian.
Lian and Kuea are engaged to be married, however, the engagement is not a legal engagement. It was a verbal agreement between Kuea’s grandfather and Lian. The rest of the families just went along with it. Kuea’s family went along with it because they like Lian and think that he will be the perfect person to take care of Kuea for the rest of his life and bring him happiness. Lian’s family only seems to have gone along with it because they feel obligated to since it was Kuea’s grandfather that got them to where they are today, which is super filthy rich. Lian also seems to feel this pressure. Even though the initial engagement happened when he was around 11 or 12 and Kuea was between the ages of 6 and 8, Lian agreed to the engagement again when asked about it as an adult before the grandfather’s death.
However, we find out early on that Lian does not love Kuea romantically and is viewing the marriage as a business marriage with the idea that they can do whatever they want and date who they want after they get married. So long as Kuea is financially and materially cared for. Kuea does not want this because he views Lian in a romantic light and has always loved him. Even as a child, he wanted to marry Lian and be with him forever.
Our second couple is Khondiao, Kuea’s closest friend, and Yi, who seems to be Lian’s closest friend and is also of Chinese descent. Khondiao and Yi are also engaged to be married (although I do not think this was an arranged marriage like Kuea’s and Lian’s). They also seem to be in a similar situation with Khondiao feeling lonely at times due to Yi constantly having to work and maintain his family businesses, while also seeming to only tolerate Khondiao at best.
There are moments where Yi shows that he cares such as calling to make sure that Khondiao got home okay and at a decent hour, however, he also has a temper and can be cold and distant. Khondiao goes back and forth with wondering if Yi actually loves him or not. Episode 1 does not give us much of their relationship dynamic just yet, but I am interested to see how their relationship plays out.
Based off the marketing posters for this series, it seems like there is going to be a third couple, but we have not met them yet.
Storyline
This first episode introduces us to the plot of the series. When Kuea finds out that Lian does not love him, he decides to call off the engagement. Kuea wants to marry for love, while Lian is only marrying out of obligation. Yi tries to talk Lian out of the engagement too because a verbal engagement has no legal standing, but Lian says he still wants to get married and that he will never call off the engagement.
One thing that stood out to me in this episode is that Lian was honest with Kuea when he told him that he wants to marry a real person and not a doll. While he was very mean when he said it and even taunted Kuea by calling him an Annabelle doll, he was basically hinting at the fact that he knows that Kuea is putting on an act of perfection for him and he doesn’t like it. He wants the real Kuea.
However, Kuea has always felt the need to be perfect due to the status of both of their families. He hides is true self and doesn’t tell Lian or his family about his performance gigs and he lies about what major he’s enrolled in at university. He doesn’t want to do anything that can tarnish Lian’s image or his own family’s image, so he hides his true self.
Completely hurt by the mean things Lian has said to him and his blatant admission of not loving him, Kuea storms away from their argument and decides to distance himself from Lian. He does not see a point in getting married if they are not marrying for love, nor does he share Lian’s view of marrying for status or business.
In addition to this, Lian has discovered Kuea’s secret of performing as a singer and drummer. His secret unfortunately reached Lian because he performs at a club that is a business rival with the club that Lian owns. I don’t think Kuea knows that the two clubs compete for business. However, whenever Kuea performs at the other club (under the stage name Kiran), Lian’s club sees a severe decline in business for the night. So, someone recorded a video of Kiran (Kuea) performing and sent it to Lian who recognized him right away. The episode ends with Lian making the audience think that he’s going to blackmail Kuea or at least hold it over his head in some kind of way.
My thoughts
So far, I am intrigued. The show is produced well, and it is obvious that the production company had a good budget for filming. I am also pleased with the acting so far. Zee is playing a cold and semi emotionless character which is drastically different than his character in ‘Why R U?’. One of the moments that stuck out to me was when his character was arguing with Kuea after Kuea confronted him on why he always gets moody and walks away after Kuea says “I love you”. Lian thought Kuea was only picking a fight because he was upset that Lian had to work so they couldn’t go on their weekly date. After Kuea said something to piss Lian off, one of Zee’s lines were “I am not angry yet. But I am about to be.” And the delivery was just *chef’s kiss*!
The warning was very clear: Stop now, or it’s going to get ugly. I will hurt your feelings.
And welp…he did lol.
That was a line that you really have to throw some authority in, and to do it all without raising his voice was so freakin good. In fact, the entire argument was done without raising their voices however, as a viewer I could still feel all the tension, resentment, and underlying anger. The entire time I was watching, I was asking myself, “Is this how rich people argue?” Lol. Because I am so used to people immediately raising their voices when they get upset.
Seeing this argument on screen reminded me of all the old films I used to watch with aristocratic/upper class society, and even in those films, the rich people never raised their voices when angry or arguing. The rich people in these films always seemed to have perfected the nice-but-nasty verbal altercations with some pettiness thrown in. I think it was portrayed quite well in this scene for Cutie Pie. The pettiness was on level 1000 when Lian called Kuea an Annabelle doll lollll.
So, overall, I am interested in continuing with the series. I will probably update my thoughts on this show here and there. As I mentioned above, I will not be posting episodic reviews like I’ve done for other series. I’ll probably do a mid-season update review and then a final one at the end…unless there is an episode that really makes me have something to say. In that case, I will be clacking away on this keyboard, yelling into the online void lol.
Until next time ~
