Your Dear Daddy

Gorgeous start, a bit too rushed towards the end I have often complained about Thai BL series dragging on and on without much happening as writers desperately try to extend a story to 12 episodes or even more that could easily be done in 8 episodes. “Your Dear Daddy“ is probably the first time I’m complaining about the opposite, which is a shame, because the series started promisingly and appeared to be well constructed in its first half, felt rushed and full of holes in the final three episodes. It feels like it was supposed to have 10 episodes, and had to be cut to 8 for whatever reason. More about this later – let’s start with a short synopsis. Saithan (SaengNuea) suffers from serious mental issues caused by a toxic relationship with Phayu (Ta Nannakon) and witnessing his suicide. After this, he is afraid of starting a new relationship, seeking satisfaction in one-night stands (“I don’t do seconds“). One of his hook-ups is Sila (Fluke Pusit), owner of the Phu Saengdao tea farm and resort. On his way to a vacation near Chiang Mai, Saithan has a car accident with the daughter of Sila’s rival farmer. Saithan has no money to compensate for the damage, so Sila, who happens to appear at the site of the accident, offers to settle the matter, if Saithan agrees to pay off his debt by working on the tea farm. The first days as a farmworker are hard for Saithan, the spoiled city brat, but young farmworkers Mok (Caesar Phudit) and Saengla (Defei Chan) help him getting used to the hard work. Saithan honestly tries to adapt to the unusual situation, and soon he gets along with most of the farmhands. Sila, who is attracted to the guy who is much younger than himself, and who was not just naughty during, but even cruel after their first hook-up. Sila soon notices that Saithan is carrying some kind of burden, and he takes care of him in situations when Saithan is overwhelmed by his trauma. He falls in love with him, but Saithan at first keeps his distance. Sila, however, is determined to make Saithan his lover, and at the same time he is sensitive enough not to push things. It takes a while until Saithan is ready to open up little by little, and despite their mutual teasing, the two opposing characters develop a deep friendship, and eventually love. Sila’s business is under constant danger as Maenmueang (Gap Jakarin), Sila’s childhood friend and son of the owner of Sila’s neighbor and competitor, tries to destroy Sila’s business with increasingly violent means. His minions attack Sila’s employees, among them Saithan, Mok and Saengla, who is seriously wounded by a gunshot. The rivalry escalates when Maenmueang’s father obstructs Sila’s contract with a Korean tea importer, after Wipha (Namnung Suttidachanai), his illegitimate daughter and Maenmueang’s half-sister, has manipulated Sila’s business data. With Saithan’s help, Sila is able to uncover the betrayal, and finally the Korean company signs a deal with Phu Saengdao. There are two subplots I’ll only mention in passing, although they would have had the potential of becoming essential to the whole story, but were completed wasted by the rushed second half of the series. One is the obvious crush Mok and Saengla have on each other, but the ends of this subplot remain loose. The other is the GL subplot of Phon (Mae Nisachon) and Mueanphrae (Mae Methakarn), who would have made a nice “Romea and Juliet“ story as they are daughters of the rivaling families, and who could have contributed to a solution of the families’ conflict, but all we get is a fashion show, but at least with Saithan as a very attractive model. The well-written first half of the series, which actually dragged me into the story, was destroyed by the sloppy construction of the second half. This is all the more disappointing as many elements of this series were just fine. The setting of a remote tea farm not only provides beautiful pictures, but it also shows the hard work of the farmhands, and their cordial, family-like relationship. Apart from the rural setting, the workers’ daily life is illustrated in impressive images, but the cinematographic highlights of the series are scenes displaying Saithan’s trauma. The rivalry of the neighbor farmers provides action and suspense. What did not work, though, is the red herrings thrown in – it was just too obvious that Jakkrit (Paam Setthanan) would not be the traitor, although the writer made him look suspicious, while Wipha as the real bad girl comes out of the blue. The series is the debut work of young director Rice Natid, who also provided the script. His directing is good, whereas he should have collaborated with an experienced writer to make the script more consistent. Still, kudos to this 28-year-old who has taken on the risk to deliver a full-fledged series as his first work. The main reason why I love this series despite its obvious flaws, is the cast. Fluke Pusit has natural noble charisma, so he is exactly the right actor to personify the caring employer, friend and lover. But then there is SaengNuea – what a talent! He plays all the facets of his character absolutely credibly – the seductive, slutty, selfish, unscrupulous rent boy as well as the vulnerable victim of his trauma, the uncompromising, reliable friend and lover and the nice guy who is trying to adapt to rural life. There are scenes where I just wanted to hug him, and there are scenes where I wanted to kidnap him. Pairing him with Fluke is proof of ingenious casting. Gap Jakarin is the most impressive support actor. His unrivalled, almost intimidating on-screen presence makes him appear brutal, but he gains the viewers’ sympathy by displaying his character’s desperate attempts to please his evil father, and the pain of always being treated like a good-for-nothing. I would have loved to see more of Paam and Caesar, not only because their respective characters’ story remains only fragmentary, but also because they are able to play so naturally the clumsiness, the inhibitions, and unrequited feelings typical of adolescents trying to find their way. The soundtrack doesn’t distract from the plot, which cannot be said of every Thai series. The background music during NC scenes is sensitive, whereas in many scenes there’s only dialog. I’ll repeat myself by complaining about the terrible “funny noises“ that are present in too many Thai series, but it is probably something that Thai viewers appreciate. To sum up, the series does not keep the promises made in its first half, when it was on its way to enter my “top 15 list of 2026 BL series.“ I still enjoyed watching it to the very end, because the main and supporting actors are much better than in 80% of Thai BL series. If you’re looking for good BL entertainment, this series is one for you.