Thai Cave Rescue

Nearly gave up halfway through the first episode but I'm so glad I kept watching. This series is brilliantly done and I found it absolutely gripping. A few cheesey actors but that's few and far between, overall it was a brilliant watch. Those saying that it was too Americanised - I have to disagree. The US played their role and I felt that the series depicted it well. I was most pleased that Dr Richard Harris got all of the attention that he deserves, he's the biggest badass we in Australia have to offer. A great watch, definitely with subtitles and not dubbed as this makes the whole thing just feel far more authentic. It's half in English anyway so there's a good mix between languages. Highly recommend.

I watched this and Thirteen Lives one after the other. They are same and yet different. Thirteen Lives' POV is outside. They follow more the rescuers mainly the scuba divers. It's more cinematic, clean but chaotic, sensational, and technical. Thai Cave Rescue's POV is private. They follow the kids, the coach, the families, the government more thus it feels raw, rough, murky, and emotional. Also one is a 2 hr other 6 hr, so fast paced vs a slow burn. Both are good either way.

They both delivered the story well, it's just a matter of perspective. I will not comment on which is more authentic as these are dramatizations. There will always be some embellishments unlike straight documentaries. If you're mainly curious on how the rescue went on then Thirteen Lives is more than enough.

But for me I prefer to see the backgrounds. For me it adds to the emotions, the humanity, not just for the entertainment factor in order to watch a marvel of a story. I appreciate watching what was the day to day activities of those who lived through the horror before they actually went through it. I also like giving focus on what the families were feeling. Like the episode that focused on Saman Kunan was a wonderful yet somber salute to him.

One other thing I prefer Thai Cave Rescue did over Thirteen Lives was the overall feel. Thirteen Lives as I mentioned was cinematic, it was better acted, you can see everything and have good different angles of clean view thus it gives a good watch but in Thai Cave Rescue it was gray and murky underwater while the outside is drenched in rain like 90% of the time. I could actually feel the heaviness and gravity of it so to me that felt more real even when paired with not so great acting.

This was a good alternate telling of this story compared with 13 lives. My recommendation is that you try to watch this in Thai, with the subtitles of your choice. In my experience, the English overdubs were very sub-par, and almost made me stop watching. The series isn't so dialogue heavy that reading the subtitles will be a major distraction from your ability to process it. Having done some caving in Thailand, and having lived in Asia for many monsoons, I have been reminded of the power of nature, and the consequences of bad decisions in the face of mother nature. Glad that this real-life drama had a happy ending. Kudos to all the people involved in the rescue.

I watched all these Netflix episodes to see what 13 Lives must have missed given it's much shorter running time. In the end I concluded - nothing really.

I felt 13 Lives got to the heart of the drama and its twists and turns very well. It built a better connection with the cave divers and their difficulties and dilemmas. It also showed how difficult technically the revue was. Whilst this version gives a lot more of the background to the boys themselves and their families I don't think it added to the enjoyment of watching what is a fascinating story. My advice is don't bother with these 6 episodes just watch 13 Lives.

I have watched 13 lives and this one. They are both great in different ways. You don't have to choose between them. Just watch them both and decide for yourself. In 13 lives I wanted to see more from inside the cave. Thai Cave Rescue delievers that. It also offers a wider perspective of all that was done to try and help the boys. Thats why I don't think you should compare it to 13 lives. 13 lives might be more accurate, but also a bit compressed. Think of Thai Cave Rescue as additional to the story.

This series gave me some hope for mankind during these dark times. But I am also sad the actor playing Coach Eak died in march 2022. RIP.