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I finished watching but at what cost
Honestly I had high hopes for this when I first saw the trailer. The setup is a great story and i am a sucker for a good enemies to lovers. But I think turning it into a lighthearted comedy was a wrong call. If they took out some of the silliness i think i would've enjoyed the show a lot more.1. The Male Lead: They really did a great job of making the most unlikeable male lead ever. But he was a borderline abusive CEO. I don't care if he had trauma/is secretly a good guy. He abused his employees period. And imo, making shows like this is only perpetuating the "I can change him" mindset young women have. His change seemed too sudden and extreme to be believable.
2. Cheesy acting/chemistry: I think Krystal did a great job but she didn't convince me that she was in love with him. I didn't really feel any chemistry between them.
3. Storyline: the revenge plot/trauma plot didnt seem believable and made the conflicts feel childish. They just didnt have enough weight to justify the characters actions.
I really wanted to like this drama. So maybe thats because I'm especially disappointed. I WILL say though, the first kiss scene gave me butterflies. Kim Jae Wook is just a great on screen kisser.
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shines with nostalgia, not so much romance
this show was made for mid-twenty thai adults. i am very much not thai so i feel like a lot of the nostalgia - that this show just oozes with - didn't hit me the way it would hit a thai person. I believe it would make this show really special.the production itself was really good. the quality of the camerawork and color grading in of itself was great and suited the show. though a lot of scenes and storylines felt draggy and pointless. then again: i feel like a lot of meaning got lost since i couldn't enjoy and bask in the scenes for the nostalgia. that being said, it's clearly a slice of life drama. it's simply the story of a friend group growing up with the fast advances of technology and navigating their relationships through it. but honestly, i'm glad they had Em narrate the "lesson" at the end because my one braincell really didn't get the point until then.
hm, well the acting. let's say it's questionable. i didn't like ANY of the chemisty. i didn't like FirstJa's chemi in Don't Say No either, which is why i dropped that show, but apart from them, everyone seemed uncomfortable and kind of just said their lines. it felt very unnatural. don't know it that's the actors fault of the direction though.
the show didn't excite me, which is sad. i really wanted to like it, since it had "comfort show" potential. but in the end, all i can say is that i definitely watched a show with actors in it lol. and if anyone is reading this: it's not a bad show - just know it's heavy on nostalgia and one single sound track.
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Nothing special but a good binge watch
I'm finally getting around to write a little review for this. It won't be very long but there are some points I feel worth mentioning.I finished this show a week ago when it was already done airing. It's nothing special really. The acting was alright, enough to make you believe the romance; there was definitely some chemistry.
The first 3 episodes started off really good. Instead of having a shy lead we had a man who knew what he wanted and went for it aggressively. It was a fresh wind honestly. In a lot of BLs, one male lead gets depicted as the "feminine" one and is shy without any desires, which is rooted in patriarchy and misogyny. But this show had two confident gays, which was a redeeming factor.
The story was dragging though and nothing really happened. The story arch was a simple quarrel that could've been solved with better communication. Not having lots of story going on isn't always bad if they focus more on the characters development of feelings and themselves. But that didn't really happen either. Both of them were the same at the end of the show just like we met them the first time.
Overall, this show did nothing WRONG. Im not mad at it and I'm also not mad about the time I spent watching it. It's a good binge watch with not a lot of impact. I had this on while cleaning and working :D
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Interesting concept, got a bit lost in the end
This drama started out really well. All the romantic tropes you could ask for where there. Enemies to lovers, Boss in love with employee, Childhood friends, a mysterious curse only their love can solve, a tragic accident resulting in memory loss, a second male lead that's too good for the female lead...The storyline and concept in of itself is really interesting. Sadly, I don't think they used it to it's full potential. But let' get to the good things first. The biggest surprise for me was how open they talk about sex and it being a big plot device without making the show explicit. Yesool is going through her horny era in this drama for sure. It's not handled awkwardly as if it's a bad thing but rather naturally. I really enjoyed that.
Secondly is the last episode. I won't spoil it, but I've never seen a last episode like that one. Personally I wasn't a fan of that kind of dynamic, especially because it seemed that Minho's character made a 180. But I can see the directors/writers intention behind it.
This brings me to my biggest criticism. I honestly kind of disliked Minho's character. I try not to hold every character to a super high standard, but he treated her kind of shitty up to the 5th episode or so.. he worked her to the BONE only because she had a boyfriend? We never actually got closure on that. That's also why I never came around to liking him. His character development just suddenly happened. They gave us some loose backstory, but it never really clicked for me.
The acting was very good tough. I loooove that they casted Yoon Kye Sang for this. He was born in '78, so OUT with the baby faced male lead that somehow has an executive position at 23 y/o and IN with the 44 y/o who might actually has worked his way up. The dialogue overall was fun, as well as the main leads chemistry. I enjoyed watching them figure each other out.
In the end it seems like they tried to come up with a drama that has everything and smushed as many tropes into it as they could and then attempted to counter those with some sub plots when they should've focused on the main plot. They left sooo many loose ends and the resolve of the mystery of their powers felt like an afterthought and honestly kind of lazy. The first half was good, but they unfortunately lost me in the second half a little bit.
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Couldn't take it seriously ?
I tried to get into the story and the romance, but it didnt really deliver much of either. Its a short show so of course there cant be that much plot. Fitting three couples and how their relationships develop into a little over 1 1/2 hours... Well, the actors did a good job with the little screentime they had.BUT the fact that they just had the dude speak korean throughout the scenes just sent me everytime :'D couldnt they find a korean actor who speaks chinese? Or at least use some dialogue to tie him speaking korean to his character more? Something like "hes so arrogant so he doesnt even bother speaking chinese" or the brothers being annoyed by him only speaking korean or something? It took me out but also made it fun to watch tbh.. laughed every episode 🫣
Its not bad, but not a good show either. Its light so a good, quick watch to kill some time.
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enjoyable with a certain uniqueness
This was alright! I enjoyed watching, but the characters didn't really grow on me. Which is unfortunate because shows of similar length got me to relate or sympathize with the characters in the same amount of time. As I finished this show, my only thought was "Well, this definitely is an ending." and I was ready to move on.The story in of itself is quite unique for BLs, but fell a little flat as it requires a lot more depth than these short productions, I believe. So as a viewer, we don't get enough time to explore Yu Dam's pain and understand his despair. This being said - Yu Dam's intentions/memories from the beginning vs the end of the show seem a little iffy and kind of just made to fit the narrative. The Plot: Hole.
I was also disappointed in the character writing of Denis. What the hell ): I would've loved to see more of his character. I feel like he was just a plot device. Side characters usually are, but they really just... made him do things u know? No reason, no explanation. We just kind of have to think our part.
Overall, the acting performance of the cast is average but definitely enjoyable. The production is very good as well, which enhanced the viewing experience for sure. I loved all the little scenes of slight touches and movements.
Let me summarize this review and give you a recommendation:
It's alright. It's worth a binge if you're looking for something lighthearted.
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