I don't normally do this tapi I really wanna put my unasked 2cents on this new drama I watched lol
Ikatan Terlarang Malay series at first glance is like a typical Malay telenovela that rides on the hype of cheating tropes.
But there's so many things that I find amusing and not unlike usual Malay dramas
1) the script is not as cringe and appropriate to situation. Some dramas prefer to err on the side of caution and refusal to include coarse language etc which makes the drama itself a bit cringe to watch. Conversation between friends, parents, lovers sume cam kene je dia punya vibe.
2. Everyone in this freaking drama is either sociopathic or psychopathic. The one thing I'm amazed is that there's absolutely no love-centric kind of drama
I'll compare to a top tier love drama with cheating tropes: Andai Tiada Dia
Andai Tiada Dia focuses on the recovery Suri makes hence there's a male lead, Falah, designated to become her saviour that gives her a second chance at happiness.
I'm this drama, even the protagonist herself, Azura (fantastic acting by Erysha Emyra by the way, she deserves a reward for this performance), seems to sink because there's equal amount of screen time from all characters.
And the show mostly focuses on the fuck up people in all their circle who are narcissistic and selfish, like theres no literally no love lost there. Everyone is opportunistic and acts in their self interest which is rare sebab most Malay dramas romanticised altruistic characters that do things because of the inside of their 'heart'.
3. The protagonist, Azura, is not a Mary Sue. She is flawed. She's a bit paranoid, a successful businesswoman and can be a bit self centered at times.
Malay dramas, like Korean manhwas, like to make the female lead as this submissive but girl boss, who's super nonchalant but likes the attention from the ml and subconsciously makes everyone around her love her.
Suri is an example a good fl, she is kind but strong, soft and feminine but stick strongly to her principles. Her only flaw in the drama is that she was taken advantage of her sister (Intan) and her husband (ironically the character played by Hisham Hamid who is astonishingly good at playing an asshole)
Another character I can compare it to is the Emma maembong character in the drama she play with Mierul Aiman,,, I never watched it but I saw glimpses of the shorts on tiktok and I feel like her girlbossed character is too forced.
Azura is a more down to earth character that hits close to home. Outwardly people see her as controlling and too headstrong. This flaw makes her seem more humane and I like how well she embodied that characters.
Most dramas focused to much on making the FL as likeable as possible and eliminates any character flaw to enhance their likeability to audience and background characters.
3. The antagonist, Bella is freaking great at being a psycho. Because most dramas tend to let their antagonist fall flat,,, like punca dia menyundal hanya semata2 sebab terjatuh hati etc. but Bella fucking stands on business, man. Like I don't condone at all her shitty behaviour, seducing all the dicks in the show, tapi she actually stick to her revenge plan.
She's not doing it on a whim, this bitch really is dead set on destroying everyone around her. (She reminds me a bit of manhwa villainess like just a bit of Rashta— not that I'm saying rashta is as trashy as Bella, but her willingness to dirty her hands is comparable)
4. All the men in this show are useless.
Abi is hypocratic and weak ass.
Rashid is broken and a bitch.
Luqman is a fucking crazy bastard who's on his path to becoming maybe the next satan.
5. The one cringe thing I find is that mudah betul eh semua character ni sakit pengsan Dan esok kembali MCM xde paper, I think the hospital dah register them as regular customers dah.
Will be continued later....
