A Shoulder to Cry On

Intriguing start, lackluster ending.

The first half, and the middle of this show is really great and I was truly impressed by the talented actors, good cinematography and interesting characters. That being said, the ending did not really stick the landing for me. First off, we get a time skip in the middle of an episode, in the middle of a still ongoing conflict. This seriously really confused me, and it felt like they were trying really hard to stray away from the original plot of the show? The last half of the 6th episode and the enitrety og the 7th are really just random shenanigans that don't' try to explain what has happened during the time Taehyun and Dayeol spent away from each other. The last two episodes were simply rushed, and instead of focusing on a satisfying end to their story as high school students, they rather rushed them into student/college life with zero context and sent them on a random trip.
I think if they had really focused on working through the conflict they had at the end of ep 6, this series could really be perfect. Certain parts of this show soars, but the ending really doesn't do it any favours. I personally think they should've kept the standard 8-epsiode length of korean bls, while also focusing on the characters as highschoolers and their issues while being highschoolers, that never really get resolved. This would give Taehyun especially much more time to develop, evolve and reconsider his feelings and approach to Dayeol. This show is definetely worth watching, as long as you're prepared for what awaits you at the end, which is boring melodrama that is barely developed. All in all, Yechan and Jaehan are seriously good actors and you should definetely check out Omega X aswell <3

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A bromance?

This could have been so much more than it was! It started off as a cute high school romance between the popular school president Taehyun and the quiet archery team member Dayeol. The circumstances under which they originally meet set them up to be enemies, but they quickly start to get along instead.

Unfortunately, this one missed the mark a little bit. Every time their relationship should have taken off, something happened to stop them. And just when you think everything is going to work out, it still doesn't! It seemed like they were trying to get around the fact that this was a gay relationship by....not letting them have a real relationship. No kiss, no handholding, nothing! Just two bros with some tension and an unexplored relationship.

They're clearly gay so I won't call this queerbaiting, but it nearly was.

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Cute, yeah cute

I was able to binge watch this BL in one sitting. Not because it was really good or anything like that, but because I could. A shoulder to cry on had me hooked straight from the beginning. The chemistry between the leads is intoxicating and the cute moments littered throughout the show always put a smile on my face. The last couple of episodes felt really rushed though and I'm extremely disappointed that there wasn't even a single kiss scene within the series. But overall it was still really cute, especially in the last episode where the main leads are finally in a loving relationship together.

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A pleasant surprise but not for everyone

Personally i quite enjoyed the whole series, but after reading other reviews there are definetely things that were lacking, but they don't realy bother me as much as they do some more knowledgeble viewers.

First, for the pluses i like that this wasn't an average cutesy, sweet story and had some dark/trauma elements to it. I think Tae Hyun's story was intresting and a good add on.

+i felt the actors acting was decent, it didn't wow me but they did decently and also had decent chemistry

+I like the length of the series yes it is 7 episodes but they're each 30-45 mins long which i very much apreciate.

+Good not too deep but not the most cliché thing, great for rewatching atleast for me.

+As much as episode 7 was kinda weird, the visuals were great! The actor who playe da yeol looked so good in ep 7.


Now onto the parts, which lacked and could have definetely been better.
-I also think that Tae Hyun's back story was very intresting but it all just felt very sudden, i wish they had explained or got atleast a little deeper into it.

-The first episode ALOT of people were NOT HAPPY with including me, since this is an enemies- lovers trope , most of the time it's mostly simple rivalry or teasing but what Tae hyun did was BULLYING.!
I legit, had to stop watching and went back to it after some time.

-Episode 7 felt just unnecesarry and kinda forced, i don't mind a short episode which shows the couples love after they get together/the story 'ends' , but it was kinda awkward, was surprised with there not being any real kiss scene but i don't mind that too much. I don't know what it is but it just didn't hit as hard.

-I didn't get as immersed in the story and it's backstory as I'd want to, and i still wished they expanded more on the psychological issues and Tae Hyun's back story so the 'climax' would have had more of an impact to me.

Plus a random thought of mine WHY DID TAE HYUN'S ACTOR LOOK SO PALE LIKE THEY LEGIT MADE HIM CASPER THE MF GHOST??? LIKE IS HE ACC THIS PALE IN REAL LIFE

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A perfect BL drama worth the watch that has pacing issues at the end

A shoulder to cry on was a drama that I did not expect to enjoy, but I loved every moment of it. The two main leads had amazing chemistry and I honestly believe a lot of people pass/dislike this drama due to the lack of skinship which is a bit sad.

The first five and a half episodes of this drama was perfect to me in all respect. The pacing of the drama was just fast enough to keep you on the edge of your toes and eager to know what happens next. In terms of character growth and development, Tae Hyun has a much better fleshed out arc compared to Da Yeol. But in the end I really loved both characters as they both have an important life lesson attached to them.

But to me this drama represents something tangible rather than overly used tropes and fanservice. I think an important part of the drama that most people miss is the fact that Tae Hyun is not sure about his feelings. Besides this he also faces societal pressure in the form of his other fake friend who calls him weird just for being close to Da Yeol. This to me represents something that could happen in real life, where a person is not sure about their feelings and hence would rather push people away and avoid it.

Now comes the not so good part of the drama. I feel the pacing of the last 1.5 episodes where totally mismanaged. Episode 6 had a time skip which took away from the emotions rather than complimenting it. The resolution of the plot in this episode also felt weird and unsatisfying. Episode 7 on the other hand feels like a fanservice episode though sweet, was let down due to the lack of depth of episode 6. I honestly believe if they had extended episode 6 and done a second season before episode 7, this drama would be the literally perfect.

As someone who has watched other BL dramas, I believe this one of the better if not best one at the moment. And hence I would really recommend this drama.

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Another Hate to Love Trope

I almost could not watch the first two episodes of this series. I'm not okay with bullying and the fact that the writers had the audacity to have the victim of bullying fall in love with the person who bullied him and purposefully without even caring about the other person, attempted to ruin his life. I mean, later he was like, "I didn't know it was that important to you," but is that supposed to make it okay? That's the lamest excuse I've ever heard and still not an actual apology. In real life, hate to love does not exist because people don't fall in love with people who are cruel, thoughtless, and selfish from the very beginning. Yes, you might find out they are that way later, but if they treat you like crap from the get go, you don't value that relationship or that person. That just isn't reality. Someone will definitely say, "it's fiction" but the reason we write stories, read stories, make movies and view movies is because we want to relate to those characters. If you can't relate to the characters, you won't care what happens to them and won't care about their story. You can't believe in a love that is built on this kind of stupidity.

I was finally able to start watching it without skipping over half the scenes by episode 3. The actors were fairly believable and the music was okay. Korean BLs tend to be very hands off and that's okay, but despite their decent chemistry, I had a hard time finding many reasons to like the bully ML. From the beginning to the end, he wasn't someone I liked. I had sympathy for him for about 2 minutes, but he was such a jerk and often hateful, so my sympathy didn't extend far. The other ML was much more likable, but since I didn't like his romantic partner, it was kind of wasted. To be honest, he had just as much on screen chemistry with his rival archer as he did with the bully. That would have been a relationship I would prefer for them to develop. Two people who are supposed to be rivals but respect each other and fall in love while still having to compete against each other would be a much better story than the hate to love trope that is way too predicatible and unbelieveable. The story of them actually falling in love and getting together got kind of thrown in at the end. Like, two years later we meet again and decide to wait for each other to be ready, then two years later we're sort of in a relationship, but it's more like best friends. Why ask a bunch of questions about your boyfriend at the end? Haven't they been supposedly trying to work things out to be together for the past two years and just now they decide to ask what the other likes? Why not spend some time on those two years rather than just skipping it and leaving us wondering why they stayed around for two years when neither of them seems to have developed closer feelings to the other over all that time?

Despite all the negativity that I feel towards the actual couple, there were some good moments. Mostly the themes of coming to terms with your sexuality, learning how to love and forgive yourself, and finding your way in the world. I don't want to ruin the actualy good messages, because they are pretty much the only redeeming quality of this series. I wouldn't watch it again, but it wasn't a complete waste of time.

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A little above the curve of korean BLS

It's a little better than your regular korean BLs, what shocked me is that both of the protagonist are members of the SAME idol group? Wow, that explains a lot, but also really shocking, I might have to tune in into their idol releases. uwu
That's it, that's my review. I liked the more profound subjects that aren't present in regulars kbls, it plays well in their favor
waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

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