Match Play: Re-edited Version (2025)

Short, enjoyable watch. Watched the re-edited 6 episode version.

Sweet romance. No consent issues, boundary-crossing, or stalking/harassment.

They don’t get together until the very end of the final episode and they plan to keep it a secret. I’d be invested in a longer show where they deal with the public fall out. Also, they keep talking about Doha not getting along with his idol group members, but they never explain why and in the final episode they just say they made up with no further explanation. So not sure what the point of even including that conflict was.

Very chaste, which is probably to be expected. One lip press where one character is wide-eyed in shock (but I would consider it most likely consensual). One post-credits kiss with a tiny bit of mouth movement.

The problem was, you couldn’t convince me that these guys have any romantic feelings for each other whatsoever. They were very friend-coded in their facial expressions, body language, and tone. Doha was the one pursuing Jaeyeon, who was meant to be unsure about his feelings, but he played into that so well that even by the end I felt like he wasn’t really that into Doha. The post-credits scene where Doha tells Jaeyeon to call him and says he’s doesn’t want to be the one always calling first didn’t help with that. I think it would have been way more enjoyable if Jaeyeon was really into Doha the whole time too and there was a whole forbidden romance yearning / longing thing going on, but that wasn’t at all present.

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Well detailed mini-work

Story 8
Acting and Casting 8.5
Music and Production 7.5
Rewatch value 6

I like this story. My first thought goes to how genuinely the relationship between the two starts and grows during the show. Everything seems so natural and spontaneous, like finding your own person. Slowly, knowing each other for real. Then the spark, the confession, the strength. This plot is also well managed and structured. No waste of time with irrelevant things (the side couple is cute and has, in my opinion, the right quantity of screentime). Maybe because of the short amount of time available. This is a journey we take with the main characters. Honestly, I would have preferred to see just few more scenes with them together as a couple.
I only have one question: what’s Gu Jae Yeon’s job? He’s a stuntman but also an executive director? Because he knows about fighting? I believe so.

The performances are good. I particularly appreciate the fighting training and shooting scenes: I find them professionally portraited, realistic. My favourite scene is, undoubtedly, the ‘lockers scene’ in episode five. Everything is perfect, from the acting to the filming. The light is stunning, marvellous, idyllic. Everyone does a good job, in general. Furthermore, I like the casting choices: Oh Jin Seok and Lee Tae Hyung look so good together.

As far as I can tell, there isn’t an ost song. I don’t know how I feel about that cause is my first time, but maybe I would have preferred to hear one. However, the sound is good as well as the direction and the screenplay. I like the dialogues, they’re not silly or useless. I believe everything is carefully chosen and there is attention to details.

I recommend this series because I founf it so enjoyable. Also, it’s pleasant and easy to watch it all in one evening.
Thank you for reading,
Kisses <3

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