Taste (2025)

Amazing and Talented Young Cast, but the Storytelling couldn't keep up with them.

Subjective Gut Rating: 7.75

In the early episodes of “Taste”, it reminded me of another K-drama, “Celebrity”. Set in high school, teenager Bambi has always wanted to be popular and famous. But no matter how much makeup she puts on or tries to distinguish herself, nothing is working for her.

This is until she becomes the Princess of Trash, and with this viral fame befriended a group of rich and popular kids. You know the drill, her eyes are really open now into a world she’s not familiar with. She wants to not only stay there but climb to the top.

I binged through the first 4 episodes of “Taste” easily. We are slowly introduced to the dynamics and the background of the teenagers. We also follow the initial steps Bambi took to distinguish herself. You may not agree with her ways, but you can’t deny her courage and persistence in achieving her dreams. However, the second half of the drama falters. It became too melodramatic and lost the initial fun. The pacing also slows down. It’s already a very short drama, yet these 8 episodes feel very long. “Taste” was unable to find the balance in the latter half when it dived into the consequences of actions. The tone shifts understandably as it should be, but the execution is where I have trouble with. Of course, it also could be because I was very tired after work, and I just couldn’t focus more on the serious stories.

I actually like all the characters, though not all are saints. They are grey and interesting. I wish the drama would be longer so that it can develop the relationships and friendships between them better. At times, things seem to move really fast, and at times, it has no development but harps on the same tune. I want to know more about the friendship between Pure and Namkhang instead of just a couple flashbacks. I want to know more about Tokyo and his boyfriend. I want to know more about Bambi and Mhong, similarly I want more than just flashbacks. I want a little more development between Diesel and Dream when they were gaming, since after they met in-person, all things happened too fast. So much is being glossed over with a couple flashbacks here and there.

On the other hand, I think the major strength of this drama is the incredible and talented young actors and actresses. I have to say, I am incredibly impressed. Before watching “Taste”, I think I only recognized Phuwin and Charlette (I might have seen the rest in other roles that I don’t remember). I’ve seen Phuwin in a few dramas before and was very surprised to see that he can really act. I’ve seen Charlette in “Bangkok Blossom” and already knew she could act. But I have to say, she was more amazing in “Bangkok Blossom” due to her character, but she’s good in “Taste” as well. Mabelz as our female lead was amazing. Her big eyes are mesmerizing. I have to say she was a big surprise because as I went through her drama list, this is only her second drama and first main role. Oh and I discovered the cute patootie, Tony Anthony. He’s the sweetest guy in the whole drama, and he’s just so adorable. LOL. The rest of the supporting cast is awesome as well and they are all very charismatic. What a talented cast!

This is not a cheap production. You can see there’s some money poured into the drama with beautiful costumes, hair and makeup, lighting and sets. I guess they make good use of the money they get from all the advertisements. Unfortunately, I was unable to find good English subs for this drama. I watched the second half with very poor AI-translation and that’s not helping when I already was having a hard time enjoying the last few episodes

“Taste” has the potential to be a much better drama especially with such a talented cast. It has the ingredients of very interesting characters but does not have enough time to develop them all. This could easily be a 12 to 14-episode drama with better developed stories and pacing. I am disappointed to not rate this higher because I did have a hard time watching the last few episodes. It’s not a bad drama, but the first few episodes raised my expectations and I was disappointed. I was debating a 7.5 or 8.0 rating for a long time. I am going to settle with 7.75 (rounding up to 8.0) because I like the cast so much.




Completed: 7/18/2025 Review #604

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How to ruin your life (and everyone else's)

This show was FULL of twists and turns, and even though it was only eight episodes, it was jam packed with drama. If you made every single wrong decision you could, this is how it would end up.

Bambi wants nothing more than to be famous. She doesn't seem to care how or for what even - she just knows she wants to be in the spotlight. To do so, she figures she needs to surround herself with other famous people. When a video she posts online gains her a solid following, she decides to join a cram school full of people she sees as useful - a well-known BL actor, a politician's son, a businessman's daughter, etc. However, they still don't seem to see her as on their level. Bambi is determined to do whatever it takes to make it to the top, and when she's told that gaining something will always cost something, she's ready to pay whatever price necessary, even if that means dragging everyone down with her.

I loved watching Bambi stumble into this world of billionaires and famous folk that she can't possible keep up with. Every decision she makes is a foolish one, and it ends up biting her in the ass. She's out to prove that "taste" isn't something you're born with, but something she can build her way to. However, most people don't see it that way. I do think that a lot of the storylines were left a little too open-ended and frankly, I'd love a second season. Some of her mistakes only started to have repercussions at the very end of the short season, so seeing it play out more would be great. So while this drama was a super interesting watch (and the actors did an incredible job) I can't rate it any higher due to it feeling unfinished.

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