Introduction
Initially, I wanted to write a review article on Leap Day. Before watching, I read reviews about the drama. Many of them praised the thrilling aspect of the drama, as viewers felt uneasy about what might happen during the protagonist’s birthdays. There is a sense of danger, as the life and fate of their loved ones are on the line. Others praised the acting of the leading actors and actress as viewers saw their characters struggle and triumph. We invested emotionally in their journeys. The last episode is both heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time.
However, many reviewers also criticizes the logical parts of the story and questioned details that seem illogical, absurd, incomprehensible, or inconsistent. With those questions in mind, I changed the review plan into an editorial article about the facts and the myth of leap days/years, and the curse on the Leap Day. I watched the drama carefully and tried to find the answers from the plot. Therefore, below are my findings and opinions of the questions and answers to share based on my own understanding. Hopefully they help the viewers to understand about Leap Day, thus enjoy it thoroughly.
This article is full of spoilers for future viewers or if you haven’t completed the drama. So, please see at the Table of Content if you are only looking for a certain answer and not all the spoilers.
All findings are based on online research.
Drama Info
Drama title: Leap Day (Native title: วันแก้ตาย )
Alternative title: Wan Kae Tai
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Supernatural, Drama
Aired: Apr 1, 2025 - Jun 24, 2025
Episodes: 12 | Duration: 44 minutes
Director: Chik Sakon Tiacharoen ( สกล เตียเจริญ )
Screenwriter: Nepal Jitranon ( เนปาล จิตรานนท์ )
Where to watch: GMMTV and Viki
Trailer:
OST
Since I already found the OST, I put it here, too. The main theme is “Here You Are” ( อยู่เพื่อรักเธอ ) by Louis Thanawin Teeraphosukarn ( หลุยส์ ธณวิน ธีรโพสุการ ), Ford Allan Asawasuebsakul ( ฟอร์ด อรัญญ์ อัศวสืบสกุล ), and Fluke Nattanon Tongsaeng ( ฟลุ๊ค ณัฐนนท์ ทองแสง )
Synopsis
Day and Night were both born on February 29, but their unusual birthday has also afflicted them with an unusual curse: every birthday, they lose someone that they hold dear, causing them both to dread their birthdays. As their twentieth birthdays approach, Day and Night fear for two people in particular that they’re close to – Day is caring for Ozone, the autistic son of a distant relative who has passed away, while Night has fallen for a young woman named Dream, who brings joy and light into his life. Day and Night decide that it’s time to find a way to end the curse for good. Will they succeed in uncovering the mystery behind their misfortune, or will their next birthday bring more tragedy? (Source: Viki)
Characters
Main Characters
Pond Naravit Lertratkosum ( ปอนด์ ณราวิชญ์ เลิศรัตน์โกสุมภ์ ) as “Day” Issara Jittiphat
A young man born on February 29th during the day, who has to face separation from the ones he loves due to a curse that has followed him since birth. He takes on the responsibility of caring for his cousin Ozone, who is autistic, after the death of his beloved aunt.
Dew Jirawat Sutivanichsak ( ดิว จิรวรรตน์ สุทธิวณิชศักดิ์ ) as “Night” Rattikan Chayutra
A young man born on the night of February 29th, who has to face separation from the ones he loves due to a curse that has followed him since birth, until he met Dream, a classmate and his source of happiness. But it also makes him anxious because he fears the curse would take her away.
Gun Atthaphan Phunsawat ( กัน อรรถพันธ์ พูลสวัสดิ์ ) as “Ozone” Anawin
An autistic child who is a cousin of Day, whom he has to take care of after his mother passed away. He loves astronomy.
Pahn Pathitta Pornchumroenrut ( ป่าน ปทิตตา พรจำเริญรัตน์ ) as “Dream” Phakhwan
A girl who is Night’s classmate and happiness. She ‘saved’ Night when she thought he would kill himself after the death of his former girlfriend.
The Facts of Leap Day/Leap Year
Historical Background
The ancient civilizations used calendars that didn’t perfectly match the solar year, leading to seasonal drift. In 46 BCE, Julius Caesar introduced the Julian calendar, which added a leap day every four years to account for the extra quarter of a day in the solar year. However, the Julian calendar’s calculation was slightly off, causing a gradual misalignment of the calendar with the seasons. Therefore, in 1582, Catholic Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calendar, which refined the leap year rule. It added a leap day every four years, but excluded leap years in century years (like 1700, 1800, 1900) unless they were also divisible by 400 (like 2000). This significantly improved the accuracy of the calendar.
Why Leap Day was Created
The Earth takes roughly 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds to orbit the sun. If we didn’t add a leap day, the calendar would slowly drift out of alignment with the seasons. Over time, this drift would mean that seasons would start at different times of the year. For example, summer in the Northern Hemisphere might eventually start in December, lol. Therefore, adding a leap day every four years helps to realign the calendar with the Earth’s orbit and ensures that the seasons fall in the correct months.
The need for leap years is rooted in scientific principles rather than purely superstitious beliefs.
Leap Years in Other Calendar Systems
Examples:
- The Chinese calendar is lunisolar, meaning it is based on both the phases of the moon and the Earth’s orbit around the sun. To maintain alignment between lunar months and the solar year, a leap month is added roughly every three years. This ensures that festivals like the Chinese New Year fall in the correct season.
- The Hindu calendar, being also lunisolar, uses leap months as the Chinese calendar.
- The Buddhist calendar, a lunisolar calendar, uses leap days and leap months. It adds a leap month every 2-3 years, and also inserts leap days 11 times in a 57-year cycle to maintain accuracy.
- The Islamic calendar, is a lunar calendar, meaning it is based on the cycles of the moon, and each month is either 29 or 30 days long, with the year typically having either 354 or 355 days. It does not have leap days in the same way the Gregorian calendar does.
- The Jewish calendar, although it’s lunisolar, does not have leap days, but rather leap months. Every 19 years, there are 7 leap years, which include an extra month. This ensures that Jewish holidays, which are tied to the seasons, stay aligned with the solar year.
- Since this is a Thai drama, what about the Thai calendar system? While largely aligned with the Gregorian calendar in terms of leap years, the Thai calendar utilizes a lunisolar system for some traditional observances. February has 29 days in a leap year and 366 days in total. However, the Thai lunar calendar, used for religious and cultural events, may include leap months or days to synchronize with the lunar cycles, but these are separate from the leap years defined by the solar calendar.
The Myths of Leap Day/Leap Year
Despite its practical importance, the leap year/day is surrounded by an aura of mystery and superstition. In many traditions and popular beliefs, leap years are considered “ominous” or “inauspicious“. Myths surrounding leap day often stem from the day’s unusual nature as an extra day in the calendar, which has led to beliefs about it being unlucky. Some cultures associate it with bad luck, particularly for those born on February 29th or for those getting married on that day.
We know that the Roman Julius Caesar started this leap day/year with his Julian calendar. So, the Romans have something to do with the spread of the superstitions. Their myths trace their roots back to ancient Rome, where February was a month dedicated to death and funeral rites. It was originated from the Roman’s belief that the Roman god of the underworld Pluto was more active in February.
Besides the month of the dead, the Greek and Italian traditions consider leap years and especially February 29th unlucky for weddings, with some believing it can lead to divorce or misfortune. In Scotland, it’s believed that babies born on February 29th, or “leaplings,” are destined for a life of suffering. Some believe that leap years bring unpredictable weather patterns, bad harvests, or even an increase in deaths.
In some parts of Asia, it’s believed that people born on leap day have difficulty having their fortunes read. In Taiwan, there’s a belief that elderly parents are more prone to passing away in leap years, prompting married daughters to return home with pig trotter noodles to wish them long life and good health.
The Curse in Leap Day
Now, let’s explore the curse in this drama.
Many viewers had trouble to understand the ‘logic’ of the curse because of the traditional or conventional beliefs surroundings a typical curse. This is understandable, since there are so many dramas and stories with a curse as the topic follow the usual characteristics of a curse. Let me give you examples.
The creator of the curse
Usually, there are individuals or deities who perform or utter the curse. In Leap Day, there is no one. The curse appeared when leap day/year was created back then.
The typical causes of the curse
- Curses can be seen as a way to punish perceived wrongdoing or exact retribution.
- Curses are used to protect possessions or people.
- Curses can enforce social rules and deter violations of taboos.
Individuals can also inherit a curse because they are the descendants of the person on whom the curse was placed. In Day and Night’s case, they didn’t inherit the curse neither were cursed because of above causes. They are cursed because they were born on February 29th, AND because someone who were cursed, Prof. Wiwat, transfered the curse to them. Like an amoeba, the curse itself ‘reproduce’ into two identical curses in Day and Night. If nobody transfer a curse to a leapling, the person remains safe, Moreover, the condition has to be in pairing, with one person born during the day of February 29th and the other person born during the night of February 29th.
Breaking a curse
Traditionally, the victim break a curse through elaborate rituals or prayers to dispel or reverse curses. Or, some religious perspectives emphasize the importance of faith, repentance, and forgiveness to overcome perceived curses.
In Leap Day, breaking the curse are shown using several methods:
- The amoeba reproduction method. Professor Wiwat transferred his own curse onto two leaplings Day and Night, one born during the day and one during the night of February 29th. His pairing, Kit, was not affected by the broken curse and was still suffered from the death of his loved ones.
- One person’s sacrifice. When one of the leapling cursed pairing dies, automatically the person’s partner is freed from the curse and cannot be cursed again with another partner. Their beloved ones are also saved. In the drama, Day chose to sacrifice himself.
- Fake deaths to ‘cheat’ the curse. In the drama, they found out that if they fake their deaths using medicine during a certain time window when the curse is in action, they were able to ‘cheat’ the curse, pretending that they die. This fake death method can be used by the leapling as well as their beloved victims. This method explains why when Ozone and Dream were in a coma in the hospital during the leap day, they didn’t die. Also, in the end of the drama, Day who overdosed himself with the drug and falls into a coma, ‘cheat’ the curse and freed everyone from the curse, while he’s still alive. His finger moved and the viewers know he’ll awake soon!
Now, I noticed there are some non-leap day issues in the drama that inspired me to explore them logically, using medical, psychological, and ethical/legal approaches.
Exploring the Logic of Some Non-Leap Day Issues
Medical Explorations
Does Ozone possess supernatural abilites? How about autistic people in real world?
Viewers see that Ozone became the ‘messenger of God’, or to be exact the messenger of the drama creator/screenwriter. He was the catalyst how this curse issue should be resolved. Ozone subconsciously drew pictures that became keys to the leap day events happened and would happen to his cousin Day. He also subconsciously said that “day and night have to meet”. Whatever Ozone did to keep the storyline flow is psychic.
According to some research found online, it suggests that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may have unique spiritual and supernatural experiences or sensitivities. These are caused by heightened sensitivity to sensory information and unique processing of social cues. This can manifest in different ways, including a heightened awareness of sounds, sights, smells, tastes, or textures that others may overlook. Viewers can see this in scenes when Ozone seems hear things or see things others cannot.
However, autistic individuals do not possess superpowers or supernatural abilities in a mystical sense.
Why did Ozone get seizures?
There are many causes of seizures. Ozone got two seizures possibly due to stress. Specifically, these onsets happened after he and Dream would be given the drug that fake their deaths. Viewers witnessed that Ozone was very afraid and distressed of the idea.
While seizures are more prevalent in autistic adults, they are not a normal part of the autistic experience. Day informed us that Ozone never had any seizure before during his four years in his cousin’s care. Some autistic adults may experience their first seizure later in life.
We also saw that Professor Wiwat tested Ozone after his seizures and both EEG results were normal. It’s possible for seizure tests (like EEG) to appear normal in autistic adults, even if they have seizures. Professor Wiwat couldn’t understand why the results were normal and the viewers got a (false) idea that the seizures are supernatural signs for Day to sacrifice himself on behalf of his beloved cousin. However, Professor Wiwat is an obgyn doctor. The expert who knows more about seizure to explain is a neurologist.
Is comatose the same as fake death?
Viewers saw Ozone and Dream were in a coma when Night’s car with Dream on it hit Ozone on a leap day. Viewers also saw Day sacrificed himself with an overdosed drug to die. However, he didn’t die but fell into a coma and broke the leap day curse. In this drama, the creator/screenwriter generalized their state of comatose as cheating death. Thus Ozone and Dream didn’t die on the leap day, and the drama gives a hopeful open ending with the comatose Day moving his finger.
You see, the coma trope in dramas has been romanticized and misused in many ways as a plot device to create suspense, drive character development, or facilitate dramatic reveals. While it can be a compelling narrative tool, it’s frequently criticized for its unrealistic portrayal of comas and its tendency to be overused.
Is comatose the same as fake death in medical world?
No, not at all. The fake death I meant is medical conditions mimicking death. These conditions can cause a person to appear dead even though they are still alive. These include: catalepsy, Locked-in Syndrome, and Lazarus Syndrome. You can search online if you’re interested with these conditions. However, none of them is called comatose. I will not explain more about comatose, but basically a coma is a serious medical condition involving a prolonged state of unconsciousness.
The drug used to induce fake death
The drug they used in the drama to ‘cheat’ death and ‘trick’ the curse is most likely propofol. It’s a medication used for inducing and maintaining anesthesia during surgery and for sedation in medical procedures. It’s a short-acting anesthetic with a rapid onset and offset, meaning it works quickly and wears off relatively quickly, allowing for swift recovery. Overdosed propofol can cause death, as Day intended to sacrifice himself and break the curse. However, I belief Thai dramas don’t like to kill their protagonists left and right, unlike Chinese drama, so making Day fall into a coma instead of die is preferable. And overdosed propofol can also cause comatose.
Psychological Exploration
Who are Day and Night younger selves?
As someone who watched a lot of supernatural and fantasy dramas, I just accepted and enjoyed watching the scenes where Day and Night met their younger selves during unconscious state, as well as Ozone dreamt about Day’s younger self. I am 100% sure who they are. I only guess they might be Day and Night’s inner children.
The concept of the “inner child” is not a medical diagnosis. It’s a psychological concept, often used in therapy, to represent the childlike aspects of a person’s personality and emotional state, particularly in relation to past experiences and unresolved childhood issues. While it’s not a medical condition, it’s a helpful metaphor for understanding how past experiences can influence adult thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. The inner child can often recall good experiences as well as childhood fears, traumas, neglect or significant loss.
That is also the reason why Day’s younger self told Day and Ozone that the adult Day know what to do, that was to sacrifice himself for Ozone. Although there was a period Day didn’t understand what “Day knows what to do” meant, eventually he understood that he would give his life to Ozone.
Ethical and Legal Explorations
The whole anesthetic drug administration scenes are unethical, lol!
As someone who has a medical background, watching the scenes from the ending of Episode 10 (when Night was tested with propofol) to the middle of Episode 12, is a cringey experience as I questioned the medical ethics of these situations below:
- Kit, whose medical license is revoked, administered the anesthetic drug
- Night, who is a medical student, administered the anesthetic drug
- Night, who didn’t completely trust Professor Wiwat or Kit, taught Day to administer the anesthetic drug
- Professor Wiwat, who is the only licensed physician, only supervised the drug administration by non-licensed individuals, and he’s not even an anesthesiologists!
After checking online, in Thailand, anesthetic drug administration for sedation, is generally performed by anesthesiologists or anesthetic nurses. This reflects the common universal practice where propofol-based sedation is often handled by trained anesthesia personnel, typically within an operating room setting
Can Professor Wiwat be brought to justice?
Unless he confessed that he intentionally killed Day and Night’s mothers, there would be no proof and no accomplice. He must’ve cleverly and professionally manipulated the labor induction process and timing. Knowing that he only killed two women during his career delivering babies, just to transfer the curse, he must have high reputation as an obgyn that experts in medical law would love to defend him. Besides, a person can confess to a crime but still be found not guilty. A confession is a piece of evidence, but it’s not the only factor in determining guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and the prosecution must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, even with a confession.
The fact that viewers still saw him and Kit happily came to visit Night, Ozone, and Dream during Night’s birthday in 2024, I doubt that Night reported the murders or the professor went to the police to confess. In Thai dramas, it’s common that the antagonists are forgiven by the protagonists, as forgiveness is a significant practice rooted in Buddhist principles, particularly the concepts of karma, compassion, and non-attachment.
Conclusion
In conclusion, despite the Thai drama Leap Day has its flaws, the compelling characters, strong performances, unique premise, and emotional resonance make it a worthwhile viewing experience. If you can look past any plot inconsistencies, you might find yourself deeply invested in the story and the characters’ struggles!
