Lovely Writer

Fanservice, begone!

Overall, I enjoyed Lovely Writer, although I think it could have been even better. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS:

UNIQUE STORY. Along with Call It What You Want, Lovely Writer exposes some of the not-so-nice, behind the scenes events of a BL series. So kudos to LW for bringing this out in the open.

ACTORS. Up and Kao did a good job portraying the main couple, but the real star of the series was Bruce (Aey), who gave a high-powered performance as a young man who needed psychiatric help. Supporting actors played their roles well.

CONS:

AGE OF GENE/NUBSIB. So Gene is supposed to be six years older than Nubsib. Sorry, not buying it. Nubsib actually looks older than Gene (and he is, by three months).

GENE/NUBSIB BACKSTORY. That whole childhood thing was just lame and even a little creepy.

THE END OF THE FINALE. Yuck. All that boring Prince Charming/Romeo & Juliet garbage could have been replaced with something relevant, such as a scene where Nubsib got out of his contract, despite the company wanting him to stay on with Aey. Would have loved to have seen that. And the very end, when we find out it was all fiction, was very disappointing for me.

MOHK. The actor was fine and pretty to look at. But they went nowhere with his character, when it appeared there was some connection with Aey/Mohk. So then, why was he even there to begin with?

TIFFY. She started out as kind of cool, then just turned into the beyotch of the century, the way she treated Tum, with homophobic slurs and all. And, despite Aey being a complete mess, the way Tiffy dumped him as her client was unprofessional.

But, despite weaknesses in the story and character development, I'm giving it 8.5 for dealing with an important topic.

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1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.... 8, 9, 10 and kiss !!!!

Right from the beginning... It clicked to not only me .. but many viewers that this bl is going to be no ordinary one... And right from the first scene... It delivered in spades...

I would say... If you are looking for a realistic bl with all the sweet moments, tough times, challening situations and a whole load of fluttering GENUINE MOMENTS ...
THIS IS THE SHOW FOR YOU.....!!!

The realism and emotion into every scene is best experienced by watching this series...
The efforts taken by all the cast, the crew and all the producers definitely show in what is a near perfect series...

Without putting in any spoilers... I would definitely say that this is a series that you should never miss and watch it all at he first given opportunity...

Kao, Up, Bruce, Ken, Kenji, Zoro and all of the cast members have together made this one of if not my personal favourite out of all bl's I have seen till date .. infact this is up there in my top 3 series of all time... Ofcourse sharing it with ITSAY and recently ATOTS

So without taking any further time...
I would say... Count from 1 to 10 and give this series' the love it deserves....

I personally can't wait for its special EPs or Season 2... Whatever is to come...
Can't wait to see more of Kao and Up... THEY DID IT JUSTICE!!

Highly recommended series!!!

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Failure to Launch

How to describe this drama… this was one part fluff, one part serious and one part SFX and poop jokes. When I complained about the SFX punctuating every conversation, every serious topic I was told “its satire don’t expect it to set a serious tone”. But then they hit you with heavy duty stuff about coming out, family struggles, relationship insecurities and in between they fill you up with fluff and a blatant display of product placement. The entire way I didn’t know what gage I should set my emotions to.

As you read below you’ll see that I didn’t hate all of it. There were actually decent plot lines, interesting character developments and genuine scenes in there that I have liked but that only magnified its week points and made it glaringly evident how much the drama ultimately failed to fully utilize its potential.

Kao is the Thai version of “Your Oppa can’t act”. Okay, he’s not completely terrible but his acting is not smooth and his dialogue delivery comes off robotic. He wasn’t always able to create that connection between his character and the audience. His character comes off unpleasantly aggressive at times, territorial/controlling and also sweet and sincere. I’ll be honest, he isn’t the kind of character that will leave any lasting impression on me.

Up’s acting and his character Gene were the selling point for me. He was the perfect amount of reserved, awkward, antisocial and insecure without coming off as weird. Gene is shown as he deals with the pressures of an overstepping book agent, a new awakened desires, and lingering insecurities as he is shoved into new and unfamiliar environment in both work and social life. The confrontation between Gene and his family has to be one of the most memorable part of the drama for me. Whether its Gene’s defiant stand, the protective brother, the mediating mother or the hard on the outside soft on the inside father, the entire thing was set for maximum emotional impact and it delivered.

Aey a character damaged by both family and love; shows the self-destructive nature some have when they feel hurt and betrayed. Like either the world delivers what it owes him for his pain. or its scorch earth to everything and everyone so they can join him in his hell . The irony of someone who craves attention, validation, acceptance and love from everyone and anyone but alienates, manipulates and burn everything he touches. Although, ON SIGHT, I’d come at this guy with a can of gorilla glue spray, I’m glad that the drama didn’t feed us some “love overcomes all” BS with him. Not everyone can be redeemed nor want to be saved. Not everyone’s pain can be eased/erased nor can their wounds be healed. Some stay angry and hurt and twisted to the end.

Tiffy/Tum were the cute second couple everyone roots for. Not a lot that could have been were explored with them, so in the end I felt neither one way or another.

I had a decent (okay, slightly higher than decent) expectation for this drama before it started airing, but it didn’t end up delivering for me. It actually upsets me when I think about scenes like the one with Gene and his family, his conversation with his father, Aey’s relationship with his family, the issues related to BL industry and fandom and how much more this drama could have been if it hadn’t half-assed it.

If I were to be honest, this is more of a 6.5 for me but I’m giving it a 7 for Up’s acting and the memorable scenes.

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A BL show that explicit the inappropriate norms that typically romanticized by many

I’m really excited watching this one, new and fresh BL story with overloading visuals of the main character. The first episode got me already, I love how they highlighted that sexual harassment for the sake of a scene in the series isn’t romantic at all. A big slap to the most Thai BL shows nowadays. Aside from this, the show delivers plenty of inappropriate norms of the BL industry which were romanticized by many. Obviously, the show main lesson is to let obsessive fans to understood that the actors have their own private life. The drama also delivers the importance of consent. The drunk Gene scene is too lovely, Nubsib didn’t took advantage of it and even stop Gene for his kissing attempts. Consent King Nubsib

One of my favorite scene is when Gene attended a mini reunion party with his university friends. The way his friends push him to open up about his gender is too much, it was annoying to watch. But Tum’s dialogue is so heartwarming to hear, “Let other people decide whether they willingly talk about their personal lives or not, being a friend means that you have to understand him. Opening up your personal life is not easy for everyone. It is not okay to pressure someone to come out.” I’m so touched with the well written script.

Another common issue presented in the show is when a gay auditioned as one of the cast for Bad Engineer the series. Producers prefer to cast straight man over gays because it was the popular way of getting the viewers attracted to the show, which I found reasonable but uncomfortable. As I observed, if a BL actor suddenly announced that he has a real life girlfriend, fans feels sad and angry. Most on-screen couple didn’t end up getting together in real life and fans have to accept that even though it is a very hard one to admit.

For Tum and Kitty story, I liked how they showcase the gender stereotyping.

The plot twist is what you called a real plot twist. Never in my mind crossed the idea that Gene’s father used to date a guy before and the reason why he is against to Gene dating a man too. Also, Aoey being in love with Gene and not Nubsib. It is really so unexpected that spice up the story and make it more unique than others. To add, I really feel pressure during the family confrontation scene, it was such an intense one.

On terms of acting, Kao and Up slay their roles, natural and convincing. Nubsib’s flirty acts towards his love is so sexy! Wherein, on the other hand, Gene is such a lovely introverted writer. The chemistry of both of them is so great that I always tend to take screenshots every shared scene of them together. This is one of the shows that I really enjoy watching their kissing scenes over and over again. Such a lovely, sexy, intense, hot, passionate and seducing kiss ever. I was so shocked for an early kissing scene on episode 2 and goes on every episode. They tasted each other lips for a hundred times hahaha. Also, it was so cute to witness how adorable the two of them together. Every time Nubsib pinch Gene’s soft pair of cheeks, that was so much sweetness.

The one who portrays Saymork is bad at acting I swear, same with Aeoy’s family member. I didn’t like the family scenes at all, plain and boring. Not to mention the overreacted kissing scene of Aeoy and Mork hahaha I literally laughed while watching it. No matter how good the story is, if the acting isn’t really that great, the series itself is too affected. The reason why I rated it 9.5 instead of 10. Contributed to the -5 of my rating is the slow paced and boring first part of the last episode. The spark of the show loses at that time. The ending scene is too cute specially when I found out that the writer of the novel has a special appearance in the story that she wrote.

The production team were excellent. The series showcase cute cinematography and I also liked the camera angles specially when the two cast share an intimate scene together. It also has such a pleasing and heartbreaking OSTs ever. From happily grooving with Gavin’s “One to Ten” to being emotionally sad from listening to PCHY’s “Don’t Turn the Page” cause the lyrics are so beautiful and painful. But sometimes the background music is too exaggerated, specially the poop toilet scene of Tum :(

Overall, indeed, LOVELY WRITER is such a lovely series!!

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Why couldn't I love you like the majority of the viewers!!!

I went into this series, trying my utmost best to love it as it was being hyped so much here as well as on Twitter. But for some reason- I just couldn't. I tried. I really did try with this series as I keep seeing episode [insert episode number here] is the best episode every week. And I just wasn't feeling it so I had to put this series on hold after watching up to episode four. I then came back and tried to binge watch episodes five to twelve. But even that took longer than I thought it would. But I have finally finished it!

Story-8/10
I am giving this series an 8 due to the fact that it is not your typical BL. It shows the toxic side of the industry theought the fans as well as the company. The reason why I cannot give higher than an 8 is due to the fact that I felt I wasn't emotionally attached to the series.

I was watching the series and just...nothing. The only time I felt a form of emotion was in the last episode at 50 minutes (I think) when Nubsib and Gene got back together. Otherwise than that, I felt norhing. Also, I felt that the supporting characters were not developed properly, especially Aoey. I also felt more sad for Aoey than any of the other characters in this series, cause of what he went through. Yeah, he's a d#$k, but like the ending that he got, I felt that he didn't deserve it.

Also, I felt that the episodes seemed a bit too long and draggy. Like some parts were good. But some parts I really don't see the need for it.

Acting/Cast-7.5/10
I was originally going to give an 8. However, the last two episodes just made me like meh, so I am giving a 7.5.

Music-7.5/10
The damn OST is loie a bloody worm song. It's annoying as well as catchy. The other songs were okay too. So for that I will give a 7.5.

Rewatch Valu-4.5/10
I'm sorry. I felt that I took too long to finish this series and because of that I don't think that I need to watch it again.

Overall-7/10
As I stated before, I really did try with this series. I guess it wasn't for me in the end.

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Eh, not bad but not great either

I am not sure why the reviews for this series are incredibly high (?) I had very high expectations but ended up disappointed with the plot. It was rushed and made no sense (especially the ending, it seemed like fan service). As a watcher, I couldn't care less for the side characters as they didn't enchant the plot in any way. It felt like they were dragging the show time with those different stories. I skipped so many parts of this series that I only genuinely enjoyed a few aspects of the show. Many people preach this drama as it shows the BL industry's realistic sides, but it is honestly just shallow, and the story went NOTHING in-depth about how it is. Overall, it's a one-time watch for me. Just don't have high expectations, it's not THAT great, but it is still watchable.

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The Most Critical Series

First i started the series because of the male lead Kao, who i know from uwma series and i felt those times, he could not show himself as much as he could. so i was curious about is there any changes in express himself. The difference shocked me. For me, Kao Noppakao found himself in this series with Up who is the other lead. Up is also a wonderful actor and person. Altough there is some rumor about his relationship, he suits this series so much. The series critisize everything in this sector. The 'romantic' harrastment scenes, 'the bad guys' and 'inncocent other who fall in love with the bad guy and the other issue that we all know about. They handle it soooo good. They show the audience entertainment sector in both ways. From their side and fan's side. How they ruin everything and how worse that it could be. Seriously, watch the series and you will understand what i talking about.

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IF YOU ARE A BL SERIES LOVER ....DON'T MISSED THIS!!!!

Another new taste of BL Series, coming from Manner of Death, I think the fact that they are both BL Stories, they tackle different issue yet very convincing and relevant now a days. I am not new with Kao since I watched him in Until We Meet Again but I love Up Poompat here (Gene). His character and personality fits Him well. A good looking too. There acting were so natural and very realistic. But the reason why I love this series are: The story doesn't only deal with how the BL Entertainment World is evolving, I think it is more of a love story that was developed with full respect and loyalty. The Characters and love story of Gene and Nubsib has a similarities with Arthit and Kongpob in Sotus but Lovely Writer tackles a more serious issue and a more mature scenes for Gene and Nubsib. I salute the Writer . The Series delivers well both the Values and moral lessons it conveys to the viewers. The Director did good job in filming the whole series specially the Love Scenes. The Kissing Scenes were NO JOKE. HOT, INTIMATE but NOT AWKWARD to watch even the beginners. Im done Episode 10, I just watch the steal shots and photos for the next episode. Episode11 is a parting mode episode but I am already expecting a HAPPY ENDING on this Series...What I am hoping is a Happy Beginning for SEASON 2..ha ha ha

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Beautiful Depiction of the BL Industry

Right off the bat, Lovely Writer did an incredible job at drawing light into the toxic world of BL. I loved how I was able to enjoy this series while also able to learn and grow in my knowledge of what these actors have to go through, Kao and Up created a magical on-screen chemistry accompanied by an awesome supporting cast and an amazing production team.

Let's Dive In.

Let's talk about the complexity that is the characters. The writers' room was filled with geniuses, I swear to god. The character development that EACH person has was brilliant. Up's personality was the most noticeable, along with Beu's. I liked that these weren't just one-dimensional characters, or that they were set up to have no story whatsoever. A huge pat on the back to the writers of this series. Next to the wardrobe. Perfection. Each character had such a set style and it was a beautiful mix of colors designs, and patterns. By far Hin was dressed the best. Onto the plot. It was beautiful. It depicts such a truthful story to what it's like for BL actors when it comes to real-life relationships and fans. I just hope that this was enough to teach the overzealous BL fangirls that what is on screen is for entertainment and entertainment only. Nothing is for real, and no BL actor should have to put their love life on hold to please their fans.

The acting was immaculate. This was Up's first main leading role, and he did an amazing job. Episode 9 and 10 was by-far the best episode of this series, and that's all due to him. I literally cannot wait to see him in future series. Kao was so precious here. He played a completely different character here than on UWMA, so it was a great way to see how versatile he is in his acting. Him and Up had great on-screen chemistry, the Viagra plot was hilarious (also kind of bad, but good thing it was just a joke) and led to a beautiful intimate scene that was so sensual and romantic ( also super consentual. CONSENT IS SEXY). Aoey, Tum, and Tiffy were excellent supporting roles. I found myself drawn to Tum and Tiffy's story more than I ever had on any other straight couple in BL. I genuinely loved their relationship, and yearned to see them more. Bruce (Aoey) did an incredible job. While his character needed some serious therapy, Bruce was able to bring about these emotions that I've only ever seen a few BL actors be able to pull off. I expect to see some much more from him in the future, and hopefully soon. With that being said, my favorite character was Hin. He was adorable, he was charismatic, and I loved that the series gave him his own little mini plot and we get to seem more of him in the end. His actor's performance was perfection, and I want to so badly see more of him.

While I did love Sib, he felt a bit clingy at times. I just wanted him to give Gene some space, especially at the beginning of the series when he was acting strange and obsessed with Gene, even when they weren't that close. I think it was a poor desision to have Gene forget who Sib was. In the flashbacks, Gene looked way old enough to remember, unless he went through some traumatic head trauma and forgot. Talking about the flashback, just how old is Gene compared to Sib? While the actors playing them young did a good job, the age difference was a bit startling. Sib was literally no older than 7 while Gene looked like he was about to start high school. While I can understand the age gap as an adult, it looked strange and off when they were kids. I would've loved it had they changed Sib to be a bit older or for Gene to be a bit younger. Episode 12 felt really off, as in, it didn't feel like it belonged in the series. While it wasn't bad persay, it still just didn't fit in my opinion. Them breaking the 4th wall was definitely the worst part of it all. Could have done without that awkward look my way for sure. Whatever happens to Aoey? Whatever happens to Mork? What was the underlying relationship between Gene and Sib's brothers? What when on with Gene and Sib's dads? Where does Tum and Tiffy's relationship stand? So many plot holes left open, so hopefully those go away in the special episode, or maybe even a second season.

Overall, I loved this series. The way they called out so many problematic subjects in BL was legendary. This series needs to be watched by every single person just for the sake of keeping the humanity of the actors and the fans. A definte recommend.

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it was great! but... (just some of my opinions)

The beginning of the drama was my absolute favorite. i love the first few episodes because the vibes were really nice and it felt fresh. now, don’t get me wrong the whole show is good, but towards the end it could use just a bit of improvements. YES i know this is a drama, yes i know bad things are going to happen but i feel like a LOT of bad things happened. that could just be me but yeah. also. i feel like some parts were unnecessarily long and wordy. the whole aey and his family drama was just really long and didn’t really add anything to the story.

i need more information on genes dad causeeeeee. i was shocked when i found out he was gay and has to hide it. that was a really good part of the series. and i love how him and gene didn’t really have a good relationship but now they can both talk on a realistic level without fighting.

if this ever gets a season 2 , we NEED more tum and tiffy action. i know the show is about nubsib and gene but there could be some exceptions lol. AND OMG i love hin so so much. he is so cute and is really good. he played this character amazingly and fit the aesthetic really well.

NOW i haven’t watched the very last episode but i just feel like it won’t meet my expectations. but we will see. anyways. i reallllyyyyy don’t like how they broke up. honestly broke my heart. but i just feel like it confused some of us because it was the second to last episode.

let’s be honest... there was good kissing scenes.. but I WISH THERE WERE MORE 😩😩😩. this might be just me but kissing scenes really add to the show. i also would have liked if they had more cute fluff moments together. they would have made the fans go crazy honestly.

the acting was really good. like really. especially gene. in the beginning of the show he was seen as a shy boy who writes books with a bit of a attitude at times. but in real life he is honestly the opposite. from what i have seen from instagram youtube and just sns in general gene is very funny and out there. he is the best.
now nubsib in the show is pretty bold and intimidating. i might be wrong but just from what ive seems from bts of the show he seemed a bit more quiet. i could be totally wrong so don’t take my word for it. just something i had noticed :)

overall. i’m super glad i found this show right when it started. it made my weeks better know every wednesday i would get to watch the episodes. i would totally recommend this drama to a friend. it is a very casual and modern show to watch and i love that. i would definitely put it on just to put it on again !

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I’m giving it 8.5 stars even though I actually want to give it 1 star

„Lovely Writer” was a consistenty great show throughout the first 10 episodes. The 11th episode had some serious pacing issues and the 12th episode felt like a delusion in itself but on that later.


The Positives:

Let’s start by saying how this show touches upon some serious issues that involve the
BL industry. It is pretty self-aware in that aspect and I love it. For example that overly feminine gay actors apparently aren’t selling but also how they could profit from inclusion and progressiveness by casting less feminine gay actors from time to time.

Then there are some other issues that the show discusses, like people’s entitlement to your personal life and sexuality.
The scene where Gene has dinner with his friends and how they expected him to be gay simply bc he writes BL novels and even tried to pressure him into a coming out, regardless of him being comfortable with it or not. The friends even tried to come off as supportive, kind of, but ended up being incredibly insulting instead. One girl even thought that by shipping Gene, it would somehow make her supportive of him. This was incredibly uncomfortable to watch bc there are in fact people who think that shipping two (gay) people together somehow equals acceptence and support.

My absolutely favourite scene though was probably Gene and Sibs dinner with their parents, when they finally decided to open up about the romantic nature of their relationship. This one was even more uncomfortable to watch. Not just bc of the parents’ take on homosexual relationships but also their take on the whole of BL-genre.
When the topic of BL came up, the parents seemed to get pretty awkward and uncomfortable but they still tried to come off as kind of open-minded, but not really. They talked about BL as if it was a trend and wasn’t to be taken seriously. It’s something to laugh at and maybe it can be enjoyed at times but it’s nothing to be discussed at dinner in a respectful and serious manner. And while the parents seemed to be kind of open-minded about BL, the moment their sons tell them that they’re dating, their fake acceptance crumbles at lightening speed.
The whole scene depicts some very serious conflict but I’m glad it wasn’t turned into an overly melodramatic mess. Everything felt very realistic. I feel like this is the reality for many lgbtq people when they deal with their families.

Another point that I would like to applaud this series on is the way it portrayed how writers are pressured to write what the publishing house thinks the fans want. Their own wants and concerns seem to not matter at all. I never hated or even really disliked Bua and I think it’s bc she has such a quirky personality and she has to shoulder a lot of responsibilities too. I certainly understood where she was coming from by pressuring Gene to write NC scenes bc she thinks it’s the main selling point of BL, but it is just as important to understand where Gene was coming from.
NC scenes are, ultimately, not necessary for portraying a love story. They can be a great add-on if the story demands it but adding them simply for gratuitous reason can either be boring or even distract from the actual storyline and I think it’s great that Gene and Hin had a conversation about it.
The term Yaoi may have originally meant something like “porn without plot” but there is a reason why this term is nowdays mostly replaced by “BL”. Because BL evolved throughout the years as a genre and keeps evolving. It’s so much more than the simple term “yaoi” describes. I personally really dislike this stigma attached to BL, that it’s mostly smut and that the main selling point of BL dramas should be hot guys. I’m not saying that there isn’t any truth to it but there definitely is a stigma.

All in all I liked the non-preachy tone of how the show drew attention to these issues. Everything felt natural and not forced. I didn’t feel like the story tried to condescendingly push the issues into my face. It didn’t feel like the show put itself on a high moral ground and thought itself to better than BLs or other BLs. It actually made me care about the issues more. I loved that instead of actively bashing the industry and fans it simply served as a mirror to the fans and the people in the industry. I hope that these issue will become less and less prevalent over the next years. The change might be slow but I’m happy as long as it’s happening at all.


The Romance:

It was ok. It was cute but nothing special. While at some points the romance certainly broke away from stereotypical tropes or even subverted them in a way, it stayed staunchingly loyal to others. I liked the scene when Gene was drunk and wanted to kiss Sib but Sib prevented him from doing so. Their communication was usually pretty open and mature too, something that is usually a rare find in BL. But then again, while Gene seemed to be portrayed as an actual human being with some depth, Sib felt like a cardboard cut-out. He was the typical BL “top” (I don’t like using this word to describe characters but I feel like it’s the best way to describe him here).
His whole motivation for everything was Gene. He was there not to be his own character but to be perfect and capable and to basically fawn over Gene. He had no real depth and it’s disappointing. At least Gene behaved like a human being and speaking of Gene, Up did a wonderful job of portraying him. His acting was consistenty good and even phenomenal at times. Can’t really say much about Kao bc Sib wasn’t a well written character but I guess he did a decent job with what he had.


Aoey:

. The storyline did him so dirty. I know that some people as well as the characters in the show love to treat him as a villain simply bc he initiated some conflicts for Sib and Gene but he honestly wasn’t a villain. He was a very real, very flawed character. He actually felt more human than any other characters in this show.
While he unquestionably did some very assholish things, he was nowhere near irredeemable. He wasn’t a cookie-cutter villain, he had a personality, backstory, depths and a lot of unfortunate happenings as well as a difficult family. If I were to call someone a villain it’d be his sister. He had a motive for what he did and he was on a self-destructive journey. Does this excuse his behavior? No. But the circumstances of a person shouldn’t be overlooked either. He’s 20 years old, he’s a lost kid, he needed someone to help him getting out of his toxic mindset and the only person who seemed to be genuinely willing to do that was Mork.
We only ever got minimal scraps of their storyline so we don’t exactly know what happened between them but we know that Aoey has some very deep-seated resentment towards Mork while Mork has some deep, romantic feelings for Aoey. For that reason it’s understandable that Aoey wouldn’t want any help from Mork. Aoey circumstances are very tragic. I could never bring myself to hate or even dislike him. I mostly felt sorry for him and wished for him to be happy or least to stop being so self-destructive. It’s like he knew what he was doing but couldn’t stop.
Anyway, the Aoey/Mork dynamic is very interesting and I would love to see it unfold more. Maybe we’ll get lucky and get a second season with them as the main leads, fingers crossed.
Bruce is a great actor btw! He did this wonderfully complicated character so much justice.

Tum and Tiffy:

I was never invested in their romance and it’s not bc they’re a heterosexual couple. I warmed up to Tum pretty fast but liking Tiffy was...difficult. At first she seemed ok even though I disliked her simply for assuming that Tum was gay for no reason at all. They were a heterosexual couple who were supposed to break the hetero- stereotypes and in a way they did, but why did they make Tiffy be so adamant about perceiving Tum as gay even though he openly told her many times that he wasn’t? And what was the deal with the ridiculous rapping-shtick? Tum rapped about not being gay and suddenly she believed him? Even though she didn’t believe him before but rapping it somehow did it for her? I don’t get it.
And what about her awful treatment of Aoey? At first she seemed to care about him. They weren’t super close but at least she seemed to genuinely care about his well-being but then drops him right before an interview? Not even telling him why? She said he supposedly knew why but that’s just cheap and awful. She should’ve at least talked to him. And she’s supposed to be older and a professional at that? lol
In the end she was a very judgmental and selfish character. Ironically, I disliked her instead of Aoey.


The last two episodes:

Finally let’s talk about the last 2 episodes. There’s not really much to say about the 11th episode apart from how it disrupted the pacing of the story. For some reason the show decided to go full-on melodrama for this episode. It was strange bc nothing really warranted Sib and Genes break - up.
Yes, shit happened, they got exposed (kinda..they weren’t even intimate, just playing around in the sea) and were told to stay away from each other for a couple of months. They could’ve easily done that without needing to break up. They could’ve called and texted each-other, they could’ve even lived together (maybe get some delivery service if they’re not allowed to be seen together). Knowing how mature they usually were in dealing with other conflicts I was amazed at how childish and melodramatic this specific conflict needed to be.

The 12th episode was especially weird. The first half might seem ok (not a fan of time jumps) but the moment Sib appears in front of Gene it gets very strange, to say the least. First of all it’s kinda unexplained how and why he appeared in front of Gene and we also never really get to know what was going on with him throughout these 4 (or maybe 8) months. The only thing we know is that he apparently ended his contract and is free to do whatever he wants.

That’s not even my main issue here. The tone of the show kind of changes when he suddenly appears. The scenes feel unnecessarily long but also almost too “perfect”. Like I’m watching a fairytale. And then we get a scene when Gene complains that he doesn’t know how to finish the his novel and Sib tries to help him by whispering some ideas into Genes ear and we get a 4th wall break! Both of them suddenly interact with the camera. They’re looking directly at it and even touch it to symbolize the transition between the scenes.
Suddenly I felt like I was watching a special episodes of YYY. The humor suddenly didn’t fit the overall tone of the series. This show had never had any other 4th wall breaks and while “Lovely Writer” is undoubtedly a comedy it never had the same type of comedic style, like for example YYY. This change in tone felt incredibly jarring.
And what exactly were these ridiculous ending scenes even supposed to be? What was their purpose? They were long and unnecessary and the screen time could’ve been used so much better.

Now let’s get to the weirdest and most reciculous shtick they pulled in ep 12:
Sib and Gene are fictional characters.

Yes, the audience understands that “Lovely Writer” is a fictional story, Sib and Gene don’t exist in real life but...did they have to be fictional even in their own story? Why was the scene, where we see Rose writing about them, needed? It just left me baffled, lost and completely unsatisfied. This scene alone made me debate if I wanted to give this show 1 star, and one might think that’s too harsh but I humbly disagree!
This last scene put everything in a new context; Sib and Gene are fictional characters written by a BL author. While I respect and love what Rose has done with her story, I didn’t want her to be IN the story, at least not like that. It would’ve been fine if they showed someone being inspired by Sib and Gene to write their own novel but why did they have to show that it was Rose and that she simply imagined their story?
Ngl, I feel very cheated by this...twist. Especially bc nothing in the story even suggested any 4th wall breaks or anything else that would’ve shown that they were fictional characters.
I remember reading a comment on ytube which said that this show was so meta that the last scene adds a new level of metanarrative to it and that’s why it’s great. Well, I have to disagree.

Yes, the show is meta but it still has its own reality. It shouldn’t have been connected to our own reality bc again, what was the point? If the point was to remind us that this is not a real story then that’s moot bc we, as the audience, know that it’s a fictional story. If the point was to remind us in the midst of a fictional story that we’re watching a fictional story (with no forewarning) then they did a stellar job! And it’s the worst decision they could’ve made.
They did their best to show some very dark and very messed up things that are permeateing the entertainment industry (in this case BL specifically but I’m sure it can be applied to other fields) and they did it in a pretty serious manner. Suddenly being aware that all of it is fiction, creates an estranged feeling towards these issues. Almost as if they’re not real or at least not as important. Now, I understand that all of these issues are very serious and are based off of some real happenings. But you’re not making a documentary, you’re making a fictional love story.
And usually, when you want to make a fictional story, you’d want to make it be as immersive as possible.
You’d want your audience to believe that it’s real. At least while they’re watching it. And while “Lovely Writer” does portray some serious issues that are very common in the bl industry, they’re not excatly a secret. Maybe an open secret at most.

What the series did well (till the last episode) was that it made the audience connect and feel emphaty for people that are suffering from such issues through the lenses of Sib and Gene. As audience members we feel a connection to Sib and Gene. They’re like our friends or family. We want them to do well, to be happy. Sometimes when you know that similar things are happening to the actors and their loved ones, it’s not always easy to experience the same type of intense emphathy bc actors are often not even perceived as humans but a fans possessions. I think Lovely Writer did well in showing us what it would feel like if we or our loved ones suffered from the same issues many actors suffer from. So, making the whole show feel like it was a fictional story was a wrong move. It makes the emotional impact much less intense imo.

And if the writers, for some reason, wanted the audience to be aware that Sib and Gene are fictional characters even in their own story then they should’ve made it obvious early on bc using it as a twist is the weirdest, stupidest decision made. It actually makes it seem like the actual author of the novel (Rose) is the protagonist instead of Sib and Gene. They should’ve called the series “the BL author” like you know,...”the Shipper”?

Excuse me for the long review and thanks for staying with me throughout this rant

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