Sunset x Vibes

Just…ugh. The first couple episodes, I thought the reviews were exaggerating and it wasn’t that bad. But it just kept deteriorating. By the end I was watching at 3.5x speed, I was so bored.

To be honest, there’s nothing egregiously wrong about this. A lot of the time, when I dislike a show, it’s because of toxic relationship dynamics, consent issues, or other outright events in the show that piss me off. That’s not the case here. The couple is relatively green flag, and nothing bad really happens in the show.

But that’s the problem. Literally nothing happens in the show. There were two overarching plot lines - someone stealing designs and embezzling from the company, and the past life dreams. Both were so lackluster and anticlimactic that they felt like side plots and not the overall storyline. Both storylines drag for too long and resolve too easily. I think if they had played into the secret relationship aspect of things and had actual consequences for being together, that would have been a much more interesting storyline.

The dream storyline was just worthless. First of all, it didn’t even make sense. This woman (Lin) loved a man (Sun) who loved her sister, but the sister loved someone else and ended her engagement with Past-Sun. Past-Lin tries to kill her sister’s lover (for reasons?) and ends up killing her instead, so Past-Sun rips off the necklace she gifted him and locks her up in a cave. It ends when Present-Lin gifts a replica of the necklace to Past-Sun, therefore freeing Past-Lin and everyone lives happily ever after. Except why would Past-Sun want to free the woman that killed the woman he loved? Why did he forgive her so easily? And Past-Lin says that she and Past-Sun are destined to be together in the next life when she’s freed, so she clearly learned nothing. And none of that storyline paralleled the present storyline whatsoever. So what was the relevance? It would have been better if they just cut it altogether and stuck with the office rom-com concept.

Also, the CRINGE. I cannot tell you how many times I had to pause and just do something else because I couldn’t bear to watch. Khun Dad, for one. I find the term “daddy” gross enough, let alone straight up “dad”. The poses, the dialogue, the interactions…just everything was so goddamn cringy and also unbearably awkward. The pose Sun does when Lin opens the hotel door, the one-sided foot massage on the first date, their first kiss attempt, the dancing…please kill me. Like even in the special episode when they’re supposed to be effectively married, they were still awkward with each other. If it wasn’t for the cringe and awkwardness, this would have been so much more bearable.

Lin’s outfits were tragic. I have never seen more ugly clothing in my life. His high heels were particularly awful. His shirts and pants were ill fitting and his make up was so strong that I just kept wondering why his lips were so pink. The sparkly date outfit in episode 1 was a real choice. It was giving 14 year old on first date that picked something sparkly from the department store clearance rack. Also, it was a jewelry company but every single piece of jewelry was ugly as hell.

And the nepotism and rich-people-privileges were outrageous. Sun just gets handed the entire company when he wasn’t even working there before. His brother was secretly working as an intern, but when he’s discovered, he suddenly gets to take charge of the entire department. Sun was constantly throwing his money around — dates and trips and gifts that frankly would have made me feel bought and not wooed. Sun gets son-of-owner privileges because he can up and disappear for a week with no consequences, and Lin gets so much boyfriend-of-president special treatment that it’s actually ludicrous. He skips so much work to go out with Sun (basically unlimited PTO), his designs are obviously preferred, he’s guaranteed a job after graduation, he gets selected for work opportunities like work trips, and he gets to turn said work trips into romantic getaways.

There were plenty of stupid things as well. Like Lin saying he was never upset about Sun lying and just wanted to get back at him. Or Sun agreeing to be someone’s fake fiancé but not bothering to explain to Lin in advance. Or in the special episode, where they’re suddenly concerned about costs of clothing and accommodations when they’ve been throwing money around with no concern the whole time. The special episode in general was unnecessary. The finale already felt like a long, extended epilogue. We didn’t need another one.

I also felt that this show was heteronormative. I’m careful when using that term, because it is completely valid for a gay couple to have one masculine individual and one effeminate individual. That happens all the time in real life and isn’t inherently heteronormative. But the issue is when it’s depicted in a stereotypical, shallow way in a fictional series. You’ve got the masculine top that pursues and takes the lead and pays for everything, and the feminine virginal bottom that never returns the favor. Their outfits are very masculine / feminine accordingly. Lin initiates physical affection exactly once, in the finale, and he also takes the lead exactly once, in the finale. But Sun takes back control after like, 10 seconds, so did it really count? And it turns out that Lin is rich as well, and while he offers to split the bill once, Sun pays for basically everything. Why, if Lin is also rich? In the special episode, Sun doesn’t have a shirt and Lin is wearing 2 layers. He could have easily given his over shirt to Sun, but it’s Sun’s job to take care of him and not vice versa, and so he doesn’t. All of those things I could maybe excuse as cliched, bad BL tropes, though. The real clincher for me was when in the special episode, Sun looks at and rubs Lin’s stomach when they’re talking about having kids, as if 1) he can get pregnant and 2) he would be the one to get pregnant just because he’s the effeminate one / the bottom.

Also, it started off so overly chaste and ended so overly explicit. I mean, Lin was so extremely virginal. It’s said that Sun is around 30 and Lin is 8-9 years younger, but what 21-22 year old acts that overly innocent? Him puffing up his cheeks when trying to kiss for the first time, what even was that? He shies away from even hugs, let alone kisses. When they make it official, they do a forehead kiss instead of a real kiss. AT 30 YEARS OLD. They exchange couple rings before they’ve even kissed, and Lin gets shy after they do kiss. By episode 5, they’ve basically exchanged one peck and a few hugs and that’s it. But then it goes from hugs and cheek / forehead kisses and one solitary peck to a full on NC scene, no middle ground or build up in between. Then in the finale, we get a stimulated in-pants hand job, and in the special episode, we see crotch groping, nipple touching, and visible tongue kissing. The switch up was insane. I didn’t even feel like the NC scenes were particularly good. While both were both active participants, even if Sun took the lead, they felt overall mechanical, and just contributed to the overall awkward vibe that the couple had.

In terms of boundaries / consent, this was relatively green flag, especially considering it was a boss / employee situation. There were many instances of asking for verbal consent, even including hugs and kisses, and of taking no for an answer. When Lin says he’s uncomfortable, Sun respects it, apologizes, and backs off.

But that’s not to say there weren’t still issues though. On their first date, Sun spies on Lin taking a bath. They make it out to seem like Sun’s a good guy for moving on relatively quickly, as if it was acceptable for him to have been watching at all. There was also one scene where Sun takes off his shirt and kisses Lin’s knee while he’s on a call. Given their dynamic at the time, where Lin was uncomfortable with even hugs, I’d say Lin was probably uncomfortable. And afterward, even though Lin verbally consents to a hug, he seems uncomfortable anyways and keeps pulling away / trying to escape.

The boss / employee dynamic didn’t really bother me because they met before working together and Sun immediately told Lin to talk to him normally and act normal around him. So the power dynamic was instantly dissolved. When Lin’s mad at Sun for hiding his identity as the company’s president, Sun does chase after Lin, but he’s not super aggressive about it. Realistically, it’s sexual harassment because Lin indicated disinterest and Sun persisted despite the inherent power dynamic, but in relation to other BLs, at least he wasn’t forcing the issue to the point that Lin wasn’t able to say no. But that being said, he does manipulatively arrange a trip to Hong Kong with just him and Lin when Lin is still upset and seemingly disinterested, and Lin didn’t have a choice in the matter. So maybe that negates the whole “was able to say no” thing I just said.

The second couple (Sam / Yo) was more questionable. Sam follows Yo home, says he’ll tell everyone about Yo’s mom if he doesn’t give him something and then says the something he wants is Yo, outs their relationship without Yo’s consent, and is pushy about their first kiss.

Also, Lin’s friends spy on Chan / Juldis, non-consensually record them making out, and use it to blackmail them. First to get a ride, and then to prevent them from spilling about Sun / Lin’s relationship. Juldis was meant to be an asshole and comedic relief, but I actually thought their relationship was the sweetest out of all the couples, even though they were the fourth couple and barely got any screen time. I liked that Juldis was an ass to everyone but was so sweet to Chan, and their relationship dynamics were the healthiest and most consensual.

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Go into the light

I just sighed. I fucking hate this show. Don't watch it. Like fuck. Okay, I would give it a 7 (8.1, BUT THIS SHOW DOESN'T DESERVE MY KINDNESS) out of 10, and then I am going to try to be nice and say what I liked, what I didn't (everything, don't watch it), and then an episode overview. Okay!

MOS AND BANK YAY YIPPPE YIPPE YAYAAYAYAY. That is fucking it. It started great, I will give the show that. Fucking gnarly ass start, love that. Mos has the sexiest eyes I have ever seen. Their sex scenes were good. I will also give them that. I liked the bodyguard and the annoying fuck, they were fun. I would rewatch just for them. I can't lie to y'all. Whoever did the camera work, you did a great job. Everything else, die.

THEY HAVE A TERRIBLE POWER DYNAMIC. Like borderline pedophilic with the shits, or at least it feels like that. It is lowkey awful and kind of makes the show unbearable. Like, I kind of understand what they were getting at, but at the same time, they did that awfully, and that lowkey grossed me all out. Like Bank's character acts like he is a child, and it makes this show so much worse than it needs to be. This whole show is a fucking ball fest, I can't lie to you. GOD FUCKING AWFUL. The plot fell the fuck off after a few episodes and just became so boring and so fucking confusing, like maybe if we stuck to one plot and not 5, this would have worked, but we didn't do that and tried to do 5 plots at once, and the show became confusing and fucking boring. This show was so fucking embarrassing, oh my god, OH MY GOD. OUR SIDE COUPLES AND CHARACTERS (BESIDES MY GOATS, THE SECRETARY, AND THE ANNOYING FUCK) WERE DOING WAY TOO MUCH. Why are we focusing on them and not the main couple? Geniuely don't fucking piss me off, I swear to god. Also, our main characters, especially Mos's character, were so incredibly shallow and one-dimensional that it pissed me off. I don't know why everything pisses me off, but especially that. Shity ass character writing. We dont know how to write a plot, we dont know how to write characters, what do we know how to do? I WILL ANSWER THAT FOR YOU, FUCKING NOTHING. BITCH. Way too much was happening in this show; it was overwhelming, and none of it made any sense. Also, they rushed the fuck out of the ending. Okay, that is it.

Overview time. "Problematic, but a good start toward the end." "The way he is on his knees in front of him. I am so down bad for him, bro. Legs open and shit. I don't mean that; I do, but I don't." "Lin looks bad as hell in this V-neck. I might just be down bad, though. Why is getting horny over his man doing a peace sign? CAMERA WORK EATS." "I genuinely can't imagine seeing my manager get all flirty with the CEO's secretary; I'm just trying to put that in perspective with my job, and it's so awkward." WE DO NOT KNOW HOW TO CONNECT OUR PLOTS, SO STOP ADDING MORE. "Why is he calling him Khun dad? Calm down, Jamal. I am obsessed with slow-dancing scenes, it's addicting lowkey. Crazy transition from the dancing, though. This flashing back and forth is a little suspicious. Transitions are great. The camera work is so amazing. Because who is doing this? Lighting and everything. Get it sexy, get it sexy. Sun looking hot as FUCK right now. Looks are serving. That was good." " I am gonna be so honest, that is the ugliest fucking necklace I have ever seen. If my nightmares affected me this much, I don't think I would leave my house ever." "THEY HAVE SOME OF THE BEST CHEMISTRY, BRO. Like big dragon was cheeks, but it was good cheeks. This is just cheeks."

I would say don't watch it, and if you are going to, make sure you do with one hand and your eyes shut. Okay bye!

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fr this series pissed me off

Honestly, I found the main couple's relationship to be extremely cringeworthy, and I just couldn't buy into their romance. The lack of chemistry between Lin and Sun was palpable, and their interactions often felt forced and unnatural. Furthermore, I was underwhelmed by their acting performances, which I felt were subpar and failed to bring any real depth or emotion to their characters. I was consistently frustrated by the numerous errors and inconsistencies in their storyline, which made it difficult for me to become invested in their relationship. There were also several moments between Lin and Sun that were so cringeworthy, they were almost painful to watch.

However, despite my disappointment with the main couple, I did find some enjoyment in the supporting characters, who brought a much-needed injection of cheer and humor to the show. Their storylines and interactions were often more compelling and engaging than the main plot, and they helped to make the series slightly more bearable.

the relationship between Sun and Lin develops too quickly, without enough time for them to truly get to know each other and establish a strong foundation. Despite the focus on their romance, their relationship lacks depth, focusing more on the surface-level aspects of attraction and romance rather than exploring deeper emotional connection and shared values.
The way their relationship unfolds, particularly with Sun's actions, might be seen as unrealistic or even problamatic.

Lin : unrealistic, annoying and dramatic,the communication way is passive aggression confronational which leads to clash with other characters

Sun: pretty annoying,lack of communication , cringe ,undeveloped bland character

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Still a Good Series

In my OPINION the series is still good although It's a bit awkward and corny but the story is good. The only bad thing is that the acting of P'Juladis and his Boyfriend, Chan (the president's secretary) is super duper exagerated like the way they talk to each other and the way Chan share story it's like ughhhhh!!.
One thing also that I dont like in this series is when the Main lead actor (P'Sun and Nu Lin) do it any time any where like they don't choose a place, especially when they're in the painting room, like bhieee, you'll be surprised because they're doing something in there.

Prim and Pim is ok but it seems to be the strange ones for me because it's my first time watching GL. It's just surprising because I'm not used to it.
But over all the story is good so I gave it a good rating.

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Si escucho a Bank decir Khun Dad una vez más, me pego un tiro

De verdad, es que no sé qué hay que hacer para que le den un papel a Mos que no sea una total y absoluta desgracia. No hay por dónde coger esta historia. Los elementos sobrenaturales están porque ponerle sal a un huevo es lo lógico, supongo... No se entienden, sobran, o faltan, ya no sé.

En el último capítulo consiguieron hasta revolverme. No pensé que una escena con Dancing with the Devil me iba a hacer querer pausar el capítulo.

Te recomiendo que se la pongas a esa amiga que intentas sacar de tu vida y no sabes cómo. Después de ver esto, dejará de querer mirarte a la cara.

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Trop de mystères casse les bijoux

Le drama visuellement est très beau, je trouve le cast très bon, et assez chouette d'avoir pleins de couples en plus que le couple principal, surtout un couple GL ! Globalement j'ai passé un bon moment devant, mais ce qui après coup m'a laissé plus dubitatif c'est l'histoire fantastique mise en place dès le début et qui... ne sert à rien. C'est mystérieux mais quand on arrive à la résolution, c'est bateau, ça n'apporte rien. J'apprécie le côté esthétique mais le scénar fantastique est si mal écrit... C'était ridicule et brouillon, ce qui est dommage parce qu'en dehors de ça on a des histoires intéressantes (accusation de plagiat, harcèlement de rue) mais s'est noyé dans le reste. Je retiendrais quand même la scène de la peinture...

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Um exemplo de boa história com bom elenco sendo muito mal produzido

Eu comecei a assistir o drama porque a sinopse era muito diferente do comum e tinha como protagonistas os 2 atores de Big Dragon, o que me fez imediatamente pensar que seria uma grande série.

Algo que começou a incomodar-me bastante foi a maquiagem dos atores, muito mal feita carregada em sombra e blush rosa. Aquela sombra rosa no Isbanky está fazendo ele parecer uma menina adolescente. Os atores são novos e bonitos, qual foi a necessidade de carregar tão artificialmente naquela maquiagem? Só por esse pequeno detalhe a gente já percebe que a produção é inexperiente.
Outra coisa que irrita bastante é o vai e volta no tempo dos acontecimentos: Está tudo muito normal em um episódio e quando ele termina, não há sequência de acontecimentos pois quando o próximo começa já não é exatamente igual e depois passa o letreiro... "tantos dias antes", aí vai um terço do episódio até conseguirmos chegar onde realmente tinha parado o episódio anterior. E mesmo dentro dos episódios falta sequência nos acontecimentos, encadeamento, falta roteiro.

A série é tão arrastada que os 12 episódios poderiam muito bem ficar em 8 episódios e com uma boa edição teria ficado mais aceitável.
Os 2 atores são muito bons, mas não conseguiram desenvolver seus personagens e vemos claramente que falta roteiro e eles estão ali a tentar extrair água da pedra. O que eu não consigo perceber é como pode faltar roteiro com um argumento tão interessante?

O Salin se comporta como se fosse uma criança de 10 anos em relação ao relacionamento, tudo bem que seja o primeiro relacionamento dele e ele seja BV, mas aquela cena dos dois a tentarem dar o primeiro beijo e acontecendo de tudo menos o beijo foi pra lá de ridícula, ficaram arrastando isso por 6 capítulos e quando finalmente eles resolvem se comportar feito pessoas adultas, a cena da primeira noite não foi explorada. Eles estão num lugar lindo, depois de um jantar lindo, com dança, banheira, rosas e luz de velas e a única coisa que a produção pensou foi "nesse momento eles vão conversar como dar apelido de casal um para o outro e optam por P'Daddy (pai)". Podiam ter feito ali uma cena linda e romântica para salvar a série , mas acabaram com as chances de momento perfeito dela.
Todas as tuações estão muito fracas e eu já vi os mesmos atores em outros dramas e sei que o problema não culpa deles.

Gente, o q eu foi aquele 13 episódio bonus? Não vou comentar, assistam. Foi mesmo para fechar a tampa do caixão

Que triste é um bom argumento nas mãos de quem não sabe produzir.

A OST é boa. Pelo menos nisso acertaram.

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