Jack & Joker: U Steal My Heart! Special Episode

Jack & Joker: U Married A Standee

It's not even about how everyone sat in their fancy wedding outfits and watched Jack marry an ugly cardboard cutout standee with Joke's face on it, deep kissed said cardboard, or Hoy driving them to their honeymoon. No, my confusion was about my feelings. Like, was I supposed to cry or laugh at that scene? Yes, I felt sad when Jack kept insisting Joke was alive, but when Hoy walked that ugly cardboard standee down the aisle, I was laughing like a hyena, still, I couldn't help but go, 'Dafug is this? Throw the whole special away. As a matter of fact, burn it with fire. Yeet it into the sun, I don't want it.'

First off, these writers made us sad for nothing. We all saw the spoilers, so I was prepared, still, I dreaded that I was about to sit through 2 hours of back and forth just to get my heart broken. Even so, I did, cuz you know, we survived The Best Story, this would be another sad ending YinWar drama we forget and pretend it never existed. But then those few seconds happened and I'm like... then what was the point? Why you made me emotional for no reason? It was 5am on a Saturday people! The disrespect!

Unpopular opinion: I'd have been sad and angry if Joke died died for real, but I'd have accepted it. The concept of this whole drama is how harsh and unfair life can be, so it would have been on brand. Now, I don't know if I should rejoice that Joke is alive or not, cuz he looked so terrified when he woke up, so really, did we even win? And at what cost?

Listen, and I'm being serious here, so like, are we all going to collectively forget about Jack marrying that ugly cardboard cutout with Joke's face plastered on it or?? And did they just sat there and watch his man make out with a standee? Please, please, I need them to release a video of the real scene and not Jack's delulu version we got. You know, for science, and also I need more 'WTF am I watching?' that turns into laughter videos.

Frankly, I'm torn about that scene. On one head, I keep thinking, so everyone sat in their fancy dresses and watched Jack make-out with an ugly cardboard standee? Then Hoy drove them to their honeymoon all emotional like: 'I'm glad I was the one who drove them.' Brother What? HAHAHAHAHAHAH but then, the other part of me, the human one who saw Jack loose his mind to the point of insanity felt so bad. Cuz, that boy who'd been through so much and fought and came out on top was now hiding from reality, living in a make believe world just to get through the pain of losing someone who meant the world to him.

I am confusion. I'm caught between laughing like crazy or crying on top of my lungs. Yes, that scene where they were eating and sharing it with an invisible Joke made me emotional, when Joke's parents broke down I felt sad, but then I remembered how Jack hauled that cardboard standee into their married chambers and rolled with laughter. Why? Just why? Who wrote this?

PLOT:
Is it just me or that whole plot felt convoluted and unnecessary? I don't know, it came off forced to me, like they were scraping the bottom of the barrel just to find something to turn into a problem so they can destroy our hearts with Joke's death. I mean, bringing that annoying forgettable character out of jail just so he can lick his teeth, shut about whatever dafug he was talking about and kill our fav, was that necessary? All that for the fucker to die off screen without me even enjoying him getting blown to bits. Meh.

And why the hell these people never have a fully smart, worked out plan and contingencies for these things? Like they walk in there with a half baked plan, some gadgets Tattoo made, (he said he isn’t making any money so how useful and reliable are they even?) and expect everything to be sunshine and cookies. People, you're smarter than this! Be smarter than this!

This I liked:
- Tattoo and Aran playing gay chicken. I wonder who would win.
- All that teerak Jack & Joke kept calling each other. New, but adorable.
- How their friend group is still going strong, although it seems everyone is poor and they're basically surviving off air.
- Toi Ting's funny and honesty sass.
- Grandmama in that dragon suit to ask for Joke's hand for Jake. Hahaha, I love that woman.
- The sign for a second season.

What they could have kept:
- That unnecessary plot, I'm all for it if it's leading to a second season, otherwise what was the point?
- That one dimensional villain, can they please let him go already? He's so uninteresting that standee had more character.
- How these characters after everything they've been through always walks into danger with no concrete plan, thoughts of backup or even calling police for help. Like?? Are you all new here or something?
- Killing Joke and then doing a cop-out. Like if you gonna break our hearts just do it, don't make us cry and then give us hope that comes with a terrified looking Joke. If they kill him off again...
- I'm not sure I love or hate that wedding scene. It took me out of the seriousness of the story and now I can't stop laughing.

Anyway, all signs are pointing to a second season, so I am sat for it. I can't wait to meet the characters again and see if they finally get their happy endings.

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It felt like a bad fanfic come to life - disappointing but I still want a season 2

I literally made an MDL account just to write this review because I am tweaking after watching this special. Unfortunately, this was a chaotic, non-cohesive, and awkward mess. It felt like the writers lost the original vision of Jack & Joker, leaving us with flat characters, a convoluted plot, and abysmal pacing. Somehow, despite being two hours long, it managed to feel both too long and too short. Another reviewer said: “...Their friend group is still going strong, although it seems everyone is poor and basically surviving off air.” LMAO it is true and also applies to the energy of this special—barely holding itself together.

1. Disappointment Was Expected, but Not Like This:
Like most J&J fans, I saw the spoilers from the theatrical release and knew I wasn't going to walk away feeling amazing. I mentally prepared myself for disappointment, but even with lowered expectations, this special left me feeling incredibly off-put and cheated. I even PAID for an iQIYI subscription just for this, and the return on investment was painful.

Unfortunatley YinWar superiority was not popping off in this. Their acting in the first part was... rough... for example, When Jack proposed to Joke, neither of them cried or anything. Like this is a huge moment and they both just kinda looked at each other???? it was honestly an incredibly awkward scene to watch as both seemed to feel lukewarmly about the thought of getting married. The acting in the second part was better, they do well in emotionally charged scenes.

2. Who are these people???:
EVERYONE felt out of character. Jack and Joker’s relationship, which used to feel dynamic and natural, was suddenly overly affectionate to the point of feeling forced. The chemistry just wasn’t there the way it was in the series, and I genuinely don’t understand why T_T. They explored TattooAran and someone in the comments said one thing they really like about the movie was "Tattoo and Aran playing gay chicken. I wonder who would win." LMAO I agree it was fun bc like it was so unserious... but also... It felt more like an afterthought than meaningful development.

When they held the memorial for Joke, NO ONE CRIED LMAO LIKE NOT EVEN OUR GIRL TOITING... Joke's parents cried and so did Jack and Hoy, but no one else??? Really???? B for real guys...

3. What he heck did I just watch??:
The attempt to bring back the whole gang resulted in everyone being there, yet no one having enough screen time to feel substantial. Because of this, nothing felt properly developed and the pacing was super strange. Basically they have to break into a casino and steal a hard drive they go in with basically no plan and no forethought..Its like... did Joker lose his touch or did he stop giving ANY fucks?? Here are more things that made me do a double take:
---The tonal shifts were JARRING—the beginning was lighthearted, then it suddenly turned dark with no smooth transition.
---The fight scenes are now very stiff and fake looking.
---Bringing back Carbon as the villian was weird honestly I feel he is too stupid to make this plan himself so this whole set up felt OOC for him.

4. Now lets address the elephant in the room... The Wedding (we were pranked):
The biggest let down for sure since it was hyped in the trailer. It was one of the most uncomfortable moments of the film. Watching Jack break down was heartbreaking but it is offset by how stupid the 'wedding' was. The fact that they made a cardboard cutout-esque Joke to walk down the aisle at the fake wedding was both insane and tragic. Like.. it was sad but I couldnt focus on being sad and instead was like... logistically... wtf did the wedding guests see??? and why did everyone lowkey smile??? Erm.. did u guys like seeing Jack basically lose his mind in real time T_T?????????

5. The end (question mark?):
Then… that ending. I hate when shows pull this kind of cop-out. Joker is revealed to be alive, waking up in some unknown house with a shadowy figure looming over him. Based on his terrified expression, it has to be someone he knows—maybe Boss? Or someone he met in prison? While I’m glad they set up for Season 2, they could have done it so much better.

I don't wanna say everything was bad. The second part shined more than the first part for sure. Here are some special shoutouts:
---BONZ (Hoy) ACTED HIS ASS OFF LIKE BRO WAS HARD CARRYING THIS MOVIE HIS CRYING WAS IMPECCIBLE AND HIS ANGER WAS SO PALPABLE... Give that man an oscar RIGHT NOW
---JOKE'S 'final' goodbye to Jack on he pier was heartbreaking and I cried... War delivered it perfectly.
---Tattoo's tired and sassy eyes were back T_T they need to give bro a break fr his eyebags do be popping off and he looks done in every scene LOL

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When I thought it could not be worse...

I watched the opening scene and I thought "Did I click the wrong series or is 'Flirt Milk' haunting me?" Oh, would I have wished 'Flirt Milk' would haunt me...

While the series itself had not a good story and shallow and one-dimensional characters they proved themselves that they can do it even worse. After 25 minutes watching I got so tired I needed a nap of 3hrs because it was so boring. Yes I could speed up the playback but then I have to read the subs twice as fast and most subs are on screen for a too short of time anyways... and of course there was a tiny bit of hope the story would get better... I will not get into the many misspelling and grammar problems the subtitles had...

Again the story is from a $1 trash-novel only for braindead fangirls. There is only one scene I remember where they acted cute but overall I had no connection to the cast whatsoever. Also the 3rd couple - there was no development - I thought at least here we have a chance for a nice NC scene and butterflies - but no. Nothing. And the action scenes were done so dilettantish. Did nobody tell them that power will not conduct through clothing? When I watch "Study Group" I see another universe on how action should be done...

And then Joker "dies" ... OMG ... But the show must go on and there is a wedding to be done! WTF? They replaced him with an ugly standee - this is so cringe, I can't even explain how much...

But there is hope, there is an after credit scene hinting a 2nd season of "this" - whatever "this" should be... more trash for braindead fangirls?

So, to not misunderstand me: I watch the youtube channels of War and Yin and they are lovely persons imho, but - this show is bad and this special episode was trash.

You should have skipped the series, but even more, you should have skipped this special episode, because it got from bad to worse. But of course the fangirls will again tell you how they cried and how this show is soooo good. Sorry, I don't get it. A bad show is just a bad show.

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Finally! The much awaited special episode to finally see these two get to actually be happy together. But wait. In true Jack and Joker fashion, their happy ending must be hard fought for as they encounter an old villain that is set on taking them down. Now the group of friends that have yet to change their circumstances are thrust into another dangerous situation.

If I were to break down the universe in this series I would say that these characters live in a place that is primarily run by gangs and fear. In a poor small village the commoners struggle to just make it from day to day without being harassed or exploited by those who have more power. This special picks up where the series left off with Jack and Joker teaching at the school they opened for the children of the village, Save was made the new boss of the debt collectors in the area with Hope as his help, Tattoo and Aran make money where they can with inventions, and Hoy is still a driver. Not much has changed for these characters except that Boss Alice and his goons are no longer violently suppressing them. His absence however does not erase the fact that many of these people still owe money. While Save is trying to collect without violence and make a change for the better within the debt collecting scene he is only able to really impact the few around him as many other gangs aren't too far away and greed and corruption is wide swept and hard to eradicate. Even Rose mentions how her father and the head horsemen still play the games that mess with peoples lives. So what we see is this very small part in our characters lives that makes a minute difference in the world around them.

That being said, I found this special to be better acted by many of the side characters than I did in the series. And thankfully the over the top comedy is absent in this episode and instead has more natural interactions making most of it more palatable. We did see a lack of emotions where I thought there should be like in the proposal which felt a little flat as well as in the last section where everyone was so accepting of a death without tears or questioning it especially without a body. But other scenes were spot on. I actually liked the affectionate and silly interactions between Jack and Joke and their emotional scenes in the later half did a good job of breaking your heart. Hoy also was much more tolerable in this episode and his grief and anger were spot on. Tattoo and Aran were also fun to watch with their easy back and forth and comfort around each other.

But lets talk about what could have been done better. The rescue plan here is just as poorly thought out as all the heists done in the series. The characters going in with a half baked plan and expecting the viewers to suspend belief. First how did they get their 'weapons' in when they were waved with a metal detector? Carbon's escape from prison was so poorly explained but also I have such a hard time even understanding the character that is one dimensional evil. In the series he threw a child to kill her and here he attracted the group to try and get revenge for going to prison. What was the goal? To kill them all? Just one? To make Jack miserable? His goal is confusing to me. Even then I can ignore all this and just accept that they all walked into a trap and since their planning was poor it is easy to believe that they ended up in the worst possible position and they are all hurt so badly in the end. But after this scene the drama just ignores the injuries. Aran who was stabbed is now fine. There are no bruises on any of the characters, Jack's leg was so badly hurt that he couldn't get up to help Joke but is walking around fine two days later. Could we not have at least bandaged them?

Now lets talk about the wedding. This is the biggest part of the plot that most people have a problem with. I can agree with all the views in other reviews. But I will say that grief is different in everyone. Jack was barely holding himself together and if he needed this make believe wedding to not lose it entirely then I can see how the people that love him would go along with it. I think it would have been more easily accepted if they had made it a dream sequence. For example if Jack passes out from the grief and stress and dreams of the wedding he never got to have. But by adding the doll they ended up making it creepy. You can see how sad all the guests are but like pointed out by others, were they just watching Jack kiss a doll? There is being supportive and allowing a friend to grieve and be crazy so as not to also lose him to the sadness and then there is allowing delusion to go too far.

Also the very last scene where Joke gets up. Now we are not told how much later this scene takes place but there is no way he survived without medical help. He was shot twice and the blood on his shirt shows that at least one of those shots went in his stomach. And if he woke up much later and is more healed he would be very weak and have a hard time getting up normally. But he somehow survived and yet Carbon who only fell into the water was said to have had his body found. So how did he die? Could he not swim? What would make the seemingly more able bodied one die but the seriously injured one survive?

Putting logic aside I still find that I mostly enjoyed this. It had me in tears and willingly being blind to the obvious flaws much the same as the series did. Such is the magnetism of Yin and War. I look forward to a second season.

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writing/marketing miss (watch suggestions)

Overall: they screwed over fans with their misleading marketing (I'll talk more below). Almost 2 hours runtime, make sure to watch the very important scene after the end credits. Aired on iQIYI https://www.iq.com/play/1qz7s34vza0?lang=en_us&sh_pltf=4

Content Warnings: attempted murder, violence/fights, blood, kidnapping/held against will, grief

Watch Suggestions (focus on cute moments)
- watch 12-19:45, 24:15-33:50, 35:45-36:20, 39, 1hr9-1hr10m30s, 1hr31m20s-1hr34m

What I Liked
- the actors
- grandma is MVP (most valuable player)
- sweet moments
- kisses
- the dad asked who was the bride and who was the groom and the kid said we don't ask, that's their business
- they at least had one back up plan this time

Room For Improvement
- the marketing was that there was a marriage/sweet moments, but there wasn't an actual marriage and there's been no season 2 announcement, if they had marketed this accurately (angsty/action/comedy with a few sweet moments), actually had a marriage and had a season 2 announcement then my rating would have been higher
- more stupid actions: do police not exist in this universe? bullet proof vests??? how on earth would someone who was shot in the stomach twice survive without major medical intervention????
- the cliffhanger scene after the final credits with no mention of another special or season 2 announcement

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YinWar doing what they do best

YinWar have few roles but a big presence, for me, and Jack and Joker is no exception. They stole the show doing what they do best. Traumatizing us.

This special starts the way the series ended, with Jack and Joker, very much in love and living their day to day lives calling each other 'baby' and showering each other with kisses and affection, which I found very cute.
In the opening screen, we are given the setting that there is a new gang in town and they are causing havoc, and J&J are trying to bust them. Apparently the rest of the gang were there as well but we dont see it. It's only mentioned a little later.

The first half is then spent showing us Jack and Joker's love and proposal of marriage, randomly at the dinner table, as well as the general lives of the other characters of the show. Hoy is still a driver, Arun and Tattoo are still not a thing but even the rest of the characters see it, and Hope and Save are pretending they're not assholes by continuing the debt collecting business they were left with, Toi Ting is Sass and Rose is trying to stay active in the community.

When Jack and Joker visit the temple for a fortune reading of their marriage, they are told that there is no auspicious dates for them, that they are both lovers and enemies. To be fair, that's very on brand for YinWar in general LOL
Joke scoffs at the idea and persuades Jack to continue with their plans, despite the foreshadowing of death in the script. In the second half, files are stolen from Save's office, and the gang track down the thief.
They come head to head with an old enemy and it results in tragedy. Or what would be a tragedy followed by the saddest and most twisted wedding I've ever seen, as Jack grieves his loss. No really, I get that Jack is having a mental break over Joke's 'death' but that the rest of the cast just sat in watched him marry and kiss a doll had me feeling a deep void a BL has never made me feel before. I didn't know how to react. The sensual Jack and Joker kiss was overshadowed by knowing that Jack is kissing a doll and everyone is just......watching.
Using Joke's 100 ways book from the series, Jack uses it to help grieve and move on. If the show ended there, I'd be sick to my stomach, but the after credits scene shows us that Joke is in fact alive, and potentially being held prisoner by an unknown person. Did Carbon survive, again? Alice wasnt seen in the show but was mentioned, is it him? Is it one of the horsemen again? As Jack mentions to Rose that her 'game' hasn't been cancelled.

This special is a prelude to a season 2 and no one can change my mind. However, there was still a lot lacking in this show. How did Carbon die? if he even is dead. Joke was shot twice and survived. Carbon falls into the river and somehow dies? They say they found a body but my drama rule is, if I dont see a body, then that character is not dead. And who has Joke in a shed could be a few characters that may have it out for Joke, or Jack. It could even be someone we've never met before, someone Joke knew in prison, which would be another set up for a season 2.

The sets and music are all the same and carry the same vibes as the shows. This is the inbetween arc of season 1 and a season 2. So it is possible that some might want to wait until an announcement, or a release date for a season 2. For those who want to watch it now, I would recommend if you were fans of the show. The humour isn't too heavy this time around, and doesnt distract from the plot, which i felt it did in season 1.

Overall, it is a mess of a show but I found Jack and Joker to have been that way anyway, so this isn't any different. It does get very sad towards the end in typical YinWar fashion, and leaves us with a very heavy cliffhanger, so some might want to wait it out, or skip all together.

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I don't know want to write a review or not about this special ep. But seeing so d*mn many good review makes me want to said something from my point of view.

Much like Eliot_Rulez, when I don't think this special episode can make the drama worse than it already was, they prove me wrong... Haha.... All the stupid little thing the drama had, still happen in this special episode. And they make it even worse with the sad ending, yet give us the little open ending after the end credit.

What the story? Truth to be told, I don't really understand much. Cause this special ep makes me bored after 30min & I just jump watch to the ending, and a little back track to several minute here & there. But from what I can gather, they had a stupid man who had grudge & gank them all up. But the way he take revenge & the things he did still a stupid one & only can happen in the drama, they're really not learn to do a little bit realistic way that still possible to happen real life.

So, if there will be season 2 will I watch it... UGH.... I don't think I will, maybe for a little bit to learn how joke will come to jake life again...

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A Wedding or Not?

Jack and Joker (Special Episode) is an almost 2 hours movie. The special episode revolver around Jack and Joker wanting to get married and live together until the end. Unfortunately, the list of the debtor's information was stolen, and when they went to get it, they was set-up by their former enemy (mostly of Jack) named Carbon. He got-out of prison by changing identity and killing his father. Basically, the plot revolved around him getting revenge to Jack, his lover - Joker, and his friends and colleagues.

Spoiler!
The plot and story was not unique, yet still perfectly done. The story gave its high and lows. All emotions are being felt, let it be happiness, anger, and sadness. I really love how comfortable I felt while watching the film (In the first parts). I just felt how happy and comfortable the casts are to each other.

Special episodes are usually ending with happiness, that's why a lot of fans don't like when the news that this have a sad ending got out last February 22. Yet this online version proved us wrong, because the ending gave a possibility of a season 2.

The casts' acting did not really missed-out. They really made us feel that this is a SPECIAL episode. The chemistry of Yin and War, chef's kiss. The chemistry also of the side couple (Tattoo and the son of the boss). I really felt the love of Jack and Joker in their scenes. It made me giggle whenever they're being lovely to each other. The casts also made me laugh in some parts. In the heavy parts, I literally bawled my eyes and hearts out, and I rarely do it, so it just means that this film is one of a kind.

In totality, even if you interpret it having a sad or open ending, you must still watch it. The special episode really did not miss-out in anything. It is recommendable and a must to watch!

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You're going to be left without any tears

This is definitely an episode that can make you cry to the point where you won't have any tears left.

This episode (or should I say a movie) was definitely too short or maybe they tried to include too many characters. Everything happened too fast in this neary 2 hours runtime making it for me, really chaotic.

Main plot felt really forced, especially seeing last couple of minutes of the episode. It felt like they first created the ending and then tried making plot around it.
As Jack and Joke get engaged and start planning their wedding to live happily together, someone steals debtor's data from Save's office. Everyone tries to pinpoint where hard drive with the data could be and end up finding weird invitations to some party that ends up being trap to catch them all.

First of all, making villain of someone who pretty much did nothing in the first season felt really forced. Carbon didn't seem to have any special motive to devote himself to catching all of them other than the fact that he's an asshole for no reason.
This whole plot was just to kill villain without a motive that we saw for 2 minutes on the screen.

Second of all, between Carbon stealing hard drive and all of our characters finding out about the party, creating a plan, changing up and beating up everyone, a lot of time has passed. Yet when they arrive at Carbon's place, hard drive is still uploading data. Maybe it's just nitpicking but it feels really unreal, though Xiaomi Mi Bands in the necks in S1 also didn't feel really real.

Interactions between Yin and War felt really good as always. They just have amazing vibe between each other in every show they perform together. The only thing that was lacking is the screen time. I felt like we didn't see their best performance because we just had too many characters. The last scene of their fight when they lie together holding hands was something that made me cry instantly and I think from this point, this episode gets better.

After Joke goes missing, we see how Jack starts coping with the feeling of losing his partner just a day before their planned wedding. It's not only that he can't accept that Joke won't come back, he also believes in the promise they made. That Joke will always find him. I think seeing his fight with losing his loved one is the best part of this episode, even though it's also really, really sad.
What surprised me the most was reading people's opinions about wedding and the fact they laughed at the doll. For me, this was the saddest part of all of this episode. It should have been the happiest day of their life but what we see is sad people in the audience looking at person griefing in front of them and trying to accept the reality by spending the last moments thinking of his loved one that he won't ever see again. This wedding was like last goodbye. We also need to remember that what we saw on the screen was only imagination, it doesn't mean that in real life Jack was slurping face of a doll in front of everyone, though even if he did, it's completely understandable.

After this tragic moments, Jack goes for the journey and accepts that Joke isn't anymore in this world this time saying his final goodbye.

Last seconds of the episode kind of ruined it for me. Only then I 100% felt like this whole episode was made just to fill space between first season that had completed plot and second season that probably if it even airs, will be about new plot with our tragic couple.

To sum it up, it was a nice watch. It wouldn't be as good if we didn't have Yin and War on the screen. Not only because of vibe between them but also because of their acting. They just absorb you in the story even if it's not the best. Jokes in this episode were pretty okay though it was pretty crazy ride between Jack and Joke slurping each other and Hoy getting killed upstairs.

Should you watch it? If you aren't scared of cliffhangers and sad moments then yes. We have A LOT happy endings so this is a nice change.

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