‘Bad Genius: The Series’ would have been perfect if not for this sequence

<<This post contains spoilers for Bad Genius: The Series.>>

In my previous post, I heartily praised the Bad Genius franchise, specifically the series. At the end of the post, however, I did tease me writing another post explaining the one element of the series I hated. Well, ladies and gents, the nail-biting wait is over. This is that post.

Let’s delve right in, shall we?

I love the addition of an entirely new heist at the end. So instead of ending with the STIC cheating, the drama has the kiddos pull off one more big hoorah — while raising the already-high stakes even higher. It’s a brilliant idea for the drama’s progression. And of course we’re super invested in the characters and their motivations, so it’s fun to see them try and pull off a bigger, badder cheating scheme.

The problem rears its head when, for some reason, a couple of the performances take an unforeseen (and honestly, quite odd) nosedive. The main culprits are Pat (played by Ice Paris Intarakomalyasut) and the kids’ inside man, the paper company employee.

In the offending parts of the drama, Pat infiltrates a paper printing company by going undercover as an electrician. Like I said before, I love the concept; their plan is super elaborate and it’s really fun to watch. The problem starts when Pat needs to act cool and keep his head…and he just doesn’t. He looks around constantly and shifts his eyes like he’s the stock photo for “shifty character.” Interestingly, it strikes me as theatrical (which, of course, doesn’t mean “bad” — it just is not appropriate for this medium). He and the employee of the company (who’s their inside guy) make it so painfully, excruciatingly obvious that they are up to something that it’s downright uncomfortable to watch. I almost wanted the printing factory owner to catch them because 1. they deserve it for not being able to even slightly hide the fact that they’re up to shenanigans, and 2. because it would have ended the misery I endured watching these scenes.

Let me be clear before continuing: I am not just putting these guys on blast. We don’t get to see much of the paper mill guy in this series, but the man seems like a decent actor. (I am also woefully ignorant of Thai actors, so he may have a respectable number of roles under his belt — I’m not sure.) I do know that Paris is an accomplished performer, and he genuinely does a great job in this series. Which is why this entire part confused me so much. I’m really not sure who to blame, but I don’t for a second believe that it was because Paris or the other actor suddenly forgot that they’re acting for the camera. I think the reason lies elsewhere. It’s easy to blame the director, but I don’t know if that’s fully warranted either because it could probably have been any number of combination of ideas, directions, circumstances, etc.

Regardless of whose fault it is, the entire sequence is a really neat idea that unfortunately required a lot more suspension of disbelief than I normally like to allow for.

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Well, thanks for listening to my tirade — or reading, rather. It feels good to get that off my chest because that was singularly the worst thing about an otherwise-excellent series. I guess it can’t be perfect.

Thanks for reading! If you’d like to check out more of my work, look a little lower on the page to see a couple of my latest posts. And if you’d like, please follow my blog to stay updated. You’d be doing me a solid.

Either way, happy reading and drama-watching, friends.

Currently watching: Through the Darkness

All-time favorite drama: Sakura no Oyakodon: Season 3

Anticipated upcoming dramas: Juvenile Justice, D.P.: Season 2

Cover photo from punpro