Deal Lover Summary
Title:
Deal Lover ซื้อง่ายขายรัก
Series Info:
Thailand (2021)
Genre:
Romance
About:
Deal Lover is a happy & funny drama.
Plot
Milan and her younger brother Tokyo are hoping to buy a house together. As a beauty vlogger, Milan has finally saved up enough money to stop renting and purchase her first home. The prospective property is owned by Auntie Un, a senior woman who feels fiercely attached to the residence that she's selling. Although Auntie Un asks tough questions during the interview process, Milan's thoughtful answers pass the test with flying colours.
Milan arrives at the house to sign the contract for her new homeownership. To her surprise, she meets a scruffy young man named Din, who is also here for the exact same purpose. In her old age, Auntie Un has accidentally promised to sell the house to two prospective buyers. The unfortunate mix-up means that neither Milan nor Din gets full ownership of the home they want to buy.
Auntie Un is selling the house because she's moving overseas to live with her daughter. She is about to move away in a week's time and needs to find a new buyer for the house. Unable to decide between Milan and Din, Auntie Un suggests that they live with her for a week. She will sell the house to whoever seems the most sincere and makes the best impression on her.
Despite the unconventional living arrangement, both Milan and Din agree to move into the same house. The two characters continue to butt heads, as they scheme and antagonize each other constantly. Din wants to make his new roommate uncomfortable so that she'd willingly move out of the house. Meanwhile, Milan goes on a charm offensive, hoping to win over Din and trick him into letting his guard down.
As the competition heats up between Din and Milan, Tokyo forges a bond with Din's best friend Tam. From the moment they met, the two men have developed an instant connection to each other, almost like love at first sight. There's definitely a romantic attraction between the pair, which seems to be mutual. However, Milan is an overprotective older sister who disapproves of their close relationship.
Deal Lover Trailer
Deal Lover Cast
Characters
Din Ohm Pasawit Savetrittikun (ภาสวิชญ์ เศวตฤทธิกุล) Ohm Instagram
Din is one of the prospective buyers who want to purchase Auntie Un's house. He clashes with Milan right away as they compete for the same homeownership. Din is great at cooking and works as a professional chef. He is best friends with Tam, who visits him often in his new house.
Milan Yim Kanjana Wan-Sanook (กาญจนาวันสนุก) Yim Instagram
Milan is one of the prospective buyers who want to purchase Auntie Un's house. She's currently living in a rental with her younger brother Tokyo, but has saved up enough money to buy her first house. Milan clashes belligerently with Din over the homeownership mix-up. She works as a beauty vlogger with a sizable online following.
Tokyo Mark Kittitat Virunsunthornkul (กิตติธัช วิรุฬห์สุนทรกุล) Mark Instagram
Tokyo is Milan's younger brother who lives with her. He is currently a university student. Tokyo and his older sister have a very close relationship. She is fiercely protective of her little brother and takes great care of him. While living in the house, Tokyo forms a quick bond with Don's friend Tam.
Tam Panupat Sutirak (ภาณุภัทร สุทธิรักษ์) Panupat Instagram
Tam is Din's best friend. When Tam was about to move into his new house, Din tagged along to accompany his friend. He ended up meeting Tokyo and the two of them struck an immediate connection. Din works at a bank with a strong proficiency in mathematics. He comes over to the house to offer Tokyo tutoring assistance.
Supporting Cast
Auntie Un
House owner
Mr. Chai
House buyer
Cast highlights
- The actor playing Din (Ohm) starred in a short 2020 Thai BL movie Romantic Station. He will also feature in an upcoming BL series called The Theory.
Deal Lover Review
Review
Drama Review Score: 5.3
Deal Lover is a massive disappointment, made worse by the fact that I genuinely enjoyed its first two episodes. Although the premise is silly and outrageous, I like the quirky circumstances that bring the characters together to live in the same house. Whatever Deal Lover lacks in realism, it makes up with copious amounts of enthusiasm. The early episodes feel surprisingly fun, vibrant, and energetic, offering a hopeful start to the series.
Sadly, Deal Lover goes on a rapid decline by rushing its story and condensing the plot development. It makes unnatural leaps in the narrative, skipping necessary scenes that advance the characters and their relationships. As a result, Din and Milan transition from foes to lovers unconvincingly. Deal Lover also doesn't spend enough time with Auntie Un, who should've been a pivotal figure. After moving in, the characters barely interacted with her. It's like the homeownership storyline got benched to make room for romantic subplots instead.
What Deal Lover needed was more time. Some plot points are pretty interesting on paper, but the execution feels rushed and incoherent. These flaws are prominent in the second half of the series, where the dramatic events unravel recklessly. By sacrificing nuance for speed, the emotional climax doesn't feel satisfying and the resolution becomes painfully hollow. A longer duration would pace the story comfortably, padding out the narrative with nuanced scenes and better characterizations.
There're two pairings in Deal Lover. The straight couple is a bust, not receiving enough development to make their whirlwind fling remotely believable. Plus, Milan's actress gives a subpar performance, coming across as too theatrical. The gay couple is a slight improvement, featuring two fairly likable characters in an unmemorable romance. Tokyo and Tam are cute in the few scenes they share together, but it's a light and limiting relationship that will leave you wanting more BL content.
The happy ending feels contrived, resolving all previous conflicts in a flimsy and shallow manner. How the characters overcome the homeownership dispute is laughably bad, almost undermining the original premise of the drama. I'm left frustrated by this series, which showed enthusiastic charm and vibrant creativity at times. However, its rushed storytelling and messy conclusion squander any potential, making Deal Lover very difficult to recommend.
Story
Rushed story
The story that Deal Lover wanted to tell is more suitable for a ten-episode series rather than its current five-episode structure. With a longer drama, I think the BG romance or the sister's homophobia could've expanded into interesting storylines. However, these subplots feel crammed into the narrative when there're only five episodes with more significant stories to tell. Something had to give, and I would've cut away the nonessential parts from Deal Lover.
Yes, I consider the BG romance completely unnecessary. Without the BL romance, I wouldn't even be reviewing this series, so it's clearly the more relevant storyline. 😗 Besides, was anyone really that chuffed about seeing the two straight protagonists get together? Like, I don't think so. Give us more Tokyo x Tam development and scrap all of the Din x Milan scenes.
The most important storyline in Deal Lover is the homeownership competition. That's the hook of the series and it should've been the driving force in the plot. Shockingly, Auntie Un kinda disappears from the story after inviting these four strangers to come in and out of her house. The characters should've interacted with her way more. Let's see Din, Milan & Tokyo try to curry favour with conversations, chores, and constant flattery. Make Auntie Un the main focus, throw in a cute BL romance, and those are the only stories Deal Lover needed.
Romance
Tokyo and Tam
Deal Lover wasted no time pairing up Tokyo and Tam. The two of them developed a love-at-first-sight attraction from the moment they met. What followed was a flurry of cute and light romantic scenes between them. Tam would sneak a glance, Tokyo would smile back shyly, and it felt like a wholesome start to a BL romance.
Unfortunately, trouble was brewing. Milan can't stand seeing her baby brother in a happy relationship ~WITH A MAN~, so she decides to wreck it! Milan emotionally blackmails Tam into keeping his distance away from Tokyo, because she doesn't want her precious brother to be gay. While she successfully terminated her brother's budding romance, Milan is getting cozy with a guy at the same time. Apparently, she's allowed to fall in love, but not her gay little brother. Okay, hypocritical much? 🙄
To be honest, I thought this storyline had some intrigue. If handled carefully, it could've explored homophobic perceptions in an insightful way. However, Deal Lover didn't have the time to develop the subplot in any meaningful capacity. It led to botched drama that made Milan's character very unlikable. Plus, the Tokyo and Tam romance completely stopped in its tracks. The homophobic panic halted any momentum building in the first two episodes, resulting in a disappointing BL storyline.
Din and Milan
Ugh, fine. I guess I'll talk about the straight couple too. 😞 The Din and Milan romance didn't work for me, feeling too forced, too unbelievable, and too underdeveloped. The characters were better off as enemies, sniping at each other with insults and pranks. Once they warmed up to each other, the pair just lost that spark between them.
The two of them also don't spend enough time together to make their romance substantial. Milan took care of Din when he was sick, they watched a movie together, and…that's it? Not that I'm advocating for more Din and Milan scenes, because I'm not! They should've just never become a couple in the first place. For some reason, Deal Lover insisted on forcing a romance between their characters when there isn't a need for one.
I get why Milan snitched on Din to win the competition over the house. What I don't understand is why she felt so guilty afterwards. Hello, you just met this stranger seven days ago, the same guy who brokered a shady deal to make money. Who cares about hurting his feelings? Just take the house, sign the contract, and don't forget to change the locks afterwards!
Acting
Okay acting
I thought most of the cast gave okay acting performances. The actor playing Tokyo is kinda adorable and embodies his role well. He also looks and behaves like someone's younger brother, if that makes any sense?
The actress playing Milan is a bit weaker than the rest of the cast. Her performance is too dramatic and theatrical, especially during the more serious moments. In the episode where Milan had that one-on-one conversation with Tam, the scene needed more refined emotions and she couldn't deliver them.
I like Din's actor as well. However, it has nothing to do with his acting and everything to do with superficial reasons. 😳 He caught my attention since the first episode, after filling a pair of jeans very nicely. 🍑
Ending
Happy ending
Deal Lover has a happy ending where Milan gets the house and the boyfriend both at the same time. At the start of the episode, Milan hits rock bottom when Tokyo discovers his sister's homophobic meddling and runs away from home. Even though Milan bought the house of her dreams, she is miserable. Her character is completely alone and abandoned by everyone she loves.
However, the episode picks up when Tam and Tokyo reconcile, getting back together. They also help Din and Milan to reunite with a surprise birthday party. Milan has a sudden change of heart, welcoming her brother and his gay lover. In the final scene, Milan gets MARRIED to Din so that they can share the homeownership together. Tam also moves in as a roommate, so all four characters live in the same house together.
Ending explained
Deal Lover's ending felt very contrived, resolving none of the previous conflicts satisfyingly. I get the need to rush towards a happy ending, but it wasn't fun to watch. I wanted more meaningful scenes between Milan and Tokyo, addressing her homophobia in a heart-to-heart chat. Instead, the half-assed ending wasn't interesting and didn't provide adequate closure.
Din and Milan's marriage is also a startling decision. It made sense for Din to move in with her, but getting hitched to him in a shotgun wedding is kinda extreme!? Didn't you meet this stranger seven days ago and found out that he lied to you!? And now he's your husband!? I'm sorry, but you need to slow down!
Remember, Auntie Un specifically did NOT want to sell the house to Din. After finding out about his shady deal, she thought Din wasn't a worthy successor to her beloved house. It's kinda ironic that Milan betrayed the old woman's trust once she bought the home, splitting the ownership with him anyway. She is literally going against Auntie Un's original intentions. Milan turns out to be a con artist, just like her boyfriend!
Deal Lover Episodes
Episode Guide
Deal Lover has a total of 5 episodes. Each episode is around 20 to 25 minutes long. This is a short BL drama, and you can finish the entire series in under 90 minutes. Deal Lover started airing on February 1, 2021 and ended on March 1, 2021.
If you enjoy this BL series, please subscribe to the Deal Lover YouTube channel and give your support!
★★★☆
★★★☆
★★☆☆
★☆☆☆
★☆☆☆
Episode 1
24 minutes
Episode 2
22 minutes
Episode 3
21 minutes
Episode 4
22 minutes
Episode 5
20 minutes
Deal Lover Information
Links
- MyDramaList Deal Lover MyDramaList
- YouTube Deal Lover YouTube
Imagine
Imagine is a Thai BL studio that made the series Deal Lover (2021). The studio also made a couple of other short BL and GL projects in the past.