Love after Addiction

Good acting and chemistry but flawed script and continuity

I'm gonna preface by saying I really enjoyed watching this series. I really liked the main actors, their chemistry and romance.
My biggest gripe with this series is the script... I'm guessing due to the time constraints of having a 12 episodes 25 minutes runtime. Way too short for the whole story/plot. The script plot was sometimes nonsensical, defied logic and left a lot to be guessed on our own. They're filming a reality tv show with no cameras/drones around? The whole fish thing was weird and I didn't really understand what happened...Lots of parts were too rushed and cut weirdly. What saved this for me were the main actors and me really liking their chemistry and characters/story, despite the flaws I mentioned before,I still really recommend it!

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Honestly, I’m not quite sure if I liked this series or not.

There were moments that caught my attention, but at the same time something didn’t fully click for me. I kept watching, hoping it would pull me in more emotionally, but my feelings about it stayed a bit mixed.

It’s one of those series where you finish an episode and still feel unsure about how you really feel.

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How can a poorly written ending destroy a beautiful love story ...

PLOT: Yoki, an insomniac star actor, is caught up in a scandal (framed) and forced to film a celebrity game show on an island. There, he reunites with Yang Meng, a former high school classmate. Yoki is surprised to find himself sleeping soundly next to Yang Meng. As their adventures unfold, Yoki and Yang Meng grow closer and are attracted to each other, but Yang Meng hesitates because he fears his (very homophobic) father's disapproval and the rumors.

+++ Electric chemistry between Lin Feng Song and Chen Wen⚡⚡, both excellent.
+++ Very good cast, and I really like the second romance (which shows other facets of a relationship).
+++ Awesome OSTs (。ˇ ⊖ˇ)♡ but why Korean songs?
+++ Coherent storyline and fast-paced direction. The cinematography is magnificent, and the stunning landscapes are beautifully showcased.

### The last two episodes are convoluted, poorly written, and full of plot holes.

=> My final impression is inevitably skewed by the last two episodes (9.5 -> 8), which is a shame considering the superb work of the actors.
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PLOT : Yoki, acteur star insomniaque est victime d'1 scandale (framed) et est obligé d'aller tourner 1 show de "jeux de célébrités" sur 1 ile. II y retrouve Yang Meng, ancien camarade de lycée. Yoki est surpris de dormir sans pb auprès de Yang Meng. Au fil des aventures télévisuelles, Yoki et Yang Meng se rapprochent, s'attirent mais Yang Meng hésite car il craint la réprobat° de son père (très homophobe) et les rumeurs.

+++ Alchimie électrique entre Lin Feng Song et Chen Wen⚡⚡, tous deux excellents.
+++ Très bon cast et j'aime bcp la 2nde romance (qui montre d'autres aspects d'une relation)
+++ OSTs géniales （。ˇ ⊖ˇ）♡ mais pourquoi des Korean songs ?
+++ Storyline cohérente et réalis° sans temps mort. La cinématographie est magnifique et les superbes paysages, bien mis en valeur.

### 2 derniers épisodes tordus, mal écrits, pleins de plot holes.

=> Mon impression finale est forcément altérée par les 2 épisodes finaux (9.5 -> 8), ce qui est dommage pour le superbe travail des acteurs.

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Unexpectedly addicting

I've not watched the prequel cz i read it's a sad ending and waited for this to end so that i know it's a happy ending. The initial few episodes kinda gave jdrama vibes with the exaggerated acting and delivery. I really liked the show and i had rated it a 9.5 till episode 9 minus 0.5 for minor misses i noticed but after episode 9 the drama just went on a fast track which kinda felt rushed for me thats the reason the rating dropped to 8.5. I felt we needed a bit more of the 2nd couple's story and also a bit more on Yo Ki faking everything for his image and stuff and a more natural reunion between the leads. It was like they had soo much to cover but 3 eps left so they just rushed to the main points kinda.

I really loved both the tops they were like cunning, playful and manipulative in a nice way trying to get their boyfriend 🤭🤭 which was soo cute. I wonder if the 2nd couple would get a spin off or something. I'd like to see that. Overall its a good watch.

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I Didn’t Expect to Get This Attached

I genuinely didn't expect to love this drama so much.

At first, I was mostly here for the nostalgia. A sequel connected to *Addicted* released ten years later and starring the same actors? Of course I was going to watch it. What I didn't expect was to end up loving the drama for its own merits.

The greatest strength of this series is its characters. I became attached to every single one of them. Both couples were incredibly enjoyable to watch, and each relationship brought something different to the story. The main couple was sweet, comforting, and emotionally satisfying, while the second couple added a more chaotic and playful energy that I absolutely adored.

What really worked for me was the balance. The drama knows when to be funny, when to be romantic, sad. It made me laugh, kick my feet, and occasionally want to throw my phone across the room from frustration. That's usually a good sign.

I also appreciated how mature the story felt. This isn't a perfect world where everything magically works out. The characters have to deal with public judgment, family expectations, personal insecurities, and difficult choices. Yet despite those heavier themes, the drama never loses its warmth. At its core, it's an incredibly hopeful story about love, acceptance, and finding people who make life easier simply by being there.

The chemistry between the actors was fantastic, which honestly isn't surprising considering they've known these characters for so long. There was a natural comfort in their performances that made every emotional scene hit harder.

And can we talk about the soundtrack? Every song felt perfectly chosen.

It’s not a perfect drama, and I don’t think it tries to be. At times the connection to Addicted feels a bit looser than I expected, and some plot points do feel slightly rushed or like they could’ve been explored more. There were moments where I genuinely wished certain storylines had more time to breathe, just so the emotional impact could hit even harder. But honestly, despite all of that, the emotional payoff was so strong that I barely cared about the imperfections. I found myself completely invested from beginning to end, and once I was in, I was in — fully attached to the characters and their journey.

This drama made me smile, made me emotional, and left me with that bittersweet feeling you get when you don't want to say goodbye to the characters.

Ten years later, these actors came back and somehow delivered something that felt both nostalgic and completely fresh.

That's honestly kind of beautiful.

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I don't know how to feel.

And I probably never will.
Onestamente non so cosa scrivere. Nè voglio saperlo.
L'unica cosa che so è che ho avuto la storia di due personaggi che ho sempre amato.
E che da un certo punto di vista ho avuto anche la chiusura dei loro chiamiamoli amici del liceo. Ho chiuso almeno in parte con Gu Hai e Bai Luo Yin. Ma questa non è la chiusura che volevo. Perché per quanti BL di più o meno qualità produrrà la Cina, il mio capitolo con Addicted è e sarà sempre aperto.
Detto ciò, probabilmente sarebbe stato meglio vedere questa serie senza aver visto Addicted. Almeno non vivrò nel triste rimpianto di avere gli attori che YoKi e Yang Meng, ma non Timmy Xu e Johnny Huang.

Comunque faccio un piccolo inciso: aver visto questa serie non so perché ma mi ha rovinato la visione di Addicted. Volevo rivedere alcune puntate nel weekend e non facevo altro che pensare a questa storia e a come due dei personaggi (attori compresi) avessero avuto il loro lieto fine. E niente, grazie tante Love After Addiction.

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I hate when someone decides to make a show and invest in everything except for the story, if you don't have a proper script, don't go making a drama full of potholes with rushed ending.

Because that makes everything else seems stupid, all the efforts can be thrown in the gutter if you don't have a consistent story, and let's be honest for a moment, the whole cast are not very professional or extremely talented to save this, I've seen some shows with bad stories but made enjoyable by the actors efforts representing their characters but that didn't happen here.
I'm not saying the cast was bad, they were ok, but not enough to save whatever that was.

I appreciate everything they did and how they tried to bring back an icon in the Chinese BL history but they didn't stick to the novel nor did they replace it with a good story.

I wish next time they will invest more in a proper idea, with better characters maybe and a good ending.

I want to say something positive about it but unfortunately aside from a really underdeveloped side characters' story, there was nothing interesting about it.

Definitely not recommended show, watch the OG (yes, the one that got stopped half way through, it's more developed than this) or read the novel, if you are interested.

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what in the episode 10 and after was that?!!!

Overall: I was willing to overlook a few things and rate this an 8.5, but episodes 10, 11 and 12 brought the rating down. 12 episodes about 23 minutes each. Aired on GTV English Drama YT channel (first 3 episodes are free) Love After Addiction https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLop44oNqUSC_cbIapv1-bC7OQadLMPF74&si=XGKJjdfdt6eTXSlA and GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/6236/love-after-addiction-2026-e01 (not in Japan or Korea)

Contend Warnings: past (drugging, non con touching/sexual assault?, manipulation, bullying); current (cyber bullying, mental health struggles, bullying, blood, manipulation, punches, non con picture taking/sharing/unwanted outing)

Watch Suggestions
- watch episodes 1-9
- episode 10 watch beginning-2:20
- episode 11 watch 19:15-20:15
- episode 12 watch 7:50-10 and 24:30-end

What I Liked
- chemistry (they had an ease with each other which is understandable since they worked together before in Addicted)
- vistas/setting
- I did laugh a few times
- a safe word was mentioned

Room For Improvement
- started with an exposition dump
- a few times they cut very quickly back and forth between two images and it was not pleasant to watch
- episode 4 director's rap was cringey
- the one guy in the side couple gave me whiplash, they needed to develop those characters/relationship more
- the reveal in episode 10 made my stomach drop (in a bad way), everything a character did before felt fake
- a character apologized to his dad for not becoming a corporate drone and working his passion project on a beautiful island??!!
- another character apologized for his sexual orientation?!!!!!
- time jump though I'm happy it wasn't longer
- new characters were tossed into episode 11, in episode 12 I get the 2 characters were they were alluding to but it felt awkward, the final episodes were all over the place

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