#You have no idea how wild Dee and Yak are

[miss0atae]

About Wandee Goodday episode 1:

There are already so many good reviews on Wandee Goodday, so here is my small participation. I read the book, so my take will be on the difference between the Book and the Series.

First of all, you must know, I don't think there is a superior medium to convey a story. It depends on the story itself and each medium has their strengths. Usually, books are considered a good medium to go deep on the description of the characters and the world where they interact. You get to know what the inner monologue of the characters and you can visualize the story through your imagination. TV series or films, are more visual. I believe they also depend a lot on the director and the actors because you can have a brilliant screenplay and terrible results. That being said, I really like to see how a story in a book can become a series screenplay. If you already read Thai BL books, you'll notice smut takes a large part in it. I don't mind smut. I believe we need to have a large range of book types for every taste. Wandee Goodday, the book, is filled with smut and if it's easy to write it on a book, it doesn't really transpose well on a series where smut isn't the primarily plot. It's why, I think, it's interesting to see what the series adds to the storytelling of the book.

Note, there are going to have some spoilers from the book in this post. So, if you want to avoid this because you want to read it later, you should not continue reading this.

The first episode is perfect to set the tone of the series and to present the characters. The series start with the end of the episode so you'll know what you get and then we get the flashback that will allow us to know how did Dee ended up in this situation.

"No more Mr. Good Guy!" -- Chap 1.

▪️ In the book, Wandee or Dee is a doctor who did his best to be the perfect boyfriend, a “good person” for his crush Ter because he heard him said once his ideal type is a “good person”. So Dee made conscious effort to be the ideal type of Ter: he doesn’t drink, doesn’t flirt, doesn’t smoke, works a lot and he was the one who tried to be at the same job as Ter. In this version of the story, Dee is really doing all the work and Ter isn’t really an active participant. You must know the book is told in the first person through Wandee’s eyes. However, Wandee isn’t totally an unreliable storyteller. He just has a lot of imagination.

In the series things are a bit different. I like it more because it gave more deep to why Dee could think Ter has a special relationship with him and they may get together. It implies Ter had a more active role as he was the one who helped Dee gets where he is. He found him a condo at the same place as him, for example. I think it works well because it reinforces the love Wandee has for him because Ter is doing so much, it could easily be mistaken for romantic attention. Here, Wandee seems less deluded and you can understand why he thought he would get the guy.

"By the way, what's your name?" "Yak" -- Chap. 2

▪️ Now, about Yak. In the book, Yak's personality is slightly different from his series counterpart. He is more or less a playboy who is used to having multiple one-night stand, but he is trying to stop because he is in love with Taemrak who doesn't like this. As Wandee, he has been waiting for a lot of years to be with this person who still refuses him. Also, he is younger than Dee. I felt Yak was more reserved in the book version.

In the series, Yok seems more like a confident man who knows his worth and he seems more talkative. We have no idea yet, if he has a playboy past. One thing I notice, is how it is implied Yok is bisexual. On the book, we never know if he is bisexual because the only two people we know he had feelings for were men. Since they changed Taemrak and made him a girl, we can only assume he is. However, in the book Wandee complains he never flirted with boy so I assumed he was the bisexual one in the relationship. In fact, he doesn't change anything to the story.

"Do me hard, Good Boy" -- Chap. 1

▪️ I believe their first time was better in the series. In the book, Dee is really drunk and since he is always having fantasies, he imagines himself as a heroine in a Thai period drama. In his fantasy, he is going to be ravished by the leader of gang. So when, he kisses Yak he is high in his fantasies. Of course, Dee doesn't tell him he is a virgin and Yak discover it, too late. He still tries to help him feel better and give him the lead. Then, they have a wild night with multiple intercourse. I think the writer wanted to show how Yak was very patient towards Dee, who was discovering his sexuality and preferences in bed.

"Are you going for more?" "Yeah, more now" -- Chap. 1

▪️ In the series, I liked how they took their time. Dee had a moment when he was unsure about if he really wanted it and Yak asked for his consent and when he didn't get it, he truly believed it’s a “no” from Dee. This series put lights on the importance of consent. The message is clear: if you want to do it with someone, this person must consent. When, Dee gets a cramp, they stopped and just got back to it when they both felt it’s the right time again. It’s a very healthy way that is absent in the book. Brownie points for the series!

"I turned you down. I was afraid that you'd be too distressed to sleep." Chap. 2

▪️ Ter in the book is a blank page. He is not bad, but he is not good either. He felt mostly flat. You have to ask yourself what Dee found in him. In the series, I feel like Ter isn't a nice person because he may have noticed than Dee was caring a lot and he wanted to use this in his own advantage. What makes me think this… it's when he asked Dee to give him the scholarship. I don't remember if they had to compete for a scholarship in the book, but I believe it's something that was added purposely in the series. We'll see which impact it's going to have in the series. I fear Ter may want to use Dee's crush to him to try to snatch the scholarship from him.

"We can't come back late. I need to be back early. I still have work to do." -- Chap 4.

▪️ Taemrak is also different from the book. In the book, it’s a man who is still studying in university. It’s nerd who spends his time in the library with books. He wears glasses and is scared of riding on Yak’s bike. Yak met him because he went to his faculty to do a physical fitness test. In the series, Taemrak is a woman who is tutoring students and seems to work a lot to get herself out of poverty. I wonder if it’s going to play a more important part in the story.

"They cannot seem to be separated for more than three days. Love is so good." -- Chap 2.

▪️ O-ye and Cher (called Cherry in the book) are more or less the same in both the book and the series. We didn't see them a lot, so things may be different. I like how they are still bickering, but very much in love. Cher is also considering Yak as his son in the book and they joke a lot on this nickname. I’m glad they kept this part.

"Dee, are you feeling worse?" Chap. 1

▪️ Plakao is my biggest surprised in the series! In the book, he has a minor role. He is just a friend of Dee who doesn’t work in the same job as him. In fact, he is more the provider of costumes for Dee and Yak, as they both have a clothing kink (not sure it is how you could describe it, in English). I’m so happy they changed his role in the series. I hope it will bring him more depth. He is asexual and I want to see what representation they will give us. I can’t remember if I ever watched a Thai BL, before, where one of the character said he was asexual, so I felt it was huge.

That’s it for this first episode. You must know the first episode is more or less the first chapter of the book. So we’ll see if the second episode is like the second chapter of the book. I believe the series, as for now (we’ll see if it continues to be this way), is bringing another layer to the book. It could bring a nice synergy.