Gray Shelter

9.5 because rather than BL is is social realism with gay stepsibling romance in the mix. A weak mother, abusive father, working class poverty, and the broken people it entails. This is dark, painful and lonely. More hell Joseon than Korean wave. And finally two lonely people trying to cuddle up to eachother hoping to find a semblance of warmth while trying to hedge their bets because they don't have much trust left in them. But incredibly well executed for a short low budget series. I really like it. Not for people who need their entertainment meal fullt chewed though. You have to read between the lines, you have to understand something about the world, including it's imperfections.

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What in the confusion did I just watch?

I must be an uncultured swine for not getting this drama at all. It was confusing from start to finish.
It felt like the author had the bones of a good stepbrothers story, but just didn’t finish one thought right to the end! With only five episodes, and flashbacks happening randomly, to the point I couldn’t tell what was flashback or present, there was no hints at romantic feelings from either lead – none at all – until the end of ep 4. And by then, it felt really weird to introduce.
We had one bad attitude character, and one burdened with other people’s problems character. And they both remained this way throughout all 5 eps.
So, the out-of-nowhere kiss from bad attitude to burdened felt like bad attitude just wanted burdened to take care of him, and kissing him was the way to get him to do that.

Was that the end?
The best part was the couple of bloopers they showed the leads actually laughing. The only laughter we got the entire time!
A very dreary, though realistic show, that just wasn’t for my tastes.
My review is for plot only – I found the acting to be really well done.

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Slow burn that abruptly fizzles out

The pacing of the story is that it's a lot of set up that ends right where it's finally going to pay off. Soo Hyuk and Yoon Dae uniquely understand the family baggage and trauma they each have. Soo Hyuk bears so much pain and hurt with his hard earned money just feeding endlessly into his father's vices. Yoon Dae keeps looking for someone to offer him stability and care. Even though the pair are mutually attracted to each other, it's hard to root for them without some meaningful change from Yoon Dae other than a confession. I want to see him step up for Soo Hyuk. There is a little set up that Soo Hyuk's co-worker might potentially be interested in him too, but everything just suddenly ends.

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Atypical BL with stunning art

I am late to the party, so to speak.
After the series ended I did not really understand what was happening but now I binched watched the series again. So, if you don't understand it, as many reviews say, you should binch watch all five episodes again and it will make sense.
The story is sensible, the acting of the MLs stunning and the style was also great and different from the known happy BL world. You feel depressed, the angst of the characters because they did not have a nice life and they fight with their inner demons. The end is not confusing, it's a happy end, they will try. So after all the "shit" they went through, the end offers hope for both.
I wholeheartenly recommand this outstanding series, but only if you can handle a downer and you can focus the story of this series otherwise you might misunderstand.

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detail means everything

Firstly, the cast has to be decent-looking, you don't have to be a model but a least average. I can't lie the main cast slightly put me off because of their looks (I understand that don't they don't control that) only the friend was up to my standards

The story I felt was incomplete as the big theme from what I interpreted was that each of them has a difficult life they are trying to navigate the journey and gravitate towards each other as they have an understanding of each other. The was as fully developed as I wanted as there were constant times that nothing was happening.

But I learnt a lesson about the meaning of comfort from individuals and what it means for different types of people and how it can affect relationships with others

It would've been clearer if it had a marker it was a flashback as it confused me at times figuring out the timeline

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Tutto mi fa pensare che questa non vuole essere la solita commediola BL, ma qualcosa di diverso, con spunti e riflessioni più profonde, significati che vanno un po' cercati ma che puntano a lasciare un qualcosa di più di una piacevole visione. E allora, con la manciata di tempo a disposizione - meno di due ore in totale - non si percorre un'intera storia ma la si tratteggia puntando a scene fondamentali e lasciando allo spettatore il compito di ricostruire tutto il resto.
Premesso che il più delle volte ricerco delle serie spensierate - non intese come sole commedie, ma come drama chiari dove non devo arrovellarmi la testa per comprenderne il significato - devo dire che in certi casi non ho disdegnato anche film/serie più impegnative. Gray Shelter però non è riuscita a farmi seguire un filo logico, troppi i passaggi poco chiari, troppe le perplessità anche dopo aver letto altrove possibili interpretazioni. La recitazione davvero notevole, così come la musica. Non la trovo davvero una serie scadente, anzi. Credo ci sia stato davvero un gran lavoro dietro, anche nella sceneggiatura stessa. Ma davvero non fa per me. Non solo perchè probabilmente non era ciò che stavo cercando, ma perchè pur con un "taglio" diverso non è comunque riuscita trasmettermi nulla. Un buon prodotto, immagino, ma su una frequenza diversa dalla mia.

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Una persona no puede ser tu refugio, pero puedes compartir uno con ella

Gray Shelter es una de esas mágicas historias que se producen cada cierto tiempo y que, probablemente, no vaya a conseguir atraer la atención del público que se merece.

Como a muchas otras personas, mi motivación principal para verla fue que Lee Jaebin, a quien ya conocía por el papel de Choco en Choco Milk Shake, fuese uno de los actores protagonistas. Y, wow, qué importante ha sido verle en un registro completamente distinto para comprender lo gran actor que es y lo mucho que se merece que le den oportunidades para demostrar ese talento. Por su parte, Jang Wooyoung ha estado más que a la altura de lo que la serie necesitaba, ofreciéndonos una trama desgarradora de manera conjunta en un contexto que debería haber tenido una extensión mayor, pero que tiene una inmensidad de lecturas en algo más de 100 minutos.

Quizá uno de los elementos más difíciles de comprender desde una perspectiva no asiática sea cómo el concepto de familia tiene un peso tan grande que hace pivotar todo lo que sucede en el drama, como si de un tercer personaje invisible se tratase. Yoondae destruido por un padre abusivo cuyo vínculo no termina nunca de eliminar. Soohyuk superado por unos padres inmaduros que no dejan de pedirle más, como si de sanguijuelas se tratase. En esta situación, era imposible que ambos pudieran hacerse bien, aun cuando todo el desarrollo nos demuestra que lo que sienten el uno por el otro es tan grande que apenas pueden gestionarlo. Por eso Soohyuk necesita que Yoondae no dependa de él. Que sea autosuficiente y pueda aportarle algo más que la vorágine a la que ambos están acostumbrados. Porque las personas que cuidan también necesitan un espacio para poder ser vulnerables y rehacer lo que el mundo real rompe cada día.

Es especialmente significativo el simbolismo de los dos personajes contando con su propia bufanda en los momentos finales del capítulo. Porque entregarle tu bufanda a otra persona siempre implica que tú acabas pasando frío. Y, el amor, aunque tiene actos de devoción como ese, no puede ser un constante acto de entrega hacia el otro.

Y, como todo en una vida que no termina, el mañana, el nuevo amanecer, siempre viene cargado de posibilidades.

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