I skipped through a lot because it was kind of slow but I actually liked it and found it interesting and enjoyed the costuming and effort that went into setting the scene. I think some people are being unnecessarily critical, I enjoyed it.
I also think it's funny af that Zee at this point is just typecast as a simp because I've never seen anyone be able to appear more thirsty and willing that that man in a NC scene. Also: Do directors always tell him to kiss feet or is that just a him thing?
The bad reviews are from the people who are used to the typical plot based fictional yaoi characters, unlike here…
I think this right here is the difference between a BL and a queer drama. I would not call this a BL. A BL is a show where almost every character is inexplicably gay, and sexuality isn't quite acknowledged completely
I disagree with a lot of comments here that say Yeong took Gyu Ho for granted, I interpreted it as he felt like a burden to Gyu Ho (mostly because of "Kylie") and didn't want to hold him back in what he viewed as a never ending cycle. They didn't have a fulfilling sex life because of Kylie, which made them drift as a couple and strained their relationship, and then him not being able to transfer because of Kylie really pushed the idea that he was the issue and he didn't want to keep Gyu Ho from pursuing opportunities and finding someone "better" than him.
Especially from the "Why are you smiling?" "I'm always smiling. That's what I do." (paraphrased) it very much just felt like a person with low self esteem/depressive tendencies trying to do what he felt was right for others, which in this instance was removing himself from the picture.
I also don't think he was a coward for not wanting to pursue the relationship with the photographer. I think he wasn't ready for such a commitment simply because he was young and didn't feel that type of connection. If you're doubting your feelings for someone, that's not a great sign. Especially if you strongly feel as though the other person is much more committed than you are. (He was callous in the breakup, but I also disliked how the photographer wouldn't accept his firm rejection).
Most importantly I see a lot of people saying that so many tragedies in such a short span of time is unrealistic, but it VERY MUCH isn't. Especially for someone whose family life isn't great to start, you're extra susceptible to facing further challenges as someone who was never given the right tools to deal with these situations from the start. And these 8 episodes span around like 10 years, which to put in perspective, imagine all the things that happened between 2010 and 2020 (it's a lot !!!). There were a number of years in which he felt like he had no one he could really turn to. His friends were great, but the only person he ever told about Kylie was Gyu Ho and that was years after being diagnosed. He learned to try and appease others, or act out rather than having the skills to verbalize what he was actually feeling.
I do agree, I much prefer fluff, but sadly, I didn't find any of this to be unbelievable/unrealistic (aside from a couple odd conversations in English lol). It was amazingly directed and acted, and will have you feeling all the emotions, mostly bad, but that's what good media does, makes you feel those things.
I did not expect to like it this much but I actually gave it a 10. Something about how they LITERALLY treat the men like objects til the very end worked incredibly well in a pseudo-reverse-sexist kind of way. I know the women were competing for the men, but the fact that almost every step of the way was the WOMEN'S decision and the men were kind of just there to look good?
And the scene where Paper was crying about why they don't get the same rights as everyone else? I think a lot of times when movies/shows are made about a world in which men's and women's roles are flipped in a way, they go too far, whereas this did it in a much more realistic manner in my opinion. It wasn't reversing masculine/feminine stereotypes, rather reversing the standard power dynamic in society, in which women are the every-man and men are the coveted trophy husbands.
There were a lot of other reasons I think the show worked, as I really enjoyed the chemistry and the actors' performances as well as the balance between drama/mystery/comedy, but honestly I think the depiction of the role reversals was done extremely well and it really stands out to me. I just can't stop thinking about how it was always up to the women to choose their dates. The men weren't judges in this competition, they were the prizes. I could literally write an essay about this 😅
Poor Jin. Writers did not even bother to give him a storyline.
I literally thought the twist was going to be that he was the snitch the whole time since he was literally the only one that didn't really get any screentime
I agree with the majority of these comments, I still don't understand the actual story, but somehow the show really was saved by the acting. Everyone was really good, but especially Choco and Milk were cast SO WELL, they really were able to convey their characters and emotions well and the chemistry Milk is able to create between him and ANY scene partner? Amazing, he really conveyed the dynamics well of how he interacted with each person.
It's been a hot minute since a show/movie has made me cry like that (the last time was probably Endgame or It's Okay, That's Love). I have no words, this hit me so much harder than I expected.
Ok but I kinda loved it? Like, there was no kiss, but also, duh, it's a j-drama, when they do kiss it's awkward as hell gay or straight. They didn't sugarcoat things, they outright had the lead not only identify as gay but also write gay smut as a profession. I think this was the best portrayal I've seen in a while where they managed to keep the relationship cute and conservative (as makes sense for the characters) while not really censoring them just being gay and living life without going through the whole "HUH? HOW COULD I LIKE A GUY? EW" bit.
It was actually pretty refreshing to have acknowledgement of some different parts of gay culture (him explaining how he fell in love with the con when he went for the first time and realized how it was a place where he'd be accepted as he was and it was not something to be ashamed of was a great scene). Idk, I don't know why it doesn't have a higher rating. If you're just looking for porn, go back to KinnPorche or something (don't get me wrong, I liked that as well, but as a separate genre). As someone once said, if you need the characters to kiss to be able to tell they like each other, they weren't written right.
so a few things - I thought we were going to get Khun's backstory considering they kept saying he was traumatized from being kidnapped as a child I thought that was going to somehow play into everything
- um Stockholm syndrome much? like yes they're both fucked up with daddy issues but wowwww mans straight up torched your junk and now you're together ??
- PLOT TWISTS 876 DEGREES? every time I thought I knew what was going on, I was confused again, right until the end, at least they were consistent with their inconsistency
- Oddly enough hats off to them for actually killing characters for once, usually all the known and liked named characters, or at least most, live. It's usually one death for effect, they actually had a few more than expected (although obviously none of the ships)
- Um Chay and Kim are such a weird pairing? I'm confused on what the age gap is supposed to be. When they first meet I thought they said Kim had graduated university (and Chay is still in high school) but then at the end he goes back to attending classes at the university? so I guess they're only a couple years apart instead of 10?
- They literally dragged out the story for that long and then threw the mom in for like a minute and they just kept her in that room and only had Chay visit her like a month later?
- Probably small potatoes but I wanna know what the deal is with Kinn's couple friends who seem like they're married but then one said to Porsche that they don't really love each other and they're not really like that? This couple had almost no purpose they were just kind of there sometimes and we got almost no information about them. Did they have more of a presence in the book??
but if i was in his place i also blame myself i think you didn't watched many dramas I'm a drama expert if Yidam…
I think part of the point though is how slow Haneul is to get some social cues. He really is pretty blind outside of Jimin. He saw that Jimin was upset but she wouldn't outright tell him why, and then in his eyes Rosa was a victim of a crazy ex and he felt bad for her. It was dumb to not text Jimin and tell her what happened at all, and I don't blame her for then breaking up, but I think Haneul is just very naive, not necessarily a bad boyfriend
in opinion Yidam and Jimin better than Haneul because Haneul hurted her so much it's right to she didn't get back…
Also she did value herself, she didn't take him back on a whim, he put in a lot of thought and effort and time to finally convince her and win her back
in opinion Yidam and Jimin better than Haneul because Haneul hurted her so much it's right to she didn't get back…
Haneul didn't really do anything wrong past being incredibly daft. Personally I didn't like Yidam too much cause he really did pull the whole "swoop in the moment she's single" thing and tried forcing a relationship by playing the good guy when she's at her most vulnerable and lonely. The fact that he watched her while she and Haneul were together and didn't interact with her once, and then the very moment she broke up with Haneul immediately started hitting on her just didn't sit right with me. Haneul really didn't waver, he's just a little slow in social situations lol (hence him literally never noticing Rosa being Rosa)
I mean its impossible to not feel insecure when your boyfriend and supposed best friend has more in common with…
I honestly think their story made sense, and it wasn't the usual "if only they had asked what happened it would all be okay" thing. Exactly as you said, they both had their reasons for holding back on that particular conversation and she didn't really break up because she misunderstood him, she even said it wasn't something he did, it was that she suddenly had an issue trusting him and it was no longer a healthy relationship, regardless of the reason. Maybe a conversation would have helped some, but at that point I think that asking someone for reassurance wouldn't feel like real reassurance anyway, it's just fishing. I actually really enjoyed their arc and thought it was a good portrayal of two people trying to be perfectly reasonable and then being forced to realize that their emotions need more than just logic to heal
I also think it's funny af that Zee at this point is just typecast as a simp because I've never seen anyone be able to appear more thirsty and willing that that man in a NC scene. Also: Do directors always tell him to kiss feet or is that just a him thing?
Especially from the "Why are you smiling?" "I'm always smiling. That's what I do." (paraphrased) it very much just felt like a person with low self esteem/depressive tendencies trying to do what he felt was right for others, which in this instance was removing himself from the picture.
I also don't think he was a coward for not wanting to pursue the relationship with the photographer. I think he wasn't ready for such a commitment simply because he was young and didn't feel that type of connection. If you're doubting your feelings for someone, that's not a great sign. Especially if you strongly feel as though the other person is much more committed than you are. (He was callous in the breakup, but I also disliked how the photographer wouldn't accept his firm rejection).
Most importantly I see a lot of people saying that so many tragedies in such a short span of time is unrealistic, but it VERY MUCH isn't. Especially for someone whose family life isn't great to start, you're extra susceptible to facing further challenges as someone who was never given the right tools to deal with these situations from the start. And these 8 episodes span around like 10 years, which to put in perspective, imagine all the things that happened between 2010 and 2020 (it's a lot !!!). There were a number of years in which he felt like he had no one he could really turn to. His friends were great, but the only person he ever told about Kylie was Gyu Ho and that was years after being diagnosed. He learned to try and appease others, or act out rather than having the skills to verbalize what he was actually feeling.
I do agree, I much prefer fluff, but sadly, I didn't find any of this to be unbelievable/unrealistic (aside from a couple odd conversations in English lol). It was amazingly directed and acted, and will have you feeling all the emotions, mostly bad, but that's what good media does, makes you feel those things.
And the scene where Paper was crying about why they don't get the same rights as everyone else? I think a lot of times when movies/shows are made about a world in which men's and women's roles are flipped in a way, they go too far, whereas this did it in a much more realistic manner in my opinion. It wasn't reversing masculine/feminine stereotypes, rather reversing the standard power dynamic in society, in which women are the every-man and men are the coveted trophy husbands.
There were a lot of other reasons I think the show worked, as I really enjoyed the chemistry and the actors' performances as well as the balance between drama/mystery/comedy, but honestly I think the depiction of the role reversals was done extremely well and it really stands out to me. I just can't stop thinking about how it was always up to the women to choose their dates. The men weren't judges in this competition, they were the prizes. I could literally write an essay about this 😅
It was actually pretty refreshing to have acknowledgement of some different parts of gay culture (him explaining how he fell in love with the con when he went for the first time and realized how it was a place where he'd be accepted as he was and it was not something to be ashamed of was a great scene). Idk, I don't know why it doesn't have a higher rating. If you're just looking for porn, go back to KinnPorche or something (don't get me wrong, I liked that as well, but as a separate genre). As someone once said, if you need the characters to kiss to be able to tell they like each other, they weren't written right.
- I thought we were going to get Khun's backstory considering they kept saying he was traumatized from being kidnapped as a child I thought that was going to somehow play into everything
- um Stockholm syndrome much? like yes they're both fucked up with daddy issues but wowwww mans straight up torched your junk and now you're together ??
- PLOT TWISTS 876 DEGREES? every time I thought I knew what was going on, I was confused again, right until the end, at least they were consistent with their inconsistency
- Oddly enough hats off to them for actually killing characters for once, usually all the known and liked named characters, or at least most, live. It's usually one death for effect, they actually had a few more than expected (although obviously none of the ships)
- Um Chay and Kim are such a weird pairing? I'm confused on what the age gap is supposed to be. When they first meet I thought they said Kim had graduated university (and Chay is still in high school) but then at the end he goes back to attending classes at the university? so I guess they're only a couple years apart instead of 10?
- They literally dragged out the story for that long and then threw the mom in for like a minute and they just kept her in that room and only had Chay visit her like a month later?
- Probably small potatoes but I wanna know what the deal is with Kinn's couple friends who seem like they're married but then one said to Porsche that they don't really love each other and they're not really like that? This couple had almost no purpose they were just kind of there sometimes and we got almost no information about them. Did they have more of a presence in the book??