Perfect 10 Liners 1×24 Review: Final Episode

After six months, the time has come to say goodbye to Perfect 10 Liners. I am going to miss this show way more than expected; it was a joy to tune in each week. It may usurp We Are as my go-to comfort watch.

The final episode of Perfect 10 Liners had very little in the way of plot, because everything was basically wrapped up in last week’s episode. As such, this week was essentially an hour-long goodbye to these characters, and they did so by having almost everyone come together to help Klao propose to Wa.

It’s still lowkey hilarious that Klao has no (decent) friends and had to turn to Yotha, aka Wa’s ex, to get help proposing. Because Yotha is, after all, the guy who gave his crush a questionnaire to fill out rather than talking to him like a person. Which is why Yotha then needs to turn to everyone else for help.

However, this is only after we get to see the morning after for Faifa and Wine. Faifa is adorably aggressive, unable to stop telling Wine how cute he is. (Let’s be real, Mark looked so good in this scene.) They are both so happy to be together. They have done some serious work in climbing my “favorite couples” list; I just love how open and communicative they are with each other. They balance each other nicely, both by making sure the other is taken care of and by counteracting each other’s worst traits.

Anyway, back to the proposal. They decide that everyone should go camping so that Klao can propose to Wa in nature, with all of them there. Which is weird. I mean, yes, I’ve definitely heard stories where people propose with their friends and family around. But Klao doesn’t have friends and it’s not like either of Wa’s friends were there. So basically this huge romantic moment happened in front of Wa’s ex and his friend group. (Yes, I know that they’re on friendly terms but, like, they barely know Wine, and Klao had never even met Sand and Pond.)

The proposal does not go off without a hitch, because how would it with Arm and Gun involved. But I had to laugh at Arc making fun of Arm’s poor hiding place and Wa immediately spotting Arm. Klao is able to propose, even though the whole scene was more like a wedding – including repeatedly passing Wa’s flower crown like a bouquet.

I maintain that having those two as the ones who got engaged is very odd. Their screen time was minimal compared to some of the other couples, and though they were the secondary couple during Yotha and Gun’s arc, I often felt that they were shoehorned in. (As always, I have to add the caveat that I love Aou and Boom and they absolutely delivered. I just really did not like their part at all.) But, as I said last week, I guess we don’t how long they’ve been dating.

Mission accomplished, the couples eventually all pair off for their romantic moments. (Although Pond and Sand’s is kind of ruined because Po shows up to whine a bit more about his recent breakup and ends up sharing their tent after getting drunk.) These are all nice little scenes where each of the main couples reiterate how much they love each other. Nothing we haven’t heard before, but a good exclamation point on their romantic arcs.

I also appreciated that Faifa and Yotha had a conversation about their family. Long overdue, if you ask me. I’ll never be satisfied with how they handled everything with their mother, but then I’m petty and vindictive. I hate the trope of toxic family being needlessly redeemed at the end of a series “because family”. Their mom was the worst and they deserve better. But I love that they talked, and their hug made me very emotional.

The episode ends with everyone video-calling Jet and Pun, who couldn’t make it, and taking a “Perfect 10 Liners and their Partners” group photo.

I remember before this started airing that people were legitimately worried about the length. Growing up in the US, in the ’80s and ’90s where 22-episode seasons were the standard, I didn’t think much of it. (I still have a bit of a laugh at people who balk at C-dramas that have 30+ episodes. In the grand scheme of things, that’s nothing!) But given how most Thai dramas average about 12 episodes, there was some definite concern about the pacing. And I know people were worried about the 8-8-8 division for storytelling purposes.

The pacing actually worked out quite well. Having only eight episodes for each couple helped condense the timelines and eliminated the need for a lot of unnecessary drama. (Well, Yotha’s whole “breaking up couples” shtick is still ridiculous but what are you gonna do?) Nothing felt stale or dragged out because they simply didn’t have time. And I appreciated framing Arc and Arm’s story as a flashback, because it gave them the chance to incorporate the other characters so that we could get to know them before their stories.

In the end, I feel like Faifa and Wine were the most developed. Even though Klao and Wa were the official side couple for the second arc, there were enough scenes with Faifa and Wine that by the time it was their turn, I was so excited for their part. They were definitely my favorite couple, which I never would have even considered six months ago when I started watching. I just love them so much. Honestly, I could have a few more episodes with them.

If I were only allowed one complaint, it would be that too many of the tertiary characters disappeared. I know that makes sense, given there is only so much screen time and there were so many characters. We saw Sand and Po multiple times, and Kong once or twice, but Pond was the only one of Arc’s friends who ever showed up again – even though he seemed closer to Warm. Plus, while I understand why we didn’t meet Phuri until Faifa’s story, I still think they could have at least mentioned him by name before he was introduced. Isn’t this Faifa’s best friend? Where was he?

As much as I adored Pond and Sand, having secondary couples for the first two arcs felt like too much and not enough. Especially – loath as I am to admit it because, again, I love Aou and Boom – Klao and Wa. Faifa and Wine already felt like the secondary couple, and Klao and Wa’s only connection was through Yotha. And that whole storyline was just weird. It made for too many characters eating up too little screen time. Pond/Sand and Klao/Wa felt underdeveloped because of it. If you ask me, I don’t think secondary couples were even necessary.

On the whole, though, I genuinely adored this show. I felt like each couple was unique enough that having three separate stories didn’t feel repetitive. Each arc was its own story and could mostly stand on its own. (I know this was a criticism of We Are, which with four main couples, 16 episodes, and the same director, gets compared to Perfect 10 Liners a lot.)

Also, what a fantastic use of cameos.

Now that it’s over, what do I do with my Sundays?

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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