Thundercloud Rainstorm

A promising start then it stunted

The story had all the potential but after the initial half, only thing that kept me going was Jeonghan's part. His toxic curiosity , possessiveness then lovestruck yearning held me in front of the screen. The actors did their best and I am quiet satisfied with their acting , chemistry . The music was well suited, delivering the perfect emotion . However, story execution failed tremendously. Iljeo's action became erratic contrast to his character' s setup, petty threat came off as futile, two childhood flashbacks add more to the confusion. The ending just give you an exit, not the joy of a story well-done. So, this leaves it to the pile of dramas worth for a one time watch.

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Thundercloud Rainstorm: Against My Better Judgment

Korean BLs have such a reputation for favoring darker storylines that the fandom has given them a name, “Korean Noir.” “Thundercloud Rainstorm” continues that aesthetic, but it comes with a visceral, hypnotic force that mesmerized me despite periods of discomfort and even, at times, a sense of horror at what the series forced me to witness.

Seo Jeong Han (played by Jeong Ri U) is a wealthy, withdrawn, socially isolated loner who has suppressed any emotional connection with others. Into his life comes Lee Il Jo (played by the luminous Yoon Ji Sung), a poor relation being brutally bullied by his half-brother who demands the land their father left to Il Jo. For reasons he doesn’t understand, Jeong Han helps Il Jo and Il Jo comes to live with and rely on him. As the show progresses, Jeong Han becomes more drawn to, even infatuated with, Il Jo.

The gradual melting of Jeong Han into someone who can love is the defining story arc of the series, and while it might at times seem abrupt, it works because you as the viewer are falling in love along with him. The character of Il Jo is engineered to make you love him, constructed for maximum audience protectiveness — beautiful, innocent, suffering, self-sacrificing, pure of heart. If I were writing this for a freshman lit class, I might even use the term “Christ figure.”

What keeps them apart? South Korea is one of the most class-conscious societies in the world — a fact Koreans discuss openly and with complete self-awareness. The series implies that Jeong Han is the son of the leader of one of the giant family-run conglomerates - the chaebol - that dominate entire sectors of the Korean economy and have an outsized influence on Korean society and culture generally. That places Jeong Han at an almost unreachable height, while Il Jo is just a poor boy from the sticks. Not only does Jeong Han have to struggle with opening his heart to someone he might not otherwise have considered, his father strongly, violently, opposes his son falling in love with anyone from such a different background, much less a man.

To protect Jeong Han, Il Jo therefore pulls away. Jeong Han brings him back. Il Jo pulls away. Jeong Han brings him back. Il Jo pulls away. Jeong Han brings him back. The pattern is repeated with the stepbrother’s bullying, who brutally beats Il Jo more than once. Is this drama for drama’s sake? Is it padding to fill out a script? Certainly, Il Jo’s desire to protect Jeong Han is fully consistent with his self-sacrificing character, but what begins as selflessness begins to look like a contrived dramatic device and the violence, especially against someone who refuses to fight back (turns the other cheek?) is egregiously overdone.

And yet, none of it mattered. Despite the repetition, despite the padding, despite the cruelty, I couldn’t stop watching. I was completely captivated. It is a testament to the show’s visceral, hypnotic power that even as my brain registered contrived plot devices and structural flaws, my defenses completely collapsed, because just as Jeong Han fell in love with Il Jo, so did I, slowly, helplessly, and against my better judgment, and when you’re in love, you accept the flaws.

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The music alone makes this worth watching

Damn, the music is good! And I can't find the entire OST! Please, for the love of humanity, release the soundtrack in its entirety. It's really that good.

I love the chemistry between the leads. The acting was good. And actor Jeong Ri U just does it for me. He is so handsome and his voice is so sultry.

They could have leaned into the dom/sub aspect more but I won't complain too much about that. When it was steamy it was so good. When it was sweet it was adorable. When it was painful it was brutal.

The story could have had a better flow. There were some unnecessary plot lines. But overall I enjoyed watching these two.

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Toxic until the end.

While I enjoyed this to a degree, I have to admit this is a very problematic plot - we have coercion, deception, toxic dynamics, potential incest, a main character that can’t say no and another who can’t take no for an answer. All equals to a bad combination.

From episode 1, I knew that I wouldn’t really root for them to get together in the end and that opinion didn’t really change by the time episode 8 rolled around.

Il Jo and Jeong Han aren’t a good fit for each other - even though poor Il Jo didn’t ask for anything that happens to him during this series, his silence and lack of respect for himself throughout made me really frustrated. And Jeong Han’s obsessive behaviour really put me off. While their intimate scenes were incredibly well made, I wasn’t a fan of how he treated Il Jo the whole time they were sleeping together - or all the other times after that!

Overall, I think the only characters that I enjoyed seeing were the doctor (Seung Jae?) and Su Hyo. Their support without conditions was really heartwarming to see, in the midst of all the forceful romance. But other than that, all of the other characters were kind of unlikeable to me.

Lastly, I was disappointed in the way the apprehension of Jeong In and the fall out between Jeong Han and his father were resolved. It fell so flat in comparison to the build up we had throughout the series, with them being set up to be the final obstacles standing between our MLs and their happy ending - all for it to be finished within one episode and behind the scenes. Not the best ending, in my opinion.

So, would I recommend this? Only if you’re up for the challenge. If instead you prefer fluff and romance, this might not be for you.

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And she got, she got away

I just finished this all in one go, so go me! This show was nothing like I was expecting, but I did enjoy it. I just think they could have done more with the ending. I would give it an 8.5 out of 10. I'm going to say what I liked, what I didn't like, and my overview.

I haven't finished a show all in one go like that in a while. That's crazy. So I am going to start with the fact that they aren't actually cousins because one of them is adopted. We find that out at the end, and that is a positive! Yeah. I think they are both good-looking, especially (I am going to look at character names instead of doing vague descriptions of what they look like, lmao) Jeong Han. He was so attractive, like and as the show went on and on, he got hotter, I swear to god. Going off that, I liked how I could actually see the texture of their skin in this. I am such a slut for that I can't even lie to you. That just really brought this show home. They have chemistry, I think it's good, but it is lowkey power dynamic heavy, which I didn't really like, but I think they pulled it off well. Uh, yeah, they also had a nice height difference, which I am always a big fan of. Going on the reason why most people and I started this, their sex scenes. I think the first couple of episodes were full of them, and then they died out towards the halfway point as they went more into the dynamics of the family and all that. I think that everyone in this did a great job, and they are great actors, like we brought this shit home, holy fuck. Jeong Han is so aggressive, and we know my woke ass always has a problem with that, but I was so into it in this, and I don't know why. He was lowkey toxic at the start, but it was this weird kind of addicting. I don't know how to explain it. Also, the plot. I AM A SLUT FOR A GOOD PAY ME BACK WITH YOUR BODY KIND OF THING (WE ARE GOING TO BLAME OURAN HIGH SCHOOL FOR THAT). I think that they did a good job on that, like a very good job. Also, love the character development from both of our main characters. Jeong Han became less and less aggressive and more kind, and you could especially see it in the actor's eyes. He started off with this very soulless look, and I couldn't tell what he was thinking or feeling, but in the end, you could really see it, and his eyes in themself told their own story, and that was great. Also, IlJo. I think his character was a fucking pushover the entire time and very submissive, but he came all the way around, especially at the end, and I enjoyed that. The whole thing with the brother added so much plot, and I was so into it. I do wish they went a little more into the whole him trying to drug and come on to his brother because that was lowkey so fucking interesting, it had me at the edge of my seat (not really, I am in bed, trying to read the subtitles while also eye fucking everyone in this show, including the sexy ass dad). I also like those nosey ass girls in the office, they were my favorite characters lmao. Okay, I actually liked the romance building in this. I mean, not at the end, but throughout the show, I thought it was good. Like the way they jumped from one-sided to two-sided, to just whatever was so fun, and I loved how they showed how head over heels both of them got, but especially Jeong Han got, now that was fun. This show was also very crisp with their sounds, I liked that lol.

EVEN THOUGH THEY AREN'T BIOLOGICAL COUSINS, WE ONLY FIND THAT OUT AT THE FUCKING END. Like, I do not care if they think their cousins, y'all could have told us, bro. I wouldn't have told anybody. Usually, there is another couple or some other plot to take my mind off weird shit like that, BUT IT WAS THE ENTIRE PLOT. EVERY SINGLE THING RELATED BACK TO THE FACT THEY WERE COUSINS AND IT WAS HARD AS FUCK TO IGNORE, I CAN'T LIE TO YOU. Fuck, we could have done that better. Also, their GNARLY power dynamic at the start. Now that was bad. It felt very forceful and just crazy. And I mean, I love that, but only so much of it, and it just became way too much way too fast. Jeong Han being so fucking possessive like he owned him as an object or a sex slave was weird. Like he does comes around, but I feel like we could have written that a little better. Jeong Han's fucking dad. A GREAT AND SEXY CHARACTER AND MAN, BUT THEY NUKED HIM. Like they hyped him up so much for all of this big stuff, and then they mention him for 30 seconds in the final episode, like Oh yeah, he kicked my ass, but now I can go abroad. Like what? They should have made this two more episodes, and I think that it would have been perfect. Segwaying into my thoughts on the ending. It was bad. I can't lie. Like the whole thing with Iljo wanting to finish high school, college and get a hobby, like that felt so fucking random and I feel like we should have talked about that more throughout the show instead of just dumping that randoming at the end and same with Jeong Han, like they should have made it so it was clear from the start that he wasnt going to take over his dads company, I mean they tried, but it just didnt work. Overall, I think the ending was too focused on all of the other characters in the show that were introduced, and not our main couple. Like what? I mean, the connection with the kids was cool, but also not. I think they should have done more with our couple, instead of oh, I'm sick, oh, I'm here, here's an awkward hug, and we are gonna flirt and then end the show, like run me my fucking money, I swear to god. Up next, the shop owner. BRO, HOW DID WE GET SO CLOSE TO HIM? I DO NOT UNDERSTAND? Also, did he want Iljo, or not? Like, what was his purpose besides just fucking around in my fucking face? Get his sexy ass off my screen, I swear to god. They needed to write his character out better, or just not at all, NEXT. It rained twice. Why is it called Thundercloud Rainstorm? Can we get some more rain, or what? NEXT. I think they should have connected the overall show with the start better, like we did one flashback that connected the two, but other than that, we didn't do any of that, and that lowkey pissed me off, I can't lie to you. Just no, like so much potential, this just wasn't long enough. The pacing at the start and at the very end; the rest of the show was fine. They started off by jumping the gun all the way, and that pissed me off. And then at the end, they jumped the gun again, and I am like, let's just stop. We started to fast with the romance, and then we ended to slow with the romance, like how does that even make sense? My final thing is the flipping around, the chasing, and the one-sided love. Like it went from Iljo and then to Jeong Han because Iljo is like I dont know if I really like you, like that was fun until it wasn't, and then it just became fucking around in my face. PISSED ME ALL THE WAY OFF. They had way too many plot points in this, I swear to god, I don't know why, but we needed to pick one and make sure it wasn't related to them being cousins lmao.

Oh my god, this review is so long. Okay, let's look at my episode thoughts. "He is very sexy in pain, I fear. 3k is a lot, holy fuck. "Pay with your body." Very forward. A little bit of a random plot, I can't lie to you. This show is very crisp-sounding. They are cousins, but it could be worse lmaooooo. What is this show even about lmao?" "100,000 WON A DAY, YOUR BROKE ASS BETTER LIKE THOSE FUCKING FLOORS CLEAN." "Got up to kiss him like he was clocking in to the 9 to 5. I can't tell if they have chemistry, I really can't." "I can't lie, I am having fun, but confused." "Like I understand the paying him back with his body plot, but I dont understand the other plots, like with the start and then with the coffee guy, like why was he shaking when he picked up the phone?" "If he's easy, you are ignorant." "I am so addicted, I can't lie. "We're cousins." DONT CARE. Lmao, I am just ignoring that part." "The pacing of this is so crazy, what the hell. The whole scene with the older brother was really cryptic, and I dont have a clue what any of that meant if I'm being honest lmao. Something in the bloodline, because why is everyone gay? Seeing him all battered and bruised opened his eyes, apparently." "GOT ME CLUTCHING MY PEARLS AND SHIT IF ONLY THIS WASN'T SO DARK. YESSSS THE ONE TIME I NEED YOU TO PUT YOUR HANDS ON SOMEONE. Damn, daddy's hot too, oh my god. OH MOMMA YO DAD HOT. What the hell? Rich people problems." "YAYYYY THEY ARE NOT COUSINS!!! HE IS ADOPTED, I REPEAT THEY ARE NOT COUSINS, IT IS A BLESSED DAY."

Rushed ending, but yeah, I would say watch it because it's so short. Okay bye!

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Darker than expected, better than expected — and Yoon Ji-sung deserves his flowers

I came in cautious. The source material had already put me through it — a toxic dynamic between two people who call themselves cousins without actually being related is complicated territory, and I wasn't sure the series would handle it in a way I could get behind.
It surprised me. What clicked for me personally was the moment I genuinely believed that the taboo element was something one of them actively wants — a conscious tension he seeks out rather than stumbles into. That reframing changed everything about how I read the dynamic, and I don't think I expected to feel that way going in.
What the series does really well is the aftermath. The one who was the problem in the relationship falling apart when it ends, recognising what he did wrong and actually doing the work — that arc from emotionally closed off and performatively masculine to flustered, uncertain, and learning how to communicate is exactly the kind of character development I find deeply satisfying to watch.
And then there's Yoon Ji-sung. Former leader of Wanna One, shaped by an industry that simultaneously sexualises male closeness and treats homosexuality as something to hide — choosing to lead a BL series that doesn't shy away from explicit content feels significant to me personally, whatever his own reasons were. I find that kind of choice worth acknowledging.

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Overall a Pretty Decent Series

My main problem was in understanding Jeonghan’s motivations throughout the series.

He was obviously friendly with Iljo when they were school age, but as an adult he apparently developed some sort of apathy, or antipathy, for him, without any real explanation.
He, obviously had some form of feelings for him to take him in and to continually take care of him. But, then it turned toxic so quickly. Why?

It also bothered me how abusively possessive he’d turn, how poorly he’d treat Iljo, again, without us understanding what drove him.

Apart from that, which I was, obviously, able to put aside, the story was different. The writing was decent. The characters were flawed and incomplete, but interesting.

Some people claim the ending fell flat, but it was fine. It had a satisfactory ending, in my opinion.

So, overall I did enjoy it, with all its faults. It’s, certainly, worth the watch.

UPDATE:

I’m rewatching it and I think I found the motivations that drove Jeonghan’s confusion, personality changes, and offensiveness— he was confused about being in love with and intimate with his cousin. I only figured it out, because I read so many comments from people who were disdainful toward that idea. It didn’t bother me, since they wouldn’t be having babies together, but I DO believe that may have been the driving force through the entire show, up until nearly the last episode.

I feel better now. I think the writers could have made that clearer, if that was the motivation behind every thoughtless and abusive turn of Jeonghan’s personality.

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Started out strong then went off the rails

This drama started out so interesting. You have a strong, emotionally closed off Jeonghan, who takes control - including spicy scenes. Then you have the sweet, submissive Iljo, who slowly starts to win over Jeonghan with his constant acts of service. I truly enjoyed the first 4 episodes. If the storyline would have stayed that way, it would have gotten a 10.

However, around episode 5 it suddenly nosedives into a convoluted plot of family backstabbing and miscommunication between the characters. It feels like a completely different show. Did they change writers? Also, the characters seem to switch personalities. Suddenly our strong take-charge Jeonghan is depressed and crying all the time while Iljo is closed off and doesn’t seem that interested in their relationship anymore. I feel like all the effort came from Jeonghan in the last 3 episodes.

The soundtrack is actually really good, I gave it an extra point for that.

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