Ready, Set, Love

Unique romcom that captured my heart

This drama was not one I had been anticipating, I just happened to come across it. And immediately after the first episode, i was OBSESSED. I absolutely loved how interesting the plot was - it was lighthearted but also serious when it needed to be. I loved how each 'main' character had a purpose in the show - except for Jin... his job was literally just making anyone put on his team, lose. Regardless, I liked how the plot was developed. The acting was great - of course it was silly at times but I think that suited the vibes of the show. I am now a huge fan of Blue since he did such a good job playing Son! I also loved the gay sideplots - both Paper and Chun as well as the producer and her girlfriend. The OST made for the show was very fitting. I'd definitely rewatch this again - it provided me with so much comfort. I feel like the ending was conclusive while also being open which is great. PLEASE GIVE US A SEASON 2.

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Interesting premise but too many plotholes in the world-building

This show was interesting at times and it dragged at others. It's only 6 episodes but somehow they managed to drag it at times and at others it felt rushed.
As other people have mentioned in their reviews there is a flaw in the world-building of the show. There are too many questions left unanswered in terms of how society works and what things are different, especially when it comes to reproduction and what kind of things they were doing to solve the problem of the decline in male population. It gave me the impression that nothing was being done science wise to try and understand why it was happening or how to solve it. I think at one point it's mentioned how they created artificial sperm or something of the sorts? It's just mentioned in passing but it's never explained. In a society like that you would think the few males would be exploited to no end as sperm donors, and would create issues of everyone eventually being related if the pool of men is that small. The artificial sperm would obviously solve this to a certain extent but then if they're capable of making artificial one, shouldn't they also be able to overcome the decline in born males? It brings the question if the problem then it's the mother carrying the child, in which case, and considering they can make artificial sperm, maybe make an artificial uterus? Anyway, I'm getting too much into this, the show just simply didn't care in explaining anything. Even if it had been complete fantasy and surreal, some kind of explanation would have been welcomed.
The premise in terms of the world and the plot itself is interesting but it lacks enough exploration. The lack of it would have been passable if all that had been a background element and the plot had revolved exclusively about the show and the FL's character participation in it, but it does involve the bigger issues into the plot and as such it's not satisfactory as it is.
The show part of it it's also quite a big plothole in itself. It's never really explained why it exists in the first place. It's not like it's giving anyone hopes or anything if also the women usually chosen to marry those men are from rich families. Why are they pushing the marriage thing onto those men? They should be forever donors lol it wouldn't really matter much who they marry as long as they contribute to the whole population lol It's said it's the 7th time the show happens, by this time the whole population already knows it's fixed if all women chosen are from rich families and it would have lost all spectators. Sure, the men themselves would be equally popular like celebrities, but no one would care to follow a show to see who they marry, it wouldn't be them so who cares?

Someone in the reviews said this was a trying to be somewhat of a mix between Squid Game and Hunger Games, and I totally agree. I haven't even watched Squid Game although I know more or less what is about and certainly this shares the looks. The music in the last episode when the female contestants are presented was very close to the Hunger Games one, it was blatantly similar.

Acting is generally ok, some of them are better than others. Characters wise, I feel a lot of them were quite superficial and we don't learn anything from many of them, or we learn one thing and that's just their whole vibe. Almond was an interesting character in his more grey area, but it was unsatisfactory how his motivations and decision at the end is not explored more. FL's character was ok in the very beginning, then it's too silly and cliché (girl that doesn't care much about her looks, it's a black hole eating and is clumsy and can't read the room) to then being a more mature towards the end. It was inconsistent and they could have avoided that cliché phase altogether. I'm generally not a fan of the troupe of childhood acquaintances to adult lovers, here it was worse that in other shows because it was pretty much instant as soon as they recognise each other, and their childhood experience together was very brief, or at least it's only shown in a very summarised way, what doesn't help their case either way. As it happens often I was more invested in the side love story and progression of Chanel and Max than the main characters, they were more unique and they had obstacles to overcome. Sure, it's not really explored enough, but for what it is, it was better in my opinion.

Things are kind of left there and then there is an "epilogue" 4 years later. It brings many questions, especially of those that were left behind. Then we have the classic evil laugh, almost, because the evil queen has found their location HOHOHO I mean, it's not like they were super secretive in their location, they're not even covered by woods or anything. I don't know... haha Either way, I don't know if they're doing a 2nd season of this or not, and if not, what a silly way to end it.

Despite all of this and other flaws it was surprisingly passable and entertaining in a general way????!!! How is this possible really??? Maybe it's because my expectations were quite low but I thought it would be worse. I think it being 6 episodes also helped it a lot in that respect. It didn't overstay its welcome much.
My rating goes for interesting idea and for the general entertainment it provided, surprisingly.
It's generally watchable but keep expectations quite low and don't question much of anything, otherwise your brain cells will combust, mine are certainly fried at the edges and I'll move on to something else immediately before I dwell too much into the details of this and I see the back of my head and steam out from my ears lol

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Squid Games meets Hunger Games meets The Bachelor meets...

I stumbled upon this show whilst scrolling through netflix a few months back and thought it seemed interesting and like a quick watch. I had basically zero expectations for this show but damn I was surprised, as I had fun with this drama. Firstly, I thought the flow of the show worked well, it didn't take too long to pick up the pace and it didn't drag either. I thought the acting was good, the set design was fun (obviously extremely inspired by Squid game), I liked the side couples probably more than the main couple. The world building is definitely a bit confusing and under-baked. However I didn't really expect much from a 6 episode rom-com drama. If you're looking for the show to actually dive deep into it's own world building and potential social etc issues and make some kind of deep parallel analysis to the real world, this show is probably not for you. If you're looking for a fun rom-com that just happens to take place in a dystopian universe, you will probably have fun with this show.

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muito bom????

Quando vi a sinopse desse drama, confesso que dei uma respirada e revirei os olhos. Depois do lançamento, vi bons comentários e fiquei curiosa... fui assistir totalmente sem expectativas e saí apaixonada.

Me apaixonei por todos os personagens, tirando a vac4 da mãe da Channel, e achei até o Almond interessante. Dei umas gargalhadas gostosas com toda a farofada, principalmente da protagonista que virou minha protegida. Amei a relação da Day e da May, da Channel e da Bovy e da Day e da Va. Não posso esquecer do meu casal sáfico de mamães que também foi tudo!! Amei todos os casais, mas os protagonistas me pegaram com tanta fofura!!

Gostei do plot principal e de como o drama terminou, mesmo que não tenha segunda temporada. É difícil mudar um sistema, mas as raízes de novas possibilidades foram plantadas.

Soltei uma risada gostosinha com "direitos dos homens são direitos humanos" e amei como o movimento #freemachos serviu protagonismo feminino do início ao fim.

Amei, amei, amei ver tantas mulheres, muito diferentes entre si, construindo seus próprios caminhos, sendo corajosas e escolhendo por si mesmas.

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Ready, Set, Love—what is it actually?

So, *Ready Set Love*—what is it actually? The premise had so much potential, but it just couldn't quite get it together. The genre blending here was the real issue. They seemed to want to balance humor, romance, and tragedy, but the result was an awkward mishmash. The humor often went so dark that it left you genuinely shocked, especially since it was supposed to be a light dating show. There were moments where it felt like they wanted to have fun with the absurdity, but then they’d drop a bombshell of tragedy without ever quite giving it the depth it deserved.

And speaking of the love story—it felt rushed. It was as if the show was trying to tick off the "romantic arc" checklist, but the chemistry between the main couple never had time to develop naturally. The relationship felt forced, especially when the show was so eager to dive into the tragedy that lay under the surface. Instead of focusing on the emotional depth of the main couple, the narrative shifted toward the second female lead and her tragic backstory. It felt like the victims of the dating show got lost in the shuffle, which left me confused about what the actual focus was supposed to be. Was it a love story? A dark comedy? Or just a sad tragedy in disguise? The unclear direction made it harder to invest in any one aspect.

Now, let’s talk about the acting. For what it was—a bizarre, semi-satirical take on a dating show—the actors did a solid job. I can’t imagine how tricky it must be to deliver those over-the-top, TV-show-within-a-show performances while still conveying real emotion. The cast nailed that balance, especially considering the tonal shifts. The main couple's awkwardness felt genuine, even though the script didn't give them much room to breathe.

Production-wise, though, they really nailed it. The set design, camera work, and pacing kept things visually engaging. It was clear that a lot of effort went into making the world feel larger-than-life, even if the story itself didn't quite match up. And the catchphrase "Ready, Set, Love" was oddly catchy—props to whoever came up with that one.

In the end, *Ready Set Love* is a show with a ton of potential, but the mix of genres and the focus on secondary plotlines really threw things off. It left me wanting more from the main characters and wishing they'd spent more time exploring the darker side of the story instead of distracting us with other subplots.

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gave more than expected (but maybe not enough?)

I picked this up thinking it would be just a light watch as I was getting bored,
but surprisingly it actually hooked me

the acting wasn’t top-notch, but it wasn’t bad either, most the actors gave exactly what was expected of their characters without taking away the spotlight of the other characters…

the show gave you enough to watch to keep watching and the over exaggeration that’s expected from Thai dramas too adding a more light tone overall and a comedic twist

the separate relationships between the characters was dealt with well too (romantic, platonic, parental etc)

However, I think with a longer run/ or even within 6 episodes, the more dystopian side could be explored, I think it was slightly brushed off how the societies normality wasn’t equal between men and women but no one had any issue with it until the last point (which was shown with the revolt at the end and almonds character showing how integrated the regime was). Also there was no true resolvement apart from the couples
(but there is a possibility for a season two)

overall it was a good watch if not deeply interpreted and taken more on face value with a hint of more complex details.

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Thai meets Hunger Games meets The Divergent

This was so cute! The plot was simple and cute. It felt like The Hunger Games cute little sister, that’s more simple and adorable. It had cringy humor but I didn’t hate it, I was embracing it. The acting was awkward at time, but you could tell that the actors were trying.
I watched it in one sitting and it left me feeling excited. If you need a break from more serious dramas, this one is for you. I’m currently watching The Glory and I needed something the cleanse my soul a little bit, something predictable and cute and this was exactly what I needed.
Love it! 🖤

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Squid Games but make it a Rom Com

Ready Set Love reminded me of squid games with the bright set and the different games with eliminations. That's as far as the similarities with Squid Game go. I almost dropped it when I first started watching because I didn't care for the FL. I thought her acting and expressions were over the top. I'm happy I didn't drop the show because it was good and the female lead improved as the show progressed. I'm happy the story didn't just focus on the game aspect, I liked the story of the characters working to dismantle the system. I wish this show was longer and maybe we wouldn't need a season 2. Because the story was short the romance was good but lacking. We knew the leads had chemistry due to a shared past but beyond that, we didn't get to see them fall for each other again it was just I like you because your meow meow the kid I played/protected when I was younger. I would've liked to see more progression in the romance. Also if the show was longer the viewer wouldn't have to guess what happened to Son's father because the viewer isn't given any information other than he was caught but obviously, he didn't go back to the farm so where did he go? We'll get our answer to that in a possible season 2 because, during the last scene of the show, we see Ms. Kwan being given pictures of Son and Day (Their son) and Son's father. I rated this a 7.5 because it was good but their some things I would've changed.

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Cringy romantic comedy with fascinating dystopian underbelly

At first, the series didn't grab me at all, the specific way of overacting and the overall cringiness of the comedy got on my nerves more than ever. What kept me watching and engaged in the show, was its dystopian background and the storyline that touches the world-building aspect of the show. The love story of it didn't work for me, but I enjoyed the commentary beneath the facade of the dystopia that makes the audience think and how the reversing of gender roles makes the story even more impactful, because unfortunatelly being desensitized to the treatment of women (the way the men are treated on the show) is very common. Overall, it is an interesting series, I just wish it leaned more into the thriller and mystery parts of it instead of comedy and romance.

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Fun binge watch!

Think parody of The Hunger Games or Squid Games, but with dating. I don't watch too many Thai dramas, because I find the acting either lacking or overboard. This came up while I was scanning Netflix for my next watch and I decided to give it a try, knowing nothing about it. I'm sure glad I did.

Since the whole show is pretty over the top, you don't notice if the acting isn't good. There is humor and suspense as we watch a Dystopian version of The Dating Game.

There is a lot of use of bright colors and interesting costuming, unfortunately so many of the suspense scenes are so dark it's hard to see what's going on.

It's a very fun show to watch.

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Promising start but disappointing in the end

Based on the trailer and synopsis Netflix showed me, I was expecting a fun game show romcom. In fact, the first episode certainly delivered that! The opening, the acting, the characters, the main couple, and game show theme showed what kind of drama we were getting into. Very colorful, kinda cheesy with some heartfelt moments, and hilarious.

However, the more I watched, the more the show ended up suffering from including way too many subplots and lack of development from most of the cast. Aside from the game show, there’s: showing the dystopian world they live in, what happens to the males in that world, The Farm, the little sister’s illness, Chanel’s family, exposing the dark side of The Farm, Day’s friend (Valentine) discovering that Almond is her brother, and much more. it’s all just…too much that the episodes felt cramped.

While Day x Son were a pretty decent couple (not a fan of ‘oh we were childhood friends before’ type of connections but they were still cute), the side couples felt so forced to me. Max had an immediate attraction to Chanel and their chemistry wasn’t that interesting so I wasn’t into it. Same with Paper and that radio/singer guy, they had one interaction/deep conversation together and honestly their scenes bored me so I wasn’t into that one either. Speaking of characters, I was a bit disappointed with how small of development the 3 out of the 5 guys got. Almond and Day were the most interesting and had decent development. Max and Paper could have been better and I’m pretty sure the show forgot about Glasses Guy (see, I even forgot his name).

I was expecting to love this show after episode 1 but unfortunately, it ended up being incredibly disappointing. While it does have its good points like the opening (I LOVE the song so much!), Day being a pretty fun FL, the silly moments, and even some heartfelt moments (the whole thing with Almond and Valentine broke my heart and wish we got more of them). But honestly, if this show ends up getting a season 2, I don’t think I would watch it.

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