Ep.9 had more twists and turns than trying to navigate traffic in Jakarta! What's really going on? It began to feel like some parody where the good guy and bad guy keep outwitting eachother with twists and turns!
What's responsible for this slew of well-written dramas from The Philippines? We are getting such creative stories with amazingly three dimensional and relatable characters. Gameboys, Hello Stranger, Quaranthings, and the others!
On a rewatch of ep.6 (I don't really rewatch many episodes of anything) there were so many perfect elements in this story! -Judith displaying her upper-class accent shifts - Karl holding the stormtrooper bust akin to Shakesphere because he wants to be a writer - The perfect use of texting and phone calls: not too overdone nor cliche - Karl automatically loading 2 cups of rice, then stalling remembering he only needs 1 - Karl's abandonment which is so against his controlled personality! - Let's not talk about the most amazing placement of an OST ever, period! Couldn't be a better song to perfectly express the timing, scene, and mood! Coming Home gave me goosebumps! - The kiss was neither fan service nor just for placement. It was the perfect representation of the mood and intent! Karl's little back turn before rushing into it was just the finishing touch to cap off his newfound freedom! - Vlad still holding the keys during the kiss.
Speaking of Karl's change, it's neither overdone nor unexpected. We see that Vlad has influenced his personality. From the first time Karl saw him, he was awestruck. The preceding episode set up well how he admired Vlad for certain attributes. That was possibly one factor causing Karl to rebel the way he did. Even from the beginning, we see that Karl didn't want to pursue architecture and then we get the real story behind it.
The writer had Vlad explain to Karl the nuances of scripting a good story, then went on to use it himself to perfection! Juan Miguel Severo is a genius!
I absolutely love the Dean! Moira's forgiveness was actually quite good, a little rushed but you could see the direction. We didn't see Kim and Jake :( The most unrealistic thing was all the characters being at the grad! When last did you attend a university grad where so many people could turn up, even for the Valedictorian??? Anyway, I don't think there has been a drama with this much wrong and this much good at the same time!
Who ever is in charge of the soundtrack deserves a raise!
Loved Ben and Ben for years. Was trilled they got a mention in Gameboys, but to actually get that perfect song for that perfect scene was just . . . perfection!
Glorious. I wasn’t prepared to get this emotional on a Friday afternoon! From 'Karl dancing' until the end --…
I kept thinking is this the end as a cliffhanger for next week on each scene! This one single episode had more character development, story and heart than many dramas capture in 12 episodes!
This show is perfect! From the script, to the acting, all the way down to the OST, everything comes together so…
The characters are so complex and get so much development! We understand their issues. Not one is toxic. We see that even Judith is trying to get forgiveness for scaring Vlad.
Wow! Wow! Wow! These Pinoys are taking the crown for 2020! This is an epic coming of age story! So much development for all these characters in such a short time! The slight cliffhanger of Karl's phone call was so on-edge. We even learn about Judith's role in scaring Vlad. For a moment it was looking like Vlad won't go back, but that was resolved so perfectly.
And that music! I've loved Ben and Ben for years. Just today I heard Ride Home on my MP3 player. Couldn't be a more perfect song for the scene!
It seems to be an emerging industry and needs to be fostered. GameBoys was epic in both writing and performance. If they could continue that trend in all genres we could see some of the best dramas out of The Philippines!
That was one longgggggg flashback! It's the first time one has lasted so long. It will be interesting to see how then deal with the present as the past took most of the show. Interesting choice for representing the past, as most dramas show snippets of the present interlaced at the very least to keep the audience engaged that it is indeed a flashback. Let's see where they're going with this one . . .
Vlad was made out to be the hated neighbour at first. It looked like it would be the trope of a guy falls for an annoying neighbour, but that quickly changed. The character development of Vlad was just so on point! His loneliness on his birthday was just telling, having us understand his attitude more. I thought this would not be good, but I'm so glad I was wrong.
1 
What's really going on?
It began to feel like some parody where the good guy and bad guy keep outwitting eachother with twists and turns!
We are getting such creative stories with amazingly three dimensional and relatable characters. Gameboys, Hello Stranger, Quaranthings, and the others!
-Judith displaying her upper-class accent shifts
- Karl holding the stormtrooper bust akin to Shakesphere because he wants to be a writer
- The perfect use of texting and phone calls: not too overdone nor cliche
- Karl automatically loading 2 cups of rice, then stalling remembering he only needs 1
- Karl's abandonment which is so against his controlled personality!
- Let's not talk about the most amazing placement of an OST ever, period! Couldn't be a better song to perfectly express the timing, scene, and mood! Coming Home gave me goosebumps!
- The kiss was neither fan service nor just for placement. It was the perfect representation of the mood and intent! Karl's little back turn before rushing into it was just the finishing touch to cap off his newfound freedom!
- Vlad still holding the keys during the kiss.
Speaking of Karl's change, it's neither overdone nor unexpected. We see that Vlad has influenced his personality. From the first time Karl saw him, he was awestruck. The preceding episode set up well how he admired Vlad for certain attributes. That was possibly one factor causing Karl to rebel the way he did. Even from the beginning, we see that Karl didn't want to pursue architecture and then we get the real story behind it.
The writer had Vlad explain to Karl the nuances of scripting a good story, then went on to use it himself to perfection! Juan Miguel Severo is a genius!
Moira's forgiveness was actually quite good, a little rushed but you could see the direction.
We didn't see Kim and Jake :(
The most unrealistic thing was all the characters being at the grad! When last did you attend a university grad where so many people could turn up, even for the Valedictorian???
Anyway, I don't think there has been a drama with this much wrong and this much good at the same time!
Kinda of topic but another epic Pinoy artist is Reese Lansangan:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnmvQXPhFGWSQwJoO9geilg
This one single episode had more character development, story and heart than many dramas capture in 12 episodes!
This is an epic coming of age story!
So much development for all these characters in such a short time!
The slight cliffhanger of Karl's phone call was so on-edge.
We even learn about Judith's role in scaring Vlad.
For a moment it was looking like Vlad won't go back, but that was resolved so perfectly.
And that music! I've loved Ben and Ben for years. Just today I heard Ride Home on my MP3 player. Couldn't be a more perfect song for the scene!
GameBoys was epic in both writing and performance. If they could continue that trend in all genres we could see some of the best dramas out of The Philippines!
Let's see where they're going with this one . . .
The character development of Vlad was just so on point! His loneliness on his birthday was just telling, having us understand his attitude more.
I thought this would not be good, but I'm so glad I was wrong.