55:15 Never Too Late (2021)

55:15 Never too late, you gave us a roller coaster of emotions

I'm not gonna lie, I'm really gonna miss this series. Never was I laughing so much in one episode and crying in the other. And I'll admit. I certainly didn't want those endings for Charunee and Paul, but I'll accept the message conveyed by those endings. Each character got equal screen time to ensure their stories are told in the best way possible. I can't deny how great the acting was by everyone, including Sea and Win. Hats off for everyone. The OSTs by Khaotung and Ford were so beautiful that I keep on listening to them in loops. The only reason why my re watch value is lower is because I dont think I can survive a second round of these emotions. In Short don't miss this unique gem of a drama and start watching it right now.

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A true gem, one of the best dramas out there!

A beautiful story of 5 different people who live with regrets and get a second chance to change it. During the first episodes we slowly learn more and more about their lives, the pacing is perfect and I loved how interconnected they are. 10/10 for worldbuilding.

Usually in stories like these, characters have to keep it a secret - it was refreshing to see how some of them were able to open up to their friends and relatives.

This drama has everything - it was really funny at times, but it also made me cry a lot. It's interesting, it keeps you wondering what's next, it makes you fully engage with all the characters and feel their joy, confusion, pain, love...

MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW

The story that broke my heart the most and made me cry like I haven't cried for ages was Jarunee's. I was so happy to see her relax, become more accepting and gentle, and, most of all, finally live her life and achieve all her little goals. It's devastating that she had so little time to do it all, especially when it comes to love... And honestly I think I'm even more hurting for Bomb. He waited for so long for her to open up to him, to love him back, and he had no time to enjoy their new relationship. Just like Jarunee devoted her whole life to her dad and school, he devoted his to her and later her dad. I can't imagine how he could recover from that and, even though it's fiction, I like to hope he finds love and happiness in the future.

Similarly, Songpol's story was also depressing. For most episodes his part is rather lighthearted, he's fun and is the quickest to get used to being a teenager (mostly thanks to Noinae - a lovely angel who helps everyone). I really hoped his little almost-crush on Pipu would make him realise he could fall in love with someone else after having been focused on Mathee for so long. I guess it would give all viewers some closure to see him falling for a different person, after all these years being alone. All his interactions with Pipo were so emotional for me, because I knew it wouldn't end well for either of them. Pipo was very important for Songpol, but he could never return his feelings for him. He finally had a friend, had his first crush, and it all disappeared forever suddenly, and he never learned why. I'm sure though that this experience made him grow a lot and he'll be able to have friends and maybe meet his new love while making the BL lol.

I see some criticisms about the age gaps and flirting and I honestly don't think any of the characters was acting inappropriate. The only relationship that would be wrong, would be Songpol and Pipu - but it was clear that Songpol kept his distance at all times, and even avoided Pipu after his confession. Prim made Seksan wait until he's back to his adult body, and Amonthep's wife didn't even want to hug him.

ALL IN ALL I had some different thoughts about this drama that I wanted to write about, but then the last episode destroyed me with how much I cried, and a lot has changed, but what didn't change is that it's a masterpiece and I want to recommend it to everyone. It's truly underrated and I hope it gets the recognition it deserves because it's a real gem. Jaya's song won't stop playing in my head :)

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Absorbing story with well developed characters and good acting

(But be prepared for an ending that you may not like 100%.)

The greatest challenge for this series is how it has to tell the story of 5 main characters who unexpectedly get transformed into their younger selves when they are 55. Although they meet each other, their stories don’t intersect much, so it is all too easy for the series to suffer from disjointedness as it shifts its focus from one character to another. Thankfully, the disjointedness is kept to a minimum, and the life of each of the characters is interesting in its own way.

The five characters start off in different ways, and we may feel more for one or two of them than for others at first:

- San: at 55, he loses his job and has regrets in his love life and in his relationship with his parents.

- Jaya: a popular singer in her younger days, she has lost popularity over time.

- Paul: a gay man who has kept his sexual orientation hidden from his family; he is in love with a man who is about to get remarried.

- Thep: once a promising boxer, he was attacked and crippled before an important match. His boxing school is failing.

- Jarunee: a strict teacher who is being pursued by a much younger man despite having rejected him, she finds out that she has cancer.

Personally, I was more touched by the predicaments of Paul and Thep at first. Nevertheless, I grew to care more about the characters too. In fact, Thep loses some of my sympathy as he seems to become a tad childish after the transformation. My heart most consistently went out to Paul as the other characters can be faulted in some ways, but not so much for Paul.

San is perhaps too impulsive and stubborn in his younger days. Jaya has an attitude problem as a diva and does not even bother to sing live. Thep has an opportunity to be a boxer again after the transformation, but he seems distracted by other “activities” like flirting with a young woman. Jarunee in her older self is a well-meaning teacher but fails to understand the youths she is teaching. Paul, on the other hand, is not perfect but he has lived his younger days in a homophobic family and society, and the man he has been in love with for years is straight and isn’t about to suddenly like men like characters in BL series do. The way his life has turned out isn’t something he can really help.

Because the reason for the characters’ transformation is mysterious, there is suspense from the start regarding whether they will be able to remain young or return to their former selves from the start. The uncertainty is perfectly exploited because it soon becomes obvious that some of the characters will want to remain young while the others will want to return to their older selves: unless they are going to have a choice, neither situation is going to be ideal.

Given that the title is “55:15 Never Too Late”, people may expect a happy ending. But this is not something that anyone watching can be sure of, especially in the last few episodes when the story is worked into a climax. This is a series in which, despite a lot of light-hearted moments, we don’t know what sort of ending to expect until the end (or perhaps even until a second season?). (In the case of Paul, it will be doubly heartbreaking if he has to permanently return to his older self because it will be really sad for both him and his younger self’s love interest.) Together with characters that the audience is likely to care about and all-round good acting, the series is truly absorbing.

The ending of the series, unfortunately, isn't entirely satisfying. It tries to stay true to the idea that it is "never too late" but the transformation only brings a positive change for some of the characters. For at least one character who gets transformed, it can also bring more regrets. Even though the character tries to see it positively, it also seems that they are, as they say, "cursed". In a sense, the ending is realistic. But I'm not too sure if I really want this sort of realism in a feel-good series about people getting a second chance after being transformed into teens.

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Second Chances

Final thoughts:
(beware of MAJOR spoilers!!)

Very interesting concept, but the storyline was a little repetitive and dragged (especially the start).

I love Khao to death, but i did not like, that they gave his character a love interest as a teen
also he didn't really get a happy ending which kinda sucked...

Jarunee deserved a better ending!
I feel like, she showed the most character development out of all of them.
But looking back they kinda foreshadowed it by having her write that list.

I loved the friend group, but would've loved it even more, if they had more scenes all together...
I know the concept was more to show the storyline of each character, but they had so much potential!

I am a little bit biased considering the cast, because I am a big fan of most of them.
I think it's an easy to watch series, if you're looking for something a little different.

I've already been listening to the Opening OST by Khaotung prior to watching this series and I'll probably will continue doing it for the next 3 months xD.

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Underrated Series

Note: This review is a personal opinion it's still your choice to agree with this or not :) Also, English isn't my native language so I'm really sorry for the grammar errors!

Story
You may not appreciate this series today but you can the lesson of this series in the near future. Age doesn't stop you from doing new things! I like each of the characters' arc especially Jaruni's but I wished we can get more of them :( the last 4 episodes seemed rushed.

Cast/Acting
Nanon did well in his role again, View and Piploy shined throughout the series. For Khaotung and Kay, kind of mid but they did well! Their 55 year old counterparts and the rest did well too.

Music
The ost and scores were used in the right time. Please release Jaya's song (and the other versions)!

Rewatch Value
Will definitely rewatch this!

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Series yang indah, banyak pelajaran kehidupan.

Akhirnya kelar juga nontonnya, sukak bgt sama ni series( ◜‿◝ )♡

Saran aja nih buat kalian, kalo kalian expect bakal ada cute BL story di series ini, no honey..jgn berharap lebih. Memang ada karakter gay di series ini (Songpon/Paul/Paula sama Phipu), tapi unfortunately mereka ga ditakdirkan bersama di series ini.. cukup kesel + pgn ngumpat directornya tapi ya..sy bisa apa? Tapi sebenernya wlwpun ga bersama pun, mereka masih bisa saling memiliki dan masih bisa sering ketemu juga, walaupun dalam wujud tubuh yg berbeda..(ga mau ngasih too much spoiler! Mending kalian tonton aja sendiri series nya langsung!) Disini aku petik Quote dari om songpon/paula, bahwa cinta itu bisa dalam bentuk ketika kita 'Sharing' momen2 bahagia bersama org lain, gak melulu harus kayak yg pacaran2 gitu engga. Dan kalimat itu cukup menyadarkan ku bahwa, aku sama Crush ku juga bisa dikatan saling mencintai dong?, krn kita itu deket bgt dah kayak bestie, cuman karena aku cowo dan dia juga cowo (masih straight dia weh), jadi nya aku ga berani 'confess' ke dia, tapi karena kedekatan kita yg sering sharing momen2 kebersamaan yg indah, walaupun gak dalam hubungan pacaran, itu bisa dibilang mencintai juga loh kawand hihihi?. Intinya my fav character di series ini jatuh kepada OM PAULA sama BUNDA JERUNEE naaaaa! Di series ini kita bakal metik buanyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak bgt pelajaran hidup dan I think it is worth to watch for you guysss! Kuy tonton ini skrg dijamin gak nyeselllll❣️

Salam hangat dari Arek Malang, Jatim ✿
Sabtu, 14 Mei 2022

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Nem sempre precisamos terminar com um amor para ser feliz

No começo dessa história não tinha chamado muito minha atenção.

Mas vendo no decorrer do contexto o enredo foi magnífico!

Claro que sempre tem os personagens que te chama mais a atenção, no meu caso não foi diferente.

Mesmo vendo que os meus personagens preferidos não tiveram o final merecido!

Mas não me arrependo de ter assistido essa linda história com esses atores belíssimos e grandiosos!

Foi sensacional ver que a GMMTV está voltando a produzir histórias que nós prende do começo ao fim, mesmo que em alguns momentos da vontade de entrar na série e chacolhar aquele personagem...

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